The Annoying "Yes" Lady at Mass

Due to many scheduling conflicts a few Sundays back, I went to Mass by myself without the wife and kids. Over the past month or so we began to notice a curious and regular disruption at the 9:30 a.m. Mass. The weird part was, I began to take a strange pleasure in it. It went something like this:

Priest prays out loud, "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your ha-"

"YES LORD," interjects the affirmation from what sounds like an old African-American woman somewhere in the pews to the far back and right.

And it continues...

"For the praise and glory of your name..."

"YES LORD."

"For our-"

"YES."

"-good and the good-"

"YES."

"-of all our Church."

"YES LORD."

And it goes on and on like that, with the older lady interceding between every ten or so words from the Priest. Heads everywhere are trying to make clandestine surveillance of the pews around them without making it obvious that they are clearly distracted and pissed off.

Now I'm not going to lie, the first time my wife and I heard the Yes Lady we did what every other couple did. We looked at each other with faces of smirky inconvenience and gossiped after Mass about how obnoxious and distracting this woman was being, resolving that SOMEONE had to do SOMETHING.

I mean holy righteous anger batman! We are trying to PRAY here!

But this Sunday was different. Right around the Eucharistic prayer I noticed a small but steaming pile of self-righteous indignation in my pew. Curious, I kicked it up under the pew in front of me and listened again to the Yes Lady.

"Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ."

"YES."

A quick burst of willful naivete shot through my brain and I asked a question based on giving the Yes Lady the benefit of the doubt:

What if she really believes she is doing something important?

Suddenly I felt angry. I was angry at anyone who was angry at the Yes Lady. I was angry at the 59% of U.S. Catholics who don't attend Mass weekly. I was angry at the 62% of U.S. Catholics who don't claim a strong religious identity. I was angry at the 29% of U.S. Catholics who don't believe in a personal God. But most of the anger was aimed at myself, because I suddenly became ashamed that I felt so entitled to a distraction free Mass.

What do Catholics who leave the Church to join a Protestant denomination say one of their biggest reasons for leaving is? "My spiritual needs are not being met."

DISCLAIMER: There is a big conversation we could have about the discrepancy between a person's perception of not being spiritually fed, and the actual reality of the depth of spiritual fullness made available in the Catholic Church. And I could fill a hard drive with reasons why I don't think anyone should be constantly giving their public verbal consent to the Eucharistic Prayer. I'm not saying active participation must be busy participation.

But do we, who know the sublime reality of Mass, worship like we are being spiritually fed?

As I honestly examined my frustration with the Yes Lady, I realized I was really just frustrated by the notion of anything "happening" at Mass.

I watched the Priest raising up our gifts and the work of our hands - the bread, the wine, and all intentions we lay at the altar - but part of me didn't really expect God to accept them. I heard the Priest calling the Holy Spirit down on the altar with the conviction of Elijah, but part of me would have been inconvenienced by a rush of wind and tongues of fire. I heard the Priest imploring the help and intercession of an army of Saints, but part of me didn't really want them to show up. I cried aloud telling the Lord I'm not worthy for him to enter under my roof, begging Him to only say the word and heal me, but part of me didn't believe He could actually deny me. I waited mere minutes as we shuffled to the front of the Church to hold the endless, to consume the unconsumable, to swallow the sea, to insert infinite love into my size 34 waist, like a candle trying to hold the Sun, but part of me would be impatient if anyone took longer than seconds to take their wafer and move on.

Who is really being inconvenienced here anyways? Me? The guy who wanted a woman with expectant faith to shutup so I could go back to thinking my own thoughts during Mass?

Or God, who sits through Mass revealing Himself lovingly through His Son, humbly through bread and wine, vulnerably through His death on a Cross, and intimately through bodily communion, only for people like me to look on with blank stares like we're checking email? I've sent prayers to God soaked in tears asking Him to stop being so distant, and the next day been so impatient with a Priest who fumbled slowly through the Mass you would have thought if God himself showed up I'd tell Him to keep His homily short.

Thank God for the Yes Lady. I think only Yes Ladies get healed by Jesus. I think Yes Ladies walk out to Jesus on the water. I think the upper room was full of Yes Ladies at Pentecost. I think Yes Ladies' prayers heal the sick. I think Yes Ladies convert cities. I think only Yes Ladies can be tortured and martyred for Christ.

