Continental Conference of National Liturgical Commissions

The Continental Conference of National Liturgical Commissions met in San José, Costa Rica from May 6 to 10, 2002. CELAM (Latin American Bishops' Conference) sponsored the gathering. Present were 33 Presidents and Executive Directors of National Liturgical Commissions from the following countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Representing CELAM were Bishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha, President of the Department of Liturgy, Rev. Jaime Humberto Henao Franco, Executive Director, and Bishop Juan Francisco Sarasti of the Department of Liturgy. Sister Doris Mary Turek, SSND, represented the USCCB Secretariat for the Liturgy and gave the report for the United States.

The conference began with dinner, followed by a brief introduction and the presentation of attendees. Rev. Jaime Humberto Henao Franco welcomed the group, explained the topics to be covered and gave an overview of the process that would be used during the course of the gathering. Bishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha of Brazil, greeted the delegates. The entire second day of the conference consisted of reports of the Liturgical Commission of each Conference using the following format: Brief History of the Liturgy Commission in the Country; Theological and Pastoral Reality; Goals and Challenges; Response to Globalization; and Projects for the Future.

Presentations were given by liturgical experts. The Path of the Holy Spirit for the Life of the Church was the title of a chronological overview of the events surrounding Vatican II and the key persons involved at each stage. Rev. Dr. Roberto Russo of Uruguay offered a comprehensive review of the atmosphere and issues surrounding the Council, recalling the accomplishments of esteemed liturgists of the period. A group process following each presentation allowed delegates to adapt the information to their own reality.

Rev. Conrado Fernández, President of SOMELIT (Mexican Society of Liturgists), spoke on the Dynamic Theological Principles of Liturgical Renewal, gaving the theological/pastoral foundations of liturgical reform and renewal. He cited two key principles: that the nature of the liturgy is centered in the history of salvation; and that the liturgy is the source and summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed and from which all its power flows. (SC, 10) Calling them two points of light which have illuminated the Church over the last 40 years, he cited the words of Pope John Paul II in "Vicessimus quintus annus" that, despite the profound and rapid changes in Church and society, the principles of the Constitution on the Liturgy have remained permanently valid (n.2) although the forms have changed with time and place.

The following day, Rev. Christian Gramlich, Executive Director of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, gave Anthropological Perspectives of the years since Sacrosanctum Concilium. Stressing that full, conscious and active participation liturgy was not intervention but prayer, he focused on the anthropological aspect of celebration. Fr. Gramlich showed how liturgy, through gesture, word and silence, is both a vertical and horizontal communication phenomenon. He cited studies of the human being as a subject who celebrates and examined the forces that condition the interaction between the person and society. Small groups then compared the characterization of the human person in the Documents of Puebla with the reality in Latin America today.

As a final exposition, Rev. Marcelino Sivinski, Executive Director of the Episcopal Conference of Brazil, presented key ideas on the Status and Needs of Pastoral Liturgy. He elaborated on the basic elements of a pastoral approach to the liturgy. Fr. Savinski advocated knowing the community and evaluating the existing liturgical celebration. He noted challenges in forming a liturgical pastoral plan and the qualities that the plan should exhibit, suggesting a series of steps leading to its creation. As an exercise, small groups each created a liturgical pastoral plan.

The liturgies celebrated during the Conference allowed participants to reflect together as one body united in prayer and song and to leave renewed for the task of creating truly dynamic communities of worship in their respective countries.

CDWDS Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

On April 9, 2002, Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and Archbishop Pio Tamburrino, Secretary of the same Congregation presented a new "Directory of Popular Devotions and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidance."

The directory is divided into two parts. The first is entitled History, Magisterium, and Theology, and provides theological principles for the evaluation and reform of popular devotions and for assuring their harmony with the sacred Liturgy. The second half of the directory analyzes the forms which devotions take, including an examination of popular piety and the liturgical year, veneration of the Holy Mother of the Lord, the saints and blesseds, prayer for the dead, and shrines and pilgrimages.

In the presentation of the document, Cardinal Medina emphasized the desire of the Second Vatican Council that devotions be "in accordance with the sacred liturgy, and derive from it in some way, and lead the people toward it." Calling for the reform of popular devotions, the Prefect continued: "Even if the passage of time and the change in mentality and of society have obscured its Christian character and emphasized the exterior to the detriment of the interior, it is up to the shepherds of the Church to help rediscover in these cultural expressions the vital link of believing and living in Christ."

