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Father Dwight Longenecker has published a book just in time for Lent called The Gargoyle Code. It\’s a modern riff on CS Lewis\’s masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters. Like Lewis, Fr. Longenecker \”transmits\” a series of letters from an experienced tempter to a young apprentice trying to win possession of a young soul. There are some stylistic differences, including some digressions into behind-the-scenes political machinations in hell. The book is also more focused on particularly Catholic issues, as the man the apprentice is tempting is a young Catholic man. In this case, the older tempter – Slubgrip – is also handling an older, traditional Catholic.
Slubgrip describes his attempts to goad the traditional Catholic into focusing solely on the form of worship. The traditional Catholic is often peeved at perceived (and often real) liturgical violations, and thus his worship at Mass is often distracted and less than full. This is clearly Fr. Longenecker\’s way of discussing a very real problem that many of us face, and that\’s our temptation to be critics at Mass. Even those of us who are fortunate enough to attend reverent and highly orthodox Masses every week can become obsessed over every little annoyance, whether it be the Mass goers who hold hands during the Our Father, or the Priest who feels the need to deliver three homilies (I think you know what I mean by this), or a clunky hymn sung by a contemporary choir, or some other little annoyance that focuses our attention away from the Mass.
To be sure, Fr. Longenecker is not uncritical of poorly celebrated liturgy. He gets his distaste for the hokier elements within the Church across fairly clearly as well.
This is one of the more frustrating aspects of Catholicism today. Certainly we need to make an effort to clear our minds as much as we can of all the uncharitable thoughts that distract us during Mass. At the same time, isn\’t it an indictment of how the liturgy is celebrated in many parts of our country and the world that this is even an issue?
I\’m only in my mid-30s, and so therefore grew up well after the advent of the Novus Ordo Mass. I\’m sure that the pre- Novus Ordo Mass was not free of any problems, nor am I advocating the abandonment of the Novus Ordo. This issue goes well beyond that. Whether we\’re talking about the Novus Ordo or the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, those responsible for the liturgy, including Priests, Deacons, liturgists, liturgical committees, choir directors, et al. should be particularly mindful that they aren\’t planning just some light entertainment for a Sunday morning. In fact, entertainment shouldn\’t even be on their minds, even if it appears that for some the Mass is an opportunity to fulfill one\’s secret dreams to become a night club act.
We all believe in personal responsibility (I hope), and the individual is ultimately answerable for their own behavior. A woman wearing a particularly revealing outfit at Mass doesn\’t make the man any less culpable for entertaining lustful thoughts. Yet we also believe that we should not cause scandal. Well, the liturgist who thinks it would be just dandy for a pair of prancing ninnies to offer an interpretive dance during the Offertory is guilty of causing scandal. So is the Priest who decides to use his own words when consecrating the Eucharist, and so is the Director of Music who sees the Mass as a sort of glorified Gilbert and Sullivan musical. All of these individuals are detracting from the celebration of the source and summit of Christian life, and by doing so they are in one way or the other causing Church-goers to lose focus on worship.
It shouldn\’t take extra work to focus on the liturgy, yet persons in positions of great responsibility are constantly throwing stumbling blocks in our way. This isn\’t right. So while Fr. Longenecker is correct in chastising us for our pharisaic tendencies, that does not excuse the behavior of those whose job it is to minister to our souls.
There needs to be a continued focus on the reform of the Mass. I believe that this goes hand-in-hand with the New Evangelization, as a Mass reverently and solemnly celebrated draws us in. I honestly don\’t know who the person is that comes to Mass, sees some woman dancing around the altar to something that sounds like Enya, and thinks \”I need to be a part of this.\” I\’m not foolish enough to suggest that all of our problems are related to the liturgy, nor that once we get back to a proper form of liturgical reverence that suddenly every parish will be filled to the brim with observant, orthodox Catholics. But it\’s a start.
© 2013. Paul Zummo. All Rights Reserved.
10 thoughts on “The Mass Should Not be a Near Occasion for Sin”
One question I have is, what do you do about liturgical abuses?
