MY COMMENTS FIRST: Below my comments is an article that I feel misses the point. So here are my ideas!
This is an attempt to make the Celebration of the Ordinary Form of the Mass more meaningful. Using that term, though, "more meaningful" is the problem for starts. The emphasis of the Ordinary Form on "active participation" verses "actual participation which Vatican II requested" is that we have to do all kinds of things to make the Mass more meaningful and usually creativity is the means.
Just think of the various videos I have posted, the superhero Mass, the flying Monstrance Mass, the kids doing something weird at Mass. In other words, we have to make it entertainment for us to make it meaningful.
I have had Protestants after a Funeral/Requiem Mass come up to me and say, "that was precious!" I am not sure what that means, other than they liked it.
Rather than make the Mass more meaningful, wordy and entertaining, how about making the Mass more transcendent and mystical?
The Liturgy of the Word is way too wordy with way too many readings. The Tridentine Lectionary had it right! Those who revised the lectionary would have done well to keep the Tridentine lectionary and then add a cycle b and c but based on the template of the Tridentine's lectionary to add more Scripture, especially from the Old Testament--that could be called the Old Testament year.
To be frank, I am beginning to find the Responsorial Psalm tedious and too long. The Gradual is succinct and all that is necessary.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist ad orientem would help in the mystical and transcendence department too. Look at the photo below. My eye is overwhelmed. Do I look at the Host? Do I look at the facial expression of the priest with his saccharine pious look, quite distracting as it is, or do I ponder why he is wearing a black wedding ban or a watch with a leather strap rather than a gold one. Is it a Rolex or Timex? And the arms exposed mid way to the elbow. Do I need to look at that and wonder why he has an alb with sleeves too short?
And then there is the chow line, eating the Body and Blood of Christ on the run or walk. Kneeling at the altar railing would do so much to make the Mass and the reception of Holy Communion more mystical and less rushed for the communicant. Maybe the communicant could pause briefly in thanksgiving for so great a Gift before stomping back to the pew only to find that his/her place has been taken by someone else or their pew mate left for the parking lot instead of going to Holy Communion.
So the article below really misses the point as far as I am concerned.
A DEVOTIONAL JOURNEY INTO THE MASS
How Mass Can Become a Time of Grace, Nourishment and Devotion
By Christopher Carstens
Sophia Institute Press, 2017
131 pages, $14.95
To order: ewtn.com or (800) 854-6316
A frequently heard complaint among some Catholics is that “I don’t get anything out of Mass.”
Compared to that claim, the response of Christopher Carstens’ 4-year-old son is more positive: What he most likes about going to Mass are the doughnuts afterward.
Carstens notes the reply may be cute at 4, but, if that’s all the lad can say at 14, he’ll likely be a “none” at 24. The usual riposte to not getting anything out of Mass is to ask what one is putting into it. That question is, in some sense, what this rich little book is all about.
Vatican II called for Catholics’ “active participation” in Mass, but I’d suggest that, for many, participation is rather passive. Carstens wants to remedy that through very practical suggestions in conjunction with eight moments in the Mass: walking in the door, making the Sign of the Cross, praying the Opening Prayer, listening to the readings, joining one’s sacrifice at the Offertory, joining with Christ in the Eucharistic Prayer, receiving Communion, and going forth to transform the world. (This is Palegianism, no? We don't transform the world, anymore than we transform ourselves. It is God through the Body of Christ, Head and members, who take the message of the Gospel to the world. The world, for its part, can say yes or no.)
Take the Liturgy of the Word. Carstens asks whether many of us “hear without listening” and how “we might ask ourselves what we can do to keep the Word of God from going in one ear and out the other. Have you ever responded ‘Thanks be to God’ only to realize that you could not name one thing mentioned in the reading?” His remedy is to teach readers to do lectio divina, i.e., a method of reading Scripture that aims to get inside God’s word to discover both what it said in its day and what it’s trying to say to me in daily life’s concrete circumstances.
Take the Offertory. We often hear of the Mass as “sacrifice,” yet what does that mean for modern man?
Carstens’ method is “mystagogical catechesis,” a theologically fancy way of teaching about the sacramentality of our world, first as naturally created and later as progressively containing divine Revelation.
Even the cross already has roots in the created world: “Consider where the bounty is found in Treasure Island: X marks the spot. To ‘be at a crossroads’ signifies an important decision, while ‘being crossed’ means conflict. We can plot points on the x and y axes of a graph — itself the shape of a cross — to represent facts in the real world.”
