UNDERSTANDING THE LITURGY by John J. O'Brien, C.P.

PROCLAIMING GOOD NEWS - LITURGICAL PREACHING I

People normally love compliments and words of affirmation "You look nice," especially when spoken genuinely, goes a long way. (If said insincerely, watch out!!) "You did a fine job" brings delight to any worker's ear and a phone call to some loved one.

Preacher's appreciate the words of fellow Christians when they compliment the preaching delivered at the Sunday liturgy. Yet singling out the preaching for acclaim points to a major issue in Catholic worship today. Catholics often determine whether they "got something" out of the liturgy by two criteria. The first is: was the preaching moving, good, meaningful, incisive? Did I like it? Did it speak to my life? The second is: was the music uplifting, edifying, moving, filled with feeling? Did it touch me, inspire me? Sometimes this refers to the selection of hymns, etc. Sometimes this means that the choir did the job for me. I signed off as a melodist cantillating for God.

So what's my problem when members of the assembly affirm someone's preaching effort? Am I a few quarts overflowing in self-esteem? Should you ignore commenting on the sterling and stimulating effort of your local preachers?

You are not the problem. The problem is that no one part of the liturgical service should stand out or be singled out as that which made the liturgy happen for you. Each part should relate to the next and should reinforce the entire action of the assembly. For example, a twenty minute opening ritual and a ten minute liturgy of the word is out of proportion. Similarly, a twenty-five minute homily and a seven minute proclamation of the eucharistic prayer is out of whack. Liturgical preaching is a part of the liturgy of the word. It should not stick out by calling attention to itself. It should integrally fit with the readings which precede the preaching event and the praying that will follow it.

Each minister of the word needs to know a number of things. First, one needs to know what her or his task is in ministering God's revelation. This requires training and education. One needs to be steeped in the Bible, the sourcebook for our doctrinal and moral teaching. Secondly, each minister needs to know what the ritual unit one is doing requires. One needs to be steeped in liturgical history and structure.

Let me explain. Bishops, priests, deacons, and catechists are all ministers of the word. Pastors and deacons proclaim the Gospel and preach at the Sunday Eucharist. A catechist, specially one who is both skilled with youth and who can substitute for some priest or deacon who lacks these skills, may break open the word for children. A catechist functions as minister of the word in assisting couples in baptismal and marriage preparation, and in helping the newly baptized appreciate the meaning of the Eucharist recently received.

In short, liturgical preaching bridges the biblical world and the Burlington world, the original assembly and today's assembly. It connects God's revelation with us. It calls us to liturgical action, to public and sacramental prayer. It pushes us to being missional, viz. to bringing Christ's message into public arenas.

For this we are grateful.