David Ancell / Saturday July 05, 2003
You may remember the post about Catholic Update over a week ago. Well, I just went to Mass at my home parish, and included with the bulletin was, you guessed it, this Catholic Update on the GIRM. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the last one I blogged about, but it does have its weaknesses.
For one thing, it still insists that the Mass is the action of the whole assembly. Did it ever occur to this author, who is a priest, that the Mass can be celebrated without a congregation? The author places the changed in the context of the perspectives of different committees rather than a tightening up that is occurring because of abuses that have taken place. However, the biggest weakness is the following:
The General Instruction also encourages silence before Mass begins, which may seem at odds with the need to foster hospitality at worship and to connect with those who are assembling to worship together. Both values can be preserved if hospitality is encouraged as people gather, with a few moments set aside before the opening hymn during which people are invited to enter into reflection as the liturgy begins.
Uh . . . . NO!! When you enter the Church, you are to be silent so that you don’t disturb the prayers of others and so you show proper respect to Our Lord. This way, you are hospitable in a way that is proper to the place that you are in. Just as it would seem really strange to go over to a friend’s house and find that everyone is silent, it is also strange to be having conversations with each other when you are in God’s house, a house of prayer. It absolutely does not suffice to have a few moments of silence right before Mass.
As stated before, this isn’t nearly as bad as the heretical teaching on the Eucharist. However, it is in places misleading and still tends towards a more sociological approach to the Mass. Nowhere does it mention that the Mass is a sacrifice.
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