2013-02-08         John W     John W's previous articles

The Calisthenic Mass

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In a comment (January 22) on Andrew Hamilton's article Using poor language in the liturgy (Eureka Street, January 16) Jim Macken wrote:

The calisthenic Mass should be abolished. The continuous standing, kneeling, sitting etc ensures that a contemplative and reverential Mass cannot be prayed

I have long had the same feeling. I have long felt sorry for the poor people, especially older people, having to go up and down so many times during Mass

The calisthenics is as its worst at daily Mass, when the Offertory may last for only a minute so that after having just sat down after the Prayer of the Faithful, the people immediately have to jump up for the "Pray brethren"

Same on Sundays: up briefly for the Prayer after Communion, back down for the notices ....which is why many priests, myself included, have left the Prayer after Communion after the notices

In the space of 25 minutes for a daily Mass, people are up at start, down for readings, up at Alleluia, down for homily, up for Prayer of Faithful, down for Offertory, up for Pray brethren, down for Eucharistic Prayer, up for Consecration acclamation, down after Lamb of God, up for receiving Communion, down after Communion, up for Prayer after Communion....that's a 7-Up Mass!

No wonder many small groups stay seated for most or all of the Mass.
This is what I did during my years of work in China for morning Mass with some Hong Kong sisters and HK lay volunteers. We would just sit around a table, bowing at the Consecration

I did the same for many years in Australia while on holidays...when saying Mass for my aging mother. We would just sit at her kitchen table for the whole Mass

And I remember how I used to have the old people, half of them in wheel chairs, stay seated the whole time when I said a weekly Mass for them at the Caritas centre at Tung Chung in Hong Kong

Jim is correct: the jumping up and down is a great distraction....sitting is much more prayerful. When will common sense prevail on a wider scale?

What do you think?  Please add your comments below!