A quarterly magazine to support liturgical life in parishes, schools and faith communities.
Produced by the Catholic Diocese of Auckland The Liturgy Centre - Te Kawe Ritenga Tapu
Mission Statement:
To resource and energize our faith communities to participate fully, consciously and actively in the liturgy and so take up Christ's Mission.
See back cover for subscription information. Visit our website at www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/liturgy
On the front cover: Image: Aotearoa New Zealand Ferns Some contents of Liturgy are reserved to their respective owners and are used in this publication with permission.
18 E Maria e matou whaea- 'Mary, our mother'
Contributions are welcome: The Editor, Liturgy Centre, Catholic Diocese of Auckland.
We often forget that the world we live in is one that is both liturgical and sacramental. It's not so much a case of "two different worlds", as liturgist Kevin W. Irwin puts it, but rather a co-existence of the sacred and the secular. In our worship and rituals, we incorporate many daily and domestic things; natural symbols such as water used in baptism, bread and wine which are the work of human hands, wood from trees used in the making of various things in our churches. These are from both creation and the result of human productivity, reminding us of the goodness that comes from the Creator God. So, what happens when these natural resources are in danger of being exhausted?
Beyond our ritualistic worship, the risk of neglecting our Common Home has dire consequences for both the present and future generation. From climate change and extreme weather phenomenon, to endangered species and deprivation of natural human resources in certain
parts of the world, we are witnessing the destruction of our planet. And we all participate in this, through high consumerism, sense of individualism, and reliance on others to solve the issue. But we have a responsibility, as stewards of creation. Gifted to us by the Creator God, we must be active in helping preserve the sanctuary we live in, both for the now and for what's to come.
In Laudato Si', Pope Francis appeals to us all to unite in an inclusive dialogue, to reflect on how we are shaping the future of our planet. We are challenged to connect the care of the natural world, with justice for the poorest and the most vulnerable in our society, who are often the most affected. Let us, in this Season of Creation, be active participants in preserving our Common Home. In Christ, let us continue the ongoing work, by incorporating natural elements into our liturgical spaces with the awareness that we must strive to take care of it, with aroha (love) and care, as God intends. ■
Liturgy is Liminal
John Ainslie
John Ainslie is an English liturgist, having studied in Rome during the Second Vatican Council and was involved in the early days of English in the liturgy, composing music and contributing to early postconciliar hymnbooks in the United Kingdom. Now retired, he has composed music for the antiphons at Mass and written Beyond the Altar: Perspective for Liturgical Worship (www.benedicamus.org.uk) 2020.
Reprinted from Music and Liturgy – The journal of the Society of Saint Gregory, Issue 381 March 2024 Volume 50 No 1, article by John Ainslie. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
When you enter a church’s worship-space, you pass over a threshold (Latin limen). You leave behind the world of work and ‘useful’ things. Here everything is symbolic: there is nothing of utilitarian ‘usefulness’. Even the seats or benches have kneelers or hassocks (ever met them elsewhere?). The space is traditionally high, encouraging the entrant to look upwards—heavenwards, even in this age of space exploration. The principal horizontal focus is an altar, or a tabernacle, or an east window beyond it. There are statues with votive candles before them, which people, even of little faith, feel it is right to light—often in remembrance of someone they knew and loved who is now ‘up there’. There is a crucifix, often a dominating feature, sometimes not with a suffering figure but, strangely, one crucified but wearing a crown and priestly vestments. In a
church of the Eastern tradition there is a face in the highest roof area looking down—the ‘pantocrator’, the ‘ruler of all’—and indeed the space is decorated to represent ‘the heavenly Jerusalem’. Why? Because church space is intended to be neither wholly on earth nor entirely in heaven. It is ‘betwixt and between’. That is the essence of liminality: a transitional state in which we have left something behind but have not yet reached the next place.1
For anyone who cannot read the symbols, the church space and what takes place in it make no sense. For those who can, they speak of a kind of experience that cannot be easily described, if at all. It is why good art and architecture and music—expressions of the human spirit beyond words—play such a significant role in expressing what takes place in church.
