Journey To A New Pentecost

 Could it be that Pope Benedict XVI’s unrelenting push to bring the “Sacred” back to our liturgies - the reception of Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling, the celebration of Mass ad orientem, the revival of Gregorian chant and altar rails, the use of flashy, ornate vestments made of silk, lace and gold brocade, and the new Missal translations that only a well educated Catholic theologian can understand -  is an attempt to make the Mass more appealing to the “liturgial elite?”  

Here is an interesting post, “Pomp or People,” by Father Dwight Longenecker:

“The big divide in the liturgy wars is not so much, “Which music shall we have and what should a church look like and where should the priest sit and which way shall he face and what should he wear and what chant shall we use?” The big divide is actually about what we think liturgy is all about in the first place. People have said it before. Is the liturgy vertical or horizontal? Is it about God or God’s people? Is it about communion with God or communion with his people?

Fact of the matter is that it is both. Proper worship should be vertical and horizontal. It should be focused on God but for the people. The Eucharist is certainly the holy sacrifice of the Mass, but it is also the family wedding banquet of the people of God. When one vision or version becomes the only one distortion and damage result. So, for example, what happens when the worship becomes all about the people of God? You get round churches, informal liturgies, ‘creativity’ in worship, awful trendy ‘relevant’ music and religion that is reduced to social work.

But what happens when the people are forgotten and all the emphasis is on rubrics and rules and liturgical finesse and ecclesiastical fine-ness? There is a danger that it all turns into a precious religious ceremony for the liturgical elite. I’ve heard of parishes where the music is so fine and the ceremonial so refined and the servers so meticulous and the liturgy so correct that ordinary people are repelled by it all. They are not connoisseurs of brocades and birettas, Lassus and lace; Mozart and maniples, and when the liturgy gets so high and mighty it only makes them feel low and lowly.

Oh yes, I realize that the awesome majesty of God is what we are celebrating. I accept that we must not lower the bar and cater to hoi polloi. I agree that the lowest common denominator is both low and common. Nevertheless, there must be some balance. Those who wish to reform the reform and bring in fine and reverent liturgy must also establish some balance lest they alienate and lose the very people they are trying to bring into a closer and more reverent relationship with God.

While I am shooting at my hunting buddies, I should also say that too often those of us who are interested in fine liturgy, good music and reverent worship are snobs. While it is right to criticize the Haugen Daz school of church music for being smooth and creamy and sweet, and while it is fine to slam teepee churches and polyester vestments and groovy para liturgies it is not fine to criticize the sincere and sweet people who are often doing their best and are guilty of nothing more than being victims of execrable catechesis.

Not only are we too often snobbish, but we can be insufferably self righteous. When I compare two groups of Catholics: the rad trad crowd and the vast hordes of AmChurch ordinary Catholic folks I have to ask what my impression is of them as people. As a priest I get far more negativity, criticism, sour self righteousness, suspicion and downright ugliness from the traddies than the trendies. I also get far more appreciation, respect, good humor, and open positivity from the trendies than the traddies.

So while I’m all for beauty and reverence in worship I don’t want to go to such an extreme that I actually exclude God’s people. By God’s grace I want to lift them up and take them to a higher place, but to do that I have to first go down to meet them, and if I can do that then maybe I’m also doing what Christ did, for “he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but took on the form of a servant…”

Okay, American Catholics, get ready for a synod!  Well…maybe.  At least that’s what the Catholic News Service blog is reporting:

“During a Vatican press conference yesterday presenting the outline of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic told reporters there was talk of having another special assembly for America.

The last synod for America was held in 1997. It included bishops, priests, religious and lay representatives from the northern reaches of North America all the way down to the southern tip of South America.

The decision to hold a special assembly, he said, “depends on the pastoral situation (of the region) and also on the bishops requesting it.”

There has been “talk of a special assembly for America. However, it is an idea that needs fleshing out,” he added.

He said if the bishops and Pope Benedict XVI decide it would be useful for the local churches and for the continent to organize a regional synod, then the Synod of Bishops, which is “at the service of the bishops,” will follow up on it.”

Let me ask you a question.  Has the Catholic Church ever witnessed any great reform as a result of popes convoking a Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops?  Is it just me or are there other Catholics like myself who feel that synodal propositions and documents produced by synod fathers are nothing more than the usual lip service one expects to read from our hierarchy these days – a  lot of nice theological and pastoral fluff written on paper, yet, soon forgotten?

So, why the cynicism?

