Posted on 05/04/2009 10:17:07 PM PDT by grey_whiskers
I attended a Catholic church service -- a Mass -- for confirmation of young Catholics, at the Basilica of St. Mary's, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this evening. I had been told that this basilica is the oldest one in the United States, so I was looking forward to seeing it. It's odd, too, that as I rode in on the Church bus, I was helping one of the students cram for their high school AP European history class -- I think the juxtaposition of such different topics helped fuel this article.
There seem to be a few things common to different societies, and to people in different times, which seem to inspire awe and wonder: some natural and some man-made. These include sunsets, mountains, the ocean, sunsets, and large masonry buildings and/or statuary. Whether the sense of scale is involved, or the sense of something self-contained, secure in its own presence, which makes us feel humble, I don't know. But whatever the reason, I felt it once I entered the basilica. Large stone columns running parallel to the center aisle, tall, multi-story vaulted ceiling, and the large marble gazebo-like structure over the altar, topped by a figure of Mary, Mother Of Christ, with her arms extended, palms out, in benediction. Whoa. A strange sense of reverence, wonder, and guilt -- am I worthy to be here? (Of course, as Mary herself would tell you, I am not. It is the central message of the cross that "Christ died for us while we were yet sinners."
The odd thing was, this feeling seemed attached to the space, to the architecture: it was not a conventional "religious feeling" with goosebumps over the music (oh heavenly choirs!) and the stylized (English, not Latin) service and prayers. And the contrast between the sense inspired by the carvings, and the bustling routine of the service, got me to thinking. Why is it that the modern church (not just the Catholic, I mean the Protestants too) seems so, well, ineffectual and make-work? Why does it fail so much at impressing?
A number of thoughts occurred to me. You know, the history of the Roman Catholic church, the great shrines and Cathedrals of Europe. This basilica was but small potatoes compared to them: and they were built hundreds of years ago, when many of the engineering techniques of the Romans had been lost, and new methods, such as the flying buttress, were being discovered. The cathedrals were built by peasants, not mechanized union labor, with the blocks cut, dressed, and carved by hand. And compared to the typical existence of the medieval laborers, those cathedrals must have seemed awfully sumptous. And then the pageantry -- the morality plays, the finery of the high church officials, the music. And everywhere, the statuary of the stations of the cross, the great saints, "those who have gone before": unworthy of the world, but still speaking great things, and held up as examples for us all, because of their faith. And when the pipe organ began playing, I was reminded of the scene in Stephen Lawhead's book where the emperor's throne levitates off of the ground, accompanied by music emanating seemingly out of nowhere. Is this what it was like to attend mass, for those in a simpler age?
But then, even assuming my pictures of the past to be accurate (and I am no historian), what did such pictures tell me? I am wondering why the processions are so uninspiring now, now why they were so striking then. And then it hit me. Where do we see processions today?
Think about it -- if you ask someone to name a formal, impressive, public gathering, what might you hear? The Presidential Inauguration. The marriage of the late Lady Diana. Awards ceremonies, from the Oscars to the Nobel Prize. All of these events, purely secular in purpose and execution, have far more pomp -- more solemnity -- more *verve*, than the Catholic Mass. And not by accident, and yet not by intent alone. What else do these things have in common, besides an audience? The answer is the dedication, the wherewithal, the people and materials to make them happen. Or, to be briefer, just money. Where would the Academy Awards be without the glitz, the breathless excitement, the photographs and expensive clothes? Where would the marriage of Charles and Diana have been, without the wealth and prestige of the Royal Family? After all, the world has moved on from religion: the new gods of youthful sexuality, of wealth, must have their temples their ceremonies, their pantheons of heroes as well.
Does it seem fair? Well, yes and no. One has to keep in mind the double standard held against the Church, that if they are lacking in appearances, it means they are incompetent and therefore fools; but if they spend money to look smooth, polished, and professionals, they are not only charlatans ("They got that money by bilking old widows") [+] but hypocrites as well ("they wouldn't be advertising all that wealth if they *really* cared about the poor").
And so the trappings of wealth, of pomposity, are left to the world, the flesh, and the devil. Let them stay there. For Christ Himself was tempted in like fashion. Matthew 4:8-10:
"Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
Let us strive to continue doing so.
[+] Compare and contrast Mark 12:40 and Mark 12:42 in this regard, by the way.
I think that's a bit of victimhood that doesn't really apply. Who cares if outsiders think church services aren't up to snuff in terms of "style"? No Catholic I know. Each religion or group has its own standards for what's right, and claiming outsiders will say they're cheap shouldn't even be a consideration. Seriously, who cares what style-conscious jerks think? Believers shouldn't be even thinking about this.
Although he was there physically and mentally, it sounds as though the writer missed the boat. Must be why he took the bus.
It struck me early on how much more emphasis there was on the "right" clothes and the "right" car in Protestant churches, even in the non-denominational / Evangelical congregations: with the exception of the Pentecostals.
Cheers!
All of these events, purely secular in purpose and execution, have far more pomp -- more solemnity -- more *verve*, than the Catholic Mass. And not by accident,
Indeed. Like it or not, we must admit flash attracts people sometimes, even to a church. I was raised Catholic, and, yes, I remember Protestants criticizing our church for what they considered expensive displays. But, in visiting Protestant churches today, I'm noticing there's a lot of money being invested into "community centers" complete with gyms and recreation rooms, etc. In many ways, church is like a business, too. I hope I'm not flamed for saying so, but that's how I see it.
"Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
Yet you ask to be given "heavenly choirs."
God is a vibrant and fantastic force, a giver of peace and joy, but much of our day to day, minute to minute service to Him is through discipline, solemnity, right action without feeling, feeling, feeling or thinking, thinking, thinking. You ask to be entertained. To be inspired I assume. God inspires from within when we do as He asks of us. You have read your bible. Do you pray the rosary, take communion, meditate, fast? If you did all of these things daily you would better understand that you were the one asking for pomp and circumstance and to be entertained and Ironically ended your vanity with a biblical passage that asked only one thing and that is to be wary of temptations of satan and of the earth and serve only God. Make shift. Make shift. He will decide from your make shift service what pleasures He shall give you from that. Try it sometime. It is divine.
Well said.
This often goes toward nurturing those to go along to get along as opposed to nurturing the disciplines of daily service to God both personally, locally, and globally. It is sort of as if they are doing everything but what God intended--practicing the superficial fruits instead of planting the seed and letting God reward and guide. People then expect all the fun and feeling oriented pleasures of church and lose sight of the disciplines and rigorous practice of daily, hourly, serving of the Lord. It is hard enough with all of our energies toward it. Now it seems even the church itself distracts.
This is why the Pope changed the greeting place in mass and took it away and replaced it with solemn, meditative moments surrounding communion.
This might be long and it may be boring, so you might want to just skip it and move to the next post.
Just this past Saturday I had occasion to attend a Catholic mass.
My oldest granddaughter (10 years old) was to receive her first Communion. She has been attending Catholic school for almost 2 years. My son had invited me. Others in my family had insisted that I be there, unless I was in a hospital and near certain death.
I sure wasn’t going to let my little girl down on this very special day, so I was even 30 minutes early. I have been 8 minutes late to almost everything in life, so even this was a shocker for everyone.
Watching her in this ceremony was truly worth it. It was a beautiful moment, and I was forced to see it through tear filled eyes.
We had recieved permission to take photographs, but I finally had to turn that duty over to my Bride, because I just couldn’t focuss through those darn wet eyes.
While it was truly moving to watch the very moment that she received the Body of Christ, it was when she turned toward me with her little hands folded and a very beautiful, peaceful, loving and proud smile. She look into my eyes and I almost lost it. She had been my little girl, but at that exact moment, I think I saw an angel. She looked like an angel. Of course she’s always been an angel in my eyes, but there was something special about her that day.
I felt a strong desire to receive Communion, but I had not been to confession, so I couldn’t.
Okay, here’s a few admissions and observations, maybe even some disappointments.
This was the first time that I have walked into a Roman Catholic church in about 45 years. It was a very good experience and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for the world, but it came with a very sobering realization that so much has changed and some of it I didn’t like, or maybe I should say understand.
You see, I had attended Catholic school as a child and this just didn’t seem like the same kind of church. Perhaps I would have felt differently had I changed with the church.... I am not sure.
The dress code has changed, it’s much more relaxed, I think that was a good thing.
I didn’t see any nuns and I was told that this church didn’t have any. Even the teachers aren’t nuns.
I was surprised to see people that other than the priest helping him hand out Communion.
What’s with the wine drinking, we never had that! Only the priest did that in my day.
I didn’t enjoy learning latin as a kid, but I got used to it, and I simply must say, the mass was missing when done in Engllish.... it just didn’t feel like mass to me.
When the priest took to the podium, I had expected to hear words of celebration about these young folks that had just received their first Communion. That was hardly even mentioned and it was only in passing when he did bother to bring it up.
Most of what the priest had to say was a long story about sheep and shepherds..... that worked it’s way into asking for money, being sure to give more than 10% if you could— because if you could— you were supposed to, and instructing any folks that were new to the church on how to fill out the identifying information on the envelop provided for the offering. AND THEN, he explained that we could use a debit card.... A CREDIT CARD!!....a credit card in church... that one amazed me and it also made me feel disappointed in where the church has gone.
This is already too long, so I’ll shut up and leave out the moral to the story, if there even is one.
Don’t get too worked up about the credit card deal...lots of churches allow you to do your weekly contributions via credit card or checking account. Basically, you sign up and commit what you want to commit and it’s withdrawn every week or whatever just like any other bill.
I will reply privately in FReepmail tonight what I was *trying* to say...
Cheers!
the Basilica of St. Mary's, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this evening. I had been told that this basilica is the oldest one in the United States,
Yep, that's what their website says too. And that kind of shocked surprises me.
Considering all the Irish and German Catholics who emigrated to the US and settled in big cities like NY, Chi and Boston, one would *think* the first 'basilica' would be in one of those places, not Minneapolis (1).
Proves you learn something new every day :-)
(1) Basilicas are rare, not any church can be one. In my old hood in Chi there was one Basilica (wasn't my parish though) and another was in the Italian 'Taylor Street' area (not too far away by car).
Traditional Masses are still available. You wouldn’t notice any change in them because there isn’t any.
Obviously WAY too little sleep to spell correctly.
"Miscomunnicated" indeed!
NO cheers, unfortunately.
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