Jun
23
PLEASE NOTE: This post has been edited. For those of you who have already read the original post, please be aware that I have retracted any implicitly negative or attacking statement about the ministers and clergy of my home parish. None of them were of ill-intent, but most of them were imprudent. In the future, I plan to practice better prudence in these matters from the very start.
The Mass, as my father always said, is first and foremost a SACRIFICE. It is the re-presentation of Christ’s death on the cross - the moment when he atoned for our sins and won us our salvation. This is no small thing, nor something we ought to take lightly. In the Old Testament, there were many sacrifices offered to God. From the moment when God revealed himself to Abraham, he began preparing mankind with types and figures of how a sacrifice ought to be offered. It is important to see how far back the rituals, prayers, vestments, priestly function, and solemnity of the Mass today reach back. This wasn’t just the invention of the apostles or some councils. This is the work of the Holy Spirit which - from the beginning - has been guiding us and teaching us how God desires to be worshiped. I think about that sometimes and am held in awe of how privileged we are to participate in and see the fruits of such an ancient heritage!
So basically, the first point I am trying to make is that when dealing with the Mass, it can’t just be about personal preference or what’s easy for us. It has to be about what is most pleasing to God. That of course, begs the question: what is most pleasing to God? This is a question easily answered by any good Catholic. What is most pleasing to God is man’s salvation, man’s love for God, and our being in communion with Him. As much as God is Love, he desires to be loved by us. If our love is what pleases God the most, what could the Eucharistic sacrifice be if not the definite act of love and an invitation to draw into Christ’s sacred mysteries? Is it not our greatest opportunity to be caught up in the love of God? The mystery of God’s love for us is integral to what happens at every Mass - despite our ability to sense it with our physical senses. Needless to say, we can only perceive this great act of love with eyes of Faith. This is why we use so many signs, symbols, and sacramentals in a church. The more sacred and solemn an atmosphere we foster at Mass, the easier it is for us to see and believe with the eyes of Faith. It is true that without that solemnity, the extraordinary nature of what is happening remains unchanged - but our awareness of it and our devotion to it can be inhibited or enhanced by the environment that surrounds us. No doubt, it is our responsibility as ministers at Mass to create an environment that aids this awareness and devotion. It is our job to aid the parishioners in their “active participation” - not simply in their outward participation, but, more importantly, to help them inwardly prepare and commune with the Lord as they receive him, and to create an atmosphere in which love is easily communicated.
As to the nature of what that environment is, I would propose two images. Each of them is a supernatural reality of what is happening in the Eucharistic presence of Christ at Mass. First is the image of Jesus’ crucifixion - the sacrifice. As Catholics we believe that in a supernatural way, we are present at Calvary during every Mass. WE ARE AT THE VERY FOOT OF THE CROSS AS CHRIST IS LIFTED UP! This is the most solemn moment of mankind’s history! It is the moment when we witness Christ’s death on the cross - we witness Christ’s battered body, drained of its blood, mutilated, crowned with thorns and pierced with nails. We truly and actually witness this at every Mass. Whether we are even aware it is happening is another thing - but if we are to help others reflect on this reality, the atmosphere which we must foster is one of solemnity and silence. It has been the tradition of the Church to hold Gregorian Chant in high esteem for this reason - no other music so successfully leads people to the quiet which is required for silent contemplation. In that quiet - what JPII referred to as “Eucharistic amazement” - we can sense that something deeply profound is taking place. Not only does it stand in direct contradiction with our noisy culture, but it eliminates distraction for those who choose to pray and commune with unveiled hearts. This is also why Latin Gregorian chant is especially useful during communion. It allows the parishioners to pray without having to filter out a song which might be distracting them from prayer. The lyrics do not distract them - they add to the solemnity of the moment.
The second image is perhaps considered to be a more “modern” one although the Church has always cherished it. The second image is the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Many theological studies and liturgical observations correctly interpret the Mass as a meal - a feast. But what is often neglected about this definition is the context of the bride and bridegroom. This is no ordinary meal. This is not even an ordinary feast. THIS IS A WEDDING FEAST BETWEEN CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE, THE CHURCH! Just as much as it is a banquet in which we are spiritually nourished, there is so much more going on here. We, as Christ’s Church, assemble as one body, Christ’s own body! We are joined to Christ like a bride and a bridegroom as they consummate their marriage! That type of atmosphere is completely out of place when set to loud music, monotonous melodies, or simple “church” music. This is the moment of all moments - the night of all nights if you will - when Christ gives himself completely to his bride. Indeed, we are more physically united to Christ in the Eucharist than we will ever be with anyone else on this earth. The profound aspect of this deeply moving truth is manifest in the whispers of a lover - it is too wonderful a moment for the same old, same old. This is a moment to end all others, and its solemnity, when fully realized, naturally draws us to silence.
In each of these supernatural elements of the Mass, there is an element of God’s mystery. How many times have we heard “as we enter these sacred mysteries” and glazed over them as if they were the announcements at a baseball game (with Jesus at our side of course…) We miss what’s going on today because many times, Mass is just another place where we need to be entertained. We need to keep people interested. We need to keep them participating. But at what cost? That we no longer have a sense of how sacred these events are?
Almost on a daily basis, I talk to parishioners who are saying the same things. The idea that the parishioners don’t want any of this seems extremely contrary to me. I still have people tell me to this day how much they enjoyed the more traditional song choices we made two summers ago and how they wish we did more of it nowadays. Yes, they said they even appreciate the Latin. As a general rule, I have found that if a fellow parishioner is serious about engaging our Lord in the Mass, they’re looking for this kind of music - music that is solemn, sacred, and prone to silence. And as the Church has always observed, the importance and integrity of our traditions is first understood by the general consensus of the faithful.
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