The prayers of blessing and healing are usually said at the end of the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word within the RCIA process.
The prayers are said for catechumens.
The prayers are said by a priest or deacon, or by an appointed catechist. The rite encourages all ministers to be attuned to opportunities that might naturally arise to make best use of these rituals and prayers.
Reflecting on the word of God is like ‘a double-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12). It makes catechumens aware of the blessings God has sent into their lives as well as the challenges and the obstacles they will need to overcome on their journey of conversion. It is important, then, to seek God’s blessing of this process and to invite God to heal and restore the catechumens as they reflect not only on the good things that God has done for them but also on the places of hurt and brokenness in their lives.
Because of the negative overtones of the word ‘exorcism’ in popular culture, it is recommended that the minor exorcism be referred to instead as ‘the rituals or prayers of healing’.
Like all liturgical rituals, they include both word and action.
The liturgical action for the minor exorcism (or ‘the rituals of healing’) is set out in the RCIA:
As the catechumens bow or kneel, the celebrant with hands outstretched over them, says one of the following prayers.
RCIA §94
The liturgical action for the rituals of blessing is also outlined in RCIA:
The celebrant, with hands outstretched over the catechumens, says one of the following prayers. After the prayers of blessing [and of healing], if this can be done conveniently, the catechumens come before the celebrant, who lays hands on them individually.
RCIA §94
Note the personal and intimate action: hands are placed on the catechumen’s head followed by a moment of silence before the prayer.
The blessings of the catechumens are a sign of:
They are bestowed on the catechumens so that even though they do not as yet have the grace of the sacraments, they may still receive from the church courage, joy and peace as they proceed along the difficult journey they have begun (see RCIA §95).
The words of the prayers give shape to the liturgical action and are said in response to what has arisen during the catechumens’ celebration of and reflection on the word of God. As part of this process, they are invited each week to reflect on how the word of God has shaped their lives. Their reflections will name moments of blessing they have experienced during the week (blessings). But they will also include the obstacles and difficulties they have encountered during the week (opportunities for healings).
Thematically, then, the prayers of blessing and healing will cover the whole range of the human experience: the personal, moral, intellectual, social, emotional, psychological and physical experiences of each person’s life.
With the prayers of blessing, the church publicly proclaims that the catechumens:
With the prayers of healing, the church publicly proclaims that the catechumens:
Rev. Dr Elio Capra SDB, a Salesians of Don Bosco priest, lectures in Liturgy and Sacramental Theology at Catholic Theological College, Melbourne.
‘There is the music of heaven in all things and we have forgotten how to hear it until we sing.’
St Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
Everyone has a favourite hymn. Whether it be simple or complex, loud and rousing, gentle and tender, hymns carry personal and collective faith like no other artistic expression. Often, this is unconscious. What we sing matters, as our prayer informs what we believe about God, and how we wish to live as followers of Christ: lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi.1 Singing has been part of the life of the church from the very earliest times; and sacred Scripture has traditionally formed the basis of this sung prayer, with the psalms taking a central role. The psalms formed the ‘prayerbook’ of ancient Israel, and the Jewish and Christian traditions of worship, over many centuries.2 Jesus quotes Psalm 22:22 in Hebrews 2:12, speaking of singing God’s praises in the assembly; and Jesus leads the singing with his disciples in Mark 14:26 and Matthew 26:30. St Paul famously instructs the Ephesians to
be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 3
For St Ambrose and St John Chrysostom, the singing of the psalms was primary, and Ambrose himself wrote many hymns; the Didascalia Apostolorum called people to sing the psalms if they yearned for songs; St Clement called for songs to be hymns to God; and St Basil called the psalms the voice of the Church: they were at once God’s words to people and the words of the people to God. St Augustine wrote in many of his best-known works of the effect music directed to God had on him and on others.4 This focus was eschatological as well as immediate, and acknowledged how music could deepen and strengthen faith in the present moment and in and for the journey onward to the world to come:
In the way that travellers are in the habit of singing;sing, but keep on walking … What’s ‘keep on walking’? Make progress, make progress in goodness. There are some people, you see, according to the apostle, who progress from bad to worse. You, if you’re making progress, are walking; but make progress in goodness, progress in the right faith, progress in good habits and behaviour. Sing and keep on walking.5
Liturgical music in the early church was part of thanksgiving, petitioning prayer, processionals, proclaiming the Scriptures, vigils and the whole sanctification of the faithful for living as Christians. A liturgical celebration has three dimensions: it recalls the past in the present for the sake of the future.6 It therefore retains a focus that is ultimately eschatological.7 Music was not seen as a single or separate entity but as a part of the worshipping community’s response of praise to God, even in times of trial and hardship.
