The Mass – Social Justice

-August 23, 2009

5. The liturgy sends us forth into the world to make a difference.

During these past weeks, we have been looking at various parts of the liturgy to learn about ways to make our celebration of the Eucharist richer and more relevant to our lives. This week, we come to the end of the Mass. Having received the Body and Blood of Christ, we are commissioned…sent forth…to “become what we have received” in the world and for the good of the world. We are to be people of compassion who stand up for justice! As the popular contemporary song of sending forth says: “Go make a difference! We can make a difference.”

The connection between liturgy and social justice was very dear to the hearts of the liturgical pioneers and visionaries who helped shape the liturgy at the time of Vatican II. They were concerned that, through the centuries, this connection had become blurred, even lost to a significant degree. Oh certainly, the People of God had never totally lost the connection! In every age of the church, there have been men and women in the pews as well as church leaders, both ordained and lay…people of good will, strong conviction, and keen awareness who realized in the very core of their beings what the connection between liturgy and justice should be! Furthermore, one does not need to be a saint, a revolutionary, a maverick or visionary to sense that what we do in church on Sunday should probably influence how we live the rest of the week! We do not need to be rocket scientists to know that when we profess one thing in church on Sunday and do the opposite in our daily living, “something is wrong with this picture.” Yet, the liturgical pioneers around the time of the Second Vatican Council were concerned that in general, the connection between the liturgy and justice was something that needed to be renewed, bolstered, nourished,…more directly addressed and experienced. Their work in this area was actually a response to and continuation of an awareness that had been gaining momentum since the early part of the 20th century. Men from our very own Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN were instrumental in helping this awareness come to fruition: Virgil Michel, very early on within the burgeoning liturgical movement and Godfrey Diekmann, who was himself present at the Second Vatican Council.

The songs and texts we have prayed together during these past few weeks have hopefully kept the social dimensions of being a Eucharistic people in front of us at all times. At least, that has been the intention! Let us see what a very recent church document…one that actually deals with music as its main topic… has to say about the liturgy’s relationship to social justice:

8. The Paschal hymn, of course, does not cease when a liturgical celebration ends. Christ, whose praises we have sung, remains with us and leads us through church doors to the whole world, with its joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties. The words Jesus chose from the book of Isaiah at the beginning of his ministry become the song of the Body of Christ. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

9. Charity, justice, and evangelization are thus the normal consequences of liturgical celebration. Particularly inspired by sung participation, the body of the Word Incarnate goes forth to spread the Gospel with full force and compassion. In this way, the Church leads men and women “to the faith, freedom and peace of Christ by the example of its life and teaching by the sacraments and other means of grace. Its aim is to open up for all men (and women) a free and sure path to full participation in the mystery of Christ.”

from “Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) – November 14, 2007

May our extended reflection on the Eucharist, the Mass and the “Bread of Life Discourse” from John’s Gospel these past five weeks arouse in us a renewed faith and commitment to living out our ministry and mission as the Body of Christ in the world!

“We have no mission but to serve in full obedience to our Lord: to care for all, without reserve, and spread his liberating Word.”

-David Orzechowski, Liturgy & Music