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The Day the Liturgists Danced

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CARDINAL'S PASTORAL

By Matt Mahoney

On Saturday, April 25, I attended a "Liturgical Formation Day: Implementing the Pastoral, Gather Faithfully Together" at St. Jerome's Church, near Los Angeles International Airport. St. Jerome's is a sterling example of "Googie" style architecture (the name referring to a now-vanished coffee shop in West Hollywood), very familiar from countless restaurants and car washes built in the late '50s and early '60s throughout the Southland. This was the first church in that manner I had ever encountered. It was a fitting place for the event.

After 8:30 a.m. registration, I went to the parish hall, where I struck up a conversation with an attendee. He told me that while he did not care for much change in the liturgy himself, he supposed that there must be some who needed it, and that doubtless the cardinal was responding to their needs.

The day's festivities began at 9 a.m. in the parish hall with "Gathering/Prayer/Announcements." Conducted by Bishop Stephen Blaire (regional bishop for downtown and the Westside). This opening service comprised primarily readings and a hymn, followed by a sort of homily.

Bishop Blaire's comments revolved around the theme of the day, which was putting Cardinal Mahony's recent pastoral letter on the liturgy into practice. In the course of his talk, the bishop made some interesting points. "There is a movement," he warned us, "which is trying to get the Church on the wrong track. They are exaggerating the presence of Jesus in the bread and wine." The bishop then assured us that "Jesus is not present in the tabernacle for adoration. That devotion flows from the liturgy. He is present among us because He has redeemed us. This is what the cardinal is telling us in his pastoral letter." After sprinkling us with Easter Water, Bishop Blaire took his leave.

The bishop's successor at the podium was Father Richard Albarano, director of the archdiocese's Office for Worship. Father Albarano informed us, after stating his approval of the bishop's remarks, that "if my grandmother saw me conduct Mass today, she would say 'Richard, you have left the Church.' And she'd be right, as I have said before and been quoted as saying in newspapers. The Church of that day was good for that day, the liturgy of that day was good for that day. But this is a new day, and it needs a new liturgy." At great length he told us that we ourselves are holy, and that we must "celebrate as we live, and live as we celebrate." Moreover, "Jesus is the sacrament of the Father, and we are the sacrament of Jesus." Having been instructed, we were ready for our workshops.

There were quite a large number: Eucharistic Ministry; Hospitality Ministry; Lector Enrichment; Liturgical Spirituality; Liturgical Dance; Introduction to Music; RCIA Team Members: Overview of the RCIA; and RCIA Team Members: Paragraph 75. Each of these were to represent the education of the various elements of the archdiocese's liturgical elite in one or another aspect of the cardinal's liturgy renewal. I went off to Liturgical Dance.

The instructor, Mr. John West, is a teacher of dance at Harvard-Westlake School, a renowned Episcopalian prep school in Coldwater Canyon. With impressive credentials in his field, Mr. West obviously had for the dance the same love which any artist has for his art. My fellow students were a diverse lot. There were three Hispanic girls, the elder two about 12 and 14, the younger one about eight years old. There were two ladies, both on this side of middle age. Both of these sets were accomplished dancers. There was also a Japanese woman whose daughter is head of the liturgical dance for youth at her parish. She was paired with me.

The first session lasted from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Copies of excerpts from the relevant liturgical directives from Vatican II and the Bishops' Directive "Environment and Art in Catholic Worship" were passed out. Mr. West informed us that we could "use these to defend ourselves" when we returned to our parishes. The only specific reference to the dance was in the latter document. There, on p. 330, we are told that "Processions and interpretations through bodily movements (dance) can become meaningful parts of the liturgical celebration if done by truly competent persons in the manner that benefits the total liturgical action." Mr. West declared that "competent" was the keyword here, and bemoaned the lack of preparation and ineptitude that all too often accompany liturgical dance.

He gave us a short introductory lecture. Mr. West reminded us of King David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant, and the continuance of dancing in the Ethiopian Rite (in later conversation, we discussed the age-old dancing of clergy during Holy Week at the Cathedral in Seville, Spain). Mr. West pointed out that sacred stories had often been danced throughout history, and continue to be on the stage. "Isn't the Church a better place for them?" he asked. "Dancing should be prayer through movement, and liturgical dancers should be very prayerful." However odd all of this might be to the non-dancer, as with any artist who regards his particular craft with reverence, Mr. West was certain that dance can be a powerful venue of the holy.

From time to time, however, he would make comments which seem to owe their origin to the archdiocesan Office for Worship. At one point he observed that "a church isn't sacred because it's a church, it's sacred because the assembly make it sacred."

Mr. West gave the following examples of when liturgical dance can be used: in eucharistic liturgy, at the entrance hymn/rite, responsorial psalm/sequence, procession of the book of the Gospels, preparation of the table/ presentation of the gifts, post communion hymn, and recessional hymn; at non-eucharistic liturgies, dance may be employed at the entrance rite, the procession of the book, proclamation of the word, hymns of celebration of the word, and the closing rite. He warned against inappropriate behavior and extravagant moves or gestures.

Most of our day was spent planning and rehearsing the dance we would perform at the 4 p.m. closing prayer ceremony. To the words of the hymn "God Has Chosen Me" by Bernadette Farrell, we developed a dance. Mr. West himself designed the steps to the chorus; each of our groups had to illustrate respectively one of the three verses. My partner and I came up with some very simple steps to accompany the second verse-- "God has chosen me to set alight a new fire. God has chosen me to bring to birth a new kingdom on earth: God has chosen me: And to tell the world that God's kingdom is near, to remove oppression and break down fear, yes God's time is near." The other two, being talented as well as trained, worked up some rather complex and lovely steps.

Rehearsal was rather pleasantly conducted, and I learned a new respect for dancers--they only make it look easy. At last, nervous and a bit fatigued, we trooped back to the parish hall for the closing prayer. Fr. Albarano congratulated the members of the "liturgical leadership" who were to go back out into the parishes and implement the cardinal's pastoral. There were then prayers for each of the "ministries"--for lectors, for cantors, musicians, and ushers (dancers were added at the last minute on Mr. West's insistence), and finally, eucharistic ministers. In between, the chorus and verses of the hymn were sung, and we danced.

I was given a "Certificate of Participation," which attests that I have "participated in the liturgical specialization course for enrichment Liturgical Dancer in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles," and which bears the printed signature of "Fr. Dick Albarano, Director, Office of Worship."

Liturgical dance certainly has a long history in the Church, and continues to be a part of her life in certain places. For that matter, ballet owes its origin partly to the Medieval Mystery Plays, sometimes performed in churches. If the instructor and fellow-students I met are any indication of the majority of those involved in the Liturgical Dance movement, their sincerity cannot be doubted. But given the long break in such practice in most of the Latin Rite, one might wonder why the clergy have pushed for its revival, particularly in the light of what Bishop Blaire said "the cardinal is telling us in his pastoral letter."

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