Music is part of the larger goals and purposes of liturgy: the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful.8 As sacred Scripture is a primary source of revelation, anchoring hymnody in Scripture is integral. Liturgical music is acknowledged as being a powerful means of communicating and proclaiming the Word, as well as a key way to strengthen bonds of Christian community.9 Strong memories of person, place and time, as well as deep emotions, are often evoked when hearing musical pieces, including hymns, from one’s past.10 This has implications for what is sung in liturgy, due to the complex way that people build and weave symbolic meaning over time. A mix of the old and the new is necessary in choosing hymns for congregational singing. Liturgist and composer Father Jan Michael Joncas (he wrote the much-loved hymn ‘Eagles Wings’, based on Psalm 91) states that liturgical music must be attentive to both the text and liturgical action if it is to contribute to its purpose of glorifying God and sanctifying the faithful.11
When we sing Scripture in song with attention to the liturgical year, we employ a matchless means to absorb the cycle of death and resurrection into the long-term, embodied memory of the singing assembly. Psalmody and hymnody are both creedal and evangelical, with an appropriate hymn often serving as a bridge in liturgy.12 Song brings people together, proclaims the Word, leads people to communion, and sends believers out into the world strengthened for mission.
One of the goals of Vatican ll was to bring Catholics closer to Scripture,13 and the reform of the liturgy after Vatican ll gave us a three-year cycle of three readings for each Sunday. This allowed a larger focus on sacred Scripture within Sunday Mass. The sung responsorial psalm was also restored to the Mass in the new liturgy. Liturgist and liturgical music composer Lucien Deiss CSSp names this as one of the most significant reforms contained in the new liturgy. It is also anchored in the practices of the early church.14
Deiss also reminds all that the ever-present challenge of the liturgical musician and for music in the liturgy is conformity to the will of Christ. Deiss suggests that obedience to the liturgical laws of the Church should reveal a ‘new song’ that holds the unity of the Church to Christ.15 We are also called to be attentive to when and how psalmody and hymnody are used, noting when other musical forms—and silence—may be appropriate to the needs of the community as part of a liturgical event. This is the joyful and serious challenge for any musician and disciple in taking their part in the Church and her mission in this new millennium and beyond.
Fiona Dyball works extensively in Youth Ministry and Music Ministry, inspired by her mentor, Sr Deirdre Brown IBVM. She is a member of the Marist National Formation Team (Melbourne) and has tertiary qualifications from Australia and the US in music performance and choral conducting, music therapy, secondary education, religious education, and theology. Fiona is a member of the Australian National Liturgical Music Board and loves working with people of all ages to help them sing their whole selves and lives to God in prayer.
Jesus calls his followers to give their all for God's kingdom. Offering all that we are and all that we have, we bring to the Lord our prayers prayers for the world and the Church.
We pray for Pope Francis and all bishops of our Church. By their teaching and example, may they lead people to see the wisdom embodied in the Gospel.
Lord hear us.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for our Church in the communion of saints. Sharing in their baptism, we acknowledge their goodness and strive to live by their example.
Lord hear us.
Lord, hear our prayer.
As we continue to commemorate the end of the First World War this month, we pray that all those ravaged by war and civil unrest may experience peace in their lives.
Lord hear us.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for our faith community as we prepare again to gather and to share the Eucharist. In the coming weeks and months, may our freedom to gather grow, providing greater opportunities to come to know you and each other more fully.
Lord hear us.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who have gone to their eternal rest, particularly those who have died recently and those whose anniversaries occur at this time. May they find peace in eternal life among the communion of saints.
Lord hear us.
Lord, hear our prayer.
O Lord of the widow and orphan, of the hungry and oppressed, listen to these our prayers and help us to walk in your way of mercy. We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Argentina