FRIDAY POTPOURRI: SHOULDS VS WANTS

The Mass begins with the antiphons or opening hymn, not with the Sign of the Cross.  Arriving at the door during the opening hymn doesn’t mean, “Shwew!  We made it in time!  They’re still singing!”  

The opening hymn serves a couple of purposes.  It is more than what a theme song is for a sit com.  Firstly, it is meant to bring the community together.  We have all come from our separate lives and (hopefully) just spend some time in private prayer preparing for Mass.  The opening hymn is what initially draws us together in the same way that singing, “Happy Birthday” at a party or “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the 7th inning stretch or Christmas Carols at Christmas time.  

Secondly it serves as the communities first opportunity to worship God as a corporate body.  We are not just singing, we are worshipping - that is why not just any song will do!   For those who don’t sing, they are missing out on worship.  For those who hold back because they think they don’t have a good voice - God gave you that voice - give it back to Him!

HE IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

Easter morning Mass is live-streamed at 9AM with Fr. Simone and the extraordinary for Mass (Latin) at 11AM.  Find it HERE.

 You can also find our Easter Vigil there.

Saw this at the church door yesterday and it touched my heart.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: MASS MATTERS: QUIET PLEASE

So I thought that, while we are waiting for our opportunity to gather together for Mass again, we would review some aspects of the Mass in a Friday Potpourri series:

Interestingly, for the first time the new Missal has an instruction of what should take place before Mass begins.  Number 45 in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal states in part, "Even before the celebration itself, it is a praiseworthy practice for silence to be observed in the church, sacristy, in the vesting room, and in adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred celebration in a devout and fitting manner."

My home parish was an ethnic parish and the community lived in the same neighborhood by and large, worked at the same places, belonged to the same clubs and, quite honestly, were probably related in some way with a good percentage of the congregation.  So there wasn't a need to "connect and chit chat" at Mass.  This helps explain why older church buildings tend not to have large gathering areas.  That was neither needed by the community nor a function of a church building.  Today with more isolated persons and busier schedules, Mass is a time people use to connect.  This makes me wish we had a larger gathering area at St. Sebastian.

But there is needed a buffer between the bustle of getting ready for Mass, the hassle of driving there,  the noise of conversations and the buzzing of concerns and worries in our thoughts.  On time for Mass means being there early to  become calm and to pray and prepare one's self to be present and call to mind what you have come to offer.

JESUS THE MARKETING GENIUS

I think Jesus is a marketing genius.

In marketing, one must always outdo what came before.  Look at phones.  Each new model must promise to do more, do it more innovatively, and quicker.  If that is not achieved, it is declared a grave disappointment and there are no lines at the store.

It is the same with television series.  The next season must always outdo the last season.  It must be wilder, bigger, crazier.  If it is not, people lose interest.  I think that is why so many of them end up becoming a soap opera about who is sleeping with whom.  But once you have jumped that shark, who cares . . .

Many Churches are like this.  The music must get better and better or at least be updated.  The preaching must always be cutting edge.  New special effects; fog, lighting, projections, must be added, changed, improved, expanded because once you have a spectacular, it becomes common.  (Think about the poor guy that has to come up with a new Super Bowl halftime show every year.)

But the Church Jesus founded steadfastly marches in the other direction.  There isn’t really anything to see particularly at its heart - the Eucharist.  The Eucharist couldn’t be more counter-cultural.  There was a big push for a spell to have clear glass chalices so people could “see what was going on.”  Do you know how differently wine looks after it is consecrated?  Not a jot.  Everything happens below the level of the senses.  The bread and wine cease to exist, but their accidents remain.  So it may look, feel, smell and taste like bread and wine, but it has become wholly the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  This is something that can maintained for 2,000 years without constantly having to come up with something “new.”

Although I am one for great music, art and liturgy done well, none of that is intrinsic to the Eucharist.  Jesus makes Himself present in His Word and the Eucharist whether you are the Basilica of St. Peter or having Mass on the hood of a jeep in field during a war.  Lighting effects, fog machines and the like would be a distraction to this.  We come, not to be entertained, but to give time to the One who loves us.  

