“VATICAN II was hard on introverts,” the late Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein used to say. He was referring to the liturgical reforms which externalized a lot of the  silent prayers and rituals of the old Mass. 

 The older I get, the more I agree with Archbishop Daniel. Today’s liturgy is too noisy and too busy. It sometimes seems impossible during Mass to gain the kind of mental, emotional and spiritual composure that are  necessary to engage in a profound act of Divine Worship. There are too many distractions—most are good things in themselves, but packed together in an hour’s liturgy they are simply too much.

Do we really have to sing 5 hymns, a responsorial psalm and multiple acclamations every Sunday without any variety? Do we need all the add-ons that are increasingly a part of the Sunday liturgy (baptisms, anointing of the sick, special blessings, etc.)? Once again, all good things in and of themselves, but often jarring and disruptive when added on top of everything else.

And where’s the silence that is so important to hearing and reflecting on God’s Word? Unfortunately it’s often hard to hear yourself think (or pray) over the noise in church before, during and after Mass.

The German theologian Father Karl Rainer, SJ, once contrasted his “wintry” form of spirituality with that of more enthusiastic, evangelical Christians. There is something about Catholic prayer and worship that should be “wintry” resisting too much outward or external expression. Like the force of gravity, authentic religious fervor should hold us back from spinning out of control. It should bind us to earth while at the same time raising our minds and hearts to heaven.

My challenge, I freely admit, is to resist the temptation to be disheartened or grumpy during an especially busy or noisy Mass. Composure and silence are possible even in the most extroverted liturgies if you take the time to cultivate them.

I believe that VATICAN II’s concept of “full, conscious and active participation” is essential to liturgical prayer. I just wish that at least occasionally we could actively participate a little more calmly and with less noise.