1Cf. Joas Adiprasetya, 'The liturgy of the in-between', Scottish Journal of Theology, 72:1, 82-97.
They are intended to convey a ‘sense of the sacred’. Here we are in the presence of an Other that is way beyond mere thingness.3
This sense of the beyond diverts one’s attention away from oneself and one’s personal everyday concerns—one’s self-centred intra-dependence, to use Bruce Reed’s term4 —to an awareness of a wider, indeed limitless horizon beyond oneself—extra-dependence. The right hemisphere of the brain—intuitive, imaginative, creative—takes over from the left hemisphere—programmed, managerial, administrative: the master from the emissary, to use the title of Iain McGilchrist’s 2009 book.5
Baptism and initiation
You take holy water from a stoup—or preferably from the font—and make the sign of the cross. You thus remind yourself of the first time you passed over that threshold, at baptism. In doing so, you activate the fact that you received not only a ‘Christian name’ at your baptism; you received into your life—or rather, were enveloped and adopted by—God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That is your new passport, for your new Christian ‘personality’.6
If you had been a catechumen in the early Church undergoing baptism, you would have divested yourself of your worldly finery and faced west as you renounced the devil. You would have then turned around to face east, descended into the death of the water
and risen on the other side to the new life of the resurrection. You would have entered and passed through the ‘liminal womb of new birth’.7 You would then have been vested in a new uniform, a white garment, which you would have worn throughout Easter week until Low Sunday, Dominica in Albis, the Sunday in white clothes. In this way you would have been inducted and fully integrated into a new community.8
The whole process of leaving behind, undergoing initiation, and aggregating into a new community is a rite of passage to which Arnold van Gennep drew attention over a hundred years ago.
2The title of the concluding chapter of Iain McGilchrist’s magisterial The Matter with Things (2 volumes, Perspectiva Press, London 2021, 2023 (paperback)). See also R. Kevin Seasoltz, A Sense of the Sacred, Continuum, New York & London, 2005.
3Cf Romano Guardini, Liturgy and Liturgical Formation, Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago IL, 2022, 32-44.
4Bruce Reed, The Dynamics of Religion (Darton Longman & Todd, London 1979). He distinguishes S-activity (symbolic) from W-activity (work).
5Iain McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary, Yale University Press, 2019 (2nd edition).
6Cf Nathan D. Mitchell, Meeting Mystery, Orbis Books, Maryknoll NY, 2006, 45.
7Timothy Carson, Rosy Fairhurst, Nigel Rooms & Lisa R. Withrow, Crossing Threshold: A Practical Theology of Liminality, Lutterworth Press, Cambridge, 2021, 88. I am deeply indebted to this book for many insights.
8In the Reformed tradition, the ‘threshold’ is represented by the ritual of ‘the right hand of fellowship’ extended to each arriving worshipper. I wish more of our Catholic churches could boast a warm Ministry of Welcome.
Victor Turner, among other anthropologists, observed the same rite of passage in African tribes some 50 years ago.9 The initiates there would withdraw from their natural social community and spend time together, during which all were equal and all would experience the same initiation equally—something quite contrary to the authoritarian structure of their society. Turner invented a special term, ‘communitas’, for this extraordinary equalizing, anti-structure community.
(I write this paper just after the end of the 2023 Synod of Bishops, during which the pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay people all sat round the same tables, at the same level, and listened to each other. It too was an anti-structure, aimed at reviewing the traditional structure and mission of the Catholic Church.)
Gathering, Emptying, Listening
Back to our threshold. We have arrived, perhaps with our family, for Sunday Mass. In olden days we might have been summoned by the ringing of a church bell.10 Others are congregating, people we may not meet at any other time. This is no ordinary sociological community. In it everyone is equal, including even the priest before he assumes his leadership role—a communitas. ’There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus‘ (Galatians 3:28). So it would be more fitting to call this communitas
by the biblical term koinōnia—a word that signfies both fellowship and communion, a fellowship already existing by virtue of common (koinē) baptism, symbolized and realized in the gathering of the assembly, and now to be sealed by sacramental communion (also koinōnia). Indeed, when Mass begins, the priest may wish the assembly ‘the communion of the Holy Spirit’.
