'Christianity, and nothing else, is the ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights and democracy, the benchmarks of Western civilisation. To this day, we have no other options. We continue to nourish ourselves from this source. Everything else is postmodern chatter.'
Jurgen Habermas.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Monday, June 13, 2016
The Curious Case of the Wandering Mass ( or Guerilla Liturgists!!).
A puzzling occurrence appears on the Irish scene everyone once in a while. Out of nowhere a Latin Mass is offered in a diocese or in a church that hasn't seen one in sixty years and probably won't see another one for another sixty (barring Divine intervention ..... hopefully).
This strange event goes hand in hand with a proliferation of 'Catholic Heritage Associations.' Their purpose seems to be to acknowledge some obscure saint or commemorate a feast day or some anniversary, sometimes they don't seem to need an excuse (have missal will travel).
Occasionally a bishop is dragooned into celebrating these masses, usually the reluctance of his Lordship is palpable and believe me I've been to a few! One Ordinary of his diocese preached of the Latin Mass being the past and Pope Francis being the future of the Church (Lord help us!).
And in this is the kernel of the problem. While it is commendable that the true Mass is being celebrated in these places, that a tiny handful of the poor bewildered faithful perceive the heritage that has been denied them, yet ultimately it does a disservice.
Firstly let us consider the term 'heritage', what connotations does this word bring to mind? Well for the ordinary bloke on the street, the image that comes to mind is of something being gingerly removed from a thermostatically controlled display case, the dust blown off it and then being gawped at and snapped with a camera. Or alternatively, you pull up in a car park, pay your money and then watch some actor or eager local historical enthusiast show a bemused crowd how to make a jumper from nettles on a wooden contraption, that resembles something borrowed from a medieval torturer's chamber. Cue the same gawping and operating of camera apertures.
In both of these outlandish caricatures of a situation the general thoughts proceed along this trajectory. ' Oh look, wow! Imagine! Isn't that curious and wonderful and soooooo quaint! Did you get a picture Fergal? Aren't we so progressive that we no longer need to use the said torture device, now we have a silicon chip processor with a widget that does it in two point four nano seconds! We're well shot of that grisly wooden thing, it was nice to see it but now, back to the temperature controlled box with you! I wonder do they sell decaf lattes in the gift shop?
And for many Catholics who attend these that is exactly the case,
'Oh! so that's how they used to say Mass, prefer the English myself, anyway I thought that Mass had been banned?'
Then the true Mass disappears, the show packs its bags and moves on. Those who attended toddle back to their own parish the next Sunday, to hear more of the same old tiresome, befuddled, confused twaddle, that doesn't offend and, most importantly, the priest hasn't turned his back to them ( oh! the exclusion). There has been no learning, no growth, no chance for Divine grace to flow into their hearts.
Also the question that must be asked is; why would you compromise the Faith? Celebrating a Mass with a cleric, who believes that what they are offering is obsolete and they are only doing it as some sort of nostalgic pastoral pandering to the intransigent crusty old fundamentalists, this is hardly what those Catholics cast out into the wilderness for the last half century, offered stones over bread, desperately need.
A guerrilla Mass, here today, gone tomorrow ? ..... no thanks. Give those hungry souls dwelling in the shadows what they yearn for, namely a permanent place, an ever present refuge where resides a good and holy priest who provides the nourishment they need. Don't sell the Mass of the Ages on the cheap!
This strange event goes hand in hand with a proliferation of 'Catholic Heritage Associations.' Their purpose seems to be to acknowledge some obscure saint or commemorate a feast day or some anniversary, sometimes they don't seem to need an excuse (have missal will travel).
Occasionally a bishop is dragooned into celebrating these masses, usually the reluctance of his Lordship is palpable and believe me I've been to a few! One Ordinary of his diocese preached of the Latin Mass being the past and Pope Francis being the future of the Church (Lord help us!).
And in this is the kernel of the problem. While it is commendable that the true Mass is being celebrated in these places, that a tiny handful of the poor bewildered faithful perceive the heritage that has been denied them, yet ultimately it does a disservice.
Firstly let us consider the term 'heritage', what connotations does this word bring to mind? Well for the ordinary bloke on the street, the image that comes to mind is of something being gingerly removed from a thermostatically controlled display case, the dust blown off it and then being gawped at and snapped with a camera. Or alternatively, you pull up in a car park, pay your money and then watch some actor or eager local historical enthusiast show a bemused crowd how to make a jumper from nettles on a wooden contraption, that resembles something borrowed from a medieval torturer's chamber. Cue the same gawping and operating of camera apertures.
In both of these outlandish caricatures of a situation the general thoughts proceed along this trajectory. ' Oh look, wow! Imagine! Isn't that curious and wonderful and soooooo quaint! Did you get a picture Fergal? Aren't we so progressive that we no longer need to use the said torture device, now we have a silicon chip processor with a widget that does it in two point four nano seconds! We're well shot of that grisly wooden thing, it was nice to see it but now, back to the temperature controlled box with you! I wonder do they sell decaf lattes in the gift shop?
And for many Catholics who attend these that is exactly the case,
'Oh! so that's how they used to say Mass, prefer the English myself, anyway I thought that Mass had been banned?'
Then the true Mass disappears, the show packs its bags and moves on. Those who attended toddle back to their own parish the next Sunday, to hear more of the same old tiresome, befuddled, confused twaddle, that doesn't offend and, most importantly, the priest hasn't turned his back to them ( oh! the exclusion). There has been no learning, no growth, no chance for Divine grace to flow into their hearts.
Also the question that must be asked is; why would you compromise the Faith? Celebrating a Mass with a cleric, who believes that what they are offering is obsolete and they are only doing it as some sort of nostalgic pastoral pandering to the intransigent crusty old fundamentalists, this is hardly what those Catholics cast out into the wilderness for the last half century, offered stones over bread, desperately need.
A guerrilla Mass, here today, gone tomorrow ? ..... no thanks. Give those hungry souls dwelling in the shadows what they yearn for, namely a permanent place, an ever present refuge where resides a good and holy priest who provides the nourishment they need. Don't sell the Mass of the Ages on the cheap!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)