The sixth meeting of the Commission for Liturgy and Prayer was held in the Curia from Thursday, September 28 until Saturday, September 30, 2017. Present for all sessions were Fathers Michael Farrugia, Procurator General and Chairman (Curia), Edmondo Caruana (Mel), Giovanni Grosso (Ita), Mario Esposito (SEL) Secretary, and Robert Pius Manik (Indo). Unable to attend was Father Giuseppe Midili (Ita) due to commitments at the Vicariate of Rome.
The Commission reviewed the responses to the questionnaire sent out to the Order in preparation for the International Carmelite Liturgical Congress planned for Sassone, Rome, Italy on April 16-20, 2018. The response to the questionnaire was quite good, representing more than 60% of the Order, and some additional responses have been received. These answers are being collated in preparation for the Congress and produced interesting results about the thoughts of the friars on this topic. On Saturday, the Commission members visited the Cistercian Abbey of Casamari, outside of Rome, where the members of the Congress will go for Mass, a tour and to hear from the Abbot about liturgy and the life of prayer.
The Commission dedicated time to an update on the O. Carm. Liturgical Calendar waiting for final approval by the Congregation for Divine Worship, to the new Rite for the Third Order Lay Carmelites already translated into the three official languages of the Order and to be presented for approval. Considerable time was also dedicated to completing the revised rites for simple and solemn profession within the Order. These texts will now be translated so they can reviewed again before being submitted to the General Council. The supplement to the Carmelite Office and Lectionary are also well underway. The next meeting of the Commission will be held before the Carmelite Liturgical Congress in April 2018. A mailing will be sent to the Order soon about the Congress.