I mean, you’ve done a very good job of shifting “blame” – i.e. “no need to fix liturgical abuses, because you shouldn’t be distracted by them – if you are, it’s your fault.”
“A woman wearing a particularly revealing outfit at Mass doesn’t make the man any less culpable for entertaining lustful thoughts.”
Maybe. Revealing clothing is more likely to put him into an occasion of sin (it accelerates the arousal process).
While it is true that there are two “camps” regarding the Mass and sometimes they do insult each other, it is also true that when we speak of the way to approach the Novus Ordo I usually read advice on ways to concentrate on the Eucharist without being distracted by other aspects of the Mass.
Are these distractions planned in order to test our holiness?
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As a revert to the Catholic faith after 31 years as an evangelical Protestant I worshiped with a faulty and heretical liturgy for most of my life in Protestant services. Now as a Catholic, I have the chance to receive the body and blood of our Lord as he has always intended. I need to remember that when I look at the music, or the people or critique the homily. Who am I to now be a “Liturgical Policeman” when I spent so many years going to services with a too loud rock band, pastors who were more like entertainers and receiving crackers and grape juice once a month? So many of us converts and reverts become “experts” on liturgy as Catholics though we spent years and years in services that barely resembled anything that Saint Justin Martyr described as early Christian worship. I will happily accept the bad music, the liturgical abuses, etc for the chance to have the Body and Blood of Christ at each and every mass. Thank you God for helping me come back to the Catholic faith.
Thank you, Russ. Yes,always Keep The Main Thing the Main Thing, the “Main Thing” being Christ , body blood soul divinity
Thanks for a very balanced perspective. While there may be room for improvement on both sides, I think the attitude of charity can go a long way in finding inner peace during Mass. The assumption should always be that the priest, music minister, Eucharistic ministers, etc. all have the best intentions that their liturgical contributions will enhance the worship experience. Giving them the benefit of the doubt is a loving and humble act. Also consider God’s charitable attitude toward all of his creation. Each of us was made in His image with a unique assortment of gifts and talents. God knows the human heart and I think He takes delight in accepting a wide variety of worship (within the framework of the Mass) as long as it is sincerely offered. But the Eucharist is the main focus of the Mass, the rest is ancillary.
I like the tone and the drift of what you’re saying.
In hopes of giving practical advice on what we can do to rectify rather than bemoan the abuses, and to participate fully and attentively in the liturgy, I would suggest that on Sunday mornings we should wake up early and look up the Mass readings for the day. Read them through, and ask what these readings convey. You might ask how these three readings are linked together on this particular day. Often, the readings are meant to illuminate one another. Rather, the New Testament should illuminate and complete the meaning of the Old Testament reading. And the Epistle often elaborates on the virtues or moral or theological principles involved.
Then, when you come to Mass, listen carefully to the words of the collect (just before the first reading), the prayers of the faithful (after the Gospel), and the preface (just before the Eucharistic prayer). Often, these prayers were chosen for just this day or this liturgical season. Why were they chosen? How do they illuminate the rest of the Mass, on this day, with these readings?
Now you are listening actively. What the priest will teach? If you get really brave, you can talk to your spouse or a friend about the readings and all of the prayers before mass, and see if they have any insights. Or if you’re super brave, get your kids to take part in finding the deep connections on the way to Mass.
With so much going on, and your attention now given to more worthy objects, you will have plenty to be thankful for.
Sadly, after fighting the liturgy wars at several parishes, some with the most egregious Protestant abuses, I now have minimalist hope: that the priest will say the words of consecration correctly so that I can indeed receive Our Lord. My new wisdom: you cannot win the liturgy wars because you are not the pastor. If the pastor refuses to follow Church rubrics and refuses to obey his bishop [assuming you have alerted the bishop and the bishop has told the priest to shape up], you will not win the liturgy war until the pastor either leaves the parish, the priesthood, or both. Additional new wisdom: the devil loves it when you go to Mass and pay attention to the abuses perpetrated by the “presiding emcee” and the other entertainers (choir etc), rather than concentrating on worshipping God. Guy McClung Rockport TX
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