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A PASTORAL
LETTER FROM BISHOP MARTINO
Letter to Priests on Celebration of the Liturgy
February
25, 2005
My Dear Priests,
On
April
23, 2004
, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the
Discipline of the Sacraments issued the
Instruction on the Eucharist, Redemptionis
Sacramentum. This Instruction was
given to the Church as the companion
document to Ecclesia de Eucharistia
published one year earlier, in which Pope
John Paul II writes so beautifully about the
relationship between the Eucharist and the
Church. In this encyclical letter, our Holy
Father writes that the Eucharist is “the
most precious possession which the Church
can have in her journey through history,”
(no.9).
Throughout the Church’s history,
the Eucharist has been the central source of
life and holiness, and in every age, great
care and attention has been given to its
celebration so that this wondrous mystery
would not become diminished by the various
misunderstandings of the ages.
In our present age, we are grateful to
God for the many rich blessings the
liturgical reform of the Second Vatican
Council has given to us. The goal of full,
conscious and active participation on the
part of the faithful so earnestly called for
in Sacrosanctum Concilium has
inspired many positive developments in the
liturgical life of the Church. Yet in order
for the faithful to participate fully,
consciously and actively in the Eucharistic
mystery, the rites must be performed with
absolute clarity.
Unfortunately, since the Second
Vatican Council, certain negative
developments have obscured the true meaning
of the Eucharist, and therefore, have
prohibited the faithful from participating
fully in these sacred rites.
One of the principal reasons for the
‘shadows’ which have developed since the
Second Vatican Council is a diminished
understanding of the Mass in its sacrificial
nature. The Eucharist is above all else a
sacrifice.
Sacrosanctum Concilium, no.
47, states so clearly, “...our Savior
instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his
Body and Blood. He did this in order to
perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross
throughout the centuries until he should
come again.” We believe that Jesus is with
us even today, most especially and really
present in the gift of the Eucharist. If we
wish to participate in this gift of his
marvelous presence, we must therefore allow
ourselves to participate fully in the
Sacrifice which brings us to him. As the
sacrifice of the Cross is offered by Jesus
Christ the High Priest, so the Sacrifice of
the Mass is the action of the priestly
office of Jesus Christ.
The Second Vatican Council’s
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen
Gentium, describes the People of God in
virtue of the priesthood of Jesus Christ,
for out of this people he “made a kingdom
and priests to God his Father” (Revelation
1:6). Through the royal priesthood of the
faithful and the ministerial priesthood of
the ordained, this People of God
participates in the priesthood of Jesus
Christ (no. 10). As the Sacrifice of Jesus
Christ the High Priest is perpetuated
through the ages through the Sacred Liturgy,
Redemptionis Sacramentum holds that
the Church’s teaching on the nature of the
Eucharist as pre-eminently a Sacrifice is
one of the principal keys to the full
participation of the faithful in this
Sacrament (no. 38). Thus, in order to bring
to fruition the full, conscious and active
participation in the Eucharist called for by
the Second Vatican Council, this current Instruction
seeks to eliminate those practices which
obscure this most crucial aspect of the
Sacrament of redemption.
The Second Vatican Council clearly
defined the Eucharist as the source and
summit of the whole Christian life. As such,
this treasure must be safeguarded and
promoted by the Church with utmost fidelity
and care. The celebration of the Eucharist
is always an ecclesial event, for the
Eucharist is not the action of mere
individuals, nor is it the work of a
particular gathered human assembly, but
rather is “an exercise of the priestly
office of Jesus Christ.....performed by the
Mystical Body of Christ, both the Head and
His members” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no.7).
The Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy holds that this liturgy is “the
outstanding means by which the faithful can
express in their lives, and manifest to
others, the mystery of Christ and the real
nature of the true Church” (no.2).
In light of the supreme importance the
Church places on the celebration of the
Sacred Liturgy, there is need of rectifying
the ‘shadows’, or abuses, which have
crept into the celebration of the Eucharist,
even in our own day.
