Why don’t we just wait? Well, I don’t know…
First of all, sorry for my lack of thought provoking ideas. I call this tax season for musicians. Beginning on December 25th, I hibernate. Maybe in my next post, we can discuss the merits of not having a Christmas Day service. Working for the Protestant Church, I will be hibernating as soon as Colleen and I are finished attending Mass. (I can’t bring myself to attend one of those “Childrens’ Masses” that are in the afternoon on the 24th just so I can sleep in)
A friend of mine sent me this article regarding the new Roman Missal text called “Why Don’t We Just Wait?” It is published by America magazine which is Jesuit, so know that going in. I don’t post it as my opinion, I just post it for thought.
http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=12045
My opinion is admittedly convoluted. As a practicing Catholic, I feel as though I should trust the Holy Spirit who guides the leadership of the Church. I mean if I don’t, am I really Catholic? On top of that there are liturgical scholars much smarter than me. I’m an organ grinder, which is something you see monkeys doing in cartoons. I consider myself only one small step above that.
As an American Catholic however, is there really wisdom to the new changes, and has it passed enough tests to really be implementable? Plus I was always taught true faith questions. Maybe I was taught wrong?
As a music minister, anything that does not foster congregational participation is just unfortunate. We worked so hard in this religion to help our parishioners become active members in Liturgy, and I’m afraid this may undermine it. Whether it will undermine it in the short term or the long term, I’m not wise enough to even venture a guess. This is an important question in my mind. If it is a short dose of medicine that will truly help prayerful participation then who am I to stand in its way? However, if it will be a long term pain that is being implemented out of ideal, reaction, and with the participation of the congregation as one of the last priorities, then I cannot in good conscience say it is a good idea. Otherwise, I compromise what I believe in as someone who has worked really hard to foster participation.
If it makes you feel any better, I have trouble picking between deomocrats and republicans also. Your thoughts?
The current Missal is so poorly translated that I look forward to the next version. That being said, much of the new translation appears stilted in English, so I hope this inspires another English translation that can be faithful to the Latin as well as bring out some of the native genius of English.
For those parents of small children who celebrate the Vigil Mass of Christmas, a sleep in is the last thing they get.