All You Need is Now

On Monday, November 14, 2011, the United States Conference of Catholics Bishops began its Fall Session in Baltimore, Maryland.  USCCB President, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the Metropolitan for New York City, set the tone for the assembly with this excellent address, his first as conference leader:

“Love for Jesus and His Church must be the passion of our lives!”


My brother bishops: it is with that stunningly simple exhortation of Blessed Pope John II that I begin my remarks to you this morning.


“Love for Jesus and His Church must be the passion of our lives!”


You and I have as our sacred duty, arising from our intimate sacramental union with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to love, cherish, care for, protect, unite in truth, love, and faith . . . to shepherd . . . His Church.


You and I believe with all our heart and soul that Christ and His Church are one.


That truth has been passed on to us from our predecessors, the apostles, especially St. Paul, who learned that equation on the Road to Damascus, who teaches so tenderly that the Church is the bride of Christ, that the Church is the body of Christ, that Christ and His Church are one.


That truth has been defended by bishops before us, sometimes and yet even today, at the cost of “dungeon, fire, and sword.”


That truth -- that He, Christ, and she, His Church, are one -- moistens our eyes and puts a lump in our throat as we whisper with De Lubac, “For what would I ever know of Him, without her?”


Each year we return to this premier see of John Carroll to gather as brothers in service to Him and to her. We do business, follow the agenda, vote on documents, renew priorities and hear information reports.


But, one thing we can’t help but remember, one lesson we knew before we got off the plane, train, or car, something we hardly needed to come to this venerable archdiocese to learn, is that “love for Jesus and His Church must be the passion of our lives!”


Perhaps, brethren, our most pressing pastoral challenge today is to reclaim that truth, to restore the luster, the credibility, the beauty of the Church “ever ancient, ever new,” renewing her as the face of Jesus, just as He is the face of God. Maybe our most urgent pastoral priority is to lead our people to see, meet, hear and embrace anew Jesus in and through His Church.


Because, as the chilling statistics we cannot ignore tell us, fewer and fewer of our beloved people -- to say nothing about those outside the household of the faith -- are convinced that Jesus and His Church are one. As Father Ronald Rolheiser wonders, we may be living in a post-ecclesial era, as people seem to prefer

a King but not the kingdom,
a shepherd with no flock,
to believe without belonging,
a spiritual family with God as my father, as long as I’m
the only child,
“spirituality” without religion
faith without the faithful
Christ without His Church.

So they drift from her, get mad at the Church, grow lax, join another, or just give it all up.


If this does not cause us pastors to shudder, I do not know what will.


The reasons are multiple and well-rehearsed, and we need to take them seriously.


We are quick to add that good news about the Church abounds as well, with evidence galore that the majority of God’s People hold fast to the revealed wisdom that Christ and His Church are one, with particularly refreshing news that young people, new converts, and new arrivals, are still magnetized by that truth, so clear to many of us only three months ago in Madrid, or six months ago at the Easter Vigil, or daily in the wonderfully deep and radiant faith of Catholic immigrants who are still a most welcome -- -- while sadly harassed -- -- gift to the Church and the land we love.


But a pressing challenge to us it remains . . . to renew the appeal of the Church, and the Catholic conviction that Christ and His Church are one.


Next year, which we eagerly anticipate as a Year of Faith, marks a half-century since the opening of the Second Vatican Council, which showed us how the Church summons the world foreward, not backward.


Our world would often have us believe that culture is light years ahead of a languishing, moribund Church.


But, of course, we realize the opposite is the case: the Church invites the world to a fresh, original place, not a musty or outdated one. It is always a risk for the world to hear the Church, for she dares the world to “cast out to the deep,” to foster and protect the inviolable dignity of the human person and human life; to acknowledge the truth about life ingrained in reason and nature; to protect marriage and family; to embrace those suffering and struggling; to prefer service to selfishness; and never to stifle the liberty to quench the deep down thirst for the divine that the poets, philosophers, and peasants of the earth know to be what really makes us genuinely human.


The Church loves God’s world like His only begotten Son did. She says yes to everything that is good, decent, honorable and ennobling about the world, and only says no when the world itself negates the dignity of the human person . . . and, as Father Robert Barron reminds us, “saying ‘no’ to a ‘no’ results in a ‘yes ’!”


To invite our own beloved people, and the world itself, to see Jesus and His Church as one is, of course, the task of the New Evangelization. Pope Benedict will undoubtedly speak to us about this during our nearing ad limina visits, and we eagerly anticipate as well next autumn’s Synod on the New Evangelization. Jesus first called fishermen and then transformed them into shepherds. The New Evangelization prompts us to reclaim the role of fishermen. Perhaps we should begin to carry fishing poles instead of croziers.


Two simple observations might be timely as we as successors of the apostles embrace this urgent task of inviting our people and our world to see Jesus and His Church as one.


First, we resist the temptation to approach the Church as merely a system of organizational energy and support that requires maintenance.


As the Holy Father remarked just recently in his homeland of Germany, “Many see only the outward form of the Church. This makes the Church appear as merely one of the many organizations within a democratic society, whose criteria and laws are then applied to . . . evaluating and dealing, with such a complex entity of the ‘Church’.”


The Church we passionately love is hardly some cumbersome, outmoded club of sticklers, with a medieval bureaucracy, silly human rules on fancy letterhead, one more movement rife with squabbles, opinions, and disagreement.


The Church is Jesus -- teaching, healing, saving, serving, inviting; Jesus often "bruised, derided, cursed, defiled."


The Church is a communio, a supernatural family. Most of us, praise God, are born into it, as we are into our human families. So, the Church is in our spiritual DNA. The Church is our home, our family.


In the Power and the Glory, when the young girl asks him why he just doesn’t renounce his Catholic faith, the un-named “Whisky Priest” replies:


“That’s impossible! There’s no way! It’s out of my power.”


Graham Greene narrates: “The child listened intently. She then said, ‘Oh, I see, like a birthmark’.”


To use a Catholic word, Bingo! Our Church is like a birthmark. Founded by Christ, the Church had her beginning at Pentecost, but her origin is from the Trinity. Yes, her beginning is in history, as was the incarnation, but her origin is outside of time.


Our urgent task to reclaim “love of Jesus and His Church as the passion of our lives” summons us not into ourselves but to Our Lord. Jesus prefers prophets, not programs; saints, not solutions; conversion of hearts, not calls to action; prayer, not protests: Verbum Dei rather than our verbage.


