Thank you to those parishioners who joined us on our recent visit to Holy Family Church as part of our renovation process.

See images of Holy Family

This week, we have held formation workshops for our Ministers of Communion. Every year, our ministers share matters that they wish they could share with you. So this week, we have the first of a series we’re calling:

Things Communion Ministers Want You to Know

1. Receive Communion under both kinds

Our ministers understand that for many years, the congregation (or assembly) were denied the opportunity to receive communion from the chalice, but now this opportunity and privilege has been given to us again.

The command Jesus gave to his disciples was simple “take this, all of you and eat it… take this, all of you, and drink from it…” To eat the host and drink from the chalice allows us to enter fully into the ritual meal instituted by Jesus in the last supper.

Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when it is distributed under both kinds…
(General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 281)

Photo: Chalice by mafleen

Thank you to all parishioners who took part in our recent meeting and learnt more about the renovation concept.  In order to continue to learn more about other renovated churches, to gain more feedback from parishioners, and learn what would work best in our parish, we would like to invite all parishioners to join us on visiting other renovated churches.  The first visit is tomorrow to:

Holy Family Catholic Church
254 Luxford Road, Emerton
10:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday 8 November

If you wish to join us, please collect the “Visitor’s Sheet” from the display in the parish centre today, or access it here in two parts:

1. Rebuilding Church in the Community – an article about the renovations at Holy Family by then pastor Fr Peter Confeggi (Catholic Outlook, August 2007)
2. Church Visit Feedback Form – for completion after the church visit

The work of the Liturgy Committee to date, including consultation with parishioners, has resulted in the development of a renovation concept. This concept includes a number of matters we would like considered in plans for a renovated church. One consideration for our renovation plans is:

The completion of all necessary modifications to the building to allow the full participation in liturgical celebrations of people with disabilities

Those who have contributed to the conversation so far believe this is important because:

It is essential that all forms of the liturgy be completely accessible to persons with disabilities since these forms are the essence of the spiritual tie that binds the Christian community together. To exclude members of the parish from these celebrations of the life of the Church, even by passive omission, is to deny the reality of that community. Accessibility involves far more than physical alterations to parish buildings. Realistic provision must be made for persons with disabilities to participate fully in the eucharist and other liturgical celebrations such as the sacraments of reconciliation, confirmation and anointing of the sick. (Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on Persons with Disabilities; November 1978, revised 1989)

Church buildings have to facilitate many liturgical and devotional activities in addition to the celebration of Mass… They have to accommodate many different people as well. In the quest to provide an inclusive and hospitable place, access to all parts of the building should be equally available to all. As an instance of this, particular focus in recent years has been on legal changes favouring access for those with disabilities. The vocation of the community is to announce the Gospel to everyone and this has to be expressed not only in what the Church does but also in the buildings it uses. (Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Consecrated for Worship, 12)

The work of the Liturgy Committee to date, including consultation with parishioners, has resulted in the development of a renovation concept. This concept includes a number of matters we would like considered in plans for a renovated church. One consideration for our renovation plans is:

The establishment of a Blessed Sacrament Chapel

Those who have contributed to the conversation so far believe this is important because:

The Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the Cathedral by Zeetz Jones

The place for the reservation of the eucharist should be truly preeminent. It is highly recommended that the place be suitable also for private adoration and prayer so that the faithful may easily, fruitfully, and constantly honour the Lord, present in the sacrament, through personal worship. This will be achieved more easily if the chapel is separate from the body of the church, especially in churches where marriages and funerals are celebrated frequently and churches which are much visited by pilgrims or because of their artistic and historical treasures. (Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, 9)

The tabernacle for eucharistic reservation is a reminder of Christ’s presence that comes about in the sacrifice of the Mass. But it is also a reminder of the brothers and sisters we must cherish in charity, since it was in fulfilment of the sacramental ministry received from Christ that the Church first began to reserve the eucharist for the sake of the sick and the dying.

In our churches adoration has always been offered to the reserved sacrament, the bread which came down from heaven. (Book of Blessings, 1192)

We are now into the month of October. The last month has been a wonderful time of celebration, as our young parishioners completed their sacramental initiation into the Catholic Church.

We now take some time during the month of November to focus on some of the liturgical ministries in our parish.

Altar Servers. The time to register to participate in this ministry is now. To register, visit our parish website, www.olmcwenty.org.au/altarservers or call Fr. Paul on 9631 8302. This ministry is open to any male or female parishioner who has been fully initiated into the Catholic Church (i.e., has received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and communion).

Ministers of the Word and Ministers of Communion. Each October, these ministers take time to engage in continuing formation for their ministry. Attendance at the annual formation workshop is one of the expectations of those who participate in these ministries and is required of every minister. People interested in becoming a Minister of Communion may also attend the workshop in preparation. The dates for the workshops are below.

