Pastor's page: Epiphany
“Liturgy - the prayer of the whole church”
– adapted from Liturgy Magazine

Do you have in your imagination a vision of beautiful, prayerful liturgy being celebrated?
Perhaps it was a Christmas Mass or Holy Thursday night or an Easter Vigil or Thanksgiving Day Mass.
Almost all of us have had the experience of a liturgy well celebrated. It seems to me that these mountaintop experiences, where all who celebrate are of one mind and one heart, must be treasured.

Prayerful, uplifting celebrations of Mass have these ingredients: The people assembled:
1 - Listen so attentively at the altar of the Word of God that even their children stop and listen.

These people are listening to the truth about God’s love, and they are listening for that truth. They are fully engaged in the work of attentive listening: like travelers waiting for the announcement that they're delayed flight is ready for boarding. They listen as if God is speaking-as if Jesus is speaking in the gospel-and they are waiting for their own name to be called.

2 - These believers pray fervently not only for their own salvation but for the salvation of the world. Their prayers are one with the chanted and spoken prayers of their priest: the one chosen from among them to speak their common prayer aloud. They're singing of their prayer is full-bodied, and the voice of the community fills the holy place. And when they are silent, it is a pregnant silence, filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit.
3 - At that mountaintop liturgy experience, the people of God are comfortable. Comfortable with one another and in the presence of the Lord. Their faces radiate their joy.
4 - Whenever we gather for Mass, we need to have readily available in our imaginations, the beauty of a well celebrated liturgy. The second Vatican Council calls us to full, active, conscious, participation by everyone. Such prayer is an experience of heaven on earth. The beauty of good liturgy is not only dependent on the priest and the ministers; not even on the quality of the music.
While it's true that the ability of the priest to preside over the people’s prayer and the music ministers ability to lead, support, and enhance everyone's sung prayer does make a difference. But it's not the priest or the music that makes the most difference.
What makes the most difference are the people, the people around us, whether or not we and they are participating in the prayer of the moment, participating with our whole hearts and minds and voices. What draws them, or what draws you into this kind of full, conscious, and active participation?

Obstacles to good liturgy:
1 - Absence. Not only physical absence of course, but also emotional distance. Sometimes we are just not prepared. We may be distracted by care and anxiety.
With need the proper mindset, and it takes discipline and effort to gain that contemplative presence that makes good liturgy possible. Sometimes kids say: ‘I don’t want to go to Mass. It’s boring’.

An answer: Maybe you’re boring! If we do not work at praying the Mass, singing the songs, and listening to God’s Word….it will be boring.
Imagine that it's Grandma's 90th birthday party. Fifty or more people: children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, are gathered together. The cake is brought out, and the candles are blazing. Someone begins: "Happy birthday to you..." And...nothing. A few people tentatively join in and the teenagers look embarrassed and nudge each other, rolling their eyes. The kids keep playing with their Game Boys; the men turn down the sound on the football game, but they continue to watch the screen. The one who started the song brings it to a limping conclusion, while
wishing to be anyplace but there.

Just that kind of flatness does happen at the Sunday liturgy when there are too many who aren't fully there, absent - not physically, but in other ways.

(continued in next week’s Bulletin)

Merry Christmas to all!

Peace and love,
Father Bruce