Basic Formation for Parish Masters of Ceremonies

To: Parish Priests, Parochial Vicars and Parish Coordinator of the Ministry of Altar Servers
Re: Basic Formation for Parish Masters of Ceremonies

Dear brothers in Christ,

Liturgical celebrations must be distinguished by grace, simplicity and order. In diocesan and parish liturgical celebrations, the master of ceremonies is tasked to coordinate the planning, preparations and actual celebrations of the liturgy. The master of ceremonies should be well-versed in the history, theology and pastoral aspects of the liturgy (cf. Ceremonial of Bishops, 24). This requisite knowledge facilitates planning and preparation of the faithful.

Considering the important role of the Master of Ceremonies plays in our liturgical life, the Ministry of Altar Servers of the Diocesan Ministry for Liturgical Affairs will be offering a Basic Workshop for Parish MCs on 28 February, 6 March and 13 March from 6:00 until 9:00 in the evening at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral Multi-purpose Building.

Participants must:

• be appointed and highly recommended by the parish priest (with accompanying letter of appointment)
• have basic knowledge of the liturgy
• be a senior altar server (not necessarily by age nor years in service)
• have the capability to direct liturgical celebrations

This is also open and highly recommended for parish worship coordinators.

Participants are to submit their recommendation letters signed by the parish priest a week before the seminar to facilitate the preparations of materials. You may fax it through 7237847. Participants without recommendation letters will not be entertained. The registration fee is Php 1000 for the dinner, venue, speakers and materials.

For further inquiries, please get in touch with Randy at 723 5113 to 15 local 514

May the Lord continue to bless you in your apostolic endeavors for the promotion of liturgical renewal in our diocese.

Fraternally yours in Christ,

Rev. Fr. Dennis Soriano
Minister for Liturgical Affairs


Noted by:

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel O. Sarez
Pastoral Director

Answering the Need for Liturgical Education

This is a paper for liturgical education class.

When the pastor of my real parish was transferred, he asked me to help him in his new parish. It was a small church and it was quite far from the center of the diocese. It did not take me long to find that it had been neglected. And as my pastoral work in the liturgical celebrations there commenced, I saw that it really needed liturgical formation. Most of the ministers only know what was taught them in the formations from the diocese, the choirs did not have any decent repertoire of liturgical music and eveything in the celebration barely passed the minimum requirement (even the lights, only the light above the altar worked).

As the elected (I find it strange that I was elected without me knowing) Worship Coordinator, I was given the opportunity to improve the liturgical and devotional services in the parish. I was responsible for spearheading all planning, directing and evaluating what we do for worship. I took the time to attend meetings just to answer questions and clarify things. I found myself answering questions regarding small details of what we do in the Mass like bowing, genuflecting, etc and I realized that for many of the people here, it was the small things, the petty things, that were important. It was then that I realized that there was really a need to deepen their understanding of Christian prayer.

For the last two years, I had been busy not just with the liturgical services of the parish but also with giving formation seminars and talks. It is really amazing how the people in this parish are very open to these seminars and talks and they are very interested. I liken them to someone who hasn’t eaten for days who finds food and eats it voraciously. The people were very receptive and very willing to listen to someone half, or even a third of their age.

Recently, I have begun a worship publication for them that comes out monthly. I named it Ecclesia Orans because Fr. Dennis wont let me use Bukal (or Bukalette) and so that I can follow the tradition of the liturgical movement. It is where I try to explain things in a manner most can understand. It is mostly in Filipino. It is comforting to know that those who take copies do read them and keep them.

After reading the assigned articles, it was nice to know that I had been doing my part – helping make celebrations better and teaching litugy. I wish I could do more to make the liturgical celebrations in my new parish and in the bigger community of the Diocese better. But I need ordination for that. As of now, I am content with maximizing what I can do as a layperson, as a worship coordinator and as a member of the diocesan ministry for liturgical affairs.

Death Notice

FR. EDUARDO P. HONTIVEROS, SJ

(20 December 1923 – 15 January 2008)

Fr. Eduardo P. Hontiveros, SJ, was born on 20 December 1923 in Molo, Iloilo City. He was one of eight children born to Jose Hontiveros and Vicenta Pardo.