At the same presentation, Archbishop Tamburrino noted the duty of each bishop "to establish norms and practical guides, keeping in mind the local traditions and the particular expressions of religiosity and popular piety existing in their dioceses." He described the goal of the Directory as "to underline the theological and liturgical principles and the applicable discipline, in light of the reception of the fruitful link between liturgy and popular devotions, desired by Vatican Council II and put into practice in Christian communities."

An English language translation of the Directory is available on the Vatican website at: www.vatican.va.

Use of the Manatergium in the Ordination of a Priest

The Secretariat for the Liturgy has recently received inquiries concerning the use of the use of the manatergium in the ordination of a priest. The broader questions suggested by this practice provide the opportunity for an examination of a general principle in the reading of liturgical law, namely, that those elements which have been removed from a liturgical rite in the course of the reform are to be considered suppressed and may not be introduced into the sacred liturgy.

In a responsum ad dubium dated 1978 (See Notitiae 14 (1978) 301-302, no. 2), the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was asked whether the manner of incensation described in the 1962 Missale Romanum could be used in the Missale Romanum of 1975. The response was in the negative, and included the comment:

It musty not be forgotten that the Missal of Pope Paul VI has, since 1970, supplanted the one called improperly "the Missal of Saint Pius V," and completely so, in both texts and rubrics. When the rubrics of the Missal of Paul VI say nothing or say little on particulars in some places, it is not to be inferred that the former rite should be observed. Therefore, the multiple and complex gestures for incensation as prescribed in the former Missal are not to be resumed."

By extension, it may be safely stated that no rite described in a pre-conciliar liturgical book may be introduced into a post-conciliar rite. The suppression of the pre-conciliar rite includes the suppression of all texts and rubrics included in that rite. In the case of the manitergium, its use was suppressed with the promulgation of the 1989 De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum, et Diaconorum. One should bear in mind the words of the Council Fathers in Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 22§3: "...no person (other than the legitimate authority), even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority."

The Liturgical Calendar and the New Missale Romanum

Introduction
The liturgical commemorations of eighteen Saints have been newly included in the Universal Calendar of the recently revised Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia. Because the USA Liturgical Calendar is prepared two years in advance, these saints have not been included in the Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States 2003. Since the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia and its calendar are in effect, however, the following notes are offered on the observance of these celebrations in 2003. It should be noted, however, that during the year 2003, the celebrations for Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort (April 28th), Our Lady of Fatima (May 13th) and Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions (November 24th) are not observed as optional memorials since they fall on Sundays.

January 3rd      The Most Holy Name of Jesus
From Apostolic times, the Church has professed that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10). Through the particular efforts of St. Bernardine of Siena, devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus was promoted through the inscription of the monogram of the Holy Name (IHS) and the addition of the name Jesus to the Hail Mary. In 1597, Pope Sixtus V first granted an indulgence for the uttering of the phrase used so often by the present Holy Father and included among the pious invocations of the current Enchiridion Indulgentiarum: "Praised be Jesus Christ!"
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar.
Texts: Prayer texts from the Votive Mass of the Holy Name of Jesus may be used for this celebration. The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass (LFM) may be used for this celebration:
Phillipians 2: 1-11 (LFM 136a) Ut idem sapiatis, unanimes.
Psalm 8: 4-5.6-7.8-9. (LFM 753.1, with antiphon)
Alleluia: Matthew 1:21: She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
Luke 2: 21-24 (not in LFM) Vocatum est nomen eius Iesus.

February 8th    Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin
Saint Josephine was a young Sudanese girl sold into slavery and brought to Italy where, while serving as a nanny, she was sent to live with the Canossian Sisters of the Institute of the Catechumens in Venice. There she was baptized, and, having reached majority age, was granted her freedom by Italian law. In 1896 she joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity where she served humbly for the next twenty five years. She died after a long and painful illness, during which she would cry out to the Lord: "Please loosen the chains... they are so heavy!" Her dying words were "Our Lady! Our Lady!"
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on February 8 along with Saint Jerome Emiliani. Prayer texts from the Common of Virgins may be used for this celebration.
Texts: The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
1 Corinthians 7: 23-35 (LFM 734.1)
Psalm 45: 11-12, 14-15, 16-17 (LFM 733.1, with the antiphon)
Alleluia: This is the wise virgin whom the Lord found watching; She went into the wedding feast with him when he came.
Matthew 25:1-13 (LFM 736.2)

