THROUGH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, HAS THE GOD OF SURPRISES MADE A WAY FOR THE REFORM OFTHE REFORM OF THE ORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS? WELL, YESSS!

 

The Church and the liturgy are in a need of constant reform as Vatican II taught. Thus, the God of surprises has used the horror of Covid-19 and the pandemic shut-down because of phobias concerning the spread and stopping it, to bring about the much and desperately needed constant reform of the reformed Mass of Vatican II. 

Here are the great and good things the God of surprises has brought forth from the pandemic as it concerns the reform of the reformed Mass. 

1. The most important, and I have been quite prophetic about this for decades now, is the suspension of the epidemic/pandemic producing common chalice where multiple contagious lips touch the rim of the chalice leaving a residue of pandemic causing viruses not to mention saliva backwashed dumped into the chalice. It is amazing to me that some crafty lawyer hasn’t sued the Church on behalf of the laity due to disease and death this can cause. 

2. A side effect of eliminating the common chalice for the laity it that now noble simplicity, as in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, has been restored to the Communion Rite. No longer are there hoards of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion in a variety of kinds of dress and demeanor parading to the altar at the Sign of Peace to distribute the Common Chalice to unsuspecting victims of possible viruses. 

3. As it concerns concelebration, no longer is the Consecrated Host distributed to the Rockette-like concelebrants behind the celebrant as the Agnus Dei is chanted in order they with the celebrant can consume the Host together. Rather, in a more tasteful way, the concelebrants approach the altar as the laity are receiving Holy Communion to take the Host and intinct it into the Chalice with the Most Precious Blood of Christ. What a marvelous reform of the reformed Mass!!!!!

4. The suspension of the physical sign of peace has been the zenith of the reform of the reformed Mass. It has brought noble simplicity and sobriety to this part of the Mass prior to Holy Communion. At my parish, the deacon or the priest invites people to exchange the Sign of Peace with these words: “Let us offer each other a no touch sign of peace.” Our deacon, though, when we first implemented this, would confuse the words and say, “Let us exchange a no such sign of peace!” O my!!!!!

5. While we never stopped singing during the pandemic shut-down with our live-streamed Mass or after our return to Mass, many places did stop singing. Given the type of music sung, this was a marvelous reform of the reformed Mass—the loss of kitsch in terms of music. 

6. During the pandemic, a great reform was the recovery of the “spiritual and salvific” aspect of the power of the Holy Spirit of God through personal piety. Although at Mass, the absent laity could not physically receive the “material aspects” of the Eucharist or Confession, they were invited to make a “spiritual Communion” after a “Perfect Act of Contrition.” I realize that the Sacraments are both physical and spiritual, but often the physical in the reformed Mass has eclipsed the spiritual. Of course it isn’t either/or, but both/and, but both need to be emphasized!

ANY OTHER COVID 19 REFORMS OF THE REFORMED MASS THAT THE GOD OF SURPRISES HAS BROUGHT FORTH FROM THE HORRORS OF THE PANDEMIC????????????