Pastoral Letter on Liturgy
Extra-ordinary ministry, while outside of what is ordinary, is a wonderful way of involving men and women in the Church today. Having said that, the extraordinariness of such ministry must be appreciated correctly. Not in order to jealously guard the status of the ordained, but precisely in order to avoid rivalry, envy, false messages, the blurring of clerical roles and other confusing signals. Such ministry cannot be treated lightly and certainly not as something routine or automatic. Respect for canon law in this area is an important indicator of the maturity of one's ecclesiology, of one's love and understanding of the Mystical Body of Christ. Much more "extraordinary" does the special role of the extraordinary minister appear when accurately seen as entering into the sacramental sphere of RITUAL LEADERSHIP AND RITUAL REPRESENTATION normally reserved for the ordained! Correctly grasped, it allows the extraordinary minister to better recognize the TRUE DIGNITY OF HIS OR HER TASK, as well as the EXTREME PRIVILEGE of being able to share in that service. It furthermore places into perspective the inviolable quality of the mystery, the SACREDNESS of ecclesial liturgical worship. All of this is obscured when extraordinary ministry becomes something we can expect; all of this is lost to – even assaulted by – attitudes of individual achievement, promotion, comparative competition, or personal need filling. The idea of rendering help, of responding to a concrete necessity for additional service, says everything about extraordinary ministry. Feelings of possessing a right to such ministry have no place in the selfless generosity that ministry appeals to. Rejoice in the grandeur of your ministry! Take it not for granted – lest you belittle your-selves and your very actions and, alas, as an agent of contradiction, insult the will of God who has greater things in store: "The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" (Eph 4:11-13) – who, in essence, is the One Liturgist of the One Liturgy.
* How does the communion procession in your parish join
people together to receive the Lord? How does the
reverence of the people in the procession honor the
presence of Christ in the Eucharistic elements?
* How does the music in the communion rite help unify the
assembly in procession? Is Communion carried to the sick
from the Sunday Mass?
*What needs to happen that the liturgical assembly can
receive Eucharist from bread consecrated at this Mass?
How can your community introduce Communion from the cup?
* Is ongoing education and formation offered to the
extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion?
CONCLUDING RITES
Immediately after the post communion prayer, any necessary announcements are made about activities of the parish. The assembly is blessed and sent forth "in the peace of Christ." This is a profound movement, because just as the community was gathered together with much care and thought, it is sent forth to carry the Liturgy to the world. This is the moment when all are commissioned to "Go" and live the liturgy. It is the moment where liturgy is linked with evangelization. A concluding song helps send the community forth to be the presence of Christ in their community.
SUMMARY REMARKS
The challenge of our times is that we must help the people in our care to 'live from the Liturgy.' If the Liturgy is the 'source and summit' of our life, we need to help people learn how to bring their cares and concerns to the Sunday assembly and let the
Lord transform them. Careful attention should be given to the way in which we invite people into the full, conscious, active participation in the Paschal Mystery of Christ. The experience of strong, inviting ritual can carry the Church from Sunday to Sunday. People do not want to be, nor need to be, entertained and passive. They want to become energized in the challenging, but life-giving work of the Liturgy, praising and thanking God, recalling the saving deeds of Christ and interceding for all the world. Our Liturgy demands attention to beauty, for in the experience of beauty (environment, ritual or music), we come to know the One who is beautiful – God, the Most High.
We who were gathered with tenderness in the house of the Lord are sent forth to carry the liturgy to the world, to bear the same love of God to all men in all places at all times. The very name of the Mass ("Missa") comes from the Latin root for "sending." This denomination has its origin in the concluding formula of the Mass: "Ite, missa est," telling us that the Mass is completed, dismissing us, and sending us forth to transmit what we have received. Our most sublime liturgy, therefore, is designated with reference to the very mission of going forth into the world to be the presence of Christ, to serve our brothers and sisters by bringing the love of Christ, whom we have just received, to the world. "The Roman rite has always been a form of worship that looks to mission. This is why it is comparatively brief: there was much to be done outside the Church; and this is why we have the dismissal 'Ite, missa est,' which gives us the term 'Mass': the community is sent forth to evangelize the world in obedience to Christ's command (cf. Mt. 28:19-20)." (John Paul II, Ad limina address to the Bishops of Region XII, 1998). The entire Christian life is liturgical, a continual procession from God to the world (through the humanity of Christ in which we share) and from the world to God (through that same humanity). This is what it means for the Church to be the sacrament of Christ to the world. The Church's life of worship, by its very nature, brings life to the world. "Go forth to love and serve the Lord," to bring heaven to earth and earth to heaven. As the Father sends the Son, so Jesus sends us.