These abuses “contribute to the
obscuring of the Catholic faith and the
doctrine concerning this wonderful
sacrament”, and “hinder the faithful
from re-living in a certain way the
experience of the two disciples of Emmaus”
(Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 6).
Whether these misguided liturgical practices
are the result of a false sense of liberty,
or misunderstanding of the Church’s
teaching, the task of the Church at present
is to ensure a conformity to the liturgical
regulations “of thought and of word, of
external action and of the application of
the heart” (ibid., no.5). The
Eucharist, which both gives birth to the
Church and is born of the Church, must be
celebrated with complete transparency to the
norms laid down by the Church, so that its
celebration may more clearly reveal the
transcendent realities which occur therein.
Therefore, having received from the
Holy See the Instruction, Redemptionis
Sacramentum, I now wish to implement in
the Diocese of Scranton the prescriptions
and norms which are contained therein. It is
my intention to implement the contents of
this Instruction in their entirety;
however, I will summarize below certain
areas of the document which will be of
particular concern in the Diocese of
Scranton:
The Regulation of and Participation in the Sacred
Liturgy
While the regulation of the Sacred Liturgy depends
solely on the authority of the Church
specifically expressed by the Apostolic See
and the Bishop, each member of the Body of
Christ is charged with the preservation and
promotion of this sublime gift of grace. The
Diocesan Bishop is the first steward of the
Eucharist, and is the moderator, promoter
and guardian of the liturgical life of the
diocese. Through his ordination as a bishop,
he has received the solemn task of
elucidating the meaning of the sacred rites
and the liturgical texts, and as a result,
it is his duty to regulate, encourage and
reprove in matters pertaining to the
celebration of these sacraments (no. 19).
Within the limits of his competence, he is
to “set forth liturgical norms in his
Diocese, by which all are bound” (no.21).
By this, the Bishop is not to remove the
legitimate liberties provided for in the
liturgical books themselves, but rather to
provide for a unified adherence to
liturgical norms throughout the Diocese.
Priests are indispensable co-workers
of the order of Bishops. They preside at the
Eucharist in persona Christi when the
Bishop is unable to be present, and are
charged with making the Eucharist the center
of parish life. The priest encourages the
faithful in their proper way to take part in
the Eucharistic celebration fully and
actively, yet he never cedes to others what
is properly his role in the Sacred Liturgy.
Also, the priest is charged with supervising
the carrying out of the Sacred Liturgy in
his parish lest abuses occur. Finally, the
priest must never, out of a false sense of
liberty with the liturgical texts and sacred
rites, alter, omit or arbitrarily add words
or rites to the prescribed ritual.
As a distinct rank of the hierarchy, the order of
deacons exists to serve the People of God in
the ministry of the altar, of the word, and
of charity.
Lumen Gentium no. 29 details
this ministry of the deacon as one which is
based in service to the sacramental life of
the Church. Too often however, deacons are
left with the impression that their service
to the liturgy is secondary to their service
to the members of the Body of Christ through
charity. Therefore, deacons are to consider
their service to the celebration of the
Eucharist as primary. Pastors are to extend
to deacons the opportunity to perform their
liturgical ministry on a regular basis, so
that the Eucharist may be given greater
reverence and dignity and clarity.
Deacons are to frequently preside
over celebrations of Exposition and
Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament
outside of Mass, so that this most important
worship of the Holy Eucharist may be made
available to the faithful on a regular
basis. Lastly, Deacons are reminded to do
their part, both through continuing
education and practice, so that the sacred
duties which they perform are in accord with
the liturgical norms set forth by the
Church.
The lay faithful cannot approach the
celebration of the Eucharist apart from
their royal priesthood, for the Sacred
Liturgy is the action of the priesthood of
Jesus Christ, both the Head and His members.
Therefore, the lay faithful are not mere
spectators of the Eucharistic action.
