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In Preparation for the New Translation

Last Saturday my husband and I attended the very first Mass said by the new pastor at my husband's former parish. We were married at my parish three years ago (just last Wednesday...Happy Anniversary, Eddie Ray and Gina!) and we just stayed there; but we will most definitely be around ol' St. B's much more often than we have been.

Fr. Bill, "the new guy" as he referred to himself during the announcements, is not new to us. He's been the spiritual director of our local Cursillo center for many years. He's one of those priests who just "gets it"--he knows what he's doing, believes in what he's doing, and puts his entire self into every Mass. He has also killed a couple of small forests by making hundreds of handouts over the years, pulled together from Scripture, the Catechism, papal encyclicals, and all kinds of other Church documents, in an effort to try to make us "get it" as well. I could kick myself for not thinking to keep those handouts sooner than I did.  I hope he decides to offer some instruction on the new English translation of the Novus Ordo.

I admit that I've been a little more than concerned that Advent 2011 will arrive and people will not be ready.  I've already surprised a number of people at my own parish, who have no idea that there will be some changes. Parishes need to be preparing for the changes better, of which there are quite a few: new responses, some new words to the Gloria and the Creed, new acclamations, etc. If the church is going to give her people a new translation of liturgy, wouldn't our parishes be wise to use this gift as an opportunity for some formation? Having read through just the annotated sample text of the Order of the Mass, available at the USCCB Website, there's enough there to hold a weekly study from now until Advent. What good, after all, will come of just giving us new words to sing or recite?

Fr. Dwight said it best today in his most recent post over at Standing on My Head:

Mass isn't reverent simply because you start using lofty language that 'sounds religious'. True reverence is the fruit of a condition of heart. Reverence in worship is a by product of a certain type of Catholic mindset. It is not the automatic product of a particular form of words. (CLICK HERE to read the entire post titled "Is the New Translation More Reverent?")

He's absolutely right. If this new translation is supposed to ignite within Catholics the fire of faith, our parishes need to do more than just rely on osmosis and hope for the best.

Fr. Bill, I sure hope you're working on some new handouts. I'll even start a binder!

Red Mass

Each year, US justices, government officials and legal professionals are welcomed to pray for the upcoming year at the annual Red Mass, celebrated this past Sunday at St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral in Washington, DC. Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia's sermon summarized the over-700-year history of the Red Mass throughout Europe and America, discussed divine law as our legal system's true foundation, and, using the Golden Sequence of Pentecost as his anchor, invoked the Holy Spirit to guide our nation's courts and the legal profession this year.

This excerpt of his sermon really caught my attention:

The words of the prophet Ezekiel recall another important element in our invocation of the Holy Spirit today. “I will put my Spirit within you,” he says, “and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.” Positive law rests on certain principles the knowledge of which constitutes nothing less than a participation in the divine law itself: the pursuit of the common good through respect for the natural law, the dignity of the human person, the inviolability of innocent life from conception to natural death, the sanctity of marriage, justice for the poor, protection of minors, and so on. The legal profession is entrusted with the discernment and administration of justice and the rule of law according to an objective measure—in effect, according to principles—not of our own making.

This is the kind of preaching Catholics need to hear. The most volatile and controversial issues of the day, because they directly involve the sanctity of human life, are not subject to relative ideals, and neither is the law. Take a few minutes and read his whole sermon.

All day I've been thinking about this, particularly after reading some of the media "coverage" of Sunday's Red Mass. I of course expected to read little about the Mass itself, or about what Archbishop Di Noia preached.  I read much more about separation of Church and State, religious apathy, opinions about the Church, etc. No, the secular media has not surprised me.

Washington archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs, however, did. The Archbishop stated the following near the end of his sermon: "That innocent human life is now so broadly under threat has seemed to many of us one of the signs of this growing peril." Susan's comment to Tony Mauro at Legal Times (read his entire blog post here)? "Di Noia told her this reference to "innocent life" was not an allusion to abortion."

?!

