A tale of two dioceses: from Lincoln to Saginaw - Lincoln, Nebraska, and Saginaw, Michigan - Cover Story

Commonweal, June 6, 1997 by Charles R. Morris

The fact that women grace Saginaw's altars, however, is merely a surface suggestion of the profound differences between a Saginaw and a Lincoln. The soul of the church, says Vatican II, is its liturgies. The form and text of a Saginaw liturgy, of course, are exactly the same as in Lincoln; but in the subtle whispers of body language, in the intonations and attitudes that are not captured in manuals, the liturgies are quite different. The interior of Remes's cathedral, for one thing, has been redecorated in a way that quite consciously reduces its awesomeness. A photograph of the old church shows a spangled ceiling of gilt and empyrean blue, while the rest is an Italianate riot of statuary and strong colors. The new interior is spare and uncluttered, with a carpeted floor. The top half of the church is a quiet cream, while the carpet and the accent color on the walls are a Williamsburg blue. Instead of pews, there are individual cushioned chairs and kneelers, arranged in a semicircle around the altar, which has been moved out toward the center of the church, with a minimal elevation. It is very attractive, but has a secular feel, like Mt. Vernon, or the renovated Washington, D.C., train station.

The differences were most marked in the liturgies surrounding the Eucharist. In Lincoln, the liturgical strategy is designed to distance the priest from the congregation, and stresses the sacral, rather than the communal, element of the consecration. Lincoln places great emphasis on the traditional Catholic ceremony of the exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Since the consecrated host is the body of Jesus Christ, the ceremony expressly calls for praying to and worshiping the consecrated host.

In Saginaw, by contrast, Remes and Groh lead the Mass in a friendly, almost conversational, tone, and the music is modern and attractive, with the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Stephen Sondheim sound that characterizes much of the newer Catholic church music. At the consecration, Groh elevates the bread and wine only about eye-high and pronounces the "This is my body...This is my blood" formula in the same conversational tone as the rest of the Mass. There is no bell, and no genuflection. Instead of using the traditional round, white, paper-tasting host, Saint Mary's uses a kind of Syrian flatbread, an unusual touch, but canonically correct; indeed, it is much like the bread Jesus probably used at the Last Supper. The eucharistic ministers break stacks of the consecrated bread into little pieces for the Communion, which are carried on plates rather than in ciboria, the more usual chalicelike containers for the Communion hosts.

The whole effect, which is quite intentional, is to reduce the distance between priest and people, to downplay the magical, sacral elements of the Mass, to create the feeling of a community celebration by a priesthood of the "People of God." The use of workaday bread emphasizes the communal "meal" aspect of the Eucharist, but also seems to exclude Blessed Sacrament services. The traditional round, white host is so unlike normal bread that Catholics have associated it only with the Eucharist. Although Saginaw teaches the same Real Presence doctrine that Lincoln does, it would still seem a little silly to worship a chunk of Syrian flatbread.