Rather, each one, whether performing a
particular liturgical ministry or function
or taking part in the assembly, offers
himself or herself to the Father in union
with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to the
Father offered by the ordained priest. As
well as joining the particular sacrifices of
their own lives to the Mass, this offering
of self occurs through the listening to and
meditating on the Word proclaimed, the
participation in the actions and gestures
proper to the liturgical celebration, the
contemplation and adoration of the Word made
Flesh, the reception of Holy Communion, and
finally, being sent forth in mission to
bring the saving work of Jesus Christ to the
world. Therefore, the sacrificial meaning of
the Eucharist must be emphasized throughout
the sacred liturgy so that the lay faithful
may more fully participate in its
celebration. For the good of the faithful
therefore, altogether to be abandoned is the
teaching that the Eucharist is only, or even
primarily, the celebration of a communal
meal.
Members of the lay faithful often exercise
ministries or other liturgical functions in
service to the celebration of the Eucharist.
Among the ministries of the lay faithful in
the celebration of Holy Mass are those of
acolyte and lector, as well as extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion. Those who carry
out these important ministries are to
perform these duties according to the
liturgical norms laid down by the Church.
They must faithfully adhere to the teachings
of the Church’s Magisterium as must the
Church’s ordained ministers. Those who
serve the Sacred Liturgy through ministries
such as cantors, psalmists or members of the
choir, and those who perform other
liturgical functions such as ushers and
greeters, are also to adhere faithfully to
the teaching of the Church, and are to carry
out their duties with order, decorum, and
above all, devotion.
Those who are chosen to serve at the altar in the
manner of acolytes are to receive careful
catechesis regarding the sacred mysteries
being celebrated.
Pastors are personally to ensure that
these servers possess an understanding, in
accordance with their power of
comprehension, of the preeminently
sacrificial nature of the Sacred Liturgy as
well as the parts of the Mass. Pastors are
also to provide that servers are familiar
with the vessels and other objects to be
used in the sacred liturgy, and that they
are carefully and frequently trained in the
ceremonial actions pertaining to its
celebration.
The Proper Celebration of Mass
Regarding the
Matt
er
to be used for the Most Holy Eucharist, only
unleavened wheat bread and grape wine may be
used. The bread used must be recently made
so that there is no danger of decomposition.
The practice of adding to the breads
prepared for the Eucharist elements other
than wheat, such as honey, sugar, salt, or
other elements, in any degree, is to cease
immediately, as
well as the use of carbonated or sparkling
waters for the production of these breads. A
recipe for breads to be baked by the local
community may be obtained from the Office
for Parish Life/Worship if needed.
Permission to use low-gluten hosts for those who
suffer from celiac disease, and mustum for
those who are unable to take normal wine,
must be granted by the local ordinary. All
such requests to receive low-gluten hosts or
mustum must be made directly to the Bishop
by the pastor of the parishioner, in each
individual case. Once granted, the
permission to receive communion in this way
endures as long as the condition persists of
the person requesting the permission.
Since the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of
the Eucharist form the Eucharistic Liturgy,
due honor must be given to the proclamation
of the word of God so that the faithful may
then contemplate the Word made Flesh in the
Eucharist. The faithful therefore have the
right to hear the word proclaimed in its
entirety, without alteration. The
Readings
at all Masses are to be taken from the most
recent edition of the Lectionary for
Mass.
The
practice of altering the texts of the
readings for any reason is to cease
immediately. The Responsorial Psalm is to be
given special consideration. Even though it
may be sung, the Responsorial Psalm is as
much the word of God as the other readings
and Gospel. Therefore, the practice of
singing a song other than a psalm at this
time in the Liturgy of the Word is to cease.
Likewise, the practice of using
paraphrases of the psalms at this point in
the Liturgy is also to cease.
Any Responsorial Psalm sung or
recited in the Liturgy of the Word must
conform to the text provided in the
Lectionary.
The homily is to be based upon the mysteries of
salvation. The homily is a presidential
function, and as such, should normally be
given by the priest celebrant of the
Mass.
