Liturgy can be very beautiful. I like watching some big celebration from St. Peter Basilica in Rome or some other places where the liturgy is on the highest level. Beautiful music, processions, altars properly decorated, shiny chalices, and very decorative and matching bishops and priests’ vestments. There would be many rehearsals beforehand, so everything would go as planned. When Christmas or Easter come, or some other solemnities, we try to put on the liturgies at the ‘higher level’ too in our local churches. I like that, and I know it is an important thing to do. But by being preoccupied with all the preparations and making sure that everything looks nice, we may lose the real meaning of those celebrations and why we have them. We celebrate Jesus being with us in the Eucharist and He should be the center of our attention. Some churches don’t have many resources or parish staff, not even a budget to invest in preparing the liturgy. but they make it simple and beautiful by keeping Jesus in the center. Jesus reminds us that the external things are not the most important, but the things that are happening in your heart.
