Liturgy and Sacrament

Erlito V. Ebia December 16, 2009

ATEP – Program Fr. Thomas S. Madella
The Mass: So Very Dull?

Why the celebrations of the Holy Eucharist is said to be very dull as observed by some

Filipino Catholics, in spite of the many revisions on the Liturgy and the countless efforts made

by local Churches to contextualize liturgical celebration? Is it because of the present structure of

the way we celebrate the Eucharist or due to the fact that we dimly comprehend the Eucharist?

In this essay, I will try to give my opinion on why our celebration of the Mass is said to

be dull, if not very dull. And I wish to articulate my position that our Celebration is dull not

because of its present structure, but because we don’t understand what we are celebrating. At the

end of this essay, I will suggest ways on how to make our Eucharistic celebration meaningful.

To begin with, who will fail to remember the French Catholic Archbishop Lefebvre who

rejected the legitimacy of the Mass of Paul VI in 1974 over the Tridentine Mass of Pius V, and

even considered it as intrinsically evil? This event is significant in the annals of the Church.

However, to settle the issue the present pope, Benedict XVI, in his “motu Propio” Summorum

Pontificum article 4, wants every parish to offer both the old and the new forms for Sunday

Mass, that is either the 1962 Roman Missal or that of Paul VI. In fact, some of my students told

me that in their particular parishes, the Mass is long and they pray the Nicene Creed instead of

the Apostles’ Creed. When I ask them “does it make a difference in your life?” “Does it make

the celebration more meaningful and vibrant?” “Does it make you more participative in the

celebration?” The response is a big “NO.” The effects are unchanged; it is the same dry Mass

with longer version, complex movements and boring.

 Once, I had the chance to attend a Mass in one of the Churches in Naga that is in Bicol. If

my memory serves me well, the Church and the Holy Rosary Major Seminary are in the same

vicinity. At any rate, the Mass was said in the native tongue of the Bicolanos. Since I could not

understand their dialect I just tried to follow the whole process of the celebration, and of course I

made myself totally all set to it. And since I know what the celebration was all about, so it

became still meaningful to me. Is it because of the way the Mass was celebrated or due to the

fact that I am equipped with “what the Mass is all about?”

Anyway, in another occasion I hear some of my students, who are Catholics before and

now they are members of “born again” movements saying that these groups (Born Again

Movements) worship God spontaneously and meaningfully, and the service gives them a sense

of involvement and satisfaction. The songs are so lively and the pastors are so energetic and full

of beans. They even believed that their celebration is truly Christian. Unlike when they were still

Catholics, they could not feel the Mass very spontaneous and meaningful. It was solely

mechanical rituals and the celebration is very uninteresting. There were times when the presiders

of the Mass seemed unprepared for their homilies and lacked the vigour to celebrate it. Besides,

the choir members as well as the lectors were not pleasing to hear.

I do not doubt the sincerity of my students; I even admire their way of characterizing the

worship of the Born Again Movements with respect to Catholic liturgy. However, I believe that

our quandary here goes much deeper than external forms, although they are necessary too in the

celebration. But try to think of this, why I made my celebration of the Mass in Bicol very

meaningful even though I don’t understand their dialect? I could not even join the singing of the

choir yet I appreciated them. The crux of the problem here is not that our separated brethren have

more exciting performances and meaningful celebration but that we, Catholics have failed to
understand the fundamental Catholic tenet on the Mass or the Eucharist. Most of us go to Mass

just because other people tell us to; or because we are Catholics; or because it is an obligation to

carry out. As a result, we overlook the significance and meaning of going to Mass.

Just imagine these, any Catholic who has the tiniest inkling of what it means to assist at

Mass and encounter God; to be present at the Lord's Passion, death and resurrection; to be able to

unite his or her prayer presented to the eternal Father united together, as a community of

believers, with Christ's supreme sacrifice; to have the possibility of sharing the Bread come

down from heaven to those who are in need, especially those who are outcasts in the society; to

bring into the present time the bloody sacrifice of Christ on mount Golgotha and turn it to be

unbloody; by appealing to the Holy Spirit, the Bread becomes the Body of Christ and the Wine

turns to His Blood-- how could such a Catholic ever compare this privilege to any non-Catholic

service, even though admittedly it might have better music, more dancing and more able

preaching? No liturgical services can surpass the “Source and Summit of Christian life (Lumen

Gentium # 11).” What do we really need is to understand the essence of the Mass.

Be reminded also, that our Church's liturgy, after the Second Vatican Council, is already

endowed with resiliency and a richness that can quickly respond to local characteristics as

determined by the local bishops and the people in each ecclesiastical territory, therefore there is

reason at all that we can transform our Eucharistic celebration into beautiful and deeply spiritual

experience.

Indeed, when the full possibilities of genuine Catholic liturgy are used, the celebration is

not a tad less participative, spontaneous and meaningful than any non-Catholic service.