Personal Note: Bad liturgists. No biscuit.

[nebroadwe]

This is me ranting about the liturgical idiom of my faith community, a topic almost certainly of no interest to anyone except perhaps kanja177 and nateprentice, so behold! A cut!

I was looking ahead in the Roman Catholic liturgical year to Lent, stocking up on hymns at the website of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, when I ran across the following directive regarding the reading of the Passion on Palm Sunday:

If you intend to read the Passion Narrative in parts, the traditional division is threefold: narrator, Christ, and crowd (all other voices). Some communities expand the number of voices, though it is probably not a good idea to give the congregation the "people's part" of this narrative, because that puts them in an adversarial relationship to Jesus. Instead, they should experience themselves as sharing not only in the sin that led to Jesus' death but also in his act of self-sacrifice to which they will soon join themselves once more in the Eucharist. Therefore, it might be good to proclaim this reading with the traditional three readers (which helps to hold attention), but break it at several points for a sung acclamation by the people.

Gah. Lookit. This is a development that's been gaining some momentum over the past couple of decades, but I do not like it and will not support it, for two reasons. First of all, it's boring. I've attended Masses where the congregation got to sing a little acclamation every now and then while the presider and a privileged couple of lectors got to proclaim all the interesting bits, and I nearly nodded off. Long gospel is long. Long gospel is also a fascinating piece of narrative, and ever since I was a child I've enjoyed playing my role in it, whether I was one of those privileged lectors or just J. Random Congregant. (The year I went to the Cathedral and heard the whole thing chanted, which I admit was pretty darn cool, I just picked up the chant line after the first few iterations and joined in with the choir on the crowd bits.) Having a part to play is the best way I know to "hold attention" -- you can't lose track of the narrative when you know you've got a line coming up soon that you have to say or the whole exercise grinds to a halt.

Second of all, I know no better antidote to an anti-Semitic interpretation of the Passion than having to say, year after year, "If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you" and "Crucify him! Crucify him!" and "We have no king but Caesar." An adversarial relationship with Jesus Christ? Yes -- but that's my daily life as a sinner; I just use different phrases to deny him. Twice a year I call a spade a spade. Ten minutes later I'll experience a different aspect of the story, whether in the Eucharistic prayer on Palm Sunday or the veneration of the cross on Good Friday, when I remember the solidarity I also have with him. And I am that much less inclined to make the crucifixion a story about Those People Who Killed God -- in fact, when I first learned about that interpretation, while I was in grade school, I found it ridiculous, because I knew the story wasn't about that. After all, weren't we the ones saying, "Crucify him!"? That's because it was our diseases he bore, our common human infirmities that he carried, just like the other reading says, right?

tl;dr: Don't take the crowd parts away from the congregation during the reading of the Passion narrative on Palm Sunday and Good Friday. You know not what you do.

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I like your thinking. COM took me to an Easter Mass once (which was quite fun, the church didn't burn down or anything - and was nice enough that it didn't notice li'l ol' pagan me - or overlooked me in the glory of everything - some churches will not do that), and I enjoyed the whole thing (except for not being able to understand word one that the guest pastor was speaking, as his accent was...indescribable. Beautiful, but...).

The following Easter, we walked six blocks to the temple in Cassadaga and attended the Spiritualists' service. COM walked out of there with wide eyes, saying, "We had to hold hands! WE HAD TO HOLD HANDS!"

*giggles*

Anyway, I agree - my mind drifts off when people start talking for long periods of time. As a child during service, I usually wound up reading the lyrics.

What does "tl;dr" mean?

[lyrangalia]

too long; didn't read ;)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Cool. Thank you.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I like your thinking. COM took me to an Easter Mass once (which was quite fun, the church didn't burn down or anything - and was nice enough that it didn't notice li'l ol' pagan me - or overlooked me in the glory of everything - some churches will not do that) ...

We invite furriners to Easter all the time, because that's the one time in the year when my current church really Does It Up (apart Christmas, but no one's here for that -- university town): pretty flowers, lots of candles, incense, jingly bells, the best people reading and serving, usually about six or eight people joining the church with all the hoopla that implies, all the little choirs getting together and attempting stuff we don't normally have the time or personnel to do on our own (everything from chant to folk to classical). It's exhausting but fun, and our guests mostly enjoy the spectacle. Then we feed 'em afterwards and they roll home happy.

... and I enjoyed the whole thing (except for not being able to understand word one that the guest pastor was speaking, as his accent was...indescribable. Beautiful, but...).

Oh, yeah. The US is on its way back to being a Catholic mission field -- of all my acquaintance over the years, I know exactly two guys who decided to become priests. So my mom's church, frex, has had a series of Filipino associate pastors over the past fifteen years. They're great at what they do, but sometimes their accents are a little thick. Even I had to think hard about the context of one sermon to translate "a parcel" into "apostle."

