NZ Catholic Newspaper

Let the little children cry

NZ Catholic contributor — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 00:00:19 +0000

by Michael Parker

Just recently, we had a small child crying out in church, and stern looks, shrugs and sighs were elicited from some parishioners. Afterwards, the family seemed to be being avoided, so I went up and said, “what a lovely family you have”, and their faces lit up. You see, I have been there, with three children under 5, three children under 6; I have been a stressed out parent of young children at Mass, and have had somebody say this sentence to us – wow what a game changer it was. I remember all the mental and physical calisthenics that went on, “no don’t crawl under the seats”, lifting a child out from the pew in front, “sssh, no screaming, we are at Mass”, “the crayons are for the paper, not the wood”, “come here” as my daughter laughs and toddles away – whew, by the consecration I was done. I was usually fried. Then somebody said that sentence and that made it all worth it

Over the years, I seen numerous things to keep children quiet, and I bet every priest looking out over the congregation has as well. I have seen “ssshing with the index finger to the lips”, mothers giving sweets and junk food, stern looks, pinching, little smacks on the bottom, rising tempers, telling offs, giving of devices to play on and huffily lifting the child up and walking out to the back. I have been told by a religious that “my father would have taken a strip of our backs if we were as naughty as your children”, – I forgive you and still love you sister. Remember, parents at Mass are trying to do the right thing, the main thing bringing grouchy, teething, playful, tired children to the Mass.

How did we get to this point that Catholics, faithful Catholics, are being offended by small children? How can we be offended by real life? Please, let’s change the script, let’s change perspective. We’re the adults here.

How did we get to this point? Is it some awful Janesist overhang? That I need to make my Communion, in recollection mostly perfectly, so that I can save my soul? So, I need silence, and loud squawking children disrupt that. What about including the great vistas of God saving peoples, cultures and universes and, most importantly, God saving me and my loud, misbehaving family.

Can we learn something from Orthodox Christians? In a book – I can’t recall the title – the author was surprised in an Orthodox service in Russia. Firstly, there were no pews, secondly young children were making a huge “racket”. Occasionally, one of the lay people would yell out a single word that meant “pay attention”. During the divine worship – and the word was directed to other lay people. It was saying – look what’s happening on the altar, the central point in history is being re-enacted, the whole cosmos is being brought back to God, humankind is plunging into God though a real sacrifice, the divine worship is taking place, Christ is coming amongst us and washing our sins away. Pay attention people – we need to focus on what is happening before us, it’s important – don’t worry about the kids.

Can we grow in maturity, and not be shoulder-shruggers or stern starers? Can we tell those parents going through a purgatorial stress mill at Mass “what a beautiful bunch of kids”? Just see what a difference you can make. The first part verse my very young daughter learnt was from Mark 10 – “ let the little children come unto me and do not stop them”, and she would laugh in a gurgly way as she knew she was a little child. What about let the little children cry and do not stop them, pay attention brother and sister at Mass, the greatest thing is happening here.

Michael Parker is a Catholic from Auckland

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Safety key as Covid alert levels change in NZ

Rowena Orejana — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 22:30:37 +0000

Safe and hygienic practices at Mass will continue as the rest of the country moves into alert level 1 while Auckland remains at alert level 2.

In a pastoral letter dated September 23, Wellington Cardinal John Dew called on diocesan church and school leaders to remind people of the need to stay safe and not take any risks.

This means Communion under one kind, no physical contact at the Sign of Peace and Communion on the hand only.

“Some parishes have established the custom of Communion on the tongue, if those receiving on tongue come up last in the queue for Holy Communion – this may continue,” the cardinal said.

Cardinal Dew also urged the parishes to consider celebrating the sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist in one ceremony.

Hamilton Bishop Stephen Lowe told priests restrictions around the reception of the Eucharist will remain until he has a chance to discuss the matter with the Council of Priests.

“For the Diocese of Hamilton, I would like the restrictions to continue until next week, where I will discuss the matter with the Council of Priests,” Bishop Lowe said in an email sent on September 23.

“I will then advise you what measures we will take bearing in mind the threat of Covid and further lockdowns always lurking in the background.”

He also invited priests to send him their thoughts on the matter through email.

In Dunedin, Bishop Michael Dooley said he has encouraged parishes to continue with good hygiene practices.

“I am not writing a pastoral letter, but encouraging the parishes to continue practicing good hygiene practices on level 1. For most parishes, this includes Communion under one kind, on the hand and no hand shaking at the Sign of Peace,” he told NZ Catholic.

Meantime in Auckland, Mass gatherings are still limited to 100 people. Parishes had implemented measures they had in place in the last alert level 2.

