Preparing for Ordination 2010
Posted 9 September 2009
These files are for the 4th Year Candidates: 8 hardy guys, beginning their final year of Deacon Formation. As you prepare for ordination in May 2010, remember to celebrate the “community” that you’ve created during your formation. Once you’re ordained and enter your ministry, you’ll be hard pressed to recapture what you have right now.
Dc. Tim
—————————————————
Are you Ready and Are you Prepared?
Posted 13 July 2009
Author: Donnie Mula
To My Band of Brothers, April 10, 2008
Not sure how to start this but I have a lot of emotions running through me at this time. Feelings of some confusion, sympathy, sadness, the fear of the unknown and a little bit of joyfulness even thou that may seem a bit strange at the moment. As you may or may not know I am a member of our local Fire Department an currently serve as the Chaplain. Some duties are leading the F.D. in prayer prior to our monthly meeting, counseling members on matter’s of the F.D. and some private counseling as required by the Fire Chief and going a step further providing some intervention type counseling, now being glad I took the PTP course with Connie, Debbie and David, it really does work.
A few months ago one of my Homilies was on being Ready and Being Prepared and in the end I asked everyone Are you Ready and Are you Prepared? Little did I know that those words would come back to kind of haunt me a little so to say.
It started Thursday morning I was asked to preside at Church for the morning communion service which I did at 0900 am which is kind of late for most services around town but its nice for the older people who don’t move as fast (which includes me at times) everything went well. Got home had some coffee and settled down to do some homework; the coffee was strong so I was ready. Working through the afternoon it was about 1:00pm and said enough with the homework, as my eyes were falling out of their sockets and was looking forward to a quite afternoon and maybe a little time on the back deck seeing how the sun was out and nice and warm. Thoughts of maybe even a little nap in the sun would be nice, but that was not to be the case.
The Fire Radio went off and announced a possible full arrest (heart attack) 58 yr old woman, requesting assistance from the ambulance. The location was less than a mile from my house which means the ambulance would be coming from town about 6 miles and that our station 2 was alerted to respond as the station is down the street from me ½ mile and we would get there first. They gave the address and it sounded familiar but they did not give the name. The Fire Chief got there first and said it was one of our own and to cancel the ambulance as it would be a DOA (dead on arrival) the person already is dead. The next thing that happens is the Fire Chief calls for the Chaplain (me) to respond directly to the scene instead of coming on the Fire Vehicle. Before going out the door dressed in my sweat pants and holey shirt I quickly changed into decent pants and shirt, put on my cross and went to the scene.
I was met by the Fire Chief, Asst. Chief and about 5 other fire department members. The Chief told me it was one of our members mother and she appeared to have had a heart attack. The police and police investigators were also on scene and doing there thing. They almost always treat a scene as criminal until they are sure; other wise forget about getting inside. I met with the Husband and tried to console him and just be with him. His son came home who is in the Fire Department and the next few minutes were not pretty as everyone, started crying and hugging, me too as were the other guys and consoling, it was a very moving experience. This went on for some time. Then it happened: the thing I was not prepared for. The thing I did not think would even come up, the one thing I did not expect; they asked me to go inside and pray over her.
The police officers agreed to let me in, when they had not let in the husband nor the son to see there loved one. My mind went kind of blank as I walked in. I have responded to more DOA’s then I care to remember but I Never knew the people. I was not afraid to go in but in this case it was different. Not only did I know the family but the woman was a friend and I just saw her in church two weeks ago. The police moved aside as I walked in and I saw her laying face up on the floor. I will never forget the picture that is in my head. I could not look at her face as tears were rolling down my face and for the Love of God I could not think of anything to say. I knelt down next to her, remained silent and after a short minute, I got my act together, prayed, and only God knows at this time what I said because for a million dollars I could not remember what I said after I got home. It was a very emotional time. I was not ready nor was I prepared. I finished, got up and went back outside and told the family I prayed over her, thank you, offered further help as needed, phone numbers to the church etc etc.
I stayed for a least 3 more hours with the son and other members of the Fire Department as more family members started to arrive. At this time the Medical Examiner arrived and I knew what was going to happen next, so we the Fire Guys got the family somewhat together and told them to go across the street because we did not want them to see the M.E. bringing out their loved one in a body bag. No one should have to see something like that. They did and everything ended shortly there after. The family thanked us and we left.
