Whence Paul?

At Mass the other weekend, the homilist said a couple of things that caught my ear.

Thing One

The homilist indicated that it was good that the solemnity of Ascension Thursday had been transfered to the next Sunday (thereby creating a new thing which the blog world has named "Ascension Thursday Sunday." To futher confuse matters, we were celebrating the Saturday evening vigil!). His point was that more people would get to hear the glorious readings for the feast of the Ascension. Instead, it seemed the whole congregation was flipping through their missalettes trying to find the right page instead of actually listening to the proclamation of the Scriptures).

Well, I don't like that line of reasoning. If you are Catholic & a Holy Day of Obligation is upon you, then you go to Mass. Everything else gives way. That is what it means to be Catholic. He said that people who have to work now have a better chance to attend the celebration. Well, yes & no. There are always folks who have to work odd hours, & somebody somewhere will always be left out. If there's a morning Mass & and an evening Mass, it'd be pretty rare that someone couldn't find a way to make it. I think that's a pretty lame reason to move the celebration.

I say the ecclesial leadership displays defeatism with a whiny overtone when they do such things. It gives people a reason to be lazy in their faith. It gives them a notion that everything is "movable," maybe even going to Mass at all, or being Catholic at all. This subtle errosion of Catholic identity & practice can only lead to errosion & lukewarmness of faith - & you definitely don't want to find yourself in that particular mouthful! It's a kind of degenerative lex orandi lex credendi. In a day where people fall away quite easily, making the practice of Catholicism easier does not solve, but only deepens the problem.

Plus what of the reading & prayers that were not offered? Did we not just reduce the worship which we offer to God? One particular Mass prayer for the 7th Sunday of Easter - an alternate Collect - was especially powerful:

“Eternal Father, reaching from end to end of the universe, & ordering all things with your mighty arm: for you, time is the unfolding of truth that already is, the unveiling of beauty that is yet to be. Your Son has saved us in history by rising form the dead, so that transcending time he might free us from death. May his presence among us lead to the vision of unlimited truth & unfold the beauty of your love. We ask this…”

Wow! I could ponder this prayer for weeks. In fact, I have been.

As an aside - the standard opening prayer is weak: “Father, help us keep in mind that Christ our Savior lives with you in glory & promised to remain with us until the end of time. We ask this…” Help us keep in mind? What kind of hamstrung prayer is that? Sounds like, “Honey, help me keep in mind to take the enchiladas out of the oven at 6:45, OK?” That’s the clever work of the previous ICEL, who hoped to save us from ourselves by makings sure that won’t pray things too “ineffable” for us. Please, Lord, let the new translations come soon!

Thing Two

Yes, the readings were proclaimed as they always are, but - being a very frequent traveler around the U.S. & the world - I'd say the vast majority of homilies given very rarely expound on any of them. Instead, most priests find some particular word or phrase in one of the readings, then use it as a jump-off point to launch into a tyrade about a completely different topic. I'm not saying this is what happened on this occasion, but it happens really, really often. I'm sure they think themselves quite clever. Most people I'm sure resent being denied a homily on the readings of the day, hoping for something from the Church that will help their lives, not personal witticisms from the homilist.

Interestingly, I know a very good priest that really breaks open the Word of God in his homilies with a wonderful combination of scholarliness & practical applicability to daily life - & lots of input from the Church Fathers & writings of the saints. However, his accent apparently turns people off & I've heard comments how long & boring he is. How sad for them.

Whence Paul?

Part of the renovation of the liturgy asked for by the Council & implemented by the Consilium was to offer a broader range of readings at Mass. That sounds nice, & it's a point always thrown up in the face of those who prefer the 1962 Missal. However, ask almost anyone what last Sunday's 2nd reading was & you are sure to witness a blank stare. Even I can't remember. The old cycle of readings was familiar & consistent. They were looked forward to. I know this because, now that the ancient liturgy is available again, I look forward to them. It's finely honed selection that followed the liturgical year carefully, with the Epistle always complimenting the Gospel. In the new rite, it's a bit of a mess. Especially when feasts are moved around, optional readings taken, or large sections chopped out for the sake of pastoral sensitivity.

In fact, I cannot even remember the last time a homily in the newer form dealt whatsoever with the Epistle, which is ironic given that we are nearing the end of the year of St. Paul & most of the Epistles are authored by him. This is especially sad in that Paul's writings deal by & large with the living of the Chrisitian life in the Church as it finds itself in the world. No wonder people are so bewildered about the state of society today & the importance of making solidly-informed Christian moral choices. Catholics would be far less subject to the prevailing winds of the culture around them if we were more deeply rooted in the teachings of Paul, if we allowed him to teach the church in Lenoir City or Clinton or Farragut just as he taught the churches in Rome, Corinth, Thessalonika, Phillipi, & Ephesus.

Truly, we have lost something sorely needed - the teachings of the apostles which form the foundation of the Church, of which Christ Jesus is the cornerstone (Eph 2:19-22). Please priests & deacons: teach us the Scriptures proclaimed at Mass - of course, the Gospel, but also the Epistle.