Is this a call for everyone to go all Southern Baptist this Sunday at their local parish? No. Please no.

But lets smile at the Yes Lady.

Because thanks to her, I pray more often for God to show up.

I pray more often for liturgical inconveniences.

(Photo by Cameron Zohoori)

7 Ways to Engage in the New Evangelization [Video]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/-Indlp95eQc] If you ever heard someone use the phrase "New Evangelization" and wondered what that is and how you can get involved, this is one of the best hours you can spend learning all about it.  It was a pleasure to be part of a discussion with three amazing witnesses for the New Evangelization.

Topics discussed include:

 What is the New Evangelization? The Importance of Knowing Your Audience New Evangelization and New Media Blessed James Alberione, Patron Saint for the New Evangelization The New Evangelization and the Parish The New Evangelization and the Eucharist Personal Holiness How do you avoid being an isolated Catholic?

The Crew:

Check out these three Catholic bloggers and the great work they are doing in the New Evangelization!

Amanda Mortus: WorthyOfAgape.com Sr. Theresa Noble: PursuedByTruth.blogspot.com Ryan Eggenberger: EntreCatholic.com

Blessed James Alberione, Pray for Us!

Who are You Evangelizing?

The Church's deepest identity and reason for existence is to evangelize.  (See Evangelii Nuntiandi par. 14)  And Jesus commanded and commisioned all of us to "Go and make disciples of all nations". (Matt 28:19) But who are we called to evangelize?  In the Church document "Mission of the Redeemer" (or Redemptoris Missio for you Latin lovers), Pope John Paul II points out three contexts in which the Church is called to evangelize.

According to Pope John Paul II, there are really only three types of people in the world:

1) Those who have never heard Christ or the Gospel.  These people don't know about the Gospel, and therefore through no fault of their own they don't care about the Gospel. The missionary activity, or mission ad gentes of the Church is focused here.

2) Those who have heard the Gospel and are committed to Christian living and striving for holiness.  These people know the Gospel and Christ and care about the Gospel and Christ.  The pastoral activity of the Church is focused here.

3)  Those who have heard about Christ and the Gospel to some extent, but have "lost a living sense of faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his Gospel."  The third context, as a kind of middle position between the previous two ends of the spectrum, consists of people who know the Gospel, or at least have come in contact with it to some extent.  And, for some reason or another, they don't care about the Gospel they have been presented.  They are the third generation Catholics in a postChristianity Europe and America whose parents only went to Mass on Christmas and Easter, and who become atheists or casual agnostics by the end of college.  Or they are the children of ex-Catholics who are told that Catholics worship Mary and the Pope and don't believe the Bible.

What is required in this third case?  "In this case what is needed is a 'new evangelization' or a 're-evangelization'".  In this third case, a jarring from previously conceived notions is required.  For this third case Christianity (or Catholicism) has been tried and found wanting, or so they think.

These activities of the Church's evangelization are related.  "Each of them influences, stimulates and assists the others." (Redemptoris missio par. 34)  But each context does require a different approach.  Each type of person brings with them a different lens through which they see the Church and the Gospel and Christ.  Some see Christ for the first time, others know Christ and need to better understand Him.  Still others have rejected what they thought was Christ, or have intentionally rejected Christ whom they really did know.  Each requires different sensitivities, approaches, and methods.

Whether we are Catholic writers or speakers or missionaries or Priests or Mothers or lawyers or businessmen, the question we should all be asking ourselves when we attempt to participate in the Church's call to evangelize is:

Who are we evangelizing?

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Redemptoris missio Paragraph #33

The fact that there is a diversity of activities in the Church's one mission is not intrinsic to that mission, but arises from the variety of circumstances in which that mission is carried out. Looking at today's world from the viewppoint of evangelization, we can distinguish three situations.

First, there is the situation which the Church's missionary activity addresses: peoples, groups, and socio-cultural contexts in which Christ and his Gospel are not known, or which lack Christian communities sufficiently mature to be able to incarnate the faith in their own environment and proclaim it to other groups. This is mission ad gentes in the proper sense of the term.

