Virtual and Physical Worship: Incorporating the Electronic Revolution
Virtual and Physical Worship
Incorporating the Electronic Revolution
In the past Christianity has flourished in large part because it incorporated two revolutions in the use of paper.
The first was using the codex rather than the papyrus form of manuscripts. The book form provided longer manuscripts making the modern bible possible and easier access to the pages of a manuscript. Christian communities as well as Jewish communities became connected by written as well as oral communication. The greater flexibility of the codex allowed Christian communities to exist as household assembles rather than being limited to synagogues with their rolls of papyrus.
The second revolution was the printed book that allowed the mass production of bibles, liturgical books and universal literacy. Each individual Christian could read the bible, and pray with their own prayer books such psalters, breviaries and missals.
Currently Christianity is challenged by the electronic revolution which by means of phone, radio, television, and computers allows people to experience virtual as well as physical communities. These electronic media have the ability to connect people across geographical, social, cultural and time boundaries.
Churches had for two -thousand years, built communities by
assembling people in buildings. Temples of worship had created
micro-environments of audio-visual worship experiences that had powerful
effects upon people. There were also other micro-environments of audio-visual
celebrations at courts, taverns and in the outdoors that competed with the
liturgical environments for the hearts and minds of people. However, the
average person probably had better access to liturgical micro-environments than
to other environments.
With the advent of electronic media people now experience very
powerful audio-visual presentations in their daily lives from the time they
awake to the time that they go to sleep.
These presentations form hearts and minds and create communities both
virtual and physical. The hour or two of Sunday morning worship faces stiff competition
from the 24/7 virtual world.
On the eve of Vatican II, the micro-environment of Catholic worship consisted largely of low Masses with a few vernacular hymns. In my home parish there was only one Latin High Mass on Sunday sung very poorly by a men’s choir. During the week there were daily Latin High Masses sung equally poorly by an elderly woman organist. As a child I was terribly bored by the Low Mass that preceded our very boring Catechism classes.
At one summer school of religion, a seminarian
changed my liturgical life by teaching a group of us boys to sing the morning
High Mass. As a young boy who was
fascinated by astronomy and space travel, Latin and Gregorian chant were rocket
science. It was sufficient to motivate
me to be an altar boy. The learning of
Latin and the ceremonies of the Mass held my interest sufficiently that I
discovered another liturgical resource that transformed my life at home, the
Divine Office in English.
When the Vatican Council changed the liturgy into the vernacular, the bishops understood what they were doing. The daily Eucharist of Council was often celebrated in the various Eastern rites with their own liturgical languages and musical cultures. American bishops would have known that our Eastern rites in the United States were already transitioning to English.
As a high school student I had witnessed at
an outdoor Mass one of the early celebrations of the Byzantine Rite in English
presided over by Bishop Sheen. I am sure all the bishops knew about this.
God Is Love Father Clarence Rivers American Mass Program 1966
God is Love - Clarence Rivers | GodSongs.net