Most of us know of priests and liturgy directors who insist that the liturgy must begin absolutely on time. If it is the 9 am Mass, then the entrance procession must begin exactly at 9 am. Some will argue that to begin a few minutes late risks making angry the people who have come on time. But an interesting question remains: why should the liturgy begin exactly on time when hardly anything else does?
Think about it. What in our culture begins exactly on time? Television programs do, but what else? My doctor’s appointment does not, nor does my dentist appointment. Movies certainly do not begin as posted. One has to sit through 15 or 20 minutes of previews and commercials. Airline flights rarely leave on time, and the same is true of railroads, who, incidentally, are responsible for our having standardized time in the first place. Before the advent of the railroads, time was relative. It might be 1pm in one town, and one-fifteen in the next town, depending on what the town clock said. The railroads caused us to standardize our clocks and watches.
With regard to the liturgy, perhaps we ought to take our example from meal-sharing, which, after all, is what the eucharistic liturgy is. Meals never begin exactly on time. We might make a 7 pm reservation at a restaurant, but the restaurant does not expect us to arrive exactly on time, and so our reservation might be good for up to a half hour. When invited to a home for a meal, even if it be the more important occasions of Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, the hosts don’t expect that everyone will be there precisely on time. In fact our culture even speaks of “being fashionably late.”
Why should the liturgy be any different. It seems to me that hospitality is critical to the discussion. If people are still getting out of their cars when the Mass is supposed to begin, then why not wait? Why embarrass those who are a few minutes late, perhaps due to no fault of their own? Should not waiting for people who are a bit late be a normal part of a hospitable and welcoming community? The rule book for celebrating the liturgy, the General Instruction on the Roman Missal, states the norm perfectly, not directing that the liturgy begins at the appointed time, but rather, “Once the people have gathered, the priest and ministers...go in procession to the altar...”
AFAIC that's the best asenwr so far!
Posted by: Cami | June 05, 2013 at 11:01 PM