Grassroots Liturgist

I have been very quiet lately for several reasons, one of which being that I have taken on the role of chaplain at a secondary school, specifically with responsibility for liturgy.  It is a lovely school and the pupils are generally very acquiescent indeed.  But there is still the issue of whole-school liturgies - especially whole-school Masses - when there are relatively few baptised Catholics and very few of those are regular Mass attenders. The Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life (Lumen Gentium No 11).  But this rather assumes that those who join together to celebrate the Mass are, on some level, consciously on a spiritual journey and have a desire to grow ever-closer to Christ.  Clearly, this is not the case with compulsory, all-school Masses.  But like any good teacher when planning a lesson, the school liturgist has to try and meet the pupils where they are and somehow make sure that there is 'something for everyone'.  In a genera...

Included in the second tier of importance of things to be sung at Mass are the Entrance Procession, Gloria, Psalm, Communion Procession and post-Communion. The Gloria is the great hymn of praise of the Triune God and, personally, I am a little disappointed that it only makes the second tier.  That said, it is still considered more important than singing during the Preparation of the Gifts (Offertory) and the Recessional - and it is a daring parish liturgist that would miss out those!  There would be revolts in the pews!! Not so long ago, before the New (English) Translation of the Missal, it was permissible to sing a setting of the Gloria (and, indeed, all the Mass parts) that paraphrased what was actually in the Missal; the Peruvian Gloria, for example, proved popular with many.  That is no longer the case, as I found out myself when I submitted my first Mass setting (High Peak Mass) for permission to be used outside of my own parish; permission was at first withheld...