Shape the Liturgy or the Liturgy will Shape you

Shape your environment or your environment will shape you. Shape your home or your home will shape you. And it goes for many things in this life. It is not really like life is a powerplay of controlling or being controlled. I do hate control freaks (not the person but the way they treat people). It is more about STEWARDSHIP. If we become negligent, we can become enslaved. If we become rigid, we can become robots. So "shape" is a good word, because it shows our capacity to form, to choose, to grow.

In Architecture, this is far more obvious. Churches give you a sense of awe, pointing towards the transcendental. Houses are proportioned to man. And if a man is placed in a low ceiling, he had to crawl like an animal. Of course, there more to architecture than the psychological and behavioral factors. It is a field of many disciplines.

Without knowledge of history, bible, or the Catholic Faith, I would have probably designed the most appalling church. The Early Christian Churches were almost a Bible in Architecture. The Church Basilica reminded people that there is also Divine Justice apart from the Civil Basilica. The Cathedral is the "Seat" of the Bishops or Apostles where in they are called to be teachers of the Gospel. In Churches, there is the Triumphal Arch that symbolizes the passage from death to life. And many more.

I have never really thought much of the Liturgy if not for the papacy of Pope Francis. I suppose many Catholics accept the Liturgy as they are given. We don't know much of the Rubrics or the canons. But somehow, now, I would say "SHAPE THE LITURGY, OR THE LITURGY WILL SHAPE YOU." Nonetheless, whatever form, the Holy Mass is efficacious.

It's efficacious because I had a wonderful experience in a most boring Mass. It was a weekday 6 a.m. Mass. There was no choir. There were few old people. The officiating priest is an old priest who did not give a homily. It was a short mass at maybe thirty minutes. But it was then, that God showed me, "I am here with you always until the end of time". And I knew I must go to confession and go back to receiving Holy Communion. It was a special grace, and the Mass will always be special to me in whatever form.

However, many people do not see and feel the presence of Jesus in the Holy Mass. So, they go looking for a good Homilist (and Protestant preachers seemed better at it), a choir to suit their taste, an air-conditioning, a better crowd to sit with. Even with no knowledge of the Liturgical do's and don'ts, there are things which you can sense is wrong. Like there was a time when short Shorts was the fad, everyone was wearing one even in Church. Fortunately, during the papacy of Benedict XVI, dress codes were promoted. When I was in Florida, there were female Eucharistic Ministers and girl altar servers. It felt odd, although I didn't know it was forbidden.

How important is the "Liturgical correctness"? There was a book that I read about a conversion story, who was converted just by the Holy Mass. I was amazed at that, because there was no need for door to door missionaries. Yet, it was not the new mass. He was talking of beating the heart three times when the "Lamb of God" is said. The words, the postures, the incense. In another book, "The Holy Eucharist" by St. Alphonsus Liguori. St. Alphonsus went through the Holy Mass and its Biblical bases. It was a time when there was a surge of Protestanism in the country, and I was moved that the entire mass is consistent with the Bible. I appreciated the Mass evenmore. Again, it was the old form of the Mass.

Our Parish Church is not as abusive or experimental as other Churches. Although, there is a choir that uses drums. There are occasional High Masses. Although, I do not see much difference from ordinary Sunday Mass except that they processed from the entrance door. There is a camdle held by two servers when the Gospel is being proclaimed. And there is the use of incense.

As yet, I have no access to Traditional Mass except watching Pope Benedict XVI's Masses on television. And for us in the so-called "Third World" country, I only see beauty, solemnity, and reverence. I have heard others say the same thing. Pope Benedict XVI's Masses were like the Holy Mass for the Universal Church. In it's splendour, it was like embracing everyone as a child of God. There is no more rich, poor or different nationalities. We become equal children of God.

Some parishes, perhaps, would not be able to afford good vestments, beautiful Church building, or they may not even have altar servers available. The Holy Mass will still have graces flowing from it. But I do hope that where it is available, most especially with the Bishops and the Pope, the Holy Mass can be done with its utmost best for God, centered on God in behalf of all the Faithful..

Shape the Liturgy or the Liturgy will shape you. Not negligent and not rigid that we lose its meaning, but let God shine in His greatness, love, beauty, mercy and His call for us to be partakers of who He is. And together with Mother Mary, the Saints, and the Holy Angels, may the Liturgy be a window of heaven and resonate the Heavenly worship of God.