Anyway, I agree - my mind drifts off when people start talking for long periods of time. As a child during service, I usually wound up reading the lyrics.

Yeah, if there's nothing to do, why be there? I come to church for the singing, myself. :-) (I remember once being at a stratospherically high Anglican service, which is still rather like the Catholic Mass before Vatican II. The choir gave most of the responses that I'd normally expect to be doing myself, and I suddenly realized why people of my mom's generation so often resorted to saying a rosary all through Mass. There wasn't anything else for them to do -- everything was being done on their behalf by somebody else. I'd probably have gone that route myself, if I couldn't join the choir.)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

As I said, I don't mind going to services, however, sometimes I feel remarkably uncomfortable within the confines of a church (my sister's church is one of them; I went and started shaking about halfway through the service). We also went to the Tiffany Museum, which has the Tiffany Church inside - a little tiny thing that was at the NY World's Fair and is gorgeous - once I get past the doorways, I start feeling literally ill. Despite how pretty it is. COM, of course, came to life and started bouncing around (and I'm the bouncy one) - I felt like I was getting shocked whenever I touched anything. *laugh*

Feeding me afterwards is always, always good. I should post the pictures I took at the Red Mass I went to last year - Atty and I were going to go but she backed out at the very last minute because she thought it would be "wrong of her" to step foot in a Catholic church. *blink*

The Mass COM took me to had their guest speaker over from Africa. His accent wasn't quite British, ifyaknowwhatImean.

I enjoyed being in the choir, though I'll admit my voice needs a lot more training if I was going to sing again. *grin*

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

As I said, I don't mind going to services, however, sometimes I feel remarkably uncomfortable within the confines of a church (my sister's church is one of them; I went and started shaking about halfway through the service).

Ouch. That's a bummer. My dad's not into organized religion, so he's always rather off-balance when we drag him to a church service (weddings and funerals, mostly, but when my growing-up parish named my mom Mother of the Year, I had to get quite firm with him to make sure he came. I mean, it would have looked really odd for him not to be there. I think he was afraid they were going to make him get up and say something. They didn't.). He doesn't get physical reactions, though. He just grumbles about the fact that Catholics set out to make their services incomprehensible. Which is one reason why I'm the queen of the explanatory wedding program these days. Anyone who attends a service with which I'm associated is going to know what's happening in what order and sometimes why. Occasionally with footnotes. :-) It's a hospitality thing.

Feeding me afterwards is always, always good.

If you feed them, they will come. :-) We're not above bribery.

I should post the pictures I took at the Red Mass I went to last year - Atty and I were going to go but she backed out at the very last minute because she thought it would be "wrong of her" to step foot in a Catholic church. *blink*

Because she's a ... lawyer? [blink, blink]

I enjoyed being in the choir, though I'll admit my voice needs a lot more training if I was going to sing again. *grin*

Go, go! Sing, sing! (Sorry, that's a spinal reflex at this point. It's heck running a choir in a university church -- you can't ever stop recruiting, because almost no one's here beyond four or five years. Sigh.)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Which is one reason why I'm the queen of the explanatory wedding program these days. Anyone who attends a service with which I'm associated is going to know what's happening in what order and sometimes why. Occasionally with footnotes. :-) It's a hospitality thing.

The SCA would love you.

We're not above bribery.

I don't mind honest bribery but seriously? I'm here to study architecture most of the time. ;) I'm always fascinated by architecture.

Because she's a ... lawyer? [blink, blink]

Because Catholicism is not her religion.

Hahaha...usually, there isn't a choir in the type of places I'm likely to attend - besides, solo practitioner.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I don't mind honest bribery but seriously? I'm here to study architecture most of the time. ;) I'm always fascinated by architecture.

You and my friend the historic preservation specialist -- the one who suggested we announce that everything was starting in the back at today's service by inviting the congregation to turn and face the retrofacade. :-)

"Because she's a ... lawyer? [blink, blink]"

Because Catholicism is not her religion.

Darn. I was hoping it's because she'll burst into flames if she sets foot on holy ground, due to that pact she made with the infernal powers that permits her not to go bankrupt no matter how slap-dashily she conducts her business.

Hahaha...usually, there isn't a choir in the type of places I'm likely to attend - besides, solo practitioner.

The possibility of having a choir is the best argument I know against going solo. :-) Every religious community should SING!

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

the one who suggested we announce that everything was starting in the back at today's service by inviting the congregation to turn and face the retrofacade.

HAHAHA.

I was hoping it's because she'll burst into flames if she sets foot on holy ground

Oh, she's a good Christian. Just ask her. *eyeroll*

Every religious community should SING!

I do! I usually make up little things to sing when I'm Working. I just never can remember them later...except for the spell to remove warts. That one is too easy.