And now, to assist in the process of setting aside our intra-dependence, we confess to God our introspection and self-centredness, and ‘empty’ ourselves (cf Philippians 2:6) to acknowledge our extra-dependence, accepting God’s presence and lordship in our lives. Letting go, letting God.
‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’ (1 Samuel 3:10). With opened hearts and minds we listen to Holy Scripture, and become aware that not only is space different here, time is different too. We hear readings, all of which were written two millennia or more ago. Yet we are persuaded that not only are they being read and actualized now, it is God Himself addressing us through the reader.11
9Cf. Victor Turner, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, Aldine Press, Chicago, 1969.
10It was good to learn recently (November 2023) that bells are being installed at a church in Tiverton, Devon, to the annoyance of local residents. Muslims similarly have their muezzin
11‘For in the liturgy God speaks to His people and Christ is still proclaiming His gospel’ (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 33).
Most Gospel readings in the older rite began ’In illo tempore’—’at that time’. They could also start ’today’, ’at this time’, ’now’. For their proclamation is for our absorption and implementation right now. We are not in chronos time but in kairos time.12
In God’s time-without-measure, anamnesis telescopes past, present and future into an eternal ‘now’.13 Indeed, our lives in God’s kingdom started with baptism, granted by God’s grace in his divine providence, and will never end.14
Thanksgiving Bread and wine are brought forward. Originally they were symbols of local produce and local work, constituting the local community’s offering of ‘fruit of the earth and work of human hands’.
The collection and perhaps other offerings are also presented at this time, also as symbols of earthly goods created by God’s creatures being returned with thanksgiving (Eucharist)
to their creator, from whom we have everything we possess and are. We are not (intra )dependent on them, but (extra )dependent on their creator.
The Eucharist is a circle within a circle, a ritual within a ritual, a place within a space, infinity embedded in a larger sacred story. The first threshold one crosses is into worship itself, from the outside of the liturgical container to its inside. However, the second threshold crossing is to the inner chamber; bread and wine on the table in the centre of the circle.
12Whereas chronos refers to chronological or sequential time ("the time is nine o'clock"), kairos signifies a good or proper time for action ("it's time to do this"). Cf Mk 1:15:
“The time (kairos) is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand”; Gal 4:4: “But when the fullness of time (kairos) had come, God sent forth his Son”.
13Christian anamnesis is the ‘strong’ recalling of a past event (the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) and its actualization in present and future (kairos) time.
14Sebastian Temple’s ‘Make me a channel of your peace’ is quite incorrect in asserting that ‘in dying we’re born to eternal life’. That birth was our baptism, not our death.
Mosaic of the institution of the Eucharist at the last supper by Adam Ján Figeľ | Illustration from Adobe Stock
This repeating collective ritual wraps around the symbols of a story. The space between the communicant and the icons of chalice, bread and presider is the liminal domain of mystery.15
The altar itself constitutes a threshold. It is at once something both near us and beyond us.16 Near us because we gather around it—at least figuratively— to be fed food and drink as from a dining-table. Beyond us because this is no ordinary meal and this is no ordinary table. Its traditional designation as ‘altar’ (at least in Catholic theology) reminds us that the Last Supper constituted the sacramental form of Jesus’ imminent sacrifice on the cross. Our ritual is an act of worship, indeed the anamnesis of Jesus’ supreme act of worship to His Father and ours—his self-sacrificing death, leading to his glorious resurrection. It also prefigures a future heavenly banquet on the other side of the threshold.
There is an open door in the Eucharistic experience. God stands on the other side and beckons us across the threshold into that dangerous space where He is present… The whole history of the Church is about this struggle at the threshold.