When I got home I went over the past four hours and realize that I needed to be ready for the next one and I am positive it will come either through the Fire Department or from Church. Some things I need to put in a kit; it’s not started yet, note pad, phone numbers, various prayers, etc. etc. I write this to let you know that as we aspire to the goal of becoming a Deacon we must be ready for anything, at anytime and anywhere.
So my question to you my brother’s: Are you Ready and Are you Prepared?
——————————————-
From the Deacons Place Forum
Jerome George Bettencourt
Member
Username: Jerome
Post Number: 2
Registered: 03-2009
Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 – 12:27 am:
Hello, I have been in the Permanent Diaconate program in the northern region of the archdiocese of Los Angeles for the past two years. Our class will receive candidacy at the end of this month. I have made it my goal to learn all the hymns for the Liturgy of the Hours. In this quest I have found two very helpful sites on the internet which acually play the music so you can sing along and practice the hymns one is Oremus Hymnal and the other is The Cyber Hymnal Through these two sites I have learned all but a few of the hymns.
—————————————
If you build it…
Posted 10 March 2009
Although Field of Dreams was perhaps a bit too much of the “feel good”, the message of the 1989 film based on the W.P. Kinsella book has always resonated with me: a man with a vision, too compelled by the urgency of the idea to give it up. A modern day metaphor for the biblical prophet? Perhaps.
However, the notion that “if you build it… they will come” has stayed with me ever since first watching star Kevin Costner struggle with his compulsion that the ball field would be far more than anyone could even imagine. I see the theme played out again and again–most often on a very small scale.
And so it has been with “A Country Deacon“, a Google Apps site web space that is part of a much larger project to bring a collaborative on-line resource to the deacon community in the Diocese of Syracuse. Several years ago I acquired the deacons.us domain for a whopping $2.99/yr. while still in diaconate formation. I wasn’t ready to do anything with it right then… but I had the kernel of a vision.
Today, www.deacons.us is shaping up to become the collaborative space that I first considered in my pre-ordination years. The driving force has most certainly been the Holy Spirit working oh, so subtly through my neophyte vocation and evolving ministry to our churches.
This past week we kicked off a Lenten discussion series on St. Paul: Small Christian Communities – Learning & Living St. Paul’s Message. The A Country Deacon space has been invaluable in providing the structure for a collaboration among the 30 or so participants gathered weekly at three different homes in our parishes. By adding a page featuring downloadable resources on St. Paul and a space that shares my “30-Day Walk with St. Paul” with all of the participants–my “ball field” is taking shape.
I’ve built it… and now they’re coming. Here’s hoping the first pitch yields a homerun!
From the heart…
Posted 11 November 2008
When I began preaching over 4 years ago in Diaconate Formation, the challenge of writing and then presenting a sermon (or homily, as we express it in the Catholic Church) was daunting: synthesizing scriptural texts ranging from the Hebrew prophets, through the Psalms, New Testament Gospels and the inevitable Pauline writings. Whew! And then to relate it to the person in the pew… to find that central truth that had meaning and relevance for everyday life. As the years of formation progressed, writing and preaching became easier, but I was always lashed to the pages of the homilies I’d written.
I longed to just “preach”, instead of read! But I didn’t understand what that meant. As I look back at that time now,
I realize how insightful a particular document was that we had read and discussed in our very first homiletics class. Fulfilled In Your Hearing, published by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops in 1982 opened the door to the heart and soul of preaching. Yet few of us had a sense for the richness of the publication’s texture or the nuance in meaning as “Fulfilled” described the role of the preacher bridging two worlds: God’s and man’s. What this incredibly insightful document brought to the reader was an understanding of the homily in the context of the assembly, the community of believers.
The preacher represents this community by voicing its concerns, by naming its demons, and thus enabling it to gain some understanding and control of the evil which afflicts it. He represents the Lord by offering the community another word, word of healing and pardon, of acceptance and love. (p. 7)
However, understanding is one thing–truly living the meaning of “Fulfilled” is another. The understanding for me has been incremental… subtle… and elusive–until this past weekend, The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.
In reading and then reflecting upon Ezekial’s vision of God’s life-giving water, Paul’s “You are the building of God…”, and Jesus’ zeal in the Temple, I gradually saw that the Word would be mine to break open the Sunday following the U.S. presidential elections. The context for the feast day would be incredibly dynamic and perhaps, just perhaps able to provide connections between Gospel truth and present day reality.
