Eddie Day “gets it.”

Perhaps you’ve seen the article in this morning’s Times-Leader regarding the SDACT’s fight for union recognition. There is a quote from state Representative Eddie Day Pashinski worthy of mentioning.

Pashinski recounted his days as a student in Catholic schools and his excitement when he was old enough to get his own envelopes to put into Church collection baskets. He said the decision to reject unionization was “focusing on a tiny problem. We have a much bigger problem. No one is coming to church. Why? It’s not the same church I remember, it’s not the same church you remember.”

There you have it, folks. Eddie Day “gets it.” The failed renewal projects of the past, the loss of Catholic culture, and the poor quality of liturgy all contribute to the problem. Pashinski’s right; it’s not the church older Catholics remember. They remember parish churches with several priests on staff. They remember a time when Sunday Mass was important. They remember when Catholic students attended Catholic schools. A lot has happened over the past 50 years, but the future does not have to be so bleak. It will take a lot of prayer and a lot of hard work. But our faith is worth the effort.

Another Diocesan School to Close

From the Scranton Times-Tribune, we learn that St. Vincent’s School in Honesdale will close at this end of this year. St. Vincent’s is the only Catholic school in Wayne County. From a letter sent to parents:

“The proud and rich tradition of Honesdale Catholic/St. Vincent is one for which there is great respect throughout the Diocese,” the letter reads. “It is truly unfortunate that the circumstances of enrollment and finances have brought us to this point. Be assured of our prayerful support during this difficult time.”

The closure of St. Vincent’s is a great loss for Wayne County and for our diocese. But it’s not just about enrollment and finances. The management policies, attitudes and decisions coming from Scranton are making a Catholic education seem less and less desirable.

“It’s about the communities and about the people.”

Hap tip to Cathcon for alerting us to this sad news story from Utica, New York. St. Agnes Church – dating from 1887, the oldest in the Syracuse Diocese – closed on Sunday. The 350 parishioners from St. Agnes could join the 1,300 families registered at the nearby St. Anthony, but as diocesan officials admit, “…judging from trends in parish mergers, it’s likely that only 50 to 60 percent will make the move to St. Anthony….” Parish property has been sold to Lighthouse Baptist Church, which plans to renovate the interior and move its worship services to the former Catholic church.

“We don’t want to maintain buildings because they’re buildings,” said Danielle Cummings, communications director for the diocese. “It’s about the communities and about the people.”

This is a distressing story to read, and while I don’t know all the details of the closure, it certainly represents an alarming trend among American dioceses. Here is yet another example of diocesan leadership downplaying the role of parish history, and more egregiously, the importance of the church structure. No, it’s not “about the communities and the people.” It’s about God. As I stated in the last post, every parish church “is the work of God, a mystery surpassing all comprehension.”

Whether it comes from a diocesan communications officer, a priest, or even a bishop, to say that church structures are of no real importance is a falsehood. It is our duty to maintain dignified houses of God in our communities.

The law of praying and the law of believing

Lex orandi, lex credendi. It’s an old Latin maxim that translates, “the law of praying and the law of believing.” In other words, how we pray reflects what we believe. This short phrase clearly demonstrates why the Sacred Liturgy is so important. Mass and the Divine Office should be celebrated in every parish in a dignified manner. The music, the vestments, the furnishings – everything should be the very best a particular community can offer because these tangible elements help express the great intangible mysteries of our faith.

As the Diocese of Scranton moves forward with its plans for reorganization, it has published treatise after treatise reminding us that there is more to the Church than its physical structures. Diocesan officials have repeatedly downplayed not only the history of our parishes, but the buildings themselves. Surely, the Church exists outside of the physical structures. But those buildings are expressions of our faith, and the faith of our fathers.

In the latest issue of the Catholic Light, Monsignor Grimalia had this to say regarding the parish:

The parish is mission – its purpose is to continue the mission of Jesus Christ. Through its evangelizing and reconciling mission, the parish centered on the Eucharist is a sign of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church in a particular location. It may have a glorious history but it is not a museum. A parish has a great history because it responded effectively to the circumstances and challenges of the 19th and 20th centuries. A parish must celebrate its past and honor it by preparing for a mission the 21st century.

In a previous article in the Catholic Light, the director of Called to Holiness and Mission stated, “We can grow in the understanding of the parish as mission and communion, and move beyond a mentality of maintenance of structures as we deepen our understanding of Church.” The church’s own prayers can teach us something about the importance of the church, the physical structure. On the calendar of every Roman Catholic parish are two particular solemnities. According to the calendar of the Ordinary form of the Roman rite, the feast of the church’s patron saint ranks as a solemnity, as does the feast of the dedication of that church. In the extraordinary form, these dates rank as particular feasts of the first class.

