Liturgical Renewal in the Diocese of San Jose

September 16, 2010

Dear Friends,

Nothing more clearly and wonderfully defines who we are as Catholics as does the celebration of the Eucharist.  When we gather for Sunday Mass, we bring with us our hopes and dreams, our joys and our sorrows, and join them together with the prayer of Christ.  Nourished by the Word of God and the Bread of Life, we are commissioned to go into the world, where we are challenged to be witnesses to the one Lord who gathers and sends us forth.

However, sometimes, our experience of Sunday Mass is less than what we hope for.  For the last several years, our diocese has been committed to renewing our ministry to youth and young adults, fostering lay leadership, and developing a stronger commitment to social justice.  Yet these efforts must be nourished by life-giving celebrations of the Eucharist at every Mass in every parish.  If we commit ourselves to preparing and celebrating the Eucharist with care, enthusiasm, and joy, we can cultivate our parishes to be vibrant, Christ-centered communities where the Eucharist is visibly the “source and summit” of every aspect of Christian life.  The priests of the Diocese agreed with this goal at our recent Presbyteral Assembly.

Next March, we will be celebrating the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Diocese of San Jose.  This occasion will give us a special opportunity to begin a renewal of the liturgy in all of the parishes, missions, religious houses, schools and institutions of the Diocese.  

To accomplish this, I am convening a broad-based task force to which will be entrusted the responsibility of:  1) Working with each parish throughout the Diocese to assess the state of its Sunday liturgy; 2) Developing (based on this assessment) both a short and long-range vision for liturgical renewal and formation to help parishes improve their liturgical practices and to give them assistance in achieving their goals and the diocesan vision; and 3) Overseeing the implementation of this vision.

As our worshipping communities strive toward faithful and faith-filled liturgies, rich in welcome, in music and song, and in the proclamation and homiletic exposition of the Word and the celebration of the Sacrament, let us work together toward even more prayerful experiences of Sunday Mass throughout our entire Diocese.

Nearly fifty years ago, the bishops of the Second Vatican Council challenged the Church along the path that we now walk:  “In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit”  (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 14).  

In all that we do, let us walk together in Christ, praying that we will become “one body, one spirit” in the Lord.

With every best wish and kind regard, I remain,

Sincerely yours, 

Patrick J. McGrath
Bishop of San Jose