I still need to WRITE my homily… I can’t share it here because it only was written on the tablet of my heart. I preached the same heartfelt message at four Masses on the weekend. Each time I occassionaly refered to a 2″ x 4″ index card with 5 points to emphasize and a quote from Pope John Paul II on the Lateran Basilica relating to “Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace” (Jn 2:16).
Ever so gradually over the past four months, I’ve realized that every time I preach from the heart I need only the barest of outlines to communicate… to bridge that space between Word and lived reality. If I skillfully construct a sermon on paper, it’s usually an exercise in academics and theology, not a reflection of what I feel in the light of the sacred scripture that day.
I will try to come back to this soon. For now, though, I am enjoying the realization that I can indeed preach–if I preach from the heart. As long as I stay in touch with who I am in the context of God’s creative genius, well, there’s the continued promise of “representing the Lord by offering the community another word, word of healing and pardon, of acceptance and love.” From the heart… to the heart.
NOTE: I’d hoped to generate some “conversation” from this post… Alas, few have responded to my musings on preaching and homiletics. Let me know what you think!
————————————————————-
A work in progress…
Posted 6 October 2008
As the 2008 presidential election looms large on the horizon, I have my friend Nolan to thank for prodding me a bit… With all that has happened in just the last few months: skyrocketing energy costs, inflation, increasing unemployment, and now the so-called “Economic Stabilization Act of 2008“, known in the vernacular as the Wall Street Bailout.
As I was updating my A Country Deacon site (truly a “work in progress”, prompting this post’s title), it occurred to me that it was incumbent upon me to at the very least extend Nolan’s prodding to my parish constituency. And so, my Google Sites page now provides links to the US Catholic Bishops “Faithful Citizenship” website, along with a link to the full 48-page pdf statement from the Conference.
A lot is at stake this year. Understated? YES! That is why the United States Bishops urge all Catholics of voting age to approach the election of government officials “guided more by our moral convictions than by our attachment to a political party or interest group.“
A worthy statement for a person of any faith, to be sure.
In the meantime, I plan to keep working on the Deacons USA site–particularly the Google Sites component that provides each deacon in the diocese with the opportunity to launch a fairly interactive website without special software or much technical knowledge. Let me know what you think, if you have a chance to check out the Country Deacon site. It’s rough: I’m “thinking out loud” right now. Not really publicizing the site to many folks.
Thanks!
————————————————————-
Closing Down…
Updated 14 July 2008
The Deacon Formation page here at Gospel Hill Posts has seen A LOT of activity over the past 17 months. Although my original thought had been to create a collaborative space here, the actual page became more of a vehicle for sharing things we have in common, not just class assignments.
Now that Ordination 2008 is behind us, we’re starting anew. As I reflected about ordination in “They presented seven men to the apostles…”, I realized that this area of the blog needs to be revamped.
I’ve consolidated the posts from this page and the “In Formation” page to create a single, public space: Diakonia. This public page is devoted to reflections, resources and information on the Permanent Diaconate. The collaborative space for deacons in the Diocese of Syracuse will be in Deacons USA.
————————————————————–
Saying “Good-bye”, Brothers!
Posted 15 May 2008
Donnie, Anthony, Bill and all the rest… I’m taking a break from last-minute “ordination preparations” (like helping to get the house ship-shape for the big celebration!) to say a short bloggers “good-bye”. After next month’s classes, each of you will be a BMOC (yeah, Big Man on Campus).
Hardest for me is knowing that we won’t be returning next year. I sure I speak for all of us when I say that you will each be missed very much. Despite these inevitable feelings of loss though is the reassurance that you soon-to-be 3rd year guys will do a terrific job orienting all of those “newbies”!
Saturday’s Ordination is less than 48 hours away…
Whew!
——————————————-
Introducing: Deacons USA
Posted 18 March 2008
Categories: Religion, Ministry
Fellow deacon candidates, aspirants and ordained,
I am in the process of launching a new website for all of the deacons and the men in formation, Deacons USA (http://www.deacons.us). My goal is to create a collaborative space for deacons, and those in formation in the Diocese of Syracuse, N.Y., USA. Since I am very familiar with the Google Apps suite, deacons.us will take full advantage of e-mail, web hosting, Google Docs, and the new Google Sites (formerly JotSpot) that will provide each of us with a wiki-type space.
