The monthly Liturgical Calendar for 2017 has now been published. As with each iteration of the calendar the year has its uncommon features. As the Epiphany of the Lord falls on Sunday 8 January, the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on Monday 9 January. The current Lectionary does not make clear that when a Feast of the Lord is celebrated on a weekday there is only one reading before the Gospel, in line with other Feasts — either first or second reading may be chosen. Therefore, this year, when the Transfiguration of the Lord does fall on a Sunday it has 2 readings before the Gospel. Two Solemnities are transferred: St Joseph to Monday 20 March, St George to Monday 24 April.
Draft Calendar Notes for 2018 (pdf) are available.
The Congregation for Divine Worship recently published a list of additions to the Lectionary, mainly those Saints which have been added to the Universal Calendar. An English version of the list is available with references to the current Lectionary.
In the document on translation Liturgiam Authenticam it is expected that the translation of all current liturgical books is revised. For English-speaking Bishops’ Conferences this work is done by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). Since the publication of Liturgiam Authenticam in 2002 the first translation to be revised was the Roman Missal (2010) and this highlights another aspect of this process. For a number of liturgical books there has been a new Latin edition since the text was translated into English. So, therefore, the Roman Missal is the 3rd edition.
This year has seen the publication of the next two rites to be translated: Confirmation and Matrimony.
The translations are prepared by ICEL and reviewed by the bishops in two stages. The stages are referred to by the colour of the cover of the text. The Green Book is a text for review and comment. These are sent back to ICEL who then produce the Grey Book. This text is intended for voting on by the bishops. Any changes to the text have to be voted on separately. Once voting is complete the text is sent to the Congregation for Divine Worship in Rome and will eventually given recognitio.
The following list gives the texts currently under review in the order they are being considered. It is difficult to offer a timescale for the various books but as an indication the Green Books for Confirmation and Matrimony were first received in 2012.
In addition to this preparation is also being done on a new publication of the Lectionary.
On Friday 10 June the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments announced that the celebration of St Mary Magdalene on 22 July had been raised to a Feast. The decree recognises St Mary Magdalene as first witness to the Resurrection and the first evangelist. Called by St Thomas Aquinas an ‘apostle of the apostles’.
The Decree can be found on the Vatican website. The Latin decree includes a new Preface for the feast which will be translated into English in due time.
The Bishops’ Conference establishes that, at all Sunday Masses on 11–12 June 2016, each parish prays for Her Majesty the Queen to mark her 90th birthday by including such an intention in the Bidding Prayers and by reciting at the end of Mass (after the Prayer after Communion and before the Final Blessing) the Prayer for the Queen.
Parishes may also wish to sing the chant Domine, salvum fac and/or the National Anthem.
The Prayer for the Queen and additional resources are available here.
The following resources are now available on the Liturgy Office website:
The annual Calendar Notes for 2017 are now available as well as the draft Notes for 2018:
With the publication of the Order of Confirmation which comes into use at Easter 2016 this may affects the celebration of the Easter Vigil where Confirmation takes place. As a guide for celebrants the text of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: Appendix I has been updated with texts from the Roman Missal and the Order of Confirmation.
The Spirituality Committee of the Department for Christian Life and Worship has produced a series of leaflets reflecting on the Parables of Mercy in the Gospel of Luke. These meditations can be used by both individuals and groups and based on the format of the Bishops’ document on Spirituality Do you love me.
The following Press release was issued by the Bishops’ Conference on 30 November 2015.
The Sacraments of Confirmation and Marriage mark a new stage of life for those who receive them. The celebration of these sacraments are joyful occasions when families and friends come together to pray and give thanks with those who are to be confirmed and those who are beginning their married life together.
The Bishops of England and Wales have received the Holy See’s recognitio for the rites of Confirmation and Marriage. These will be published in January 2016 and will be used from Easter 2016.
