Patty
Tooker wrote: |
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Dear Apologists,
I am a 50+-year-old woman and a life-long Catholic who supports
the Magisterium of the Church.
I reside in the diocese of San
Diego.
The lay RCIA coordinators at our parish this year decided
to have a Passover Seder for all the candidates, on the grounds
that Passover was part of our heritage as Catholics.
- Should
this have been done?
While I see absolutely nothing wrong with
reading about the Seder ceremony and, certainly, all Catholics
should understand the meaning of the Jewish Passover, I feel
that it was wrong for Catholics to be participating in a Seder.
I felt that the emphasis for our RCIA team should be on Christ's
institution of the Eucharist.
- Jesus' death on the Cross
ushered in the new covenant, did it not?
Secondly, my proper understanding is that only the priest
or deacon should proclaim the Gospel.
- Is there some dispensation
for the reading of the Gospel by an entourage of lectors during
the weeks of Lent, and, specifically, during the reading of
the Lord's Passion on Palm Sunday?
At my parish, we are
subjected to these “dramatic readings” during Lent.
Thank you so very much for all your help.
May God bless you all.
Have a Blessed Easter!
Patty Tooker
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| { Should
those in RCIA partake in a Jewish Seder meal plus, who can proclaim the Gospel at Mass? } |
Mary Ann
replied:
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Patty,
You have a lot of good questions.
It is a good and allowable
thing to have a Passover Seder as Catholics, but this should not
substitute for a celebration of Holy Thursday. The Passover Seder
celebration can either be an educational and religious participation
in the Jewish celebration of the Passover (which is not a bad thing
to celebrate!), or it can be re-done in a Christian context, as an
aid to understanding what Christ did on Holy Thursday. Of course,
the RCIA experience should concentrate on the Eucharist, the sign
of the New Covenant.
As for the proclamation of the Gospel, you are correct. However,
for the reading of the Passion,
it is traditional to have a variety
of people take roles in the reading, with the priest being Christ,
and the deacon taking the narrative role, but this should not be
done with the other Gospel selections, only the Passion.
Hope this helps,
Mary Ann
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Terry replied:
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Hi, Patty —
I think we should emphasize
Mary Ann's point that the public proclamation in the liturgy is
reserved to the ordained bishop, priest or deacon.
Incidentally, if any of you are able to get a copy of last week's Catholic Herald
(London), you will see the massive headlines about Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, publicly castigating
those priests who alter the words, or play background music, etc., as having a do-it-yourself
mentality, or a defiant sting, e.g.,
"If you do not like my Mass, you can go to another
parish."
Faithful Catholics are delighted Cardinal Arinze said this in public and in front
of Cardinal Murphy O'Connor in Westminster Cathedral, but we are still worried that
our trendy bishops, and their even more trendy priests will ignore the instructions.
Terry
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John replied:
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Hi, Patty —
Just to add my two cents.
When it comes to proclaiming the Gospel during the liturgy
or during liturgical events, you are indeed correct, with the exception Mary Ann spoke of, but the proclamation of
the Gospel is more than reading words of the Gospel at Mass.
To that end, all Catholics should proclaim the Gospel, the Good News
of Salvation in Christ.
We are commissioned to do this by our baptismal priesthood in our
everyday lives.
John
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