Cafeteria Catholicism

Reading Onyango-Obbo this morning had me agreeing with him. Well, somewhat. He says:

For starters, Mass simply takes too long these days. First the priests ramble on, trying to be funny with stale jokes and struggling to connect with the worshippers. Then laypersons are sometimes allowed to waste more time saying their two cents worth at the end. And the announcements sometimes go on for as long as the service itself.

(looks around in case her mom sees/hears her blaspheming) I know there are plenty of people who view Sundays as a day when you spend all day in church (see case of Nairobi Marathon changing from a more scenic route due to such concerns). The 'Cafeteria Catholic' in me feels extremely aggravated when this happens (entire day spent in church).

I am happy to be at the non-singing mass, 7.30am on Sunday, 'cause it takes precisely an hour. The priest once even apologized for "mentioning the word 'singing' at this mass". And no, it's not a handful of worshipers who feel this way. We fill a good 2/3 of the church. (Yes, yes, during singing mass the church bursts at the seams, but still...). You go in, you do your business, then you "go in peace to love and serve the Lord".

One (of the many) thing(s) I love about Catholicism is the liturgy. You know what's expected, you do it. You sin, you get a 3rd, 4th, 10th chance through confession and pennance (very simplistic version, I know).

Now, why can't certain things just be left well enough alone?