God calls us to be His children, saved by our oldest brother, Jesus, in a supernatural family called the Church.


Now, and here’s number two: since we are a spiritual family, we should hardly be surprised that the Church has troubles, problems . . . to use the talk-show vocabulary, that our supernatural family has some “dysfunction.”


As Dorothy Day remarked: "The Church is the radiant bride of Christ; but her members at times act more like the scarlet woman of Babylon."


It might seem, brother bishops, that the world wants us to forget every Church-teaching except for the one truth our culture is exuberantly eager to embrace and trumpet: the sinfulness of her members! That’s the one Catholic doctrine to which society bows its head and genuflects with crusading devotion!


We profess it, too. With contrition and deep regret, we acknowledge that the members of the Church -- starting with us -- are sinners!


One big difference: we who believe in Jesus Christ and His one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church interpret the sinfulness of her members not as a reason to dismiss the Church or her eternal truths, but to embrace her all the more! The sinfulness of the members of the Church reminds us precisely how much we need the Church. The sinfulness of her members is never an excuse, but a plea, to place ourselves at His wounded side on Calvary from which flows the sacramental life of the Church.


Like Him, she, too, has wounds. Instead of running from them, or hiding them, or denying them, she may be best showing them, like He did that first Easter night.
As Monsignor John Tracy Ellis used to introduce his courses on Church history, “Ladies and gentlemen, be prepared to discover that the Mystical Body of Christ has a lot of warts.”


And we passionately love our bride with wrinkles, warts, and wounds all the more.


We bishops repent as well. At least twice a day -- at Mass, and at compline -- we ask Divine mercy. Often do we approach the Sacrament of Penance.


One thing both sides of the Catholic ideological spectrum at last agree upon is the answer to this question: who’s to blame for people getting mad at or leaving the Church? Their unanimous answer?


. . . nice to meet you! We’re the cause, they never tire of telling us.


Less shrill voices might comfort us by assuring us that’s not true. Nice to hear . . .


But we are still sincere in often praying “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa” -- and we don't have to wait for the First Sunday of Advent to do it.


As Gregory the Great observed fifteen centuries ago: "the Church is fittingly pictured as dawn . . . dawn only hints that night is over. It does not reveal the full radiance of the day. While it indeed dispels the darkness and welcomes the light, it presents both of them . . . so does the Church."


Bishops, thanks for listening.


I look out at shepherds, fishermen, leaders, friends.


I look out at 300 brothers each of whom has a ring on his finger, because we’re spoken for, we’re married.


Our episcopal consecration has configured us so intimately to Jesus that He shares with us His bride, the Church.


There’s nothing we enjoy doing more than helping our people, and everybody else, get to know Him and her better. That's our job description.


Because . . . “Love for Jesus and His Church is the passion of our lives!”


This is a lot to digest, but, Archbishop Dolan makes some very strong points.  In previous dcommentary, he spoke of the need to regain our Catholic identity.  These remarks go hand in hand with what he told his brother bishops.  But, how can the Church in America do this?  How can she regain who she is for her children and for those outside?

I wholeheartedly agree with Fr. John Zuhlsdorf when he makes his impassioned plea, "Save the liturgy, save the world."  The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is part and parcel of who the Church is.  The Mass is central to her identity as the Church and to our identity as Catholics.  If we are to speak of regaining the Church's identity, then, all we need is now.  By this I mean that we need to concentrate on that which we have in front of us, the Mass.  If people are leaving the Church, it is perhaps because they do not understand the full beaut of the sacred litugy.  There is a dearth in catechesis about what the Mass means and what it truly is.  Lamentably, there is also not much preaching on the Mass.  The music used in the Mass is also problematic, as the focus often centers around ourselves instead of on God.  It's more along on the lines of what feels good instead of offering digo nified worship to God.

The end result is a weak liturgy that, more often than not, produces a weakening in the faith.  The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is what unites us in worship of the one true God, a worship in spirit and truth.  If we fail to address this serious problem, then no amount of evangelization or heart-felt pleading will work. 

The good news is that the time is actually now.  In a few days, we will be praying the words found in the revised Roman Missal.  We will be learning this new prayers and, hopefully, taking them to  heart, for these are the authentic words of the Mass in their truest form.  

It is my hope that the bishops will take this privileged moment to revisit the celebrations of the Holy Sacrifice in their dioceses and work with their priests to ensure that these liturgies will be moments of divine, solemn and majestic prayer, so as to draw hearts closer to God and the lost back to the fold. All we need is now.

INTROIT • Christ the King • SIMPLE ENGLISH PROPERS

Many thanks go to the folks from the Corpus Christi Watershed and, in particular, Adam Bartlett, for making the Simple English Propers available. Having used these for several months now, I can attest that they are a gift to the Church and, as someone who does not read music, I find the tutorials to be a huge blessing.

Please visit YouTube and check out the tutorials.

And the Countdown Begins...

We are T-13 days and counting until the official implementation of the revised Roman Missal. For many of us, November 27, 2011, has been a long time in coming.  For me, in particular, I have been looking forward to this day ever since 2008, when the Congregation for Divine Worship released the revised Ordinary for musical and catechetical purposes. 

In my diocese, as in many others on these shores, we have been given permission to begin using the sung parts of the revised  Ordinary (Gloria, Sanctus, and Memorial).  To say that chanting these has been a wonderful experience is an understatement.  It's been a great joy. While we must recognize the validity of the current translation, there is much to be said about finally praying the correct text. 

Yet, even with this joy, there is a tinge of sorrow.  No, I am not mourning the demise of the current "Mass of Creation", let alone any setting written by the St. Louis Jesuits.  Rather, I lament the negativity that not a few of my fellow bloggers have displayed when discussing the corrected translation of the Roman Missal. Even publications that claim to be Catholic have written soundly against the translation, one going so far as to cite a 16-year-old "Latin expert". 

This is uncalled for and lamentable.  The First Sunday of Advent should be a time of joy, not the liturgical End of Days.  The Church, in her wisdom, has granted us the special gift of  a translation that accurately reflects the sacred nature of the prayers that we recite in an elevated language that is worthy of worship. 

This is a time of great renewal in the Church.  Come the First Sunday of Advent, let us rejoice and be glad.

Tu es Christus

 

 

Although this is a few weeks late, this magnificent homily preached by Pope Benedict XVI during the World Youth Day Mass in Madrid, Spain, certainly bears repeating.

