Holy Mass, Liturgy, and Holy Scripture

The month of June, 2015, brought us the beautiful Sacra Liturgia conference in New York City, and will bring us the June 30th resignation of John Romeri, Director of the Office for Liturgical Music in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. These two events provide, on one side, a vision of the Church aimed toward lifting souls to God, and, on the other side, a vision that seems to place accessibility rather than transcendence as the primary value in liturgy.

In the wake of Mr. Romeri's announced resignation, some online commentary has brought up the distinction between a liturgy directed toward God and a liturgy directed toward the congregation. Beauty is more associated with the former, since beauty in forms is used to impart to the fallible and weak human understanding the unseen beauty of the divine. A banal liturgy is associated with the latter, since the music, forms, and prayers are not conducted to enable self transcendence according to the guidance of Saints, but to achieve whatever ends the majority of a particular congregation prefers.

Many religious men and women have written eloquently on beauty and the liturgy.  Even our missals provide guidance, as in the 1962 Roman Missal, p 131, of the 6th edition from Baronius Press. I see fewer authors in the online community appeal to Holy Scripture (of course there are exeptions). In this post, I want to highlight Matthew 6:5-6:

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 

This passage is related to the liturgy of the Holy Mass in the following way. The passage is about prayer, and [t]he Holy Mass is a prayer in itself, even the highest prayer that exists (1962 Roman Missal, page 897).  The passage is also not singularly focused on private, secluded prayer, according to the interpretation of Pseudo-Chrysostom: But I suppose that it is not the place that the Lord here refers to, but the motive of him that prays; for it is praiseworthy to pray in the congregations of the faithful. 

With this passage of Holy Scripture in mind, let us begin to consider its relevance to the liturgy. Much can be said on this topic, but commentary by Pseudo-Chrysostom provides a useful starting point to raise questions for discussion.

"Solomon says, 'Before prayer, prepare thy soul.'"

How can we use the time before Holy Mass to prepare our souls for prayer?  This includes the entire morning of Mass, and the time at church before Mass begins. (See my post on meditation before Mass.)

"Prayer is as it were a spiritual tribute which the soul offers of its own bowels. Wherefore the more glorious it is, the more watchfully ought we to guard that it is not made vile by being done to be seen of men."

What type of liturgy would most closely represent a "spiritual tribute which the soul offers of its own bowels?" What type of liturgy helps transcend the physical eye toward spiritual vision with our inner eye?

"But I suppose that it is not the place that the Lord here refers to, but the motive of him that prays...Whoever then so prays to be seen of men does not look to God but to man, and so far as his purpose is concerned he prays in the synagogue. But he, whose mind in prayer is wholly fixed on God, though he pray in the synagogue, yet seems to pray with himself in secret."

What liturgy most effectively helps us look to God, not to man? What liturgy inspires a prayer so devout and deep that the mind is wholly fixed on God? That last sentence deserves special consideration, as a mind wholly fixed on God is an extraordinary feat of meditation and contemplation.