Heading west for good liturgy: 'Middle Ages not normative,' LA group says - Includes a related article on the text of Los Angeles' Cardinal Roger Mahoney's letter on the celebration of mass

National Catholic Reporter, Oct 24, 1997 by Leslie Wirpsa

But the path there is not easy. "If the assembly is the basic symbol when the liturgy is celebrated, the comfortable homogeneity promoted by so many in this nation has no place. Homogeneity and comfort are not gospel values."

Mahony firmly warns against "excessive inculturation" -- that of "mainstream culture, which has at times deformed the liturgy and robbed it of its power."

According to the letter, "In the past generation, we have introduced into the liturgy some practices and attitudes from North American society that have no place there. For example: the hurried pace, the tyranny of the clock, the inattention to the arts, the casual tone of a presider, the `what can I get out of it' approach of the consumer, the `entertain me' attitude of a nation of television watchers."

These practices, Mahony asserts, "are the wrong sort of inculturation. Their prevalence shows how difficult it is to seek what in the culture offers a true correspondence with the spirit of the liturgy."

The letter provides guidance for presiders to improve celebrations in consultation with parish leaders and recommends that parish bulletins print regular "financial information to support both aspects of the parish's mission, caring for the poor and for the church." It warns against the presider who has "claimed the liturgy as his own and made the assembly an audience."