You may have noticed some changes today or on Ash Wednesday when you came to mass. The environment is definitely different. All of the gold that can be removed has been; all the greenery is gone. We have gone back to using a simple wooden cross and wooden candle sticks. Taking it all down a notch. Just getting simpler and down to the basics. We’re using a different form of the penitential rite that recalls very directly our sinfulness and our need for mercy. So why do we have all these changes? It reminds us to use this time to make changes in our own lives – make it a little simpler, get back to the basics of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
The instructions that we are given for the Lenten season come directly out of the Roman Missal (the big red book that the presider uses for mass – where all the prayers are located). We are instructed: During Lent, it is not permitted to decorate the altar with flowers, and the use of musical instruments is allowed only so as to support the singing. Nevertheless, Laetare Sunday (the Fourth Sunday of Lent), Solemnities, and Feasts are exceptions to this rule.
There are very few times during the liturgical year where we are given such directives. Of course, as with any written ‘rules’, people can interpret them in various ways. I for one, though, tend to take these instructions fairly seriously – we aren’t given instructions very often that are so direct in liturgical documents. Most of the other directives regarding the music have this wonderful tag on the end that says: ‘or any other appropriate hymn or song.’ That little addition to the end of the ‘rules’ is what gives most music directors/liturgists a good amount of freedom to select what they see as best for their community. This one is pretty cut and dry: ‘the use of musical instruments is allowed only so as to support the singing’. But still, what is needed to support the singing? Hopefully not much! All accompaniments and solo instrumentation will be scaled back during this season of Lent to allow our voices to be heard in praise of God – and to seek Him out through our worship. Some of the Eucharistic acclamations will be sung in Latin, part of the penitential rite will be sung in Greek (Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison – yes, that’s Greek and not Latin!) – both drawing upon the long history of the Roman Catholic Church.
Allow yourself to enter into this simpler time of Lent – a simpler way to approach our entire life maybe. Take the gold out and put wood in its place. See how you can be transformed just as our church building was transformed.