architecture on Sunday night

It has been a good weekend. Every weekend here is a healthy balance of study and recreation. In two weeks I will finish the studies here at the Liturgical Institute and head back to Italy for the final month of Sabbatical before returning to NZ on September 4.

Much of today (Sunday) has been taken up with reading for the Art and Architecture course. Tomorrow's class is a four hour session. At the heart of the reading is the fact that a church building (and church art) is intended to be a sign that points us beyond earthly existence.

I have already introduced Denis McNamara to you in an earlier blog. This weekend I have been reading not only his book, but a selection of other articles he has presented. Earlier in the year he presented at a conference on Church architecture. You might appreciate another of his videos, this time from his lecture to the 2010 symposium "Extending and Transforming the Tradition of Catholic Sacred Architecture"

Chatham Islands

The challenge of much of what I am learning in these weeks directs me in thought back to parish life at Our Lady of Victories and Chatham Islands. The Chatham Islands has been especially in my thoughts this week. It is a challenge to be the pastor of a parish where I am not resident. For this reason I was delighted when the Holy Faith sisters in Christchurch expressed an interest in visiting the Chathams.

So last week Sr. Deirdre and Sr Cora (who live in Mairehau) made the journey down to the Chathams. They will be there for two weeks. I called them yesterday and spent some time chatting about how they have found their first days in this wonderful and unique part of the country. They were full of gratitude for the welcome that the locals have given them. Many of the conversations they have had in their first days have revealed that the Catholic faith is alive and well on the island.

As I write this note the sisters will be leading the Sunday morning Service of the Word with communion at St Therese of Lisieux Church in Waitangi. Our prayers are with them.

Te Whanga Lagoon - near the airport

10 years

Today (Wednesday) was a day of celebration for the Liturgical Institute. Ten years ago (July 2000) the Institute was founded by Cardinal George of Chicago as a place of good liturgical formation.

Instead of our regular classes today, the day was given to an experience of the Institute's programme for the introduction of the Revised Order of the Mass in the US. This programme is titled Mystical Body Mystical Voice. While NZ will introduce the revised Mass on the first Sunday of Advent this year (2010), it is expected that the United States will implement the changes to the texts of the Mass twelve months later. In Australia the changes are expected at Pentecost next year.

THere is helpful introductory material (especially the podcasts) on the Institute's Mystical Body Mystical Voice website.

At the end of the day Mass was celebrated and followed by an anniversary banquet.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, the introduction of these revised texts provide an ideal opportunity for us to look at why we pray the words we pray in the way we pray them at Mass. In these months of preparation we have the opportunity to rediscover the beauty of the Mass.

This journey of rediscovery will require an intelligent participation on the part of every Catholic. I am committed to doing my part by providing (in whatever way I can ...blog at the moment) good information and teaching for the people of OLV and Chatham Islands. But this is not a task that I will do alone. Today and tomorrow Carey Haines (OLV Liturgy Co-ordinator) and Dennis Currie (OLV Director of Music) are in Auckland at a national seminar led by Fr. Paul Turner. The information they receive from this session, and the contacts they make with others from around the country, will enable them to work with me to ensure that the parish of OLV makes the most of this opportunity to rediscover the beauty of the Mass.

When you see Carey or Dennis at Mass ask them how the seminar was. Give them the chance to share something of what they have learned with you!

Fr Paul Turner will also be speaking in Christchurch next week. If you can get to hear him don't miss the chance.

The Internet gives an opportunity to learn easily at home from online dvd's and articles. The clips from Monsignor James Moroney (ref yesterday's blog) give a great introduction.

meet another of my teachers

This week we have begun the second session of studies. You have already 'met' one of my teachers, Dr. Denis McNamara who is teaching Church Art & Architecture. The second class of the session is taught by Monsignor James Moroney. For many years he has been involved in the work of preparing the Revised Order of the Mass which is to be introduced in the New Zealand Church at the end of this year. This new Missal will be received in the remainder of the English speaking world over the next two years.