The Cathedral of St Patrick and St Joseph in the city will not be celebrating Saturday or Sunday Masses until the restrictions on the number of people gathered are lifted.

“We know that this will be a disappointment to all of you but it is unfair at this stage to place a limit on who can and who cannot attend Mass on a Sunday,” said cathedral dean Pa Peter Tipene.

Weekly Masses, however, had resumed.

Parishes such as St Mark’s in Pakuranga and St Mary’s in Northcote had online registrations enabling them to limit attendees to 100.

St Joseph and St Joachim Catholic Parish in Otahuhu, on the other hand, will not hold Sunday Masses. The parish council decided that Masses will be held three days a week.

A Facebook message from parish priest Fr Martin Wu and the parish council said the church building will be closed at all other times to ensure there is sufficient time for full hospital grade cleaning. “Hand sanitizer and full contact tracing is mandatory. Masks are recommended and please stay home if you are unwell. We will also operate an automated temperature check station to ensure we operate at the highest level of care,” they said.

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Bishop Dunn says Papakura parishioners being contacted after Covid-19 diagnosis

Michael Otto — Sat, 14 Mar 2020 03:53:15 +0000

The Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Patrick Dunn, confirmed he was advised on March 14 that a parishioner at St Mary’s church in Papakura was diagnosed with the Covid-19 coronavirus after attending the 8.30am Mass last Sunday.

“The parishioner appeared well and showed no symptoms of any illness,” Bishop Dunn said.

“The person became ill during the week.”

Bishop Dunn said the parish was contacting parishioners, especially those who attended the same Mass as the person.

Older parishioners and those whose health might not be the best were being particularly contacted.

“I am advised by health experts that the risk to others at that Mass of contracting Covid-19 is low,” Bishop Dunn said.

“This is because the risk of Covid-19 being passed on by someone not showing symptoms is regarded as low.

“The wellbeing of our parishioners is our first priority, which is why we started to contact them as soon as we became aware today that a parishioner had been diagnosed with Covid-19,” Bishop Dunn said.

Bishop Dunn said the 5pm Vigil Mass at St Mary’s today and the 8.30am and 10.30am Masses tomorrow would go ahead as normal, because the risk of transmission was regarded as low for persons without symptoms.

Parishioners would be given advice before they entered, and the choice whether to attend.

“Nobody should fear going to Mass,” said Bishop Dunn.

“Our best advice is that the chance of catching any illness in Mass is very low, especially if you heed the standard health advice to wash your hands, avoid close contact with anyone who is ill, and stay at home if you feel ill yourself.”

Bishop Dunn, who is president of the NZ Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the Church had been in close regular contact with the Ministry of Health since the Covid19 pandemic began in China and had issued regular updates to parishes on precautions that needed to be taken at Mass.

Following advice of the Ministry, the Catholic Church throughout New Zealand this week stopped the use of shared holy water from fonts, communion on the tongue, or from the chalice, and shaking hands or other physical contact at the Sign of Peace during Mass.

These practices have always been optional for individuals.

This was in addition to the standard advice for parishes emphasising the importance of good hygiene practices, including regular washing of hands, covering coughs and sneezes with elbows not hands, and staying at home if feeling sick.

Photo: MurdochNewman: Wikimedia Commons

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Pointers for singing properly at Mass

