Copyright © 1999 by

Rick Swenton
106 Melinda Lane
Bristol, CT 06010-7199
All Rights Reserved

Permission is granted for use of this work in parish liturgy or music programs in a non-commercial setting provided that no fee is charged and that this copyright notice remains on all copies.

I have been reading the writings of the late Fr. Eugene A. Walsh, S.S.. Fr. Walsh was a long time seminary teacher in Baltimore and was author of several books and liturgical guide pamphlets. His writings are very profound and down to earth – very practical and useful to us right now.

Fr. Walsh helps us understand that the liturgy of the Church is a public celebration. It is affected by the personal actions of ALL who celebrate. The celebration is not restricted to the priest or designated liturgical ministers. In fact, liturgy is celebrated by the community. He said, "Sacraments are not things, but the personal actions of all who celebrate. We no longer think in terms of ‘giving and receiving sacraments.’ All give, all receive, all celebrate. ¹"

When we discuss formation for liturgical ministers, the subject of spirituality often surfaces. We talk about spiritual growth through prayer and other things like retreats and seminars. Because liturgical ministers come from the assembly, Fr. Walsh suggests that our spirituality is not a special one: "There is no spirituality specifically for readers, gospel proclaimers, pastoral musicians or anyone else in the assembly. Why? Because there is one Christ, one Holy Spirit and one faith.²"

Composer and workshop presenter Rory Cooney talks about what it means to be in a relationship with God:

This means that we find Christ in ordinary people when we least expect.

There appears to be no "right way" to do liturgy, only "wrong ways." Any way that diminishes the necessary role of the assembly is a wrong way. The human dynamic is required. Remember, God doesn’t need liturgy (God doesn’t need anything.) People need liturgy. At various times during the Mass, the liturgical ministers take turns exercising their leadership roles. Those liturgical ministers are Priest, Deacon, Reader, Cantor, Choir, Eucharistic Minister, Altar Server, Usher and assembly. All are required. "All give, all receive, all celebrate."

The role of the assembly is equal to the role of the other liturgical ministers. We exercise our leadership role, then we return to the role of assembly. All ministries evolve out of baptism.

Fr. Walsh believed in a communicative style of liturgy. It is a celebration where meaning is central and there’s no magic. He also believed in the Greek idea arete which means excellence. In everything that we do in liturgy, we should strive for excellence. Coordination, planning, teamwork, preparation and a sense of service are important.

So how do we prepare for our liturgical role? Music Director J. Michael Thompson from Chicago suggests the following:

The Liturgy calls each participant, who has her/his own Sitz im Leben, to go beyond it. Our emotional state, such as it is, ought not govern the way we lead the prayer of the assembly; in fact, if we cannot distance ourselves from a severe grief or even an overwhelming joy, we end up calling more attention to ourselves than to the work of the ministry.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ," St. Jerome said. Any of us involved in liturgy--indeed, any of us living members of the Body of Christ--are called to enter into the Scriptures of the day by prayer and prayerful study.

All of the talent, preparation, and devotion of any minister of the Word needs to be engaged in such a way that the Word is the focus, not the proclaimer of the Word. This is a subtle artistry.

"In the beginning was the Word." intelligibility matters.

Proper preparation and understanding of the role of the minister precludes sentimentality and over-interpretation, both of which are ego-focused rather than Word-focused.

Fr. Virgil Funk writes about Fr. Walsh, "As you read his writings, I am sure that you will be struck with Gene's constant call for adult faith and adult worship. As I read the material, I hear echoes of a college professor encouraging 19- and 20-year-old seminarians to determine their sense of arete, their vision of what a developed human being should become. And the central themes remain the same:

God first loves me.

Humans must communicate in signs.

Gather, listen, respond.

Hospitality, active listening, act.

You are as good a lover as you are a sign maker.

These realities are powerful. They can change you. They can change the world. Gene believed that. So do I.^3"

Where do we go from here? Rory Cooney reminds us of a comment once made by colleague Tom Conry:

We can say the same thing about liturgy in general. We have been effective if we help each other go out and do something good.

The following are available from OCP Publications:

Spirituality: Christian Life In The World Today Provides all Christians — conservative, liberal, mainline and independent — a path for becoming "spiritual persons in their own back yard" (9844GC) $4.95

Giving Life: Ministry of the Parish Sunday Assembly - Assembly Edition. Provides a practical path for an assembly to become hospitable. (9871GC) $1.95 (100 or more: $.95)

Giving Life: Ministry of The Parish Sunday Assembly - Leader’s Guide. Shows pastoral teams, liturgy planners and music ministers how to turn the vision of a life-giving parish into reality. (9854GC) $4.95

Celebration: Theology, Ministry And Practice Offers practical suggestions for all assembly members: presiders, readers, servers, music ministers, communion ministers, community leaders, ushers and peacemakers. (9853GC) $4.95

Proclaiming God’s Love In Word And Deed Guides lectors and gospel readers through the essentials and fine points of good proclamation. (9855GC) $4.95

Proclaiming God’s Love In Song Gives examples of the effective and ineffective use of music in liturgical celebrations (9856GC) $4.95

To contact Oregon Catholic Press:
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website: http://www.ocp.org

¹Eugene Walsh, S.S. Reprinted from Fr. Gene Walsh: Some Sayings and Stories by permission of Pastoral Arts Associates of North America. Copyright © Oregon Catholic Press. All Rights Reserved.

² Eugene Walsh, Proclaiming God’s Love in Word and Deed (Portland, OR: OCP Publications, 1994).

³ Eugene Walsh, Toward an Adult Faith (Portland, OR: OCP Publications, 1994).