3
T H E E VA N G E L I S T
December 22 and 29, 2011
CHRISTMAS COMING HOME
TELEVISED CHRISTMAS MASS
‘Christmas Catholics’ get crash course in Mass changes BY ANGELA CAVE
STA F F W R I T E R
The annual Christmas Mass to be televised across the Albany Diocese was taped recently at St. Jude the Apostle parish in Wynantskill (above), celebrated by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard. The Mass will air: • on WXXA-TV, Fox 23, at 6:30 a.m. on Christmas Day; • for most Time Warner Cable subscribers in the immediate Capital Region, on public access channel 18 at 9 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. on Christmas Day; • for cable TV subscribers in the Schenectady area, on channel 16 at 10:30 a.m. Christmas Day; • for Time Warner cable subscribers in the Oneonta area, on channel 23 at 10 a.m. Christmas Day; • for Time Warner cable subscribers in the area served out of Ilion in Herkimer County, on channel 99 at midnight Christmas Eve and again at 8 a.m. Christmas Day; and • through a link on the diocesan website, www.rcda.org.
NATE WHITCHURCH PHOTO
Regular Mass-goers will lead by example this Christmas for Catholics returning to church for the holidays — especially since learning new responses when the new Roman Missal was instituted this Advent. Parishes across the Albany Diocese are preparing to welcome Christmas crowds. They note that many Catholics and visitors don’t attend Mass on a regular basis — joining up to 80 percent of Catholics nationwide — and may have a loose understanding of the new missal. Parish leaders view the “Christmas return” as an opportunity to catechize and attract lapsed Catholics back to the Church, but they don’t want to distract from the spirit of the holiday. “I don’t want to spoil the celebration, so I probably won’t catechize about it,” said Rev. John O’Kane, pastor of St. Isaac Jogues parish in Chestertown/ Hague. “You want them to stay focused on Christmas.” Father O’Kane does plan to address the changes before Mass and remind people to use the parish’s pew cards.
Bishop’s message BISHOP’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE, FROM PAGE 1
His salvation day after day.” God has been with us throughout our history and in Jesus, God has entered our human life in time. Through
He’s gotten used to offering reminders during Mass: “Sometimes, I give them little hints — like, I’ll say, ‘And with your spirit,’ before I say, ‘The Lord be with you.’” Immaculate Conception parish in New Lebanon and its mission church, St. Joseph’s in Stephentown, may run a PowerPoint presentation outlining the changes in the back of the church before Masses. Rev. John Close, pastor, will explain the reasons behind the changes and point out pew cards and missals. “I’m hoping that the people don’t take it in the wrong way,” he noted. Father Close will explain that many of the new phrases echo passages from the Bible and show more reverence for God. He’ll also practice a few responses with Mass-goers, “so at least they’re aware and they have something they can work with.” He said parishioners and even priests are still struggling to adapt, and the changes could actually make visitors feel more at ease: Returnees “don’t like to look like they don’t know what’s going on. Well, everyone doesn’t quite know what’s going on, including the person standing
up on the altar,” he said. “I really think this may give us a handle to give people who have been discouraged or felt alienated a way of coming back — or at least start a dialogue with them. We’re drawing nearer to some of the things that Vatican II changed” in the 1960s, when major changes included celebrating the Mass in English rather than Latin. Rev. William Gorman, pastor of St. John the Baptist parish in Newport and St. Joseph’s in Dolgeville, will mention the pew cards, but also assumes visitors have learned the changes through the media or their home churches. He said it will take a while before he’s able to celebrate Mass without keeping his nose buried in the missal, lamenting: “I miss the eye contact with the people. Before, it was more fluid and celebratory, I think.” But “I’m not as threatened by it anymore. It’s been an adjustment and I have to accept the fact that I can’t celebrate the way I did before.” Rev. Robert Hohenstein, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Schenectady, said returning Catholics tend to
be “laid back. I think they’ll take the direction from the people who are here all time.” At St. Francis of Assisi parish in Albany, Deacon Ray Sullivan, parish life director, reported that “the people [who] are coming for Christmas are no different than those who have been coming since Advent.” Sacred Heart parish in Cairo has been preparing visitors for weeks through letters sent home with faith formation students, said Barbara Koerner-Fox, administrator of faith formation. Before Christmas Masses, the lector will give the crowd a crash course in the changes, the music minister will talk about musical changes, and a special bulletin will have reminders. “It’s important for the children to see that everyone knows what they’re doing,” Mrs. Koerner-Fox explained. Some former traditions remain: for instance, musicians at Christ the King parish in Westmere, Albany, will use sung parts from the old Mass setting at Christmas Masses, said LouAnn Cleary, director of music and liturgy. “I just want people who haven’t been there in a while to feel comfortable,” she said.
Christ, we witness a God who loves without measure and who asks in return only that we love and honor one another. This is not something that can be bought. It cannot be earned. All we can do with God’s love is to accept it freely and when we do, we discover that we are changed. We reach out in love to one another because we have allowed God’s love to enter us.
We are learning to become authentically human. That is the miracle we remember in our liturgies on Dec. 25. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas this year, may the packages we place under the tree be real tokens of our love, given in the spirit of thanksgiving for God’s amazing gift of life. All creation belongs to God and we, too, belong to God, a
God who has given us a new song to sing and a new hope in the birth of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us go forth and announce His salvation day after day, in all that we do. Let us rejoice! May you and your family have a joyful Christmas and a blessed new year.
Come Home for Christmas! You are cordially invited to Christmas Liturgies at Corpus Christi Church, Round Lake, NY 2001 Rt. 9 at Ushers Rd. (Northway Exit 10)
December 24 - Vigil of Christmas 4:00 p.m. Mass in the Hall 4:00, 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. Mass in the Church
Cash In On
December 25 - Christmas Day
High Gold Prices
8:30 and 10:30 a.m. in the Church
BUYING ANTIQUES We CAN buy or sell one piece or ENTIRE ESTATES.
Antique furniture • oil paintings •glassware • jewelry • sterling • coins • crocks • old toys • clocks • dolls • musical instruments • older Coca Cola items • guns • swords • military items • architectural items.
Joe Mazzones Auction Service (518) 355-4821, Guilderland, NY
Ross & Viscosi Attorneys at Law Ellen S. Ross Michael C. Viscosi
Wills Family Law General Practice
105 North Perry Street P.O. Box 21, Johnstown, NY 12095 518-634-1146 • Fax: 518-684-9256 lawoffices@rossandviscosi.com
www.romanation.com