On Pope Francis on Pre-Mass Silence and Lex Vivendi

Recently, Pope Francis lamented the tendency of Catholics to engage in small talk before Mass when they ought to be spiritually preparing for the liturgy.

This may be related to how the Mass is considered by the faithful.  The Council of Trent affirmed the holy sacrifice of the Mass.  The spirit of Vatican II considers it a family meal, thus what would be wrong with some pre-supper conversation?

While it is laudable to have pre-liturgical silence to encourage the People of God to prepare for the Liturgies of the Word and the Eucharist, it should be tempered by fostering community.

It is my experience that at least in America, parishes are no longer the tightly knit and stable discreet communities that they once were.  Folks typically move around.  There are volitional parishes where people choose to attend.  People often do not make a day of worship, sticking around for coffee or pot luck.

The infrastructure can also be an issue.  My parish's main church was built in the 1850s and has a very small narthex, so there is not a courtyard for people to gather and make small talk before going into the sanctuary.  Many modern churches have incorporated a gathering area for such purposes.

So what would be the best way to cultivate more reverence prior to Mass?  I would suggest catechesis and clues.

While I want thoughtful exegesis from a homily, it can sometimes be edifying to also have some instruction.  I regret that I did not hear more priestly presiders educate the faithful about the change from dynamic translation to static translation of the new Roman Missal in 2011.  I sought to educate myself and attended some additional talks which helped me understand the logic of the syntax changes as well as to become accustomed to the "clunky" new sound.

Pope Benedict XVI observed that the essence of liturgy disappears when we applaud in church and it becomes religious entertainment.  While the Mass that I frequently attend has a wonderful contemporary choir,  it still garners applause "from the crowd" after Mass.  Being shepherded by our Holy Father, I curbed my enthusiasm for post-prandial celebration.  It would have been instructive if clergy discerned if such a critique was praiseworthy and shared it with their flock.

Another moment where reverence not revelry ought to be instructed is during the "sign of peace". In some liturgies, it becomes a "half time" where people will briefly socialize with their neighbors.  Some celebrants campaign, needing to shake the hand of every Catholic "constituent".    Liturgically, we are sharing the unity coming from the altar after the fraction rite that comes sharing one body of Christ. So several years ago, the Congregation for the Divine Worship  published a piece which discouraged irrational exuberance during the sign of peace.  Yet this instruction received nary a mention from the pulpit.

One parish which I attend while visiting relatives has a barn-like sanctuary.  Several minutes before they start they dim the lights to get the People of God in the mood. Visually, they are giving them a clue.  Where I believe that they go off the right path is that that the will make announcements or or briefly invite secular speakers come up front "before the show". 

For me, good liturgy is key.  However, community is also important.  There is probably not a one-size-fits-all approach.  But pastors and sacristans can discern what will work best for their "faith community".  And homilists ought not to be afraid to challenge their congregation to  prayerfully consider how we comport ourselves in the sanctuary before, during and after our liturgies.  And may the clergy not dismiss righteous chaffing from the faithful just because they are in charge. 

What Is Good Liturgy?

Most Catholics refer to their "Sunday Obligation" as Mass, which is derived from the dismissory exhortation "Ite, missa ist"  (Latin for "Go forth, the mass has ended").  Eastern rite Christians (as well as the Orthodox Christians) refer to their worship as "the Divine Liturgy".  The etymology of liturgy is from the Greek meaning "public service". It may surprise some Roman Catholics that they celebrate two liturgies in a Mass-- the Liturgy of the Word (when scripture is read) and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (when the sacrament of the Eucharist is sanctified).

As someone who cares about good liturgy (or is deemed a liturgy snob), it begs the question-- What is good liturgy?  For me, good liturgy can be achieved in many ways.

Some revel in the majesty of the Tridentine Mass (the traditional "Latin Mass" instituted by Pope Pius V in  1570).  Yes, that can be beautiful, as I experienced for the funeral of March for Life founder Nellie  Gray.  

Nellie Gray Funeral at St. Mary's Church, Washington DC 24 August 2012 [photo: BD Matt]

But a low Mass rapidly mumbled by a curate who barely knows Latin is not.   While I endorse the Extraordinary Form as an option, I do not consider it the Alpha and the Omega of  good liturgy.  I have no issues with a Novus Ordo liturgy (sometimes known as the Mass of Pope Paul VI from 1970), but I do not feel drawn to worship that way every week. 

As a Vatican II baby, I do not automatically recoil when I hear the sound of guitars coming from the choir.  I readily attest that I have often enjoyed worshipping with the  People of God in the pews as we  enthusiastically sang hymns by the St. Louis Jesuits.  But I have cringed when understaffed contemporary choirs bite off more than they can chew playing grandoise arrangements.  I shudder when a multi-culturally minded folk choir  imposes "Pan de vida" on an unrecipricating Anglo assembly to no avail.  I lament when the triumphant Easter Vigil song "The Lord Has Done Great Things for Us" sounds like a chuckwagon ditty scored with two acoustic guitars.

