Dear Parishioners,
     Last weekend, we looked at the way the Assembly prepares for and begins the celebration of the Eucharist.  This weekend, we’ll look at some of the elements of this celebration, from the perspective of the pews.
     Throughout the Mass, the laity in the pews engages the Mass in a way that is holistic and multifaceted.  At different times, the assembly is silent, speaking, and singing – all while either standing, sitting, processing, or kneeling.  For most Catholics, this pattern of action and movement has become routine.  Yet the importance, meaning and purpose of each component is often not well understood, particularly when considering the interior dimensions of our liturgical engagement. 
     Throughout the Mass, one of the central dynamics is the back and forth between the celebrant and the Assembly, which we call the “dialogues” of the Mass: “The Lord be with you.”  “And with your spirit.”  Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the celebrant primarily engaged the servers in these dialogues, who responded on behalf of the congregation.  In the Mass promulgated after the council, these responses were given to the entire Assembly in order to engage them more directly in the offering of the Mass. 
     In the dialogues of the Mass, the celebrant speaks as the head of the body, as a shepherd would speak with his flock, leading them in the worship of God.  The Assembly, in responding to the celebrant, not only responds to him in his human role as their leader, but also according to his ordained role as a representative of Jesus Christ, present in their midst.  This liturgical dialogue manifests a central truth of our faith: that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, continues his saving conversation with humanity in our own time.  Unlike other created things, God doesn’t just speak to us, but he speaks with us.  He speaks with us as friends, not slaves, because he desires a free response from us, not just compelled obedience.
     For this reason, the Assembly is called to attentively engage in the dialogues of the Mass, rather than thoughtlessly reacting.  This is particularly important when the Assembly is responding “Amen” at the end of a prayer.    “Amen” is sometimes translated into English as “I believe.”  But the real meaning of this ancient Hebrew word is much more profound.  When we say Amen, we are giving our assent, our fiat.  We are saying that we are fully committed to what we have just heard and witnessed. 
     In addition to the dialogues and responses of the Mass, there are also what we call “acclamations,” such as the Gospel Acclamation and the Memorial Acclamation.  An acclamation is a formal and communal recognition.  In the case of the Mass, the acclamations occur at critical moments of the liturgy, as the Assembly is called to recognize the presence of Jesus Christ in the Gospel that is to be proclaimed and in the form of bread and wine, now transformed into his body and blood upon the altar. 
     Ideally, especially in more important and solemn liturgies, the dialogues, responses, and acclamations of the Mass are meant to be sung.  In fact, the liturgical teaching of the Church indicates that they are the most important parts of the Mass to be sung, as singing manifests the unity and harmony of the Assembly more fully.  When we first introduced the new translation of the Mass back in 2010, you might recall that there was an effort to incorporate more singing of the dialogues.  But it did not take very well.  At most Masses the priest and the assembly speak back and forth rather than chanting.  I think part of the reason that singing has not persisted is because we get very self-conscious about singing in our culture, where singing is viewed predominantly as a performance.  This was not always the case and still is not the case in many cultures.  We need only think back to when families and friends would gather around a piano in the living room to sing songs together.  This has been replaced by karaoke and shows like “The Voice” where singing is performed and evaluated by an audience.
     The singing at Mass does not have an audience in the strict sense, because the real audience for our singing is the Triune God.  We sing with, to and for him, and our singing binds us together as a body.  Perhaps the closest experience we have outside of the Mass to this kind of singing is when we sing “Happy Birthday” at a birthday party.  No one worries about how they sound, because it is not a performance.  We sing together to honor the person who is celebrating their birthday.  And we know that they will appreciate the effort, regardless of how it sounds.  Singing happy birthday also brings those gathered together in a common, united ritualized honoring and celebrating of the birthday boy/girl.  Often, we try to sing loud enough so that we can encourage the people around us to sing, helping one another to serenade the person as well as we can.  If someone refused to sing, it would be rightly interpreted as manifesting a lack of respect and care for the person celebrating their birthday and the group as a whole, or a serious and problematic immaturity and lack of confidence. 
     I am convinced that the communal singing of “Happy Birthday” is the healthiest and most appropriate model for how the Assembly should approach singing at Mass.  We might not always feel like singing and we might not always sound great.  But the reason we raise our voices together is that it is a sign of respect for God and one another, not a demonstration of our musical capability or interest.  This is especially the case for the great hymns and acclamations of the Mass: the Gloria, the Holy, Holy, the Memorial Acclamation, and the Great Amen. 
     Often, when we start off singing “Happy Birthday” no one really knows what key we will be singing in, and so everyone has to kind of listen to each other before the group finds the same notes to sing together (hopefully).  This points to the importance of listening in the Assembly.  I’m not sure many Catholics think of this, of listening to one another during the Mass and seeking to speak and sing as one body, one Assembly.  As I’ve said earlier, the Assembly is meant to engage the Mass as a unified body.  In order to speak and sing as one body, we have to listen to one another and adjust our own pacing, volume, and pitch to fit in with the group.  This awareness of those around us should not become obsessive and distracting, but should reflect a healthy liturgical perspective that takes into account the people around us with the goal of acting in harmony with one another.
     I’m not sure if you’ve ever been to a Mass where the Assembly was super dialed in and engaged.  Masses at the seminary were often that way, as you might imagine.  It’s quite memorable.  There is a feeling of support and encouragement when you hear the voices of those around you authentically responding and singing with a generous spirit.  It’s not a performance; we should not evaluate one another or even evaluate particular Masses or congregations on “how well they do.”  We should be focused on how we are engaging the prayer of the Church, not on how everyone else is doing.  But at the same time, to be a follower of Christ is to be a member of his body, and as members of his body we should try to work together, living what we receive together from Christ: Holy Communion.