The homily may also be delegated to a
concelebrant, a non concelebrating priest,
or a deacon. However, the homily may never
be given by a member of the lay faithful,
including seminarians and pastoral
assistants. Should one who is not ordained
be invited to speak at the Holy Mass on
behalf of an organization or missionary
cooperative, this person may not speak
during the Liturgy of the Word. The
acceptable moment for these testimonies is
after the priest has prayed the Prayer after
Communion.
The practice of using flagons or other pitchers or
bowls for containing the Precious Blood is
to be discontinued. No longer will it be
permitted to pour the Precious Blood into
other chalices at the fraction rite.
Therefore, all chalices to be used for the
distribution of Holy Communion must be
present on the altar at the Preparation of
the Gifts.
Whatever wine is to be used for the
celebration is to be poured from cruets or
flagons into the chalices at this time.
The proclamation of the Eucharistic Prayer by the
priest is the climax of the entire
celebration of the
Mass.
The solemnity of this prayer demands
that there be no other songs or prayers
while the priest prays this prayer, except
for the approved acclamations of the people.
The practice of playing instrumental music
while the priest proclaims the Eucharistic
Prayer is to cease.
The entire Eucharistic Prayer is addressed to the
Father. This great prayer culminates with
the final doxology in which the sacrificial
gifts are offered to the Father, to which
the people respond Amen. Therefore,
the subsequent praying of the Our Father
offered by all of the faithful is not
primarily an expression of fraternal
communion, but one of petition to the Father
in Heaven. Thus, the practice of the
assembly joining hands at this time is
inappropriate and therefore must cease,
since this gesture anticipates the oneness
of believers which is not achieved until the
reception of Holy Communion.
The Fraction Rite is carried out by the priest and
the deacon alone.
Extraordinary ministers of Holy
Communion are not to assist with the
breaking of the Eucharistic bread. During
the breaking of the bread, the Lamb of
God is sung. In the General Instruction
of the Roman Missal, no provision is made
for substituting other titles for Lamb of
God, such as King of Kings or Lord
of Lords. Therefore, the Agnus Dei
may be repeated as many times as necessary,
but with the proper invocation.
Holy Communion
The Communion procession is only for those who
present themselves to receive Holy
Communion. The unity of this rite is
adversely affected by the practice of
encouraging those who are not yet able to
receive Holy Communion to come forward for a
blessing instead of receiving Holy
Communion. Therefore, this practice is to
cease. Also forbidden is the distribution of
any other objects at this point in the
Sacred Liturgy.
Since reception of Holy Communion requires that
the believer be free from any grave sin, the
proper disposition to receive Holy Communion
is to be carefully and frequently explained
to the faithful by pastors.
Pastors are to remind the faithful of
the preparation necessary to receive this
sacrament through preaching and other
instruction. All are to be reminded that the
Penitential Rite does not contain the
efficacy of sacramental confession, and
therefore, may not be considered a
substitute for the sacrament of
Reconciliation for the remission of grave
sins.
Pastors are also to see to it that especially
during those ceremonies where Christians of
other ecclesial communities are present for
the Eucharistic celebration, the Church’s
teaching on the reception of Holy Communion
is clearly presented and observed. This is
the case most especially at Nuptial Masses,
when large numbers of persons may not be
aware of the norms regulating the reception
of Holy Communion.
Pastors are asked to renew efforts to allow the
faithful the opportunity to receive Holy
Communion from hosts consecrated at the same
Mass.
This allows the faithful to understand more
fully their participation in the sacrifice
being offered.
Priests are reminded that they are never to wait
until the faithful have received Holy
Communion before receiving Communion
themselves. Also, the occasional practice
whereby the extraordinary ministers of Holy
Communion wait to receive Communion until
after they have distributed Communion to the
faithful is to be discontinued. Should
extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion
assist at Mass, they should receive after
has himself received Holy Communion, and
then proceed to distribute the Sacrament to
the assembly.
