Vatican II and Clown Masses

in 1962 the second Vatican Council called for the reform of the Roman liturgy its purpose was not to make the Catholic Church look more Protestant or because it wanted to break from tradition to be more in line with the world it was done to more easily involve the laity into the liturgical life of the church to Aid in the work of evangelization and to reincorporate some of the most ancient features of our liturgy that had sadly been lost over the years to do so the council allowed for the use of the vernacular gave greater flexibility to incorporate local cultural traditions of processions art and music and even set the stage for local Bishops conferences to establish significant adaptations to the Latin right for a global Church consisting of innumerable cultures and languages there was no need for everyone to speak the same language or to adhere to the same rubrics allowing for adaptations would only Aid in the work of evangelization and catechesis or so we thought as many have experienced over the years particularly in time immediately after the council but even in some places today adaptations have how should we say it not exactly been implemented in the way Vatican II imagined in many instances we've seen the distinction between the role of the ministerial priesthood and the baptismal priesthood blurred laypeople offering the homily the softening of presidential prayers to diminish the otherness of the priest and the use of extraordinary ministers in not so ordinary situations to name a few there have been communities out of a real sense of pastoral care and with the best intentions mind you who have taken upon themselves to adapt the right to their local needs removing readings skipping the Creed re-translating prayers to be more inclusive or even incorporating entirely new signs and rituals and of course there were the infamous clown masses Yes you heard that right clown masses for those of you who may have never heard of this phenomenon maybe you clicked on this video with a morbid sense of curiosity this is in fact an actual thing that happened and I'm not talking about a Mass for clowns an ordinary Mass where performers show up to worship a common and perfectly acceptable practice especially for those in the circus and traveling shows Ministry now I'm talking about the mass done by clowns as in the priest and ministers donning clown makeup and garish clothing producing a carnival atmosphere to the music and homily now to what extent this happens is up to debate it definitely wasn't a universal phenomenon every Parish or even in every diocese and it certainly wasn't as big of a problem as some Catholic Reddit threads would have you believe but it did happen for someone like me who grew up in the 90s and never heard of such a thing happening until I got to Seminary it is a very bizarre situation to wrap your brain around what were they thinking what would possess someone to think that this Innovation to the Liturgy is a good idea they would promote faithfulness evangelize peoples and Foster reverence to the real presence of the Eucharist the reality is that we don't know in a lot of cases because masses like these were in fact pretty rare very little scholarly work has been written about them and almost no one today is around and willing to admit that they were part of planning these liturgies so it is in many ways just speculation but if you have scholarly information that you want to share please let me know I am fascinated by this what I was able to find was record of a fairly established clown Ministry run by the sisters of Mount Saint Benedict in Erie Pennsylvania throughout the 80s they were known to replace their habits with clown attire for Mass Retreats and various Parish events reading scripture and praying the Liturgy as jovial performers as one sister put it the traditional Christian message seems to get boxed in what we attempt to do with this ministry is break down some of those barriers for them it was a much-needed dose of joy in the midst of their work that was often challenging caring for the elderly and dying protesting Wars fighting constant battles for human rights for the Sisters in particular but for the people as a whole they couldn't always be saying no couldn't always be pointing out what's wrong with the world they needed to remember that our faith is based on the good news joy and even laughter are essential and I love that really I do when people talk about reverence in the Liturgy what I think they often mean is solemnity stoicism that you have to go to Every mass as if you're auditioning for Downton Abbey or something surely there is room for joy in the Liturgy surely there should be moments of exuberance of expressive Praise of being so moved by the spirit that you can't help but sing with a smile on your face I mean we are celebrating the fact that Jesus takes away our sins and offers us eternal life right reverence and celebration are not mutually exclusive categories to Revere is simply to express a deep sense of admiration and respect that can be achieved with a serious posture for sure but it can most definitely be achieved with a familiar joyful one as well just not with clowns okay well I love the idea behind this ministry and knowing a bit more about it gives some understandable context it's pretty clear that this is not what Vatican II had in mind even in adaptation the Dignity of the mass must be insured and so where is that line for me that's the far more interesting topic here we can all agree that clown masses were a disaster but there has to be an appropriate way to be joyful in the Liturgy is there room for say Liturgical Dance at Mass secular music clapping rituals and gestures traditional to non-roman countries to answer this question we can look to the second Vatican Council itself which expresses a deep desire for the enculturation of the Liturgy even in the Liturgy the church has no wish to impose a rigid uniformity in matters which do not implicate the faith or the good of the whole Community rather does she respect and Foster the genius and talents of the various races and peoples anything in these people's way of life which is not into soluble bounds up with Superstition and error she studies with sympathy and if possible preserves intact sometimes in fact she admits such things into the Liturgy itself so long as they harmonize with its true and authentic Spirit one of the beautiful things that Vatican do so importantly emphasizes is the fact that the Lord's work of the Gospel penetrates culture in varied ways sometimes even prior to being formally evangelized there is a sense of the Transcendent in many cultures symbols that evoke all gestures that promote reverence while not everything from culture is compatible with Christianity the church recognizes a double movement of evangelization there are truths that the church can teach cultures but there are also aspects