From Saint Louis Catholic:
I sometimes like to ask my Ordinary Form-attending friends and family who harp on the increased "active participation" at Mass this question:more over there
"At what moment of Mass are you most intensely, actively participating?"
In my experience, the answer comes back 98% of the time as, "During the consecration/Eucharistic prayer."
To which I respond, "And what are you saying-- vocally, audibly-- at that moment?"
"Nothing."
In other words, we don't need necessarily to hear ourselves speak to have a profound participation in the Sacred Liturgy.
About 2% of the time, the person responds with, "At Communion." And, though in the new Mass the Communicant says, "Amen," to the words, "The Body of Christ," essentially this is not a conversational moment either.
So, I say, don't just assume that the changes to the Mass led to greater participation. After all, it is easier to participate more fully in the Mass if one actually attends Mass. So, if the changes in the Mass led to a steep decline in regular attendance, tell me again how the new Mass led to greater participation?
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5 comments:
shouldn't the time of most intense, active participation be when we are sent to live what we have participated in, "go in peace to love and to serve the Lord"?
That's like saying the greatest commandment is exclusively "love your neighbor as yourself" as if humans were capable of true charity under their own power without the grace of God. One cannot truly "server the Lord" without first receiving all the graces He wants to give us, ie. the sacraments.
Yes, and when the mass was in Latin - everyone got it.
Blame the nuns - they are responsible for everything bad in our church.
I ♥ nuns.
In rural Ireland years ago one might have replied that the greatest participation at (or proximate to…) Mass was at “the 5-minute bell”. Back then it was the custom for people (men, mostly…) to congregate at the Church gate or surrounding wall before Mass. Five minutes before Mass began the church bell would be rung. At that point the men - as one - would begin to shuffle slowly towards the door (don’t want to be too early, you understand).
Of course one could argue that this was not quite a ‘liturgical’ participation, as the same effect could be witnessed just before opening time at the local pub – albeit with a more spring in the step!
A second candidate might be the ‘communal cough’. Back then, once the bell was rung at the Sanctus the congregation went quiet (silent Canon…). After the Second Elevation there would be an explosion of coughing and clearing of throats, as people had ‘held it in’ during this most solemn moment of the Mass.
Some have noted that this was a more moving response to what had just happened than the modern “Christ has died…”
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