Violence Against The Sacred Liturgy. Violence Against Christ?

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Is it even possible to issue a charge against anyone for violence against the Sacred Liturgy?  Why issue a charge of abuse?  To identify the abuse of the Holy Eucharist, which is at the core of our faith as Catholics, is a step toward identifying reasons for a loss of faith among Catholics, a drop in Mass attendance and a rise in other forms of abuse.

As a concept, liturgical abuse barely appears on the radar screens or in the vocabularies of many - most? - Latin Rite Catholics because of poor formation in the ritual languages and practices of the Church.  An Eastern Catholic tends to have a much clearer understanding of that which constitutes fitting liturgical worship.  Why is that?

Like our Eastern brethren, Ordinariate Catholics share a strong sense of liturgical propriety. Liturgical action must comport with the Church's theology of the Holy Eucharist.

The Holy Eucharist is defined as the Sacrament that contains the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine. It is the very sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus, instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory. | A Catechism of Christian Doctrine (The Baltimore Catechism No. 3) 870; Compendium of the CCC 271

351. [...] We know that Christ is whole and entire under both appearances because, "Christ having risen from the dead, dies now no more" (Romans 6:9). Because Christ cannot die, His blood must remain united always to His body, and His soul to both. The divinity of Christ, moreover, always remains united to His body and blood and soul because He is God made man. 

Given the Church's teaching, the onus is not so much on those who promote beautiful liturgy as it is upon those who would deny God fitting worship.

A simple litmus test applied to liturgical revisions, before, during and after the Second Vatican Council, exposes the misunderstandings that frequently distort liturgical worship in ways that rob people of their faith and that rob people of the need for faith. That test may be expressed in the form of a direct and uncomplicated question, "How beautiful is the Mass?"

To paraphrase St Mark 6:4-13, few miracles can be worked or found where there is little beauty. True beauty begins in a heart oriented to God Who is truth, goodness, beauty, mercy and joy. God is holy. Ugliness of any kind has no place in the house of the Lord.

Beauty of God

The inspiration to "worship God in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 96:9) comes from God.  That people do not ask for the grace to worship God in a way that pleases Him is unfortunate, for God lavishes a wealth of graces upon those whose outer celebration matches inner joy and reverence.  A beautiful soul worships God in beautiful ways.  The point is not so much to dress in an ostentatious manner nor intentionally in a slovenly way that purports to capture the poverty of God.  Yet, to don one's Sunday best is (or can be) a prayer, a symbol of one's intention to be configured to God because God is the love of one's life.  We dress not to impress God.  We dress to reveal the joy, hope, faith and love that God inspires in us, and we want to reveal those gifts to others, to draw others to a lively faith in Jesus Christ.

In a day when "dressing up for church" seems wrongheaded or prissy, to suggest that we put on our Sunday best tends to invite immediate derision and rejection.  However, to live a life of love toward God and neighbour in every respect, including our physical appearance, can orient us to the livable-reality of the Mass.  That is, the Mass is meant to be lived in our daily lives.  We are, by definition, a Eucharistic people.  We are meant to reveal or witness to the Eucharist, to Jesus Christ.

Have you noticed how people living in abject poverty still manage to wear their Sunday best when attending Mass?  As a child raised in a monetarily poor household, I and my siblings were always well-dressed.  To dress well was a sign of self respect and an acknowledgement of our God-given dignity.  Some would say mum's and dad's money could have been better spent on other things.  We learned from our parents that which is real, and honouring God is as real or more so than possessing a new bike or some trendy gadget.

In a very real sense, every Mass is a wedding feast.  Intentional faith, that is, a lived-faith or the Faith well lived, issues from the hearts and minds of Catholics who witness faithfully to the reality - the nature - of the Holy Eucharist.  We love God in the Holy Eucharist; therefore let us celebrate the Mass with the dignity and all the beauty we can muster.  The Mass is heaven descending to earth.  If heaven and earth unite in the Mass - and they do! -, then can we do anything less that to offer our best so that the earthly liturgy, the visible reality, points clearly to the invisible reality that is manifested through the visible?

We pray the Gloria and Creed, beautiful love poems that immerse the congregation in the awareness of the Kingdom of God and affirm our place in God's divine plan.  Can we do any less than sing those magnificent hymns with complete conviction, conviction in the sublimely beautiful gifts of God given to strengthen in us our communion with the Lord?

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