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Hi Michael,
I’m not sure what’s going on in TN or why it’s happening but I can tell you that I’ve had only one experience of attending Mass at a parish where the missalettes were not in the pews and available for all at every Mass. That parish (in Illinois) was very poor and couldn’t buy “enough” for everybody so the missals were kept in the lobby and if you needed one you could pick one up on the way into church.
So who might “need” one? Those who might need it most are those who don’t know the Confiteor or the Creed by heart – since they will want to (and should be able to) pray along with everyone else. Others who might need one are those who have homebound relatives back at home who would like to follow the Mass readings (epistles, gospels) for the season since they won’t be hearing those proclaimed at church. (I’ve never found a parish that said “no” to the request: “May I take a missalette home with me?”) Others who might need one are those who are new to the Mass but who would like to have some sense of the order and what’s to come. As you said, the hearing-impaired would need one also, in most instances.
For the rest of us, is there a need? I don’t think so. You said: “But you don't have to be deaf to benefit from reading along with the scripture while it is being spoken.” Yet, I think that here, you’re missing the point.
The Mass is a community celebration, not simply a “private prayer appointment” with God. The readings are not “spoken”. They are being “proclaimed” as the word of God. In fact, all you need do is imagine the Church as it serves the poor all over the world. There are no missals for the community in poor areas and the parish is dependent on that proclamation of the Word. Imagine these times of “ readings” as moments for you to be at one, as one, with all those Roman Catholics who have never seen a missalette, maybe? Even here in the States there are plenty of people who do not read English. With our noses stuck in our missalettes as the readings are proclaimed, we shut off the community around us and that’s a shut-off of the community’s celebration. Our job at these moments is to listen.
Now the many “distractions”? I confess they are not distractions for me. At a family celebration, I never expect that the next party will be identical to the last one. Similarly, at each Mass, I expect that there will be a continuity to the reverence displayed, to the holiness and the integrity – other than that, surprise me. Who am I to dictate what goes on at every Mass according to my own comfort level? I am a member of the community. I am not the community.
While you’re saying many object to changes – and I’m sure that some do object, I believe that many of the faithful consider their attendance at Mass to be central to their lives and find it to be a comfort, a joy, a center of peace. I do. Also I loved the Mass – all of it – before Vatican II. I love it still - with all of the changes since then. As for the choir and their smiles, I saw it on Easter Sunday and was so pleased to see many young adults (in their twenties) present – both whispering and smiling about page numbers – and how to assign the few seats to older choir members while they, the young ones, remained standing (or kneeling) throughout the Mass.
Frankly, I vote with your older friend: “An 80 year old friend of mine said I can't let little annoyances with the mass upset me; I need to learn to let them flow right over me and not divert attention away from the altar.” We are called to attend Mass and to bring a prayerful spirit in out hearts. We are called to listen to the Word of God and to receive the Body of Christ with all possible reverence. Those are very simple tasks. Our job is not to police the behaviors of others. We are called to be present in a “Community of Believers” and we are called to humility that we are graced to do so. I hope these impressions of mine (that you requested!) of assistance to you! Peace of Christ!
Kathy
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