That particular Sunday's Gospel presents us with the account of the dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter at Caesarea-Phillipi.  The question that Jesus asks the Apostolic band resonates through the centuries.  "Who do you say that I am?"  It is a question that cuts to the very heart.  It's a question that Jesus asks his closest collaborators as they ready to make the trek down to Jerusalem.  Simon Peter, through Divine inspiration, makes the bold profession of faith, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  

Pope Benedict XVI offers a challenging reflection to what it means to boldly profess that Jesus is the Christ.

Dear Young People,
In this celebration of the Eucharist we have reached the high point of this World Youth Day. Seeing you here, gathered in such great numbers from all parts of the world, fills my heart with joy. I think of the special love with which Jesus is looking upon you. Yes, the Lord loves you and calls you his friends (cf. Jn 15:15). He goes out to meet you and he wants to accompany you on your journey, to open the door to a life of fulfilment and to give you a share in his own closeness to the Father. For our part, we have come to know the immensity of his love and we want to respond generously to his love by sharing with others the joy we have received. Certainly, there are many people today who feel attracted by the figure of Christ and want to know him better. They realize that he is the answer to so many of our deepest concerns. But who is he really? How can someone who lived on this earth so long ago have anything in common with me today?

The Gospel we have just heard (cf. Mt 16:13-20) suggests two different ways of knowing Christ. The first is an impersonal knowledge, one based on current opinion. When Jesus asks: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”, the disciples answer: “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets”. In other words, Christ is seen as yet another religious figure, like those who came before him. Then Jesus turns to the disciples and asks them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter responds with what is the first confession of faith: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. Faith is more than just empirical or historical facts; it is an ability to grasp the mystery of Christ’s person in all its depth.

Yet faith is not the result of human effort, of human reasoning, but rather a gift of God: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven”. Faith starts with God, who opens his heart to us and invites us to share in his own divine life. Faith does not simply provide information about who Christ is; rather, it entails a personal relationship with Christ, a surrender of our whole person, with all our understanding, will and feelings, to God’s self-revelation. So Jesus’ question: “But who do you say that I am?”, is ultimately a challenge to the disciples to make a personal decision in his regard. Faith in Christ and discipleship are strictly interconnected.
And, since faith involves following the Master, it must become constantly stronger, deeper and more mature, to the extent that it leads to a closer and more intense relationship with Jesus. Peter and the other disciples also had to grow in this way, until their encounter with the Risen Lord opened their eyes to the fullness of faith.

Dear young people, today Christ is asking you the same question which he asked the Apostles: “Who do you say that I am?” Respond to him with generosity and courage, as befits young hearts like your own. Say to him: “Jesus, I know that you are the Son of God, who have given your life for me. I want to follow you faithfully and to be led by your word. You know me and you love me. I place my trust in you and I put my whole life into your hands. I want you to be the power that strengthens me and the joy which never leaves me”.
Jesus’ responds to Peter’s confession by speaking of the Church: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church”. What do these words mean? Jesus builds the Church on the rock of the faith of Peter, who confesses that Christ is God.

The Church, then, is not simply a human institution, like any other. Rather, she is closely joined to God. Christ himself speaks of her as “his” Church. Christ cannot be separated from the Church any more than the head can be separated from the body (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). The Church does not draw her life from herself, but from the Lord.Dear young friends, as the Successor of Peter, let me urge you to strengthen this faith which has been handed down to us from the time of the Apostles. Make Christ, the Son of God, the centre of your life. But let me also remind you that following Jesus in faith means walking at his side in the communion of the Church. We cannot follow Jesus on our own. Anyone who would be tempted to do so “on his own”, or to approach the life of faith with kind of individualism so prevalent today, will risk never truly encountering Jesus, or will end up following a counterfeit Jesus.

Having faith means drawing support from the faith of your brothers and sisters, even as your own faith serves as a support for the faith of others. I ask you, dear friends, to love the Church which brought you to birth in the faith, which helped you to grow in the knowledge of Christ and which led you to discover the beauty of his love. Growing in friendship with Christ necessarily means recognizing the importance of joyful participation in the life of your parishes, communities and movements, as well as the celebration of Sunday Mass, frequent reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation, and the cultivation of personal prayer and meditation on God’s word.

Friendship with Jesus will also lead you to bear witness to the faith wherever you are, even when it meets with rejection or indifference. We cannot encounter Christ and not want to make him known to others. So do not keep Christ to yourselves! Share with others the joy of your faith. The world needs the witness of your faith, it surely needs God. I think that the presence here of so many young people, coming from all over the world, is a wonderful proof of the fruitfulness of Christ’s command to the Church: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). You too have been given the extraordinary task of being disciples and missionaries of Christ in other lands and countries filled with young people who are looking for something greater and, because their heart tells them that more authentic values do exist, they do not let themselves be seduced by the empty promises of a lifestyle which has no room for God.

Dear young people, I pray for you with heartfelt affection. I commend all of you to the Virgin Mary and I ask her to accompany you always by her maternal intercession and to teach you how to remain faithful to God’s word. I ask you to pray for the Pope, so that, as the Successor of Peter, he may always confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith. May all of us in the Church, pastors and faithful alike, draw closer to the Lord each day. May we grow in holiness of life and be effective witnesses to the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, the Saviour of all mankind and the living source of our hope. Amen.

In the liturgy, we make our bold profession of our faith in Christ every time we recite the Creed, silently declare "My Lord and my God" during the Consecration and respond Amen as we receive Holy Communion.  But, these words should not spring forth from our lips as though we were on automatic pilot.  These words must come from the heart.

I'm BAAACK!!!

I apologize for my long absence from these pages.   Not a few things professionally and personally kept me busy for the past month and a half.   However, while some of the storms have passed, there are some that remain.  Such is life.

Nonetheless, I am glad to finally return to the keyboard and to this beloved page.

What it is to be a priest

One of the highlights of World Youth Day events was the Mass that the Holy Father celebrated for the seminarians.  Our own diocese here in the South Texas hinterland had some representation at this very special liturgy.  The seminarian, who is a friend of mine, had been looking forward to this encounter with the Holy Father.  When I saw the replay of the Mass, I was greatly impressed with the beauty of the music.  As my friend is a member of his seminary's schola, I am certain that he, too, found the music both efficacious and edifying. 

