The Nature of the Mass

A convert to the Catholic faith once asked me why the Mass is so structured and does not have more flexibility. He had come from a non-catholic tradition that was very loose in its "worship services", so Mass at St. George was very different for him. It is sometimes hard to get this point across to people, but in this instance he got it. I told him that "the nature of the event determines the manner of the action". When you go to a baseball game you do not expect everyone to wear black and be crying. When you celebrate thanksgiving you expect there to be special food. The context makes a difference.

In the same way, if you attend a non-catholic worship service you can find everything from mild structure to a total rejection of structure. Thus, the nature of the Mass will determine the manner of the actions in the Mass. So then, we must ask, "what is the nature of the Mass?" It is not a game (contrary to how things appear at a number of parishes in America today -- ugh!), it is not a party, it is not a lecture hall, and it is not an entertainment show (even if a "liturgical committee" -- which is usually made up of people who know very little about liturgy, but who do know what they like -- wants it to be that way).

The Mass is (always has been, and always will be -- no matter who tells you otherwise) the Sacrifice of Christ re-presented before us so that we can experience it in the present time. Thus, it is structured to ensure that it is consistent with that original sacrifice. No, it is not a play (as though it were merely a re-enactment), because it is not merely a representation of the events, but rather a theological and symbolic transferral of the actual sacrifice of Christ into our time today (which takes much more than the outward replay of history); after all, this is why Christ still has the nail holes in His hands, feet and side -- He is the "eternal sacrifice" so it is ongoing for all eternity.

Thus if we are merely gathering together to do some "churchy" stuff and singing a few trite and banal nursery rhymes disguised as music, then we would expect the Mass to be flexible and playful. If, however, the Mass is a divinely ordained action that transports its participants to the first century and the sacrifice of Christ to our time, then we would expect it to be strictly regimented. If it were not so, then we might fail in our observance of the Mass and end up not accomplishing the actual sacrifice that we are supposed to offer (which is what the Church officially calls "an invalid Mass").