Commentary » Young People And Sunday Mass

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• Preparing Youth for Liturgy and Preparing the Liturgy Well
• Understanding Ritual: Is the Mass Really Boring?
• Preparing Youth for Liturgy
• Liturgical Catechesis: Connecting Liturgy with Life
• Renewing the Vision:The U.S. Bishops’ Blueprint for Youth Ministry
• Preparing the Liturgy Well
• Most Frequently Asked Questions
• Suggestions, Strategies & Recommendations for Adult Leaders
• Suggestions, Strategies and Recommendations For PreparingLiturgy
• Suggestions, Strategies and Recommendations for Parish Leadershi

 

Understanding Ritual: Is the Mass Really Boring?

Last Revised on July 07, 2016

Youth often complain that theMass is boring because it is aritual: we do the same thingsover and over. Ironically, the livesof young people are filled withrituals, not only religious ones.Take for example all of theritual elements in a footballgame: ritual clothing (uniforms),ritual enactors (players,cheerleaders, spectators, band,referee), ritual music (StarSpangled Banner, Alma Mater),ritual gestures (the wave, signalsfor scoring and penalties), rituallanguage (touchdown, field goal,quarterback, holding). What if theway we played football changedon a weekly basis, includingrules, language, music anduniforms? The spectators andplayers would find themselvesconfused and disoriented withoutthe ritual aspects of the game.

Stability, consistency, andrepetition are crucial to thepositive experience of ritual.Moreover, participants need tounderstand and appreciate basicritual elements, both on thefootball field and in worship.Ritual itself is not the problem:Rituals of all sorts enrich the livesof young people.Our liturgies are ritual — theyare essentially the same week inand week out. The pattern andrepetitive nature of the liturgyenable the worshiping assemblyto enter fully into prayerprovided the assembly isproperly prepared, and theliturgy is well-celebrated.

Ritual prayer can lead us to aprofound sense of the awe andmystery of God. Our Eucharistic gatherings on Sunday are meantto be an experience of theheavenly kingdom that is tocome, an experience of Christ present among us.

We must prepare the heartsand minds of our young peopleso that they may be engaged inthis most profound experience.Equally important, ourliturgical celebrationsmust beprepared and executed well tonourish and foster the faith ofyoung and old.It is imperative that weprepare youth for liturgy andprepare the liturgy well.

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