I have posted a version of this introduction on the Deacons Place Forum, because I have found the forum to be a great resource for answers to questions that have come up during my formation. I hope to continue to be involved in forum discussions in the future.
However, Deacons USA will provide us with a vehicle for reaching out to those Catholics in our diocese who are Internet-oriented, searching for information, inspiration and affirmation about their faith. In the past 16 months I have been able to accomplish this to some extent through my Gospel Hill Posts blog.
I’m looking for ideas, suggestions–however outlandish–about how you believe Catholics (and those seeking what the Catholic faith offers) can be reached in “cyberspace”. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
Please keep our group of eight men and our wives in your prayers. Our ordination is close at hand: May 17, 2008.
——————————————-
Reverential or Reactionary
Posted 27 February 2008
Categories: Ministry, Relgion
Below is the link to the full Zenit article. Background on the original indult can be found at the USCCB link below.
Zenit Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-21895?l=english
USCCB Committee on the Liturgy: http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/current/norms.shtml
——————————————-
Celebrating the 40th year of the Permanent Diaconate in the U.S.
Posted 20 February 2008
Categories: Ministry, Religion
Thanks to Jo at the Deacons’ Place Forum for bringing Deacon Keith Fournier’s article on The Catholic
Deacon at Catholic Online to our attention. The upcoming Feast of the Chair of Peter on 22 February is an excellent time to celebrate the 40th year of the institution of the Permanent Diaconate in the United States, since, as Dc. Fournier points out: “This feast has long been an occasion to honor all the Church’s clergy since the first century [..] an appropriate occasion to issue statements regarding the formation and work of permanent deacons, since they are such an important part of the clergy; participating in its missionary and pastoral service.”
You can follow the Catholic Online link above directly to Deacon Fournier’s article, or click on the link below for a full hypertext pdf of his article as well as the complete pdf of the 2004 USCCB’s National Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons.
——————————————-
What is a Deacon? Visit the Deacons’ Place Forum!
(from the Deacons’ Place Forum)
Jo
Moderator – Username: Jo
Post Number: 992
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Sunday, December 23, 2007 – 11:35 am:
Deacon Steve and his wife Melissa Miller talk about the Permanent Diaconate. He serves as the Diocesan Director of Formation for the Diocese of Lafayette.
http://www.dioceseoflafayette.org/offices/diaconate/diaconate%20home.html .
Learn about the role and formation of deacons in the local church as well as some of the duties they perform. Deacon Steve also addresses common questions and distinctions of the diaconate from the priesthood from a historical and practical perspective.
http://musicwellness.podhoster.com/index.php?sid=723&pid=5066
quote:
“Be the change that you want to see in the world.” Gandhi
——————————————-
From the Deacon’s Bench
Thanks to Dc. Greg Kandra at The Deacon’s Bench blog for bringing the cover article of the latest U.S. News & World Report: “A Return to Ritual”. Spend a few moments with the pdf below and let me know what you think.
——————————————-
From the Deaconsplace Forum
Vatican, Cardinal Hummes introduces a new resource:
“We have now decided to expand the electronic library, which represents for all of you a valuable means for studying and preaching. But the novelty I have the pleasure to offer you is the opening of a new Web page BibliaClerus (www.bibliaclerus.org), which presents, in Web format, a service which had made its appearance two years ago in CD Rom format, containing a multilingual presentation of the Bible (Hebrew, Greek, Lat�n, Italian, Spanish, English, French, German, and Portuguese), enriched with the interpretation “verse-by-verse” of Tradition and the Magisterium, with fruits and anthologies of theology, spirituality, and liturgy. In this Bible you can find the liturgy daily readings with the commentary of the Holy Fathers.”
—————————————————————
At the Rectory
Posted 11 Dec 2007
Categories: Religion, Ministry, Reflections
A year and a half ago when I took on the responsibility of the instructional and information technology at a second small public school in New York’s Catskill Mountains, my wife suggested that I consider staying overnight each week to eliminate a commute and provide a bit more flexibility in my work schedule. She offered an excellent idea… one that, through some truly providential turns, evolved in my staying one night each week at the Rectory of the Church of the Holy Family in Downsville, New York. Not only has it eliminated a commute and freed my Wednesdays for ministry, it has also enriched my life in a way that’s difficult to capture in words.
The Rectory no longer provides a home for a Priest because the pastors in recent years cover three parishes in this rural upstate New York region in the Diocese of Albany. The largest of the churches, in Walton, is also the home parish for the priest, as is its Rectory. Aside from weekend use of the Rectory for religious education classes, occasional church-related gatherings and meetings, the Rectory is unoccupied.