Here’s an example. A parish under the patronage of Saint Martha would celebrate the feast of St. Martha on July 29 as a solemnity. At the Mass, the Gloria and the Credo would be sung (even on a weekday) and white or gold vestments would be worn. At that same parish, the date of the church’s dedication would also rank as a solemnity. The Missale Romanum includes a proper Mass for such a celebration. For example, if a particular church building was dedicated on August 14, that date would rank as a solemnity within that church.

Remember the Latin maxim: lex orandi, lex credendi. The Church believes that the physical church structures (not “worship sites”) are so important that it solemnly celebrates the dedication of these structures year after year. There is no proper Mass for the “consolidation of a parish” or even for the establishment of a parish. Instead, the Church marks the date a particular building was dedicated. Are church buildings important? Are they worth preserving? The answer can be found in the prayer of the church.

From the Mass on the Anniversary of the Dedication of a Church:

Introit: Terribilis est locus iste
How awesome this place is! This is the house of God and the gateway to heaven; and it will be called the courtyard of God. V/. How lovely is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs and pines after the courts of the Lord.

Collect
Father, each year we recall the dedication of this church to your service. Let our worship always be sincere and help us to find your saving love in this church.

Gradual: Locus iste
This place is the work of God, a mystery surpassing all comprehension, above all reproach. V/. O God, before whom a choir of Angels stands, answer the prayers of your servants.

The propers for the Mass on the Anniversary of the Dedication of a church are powerful texts. The Gradual reminds us that even the humblest parish church “is the work of God, a mystery surpassing all comprehension.” This is the Church’s law of praying, which expresses the law of believing. Our parish church structures are not dispensable resources, and they should not be treated as such. Therefore, it is unwise and contrary to the expressed beliefs of the Church to allow parishes to needlessly close and fall into disrepair. “Maintaining structures” is not an outdated or purely secular consideration. It is deeply rooted in our faith and theology.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray for our churches and our diocese.

A Proposal for Parish Renewal

I don’t believe in complaining about a situation unless you intend to do something about it. Don’t grumble about the government if you don’t vote. Don’t complain that the roast is dry if you’ve never cooked one yourself. You get the idea. But what’s this got to do with parish renewal? Just stick with me for a moment.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the “situation” in the Diocese of Scranton. What goes on in a typical conversation? Well, the outlook is generally bleak. “Nobody goes to church anymore,” someone remarks. “Where’s all the young people?” adds another. Somebody else chimes in with their standard statistical evaluation: “This area’s dying!” The conversation then moves on to the main topic, which is of course church closings. Sure it’s unfortunate, but hey, we’ve got no other choice, right? Not quite.

I agree that something needs to happen in the diocese. But I don’t think the profound renewal envisioned by consulting firms is the answer. Sure, the population of Northeastern Pennsylvania has changed since our current parishes were founded. But the area’s not dying. Our beautiful region has limitless potential. There are still people here, including many young people. The key to true diocesan renewal is to tap that potential. But how?

A strong Catholic culture can do wonders. That’s what needs to happen in our parishes. A strong program of outreach to youth and young adults. Religious instruction for children and adults. Devotional societies. There are so many possibilities. Now of course, many parishes are already doing these things. But there’s another important piece of Catholic culture that is so often lacking: sacred liturgy and music.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that, “the Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’ The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it.” While every parish in the diocese offers Mass at least every Sunday, do those liturgies truly evoke a sense of importance, a sense of mystery, a sense of the sacred? Yes, I’m speaking here of the externals: music, well-trained altar servers and masters of ceremony, beautiful vestments and churches. One may argue that these are not necessary – which is correct – but whether we want to admit it or not, our attentiveness or inattentiveness to these elements reveals a lot about what we really think about the “internals” of the Mass and our faith.

If we want to truly see a renewed diocese of Scranton, liturgy needs to be the top priority. There needs to be comprehensive training available to priests and laity. Training in both forms of the Roman rite for priests. Perhaps a diocesan sacred music institute. Instituted acolytes and/or M.C.’s trained for every parish. Attentiveness to the details, and obedience to the rubrics of each liturgy. No more “shortened versions” of Gospels or services. Sung Vespers, or even Matins and Lauds in parish churches, and especially in the Cathedral. The list can go on and on.

Let’s go back to our imagined conversation. Somewhere along the line, someone is bound to add, “When I was a kid, I remember….” You can fill in the rest. Maybe it was the smell of incense or a pious procession. Or maybe it was the Latin responses made by the altar boys at Mass. Maybe it’s a memory of the parish choir singing “Salve Regina.” These vivid memories have something in common. The brand of Catholicism they evoke did a good job with those “externals” I talked about before. Maybe “the people” didn’t know what all the words meant, but they definitely got the sense that it was important. Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned here.

From now on, let’s not complain about the state of the church; let’s do something about it! Before we close our parishes, let’s try this first. As Father Z says, save the Liturgy, save the world.