Turn Down the Static at Mass

CatholicExchange.com ^ | 12-01-05 | Bishop Paul S. Loverde

[Salvation]

by Bishop Paul S. Loverde

Other Articles by Bishop Paul S. Loverde

Turn Down the Static at Mass

12/1/05

As of this past Sunday, we have embarked together on a new liturgical year. So we might ask ourselves: What goals are we setting for ourselves spiritually?

What will we do differently during this liturgical year which might draw us closer in friendship to our Lord? What practices might we deepen?

We need not necessarily set "new" spiritual goals for this coming year. Our goals need not be far-flung. Rather than speak of "new" goals, we might then view it as a "fresh start" upon a steady and sure foundation.

If we are already prayerfully participating in Mass, in the partaking of the Eucharist, and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, then a firm foundation exists. As Pope Benedict recently said, "Through your love for the Eucharist you will also rediscover the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in which the merciful goodness of God always allows us to make a fresh start in our lives" (World Youth Day homily). However, if we are not participating in the sacramental life of the Church, then the goals for the coming year are clear.

Yet allow me to offer a few suggestions at the outset of this new liturgical year.

Prayerful Silence within Church

To say that our attention span and other certain norms of civility in our society have eroded in recent decades is a truism. In our media-saturated age, I have not been alone in noticing an increasingly common and constant "buzz" at events such as banquets or lectures, even as the keynote speaker delivers his or her address. We seem ever more uneasy with silence, with that age-old precondition for prayer and meditation.

Has this "static" entered our sanctuaries and our devotional lives?

The Church is in the world, yet not of it. Let us ask ourselves how, in this new liturgical year, we might imbue our parishes with a renewed respect for Him Who is really present in the Eucharist. A reverent attitude when we enter our churches speaks volumes — to our children, to non-Catholics who might be in attendance, to our Lord.

By no means am I saying that brief, respectful greetings cannot take place within our churches; after all, how can we not acknowledge our brothers and sisters with a loving welcome? Yet in light of what we are gathering to celebrate, we need to be able to limit our talking, turn off our cell phones, and make the most of our time to pray in the Lord’s presence.

If we are not listening, how can we enter into the banquet prepared for us? As Pope Benedict recently said to those gathered at World Youth Day, "Let us discover the intimate riches of the Church's liturgy and its true greatness: it is not we who are celebrating for ourselves, but it is the living God Himself who is preparing a banquet for us."

Prepare, Be on Time — Even Early

When I was growing up, my family had a simple approach to preparing for Mass on Sunday mornings. Saturday evenings, I recall, brought a certain calm and reverence as my parents readied our "Sunday best" for the following morning. On Sunday mornings, we prayed, ate together, and usually arrived five to 10 minutes early to Mass to kneel in prayer.

Recognizing the Urgent Need to Pray

Good habits take time to build, and bad habits are hard to break. So how might we persuade and remind ourselves of the need to prepare for Mass and enter our churches in a spirit of prayerful reverence?

To answer this question, may I suggest taking a brief look around the church as you enter? You may notice children and teens, and ponder how greatly they stand in need of our prayers amidst the pressures and temptations of our age. You may see a single parent, and bring his or her burdens before the Lord in prayer. You may notice the elderly, and then commit to praying more regularly for those who often suffer loneliness atop their physical ailments. You may notice a family, and praise the Lord for new life and for the compelling witness of the Christian family in our age.

Ultimately such prayerful attention before and during Mass may bear unexpected fruit in our lives. Our eyes will be opened. As Pope Benedict put it so beautifully, "If we think and live according to our communion with Christ, then our eyes will be opened" (World Youth Day homily).

May every season of this new liturgical year find us increasingly attentive, reverent, and responsive to the call of Jesus Christ.

(Bishop Paul S. Loverde is the Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. His column appears courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)

[cyborg]

Oh I like to do the same thing now. I have EWTN on all the time on my computer in the room. I'm learning how to block out distractions better.

[Salvation]

Wonderful as well as prayerful suggestions.

[livius]

It is not a time for private prayer of any kind.

How do they know? Do the ushers watch for sneaky folks who might be - shhhh - "praying"?

[Salvation]

**Anyone who didn't get the message would be gently reminded that this was a house of prayer, **

What a wonderful suggestion! Unfortunately, too many parishes have only one priests these days.

[Salvation]

The priest told me (in confession) that if I could not remain focused on what was happening during the Mass and was too busy looking around to see what everyone was wearing, etc. that I should "Close my eyes and just listen or sit in one of the first three pews!" Good advice which I have followed!

[livius]

The stampede is very annoying, I agree. It always makes the priest look sort of pathetic, as he attempts to make a formal exit BEHIND a group of people who are thundering down the aisle on their way to the doughnuts. Or the parking lot.

I doubt that anybody has anything so important going on in their lives that they can't wait another 30 seconds for the priest to leave first.

[Salvation]

Cell phones --

We have an announcement at the beginning of Mass:

To enhance the reverence of the Mass please turn off your cell phones.

It has helped! Consider asking your priest to try it.

[Salvation]

**It is our responsibility to enter Church solely for the celebration of the Unbloody Sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ at Calvary.**

Absolutely. Focus on the two parts of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

[Salvation]

**about 1/4 of the people leave after Communion,**

Have you ever been in a church that has an inconspicuous sign for those who walk out of Mass saying:

Judas left early too! ????

[Petronski]

AB, those are excellent additions.

[Salvation]

Good suggestions.

I have a friend who asks me what I have that she doesn't have????

She just doesn't get it!!

[Dajjal]

I think this is partly connected to the VatII liturgy, however. The horizontalism that is implicitly part of it and shows up in things like the "handshake of peace," which takes about 10 minutes and requires running all over the church grinning, the greeting "Good Morning" or even "Hi" when the priest enters, etc. has had its effect and I suspect many people do think of it as merely another social occasion.

The Novus Ordo is structurally designed to be more social. The theology underpinning it says that the Eucharist is only _one_ of the ways Christ is present at Mass. Bishop Loverde seems a bit behind the times on this. Christ is also present in the Words of Scriptural Readings, and -- most importantly -- He is present in the gathering of two or more believers!

The types of Masses done by "small cell" groups like the Neocatechumenal Way are the logical goal as the evolution of the Novus Ordo unfolds. It is not a finished work. The camaraderie the good bishop seems to be decrying here is actually the expression of the shared Spirit which brings the Massgoers together.

You don't think that at the Sermon on the Mount, everyone was sitting quietly and stiff-backed like in "The Greatest Story Ever Told," do you? No, everyone was lounging about, more like at World Youth Day. We're only four decades into the Novus Ordo, and many priests and bishops are trying to treat it as similar to the Tridentine Mass. But with enough time and careful implementation, the true beauty of the Novus Ordo can be fully expressed.

Peace, man.

[DTwistedSisterS]

Wow.

I hope that's a joke. Otherwise, heads should've rolled.