Liturgical Participation Trophies

I became Catholic in 1996 and discovered the Latin Mass in 2008. That year I read many essays on the differences between the traditional Mass and the Novus Ordo. I remember how many of the Novus Ordo apologists talked about how the new Mass was superior because we participated more fully in it. Many traditionalist authors decried this since yacking, as they put it, was not the primary method of participation in most relationships.

As often happens in debates of this nature, everybody is right and wrong all at the same time. While talking is an important part of any relationship, it is probably not the primary way to participate in our human relationships, but there’s something else going on here when we talk about Mass. Our relationship with God is unique among all our other relationships. He is not like anybody else, so we must treat our relationship with Him as the most important one we have. What does that look like? 

An insight to this came to me recently through a friend in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. He told us that the term “Roman Catholic,” while it is used in regular parlance, is not correct. We are members of the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic church in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis and practice inside the Roman Rite. So, our friends in the Ukrainian, Maronite, and other rites continue to be part of the universal Church, just practicing within their own rite. And we all practice and are protected within the walls of our local diocese/archdiocese and within our parish boundaries. We can be calm and confident when we understand our role and where we belong.

I haven’t really thought about or followed the liturgy wars in a long time, and I have no interest in opening any wounds on this topic. What I thought was interesting about this point regarding the different rites is once again the deep wisdom of holy Mother Church. There’s no need to go outside Her tent, because any personality type and aesthetic sense could find a home within one of these unique rites. There’s unique beauty in each, including the differences between the TLM and the Novus Ordo. Sometimes my soul craves the quiet of the low Mass. Sometimes the pageantry of the high Mass is what’s called for. In any event, we should be attending Mass as often as possible and participating as well as we can.

My children were raised in the 1990s and early 2000s at the height of the participation trophy craze. This tendency hasn’t really gone away, as no matter how slow I am, I get a medal to hang around my neck at the end of every triathlon I complete. I don’t mind; our family used to joke that we’d run for t-shirts. But I’m also not contemptuous of this phenomenon. Maybe I have low standards, but I also think it’s great to celebrate even the smallest victories, like successfully completing a race or a season of soccer.  Lots of people never have that experience, so why not get a trophy or a medal? Every Mass is like an undeserved medal and a trophy I receive just for showing up. Sometimes it’s the crown of thorns wherein I can unite my humiliation and suffering to His. Often, it’s the glorious crown Mommy receives at her coronation. I jump with joy to see her honored by the Father this way. When we’ve gone to confession and done our penance, the greatest treasure we all receive is the Eucharist. We can never earn or deserve Him, yet we receive him thanks to our willingness to participate with His graces.