My routine here is almost always the same: work a very long day at the two schools; prepare a late evening supper, pray vespers then study for my Deacon Formation classes. I’m usually up early the next day, eating a simple breakfast and completing Morning Prayers before walking two houses down the street to school. The Rectory has become a home-away-from-home now.
My thanks to Fr. Frisoni and the parishioners at the Church of the Holy Family for extending the Rectory to me. This evening, as I was finishing my Evening Prayers, I was moved by the aura of the past religious experiences that have accumulated within these walls over the years. At the Rectory in a small way communicates how the Rectory and I interact each week. A relationship worth relishing!
At the Rectory
“Men of the cloth” once lived here.
Now, amid the dusty furniture,
walls patterned with cracks,
a ghost of a shadow lingers
behind a crucifix.
Echoes of footsteps and murmurs
of vespers. Prayers uttered…
some answered and some still
slowly reverberating in the rooms
waiting for a reply.
I learn something about myself
each night that I am here.
How? A mystery… but I do.
Syllable by syllable the kyrie’s
seep into my soul.
Absorbed, yes, absolved, too…
just for a few hours,
until day dawns
and this world asserts itself
all too earnestly. Amen.
—————————————————————
“SPE SALVI facti sumus”—in hope we were saved
Posted 30 Nov 2007
Categories: Religion, Ministry
—————————————————————
Stem Cell Research Breakthrough
Posted 20 Nov 2007
Today I was astonished to hear on the airwaves and see the web news services full of the latest breakthrough in stem cell research: with potentially far-reaching implications beyond embryonic stem cell research. I’ve uploaded two articles: NY Times analysis with a strong secular slant, as well as a Zenit post.
NY Times on Stem Cell Breakthrough
Stem Cell Breakthrough Hailed by Catholic Think Tank
—————————————————————
What a Deacon Can Do
ROME, OCT. 2, 2007 (Zenit.org). – Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: In our parish we have a temporary overseas priest and a married deacon. During Benediction our married deacon consistently wears the full vestments that a priest wears for Benediction; says the Divine Praises; and elevates the monstrance while the overseas priest either sits watching in the pew or acts as an acolyte, swinging the thurible. The priest only wears an alb or even just plain clothes with no vestments, and remains kneeling. Several parishioners are much disturbed and have said so. I have asked the deacon why he wears the priest’s vestments. His answer: “I’m an ordained minister.” My reply was, “But you are not a priest.” I asked, “Who has given you authority to do this?” He stated that the bishop has. There are other irregularities which he persists in during the Mass. He stands throughout the prayers; takes the host from the ciborium given to him by the overseas priest; mouths the doxology; and even holds the paten containing the host. — R.I., state of New South Wales, Australia
A: Some distinctions should be made. Although the deacon is an ordained minister, he is of a lower grade than a priest and therefore he should not preside over the community if a priest is present.
Therefore in normal cases a deacon may not give a blessing, and even less so Benediction, if a priest is present and available.
He may do so if the priest is legitimately impeded, for example, if the priest were hearing confessions during exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and could not leave the confessional to impart Benediction.
In those cases where the deacon legitimately imparts Benediction, either because there is no priest or the priest is impeded, the deacon may wear the same vestments as the priest: the stole albeit worn in the manner of a deacon, the cope and the humeral veil. He may also recite or sing the same prayers as the priest. He does not need any special permission from the bishop to wear these vestments as the rubrics already foresee it.
The other actions that our correspondent describes are aptly termed irregularities. The deacon should usually kneel for the consecration, silently hold up the chalice (not the paten) for the doxology, and should always receive Communion from the priest and not self-communicate.
Rather than any special permission or dispensation from the bishop (who is unlikely to dispense from basic liturgical law for no reason), such errors are more probably due to bad habits and imperfect liturgical formation. The person responsible for correcting them is the pastor, the priest celebrant, or even the bishop if the local priest is unwilling.
When a deacon is ordained he promises the bishop and the Church that he is willing to carry out the diaconal service with humility and love as a cooperator of the priestly order and for the good of the Christian people. If he lives up to his promise, then he will gladly correct any errors that might have crept in.
The Web site of the U.S. bishops’ conference has a useful document “The Deacon at Mass,” based on the latest norms from the Holy See.
