Burning the Sacramentary? Not me...

Did you burn your old books?

Nov 28th, 2011 by Deacon Greg Kandra

What can you do with an old sacramentary? Here’s one suggestion:

Details:

After the switch to a new Mass translation, old liturgical books should be respectfully buried, either intact or after being burned, according to the U.S. bishops.
“Whether or not the Sacramentary has been blessed by an official rite, it is appropriate to treat it with care,” the bishops’ Secretariat for Divine Worship said in a recent response to several queries from U.S. Catholics. “Its disposal should be handled with respect.”
The bishops’ liturgy office recommends “burying the Sacramentary in an appropriate location on church grounds, or perhaps in a parish cemetery,” after the switch to a new liturgical translation on Nov. 27.
“Some have even suggested following a custom used in various Eastern churches,” they noted, “whereby liturgical books or Bibles are placed in the coffin of the deceased as a sign of devotion and love for the liturgy.”
Some Catholics may be surprised to learn that it is appropriate – and even customary – to burn or bury old liturgical books and other religious items.
According to the U.S. bishops’ secretariat, the ashes of liturgical books should be collected and “placed in the ground in an appropriate location on church grounds.”

>>>The above article I saw over at one of my favorite Catholic blogs that goes by the Deacon's Bench authored by Deacon Greg Kandra.  He gives us the official word on how the old Sacramentary's should be disposed of.  I certainly have heard of reverently burning and/or burying religious items.  I do, however, find the idea of burning the Sacramentary extreme.  Whether you are in the camp that the Sacramentary needed to go or you did not want to see it go, it is gone.  The new Roman Missal is certainly in effect.  But with the old Sacramentary is not only the sacred words of Mass but the sacred history of our Church for the last 40 years.  For many ordained ministers, including yours truly, the Sacramentary was a gift and often a gift upon ordination.  I forever remember receiving my Sacramentary as a gift and I used it in homily preparation, to learn how to turn the pages and in my ministry at the prison.  For me, the Sacramentary will remain in my home office, prominent on my shelves of other important books, many of them gifts too!

No burning or burying here; just me!