of culture that can add to the wealth of the church in fact the council says that there are elements of the Liturgy that are subject to change and that these not only may but ought to be changed with the passage of time if they have suffered from an intrusion of anything out of harmony with the inner nature of the Luigi or become unsuited to it this means that music is adaptable as beautiful and Powerful as the organ and Gregorian chant are for many European cultures these are foreign to many other cultures through people of Africa Asia and South America there are entirely different ways of expressing Beauty and reverence and these should be considered in certain parts of the world especially Mission lands there are peoples who have their own musical traditions and these play a great part in their religious and social life for this reason due importance is to be attached to their music in a suitable place is to be given to it not only informing their attitude towards religion but also in adapting worship to their native genius the same goes for gestures while standing kneeling bowing and gender reflecting have a historical meaning to westerners they often mean something very different in non-western countries and are not the only appropriate gestures for worship among some peoples singing is instinctively accompanied by hand clapping rhythmic swaying and dance movements on the part of the participants such forms of external expression can have a place in liturgical actions of these peoples on condition that they are always the expression of true communal prayer of adoration praise offering and supplication and not simply a performance for us westerners clapping is closely linked to entertainment dancing is performative even sexual nature for us these gestures don't make much sense in the Liturgy and should probably be avoided but this is not universally true in many cultures around the world there are specific dances meant for sacred occasions clapping is an expression of gratitude a means by which people enter into worship not just intellectually but bodily so often you'll see on Twitter or Reddit boards people criticizing an African liturgy for clapping an Asian liturgy for dancing a South American liturgy for its traditional costumes calling it Pagan disrespectful lacking reverence the reality couldn't be further from the truth in the United States these gestures very well may be distracting and lack reverence but that is only because we are operating from within entirely different cultural milus in other parts of the world these things may in fact be the height of reverence for a great example of this how adaptations like these have been approved and implemented we can look to the Zaire use of the Latin right under the direction of the National Conference of Bishops and approved by the Holy See this right has a revised liturgical calendar of Feasts the congregation sits during the reading of the gospel and stands during the consecration an invocation of the ancestors of upright heart is included the penitential act follows the homily just before the preparation of the gifts and immediately followed by the sign of peace and all are encouraged to raise their hands and praise during the hour father are these fundamental changes to the Liturgy no not exactly they're cultural adaptations that honor the genus of a culture for the use of evangelization and active participation while still maintaining the dignity and underlying tradition of the Liturgy because there are limits to enculturation not everything is adaptable because not everything from culture is pure and a certain level of unity must be maintained across the whole church petitions have Arisen from Asian cultures to replace the bread of the Eucharist with rice paddies a far more significant image of a simple life-sustaining meal for their cultures and these have been denied as understandable an adaptation as it might seem allowing so would create an irreparable break from sacred tradition and significant disunity which I think is what's ultimately the problem with Cloud masses while some see them as similar to the Zaire rights in their exuberance and passion and even admire their joyfulness there's no denying that they fundamentally shift the focus of the Liturgy from reverence to entertainment and undermine unchangeable aspects of the Liturgy clowns in almost every culture are meant for Folly not reverence this is clearly not what Vatican II had in mind and I think that's really the point here what I hope that everyone will walk away contemplating how do we Faithfully live out what Vatican II hope to accomplish while abuses were abundant immediately after the council and some even exist today it's important to make a distinction between what the council advocated for and what actually came of it Vatican II did not want clown masses it didn't want white Suburban ladies doing an interpretive gymnastics routine during the preparation of the gifts wasn't about making Mass fun or entertaining the purpose was to Proclaim that God had been at work in various cultures long before they were evangelized meaning that there are beautiful true aspects of culture worth lifting up it was an acknowledgment that while the gospel is objective and unchanging our ways of living and sharing the gospel vary greatly from place to place in order to involve the laity in the liturgical life of the church to Aid in the work of evangelization and to reincorporate some of the most ancient features of our liturgy that had sadly been lost over the years careful adaptations were allowed I point in making this video is not the dunk on clown masses or Liturgical Dance but to show that there is a fundamental difference between these things as we experience them in the United States and the Lively liturgy celebrated by various cultural groups around the world just because a mass may involve Dance Bright clothing clapping and a whole lot of emotion does not mean that it is in any way less valid less authorized or less reverent than the Oregon and Gregorian chant mass of the Baroque style Church in your diocese or does it mean that these things are acceptable in themselves reverence can take many forms for many different peoples there is room for criticism of our current state of liturgy and I for one agree that we need more reference at Mass topic for another video but reverence can be expressed in a lot of different ways rather than enforce one culturally informed expression of worship on all ask yourself the far more important question does this liturgy nurture Faith Foster evangelization and promote vocations to the priesthood all I can say is that the church is thriving in many places through many forms of liturgy [Music]

Channel: Breaking In The Habit

Views: 143,748

Keywords: Catholic, Franciscan, Casey Cole, OFM, Christian

Id: 285flprK1lY

Length: 12min 30sec (750 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 08 2023