Diocese readies for liturgies without priests

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Catholics gathered last week at St. Margaret Mary's Church in Albany to hear Bishop Howard J. Hubbard present guidelines for Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest.

Bishop Hubbard, accompanied by Elizabeth Simcoe, director of the diocesan Office of Prayer and Worship, presented the guidelines as part of evening prayer service.

Priests, deacons, women religious and other parish leaders packed the church to near capacity. Ms. Simcoe explained the specifics of the rite, while Bishop Hubbard addressed his concerns over the need to be ready to implement it in the near future.

Approved rite

The Rite of Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest, approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1989, allows for the celebration of a Sunday service without a priest. It is also designed to include the celebration of weekday services of morning and evening prayer without a priest but celebrated by a deacon or a lay person. In both cases, distribution of communion is a possibility.

Two possible situations have been designated as times when the new rite would take place:

* Emergencies, such as when the parish priest is taken sick suddenly and unable to preside at a liturgy, or when a priest scheduled to celebrate the liturgy is prevented from reaching a parish;

* Planned celebrations, caused by such events as the absence of a priest due to prolonged illness, sabbatical, retreat or vacation.

Sunday celebrations that take place within the guidelines as set forth by the American bishops meet the requirement for obligation to attend Sunday Mass.

Communion

According to Ms. Simcoe, the rite does not necessarily include communion because "there may not be sufficient consecrated hosts in the tabernacle" for the number of people in the congregation.

The rite provides four options for celebration: morning or evening prayer, morning or evening prayer with Holy Communion, Liturgy of the Word for the day, and Liturgy of the Word for the day with Holy Communion.

The parish staff is responsible for the designation of leaders to be trained in these rites. Their names are to be sent to the Bishop's Office; the Office of Prayer and Worship will train leaders at regional gatherings. The leaders will be commissioned for a period of two years.

Coming soon

Bishop Hubbard indicated that the time is coming in the Albany Diocese when Catholics must be prepared for celebrations without a priest in attendance.

"In the past, we set up our parish clusters to accommodate situations such as the absence of the priest due to illness or when he is otherwise away from the parish and cannot be in attendance at Mass," he said. "Today, the sad reality is that we can no longer depend upon extra diocesan priests to fill in when the parish priest is absent."

The reason is the dwindling number of active priests and the few men studying for the priesthood. He told the group that because all available priests are now being utilized for parish ministry, none is available to substitute for those who must be away from their parish duties for any length of time.

"My hope is that priests in our parish clusters will still be able to maintain a schedule where they can celebrate Mass at one of their cluster parishes, if necessary," he noted. "But we must be prepared for the possibility of priestless Sunday celebrations."

Eucharist central

Bishop Hubbard spoke of his deep concern that parishes continue to keep the heart of Sunday observances, the Eucharist, in celebrations.

"The celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is where we come together as a community, where we gain fresh insights into our faith, where we are energized to change our wants, needs and desires," he told the group. "I want us to continue to maintain that identity as a Eucharistic community."

(The National Conference of Catholic Bishops' document, "Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest," can be obtained from William B. O'Connor Church Goods in Latham or from the Utica Catholic Book Store in Utica.)

(06-07-01) [[In-content Ad]]