Q. Should I ever leave a Mass? I’ve heard stories of strange liturgical practices around the country but when is it not a difference but a liturgical abuse, and is it ever so bad that I should leave?
A. A common phrase that is handed on to seminarians as they are learning to celebrate Mass is “Do the red, say the black.”
This refers to the practice of the Church in Her liturgical books to indicate the actions the priest or deacon is to perform (written in red) and the words they are to say (written in black). It is also meant to emphasize that, as a priest, we are not masters but rather stewards of the liturgy. The Church entrusts us to follow the liturgical norms She establishes and to have the humility to not attempt to “improve” the liturgy with our own innovations or by introducing elements we think belong in the liturgy. Indeed, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) n. 24 says quite clearly a priest is not permitted to “add, remove, or change anything in the celebration of Mass.”
Unfortunately, some priests (and bishops) seem to struggle with being faithful to the liturgical laws of the Church. This can lead to a Mass being illicit, meaning one or more liturgical laws are broken. This can happen for a variety of reasons (including unintentionally on the part of the priest) and would include things like omitting or changing the words of the Preface or Collect, using incorrect vestments, mixing forms of the Mass or introducing elements from other Rites, or celebrating the wrong Mass for the day.
A more serious situation is when a Mass is invalid because of the celebrant failing to follow liturgical law. This occurs when the Consecration is invalid, either because the celebrant changes or omits the words of consecration or attempts to consecrate something other than wheat bread and grape wine. When a Mass is invalid, the bread and wine (or whatever is illegally substituted for them) do not become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ but remain simple bread and wine. When this occurs because of the deliberate choices of the celebrant, it is a grave matter and can be grounds for serious penalties for the celebrant.
There is no hard and fast rule on when to leave a Mass because of liturgical abuses. For some, an illicit but valid Mass may be so frustrating or distracting that it places one in the wrong mindset (or even spiritual disposition) for receiving Communion, which may be reason enough to leave. For others, the desire to receive the Eucharist may outweigh other factors. If the Mass is invalid, it seems harder to justify staying, especially if it is clearly, intentionally invalid. If possible, another Mass should be attended.
It is also important to recognize what is true liturgical abuse and what are legitimate choices in the liturgy that we simply do not like. Using or not using Latin, singing or not singing the parts of the Mass, wearing certain types of vestments, facing the people or celebrating ad orientum, choosing one form of the penitential rite over another or one Eucharistic Prayer over another, interjecting in those places in the Mass where the priest is permitted to interject – these are all legitimate choices left to the celebrant.
While we should be quick to reject actions that deliberately make a Mass illicit or invalid, we should likewise avoid falling into the trap of liturgical arrogance, which raises our preferences in the Mass to the level of law, and leads us to lose sight of the reality that the liturgy is a gift, one priests and laity alike are called to receive in humility, not craft in our own image.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, vice chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
