Labeled Masses

The Doctrinal Commission has received an inquiry concerning “labeled Masses”, that is, Masses designated as “charismatic Masses” or “healing Masses”. The question can be expressed this way: (1) is it permitted to designate Masses in this way; and (2) is it in accordance with the spirit of the liturgy to do so? The first concerns legitimacy, the other wisdom.

There is nothing in Church teaching that forbids such labels. However, there are key principles that should be borne in mind concerning the meaning of the Church’s liturgy and especially the Eucharist. I outline the principles and then ask how Masses celebrated in the CCR can most fully respect this teaching.

Vatican II teaches that “Liturgical services are not private functions but are celebrations of the Church which is ‘the sacrament of unity,’ namely ‘the holy people united and arranged under their bishops.’ Therefore, liturgical services pertain to the whole Body of the Church. They manifest it, and have effects upon it.” (Constitution on the Liturgy, 26).

In John Paul II’s encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (39), we find:

“[G]iven the very nature of ecclesial communion and its relation to the sacrament of the Eucharist, it must be recalled that ‘the Eucharistic Sacrifice, while always offered in a particular community, is never a celebration of that community alone. In fact, the community, in receiving the Eucharistic presence of the Lord, receives the entire gift of salvation and shows, even in its lasting visible particular form, that it is the image and true presence of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church’. From this it follows that a truly Eucharistic community cannot be closed in upon itself, as though it were somehow self-sufficient; rather it must persevere in harmony with every other Catholic community.” Pope Benedict similarly teaches: “The love that we celebrate in the sacrament is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 84).

Does the labeling of particular Masses as “healing Masses” or “charismatic Masses”, though not forbidden, contradict the spirit of the liturgy? It depends on the context. One potential danger is “instrumentalization”—that is, using the liturgy for purposes distinct from the liturgy. This occurs if the celebration is less than catholic, that is, if it seeks to exclude rather than to include. Such instrumentalization contradicts the essential character of the liturgy. The Eucharist should not be “used” for promotional purposes when what is being promoted does not serve universal communion. Masses for vocations, for example, are clearly not “using” the Mass or contradicting its catholic character. Masses for particular groups within the Church are normal and legitimate, but a key part of their role is to strengthen the bonds of this group with the universal Church. When public Masses are celebrated for gatherings of the CCR, they should never exclude others who want to come. They should serve to integrate the Renewal into the wider life of the Church, which most clearly happens at Masses presided by the local bishop.

The term “healing Mass” is wider than the Mass for the Sick (pro infirmis) already provided in the liturgical books. In Masses for healing, the prayers of the faithful can include the sick, and the homily normally draws on biblical passages about healing. Inserting other prayers as part of the liturgy is not permitted. Liturgical gatherings do not focus on the sick, but demonstrate the importance of the sick members for the life of the whole Church. Any implication that Masses not labeled as “healing Masses” have no healing dimension is to be avoided. In fact, it seems more appropriate to speak of “Mass for healing”.

I suggest that the major safeguard against abuse is a spirit of humble servanthood that avoids all exclusive attitudes and that seeks to live the Renewal within the full communion of the Catholic Church and in service of the full reconciliation of all Christian communities within the one Body of Christ. It is the responsibility of each bishop to preserve and encourage the catholic character of his flock, and he has the authority to issue instructions concerning the local application of the Church’s principles where he sees that correction is needed.

Fr Peter Hocken