Worship Times

Synergy

The date for the special for Synod of Bishops for the Americas has been set for Nov. 16-Dec. 12. The synod will take place in Rome, and the theme is: "Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: Way to Conversion, Communion and Solidarity."

The synod organizers have asked for a wide range of input -- even from the laity -- in forming the synod agenda ("How You Can Participate in the Next Synod," ML 24:3). A synod of European bishops is scheduled for the spring of 1999.

Sanitary sacrament

Last year, ML reported on communion go-cups for those who wanted their own untouched-by-human-hands sacrament ("Worship Times" ML 23:2). Somebody must have said their prayers because now the infernal things have won a prize. According to a press release by the Flexible Packaging Association, the Holy Communion Cup -- manufactured by Hueck Foils -- is among the winners of the 1996 Top Packaging Awards. The association says these awardable cups resemble "single-serve coffee creamers." They hold an unleavened bread wafer on top of a lidded cup of grape juice. Sold to Protestant churches in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, as well as through Christian bookstore chains, they eliminate concerns about hygiene. ML DOES in fact recall being concerned about hygiene while recently visiting a bookstore chain. In fact, ML hopes some innovative sacramental supply house will soon develop one of those wet-nap pouches that use holy water instead of alcohol on the cloth. That way, instead of getting doused with who-knows-what-kind of aquatic parasites during the Eastertide sprinkling rites, we could just dab ourselves with our individual blessing pads.

Flexible packaging, according to the association, is the second largest segment of the $100 billion U.S. packaging market.

Holy things for the holy

Have you been feeling holier than Thou lately? You may have good reason to. "The couple" is the most widely practiced model of holiness for Christians, according to ROBERT P. MOLONEY, C.M., in the February 15 issue of AMERICA. Moloney describes the classic models of holiness from Christian tradition, including "the martyr," "the ascetic," "the contemplative," and "the servant." Many of the saints exhibited traits in each of these models. "But," says Moloney, "while each of these models can be an effective springboard to holiness, especially when complemented by the other models, they all have a somewhat 'privatizing' ring about them. In an age in which we emphasize the role of the community in the quests for holiness (we are baptized into THE CHURCH; we celebrate the liturgy AS A COMMUNITY), the four models speak very much of the individual. In that sense, they leave something to be desired."

Married couples, according to Moloney, "work out their holiness TOGETHER." For that reason, "the couple" model of holiness is more appropriate for today's church. The advantages of this model are that it has wide applicability (most Christians are married), and the model is communal. The Christian couple "pledges to mirror the union of Christ and his church, to work our their holiness together. This communal dimension of the model corresponds to the reality of the following of Christ, which always takes place in company with others."

Some of the married saints in history include Mary and Joseph, Priscilla and Aquila, Justinian and Theodora (482-565, from the Orthodox tradition), St. Stephen and Blessed Gisela (11th century) and Isidore of Madrid and Maria de la Cabeza (12th century).

Moloney concludes, "Will the third millennium bring us canonizations of 'saintly couples'? I hope so."

And if the people of St. Verena's Parish in Volkertshausen, Germany, have there way, some of those married saints might be priests. The parish councils of St. Verenažs and three other nearby parishes have asked members of The German Union of Married Priests to preside at Sunday Eucharist for them when the regular pastor the four parishes share is unavailable, according to a report by PATRICIA LEFEVERE in the February 21 issue of the NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER. The first such liturgy was scheduled for January 19 and was to be led by HEINZ-JURGEN VOGELS, a married priest who is the union's president. However, the archbishop of the area intervened and required that the parishioners celebrate a Liturgy of the Word instead.

The union and the parishioners are basing their request to allow the celebration of Mass with a married priest on Canon 1335 from the Code of Canon Law. According to the canon, a censured priest may celebrate the sacraments "whenever a member of the faithful requests a sacrament ... for any just cause whatsoever."

Nevertheless, it is within the power of a bishop to forbid married priests from presiding at the Eucharist within his own diocese -- which is what the local archbishop did in a general decree following the attempted Mass.

Fr. JAMES H. PROVOST, a U.S. canon lawyer, sees the German example as an exception that ought to be interpreted strictly, according the Lefevere's report. Provost said the ancient law of the church is that married men can be ordained, but ordained men can't marry. Such is currently the law with permanent deacons. They may be ordained if they are married but may not remarry if they are widowed.

60,000 men have been officially dispensed from the priesthood since 1964 and another 30,000 have been married in civil ceremonies, bypassing official dispensation. Lefevere's report includes information from a pastoral letter written by Bishop KENNETH UNTENER of Saginaw, Michigan, in which he wrote that one quarter of the world's parishes are without a resident priest.

Sermon surfing

Looking for some homiletic inspiration for this coming Sunday? Sign on to the Sermon Mall on the internet. The material is based on the Revised Common Lectionary which has a lot of overlap with the Roman Lectionary. Currently, you can sign on for free, but eventually, the service will be fee-based. Anybody who logs in is asked to submit a homily for possible posting on the site. You can browse what fellow preachers have to say about the texts for the week or the season. The site also includes a Visual Parables area in which current movies are discussed in the context of the Gospel. Other features planned for the future include Funeral Resources, Wedding Boutique, Humor Center, And Sacramental Gourmet. Go to http://www.homiletics.com.