“Do you love Me?” He seems to ask, “Then spend time with me, not because you are entertained, but because you love me.”

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: IT IS MY GREAT HONOR TO INTRODUCE TO YOU FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

Except for some clean up, we’ve pretty much married our couple now.  There is not much official left save for the consummatum est.  (Terrible pun there.  I apologize.)  There is one rubric, however, that confounds me and I’ve not heard it addressed.  If there is a liturgist out there I would love to hear from you.

Everything about a rubric is there on purpose; the order of the wording, the inclusion, the detail of the word chosen (may vs must etc.)  So why does it state that, at a matrimonial Mass, “The bride and bridegroom, their parents, witnesses, and relatives may receive Communion under both kinds”?  Why not say all Catholics present may receive Communion under both kinds?  Is it truly limited (I bet not - or at least nobody is saying that.)  I doubt we will have people check their category against the program to make sure they fit into one of the privileged ranks.  Curious.

Thus we bring to an end this series on Friday Potpourri.  Nothing has come across my radar screen to start new as of yet.  Perhaps by next Friday God will provide something - but just in case, if you have an idea . . . pass it along!

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: THE AWFUL CONSEQUENCE OF CONSISTENCY

So I made the mistake of saying that I would talk about presenting a flower to Mary during a wedding ceremony.  Probably should not have.  But here we go . . . 

For those who do not know what I am talking about, (I thought everybody knew what this was since it has been such a common experience in my Catholic life,) during the wedding ceremony, a bride, with a particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin, will process to the shrine (statue) of Mary at some point during the nuptial Mass, offer a prayer of petition, and as a devotion, leave a flower (usually a single, white rose) which would be much the same thing as lighting a candle.  The only more recent change that I have noticed is that almost without fail, the groom now attends to this devotion also.  (When I was a kid, it seemed that only the bride went.)

There does not seem to be an allowance for this practice in either the new or the old rubrics for the nuptial ceremonies.  This is a private devotion being done in a public forum and as such is “stuck on” to the Mass. 

99.99% of the time I am adamantly opposed to sticking things on to the Mass.  The requests received for private things to be done at Mass come in often.  Private devotions, talks, presentations, other ceremonies, blessings, many of which are not not only not mentioned but expressly forbidden by the rubrics are often presented as something needed to be done at Mass.  The two most pressing reasons given for the necessity of doing such a thing is 1) it would be beneficial/meaningful to everybody and 2) it concerns the whole community and this is when the whole community is gathered.  As for the first concern, having it Mass often makes more people angry than happy and the second is a bait and switch.  The people are there for the Mass.  If whatever else is going on is really important, then you don’t win them over by forcing them to sit through it.  (How happy are you to turn on Public Radio during a fund drive?)

ALL THAT BEING SAID, my liturgical heart says that this devotional as it is often practiced during the Mass should go the same way as the unity candle - that is - snuffed out!  But I am weak where Mary is concerned and unlike a unity candle ceremony, this devotion to Mary is something that the bride and groom can (and should if they are going to subject the congregation to this private devotion at their wedding) continue throughout their lives.  It is also something in which the congregation can at least tangentially participate.  

Further, it can take place in a way that doesn’t really interfere with the rubrics of the Mass.  For example, while the music continues after the reception of Communion, what is to stop the bride and her groom from walking over to Mary, placing a rose, and asking for her intercession in their married lives?  

What do you think?

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: IF YOU DON'T KNOW, PRETEND LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING

A few Advents ago the new Missal came out.  Prior to that point, a typical wedding would begin with the Penitential Rite, which, quite honestly, though probably a good thing to do, was always a bit awkward especially when there were a lot of non-Catholics present.  (Personal opinion.)  In its stead, when there is a nuptial Mass, we begin with the Gloria - which I like better, but is difficult when there are few (practicing) Catholics in the congregation and it is just me and soloist belting out God’s praises.  But it is amazing when it is a bunch of Catholics.

So think back to that first advent of the new Missal.  I’m about to concelebrate a wedding at our cathedral and the question comes up, “Do we sing the Gloria?”  After all, it is not prayed all during the Advent season.  Right?  But the new rite calls for it.  This was not one of the topics covered when we went to all of the workshops on the new Missal.  So, the other clergy, the musicians and I huddled together to make a decision.  Although it went against our instincts, it seemed that that the rubrics clearly called for the Gloria to be sung.  So we did.

