Liturgy

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Until the Fat Lady Sings

You know the line about opera: "it ain't over till the fat lady sings." The same is true about Sunday Mass - and no, the "fat lady" is not the cantor. She's us - all of us - the church! Sated (miraculously with just a morsel and a sip), stuffed on grace, a bit tired from sincere thanksgiving and sustained praise, the assembly has to finish this liturgy before it's over. Would the cast leave before the final curtain? The orchestra before the finale? The team before the final buzzer or last out? At Mass, we are all the cast, all the orchestra, all the team.

The end of Mass comes quickly: After the silent reverie that follows communion, there is a prayer and maybe a hymn. Some announcements follow, then a blessing and dismissal, perhaps a final song. So is it really asking too much of each other to see it through to the very end? Sure, you might be blocking in someone's car in the parking lot, but if we all stay till the end, what difference does it make? Of course the little ones are antsy; we all are at this point. A few minutes more won't hurt (nor will cries and squirming now).

And yes, not slipping out early means rubbing elbows with everyone, people jamming up at the doors and a procession of cars, crawling out the parking lot, but isn't this a consequence of the communion that we just shared? Isn't this how we know that we are becoming what we have shared: the body of Christ, risen from the dead, going out into the world to give to others what has been given to us?

It's a simple act of kindness - finishing the liturgy before leaving. And if we slow down just enough to finish our liturgy, maybe we'll slowly learn to finish well other things in life too. And when we learn to relish and not rush the end of things - the last minute of a movie, the final words of a conversation, the last hand of cards and the final set of pins to knock down - what we are truly learning is to relish and not rush the end of our days - the final act of gratitude that gives God praise.

 CopyrightCl998 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications,
1800 North Hermitage Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622-1 101; 1-800-933-1800. Text by David Philippart.

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