I was greatly encouraged by Father Hawkswell’s article in the Jan. 20 edition entitled “Worship as one body.”
We should indeed be united in our worship and follow the guidelines of our bishops, as described in The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), which can also be found on the Canadian bishops’ website, cccb.ca.
The word Catholic means universal, so the more we deviate from the guidelines of our bishops and make up our own individual rubrics, the less Catholic we become. I think it important for all priests, choir directors, and all involved in the leadership of liturgy to be familiar with the GIRM.
I was glad that Father Hawkswell emphasized the importance of silence in our liturgical worship. Silence during Mass renews our sense of wonder and is essential for effective contemplative and meditative prayer. When I was a teenager, it was the silence during Holy Communion that led to moments of deeper conversion and a maturing of my faith. I would argue that it is only in silence that a conversion to Christ is possible.
So my plea to my fellow Catholics is: please don’t deprive us of silence in church. Our lives are already noisy enough. We do not need to fill every second of the Eucharistic celebration with sound. “Even before the celebration itself, it is a praiseworthy practice for silence to be observed in the church … so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred celebration in a devout and fitting manner.” (GIRM 45)
Devotions, such as the Rosary, are good, but fitting preparation for the liturgy is of greater importance, so devotions should be prayed individually in silence rather than communally.
A long quiet time after Communion is important. “When the distribution of Communion is over, if appropriate, the Priest and faithful pray quietly for some time. If desired, a Psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn may also be sung by the whole congregation.” (GIRM 88, emphasis mine).
A Communion hymn is not mandatory, but optional, because silence is of greater importance.
Mark Norbury OP
Port Moody
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