When I got home I called the liturgy office for a response.  Nobody was in so the person who was the liturgist for the diocese at the time called back a few days later.  We had a pleasant conversation and then got down to discussing the wedding Gloria.  The person was very honest and said, “I am not entirely positive but I can tell you this:  There was a wedding at the cathedral earlier this week and they sang the Gloria so I would use that as your example until we can confirm so.”

HA!

As it turns out, singing the Gloria is the correct thing to do.  It is part of the ritual for this particular type of liturgy and therefor when a nuptial Mass is said, the Gloria is always prayed even when otherwise it would not be.

And that is why we now sing the Gloria at nuptial Masses.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HOW FAR IS TOO FAR?

Is a priest who wears oxford shoes and uses a thurible a conservative?  Is a priest who wears sandals and uses an incense bowl a liberal?  If both options are on the Catholic playing field, does it matter?  Does it matter any differently if you are St. Patrick Cathedral or in a mud and thatch church in the missions?  Does it matter if one is a Jesuit and one is a Franciscan?  

The last paragraph that we are going to look at in this particular section (111) of the GIRM (we start something new next week) is really trying to get everybody on the same page.  It tells us that great care should be taken that the Mass is coordinated among all of the ministers as well as having some input from the parishioners with final say coming from the “rector.”  This is so that the choir director doesn’t prepare for the usual weekend Mass, the celebrant decides to move the patronal feast to the weekend, and the lector not knowing which readings to prepare.  That is why the “rector” sets the calendar, tone, and is responsible for communicating it.  

It is interesting that they use the world “rector.”  I had to research this a little bit.  It is not a term often used in the Catholic Church.  It comes from the Latin meaning “ruler.”  I think they use this term because not every parish has a pastor.  A seminary has a rector, not a pastor.  The bishop’s church (cathedral) may need a person to see to the day to day running of it as the bishop is out and about so much.  So you might have the rector of the cathedral . . .

So now, the rector has coordinated the Mass, communicated what will be happening, but another priest is going to celebrate.  Things may not go as smoothly as one might hope because the very last sentence of this last paragraph of this last section states, “However, the priest who presides at the celebration always retains the right of arranging those things that pertain to him.”

So that is terribly interesting.  What exactly does that mean?  I think that is what allowed my first parish to run both smoothly and somewhat diversely.  Mass was essentially the same from celebration to celebration though the celebrant changed.  Along with him however there may be oxfords or sandals, the Missal at the top of the corporal or off to the left, thurible or incense bowl.  Does the rector have the right to say to a celebrant, “No cassock,” or “No jeans” at Mass?  I would argue that this right does not exist (though it is possible for said rector to make said celebrant’s life miserable - and a good parochial vicar tries his best to bring about the vision a particular rector is trying to establish - but I’m just saying - and I admit to having strong preferences)  though a rector (and indeed anybody) has not only the right but the obligation to point out something that a priest is doing that is illicit or invalid.  

So if a presider likes to wear a fiddleback or a properly colored tie dye chasuble you might say to him, “I really don’t like that,” but in the long run it really doesn’t matter.  It is both valid and licit and Jesus is still fully present at the Mass.  But if he celebrates not wearing a chasuble at all or changing the words of consecration because he thinks it is truer to the Latin, then something needs to be said.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HELP WANTED

GIRM 107 - 110

My father was a difficult man with whom to play volley ball.  He was that guy that liked to play everybody’s position for them.  I could stand through an entire game and not have to to

uch the ball. 

In the same way, liturgists will tell us that ministries should not be all done by one person: lecturing, serving, and distributing communion all at one Mass.  Neither should they be artificially divided up in order to give as many people as possible a chance to “do a ministry.” So, for example, a reading should not be divided up between lectors, one starting, one reading the middle, one reading the end of any given reading.  The noted exception noted being the Passion.

The priests, save for those parts that are explicitly allowed, are not permitted to divide their roles up such as, “I’ll take the Liturgy of the World and you take the Liturgy of the Eucharist.”  Deacons can do that however such as the above example or one takes the singing parts and one does the working parts . . . 

