Change

Is all change good? If we listen solely to so-called “progressives” one would come to that conclusion. As technological advances continue to accelerate exponentially, the overall “boredom” threshold in the culture is proportionately lowered. The throwaway society seems to be reaching the point where judicious evaluation of what we already possess no longer seems an endeavor with value. Change has become yet another false idol to embrace without hesitation because change’s “inevitability” functions both as a remedy against uncomfortable self-analysis and a distraction to allow feeding on shallow pleasures.

“Seeker” churches serve the shallow feeder. They concentrate on “production values” in music, drama and set pieces but vehemently avoid any focused attention on objective reality and how it should effect conscience. It’s a comfortable armchair christianity. Roman Catholicism embraces seeker parishes. Bishops tolerate heterodox pastors because the mega-parishes built by priest versions of Joel Osteen supply their dioceses with assessment-rich targets for annual budget quotas.

For centuries the commemoration of Good Friday in the Catholic Church has been a visceral interface reminding us of what Jesus went through to accomplish Redemption and Salvation. Maintenance of a Church calendar allows us to trace the progression or timeline through a yearly cyclical journey. From the God-man's Incarnation to His Resurrection; the Descent of the Holy Spirit all the way through Christ’s Kingship and everything in between becomes a marked memorial even while we concurrently live the timeless reality of Resurrection. We even celebrate the overlap of historical time in the midst of the cycle. During Lent, we celebrate The Feast of the Annunciation - the actual moment when the Word became flesh (not the Nativity) - appears in the calendar nine months prior to Christmas. This mode of remembrance is rejected by Evangelical Protestantism as ritualistic.

The humble example of The Christ is integrated in the celebration of the Triduum – the three days of Salvation commemorated. In your parish does the pastor breeze by, merely pouring a pitcher of water over twelve random feet? Does he portray the Mandatum in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper by leaving the touching/drying interface of foot washing to an assistant? Or does he undertake the WHOLE task on his knees… solo?

Veneration of the wounds of Jesus on the cross is perhaps the most demonstrative, shameless public witness one is allowed within Catholic culture. But in a heterodox mega-parish to which my family formerly belonged, the devotional act has been gradually eroded in stages through plausible minute changes. The Sanctuary contains a significantly realistic life-sized free-standing crucifix. It is quite impressive to any Traditional, Orthodox, Devout Catholic for its meditative potential. Liturgy planners did away with multiple hand-held veneration crosses during Good Friday service one year long ago because they decided to dramatically light the crucifix as a focal point. But since a church full of worshippers would take a considerable length of time to file past the Sanctuary Crucifix, alternate opportunities needed to be provided. What to do? Multiple, “lesser” veneration crucifixes would not be aesthetically pleasing within sight of the “main event” so the decision was made to provide two additional locations outside in the churchyard. But instead of handheld veneration crucifixes, they erected Protestant-looking life-sized crosses on opposite sides of the church. The rationale claimed to promote “traffic flow” but the isolated locations of all three changed the focus from actual veneration before the entire assembly to a shell game of non-accountability. Just like the abuse of general absolution did an end-run around mandatory individual confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation to fulfill one’s Easter Duty, suddenly an outward expression of devotion could be minimized. When people left at veneration time, one could assume they were proceeding to the outdoor “crosses.” Now there is no pretense left. Where in yesteryear individual veneration was an expected part of Good Friday Service, the pastor now performs a dismissal of sorts giving the options described but “pastorally” alluding to the option of simply leaving.

In their effort to become less threatening to feel-good seekers, Catholic priests slide more and more toward Protestant Tradition in their demands upon their flocks. If bishops allow them to go unchecked, these parishes will become spiritually indistinguishable from their seeker counterparts in the evangelical world. Basic Liturgical structure may remain, but through “pastoral” exemption, freelancing and improvisation, the difference in orthodoxy is becoming quite palpable from the conservative parish down the road.