Grassroots Liturgist

It was Russell Crowe's character, Maximus Decimus Meridius, in the film Gladiator who shouted this to the crowd in the Colosseum.   To our sensibilities, the question seems grotesque; can it ever be appropriate to be entertained by such a spectacle? Which, because of the way that my mind works, led me to think about how we approach the celebration of holy Mass: on any level, conscious or unconscious, do we turn up expecting to be entertained? Do we ever find ourselves judging whether the priest celebrated the Mass in a manner to our liking?   Or how well the organist or musicians played, how well the cantors or choir sang, and how well the readers read?   Do we leave church disappointed, because our favourite hymn wasn’t sung? If we ever find ourselves guilty of any of these, then we may need reflect on our understanding of holy Mass. “You either have an altar or a stage – it is either a sacrifice or it’s a show, it is either the Mass or it’s entertainment.” (Ga...

We have already considered the connection of both the Passover and the Manna from heaven with the Last Supper and the Eucharist.   Let’s look at one more Old Testament connection. While the Jews were in the desert searching for the promised land, their worship centred on a sanctuary called the Tabernacle - a tent that served as a portable temple. In the Tabernacle were three key symbols: the Ark of the Covenant that contained the Commandments given by God; a golden lampstand with seven branches, each lit, called an Menorah; and a golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence or ‘lehem ha pannim’ in Hebrew.   (Exodus 25) Incidentally, Christians can see in these three symbols a representation of the Triune God: the Ark of the invisible God, the tongues of flame and the Bread of the Presence. There were 12 cakes of this bread on the table, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, and these were offered by the priests on each Sabbath day; so, the bread was a...

“Show me your calendar, and I will tell you your priorities.” A few days ago, I watched a YouTube video featuring Bishop Robert Baron, where he used this phrase.   And there is clearly truth in those words.   We spend our time, we offer up our time to things that, for whatever reason, are important to us.   For example, I remember offering up a great deal of my time taking my children to their various evening and weekend activities.   I say ‘offering up’ because, frankly, if I were to have made a selfish choice about what to do with my days, they would not have been spent watching endless lengths of swimming or standing in the freezing wind and rain watching a rugby or football match.   But enriching our children’s lives is very important and so I offered up that time, and did so joyfully.   But what else is important to us? In our reflections on the Holy Mass, we have noted the importance of our full, conscious and active participation in the litur...

In a recent homily, our parish priest explained why he allows the collection to proceed before he prepares the altar, and then stands as the collection is taken to the sanctuary.   These are his gestures of respect to our own self-giving to God, made through the daily sacrifices we embrace to live in the light of the Gospel, and symbolised in our offerings.   As we reflected last time, true sacrifice is humbly submitting ourselves to God.   Our offering at the collection is necessary for the practical needs of our parish, but its significance is so much more.   It is a symbol of our life, our work, our labours.   And, in recognition that all comes from God, we offer our life and our labours to God in humble sacrifice.   Our financial offering is, in a very real way, an offering of ourselves.   And this is part of the priestly role that, as baptised Christians, we share with Jesus the Christ. “Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and your...