Sacred Liturgy & Sacraments: April 2013 Archives

A book of hymns for the Liturgy of the Hours in Ordinary Time, Eternal Glory of the Skies, provides a translation of hymns from the original Latin by Fr. Harry Hagan, OSB, and Fr. Keith McClellan.

Father Harry, a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey and a teacher of biblical poetry in the Seminary and School of Theology, translated the hymns for Lauds, Daytime Prayer and Compline. Fr. Keith, a priest of the Diocese of Gary, IN, and a former editor and author at Abbey Press in St. Meinrad, translated the hymns.

According to the authors, "These translations build on the poetry of the original text while opening new doors for the Christian imagination. They have been translated in the hope that they will be used in prayer."

The cost of the softcover book is $6.95. Order online.

Frequently do I go to places where certain liturgical practices catch my attention because of the novelty of what is said and heard. We always need a deeper understanding, a profound appreciation for the prayer of the Church as expressed in the sacred Liturgy. Some will say that canon law, particularly liturgical law, is the bad side of the Good News. As Catholics we are part of a Church; as Catholics we are not independent of sacred Scripture, sacred Tradition and the sacred Magisterium; as Catholics we follow a guided companionship on a journey to a deeper communio with the Triune God. We are not Marlboro people; we are, in fact, sheep in flock called to the Holy Synaxis, to the holy in-gathering of a people in Christ, or simply, Church. We have a good shepherd in Jesus and in His successors, that is, the bishops, and we follow the teaching authority of the Christ and His vicars.

This is a long introduction to a question as whether or not priests of monastic communities ought to name the abbot in the Eucharistic Prayer. There seems to be some confusion over this seemingly small, trite matter. It is not small, and it is not trite. We have an ecclesiology, and we have a liturgical practice that ought to be followed because we live our Catholic lives in communion with others. Abbots are minor prelates; they exercise their pastoral authority and power in their monastic community and not in a diocese, and by extension to the dependent priories. An abbot ought not employ the attitude of having a mitre and a crosier so that  you can do whatever you'd like, whenever you'd like, etc.

Can a priest commemorate Abbot X (or even the abbess if in the context of a woman's monastery) along with the pope and the bishop in the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass?

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal gives four titles that may be named in the Eucharistic Prayer: "The Diocesan Bishop, or one who is equivalent to the Diocesan Bishop in law, must be mentioned  by means of this formula: together with your servant N., our Pope, and N., our Bishop (or Vicar, Prelate, Prefect, Abbot)" (no. 149). Each of these offices are  "equivalent to the Diocesan Bishop in law" by virtue of their appointment to act on behalf of the Supreme Pontiff within a particular area.

The second reading in the daily Office of Readings are generally stunning. Most focus on the paschal mysteries, that is, the Mysteries of Easter that we live. As Catholics, are we reborn in the Spirit? You bet we are. It is the consistent teaching of the Church and those we call "the Fathers of the Church." Don't be fooled: Protestants aren't the only ones reborn in baptism (cf. Creed). Today's reading is from the first apology in defense of the Christians by Saint Justin, martyr.

Our new birth, a new humanity, is a baptismal regeneration

Through Christ we received new life and we consecrated ourselves to God. I will explain the way in which we did this. Those who believe what we teach is true and who give assurance of their ability to live according to that teaching are taught to ask God's forgiveness for their sins by prayer and fasting and we pray and fast with them. We then lead them to a place where there is water and they are reborn in the same way as we were reborn; that is to say, they are washed in the water in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the whole universe, of our Savior Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit. This is done because Christ said: Unless you are born again you will not enter the kingdom of heaven, and it is impossible for anyone, having once been born, to re-enter his mother's womb.

An explanation of how repentant sinners are to be freed from their sins is given through the prophet Isaiah in the words: Wash yourselves and be clean. Remove the evil from your souls; learn to do what is right. Be just to the orphan, vindicate the widow. Come, let us reason together, says the Lord. If your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as wool; if they are like crimson, I will make them white as snow. But if you do not heed me, you shall be devoured by the sword. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.