August 2020 Praenotanda

FROM THE OFFICE DIRECTOR

Welcome back to Praenotanda, the new name of the monthly news email of the Office for Divine Worship and Sacraments! Just as the praenotanda are the notes that come before our liturgical and sacramental rites, we hope this email will provide you some important notes on resources, events, and important developments as you begin another month of ministry.

Below you’ll find information about upcoming events and resources for worship and sacramental ministers, including virtual training on the basics of liturgy, gatherings for pastoral musicians, our annual publications offered at more than 25% off list price, With Zeal and Patience (for parish worship commissions), and resources for our annual Day of Prayer for the Church and Victims of Abuse on Sept. 11th.

Also, save the date for an upcoming Parish Leaders Roundtable on Tuesday, Sept. 8th; see more details below.

Finally, thanks for sharing information on some initiatives for members of your parish, including iVoteCatholic, Pray A Minute, and our popular free workshop on preparing a Catholic funeral and end-of-life decisions, Now and At the Hour of Our Death.

We are pleased to welcome our new Archdiocesan Music Director, Matthew Geerlings, who introduces himself below.

As always, if there’s anything that Matt, Monica, or myself can do to assist you in your worship and sacramental ministries, please let us know.

Jeremy Helmes
ODWS Director

FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR

Please indulge me in this first article to introduce myself. My name is Matthew Geerlings and I am the new Director of Music for the Archdiocese and Cathedral. I’m very happy to be serving the faithful of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and taking over responsibilities from my friend and colleague, Tony DiCello.

I served at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City, IA for 20 years (if you don’t know where Sioux City is located that’s okay – neither did I at first). While the metro area of Sioux City is relatively small, the Cathedral is a very busy place. My work there involved the commissioning and design of a new pipe organ for the Cathedral, built by Wech Orgelbau of Bavaria in 2006. In 2016 my choir was one of a small handful of choirs invited to sing for the closing mass of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. As luck would have it, Pope Francis called for a consistory the day before the closing mass, so “when in Rome” came to fruition as we were invited to sing for that service as well.

Aside from my work with our English-speaking community, I was heavily involved with our Hispanic masses, providing music and directing choirs for two of the four weekend Spanish masses. I also directed a small schola that sang at the Sunday mass in the Extraordinary Form. The Cathedral there also is home to a small but vibrant Vietnamese community.

My wife Cara and I have been married for 24 years and have two daughters, Anna and Lauren. Anna is a Junior at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and Lauren will be a senior in high school this academic year.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can, in person, once the pandemic has subsided. I hope I can be a source of information and support for both lay staff and priests. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Matthew Geerlings
Music Director

Invite your parishioners, students, and friends to Pray A Minute: One Million Hours of Prayer for Peace, Justice and Goodwill

The world feels heavy these days. News headlines are filled with injustices and unrest. It seems as though everywhere we turn we find division and disharmony in our country. The world desperately needs Christians united in prayer.

A million hours of prayer may sound impossible, but if you divide that prayer time among all of the Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, it is just one minute of prayer a day. Just one minute. From now until January 1, the World Day of Prayer for Peace, you are invited to pray one minute more than you already do, every day, specifically for the intention of peace, justice and goodwill in our country.

Now and at the Hour of Our Death:
Catholic Medical and Funeral Planning for the End of Life

It’s never too soon to begin thinking about our own funeral, end-of-life care, and who will be making those decisions. Join us to learn about how to get started on planning a Catholic funeral and what the Church teaches on key end-of-life issues.

Tuesday, Aug. 18, 7:00-8:30pm
OR
Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1:30-3:00pm

Topics include:

Pre-planning the three stages of the Catholic funeral
What the Church really teaches about cremation
How to approach difficult end-of-life decisions with your loved ones from a Catholic perspective (life support, medical power of attorney, etc.)

Join fellow pastoral musicians from around the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for an evening of renewal as we kick off a “new year” of ministry leading our parish communities in sung worship.

7:00pm Sung Vespers, followed by Awards & Reception

Cincinnati area: Monday, Aug. 31, All Saints Parish, Kenwood *

Dayton/North area: Tuesday, Sept. 1, St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Kettering *

In addition to celebrating Evening Prayer together and a reception to conclude, we will honor our colleagues who are completing their 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th, 45th, 50th, 55th, or 60th years of service to the Church, and honor those who have recently retired or will be retiring in the coming year. If you will celebrate a jubilee this year, please contact the ODWS.

Parish Leaders Roundtable
Tuesday, September 8th
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.

You may have seen the recently-released Instruction from the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, “The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church.”

We will:

Look at what is happening in our parishes at present through the responses to the July survey of pastors
Discuss what this new document from Rome means for your parish
Share a preview of what is in the future via the upcoming planning process

Day of Prayer for the Church and Victims of Abuse

The archdiocese will observe the third annual Day of Prayer for the Church and Victims of Abuse on Friday, Sept 11. In addition to a Votive Mass of the Mystery of the Holy Cross celebrated by Archbishop Schnurr at 5:15pm at the Cathedral of St. Peter-in-Chains, all are encouraged to observe this day in parishes, schools, and other institutions. Sample liturgical texts and suggestions can be found on the website of the Office for Divine Worship & Sacraments.

Q. How many intentions must there be for the Universal Prayer at Mass?

A. The Church does not specify precisely how many intentions may be included in the Universal Prayer, only that they should be “sober, be composed with a wise liberty and in few words, and they should be expressive of the prayer of the entire community.” (GIRM 71) Normally, 4-6 is sufficient. The sequence of these prayers should normally flow from the needs of the Church to the needs of the world, then for those in any difficulty, and finally for the local community. (GIRM 69)