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Respect “liturgical norms”: Catholic Archbishop to Liturgy Coordinators in Angola

Archbishop Luzizila Kiala during the closing Mass of the First National Meeting of Liturgy Coordinators in Angola. Credit: Radio Ecclesia

Archbishop Luzizila Kiala of the Catholic Archdiocese of Malanje in Angola has called upon liturgy coordinators in the Southern African nation to adhere to the established norms in their apostolate during liturgical celebrations. 

In his homily during the closing Mass of the First National Meeting of Liturgy Coordinators in Angola, Archbishop Kiala invited the diocesan coordinators and members of the national liturgy secretariat to foster family living, “walking together in faith towards Easter.”

“We feel an urgent need to walk together in faith, to celebrate the mysteries together while respecting liturgical norms; not everyone doing their own thing, but following the norms of the liturgy, walking together,” the Angolan Catholic Archbishop said during the February 18 event that was held at Sacred Heart of Jesus Major Seminary in Luanda.

The Local Ordinary of Malanje who doubles as Chair of National Commission for the Liturgy of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) reiterated the need for togetherness during the Lenten Season. 

“The most important thing is to walk together towards Easter so that our covenant with God is renewed, starting with a new heart, a new life, new families, with hope for a renewed world,” he said.

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The Catholic Church leader, who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2013 as Bishop of Angola’s Sumbe Diocese continued, “God never gives up on recreating our world, which is so often wounded by the selfishness and evil of men; and challenges us to collaborate with Him in building a new world of harmony and peace, which is the Creator's original project.”

Archbishop Kiala went on to urge Coordinators of liturgy in Angola to use the Lenten Season to get closer to God. He said, “Lent is a time of grace in which the desert once again becomes the place of first love. God educates his people to leave their slavery and experience the passage from death to life.” 

“It is a dynamic time of renewal of life and a return to the values of life, with the definitive goal of the eternal value of Easter, in communion with the Risen Lord,” Archbishop Kiala further said, adding, “Let us be aware of our covenant with God, we who have been saved by the waters of Baptism. Baptism is the fundamental sacrament in which the new covenant established by Christ is put into practice.”

The Archbishop of Malanje since his installation in November 2021 underscored the need to shun despair amid life’s challenges, saying, “Faced with the floods that have come upon us, we need to look to God for a rainbow of hope.”

João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate.