For Catholics, the greatest sign of our love for God in the public forum is to participate in Holy Mass every Sunday and everyday if possible. The Sacrifice of the Mass of course, is the great public sign the Church has to show forth the great love that God has for us in Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross, re-presented in an "unbloody" way at every valid Mass, is the greatest act of God's love made visible ever known to mankind.
A sacrifice is a gift in general terms. When you buy a gift for a loved one, you sacrifice to buy it in a literal way by giving up some of your hard earned cash. The gift is an outward sign of an internal reality, the love that is in your "being" for the one whom you offer the gift. We can actually say, your love is the "sacrificial gift" that the actual present makes visible.
The same for Jesus' gift of His sacrifice on the Cross. It is an outward sign of the great love that is in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus for us, but that love expressed on the Cross is sacrificial. That type of love didn't feel good physically or emotionally for our Lord, but His sacrifice of love was made nonetheless.
God the Father seeing the fidelity of His beloved Son, accepts His Son's immense love for us, accepts His sacrifice, the taking on of all the sins and evils of the world, past, present and to come until the last person is conceived, and giving that sacrifice as a gift to our heavenly Father to pay for our sins and offenses and to remove from us the punishment due these.
This sacrificial act of love made visibly and physically present on the Cross and now on every Catholic and Orthodox altar is not just based on feelings but on hard evidence that is a sign of an eternal commitment to us to save us from the punishment due our sins and offenses against God and one another.
Our participation in the Sacrifice of the Cross each Sunday, which cannot be duplicated in any other type of Church service in any other place no matter how comforting and uplifting the music might be, how warm and friendly the fellowship might be and how meaningful and life changing the sermon might be, demands our sacrificial presence at this event even though we might, as unbelievable as this might be as we stand at the foot of the Cross at Mass, be bored or disinterested in what is occurring at the altar and during the Mass because it isn't emotionally satisfying for us.
So, let me ask this question, why do some Catholics prefer uplifting music, good fellowship and meaningful sermons with life directing messages instead of the sacrificial love of Christ made visible and shared with us in an "unbloody" way at its re-presentation at every Catholic Mass?
So many Catholics will say that what they miss in Protestant Churches and what brings them back to the Catholic Church is Holy Communion which they truly believe is the Body and Blood of the Risen Lord. That is good, but I would say they are missing one thing even more important--the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross re-presented in an unbloody way at the altar. Holy Communion flows from that (and completes the sacrifice when the ordained priest receives) and brings many graces when we receive our Lord worthily (free of mortal sin). But the one Sacrifice is the foundational and heart piercing moment captured from eternity into a specific time and place at every Catholic Mass! In other words, even if you couldn't receive Holy Communion, the actual sacrifice of the Mass brings abundant mercies all directed toward your eternal salvation!
The Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross pleased God the Father (since it is an act of love and fidelity on the part of His Beloved Son) more than our sins whether original or actual, displeases God the Father, therein lies our salvation!
22 comments:
With the Church having spent 40 years assiduously training people not to be "real" Catholics--that is, not to partake fully of our bimillennial faith and liturgy--what surprise is it that many don't want to be?
Of course, it's no surprise. But the problem is . . . How to balance the fact that the Church would be better off without them, with the fact that their souls would be better off with the Church.
One comment I have heard is that Catholics move to Protestant churches (despite the spirit of Vatican II conviction) for strong sermons, a strong message about right and wrong.
By the way, for the last few days, about half the time, I get the message that I have not typed the right characters for verification.
William, I use "blogspot" and the problem if there is one is with them, I'm clueless how all this works from a technical point of view, but I know that one time the company that provides this tool for blogs did some work and some of my posts were permanently deleted but that happened to people throughout the country.
Broken record time . . . The sort of Protestant worship services you describe are not just based on emotion (I would prefer the word sentiment) but are emotionally energizing and engaging. Compare this to the services of the mainline denominations, such as Methodist, PCUSA, Lutheran. More and more in the past half-century they, too, appeal to sentiment, but in an enervating way, since in light of the social turmoil of the past 50 years, they're scared of alienating congregants. They no longer have the guts to preach the truth even on matters that Protestants agreed on up until the 1930s (Birth control and related "lifestyle" matters are, of course, the overwhelming biggies). Thus, you get services that rest on sentiment but that can't appeal to raw emotions inspired by solidarity or even outward-directed anger.
