My Inconvenient Church
Posted by Karl (August 8, 2006 at 3:02 pm)
My church is very inconvenient. It’s not particularly close; I have another Catholic church across the street from me. It makes no accommodations for my convenience: there is no Saturday evening Mass where I can discharge my Sunday obligation, and the liturgies are long. I can never plan anything for a Sunday afternoon because I can never be sure how long the liturgy will be. Just when I think that I have it timed, there will be a baptism, or a procession, or a series of special prayers, and all of my timing is lost. There is no early service. There is one liturgy at 10am, for the whole parish. I can’t slip in at 7am for a short liturgy as I could at the church across the street from me.
I have to give up meat every Friday, when the rest of the Church has abandoned this practice. There are numerous days of obligation, which are never, ever moved to the nearest Sunday, which means I must often re-arrange my schedule, arrange babysitters, and otherwise turn my life upside down in order to attend church during the week. Inf fact, a few years ago Good Friday and the Annunciation coincided; rather than move the feasts, we combined them, and a most inconvenient and confusing day of liturgy ensued. Every liturgy is long, always more than an hour, and occasionally more than two. Everything is always sung, without the comfort of an accompanying organ or musical ensemble.
There are no creature comforts, no cry room, and few pews. Many of us stand the entire time. In Lent, we have to kneel and do prostrations, but—get this—there are no kneelers! One kneels on the cold, hard, terrazzo floor.
Why would anyone want to be a part of such a church, especially when there is another, easier church across the street? I wasn’t born into this church, and I have no ethnic or cultural ties, but I chose it. I have no one to blame but myself. I chose it, and you couldn’t pry me away with a crowbar.
To explain why I would do something like this, let me give you a little history. I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, attending a parish that was typical, or perhaps even more typical than most. My pastor, whom I thank for giving me a solid foundation in the faith, was known for the quickness of his masses. I remember back in the mid 1980’s my brother and I got digital watches as gifts. We were excited most with the stopwatch function, and we timed everything we could. One hot summer Saturday evening, we put Father on the clock. The mass took eighteen minutes from start to finish, complete with homily. This was presented to us as a virtue in a priest, that we could get in, do our canonical duty, and get out in as short a time as possible. His eighteen minute liturgy was a point of bragging!
This is my background, and I don’t think it is unusual.
The world tells us that religion should be private, unobtrusive, inoffensive, and quick. Get it done in time for the kids’ soccer game, for the NFL, or for the Sunday nap. Leave early, so that you can be the first out of the parking lot. I was part of this world for many years. Then, by the grace of God, I discovered the Byzantine Church.
I first started attending a Melkite parish during graduate school, and was immediately struck by the beauty of the liturgy and the friendliness of the people. The pastor asked me to cantor, even though I didn’t know what I was doing. “Just take a book and keep singing! You’ll get the hang of it,” he said. I did get the hang of it, but I also received an epiphany. See, as a result of my upbringing, I was in the habit of checking my watch every five minutes or so during liturgy. One day, I found myself singing the Cherubic Hymn, which has this line: “Let us who mystically represent the cherubim set aside all earthly cares. . . .” I looked at my watch right as I said “set aside all earthly cares,” and the iron of the situation became clear. I was singing about putting aside worldly cares at the very moment that I was thinking about my worldly cares! Something was wrong. Everything was backward.
Liturgy is not something we do in our spare time, or try to get done quickly. It’s the meaning of life. In fact, what we do in liturgy is so important that it is what we will be doing in the afterlife. The angels who live in the presence of God constantly sing the thrice-holy hymn in their joy, and we who receive Christ in the Eucharist echo them. It is a union of love between God and creature, the high point and reason for the entire creation; God so loved the world that he sent his Son that we might have eternal life, abundant life, knowing and loving Him, and we have, know, and love God through liturgy. It’s the high point of the entire cosmos. Through liturgy, all of the world is revealed in its true nature as a theophany, a showing forth of the glory of God. All else in the world, no matter how great, is not as great as this.
I made it a practice for the next six months to take off my watch when I entered the church so that I couldn’t look at it. Putting my watch away was a symbol of a shift in my entire world view away from the secular to what Alexander Schmeman calls the liturgical point of view. I forced myself not to consider the time, and to see the inconveniences as blessings, since they serve to remind me of the centrality of Christ. For the Church to make accommodations for me is to get things backward. Certainly reasonable accommodations must be made: churches should be built where people live, the buildings should be accessible, heating and lighting should be sufficient. But there is a real theological reason why liturgy and the demands of the Church should always be felt as an imposition, as a constant reminder to turn our gaze away from the distractions and attractions of the world and back to God. Just as Adam walked with God before the primal sin, so must we. It is because of sin that the demands and obligations of the Church and the liturgy feel like impositions. We are fallen; we are not what we should be. This is a fact we must always remember. To be a Christian means to be uncomfortable. To be a comfortable Christian, to think that all is well, to be free from all inconvenience, is likely to be a self-deceived Christian, one who is focused on the world rather than on God.