When we celebrate the Eucharist we are standing with the whole of a great cloud of witness[es], seeing not only the accomplished work of the cross—but the invitation into the Kingdom work of the Church. God stretches out His hand
and says of the bread, ‘behold what you are, become what you see.’17
Communion in Christ
The elements are bread and wine, but we, together with the priest in our name, pray for the Holy Spirit to descend on them ‘like the dew-fall’ and make them something else—the sacramental Body and Blood of Christ.18 The elements pass through an invisible threshold into a different mode of existence. This is the divinization of creation, something akin to the transfiguration that the apostles witnessed and experienced on the mountain (Mark 9:2 and parallels). Communicants receive the transmuted bread-become-Body-of-Christ so that they may enjoy koinōnia in that Body and become members of it. Indeed, for Pope Benedict XVI, as for Teilhard de Chardin before him, the whole goal and
15Carson et al, op cit., 87-88.
16In his Meditations before Mass (Christian Classics, Notre Dame IN, 2014) Romano Guardini entitles two separate chapters ‘The Altar: Threshold’ and ‘The Altar: Table’. See also Albert Gerhards, Wo Gott und Welt sich begegnen (Butzon & Bercker, Kevelaer, 2011), 134-141 –‘Der Altar – Mitte oder Schwelle?‘.
17Frank L. Emanuel, ‘The Liminality of the Eucharist’, The Resonate Journal, 2005 – with acknowledgement to St Augustine. This remarkable paper by a Protestant writer is an appeal to his brethren to be aware of the Eucharist as a liminal experience.
18…and indeed descend on everyone in the gathered assembly, that they too may be made ‘an eternal offering’ to the Father (Eucharistic Prayer iii). Note too that in the epiclesis the presence of Christ is humbly solicited, not presumptuously decreed.
purpose of creation is to become divinized by the God who created it.19 Sacraments, especially Holy Communion. are liminal transitions between creation and divinization.
We approach the time of Holy Communion. But first we symbolise our mutual fellowship by exchanging the sign of peace with our fellow siblings-in-Christ. Since emergence from the restrictions of COVID, the namaste gesture has become popular.
It is indeed appropriate for the sign of peace since it shows not only fellowship but also respect to and for the person greeted. Its distinctiveness draws attention to its symbolism at this moment in the liturgy. Then we commune in Christ together with our fellow-members of his Body, our fellow-communicants. By doing so we commit ourselves to a task: to be not only communicants but communicators of such koinōnia when we go out through the church doors at the end of the liminal event.
It creates an inescapable ethical imperative. We have renewed the ‘new covenant in [Christ’s] blood’, and covenant means commitment. We are to be a priestly people ‘glorifying the Lord by [our] lives’, divinizing the world into the Kingdom of God. Worship is not just a one-hour Sunday activity. ‘Worship is the submission and sacrifice of our lives for the purpose of glorying God in everything that we do; it is our
total life response to God's creative and redemptive acts.’20
Conclusion
The liturgy is liminal, real but redolent of another reality. The older meaning of ‘symbol’ is not as a substitute for the thing symbolized, but rather something that brings about what it symbolizes (from Greek sym-ballein, to throw together), just as a kiss denotes love, a handshake friendship. How to bring the spirit of the Sunday liturgical communitas into our Monday-to-Friday communities?21
Liturgy is a progressive renewal event, giving space to its participants to empty themselves, to let God fill their emptiness and energize His power within them. Let go, let God, let God act within and through us for the growth of his Kingdom, his reign over hearts and minds and all creation. ■
19Cf. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2000, 28.
20John Mark Hicks, ‘On "Going to Church"; Leaven 6:1 (1998).
21Cf. Carson et al, op. cit., 181-200.
