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January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas, was traditionally the Feast of the Epiphany before many countries including New Zealand shifted the liturgical celebration to the nearest Sunday.
It was a great joy last weekend to be able to celebrate the Vigil of the Epiphany with two small rural Hurunui communities: Hanmer Springs at 5.00pm and Culverden at 6.00pm.
In my experience many of the most beautifully celebrated liturgies are found in small rural communities. Large city parishes sometimes clutter the liturgy with well-intentioned activity, singing, activities and commentaries and testimonies leaving no space for the silence and stillness which are an essential part of liturgy well celebrated, and which are often found when a couple of dozen people gather for the Eucharist in rural areas.
Last weekend the few regulars at Hanmer were joined by a number of people taking a break from Christchurch and further afield.
It was a delight to connect and chat with many people who have been a part of parishes I have served over the past forty years, including one couple who were parishioners in Greymouth, my first parish as a priest, in 1986.
Thirty minutes after the conclusion of the Hanmer Springs Mass I was still chatting with many of these people, leaving almost too late for the thirty minute drive to Culverden.
I arrived at Culverden as a team of five Altar Servers were making their last-minute preparations while the choir was unobtrusively checking details of their timing and tuning.
Then ten minutes before Mass began, silence. Not a word. As more people arrived the contemplation continued until the organ signalled the invitation to stand and unite our prayers.
Then the liturgy began (pic above).
Every aspect had been so well prepared that our hearts and minds were, as at Hanmer, raised to God who the people clearly knew to be present and active in this sacred action.
While every good detail of a Cathedral high liturgy was present (including incense, especially appropriate since it was one of the gifts of the Magi), the preparation of servers, readers, musicians and people was so thorough at Culverden that the liturgy was able to be prayed and experienced as divine activity without a hint of human staging. The ministers seemed hidden as the people’s full, conscious and active participation enabled experience of the divine action which was evident.
Then after the dismissal and recessional hymn we stood outside for well over half an hour and chatted. Our community had been built and rebuilt not by our efforts but through our faithful celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
To those who celebrated Epiphany at Hanmer Springs and Culverden last Saturday evening, Thank you all.
No pressure Akaroa but I’m looking forward to being with you for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord next Sunday.
How beautiful. Silence in the sacred space. Peaceful contemplation, refreshing communion with God. I yearn for this often when surrounded by the white noise of idle and loud chitty chat often found in our churches today. Well done to those churches who recognize and respect the need for silence to prepare to encounter the living presence, to contemplate on what we are about to receive or have received, to sit quietly and gently with our God as we gaze on each other, to feel his love and to thank Him for all He is does and gifts us
My confrère recently quoted someone (a reader may know who it was)
Who stated “the first language of God is silence”!
AMEN
It is wonderful to read your story and feel the spiritual connection to the Divine Presence through stories, and the Power of Silence that connects and enhances the Divine Presence.
Thank you for the inspirational story.
Blessings to all and together we bring to life the Divine Connection, of Peace.
I really enjoyed the simplicity of the Hanmer mass. I loved the time during the mass to just be and reflect.
Really appreciated being treated as an adult and didn’t have the homily repeated as yes I understood it the first time. Appreciated the homily it really resounded with me.
This was the most engaged and spiritually uplifting mass I have attended for a long time.
Bless you Fr John.
I too was at Hanmer and enjoyed the mass. The spiritual significance of the liturgy was leavened by the lively discussion and fellowship afterwards and vice versa. It also reminded me of the universal connectedness of our faith that spans times and locations and circumstances, and brings us back into orbit to be touched and refreshed by renewed contact. Such re-encounters also help bring to mind with great gratitude the really precious voices that have helped me on my spiritual journey over many years. Thanks John and all the best for 2026
I often feel that the hymns during and after communion are a real distraction. This is a time of unity with Jesus, whom we have received most intimately. It is a time when we can talk to Jesus on a very personal level and a time when we can listen to what he has to say to us in deepest silence. It is a fleeting time we should make the most of.