As I came back to my room tonight after 'holy hour' tonight I felt deep gratitude for the privilege of studying here at this particular moment in the life of the Church. Monsignor Moroney joined us for the 'holy hours' (notice that the singular has become plural!) so we had the privilege of talking informally about all aspects of the development of the liturgy. I hope we see him again at these evening 'hh' sessions.

In liturgical studies these days, the term 'reform of the reform' is commonly used. We know that there was significant 'reform' of the Liturgy of the Church in the 1960's. Unfortunately most New Zealand Catholics think that the biggest changes introduced then were to move from Latin to English for the celebration of the Mass, and to turn the priest to face the people. In fact these were considered to be relatively insignificant and even optional changes in the light of the broad reform of the Liturgy we were called to by the Second Vatican Council. The present 'reform of the reform' invites us to move deeper than the external alterations to appreciate anew the beauty of the Mass.

The past forty years has been a time of great change in the world. The Church has been enthusiastic in responding to these changing circumstances and needs. In many ways this has been a 'teen-age' era for the Church. In the same way that a teenager might have little respect for traditional boundaries and accepted norms, so too this era in the life of the Church has shown many of these same characteristics.

It is not difficult to see many positive fruits of this phase. At the same time we can see that the Church, that was so central in the life of our parents and ancestors, is not as important for our children and grandchildren. This is a great concern to us; not simply because so many of those we love are not at Mass on Sunday, but because the Church is the ultimate place of encounter between God and humans.

If people are not at Mass regularly they really are missing out on the nourishment that is essential for human life.

While God is everywhere, and God speaks and listens in every moment of every human life, if we are not at Mass and the sacraments every Sunday at least, we are taking the tough road. In the Liturgy of the Church we place ourselves within a community of openness to God. Without a doubt, those who choose to live life fully within the Church are at a great advantage.

Now we are invited to move beyond the 'teen-age' phase of liturgical movement into the richness of adult liturgical life. In this stage we will no longer be satisfied with liturgy that satisfies our feelings. Instead we allow the Liturgy of the CHurch to FORM and to REFORM us in the image and likeness of God. Rather than simply praying how and what we feel in our Liturgy, we receive anew the fulness of the Tradition of the Church's life of Liturgy. It is less important that the prayers and actions of the Mass 'pray what we mean'. Instead we grow together to mean what we pray.

This is why the texts of the prayers of the Mass are so important. This is why people like Monsignor Moroney has given his years of his life to the work of developing accurate translations of the prayers of the Mass. You will notice when you look at the website and his dvd's that the language used for some of the prayers is not the way we talk in everyday conversation. This is because the Mass is not primarily about human people talking to God. The Mass is the ultimate in God's communication with us. Instead of praying what we feel, we grow to feel what we pray.

As many of you have heard me say before, I believe that these months are a moment of tremendous opportunity for the life of the Catholic Church in New Zealand. We are invited to look deeper than the superficial changes we have made in our celebration of the Liturgy, to appreciate more deeply the treasure that awaits us within. We have peeled the fruit, now we are ready to eat and drink from our Tradition.

Some of Monsignor work is available online. You can view some of his DVD's introducing the New Translation of the Roman Missal at this link.

second semester

The 4th July weekend was a great break from study. A few of us stayed in Chicago city for the two nights enjoying the atmosphere of the city with a good opportunity for long sleep and slow meals. There hasn't been much chance for novels since I arrived here so I made up for that.

Today we begin two more courses. I am looking forward to them both. One is on Liturgical Art and architecture. I have read a bit on this in the years when we were restoring OLV church. The teacher is Denis McNamara (in the 'meet one of my teachers' blog last week you can hear him). In the reading I have done I was reminded that a church building has both a function and a purpose. The function is to keep the rain out, provide some seating, and to have lighting and heating etc. Once parishes add an Altar and Lectern etc they think they have completed the task of building a church. However they may have given no thought at all to the purpose of the church building.

A church building is to be a sign that points us beyond our earthly reality - to the fulness of life eternally with God. This is the whole purpose of having a church. It would be much cheaper for us to rent a school hall each day for Mass. But a church building stands in a community as a sign that points us to heaven.