Different ministries can be done by one person if there is a lack of ministers.  So if you were serving and there was nobody else available, you could also do the readings but this is clearly a permit-able but none-the-less exception to the rule.

Remembering Pope Emeritus’s writings however, the MOST IMPORTANT JOB for the lay faithful at the Mass is to PRAY THE MASS.  This is essential.  Those doing the readings or ushering or serving are not “getting to do more,” they are in some ways being distracted from doing the most important job: that of giving glory and praise to God - offering themselves for all that their Father has given them.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: FINDING YOUR WAY OUT OF PAPER BAG

As a recently ordained, I went to the Vatican and was able to pray a Mass in St. Peter.  I was assigned a little altar server who grabbed a Mass kit for me and led me through the cavernous space to some chapel altar.  There were priests and altar boys all over the place saying Masses.  Here and there were lay people, who woke at an hour I think God did not intend for us to be awake, who were in attendance at various altars.  

The server assisted me in finding my altar, helped set up and get Mass going.  It was wonderful not to have to figure things out on my own with a space in which I was rather unfamiliar.

One would think Mass is Mass is Mass.  But in every parish things are done just a little bit differently.  How and when are the gifts brought up?  (Before the collection?  After the collection?  When the altar is set up?)  When does the Gospel Alleluia begin?  (When the priest stands?  When the deacon stands?  When the organist is good and ready?)  How is Communion distributed?  These may seem like little things but they are terribly distracting when one is attempting to pay attention to the prayers.

It is always a great thing to have someone who knows what they are doing guide you around.  At St. Sebastian we attempt to try to have someone on with a visiting priest that can help them navigate the way things are done here.  With a visiting server there is an effort to have an experienced server on with him to make it less stressful. 

These are some of the reasons paragraph 106 of the GIRM says that it is desirable in cathedrals and in larger churches (though it might be helpful just about anywhere) “to have a competent minster or master of ceremonies, to see to the appropriate arrangement of sacred actions and to their being carried out by the sacred minsters and lay faithful with decorum, order and devotion.”  In other words, allowing the ministers not to become the center of attention as they turn, look around, and in general look helpless wandering around the sanctuary.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: WELCOME

This last one is sort of a jack of all trades.  Sometimes the jobs of this position is taken over by ushers, sometimes by masters of ceremony, or some other group.  The GIRM even makes mention that this position does not exist everywhere when it says in paragraph 104 (d) “Those who, in some regions, welcome the faithful at the church doors, seat them appropriately and marshal them in procession.”

Can't think much to add to that!

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: ONE WHO USHES

Here is the entire entry for “ushers” at Mass under the listing of liturgical functions in paragraph 105:

“Those who take up the collections in the church.”

That’s it.  But you and I both know it encompasses so much more than that.  No longer having those etherial nuns in our parish convents they easily rise to the top of the most mysterious grouping of persons in a parish.  It is like a secret society with their own secret handshakes, dress codes, and private room (sometimes just a closet) in any given church.  They hold great power.  “Please move in so this family can have a place to sit.”  They handle the wealth of the parish asking parishioners and visitors alike to cough it up as they pass the basket.  They know all.  “The bathroom is down the hall to the right.”

In all seriousness there are two things here.  One is the functionary.  Often everything that needs to be done at the Mass that is not liturgical is dumped on the ushers; reserving seats, taking the October counts, learning how to save lives with the defibrillator, passing things out, distributing bulletins, cleaning messes, and keeping a pulse on the parish - few are as well informed with the goings on around a parish than an usher.

But secondly bear in mind that their role is under liturgical functions.  The collection IS a liturgical function, not a convenient time for the taking up of money.  “Gosh that was a great homily dear, throw in an extra $20.”  When we end the Liturgy of the Word where we learn more ABOUT God, and before we enter into the Liturgy of the Eucharist where we MEET God, we take up the offering.  The Eucharist is the source and summit of our life.  All we have flows from the Eucharist and returns back.  What we gain in life that week then we return to offer some of it back.