When Holy Communion is offered to the assembly
under both species, care is to be taken that
the faithful understand the Church’s
teaching regarding this practice. In
particular, pastors are to accompany this
practice with frequent catechesis on the
doctrine of concomitance, which states that
under the species of bread or wine, the
whole Christ is received.
Pastors are reminded that whatever Precious Blood
remains after distribution must be consumed
immediately by the priest, deacon or
extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in
its entirety. The Precious Blood is not to
be poured into the sacrarium.
Other
Matt
ers
Concerning the Eucharist
A great balance must be obtained in the life of
the priest regarding the regular celebration
of the
Mass.
On the one hand, it is earnestly recommended
that priests celebrate Mass daily, even if
the faithful are not present, since by
celebrating Mass, priests fulfill their
principal role. On the other hand, masses
are not to be multiplied contrary to the
norms of the law. Canon 905, § 1, states,
“It is not licit for a priest to celebrate
the Eucharist more than once a day except
for certain instances when the law permits
such celebration or concelebration more than
once.” Canon 905, § 2, states, “If
priests are lacking, the local ordinary may
permit priests, for a just cause, to
celebrate twice a day, and even, if pastoral
need requires it, three times on Sundays and
holy days of obligation.” Priests are
reminded that observance of these canons is
not optional. The local ordinary has the
power to grant permission to be dispensed
from this canon only in occasional
instances. A permanent dispensation can only
be granted by the Holy See. As always, the
norms concerning Mass stipends (canons
945-958) must be strictly observed. In the
Diocese of Scranton, monies from the
offerings for Masses from binations/trinations
are to be forwarded to the Chancellor of the
Diocese for the purpose of the Seminarian
Endowment Fund.
Unless they are excused by a good reason, priests
who attend a celebration of the Eucharist
should, especially when the Eucharist is
being celebrated by the local Bishop, take
part in the celebration as concelebrants.
Any priest in good standing who presents
himself for Mass, even when he is unknown to
the celebrant, should be allowed to
concelebrate at a Mass, provided he is able
to provide the necessary identification. To
this end, all priests who will be going out
of the diocese for vacation or any other
purpose are strongly encouraged to request
from the Chancery office an updated celebret,
which is valid for the span of one year.
Sacred Vessels
The vessels to be used to contain the sacred Body
and Blood of the Lord during the celebration
of the Eucharist and during its reposition
in the tabernacle must in every way be
considered beautiful and precious, so that
their use may never contribute to a
diminishment in the doctrine of the Real
Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic
species.
Therefore, it is recommended that
these vessels be made of precious metals,
such as gold or silver. However, other solid
materials which are considered precious,
such as ebony or hard woods, provided these
materials do not break easily, may be used.
The practice of using for the Eucharist
vessels made from earthenware, clay, or
glass is to be discontinued. Catalogues
containing noble and beautiful vessels at
non prohibitive costs can be obtained
through the Office for Worship.
Sacred Vestments
The vestment proper to the priest celebrant at
Mass is the chasuble, which is to be worn over
the alb and stole. All practice contrary to
this norm, including the omitting of the
stole, is to be discontinued. For
concelebrants, when a chasuble of the
prescribed color is not available, the use
of the stole over the alb is permitted.
Also, permission is given to concelebrants
other than the principle celebrant to wear a
white chasuble over the alb and stole
instead of the prescribed color.
The vestment proper to the deacon is the dalmatic,
which is to be worn over the alb and stole.
Whenever possible, it is recommended that
the deacon not omit the dalmatic, so that
the beauty of the Church’s tradition may
be preserved.
The practice of celebrating or even concelebrating
the Holy Mass without the proper vesture is
to cease immediately. This includes
celebrating or concelebrating Mass without
vestments, or acting as principal celebrant
in alb and stole only, or concelebrating in
a stole over a religious habit without an
alb or over common clothing without an alb.
