On Doxology and Dancing at Mass

There are two odd things which I noticed when I attended Sunday mass today at a prominent church in Quezon City. The first was when the officiating priest encouraged the congregation to join him in reciting: “through Him, in Him, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit…” (Doxology) which I believe is reserved for the priest alone, in conformance to the GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal). The second was towards the end of the mass, before the final blessings, when a group of young people presented a song and dance number before the whole congregation. It turns out they were part of the recent graduates of PREX (Parish Renewal Experience) who were asked to make a presentation at the mass. After the presentation, there was clapping all around. Certainly, I would encourage these young people to express their new found enthusiasm in the faith, but asking them to express this enthusiasm by performing a dance number at mass is a tad overboard. These kinds of presentations are best appreciated outside of the liturgy of the mass, as it simply takes away the solemnity and draws away the attention from God who should be the sole focus of the mass. It’s certainly a challenge how to call the attention of the parish priest on these matters, but it should be done.