Catholic “tithing” has 6 components:

1. It is voluntary:  It is not a tax.  One must choose to give it or it is not really a gift.
2. It should be proportionate:  It’s one thing for a billionaire to give $20, it is quite another for a family of 5 where the parents are out of work and in danger of losing their house to give $1.  Compared to the billionaire, they have 1,000s of times more.
3. It should be systematic:  In other words, part of the budget.  I don’t just give to the parish because they need to pay the gas bill on which they are behind, but rather I give weekly like giving a kid his allowance.
4. Sacrificial is the difficult one.  It shouldn’t just be the change one happens to have in one’s pocket.  It is set aside right away and should not be insignificant to a person (such as the $20 from a billionaire.)
5. It can be divided:  Not every penny goes to the parish.  It is imperative that the parish be supported because if it doesn’t come from the parishioners, the parish ceases to exits.  There is no magical well.  But there are other needs in the community and the world: mission appeals, favorite charities, the person you know that needs assistance . . . 
6. Finally, it should be liturgical:  The collection at Mass is a liturgical function, not merely a bill to be paid.  This is why the ushers are listed under the section for those who fulfill a liturgical function.  Those who do not give do not participate in this part of the Mass.

It also prompts questions concerning on-line giving.  As far as being able to meet the parish budget, I am a HUGE fan of on-line giving.  It is a constant upon which we can rely.  If you go to Florida for the winter, if you were sick in bed Sunday morning with the flu, if you forgot or lost your envelope, we will still be able to pay the gas bill!  So what might be a solution?  Maybe this would be a good time just to sneak in something to the basket that just happened to be in your pocket.  Maybe that extra dollar that you might not otherwise miss.  This way you not only help stabilize the financial health of the parish and participate in the offertory giving, but you allow the ushers to fulfill their liturgical function and otherwise keep them out of trouble.  

There are so many great stories about ushers.  I will share only one.  This took place in Cleveland.  I am surprised that it worked since the community of ushers tends to be tight knit.  But there was a guy who put on a coat and tie, walked into a Catholic church, grabbed a basket, and helped take up the collection and then promptly walked out the back door.  Can you imagine the chutzpa?  Unfortunately for him, he had the cheekiness to try to do it two weeks in a row.  For his efforts he got a ride from Mass in a nice car with lights on the top.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: AND OTHER JOBS AS NEEDED

It takes a lot of people to properly get the Mass off the ground at any given parish.  Paragraph 105 lists some of the people that are often not thought about.

The first is the sacristan.  The sacristan works primarily in the sacristy which is the place where everything for the Mass is prepared. Of primary concern for the sacristan is all of the liturgical books needed for all of the rites (which may be more than many realize) all of the vestments “and other things necessary for the celebration of the Mass.

This last part can be expanded or retracted depending on the policy of the parish.  Does a sacristan simply make sure that the vestments are properly stored or do they set them out for Mass, mend and launder, order and create vestments?  There are chalices and ciboria, thuribles and aspergilum, candles, purificators and corporals.  There are flowers and decorations, holy water fonts server’s vestments.  The list (and the amount of time) can be great.  You are very fortunate if you have someone who is not only talented and efficient, (here we go into opinionland,) but also subtle (when things to south) and who makes people feel comfortable and welcome in the sacristy.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL

Nothing is worse than a meeting when nobody is really in charge.  The proceedings go off topic, conversations last too long, people lose interest, bullies arise who try to save the day, and little beautiful happens.

It is the same with music.  Aug!  Have you ever gone to a Mass where there is no organist or leader and someone starts a song - maybe it is even introduced by the priest, and it gets slower and slower, maybe changes key, someone in the back starts trying to rally the troops, some roll their eyes and wag their heads and close hymnals . . . why even bother trying?

I find it painful.

Paragraph 104 calls for a choir director for the Mass.  If there is no choir director, then the cantor needs to be able to lead the singing.  This person is chairman of the (musical) board.  Like a good  leader of a meeting, they make sure we are on the agenda (so to speak), are proceeding in a way that keeps interest and encourages participation when called for, and does so with craft and decorum.  