Secondly, there are Christian communities with adequate and solid ecclesial structures. They are fervent in their faith and in Christian living. They bear witness to the Gospel in their surroundings and have a sense of commitment to the universal mission. In these communities the Church carries out her activity and pastoral care.

Thirdly, there is an intermediate situation, particularly in countries with ancient Christian roots, and occasionally in the younger Churches as well, where entire groups of the baptized have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his Gospel. In this case what is needed is a "new evangelization" or a "re-evangelization."

"One Body, Many Blogs" - Review

I love the elegance of this little ebook compiled by TJ Burdick who is also one of the many contributors.  TJ asked several successful Catholic bloggers one question "In your opinion, what are the 'ten commandments' that Christian bloggers should keep in mind while pressing on in their digital mission?"  This question combined with a diverse group of Catholic bloggers creates a broad range of blogging advice ranging from profound to profoundly hilarious.

The contributors include T.J. Burdick (TJBurdick.com), Deacon Greg Kandra (The Deacon’s Bench), Lisa Hendey (CatholicMom.com), Devin Rose (St. Joseph’s Vanguard), Kevin Knight (New Advent), Frank Weathers (Why I Am Catholic), Jeff Miller (The Curt Jester), Katrina R. Fernandez (The Crescat), Brandon Vogt (BrandonVogt.com), Marc Barnes (BadCatholic and 1flesh.org), and Susan Windley-Daoust (Ironic Catholic).

If you are a Catholic blogger this ebook will give you some good food for thought, and if you are considering starting a blog this ebook will give you a good foundation of blogging principles to start from.

So check out the One Body, Many Blogs website and buy the book here.  All the proceeds go to support the San Jaun Diego Academy, a Catholic immigrant school in Michigan.

My Favorite Commandments from the Ebook

TJ Burdick 5. Jesus should be your only focus Think of your blog as a way to portray your relationship with Christ so that society can understand that relationship. People are looking for truth and the best way they can find it is by living it vicariously through your blog. In order to do that, they must be able to connect with your writing. Make your posts relatable and the truth seekers on the web will find the Truth of Christ in your words. If He is interested, Jesus will make your work known. If not, then know that He is content with having it for Himself.

Deacon Greg Kandra VIII. Pray. Before any post, any comment, any reaction, take a moment and take a deep breath and offer a quick prayer for heavenly intercession and guidance. The act of blogging can really be a kind of prayer, if we work at it. And: I think we should.

Marc Barnes 1. Don’t suck. There is a tendency within the Christian world to think the work we do will be good work, if only we do it for God. This is not true. Whatever work we do will be good work if and only if we do it well. Truly “writing for God” is not something lackadaisical. It does not come with holy feelings. Writing for God means harnessing the intellect, making full use of the talents He endows us with, seeking inspiration in Him, and producing excellent writing, in both style and content. Anything less is no service to God, no matter how well we think we are witnessing, giving testimony, or whatever Christian euphemism we want to use to disguise the fact that we can’t be bothered to make something awesome.

The Vatican 1. Silence and word: two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance When word and silence become mutually exclusive, communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion or because, on the contrary, it creates an atmosphere of coldness; when they complement one another, however, communication acquires value and meaning... In speaking of God’s grandeur, our language will always prove inadequate and must make space for silent contemplation. Out of such contemplation springs forth, with all its inner power, the urgent sense of mission, the compelling obligation “to communicate that which we have seen and heard” so that all may be in communion with God (1 Jn 1:3). Silent contemplation immerses us in the source of that Love who directs us towards our neighbours so that we may feel their suffering and offer them the light of Christ, his message of life and his saving gift of the fullness of love.

From Pope Benedict XVI, Message of His Holiness for the 46th World Communications Day, Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization. May 20, 2012

Devin Rose 1. Pray before writing each post. Is this a good post? Are you trying to just be sensational or jump on the latest Catholic blogosphere buzz to get more visitors? Discern whether what you are planning to write about is helpful or not.

Susan Windley-Daoust 2. Don't take it too seriously. It's just a blog. Really, it's your scribbles on whatever came to mind that you self-published on a computer. That's it. Any thoughts of how you will change the face of the culture or Catholicism or liturgy or politics is probably prideful wish-fulfillment. Humility is the queen of the virtues, right? It's a BLOG, not Homer's Odyssey.