Friday, February 26, 2010

Got time for a "quickie'?

Fr. Michael Kenny of Galway has garnered attention for the number of worshippers flocking to his "quickie" Mass. (story here) To attract people who have to go to work, Fr. Kenny moved his Mass time from 9 am to 7:30 am and limits the duration of the Mass to 15 minutes.
I definitely have mixed feelings about this. While I laud initiatives that succeed in getting people to address their spiritual life, I can't help but recall that two of my favorite saints -- St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) and St. John Vianney -- were noted for Masses that ran great lengths of time causing people to enter more fully into the mystery of the Eucharist.
Getting crowds is a good thing, but are we merely putting our schedules first and expecting God to adapt, thereby avoiding the metanoia required to adjust our lives to Him?

No comments:

Post a Comment