April 23rd    Saint Adalbert, bishop and martyr
Saint Adalbert was ordained the Bishop of Prague in 983. During his episcopate he encouraged the evangelization of the Magyars. Having founded the monastery of Brevnov, he was forced into exile by the nobility of Prague. He tirelessly preached the Gospel in Poland, Hungary, Russia, and Prussia, where he was martyred at the age of 41.
Calendar: This optional memorial is recent to the USA liturgical calendar and is inscribed on April 23 along with Saint George.
Texts: Prayer texts from either the Common of Martyrs or the Common of Pastors may be used for this celebration. Readings for this celebration may be found in the Lectionary for Mass, no. 553a.

April 28th    Saint Louis Mary de Montfort, priest
Saint Louis was born to a poor family in 1673 at Montfort-La-Cane in Brittany. Ordained at the age of 27, he was deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin, as exemplified by his book The Secret of the Rosary, the first work to describe the method by which the Rosary is prayed even to our day. During his life he founded both a missionary band of men (Company of Mary) and a religious institute of women devoted to the poor (Congregation of the Daughters of Divine Wisdom).
Calendar: This optional memorial is recent to the USA liturgical calendar and is inscribed on April 28 along with Saint Peter Chanel.
Texts: Prayer texts from the Common of Pastors may be used for this celebration. Readings for this celebration may be found in the Lectionary for Mass, no. 556a.

May 13th    Our Lady of Fatima
The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated under this title following apparitions to three shepherd children in Portugal in 1917. The message of Fatima includes a call to conversion of heart, repentance from sin and a dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially through praying the Rosary.
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on May 13.
Texts: Prayer texts from the Common of Blessed Virgin Mary may be used for this celebration. The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
Isaiah 61: 9-11 (LFM 707.9)
Psalm 45: 11-12, 14-17 (LFM 709.3, with its antiphon)
Alleluia: Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary and worthy of all praise., For the sun of justice, Christ our God, was born of you.
Luke 11:27-28 (LFM 712.10)

May 21st    Saint Christopher Magallanes, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
Saint Christopher Magallanes was joined in martyrdom by twenty-one diocesan priests and three devout laymen, all members of the Cristeros movement, who rose up in rebellion against the anti-Catholic Mexican government during the 1920s. Having erected a seminary at Totatiche, he secretly spread the Gospel and ministered to the people. Captured by government authorities, he was heard to shout from his jail cell: "I am innocent and I die innocent. I forgive with all my heart those responsible for my death, and I ask God that the shedding of my blood serve the peace of our divided Mexico."
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on May 21.
Texts: Prayer texts from either the Common of Martyrs or the Common of Pastors may be used for this celebration. The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
Revelation 7:9-17 (LFM 714.2)
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (LFM 715.2)
Alleluia: Matthew 5: 10 (LFM 717.11)
John 12: 24-26 (LFM 718.5)

May 22nd    Saint Rita of Cascia, religious
Born in 1381 in the little town of Roccaporena, in the Province of Umbria, Italy, Saint Rita was married and raised two sons. After the violent murder of her husband, Saint Rita urged forgiveness in contrast to the customary vendetta of the day. She was, however, repeatedly denied entrance to the Augustinian nuns due to the constant threat of violent revenge by her husband's relatives. Through her personal intercession a promise of forgiveness and peace was secured and she began forty years in prayer, contemplation and service to the sick and the poor. Toward the end of her life she received a wound from a thorn from the crown of thorns.
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on May 22.
Texts: Prayer texts from the Common of Holy Men and Women may be used for this celebration. The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
Philippians 4: 4-9 (LFM 740.10)
Psalm 1: 1-4, 6 R.2 (LFM 739.1)
Alleluia: Matthew 11:28 (LFM 741.5)
Luke 6: 27-38 (LFM 742.18)

