Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41; Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19 or 21:1-14

In the Gospel for this Sunday, we see Peter and some of the other disciples in an encounter with Jesus after His resurrection. They had been fishing during the night, with no success, but when Jesus came at dawn and told them to lower their nets again, on the right side of their boat, they followed his instructions and caught so many fish that they were unable to haul the net into the boat, but brought it ashore. This is just one of many instances in the Gospels in which we see that remarkable results can flow from following Christ even in small and simple ways. In every area of life, the only real measure of whether we are on the road to success is whether we are obeying Jesus Christ. Because we are flawed human beings, it is easy for us to forget this principle, even in the things that are most central to our Faith.

This week the Congregation for Divine Worship issued a document called Redemptionis Sacramentum (available on the Vatican web site here), which addresses numerous abuses that unfortunately have developed in the celebration of Mass in many places. There really is nothing new in this document. The Church is merely re-emphasizing the prohibitions of certain things that are not consistent with a proper celebration of the Eucharist. The document deals with problems such as the use of unapproved eucharistic prayers, changes in the eucharistic prayers, the use of inappropriate or invalid matter for the bread and wine to be consecrated at Mass, the preaching of "homilies" by people who are not priests or deacons, and many other things. It is unfortunate that such a document is even necessary, but clearly it is. Too many priests continue to take it upon themselves to depart from the guidelines for the celebration of Mass. Furthermore, all too often priests are encouraged in or even pressured into such abuses by the lay people in their parishes. I am fortunate enough to live in a parish where the priests do not willfully ignore the guidance of the Church in liturgical matters, but I know, both from my own experiences in other parishes and from hearing the experiences of other Catholics, that such problems are indeed quite widespread.

The priests who allow and participate in abuses within the Mass, and the lay people who encourage these abuses, doubtless have good intentions. They may think that they are being innovative, or giving people variety, or making the Mass more accessible to their people. I think they are wrong. However, this is not about my opinion, or anyone else's opinion for that matter. This is about celebrating the liturgy in conformity with the universal Catholic Church. The liturgical norms that are being ignored in many places ultimately rest upon the authority of the Pope, who is the Vicar of Christ. We see in the Gospel this Sunday that Peter and his companions bring in a miraculous catch of fish when they obey Christ in casting their nets. It was not that they changed their fishing technique or came up with a new and better net design. The difference-maker was Christ, and Jesus Christ always makes the difference between real success and real failure. The Church flourishes to the extent that her members obey and follow Jesus Christ, and that means following His representative, the Pope, to whom He gave authority on earth.

The connection between following Christ and obeying the specific liturgical rules of the Church may not always appear clear to everyone, but even if some Catholics do not understand the reasons behind these rules, they should be able to accept the link between following Christ and following the Pope in his leadership of the Catholic Church. Those who would attempt to build up the Body of Christ by contradicting His Vicar with their actions are sadly confused, and doomed to failure. If priests and bishops wish to have true success as fishers of men, they must follow Christ in His Church, and that cannot be done without following the Pope who leads that Church. One important way in which priests can do this is by obeying the liturgical norms of the Church, and as lay people we should encourage priests in such faithfulness in the fulfillment of their liturgical duties. Ideally, it should be not only easy but pleasant for priests to adhere to the rules of the Church in every aspect of their ministry, and that can only be the case if priests are supported by parishioners who themselves are committed to following the rules of the Church. Finally, everyone should pray that all priests read Redemptionis Sacramentum, take to heart what the Church is saying about the liturgy in this document, and if they are not conforming to the will of the Church in the celebration of Mass, that they begin to do so as part of their following of Christ.