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These pages are intended for those who are in the early stages of their ministry and looking for some solid foundations on which to build. I started when I was a teenager and suddenly found that I was the only musician who had turned up for the "Folk Mass" one Sunday back in the early 'Seventies! Liturgy was not a word that was in common use in my Parish and so I picked out hymns that I knew and learned from my mistakes on the odd occasion when someone spoke to me about it. I think that it is quite worrying when, more than a quarter of a century later, one discovers that this still goes on today - hence this page. If you get hold of a copy of the Weekday Missal there's a very useful introduction that would have helped me a great deal in my teens and which I refer to regularly these days. I'm sure that more guidance will come soon but this is as good a starting point as any. It contains extracts and information from a mighty tome called THE GENERAL INSTRUCTION ON THE ROMAN MISSAL - you might have seen the acronym GIRM on occasion and now you know what it means. This document is actually decades old; I'm told that an updated version was completed in 2000 but this has not been published and is not likely to see the light of day until the new Roman Missal gets translated into English (and checked, ratified, derogated, etc.) - expect something fresh and new within the next decade ... |
| In the words of the
GIRM, the Mass "... is the centre of Christian
life. ... All other actions and works of of the Christian life are related
to the eucharistic celebration, leading up to it and flowing from it."
In preparing and arranging the celebration we are encouraged to consider
the nature and circumstances of the worshipping assembly in order to
"... bring about conscious, active, and full participation of the people
...". "In the celebration of Mass ... Christ is really present
in the assembly itself, which is gathered in his name ...".
The Mass is made up of two key elements - the liturgy of the word and the liturgy of the eucharist but "... the two parts are so closely connected as to form one act of worship ...". Now, much of the content on the GIRM has remained unaltered since the 1960's so I would remind you that we are instructed to take into account "... individual and local circumstances ..." and to arrange the forms and elements proposed by the Church which "... will best foster active and full participation and promote the spiritual welfare of the faithful." For example, I worship in a small 1960's-built Church with quite an intimate atmosphere and an enthusiastic congregation. Up until Lent 2002 we had two Masses on Sunday morning - one in which the Presider led the acclamations if he was so inclined and the the other in which Ied the music, armed with guitar and a strong voice. The two Masses have been reduced to just one - but we worked hard to raise some money and invested in a good quality electronic piano so that I could accompany more traditional settings as well as the guitar-based music. On a good day we number around 130. With the reorganisations which Bishop Kieran has quickly introduced to prepare us for the growing shortage of Priests in the diocese we are part of a large Parish consisting of 6 widely contrasting Mass Centres and 9 different Worshipping Communities. Visiting Masses other than my own has reinforced my feeling that "... individual & local circumstances..." really must be taken into account. What is written here is a starting point and certainly not to be taken as "cast in stone" (in fact it's HTML - which is highly flexible and can be adapted easily to suit the environment!). I'm going to divide the information into 3 sections; each on it's own page - just click on the hyperlink ... For the full text pop out and buy a copy from your Christian Education Centre. |
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Contact us at: info@abmus.org.uk |
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