Making a Little Go a (very) Long Way

What is life like in the dioceses for the LMS's indefatigable volunteers organising our Masses? What are the problems, the possibilities, the pitfalls and the fulfillments? Jeremy Boot, LMS representative in Nottingham, gives it to us straight!

In the diocese of Nottingham we are blessed with two weekly Sunday Masses and two monthly Sunday Masses. That is absolutely fine and the more we get, the happier our members will be.

The snag is that these Masses are long distances apart (from the Leicester/Northants border at the south to what used to be Humberside at the north). How, in similar circumstances, can one best support Masses spread throughout the country? I am not talking here about just the LMS Representatives' coverage of their areas, but of the provision of plain, simple resources for making the Mass happen: servers, choir and organists.

Low Masses

Let us take first a Low Mass. One would think that relatively little is needed besides a priest and servers. That is the first problem: those who serve at the new Mass are most unlikely to have much idea of what is required in the Old. Some skills, one could say, are transferable, but not many. Indeed I have been to many new rite Masses where there is no server at all, or the server does practically nothing.

In fact there is very little to do in the new rite. It is no wonder there is such a lack of enthusiasm for serving. Not so with the Traditional Rite. Low Mass requires a fairly detailed knowledge of what happens and where, a good sense of timing, the ability to make clear responses to the priest in Latin, and a fair degree of organisation, particularly as the server could well be on his own. Such questions arise as who will teach the server, give guidance, see him through his first Masses, and solve any problems. The answer is to consult your local representative and the LMS office.

Sung Masses

For a Missa Cantata and, more grandly, a High Mass, there is a need above all for a competent MC, at the very least one other server, and perhaps two more if there is to be any hope of lights at the Gospel, and considerably more again for a full-blown High Mass – which, alas, in terms of sheer practicalities is unlikely to be the norm in a parish church. Moreover, it is important that the celebrant feels comfortable with the servers and neither feels he has to look after them himself nor worried in case he needs guidance or loses his place (not difficult at all).

A good MC

I would say this is almost the most important thing. The celebrant has a right to be assisted and should be able to concentrate on his central role in the liturgy with a quiet mind. He can already enjoy not having to face the people. I can remember two occasions some years ago where somehow we skipped from the Unde et memores almost straight to the Pater Noster at a stroke. I was once at a Mass where the consecration of the chalice was missed. These things can happen. A good MC will save the day with dignity and without worry to the celebrant and hopefully without anyone else noticing.

So who will be the MC and how will he train his team? How can he support the priest and how does the Mass all come together? I put these as points for consideration rather than offering a solution, since all venues will be different. Ideally, if local servers can be used, perhaps shadowed by a more experienced team for the first few Masses, that is usually enough to get things up and running. If the priest himself is comfortable in the Traditional Rite, he will be able to sort out many of these details himself, and that is surely best. He will train his own team. There are in addition several suitable training videos and DVDs which, when watched with care, illustrate just what happens where, and who does what. It is not that the rites are a nightmare full of traps for the unwary, but like all skills they need time and practice.

Choir and music

Now to the matter dearest to my own heart and experience: the choir and the music. Folk memory seems to carry an indelible pattern of the overused Missa de Angelis. It has its place, but there should be at least the possibility for regular Mass goers to be familiar with Mass XI (Orbis Factor) for ordinary Sundays of the year, Mass I (Lux et Origo) for Paschaltide and Mass XVII (no name!) for Advent and Lent. The names of these Masses, by the way, come from the opening form of the old troped – or expanded – settings of the Common, eventually done away with in the sixteenth century reforms of Pope Saint Pius V. It is not true these Masses are difficult. They are all melodious and easily learnt. There is also Credo I – simpler than Credo III – and it is good to interchange them for variety.

All this pre-supposes that there is someone to sing the music. I have never known Catholic congregations in this country to be very forthcoming in singing. We used to say – not meant in any way unkindly – "we leave that sort of thing to the Methodists," who excel in public hymn singing. But in my day at Nottingham Cathedral we tried every possible way to encourage singing such as having choir members in the congregation, singing at the ambo, and, if all else failed, shaming the congregation into submission by leaving alternate verses to them (e.g. in the Credo). The last, in fact, was probably the most effective.

Participation

But one has to remember that many who attend Traditional Masses are more than glad not to have the constant hassle that the new rite imposes: never a moment's peace (except for those odd, embarrassing enforced silences such as after the sermon – "Is Father unwell?") So they are delighted to escape and listen to anyone who provides music. Nevertheless, some participation is usually forthcoming if there is (at least) a good organist who is prepared to play sufficiently to support the singing but not lead by drowning. Again, support is available for congregations in the form of Plainsong for Schools off-prints and other such publications.

Ideally, then, an able choir and organist can save the day. But where do they come from? In Nottingham diocese, we – I mean the small LMS band who hop from church to church – are small in number and high in mileage! I wish there were air miles to pay for the petrol. Our small group is three strong. Yes, three. I would prefer it to be thirty, but once you require commitment, time, travel, to say nothing of experience in singing plainsong etc, you are immediately up against a brick wall. If excuses for non-attendance at Mass are habitually laced with "Well there's the family, and meal times and we always go to the 11 o'clock…", you can imagine the effect of adding on the time for practice, learning and travelling, to say nothing of the expense. And as for a week-end off, forget it.

However difficult, support must come down to local resources where possible, and the competent but highly-travelled core can perhaps start a new group off. There are various choirs who may visit on the odd occasion to sing, but this does not solve the long-term problem. The answer may perhaps lie in Catholic schools, but who am I to tell parish priests just how difficult it is to recruit helpers on any level these days? They already know.

Organists

The local organist may run a mile at the thought of accompanying plainsong; on the other hand he or she may have been longing for years for the opportunity to rekindle old skills. There are books of accompaniment for the Common of the Mass. If the choir sings the Proper, pleasant as it is to have the support of an organ, this can easily be done just as effectively a cappella.

Whether one sings a vernacular hymn or hymns is a matter for local choice. These can prove useful 'rallying points' particularly when the hymns are good, and there are still plenty of good, doctrinally sound hymns in the Catholic repertoire.

A competent organist is a huge advantage to the celebration of the liturgy. It sets the tone, supports the singing and inspires the mind and heart, as does all good music. Of course, the reverse applies...

Commitment

Perhaps all the above, aside from the practicalities, comes down to commitment. Why do we do this at all? Why does it matter? Well, we all know the answer. We strive to do our best for Almighty God and for his Holy Church. Nothing whatever is more important, so we do our best. Second best will not do. Our efforts may at times be imperfect by professional standards and there will always be someone who reckons that we sang something wrongly or the organ was too loud or everything was all too long. Occasionally someone will actually say "thank you," but don't hold your breath…. It's nice when they do.

Above all, I guarantee one thing to those involved in the Sacred Liturgy: the knowledge that Heaven hears it. When we sing "Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus", just our small group, from a cold, wooden balcony or at the back of some strange church in the middle of nowhere; or somehow when two servers (or even just one!) have to cope with juggling to incense the people and do the lavabo; or the organist plays an asthmatic organ and finds it breathes its last half way through the Gloria, it must surely be worth a day or two off Purgatory!

Don't be put off volunteering your services as anything from a humble acolyte to a diocesan representative. The joys far outweigh the pains! And don't forget the LMS office has detailed resources and specialist advice available. Get involved!

[Taken from "Mass of Ages" August 2006, The Latin Mass Society's quarterly magazine]