July 9th    Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
Saint Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese diocesan priest who was martyred with his 119 companions in 1815. Among their number was an eighteen year old boy, Chi Zhuzi, who cried out to those who had just cut off his right arm and were preparing to flay him alive: "Every piece of my flesh, every drop of my blood will tell you that I am Christian."
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on July 9.
Texts: Prayer texts from either the Common of Martyrs or the Common of Pastors may be used for this celebration. The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
1 John 5: 1-5 (LFM 716.10)
Psalm 126: 1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6 (LFM 715.4)
Allleuia: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (LFM 717.3)
John 12: 24-26 (LFM 718.5)

July 20th    Saint Apollinarus, bishop and martyr
Early accounts report that Saint Apollinarius was ordained Bishop by Saint Peter himself and sent as a missionary bishop to Ravenna during the reign of the emperor Claudius. Renowned for his powers to heal in the name of Christ, he was frequently exiled, tortured and imprisoned for the faith, and finally, martyred.
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on July 20.
Texts: Prayer texts from either the Common of Martyrs or the Common of Pastors may be used for this celebration. The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
Ezekiel 34: 11-16 (LFM 719.9)
Psalm 23: 1-3, 4, 5, 6 (LFM 721.2)
Alleluia: John 10: 16 : I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10: 11-18: I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

July 24th    Saint Sharbel Makhluf, priest
St. Sharbel was a Lebanese monk, born in a small mountain village and ordained in 1858. Devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he spent the last twenty three years of his life as a hermit. Despite temptations to wealth and comfort, Saint Sharbel taught the value of poverty, self-sacrifice and prayer by the way he lived his life.
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on July 24.
Texts: Prayer texts from either the Common of Pastors may be used for this celebration. The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
Sirach 3: 17-24 (LFM 737.13)
Psalm 15: 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab.5 (LFM 739.2)
Alleluia: Matthew 5: 3 (LFM 741.1)
Matthew 19: 27-29 (LFM 742.9)

August 2nd    Saint Peter Julian Eymard, priest
Born in La Mure, France, Saint Peter became a parish priest in 1834 and joined the Marists five years later. He fostered Eucharistic adoration throughout his life and founded a religious order of priest-adorers of the Holy Eucharist who came to be known as the Priests of the Blessed Sacrament.
Calendar: This optional memorial is already inscribed on the USA liturgical calendar on August 2nd along with Saint Eusebius of Vercelli.
Texts: Prayer texts from the Common of Pastors may be used for this celebration. Readings for this celebration may be found in the Lectionary for Mass (LFM 611a).

August 9th    S. Teresiae Benedicta of the Cross, virgin and martyr
Edith Stein was born of Jewish parents in 1891, becoming an influential philosopher following her extensive studies at major German universities. Following her conversion to Catholicism she became a major force in German intellectual life, entering the Discalced Carmelites in 1933. Sister Teresa Benedicta was arrested by the Nazi regime in 1942, along with all Catholics of Jewish extraction and transported by cattle train to the death camp of Auschwitz. She died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz that same year.
Calendar: This celebration is already inscribed on the USA liturgical calendar with the rank of an obligatory memorial.
Texts: Prayer texts and readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be taken from the Common of Virgins or the Common of Martyrs.

August 14th    Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr
Saint Maximilian became a Franciscan in 1907 and devoted his life to fostering devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a priest, a publisher and the founder of the "City of the Immaculate." Sentenced to hard manual labor at Auschwitz, he offered his life in exchange for that of an innocent man. He is remembered for his prophetic words, "Hatred is not a creative force. Only love is a creative power."
Calendar: This celebration is already inscribed on the USA liturgical calendar with the rank of an obligatory memorial.
Texts: Prayer texts for this celebration already exist in the Sacramentary for the dioceses of the United States of America. Readings for this celebration may be found in the Lectionary for Mass, no. 620a.

September 9th    Saint Peter Claver, priest
Saint Peter was a Jesuit missionary of the sixteenth century who ministered to African slaves as they arrived in the South American seaport of Cartagena. Enduring the derision of the slave traders, he fed the hungry, cared for the sick and the dying, preached the Gospel and baptized converts for over forty years.
Calendar: This celebration is already inscribed on the USA liturgical calendar with the rank of an obligatory memorial.
Texts: Prayer texts for this celebration already exist in the Sacramentary for the dioceses of the United States of America. Readings for this celebration may be taken from the Common of Pastors: For Missionaries (see LFM, 636a).

