For Catholics, the Mass wherein lies “the glitz and glamour” of sacred liturgy is the highest form of prayer and worship. Accordingly, the three forms of worship in the Church are latria, hyperdulia, and dulia. Latria under which the Mass falls is the adoration and worship given to God “who alone is to be worshiped, adored, and gloried,” fulfils the prayer of thanksgiving, petition, supplication, and adoration. Close to it is hyperdulia which underscores the honour and reverence given to the Blessed Virgin because of her pre-eminence over the Saints due to her immaculate conception and glorious assumption.
Mass remains “the source and summit of the Christian life”
Undoubtedly, the Mass remains “the source and summit of the Christian life” as the Catechism of the Catholic Church beautifully puts it (CCC, no 1324). By implication, it is the source because Christian spirituality flows from it, and summit because all the actions of a Christian is directed towards it. Put simply, it is the reenactment of the Calvary event in which the priest acts in persona Christi capitis – Christ the head (CCC, no 1548). Through anamnesis (a live and real recalling of the Calvary event), the effects of Jesus’ death and resurrection come alive. This is in fulfilment of the Lord’s command at the last supper through the apostles (Cf. Mk. 14:22-25; Lk. 22:18-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25) which was handed over to the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church (Lumen Gentium, no 8) down to our bishops and priests.
It is safe to say that Christ is the focal point of the Mass. What this translates to is that at no point should the principal celebration (priest), concelebrants, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, altar servers, readers, choir members, porters, or any other person in the assembly, shift the focus or attention of the audience (the faithful) from Christ. In its wisdom, the Church ensures that a crucifix is fixed on top of the altar, the tabernacle is on the sanctuary and the stations of the cross at the two sides of the Church-building.
This is so to direct the attention of everyone to Christ, the centre of our worship. Despite this lofty provision occasioned by the sacred space that the Church is, there have been aberrations in liturgical assemblies – both from members of the clergy and laity. Recall that the Holy Father, St. John Paul II in an ad limina visit address to the American bishops observed that, “in some cases there has been a misunderstanding of the very nature of the liturgy, leading to abuses, polarisation, and sometimes even grave scandal.” Sadly, these take various forms as explained bellow.
“Some priests deliberately draw attention to themselves”
First, some priests deliberately draw attention to themselves rather than Christ. This they do by wearing expensive apparel such as shoes, wristwatch, or even classy chasubles to attract the faithful to “a modern man of style and glamour.” To achieve this, most times, many a priest in this category would leave the pulpit and engage in a dramatic showmanship reminiscent of a 20th century theatre. Second, there are various attempts to raise a fan base through para-social relations and or media fandom. Oratory through refined diction with finesse as emphasis puts the priest on the world map as the most sought after.
This mentality creates a sense of social classism positioning the minister as a digital or e-priest after the heart of the youth over and above older folks in the ministry who seem boring, out of touch with reality and conservative. Again, the emphasis here is being a wordsmith who “bamboozles” the flock with fine grammar and little or no theology to back it up. Once transparency is thrown out of the window, the priest becomes “the alpha and omega” of the ambo where he manipulates the audience with talks about his rich family background, academic achievements, or high standing in society.
“Laity are no less guilty of liturgical abuses”
Third, members of the laity are no less guilty of liturgical abuses in the Mass. In Africa for instance, because of the influence of Pentecostalism, the choir and women’s group would often kidnap liturgical music into the den of theatrical performance. With borrowed secular moves, they dance to the altar mostly moving the west as the people offer applause in return. In what seems like a concert, the choir mistress deliberately throws hands in the air as in the 2003 American comedy/musical movie “Fighting temptations.” Unfortunately, the lack of transparency smacks of showmanship, and secular theatre vibes with little or no spiritual value to take home.
Fourth, extra-ordinary ministers of Holy Communion, readers, mass servers, porters and masters of ceremony sometimes fall into the temptation of distracting other members of the faithful from concentrating during liturgy. For whatever reason, some liturgical assistants listed above prefer to wear mufti rather than the liturgical apparel designated for their roles – so some, these church-wears are old-fashioned. As such, they prefer to wear their personal stuff that are trendy and project them as beautiful and handsome in the eyes of the assembly. For others, it is mere resistance to traditional values of the Church. They see themselves as progressives who oppose tradition.
Transparency as way out
In conclusion, it is worth reiterating that Jesus is the focus of the Mass. Although the salvific act which the mass celebrates may contain some elements of drama such as the priest acting in the person of Christ and other extras (liturgical assistants), care must be taken that we do not take the shine from Jesus. Like Canon Andrew McKenzie, liturgist of the Archdiocese of Glasgow would always insist, “Liturgy is about transparency.” Both the priest and other actors at Mass ought to eschew any form of distraction which turns what is supposed to be a place of encounter between God and humanity into a “theatre of the absurd.” It is high time we took theatre out of the Mass and the time is now.
• Very Rev. Fr. Justine John Dyikuk, is a Lecturer of Mass Communication, University of Jos-Nigeria, Senior Fellow, International Religious Freedom Policy, Religious Freedom Institute (RFI), Washington DC and PhD Candidate, University of Strathclyde Glasgow, United Kingdom.
