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The "Pastor's Corner" is a collection of essays written by Father McCreary on a variety of subjects including Church teachings, social issues of the day, and things to think about. They are published weekly in our Church Bulletin. Click on a essay title below to jump to that essay, scroll down to read them all or click on a subject above to view more essays. |
From
the Pastor's Desk  Very Reverend Glenn McCreary, V.F. |
Year of the Eucharist, Forty Hours Devotion and Rosary, October 23rd, 2005
The real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, October 16th, 2005
Communion Song at Mass, September 18th, 2005
Mass Schedules, September 25th, 2005
Year of the Eucharist, Forty Hours Devotion and Rosary, October 23rd, 2005
The Year of the Eucharist may be winding down, but its challenges and graces continue.
Bishop Martino has decided to continue some of the experience of the
Year of the Eucharist into the future.
First, the bishop has asked all parishes of the dioceses to celebrate
the Forty Hours Devotion. Let's refresh our memories about the Forty
Hours. These are more or less three days of more or less continuous
prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The "forty hours"
refers to the time Jesus rested in the tomb between his death and resurrection.
Part of the attitude of the Forty Hours is that, in gratitude for Christ's
love, we-as a parish-spend with Jesus the amount of time he spent in
death, death for us. The old tradition was that parishes in a diocese
all arranged their eucharistic days so that somewhere in the diocese
people were concentrating their efforts in this quiet prayer.
Our parish will carefully consider when might the best time to celebrate these revived days of prayer.
Secondly, the bishop now requires one decade of the rosary to
be prayed immediately before all masses of obligation. Those moments
of prayer and reflection will be offered for vocations. We desperately
need vocations-without the priesthood, there is no eucharist; without
the eucharist, there is no church! He hopes that these decades of the
rosary will offer foster a deeper spirit of prayer as we prepare to
celebrate our Sunday and holyday eucharists.
We will need people to help lead the rosary at every mass of obligation.
Please don't wait for the pastor to personally beg you to do this! If
you are able and interested in leading that prayer, please call the
office as soon as possible. If you are already involved as a lector,
musician or communion minister, you're still available to say, "yes"
to leading the rosary.
The real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, October 16th, 2005
A few years ago pollsters did a survey of American Catholics. They
asked questions about what they believed and how they lived out that
belief.
Some of the answers were predictable. Catholics admired Pope John Paul
II. They liked the church's stand on poverty and justice. They complained
either that the church had changed too much or too little in the past
40 years.
Some answers were surprising. Many people tended to overestimate their
mass attendance. If you ask people how often they come, some 45 to 50%
are here every Sunday. If you count the bodies in the pews however,
only about 25 to 30% actually make it.
One answer was troubling. When asked about the church's teaching about
the real presence of Jesus in the eucharist, only about 30% seemed to
believe it. Many responded that the bread and wine were only symbols
of Jesus.
That answer should trouble us. The real presence is an ancient teaching,
a key doctrine of the faith. Some of our ancestors in the faith gave
up economic advancement, higher educational opportunities, the ability
to run for public office rather than deny that teaching. Some died for
their belief in the real presence.
As this Year of the Eucharist closes, let's take the opportunity to
remember what we believe, the faith that's been handed down to us through
the ages. Let's talk about what that belief really mean.
Communion Song at Mass, September 18th, 2005
Every once and while we just need a reminder.
Lately we've noticed that fewer people are actually singing the communion
song at mass. That music has turned into a solo or a choral piece-something
that we listen to or something that becomes religious Muzak in the background.
And while that's neither exactly wicked nor one of the more important
things on the Christian agenda these days, we need a reminder of what
we do at communion and why we do it.
Communion is both a sharing in the life of the risen Lord and a sharing
in the life of the Christian community. Jesus is, after all, the head
of the body, the church. And in holy communion we become one with Jesus
and we become one with his church.
And in the Catholic tradition, we have always sung at communion time.
Look in the old hand missal your grandmother used: every Sunday and
feast day had an Introit-the entrance song-and a Communion.
But in the Catholic tradition, we've had a particular way of singing
at communion time. The ideal was the communion antiphon, sung by the
people while a cantor or choir sang the verses (usually from one of
the psalms).
The dynamic worked this way: to show your union with God's people around
you and to allow that communion song with its scriptural message to
sink in, you sang the refrain. While the choir or cantor sang the verses,
you had quiet time to prepare to receive the Lord or to offer your thanksgiving
after communion. Both your individual encounter with the sacramental
Christ and your unity with the community were served.
Let's work at regaining this traditional and powerful way of approaching
communion.
On our part, we'll work to choose music that fits: short, easy to sing,
easy to remember verses you can use as you move in the communion procession.
Protestant styled hymns, lovely as they may be, just don't fit here.
And we'll remember to invite you to participate, to sing at mass.
And for your part, please join in the song. Your voice adds to the church's
worship. Your voice strengthens the church's voice. Your voice expresses
your longing and your gratitude for God's great gift of his Son in the
Eucharist
Mass Schedules, September 25th, 2005
Letter
from Bishop Joseph F. Martino
Bishop of Scranton Pennsylvania
Enclosed in this week's bulletin is Bishop Martino's
letter on parish mass schedules. Please read this letter carefully.
The bishop wants us to understand the church's law and the reasoning
behind it. Restrictions do not exist solely to annoy us-they are there
for the life of the church, both laity and clergy.
What does the church's law mean to us here at Resurrection? How have
we kept the spirit of the law? What changes should we look forward to?
I think we can be grateful that we at Resurrection have dealt with these
issues already. Take, for example:
- Saturday Masses: Some time ago we eliminated the Saturday
morning Mass. That allows us to have one other Saturday Mass (funeral,
wedding, or a special feast day celebration) in addition to the Sunday
vigil.
- Funerals: For the past five years we've cancelled the "daily"
Mass when we have a funeral. Many of us have generously attended the
funeral Masses for any parishioner-whether we know the person or not,
they are members of this church, this body of Christ.
- Sunday Masses: This year we began a summer Mass schedule,
reducing Sunday masses from three to two. This change responded to
a lower Mass attendance in the summer months.
- Weddings: Most of our marriages have lately been celebrated
with a Liturgy of the Word rather than a nuptial Mass. Weeknight nuptial
Masses continue to be a possibility.
- When the pastor is away: For Sunday and holyday Masses we will continue to seek coverage. Lately when I've been away in the middle of the week, I've sometimes rescheduled Masses to allow me to take them. Sometimes we've provided a communion service, especially for Wednesday evenings. And sometimes we've simply cancelled weekday Masses and advised the parish about the availability of Masses at neighboring parishes. (Our Lady of Lourdes, after all, is only 12 minutes away!)