Welcome to Saint John Bosco Parish

Style of Architecture

Upon arriving at Saint John Bosco Parish Centre, new parishioners and visitors remark how wide open the whole complex is. Some exclaim that it does not look like a traditional church building. Of course they are right. Church buildings have changed over the last twenty to thirty years, and most new churches employ a different style of architecture than those built before 1970. One might ask why. The first reason is that the Roman Catholic Church's understanding of what we do in this place has changed. Now the emphasis is on the worship of the whole community and not just what the priest does. The priest is seen as the leader of the community, helping all the people to pray, to sing, to express its faith, to praise God and intercede for the salvation of the world. This does not lessen the priest's role in the celebration or change what happens at Mass, but does restore the role of the faithful in the celebration. Most modern buildings allow people to see each other, so that they can grow to be more a community of faith. The faith of the community can be seen in the eyes, heard in the voices, expressed in the actions of others. Gathered around the altar, the community gathers around our Lord who is present where two or three are gathered in his name. This is quite a change from the days when we focused on our prayers and needs to the exclusion of others. It is less devotional, but it is more church or other orientated. Of course, private prayer is important in the life of each Christian, but devotional prayer is not what happens at the Celebration of the Eucharist or liturgy. This is corporate prayer. Church buildings in which the seats are arranged in a theatre or classroom style give the message that people are there to watch what happens on the stage. Modern buildings attempt to give the message that we are all actively involved in the liturgy and the liturgy takes place in the midst of the people.

Arrangement of Chairs - Standing for the Eucharistic Prayer

The second thing people notice is that we have chairs with no kneelers. How come? Again we go back to the changes of the Second Vatican Council which sought to restore the role of the laity at the celebration. The liturgy is the celebration of the whole Church and all the people, and not just the prayer of the priest. It is the prayer of the people united to their pastor. The eucharistic prayer is not a prayer of adoration, but a prayer of active praise and thanksgiving. It is something we all offer to God. Normally we stand to present something to someone. Kneeling is a penitential position. The eucharistic prayer is not penitential. It is Jesus' prayer of praise and we are one with Jesus by baptism. If the priest stands and the people kneel, then it is a sign that the priest alone is offering to God the prayer of praise. If the priest and people stand it is a sign that both priest and people are offering the prayer of Jesus. The prayer of the community is one, it expresses our common worship, therefore it is said by one person who by ordination is the leader of the community. That it is the prayer of the community is revealed by the constant use of the word we throughout the prayer. Standing for the eucharistic prayer may be new to us but people stood for the prayer for the first 1100 years or more of Church history, as shown in Eucharistic Prayer II:

In memory of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Father, this life-giving bread, this saving cup. We thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you. May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.

Eucharistic Prayer II is dated from the third century in Rome. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) stated that Christians do not kneel on Sundays and the Fifty days of Easter because we have been raised with Christ in baptism. Due to many factors the custom of kneeling began in the Middle Ages when the role of the people began to diminish. People and clergy were not well educated, if at all. Heresies (false teachings by splinter groups) which taught the unworthiness of people to go to communion influenced the Church at every level; people stopped going to communion. In some places walls between the priest and people were built. People ceased to understand Latin as local languages developed. In general the celebration of the eucharist became a devotion and ceased to be the liturgy of the whole people of God.

Chapel of the Blessed sacrament

A third feature of our Parish that marks it apart from other Catholic Churches is that the Blessed Sacrament is not reserved in the main area of the church, but in a separate chapel. While this is new for North American churches, it is the Roman custom that the Blessed Sacrament is not reserved where the Mass is celebrated. The General Instruction of the roman Missal no. 276:

Every encouragement should be given to the practice of eucharistic reservation in a chapel suited to the faithful's private adoration and prayer.

The main reason for this practice is that in the celebration of the eucharist, the bread and wine brought forward by the people and placed on the altar are changed into the body and blood of Christ by the great prayer of thanksgiving. When the Blessed Sacrament is reserved near the altar where Mass is celebrated, Christ is already present in the eucharistic bread. In this case the purpose of the Mass is blurred, the focus of the people is divided between the tabernacle and the altar. During Mass the focus of the community should be the altar not the tabernacle. In addition, the celebration begins with an awareness of the presence of Christ in the assembled people, then in the ministers, next in the proclamation of the word, all of which leads to the presence of Christ in the eucharistic bread and wine. When the focus of people's attention is presence of Christ in the tabernacle one might wonder what the Mass does. After all Christ is already present.

In line with the restoration of the role of liturgy is communion under both kinds. What has been said above about the liturgy being the action of the people also applies to communion. If the priest and the people are united in celebrating the eucharist, then they should also participate in the same way at communion: that is both should receive communion as Christ intended, by "eating this bread and drinking this cup." Once again the General Instruction no. 240 states that

Holy communion has a more complete form as a sign when it is received under both kinds. For in this manner of reception a fuller light shines on the sign of the eucharistic banquet. Moreover, there is a clearer expression of that will by which the new and everlasting covenant is ratified in the blood of the Lord and the of the relationship of the eucharistic banquet to the eschatological banquet in the Father's kingdom.

In other words there are four major ways of looking at the Eucharist that must be balanced together: it is a sacred (passover) meal; it is a sacrificial offering; it is a sealing of the covenant with God; and it is the sign or promise of the heavenly banquet.

1. Sacred Meal: At the passover meal or Last Supper, Jesus used both bread and wine in keeping with the Jewish custom. In our own day a festive meal usually includes wine as a sign of the special occasion.

2. Sacrifice: In the Old Testament there could be no sacrifice without the shedding of blood, thus the sacrificial nature of Christ's death on the cross is seen in the pouring out of his blood for the salvation of the world. Jesus asked his disciples: can you drink the cup that I will drink? Our communion is not just easting the bread of affliction but also drinking the cup of suffering. If we are serious about following Jesus, then we must offer our lives in service as he did.

3. Covenant: In the culture of the Middle East two people or families signed or sealed a treaty or business arrangement with a meal. Part of the ceremony was either to offer a sacrifice or to pour out a cup of wine. This symbolized the commitment that each party was willing to make. In the eucharist, the sacred meal and the drinking of the cup of salvation is our way of renewing or sealing our agreement with God. This is called the covenant.

4. Pledge of Salvation: In many Old Testament passages as well as in the story and teaching of Jesus, the kingdom of heaven was portrayed as a banquet. Some passages emphasized the fine foods and wines, others stated that God would serve us, still others spoke of the gathering of all nations into one at God's banquet. The image of a banquet reminds us of our final destiny as God's children. The eucharist is the renewal to us of God promise or pledge of salvation. As we now share the eucharist, so we shall also share it in heaven.