Holy Week and Triduum on The Liturgical Catechist

I have been working hard, and voila! You may now find resources and videos for catechesis on Holy Week and the Easter Triduum on this blog's companion site, The Liturgical Catechist.  Check it out for resources about Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. There is a wealth of great stuff, including videos from noted liturgical experts and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Please use these to help catechists, students and adults understand the significance and "flow" of these liturgies, which are the pinnacle of the Church Year. I hope you find the site is becoming increasingly useful. Feedback is good, too. Let me know how you use what you find there.

Looking for Great Resources on Eucharist, Reconciliation?

Just got Bishop Sartain's seal of approval for the Diocese of Joliet official list of recommended parish catechetical resources for our Year of the Eucharist. Thanks to the Catechetical Formation Committee for their assistance.  This list includes a variety of great websites, group reflection resources for adults, general adult resources, supplementary resources for children and youth, and lots more - on the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We deliberately chose these from across a wide spectrum of methodologies, so there is something for every parish "style." Even if you are not from our diocese, take a look.  The list is posted at http://www.dioceseofjoliet.org/ye/catechesis.asp.

How Evangelizing is Your Liturgy?

How evangelizing is the Mass at your parish? Since Mass is the primary contact we have with most of our adults, it is a prime opportunity to form the assembly about what it means to be Catholic and about the mission of the Church. In short, it is an opportunity to reinforce their identity as disciples of Jesus Christ.

It's sometimes easy to dismiss the frequent attitude that some people (especially the young) express - that they don't like coming to Mass because it's boring and they don't "get anything out of it." Certainly, one response is to ask what they contributed to the Mass (how much did they participate?) but that is not always the only issue. How are members of the assembly enabled to participate? How does the community assist them? How formative is your ritual experience? And what about easily available catechetical opportunities (for example, what materials do you make available for them to reflect on the lectionary readings before or after Mass?)

In preparing for the Catholics Come Home initiative in our area - high-quality commercials to draw people back to the church http://www.catholicscomehome.org/ which will be airing in December-January, I have not only been gathering resources to help parishes serve the people who may return to the Church, but items that will assist parishes to evaluate themselves so they can be the best they can be.

One of my favorite checklists is from Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association (PNCEA) - it's called "Expressing Our Love for Christ: Full and Active Participation in the Mass Checklist for Leaders" and I have it posted on our website at http://www.dioceseofjoliet.org/reo/documents/Participation-LeadersChecklist.pdf This tool helps parishes look at their liturgy, from gathering to sending forth, through the lens of evangelization.

Take a look - and think about what goes on at YOUR parish every weekend. There's always room for improvement.

User-Friendly Online RCIA Resources

Hunting around for more online resources for the U Dayton VLCFF "Introduction to Liturgy" course. Here are some good ones.

If you are looking for nice explanatory articles, bulletin inserts, and more about the RCIA to use with team members or the assembly, check out the Diocese of Davenport online Liturgy Library page at http://www.davenportdiocese.org/lit/litlibrary.htm#RCIA.

A resource I have used for a while, and find indispensible is the online texts for the basic rites of the RCIA - which you can save and edit to customize for local celebrations, on the Diocese of Fargo, ND site: http://www.fargodiocese.org/educationformation/evangelization/Evangelization/rcia_rites.htm

Liturgy for Dummies - the Missing Resources

Where are the good, current textbooks on liturgy? Struggling over the past few months in a collaboration on the revision of the University of Dayton VLCFF "Introduction to Liturgy" course to find a good up-to-date book on liturgy designed for the average Catholic to use as a textbook. I am talking about the catechist or DRE, or faithful member of the assembly, who has no connection to liturgical ministry.

Much of what is out there is very much out of date. There are good theological books (mostly on the Eucharist) that are more current, a few very nice books on understanding Mass (soon to be out of date when the changes take place), and some great resources for individual liturgical ministries, but the basic general stuff about what liturgy is and about non-Eucharistic celebrations is just not available. There are some great articles, online resources and Catholic Updates, but not books.

One of the best older books, Liturgy with Style and Grace by Gabe Huck and Gerald Chinchar, is out of date, but no longer going to be revised. Mark Searles' Liturgy Made Simple is from 1981. There are others, but they, too are 10 years or so out of date. Perhaps, since we have known for a long time that the Roman Missal text will be changing, authors have been waiting. I do anticipate there will be some good books on the Mass.

However, that still leaves room for resources on general principals - on that "style and grace" - on the meaning and quality of ritual, on liturgical celebration in general. Is it the writers or the publishers who are hanging fire on this one? I wonder. Who, out there, is writing book-length, usable generalist resources on liturgy?