To be read out at all Masses
Sunday 26 October 2003
My dear brothers and sisters in the diocese
If you're listening to this on tape, then you'll have to be looking somewhere. You might have decided that it's time to read the newsletter, or even the newspaper. Don't let me disturb you. If you're listening to this being read out, the chances are that you're looking at the reader. In either case, there is a good chance that you're looking at the priest. I'm sorry, father, if I make you feel conspicuous.
What do you think that priest is doing here with you this morning? I'm not asking if you think he's doing it well or not, but what do you think he's doing? He's saying Mass is the obvious answer. But is it the best answer?
This time last year I asked you to take part in a programme called Preparing Together and the response was very encouraging. All but a very few parishes took part, and most of those that did take part did then respond to the question, "What do you want to help prepare you for the future?" The responses identified a number of areas that people saw as primary needs. You looked at what a parish community would need to be good at in order to continue to be a lively community, and the thing you saw as a first need was more formation in liturgy. Either from experience, reflection or intuition, you saw that if a parish did not have a good liturgy, then the chances are that other parts of the parish life would be inadequate in some way. In other words, if the Sunday Mass is not a good experience, then the life and soul of the parish is weak and ailing.
The purpose of the three sessions in the Autumn is to come to a more common understanding of how the Eucharist or Mass fits into the experience of faith and where it belongs in our experience of being a member of a parish.
They are not training sessions - these will be available later - but they are intended to open up the idea of the importance of ritual and celebration. Every group has its own rituals. Did you ever join a gang at school, and do you remember what happened when you joined? There were always special initiation rites that had no other purpose than to distinguish this gang from other gangs. On a larger and more adult scale, every significant group or culture has its own rituals and myths. A myth, of course, does not mean a story that has been made up and is not true. It is a founding legend, the story of where we began. An Australian Marist priest has written about this and suggests that all cultures have their founding myths: he suggests that for the Americans it is the arrival of the Founding Fathers in the 18th century. For the French it is the Revolution shortly afterwards. He doesn't offer a suggestion for England. Might it have been the Norman conquest in 1066, the last time this country was invaded? Certainly that has left a lasting impression on the psyche of this island race.
These rituals and myths are important because they give us a sense of identity, of belonging to this group or culture. Without them we are lost, and that is frightening. For Catholics, the legend that we recall at Mass is that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. For Catholics, Mass is the defining ritual. That's what Catholics do. They go to Mass.
I believe that there is a certain crisis facing our society today. It is the crisis of belonging, or to put it another way, it is what I think Mother Theresa identified as the greatest poverty of our time, the poverty of loneliness and isolation. It is increasingly difficult for people to feel that they belong to something. This is aggravated by what many people see as the disintegration of family life. This is probably less true of Catholic families, but only slightly less true, I suspect. Catholics are not immune to what is happening in society around them.
Think for a moment about what groups, communities or organisations you belong to, apart from your parish. For young people this is probably easier, because they are part of a school, college or university. And in those schools and colleges they belong to other groups, teams and societies.
But as adults, what do we feel we're part of? Our place of work - if we have one - is one possibility, but that might not offer any sense of belonging to a real community. And your Tesco Club card certainly doesn't offer any sense of belonging to a group.
One of the largest and most visible groups (or group of groups) in our society today is the large body of dedicated football supporters. One thing we can observe there is just how important rituals are for the identity of any group and for establishing a sense of belonging to that group. The dedicated supporter will wear the team colours, usually a team shirt, and often the shirt of a particular player. They have special chants and songs and gestures they can all share in. The team has a name given it by the fans, rather than by its geographical location - the Seagulls in the south of the diocese. Goals are marked with their own special players' rituals - the defiant fist in the air, the shirt over the head, the run to the supporters, the slide along the grass and the team hug. When this behaviour becomes standardised then it is ritual, rather than a spontaneous reaction. Sometimes the rituals include unprovoked violence.
Our church rituals are ancient. They are complex, rich and powerful. They deserve to be looked at and reflected on, because we've probably never been particularly conscious of many of them - why do we bless ourselves with holy water as we come into church? Why the sign of the cross? Why water? Why is this building important and why is it the way it is?
I asked at the beginning of this letter what you thought the priest was doing here today, and suggested that he was saying Mass. That sounds as though he is doing something for you and you have come along to be present. Mass is much more than this. The priest has a particular role in what is happening, but the question at the beginning of the programme Gathering Together is just that - what is happening here today? What's happening is that the community has come together to celebrate the Eucharist. It is not just the priest saying Mass for the people.
I ask you to enter this process of discovery. It should be a fascinating journey, and I'm sure it will be enlightening and inspiring. It will, most importantly, I hope, strengthen your faith and give you a new relationship with the Eucharist, the Mass. That relationship is crucial to our faith
With my prayers and best wishes.
Rt. Rev. Kieran Conry
Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
See the Gathering Together pages for more information on the various documents and events