This is why I no longer grumble when liturgies are long, or at the fasting, or at the extra days of obligation, or at the prostrations. I tell myself that I need to do these things precisely because they are uncomfortable, so that I can be brought back to God. In fact, I wish the Church would make more demands on me. Church is a foretaste of heaven, even when it doesn’t feel like one. It’s like medicine that tastes good when I am healthy and bad when I am sick. I need as much of this medicine as as I can get!
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Karl,
That is wonderful. I used to stand before my protestant congregation and preach my heart out. Our “service” usually lasted 65-70 minutes and I enjoyed it. Several others always did as well. But most grumbled because I could rarely squeeze everything into less than 60 minutes. One time I did squeeze everthing together and got through in 17 minutes. Most didn’t like that either.
You are right. One thing that was always wrong was that I and most of the congregation was too concerned with earthly cares.
After leaving all of that we tried a few other churches and found to my chagrin that sitting made me very restless. I began to see that at least one other reason for people not liking to be around for more than 60 minutes had to do with the stupifying effect of sitting still too long.
Something unexpected has happened to us since coming to the BC Church. We not only don’t get annoyed with worship that lasts a good deal more than an hour we don’t find it difficult to stand the entire time. Standing keeps us alert and to know that we are singing with the angels is a joy unspeakable. I have only looked at my watch twice in seven years and rarely does my mind wander.
I still can’t keep up with the prostrations. I’ve cracked my head. I’ve scuffed up the floor, and I’m in tears as we crawl to the shroud. The tears aren’t all to do with sorrow for my sins. My knees are killing me. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
CDL
Comment posted August 8th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
Good Post!
I have to drive over an hour to attend the UGCC that I attend. I have to drag my son to it and he gets fidgity but he loves the Liturgy like his old man does.
I have no sense of time at the Liturgy, except when I get lost before the readings because the Liturgy is mostly in Ukrainian and I assume that there are different parts each week the are movable before the readings.
But, before I know it it’s time for the Gospel, then the Creed, then the Epiklesis, then Communion Time, then we’re done! I don’t have the problem of being bored because it’s all brand new every time I attend the Divine Liturgy!
Glory to God for His worship!
Comment posted August 8th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
When wife and I go to Plymouth, Michigan to see in-laws I attend a Melkite Liturgy. It is done entirely in Arabic. I don’t understand a word they are saying yet I can follow along fairly closely. It is still a glorious experience.
CDL
Comment posted August 8th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
CIX!
Although probably not intended, the article seems to emphasize the “inconviniences” in a somewhat negative way. In our modern, consumer pace we have become obsessed with the notion of time - something that is completely foreign to the Eastern Christian ethos, which dwells in the here and now but looks always towards the timeless age.
We say continunally “unto ages of ages” in our Liturgy - and we need to embody the sense of the timeless in our prayer - eternal liturgical cycle of preparation and fulfillment, of anticipation and parousia. A couple of extra hours in the here (travel time plus services) is less than a drop of the eschaton.
Since I was able to drive I have driven a miminum of 45 minutes one way to Divine Liturgies - I have never really even considered what the “inconvieniences” were over those 25+years now, including length of drive, length of services, etc. My sons actually feel a bit guilty when on a rare occasion they are staying with other friends or family on a Saturday night into Sunday and don’t have to travel for both Vespers and the Sunday services. I have driven across state lines and at one point even attended a Divine Liturgy 3 hours one way in another state for a time - so this is all certainly familiar to me.
I have always considered this part of the praktike of my Eastern Christianity, a real and necessary part of the club dues, if you will, being a Greek Catholic in a non-Greek Catholic part of the country. I think rather the extra effort only sweetens what is already most sweet - the deifying Mysteries of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
Deacon RLB
Comment posted August 9th, 2006 at 11:11 pm
To this we can only say AMEN!
Comment posted August 10th, 2006 at 12:45 am
Amen! I have a large Roman Catholic church literally right across the street from my apartment complex… but I choose to drive thirty minutes each way to go to my Byzantine Rite parish.
Comment posted August 10th, 2006 at 7:03 pm
I agree with Deacon Brown. The article seems like it is an introduction to why these conveniences are endured. It is a great beginning, but where is the end? You don’t notice it? Or you find the inconveniences to be what you need? Or you find the liturgy to be what you need so much that the inconveniences are minor in comparison? With a more formulated conclusion, it will make the article about you. As it stands, it appears to be a negative article about others. The implication is that those who are not so inconvenienced are not as holy or devout as you are. I am sure this is not the message you intended, and it could be adjusted with another line or paragraph of explanation of why you cling to this church despite its inconveniences. I think it is a great beginning.
Comment posted August 11th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Dear Deacon Brown and Catherine,
I agree the article is unfinished, but I posted it anyway, because if I waited until it is finished I never would have posted it.
The “inconveniences” which aren’t really inconvenient are the hook for the article, to generate interest. I present them as bad in the beginning, with the intention of showing that they are really good. Certainly there isn’t an intention to be negative about others–perhaps my old pastor could make do with an 18 minute mass–but _I_ can’t.
Anyway, let me think about it for a day or two, and I’ll rework or extend the conclusion.
