Must mass be entertaining?

 

One of the great challenges facing adults and young people today is the struggle to pay attention. Never has so much been said about “mindfulness,” even as our minds seem more scattered than ever. I am not speaking of the ordinary distractedness that has always accompanied daily life, long before social media and smartphones. Future research may well show long‑term changes in our ability to focus on a story or a single subject for any length of time without constant visual or auditory stimulation.

Being present at Mass can feel especially difficult if we approach it as just another task to complete. We arrive, we try to listen, yet our thoughts drift to a dozen other concerns. Even when we pull our attention back, it can be hard to remain truly engaged.

Since the liturgical reforms in the West, various methods have been used to hold people’s attention or draw them in—from popular folk music to the familiar chatter alongside the order of Mass. We are reluctant to be bored, and even more reluctant to appear boring.

Yet there is a hidden value in those moments of boredom or weariness during the liturgy. The saints themselves spoke of dryness of soul and afflictions of spirit. Doubts may even surface at the very moment we think we should be most devout: Is this real? What am I getting from this? Haven’t I heard all of this a thousand times before? Such thoughts can return again and again.

But all of this can become fertile ground for the grace of God. Everything depends on God’s initiative, yet it also depends on our willingness to say yes—to show up, to remain, and to stay open to the mystery of grace.

May God be praised even in our boredom and weariness.