The church can inspire good liturgy (or be redeeming visuals for mucked up Masses).  The beauty of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception has some wonderful liturgical art which inspires a sense of divine wonder.  In my mind, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia incorporates the best elements of Vatican II with a beautiful historic landmark.  The National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan  has a striking sanctuary in the round with Art Deco fresco angels. But a building need not be a basilica or a historical landmark to evoke a sacred space that compliments good liturgy.  The Pope St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington, DC has a temporary 3rd floor chapel which is a wonderful worship space, that includes a reproduction of a mural by  Fr. Marco Ivan Rupnik behind the altar.

Altar at St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington DC featuring reproduction of Marco Ivan Rupnik mural and first class relic of St. John Paul II's blood from assassination attempt [ Photo credit: BD Matt] 

Rupnik is a Slovenian artist and theologian who also created  the Redemptoris Mater in the Vatican, which served as the private chapel for the Polish pope. Rupnik is designing several floor to wall murals in his distinct neo-byzantine style for the permanent JPII Shrine main sanctuary.

Good liturgy, like church, is not bound to a building.  In college, I chose to walk across campus at Marquette University to avoid an unappealing "smells and bells" service held in a cafeteria, Instead I opted  for the simplicity and quiet dignity of the "Tower Express",  where seventy souls were in, out and back on the streets in 25 minutes with a thought provoking homily.  It look me longer to get to and fro the Mass than the worship itself.  But for me, it had spirit.

While beautiful churches can augment the worship experience, I have appreciated pool-side masses, elaborate Archdiocesan liturgies held in gyms and worshipping in quiet but sparsely adorned chapels.  In those instances, location was less  crucial than a sense of commuity reverently worshipping.

Music, architecture, art, vestments all can augment praying the Mass.  But as Christians who have a liturgical, ritualistic and sacramental religiosity,  Catholics  ought to experience  authentic liturgy through following the rubric for the Eucharist.  Since the advent of the Third Translation of the Roman Missal, improvising is impermissible during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  Much to my chagrin, some cantakerous clerics still  persist in going their own way on the Anaphara or offer other subtitution language (e.g. "The Lord IS with you").

Discerning what is good liturgy is the mission of Confessions of a Liturgy Snob.  But a good working definition of good liturgy  is public worship which is authentic, worshipful , and spirit filled which expresses itself in conformance with the rubric.

A Liturgy Snob?

Well, I would like to actually think of myself as a Church connoisseur--a believer who revels in good liturgy and worship in its many forms.  But that does not mean that anything goes in public worship.

As a Catholic, I believe in the true presence in the Eucharist.  Thus even if the homily is horrific, the sanctuary is wreckified and the liturgy is unappealing, I have the great privilege on receiving Christ's Body and Blood, soul and divinity.  However, such a sacramental experience is made so much more vivid with good liturgy.  Otherwise, the act of worship can devolve to a "Contractual Obligation" Mass for the New Covenant.

Some of my co-religionists suggest: "Don't sweat the small stuff" , such as liturgical abuse (e.g. ad libbing against the rubric).  Others who are not steeped in the faith wonder about snarky sotto voce comments on ars celebrendi and then think that I am "picking on a priest".    I am drawn to good liturgy, to the point of becoming a pilgrim during Holy Week to seek out fulfilling worship.  So to their eyes, I would probably be seen as a liturgy snob.  That is why I have embraced the title: "Confessions of a Liturgy Snob".  So to puckishly echo Pontius Pilate : "Quod scripsi, scripsi".

Hearing my philippics on liturgical abuses and memories of lackluster liturgies, the Confirmand whom I sponsored suggested: "You should make an app for that".  While I am not sure that the  musings of one religious yet irreverent Roman Catholic layman will have Mass appeal (sic) like Masstimes.org, it can serve as an outlet for occasional observations on the ars celebrendi.  

Although I may flippantly embrace the monicker "a liturgy snob", the reality is that I seek appealing Masses rather than lamenting about lame liturgies.  Confessions of a Liturgy Snob  might has the potential of being a crowdsourcing YELP for liturgy snobs.    But the same church can have different feels depending upon which liturgy one attends.  Then it should be considered that  priests like to spice it up with their own spiritual sauce, so  their sui generis celebrations would be quite "special".

From the outset, I recognise that thoughts on good liturgy are colored by personal preference  and my own faith history.  What may seem down to earth and catachetical to some may strike me as folksy and basic.  Or what seems esoteric and abstract to others may be appealing to me as thought provoking  and informative.  So caveat emptor.  The faithful should be able to find a place where their souls are fed, occasionally challenged and inspired to go forth and bring the fruit of the Eucharist  to the world.  May the Confessions of a Liturgy Snob help winnow the liturgical wheat from the chaff.