Comment posted August 11th, 2006 at 10:46 am
BRAVO!!
I am a convert and I feel the same way regarding your statement about being pried away with a crowbar!!
What a JOY!!! — O SHEER JOY! — that as I was investigating the ancient and apostolic Faith once delivered to the apostles, I found St. Ann’s in Harrisburg PA. Yes, because of the Eastern praxis, it took me more than a couple of liturgies to get used to the odd singing and the way things were done. But the BEAUTY of the Church was everything I was looking for.
I am so blessed.
Brother Ed
Comment posted August 11th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Amen, to your article. The renewal of Western Culture throgh Eastern Worship AND Byzantine Monastics.
Orientale Lumen
Please pray for me and a few friends as this desire for the full unified experession of our faith may become a reality in a new Monastic Skete ,here in Canada, God willing.
www.saintelias.com
Comment posted August 13th, 2006 at 11:21 am
I believe “inconvenience” is a good since it produces holiness in those who wish to be holy. I agree with Karl’s point of view.
CDL
Comment posted August 15th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Time passes in liturgy? (Confused) What’s time?
Thank God I never liked watches.
Comment posted August 15th, 2006 at 10:41 am
This article is so inspiring!
Thank you.
ld
Comment posted August 20th, 2006 at 12:02 am
I had a professor from Nijmegen who was a Byzantine deacon, named Cornelius Bauman. He one time in class defined liturgy as “a magnificent waste of time”. I thought it was funny till he explained and I thought more about it — duration is the one thing that we as humans can not repeat — to spend it lavishly for the Holy Trinity is the highest gift we can share with the Lord — and it provides a glimpse of what eternity (outside of time) is like and for.
Comment posted August 28th, 2006 at 3:23 am
With your interest with liturgy, you might like some of the theological dialogue a group of friends and I are having on our combined blog. Tommy (The Lesser Thomas) is trying to establish that Liturgy is what defines the distinction between Catholicism and other traditions and faith (of course, he also does not want this to be reductionist, nor does he neglect the liturgical aspects of other faiths, after I asked about them in the comments).
http://houseoftheinklings.blogspot.com/
Comment posted September 2nd, 2006 at 5:09 pm
I am the son of a BC mother and have been thinking about attending a nearby BC church. I am drawn to sung liturgy and remember the dueling voices of priest and cantor of my youth. Since Vatican II the mystery is gone from the RC church. I have turned traditional in the past few years. I love the old latin mass but I think the ingrained modernism of current RC priests will not let it take root if Pope Benedict XVI permits it. Can I become a BC church member without going through some type of Rite change because of my mother.
Comment posted November 20th, 2006 at 11:32 am
I converted as a teenager from Mormonism to RC. That has always been “home,” until I returned to Alaska a year ago. The parishes up here have virtually nothing in common with the Catholic parishes in the Midwest, and we were very disappointed when we arrived and found that every parish we attended was worse than the last. But one parish had an advertisement on the front page for the Byzantine Catholic Outreach (Ruthenian) and it was even on the same parish’s grounds, in their old church building. We attended, and never looked back.
You do NOT need to do anything special. You are still Catholic. You are only changing rites (I just call it “just changing parishes”) within the Catholic Church. The Latin Rite is the largest, but the Roman Catholic Church has over 20 rites. They are all in full Communion with Rome, and making a “formal” change is not really necessary.
Hope this helps.
Liz
Comment posted November 26th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
The Holy Spirit works in strange ways in our Byzantine Church. Karl and Carson are only two of the many converts to our Byzantine Faith. Thanks to the good works of Father Tomas Loya at Annunciation in Homer Glen, the Byzantine Churches are experiencing a rebirith. St Mary in Whiting, IN is a good example where their Cantors and Deacon come to help us relearn the depth of our beautifull Eastern Spirtuality. May God grant them many years.
Comment posted June 24th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
My husband has discovered the Byzantine Rite Church and seems set on bringing us all in through the Eastern door. This has been inexplicably difficult for me. I, who normally welcome all manner of lengthy, ornate liturgy, and I, who should be thrilled at his re-conversion to his faith and vocation, am beside myself. I really do not want to be Eastern because I worry (maybe overly so) that the cultural ties that bind are the same ones that block evangelization, and what of the missions? The Great Commission was not, “Go forth and buy doughnuts . . .”
I realize this seems like a mean, selfish comment. Just pray for my family, please.
I don’t know what it is, I feel like I am losing my identity. What’s worse is the expression of faith has nothing to do with it, but my experience in the Latin Rite Church has been wonderful (more than less) with deeply considerate pastors and excellent confessors. I have not been subjected to the MacMass approach and maybe if I had this would be less sad for me. But in parting from the West, I feel like I am losing a mother.
Comment posted July 14th, 2007 at 7:36 am
I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links:
Comment posted December 17th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
The Pleasing text and design!
http://unikont.com
Thanks much!
Comment posted December 19th, 2007 at 6:37 am
Hi there…I Googled for coming attractions, but found your page about My Inconvenient Church…and have to say thanks. nice read.
Comment posted January 11th, 2008 at 2:53 pm