Are You Afraid Of Change?
Many of us have just experienced our second weekend Mass with the changes to the English translation. Last week is was new and interesting. But this week many people seem just plain frustrated. The changes to the Mass have caused me to think about what change means to us.
The dictionary tells us that change is “the act or process of making things different.” The opposite of change is “fixation and stability.” We crave stability because it makes us feel safe. But something that is stable is not improving. It is simply holding its own. It lacks personal growth.
Change is hard and it can be scary. When we stop changing, we stop growing.
The dictionary also tells us that change can also be a “metamorphosis.” This means a change brought about by supernatural means. This is what happens during the Mass. I think we should spend more time discussing this change that happens in the Mass and less time obsessing about the changes to the words we say. The Mass offers us the opportunity to really change and grow and gives us the superpower to do it….grace! That’s the change I’m talking about!
So why did they mess with the words? The video below shows the process of how it happened. I’d like to focus on two reasons why I agree with it.
The first is the universality of the new wording. We all say the same things as Catholics everywhere else. It allows us to unite more fully with our Catholic family. This became apparent to me through the appeal of Gracieland. Jimmy and I make the strip based on things we (or our kids) experience as Catholics. The cool thing is that any Catholic who reads it gets it one some level, even if they haven’t been to church is years. They get it because of the universality of being Catholic. If I walk into a Baptist Church here in Maine and you walk into your local one, we would see two very different things. But if I go to Mass in your town or anywhere else on earth, we would be experiencing and saying the same things. The new words help us connect more fully with others.
The new words also convey a higher level of holiness. The elevated language is meant to reflect this holiness. At first I thought, “Oh great! The Church goes out of its way to become less relevant to the people in the pews.” Then I thought about it. Mass IS a holy experience, one I will never fully understand. Nor should I. It SHOULD be above me because it is the point where heaven meets earth. I think the language should reflect that. We can spend life grappling with truths, studying Greek and memorizing Scripture. And I intend to do just that. But for one hour each weekend, I will be reminded that I will never have all the answers and understand it all. I’m OK with that. I am hopeful that one day it will all be revealed to me in heaven.
Until then I intend to embrace the changes to remind ME to grow. I don’t want to stabilize. I want to grow. I want to welcome change. It keeps things fresh and exciting. Won’t you change with me?
Check out this great video below for more information on how the changes to the Mass came about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue4GaotluU4
Many of us have just experienced our second weekend Mass with the changes to the English translation. Last week is was new and interesting. But this week many people seem just plain frustrated. The changes to the Mass have caused me to think about what change means to us.
The dictionary tells us that change is “the act or process of making things different.” The opposite of change is “fixation and stability.” We crave stability because it makes us feel safe. But something that is stable is not improving. It is simply holding its own. It lacks personal growth.
Change is hard and it can be scary. When we stop changing, we stop growing.
The dictionary also tells us that change can also be a “metamorphosis.” This means a change brought about by supernatural means. This is what happens during the Mass. I think we should spend more time discussing this change that happens in the Mass and less time obsessing about the changes to the words we say. The Mass offers us the opportunity to really change and grow and gives us the superpower to do it….grace! That’s the change I’m talking about!
So why did they mess with the words? The video below shows the process of how it happened. I’d like to focus on two reasons why I agree with it.
The first is the universality of the new wording. We all say the same things as Catholics everywhere else. It allows us to unite more fully with our Catholic family. This became apparent to me through the appeal of Gracieland. Jimmy and I make the strip based on things we (or our kids) experience as Catholics. The cool thing is that any Catholic who reads it gets it one some level, even if they haven’t been to church is years. They get it because of the universality of being Catholic. If I walk into a Baptist Church here in Maine and you walk into your local one, we would see two very different things. But if I go to Mass in your town or anywhere else on earth, we would be experiencing and saying the same things. The new words help us connect more fully with others.
The new words also convey a higher level of holiness. The elevated language is meant to reflect this holiness. At first I thought, “Oh great! The Church goes out of its way to become less relevant to the people in the pews.” Then I thought about it. Mass IS a holy experience, one I will never fully understand. Nor should I. It SHOULD be above me because it is the point where heaven meets earth. I think the language should reflect that. We can spend life grappling with truths, studying Greek and memorizing Scripture. And I intend to do just that. But for one hour each weekend, I will be reminded that I will never have all the answers and understand it all. I’m OK with that. I am hopeful that one day it will all be revealed to me in heaven.
Until then I intend to embrace the changes to remind ME to grow. I don’t want to stabilize. I want to grow. I want to welcome change. It keeps things fresh and exciting. Won’t you change with me?
Check out this great video below for more information on how the changes to the Mass came about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue4GaotluU4
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