From recognizing the cross as the mathematical ground of finding a location, we can move to the Old Testament (hands raised in blessing, the saraph serpent) to the full meaning of the cross in the New Testament in light of salvation.
Carstens’ book helps the faithful to make Mass a living part of their spiritual lives. This book is a great Eastertide tool to appreciate the “active participation” to which we are all invited.
How Mass Can Become a Time of Grace, Nourishment and Devotion
By Christopher Carstens
Sophia Institute Press, 2017
131 pages, $14.95
To order: ewtn.com or (800) 854-6316
Compared to that claim, the response of Christopher Carstens’ 4-year-old son is more positive: What he most likes about going to Mass are the doughnuts afterward.
Carstens notes the reply may be cute at 4, but, if that’s all the lad can say at 14, he’ll likely be a “none” at 24. The usual riposte to not getting anything out of Mass is to ask what one is putting into it. That question is, in some sense, what this rich little book is all about.
Vatican II called for Catholics’ “active participation” in Mass, but I’d suggest that, for many, participation is rather passive. Carstens wants to remedy that through very practical suggestions in conjunction with eight moments in the Mass: walking in the door, making the Sign of the Cross, praying the Opening Prayer, listening to the readings, joining one’s sacrifice at the Offertory, joining with Christ in the Eucharistic Prayer, receiving Communion, and going forth to transform the world. (This is Palegianism, no? We don't transform the world, anymore than we transform ourselves. It is God through the Body of Christ, Head and members, who take the message of the Gospel to the world. The world, for its part, can say yes or no.)
Take the Liturgy of the Word. Carstens asks whether many of us “hear without listening” and how “we might ask ourselves what we can do to keep the Word of God from going in one ear and out the other. Have you ever responded ‘Thanks be to God’ only to realize that you could not name one thing mentioned in the reading?” His remedy is to teach readers to do lectio divina, i.e., a method of reading Scripture that aims to get inside God’s word to discover both what it said in its day and what it’s trying to say to me in daily life’s concrete circumstances.
Carstens’ method is “mystagogical catechesis,” a theologically fancy way of teaching about the sacramentality of our world, first as naturally created and later as progressively containing divine Revelation.
Even the cross already has roots in the created world: “Consider where the bounty is found in Treasure Island: X marks the spot. To ‘be at a crossroads’ signifies an important decision, while ‘being crossed’ means conflict. We can plot points on the x and y axes of a graph — itself the shape of a cross — to represent facts in the real world.”
From recognizing the cross as the mathematical ground of finding a location, we can move to the Old Testament (hands raised in blessing, the saraph serpent) to the full meaning of the cross in the New Testament in light of salvation.
Carstens’ book helps the faithful to make Mass a living part of their spiritual lives. This book is a great Eastertide tool to appreciate the “active participation” to which we are all invited.
John M. Grondelski, Ph.D., writes from
Falls Church, Virginia.
More information: SophiaInstitute.com/docs/Devotional-Journey-
10 comments:
"Rather than make the Mass more meaningful, wordy and entertaining, how about making the Mass more transcendent and mystical?'
It's not either/or, but both. If the mass is more "meaningful" to individuals, which was the goal of the Living the Eucharist program we just ran in our diocese, then they might be more inclined or enabled to transform the world by the way they live their lives.
"(This is Palegianism, no? We don't transform the world, anymore than we transform ourselves. It is God through the Body of Christ, Head and members, who take the message of the Gospel to the world. The world, for its part, can say yes or no.)"
No, it is not Pelagianism. It is no more Pelagian than, "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord" or "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life" or " Go in peace."
We don't have to add "...which you can do only with the help of God's grace." in order to avoide Pelagianism.
This topic has been beaten to death. What else can possibly be said on the matter? If attitudes permit "Dry Bones" skits, "Super Hero" Vigils and the Blessed Sacrament entering a church strapped to a drone, what possibly will change anytime soon? Answer: Absolutely nothing for those in the mainstream - perhaps bits here and there for those fortunate enough to find an isolated parish that appreciates and adheres to the traditions of the Church that have been handed down over the ages. Given the recent examples of liturgical abuse, particular during the Church's holiest of days, these parishes might increasingly be the exception as opposed to the norm.
