MINISTRY OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE Caroline M. Thomas Paper, $4.95 64 pages, 5½" × 8½" ISBN 0-89390-675-1 View Table of Contents View Excerpt Quantity:

This book is for every member of the assembly. Vatican II calls for "conscious, active, and full participation." What does that mean? This book explores the liturgy step by step and clearly explains the ministry of the members of the assembly at each point.  It encourages understanding by touching on the historical development of parts of the liturgy, explaining the meaning of the actions and responses of the assembly, and identifying items used in the liturgy. It looks briefly at colors and seasons. It's an assembly "how-to" book with inspiration.

About the Author

Caroline Thomas has been involved in liturgy planning since the early 1970's, leading to an MA degree from the University of Santa Clara in 1992. She has worked in parishes as the director of liturgy for over 14 years, and continues to be passionate about the potential of the liturgy to transform its participants.

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Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One—Looking at Liturgy

Chapter Two—Ministry

Chapter Three—We Gather

Chapter Four—We Listen

Chapter Five—We Respond

Chapter Six—We Are Sent Forth

Chapter Seven—The Assembly as an Initiating Community

Chapter Eight—What Are These Things?

Chapter Nine—Liturgical Seasons

Conclusion

Selected Bibliography

Introduction

Ever since Vatican Council II, we have heard that the changes in liturgy were intended to bring about the “conscious, active, and full participation” (GIRM 18) of the assembly. But what does this mean?  Mostly, the phrase has been interpreted to mean that the people are supposed to sing. As a result, much effort has gone into composing new music in the vernacular and introducing it into the liturgy. In addition, the assembly has been expected to recite aloud certain prayers of the liturgy. But this is just scratching the surface.

As a result of the Vatican Council, an entire mindset had to be changed. Before the Council, the Mass was in Latin, which for the most part was understood only by the priest. A dedicated few purchased missals written in English and Latin so they could follow the prayers. Most read devotional prayers or said the rosary.  We described what was going on by saying that the priest “said Mass” while we “heard Mass” or “attended Mass.” As we described the action of the Mass, the priest’s role was active, the assembly’s role was passive.

Since the Vatican Council, we have returned to our origins and now say that liturgy is the “work of the people.”  We now have speaking and singing parts. The most obvious changes were the repositioning of the altar facing the people, with the priest behind it, and the replacement of Latin with the vernacular so that we can readily understand and respond.  Because the format of the Mass remains the same, these changes could be seen as superficial.  Actually, the change is profound. It is a return to the spirit of the liturgy in the early church.

Imagine the very early church. Christians gathered once a week to follow Christ’s command. They chose someone to lead them in prayer, to “preside.” They weren’t passive observers. They prayed together, led by the one they had chosen.  They spoke a common language and had a common understanding that they were gathering to break the bread in Jesus’ memory.

Over the centuries, the Mass became more formal. The language of liturgy, which probably was Aramaic or Hebrew at first, then Greek and Latin, remained Latin for centuries—hence the name “Latin Rite” for the largest segment of the Roman Catholic Church. This was the church’s attempt to remain consistent. As Latin ceased being spoken colloquially, it stopped changing. It had no ambiguous idioms or phrases or words that changed meaning. Eventually, the people, for the most part, ceased to understand it.

In time, the church emphasized the sacrificial aspect of the Mass and the meal aspect diminished in the liturgical consciousness. The sacredness of the sacrifice assumed primary importance, and eventually only the priest was allowed to touch the consecrated bread and wine. The role of the assembly became more and more passive and restricted. The Mass, as originally instituted, was no longer the assembly’s action but that of the ordained ministers and acolytes.

This is in part what Vatican Council II changed. The action of the celebration of Mass was given back to the people. There were other changes. The liturgy was divested of unnecessary repetitions and of superfluous actions and prayers, which had accumulated through the centuries. The Roman Rite, which more clearly showed the meaning of the liturgical celebration, was mostly restored to its “noble simplicity.”

Today, the liturgy includes more Scripture texts. Whereas before the Council there were only two readings, now there are three. Instead of repeating the same readings every year, the liturgy now proceeds through a three-year cycle of readings for Sundays and a two-year cycle for weekdays. Celebrations of the sacraments have been restored to earlier forms that include Scripture readings.

The people are allowed to receive the consecrated host in their own hands, instead of being “fed” by the priest. Eventually, the reception of the sacred Blood was also restored to the people. All of these changes were part of the plan to return the liturgy (and Sacred Scripture) to the members of the assembly and to emphasize their—our—importance in the celebration.

In this book we will explore what this means in practical terms, what ministry means, how it can be said that being a member of the assembly is a ministry, and what relationship that ministry has to the others within the liturgy. We will look at the role and responsibilities of the assembly in the liturgy and beyond.

For the most part, this book assumes the “usual” weekend liturgy. Weekday Masses omit the Gloria and Creed and have only two readings unless the day is a special feast or solemnity. On special occasions—funerals, weddings, Masses with baptisms, and Palm Sunday, for example—other introductory rites transition directly to the Opening Prayer and take the place of the Act of Penance (formerly called the Penitential Rite) and the Gloria.