Dare To Be Dull

[Michie]

We all have routines, necessary but dull. We brush our teeth in the mornings, wash, feed the kids, and drive to work according to schedule. Variety is the spice of life. So, we break up our routines with birthday parties, vacations, weddings—even funerals. But a closer inspection reveals that these breaks in our rituals—such as birthday parties—are also routines of everyday life.

The life of the Church has similar routines.

The Sacred Liturgy is routine. The liturgical year relives the Apostles’ Creed and includes Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter, the Ascension, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, and the feast of Christ the King. Since Advent, we’ve seen God’s revelation of His inner nature: Father, Son (Christmas & Easter), and Holy Spirit (Pentecost). Scriptures—beginning with creation and concluding with the descent of the Holy Spirit on Mary and the Apostles—reveal God is three Persons in One. The Solemnity of Christ the King anticipates the restoration of all things in Christ.

Sunday Mass attendance is part of the Catholic routine. Going to Mass on Sunday honors the Third Commandment. Should we miss a detail of Church teaching on any given day, we can simply stay tuned; we’ll cycle through the liturgical calendar next year. The liturgy is routine, like waking up and brushing our teeth every morning. The ritual integrates our earthly and spiritual lives.

We often don’t have patience for our routines. Every generation seems to need something new and exciting, and our restlessness agitates for constant change. Impatiently, we occasionally conclude the liturgical year is too dull in its routine. So we try to introduce some variety in the Church’s life. How else will we keep people in the pews and reach our young people?

Many readers will remember the turbulent years after the Second Vatican Council. Many grey-haired folks endured the hootenanny Masses, folk Masses, and even polka Masses of yesteryear. The liturgical flimflam was exciting for a time. In a bizarre symbiotic frenzy, priests and laity happily conspired to entertain. But we soon discovered that the routines of Masses with balloons and liturgical dance grew—well, boring. It was hard work for a priest to be “relevant” week after week. We became a laughing stock, with fewer and fewer people taking us seriously. A friend in the 1970s said that he found the Catholic faith attractive but observed Catholics have “lost their self-respect.” He remains a Protestant to this day.

Continued below.

Dare To Be Dull

The liturgical flimflam was exciting for a time... But we soon discovered that the routines of Masses with balloons and liturgical dance grew— well, boring.

www.catholicculture.org

 

[Bob Crowley]

I watched bits and pieces of a show on "Hillsong" last night in a documentary called "The Kingdom". While it was critical of the megachurch and its offshoots, they ignored the fact that a lot of people came to faith through Hillsong and many of them are still Christians.

But the claim was made that it was a marketing enterprise, and seemed to indicate that the successful pentecostal churches are similar. They posited who was going to be the new "King", the next pentecostal pastor to hit the big time, and they showed the marketing methods they use.

But in doing so they grow their churches. My old Presbyterian made a similar comment years ago saying they were "clever marketers". Incidentally he grew his inner city church from 11 to about 150 committed parishioners. He said to me "Anyone who knows anything about church building knows that inner-city church building is deadly. If you want to build a big church you go to the outer suburbs where the young families are."

Now 150 may not seem like a lot but apparently its about the glass ceiling for a one man pastoral show. Beyond that and you need to start calling in other troops.

They way he did it, with a lot of assistance from his talented sons, was simply by setting a high standard. There was no marketing as such other than the weekly newsheet, but word got around by word of mouth.

So what's the method the Catholic Church needs to use? I would just say by setting a high standard. Word will get around. But in a church short of priests this is easier said than done. Therefore a lot of the load will necessarily have to be borne by the laity.

 

[fide]

We all have routines, necessary but dull. We brush our teeth in the mornings, wash, feed the kids, and drive to work according to schedule. Variety is the spice of life. So, we break up our routines with birthday parties, vacations, weddings—even funerals. But a closer inspection reveals that these breaks in our rituals—such as birthday parties—are also routines of everyday life.

The life of the Church has similar routines.

The Sacred Liturgy is routine. The liturgical year relives the Apostles’ Creed and includes Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter, the Ascension, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, and the feast of Christ the King. Since Advent, we’ve seen God’s revelation of His inner nature: Father, Son (Christmas & Easter), and Holy Spirit (Pentecost). Scriptures—beginning with creation and concluding with the descent of the Holy Spirit on Mary and the Apostles—reveal God is three Persons in One. The Solemnity of Christ the King anticipates the restoration of all things in Christ.

Sunday Mass attendance is part of the Catholic routine. Going to Mass on Sunday honors the Third Commandment. Should we miss a detail of Church teaching on any given day, we can simply stay tuned; we’ll cycle through the liturgical calendar next year. The liturgy is routine, like waking up and brushing our teeth every morning. The ritual integrates our earthly and spiritual lives.

We often don’t have patience for our routines. Every generation seems to need something new and exciting, and our restlessness agitates for constant change. Impatiently, we occasionally conclude the liturgical year is too dull in its routine. So we try to introduce some variety in the Church’s life. How else will we keep people in the pews and reach our young people?

Many readers will remember the turbulent years after the Second Vatican Council. Many grey-haired folks endured the hootenanny Masses, folk Masses, and even polka Masses of yesteryear. The liturgical flimflam was exciting for a time. In a bizarre symbiotic frenzy, priests and laity happily conspired to entertain. But we soon discovered that the routines of Masses with balloons and liturgical dance grew—well, boring. It was hard work for a priest to be “relevant” week after week. We became a laughing stock, with fewer and fewer people taking us seriously. A friend in the 1970s said that he found the Catholic faith attractive but observed Catholics have “lost their self-respect.” He remains a Protestant to this day.

Continued below.

Dare To Be Dull

The liturgical flimflam was exciting for a time... But we soon discovered that the routines of Masses with balloons and liturgical dance grew— well, boring.

www.catholicculture.org

I think the Lord has something relevant to say on this concern of dull, boring Truth:

Mt 13:13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Mt 13:14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: 'You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive.
Mt 13:15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.'
Mt 13:16 But blessed [Gk "makarios" - also translated "happy"] are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
Mt 13:17 Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Boredom is a condition within those who seek entertainment. The Mass offers a Cross, and a resurrection, and a place of infinite and eternal Glory. I cringe when I hear motivational speakers and cheer leaders vested for Mass, anxious to sell what Christ died to freely give. I cringe when I hear the code words - the slang - the fluid words and chameleon phrases fashionable today, in the world. "Cool!" many would say. "Awesome!" I say to myself, No, cold. Shallow, thin, unworthy, missing missing missing so much....