Illustration from Adobe Stock
Short course A Faithful Promise: Catholic Marriage – Covenant and Calling
SESSION 1
When:
Four Tuesday nights - 15, 22 and 29 Oct and 12 Nov, 2024
Time:
7 – 8.30pm AEDT (live via Zoom)
Cost: $100 (or $25 per session)
Register: Register now via this link acu.edu.au/marriage_short_ course
Presenter: Professor Clare Johnson, Director, ACU Centre for Liturgy
Biblical and Theological Foundations of Marriage
SESSION 2
Marriage as Contract, Covenant, Sacrament
The Catholic Sacrament of Marriage is an intimate community of life and love established by God the Creator. In this sacrament of Christian vocation, equal partners created for one another join in a permanent holy union directed toward fruitfulness and the common work of watching over creation. This short course explores the Catholic Sacrament of Marriage as a lifelong partnership between a baptised man and woman, a contract, covenant, and sacrament. It introduces the biblical and theological foundations of the sacrament, its historical development and ritual enactment. The distinctive nature of sacramental marriage is addressed within our contemporary sociological context, and questions of divorce, remarriage and communion are explored.
SESSION 3
Living the Sacrament of Marriage: Unity, Indissolubility and Openness to Life
SESSION 4
Theology of Marriage in the Order of Celebrating Matrimony
The final session focuses on the contemporary Roman Catholic ritual of Marriage, which reveals the Church’s doctrine of service embedded in the enacted theology of the sacrament.
ADVANCE YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Teachers, clergy, seminarians, liturgists, pastoral associates, parishioners and all who have an interest in Catholic sacraments, or work in marriage education or ministries of support to married couples in a parish setting, are encouraged to register for this short course.
Upon request, the ACU Centre for Liturgy can provide a certificate of attendance for teachers and others participating in this seminar as part of their ongoing professional learning requirements.
Photograph by Giovanni Portelli
Siân is a Sister of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and is the Leader of the Pastoral Services Group in the Catholic Diocese of Auckland.
There is to be a Jubilee! Pope Francis has proclaimed 2025 a Year of Jubilee. The term Jubilee comes from the yobel, the ram's horn instrument used to indicate the start of the Jewish Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Although this is an annual festival it took on special significance when it marked the beginning of a Jubilee year which occurred every 50 years.
The 2025 Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee presents us with a wonderful opportunity to be renewed in the light of Christian hope amid the challenges of our world. It will give expression to Pope Francis’ desire to foster a greater sense of global
home.
Siân Owen
There is a tradition within the Church of Jubilee. These are special years of grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The basis of this is found in the Old Testament where jubilee was intended to be a time to reset; to re-establish a proper relationship with God, each other, and all of creation.
The Church today celebrates a Year of Jubilee every 25 years. It is an invitation to the universal Church to do a bit of stocktake. To enter into; a spirit of forgiveness, outrageously generous love of the ‘other’, and faith. It is a call to walk a journey of renewing our relationship with God and each other, of taking practical steps to care for the poor, of challenging and promoting change that promote justice and to strengthen practices that look after our common home.
Pope Francis has asked each diocese to celebrate the jubilee in their own way and at a local level in parishes, schools, groups and communities.
There are Pilgrimage is an age-old jubilee tradition and now a growing commercial market. We can’t all head to Europe to journey in the footsteps of Paul or walk the Camino. There will be other opportunities though. We have our own sacred sites to make a pilgrimage to, in the footsteps of Mary of the Cross in Auckland and other parts of Aotearoa, to follow the origin story of the Church in Aotearoa in the Hokianga, or the places important to the Suzanne Aubert. And others. It might be that a local parish/es create their own shorter accessible pilgrimages that help people prayerfully remember the stories and walk in the footsteps of others as an experience of the sacred journey with God.
This jubilee year we are encouraged to be pilgrims of hope by taking active part in our own community and maximising opportunities to live the Gospel in practical ways beyond going to Mass on Sunday.
For the Hebrews Jubilee provided a way of keeping the family together. A household’s status and livelihood were always fragile so any action that strengthened it was seen as strengthening wider society. We too live in a society where family life is fragile.
This year of Jubilee calls us to strengthen the domestic Church, giving confidence and support that families might live their faith, so that they might
Tōtara Point: The site of Bishop Pompallier’s first home in NZ in which the first Mass was celebrated. (13 January 1838) Illustration from food for faith
be pilgrims of creating a ripple effect that changes the world.
