The protester at the other occupied church in Boston have preemptively offered any offers from the archdiocese if they resemble the one made to St. Albert’s in Weymouth, or a solution like the one in East Boston that means the parish is closing. Nice to see they have an open mind.
And once again, we have revealed to us the poor state of catechsesis and are given an understanding of the mindset. What’s important to these people is not the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, or true worship of God, or belonging to the universal Church, the Body of Christ. No, they have become congregationalists for whom the community is most important.
As wonderful as it would be for churches holding vigils to be allowed to hold Mass, parish council member Gail Trainor said parishioners are looking for more than that.
“People are looking to keep their vibrant, healthy communities together. That they would give up their vigil, which they wholeheartedly believe in, is not something that is probably ever going to happen,” she said.
The Mass is supposed to be the source and summit of the Christian life. Jesus said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. ... Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (John 6:51, 53) It is not vibrant, healthy communities that will save us; communities will not bring us eternal life. It is the Eucharist that gives us life, and it the Eucharist is received in the Mass, which itself is the true worship of God who is all deserving of all our love and worship. Prayer services and vigils are nice, but they are not participation in the sacrifice of Christ; they are not the standing in the throne of God, while our High Priest presents Himself as the Victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world and then leads us in praise and glorification of the Father.
As a Catholic, I find it incomprehensible that anyone could say that Mass is nice, but we want our community. It’s just not right.
I think someone should take the phrase “Paris is worth a Mass” (or whatever it was) and change it to fit this.
If this community is so vibrant, why are they dependent upon a particular building? I have had to go to Mass at student centers and rented spaces before, when there was no nearby permanent church. If they care about their community so much, they can just rent out space somewhere and have their Bible study groups (ha!), yoga, whatever. I knew many a protestant church that rented space from schools, storefronts, etc… are they saying their community is weaker than those?
Well, we can already tell how strong this community is.
Lex orandi, lex credendi.
When you have been taught that the Mass is first and foremost a celebration of the gathered community, this mindset is going to develop over time. It’s inevitable. This Body has lost sight of its Head, and this phenomenon is more common than I care to discuss.