Liturgy, Coffee and Culture

Here's an excerpt from a pretty sharp article appearing in Ignitum Today:

The sudden decay of the ritual in the Mass, as well as the gradual decrease in overall Mass attendance, are symptoms of the culture as a whole, of which grab-and-go coffee is merely another manifestation. Relativism has replaced absolute truths in the minds of many, causing the reasons behind the instituted rituals to be widely considered “old-fashioned” or “obsolete” and exchanged for touchy-feely “anything-goes” rituals which mean little and change according to whim. As for Mass attendance… well, Sunday Mass, on average, takes about an hour, though it can be shorter or longer depending upon the speed at which the priest speaks, the length of the homily, the length of the aisle, and whether or not there is a Sign of Peace, among many other factors. However, many people–often young people who start this habit early and then allow it to follow them–skip even an hour on Sunday, claiming that they “don’t have the time.” Like a diet or an exercise regime, once you’ve skipped it once, it’s easier to skip it again. And so an overly-busy life “prevents” many from attending Mass (even though “being too busy” is not written into Canon Law as a legitimate excuse for missing Mass).