Liturgical Blah 01/04/2010
I have usually tried to stay away from any type of complaining or blogging about problems in the Church. I have found that many "traditionally minded" sites tend to do enough of this sort of thing and it does not need repeating. I have tried to focus my energies on developing something focused on spiritual growth through accessing the wealth found in traditional Catholicism. So I will make my rant brief and try not to repeat it.
As our liturgical life is so important to our development as saintly human beings, it has irked me that modern Catholicism has embraced such a painfully lousy form of worship. From warehouse-like architecture, to teenagers singing showtune-like songs, the modern Catholic is stuck in a liturgical winter "blah".
Two weeks ago I had the unfortunate experience to have to attend a modern Mass at a local church (known for its orthodoxy). The church was filled to overflowing, which amazed me for a Sunday evening Mass. The architecture, typical for a church built in the 70's was some sort of geometrical hodgepodge with the Tabernacle hidden away in a side chapel. There were attendees from all walks of life (mostly middle class families and baby boomers), and the girl altars servers were almost reverent (with the ever so slight nod to the altar). The priest began Mass with congratulating the local Catholic high school football team on their victory the previous night despite a snowstorm.
My point is not to focus on all the things wrong with this liturgy, but rather the people's response. As I endured contemporary protestant music, fluffy preaching, and a general irreverence for Our Lord, I looked around and tried to take stock of those around me. No one appeared excited...no one appeared intrigued...um,...no one appeared even the slight bit interested in this liturgy for the "modern man". Most individuals looked more like teenagers enduring a lecture from a zealous parent...they just endure. This is the fruit of a man-made liturgical "reform" that has stripped the Divine Mass of its beauty, reverence, prayerfulness, devotion, and other worldliness. I just wonder why the modern priest does not see this devastation in the pews? Does the priest not see the looks on the faces of those in the pews as they endure another root-canal like rendition of "City of God"!? Sometimes I wonder if the modern priest wants his parish to be lukewarm...is this possible, or is it the old saying that "misery loves company"?
As traditional Catholics we are so blessed to assist at the Mass of the Ages, the same Mass that St.Therese, and St. Francis prayed. This wonderful liturgy draws one's attention away from oneself (after facing our sinfulness during the Confiteor) and gently lifts us to worship and adoration of the "little King" born in Bethelehem and present through the words of Consecration. This divine worship with its latin chants from solid male voices brings each person to a participation in Divine Life itself, unlike the sham of participation in the modern liturgy. How else can I put it, except, I love the traditional Mass! Can any modern attendee say the same...I wonder?
As our liturgical life is so important to our development as saintly human beings, it has irked me that modern Catholicism has embraced such a painfully lousy form of worship. From warehouse-like architecture, to teenagers singing showtune-like songs, the modern Catholic is stuck in a liturgical winter "blah".
Two weeks ago I had the unfortunate experience to have to attend a modern Mass at a local church (known for its orthodoxy). The church was filled to overflowing, which amazed me for a Sunday evening Mass. The architecture, typical for a church built in the 70's was some sort of geometrical hodgepodge with the Tabernacle hidden away in a side chapel. There were attendees from all walks of life (mostly middle class families and baby boomers), and the girl altars servers were almost reverent (with the ever so slight nod to the altar). The priest began Mass with congratulating the local Catholic high school football team on their victory the previous night despite a snowstorm.
My point is not to focus on all the things wrong with this liturgy, but rather the people's response. As I endured contemporary protestant music, fluffy preaching, and a general irreverence for Our Lord, I looked around and tried to take stock of those around me. No one appeared excited...no one appeared intrigued...um,...no one appeared even the slight bit interested in this liturgy for the "modern man". Most individuals looked more like teenagers enduring a lecture from a zealous parent...they just endure. This is the fruit of a man-made liturgical "reform" that has stripped the Divine Mass of its beauty, reverence, prayerfulness, devotion, and other worldliness. I just wonder why the modern priest does not see this devastation in the pews? Does the priest not see the looks on the faces of those in the pews as they endure another root-canal like rendition of "City of God"!? Sometimes I wonder if the modern priest wants his parish to be lukewarm...is this possible, or is it the old saying that "misery loves company"?
