Liturgical Police vs. Liturgical Bullies

[EmmaSowl]

While browsing through topics, I found a locked thread about Matt Walsh in which there was a post that got me thinking.

The post made a reference to liturgical police who scream “abuse!” whenever something doesn’t fit their taste.

It was the assumption that it’s about taste which caught my eye.

Most people who know me would identify me as a member of the liturgical police department. However, I would like to go on record as saying that I do my best not to scream, but I have shed tears. I also do not speak up over every abuse - sometimes it takes years for me to get up the nerve to approach a pastor - and I back off when I get the usual silent, smiling nod which has proven to mean that nothing will change.

But my primary point is that none of my efforts have anything to do with what I prefer. Ever since my conversion, I have prayed to love the liturgy. The official liturgy. My prayers are not always answered. There are still parts of the official liturgy which I don’t particularly like. But I obey.

My pain and confusion come from the fact that, out of three Los Angeles parishes (under which I’ve experienced five pastors and six choir directors), I cannot find one person in authority who will even pay lip service to the merits of obeying the newest General Instructions of the Roman Missal (GIRM).

In the years preceding the newest GIRM, every liturgist I knew touted it as being the Be All and End All of the new Mass. But when it was issued, it did not say what those liturgists prophesied it would say - and now almost every liturgist I know calls it The Germ.

Again, the people I know who are in charge of the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass call the instructions for the Mass “The Germ.”

So, my questions are these: If there is such a thing as liturgical police, is there also such a thing as liturgical bullies? If not, what is the Catholic reason for refusing to obey the current GIRM?

 

[angel12]

Again, the people I know who are in charge of the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass call the instructions for the Mass “The Germ.”

You’ve seen it written that way? Because if you’ve only heard it spoken, that is how a lot of people pronounce GIRM, with absolutely no disrespect.

 

[Shakuhachi]

What specific infractions of GIRM are you talking about?

 

[1ke]

If not, what is the Catholic reason for refusing to obey the current GIRM?

I don’t understand what you mean by “refusing to obey the current GIRM”?

I’ve been to mass in LA when visiting my family, and it’s normal mass.

 

[1ke]

and now almost every liturgist I know calls it The Germ.

Everyone I know calls if the “GIRM”, and that sounds like “germ”, but that is in no way new since the 3rd missal. It’s been the “GIRM” for as long as I can remember.

 

[BartholomewB]

In the years preceding the newest GIRM, every liturgist I knew touted it as being the Be All and End All of the new Mass. But when it was issued, it did not say what those liturgists prophesied it would say - and now almost every liturgist I know calls it The Germ.

Are you going to tell us what it is in particular that you (or they) were hoping (or fearing) would be found in the new GIRM but, when the time came, was reported missing?

 

[exnihilo]

If there is such a thing as liturgical police, is there also such a thing as liturgical bullies?

Yes.

If not, what is the Catholic reason for refusing to obey the current GIRM?

Ignorance, apathy, or malevolence. I think the first two are more often the case. In any human endeavor just having a set of rules doesn’t mean everyone lives by them. Also, many, maybe most, of us like to bend the rules where it is to our advantage or preference.

 

[ProudPapa1988]

Depending on where you are, attend one of the FSSP apostolates. They are active in West Hollywood, CA and Camarillo, CA and now have a personal parish in San Fernando, CA. I don’t know how far of a drive any of those would be for you but they will literally save your soul compared to putting up with liturgical abuse and sacrilege. It is worth the drive. My family makes the commute from Lompoc in Santa Barbara county to make it to the High Mass offered in Camarillo on Sundays (as often as we can afford to, that is).

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

My pain and confusion come from the fact that, out of three Los Angeles parishes (under which I’ve experienced five pastors and six choir directors), I cannot find one person in authority who will even pay lip service to the merits of obeying the newest General Instructions of the Roman Missal (GIRM).

I live in the Los Angeles Archdiocese and have attended Mass at a variety of parishes. I’ve never seen one that doesn’t “even pay lip service” to the GIRM. What is it you’re seeing when you go to Mass?

In the years preceding the newest GIRM, every liturgist I knew touted it as being the Be All and End All of the new Mass. But when it was issued, it did not say what those liturgists prophesied it would say - and now almost every liturgist I know calls it The Germ.

How would you pronounce GIRM if not similar to germ? And what is it all these liturgists expected that they didn’t get?