It’s not just about singing.  It is about making something beautiful.  Beauty inspires, lifts, directs.  Music for the sake of having music can be torture.  If you are going to do it, do it as well as the community can muster.  Those present deserve beauty whether it is because they are listening or they are asked to participate in which case they are part of creating that which is beautiful when giving glory to God.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: SUITED AND PREPARED

Nobody has a right to any ministry at Mass save for the most important one which is to pray the Mass and offer up your own sacrifice.  Nobody has a right to be an altar server, EMHC, or even reader.  It is never recommended that someone be given a ministry to perform who can’t quite do it in order to be “fair.”  When the ministry becomes about a certain person, it is their mishaps or inadequacies that becomes the focus and the prayer of the congregation suffers.  

So, for example, in the absence of an installed lector, a reader may do the readings.  But, according to paragraph 101 in the GIRM, this person should be, “truly suited to carrying out this function and carefully prepared.”  This is so that when a reader reads, he or she does not become the focus of attention but that they become a finger pointing toward God, or, as the GIRM itself says, this is so that the congregation, “by their hearing the readings from the sacred texts  . . . may conceive in their hearts a sweet and living affection for Sacred Scripture.”

Of course, there is a certain amount of leeway here.  There is no universal test to be a lector.  Everybody has an opinion.  Readings should be more/less dramatically read.  They should be read more quickly/slowly.  There are considerations to be weighed such as how adequate of a sound system, if any, is used, how echoey is the space, to what group of people is the reading being proclaimed.  Absolute rules are difficult to put down for universal observance other than, “suited” and “prepared.”

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: TO SERVE AND TO PROTECT

I grew up in a very small, ethic parish in which I was related to half of the congregation.  It had no boundaries so people could come from quite a distance.  We lived a couple of blocks away so if they needed a server, we got the phone call.  During the snowstorms of the ‘70s, my parents would slap cross country skies on my feet and send me off to serve morning Mass where it would be me, Fr. Ozimek, and Mrs. Bailey the organist having Mass - everybody else being trapped in their houses.

One day I walked in and Fr. Ozimek said, “You’re serving?”  Having been on the altar quite a bit at that point I responded, “Yeah.  I have to serve again.”  He got a very serious look on his face and corrected my sentence, “No.  You GET to serve again.”

He was correct.

In the absence of instituted acolytes, paragraph 100 uses a great word: lay people may be “deputed” to serve at the altar.  That word makes me think of a sheriff of a small town during the taming of the West tossing a gold star with the word “deputy” on it to someone who would help keep law and order in the town.

Now that I think about it, maybe it isn’t all that different.  Save for the star.

Altar servers have several possible jobs:

crucifer one who carries the crucifix

thurifer one who carries the thurible (the incense)

They also carry the candles, the bread, wine and water, and may even be deputed to act as extraordinary minister of Holy Communion along with a list of other jobs that any particular parish may load upon their shoulders.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: THE ALMOST FORGOTTEN MINISTRY

GIRM paragraphs 98 & 99

Before becoming a priest or permanent deacon, a man must become an installed acolyte and an installed lector.  As a matter of fact, two seminarians who are associated with St. Sebastian, Mike Petkosik and Brian Petro are being installed as lectors this evening.  Please say a prayer for them.  Congratulations guys!

One thing that they make perfectly clear every year: this is not a step to the priesthood (though one must be installed as both an acolyte and lector before being ordained.)  But a layman may also share in these ministries if they are installed as such by the bishop.  This is different than being an alter server or a reader (open to just about any Catholic) at the Mass and involves greater responsibilities.

Interestingly enough, these two ministries are reserved for men.  And just like the case is that when a priest is concelebrating the Mass that he, as an ordinary minister of Holy Communion is to fulfill that role before and extraordinary ministry of Holy Communion, if an installed acolyte or lector is at the Mass, he should really fulfill that ministry before someone who has not been installed by the bishop.

 Besides those preparing for holy orders, I do not believe we have any further installed lay persons in the diocese.  At one time, the cathedral had only installed acolytes serving but they were disbanded in favor of expanding service at the altar to a broader number of people.  I would guess this would have happened about 25 years ago or so.

