2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Pastor's page: “Liturgy - the prayer of the whole church” (Part 3)
– adapted from Liturgy Magazine

How do we foster an attitude of full and active presence among ordinary people in an ordinary congregation?
A better question - How can I, as a minister of worship in my parish, attract my congregation to the vision of a fully participating, fervently praying body of Christians whose work together in prayer is for no less a purpose than to make Christ present in this world?

Part of the answer is to earn the trust of the people of God. No one will be led in prayer by a priest or deacon
or minister that they don't trust. Part of the answer is to convince folks of what is at stake: what the liturgy is for,
what their part is in accomplishing its purpose, and how essential they are to accomplishing liturgy's goal.
But in Sunday masses across the country, it often happens that people don't join in the song, because people
don't really get what the song in the liturgy is about, or what their role in it really is. Can you hear in your imagination hundreds of people singing, “Amazing Grace” with full throated gusto? It is a sound not heard often enough in our parishes. Sometimes even the spoken responses are anemic; even the community’s "and also with you" is not too enthusiastic. Those sitting near the front of the church tend to participate more actively in prayer, but even there, there are some who seem to be praying privately and not communally. Parents may be fooling with their kids, and other individuals talking to each other, sighing, yawning, fidgeting, and even combing their hair!
It is true that there are some days when we are just tired, or preoccupied, and we rely on the rest of the community to carry us along on their prayers. But it is hard to imagine that most of the people in the church are in that condition on a given Sunday!

We have in our hearts and imaginations a vision of the church in which liturgy is the responsibility, the duty, and the joy of all who gather for worship. Our Catholic faith teaches us that each believer’s participation in the great prayer of the mass belongs to the whole church and is absolutely essential to bringing about the end of war, the work of justice, the healing of the sick, the conversion of sinners, the making of Christ present in the world, and our communion with the God who made us. There is a strong link between liturgy and social justice.

Every time we gather at the Lord's table, we acknowledge our solidarity with the poor of the world. We make a radical statement that this world's present socioeconomic order is doomed. It will be replaced by God's reign, where God's agenda is the human agenda.

All of us are concerned about young people and what the Catholic Church will look like decades from now. The passing on of the faith belongs primarily to parents who are the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith. Every good Catholic parent desires with great fervor that their children come to know Jesus and to love the church.
But what does the experience of Sunday Mass offer our children? While it is true that an engaging priest, a gifted musician, or creative youth minister or family mass director, can draw our children into worship. It is even more true that an active and fully engaged congregation can do that far better. Those of us who are in Ministry understand that our roles are for the sole purpose of facilitating the full and active participation of the entire congregation.
Our job is to lead a congregation into full throated, heartfelt praise, thanksgiving, and petition for the salvation of the world.
An entire congregation that picks up the hymnal and sings the songs resoundingly is a religious experience that we will pass on to our children. That liturgy will be inspiring, important, and engaging - an experience of heaven on earth!



Peace,
Father Bruce