Actually, if you were to carefully read Exodus, Deuteronomy and Leviticus, the Lord gave Moses very detailed instructions on just how He should be worshipped. The Lord covered everything, from the composition of the altar to the color of the vestments for the priests and the gold vessels and their particular use. He was also very specific about the Passover and the other sacrifices.
In fact, He was also adamant about adherence to the norms that He prescribed. Remember. Aaron’s sons and Dathan didn’t adhere to the norms and they got burned, literally. Cardinal Arinze makes note of that in one of his addresses:
Furthermore, going back to the subject of music, Pope Benedict often notes the importance of appropriate music for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Here is what he said over the weekend, when his older brother, the renowned, retired choirmaster for Regensberg Cathedral, was given honorary citizenship in Castel Gandolfo:
Incidentally, the Holy Father’s brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, often used settings by Bach and Mendelsohn.
Yes, I am aware that the Old Testament is very specific on the details of the worship of the Israelites. In fact, this is one of the reasons that I had an easy time accepting a liturgical style of worship as opposed to what I was raised with in the evangelical Protestant churches, which is basically completely non-liturgical, with a different “order of service” for every service from week to week to avoid “monotony.”
I KNEW that the Bible taught that God considered “order of worship” was important. I was upset with my evangelical Protestant churches for becoming more and more “random” in their organization of worship service. We literally never knew what to expect from week to week.
At the moment, there is a small group of evangelical Protestants advocating a return to a more liturgical style of worship services. But they are a small group, indeed, and they are being hushed by the radio preachers who accuse them of pushing people down the “road to Rome.”
So I have no disagreement with you or any Catholic on the important of Liturgy. I think it is a great weakness of Protestant churches, especially the evangelical Protestant churches, that they have abandoned any liturgy and in fact, criticize liturgy as a “work of man.”
But benedictgal, are you saying that the liturgy described in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy IS the SAME liturgy that the Mass should have?
I don’t think you’re saying that. I hope not, because I do disagree with that. The worship in the Old Testament was Jewish worship, and we are not Jews.
I honestly don’t think we can find any passage of Sacred Scripture that outlines in detail a “Catholic Mass.”
I’ve read all the Deuteronocanonicals, and I don’t think that there is a “Liturgy of Catholic Mass” in any of them, although since I am not as familiar with them as I am with the Protestant canon of Scripture, perhaps I have forgotten about an entire passage. Have I?
But even though we don’t find an “Order of Liturgy of the Catholic Mass” in Sacred Scripture, what we do find is the Jesus Christ designating authority to the Church. The Church is where we will receive the correct liturgy for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
We also find many principles in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, that I think might apply to Mass. For example, Jesus makes it clear that he is less concerned with appearance and more concerned with the intent of the heart. In his “Woes” to the Pharisees, Jesus talks about the religious “talk” that doesn’t match the actual walk.
Often, Jesus denounces those who follow every jot of the Law, but neglect to show love to their fellow man. Also, many passages of Scripture make it clear that it doesn’t matter how much we know, but rather, what’s most important is how much we demonstrate love.
And I think one of the most powerful verses in the Old Testament is “For thou doest not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 51).
What this tells me is that even if I do something “incorrect” in the Sacrifice of the Mass, it is not nearly so important to God as my contrition and brokenness over my sin.
To me, these are general principles, teachings from the Lord, that help me to keep things in perspective. This is probably why I appear “mushy” to some of the more conservative Catholics on these Liturgical threads. It seems to me that the actual song is not nearly as important (as long as it is not devilish) as is the heart and intent of the person singing or playing the song.
What this means to me is that one person will sing joyfully and with gusto a “questionable” song (e.g., Amazing Grace), and the Lord will be pleased by the heart full of praise. At the same time, another person will bow their head and remain silent during the “questionable” song and God will also be pleased by their heart longing for truth.
I’m NOT saying that liturgy is out the window! PLEASE don’t accuse me of saying that. I think that one of the best things that the Catholic Church could do is try to tie up all these loose ends, answer all the questions (e.g., is Communion on the hand really OK?), issue some unmistakeable guidelines for music, forbid certain practices that have offended Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and lessened the impact of the Gospel. I would LOVE to see everything in God’s House in perfect order.
But I also accept that this work will not be done quickly, especially with so many other pressing issues. So while the work of perfecting the liturgy of the Mass is in progress, I will joyfully accept the Mass that I am privileged to participate in.
The Scripture says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I think that this saying could apply to the Mass–the Sacrifice of Our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Sacrifice is not negated by the singing of “Gather Us In” instead of Palestrina. It is the Same Sacrifice.
