First Holy Communion Season - a.k.a. Silly Season

All over Ireland during the month of May in parish after parish it is First Holy Communion time. And what a time it is. I have to be honest and say that I dread it each year. Each year I spend hours upon hours with the children of the school I am chaplain to in an effort to instill in them a love for and an awareness of Jesus in the Eucharist and the great thing that is the Mass.

Unfortunately the Sunday Mass practice rate among these young children is less 10% and there are a number of them who have rarely (if ever) been at Sunday Mass. So I often feel like I am speaking to them in a completely foreign language, sinc ehte subject matter is so very foriegn to them. But we as a Church in Ireland dare not say: "Okay your parents obviously don't consider the faith important enough to introduce you to the most basic elements of our faith - so we'll leave off First Holy Communion until later." No - it's very much a free for all.

I know some might quote me the Lord saying: "Let the little children come to me." And that is something I dwell quite alot on - but I'm more and more convinced that the Church in Ireland is more than willing to demean her Sacraments to make it convenient as possible for people to partake without even the bare minimum of commitment. That seems to be a pattern right across the board - how can we facilitate you Sir/Madam - Rule: Let's not get caught up in Rules - your wish is my command. I often get the impression from some of my brother priests - a minority I think/hope - that it's more about backsides on seats than about drawing people to sainthood.

Every year quite a number non-Catholic Christian parents ask our parish if their child can be baptised (again!!) as Catholic (only for the day you understand) so that they can make their First Communion with their classmates. I fear in some parishes some priests might be saying yes!

In my few experiences of First Holy Communion day in the parish I have seen too much of the outward trappings of the day and very little of the real meaning of this great day in the lives of the children. It seems to be about the money, the hair, the clothes, the performance (readings, prayers, songs, poems, the photos (so much about the photos), the celebration afterwards; and so very little about that awesome encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist. It is indeed wonderful to find a child (and family) that have their priorities right - who take their child to Mass every Sunday (before and after First Holy Communion)and who make the day centre around the celebration of Mass. Those families are rare enough it seems.

And it is sad to say that it is at First Holy Communion in the Parish that I encounter the most disrespect and downright obsenity at Mass. The Church is treated like it was a bingo hall, and some people - and I mean ladies - are dressed in ways that are less than lady like. I was severly tempted to say to one lady at our recent First Communion Mass that she was in the wrong building - that the local swimming pool was at the other side of town.

At the end of this rant (I seem to be doing alot of that lately) I have to say that the children are like sponges when it comes to the things of God since for many of them their parents have utterly failed to introduce them to Jesus Christ in any meaningful way. They are so open to the Gospel and to the things of God. And none of them have made a decision against going to Mass. It just doesn't appear on the horizon of priorities in many families. As one young child in the First Communion Class said to me: I asked my parents to bring me to Mass - but they said no! It might sound harsh, but one wonders how their judgment will go - since they take their vocation as parents so lightly and are doing precisely what the Lord warned should not happen - that the little ones be kept from him.

Lord - come soon! Maranatha!

But wait!!!!

The Archbishop of Dublin makes a good point - one that he will hopefully follow through on:

"We need a more demanding catechesis, within a parish framework, for those who wish to come forward for admission to the sacraments. Admission to the sacraments is not something which is automatically acquired when one reaches a certain class in school. "

The New Missal Translation is on the way!!!

News out today that the new missal translation for the english-speaking world has received the required 'recognitio' from Rome. Soon (hopefully not much more than a year) we will have a truly accurate, faithful and more obviously scriptural text with which to praise and worship the Lord at Mass in thevernacular of the Ordinary Form.

The Holy Father noted in his address to the Vox Clara commission - (an advisory body which has overseen the new translation - Bishop Philip Boyce being the Irish Episcopal Representative on it) that:

"I welcome the news that the English translation of the Roman Missal will soon be ready for publication, so that the texts you have worked so hard to prepare may be proclaimed in the liturgy that is celebrated across the anglophone world. Through these sacred texts and the actions that accompany them, Christ will be made present and active in the midst of his people."

He further noted: "A new task will then present itself, one which falls outside the direct competence of Vox Clara, but which in one way or another will involve all of you – the task of preparing for the reception of the new translation by clergy and lay faithful. Many will find it hard to adjust to unfamiliar texts after nearly forty years of continuous use of the previous translation. The change will need to be introduced with due sensitivity, and the opportunity for catechesis that it presents will need to be firmly grasped. I pray that in this way any risk of confusion or bewilderment will be averted, and the change will serve instead as a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of Eucharistic devotion all over the English-speaking world."

The entire address can be found HERE.

I have to say that I am delighted with this news and can't wait to use this new text in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice. The translation may not be to everyone's liking, but surely it will be better than the banal and uninspiring translation we currently use.