Fr. Honti, as he is fondly known, was educated at the Capiz Elementary School and the pre-war Ateneo de Manila in Padre Faura, graduating from high school in 1939. From 1939 to 1945 he was at San Jose Seminary. He entered the Society of Jesus after the war in 1945, pronouncing first vows at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches in June 1947. There he finished his studies in philosophy and then proceeded to Ateneo de Zamboanga for his three-year regency, teaching religion, Latin, and English, and moderating the Choir String Band. In 1951, he traveled to the United States to study theology, and was ordained in 1954 by Francis Cardinal Spellman. After earning a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, he returned to teach in the Philippines in 1958. He pronounced final vows in the Society of Jesus in 1960.

Fr. Honti had a long career as a theology professor and seminary formator for Jesuits and San Jose seminarians. He served in various capacities, including as Rector of San Jose Seminary and Dean of Loyola School of Theology. For more than thirty years until 1991 when a stroke seriously hampered his mobility and capacity to communicate, he was a fatherly figure to generations of Jesuit and Josefino seminarians.

But Fr. Honti is best known for his music. In 1965, as the Second Vatican Council ended and called for inculturation of the liturgy, Fr. Honti, whose family is musically inclined, was already composing Mass hymns in Tagalog. He asked the church choirs in Barangka, Marikina, and Pansol, both communities near the new Ateneo campus in Loyola Heights, to sing his songs, and he readily adjusted the notes if the choir found his compositions too difficult. Before long, he had composed a complete set of hymns for the Mass. Thus began Fr. Honti’s love affair with heartfelt liturgical music. His songs spread to other parishes and by the 1970s, aided by a fresh wave of nationalism, his songs had become staple fare at Masses.

His name may not be familiar to all, but his music certainly is. He was not the only Filipino who experimented with sacred music in the vernacular starting in the 1960s, but he was certainly the most prolific, and most successful, if success is measured by the popularity of one’s work. Over a period of twenty-five years, Fr. Honti composed hundreds of hymns, many of which with moving stories of ordinary people behind them. He has inspired younger generations of composers like Fr. Nemesio Que, Fr. Fruto Ramirez, Fr. Manoling Francisco, Fr. Arnel Aquino, and Fr. Jboy Gonzales. It is no exaggeration that Fr. Honti has been called the Father of Filipino Liturgical Music.

Today it is a testament to Fr. Honti’s pioneering spirit that so many styles of church music are sung in our Masses and other gatherings. The choices can seem quite daunting, and it is never easy to select songs that various generations of churchgoers can follow, but play the opening notes of Fr. Honti’s Pananagutan, or intone his Luwalhati, Santo, Kordero ng Diyos, or his Magnificat, and everyone can join in. That is the surest way to show that while his name may not ring a bell, his music does.

Fr. Honti’s initiatives have been recognized with the Ateneo de Manila University’s Tanglaw ng Lahi Award (1976), the Asian Catholic Publishers’ “Outstanding Catholic Author” (1992), and the Papal award Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (2000), among many other awards and citations. He suffered another major stroke in early January, and went home to the Lord on 15 January.

His wake is being held at the Oratory of St. Ignatius, Loyola House of Studies, Ateneo de Manila University, where daily masses will be held at 8:00 p.m. The funeral Mass is scheduled for Saturday, 19 January, 8:00 a.m. at the Church of the Gesu in Ateneo Loyola Heights campus. Interment will follow at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Loyola School of Theology, for the Eduardo P. Hontiveros, SJ, Professorial Chair.

15 January 2008

Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus

Lent, Holy Week and Easter Preparations for OLPH Project 8

Materials to be prepared:

• Ecclesia Orans Lent-Easter Issue
• Ecclesia Orans Holy Week Issue
• Ecclesia Orans Easter Triduum Issue
• Prayer Guide for Lent (Seven Sorrows)
• Via Crucis
• Prayer Guide of Visita Iglesia
• Penitential Service Modules
• Catechumenal Formation
• Mystagogical Catechesis
• Ceremonial and Liturgy Guides
• Promotional Materials for Lent
• Promotional Materials for Holy Week
• List of Things Needed

Materials to be made:

• Platform extensions with step
• Taller cross stand
• Altar of Repose
• Concelebrants platforms
• Candle holders
• Triptych
• Via Crucis in Tarpaulin
• Banners for Holy Thursday
• Banners for Good Friday
• Banners for Easter Vigil

Materials to be procured:

• Covers for the Liturgical books
• Candles
• Incense
• Flowers
• Cloths
• Tubes for banners
• Flags
• Tambourines