So, my questions are these: If there is such a thing as liturgical police, is there also such a thing as liturgical bullies? If not, what is the Catholic reason for refusing to obey the current GIRM?

Yes, there are liturgical police. The pastor is the chief liturgist of the parish and the archbishop is the chief liturgist of the archdiocese. They’re the cops; the rest of us are simply people in the pews with opinions. Unless your pastor or the archbishop have appointed you to a special role in supervising liturgy, it’s not your job. If you express your opinion to people who actually have authority in the matter, they may or may not care what you think.

Personally I don’t find it terribly helpful to my spiritual life to get very frustrated or upset over things I have no control over. If you find Mass at your home parish unbearable, you can go to another parish. Being in the Los Angeles area you probably have another parish in close proximity so be thankful for that.

 

[Genesis315]

I used to say that no one actually thought the new Missal was good. Obviously, the traditionalist sorts did not, but the others almost all seemed to need to make their own changes and “improvements” to it. A by-the-book new Mass used to be pretty rare in my experience.

A priest in such times even made the following plea:

My suggestion is that you have one Mass at your parishes in which you allow people to go to a Mass at which the Black is said and the Red is done ─ just one, Father. You can do your liturgical dancing and affirm your artistic side at the 11AM Mass. Just say the 9AM by the book, so that if a person wants to go to a Catholic Mass, she (or he) will have the opportunity to do so. I have always maintained that the faithful have a right to go to a Catholic Mass if they want to. It is your duty, Father, to provide at least one a Sunday. You can say a Mass later of which you are the star and during which you can let your inner poet out.

https://stlambert.org/documents/2015/1/History_of_the_Hootenanny_Mass.pdf

But I think there has been some improvement. Spontaneity and experimentation are not as exciting as they once were I think and I don’t think the younger generation gets quite the rush from it their forbears did. TLMs I go to are of course always totally by the book, but when I go to the NO, my experience these days is that the ratio of by the book to not is now about 50/50. And that’s a lot better than it was even 15 years ago.

 

[EmmaSowl]

Thank you all for replying. I have not yet mastered how to quote (and some of the responses were similar), so I’m going to do my best to reply to everything in this post. If anyone feels his question was ignored, please let me know.

As to the pronunciation of GIRM: No, I have never seen it written as “germ,” and I absolutely agree that the acronym lends itself to being pronounced “germ” rather than the cumbersome G.I.R.M. Therefore, I would not bring the matter up - except for my experiences with the tone of voice the liturgists I know use when they say the word. Two of them actually screwed up their faces in the exact same way as each other and asked me the exact same question: “You like the GIRM?”

The main claims I remember which the liturgists in my parish used to make of the upcoming GIRM were a variety of tropes for the Lamb of God, gathering around the altar for the Lord’s Prayer, holding or raising hands during the Lord’s prayer, an embracing of frequent liturgical dancing, reference to the Trinity as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, and most of all, the removal of the word “men” from the Nicene Creed. In fact, all these things were done at my parish before the new GIRM came out because our liturgists were so certain of the upcoming changes.

As to who is and who is not the liturgical police, I was merely using the term in the same manner as the poster who spurred my line of thinking. I understand that I have no authority to force anything - but do I not have a right to try and persuade my pastor to feed me with the food I was promised by the bishops? If I do not have the right to ask for what was promised, why do others have the right to force feed me what has not been authorized?

Because of my mental illnesses (quote from last diagnosis: “High anxiety and EXTREME PTSD” [caps in original]), I’m afraid that the abuses have a stronger affect on me than they would on the average Mass attendee. I know I do not represent the norm. And I do not ask that the Mass be arranged around my sensibilities - in fact, I work hard to conform my sensibilities to the official Mass. Unfortunately for me, the result of that effort is that I cannot sit through a Sunday Mass without being medicated because each abuse gives me unreasonable pain due to my temperament.

However, while my reaction is extreme, I do not believe I am alone. I just have a reason to think about it deeply. What I see is that the more disobedient the liturgy becomes, the emptier the pews get.

…Oops - looks like I wrote too much. Will paste the rest in another post.

 

[EmmaSowl]

…Here is the rest:

Finally, here are the abuses I have witnessed (other than the ones listed above). Some are single incidents, some are weekly, some happen now and then:

Translations:

1. The official translation of the Responsorial Psalm is replaced with a paraphrased song.
2. The official Alleluia Verse is replaced with the same verse sung every week.

