How We Talk About Things

On Sunday, January 16, a Sunday, the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis will once again host a special “MLK Mass” to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Now of course, with respect to King's fight for civil rights for all Americans, his is a legacy that should be forever cherished and remembered as long as this nation stands. After all, who doesn’t feel a wave of inspiration when listening to King's “I Have a Dream” speech? I suspect most people do.

The reason I bring this up is because, as honorable as King’s message is, it is simply confusing and odd to approach treating him with the solemnity of an officially canonized Saint within the Catholic Church by holding an “MLK Mass”, which sounds an awful lot like a Saint’s feast day. That it falls on a Sunday is all the more confusing. The Saint Louis Review Online, the archdiocesan newspaper, anticipates the Mass in the following language: “Abp. Carlson to celebrate 35th annual MLK Mass Jan. 16th.” Perhaps it is just a matter of nomenclature, but I think there’s something else afoot. Simply put, I don’t think that the liturgy, how we talk about it, etc., should be tinkered with, even if the intention is a noble one.

Perhaps the reason for the “MLK Mass” is to demonstrate to the African American community that the Catholic Church appreciates and reveres the timeless message of racial equality proclaimed so eloquently by Martin Luther King. Fine. But are there no other ways of conveying that sentiment except by sending the confusing signal that King has been raised to the altar? I am afraid that that is precisely the message being conveyed by this “MLK Mass."

Just what is an “MLK Mass?" So much is made of this event in the Archdiocese, year after year and, quite frankly, it vexes me. As most people know, King was not even Catholic, so what are we doing linking up the name of a non-Catholic to the liturgy in the manner that is reserved for Saints alone? Is as much publicity given to the day on the feast of Saint Teresa of Avila, or to Saint Thomas Aquinas? What about Saint Martin of Porres? Is the Mass on his day announced with such publicity and fanfare? A prayer service, or perhaps simply a reception and/or panel discussion would be more appropriate to commemorate MLK. (Incidentally, I recall that on Thanksgiving Day, there was only one Mass at the cathedral-basilica and the gloria was sung, as though the American holiday day were a Catholic solemnity.)

Now I love Thanksgiving, just like I love MLK, but why is our ancient liturgical calendar and liturgy imbibing the cultural norms of America? Sadly, we are witnessing (and have witnessed for the past several decades) the Church in America allow itself to be shaped and molded in conformity to the culture, rather than the other way around. That sends a bad signal, in my opinion. It evinces a Church that is not particularly confident. Some of the Church's own Solemnities and Holy Days have, in this nation, been merged to fit the Sunday Mass, in the name of convenience, further diluting Catholic identity and heritage. If the liturgy is endlessly reinvented and custom tailored to appeal to this or that group of people, depending on variable circumstances, the timeless element of liturgy itself is sacrificed and liturgy risks appearing transient and fleeting. It is precisely the timeless, enduring nature of sacred liturgy that gives Catholicism its unique character in a world of constant flux and upheaval. The times will change, but at its best, our liturgy demonstrates (or should demonstrate) a strong hint of the eternal, the transcendent, which defies the limits of time and reminds all people of their eternal destination and of the passing nature of this world, with all of its problems and tensions, problems so brutally real in the time of Martin Luther King. If the Church in America is confident, if she is proud of her ancient customs and traditions (the hauntingly beautiful rays emanating from the Old Mass come to mind first and foremost) then she can rest assured that all people will be drawn in by the universal yearning deep in all of our hearts for that ineffable encounter with the divine and the beautiful.
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While I do not follow the so-called Catholic blogosphere, an interesting post on this matter was forwarded to me that appeared in the Saint Louis Catholic blog.