Mute witness as the normative stance to the joy of the Eucharist

In interesting comment about Ireland from an American visitor:

For generations, this nation has accepted mute witness as the normative stance to the joy of the Eucharist, even though the compass-point documents of the Second Vatican Council state clearly: "full, conscious, active participation".

... [these documents] were written as a global exhortation.. There was no asterisk at the end of the statement, saying "Oh, by the way, a few of you English speaking countries are off the hook". The documents were written as a worldwide standard: a standard of participative, encouraging, collaborative joy, irregardless of the nation or the nation's history.

Ref:  NDGuitarPilgrim - http://ndguitarpilgrim.blogspot.ie/2012/06/most-profound-gesture.html


Sadly most of the Irish people I've met don't actually see worldwide standards as applying to them - unless they can make money by applying them (eg GMP etc in the medical device industry).  I can't help but wonder if the idea of a worldwide standard doesn't actually just make them turn up their noses and think "No" - just to oppose what's suggested, rather than to understand the wisdom of how it could apply to them.

One day, I watched as a cantor who, having tried lots of other approaches, said to a congregation "If it was the pub, ye would sing" - and it's true, they would have.   It wasn't difficult music, they had the words, I'm sure they knew it - they just didn't want to participate in anything except silent individual prayer (at best) so no one , but no one, could make them.

Hello World, meet Mary, OLP

My name is Mary, or Marie depending on who you talk to.   I'm a very ordinary lay Catholic, living in the west of Ireland.   Sometimes I register for conferences and the like as "Mary, OLP", standing for Ordinary Lay Person.

The OLP was suggested by a Mercy sister years ago, when I was at and event with lots of nuns.   I like it.

I'm a theologian, just everyone else, with a lower case "t".   But mine's in 4-point font.   I can follow long convoluted arguments if I really need to, but would short words and non-technical language to describe the meaning in my life if I possibly can.

Why now?

Well I'm one of the seemingly-few lay people actually going to the Eucharistic Congress later this week.    In 1932, the EC permeated almost the entire country.   Now, I'm explaining to my Irish Catholic-background workmates what it is.   I want somewhere to share my thoughts during the week, but I don't want it under my own name:   as I read earlier this week, it must be hard living your spiritual journey in the public eye.

Onwards.