September 12th    The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary
God the Father is glorified by the exalted role in salvation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thus, her name is a name of honor, a holy name, a maternal name and a name responsive to the needs of the Church. (See, Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, no. 21)
This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on September 12th.
Calendar: Prayer texts for this celebration already exist in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, no. 21.
Texts: The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
Galatians 4: 4-7 (LFM 710.3)
or: Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12 (LFM 710.4)
Response: Luke 1: 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55 (LFM 709.5)
ant. Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who has brought forth the Son of the eternal Father.
Alleluia: Luke 1: 45 (LFM 711.2)
Luke 1: 39-47 (LFM 712.5)

September 20th    Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, priest and martyr, Saint Paul Chong Hasang, martyr, and their companions, martyrs
Saint Andrew was born in Seoul, Korea to converts to the faith. His father was a martyr. Baptized at the age of 15, he traveled 1300 miles to the nearest seminary in South China and was ordained Korea's first native priest. In 1846 he was tortured and beheaded along with his lay associate, St. Paul Chong Hasang. Between 1839 and 1867 113 martyrs gave their lives for the faith in Korea.
Calendar: This celebration is already inscribed on the USA liturgical calendar with the rank of an obligatory memorial.
Texts: Prayer texts for this celebration already exist in the Sacramentary for the dioceses of the United States of America. Readings for this celebration may be found in the Lectionary for Mass, no. 642a.

September 23rd    Saint Pio of Pietreclina, priest (Padre Pio)
"Padre Pio" was born in 1887 in the small Italian village of Pietrelcina. He joined the Capuchin Friars at the age of sixteen and was ordained a priest seven years later. For fifty years at the monastery of San Stefano Rotundo he was a much sought after spiritual advisor, confessor and intercessor whose life was devoted to the Eucharist and prayer. Yet despite such notoriety, he would often say "I only want to be a poor friar who prays."
Calendar: While this celebration was not included in the new Missale Romanum, Pope John Paul II announced on June 16, 2002 that the "liturgical commemoration of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina will be inserted in the Roman Calendar to be observed as an obligatory memorial on 23 September, the day of his birth in heaven." This celebration is new to the USA Liturgical Calendar.
Texts: Prayer texts and readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be taken from the Common of Pastors.

September 28th    Saint Lawrence Ruiz, martyr, and his companions, martyrs
Saint Lawrence was a devoted husband and father of three children in the Philippines during the seventeenth century. After he was unjustly accused of murder, he fled with Christian missionaries to Japan where he was tortured for the faith and died professing: "I shall die for God, and for him I would give many thousands of lives if I had them."
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on September 28 along with Saint Wenceslaus.
Texts: Prayer texts from the Common of Martyrs may be used for this celebration. Readings for this celebration may be taken from the Common of Martyrs (see LFM 645a).

November 24th    Saint Andrew Dung Lac, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
St. Andrew was one of 117 people who were martyred in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862. The last of the martyrs were 17 laypersons, one of them a 9-year-old, executed in 1862.
Calendar: This celebration is already inscribed on the USA liturgical calendar and is inscribed on November 24.
Texts: Prayer texts from either the Common of Martyrs or the Common of Pastors may be used for this celebration. Readings for this celebration may be taken from the Common of Martyrs or the Common of Pastors (see LFM 683a).

November 25th    Saint Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr
This martyr was a learned woman of the early fourth century, who, following her conversion at the age of eighteen, preached the Gospel throughout Alexandria in Egypt. While imprisoned by the emperor Maximus, she converted both the empress and the leader of the armed forces and for this she was martyred.
Calendar: This optional memorial is new to the USA liturgical calendar and will be inscribed on November 25.
Texts: Prayer texts from either the Common of Martyrs or the Common of Virgins may be used for this celebration. The following readings from the Lectionary for Mass may be used for this celebration:
Revelation 21: 5-7 (LFM 714.4)
Psalm 123: 2-3. 4-5. 7b-8 (LFM 715.3)
Alleluia: We praise you, O God, we acknowledge you to be Lord; the noble army of martyrs praise you, Oh Lord. (LFM 717.6 )
Matthew 10: 28-33 (LFM 718.2)

The previous article on The Liturgical Calendar and the New Missale Romanum is available for free download in a convenient table format on the BCL website (www.usccb.org/liturgy).

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