But, even more than the magnificent sacred music that was chanted for the Mass, were the words that the Holy Father preached.  From ZENIT, here are his words to the seminarians, and, by extension, to all of us:

Your Eminence the Archbishop of Madrid,
Dear Brother Bishops,
Dear Priests and Religious,
Dear Rectors and Formators,
Dear Seminarians,
Dear Friends,

I am very pleased to celebrate Holy Mass with you who aspire to be Christ’s priests for the service of the Church and of man, and I thank you for the kind words with which you welcomed me. Today, this holy cathedral church of Santa María La Real de la Almudena is like a great Upper Room, where the Lord greatly desires to celebrate the Passover with you who wish one day to preside in his name at the mysteries of salvation. Looking at you, I again see proof of how Christ continues to call young disciples and to make them his apostles, thus keeping alive the mission of the Church and the offer of the Gospel to the world. As seminarians you are on the path towards a sacred goal: to continue the mission which Christ received from the Father. Called by him, you have followed his voice and, attracted by his loving gaze, you now advance towards the sacred ministry. Fix your eyes upon him who through his incarnation is the supreme revelation of God to the world and who through his resurrection faithfully fulfills his promise. Give thanks to him for this sign of favour in which he holds each one of you.

The first reading which we heard shows us Christ as the new and eternal priest who made of himself a perfect offering. The response to the psalm may be aptly applied to him since, at his coming into the world, he said to the Father, "Here I am to do your will" (cf. Ps 39:8). He tried to please him in all things: in his words and actions, along the way or welcoming sinners. His life was one of service and his longing was a constant prayer, placing himself in the name of all before the Father as the first-born son of many brothers and sisters. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews states that, by a single offering, he brought to perfection for all time those of us who are called to share his sonship (cf. Heb10:14).

The Eucharist, whose institution is mentioned in the Gospel just proclaimed (cf. Lk 22:14-20), is the real expression of that unconditional offering of Jesus for all, even for those who betrayed him. It was the offering of his body and blood for the life of mankind and for the forgiveness of sins. His blood, a sign of life, was given to us by God as a covenant, so that we might apply the force of his life wherever death reigns due to our sins, and thus destroy it. Christ’s body broken and his blood outpoured – the surrender of his freedom – became through these Eucharistic signs the new source of mankind’s redeemed freedom. In Christ, we have the promise of definitive redemption and the certain hope of future blessings. Through Christ we know that we are not walking towards the abyss, the silence of nothingness or death, but are rather pilgrims on the way to a promised land, on the way to him who is our end and our beginning.

Dear friends, you are preparing yourselves to become apostles with Christ and like Christ, and to accompany your fellow men and women along their journey as companions and servants. How should you behave during these years of preparation? First of all, they should be years of interior silence, of unceasing prayer, of constant study and of gradual insertion into the pastoral activity and structures of the Church. A Church which is community and institution, family and mission, the creation of Christ through his Holy Spirit, as well as the result of those of us who shape it through our holiness and our sins. God, who does not hesitate to make of the poor and of sinners his friends and instruments for the redemption of the human race, willed it so. The holiness of the Church is above all the objective holiness of the very person of Christ, of his Gospel and his sacraments, the holiness of that power from on high which enlivens and impels it. We have to be saints so as not to create a contradiction between the sign that we are and the reality that we wish to signify.

Meditate well upon this mystery of the Church, living the years of your formation in deep joy, humbly, clear-mindedly and with radical fidelity to the Gospel, in an affectionate relation to the time spent and the people among whom you live. No one chooses the place or the people to whom he is sent, and every time has its own challenges; but in every age God gives the right grace to face and overcome those challenges with love and realism. That is why, no matter the circumstances in which he finds and however difficult they may be, the priest must grow in all kinds of good works, keeping alive within him the words spoken on his Ordination day, by which he was exhorted to model his life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.

To be modeled on Christ, dear seminarians, is to be identified ever more closely with him who, for our sake, became servant, priest and victim. To be modeled on him is in fact the task upon which the priest spends his entire life. We already know that it is beyond us and we will not fully succeed but, as St Paul says, we run towards the goal, hoping to reach it (cf. Phil 3:12-14).

That said, Christ the High Priest is also the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep, even giving his life for them (cf. Jn 10:11). In order to liken yourselves to the Lord in this as well, your heart must mature while in seminary, remaining completely open to the Master. This openness, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit, inspires the decision to live in celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and, leaving aside the world’s goods, live in austerity of life and sincere obedience, without pretence.

Ask him to let you imitate him in his perfect charity towards all, so that you do not shun the excluded and sinners, but help them convert and return to the right path. Ask him to teach you how to be close to the sick and the poor in simplicity and generosity. Face this challenge without anxiety or mediocrity, but rather as a beautiful way of living our human life in gratuitousness and service, as witnesses of God made man, messengers of the supreme dignity of the human person and therefore its unconditional defenders. Relying on his love, do not be intimidated by surroundings that would exclude God and in which power, wealth and pleasure are frequently the main criteria ruling people’s lives. You may be shunned along with others who propose higher goals or who unmask the false gods before whom many now bow down. That will be the moment when a life deeply rooted in Christ will clearly be seen as something new and it will powerfully attract those who truly search for God, truth and justice.

Under the guidance of your formators, open your hearts to the light of the Lord, to see if this path which demands courage and authenticity is for you. Approach the priesthood only if you are firmly convinced that God is calling you to be his ministers, and if you are completely determined to exercise it in obedience to the Church’s precepts.

With this confidence, learn from him who described himself as meek and humble of heart, leaving behind all earthly desire for his sake so that, rather than pursuing your own good, you build up your brothers and sisters by the way you live, as did the patron saint of the diocesan clergy of Spain, St John of Avila. Moved by his example, look above all to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests. She will know how to mould your hearts according to the model of Christ, her divine Son, and she will teach you how to treasure for ever all that he gained on Calvary for the salvation of the world. Amen.

While reading the Holy Father's words, I could not help but think of two priest friends of mine, one I have known for 16 years and the other less than a year.  One of them I see nearly every day at Mass; the other I saw back in January (face-to-face, for the first time; but, we do communicate by email and phone, as he is several time zones away).  Both of them are good and holy men.  In his own way, each strives to live his vocation.  The first friend serves as a parochial vicar, does prison and hospital ministries and serves as chaplain to the local orphanage.  The other serves the Church in liturgy, scholarly work and teaching the next generation of architects the importance of sacred architecture.  Each of them loves Christ and seeks to conform himself to the Lord.  They also deeply love the Church whom they serve with their hearts and their lives.

