Congratulations to Elizabeth Harrington on “Liturgy Lines” re Mass attendance (CL, July1).
Even if all our Sunday Masses were perfectly and inspiringly celebrated pieces of Catholic liturgy, I doubt we would see marked increases in attendance.
She is right to point out that the Eucharist has little meaning for people “not convinced of the centrality of the paschal mystery in their (lives)”.
None of us can understand the paschal mystery fully.
However it is clear that Jesus’ preaching, his three-day passover and his call to us are about transformation.
After Easter nothing can ever the same again; even something as simple as bread and wine can never be the same again.
In W.B. Yeats’ words from a different context, “All changed, changed utterly”.
When we gather for the Eucharist we are joining with Jesus and each other in celebrating this great transformation and asking his help and that of each other to continue his transforming work.
People who are comfortable rarely sense a need for transformation.
Very many Australian Catholics, like our neighbours of other faiths or none, are at ease in present-day society.
The only major changes we wish to experience are a job change or promotion and home improvements.
On Sundays the checkout lines at my local Bunnings are better populated than the communion lines at my parish’s three Masses.
On 12 Saturday evenings a year, 20,000 faithful (I among them), devotedly join in the ritual of cheering the Cowboys efforts in the NRL.
Why should we seek to be transformed or to transform the world?
I expect this is typical of the Church’s experience wherever, in the last 2000 years she has found herself at ease with civil society in prosperous times, with her members at the centre of society rather than at the edges.
The Church appears to do well, to attract active participation where her people are struggling and suffering.
There the need for transformation is experienced in people’s hearts, minds and hungry stomachs.
For them transformation of their world is something they yearn for and for which they are prepared to work.
For us, Jesus’ call to transformation, is a cause of nervousness, something which, on the whole, we would rather not hear.
GERARD HORE
Townsville, Qld
