inundado por um mistério de luz que é Deus e N´Ele vi e ouvi -A ponta da lança como chama que se desprende, toca o eixo da terra, – Ela estremece: montanhas, cidades, vilas e aldeias com os seus moradores são sepultados. - O mar, os rios e as nuvens saem dos seus limites, transbordam, inundam e arrastam consigo num redemoinho, moradias e gente em número que não se pode contar , é a purificação do mundo pelo pecado em que se mergulha. - O ódio, a ambição provocam a guerra destruidora! - Depois senti no palpitar acelerado do coração e no meu espírito o eco duma voz suave que dizia: – No tempo, uma só Fé, um só Batismo, uma só Igreja, Santa, Católica, Apostólica: - Na eternidade, o Céu! "The liturgy is not a performance but an action in which God’s people actively participate... In today’s world there is anyway a superabundance of words and a fear of silence. The liturgy must always lead people beyond the superficial and fleeting character of much of contemporary culture." -His Excellency, The Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin of Dublin [my emphasis added]
I take this quote from the Rorate Caeli blog, which quoted from here.
There are few aspects of what this Archbishop has said that I take a great amount of delight in. First of all, His Excellency reminds us that the Mass is not a performance. People should not be competing to cantor, doing their best to lector the most, darting to be the first EMHC near the sanctuary, singing songs that one would expect to hear at a concert, trying to tell the funniest jokes during the Homily, wearing the craziest looking chasuble one can find (or better yet--the craziest costume!), dancing down the isle the most gracefully, making a show choir out of the church choir as they stand with their arms stretched out in front of the congregation, trying to hold your hands the highest during the Our Father, etc.
Secondly, His Excellency reminds us that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not just a gathering or a meal--and not even a prayer alone. Today, traditionalists do try to stress that the Mass is a prayer, but the Holy Mass is not only a prayer. What is also forgotten today is that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is an action! In fact, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest act that we could ever participate in. Therefore, we must actively participate in the Holy Mass, and we must do so from the heart. Our hearts must actually be actively offering themselves in union with the ultimate Sacrifice of Calvary, which is made present again in an unbloody way in every Holy Mass offered throughout the world.
Thirdly, His Excellency states that the world is full of noise. We fill every moment of our lives with noise. We truly do fear silence whether we recognize this or not. Many people today cannot simply sit in the silence. This would drive them crazy, and this is not such a good thing. This is a depravity. We need silence--we need to learn and have the opportunity to learn how to seek God in the silence. The liturgy must take us away from noisiness. The Sacred Liturgy must teach us to reflect on the Sacred Mysteries in silence. People today believe that to fully participate in the Mass, we must be constantly moving or responding as loudly and proudly as we can. However, this is simply not the case. In order to fully participate, we must enter into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with a spirit of silent humility. We must be still and silent in humility in order to reflect on the Sacred Mysteries in order that we may offer our prayers and sacrifices in union with the ultimate Sacrifice of Christ.
Lastly, the liturgy should lead our hearts and our minds to the understanding that we are entering into the Sacred Mysteries. His Excellency says that we must be lead away from "the superficial and fleeting character of much of contemporary culture." Many people today believe that Holy Mass needs to sound like the concert they went to last week. They say, "Mass should be fun. The music should be fun. The priest should be entertaining." Suffering on a cross for our sins was probably not "fun" for Christ, and the priest is not ordained to entertain you during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Once again, the Mass is not a performance.
The Holy Mass is a great and humble Act that the priest offers up in Persona Christi (a glorious mystery), and the people unite in this one great Act. Holy Mass should never resemble the fun concert you went to last week. Holy Mass should never be a place for entertainment and rowdiness. Holy Mass should be a Mysterious and Sacred Act, which we enter into that our hearts may be conformed that our culture may be conformed. If the Holy Mass seems no different than a picnic, then our mode often changes, and we do not get as much out of the Mass as God wishes for us. If this happens, then we are allowing the secular culture to change the Mass. This is wrong. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass must change the secular culture.
I would urge every priest and layman to think about these great words of the Archbishop of Dublin before entering into the Holy Mass.
Ad Jesum per Mariam.