Overture Organ Festival

The Overture Center will play host to the Madison Symphony Orchestra's Fourth Annual Overture Concert Organ Festival , September 18-20, 2009.

The program opens with a Friday evening (September 18) concert of music for trumpets and organ, featuring MSO organist Samuel Hutchison, MSO principal trumpet and UW Professor John Aley, and guest Andrew Balio, principal trumpet with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Tickets ($15) are required for this event.

On Saturday morning (September 19) at 11 a.m., organist Bruce Bengston will lead a free community hymn sing. The free Saturday morning hymn sings have been a tradition at the Overture Center for some time. Bruce is the long-time director of music at Luther Memorial Church and is a magnificent musician (and a great person!).

On Sunday afternoon, budding trumpet players won't want to miss the free master class for young trumpet players on the stage of the Overture Center. John Aley and Andrew Balio will serve as the master teachers. While the event is free, reservations are required (by September 15).

Resources for Commemorating September 11th

This Friday marks the eighth anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, "a dark day in the history of humanity, a terrible affront to human dignity" (Pope John Paul II, September 12, 2001 Audience), which he said left him (and all of the world) "heartbroken." Many parishes have Masses, Vespers, or some other liturgical prayer that day while others will commemorate the event at the Saturday evening and Sunday Masses.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has had a page with prayers, intercessions and homily resources posted for several years. Even if you have referred to this in the past, it's worth another look. There are prayers for peace, for our nation, for our troops and for our leaders. This Friday also may be a good day to look once again at Pope Benedict XVI's prayer that he offered at Ground Zero when he visited New York last year.

Two days after the attacks, Pope John Paul II welcomed a new American ambassador to the Holy See. In his remarks, the Holy Father said:

I pray that this inhuman act will awaken in the hearts of all the world’s peoples a firm resolve to reject the ways of violence, to combat everything that sows hatred and division within the human family, and to work for the dawn of a new era of international cooperation inspired by the highest ideals of solidarity, justice and peace.

Sometime this week most of us will recall where we were and what we were doing as these horrific attacks took place and their impact began to sink into our hearts. It might be a better exercise to consider --both personally and as a nation--where we have been since September 11th and what we are doing to "work for the dawn of a new era...inspired by the highest ideals of solidarity, justice and peace."

Give Success to the Work of Our Hands

The following litany was developed by the Office of Worship a number of years ago at the request of our Office for Justice and Peace. It was intended to help us remember to pray for all of those who do not have work or who are oppressed because of unsafe or unethical working conditions.

A Litany for Labor Day

Leader: Friends, let us offer our prayers to God who pronounced all creation good, who sent his Son to live and work as one like us, and who calls us to serve in love the poor and those oppressed by any need. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

Response (all): Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

Reader: For those who are unemployed or underemployed, we pray:

Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

For those who have lost their jobs due to changing economic conditions, we pray:

Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

For those who work in hazardous conditions without sufficient protection, we pray:

Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

For migrant workers and all who work the land, we pray:

Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

For children who are forced to work and for elderly who are not sufficiently supported in retirement, we pray:

Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

For those who face discrimination, harassment or abuse in the workplace, we pray:

Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

For those who must balance job commitments with the needs of their families, we pray:

Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

Loving God,
through your Son Jesus Christ

you gave us an example to love one another

as he loved us.

Give us the strength to continue working

to bring forth your kingdom here on earth--

a kingdom of justice and peace,

kindness and compassion,

grace and mercy.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Questions: The Ministry of Reader

The Office of Worship regularly is asked questions about the qualifications of readers for Mass. In particular, people seem to want to know if children may read, if one must be Confirmed to read, and if a person must be Catholic to read at Mass.

Liturgical documents are relatively silent when it comes to requirements for a reader. They generally make a distinction between an instituted reader and other readers or lectors. The Ministry of Reader is one of the instituted ministries on the path to Ordination (the other is Acolyte). Prior to being ordained deacons, men are installed first as readers and then as acolytes. Because they are connected with Ordination, these ministries, in their instituted form, are reserved to men.

In the absence of such instituted readers (which is all of the time in most places), the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (no. 101) says:

"In the absence of an instituted lector, other laypersons may be commissioned to proclaim the readings from Sacred Scripture. They should be truly suited to perform this function and should receive careful preparation, so that the faithful by listening to the readings from the sacred texts may develop in their hearts a warm and living love for Sacred Scripture."

The Twelfth Synod of Bishops on the Word of God (2008) spoke strongly about the desire to train and form both men and women for this important ministry. (For more information on this see the November-December 2008 issue of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Divine Worship Newsletter.)

Liturgical documents do not require that readers have received the Sacrament of Confirmation (although it is certainly desirable), nor do they set a minimum age. The idea is that the reader possesses the skills of public proclamation as well as a love for Scripture (not just reading it, but living it!).

Non-Catholics often are asked to read during Wedding and Funeral Masses. Is this permissible?

The US Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship offers this answer (written in the first person by one of their officials) on their website:

Paragraph 133 of the Directory [for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism published in 1993 by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity] addresses the question of a non-Catholic fulfilling the ministry of reader at Mass. The Directory makes clear that normally "during a eucharistic celebration in the Catholic Church" the readings are to be proclaimed by a Catholic. The Directory goes on, however, to allow that "on exceptional occasions and for a just cause, the bishop of the diocese may permit a member of another church or ecclesial community to take on the task of reader.