During this year of Jubilee, we are challenged to increase our efforts to repair our home, planet Earth. To make the small changes in practice that snowball into significant impact. From recycling to being intentional in our purchases of clothing so that we are not buying into fast fashion with all the micro-plastics it produces, to choosing public transport over cars. To give hope by making a difference that will impact the health of Earth and the vulnerable whose lives are disproportionately affected by climate change.
One of the significant differences between this year of Jubilee and previous ones is that we are called to celebrate the gift of the many who contribute to the life of the Church bringing hope. So, in February there is a time of Jubilee of Artists, in April Jubilee of Care Workers. Local acknowledgements of these are not tied to these events in Rome but they are a reminder of the scope of those who contribute to the mission of Christ.
Pope Francis stated in letter announcing the Jubilee 2025: "We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust
as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire..."
So, we are having a Jubilee a feast of celebrating, praying and making a difference. Come let us be pilgrims of hope together. ■
As the Year of Jubilee approaches the diocese will provide information on Jubilee initiatives.
Check out our website regularly. You can find the score and lyrics for the Jubilee song there: aucklandcatholic.org.nz/jubilee2025
A video to introduce Jubilee: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBi5SCO2J88
Link to the Jubilee Song: youtu.be/7uXO8lUcEZI
Resources from NZCBC: www.catholic.org.nz/about-us/jubilee-year-2025
E Maria e matou whaea- 'Mary, our mother'
Francesca is currently serving in the Commission for Liturgy - helping review the liturgical life of the diocese and identify areas of liturgical need, in order to support the Bishop who is the moderator, promoter, and custodian of the liturgical life of the diocese.
E Maria e matou whaea which translates to ‘Mary, our mother’, is a modern interpretation and exploration of Mary as both the mother of God and mother to all.
The work depicts parallels between Francesca’s whakapapa (genealogy) to Pawarenga and Pangaru and the maternal side of Mary that could still be relatable. Within this Māori context, Francesca captured the role of Mary as the feminine version of great love, acceptance and hope. These aspects of motherhood are translated through her laughing with her baby and being surrounded by children. Honouring her in this context was also explored and commented on through the galaxy of stars overhead, illuminating her as the queen of heaven. The Matariki artwork imbued in the sky also evokes parallels between what Māori believe are a symbol of new beginnings,
Francesca Adams
remembrance, and joy and Mary’s message and role which is eternal.
Along with the sacredness emanating from the sky, there are two huia birds whom accompany Mary. The huia was the most sacred to Māori, a symbol of rangatiratanga (leadership) and mana (power, essence, presence). A single huia feather was worn in the hair like a royal crown; the tapu (sacred) of the feather intwining with the tapu of the wearer. Francesca chose these birds to represent both the status of Mary as rangatiratanga and flirt with the idea of traditional catholic iconography such as angels in a Māori context.
There was another interest in the interconnectedness of the past, the present, and the future which Francesca wanted to capture. This work has been divided into three panels not only by her choice of colours – muted tones in the past and vibrant in the present and future but also by its subject.
In the left section, a Māori boy contemplatively looks into the future with a sense of wonder and calmness.
In the right section, a young girl looks to Mary with certainty while Whina Cooper and her mokopuna march into the future.
The whakatauki which can be seen in the bottom left corner of the work, Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua: ‘I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past’, informed Francesca’s exploration of time and life as a continuous cosmic process. This idea of whakapapa shaping both present and future identity is also integral to the story of the LOGOS Project.
Symbolically through the waka, Francesca wanted to capture how the wairua (spirit) and whakapapa of LOGOS in its foundation continues on with Mary at the centre for all inspiration. It is a reminder of where we have been and where are going. The resulting body of work is a celebration of motherhood through honouring Mary and an acknowledgement of the interconnectedness of life. ■
This article was originally published in NZCatholic by Michael Otto, dated February 5, 2024. Republished with permission from the artist.