As traditional Catholics we are so blessed to assist at the Mass of the Ages, the same Mass that St.Therese, and St. Francis prayed. This wonderful liturgy draws one's attention away from oneself (after facing our sinfulness during the Confiteor) and gently lifts us to worship and adoration of the "little King" born in Bethelehem and present through the words of Consecration. This divine worship with its latin chants from solid male voices brings each person to a participation in Divine Life itself, unlike the sham of participation in the modern liturgy. How else can I put it, except, I love the traditional Mass! Can any modern attendee say the same...I wonder?
1 Comment
The Epistle for this great feast states that "grace" has appeared to all men and has given us instruction, namely we are to:
1. deny ungodliness and worldly desires
2. live soberly
3. live justly and godly
4. look in hope for the coming of Christ.
This epistle struck me as a confrontation to living a life of fantasy. What do I mean by fantasy? I mean, living in such a way as to avoid a confrontation with reality. Let me give some examples. First, we love entertainment...a good movie, an exciting football game, a rousing orchestration. These things are not bad in themselves, however, what is the effect of a "good movie"? If the effect is to take us "outside of ourselves" and our daily troubles by immersing us in a fantasy world than we could argue that that is not "living soberly". This is especially true when the movie also has us "accepting and approving" immoral behavior by watching it on the screen. (Ps. 118:37 says "Turn my eyes from vain things.")
What is so bad about enjoying a little fantasy world? The trouble is the escapist attitude that often comes with this type of entertainment. It turns the heart off, and the soul gets put on the back burner in a way. Our pleasure receptors are teased and everything is focused on this non-reality - this entertainment. Anyone only need watch children after an exciting action movie to see the fantasy world bleed over into reality. The children start to act out what happened in the movie and try to make it more real to themselves. In avoiding reality, adults are ultimately avoiding God and His reality. Jesus, in His Passion and Death, is the ultimate acceptor of reality, namely, the reality of sin, damnation, and of course redemption.
Now don't get me wrong, fantasy has its place. The great classic moral fantasy tales can teach children lessons that cannot simply be injected into their minds and hearts with prolonged lectures. I would point one to Micheal O'Brien's book "Landscape with Dragons" for a wonderful exposition on good vs. evil fantasy literature. But, to stretch fantasy into adulthood is to keep adults childish. I picture grown men crying at the loss of their football team in the finals, or a mom fidgeting this her new iphone like a 5 year old plays with a new toy on Christmas day! It is a new drunkeness, an avoidance of the realities that come at us, and the epistle for today calls us to a new soberness.
So let us live sober, embrace reality, especially the ultimate Reality, Christ Himself in His fullness and Truth.
God bless you!
1. deny ungodliness and worldly desires
2. live soberly
3. live justly and godly
4. look in hope for the coming of Christ.
This epistle struck me as a confrontation to living a life of fantasy. What do I mean by fantasy? I mean, living in such a way as to avoid a confrontation with reality. Let me give some examples. First, we love entertainment...a good movie, an exciting football game, a rousing orchestration. These things are not bad in themselves, however, what is the effect of a "good movie"? If the effect is to take us "outside of ourselves" and our daily troubles by immersing us in a fantasy world than we could argue that that is not "living soberly". This is especially true when the movie also has us "accepting and approving" immoral behavior by watching it on the screen. (Ps. 118:37 says "Turn my eyes from vain things.")
What is so bad about enjoying a little fantasy world? The trouble is the escapist attitude that often comes with this type of entertainment. It turns the heart off, and the soul gets put on the back burner in a way. Our pleasure receptors are teased and everything is focused on this non-reality - this entertainment. Anyone only need watch children after an exciting action movie to see the fantasy world bleed over into reality. The children start to act out what happened in the movie and try to make it more real to themselves. In avoiding reality, adults are ultimately avoiding God and His reality. Jesus, in His Passion and Death, is the ultimate acceptor of reality, namely, the reality of sin, damnation, and of course redemption.
Now don't get me wrong, fantasy has its place. The great classic moral fantasy tales can teach children lessons that cannot simply be injected into their minds and hearts with prolonged lectures. I would point one to Micheal O'Brien's book "Landscape with Dragons" for a wonderful exposition on good vs. evil fantasy literature. But, to stretch fantasy into adulthood is to keep adults childish. I picture grown men crying at the loss of their football team in the finals, or a mom fidgeting this her new iphone like a 5 year old plays with a new toy on Christmas day! It is a new drunkeness, an avoidance of the realities that come at us, and the epistle for today calls us to a new soberness.
So let us live sober, embrace reality, especially the ultimate Reality, Christ Himself in His fullness and Truth.
God bless you!