As the Holy Father noted in his homily, the priest does not choose where he will be sent.  Neither of my friends chose their current destinations.  One is about 150 miles away from home, while the other is in another country.  Yet, each priest accepts his assignment with filial obedience and with love, after all, St. Peter ministered far away from Galilee, going as far as his ultimate earthly destination, Rome.  St. Paul was all over the map, so to speak. 

My diocese covers seven counties in the South Texas hinterland.  My friend and his fellow seminarians are studying in San Antonio, with another friend of mine is getting his formation in Ohio.  I pray that my seminarian friends and their brothers will take to heart the Holy Father's exhortations and follow both Pope Benedict's example of humility and love and my two priest friend's intense love for Christ and His Church.

Of sparrows and lilies

Yesterday was a sad day at our household, as my father and I said goodbye to a beloved family member, our Boston Terrier, Queenie.  For the better part of two months, Queenie had been battling a series of ailments:  cancer, liver problems and tick fever.  The latter stemmed from a compromised immune system. 

During this time, we hoped against hope.  Three times, Queenie came close to death and three times, the veterinarians helped pull her through (with a huge assist from St. Francis of Assisi).   However, this last setback left her body too weak to fight anymore.  We could not prevent the inevitable.  Her time had come.

My father and I took her back to where we got her.   The veterinarian had told us that we needed to euthanize her and recommended that we take her to the animal shelter, where four years ago, we had rescued her.  Queenie had come into the shelter as a neglected dog.  All she wanted was for someone to love her.  I suppose that this is what we all want.  When we brought her home, my dad and I gradually introduced her to her rather rambunctious new siblings (most of them dachshunds and one husky-shepherd mix).  Queenie pretty much asserted herself as the alpha dog of the pack.

As it turned out, Queenie proved herself to be a brave little gal.  She was the first one to alert us if something was amiss.  No one would come to the fence without Queenie knowing about it.   Her alerts would get the rest of the pack going.  The little Boston Terrier turned into a terror one Saturday when a pit bull belonging to the backyard neighboor decided that it wanted to come into our property by way of a hole he had dug beneath our fence.   Queenie decided that she would take down the "enemy" and met him at the pass.  A bad fight ensued and Queenie was rather banged up and bloodied.  She lost a few teeth in the skirmish; however, the pit bull took a bigger hit.  We suspected that she left some of her teeth inside the pitbull.  We never saw the pitbull again.  I did not witness the battle, as I was sick with a bad migraine.  My father brought Queenie into the house and she jumped on my bed, bloody, but strangely happy.  I groggily cleaned up her wounds and did what I could while I called the vet.  We brought Queenie in for emergency surgery to treat her cuts and take care of her dental.  A few days later, she came back good as new, minus some teeth.

The battle did not take away her fighting spirit, as she continued to patrol the yard like a sheriff.  At night, she would come into the house and either jump on my bed or get into her own.  She also served as my dad's constant companion while he was doing yard work.  While the pack would follow him around, she was the one who always stayed close to him.

Queenie also had a soft side.  Both she and one of my dachshunds, Zoie, would come to me whenever I had a migraine.  Queenie would lay her head on mine and then snuggle up with me until I fell asleep.  Even her slobbering on my face was comforting. 

With everything we had been through, there wasn't anything in the world that I would not do for Queenie.  But, as my father told me with some reluctance, maybe Queenie was trying to tell us that it was time for her to cross the Rainbow Bridge.  While I was at Mass yesterday, I could not help but think about Jesus' parable about the birds and the lilies of the field.  The Father provides food and shelter for the birds of the air.  He dressed the lilies of the field in an array more splended than Solomon's finery.  Even when a sparrow falls to the ground, that does not escape His knowledge. 

But, in Queenie's case, the Lord took her because her time had come.  It was hard to hand her over to the Animal Shelter technicians; however, she had been suffering too much.   My friend Chris posted something on my facebook page that really gave me some comfort.  He wrote that in the New Jerusalem, "our perfect happiness is waiting for us, with the Lord, a place I imagine filled with music and canines." 

I know that animals do not have a soul.  My priest friend keeps reminding me of that; however, St. Francis of Assisi considered the animals his brothers.  Furthermore, the first witnesses to the birth of Christ (outside of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph) were the animals at the stable.  Queenie was one of God's creatures.  The Lord in his great love let me have her for a time.  As I was driving home, all I could think of were sparrows and lilies.  My own "lily" had left me, but, I have a feeling that she is now in a place where she is whole and happy, chasing the sparrows and smelling the lilies and probably getting petted by St. Francis.

The Real Ark of the Covenant

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The texts presented to us to mark this beautiful feast (both for the Vigil and the actual Day) present us with the image of the Ark of the Covenant.  In the Old Testament reading for the Vigil Mass, taken from the First Book of Chronicles, we see King David bringing down the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.  When the Ark reaches King David, he greets it, saying, "Who am I that the Ark of the Covenant should come unto me?"  He then proceeds to dance in front of it with great joy (while wearing an ephod).  In today's reading from the Book of Revelation, the first line tells us that John saw the God's Temple opened and that the Ark of the Covenant was there.  The scene immediately shifts to an image of a Woman clothed with the sun and a crown of 12 stars on her head.

This vision is particularly striking.  In the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant had been kept, there was a curtain that depicted the sun, the moon, the stars and other celestial bodies.  Ancient Israel recognized that God's Temple was well beyond its sight, surpassing the heavens and the celestial bodies.  The earthly Temple was Ancient Israel's closest approximation to the heavenly one. 

The Ark of the Covenant was Ancient Israel's most sacred treasure, as it contained the tablets of the Law of Moses, the rod of Aaron and the Manna from heaven.  God dwelled within the Ark.  When the Babylonians were near Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah had the Ark hidden within a cave near Jerusalem and vehemently discouraged anyone from trying to mark the trail.  He predicted that the Ark would re-emerge when the Glory Cloud once again descended.

And here is where we connect the dots between yesterday's account from First Chronicles, today's reading from Revelation and St. Luke's Gospel passage concerning the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her kinswoman, St. Elizabeth.  The Blessed Mother makes the long journey from Nazareth to a town in Judea, much in the same way as the Ark made its journey from the north to Jerusalem, which is in Judea.  The Glory Cloud, the Holy Spirit, has indeed descended on the Ark, only this Ark is not an inaminate vessel; the true Ark is the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The Glory Cloud descended on her when she gave her Fiat to become the Mother of God.  At that point, Mary held within her womb the true Law, the true High Priest and the true Bread come down from heaven, Jesus.

