Why should you pay the price?

There are many who think the Catholic Church is stogy and devoid of humor. To them, I say, hey you're sometimes right. I also say, hey you should have been in mass for the Feast of the Ascension, celebrated May 19/ 20. The Feast of the Ascension commemorates the rising of Christ bodily into Heaven. This Feast is forty days after Easter and falls on a Thursday [don't do the math, just trust me on this one]. Recently, most dioceses have moved the celebration to the following Sunday.

 Ascension of Christ by Garofalo,

image courtesy of Wikipedia

The first reading of the Mass was Acts: 1-11, which is the most detailed compilation of the events' reports. It's actually the Psalm for the weekend that had me in stitches - Psalm 47. In the Catholic church, the first half(ish) of Mass is the Liturgy of the Word. This includes a first reading (usually from the Old Testament), a Psalm, a second reading (usually from the New Testament) and a Gospel reading.

Many of the Psalms we use have been put to music such that the cantor (that's me some weekends) sings the refrain, inviting the congregation to join in. The cantor then sings each verse and the congregation sings the refrain again between the verses.

I was the cantor for Mass on Saturday evening. And I invited the congregation to join me in singing:

"God mounts His throne to shouts of joy; O, sing your praises to the Lord." 

Really - mounts his throne??? I am not the only person who giggled at this. I felt like a grade school-er making potty jokes.

His throne? I still laugh. Because I invited them to sing along.

And that's not even the funniest part!

At each Mass, we sing a Preparation hymn while the altar is being dressed and prepped for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. During this time, bread and wine are brought forward as an offering. And, hey, since we're offering, this is also the time that baskets are passed through the congregation for any monetary offerings. It's our time to contribute our tithes.

The hymn for Preparation that Mass? Come to the Water by Matt Maher. An awesome hymn, to be sure, but with these great lines....

And let all who have nothing; let them come to the Lord;

Without money, without price;

Why should you pay the price? 

Sung while the baskets were passed around....don't ever say the Catholic church is devoid of humor. That, my friends, is funny!

If you'll excuse me, I have to convince a two year old to use the throne.