We look forward to being able to support our parishioners in their service to our community as liturgical ministers.

The work of the Liturgy Committee to date, including consultation with parishioners, has resulted in the development of a renovation concept. This concept includes a number of matters we would like considered in plans for a renovated church. One consideration for our renovation plans is:

The establishment of a new chapel of reconciliation

Those who have contributed to the conversation so far believe this is important because:

confessionary in Cathedral of Christ the Light by size8jeans

The sacrament of penance is ordinarily celebrated in a church or oratory, unless a legitimate reason stands in the way. The conferences of bishops are to establish the norms pertaining to the confessional, which will include provision for clearly visible confessionals that the faithful who wish may readily use and that are equipped with a fixed screen between the penitent and the confessor. (Rite of Penance, 12)

The practice of reserving a special place in churches for the celebra­tion of the sacrament of reconciliation is a clear expression of the truth that sacramental confession and absolution constitute a liturgical action which involves the entire body of the Church and is intended to renew the participation of the faithful in the Church’s offering of the sacrifice of Christ. (Book of Blessings, 1080)

Have you ever wondered who makes sure the holy water fonts at the doors are filled and cleaned?

Until recent times, it was one of the many important but often taken-for-granted jobs performed by Pat Le Mottee.  Pat passed away on 9 September, and her funeral was celebrated on Tuesday.

Pat was very much engaged in liturgical ministry here in Wentworthville.  Despite her reservations, she served as a Minister of the Word and Minister of Communion.  She performed many tasks belonging to sacristans, such as washing linen, polishing brassware and keeping plants and flowers topped up with water.  Even though she disliked the task, she was ever-diligent in recording the use of overheads for our copyright records and filing them away so music ministers could find them the next weekend.  After Mass, on Saturday mornings, Pat would lead parishioners in praying the rosary at the Marian shrine.  There is probably even more that she did that I cannot recall, or am simply not aware that she did.

This brings me to the point of my writing about Pat.  For those of us in liturgical ministry, Pat gave us an example of humble service.  Everything she did was done for the honour and glory of the God she so dearly loved and whom she knew loved her.  Never at any time did she draw attention to herself.  No matter how seemingly insignificant the task, no matter how much she liked or disliked it, Pat did it humbly out of dedication and love.

Pat’s liturgical ministry and her faith serve as a model for us all.

May the angels lead you into paradise;
may the martyrs come to welcome you
and take you to the holy city,
the new and eternal Jerusalem.

from the Rite of Committal, Order of Christian Funerals

As part of our work on renovating our church, we are looking at images of different liturgical spaces.

Many are recently constructed or renovated.  Some are spaces known to us, while others we’ve only seen online.  They include spaces such as:

• our own St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta (Sydney, Australia)
• the Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland (California)
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Middle Park (Melbourne, Australia)

Our first collection of images is of baptismal fonts and baptisteries.

Images for Inspiration: the Baptismal Font and Baptistery

The work of the Liturgy Committee to date, including consultation with parishioners, has resulted in the development of a renovation concept. This concept includes a number of matters we would like considered in plans for a renovated church. The first consideration for our renovation plans is:

The establishment of a new baptistery at the threshold between the parish centre and church, placing it at the present entrance into the church

Those who have contributed to the conversation so far believe this is important because:

St Patrick's Cathedral Parramatta chapel1 by judyvk

Baptism, the door to life and to the kingdom of God, is the first sacrament of the New Law, which Christ offered to all, that they might have eternal life. (Christian Initiation: General Introduction (CIGI), 3)

chapel font by professor megan

The baptistery or the area where the baptismal font is located should be reserved for the sacrament of baptism and should be worthy to serve as the place where Christians are reborn in water and the Holy Spirit. The baptistery may be situated in a chapel either inside or outside the church or in some other part of the church easily seen by the faithful; it should be large enough to accommodate a good number of people. After the Easter season, the Easter candle should be kept reverently in the baptistery, in such a way that it can be lighted for the celebration of baptism and so that from it the candles for the newly baptised can easily be lighted. (CIGI, 25)

LM-17 by kphung914

The baptistery or site of the baptismal font is rightly considered to be one of the most important parts of a church. For it is the place for celebrating baptism, the first sacrament of the New law, through which those who firmly accept Christ in faith and receive the Spirit of adoption become in name and in fact God’s adopted children. Joined with Christ in a death and resurrection like his, they become part of his Body. Filled with the anoint­ing of the Spirit, they become God’s holy temple and members of the Church, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own peo­ple”. (Book of Blessings, 1080)