Where are the bishops? Where is the leadership? The pope can model say the black do the red as much as he wants but, it feels so bland and emotionless that it is difficult to muster enthusiasm for participating in the manner prescribed. The liberal (usually Anonymous here) will be aghast at such a statement and say how meaningful it is for so many but, what about the rest of us who desire to worship our lord in the best most beautiful manner? Oh yeah, I forgot, we don't matter anymore.
Vatican Disaster II made the Mass so "meaningful" that most people stopped coming. Progressive loons fail to realize that it was the otherworldliness nature of the pre-Vatican liturgy that captured people's hearts and imagination. Even Hollywood when portraying Catholicism, uses exquisite vestments, churches and chant and sacred polyphony in its movies. They don't use burlap vestments, chapels in the round, or Haagan type music. But the progressives are stuck on stupid
Separate: The Holy Father doesn't need a sassy nun to blow off an athiest. The Holy Father needs to employ basic common sense that nothing can be gained by someone of his stature debating someone who's "goals' are to to dispute, mock and/or provide incomplete recounts of such discussions. It's time to start acting the part of your office already. Enough already!
“I don’t get anything out of Mass."
It seems the article is about "what's in it for me?" With that attitude you will have empty churches pretty fast. For is not the Mass about worshiping God? If there is to be sanctification of the faithful at Mass it is up to God to offer His grace, not about the Mass sanctifying you. It is precisely here that "active participation" is so Pelagian, because the Bugnini Mass assumes that when you do what is required of the Mass through active participation in it you will be sanctified, receive its spiritual gifts, take another step towards heaven, etc..
In contrast, consider the old Mass. It was regarded as the official worship of the Church, which meant you went to worship God as a duty. Your physical presence was all that was required. When there you were not told to pray this way or that way in order to, presto, became a better Catholic. You prayed to God in your own humble way if you so desired, and most did through the grace of God, while the priest in the sanctuary did the important formalities that was a means for further grace to each individual present.
About the only thing this top down fabricated Bugnini liturgy has going for it is "community," yes doughnuts after a Bugnini Mass, because there is little else that it offers for the individual worshiper who just wants to be left alone to seek union with God through contemplation at a Mass in response to God's silent call in his heart, active participation even being a distraction from this. But thanks to the Liturgical Movement with its condescending "we know what's good for you" attitude, the Bugnini Mass is now about the participating assembly first, rather than about the worship of God first by each individual as part of the Church. Heck, the Bugnini Mass is the idol itself to be worshiped.
It is unfortunate that such a book is necessary, but considering that most people do not have an EF Mass within reasonable driving distance, I'm glad that it is available.
I wonder if it comes with earplugs to drown out the loud happy-clappy music?
To ask how to change the Sacrifice of the Mass to make it "more meaningful" than it already is--as the perpetuation through the ages of the Sacrifice of the Cross--sounds vaguely sacrilegious.
Though there may well be those who need to ask how to change themselves to make the Mass (as it is) more meaningful to themselves.
Henry,
I heard the word "meaningful" so much during the 1960s, I came to detest it. It was spouted most often by malformed clergy who hadn't a clue. And yes, prior to Vatican Disaster II, there were some malformed clergy. However, the false implementation of the Council's decrees, only exacerbated the problem. With the one bright exception of Fr. McDonald, we need look no further than this blog for evidence of that.
TJM:
"However, the false implementation of the Council's decrees...".
There is a problem here if we are speaking about the liturgical decree Sacrosanctum Concilium(SC). It is to be remembered that the preparatory document on the liturgy was composed mainly by Bugnini and his old tie Liturgical Movement buddies. It was the only prep document that was not rejected by the Council, and was accepted almost as is. The Novus Ordo was already being planned in the late 1940's, so all the ambiguity in SC was deliberate in order to get the foot in the door. The Novus Ordo is not the problem, it is Bugnini's SC which is dated for the post WW2 euphoria generation. Because SC is a disciplinary document, however, it can be changed anytime by Rome, and, indeed, should be changed before the Church in the West completely collapses.
Victor, I wasn't speaking specifically of Sacrosanctum Concilium when speaking of malformed clergy but other Conciliar Decrees such as the decree on religious order renewal, Perfectae Caritatis. Very few religious orders implemented that decree in a sober and thoughtful manner. And just like the hasty "reform" of the liturgy, the hasty "reform" of religious life had the same disastrous results, notwithstanding the cries of the doubleknit dinosaurs to the contrary
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