Many commentators look to the rise of secularism as the reason for the increasing antipathy towards religion. However, such a view sometimes fails to acknowledge that secularism grows where the Church has become impoverished.
If the Church is to have a future in the modern world, particularly in the West, then it needs to work at engaging young people, and certainly when it comes to the celebration of the Eucharist at Mass.
As a young boy and teenager who attended Mass in the early 80s and into the mid-1990s, I was rarely consumed with a joyous celebration of God’s love at Mass. While there were regular moments of solemnity and an experience of the transcendent, I often reflected why I and those around attended Mass at all. I know that I certainly didn't have a choice in the matter as far as my parents were concerned, but that didn't make me resentful or any less reflective about my presence among my fellow parishioners. I simply wasn't engaged, and I often drifted off to cogitate on matters relevant only to the mind of the young.
When I was focused, I tried to understand the significance of what was happening before me, and I was regularly confronted with homilies which were above me intellectually, sometimes terrifying and always leaving me with more questions than answers. One of my other keen observations was the seeming joylessness of those around me: no one smiled; noisy children were chided and silenced by parents, and teenagers yawned and restlessly endured the 60 minutes of compulsory Mass attendance. Even the statues looked miserable.
However, it wasn’t all bad. As a student of Catholic primary school, liturgy and Mass were always much more vibrant and seemed to keep the attention of even the most inattentive student. We practised hymns for the following week’s Mass, complete with hand actions and bodily gestures; we learned the prayers and responses; we made symbols which were meaningful; and we even did a liturgical dance or two. In all, my peers and I were generally engaged in what was happening, even if some of the theology was lost on us.
As an adult Catholic who attends Mass on a weekend, many of my observations remain unchanged. Indeed, I am one among very few of my own age at Mass, and I observe that fewer young people attend Mass with their parents, despite professing to have a Catholic faith. Though, I am not surprised. In many ways and in many parishes (but not all), Mass has become mentally disengaging. The proponents of a more traditional form of Catholic ritual cite liturgical correctness, theological accuracy, institutional orderliness, and conflate a silent mournfulness with solemnity. They also believe that Mass is for the virtuous alone, but often look, as Nietzsche remarked, though they are “Lent without Easter”. They appear virtuous, but often cannot think with generosity. Priests with a more contemporary perspective on Catholic liturgy are in an invidious position created by the self-imposed Vatican police who look for any liturgical divergence, however minor, to report back to their “masters”.
The Mass is about an engagement with the Gospel, ‘radiant with the glory of Christ’s cross, [which] constantly invites us to rejoice’ as Pope Francis tells us[i]. It is an encounter with Jesus through the redeeming power of the Eucharist. And it is open to sinners; they [should] occupy the highest order in the Church – Jesus didn’t live and die for the virtuous, and He loves according to need not virtue: ‘The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak’[ii]. So, the Mass should be an experience that enfolds the sinner, and enables us to engage –mentally, emotionally, spiritually – where we can experience ‘mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgive and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel’[iii].
Catholic schools understand this given that there is a relationship between engagement and intellectual stimulation. Good teachers develop learning materials which stimulate the mind and thereby create optimal learning conditions where students can think, explore and be creative. An observation of Mass or celebration at a Catholic school is replete with joy, colour, vibrancy, and meaningful and authentic participation, which arises from an understanding of effective ways to engage the minds of the young.
We need this approach to Catholic ritual to infect the broader Church and overcome those immunised against liturgical creativity, engagement with the senses and the outward expression of the joy which can only come through experiencing the redeeming power of the Eucharist.
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