We have recently upgraded our visual display system to support our participation in liturgical celebrations:
“To promote active participation, the people should be encouraged to take part by means of acclamations, responses, psalmody, antiphons, and songs, as well as by actions, gestures, and bodily attitudes. And at the proper times all should observe a reverent silence.”
(Second Vatican Council, Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy, no. 30).
Many churches in Australia have adopted similar technology to encourage participation. That does not mean, however, that we should be reliant on the screen.
Learning the common prayers and responses of the Mass forms us in faith. By being able to sing or recite them from memory, our mind is not preoccupied with reading or accuracy. Instead, we can focus our mind on the ritual being celebrated, and open our hearts to a deeper encounter with God.
It is for this reason that many things that we say and sing during Mass are not displayed on the screen. Rather, it provides us with a prompt on those occasions when we are praying less familiar texts or singing hymns that are harder for us to remember accurately.
Published in our parish bulletin, Carmel, 9 August 2026
Liturgy 