Modern interpretation and exploration of Mary as Mother of God and mother of all. Unveiled at The Logos Centre –Whānau Maria in central Auckland on December 14. Oil on canvas | 1900 x 1000 mm
LA RECongress Feb 20-23, 2025
Gather with a global community of believers, religious educators, and ministry professionals.
Renew your faith and spirit. Experience transformative workshops, meaningful connections, and engaging Liturgies.
Celebrate your Catholic faith. You are welcome. You belong.
RECongress is a dynamic gathering of the global church, welcoming all to meet Jesus through connection, learning, and worship.
For more information, visit: https://recongress.org
Or email: congress@la-archdiocese.org
Has Devotion Taken Over the Eucharist?
Fr Peter Murphy is a retired priest of the Auckland Diocese, formerly Parish Priest of St Marys, Papakura, and Spiritual Director of Holy Cross Seminary.
Some alarm bells have been ringing for me lately especially when I hear young people asking for Adoration in preference to Eucharist or a student for the priesthood claiming he comes from the holy diocese in the country, the rationale being the devotionalism in that diocese or the growing number of mantillas worn particularly by young people at the Sunday Eucharist. Devotions have always been a part of Roman Catholic worship and often closely connected with particular cultures. They become problematic when they become a primary focus and detract from the Eucharist itself.
Sacrosanctum Concilium takes a positive view concerning devotions as part of the prayer life of the faithful with the proviso “they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them” (SC 13). The concern of the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001) is that imbalances lead to “impoverishment” of the liturgy (n.49). I
Peter Murphy
am particularly concerned about what I call ‘creeping Mariolatry’, namely hymns to Mary added on at the end of Mass whatever the occasion or the Hail Mary added on to the Prayer of the Faithful, or, as observed once, the incensing of the statue of Mary during Mass. The problem is less with Mary, more with her devotees.
The primary concern with devotions is they lock devotees into an anti-world, dualistic relationship with God and the
world. This of course is not always the case. I recall visiting a small village in Chile many years ago which, on the 16 July, the Feast of Our Lady of La Tirana, mushroomed into a throng of 50-60,000. People would walk there through the night, others would dance for two to three days till they dropped, and still others would crawl on their bellies from the edge of the village to pay homage to the statue of the Virgin, to my mind an inconspicuous looking, mass-produced work but to the faithful a close representation of the divine.
The vast majority were poor and living under a repressive dictatorship. Putting themselves through such ordeals no doubt had a cathartic effect.
The hallmark of modern church redesign has been ‘Noble simplicity’ with the table/altar being the primary focus and the community gathered around that. The ambo too has its own space for the Word claims our attention for the first part of the Eucharist. But our liturgical space easily becomes cluttered with statues of Mary and Jesus occupying prominent parts of the sanctuary plus the Divine Mercy picture hovering above – loved by some but definitely not all. I have even had to fight my way in Advent through a mass of Christmas trees in the sanctuary. Bling has taken over.
My concern with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is when it becomes
Illustration from Adobe Stock
a cult separate from the Eucharistic celebration. The primary act of adoration is the doxology at the end of the Eucharistic prayer, a climactic end to the prayer, but often said blandly. Putting Jesus back in the tabernacle, then celebrating Eucharist is putting the cart before the horse.
Therefore, to express the sign of the eucharist, it is more in harmony with the nature of the celebration that, at the altar where Mass is celebrated, there should if possible be no reservation of the sacrament in the tabernacle from the beginning of Mass.
The eucharistic presence of Christ is the fruit of the consecration and should appear to be such (Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship N.6, 1973; Eucharisticum mysterium, no. 55, 1967).
In other words, adoration or exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, especially for an extended period, is seen as an extension of the celebration of the Eucharist.
A real danger with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside the context of the Eucharist is seeing Christ as an
object. Those with a deep devotion to the Eucharist recognise the presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and in themselves as merging into one. There is no separation. Making adoration of the Blessed Sacrament an end in itself reinforces the presence of Christ as separate from us. What makes the devotion attractive is the richness of the communal silence which can be a very powerful experience. That perhaps speaks to us of a deficiency in the current celebration of Eucharist as being too busy, with little space being given to listening to the Spirit, and all teaching being funnelled through one person, the presiding priest.
