Strike up the band!
I went to 6:00 pm Mass this weekend. Our evening Mass is for the youth, so instead of the traditional choir we have a full band with guitars and drums. The band isn’t half bad, but I just find it inappropriate for Mass. As I was kneeling trying to pray, all I could here was the tat-tat-tat of the drums. The entire atmosphere was not conducive to prayer. It was made even worse when I saw two guys, one of them a liturgical minister, chewing gum!
Hey, I don’t mind doing something for the youth. I’m not an old man (I’m only twenty three), but I favor a more traditional mass. I see a problem in the way that the young people are worshipping. “Jamming out” and chewing gum are probably not the best ways to grow closer to God, especially during this Easter season. So why don’t I do something about it? I am. I’m throwing my hat into the race for Parish Council. I don’t want to totally scrap the youth Mass; I just want to put it in context. The solemnity of Christ’s death should not be overshadowed by a nonchalant attitude. One day these kids are going to grow up and they will need to know how to worship like an adult.
Am I being too puritanical about this? I understand that if I don’t like the mass that I don’t have to go. There are four other masses celebrated throughout the weekend that suit my tastes. I guess my problem is that when I heard the band, the first thing that came to mind was a fundamentalist service. The last thing I want to see is the Church trying to “look cool” so that kids will come. Any input?
