Dear Laity: Leave the Mass Alone
Catholic News Agency (CNA) recently posted an article that sheds light on an ever-present problem that is running amuck in our post-conciliar-aged Catholic Faith here in America, as well as globally.
CNA reports that the pastor of St. Francis in the Archdiocese of Portland, Fr. George Kuforiji, was in the middle of consecration, the holiest part of Mass, when a group of elderly aged parishioners came in shouting and protesting the priest for the changes he has made to the Mass in the parish since his arrival to St. Francis in 2018.
What are the changes he has made, one might ask? According to CNA,
“[Fr.] Kuforiji reportedly insisted on using only Church-approved liturgical texts during the Mass. The texts refer to God as “He,” “Lord,” or “King,” instead of the gender neutral terms “God,” and “Creator” that had become customary replacements during parish liturgies. [Fr.] Kuforiji also stopped the practice of reading a “community commitment” after the recitation of the Nicene Creed.”
The story goes on to report that many of the parishioners made comments such as “You don’t belong here” and that Fr. Kuforiji was abusing the parish and parishioners in general. Luckily, the Archdiocese of Portland, shepherded by Archbishop Sample, known for his orthodoxy and reverence as well as his advocacy of the Tridentine Latin Mass, made a statement saying that it is “happy to be working with Fr. George Kuforiji, Pastor of St. Francis Parish, to revitalize the parish so that it is able to better serve the growing population in the area as well as future generations of Catholics in Portland.”
God bless Fr. Kuforiji, and God Bless what he is trying to do for the lost souls of that parish. It would appear that Fr. Kuforiji is trying to restore the Mass to the rubrics, since this parish had run so far away from what a Catholic Mass in the Novus Ordo ought to be like.
This story clearly puts on full display what happens when the laity/congregation get full reigns on the liturgy and are left unchecked. It is heavily symptomatic of modernistic consumerism seeping its gnarly teeth into the most important part of every Catholic’s life, namely the Mass. It isn’t only the laity/congregation that have suffered from this, but from the clergy as well. I have witnessed this, as well as many other Catholics have. To take the Mass and turn it into an entertainment spectacle in an effort to be relevant, cool, and interest the largely apathetic congregation.
Simply put, the laity, nor clergy, should be allowed to change the Mass al gusto. When this happens, what you are left with is almost always a negative outcome. I, like many other Catholics, have been to parishes who have altered the Mass so much so that it becomes almost unrecognizable, save for distribution of Holy Communion.
What to do? First and foremost, I would make a clarion call to priests to return to the rubrics as they are written, celebrate the Mass in Novus Ordo as it should be, and be a man in the sense that a Father leads his family, the way a shepherd leads his flock. I have come to see that there is a general fear amongst priests that they would lose so many congregants, lose massive monetary donors, and become largely unfavorable were they to revert back to celebrating the Novus Ordo Mass as it ought to be. When I hear this, I cannot help but to think that there is a lack of Faith in our Blessed Lord to provide as He has promised.
And secondly, to the laity. Where on earth did we get the notion that we matter so much as to affect the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to our taste? Give me a break!
I have really only been to a couple of Novus Ordo Masses that were worthy of a title of reverent and holy. I know that in these particular parishes, the laity has no say whatsoever in how the Mass is celebrated, as it should be. The priests were well trained and educated and are loyal to the Magisterium and her goodness; the music directors are highly educated and trained in their field in sacred music and composition. They do not need to inquire to the laity on how to stay relevant or important, for they know that in trusting in our Blessed Lord in their gifts that they are indeed leading the flock to holiness.
The reality is, we do not matter in regards to how the Mass is celebrated, but must take a dose of humility and accept what the Holy Spirit has set before us, because it is not for God’s good, but for ours, that we come to the Feast of the Lamb.
With the case of this particular parish in the Portland Archdiocese, consumerism has taken hold of the hearts of the parishioners and has found a home in the parish, and Fr. Kuforiji has an uphill battle. But I am willing to bet he has taken up this cross and continues to trust in the Lord to provide and establish His Truth.