Compare that to the sense of awe--Edmund Burke referred to it as the sublime in his essay on the sublime and beautiful--that is often inspired by the Tridentine Mass. Even if one didn't personally feel the awe, there was usually the sense that if he didn't behave himself, remain quiet, keep his kids quiet and in the pew, etc, he would face strong correction from the people around him. The emotions and the behavioral responses might be different from those in the energetic megachurch services you discuss, but the strength of the emotionsl/psychological engagement was similar.
Now, of these three models--emotionally stimulating/engaging, enervating, and awe-inspiring--which one does the NO Mass, as it has been typically celebrated since the early 1970s, fit into?
No question, it looks and feels very mainstream Protestant on a whole bunch of levels. Reverence is downplayed; priests are scared to preach too hard about plain matters of doctrine for fear of running off all those who use birth control, miss Mass regularly, and don't go to confession; and the awe-inspiring sacrificial nature of the Mass has been downplayed so strongly as to be very nearly obscured.
So, given these aspects of the NO, is it any wonder that demographically Mass attendance is experiencing the same decline as losses in the mainline Protestant traditions?
Henry what you say is true, we have so mis-catechized our people over the last forty years and have removed so much "devotional" content from our faith and the practice of the sacraments that some Catholic don't get the following: Their depraved state apart from the Church; the sacrifice of Jesus that washes away their sin and reconciles them to the Father and that their experience of this One Sacrifice occurs during Mass--thus the necessity to be at the "foot of the cross" to experience it over and over again. They have lost the "sacramentality" of the Church's mission to make available that one sacrifice in a sacramental way. So they become neo-protestants thinking that all the other stuff while good is better than the one Sacrifice offered them through the Mass. But interestingly enough, many of these people still want to receive Holy Communion and often believe what the Church teaches that it is The Body and Blood of Christ. We've so emphasized the reception of Holy Communion (which is not bad) that many people would prefer a "communion service" apart from Mass just as good as the Mass which of course it is not.
Anonomymous who started with "broken record time" you hit the nail on the head--it is how we have celebrated the OF Mass and the styles of music we have dragged into it, making the styles of music that are "energizing and engaging" more important than the chants of the Mass, including the official introit and offertory and communion antiphons as traditionally sung in the Mass even if English used. On top of that, we discarded Catholic devotionals where music of a more sentimental nature is perfectly acceptable and dragged that sentimentality into the music of the Mass since no devotions are celebrated any longer. For example a new form of devotions outside of Mass could certainly use engaging and energizing Praise and Worship music, but that's were it ends, that music is not brought to the Sacrament or the Sacrifice of the Mass. But thank you for your comments because it ties into "Save the Liturgy, Save the World! (and also the Church).
Father, I understand that it may be a blogspot issue. I'm a computer geek, but not a blog geek (there are, after all, only so many hours in a day) and I also have no idea what may be happening. What I can tell you is that once I observed it was not a fluke, I started double-checking before hitting enter, and it's not me.
I attended out parish confirmation a couple weeks ago, and was truly appalled by the music. I pray that the selections were made because most being confirmed were teens, but this is another variation on miscatechization: if the teens never hear the riches of Catholic liturgical music, they will never know how deeply affecting it can be.
Bad enough that our Sunday Masses are dominated by Haugen, Haas, Shutte, Farrell, and even Amazing Grace. I knew were in for heavy weather when I arrived for the confirmation Mass and saw a drum kit behind a plexiglas screen. I enjoy rock, but it has no place at Mass.
Fr. McD, since you've brought up the issue of music: How are the hymns at Saint Joseph selected each week? Even in the NO musical scheme of things, there are good hymns and bad ones. Bad ones can be bad for any number of reasons: bad theology in the words, bad tune that is difficult to sing (for instance, to wide an octave spread or simply hard to follow on the page), or bad aesthetically. (Example: A few weeks ago we sang a hymn that used Vaughn Williams's "For All the Saints" as a tune, but the words were so PC and sappy (including the word "diversity," for pete's sake) that I was heartsick at the violence being done to the tune.
My point is that before we start worrying about new devotions outside of Mass, as you suggest, much could be done within the framework of NO music that could raise the level of reverence.
Having some familiarity with the music at St. Paul's in Macon, I find their hymnody simply outstanding, and most of it suitable for a Catholic Mass. Any chance of getting some ideas from them?
While I do think we could do much better musically, and without much difficulty, I mustn't close without thanking you for avoiding such Greatest Hits of the '70s such as "All are Welcome" and (shudder) "Gather Us In." (Whenever I hear that last, my own sentiment is "Shoot Us In The Head. Please.")
Soon we will be acquiring a new hymnal that hopefully will take care of the problems.
I spend a good part (probably 30 mins combined) of each Mass staring at the Cruicifix Scene on the High Altar at St Joseph. I never cease to marvel at how that Altar, with that art work, so quintessentially conveys what is going on with John, Mary and Mary at the foot of the Cross.