* * *
Follow-up: What a Deacon Can Do
Posted 16 Oct 2007 – from ZENIT
Daily dispatch – October 16, 2007
(Note: This is follow-up to the post above. Interesting to read this “debate”!)
Two readers offered friendly criticism of an expression used in my Oct. 2 column on what a deacon can and cannot do.
One wrote: “Father McNamara says that the deacon is of a ‘lower grade’ of order than a priest. While such a designation might be accurate in terms of reflecting the liturgical faculties associated with the diaconate, it seems to suggest that a deacon is in some way subservient to a priest, which I believe is a trivialization of the ordained ministry of service. Rather than a strict hierarchical construct in which the line might be a straight one from bishop to priest to deacon, my understanding of the diaconate, traditionally and in our contemporary context, is that the ordained deacon is directly accountable to the bishop. That is, of a class of order unique to itself.”
Another added: “You state that the deacon is a lower grade than a priest. ‘Lumen Gentium,’ No. 29, does indeed say ‘at a lower level of hierarchy are deacons,’ but it does go on to say ‘in communion with the Bishop and the presbyterate.’ So though there is a hierarchical difference between deacon and priest, and of course bishop and priest, there is also a fundamental unity and communion. Talk of lower grades by itself does not seem to me to do justice to this understanding of Vatican II.
“I do not think priests would welcome being told they are a lower grade than bishops, full stop. That would again not do justice to a proper understanding of priesthood and their share in the high priesthood of Christ to which a bishop is ordained.” The writer went on to say that a deacon is an ordained minister, who, like a priest, shares in the apostolic ministry of the Church “but with a distinct, different and differentiated but not lesser ministry than the priest.”
While I appreciate both the interest and the sincere friendliness of these observations, I believe that the term is technically accurate from the point of view of the sacrament of orders. Bishop, priest and deacon are not three separate sacraments but different levels (or grades or degrees) of the one sacrament of holy orders.
Each level has its own value and its proper sphere of ministry and specific liturgical functions. Yet, they are not simply three distinct modes of orders but are indeed hierarchically structured. The deacon has many particular functions, but insofar as he is at the service of the Eucharistic mystery his ministry necessarily depends upon and is related to the priestly ministry, not as subservience but as service.
Given that the Eucharist is the center and lifeblood of the Church, all other possible diaconal ministries such as celebrating baptism and matrimony ultimately flow from the priest’s Eucharistic ministry.
However, the priest’s Eucharistic ministry, and hence the deacon’s relatedness to him, in turn depends on the bishop and finally upon Christ himself as the foundation of all the sacraments.
In this sense of sacramental and hierarchical communion and interdependence, it is no slight to a deacon to state the fact that his is a lower grade of the sacrament of orders, just as the priest’s dignity is in no way demeaned by saying that he is at a lower grade of orders compared to the bishop. This is implied in the Latin text of the prayer of priestly ordination which asks that the candidate receive the second grade or degree of priestly ministry.
For this reason I believe that our first correspondent’s affirmation regarding the deacon and priest’s direct accountability to the bishop confuses two distinct spheres. One thing is that all clerics depend directly upon the bishop with regard to assignments and ministries; another is the specific liturgical functions, which depend on the nature of the sacrament itself.
As stated in the previous article, among the practical consequences of this sacramental reality is that the deacon should not ordinarily preside over the assembly whenever a priest is present and available, just as a priest should not normally preside over the assembly in the presence of a bishop.
There may be some legitimate exceptions to this general rule, but I believe that it is important to recognize that this rule is grounded in the nature of the sacrament and is not a mere question of protocol and human criteria.
—————————————————————
Purification of Sacred Vessels
Posted 26 February 2008
I found this follow-up to an earlier Q&A to Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum University, quite interesting. For those of us who have already received the ministries of Reader and Acolyte, Fr. McNamara’s explanations about distribution of the Eucharist, purification of sacred vessels and the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church may certainly challenge us to reevaluate how “relaxed” many of our parishes have become with regard to Holy Eucharist.
What do you think? Below is the link to the full Zenit article. Background on the original indult can be found at the USCCB link below.
Zenit Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-21895?l=english
USCCB Committee on the Liturgy: http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/current/norms.shtml
—————————————————————
[...] Diakonia – What’s in a Word? [...]
[...] Diakonia – What’s in a Word? [...]
[...] Diakonia – What’s in a Word? [...]