Catholic Sensibility

The Mass Under a Microscope The title is from a workshop I did for a retreat center several years ago. The purpose was to encourage participants to carefully and lovingly scrutinize their parish's celebration of Sunday Mass. From the draft English translation of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (IGRM, Latin acronym): The rites preceding the liturgy of the word, namely, the opening liturgical song, greeting, penitential rite, Kyrie, Gloria, and opening prayer or collect, have the character of a beginning, introduction, and preparation. Their purpose is that the faithful coming together take on the form of a community and prepare themselves to listen properly to God’s word and to celebrate the Eucharist worthily. (section 46) Often one finds in the liturgical documents a list of given options. These lists are not usually accidental in the order of things. So when the IGRM lists two purposes for the beginning of Mass, community formation and preparation, you can be assured that these options are either roughly equal or they are listed in order of importance. Those who minimize the importance of "the faithful coming together take on the form of a community" are missing the barque. That said, community formation should be a mature and serious undertaking. It is not about outward signs only, though in contemporary American culture, a degree of public expression is generally expected. And it is not always about gladhanding before Mass (although it could be in some places). But community formation shouldn't be overlooked. The IGRM seems to suggest it is a necessary component for the celebration of liturgy. Five hundred people pointing in the same general direction in one large room might not cut it. If people are expected to sing, then the music chosen needs to be very well known. Long-ish dialogues tend to fragment people into the eager listeners, the bored, the distracted, and such. I used to think that Mass announcements belonged at the beginning, before things got started. I feel some doubt about that as I reflect a bit more on the need for community and preparation. I think sticking to the script is vital here. The Introductory Rites aren't about commentary, catechesis, or anything that puffs up this time as being anything more than a "beginning, introduction, and preparation." I noted the difference in that last word in the quote, "worthily." In the 1975 IGRM, it was translated as "properly." Not sure exactly what the shift means, but when I was involved with some consultation work, I carefully noted all variations (updates?) from the previous document. As this series continues, I'll have more comments about specifics.