Yes and yes. I see hard times ahead for Christians, particularly Catholics – and coming full steam ahead. I also see Pope Benedict leading the Church to a point where many lukewarm Catholics will not feel comfortable in the Church (to put it mildly) – e.g., I wonder what the outcome of the current doctrinal investigation of female religious orders in America will be.
As for Mass being entertainment, I recall a certain video online of a certain “Mass” out west with rock bands and big screens, etc. It seemed more of rock concert than a religious event of any kind (though they did have burning bowls of oblation which reminded me of the Oracle of Delphi
). But true, generally Mass isn’t as entertaining as going to a concert or a movie.
And generally, I believe many go to Mass not to be entertained or to participate in the true Liturgy, but primarily to come away with what I term a “fuzzy inner feeling” - an emotional high.
I think you have made some good points.
However, I don’t believe that the Pope or the Magisterium will try to drive the lukewarm Catholics away, because these are the ones who are most in need of the Holy Mass. I think that many of the lukewarm ones will be wooed back into the Church if the Church takes itself more seriously.
I can’t help but wonder what would happen if the Church acted like the Church.
Really good music, the best possible (and that would include different styles, not just chant, since after all the documents do NOT exclude different styles of music, but ask that chant be given the place of honor in the Mass.) Well-played instruments, rousing congregational singing during hymns and Mass parts, good cantoring by someone who can be heard and understood, and above all, a GOOD sound system (not a "Mr. Microphone).
Riveting homilies well-prepared and well-delivered.
Friendly people–not in-your-face-hug-your-neck-bless-your-heart, but just honestly friendly and open and pleasant, with smiles. Not chitter chatter or false howdie-doodies, but friendly people.
I personally feel that my parish has much of this (the music is hit and miss). I think our priests could go head-to-head with some of the best Protestant pastors in town when it comes to “preaching”. And I think our people are friendly, not gushy, but honestly friendly. And we do see a lot of stuff happening in the parish–e.g., our diocescan pledge came in several thousand dollars over the pledged amount–we actually outgave ourselves! Another example is the number of people from our parish who participated in the 40 Days for Life campaign.
I think music is weak point in our parish, but you have to work with what you have, not with what you wish you had. There is a figure skating coach (I’ll try not to give away cities or names) who coaches synchronized skating teams, but she seems to always be coaching an “imaginary team,” not the team she actually has. She seems to think she is coaching a world-class team, and tells her skaters that they can beat any team in the world. But in reality, she’s coaching a very poor team of rag-tag skaters who aren’t tested very high and don’t spend nearly enough time practicing their singles skills, and this team has come in last place in almost every competition. I know about and believe in “praising people to success”–I do this with children all the time. BUT… you also have to be honest and face your inadequacies and start where you ARE, not where you WISH you were.
So IMO, we can’t always be wishing that our parishes had a huge choir with a brilliant pipe organist and a director who really loves and understands the traditional music of the Catholic Church! In reality, I think most of us have a volunteer choir with more enthusiasm than talent, a pianist who was trained to play Broadway, and a director straight out of the secular university. And we need to accept that and be content, even as we strive to always improve.
