Saturday, March 12, 2005
What exactly does a liturgist do?
I don't know what your liturgist does. I know that in my full-time positions in Illinois, Virginia, at Michigan State, Iowa, and here in Kansas City, the job description has varied according to the staff configuration and volunteer involvement. So I could tell you what I do now. But this is different from what I've done in other places. And different from what many of my colleagues do.
Sometimes when the question is raised, the issue is not as much, "I want to know what you do," but rather "I don't like you or the parish liturgy, and I wish somebody else, especially the priest, take over from you." In that case, you'll find this short essay most unsatisfactory.
In parishes, I do what the third or fourth priest used to do in large parishes before the council. Anything that happens in liturgy is my responsibility, as delegated by the pastor. If something goes right, I try to deflect the praise to God and to the people who did a good job. If somebody screws up, the pastor and parishioners let me know about it, and I'm supposed to fix it.
In Iowa, my predecessor was supremely organized and I learned a lot taking over from her. She had dozens of people doing substantial ministry and administrative tasks. My present parish was more pastor-oriented, liturgy-wise, as I took over from him, so things are a bit different here; it's not quite as far along as a Vatican II parish. People here are getting used to the idea that they can do things, suggest things, make things happen, and so forth. If people got it into their heads they could take over some of my job description, that wouldn't bother me one bit. If they wanted to keep me employed, I'd just start or do some things they don't have here yet, like a funeral choir or demonstration tapes of wedding music, or a school liturgy planning team made up of kids, or a small adult choir for the Sunday noon Mass. There's not an end in sight for the good things my parish (or yours, possibly) could do in liturgy that either other places are doing, or nobody's dreamed of yet.
Many years ago, I went to a workshop by a priest who suggested that the lay minister is just a transition from the over-clericalized Tridentine Church to some future Church that will be more egalitarian. I suppose I can thank the present curia for backtracking on Vatican II in the sense that the day liturgists will be out of business has been put off a few more years into the future.
What would I do if there were no liturgy positions in parishes? Keep having fun with my job, no doubt. Maybe I'd even study architecture or go to a culinary school. My dream retirement would be to live at a retreat center, be a spiritual director, play music for daily liturgies, and cook meals for the guests.
The most important aspect of what a liturgist does is serving people in the name of Christ. If a person can't get beyond turf, conservatory training, his or her own precious ideas, or whatever obstacle to make that apparent, I do think another job is in order for the best of all. But modelling one's ministry on Christ? It is a necessary challenge, and one I'm glad to attempt each day.