When Mary greets Elizabeth, the older kinswoman mirrors the words uttered by King David, "Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come unto me?"  Her unborn son, St. John the Baptist, further harkens back to David when he leaps for joy in his mother's womb, so near is his Salvation to him.

But, there is more.  When God dictated to Moses just how the Ark would be made, He also warned his prophet that no one could touch the Ark.  He specifically commanded that rings be attached to the Ark so that it could be bourne up by poles. No one could touch the Ark because of its truly sacred nature.   Anyone touching the Ark met a terrible fate, no less than death, as poor Uzziah found out when he tried to steady it.  As soon as his hand touched the Ark, he was struck dead.   From the moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin.  The True Ark that God had fashioned for Himself had to be pure and spotless.   Thus, she could not be touched.  Decay could not contaminate her body, since she is sinless.

Because we were born with the stain of original sin, we suffer the same physical fate as Adam and Eve.    When we die, our mortal remains decay (unless, if by some literal miracle, our bodies become incorrupt, as has been the case with some of the saints).  Such was not the case with the Blessed Virgin Mary.   Of course, it was also certainly and obviously not the case with Jesus; however, His is a different matter because He is God.  Jesus resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven, body and soul, on his own power.   We do not know if the Blessed Mother, wanting to follow her Son, experienced an earthly death.  What we do know is what Pope Pius XII solemnly declared some 60 years ago, that at the end of the Blessed Virgin Mary's earthly existence, she was assumed body and soul into heaven.  Thus, the Ark that St. John saw in his vision was no less than the Blessed Virgin Mary herself.

Some Changes to the GIRM

Over at the Chant Cafe, Jeffrey Tucker gave us the first look at some of the changes ushered in by the revised translation of the GIRM.  He reminded us that the 2003 GIRM we were operating under was meant to be a provisional one and the one that is now a part of the revised Roman Missal (due out in November) is the "permanent" (my interpretation, for lack of a better word) version.  Fr. Z, in his excellent blog, "What Does the Prayer Really Say", offers valuable insight into the revision of GIRM No. 160.

I called the USCCB to ask if this version was now in force and the answer was in the affirmative.

Here are some of the changes:

GIRM 2002

GIRM 2011

48. The singing at this time is done either alternately by the choir and the people or in a similar way by the cantor and the people, or entirely by the people, or by the choir alone. In the dioceses of the United States of America there are four options for the Entrance Chant: (1) the antiphon from the Roman Missal or the Psalm from the Roman Gradual as set to music there or in another musical setting; (2) the seasonal antiphon and Psalm of the Simple Gradual; (3) a song from another collection of psalms and antiphons, approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop, including psalms arranged in responsorial or metrical forms; (4) a suitable liturgical song similarly approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop. 61(d). [T]he following may also be sung in place of the Psalm assigned in the Lectionary for Mass: either the proper or seasonal antiphon and Psalm from the Lectionary, as found either in the Roman Gradual or Simple Gradual or in another musical setting; or an antiphon and Psalm from another collection of the psalms and antiphons, including psalms arranged in metrical form, providing that they have been approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop. Songs or hymns may not be used in place of the responsorial Psalm. 63. When there is only one reading before the Gospel, During a season when the Alleluia is to be said, either the Alleluia Psalm or the responsorial Psalm followed by the Alleluia with its verse may be used; During the season when the Alleluia is not to be said, either the psalm and the verse before the Gospel or the psalm alone may be used; The Alleluia or verse before the Gospel may be omitted if they are not sung. 87. In the dioceses of the United States of America there are four options for the Communion chant: (1) the antiphon from the Roman Missal or the Psalm from the Roman Gradual as set to music there or in another musical setting; (2) the seasonal antiphon and Psalm of the Simple Gradual; (3) a song from another collection of psalms and antiphons, approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop, including psalms arranged in responsorial or metrical forms; (4) a suitable liturgical song chosen in accordance with no. 86 above. This is sung either by the choir alone or by the choir or cantor with the people.

48. This chant is sung alternately by the choir and the people or similarly by a cantor and the people, or entirely by the people, or by the choir alone. In the Dioceses of the United States of America, there are four options for the Entrance Chant: (1) the antiphon from the Missal or the antiphon with its Psalm from the Gradual Romanum, as set to music there or in another setting; (2) the antiphon and Psalm of the Graduate Simplex for the liturgical time; (3) a chant from another collection of Psalms and antiphons, approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop, including Psalms arranged in responsorial or metrical forms; (4) another liturgical chant that is suited to the sacred action, the day, or the time of year, similarly approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop. 61(d). …[I]nstead of the Psalm assigned in the lectionary, there may be sung either the Responsorial Gradual from the Graduale Romanum, or the Responsorial Psalm or the Alleluia Psalm from the Graduale Simplex, as described in these books, or an antiphon and Psalm from another collection of Psalms and antiphons, including Psalms arranged in metrical fonn, providing that they have been approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop. Songs or hymns may not be used in place of the Responsorial Psalm. 63.  When there is one reading before the Gospel: a.       During a time of year when the Alleluia is prescribed, either an Alleluia Psalm or a Responsorial Psalm followed by the Alleluia with its verse may be used; b.      During a time of year when the Alleluia is not foreseen, either the Psalm and the verse before the Gospel or the Psalm alone may be used; c.       The Alleluia or the Verse before the Gospel, if not sung, may be omitted. 87. In the Dioceses of the United States of America, there are four options for singing at Communion: (1) the antiphon from the Missal or the antiphon with its Psalm from the Graduale Romanum, as set to music there or in another musical setting; (2) the antiphon with Psalm from the Graduale Simplex of the liturgical time; (3) a chant from another collection of Psalms and antiphons, approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop, including Psalms arranged in responsorial or metrical forms; (4) some other suitable liturgical chant (cf. no. 86) approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop.

The Homily After the homily a brief period of silence is appropriately observed.

The Homily It is appropriate for a brief period of silence to be observed after the Homily.