Rowena Orejana — Sun, 26 Nov 2017 22:39:56 +0000

The opening hymn at a Mass is not a travelling music piece for the priest to make a grand entrance — and the closing music is optional. Internationally acclaimed liturgical composer David Haas made these clarifications in workshops he gave on October 13–14 in Wellington and October 15 in Auckland.
Mr Haas is also the author of several books including Music and the Mass and A Practical Guide for Ministers of Music. “We don’t sing at the liturgy, we sing the liturgy,” Mr Haas said, stressing that music in liturgy is communal prayer.
“The opening song gathers us together. You can say the opening song is the opening statement of faith,” he said.
“What the opening song [does is] . . . helps you focus [at] the beginning of the celebration. It does accompany a procession if there is one and it also helps coming together as a community. And it also helps them to listen well to the Word that follows soon after.“
This is why, he said, the singing shouldn’t stop at the third verse when the priest reaches the altar. Mr Haas, executive director of Music Ministry Alive, said there are many things music ministers should catechise people about.
The Penitential Act, or the Kyrie, need not be sung in a mournful or lugubrious way.
“It’s not ‘Oh, God, I’m awful.’ It’s a plea. [It is] an acclamation of praise to God who is mercy,” he explained.
“So, we begin the liturgy acknowledging, and this is the legacy of Francis, the God of abounding Mercy.”
He said there are parts of the Mass where the text is always sung: the blessing and sprinkling of water, the Gloria, Responsorial Psalm, Acclamation (Holy, Holy, Holy), Anamnesis and Offering, the Fraction Rite /Lamb of God, sharing of Communion, and a song of praise after Communion.
Mr Haas, though, was hesitant to put The Lord’s Prayer in the “must sing” category.
“As a composer, [I know] it’s very hard to sing . . . the way it’s set up in terms of syllables and metres makes it difficult to set the music to. I’ve tried four different times. It’s really, really difficult,” he said. “My default position is we recite it for that reason.”
He said the Gloria should be “a piece of music that can stick to people’s ribs and they can really sing it from the heart.” “The Psalm should be sung. Let me put it another way: the Psalm should be sung,” he said. Prayers of the faithful can be sung. “I hope we are moving towards that,” he noted.
Preparation of the gifts is the only time when the choir can sing by themselves “but Father should not be waiting for you to finish when he’s done. It should be short.”
The Sanctus should be sung. “Find something that works well,” he advised. “You might be tired of them but don’t change them a lot.” Communion songs are “tricky”, he said.
This is because most people think this is their “alone time” with Jesus. “The people should be singing with you. It’s their song. This is a shared meal. Some of the challenges around this come from the fact that people haven’t been catechised well,” he said.
He advised music ministers to pick a song that emphasises the gathering. He also said to choose only one Communion song.
“If you do two or three Communion songs in a row then what you’re doing is you are reducing the music to being filler. It’s one action. You need to find a piece that can be sustained over a period of time, a good refrain that people can sing and that speaks to them,” he said.
As for the closing song, Mr Haas observed that musicians tend to get upset when the priest bids the people to go and they go, leaving the church before the final hymn has finished. “The point is: liturgy is not meant to feel finished. It is to be sent. It’s not a destination, it’s a path,” he said, stressing though, that he is not proposing that parishes do away with closing songs. As an alternative, he suggested that a song of praise be sung after a moment of silence after Communion before the final blessing.
“Part of the thought here is to start teaching people that singing hymns is prayer,” he said.

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18 European Union nations represented at Mass

Michael Otto — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:57:56 +0000

by PETER GRACE
AUCKLAND — European Union diplomats, politicians and other dignitaries had front-row seats at Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland on June 10.
The Mass was for representatives of the European Union.

A European Union representative reads one of the Prayers of the Faithful while others, right, await their turn.

On the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus, more than two dozen flags of countries of the European Union were displayed behind the altar, with the flag of the union hanging above.
The deputy dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Auckland and the Consul for Malta, Patricia Thake, told NZ Catholic 18 European Union representatives were present, as well as other consular colleagues, about 10 non-EU diplomats, MPs, and representatives from Croatia and Serbia.
The latter two countries are due to join the European Union quite soon, she said; “. . . next month [July], I hope”.
Mrs Thake said that, having organised the Mass, she was keen for it to go off well. “I was so delighted to have so much support there [at the Mass],” she said, adding that the cathedral looked beautiful.
She was concerned on behalf of parishioners, though, that the Mass was so packed.
As it was, people were standing in the side aisles and spilling out of the entrances of the 800-seat cathedral.
The main celebrant was papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Balvo. In his homily, the archbishop said he had had a busy week, having just returned from the 50th anniversary celebrations of independence in Samoa.
When we had those kinds of experiences, he said, we collected things. “Those are souvenirs of places we have been, people we have met and things we have done. And eventually the live memories do fade.”
Remembrance is part of being human, the archbishop said. “What we celebrate today is the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus.”
The feast, he said, is the oldest of any for the whole Church. It was established in the 13th century, when the Church was in considerable moral disrepair. It reminded people, the archbishop said, of what God had done for them.
The feast will be celebrated until the day the world ends, he said. “It’s not something that sits in a box . . . it’s not something that collects dust on a shelf. It’s a living memorial,” he said.
“We have a great gift of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus. . . . It’s a living, loving, eternal giving for us.”

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NZ bishop criticises new English of Mass

Michael Otto — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:14:51 +0000

by PETER GRACE
A potentially controversial opinion piece by the Bishop of Dunedin, Bishop Colin Campbell, was published in The Tablet (UK) on September 17.
In his article, Bishop Campbell argues that the new translation of the English of the Mass is not good — and, in particular, that its lack of inclusive language is offensive to women.
When NZ Catholic talked to Bishop Campbell, he said he was happy for NZ Catholic to run his article in full, provided we gained the permission of the The Tablet. On October 19, NZ Catholic received that permission, to run the article on our website. The “Opinion” link on the left of this page will take readers there, as will this link (https://nzcatholic.org.nz/?cat=29).

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