FULL CONSCIOUS AND ACTUAL PARTICIPATION—IT IS IMPORTANT BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THOSE WHO AREN’T INTO IT ARE EXCLUDED

 Each First Friday at our 9 AM daily Mass in our chapel, our home schooling families come to St. Anne’s for Mass and then group activities in our parish hall. Thus our chapel is almost filled to capacity, about 150 or so. And there are tons of children.

I had to chuckle after Mass outside where I saw two home schooling families chatting and playing together. Including the two sets of parents and their children there was a total of 20 souls! Yes, from two families!

But let me tell you about that daily Mass on First Friday. 

Our daily Mass in the Chapel is like any other Ordinary Form (Modern Vernacular Mass). The only difference is that the Liturgy of the Eucharist is celebrated at the “ad orientem” altar. The Introductory and Concluding Rites are at the chair. Communicants kneel or stand at the altar railing to receive Holy Communion either on the tongue or in the hand. The majority kneel and receive on the tongue, some in the hand and a few stand to receive Holy Communion either on the tongue or in the hand. It works well! And it is quite reverent and shows forth reverence even to the most uncathecized person. 

The only parts of the Mass that are chanted are the Greek Kyrie, the Alleluia, The Sanctus, Mystery of Faith, Great Amen and Agnus Dei. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei are in Latin. Everything else is in English. 

Everyone seems to join in the spoken and chanted parts of the Mass and on First Fridays they almost blow the roof off the chapel. It is strong and heartfelt singing and speaking, and it isn’t just active participation which even an atheist could offer, but actual participation, from the heart, the soul, and motivated by God’s gifts of faith, hope and love. That’s the difference between active and actual participation, one is crowd participation the other is faith participation!

There is also an experience of mystery or mysticism during these Masses. Reverence is experienced in abundance and there is no nonsense or distractions from the priest or the members of the congregation. 

Somehow, I think this is what a post-Vatican II Mass should be: Actual participation, no nonsense, no personality, idiosyncratic distractions from the priest or the laity. 

There is an experience of wonder and awe that goes beyond intellectual description or knowledge of the rites of the Mass.