STORY - " Sunday Celebrations in Anticipation of Eucharist – is it really a new experience?"

As a young religious I remember listening to our senior Sisters share their experiences about growing up in outback South Australia. As with any reminiscing about the ‘old days’ we were entertained by many fascinating stories. What particularly struck me - probably because it was far removed from my own experience - were memories about their Catholic life. My childhood memories are of attending Mass with my family in an overcrowded church where on most Sundays we either stood in the porch or had to listen outside. In complete contrast, the older Sisters who grew up in rural areas spoke of the highlight of their childhood days being the rare visit of their parish priest.

Some Sisters told me that Father came to their town perhaps four times a year. Other Catholic families were fortunate to see their priest more regularly, perhaps once a month. But those who lived in remote outback stations had to be content with a visit once or twice a year. On these occasions the local Catholics would gather at the largest home for Sunday Mass. During Father’s visit weddings were blessed, and baptisms, confessions and any other sacraments celebrated. In between times families marked the Lord’s Day either at home by reciting the rosary, or perhaps with the Sisters who led them in meditation or instruction on the prayers of the Mass and the scriptures.

Since the beginning Christians have marked Sunday as the day of the Lord, the day of the resurrection. Christians gather on that day to remember in word and ritual the mystery surrounding the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ. While today we call this liturgy the Eucharist or the Mass, it has sometimes been called the Lord’s Supper, the Breaking of the Bread, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or the Eucharistic meal. Each of these titles reflects something of the liturgical memorial of the Paschal Mystery that forms the source and summit of the life of the Christian and the high point of Sunday. But the Eucharistic action requires the active participation of the ordained priest to lead the assembly in its official liturgy. When the ordained priest is absent there can be no Eucharist, but the Christian faithful still gather to pray.

The scarcity of priests is again being felt in our own time and land, but generally with much less severity. In the eight months that I have been part of the diocese two pastoral areas –Vineyards and Chisholm – have introduced regular Sunday Celebrations in Anticipation of Eucharist. This means that on any Sunday one or more worshipping communities in these regions gather with a lay liturgical leader to celebrate a Liturgy of the Word. A situation that has long been heralded by our leadership will probably continue to be the pattern in many parts of our diocese for years to come.

Pope Benedict and our Australian bishops make it clear that even when we are deprived of Eucharist we should still gather with our parish community on Sunday. In the very act of assembling Christians constitute the church in that place, even if their priest is unable to join them. Christians gather with their sisters and brothers recognising in faith the Christ in the other and the Christ in the community, for ‘where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.’ (Mt 18:20) At their official worship on the Lord’s Day the faithful are fed by the Word of God. Our church teaches that it is Christ who speaks when the scriptures are proclaimed. Through this holy encounter the assembly is nourished by Christ’s Word and challenged to live the gospel in the week ahead. The faith community supports and strengthens each other and the very act of gathering in Christ’s name provides a strong Christian witness in their town or neighbourhood.

Many of us have the convenience of multiple Mass times in a number of churches in proximate distance to our homes. So while some of us might only have to consider which Mass to attend at the weekend, yet others in our diocese are faced with the question: ‘will there be Mass this Sunday in my parish church?’ Of course we have the choice of travelling to a parish where there is Mass. Or we may decide to gather with our usual faith community to celebrate Sunday in Anticipation of Eucharist.

In the original rule the Sisters of St Joseph were required to hear Sunday Mass and spend the rest of the day attending to the spiritual lives of the children. However Mary MacKillop knew that this was rarely possible for her Sisters who lived in remote communities. The realist that she was, Mother Mary instructed the Sisters that while they were unable ‘to honour their Sunday Observance to the letter’ they should still endeavour to gather the people together for prayer on Sundays if the priest was absent. In other words they were to celebrate Sunday, looking forward to the time they would again be privileged to enter into the sacred mysteries of the Mass.

In the 1870s lay people were not able to fully participate in the Mass in the way they are today. But they still gathered to meditate on the prayers and to recite other devotions. And despite the deprivation of regular Mass and the sacraments the faith continued to be nurtured and many of us are living legacy of that strong and unwavering belief. We live in hope that the Holy Spirit is again at this time and in this place calling us to become the faithful and strong church we are called to be in this Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

Sr Carmel Pilcher RSJ

Back to Aurora Homepage