It was the German theologian, Romano Guardini who, in 1964, (rather sardonically) asked whether modern man was truly capable of a liturgical act any more, and questioned whether, or not, new ways of celebrating the mysteries were required. In our discussion on his podcast, ‘Let me be Frank,’ aired this past week, Bishop Caggiano and I discussed (amongst other things) the concept of memory - and the Church’s response to technological innovation.

I mentioned how the rise of private transport affected traditional parish structures, and asked whether we have, even now, fully responded to a landscape where people can ‘shop around’ to find a church they like, rather than being constrained to persevere in a community within striking distance. But an even more vital question concerns the Sacred Liturgy and whether, or not, the desire to ‘update’ or ‘modernize’ could ever be satisfied. Should we always respond to whatever fad or fashion dictates? Take, for example, the question of participation in the Liturgy.

Very frequently priests hear the comment, “I didn’t get anything out of Mass” - which is such a terribly sad comment to make. But it betrays a hidden desire the Liturgy is not (and never could be) apt to address: the need for personal entertainment.

In a way, we are living in a world that experienced a cultural revolution that began with with the rise of Television. For anyone born after 1970, the presence of Television sets in homes is so ubiquitous we barely even think to notice it now. But here are the statistics: in 1950, only 9% of American households had a Television set at home; by 1960, it was 65%, and by 1970 a full 95.5% had at least one set at home.

Intriguingly, Television itself has since evolved out of all recognition, as the explosion of digital channels on demand makes scheduling largely meaningless (who remembers the TV guides produced as a color supplement?) whereas the advent of the ‘smartphone,’ with its capacity for homemade video content published on social media, means people’s schedules are much less bound to Television than they were a decade or two ago, but two-dimensional, passive entertainment is omnipresent.

As Fr. Peter Lenox, the Episcopal Vicar for Liturgy and Worship of the Diocese of Bridgeport observes, the Church was grappling with the question of changes to the Liturgy, just as the Faithful were becoming hooked on the widespread availability of personal entertainment through Television.

As sanctuaries were altered to make the Eucharistic action more visible, and accessible, the place of the Faithful was also changed to resemble their lounges with carpeting, padded chairs, and sound systems to prioritize the spoken word over singing. But just as these alterations had been made, Television moved on - and moved over.

The Liturgy can never compete with such an impetus. Why? Simply because the concept of personal entertainment needs to be constantly reinvented in order to keep fresh and current. How quickly we tire of the latest show! Whereas if the Sacred Liturgy is a portal to eternity; it should be eternally dependable, precisely because it does not change with whim and fashion.

Recently, Rev. Marcus Walker, Rector of St. Bartholomew the Great in London, England, made the astute observation that for a generation growing up through the COVID Pandemic and its aftermath, traditional worship provides something solid and reassuring. No wonder Choral Evensong is booming for the Anglicans - and younger Catholics are attracted to those forms of worship that are classic, and timeless.

And if you were wondering about the title of this piece - it comes from a 1979 hit by British new wave electro pop band, The Buggles, about how the advent of Television and VCR destroyed ‘wireless’ (radio) culture: “we can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far” the song laments. Now we live in a time where Television, the very ‘radio-killer,’ has itself, been killed. Perhaps we still need to learn, in its death throes, that the Liturgy is a different kind of activity from entertainment: it is active, not passive; three-dimensional, not screen-based; and life-changing, not life-affirming.

Behold, the Lamb of God!

Unlike last week’s wild goose, this week’s symbol is one that is extremely familiar to all Catholics.  We find it throughout Sacred Scripture, in the words proclaimed at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and in and around our Churches.  With both eyes and ears we are surrounded with the image of Jesus as the Lamb of God.

We took our inspiration for this week’s project from the dome mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. In the second century St. Vitalis and his family were the first martyrs of Ravenna and he was designated patron saint of the city. 

San Vitale was commissioned in AD 525 by the Orthodox Bishop Ecclesius upon his return from Constantinople.  It was consecrated in 547 by Bishop Maximian, who commissioned the interior artwork.  The Church was restored in the 16th and 20th centuries. Octagonal in design, the Church has both Roman and Byzantine elements.

Made with thousands of small pieces embedded into a permanent adhesive, mosaics are basically painting with glass or stone.  The sanctuary and apse of San Vitale are decorated with brilliantly colorful mosaics depicting Salvation History. 

Every surface is covered with figures, images and decorative patterns. The central dome directly above the altar is the placement for the Lamb of God mosaic.  The Sacrificial Lamb, with its golden halo, is surrounded by a wreath of victory.  The wreath is decorated with apples, pomegranates, pears, all richly symbolic.  The wreath is held in place by four archangels.

We looked at both this particular image in detail as well as other mosaics of Jesus as the Lamb of God, such as in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.  We also looked at very early depictions of the the Four Evangelists, also in a circular design, with the Lamb in the center, and then some images of real baby lambs.

To begin their artwork, the children first drew their lambs and border decorations in pencil on watercolor paper.  They copied over their lines in black and then moved on to painting the backgrounds with a vibrant blue liquid watercolor. 

They then shaded their lambs, adding details and painting their border designs in pan watercolor.  While their watercolors were drying they began “tiling” a golden circular border with gold sticky-backed paper on black card stock. When dry, they cut out their paintings and glued them on their “mosaic-ed” background.  And last, but not least, they made their backgrounds shine with white oil pastel stars on the blue field of color surrounding their lambs.

The collage Holy Card for this week was from John 1:29:

“Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”

While the children were working on their paintings, they listened to the poem The Lamb by William Blake (1757 - 1827) and brought a copy home with them: