Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, made some very important and powerful statements about the way in which Mass should and shouldn't be celebrated. It isn't as long as it seems... PLEASE, PLEASE read this... (My emphasis and comments):
The Cardinal expressed sadness over the fact that often, the Mass is “reduced to a mere banquet, a celebration of the community,” instead of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. He noted that “Worship becomes perverted when we have a celebration in which the community celebrates itself.” [This isn't a "feast" or celebration of us, it is the actual 'once for all' sacrifice that we, through the grace of God, participate IN.]
The prelate added that the primary focus of the Mass should be God....~~~...
Cardinal Canizares also underscored the centrality of the sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist, saying that oftentimes, the Mass is “reduced to a mere banquet, a celebration of the community, a commemoration, but not the very sacrifice of Christ who gives himself up for us on the Cross.” [It isn't simply a COMMEMORATION. It isn't a community celebration. It is the VERY SACRIFICE OF GOD... continual, but once for all.]
“Without this we can understand nothing about the Eucharist and we celebrate nothing more than ourselves,” he said. [In other words: if we as parishes - the Body of Christ - don't celebrate Mass in this way... we are simply celebrating ourselves. How would you answer the question: "Explain, specifically, how the WAY IN WHICH your parish celebrates the Mass, is focused on God?"]
“We have become secularized and convinced that everything has been the result of our own creativity,” [Read: Modernism in: Music, Dress, Church Design, Lack of Sacred Objects, the Abrogation of Incense, Bells, Chant, Statutes, Stain Glass, etc...] the prelate remarked. However, what truly matters is that “we recognize the mystery, that the mystery be celebrated. We must remember God’s right. God tells us how the mystery, how the celebration should be carried out.” [AMEN! But do we listen...]
After underscoring the spirit of renewal proposed by Vatican II, Cardinal Canizares noted that the council fathers placed a priority on liturgical renewal because “we cannot understand (the Vatican II document) Gaudium et Spes if our understanding is not based on the foundation for everything: the Eucharist.”
“There will not be a Gaudium et Spes Church if it is not a Sacrosantum Concilium Church,” he added. For this reason, the Pope has a great interest in the liturgy. For this reason, when renewal is understood merely in terms of changes to the rite, we do not understand anything that the Holy Father is telling us,” he added. [What he is saying is that renewal is not just about actions... it is about mindset. If we change the actions, and the mindset changes, a la moving away from a focus on God, we have lost the purpose of the renewal.]
“Renewal does not mean a different puppet show every day,” the cardinal underscored. [This is HUGELY IMPORTANT: As a Cardinal, he supports Holy Mother Church, Vatican II, and the teachings of the Faith. That does not mean that he supports what we necessarily HAVE in the Church, i.e. a "different puppet show every day."] “It means making it possible to celebrate the mystery of faith that occurs. This renewal must express the entire reality of the mystery. Worship becomes perverted when we have a celebration in which the community celebrates itself. The principle should be that God occupies the central place.”
The Spanish prelate noted that in Communion, it is not we who assimilate Christ, “but rather He who assimilates us unto himself,” and consequently we are pulled out of our individuality. “Thus the Eucharist takes on a social nature.” [NB: This relates to my former posts about kneeling. While some argue that standing after Communion allows us to be united with our brothers and sisters, it seems the Cardinal is saying that WE do nothing to assimilate Christ. That our individuality does not and should not matter. Instead, the Eucharist itself is takes on a social nature outside of anything that we can do.]
“To celebrate the Eucharist is to bring about the renewal of society,” he said. “For this reason, renewing the sense of the Eucharist is what guarantees a future for the Church. This is the true danger for a humanity that does not acknowledge God.”
Source: CNA
I think this is very important article. This is why I have a problem with TEEN Masses, Children's Masses, and other "Production Style" Masses. It isn't that I don't think that configuring the Mass to be better understood by certain groups within a community is an appropriate goal, I think what happens is that the focus becomes THE GROUP, instead of GOD. The Mass needs not be relevant to anyone but GOD. Some may argue, "But how do we get them to understand and appreciate the Mass?" Not by turning it into a "puppet show," both figuratively and literally. Instead, we must expose them to the Truth, the teachings of the Church.
We must also examine how we as lay faithful, and even the clergy, prepare our hearts and minds for Mass. We must attend Mass and worship at Mass with the right mindset. We must also construct our Masses in a which celebrates the MYSTERY of the EUCHARIST in a God-centric way. We must restore the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels of the faith, in an authentic way, that is centered on God and not ourselves. This is why I don't clap during a Mass... because then we are only celebrating ourselves; applause is a gesture of the celebration of Man, God doesn't require applause, he requires worship and devotion.
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