New liturgy office will help implement next Roman Missal

By JEFF GRAHAM

It would be hard to underestimate how important liturgy is to the life of the Church. Father Tien Tran, pastor of All Saints Parish in Coquitlam, the director of the newly minted Office of Liturgy, and the chairman of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission, feels that faithfulness to liturgy can change lives and rekindle the faith of Catholics in the archdiocese. “Liturgy is the practice of the faith, and faith is shown through the way we worship in the liturgy,” said Father Tran. “It has to be done properly so we show our true belief.”

Jeff Graham/The B.C. Catholic Father Tien Tran, who heads up the new Archdiocese of Vancouver Office of Liturgy, says the role of his office isn’t policing, but “bringing the liturgy of the Church to life.”

Father Tran explained that his mandate as the first director of the Office of Liturgy will be to provide information and clarification on liturgical issues. He expects he may receive questions about everything from the type of music chosen to the prayers used in Mass to the type of vestments worn by priests.

Father Tran, who has a Master of Arts in Liturgical Studies from St. Mary of the Lake University in Illinois, feels that by addressing questions regarding liturgy and by helping parishes become uniform in their liturgical practices, the unity and the beauty of Catholicism will shine through.

“The liturgy of the Church should not change because of personal preferences, because it’s the liturgy of Christ, and we can lose uniform liturgy when people bring in their personal preferences,” he said. “We need to make liturgy the same everywhere because it is the liturgy of Christ and the liturgy of the Church that we are celebrating.”

“It’s bringing the liturgy of the Church to life; it’s not policing,” he said. “We have to help people explore, understand, and appreciate the beautiful liturgy of the Church.”

Msgr. Stephen Jensen, the former chairman of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission, feels that establishing an Office of Liturgy is timely, and will help in educating the faithful. He also sees the office playing a vital role when the translation of the new Roman Missal and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal are approved and come into use.

“The appointment of a new Director of Liturgy and a revamped commission are timely, as we await the new translation of the Roman Missal,” said Msgr. Jensen. “This important moment in the Church’s life will present us with an opportunity for catechesis on the liturgy. As well, the 49th International Eucharistic Congress next year in Quebec (www.cei2008.ca) will also require preparatory work at the local level by the Archdiocesan Liturgy Commission.”

Questions on liturgy welcomed

Being chosen to be director of the Office of Liturgy and the Chairman of the Liturgical Commission has been a long time coming for Father Tran. In 2003, Father Tran was sent to Illinois by Archbishop Adam Exner, OMI, to study liturgy for two years. While there, Father Tran had a feeling that when he returned to the archdiocese that he would be chosen to help with liturgical issues in some capacity.

“Archbishop Exner sent me away so I could be a person somewhat involved with liturgy when I came back. It is obvious that he sent me with that intention.”

Now that he has a chance to put his education to good use, Father Tran will try to offer help for everything liturgical.

“We will provide information for liturgy so that people will be informed. I also hope to create venues that will allow people to ask questions on liturgy. One of those venues could be the Web, another venue could be a liturgy workshop.”

Father Tran also hopes to help the faithful rediscover traditional Catholic sacred music, and hopes to take liturgy back to how it was intended by the Church.

“We want liturgy to be basically what the Church has always intended,” he said. “Gregorian Chant is beautiful music, the treasure of the Church, but recently we have been ignoring it. Really we should be using and valuing and embracing it.”

Father Tran also sees his office as a venue for dealing with confusion. He explained that people tend to get confused when liturgical practices differ, and that his office will help set the record straight. He will also work to clarify what is and is not fitting during the celebration of Mass.

“We will try to avoid confusion,” he said. “When people see liturgy done in different ways they get confused.”

“We also cannot incorporate everything we would like into the Mass, because if we did it would lose its beauty and become chaotic. The liturgy is so beautiful, and everywhere we go we have the same liturgy, and if we maintain that uniformity, it will show our unity. People will embrace worship, and it will all go to helping people develop a deeper appreciation of their faith.”

“That’s the curial mandate, to help people know, appreciate, and understand liturgy. If we are doing that, we are being faithful to the commission.”