Clearly our experience of Eucharist is still evolving. Mixed with this growing devotionalism is a lower state of consciousness or awareness, the ritualism of the past where all is tightly controlled and the participation of the faithful is passive. Moving to a higher state of consciousness requires listening to the Spirit, a practice extended into spiritual conversations, a key practice of the emerging synodal church. As we know there are many ways of prayer and all involve, in the words of the old catechism, “a lifting of the mind and heart to God.”
No one can command you how to pray. We each find our own way. It is the ‘ism’ with devotionalism that is the issue, thus generating an exclusiveness according to preferences from a sector of the community. ■
Resources available at the Liturgy Centre
To see what's in store - use your smartphone to scan the QR code or visit: form.jotform.com/liturgycentre/resources
God's Word 2025: Daily Reflections Liturgical Diary
Edition prepared for Australia and New Zealand Contains the Bible readings set down for each day of the liturgical year with reflections by eminent spiritual writers. Designed to help you keep the word of God close to your heart in daily life.
• Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible
• Liturgical information of the day, including feasts and memorials of saints.
St Pauls Publications Australia
Daily Prayer 2025
Provides a thoughtful order of prayer for each day, allowing you to spend time reflecting on Scripture and the liturgical year as you gather the wisdom and strength to live out your day as a disciple of Jesus.
Various authors, including Kathryn Ball-Boruff, Kathy Kuczka, and Christine Ondrla| LTP
Sourcebook for Sundays, Seasons, and Weekdays 2025
Those who prepare the liturgy are entrusted with a very important task—helping our assemblies encounter the real presence of Christ and be transformed and strengthened for discipleship.
Various authors, including Valerie Lee-Jeter, Zack Stachowski, and Robert Valle | LTP
Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word 2025 (Canadian Edition)
When lectors, readers, and proclaimers of the Word need the most trusted, accurate, and user-friendly tool to help them prepare for the Sunday readings, they rely on Workbook.
Various authors including Eric J. Wagner, CR and Stephen J. Lampe | LTP
At Home with the Word 2025
Guides you to a deeper understanding of the Sunday Scriptures, inviting you to explore the readings for Sundays and major feasts of the liturgical year, garner insights from Scripture scholars, and respond with action steps created specifically with the day’s readings in mind.
Rebekah Eklund Michael R. Simone, sj | LTP
Break Open The Word 2025
Gives the readings and psalms for each Sunday with a commentary designed to provide not only background to the text but assistance on how to proclaim it. A pronunciation guide is included, as well as a section entitled "The Ministry of Reader".
DIGITAL & FREE!
The Liturgy magazine is available online and free of charge. We are committed to being eco-friendly and accessible for all parishes and faith communities.
All subscribers will receive a link to a digital copy, while some who have no access to online platforms will still receive a physical print.
To subscribe: Contact Liturgy Centre *or opt out/unsubscribe (+64) 09 360 3061
liturgycentre@cda.org.nz
We provide:
» Resources to support liturgical ministries, including books with Sunday & daily readings and reflections on the readings.
» Guidebooks for various ministries including sacristans, the preparation of liturgical environment, art, and architecture.
» Sheet music for choral ensembles & accompaniment.
» Formation opportunities for liturgical ministers.
» Website with Prayer of the Faithful, Liturgy of the Word with Children, Readings in Te Reo Māori, and Monthly Music Suggestions.
Workshop Formation for...
» Ministers of the Word
» Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
» Liturgy Committee Members, Sacristans, Altar Server Trainers
» Leaders of Children's Liturgy of the Word
» A Walk through the Mass
» Lay Leaders of Liturgical Prayer
» Music Ministry: Building a Reportoire
» The Musician's Role (Choral Ensembles, Accompanists, Cantors)
» Managing ONE LICENSE Reporting & Copyright
Please contact the Liturgy Centre to discuss what formation you would like to provide for your liturgical ministers: liturgycentre@cda.org.nz