I do remember when John Paul II (now saint) allowed female altar servers.  It was intended for mission countries where the lack of boys (because they were working in the fields or whatnot) were not available.  As per usual, the United States picked up on it and ran with it and today it is far more common to have female servers than not.  If one reads the decree, it did say that where it is possible to retain the tradition of having all boys, it should be retained.  I think this was the incident that cause Mother Angelica to have her order return to the full habit.  

Aren’t we an interesting bunch?

It’s difficult enough running a parish.  I can’t imagine being responsible for the Church.  Every little thing you say, do, or decree not matter how well intentioned falls on deaf ears in some circles, causes undo rejoicing in others and major distress and anger in still others with unforeseen consequences.  Good thing it is the Holy Spirit at the helm.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: IN GLADNESS YOU SAY?

So this morning I come downstairs to see that the water reservoir in the coffee machine is almost empty.  I’m tempted to walk away and let the next guy deal with it like whoever it is that leaves half a paper towel on the roll and on quarter of a pat of butter on the butter dish.  But I swallow whatever it is that I’m feeling and do it.

It just makes life easier.

Don’t you wish people just pitched in and did stuff?

Take the laundry upstairs.

Change the toilet paper.

Empty the dishwasher.

Take the gifts up at Mass.

Yes, your ushers wish that when they ask a couple of people to take up the gifts at offertory that they said, “Yes.  Sure!  Anything to help out around here.”

But often, such is not the case.  Actually I understand.  It’s difficult to stand up in front of people.  And for some people it is stressful to pay attention and hope you’ll know when and how to do things.  But please consider being more open to the idea of stepping up.

In paragraph 97 of the GIRM it says, “The faithful, moreover, should not refuse to serve the People of God in gladness whenever they are asked to perform a particular service or function in the celebration.”  So if there is help needed taking up the collection, the reader didn’t make it, or they are short a server and you receive a tap on the shoulder, remember that this serves as a great act of charity for the community and consider putting on a strained smile and in gladness saying, “Of course,” even as your brain screams, “Nooooooooooooo!”

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HURRY UP AND WAIT

GIRM paragraph 89

I detest announcements at Mass.  Well, that’s not true.  When there is need of an announcement where and when else is everybody gathered (hopefully) so that you can tell them about something important for the community? 

But the problem is, “How do you regulate announcements so that A) they do not drone on with too much information and B) that there is proper vetting system in place so that there are not 2,000 of them?”  We have announcements at the end of Mass just before the final blessing.  Just when you think things are about to wrap up and your are grabbing your music book as well as your hat making ready to escape our horrible parking lot, someone says, “We have just a few announcements.”  I see the air go out of people’s lungs and shoulders slump.  If there are a number of them, then you can SEE attention starting to drift off toward the ceiling.  Announcements should be like javelin tosses.  You throw one, and it is quick and a doozy.  After that, people shut down and anything said will be as well heard as a long lecture of the benefits of flossing sitting outside on a hot afternoon having already had a bottle of wine.

But that has ALMOST nothing to do with today’s post.

It seemed very common that, in many places, the announcements (or talks, or funding requests, or invitations to events) took place BEFORE the prayer after communion simply because it was a quiet moment and those who were going to be late for Mass are there and those who are going to try to sneak out early haven’t left yet.  

The problem with this is that THE COMMUNION RITE IS NOT YET OVER.  The prayer after communion is not called the prayer after communion simply because it is some random prayer that just happens to be after communion but rather it is “to complete the prayer of the People of God, and also to conclude the whole Communion Rite . . . ”  Thought it may not seems so, adding ANYTHING before this prayer would be a kin to stopping before the Angus Dei and saying, “Before we receive Communion today, I have a couple of announcements.”  

At least one local parish makes their announcements before Mass (missing the late comers.)  Most of us (I think) make it at the end of Mass annoying those who had it in their mind that they were just about to ease on down the road.  BUT VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE that I think this is cool that people are wearied at this pause before concluding the Mass.  I do believe that announcements are a necessary evil but it shows what an intrusion they are, no matter when they are done, to the Mass.  It messes with the flow of prayer and ritual.  It is the fly in the soup; one little spec that seems to taint the giant pot.  It is like the plane that was just about to touch down but which decided to make one more loop before landing.  It is like this post that has now gone on a few sentences too long.