Father Rags

An ad for the New Oxford Review (a Catholic journal admirably high on orthodoxy, if grievously short on charity) satirizes the liturgical nightmares of some parishes. The ad is rather funny--but only from the outside. I was stuck in such a parish once, and can testify that it's nowhere near as funny from within.

I studied in England for a year, and lived on campus at the university. The nearest Catholic church (so far as I knew) was in Brighton, several train-stops away, so I attended the mass at the school chapel. The priest, who went by "Father Rags" (his first name was Raglan), made up his own creed each week. Typically, it boiled down to "I believe in Karl Marx, maker of justice and peace". If it mentioned God, it was only in passing. Here's a sample from a mass sheet that my wife saved, dated 3rd March 1996:

WE BELIEVE in a community that opens its doors to people who flee war, hunger and poverty in search of a better life.
WE BELIEVE in the power of love, not the power of violence.
WE BELIEVE that we are called to share our lives so as to free each other from poverty, racism, and oppression of all kinds.
WE BELIEVE that the resources of the earth are to be shared among all people - not just the few.
WE BELIEVE in a community that has as a priority a response to those who are denied basic human rights and dignity.
WE REJECT a world where people are denied access to warmth, food, shelter and right [sic] to live in peace.
WE WANT to believe in justice, in goodness and in people.
WE BELIEVE we are called to a life of freedom, of service, of witness, of hope.
WE REJECT the idea that nothing can be done.
WE BELIEVE that a time will come when all people will share in the richness of our world, and that all people will be truly loved and respected.
WE COMMIT OURSELVES in the name of God who created the world for all to share, of Christ who leads us to freedom, and of the Spirit who calls us to action.
TODAY WE COMMIT OURSELVES to work together to make this belief a reality.

The same mass included a replacement of the Penitential Rite, featuring quotes from Euripides ("there is no sorrow above the loss of a native land"); Aeschylus ("everyone is quick to blame the alien"); and Cardinal Roger Etchegaray ("tell me how you receive a refugee and I will tell you who you are"). It ended with the recitation of "an old Celtic rune of hospitality".

Of course, there was no Latin--but not for any wish to keep it understandable to the crowd. The entrance hymn was in, I think, an African language ("Si ya-hamba'eku-kha-nyen'kwne-khos"), while the psalm was in Spanish. Actually it wasn't a psalm, but rather a hymn based on the story of Abraham being called from his home to Israel. We needed to stay on the refugee theme, I guess.

Speaking of hymns: the music was always the most inane, folksy tripe you can imagine--An Almighty Wind, if you will. The local favorite was "Our God Reigns", sung with much gusto, but with an intonation that felt like we were comparing "Our God" to someone else's. The refrain may just as well have said "our God reigns, our God rules, our God kicks your god's #$$, our God reigns!"

Father Rags adored ecumenical outreach. Once, he invited an Anglican priest and a Jewish rabbi to co-celebrate the mass with him. They both received communion and then helped distribute it. Actually, it was the Anglican who performed the Eucharistic Prayer. So at least they didn't take the real Body of Christ (as at least the Rabbi knew, since he didn't refuse it!). I wonder, should I have confessed missing mass that Sunday, since I never did attend a real one?

Another day, Fr. Rags was feeling a bit down about some orthodox Vatican pronouncement. After mass, he told a group of us that he often dreamed of starting his own religion. I think he was well on his way.

(Thanks to JB for the link to the NOR ad that brought back all these memories!)