It’s summertime in Scranton, and with the warm weather comes bazaars. I can already smell the pierogies, hamburgers and halushki. These festivals are quite popular fundraising and social events here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. But in some parts of the Diocese, with the summer bazaar comes the bizarre liturgy known as the “Polka Mass.” Usually this means a spoken Mass with four to five “hymns” played by a polka band. Often, these songs have little to do with the actual liturgical texts for the day. So why does this strange custom persist?
Father Edward MacNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome, had this to say in a 2004 article on “Polka Masses:”
I was rather surprised to hear that Polka Masses were still going on — I had thought that they had gone out in the ’70s along with a host of other similar fads.
Perhaps the principal difficulty with such things is not so much the music in itself, which like many human elements in the liturgy may have different meanings in different cultures and in different epochs, but the idea that the Mass needs some sort of a theme in order to enhance its significance or relevance.
When we label the Mass we tend to diminish rather than augment its importance. We restrict its universal meaning as Christ’s very sacrifice renewed upon the altar and the sacred banquet which forms and increases our union as part of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church.
This is the Church’s greatest offering to God and any addition to the Mass itself — such as “Polka,” “Clown,” “Disco” (yes, there have been cases) or any similar extraneous element — reduces its scope and attempts to press it into service for some cause other than the worship of God.
Perhaps you followed the coverage of the local Latino Catholics moving to a new, larger church. According to one article, a mariachi band was situated in the sanctuary as part of the welcoming Mass. “Polka Masses” are no more a part of genuine Polish liturgical tradition than “Mariachi Masses” are part of the Hispanic tradition. Unfortunately, in this day and age where “diversity” is king, such liturgical abuses continue. Both Poles and Latinos have a lot to offer the Church in Scranton, such as a deep devotion to Blessed Virgin Mary. We need to celebrate our noble heritage and traditions. But let’s leave the failed liturgical experiments in the past.
