Teens Encouraged to Gather Around the Altar

Fr. Pisut,

I am a first year teacher at a Catholic school. Today I received an e-mail from my principal asking me to be involved in a program called EDGE. Basically it is the middle school version of LifeTeen. If you are unfamiliar with LifeTeen it is a youth program where the youth attend Mass and then have Youth Group. The Mass is "geared" toward teenagers including "livelier" music. This I MIGHT be able to handle but the catch is that during the Eucharistic prayer the teens are encouraged to gather around the altar.
I will have to turn down this opportunity to serve the youth because I am emphatically against this practice. My question is, if I am asked why I am against congregating around the altar what would be the appropriate response?

In Christ and His Blessed Mother,
Emma


Emma,

The short answer as to why you should refrain from participating in such youth Masses is that nowhere in the rubrics is it stipulated that the congregation is to gather around the altar. For a Catholic who loves the Church and seeks to be faithful to Her this answer should suffice. However, I recognize that such an answer would probably not convince most participants in EDGE nor the people who run it. Much is made of the unique requirements of ministering to the youth and therefore the need to "meet them where they are." However, while it is important to reach out to youth to address issues that are important to them and articulated in ways that they can understand this can never be done at the expense of the Faith whether that be doctrinal, moral or liturgical. Presumably, the reason that the youth are encouraged to gather around the altar is so that they will have a more personal and meaningful connection with the Mass and that this will help keep them connected to the Faith. The problem with this perspective is that by distorting the Mass and the youths' understanding of the priest's role and their role in the Mass and what is meaningful participation in the Eucharist it actually does just the opposite. It connects them to a understanding of the liturgy which is not true to the Faith we are seeking to connect them to. It is important to teach youth at an age appropriate level the meaning of the Mass. However, they should have received this throughout their sacramental education. While acknowledging that Catholic education (school or R.E.) is not all it should be we should also not sell teenagers short on their ability to grasp what the liturgy really is. In addition, too often are attempts to keep youth connected results in our tapping into the attractions of Protestant style worship or secular culture to keep them connected to something which is radically different. While we can reach out to youth in a legitimate way that "meets them where they are", which may include upbeat music, we have to understand that while this may be acceptable in religious-social gatherings, and even to some degree retreats, such things are not necessarily acceptable at Holy Mass. Just as children mature and learn how to grow and enter into the adult world so too do youth, as they mature in the Faith, learn to enter into the Liturgy of the Church. It is only by giving youth an accurate understanding of the Liturgy that we can evangelize them and draw them into the Catholic Faith.

Fr. Pisut