The Power of Christ's Precious Blood

Below is the text of today's Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours. It is a commentary by St. John Fisher on the Penitential Psalms:


Christ Jesus is our bishop, his most precious body is our sacrifice, which he offered upon a cross for the redemption of all the world. The blood shed for our redemption was not the blood of goats or calves as in the old law; it was the very blood most innocent of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

The temple wherein our bishop did sacrifice was not made by man’s hand but only by the power of God, he shed his precious blood for our redemption in the face of all the world, which is the temple made only by the hand of God. This temple has two divers parts, one is the earth whereon we live, the other is not yet known to us mortal creatures.

First he did sacrifice in the earth when he suffered his passion. After, in a new clothing or garment, the vesture of immortality, and with his own precious blood he entered into sanctum sanctorum [the Holy of Holies] that is to say into heaven when he showed his most precious blood before the Throne of his Father which he shed for all sinners 7 times.

By this Holy Sacrifice Almighty God must needs have pity and execute his mercy to all true penitents and this sacrifice shall continue not only year by year as the manner was of the Jews, but also it is daily offered for our comfort, and every hour and moment for our most strong succour, wherefore Saint Paul says: Having obtained eternal redemption.

By it we are redeemed forever. Every contrite and true penitent person not willing to fall again but with a full purpose to continue in virtuous living is a partaker of this Holy Sacrifice. As saint John shows in his first epistle: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Holy Mass in 155 AD

Sound familiar to you?

A Rant on 'Children's Liturgies'

About a year ago I was asked at short notice to cover the Sunday Mass in a certain parish. (Being a smaller parish there was only one Mass) I duly obliged and arrived in good time to prepare the Mass - not knowing what the set up was at that parish. As soon as I arrived I was told by the sacristan that the Mass had a children's liturgy dimension incorporated into it. Immediately my heresy/litrugical abuse radar switched on and began to imagine what such children's 'participation' might entail.

.

Cautiously I enquired as to what format this participation would take - only to be told that at the beginning of Mass the children would leave the Church and go to an adjoining room for some catechetical activity with a number of adults. I was suitably not impressed. I thought to myself: "How unlucky that I should have to cover this parish on this particular Sunday'. Further enquiry revealed that this happens every Sunday.

.

So as I walked out on the Sanctuary and spoke the opening greeting. Then - 'extra omnes' under 8 years - and the Mass continued. I waited for the children's return - but to no avail. I thought after the homily surely - no! Maybe at the offertory they would come bearing gifts - no! Surely in time for the Consecration - but no, still no sign of these to whom the Kingdom is promised. Finally just after the purification of the Sacred Vessels and just before the Concluding Prayer of the Mass - a small crowd of children began to gather at the back of the Church - holding in thier hands various little drawings. And so the procession began and I was presented with a blaze of colouring amidst the smiling admiration of so many contented parents. And what must have appeared to be a broad smile on my face was actually gritted teeth!

.

Every Sunday these children are extracted from the public worship of the Church to do catechesis. Now catechesis is a wonderful thing - indispensible - but these children don't get to attend Mass. As for the adults who give of their time for this catechesis - well that is to be commended, and one hopes that they attend another Mass, because they certainly haven't attended this one.

.

As you may guess by now - I am not a fan of 'children's liturgies'. While I have no problem adapting the Mass suitably to a lower level of comprehension for the children (though I avoid the Eucharistic Prayers for Children like the plague) by addressing them in the homily and acknowledging their presence and activity (catechetical work and art done outside of the Mass), I am a firm believer in giving the children a lived experience of liturgy in the family of the Church - something which children's liturgies sacrifice for the sake of ???? (I'm not sure of the purpose actually - babysitting??).

.

And when those children reach the age of 9 or 10 or 13 and it's no longer 'cool' to colour some pictures of Jesus the Good Shepherd, will they have an experience of the Mass which will keep them interested, engaged and present. Will they have been given the chance to participate in the Holy Sacrifice fully, consciously, and actively in the truest meaning of that term - i.e. by prayerful engagement with the Sacred Liturgy as best as a child can do that. If Mass is presented to them as something fun and entertaining for so many years and they don't actually get to experience it properly - what happens when they reach an age when it's no longer fun, no longer entertaining? What will hold them then?

.

I left that Parish that morning with the words of Our Saviour ringing in my ears: "Let the little children come to me." How sad that in too many parishes they are kept at bay during one of the most priviledged and profound encounters with Christ any of us can have this side of the grave.

End of Rant

The Mass is ended - where to from here?

Mark Shea has this wonderful little piece explaining more fully the final dismissal of the Mass - Ite Missa Est! He explains how a poor translation of this latin phrase has led us to lose sight of its forceful admonition to proclaim Christ and his Gospel in our daily lives.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - Irish Style!