I urge the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. to find a new spokesperson.

Gets Me To The Church On Time

Yesterday I subbed for one of the cantors at my old parish where I was a regular cantor a few years ago. It's a large, suburban parish with a newer building, built within the last 25 years. It's a "church in the round" with the organ and choir risers right up front beside the altar, exposed for the entire congregation to see. (it's one of the reasons I hate not having a choir loft.)

Also, from both the cantor podium and the Ambo I have a perfect view of the doors to the Church. (This is the other reason I hate not having a choir loft.) I get to see the parade of latecomers--some coming in as late as the homily. Before I go on, I am well aware that everyone, including me, has been late one time or another to Mass; we don't make a habit of it, but sometimes it just can't be helped. I'm not talking about those few people rushing in clearly out of their usual character.

I'm talking about those several dozen individuals and families sauntering on in like they were at a casual lunch buffet. The worst was the one in flip flops, fwap-fwap-fwapping in as Father began his homily. From right up front there, for as long as I can remember, it was the same faces over and over again. Similarly it's the same issue after Communion with the dine-and-dashers.

I notice this when I'm in the pews, too. My husband and I occasionally attend the 5:30 pm Sunday Mass, and are just beside ourselves at how many people--all the same ones, by the way--trot in late then. You mean you can't get to Mass on time at 5:30 PM??  Mass times don't change. Church buildings don't randomly move every week. What in this world is so much more important than worshiping your Lord? 
 

The Mass: How Extraordinary!

They're on a roll over at RealCatholicTV.com. Soon we will be experiencing some changes within the Mass, and this episode of CIA, Fr. Paul Nicholson sits down with host Michael Voris about the roots of Divine Worship in the extraordinary form of Mass.

From the show: "The Church must be sacred. In a world that is awash with the secularism that drives God out of the world, we must in some way drive the spirit of the world out of the Church, and this, I think, is the Holy Father's great desire. He wants to cleanse the temple, so to speak, by bringing back that spirit of reverence, which is, indeed, a grace from God."



This program is from RealCatholicTV.com

Singing To The Lord

Mass itself is perfect worship without music, because we receive the Lord in His word, and then we receive his Body in the Eucharist. I fully appreciate daily Masses without music, because I realize that music is not the substance of worship, and therefore not really a necessity. Music is, however, a wonderful enrichment to worship. As the USCCB document titled Sing To The Lord: Music In Divine Worship states, "singing together in church expresses so well the sacramental presence of God to his people." Even though we don't attend Mass to be entertained, Mass is far more meaningful and enjoyable with well-chosen music woven through it. As Father Ed always says, "Music is at the service of Liturgy."

This is why I take planning music seriously. I spend some time in prayer before selecting music for any Mass or prayer service I might be planning. I take into consideration the Church calendar, the time of year, the purpose of the paritcular Liturgy (I will plan a Sunday Mass differently than I plan a retreat prayer service) and the day's Scripture readings. I rarely rely on any publisher's canned Liturgy planning guides to help me, and I NEVER just pick songs based solely on their aesthetic merit. I am also quite careful to obey as best I can Church teaching on music in Liturgy. After all, if you are living and moving in the Holy Spirit, you will have no problem falling in line with Church teaching, because the Church, founded by Jesus Christ, is also living and moving in the Holy Spirit.

*

With each Mass, prayer service or function I plan, I grow more and more certain that the Holy Spirit guides me completely in the process. As I planned the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, for example, I kept getting this "vibe" to include a song about social justice. At first, "Go Make A Difference" popped into my head. Then as I leafed through our parish hymnal, it seemed to open by itself to a song titled "Go, Be Justice". If I had a hymnal in front of me, I'd type up a couple of lyrics for you; instead I can only tell you it's message: as we leave Mass, we take Christ's Body into the world, and it's our responsibility to represent Him here, even to the point of challenging the powers that be when they defy the laws of God.