This was very evident in New Zealand before multi-storey buildings. Back then the Church was the most substantial and tallest building on the skyline of any town. The change to malls being bigger and banks being taller than churches is relatively recent. This is problematic since the people of any age tend to follow the most visible signs in their city.

The Roman Empire began its rapid decline when the central building in Rome was no longer their places of worship but the Colosseum - a place for entertainment and sports.

How close are we to this when the most significant 'gathering places' for the people of a city are theatres and stadia. Add to this the introduction of projectors and screens to churches and the pointers become very confusing.

More later...

July 4th

It is a significant weekend here in the US with celebrations of the anniversary of Independence Day. Already the campus and the town is turning red white and blue with stars and stripes.

For us at the Liturgical Institute the weekend marks the half-way point of our studies. Two of our classes finish today: Sources and Methods of Liturgical Research and The Liturgical Movement of the century before the Second Vatican Council. After this morning's Sources and Method's exam the community is feeling a bit weary. It was a tough exam and the in the last few days the house has been very focussed on study. Even numbers at "holy hour" decreased. I am pretty confident that I passed the exam, but I had hoped to do better than that. Next week will tell.

This afternoon I complete the final paper for the Liturgical Movement class. I am nearly there as as soon as I finish this note I will spend an hour completing the essay.

A few of us are heading into Chicago city for the weekend. It will be good to have a break from the campus environment. I will arrive back here on Sunday afternoon ready for the beginning of the second semester on Monday morning.

It will also be good to leave the computer for the weekend so there won't be a blog from me till Monday evening NZ time.

I am amazed at the number of people who are following the blog. Thank you for your emails and responses. It is certainly helpful to me to continue to journey, reflect and pray alongside the parishioners of Chatham Islands and Our Lady of Victories.

Blessings

John

a new month

A lot has happened for me this month. The same will be true for you. We are not the same people as we were just four weeks ago. Today has the added significance of being the half-way point of the year.

A lot has happened for each of us in this first half of 2010.

When I began this year my Dad was on the road to recovery after two months in hospital. Just six weeks into the year we buried him. As we all know that everything that happens has its effects. Every circumstance brings us joy or takes its toll. We can easily fall into the trap of hanging out till Friday for a break, or just surviving until the burden passes or the task is complete. Perhaps it is Christmas that we long for with a couple of weeks when we can take things a little more easily. For me at the moment I just want to be free of the two exams I have in the next two days.

Every time we meet the first day of a new month I am aware of the new beginning. Kind of a little opportunity for a 'new-month's-resolution.' Life is full of such new beginnings if I am prepared to see and embrace them. The struggles and perceptions of last month do not have to carry over into the new month. The difficulties of last week do not have to stay with me past the Sunday Mass. The worries of yesterday are ready to leave me as I go to bed, if I am willing to let them go. Tomorrow is a new day.

But the reality is that worry, struggle, anxiety and sin often do cling to us into the next day or month, or even into new years. There is a reason for this. Humans do not have the capacity to let go, or to be free of struggle and sin in response to a simple human decision or a change of date. Something more is needed.

This is where the Sacrament of Reconciliation is needed. The Church encourages us to make regular use of this Sacrament. Not simply because it is a 'condition of membership', but because every healthy human person needs this encounter with God coming into their place of greatest weakness, sin and shame.

You may not have celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation for many weeks or years. This is not a problem for God. Just make contact with a priest anytime. Every priest is happy to be approached, even when he seems most busy. Making the Sacraments available is the heart of the life of the priest. The Sacraments (and especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation) give us a new start any day of any month.

At OLV there are several opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation every week:

Saturday morning 9.30 - 10.00am

Saturday evening 5.15 - 5.30

Sunday morning 9.15-9.30

Sunday evening 4.15 - 4.30

Wednesday evening 6.30 - 6.45

and anytime by appointment.

Father Kevin or Father Steve Lowe (in residence for a couple of weeks at OLV and whenever he is at a break from Holy Cross Seminary in Auckland), are happy to hear from you anytime. Just phone or email for a priest at olv@paradise.net.nz