Mass Celebrated Without a Deacon 136. The priest, standing at the chair or at the ambo itself or, when appropriate, in another suitable place, gives the homily. When the homily is completed, a period of silence may be observed. 148. As he begins the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest extends his hands and sings or says, Dominus vobiscum (The Lord be with you). The people respond, Et cum spiritu tuo (And also with you). As he continues, Sursum corda (Lift up your hearts), he raises his hands. The people respond, Habemus ad Dominum (We lift them up to the Lord). Then the priest, with hands outstretched, adds, Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro (Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God), and the people respond, Dignum et iustum est (It is right to give him thanks and praise). Next, the priest, with hands extended, continues the Preface. At its conclusion, he joins his hands, and together with everyone present, sings or says aloud the Sanctus (cf. above, no. 79b). 150. A little before the consecration, when appropriate, a server rings a bell as a signal to the faithful. According to local custom, the server also rings the bell as the priest shows the host and then the chalice. 151.  After the consecration when the priest has said, Mysterium fidei (Let us proclaim the mystery of faith), the people sing or say an acclamation using one of the prescribed formulas. 154. Then the priest, with hands extended, says aloud the prayer, Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixisti (Lord Jesus Christ, you said). After this prayer is concluded, extending and then joining his hands, he gives the greeting of peace while facing the people and saying, Pax Domini sit simper vobiscum (The peace of the Lord be with you always). The people answer, Et cum spiritu tuo (And also with you). Afterwards, when appropriate, the priest adds, Offerte vobis pacem (Let us offer each other the sign of peace). 157. When the prayer is concluded, the priest genuflects, takes the host consecrated in the same Mass, and, holding it slightly raised above the paten or above the chalice, while facing the people, says, Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God). With the people he adds, Domine, non sum dignus (Lord, I am not worthy). 160.  The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession. The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them from one to another. The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm. 162. The priest may be assisted in the distribution of Communion by other priests who happen to be present. If such priests are not present and there is a very large number of communicants, the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, e.g., duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose.97 In case of necessity, the priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion.98 167. Then the priest, extending his hands, greets the people, saying, Dominus vobiscum (The Lord be with you). They answer, Et cum spiritu tuo (And also with you).

Masses Celebrated Without a Deacon 136. The Priest, standing at the chair or at the ambo itself, or, if appropriate, in another worthy place, gives the Homily.  When the Homily is over, a period of silence may be observed. 148.  As he begins the Eucharistic Prayer, the Priest extends his hands and sings or says, The Lord be with you.  The people reply, And with your spirit.   As he continues, saying Lift up your hearts, he raises his hands.  The people reply, We lift them up to the Lord.  Then, the Priest, with hands extended, adds Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, and the people reply, It is right and just.  After this, the Priest, with hands extended, continues the Preface.  At its conclusion, he joins his hands and, together with all those present, signs or says aloud the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) (cf no. 79b). 150. A little before the Consecration, if appropriate, a minister rings a bell to signal to the faithful.  The minister rings the small bell at each elevation by the Priest, according to local custom. 151.  After the Consecration, when the Priest has said, The mystery of faith, the people pronounce the acclamation, using one of the prescribed formulas. 154. Then the Priest, with hands extended, says aloud the prayer Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixit (Lord Jesus Christ, you said) and when it is concluded, extending and then joining his hands, he announces the greeting of peace, facing the people and saying, The peace of the Lord be with you always.  The people reply And with your spirit. After this, if appropriate, the Priest adds, Let us offer each other the sign of peace. 157.  When the prayer is concluded, the Priest genuflects, takes a host consecrated at the same Mass, and, holding it slightly raised above the paten or above the chalice, facing the people, says, Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God) and together with the people, he adds, Lord, I am not worthy. 160. The Priest then takes the paten or ciborium and approaches the communicants who usually come up in procession. It is not permitted for the faithful to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them on from one another among themselves.  The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum, March 25, 2004, no. 91). 162. In the distribution of Communion, the Priest may be assisted by other Priests who happen to be present.  If such Priests are not present and there is a truly large number of communicants, the Priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, that is, duly instituted acolytes, or even other faithful who have been duly deputed for this purpose.  In case of necessity, the Priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion. 167. Then the Priest, extending his hands, greets the people, saying, The Lord be with you.  They reply, And with your spirit.

Mass with a Deacon 181. After the priest has said the prayer at the Rite of Peace and the greeting Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum (The peace of the Lord be with you always) and the people have responded, Et cum spiritu tuo (And also with you), the deacon, if it is appropriate, invites all to exchange the sign of peace. He faces the people and, with hands joined, says, Offerte vobis pacem pacem (Let us offer each other the sign of peace). Then he himself receives the sign of peace from the priest and may offer it to those other ministers who are closer to him.	Mass with a Deacon 181. After the Priest has said the prayer for the Rite of Peace and the greeting, The peace of the Lord be with you always, and the people have replied And with your spirit, the Deacon, if appropriate, says the invitation to the Sign of Peace.  With hands joined, he faces the people and says, Let us offer each other the sign of peace.  Then he himself receives the Sign of Peace from the Priest and may offer it to those other ministers who are nearest to him.
Concelebrated Mass 243. Then the principal celebrant takes a host consecrated in the same Mass, holds it slightly raised above the paten or the chalice, and, facing the people, says the Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God). With the concelebrants and the people he continues, saying the Domine, non sum dignus (Lord, I am not worthy).	Concelebrated Mass 243. Then the principal celebrant takes a host consecrated in the same Mass, holds it slightly raised above the paten or the chalice, and, facing the people, says, Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God).  With the concelebrants and the people, he continues saying the Domine non sum dingus (Lord, I am not worth).
Mass at Which only One Minister Participates 266. After the acclamation at the end of the embolism that follows the Lord's Prayer, the priest says the prayer Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixisti (Lord Jesus Christ, you said). He then adds, Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum (The peace of the Lord be with you always), and the minister answers, Et cum spiritu tuo (And also with you). The priest gives the sign of peace to the minister, if appropriate 268. After the commixtion, the priest quietly says the prayer Domine Iesu Christe, Fili Dei vivi (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God) or Perceptio (Lord Jesus Christ, with faith in your love and mercy). Then he genuflects, takes the host, and, if the minister is to receive Communion, turns to the minister and, holding the host a little above the paten or the chalice, says the Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God), adding with the minister the Domine, non sum dignus (Lord, I am not worthy). Facing the altar, the priest then partakes of the Body of Christ. If, however, the minister does not receive Communion, the priest, after genuflecting, takes the host and, facing the altar, says quietly the Domine, non sum dignus (Lord, I am not worthy) and the Corpus Christi custodiat (May the Body of Christ bring) and then receives the Body of Christ. Then he takes the chalice and says quietly, Sanguis Christi custodiat (May the Blood of Christ bring), and then consumes the Blood of Christ.	Mass at Which only One Minister Participates 266. After the acclamation at the end of the embolism that follows the Lord’s Prayer, the Priest says the prayer Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixit (Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles).  He then adds, The peace of the Lord be with you always, to which the minister replies, And with your spirit.  If appropriate, the Priest gives the Sign of Peace to the minister. 268. After the commingling, the Priest quietly says the prayer, Domine Iesu Christe, Fili Dei vivi (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God) or the prayer Perceptio Corpus et Sanguis tui (May the receiving of your Body and Blood). Then, he genuflects, takes the host, and, holding the host a little above the paten or the chalice, says the  Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God), adding with the minister, Lord, I am not worthy.  Then, facing the altar, the Priest partakes of the Body of Christ.  If, however, the minister does not receive Communion, the Priest, genuflecting, takes the host and, facing the altar, says quietly, Lord, I am not worthy, etc., and the Corpus Christi custodiat me in vitam aeternam (May the Body of Christ keep me safe for eternal life), and consumes the body of Christ. Then he takes the chalice and says quietly, Sanguis Christi custodiat me in vitam aeternam (May the Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life), and consumes the Body of Christ.

