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ACU seeks student volunteers
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Priests and sisters among Burma dead
At least two priests and several sisters are among the ten of thousands of Burmese killed by Cyclone Nargis, a Salesian priest says, with many churches and related projects also badly damaged.
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Feature - Woodstock and worship renew chance for improved relations
Since Pope John Paul II launched World Youth Day 22 years ago, it has become the Olympic Games of world religion, the largest and most complex spiritual event held on a recurring basis across the globe. One part worship and one part Woodstock, the youth oriented festival is designed to offer a rocking rebuttal to impressions that Catholicism is sliding toward oblivion. - John Allen, Sydney Morning Herald
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Featured Website - Rosary in the street
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OPINION
Beyond knowledge to wisdomI believe this is one of the crisis points for contemporary Christianity. Put bluntly, its representatives do not seem wise. Yes, those representatives can give you any amount of information, some of them can even speak knowledgeably of Christian teachings. Wisdom is another thing altogether. - Fr Michael Whelan [More] - Aquinas Academy
FEATURE
Connected across bordersIt is time for leaders of nations to see their national interests as connected with the interests of people on the other side of the globe. We have reached the point where human existence is at stake and our destiny is inextricably linked. If we are to overcome this crisis of climate change we need to think beyond the confines of national states. - Just Comment [More] - Edmund Rice Centre
FEATURED CATHOLIC WEBSITE
Catholic Education Diocese of ParramattaReturning to our education theme, we shine the spotlight on arguably the most innovative Catholic education website in the country. In addition to all the standard features of any CEO site, Parramatta's includes some interactive opinion polls and a competition for students to attempt to ''Become the Executive Director for the day''. The site is also well regarded for its RE and curriculum resources.
- www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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Ratzinger says cut talk at Mass for sake of essentials
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has said that church services risk being overloaded with explanations and worship disrupted by being too "busy", according to a report in The Tablet on Saturday.
Speaking at the 40th anniversary celebrations of Sacrosanctum Concilium in Trier, Germany, on 4 December, the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith warned against trends which reduced the liturgy to banal levels.
The Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium provided the blueprint for the post Vatican II reform of the liturgy which made the Mass more accessible to the faithful in the pews.
Cardinal Ratzinger described the moment of liturgical reform at Vatican II as "a great day for the council and the Church in general". He said its task had not been to produce something previously unknown, but to give shape to growing developments.
But he added that interpretation since the council had often been one-sided. He said the ease with which different proponents appealed to the Council for justification give pause for thought, calling for a balance to be restored through reflection on the original conciliar text. The cardinal was also critical of attempts to introduce elements from other religions to attract believers, although he stressed that misuse is no reason to return to the old missal.
He called for a rediscovery of the "essence" of the liturgy. He said that sometimes the teaching element of the Mass is overstated and the liturgy becomes tantamount to a school lesson. Often believers were subjected to torrents of talk, he complained.
Meanwhile Rome news agency Zenit has published its own translation of Pope John Paul's apostolic letter released on the 4 December anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium. The letter, together with another released in the same week, were previously available only in Italian.
The Holy Father expressed similar thoughts to Cardinal Ratzinger, especially in his emphasis on the "experience of silence" within liturgy.
"In a society that lives ever more frenetically, bewildered by rumours and distracted in the ephemeral, it is vital to rediscover the value of silence," he said. "It is no accident that beyond Christian worship, meditation practices are spreading that give importance to recollection."
SOURCE
Liturgists must remember ‘dignity of the temple’ (The Tablet 13/12/03)
Apostolic Letter on Sacred Liturgy on the 40th Anniversary of "Sacrosanctum Concilium" - English translation (Zenit 12/12/03)
LINKS
Perth seminar told liturgical renewal a "work in progress" (CathNews 5/12/03)
Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy - Second Vatican Council, Promulgated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI On December 4, 1963
Times were a-changing (Catholic Weekly 7/12/03)
Archbishop warns against liturgy nostalgia (CathNews 4/12/03)
The Fortieth Anniversary of the Liturgical Reform of Vatican II (David Orr OSB)
Some Highlights of the Liturgical Renewal Initiated by Sacrosanctum Concilium (Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments)
Liturgical music must be reverent, accentuate the sacred, Pope writes (Catholic World News 4/12/03)
Music must be appropriate for liturgical celebration (Vatican Information Service/EWTN 4/12/03)
15 Dec 2003
