Religion & Law

Liturgy and Life continued

By Michael Scaperlanda

Tom asks "hasn't the invigoration of the laity in the last 40 years contributed to [inspiring huge numbers of average people to intense personal commitment, including commitment to the pro-life cause], and haven't those same 40 years also seen the emphasis on mystery in the Mass reduced and the emphasis on accessibility increased?"  My first reaction to Tom's question was "yes" but after reflection I don't have clear answer. In the end Tom's question raises several more questions for me. 

Has the faith become more accessible to Catholics with the liturgical changes post-Vatican II?  While in some ways, I think the answer is "yes" (mass in the vernacular, for example), in other ways I am not so sure.  This was driven home to me this past Sunday at Mass.  During the homily the priest was encouraging personal prayer, and he was instructing those assembled on how to undertake a daily examination of conscience.  Would this have been necessary forty years ago?  Or, would this have been an assumed part of a Catholic's daily commitment (whether or not done well), a part of personal commitment that has been lost along with the liturgical changes?

Has there been an invigoration of the laity in the last 40 years?  Lay persons are more visible in church in some ways - as communion ministers for example.  And, my sense is that there are more lay theologians and catechists than in years past.  But, ...  In reading Eamon Duffy's "The Voices of Morebath" I get the sense of an engaged laity in a 16th century rural English parish.  Every head of househould, for instance, had to take a turn as finance chair for the parish.  I also think of Dorothy Day's work and the whole Catholic Worker movement; Frank Sheed and Maise Ward, their publishing company and the Catholic Evidence Guilds; and the Maritains all in the early part of the 20th century.  Were they the exception to the rule or were there a number of lay Catholics with intense personal commitments (in prayer, in the quotidian tasks of running parishes, and in engagement with the culture) during earlier periods of church history?  Has the number of invigorated Catholics increased, decreased, or stayed the same since the liturgical reform?

Tom, thanks for asking the question, and I await an answer from someone with more knowledge than I.

Full post as published by Mirror of Justice on January 15, 2008 (boomark / email).