Fully conscious, active participation

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Today I would like to reflect a little more on the development of liturgy following the Second Vatican Council. In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (“Sacrosanctum Concilium“), the Council called for the laity to have “fully conscious, and active participation” in the liturgical celebration.

Participation

As someone who grew in the post-concilliar Church, I have often felt that there was an attempt to respond to this call of the Council by simply giving the laity as many jobs as possible. Tasks previously performed by priests and deacons in the Liturgy were now given to those who sat in the pews.

While I appreciate what was being attempted, I have recently been thinking that the implementation of the Council’s teaching contained rather flawed logic. After all, if “fully conscious, and active participation” necessitates that I have some kind of liturgical role at Mass, what about those who don’t get assigned a job that week? There are only so many things that need doing! We can’t have everybody read the Readings or bring up the gifts! If participation requires a job, does that mean that those without a job are not participating in the Liturgy? Obviously not.

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The Senses of Scripture

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Fairly early on in the life of our Bible Study Group in San Diego, we took some time to read through the section of the Catechism beginning in paragraph #101 which addresses the subject of Sacred Scripture. We did this because when I first read that portion of the Catechism I was delighted to discover some truly wonderful guidance for understanding more fully the depth of God’s word.

In this post I would like to take some time to discuss the material outlined in the section of the Catechism entitled “The Senses of Scripture” (CCC #115). In five short paragraphs, it explains that there are two primary senses of Scripture: “Literal” and “Spiritual”, with the latter sense being subdivided into three additional subcategories: “Allegorical”, “Moral” and “Anagogical”.

Senses

Let’s look at each of these senses in turn…
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My lunchtime trip to defund Planned Parenthood…

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This lunchtime there was the #WomenBetrayed rally outside of Planned Parenthood here in Seattle:Lunchtime

The Pro-Choice Presence

There was very little pro-choice presence at the rally. Only eight counter-protesters were present, and they only turned up in the final five minutes of the rally.

Before I left, I took at look at their, frankly, rather tired looking homemade signs (given the $500 million in annual federal funding, you’d think Planned Parenthood could have coughed up for some better-looking ones). There were a couple of classics, such as the “No coat-hanger” picture and the “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries” slogan.

There was one which said “77% of anti-abortion leaders are men. 100% of them will never be pregnant”. I’m note quite sure where this statistic comes from (does anyone know?), but it’s replete with flaws. I also couldn’t help but wonder that, how the protester felt about the gender make-up of the group who passed Roe vs. Wade…

RoeWade

Remember, men aren’t qualified to talk about abortion, let alone enact laws concerning it…

Another protester had a sign which said “Pro-Lie”, which I thought was a rather “interesting” choice, particularly given all the scandal that Planned Parenthood has recently endured (covering up child abuse, child trafficking, statutory rape, etc) and which promises to continue for many months.

The most bizarre one, though, was one which said “Christian and pro-choice”. It’s a shame I had to get back to work because I would have been intrigued to hear the explanation of that worldview!

“…you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is born…”
– The Didache, Chapter 2 (First Century)

NO Improvements?

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Those of you who know me will know that I purposefully attend the “Extraordinary Form” (EF) of the Mass several times a year. This form of the Mass is sometimes known as “The Tridentine Mass” and is the Liturgy which our grandparents would have typically attended.

There’s much to commend the Extraordinary Form and I would love to see it become more widely available. However, as much as I love the older form of the Mass, I have to say, that when it’s done well, I actually prefer the “Novus Ordo” (NO) Mass. This is the amended liturgy which came about following the Second Vatican Council and which is more typically found around the world today in Roman-Rite Catholic Churches.

(Having said all that, I actually go to Byzantine Liturgy on Sundays)

Although I generally prefer the Novus Ordo, I think it’s safe to say that every Catholic has been to a typical parish Mass where the service has, well, left a lot to be desired… These banal liturgies have considerably nurtured the feeling among more traditional Catholics that the Novus Ordo was a considerable misstep in the development of the Roman liturgy. However, personally I think that when it’s done well, it’s thoroughly beautiful.

In recent months I’ve been in an extended email exchange with a friend who infinitely prefers the Extraordinary Form. During our discussion, I gave some suggestions of some simple things which can be done to elevate the typical Mass-going experience and I thought I’d share them here. Not all of these are Novus Ordo-specific, but in my opinion they would resolve many of the problems which are more commonly associated with the new form of the Mass…

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Music Monday: Whom shall I fear?

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This was one of the main songs at the Steubenville Conference this last weekend. Absolutely brilliant.

You hear me when I call
You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night
It cannot hide the light

Whom shall I fear?

You crush the enemy
Underneath my feet
You are my sword and shield
Though troubles linger still

Whom shall I fear?

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

My strength is in Your name
For You alone can save
You will deliver me
Yours is the victory

Whom shall I fear? x2

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in Your hands
I’m holding on to Your promises

You are faithful x2

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