As Advent I draws ever closer, I know that I want to be at\u00a0Mass\u00a0that Sunday\u00a0with my heart as well as\u00a0my ears and eyes\u00a0firmly fixed on what really matters, namely the\u00a0grace-filled encounter with\u00a0the real presence of God among God’s people and especially in bread and wine.\u00a0 Given that I teach liturgical studies, however, and that no one will be able simply to pretend that everything is the same as it was the Sunday before,\u00a0I have begun to think about how not to let myself\u00a0be moved too far away from that which\u00a0really matters on Advent I.<\/p>\n
Here is one idea I had about how to live this coming Advent I:\u00a0 I think a time of liturgical mystagogy after Mass, with whoever wants to remain\u00a0from the community of faith that just celebrated the Eucharist, would be a wonderful thing to do. I was guided through such a mystagogy by Rita Ferrone after one morning liturgy at the ISM Congregations Project this\u00a0July; and thought all of a sudden how wonderful it would be to be guided like that, in reflection on the liturgical encounter with God, after Mass on Advent I.\u00a0\u00a0Many people will automatically\u00a0reflect on\u00a0 how we just celebrated\u00a0Mass with some new\u00a0twists (and hurdles, probably), but why not channel our reactions\u00a0more deeply than complaints or rejoicing over linguistic\u00a0changes?\u00a0 Why not intentionally gather the community around the central questions\u00a0in every liturgy: how did I encounter God here? What barriers in me did I have to struggle with?\u00a0How did the Holy Spirit move among us?\u00a0 How did we hear God speak to our lives?\u00a0 Which symbols came alive at this Mass, suddenly transparent\u00a0to holiness beyond all telling?<\/p>\n
I for one would find it very helpful if a skilled facilitator of mystagogy (for lack of a better term) could lead\u00a0my community of faith in a time of such reflection\u00a0after Mass\u00a0this Advent I.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have begun to think about how not to let myself be moved too far away from that which really matters on Advent I. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,1398,24],"tags":[646,1498],"class_list":["post-10847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-liturgical-spirituality","category-new-missal-implementation","category-translation-new-missal","tag-new-missal-catechesis","tag-november-27-2011"],"yoast_head":"\n