The table Altar, with the Priest facing the congregation conveys nothing that can clearly be identified as the Sacrifice at the Foot of the Cross. You either know that it taking place becasue you have learned it, or you simply do not know. Nothing conveys it!! Not even the Benedictine Altar arrangement conveys that message clearly. The familiar imagery, used here repeatedly, of the Priest holding the Eucharist up and the shadowy image of Christ Crucified looking down is visibly and tangibly present at St Joseph, or was once upon a time when that Altar was in use.
What simple, elegant, and pure genius the Old Faith used. That "noble simplicity" is what must be regained.
Oh-oh-oh, any chance they will be the Vatican II Hymnals? That publication is TOP-top shelf.
Anon: if you need a taste of 70s greatest hymns you need only drive about 20 miles and you can get it on a regular basis.
Templar, I pray no one "needs" a taste of 70s favorite hymns. ;)
When they develop a twitch from the MTV overload in their lives adn realise that sort of worship only makes it worse. They need to shut up, kneel, and listen for the 'small voice'.
Priest told me a a story about an old guy who came to the church almost everyday for long time and would just sit. He might pray a little, but mostly just sit. He asked the old guy what he was doing. The old man told him that he would just look at God, and God looked at him. You can't make a video about that sort of stuff.
rcg
There are very famous, classical Mass settings. My favorite is Tomas Luis de Victoria's Requiem - it is all vocals and completely amazing. I probably listen to that 2-3 times per week.
There will never be Mass settings for the Novus Ordo that people will listen to while driving, etc. because there are too many interruptions with people talking to each other and the priest talking to us.
Bill re: word verification -- I've notice a similar issue. It is changing the word more often now, after each "Preview" for example. It just starting doing that in the last week and a half or so. That might be somehow related to what you're experiencing.
Broken Record Anonymous, You are so correct. The protestantizing of the Catholic Church has been an absolute disaster from its inception. Trying to "fix" the NO as it exists most places is like, well, placing new wine in old skins...
Frajm: said, "Soon we will be acquiring a new hymnal that hopefully will take care of the problems."
No one in the parish has scissors?
rcg
I am a convert for about 9 years now and was fortunate to have it done in St Joseph with Msgr Cuddy still the parish priest at that time. When I received the Holy Eucharist for the first time, I realized having an evangelical pentecostal background, that I am receiving the Body and Blood of Christ whether I know it or not, and it's not dependent on how much I work up myself.
When I relocated to Houston, majority of the catholic churches here are "modern", the type where the structure is like a regular building (A-shaped roof), the pews surrounds the altar and the music are Shutte, Haas, et al. The focus of the songs seem to be "we, the community" and not Christocentric. The only consolation I get is that I can go to the Co-Cathedral in downtown Houston with the St Joseph-like hymns and Cardinal DiNardo celebrating the mass.
I've been here in Houston, Texas for almost 2 years now. When I go to my parish, which is a small one (one of the modern churches I described), I learned to focus on the sacrifice of the Mass as Fr McDonald described, with the confidence that I am receiving the same Body and Blood of Christ not one drop less glory no matter who the celebrant is and how it is celebrated.
rcg, in my parish we use Breaking Bread, from OCP. Scissors would be a most tedious solution. Better a very sharp knife or razor blade. Or perhaps a machete.
Lovel, good for you. I have the same issue in my home parish. You should try a 'traditional' parish on occasion. What it may make you think is the reverence is also a display of gratitude. I do think a NO, or OF Mass feeds your soul, but I also belive it can be far more reverent than I typically see.
rcg
Good to see you here in hyperspace, Lovel--I hope all is well. We miss you and your AV skills at St. Joseph. :-)
True, it's always the Sacrifice of the Mass, even when they're siging '70s hymns. But in psycho/spiritual/emotional ways, we _need_ the reverence that up until 40 years ago went with it, in order to remind us of what is happening. This is something that the VII reformers either didn't know or didn't care about.
Compare, if you will, reading the St. Crispin's Day speech in Shakespeare's Henry V on the printed page to watching Kenneth Branagh's rendition of it. The latter is far more powerful. It affects us more and makes us understand it better and remember it more clearly. Setting matters. (And to extend the analogy, imagine Flip Wilson rendering it while the Laugh-in theme plays and tell me that setting can't screw something up.)
I think the FSSP just set up a parish in Houston or are in the process of doing so.
Go here for a list of approved Latin Masses:
http://www.ecclesiadei.org/masses.cfm#Texas
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