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Sharings
Tired of playing the crowdDear Editor,I hope you can give me some more help. We are looking for a different way to do the Passion readings for Palm Sunday and Good Friday. We have been using the readings in a worship aid. We are sick of them and the assembly has their faces in the books, waiting for their parts. Could you please tell me where I could find some new ways to read the Passion? B.J. Levad
Donna Cole responds: It’s understandable that you’re unhappy with the Passion as printed in the common worship aids. You should be. They do damage to the flow of the text and force the assembly into the role of the unenlightened, frenzied crowd. The Gospels and the Passion accounts are no exception; they are meant to be proclaimed and should never be “read along.” The best way to ensure this is to have readers who are true proclaimers and to remove the text from the hands of the assembly. One resource for doing this is The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, prepared and with notes by George R. Szews (Liturgical Training Publications, $7). This version breaks the Passion text by pericope rather than by “speaker” so that the text flows more smoothly. It also provides for sung acclamations at specific points throughout the text. You might consider using a verse from “Were You There” or “O Sacred Head” or some other appropriate piece at the musical breaks. You will need one copy for each of the three readers and one for the music minister (no photocopying please), but even at that, this is an economical way to present the Passion well. Resounding chordDear Editor,Rarely have I ever been motivated to write to a discussion board or magazine publisher about an article or an issue, but this time I must. Don’t worry, this is positive. I read the issue with much interest, as usual. Perhaps this time a little bit more as a number of the articles struck a resonating chord in me. As musician as well as priest I read with amusement Frank Karl’s article “Music Ministry Transitions” [ML 28:8]. In fact, the way he describes the more typical introduction of new music ministers in a parish is, unfortunately, the way our new organist, hired very quickly, was greeted at the job here. (“Here’s our hymnal, we don’t know much, help.”) Well, maybe not quite that abruptly, but not far from it. As you can imagine, after reading this article I am going to have to remedy the situation. Further on, Mary Testin’s column (“The Rite Stuff”) made me both laugh and pause for some serious thought. She touched on a number of my own pet peeves. I hope that she is going to be doing more on this subject, carrying through the whole liturgy. There are so many things that we need to be reminded of. Too often have I heard clergy remark that such things really don’t matter. Oh, but they do! To see their import, all we need do is look at how the assembly/congregation/people of God celebrate, and we can tell much about the clergy leading them. Thanks, Mary, for reminding us that even the little things make a big difference. Father Paul Bombardier
Art not safetyDear Editor,I just received the October issue [ML 28:8] and found “Missing: Great Religious Art” one of the most thought-provoking articles I’ve ever read. I appreciate the courage it took for you to print this article. I would like to expand on what Wiktor Szostalo wrote. Many, far too many, only like art that they are familiar with. I taught art for 13 years in public schools. The problem goes much deeper than he realizes. Art becomes hard to understand when we become separatists, alienating ourselves from each other, and when we specialize our knowledge and skills to a point where we don’t see the connection and significance of what everyone is contributing. Many people want to raise the aesthetics of our buildings and places of worship. It is important to challenge the mind, to go beyond what is safe and comfortable, which often translates into the mundane, due to fear and little understanding. Charlotte Ann Paul
Not art?Dear Editor,It was with revulsion that I received the October issue [28:8] of Ministry & Liturgy with the cover in triplicate of the gruesome “Way of the Cross.” My feelings would have been the same even if it wasn’t the same week as the carnage we all witnessed on Sept. 11. I forgive you for publishing it, but why? I found the article by the sculptor Wiktor Szostalo (“Missing: Great Religious Art”) very negative in regards to the art in the churches of the United States. And his “Way of the Cross” is art? Sister Laurena Alflen, OP
Shot in the armDear Editor,Thank you for this wonderful issue [ML 28:8]. It was full of practical ideas from start to finish. Also, it was a good shot in the arm for the fall season, because, like it or not, we all feel as though we are starting a new year in the fall. Perhaps this is because rehearsals start up and so does religious education. I would like to see some ideas for retreats for music ministers in upcoming issues. My music ministers would like to have a retreat and I have never hosted one before. Julie Ciurleo
What do YOU Think?
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