Date	Time	Activity	Materials/Notes
5 February	7:00 pm	Rite of Blessing Palms to Ashes	· Gather last year’s palms from people · Rite of Blessing · Purchase bowls · Prepare ashes
6 February	6:00 am 7:30 am 5:00 pm 6:30 pm	Ash Wednesday Masses Rite of Imposition is after the Homily	· Instruct EMHC/Lectors/Servers · Prepare table at the side with the ashes
	7:30 pm	Rite of Imposition of Ashes within the Celebration of the Word of God	· Assign: 1 lector · Prepare music or ask Kurei ·
13 February 20 February 27 February 5 March 12 March	7:20 pm	Penitential Service and Confessions Themes: 1 Penance leads to a strengthening of baptismal grace, 2 penance prepares for a fuller sharing in the paschal mystery of christ for the salvation of the world, 3 sin and conversion, 4the son returns to the father, 5 the beatitudes, 6 God comes to look for us, 7Renewing our lives according to christian vocation
		Lenten Recollection/s
8 February 15 February 22 February 29 February 7 March 14 March	6:00 pm or 7:20 pm	Stations of the Cross (Area and Church)
Everyday	Before Mass	Rosary of the Seven Sorrows
16 March	Sunday Schedule	Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Rite of Blessing of Palms at the Beginning of the Mass	· Prepare at the Entrance: Microphone Gospel Book Holy Water · Copies of the Passion Narrative · Announce: bring candles on Easter Sunday
	7:00 am	Principal Mass	· Assign 2 MCs in charge · Prepare things · No Candles nor Incense
17 March	12:00 mn	Pabasa	·
18 March		Pabasa	·
19 March		Kumpisalang Bayan (?)	·
20 March	7:00 am	Chrism Mass (Cathedral)	· Lead: Execom
	7:00 am	Morning Prayer (OLPH)	· Lead: CBO
	6:00 pm	Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper	· Feet owners: Area/CBO/Ministry · Materials · Altar of Repose · Ciborium
		Vigil	· Lead: CBO
21 March	7:00 am	Morning Prayer	· Lead: CBO
	8:00 am	Public Stations of the Cross	· Lead: Area Coordinators
	3:00 pm	Celebration of the Lord’s Passion	· Worship
	5:00 pm	Prayer Service before the Image of the Corpse of Christ	· Lead: CBO
22 March	7:00 am	Morning Prayer	· Lead: CBO
	9:00 pm	Easter Vigil	· Worship
	12:00 am	Salubong	· Lead: Worship + Catechetical
	1:00 am	Salu-salo	· Lead: PPC
23 March	Sunday Schedule	Easter Sunday Celebrations	· Sequence (sung) · Renewal of Baptismal Vows
24 – 30 March		Mystagogical Catechesis	·
30 March	Sunday Schedule	2nd Sunday of Easter/ Domenica in Albis Divine Mercy Sunday	·
6 April	Sunday Schedule	3rd Sunday of Easter	·
13 April	Sunday Schedule	4th Sunday of Easter	·
20 April	Sunday Schedule	5th Sunday of Easter	·
27 April	Sunday Schedule	6th Sunday of Easter	·
4 May	Sunday Schedule	Ascension	·
10 May	6:30 pm	Pentecost Vigil (Long Celebration)	·
11 May	Sunday Schedule	Pentecost	·

Lent, Holy Week and Easter Preparations

Proclamation on the Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany

Dear brothers and sisters, the glory of the Lord has shone upon us, and shall ever be manifest among us, until the day of his return. Through the rhythms of times and seasons let us celebrate the mysteries of salvation.

Let us recall the year's culmination, the Easter Triduum of the Lord: his last supper, his crucifixion, his burial, and his rising celebrated between the evening of the 20th of March and the evening of the 23rd of March.

Each Easter - as on each Sunday - the Holy Church makes present the great and saving deed by which Christ has for ever conquered sin and death.

From Easter are reckoned all the days we keep holy.

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, will occur on the 6th of February.
The Ascension of the Lord will be commemorated on the 4th of May.
Pentecost, the joyful conclusion of the season of Easter, will be celebrated on the 11th of May.

Likewise the pilgrim Church proclaims the passover of Christ in the feasts of the holy Mother of God, in the feasts of the Apostles and Saints, and in the commemoration of the faithful departed.

To Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come, Lord of time and history, be endless praise, for ever and ever.

R. Amen.