The intentions of the General Intercessions are proposed by "the deacon, another minister, or some of the faithful," (Lectionary for Mass, Introduction, number 30.) I would suggest that the principles established by the Directory for the proclamation of the readings could be applied to the General Intercessions: ordinarily, the intercessions at Mass are proclaimed by a Catholic. As in paragraph 133 of the Directory, however, the bishop may allow a non-Catholic proclaim the General Intercessions according to his own pastoral judgement.

Keep in mind that the above guidelines are for use at Mass. Other liturgical celebrations (Weddings Outside Mass, for example), do not require special permission. It's also good to remind brides and grooms or others involved that reading Scripture is not just "one more job" that can be awarded as an honor to friends. It is an important ministry and ideally the person should exercise this function in their own church.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee's Office for Worship has a wonderful brochure about the ministry as well as numerous other excellent resources.

Finally, the Book of Blessings offers this beautiful prayer for the Blessing of Readers (no. 1844):

Everlasting God,
when he read in the synagogue at Nazareth,
your Son proclaimed the good news of salvation
for which he would give up his life.

Bless these readers.
As they proclaim your words of life,
strengthen their faith
that they may read with conviction and boldness
and put into practice what they read.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

In the Hope of Everlasting Life

August 31, 2009, marks the 17th anniversary of the death of Bishop Cletus F. O'Donnell.

Bishop O'Donnell served as second Bishop of Madison for 25 years (1967-1992) steering our local Church through the many changes of the Second Vatican Council. Our records show that he ordained more than 80 priests of the Diocese, many of whom are still active. Most of these priests still have great affection for Bishop O'Donnell and Bishop O'Donnell's influence lives to this day.

He attended the Second Vatican Council as an auxiliary bishop of Chicago. His episcopal motto was In Spem Vitae Aeternae (In the hope of life everlasting). The chapel of the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center bears his name--the Bishop O'Donnell Holy Name Memorial Chapel. He is buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Madison.

Almighty and merciful God,
eternal Shepherd of your people,
listen to our prayers
and grant that your servant, Cletus, our bishop,
to whom you entrusted the care of this Church,
may enter the joy of his eternal Master,
there to receive the rich reward of his labors.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
From the Order of Christian Funerals

Photo courtesy of the Madison Catholic Herald

Lectionary-based Music Resource

The National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) has two wonderful resources to help musicians plan music which flows from the Sunday readings. They are definitely worth a look!

The NPM Music Planning Calendar includes suggestions of Psalms and hymns appropriate for each Sunday and holy day of obligation in the Church year. Each suggestion notes the hymnal(s) or other publication(s) in which the music is found.

The stated purpose of the Choral Anthem Project is

to list repertory suggestions for parish choir directors, independent of publishing industry interests, so that those responsible for selecting and preparing choral anthems may have a rich store of selections of high quality choral music related to the Sunday scriptures from which to choose.

Once again, each Sunday and holy day of obligation of the Church year is listed, although some days have few or no suggestions. Most of the music suggested is accessible to the average Catholic parish choir and embraces a wide-range of repertoire from historic music to compositions of today.

Both of these resources are one tool to help musicians plan. They should not be the sole resource for planning in your parish, nor should you feel bound to do something from these lists. Such lists are an excellent place to turn for ideas and I often find that when consulting them, new ideas pop into my mind.

The rest of NPM's website has a great deal of information for pastors, liturgists and musicians. There are catechetical resources, materials for liturgy preparation, and guidelines regarding professional concerns. It's a good place to bookmark and visit now and then.

"Nothing is lost with peace!"

Some Catholic websites are reporting today on a story from the Vatican's newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, commemorating the 70th anniversary of Pope Pius XII's radio message calling for peace on the eve of the Second World War.

The political situation in Europe had been deteriorating for some time, but things accelerated quickly in August of 1939. On August 23, The Soviets and Nazis signed a non-agression pact, surprising many that these ideaological enemies could come to this agreement.

On the next day (August 24), Pope Pius XII surprised the world by broadcasting a radio message "to the heads of state and peoples of the world faced with the immenent danger of war" from his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo. He told people (in my very sketchy translation, aided by Google),

It is through the force of reason, not weapons, that justice is achieved. Empires not founded by justice are not blessed by God...Nothing is lost with peace! Everything can be lost with war!

Unfortunately, the plea for peace fell on deaf ears and eight days later Hitler's army invaded Poland, bringing the world to war.

As we recall the days leading to World War II, it would be a good time to thank God for the countless sacrifices made by good people throughout the world to defend freedom, especially in World War II. It also might be good to ask God to grant us peace.

Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace,
who are yourself our peace and reconciliation,
who so often said, "Peace to you," grant us peace.

Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice,
and brotherly love.
Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace.
Enlighten our rulers that they may guarantee and defend
the great gift of peace.
May all peoples of the earth become as brothers and sisters.
May longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always over us all.
Pope John XXIII, Prayer for Peace