As a Catholic woman, I feel that I have at least two good reasons to be cynical about synods.  First, it was two years ago that the bishops participating in the Vatican Synod on the Bible overwhelmingly passed Proposition 17, which called for Catholic women to be officially installed as lectors ’so that their role as proclaimers of the word may be recognized in the Christian community.’  The Synod of the Bishops on the Bible was unique in that women were a majority among the official synod ’observers’ for the first time since a synod was first held in 1967.  At any rate, it was up to Pope Benedict XVI as to whether he would approve the motion (The pope has the final word on all such propositions).  And here we are today, two years later, still waiting for the Holy Father to either support or reject the synod fathers’ recommendation.  

Secondly, as you may recall, last October, the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops  passed Proposition 47 - ’Women in Africa,’ in which the Synod Fathers called for the ‘greater integration of women into church structures and decision-making processes’ and ’setting up of commissions on the diocesan and national levels to address women’s issues, to help them better carry out their mission in the church and society.’  I could be wrong, but it seems to me that these are recommendations that African diocesan bishops ought to be able to implement immediately without waiting for the Pope’s approval.  It remains to be seen, however, to what extent will Pope Benedict XVI make sure that Africa’s bishops follow through on these pledges.

Follow these ten steps.

Hmmmm

How much more pain and suffering can a Buffalo Bills fan endure?

I prayed and  lit two small votive candels today for the Hatian people. 

As I knelt quietly in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament inside our small side chapel at 6:30 this morning, I begged Jesus to please, please make sure that the medical,  food and water relief that is pouring into Hati gets to the people before they die of disease and starvation.  I heard on Fox News this morning that the rescue volunteer workers are having a hard time getting relief to the millions of survivors because the roads are blocked by heavy debris.  Here is an excerpt from the Baltimore Sun story:

On an ordinary day, Katie Goldsmith would be monitoring political and security conditions in West Africa from Catholic Relief Services’ Baltimore headquarters.

But on Thursday, with Haitians still waiting for international help in recovering from the earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, Goldsmith was working the phones at the agency, trying to find a port where it could begin landing food, medicine and supplies in the Caribbean nation of 9 million.

“We’ve heard that the commercial port in Port-au-Prince is nonoperable,” Goldsmith said in between calls. “We’re really trying to figure out where we can ship stuff, how we can ship stuff, who’s going to be able to pick up the stuff that we ship, and how?”

It was one of dozens of challenges, large and small, confronting the emergency response veterans at the agency’s West Lexington Street offices, as they shifted focus from accounting for the 300 staff members stationed in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation to figuring out how to begin delivering relief to the millions of Haitians now in need.

I was prepared  to contribute to a second collection for Catholic Relief Services at my parish today:

Responding to the unfathomable devastation in Haiti and in cooperation with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Clark has requested that all parishes and Catholic faith communities in the Diocese of Rochester conduct a second collection this coming weekend (Jan. 16/17) to aid the people of Haiti. The money collected will be sent to the international Catholic Relief Services, which is mounting a tremendous effort to help and already has committed an initial $5 million to relief efforts.

These funds will be used to provide immediate emergency needs for such necessities as water, food, shelter and medical care, as well as to the long term need to rebuild after widespread destruction, and to the pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Church in Haiti.

But it was announced before Mass this morning that the second collection was for the purpose of making up the $16,000.00 shortfall for our diocesan Catholic Ministries Appeal. The second collection for Catholic Relief Services is next Sunday. I may not wait until next Sunday and just donate on the CRS’s website today.  And yes, I did contibute to the second collection today because I think it’s important that our parish is able to make up the shortfall without having to resort to dipping into our savings.  At any rate, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, urged the faithful on his blog last week to pray for the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Pierre Toussaint, who was born in Saint Dominique (now known as Haiti) in 1766 and was brought to New York as a slave:

We are very blessed here in New York to sponsor the cause for canonization of Venerable Pierre Toussaint.   Pierre Toussaint who was born in Haiti in 1766 before being brought to New York as a slave. He eventually became a free man, and would have been a rich man had he not given most of his money away.   Toussaint was known for his tremendous acts of charity and his deep faith.  I hope that many people will join me in saying a special prayer to Venerable Pierre Toussaint asking for his intercession with Our Heavenly Father for the safety, support, and comfort of the people of Haiti at this time. 

 The New York Archdiocese Office of Black Ministry has a brief biography about the life of the Venerable Pierre Toussaint:

Pierre Toussaint was born in Saint Dominique (now known as Haiti) in 1781, to slave parents.  His mother, Ursule Julien Toussaint, was about seventeen or eighteen at the time of his birth.  She was considered a chambermaid to Madame Bérard, the slave mistress.  Pierre’s father, known in history only as “Old Toussaint,” was a field hand.  Pierre was Ursule’s third child.  He grew up and spent his early years, on a plantation known as “L’Artibanite” in the western province or region of Haiti.  At the hands of his family, especially his grandmother Zenobie, and with the influence of the Bérard Family who owned the plantation, Pierre was raised as a devout Catholic.

