Thanks for good info. I attended NO/OF for years, & I didn’t know that. Now, maybe that’s just my fault because I’m not the brightest bulb. But, I strongly suspect I’m not the only earnest, engaged, attentive parishioner without a clue.
The huge questions to me are:
- Who does know we’re supposed to say that?
- Who knows why we’re supposed to say that? That is, who has at least some understanding of what’s actually going on liturgically?
- Then, after we’ve counted noses, Why these numbers?
My theory is that those who know we’re supposed to say that (and why) are people who have taken RCIA or a reasonably good Bible study class in the parish after reaching adulthood.
Although we teach the Mass to kids in Grade 2, Grade 5, and Grade 8, there’s
so much to cover that a lot of it just goes right over their heads. It’s only when we review the information again as adults that things really start to stick. The reason for that is that, adults are able to put information into context (children are barraged with facts at school, but have very little practical experience, and thus, no context to put the information into, which makes things harder to remember in the long term).
But before we attack the religious education system and call it a failure, think about your
other subjects. I’m betting the only information you remember from any of your
other subjects is information that you reviewed later as an adult, and information that you have used in daily life, in your work, recreation, and at home.
Honestly, I think this little point, the sign of peace during Mass, demonstrates an irony or paradox of stupefying proportions:
On the one hand, the NO/OF Mass was simplified & vernacular was permitted in large part to ensure that the faithful could understand clearly what’s going on. But it really seems like relatively few people do understand much of anything.
On the other hand, in TLM/EF the fundamentals, the essentials of what’s happening (including symbolic kiss of Peace of Christ proceeding from celebrant’s kiss of altar after Agnus Dei) are pretty obvious.
Look, lo these 40 years later, if we can’t have some accountability, I wish we could at least have some hard, cold facts, black & white numbers.
For example, on questions like this regarding what’s going on in the liturgy I would love to commission a poll of practicing Catholics after Mass:
Why do we have the sign of peace? Describe in you own words what’s going on liturgically. What words would be appropriate for you to say at that time?
Wouldn’t it be great to see some hard numbers? Then either reformers could rub noses of complainers in statistics that indicate the changes worked as expected; or we the disillusioned could say, what are we gonna do about a reform that seems to have failed on its own terms?
Well, again, human beings only remember things that interest them as adults. Ironically, making things harder makes them more interesting, which is why those who attend Mass in Latin have a better grasp of what they are doing - they take an interest in it and study it, because otherwise, they feel “lost” at Mass. With the easier Mass in the vernacular, it’s possible to participate without feeling “lost” while at the same time not knowing exactly what’s going on at every moment.
But there’s actually no way to impose that information into people’s minds. They have to take an interest, and study it for themselves, or else be in an adult-education course where the information comes up, and they learn it in a setting where they can contextualize the information and give it personal meaning.
The St. Joseph Missals are available for sale right now; they also contain all of this information, so an interested person could just pay the $4.00 and read up on it, too - but again, this presupposes an interest in the subject.
