Experts see changes in liturgy

The Church of the next millennium may look a little different, experts say, but so will the liturgy itself.

Rev. Richard Fragomeni, associate professor of liturgy and homiletics at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a priest of the Albany Diocese, foresees future liturgies that express the diversity of cultures in the Church, involve laity to a greater degree and "spill over" into the daily lives of Catholics.

One already-occurring change in the liturgy is a renewed emphasis on "engaging the community in the holiness of God," said Father Fragomeni.

Becoming holier

In the past, he explained, the Church has looked at liturgy as either "the action of the people" or "something we do for the edification of the community."

Today, Catholics are looking again at liturgy and the sacraments as "where people receive the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of God -- and that leads to a sense of holiness."

If people become holier, the priest added, "they're more available to service, to the inclusivity of people, to dealing with any kind of bondage we might create as a people."

Restoring devotions

Devotions to saints and Mary, popular in Hispanic and other cultures, will also become an integral part of liturgy, Father Fragomeni said.

During the liturgical renewal of the 1960s, devotions were seen as unimportant; but in the future, he said, Catholics spirituality will be expressed in a number of ways, including popular devotions.

Many parishes have worked to incorporate elements of other cultures in their liturgies; in the future, there may actually be separate liturgies for different cultures, he said.

"In Africa, there is already the `Zaire rite' -- a specific shaping of the liturgy" according to African culture, Father Fragomeni explained. "You see that also in Asia. Singing a Hispanic song does not make a multicultural liturgy. We're going to either discover how to do that or give up the effort. Whatever happens, we have to learn not to segregate."

Lay involvement

As the number of available clergy drops, Father Fragomeni predicts greater involvement of the laity in the liturgy and in parish life. Although some denominations offer communion only on rare occasions, the priest hopes that the Catholic Church finds another way to make up for a lack of priests.

"We shouldn't be satisfied with the celebration of the Word on Sunday and rarely celebrate the Lord's Supper," he said. "I don't think it's as easy as importing priests all over the world or closing parishes and making people drive 50 miles to go to a parish."

Music used in liturgy has taken many forms through the centuries, from hymns to folk songs. But the resurgence of Gregorian chant, said Father Fragomeni, points to a millennium where "classic music" will return to the fore and "be brought back within the context of the Church in the modern world."

Nothing major

While several changes were recently announced in the Sacramentary (the book containing the prayers used at Mass), Father Fragomeni does not foresee any more major changes in the format of the Mass itself.

Finally, the priest hopes that liturgy and life "become transparent to one another," so that liturgy become so much a part of Catholics' lives that it "will spill over into life effortlessly, and life will contribute to making the liturgy a celebration of praise." (KB)

(10-30-97) [[In-content Ad]]