In 1797, Pierre was brought to New York by the Bérards, who fled Haiti as a result of the slave uprisings there.  As a black man and as a Catholic, Pierre found his new home (New York City) to be a very different and dangerous place.  Slaves were brutalized by their owners, free blacks were beaten in the streets, and anti-Catholic sentiment was rampant.  But Pierre was able to turn these obstacles and challenges into opportunities and made the most of them.  Over the years, he developed in skills and deepened in faith.  Pierre became one of the premiere hairstylists in the city at that time and became very prosperous, all the while maintaining himself as a Man of prayer and generosity.  Pierre was given his freedom in 1807 and married Juliette Toussaint in 1811.  He devoted his life to helping former slaves, supporting the Church, and taking care of the poor and oppressed – in addition to helping to raise funds for the city’s first cathedral, Old St. Patrick’s.

Pierre died in 1853 and in his lifetime he had become one of the most admired of men – slave or free.  People who came in contact with him were so touched by his faith and overwhelming generosity and love toward all, that they knew they were in the presence of “a saint.”  It is exactly because Pierre was such an extraordinary man, who lived such a virtuous life, that the late Terence Cardinal Cooke introduced Pierre’s cause for canonization at the Vatican in 1968, placing him on the road to becoming North America’s first black saint.  In December 1989, the late John Cardinal O’Connor had the remains of Pierre Toussaint transferred from Lower Manhattan to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan where Pierre is entombed as the only lay person, alongside the former Archbishops and Cardinals of New York.  On December 17, 1997, Pope John Paul II declared Pierre Toussaint “Venerable,” as a special recognition of the holy life he lived, and as an important step in the generally long process of the church making a formal declaration of sainthood (i.e. canonization). 

 I had the pleasure of reading the biography, “Pierre Toussaint”, written by NCR editor, Arthur Jones. 

There’s an interesting debate going on right now between those who do and don’t like contemporary Catholic liturgical music since the Second Vatican Council.

Here is the following statement that Michael Sean Winters wrote on America’s blog:

“Much of the music written for the post-conciliar liturgy is unbeautiful and pedestrian in the extreme.”

Bryan Coynes over at U.S. Catholic Magazine pounced at Winter’s remark:

“Seriously? Can we dismiss the efforts of our sisters and brothers so flippanty? I am quite frankly shocked any Catholic would so poorly judge the faith-inspired efforts of so many dedicated Catholics with such an extreme overstatement. Sure, there has been bad music written since Vatican II, and I’m sure everyone has their favorite straw man song. But there was a lot of garbage written well before that, too, it just got consigned to the big a long time ago, and even lyrics that have survived have dubious theological value. (Try the Dies irae.)

What everyone, Winters included, forgets is that music for the “new” liturgy, following the directives of the liturgy constitution, made the “full, conscious, and active participation of the faithful” the first priority. The admittedly beautful music of the baroque period was never meant to be sung by the assembly; it was music for professionals, written for a liturgy done by “professionals.” It’s apples and oranges.

Musicians after Vatican II took on a massive project. Here is what they produced:

Vernacular settings of the psalms for the lectionary and the liturgy of the hours, bringing the psalter to the faithful to an extent not seen since the patristic age

Setting after setting of service music (Kyrie, alleluia, Holy, memorial acclamation, great amen, lamb of God) that can easily be sung by any assembly

Hymns inspired by scripture, sometimes taken directly from scripture, again bringing scripture to the faithful in a new way

Inspired and creative music in multiiple languages, which allows multilingual assemblies to sing the same songs

Accessible music that untrained choirs and assemblies can sing well and beautifully

So stop picking on the musicians.” 

Yes, Brian. There were poorly written hymns prior to Vatican II.  I can think of four old hymns that we use to sing at Mass every Sunday morning during the 1960’s (1966 – 1968 ) that I absolutely hated: “Faith of Our Fathers,” “Holy God We Praise Thy Name,”  ”Come Holy Ghost,” and “Holy, Holy, Holy.” YUCK!  I will make sure that my family never sing these hymns at my funeral Mass.

Nagging health problems and a busy work schedule have kept me from blogging every day.  Now that my life is somewhat normal again, I thought I would post the results of my three (now closed) polls for 2009. 

Poll #1- Do you agree that U.S. Catholics should pay for the Apostolic Visitation?

Results:  35 voters: 40% voted yes and 60% voted no.

Poll #2 – Did You Contribute To The Catholic Campaign for Human Development at Mass This Weekend?

Results: 11 voters: 9% voted yes and 91% voted no

Poll #3 – Do We Need A Third Vatican Council?

Results: 27 voters: 22% voted yes and 78% voted no