Turn Down the Static at Mass

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

[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.