Ill-informed, Superficial Observations on French Catholicism

Perhaps I should have made this a “7 Quick Takes,” but there are a few more than 7 now.

• Context:  We’ve been in France for almost 4 weeks, and stayed in rural ar eas, small towns, and now, for the last few days, Paris. I’ve driven from Paris to the Vendee to the Periogord to the Pyrenees to Provence.  As I said, I’ve been to Mass four times – I would like to go more, but most daily Masses that I have uncovered and that are close to me at any given time seem to be in the evening, and that hasn’t worked up to now.  However, now we are in Paris, and there are closer churches, and they seem to have morning Masses and even the Divine Office. Sometimes.  So I am slowly figuring that out.
• I’m just presenting that context so you can have a sense of what I’ve seen and what I haven’t.
• Except for Lourdes, I’ve not sought out shrines or particular religious sites except for the churches that I pass that interest me and that I have time to stop for.
• I do know a bit about the variegated and colliding streams of  French Catholic history.  I get it.  I’m just trying to fit what I’m seeing into what I know.  Being here really fleshes out that history in surprising ways.
• So……
• All three French language Masses have seemed to be standard Novus Ordo liturgies – one was in a small village north of Niort, the other was in Uzes (forgive my lack of accent marks – I can’t figure out how to do that right now…), and the last, Sacre Coeur here in Paris.  At the first, there were about 20 people, most over 60.  The second was the only Mass in the town (which is a smallish, but not tiny town.  Middle sized town) – and was full.  There were lots more people in the streets on that Sunday morning, though….Sacre Coeur was packed, not only with tourists circulating the perimeter, but with worshippers.
• The music at all was led by cantors.  The Uzes cantor was pretty dramatic – not vocally, but in terms of his gestures.  He must be a choir director, because that’s how he was directing us.  I think we did pretty well. The Carmelite sister who cantored at Sacre Coeur was the same. Must be a French thing. And, like the American thing of cantoring,  unnecessary.

End of Mass at Sacre Coeur

• The music seemed to be their basic contemporary hymnody.  Accompanied by organ in Uzes, but still. The music at Sacre Coeur was accompanied by their huge organ with elaborate flourishes, but it all seemed relatively new to me – it wasn’t chant, nor was it classical hymnody or sacred music.  Just making that judgment from the structure of the music and what I could make out of the lyrics.
• Eucharistic Prayer stance is a mix of standing and kneeling, although kneeling predominates through the consecration.  After which point, many stand.
• During the village Mass, the sung Mass parts were clearly deviations from the text in almost every case.  I have no idea what they were singing for the Agnus Dei, at all. Tropes, indeed.
• Responses to the Prayers of the Faithful were sung/chanted in all three French Masses, and the English-language Mass at Lourdes as well.
• At the first two Masses – and perhaps this is pretty common – the entire congregation joined in the doxology for the Eucharistic Prayer  - something that was trendy in a few places in the US back in the 70′s and early 80′s for just a bit, but I think has pretty much died out.  In Uzes, there was a sung responsorial thing going on for the doxology. Not sure what.
• The English language Mass at Lourdes was…interesting.  What shall I say?  I think I will say that the priest’s agenda seemed to be talk what he evidently believed were overly individualistic believers too entrenched in personal devotional piety into a more global outlook?  We were there about five minutes late, and I wondered what fast forward button they push for Masses at Lourdes because the celebrant was talking and talking and talking and I thought, surely they didn’t get through the opening rite and the readings in five minutes???… but then he stopped his exhortation not to pray for our own intentions, but for those of others (as if those people’s intentions probably and almost certainly weren’t for themselves anyway) during the Mass…and then we had to introduce ourselves to each other during the Penitential Rite..so no, we hadn’t missed anything.
• I would have liked to attend one of the 11pm Masses at Lourdes, but I wasn’t going to leave the boys alone in a hotel room in France at midnight. Not even in Lourdes, thanks. These late night Masses are not uncommon, are they?  Sacre Coeur has 10 pm Masses on both Saturday and Sunday nights.
• I bought a lovely rosary at the Poor Clares convent in Lourdes (if I ever return, I hope to attend prayer there – I learned about it too late to go this time).  The tiny elderly sister broke out of her stern shell with a big smile when Michael said, “Merci,” as she handed him a Divine Mercy prayer card.
• France seems fairly denuded of religious imagery.  Not surprising that 200 years of mostly anti-religious, sometimes violent culture and society takes its toll, of course.  You don’t notice it at first, since every village still has its church tower at the center rising above everything else.  But there is a silence and lifelessness about those churches and there are few roadside shrines or outdoor religious symbols.  It’s not like Italy, for sure.  (which again, makes historical sense because, no, France is not like Italy.)  And – as silly as a barometer as it seems –  the “culture” that’s filtered into the tourist world through gift shops and so on – well, in other countries with a serious Catholic background, you’re going to find Catholic imagery in all of those shops, because in every town, there’s at least one site of note that bears religious significance - so far, I’m not seeing that here.  Lourdes being the exception, of course. But again, time, and more experience will tell.
• But here’s a thing that’s interested me and that I must now research into the ground.  Evidently, they are called “Croix de mission.”  I am discerning – through mostly French language websites – that they were erected at the end of a mission week.  I got a good photo of this in a village in the Pyrenees, and have passed a couple of others, but have not had a chance to stop.  I want to learn more about them.

• I am not certain of this, but it seems that a part of the Year of Faith here involves a pilgrimage of the relics of St. Therese and her parents (separately).  The Uzes cathedral was hosting the Martins the week after we were there, and I am very excited that St. Therese’s relics will be visiting Sacre Coeur at the end of October, and we will still be here.  Mass was so packed today, and the materials in and around the church are so strongly evangelistic and inviting in tone, I imagine it will be quite a strong response. What interested me in Uzes, though,  from both the written material provided about the relics and from the priest’s words during Mass was that he was very, very emphatic that the bringing of these relics to the church and the reverencing of them in no way, no how, in any fashion contradicted or threatened the legacy and teaching of Vatican Deux.  He must have said “Vatican Deux” ten times while he was talking about the visit.  (The point he was making was that the Martins exemplified the holiness to which the laity are called, and this was a major emphasis of Vatican Deux, and therefore honoring the relics is perfectly okay with Vatican Deux…..etc.)
• There’s a lot to unpack here.  Regions vary in their religiosity and cultural expressions of same – the Vendee being a good example, even as expressed through a theme-park – but so far, while so much of French life is intriguing and even compelling to me, it’s really only part of me that’s moved.  The rest of me is studying that lone mission cross, straining to hear.

Romanesque Church in Axiat, France

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