By Charles Muchiri
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| A priest celebrates Holy Mass at St Josephine Bhakita, Nairobi |
They perform the sign of the cross on almost each and every opportunity that presents itself. They do it as they get into the church, during the sprinkling of Holy Water, severally during the Liturgy of the Eucharistic, almost every other moment during Holy Mass!
To them, these outward gestures are the full stop, the punctuation that forms every sentence that the priest utters.
At the last step of the sign of the cross (the Amen part) They beat their chest thrice – as if indulging in a penitential rite, over and over again.
They gesture with their hands (towards the priest) as they respond to the priest’s ‘The Lord be with you’ invocation. So, they always do the responses with their mouths, while at the same time, stretching their hands towards the priest with such a generous gesture: ‘And also with you:’ As if mimicking the priest’s consecrated gesture.
What amazes me is the extent that some Roman Catholics would be willing to go, in order to (perhaps) feel in sync with the Eucharistic Celebration.
Have you come across some Christians who are so keen to join the priest in almost all the invocations that they make? I have! And it’s so infuriating to me, because I do feel, somewhere deep within my guts; this just isn’t right!
If only these Christians spared their time to ascertain the order of the basic texts of the Roman Catholic Holy Mass, there is such a clear distinction between what the priest is supposed to say and the responses that are supposed to be made by ‘ALL,’ isn’t there?
It’s such a clear-cut case here!
In the missal for example, the priest’s text - and marked as ‘Priest’ - is always in normal theme font while the congregation’s text and clearly marked as ‘All’ is always in bold fonts! That’s the distinction right there forks!
There are some exemptions though; I have come across priests who invite the congregation in the prayer of peace, ahead of the sign of peace.
‘Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever.’
I have also come across priests who invite the congregation to say the Doxology together: ‘Through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all gory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.’
I suppose that this trend wasn’t there at the beginning. But it has been sipping in, slow but sure.
One reason why this could be the case, is as aforementioned; priests who invite Christians to - for example; say the prayer of peace, or the Doxology together.
My submission is; give them (the congregation) a meter, and they will be willing to walk for kilometers! I rest my case on this one!
Having said that, I also have another explanation to this trend: In case of a Mass that is being co-celebrated by a number of priests, the Co-celebrants usually join up, in verbally saying the consecration prayer.
And I tend to believe that when Christians hear a number of voices - during the consecration – saying the same thing; out of it, and in a sincere, generous ‘Harambee’ spirit, they also feel much obligated to join up on the Chants, at that moment, and during the next Holy Mass!
Unfortunately, there’s nothing much that the priests can do towards the latter. It’s a matter of Christians being catechized, over and over again.
Finally, overcooking any type of foods, isn’t fair to the nutrients, and however much heartfelt it may be to be spontaneous; there is always a beauty about a liturgy that is characterized by oneness, by a universality that can only be found in the Roman Catholic Church. This is why; the Church has to catechize some homogeneity that is all encompassing, and while at it, discourage overemphasis of gestures by some of its flocks!
(E-mail this writer: muchirimuchoki@yahoo.com)
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