Farmington parish seeks to help parishioners fully participate, understand the liturgy

Farmington — Even longtime Catholics can benefit from a “refresher course” on the Mass. That’s what parishioners at Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington enjoyed when they were invited to “teaching Masses” during Lent.

After attending the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Amazing Parish Conference last year, pastor Fr. Mark Brauer and his leadership team decided to focus on the Mass and the Eucharist.

“The vision of Amazing Parish is something I took to heart as a pastor,” Fr. Brauer said. “It gave me a completely different outlook about how we can better serve God’s people in their parish life, particularly in the Sunday experience. It’s the one day of the week we know we can engage them as we share the Holy Eucharist.”

While praying for the parish, a prayer discernment group at Our Lady of Sorrows felt a call for more teaching in the parish. At the same time, the leadership team was brainstorming ideas to improve the Sunday experience. Combining the two groups’ ideas, the leadership team decided to offer a Mass that would explain what was happening on the altar. Six teaching Masses over the course of three weekends would present the same information, in order to make that information consistent and available to those attending any Mass time.

“We wanted to give people a deeper understanding of the mystery of the Mass,” said Fr. Mario Amore, associate pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows. “The liturgy means ‘the work of the people.’ It’s not just watching the priest. There’s no part of the Mass when you’re a spectator. Having a deeper understanding allows us all to grow in our love for God and experience the grace that comes from the Mass.”

Fr. Brauer, Fr. Amore and associate pastor Fr. Paul Graney determined how the teaching Masses would work. Fr. Amore would stand at the ambo during much of the Mass and explain various elements of the liturgy while Fr. Brauer or Fr. Graney presided.

When writing the script, Fr. Amore included Church tradition and teaching on key parts of the Mass. He also wanted to address questions that people have asked him since becoming a priest in May 2015, such as, “Why does the priest put water in the wine?”

“We tried to focus mainly on the role of the people,” Fr. Mario said. “Even in moments of silence, what should they be doing and why?”

Anand Thakur attended two teaching Masses. Thakur was received into the Catholic Church a year ago at Our Lady of Sorrows’ Easter Vigil and was given a “walkthrough” of the Mass at one of his RCIA classes. Still, he found he wasn’t done learning.

“Until the teaching Mass, I never realized that all the saints and angels in heaven are singing with us during the acclamation, so when you sing it, you should sing very loudly because you’re singing with the angels in heaven, not just with your parish community,” Thakur said.

Thakur says Holy Thursday was more meaningful to him this year because the teaching Masses reinforced the fact that the Eucharist would not be possible without a priest.

“It really hit me that night, and it makes me feel very thankful to our priests,” Thakur said.

Parishioner Jill Morketter, a cradle Catholic, also appreciated the special Masses offered during Lent.  After attending the “Discovering Christ” series at the parish, she wanted to learn more.

“Now I truly want to learn why we do what we do, and not just go through the motions,” Morketter said. “There’s a big difference between speaking the words out of habit and truly understanding them.”

The teaching Masses not only impacted those who attended; they also had a profound effect on Fr. Brauer, Fr. Amore and Fr. Graney.

“As a presider during a teaching Mass, it took me back to the day of my ordination and to my first Mass,” said Fr. Brauer, who celebrates 25 years as a priest this year. “To have that reminder that I’m the person standing in the place of Christ, it brought tears to my eyes.”

Given the positive feedback on the teaching Masses, the Our Lady of Sorrows leadership team will consider offering the Masses in the future.

“If we can focus on the work God is doing right now — in front of us at the Mass — it changes our disposition. When we understand the Mass, there’s a sense of mystery and reverence there,” Fr. Amore said. “We want people to experience a sense of wonder and awe, and to know we all have a part to play in our greatest form of worship.”