EXTRA! Extra! Read All About It!!!

Luke--knowing this is something that would pull my chain, asked me to post on this chapter--specifically on the bit about the guy sitting in the back reading the paper during mass.

This odd behavior actually has precedent in the old Latin Mass, which made it clear in a way that the current Novus Ordo does not is that the priest is, in fact, re-presenting the  sacrifice of Christ on behalf of the people.  In those days gone by, it was not uncommon to see people in the church carrying on their own devotions (rosaries, novenas, etc) during the course of the mass.  One reason for the consecration bells was to remind the faithful, offering their own devotions to be presented along with the sacrifice of the altar, to engage for a moment in the critical moments of epiclesis, consecration and elevation 

This, by the way, is why the priest did not face the people--he was their representative, part of them.  Priests who celebrate ad orientem--facing the altar--these days will tell you how powerful it is to be part of the people, not a focus of them.   The model--priest offering sacrifice on behalf of the people who bring their own sacrifices of prayer, devotion and self---remains, but we have lost the powerful reinforcement of the physical action of the liturgy because people did not know enough to understand why they were doing what they did.  Everything about the mass teaches us something about our faith and expresses something about our relationship to God.  

When we come to mass, we are there to present ourselves--our souls, our bodies, our works, our needs, our sufferings, our joys, our works, all of us, the sum and substance of our lives-- as a sacrifice to be offered up with the gifts, and returned to us, like the bread and wine, changed by the Holy Spirit into something new, different and beautiful, and holy.  That is why we are at mass: to be a part of the sacrifice that redeems us and makes us holy, to join ourselves with Christ in the Eucharist.  When we deliberately  focus on each other or on ourselves rather than on the the mass, we give God a lesser gift.  And He deserves everything for from HIm everything comes.

That being said, reading the paper during the mass is just plain wrong.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  So is reading the bulletin or chatting with your neighbors.  Our focus is to be on God because we are in a sacred place and we are there to worship Him and to listen to what HE has to say to us.  Not to socialize, not to meet our own needs, but to give the honor and glory to the God of the Universe that HE deserve, and then to receive Him in the Eucharist.  And it is good to remember, Christ Himself is before us in the tabernacle, as surely as He was on the cross or on the road to Emmaus.  And if we are to listen, we must first be silent and attentive, in our hearts, in our mouths, in our minds and in our bodies.

It’s easy to criticize the fellow with the paper, but consider this: does our behavior before, during and after mass reflect the reality of Christ’s presence and the object of our worship?  I’ve found that the WORST place to try to pray is church before or immediately after mass.  I might as well try praying in a cocktail party.  (I’ve taken this as an opportunity to “focus...focus”)  A few weeks ago, I had the chance to hear vespers in the Trappist monastery in Conyers.  Not a sound in that church except for the prayers and the quiet coming and going of the congregation.  So easy to lose oneself in the presence of God in a beautiful church (like that one and like ours) when there is silence and the world falls away!  So hard when the world follows me in and elbows me in the side.

Watch how people enter the church--casually talking, sometimes never making a acknowledgment of the fact that they have entered the very presence of God.  GOD.  The Creator of the Universe. The One who made everything out of absolutely nothing  That GOD.  Conversation continues, and few people genuflect to acknowledge Christ, or pause to pray to greet Him.  It’s social hour in the parish.

The peace--it’s a prayer, not a conversation with our neighbors.  We are in the middle of the greatest prayer we have--the mass!  Why, oh why, do we think this is time to socialize?  And when the communal prayer resumes again with the Agnus Dei, it’s time to stop passing the peace....and return our thoughts to God alone.

And then the moment that is the miracle of miracles--we mortals receive the God of the Universe into our very selves.  If we really believed that we were about to receive our Lord, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, we’d likely be crawling on our knees, like the woman with the hemorrhage who followed Christ in the crowd--hoping just to touch the hem of His garment, let alone receive Him in fullness.  Not strolling up and too indifferent even to say “Amen!” when we do receive Him.

How many of us kneel to pray in thanksgiving afterward?  How many of us even know the traditional prayers before the crucifix, and after receiving?  

Do you know what the Missionaries of Charity do at the words of institution?  They fall on their faces before their God.  Sound extreme?  In Augustine’s day, when people prayed the prayer of contrition and the Agnus Dei you could hear the thuds resounding through the chapel as people beat their breasts in real sorrow for their sins. Different time and place, surely, but it seems to me that we have made a virtue of indifference.  We are in a place where heaven touches earth, and time touches eternity, where we are closer to God and the hosts of heaven than we ever will be before our individual judgment.  He reaches out His hands in love and we yawn and turn away, or worse yet, don’t even realize it.

Then there’s the contingent that leaves mass early (or arrives habitually late...).  In my never to be humble opinion there is NEVER a reason to leave mass early unless life itself is at stake.  We give God so little of our time, it is a great insult to shave time off mass for worldly purposes.  If we do, we are fitting God into our schedules, not fitting our schedules around God.   God asks us to put Him first, not second or last, and how we respond to mass is one very good indication of how far we are in that particular journey.  

For heavens sake (literally), it’s only appropriate, fitting, respectful, prayerful (pick your adjective) to arrange our schedules so that we acknowledge that mass is not a dreary obligation but a joy we would not think of missing, arriving late for or leaving early from!  We have a date with God...isn’t that worthy of at least as much eager anticipation, energy, enthusiasm, planning, joy, and respect as that memorable first date with our spouse so long ago?

Fr. Larry Richards, in his series Living in the Spirit, notes that in his parish, if anyone leaves early, he tells them--out loud, in front of God and everyone--not to come back, for his parish is not a place where God can be insulted.  

That’s what we do when we leave early--we insult the God of the Universe.  And remember--the first person to leave mass early was Judas--not the best role model.  Fr. Larry is abrasive and direct, but he has a point and it’s one I wish more priests--and parishioners---would make.  (One priest In our archdiocese  had all his acolytes dress out one Sunday and stand in the back of the church, the announced that anyone who felt the need to leave early would be escorted to his car by an acolyte with a candle because he was a vessel carrying the sacred Body, Blood Soul and Divinity of our Lord. There are many ways to make the point.)

After dismissal and the hymn, the church erupts into chatter again--even though Jesus is still right in front of us.  We simply ignore Him, because after all, we’ve done our duty, given Him the time He deserves, and we are ready to get on with the really important things of our lives that take up all the rest of our time.  Those who try to take a minute to kneel and pray in thanksgiving for the inexpressible gift of the Eucharist find it even harder to pray after mass than before.  I’ve even had people interrupt me while I am on my knees.  Sigh.

My mother, God be good to her, taught me that there is a time and a place for everything.  The church is a sacred space, a place for sacred things, not for the things of the world.  

She also taught me that how I behave will eventually inform how I think and who I am.  If we, in our heads and hearts, believe what our Mother the Church teaches us about Christ and about the mass, isn’t it about time we started behaving that way?

Reverence starts one heart, one mind, one body at a time and it forms our very souls.  It cannot be enforced, it must be cultivated and we are in charge of the garden.

Martha (who struggles with this just like everyone else but who has a saint on hand  to remind her to be mindful of the one thing necessary.....)