As I have indicated in a previous Liturgy Matters article, we have been facilitating a lot of liturgy formation, particularly in the Maitland Catholic Region where today, 25 people participated in the second retreat formation day, ‘Ministering at Two Tables’. About 40 people participated in the same formation on Saturday 26 October.

As I was doing my final preparation for that Saturday, I was reminded of one of my favourite Pope Francis quotes about liturgy.

The liturgy is the work of Christ and of the Church, and as such it is a living organism, like a plant, which cannot be neglected or mistreated. It is not a bronze or marble monument; it is not a museum piece. The liturgy is living, like a plant, and should be cultivated with care. Furthermore, the liturgy is joyous, with the joy of the Spirit, not of a worldly feast, with the joy of the Spirit. That is why, for example, a liturgy with a funereal tone does not make sense. It is always joyous, because it sings the praises of the Lord.

(Address of his holiness Pope Francis to members of the Italian association of teachers and practitioners of liturgy. Clementine Hall | Thursday, 1st September 2022)

I find the image of liturgy as a living plant which needs constant tending and cultivation not only attractive, but deeply insightful.

‘Tending’ and ‘cultivating’ its sacramental and liturgical life is exactly what the Maitland Catholic Region is doing through its extensive formation journey. The participants’ evaluations so far, indicate insights that will assist them with this work. Some of their most common insights include:

• A deeper appreciation of our rich Catholic understanding of sacrament and liturgy.
• There is far more to Catholic Liturgy than Mass.
• The overall Catholic structure of liturgy, and particularly within Eucharist, with the emphasis on the two tables of Word and Sacrament, so closely related that they form one table from which the people are fed.
• The critical importance of silence.
• That liturgy functions as a dialogue, most importantly in the Liturgy of the Word, where God speaks to God’s people and, having listened, the people respond together.
• The difference between reading and proclaiming. For a start the proclaimer looks at the people and the people look at the proclaimer because God is speaking!
• A deeper understanding of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, particularly that the first element is called ‘The Preparation of the Gifts’. It is not the ‘Offertory’. The offering happens in the Eucharistic Prayer.
• The understanding that informs the Church’s insistence that Communion be given from the altar not the tabernacle. I receive back who I have become! Exceptions to this should be rare.
• Communion is a communal activity, so look at your brothers and sisters in the communion procession. The time for personal prayer is when the communion procession has finished.
• Eye contact between all ministers and the Assembly is critical.
• The celebrant of the liturgy is the Assembly, the people. The priest is the presider.
• Liturgy is a verb not a noun and it is a communal activity, not personal.
• There is far more flexibility and possible diversity than people imagine.

Of course, the chief liturgical gardener in the diocese is the Bishop. He is the one who leads our ‘tending’ and ‘cultivating’ of liturgy. We have all seen over the past eighteen months the care with which Bishop Michael Kennedy tends the liturgical plant in the diocese.

As the chief gardener, Bishop Michael has recently communicated with parishes on two important matters that ‘tend’ our celebration of the Eucharist.

Firstly, on 23 May 2024, he wrote to the clergy, requesting their assistance to ensure people are given communion from the altar rather than the tabernacle, pointing out that this is the expectation of the Church.

It is most desirable that the faithful, just as the Priest himself is bound to do, receive the Lord’s Body from hosts consecrated at the same Mass and that, in the cases where this is foreseen, they partake of the chalice (cf. no. 283), so that even by means of the signs Communion may stand out more clearly as a participation in the sacrifice actually being celebrated.

(General Instruction of the Roman Missal a 85)

Secondly, on 23 October 2024 Bishop Michael wrote to Parish Leaders lifting the restriction on the reception of Communion from the Chalice that was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.  He has asked parishes to discern whether, when and how Communion from the Chalice will be reintroduced within the parish. To assist with this discernment, the Diocesan Liturgy Council has prepared a ‘Pastoral Guidance’ document which is available here. Please approach your Parish Leader if you would like to read Bishop Michael’s letter.

These are just two recent examples of the many ways Bishop Michael tends and cultivates the beautiful living plant that is the liturgical life of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

We all need to participate in this work in our parish and school communities. For the liturgy to be alive and not a museum piece, we all need to take responsibility, we all need to engage in formation, we all need to be open to conversion, and we all need to be the change we would like to see. For a start, we could put aside our missals and parish bulletins, we could look at the people speaking to us, and we could sit up the front. I know, even that sounds like a revolution to some.

At each of the formation sessions in Maitland we have asked people to put aside their personal agendas, and to be attentive and open to what is revealed when we pay attention to what the Church says in its liturgical books and documents. People did that, and their openness to listening and reflecting enabled us all to have wonderfully rich and, dare I say, enjoyable experiences of formation.

How are you, personally and as a member of your community, tending and cultivating the living plant of liturgy? Please let us know if you would appreciate a companion to accompany you and assist in the development of a formation pathway that suits your community. E: worshipandprayer@mn.catholic.org.au

Hopefully, you now appreciate the connection between our three words: plants, altars and chalices. Who would have thought! Keep pondering.

 Diocesan Liturgy Council Update

To keep abreast of the work of the Diocesan Liturgy Council click on the link and then the ‘Council News’ drop-down menu where you will find the latest meeting Report.

Acknowledgements
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