PONDERING
I have been noticing lately that we are getting
a little sloppy with our reception of communion. The head bow before communion
seems to be missing.
Perhaps, we need to remember why the head bow is
recommended. It is meant as a sign of reverence; a subdued sign of reverence,
but a sign of reverence nonetheless. We need to be more reverent with the
Eucharist. One of the complaints that is frequently
made against the Second Vatican Council and the reformed liturgy is that, “they
took away all the reverence.” As far as the documents are concerned, nothing
could be further from the truth. The “old forms of reverence” were changed by
necessity. What were those forms of reverence? First and foremost was Latin.
The ancient, but dead language gave a patina of reverence. There was something
otherworldly about Latin. The problem was that no one, or very few people,
actually knew what was being said, so Latin had to go if liturgy were to come
alive. Part of the Latin was Gregorian chant – some of which was remarkably
uncomplicated while some of it was extremely complex – but all of it had a
haunting quality. Most of Gregorian chant was written to be performed by
choirs, which rendered the congregation to spectator status, which is endemic
to proper liturgical celebrations. Part of the reverence was the mystery
created by the priest facing the wall. And the reverence was all topped off
with strict fasting rules and the expectation of confession before communion.
If we have to bring back all those non-essential
elements to have reverence again then we are in big trouble. So how, short of a
return to spectator liturgies, are we going to get the
reverence back? We need to be cognizant of what a precious gift the Eucharist
is. We need to remember that the Eucharist is both a sacrifice and a meal of
fellowship. We need to remember that bread and wine are very ordinary elements
that are transformed into the extraordinary presence of Jesus Christ in our
midst. The reverence will be present when we are more focused on how blessed we
are to be a sacramental people. We need to slow down and remember Him and His
sacrificial, saving death on the cross.
In very practical terms, we need to bow our
heads; we need to establish eye contact with the minister of Eucharist; we need
to hold our hands slightly elevated and remember what we are receiving is a
precious gift of God’s love. When we come forward to receive the bread and the
wine, we need to remember that our God has chosen to be present to us as food
for the journey of faith. When the ministers of Eucharist say, “Body of Christ”
and “Blood of Christ” what is really being said is, “God loves you!” and love
is a gift that must be treasured and wrapped in reverence.
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday,
September 27
5:00 p.m. Manuel
and Agnes Alvernaz
Carolyn
Hagenstein
Sunday,
September 28
8:00 a.m. Christine
Bernier
Robert
Corbey
Andrew
King
9:15 a.m. Richard
J. Reynolds
11:35 a.m. Madeline
and Roland Loiselle
Louise
Lorenzo
Monday,
September 29
12:00 p.m. Leo
Mayewski
Wednesday,
October 1
12:00 p.m. Bud
Gunning
Friday,
October 3
12:00 p.m. Lucinda
Bernard
Saturday,
October 4
5:00 p.m. Julia
Dalton
Anna
McKee
Bertha
McKee
Sunday,
October 5
8:00 a.m. Catherine
Bray
Monsignor
Edmund Brock
9:15 a.m. Gerard
DiSchino
Jerry
Whitney
Elaine
Whitney
STEPHEN
MINISTRY MESSAGE
While reading a fairly silly little mystery, IOU,
I found this passage describing the main character as she went through the days
following her mother’s funeral. She was feeling the need to talk to
someone about her feelings, but reluctant to call someone. “My friends all
worked; I couldn’t just call and dump on them in the middle of their
jobs. Of course my best friend was a psychiatrist, so she was used to it;
but something in me shied away from calling. I thought of others I might call, ... but it suddenly seemed such an effort, too much
effort really. And besides, if they really cared about me, wouldn’t they
be calling to make sure I was all right?”
Grief and depression can cause us to feel this way; that everything is too much
of an effort. What a good time to make the effort to call a Stephen
Minister. There is someone to listen to you and be nonjudgmental
about your feelings. Call Carol
Hartley at 783-4036 (carolhartley@cox.net), Larry Bartley at 965-7276 (LJBJR@cox.net)
or call the rectory.
RELIGIOUS FORMATION
Classes today, September 28 as scheduled for grades PRE-K to 8.
CONFIRMATION NOTES
PHASE II: The first class for Candidates and
Sponsors is Sunday, September 28 at 5:30 p.m. in the hall.
GRADE 1 PARENTS AND NEW STUDENTS
Parents of Grade 1 and students new
to Christ the King (and any interested
parents) are invited to attend a program overview session, Sunday, October 5th, 10:40 to 11:15 a.m. (during
class time) in Swan Hall Room 215.
Topics will include a general
program overview, Sacramental programs, format of classes, etc.
SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING
Plan ahead for Safe
Environment Training. You will be notified if you
are required to attend. More details to follow.
SACRAMENTAL
RECEPTIONS COMMITTEE
Sunday,
September 28 after the 9:15 a.m. mass there will be a meeting
for the members of the Sacramental Receptions Committee (setup & cleanup)
in the Parish hall.
Dawn Smith, Chairperson
SEMINARIAN
COLLECTION
Next weekend, parishes across the diocese will
participate in a collection to support 19 seminarians studying for the
priesthood in the Diocese of Providence. In a time where society places so much
value on material gain, it is inspiring to know that there are many who are
willing to commit themselves to God and their faith.
Please consider a generous donation to this most
important effort and play a key role in educating the next generation of
Catholic priests.
THE RED MASS
Bishop Tobin will celebrate the Red Mass October 2, at 6 p.m. in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul. Reverend
Monsignor F. Stephen Pedone, JCL, Judicial Vicar and Vicar for Canonical
Affairs in the Diocese of Worcester will be the homilist. The annual Red
Mass is held for lawyers and jurists and is sponsored by the St. Thomas More
Society. A reception will follow the Mass in the Cathedral Hall. All
are welcome to attend this special celebration. For more information, please
visit www.dioceseofprovidence.org.
LITURGY CORNER
RITE OF
CHRISTIAN INITIATION
OF ADULTS
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) prepares adults to
celebrate the sacraments of Christian initiation – Baptism, Confirmation and
Eucharist. The group is typically comprised of unbaptized adults, baptized
adults from other Christian traditions and Roman Catholics who have not
celebrated Confirmation and possibly Eucharist. These adults meet in a group
setting with catechists who share faith through prayer, talks and discussions.
We meet on Wednesdays in the
If
interested please call Nancy Drennan,
Pastoral Associate at 783-7459, ext. 211.
URI students may call
Fr. Matt Glover at the
EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS AND LECTORS
Please return
your application forms as soon as possible to the office. The new schedule
begins the first Sunday of Advent, November
30.
CALENDAR
FOR SEPTEMBER 27 – OCTOBER 5
Saturday, September 27
7:00 Golf
Tournament Dinner/Hall
Sunday,
September 28
5:30 p.m. PH
II Student/Sponsor Meeting/Hall
Tuesday, September 30
7:30 p.m. Choir
Wednesday, October 1
7:00 p.m. RCIA/Catholic
Center
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 2
7:00 p.m. Bible
Study/Hall
Friday, October 3
7:00 p.m. First
Eucharist Belonging/Church
Saturday, October 4
4:00 p.m. Confession
Sunday,
October 5
5:30 p.m. PH
I/Washburn
5:30 p.m. PH
II/Hall