The Arrangement and Orientation of Churches 307. The candles, which are required at every liturgical service out of reverence and on account of the festiveness of the celebration (cf. above, no. 117), are to be appropriately placed either on or around the altar in a way suited to the design of the altar and the sanctuary so that the whole may be well balanced and not interfere with the faithful's clear view of what takes place at the altar or what is placed on it. The Ambo 309. The dignity of the word of God requires that the church have a place that is suitable for the proclamation of the word and toward which the attention of the whole congregation of the faithful naturally turns during the Liturgy of the Word.117 It is appropriate that this place be ordinarily a stationary ambo and not simply a movable lectern. The ambo must be located in keeping with the design of each church in such a way that the ordained ministers and lectors may be clearly seen and heard by the faithful. From the ambo only the readings, the responsorial Psalm, and the Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) are to be proclaimed; it may be used also for giving the homily and for announcing the intentions of the Prayer of the Faithful. The dignity of the ambo requires that only a minister of the word should go up to it. 311. Places should be arranged with appropriate care for the faithful so that they are able to participate in the sacred celebrations visually and spiritually, in the proper manner. It is expedient for benches or seats usually to be provided for their use. The custom of reserving seats for private persons, however, is reprehensible.122 Moreover, benches or chairs should be arranged, especially in newly built churches, in such a way that the people can easily take up the postures required for the different parts of the celebration and can easily come forward to receive Holy Communion. 312. The choir should be positioned with respect to the design of each church so as to make clearly evident its character as a part of the gathered community of the faithful fulfilling a specific function. The location should also assist the choir to exercise its function more easily and conveniently allow each choir member full, sacramental participation in the Mass.123

The Arrangement and Orientation of Churches 307. The candlesticks required for the different l place at the liturgical services for reasons of reverence or the festive character of the celebration (cf. no. 117) should be appropriately placed either on the altar or around it, according to the design of the altar and the sanctuary, so that the whole may be harmonious and the faithful may not be impeded from clear view of what takes place at the altar or what is placed on it. The Ambo 309. The dignity of the Word of God requires that in the church there be a suitable place from which it may be proclaimed and toward which the attention of the faithful naturally turns during the Liturgy of the Word. It is appropriate that generally this place be a stationary ambo and not simply a movable lectern.  The ambo must be located in keeping with the design of each church in such a way that the ordained ministers and readers may be clearly seen and heard by the faithful. From the ambo only the readings, the Responsorial Psalm and the Easter Proclamation (Exultet) are to be used; likewise it may be used for giving the Homily and for announcing the intentions of the Universal Prayer.  The dignity of the ambo requires that only a minister of the word should stand at it. 311. Places for the faithful should be arranged with appropriate care so that they are able to participate in the sacred celebrations, duly following them with their eyes and their attention. It is desirable that benches or seating usually should be provided for their use.  However, the custom of reserving seats for private persons is to be reprobated.  Moreover, benches or seating should be so arranged, especially in newly built churches, that the faithful can easily take up the bodily postures required for the different parts of the celebration and can have easy access for the reception of Holy Communion. 312.  The schola cantorum (choir) should be so positioned with respect to the arrangement of each church that its nature may be clearly evident, namely as part of the assembled community of the faithful undertaking a specific function.  The positioning should also help the choir to exercise this function more easily and allow each choir member full sacramental participation in the Mass and in a convenient manner.

Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions 373. Masses for Various Needs or Masses for Various Circumstances are used in certain situations either as matters arise or at fixed times. Days or periods of prayer for the fruits of the earth, prayer for human rights and equality, prayer for world justice and peace, and penitential observances outside Lent are to be observed in the dioceses of the United States of America at times to be designated by the Diocesan Bishop. In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life. The Mass "For Peace and Justice" (no. 21 of the "Masses for Various Needs") should be celebrated with violet vestments as an appropriate liturgical observance for this day. Masses for the Dead 382. At the Funeral Mass there should, as a rule, be a short homily, but never a eulogy of any kind.

Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions 373.  Masses for Various Needs or Masses for Various Circumstances are used in certain situations either as matters arise or at fixed times. Days or periods of prayer for the fruits of the earth, prayer for human rights and equality, prayer for world justice and peace, and penitential observances outside Lent are to be observed in the dioceses of the United States of America at times to be designated by the Diocesan Bishop. In all the Dioceses of the United States, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations of the dignity of the human person committed through  acts of abortion.  The liturgical celebrations for this day may be the Mass “For Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life” (no. 48/1 of the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions), celebrated with white vestments, or the Mass “For the Preservation of Peace and Justice” (no. 30 of the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions), celebrated with violet vestments. Masses for the Dead 382. At Funeral Masses there should usually be a short Homily, but to the exclusion of a funeral eulogy of any kind.

What is rather notable is what the GIRM has retained, especially insofar as the distribution of Holy Communion under Both Kinds is concerned.  No. 287 in the revised version reiterates the fact that the Priest is the sole minister to employ the use of intinction.

In future blog posts, I will offer some commentary on these revisions.   However, I am posting these now so as to give folks some idea of what the changes, now in force, look like.  The USCCB has made the revised GIRM available at its website:

http://new.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/roman-missal/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/