An Outsider’s Impressions of the Modern Mass
UH, MAY I SAY SOMETHING ?
It’s forty-five minutes into Mass, and the priest is engaged in the breaking of the Host. I can’t clearly see what he’s doing because I’m sitting at the back of the church, much as I used to sit at the back of the classroom during my school days. I have always preferred to have more people in front of me than behind me when I’m among strangers; perhaps that’s a flaw.
So I can’t easily see what’s going on, but I can hear plenty because microphones are being used. The church has one microphone at the podium where the readings are done, one affixed to the priest’s robes, and a handful — maybe four — used by the band.
While the priest does his duty, which I can’t clearly see, the pianist plays and the vocalists sing into their microphones:
“Doo-wah, doo-wah, doo-ooh-wah-ah, doo-wah….”
O.K., no. This isn’t true. Actually, they’re singing: “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.”
To me, though, not knowing any better, this verse and the slightly different ones that follow have the same impact as “doo-wah”: the words are filler, more supposed “joyful noise” to fill the silence and keep the congregation from forgetting the band is there. I’m thankful at least that the song director hasn’t picked up her bongos to pound along.
You May Also Enjoy
The humble candle is a sacramental of the Church; it reminds us of Our Lord and our call to illumine this world with His light, and it is an assurance of His protection.
After attending various Masses and talking with parishioners, we came to the conclusion that parish success or decline depends on the homily of the pastor.
Its contents were what made the Grail holy. In that sense, just as every confessional is Chapel Perilous, so too is every adoration chapel a Grail Chapel.