The Order of Confirmation is the text to be used for the liturgical celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. During the liturgy those who have been baptised profess their faith, are then anointed with the oil of Chrism, which is accompanied by the laying on of the bishop’s hands, and are strengthened by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Order of Celebrating Matrimony is the text to be used for the celebration of marriage in the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Although it is a new translation, it retains familiar texts from the English tradition. These have helped shape our understanding of marriage as a lifelong bond between man and woman. Amongst the best loved words are:
To have and to hold
from this day forward
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish
till death do us part.
Speaking of the new translation, the Chair of the Department of Christian Life and Worship, Archbishop George Stack, said:
‘These new translations explore the riches of the scriptural, theological and pastoral implications of the beautiful moments of life in which we encounter God in deeper ways in Confirmation and in Marriage.
‘They reflect the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (Matthew.13:51) I pray that those who study, pray and use them will “…know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).’
At the plenary meeting of the Bishops’ Conference in November 2015 the following decisions were made relating to the liturgy of the Church:
The Bishops’ Conference supports the work of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) in preparing a revision of the Liturgy of the Hours. This will include the use of the Revised Grail Psalter (2010) in future editions of the Liturgy of the Hours in England and Wales.
The Bishops’ Conference asks that further work be done on the Proper Texts in the Liturgy of the Hours for the National Calendar of England.
The Bishops’ Conference agrees to seek the approval of the Holy See for the use of the Revised Standard Version (2nd Catholic edition 2010) and the Revised Grail Psalter (2010) in the preparation of a Lectionary for use in England and Wales.
For a complete list of resolutions.
Fri 30 October, 12:00 pm to Sat 31 October, 4:00 pm
Sarum College is the venue for an academic symposium that will explore and review the significance of the Taizé Community.
This event is organised to mark the 75th year since the founding of the Taizé community in 1940 and the centenary anniversary of the birth of its founder, Brother Roger.
10–12 November 2015 — Sedgley Park, Manchester
In November 2015, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Vatican II Document, Dei Verbum, there will be a national Scripture conference to be held at Sedgley Park Conference Centre in Manchester.
The theme of the conference will be Luke’s gospel, and the keynote speaker will be Dr Ian Boxall, Associate Professor of New Testament at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Saturday 7th November – Blessed Dominic Barberi, Cowley Road, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 4JX
The James Crichton Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Lisbonian Society. This year’s lecture will be given by Revd Professor Thomas O’Loughlin of Nottingham University, entitled ‘Language, Music, Liturgy – communicating the Word’
14-15 November at the Liverpool Archdiocesan Centre for Evangelisation
A weekend conference featuring internationally renowned speakers exploring the continuing impact of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in the life and mission of both the local and global Church. Featured speakers include authority on Vatican II, Dr Massimo Faggioli, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP. The weekend takes place 14-15 November at the Liverpool Archdiocesan Centre for Evangelisation. Places must be booked in advance, on a first come first served basis. Early booking is strongly recommend. http://liverpoolvaticanii.org/ or by Phone 0151 522 1040.
In a letter published on 6 August Pope Francis has announced a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation:
Sharing the concern of my beloved brother, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, for the future of creation (cf. Laudato Si’, 7-9), and at the suggestion of his representative, Metropolitan Ioannis of Pergamum, who took part in the presentation of the Encyclical Laudato Si’ on care for our common home, I wish to inform you that I have decided to institute in the Catholic Church the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” which, beginning this year, is to be celebrated on 1 September, as has been the custom in the Orthodox Church for some time.
The purpose of the day will be to
offer individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live. The celebration of this Day, on the same date as the Orthodox Church, will be a valuable opportunity to bear witness to our growing communion with our Orthodox brothers and sisters. We live at a time when all Christians are faced with the same decisive challenges, to which we must respond together, in order to be more credible and effective. It is my hope that this Day will in some way also involve other Churches and ecclesial Communities, and be celebrated in union with similar initiatives of the World Council of Churches.
The day has been incorporated into the Cycle of Prayer under the Autumn Intention: The Harvest, the Fruits of Human Work, and the Reverent Use of Creation.
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