BORED AT MASS

BORED AT MASS

Video: Alteration by Fr. Mike Schmitz

I remember watching this video when it first came out around 7 years ago. I found it to be a little overdramatic at the time. Today, at the adult confirmation class that I attend and help with a bit of commentary for the parish director, this video was part of the lesson on the Mass. I thought it was a helpful conversation at the tables during the lesson. We started off talking about what the priest was and his role in the liturgy.

I think this video was intended for teen confirmation but it seems also appropriate for adult confirmation since many of these folks haven't really been engaged in the Catholic faith for some time and it is good to present the basics.

Having drifted a little bit further away from my former traditionalism since 7 years ago, I can appreciate a video like this. But here's what I find a bit inconsistent here. 

I've gone to so many different parishes in my diocese and surrounding dioceses to say with confidence and it's probably true for a lot of people's experience that the liturgy that's commonly presented is not quite the same kind of tone that you see depicted in this short video. There's a lot of dramatic background music, incense, reverence, darkness in the background to focus attention on the action, etc... all of this to dramatize the sacrality of the liturgy in hopes to inspire some sense of transcendence with the Mass. 

That's the interesting thing in theory bc the issue really is the disconnect. Why do we have to dramatize the Mass in this way, if it wasn't so obvious that weekly Sunday Mass is far from this? 

This is not a critique of the art of filmmaking here, that's not the issue, as I appreciated the film. The critique is in connecting this dramatization with reality. 

After all, at the end of the day, they'll go back to reality and as the discussion exposed, many folks are "bored at Mass". They reported most of it due to "the father not being interesting" or the homily not "speaking to me" or "getting my attention". 

We should know that the Mass is not about entertainment, or about the priest, or about me, and yet, as is clear from this feedback, what folks often point out are the experience of the personality of the priest and the quality of the band/choir. 

The lesson began with playing a video of Norbertines chanting the Veni Sancte Spiritu in Latin. I asked my table what they thought of the chant. They all admitted, Mass would be more interesting if it had some of those kinds of beautiful elements. So, I shared with them about the TLM and where it's at in this diocese. They didn't know Mass used to be in Latin and had that kind of Gregorian music. The focus is less on the personality of the priest to have to entertain you with jokes and relatable homilies, but the focus is on the worship of God. Great if the homily was also relevant and helpful, but that's always subordinate or secondary to the Sacrifice.

It was a good class.