Campus Ministry and the New Liturgical Instructions

This year, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will be implementing some modifications in the way we worship that were introduced by Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum (2004) and the revised General Instruction of the Roman Missal (2002). All priests and deacons, as well as laity involved in liturgy planning, have attended trainings over the last several months conducted by the Office of Worship.  The new guidelines apply to liturgies in campus ministry centers as well as parishes, and we will be implementing them at the same time as the rest of the diocese.

Our departmental vision statement, A Vision for Ministry to Higher Education in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, affirms,

In light of St. Paul’s image of the Body of Christ, addressed to a divided church, we acknowledge that our particular ministry to higher education is not exercised in isolation, but in union with the universal Church, and, in particular, the bishop. Campus ministry is the expression of the bishop’s "serious pastoral concern for students" (canon 813). We minister under his direction, and in collaboration with the other ministries of the archdiocese....

Collaboration affirms the gifts of each member of the Body, as well as the role that each member plays within the Body. Our individual gifts contribute to the unity of the whole, rather than serving as means of division. We see this most clearly in the Eucharistic liturgy, the "summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed," and "the font from which all her power flows" (SC 10). Within the context of faithfulness to the Church’s common prayer, which unites us to all other Catholics, we offer the unique gifts of the academic culture in which we live (see Catechism 1200ff)....

In addressing the topic of adult faith formation, the U. S. Bishops drew inspiration from the story of the supper at Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). The breaking of bread is the moment of revelation. It provides a pinnacle from which they can look back and recall their journey with him on the road, and the way that he had broken open the scriptures to them—"Were not our hearts burning within us?" That is the kind of encounter which should happen when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist.

A generation ago Harvey Cox predicted the coming of a Secular City in which religious symbols and language would cease to have meaning. Many campus ministers of that generation believed his analysis and sought to remake catechesis and liturgy to have "relevance" for the modern world and to be a "prophetic voice" to the Church. But Cox admitted twenty years later that time had proven him wrong. We live in a time not of secularism, but of longing for the sacred. The symptoms include the tremendous interest in spirituality, lingering nostalgia within the Church for liturgies that evoked a sense of mystery, and in extra-liturgical small communities of faith. Paulist president Frank DeSiano has noted, "If liturgy could present people with an experience of Christ, with contact with Jesus, it would come closer to what people are actually seeking today."

Liturgy in campus ministry does not need gimmicks or novelties. This is not the place for advancing personal agendas. Respect for both the students we serve and the Church which sends us means that liturgies will be faithful to universal and diocesan norms. As the US Bishops have said, "We will trust the capacity of prayer and sacrament to open their eyes to the presence and love of Christ" (Our Hearts Were Burning within Us).

The Church, in applying these new norms, continues on the path of implementing the liturgical vision of the Second Vatican Council, as expressed in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. The Council reminded us that "the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows" (SC 10). It called us "to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2:4-5),' is their right and duty by reason of their baptism" (14). It said that "texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify; the Christian people, so far as possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community" (for more, see  Vatican 2 on the Liturgy).

The forty years since the Council have witnessed remarkable blessings flowing from the revised liturgy. We hear the Scriptures proclaimed each Sunday in our language, from a lectionary with longer and more varied readings of Scripture. We hear preaching each week on these lessons. We see the shape of the liturgy more clearly, with simplified rites that more clearly convey the truths they symbolize. We pray for the needs of the Church in all the world through the Prayers of the Faithful. We sing "with the Spirit and with understanding."

Yet Redemptionis Sacramentum speaks of "shadows" that have been present. "In some places the perpetration of liturgical abuses has become almost habitual." Sometimes these are intentional; sometimes they happen through ignorance. Pope John Paul II enumerates some of these "shadows" in  Ecclesia de Eucharistia:

In some places the practice of Eucharistic adoration has been almost completely abandoned. In various parts of the Church abuses have occurred, leading to confusion with regard to sound faith and Catholic doctrine concerning this wonderful sacrament. At times one encounters an extremely reductive understanding of the Eucharistic mystery. Stripped of its sacrificial meaning, it is celebrated as if it were simply a fraternal banquet. Furthermore, the necessity of the ministerial priesthood, grounded in apostolic succession, is at times obscured and the sacramental nature of the Eucharist is reduced to its mere effectiveness as a form of proclamation. ... How can we not express profound grief at all this? The Eucharist is too great a gift to tolerate ambiguity and depreciation.

The Church wants the Gospel to shine clearly in Word and Sacrament. All Christians have a right, the Church says, to liturgy that is celebrated purely and with dignity and reverence according to the mind of the Church. The revised norms are intended to help us do that.

The Holy Father concluded his letter with these words,

61. The mystery of the Eucharist – sacrifice, presence, banquet – does not allow for reduction or exploitation; it must be experienced and lived in its integrity, both in its celebration and in the intimate converse with Jesus which takes place after receiving communion or in a prayerful moment of Eucharistic adoration apart from Mass. These are times when the Church is firmly built up and it becomes clear what she truly is: one, holy, catholic and apostolic; the people, temple and family of God; the body and bride of Christ, enlivened by the Holy Spirit; the universal sacrament of salvation and a hierarchically structured communion....

By giving the Eucharist the prominence it deserves, and by being careful not to diminish any of its dimensions or demands, we show that we are truly conscious of the greatness of this gift. We are urged to do so by an uninterrupted tradition, which from the first centuries on has found the Christian community ever vigilant in guarding this “treasure”. Inspired by love, the Church is anxious to hand on to future generations of Christians, without loss, her faith and teaching with regard to the mystery of the Eucharist. There can be no danger of excess in our care for this mystery, for “in this sacrament is recapitulated the whole mystery of our salvation”.

62. Let us make our own the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an eminent theologian and an impassioned poet of Christ in the Eucharist, and turn in hope to the contemplation of that goal to which our hearts aspire in their thirst for joy and peace:

For further reading

• Pope John Paul II, Mane Nobiscum Domine (2004). Apostolic Letter announcing the start of the Year of the Eucharist.
• Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (2004).
• Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (2003). A theological reflection on the relationship between the Church and the Eucharist.
• General Instruction of the Roman Missal (2002).
  • Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion Under Both Kinds in the Dioceses of the United States of America (2001, revised). This gives norms on the role of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.
  • Resources from the USCCB Committee on Liturgy.
• The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist: Basic Questions and Answers, USCCB (2001).
• Most Rev. Joseph A. Fiorenza, The Eucharist: Mystery and Gift (2001).
• Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship, USCCB (2000).
• Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium (Vatican II, 1963).
• Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass (1973). Norms for Eucharistic adoration.
• And two documents I have compiled:
  • The Space for Worship
  • "Of inestimable value": Eucharistic adoration in the life of the Church.