Loony Liturgy: The Prayer of Father Mike

As I mentioned elsewhere, I went to the Boston Men's Conference yesterday. One aspect of the day was quite nice: the sound of 5000 men praying the Our Father and Hail Mary with one voice. It was like something out of a Star Wars movie where the clone army speaks as one. But in a good way.

Which brings me to my point: the prayer of Father Mike. Now Father Mike is not a real individual, but a tendency, a habit, a scourge. He is the voice of every presider who can't help but to pray in his own, very meaningful, very personal way at Mass. That's fine in general, but when Father Mike is leading prayers that are also prayed by the assembly -- the Gloria, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer -- he is not satisfied with the rhythmic flow of the sound of a congregation accompanying itself in prayer; a group of people finding the perfect shared groove that unites a cacophony of individual voices. Using the power vested in him by his sole possession of electronic amplification equipment, he is sorely tempted...nay, he succumbs!!...to the urge to out-pray the poor, silly people he leads.

Yes. Father Mike must use every skill he gained in seminary to force everyone pray his very, very special way.

Our Father...who art...in...hea-ven
Hal-lowed be.........thy name...

And on and on. Once the assembly has realized it has been overpowered, it stops praying, concentrating now on trying to imitate the unpredictable tempo of Father Mike's amplified prayer.

A suggestion to Father Mike and his ilk: once you have started off the prayer, let the assembly find its own level; let the people take ownership of their own prayer and trust that together, they will remember all the words and make it to the end without your help.

To help them pray...get out...of the....way!!!
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art: "Soapbox" by The Glasson Group, Western Australia.

Sunday reflection: February 26, 2006

Today's gospel (Mk 2:18-22) is one of those odd mishmashes of sayings that were probably never spoken together during Christ's lifetime. Because such serial lists appear several places in the gospels, there is a tendency to imagine that when Jesus got up to talk, that he just let loose with a series of one-liners. Perhaps he did, but who would have understood him?

Instead, it is more likely that the gospel writers, faced with a large collection of sayings, arranged them by topic and wrote them down wherever it made sense to do so. Or wherever one saying might shed light on another.

In today's reading, Jesus says:
1) Don’t facts while the bridegroom is present
2) Don’t using new cloth to patch an old cloak
3) Don’t pouring new wine into an old wineskin

The 2nd and 3rd saying are very similar -- and share the warning not to combine something new with something old. The saying about the bridegroom, though, is not strictly similar, teaching (as it does) that now is the time to par-tay, not to fast.

In any event, the meaning of the gospel is rather obscure. Is Jesus saying that you can't mix an old form (Judaism) with his teaching without destroying both? That he needs a new container (a new religion?) in order to function properly? This would certainly square with the supecessionist view of previous generations of Christians.

Or are there other possibilities?

How about this one? The eschatological (end-times) kingdom of God which Jesus preached is a radical departure from the mores of traditional societies and approaches to God. It means turning one's back on the constraints that govern such societies and families -- both then and now. It means leaving the dead to burty their dead; children to hate their parents; people to hate their own lives. Life in this new kingdom not about making a good living. It is not about creating a well-oiled society. It is definitely not about maintaining the status quo. It is about moving societies and people out of circular, well-worn ruts and onto a new and straighter road.

If the eschatological kingdom is a wedding feast -- a simile Christ used often -- then the time for rejoicing is here – certainly while he, the bridegroom, was among us. The time for fasting -- times of trouble and persecution -- would come soon enough. But for the present, feast! Enjoy the bounty of the land! Laugh and live! Rejoice that a new way is being blazed through the desert proclaiming good tidings and the nearing of our God!

A bridegroom, a patch and a new wineskin. Homely examples of the ever-new and ever-renewing covenant of God and his people.
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Let us pray.

Lord, we find ourselves trapped in old routines, enslaved by the demands of others and unable to easily free ourselves. Yet you encourage us with visions of feasting and fellowship! May we have the courage to imagine solutions to our troubles and a time when we break free to join you on the road to freedom and new life. Help us to shed addictions and routines that constrain us and keep us from becoming all we can be. Help us to recognize that now is the time to rejoice; now is the time to accompany you to the wedding feast that is always in full swing.

In your name we pray.

Amen.

Boston Mens' Conference -- Part 1

At left: A lousy Treo picture of some of the 5000 men attending yesterday's conference.

My youngest son and I attended the 2nd annual Boston Men's Conference yesterday. It was an "interesting" affair, with speakers from every part of the Catholic spectrum -- provided they are from center-right to far-right.

The conference was held in Boston's new Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in South Boston. An estimated 5000 men -- mostly white, mostly above 50, mostly Catholic with a sprinkling of "our separated brothers" -- attended. It was a fairly well-organized conference. There were opportunities for confession and Eucharistic adoration. In a separate part of the center, long lines of tables held exhibits for vocations, various orders of Catholic religious orders, as well as inspirational books, art, CDs, videos and tapes -- a fair number by the speakers at the conference.

The general theme of the speakers was repentance, not surprising since we find ourselves in the Lenten season. To a man, the speakers were men who believed every last bit of Catholic magisterial teaching, or so they said. There was no dissent on homosexual behavior, contraception, abortion. To gauge the audience's reaction, you might also think there was no dissension among the attendees, though I'd love to run a "software scan" to see if that's really true. Speaker after speaker received standing ovations both before and after their talks, though if you looked closely, a very few men did not stand for every one.

Basically, the day was a big pep rally, where applause lines took the form of rather unexciting affirmations that Christ was a gift of the Father and that God loves us all. True enough, but not the kind of red meat that would get me in a froth.

The speakers were:
-- Father Raniero Cantalamessa -- the kind and gentle preacher to the Papal household for the last 25 years.
-- Father John Corapi (whom we named, rather uncharitably as "Father Crappy") -- a former Green Beret, drug addict and bum who became a priest and now has a show on Mother Angelica's EWTN.
-- Dr. Scott Hahn -- former Presbyterian minister, convert to Catholicism, author of "Home Sweet Rome," father of 6 -- a real "Super Orthodox Man."
-- Sean Forrest -- Catholic musician whose lyrics encourage women to stay home and get off the birth control pills, among other things.

As you can see, the center, center-left, left and far-left were not well represented among the speakers. Actually, the term "left" is an awful misnomer. By “left” I mean anyone who has any questions or issues with any teaching of the Magisterium. That’s an awful lot of folks –especially if you count those “cafeteria Catholics” -- well represented at the conference, I might add -- who have no problem with ignoring Church teaching on capitol punishment, pre-emptive war and environmental destruction.

But there I go, being divisive.

In future posts, I’ll delve into the message of the speakers. See you then.