Eucharistic Worship Outside of Mass
The practice of adoring the Blessed Sacrament
outside of the Eucharistic celebration is to
be highly encouraged. This worship, which
prepares the mind and soul of the believer
for eventual reception of the Body and Blood
of the Lord in Holy Communion, is to be made
available as often as possible to the
faithful. Adoration of the Most Blessed
Sacrament may occur simply as time before
the tabernacle, or before the Eucharist more
solemnly exposed in the monstrance, and even
with Benediction.
When exposed, there should be no time when the
Blessed Sacrament is left unattended, even
for the briefest interval of time. Pastors
are encouraged to work with parishioners so
that this adoration may be available to the
faithful as often as possible, yet never to
the detriment of the norms laid down by the
Church. Pastors should be reminded that
hosts used for Exposition should be renewed
regularly, never remaining unchanged for
more than two weeks.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
Among the services which the lay faithful render
to the Church is service as an extraordinary
minister of Holy Communion. It is altogether
laudable that men and women have so
faithfully given themselves to this service.
It must always be kept in mind however, that
Bishops, Priests and Deacons are the
ordinary ministers of Holy Communion.
Therefore, the service of extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion may not be
rendered when there are sufficient numbers
of able ordinary ministers present at a
given Eucharistic celebration, even if the
extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion
had been already assigned to carry out this
role.
Pastors are reminded that the assigning of
extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion is
not to be done in order to give a greater
participatory role to the faithful; for this
demeans the full, conscious and active
participation rendered by the faithful as
they offer themselves along with Jesus
Christ to the Father through the prayers,
hymns, silence, adoration and reception of
the Eucharist in the Mass. Rather, the
service which extraordinary ministers of
Holy Communion render is supplemental to the
role of the ordinary ministers.
The extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion
should not approach the altar until after
the priest has received Holy Communion
himself. To be discontinued is the practice
of having the extraordinary ministers
approach the altar at the Lord’s Prayer,
or during the Lamb of God.
If the extraordinary ministers of
Holy Communion approach the celebrant for
the sign of peace, they should return to
their places until after the priest has
received Holy Communion himself, at which
time, they should approach the altar. After
having received Holy Communion themselves,
they then should receive the vessel
containing the Eucharist from the hands of
the priest himself.
Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are not
to bring the Holy Eucharist from the
tabernacle to the altar; nor are they to
return the hosts to the tabernacle after the
distribution of Holy Communion. Keeping in
mind that the liturgical documents strongly
encourage that the faithful receive hosts
consecrated at the same Mass, should there
be the occasional need for more Precious
Body, the priest himself should go to the
tabernacle, presumably before the Agnus
Dei. As for the hosts which may remain
after the distribution, the priest or deacon
is to carry them to the tabernacle (General
Instruction to the Roman Missal, no.
162).
In the Diocese of Scranton, extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion have
traditionally worn an alb when performing
their liturgical function. All extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion in every church
and oratory in the Diocese of Scranton are
to retain this noble practice.
In closing, I wish to thank the priests of the
Diocese of Scranton, and those priests who
minister in this Diocese, for the work that
you do to inspire such a profound love for
Our Eucharistic Lord among the people. It is
my strong desire that the diocesan reception
of the Instruction Redemptionis
Sacramentum will assist you in inviting
the faithful to a more intensely Eucharistic
spirituality. Therefore, I ask that the
norms contained in this Instruction be in
full implementation by the Solemnity of
Pentecost,
Sunday,
May 15, 2005
, except for those areas of concern above which I
have asked to be implemented immediately.
Once again I extend my gratitude to each of you
for your continued prayers throughout this
Lenten season. Your faithfulness to the
Church’s Sacred Liturgy will certainly
lead the faithful to a renewed love for our
Eucharistic Lord and His Church.
Asking God to bless you, I am,
Sincerely
yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, D.D.,
Hist. E.D.
Bishop of
Scranton
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