I was not confident in the selection, as Sunday was really supposed to be a celebration of the Sacrament. A hymn like "O Sacrament Most Holy" seemed much more appropriate, so I decided right before Mass started that was the way I would go. Then I heard Father's homily. "The Catholic Church's Tradition of social justice," he said, "is a natural response to Christ's Body and Blood living within each of us." If that isn't a big DUH, GINA, I don't know what is. Now it's very clear to me that Father wove the readings from Exodus (24:3-8) and Hebrews (9:11-15) with the Psalm of the day (116), and reminded us exactly why Christ gave us His Most Holy Body and Blood at the Last Supper (Mark 14:12-16, 24-26).

In August for a few weeks, the Bread of Life discourse from the Gospel of John will be proclaimed:

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;

whoever eats this bread will live forever;

and the bread that I will give

is my flesh for the life of the world." Jn 6:51

...for the life of the world.

Christ didn't give Himself to His Church so that we could go home and lay on the sofa watching TV. He gave us his Body to give us the strength to do His will. So, since it was quite perfectly at the service of Mass, we were sent forth in peace to love and serve the Lord singing "Go, Be Justice". Who am I to defy the Holy Spirit?

Here At The Table

I snuck in through the side door, tiptoeing toward the makeshift chapel set up in St. Columba’s parish hall. It just figured. The one day I manage to escape work early enough to get to daily Mass on time is when the Cathedral would be closed during weekdays for repairs, and I have never been to St. Columba’s parish hall before. By the time I found it, we were already at the Psalm.

There were plenty of seats available. My usual M.O. is to find a pew all to myself. Even in this temporary venue I had every intention of passing by this tiny black woman who took up three chairs with her stuffed shopping bags. Her little denim hat and giant plastic-rimmed glasses covered her eyes. Her jet-black wig was combed neatly into a bob, and her mismatched outfit appeared clean. She flashed me a shimmering pink-lipsticked smile as I stopped and met her gaze. I smiled back as I slid into her row and took the 4th seat in next to her treasures.

As mass went on, my little homeless neighbor began making odd grunting noises. She even let out a few soft “yeah’s” and an occasional “mmmmm-hmmmmmm”, but not in response to anything Father said. She fidgeted a lot. I tried to concentrate on Mass, feeling her eyes on me, as if she was watching me to see what she was supposed to do when. Clearly she wasn’t Catholic. I knelt down on the hard floor during the consecration. My little neighbor sat at the edge of her chair instead. I stole a quick look at her during the Lord’s Prayer. She prayed with her head back, her eyes closed, and her hands up like high she was being arrested. I giggled to myself, watching my little homeless neighbor trying to blend in with the rest of us.

I knelt down again on the hard floor after the Lamb of God. I think my little neighbor got an inspiration to do the same. With no kneelers or bolted down pews for leverage, though, the poor thing got stuck on the ground. I saw her eyes then, wide with panic, and even though she tried to keep her voice down, we could all still hear her uh-oh's and ohhh my's as she knelt there, stuck. I immediately reached over and grabbed her under her arm. With the help of another attendee, we hoisted her to her feet. I caught her eyes and smiled at her as she straightened out her too-big denim skirt.

She followed me to communion.

“The Body of Christ.”

“Thank you,” she replied. I heard the snap as she broke her host in half. On the way back to my seat I saw her slip a piece into her pocket as she ate the rest. I took a peek inside the top of one of her bags, which contained a couple rolls of toilet paper and some crumpled newspaper, among some other things that I couldn’t get a look at in a quick glance. I dropped to my knees in a sudden wave of emotion as it occurred to me that The Body of Christ was most likely this poor homeless woman’s only food yesterday.

She gathered her bags into one hand just before Mass ended, and as Father sat, she stood up to leave. Instead of leaving, she stood right in front of me and put her empty hand out. I immediately took it in mine. “God bless you,” I said, meaning it like never before. I squeezed her hand with love and looked into her dark, withered face.

Jesus looked right back at me, holding my gaze for a moment before turning away, before limping out of the hall toward the University campus across the street from St. Columba’s Cathedral.