The Irish Independent national newspaper has a front page caption today of a priest who is offering his parishioners a "quickie" Mass during Lent which he guarantess will take no longer than 15 minutes.
.
Fr. Michael Kenny of Kilconly parish in Co. Galway has introduced these 15 minute Masses to better facilitate his parishioners and their busy lives. Normally the Mass would be at 9am but that time proved to be inconvenient for many who had work and school to attend. And so he now offers the Mass at 7.30am for the duration of Lent.
(For those of you who are not Irish - it's important to understand that places in Ireland, like school and workplace, open soemwhat later than in many other countries.)

.

The move has seen a 10 fold increase in those attending daily Mass for Lent (30-40 instead of 3-4). Fr. Kenny says: "Now, more and more people are coming along to the Mass at 7.30am as they know they can be on their way to work or school 15 or 20 minutes later and it is far more suitable."

.

The paper (not the online edition) carries a breakdown of the 15 minute Mass and seems to join the parishioners (at least those who were interviewed) in their admiration for the Lenten Fast Mass. The "15 Minute Service", as the paper calls it, goes as follows:

.

7.30am (Sharp) Mass begins with the Entrance Antiphon

7.31am Opening Prayer

7.32am First Reading

7.35am Responsorial Psalm

7.37am Gospel

7.39am Communion. Lay Minister of the Eucharist speeds up the distribution of communion.

7.44am Prayer after Communion.

7.45am Fr. Michael wishes the congregation a happy day. Mass over and congregation disperse.

.

Now there are a number of problems with this timescale - not least how it is possible to pray the entire Eucharistic Prayer (even Eucharistic Prayer II) and the entire Communion Rite in 2 minutes - between 7.37am and 7.39. That seems to be an impossible feat. Perhaps I have misunderstood or perhaps the reporter mistook a Liturgy of the Word with distribution of Holy Communion for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. But Fr. Kenny assured the reportere that he wasn't "leaving anything out" of the Mass. It just doesn't seem possible to do it all in 15 minutes.

.

Quite apart from the fact that, with 40 people in the congregation, an Extra-Ordinary Minister of Holy Communion (in my experiencethe correct terminology is still almost unknown in the Irish Church) seems to be illicit; how can it take them from 7.39am to 7.44am to distribute Communion - unless of course Fr. Michael is very particular about the way he purifies the Sacred Vessels afterwards.

.

This story just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. First we had 'A La Carte' Catholicism, then 'Cafeteria' Catholicsim and now Convenience Catholicism.

.

One last sound bite from Fr. Kenny: "We are here to facilitate the congregation and if there are any further increases in numbers attending, then the more the merrier."

.

Respectfully I would disagree with Fr. Kenny on this point (among others). We priests are here to facilitate an encounter between God and his people, to facilitate the lifting of hearts and minds to the Lord in worship that is beautiful and edifying - both for the priest and the people. We priests are here to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as prayerfully and as lovingly as we possibly can. Fr. Kenny may well be able to do all that in his 15 minute Mass - if so then fair play to him. I couldn't do it in that time and still feel that I have given my parishioners a draft of the spiritual treasures that are in the Mass.

.

And one final thought: One of the parishioners interviewed expressed the hope that the cause of the 15 minute Mass would be taken up in other parishes. I pray sincerely that this does not happen.

.

From Sacrosanctum Concilium #7 & #10:

Every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree...

.

Pastors of souls must therefore realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects.

The Offering of Bread and Wine

Zenit has this scholarly article on the Offertory of the Mass, written by a porfessor of mine, Juan José Silvestre Valór, who teaches in the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce) in Rome. Here is just a small quotation from a much longer piece:

.

"The bread and wine become, in a certain sense, the symbol of all that that the eucharistic assembly as such brings in offering to God and that it offers in spirit. This is the force and the spiritual meaning of the presentation of the gifts. In this light we understand the incensing of the gifts on the altar, of the cross and the altar itself, which signifies the offering of the Church and her prayer, which ascend like incense into the presence of God".

.

One particular practice that is widespread in the Church in Ireland is an offertory procession (usually during a Requiem Mass for a deceased person) in which anything and everything connected to the person is brought to the altar in procession along with the Bread and Wine - sometimes with, sometimes without a commentary. It's something I strongly disapprove of, though often when I con-celebrate at a funeral it inevitably happens. I've seen lots of different things in my time that have made their way to the altar: curling tongs, toys cars, paintings, reading glasses - and the list goes on...! Never have I seen a bible being brought forward or a Rosary Bead, nor anything that points to the person having lived their faith. Oh for the noble simplicity of the Mass according to the mind of the Church!!!!

.

But even if these things were acceptable for the offertory procession, they aren't really offered at all - since the family always takes these things back again after the Mass. So they aren;t really offered - more like given on loan and have absolutely nothing to do with the offertory and presentation of the bread and wine.

End of rant!

.

For an excellent explanation of the elements of bread and wine which are used for the Eucharist this Homily by Pope Benedict XVI on Corpus Christi 2006 is well worth meditating upon.