Body Posture:

1. No kneeling after the Lamb of God. I cannot find a statement by any of the bishops in my diocese which directs us not to kneel even though the norm in the US (not universally, but in the US) is to kneel unless one’s bishop directs otherwise. If someone knows of such a statement from an LA bishop, I would be grateful to read it.
2. No bowing during the Nicene Creed.
3. No beating of the breast during “for my fault…”
4. Faithful directed to stand before the priest prays the Invitation to Pray at the Presentation of the Gifts.
5. Faithful sitting before everyone has finished receiving Communion.

Blurring of Roles:

1. Deacon’s wife shared the homily at Midnight Mass.
2. Seminarians give homilies.
3. Laity are asked to extend their hands in blessing over those bringing Communion to the Sick.

Stumbling Blocks to Singing:

1. Song settings are routinely too high to sing all the notes.
2. Cantors warble in a way that few laymen can imitate.
3. Lyrics are given without musical notes.
4. Sometimes even lyrics aren’t given.
5. Songs are sung so fast it is difficult to keep up.
6. Increasing use of children in the choir (God bless their sweet souls) results in often off-key performances.
7. No pride of place for chant.

Thank you for giving me a chance to clarify my position.

 

[EmmaSowl]

Genesis - yes, it is better, thanks be to God.

And, yes, I would LOVE just one obedient Sunday Mass. I’d arrange my life around it.

 

[CilladeRoma]

To be honest, much of what you are complaining about are not really “abuses”, they are options that are the choice of the Pastor/Bishop.

If you are really concerned, call the diocese and ask for a copy of the “norms for liturgy” that have been approved by the Bishop. Then you can see,exactly what the Bishop has directed, then you can decide if any of the issues you have are actual abuses, and discern how to address them.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

The main claims I remember which the liturgists in my parish used to make of the upcoming GIRM were a variety of tropes for the Lamb of God, gathering around the altar for the Lord’s Prayer, holding or raising hands during the Lord’s prayer, an embracing of frequent liturgical dancing, reference to the Trinity as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, and most of all, the removal of the word “men” from the Nicene Creed. In fact, all these things were done at my parish before the new GIRM came out because our liturgists were so certain of the upcoming changes.

Sounds like these “liturgists” weren’t really all that in tune but just hopeful and later disappointed. Most people who study and follow liturgy and liturgical changes that I’m familiar with would have thought these innovations and wouldn’t have been at all surprised by the suppression of them that came with the updated GIRM.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

See my responses intermingled in your quoted text.

Translations:

1. The official translation of the Responsorial Psalm is replaced with a paraphrased song. Accetable option
2. The official Alleluia Verse is replaced with the same verse sung every week. Possibly acceptable option, in certain cases.

Body Posture:

1. No kneeling after the Lamb of God. I cannot find a statement by any of the bishops in my diocese which directs us not to kneel even though the norm in the US (not universally, but in the US) is to kneel unless one’s bishop directs otherwise. If someone knows of such a statement from an LA bishop, I would be grateful to read it. This is up to your bishop; the statement may not have been published, but many were issued around 2005-2008.
2. No bowing during the Nicene Creed. By whom? Clergy? Problematic, but not abuse. Laity? Still an issue, but lesser; probably poor catechesis.
3. No beating of the breast during “for my fault…” See previous comment about bowing.
4. Faithful directed to stand before the priest prays the Invitation to Pray at the Presentation of the Gifts.Non-issue; the rubric is vague enough to allow this.
5. Faithful sitting before everyone has finished receiving Communion.Not mentioned in any rubric and a source of confusion even amongst liturgists.

Blurring of Roles:

1. Deacon’s wife shared the homily at Midnight Mass.Not appropriate; rarely may a lay person speak, and never as a homily.
2. Seminarians give homilies.Same as previous.
3. Laity are asked to extend their hands in blessing over those bringing Communion to the Sick.This is gray; I call non-issue, but others aren’t happy with it. The rubrics never mention it.

Stumbling Blocks to Singing:
None of this warrants response in regard to the GIRM.

1. Song settings are routinely too high to sing all the notes.
2. Cantors warble in a way that few laymen can imitate.
3. Lyrics are given without musical notes.
4. Sometimes even lyrics aren’t given.
5. Songs are sung so fast it is difficult to keep up.
6. Increasing use of children in the choir (God bless their sweet souls) results in often off-key performances.
7. No pride of place for chant.