Katarzyna Gmerek reflects on differences between liturgy in Ireland and Poland
Katarzyna Gmerek
Recent articles and letters in The Irish Catholic have questioned the idea of weekly Sunday Masses for ethnic communities in Ireland, most obviously those Polish Masses held at St Audoen’s church in Dublin, which serves as a home for the Polish chaplaincy service in Ireland.
My own experiences as a Pole attending Mass in Ireland might help shed some light on this debate.
As a historical researcher, coming from time to time to Irish libraries, and attending Masses on Sunday, I once went to Mass at St Audoen’s, but mostly attended the Mass in other places.
Of all the Irish Masses I was present at, I most liked the Latin Mass in St Kevin’s Church in Dublin, because of music and singing, and the lack of haste. One dear late Irish friend of mine, an elderly man, first suggested that I go to St Kevin’s, warning me that “they are crazy”. He loved this, and when we went there, I saw him very happy, though he was constantly worrying if I was satisfied.
I must admit candidly that it was my first experience with the Tridentine Mass. But many melodies were familiar and the choir was great, while I coped with the Latin with the help of a booklet. As I was born after Vatican II, it was something extraordinary to me, but I loved it.
In particular, though, the feeling of solemnity and the ability to be out of this world for a while was similar to the experience to most Sunday Masses in my country.
In Poland I only attend Polish-language Mass, but there we sing a lot, and Masses are longer, with more celebration and with all proper modern structure. If I am five minutes late for a Mass, I don’t miss much.
But in Ireland, when I once was five minutes late, the homily had already begun! And usually there is no-one singing, or hardly anyone. Or the music is pre-recorded and this leaves the congregation passively listening (or not listening at all).
St Augustine said: “He who sings, prays twice” – and I think he was right, especially as being a part of a singing crowd makes us happy, or at least so I and many others have found.
You have truly amazing trad music in Ireland, and one can still listen to splendid performances by ordinary Irish people in the pubs or in stadiums, as we experienced in my Poznan, during the Euro 2012 Championships. Why not in the church? And why is the service so short?
As an ordinary Polish woman, used to long services and joining in community singing, most Irish Masses leave me with a sense of emptiness and confusion.
I am a cultural historian and when was told that the Irish habit of having short and silent Masses is a result of the Penal Laws era, I understood this. Poles also had periods in their history when the churches were closed, and services had to be short and silent. But apparently, we had not suffered long enough to become mute and hasty in the church.
That said, we also did not manage to lose our language. Even though I do not have the Irish language, I love Irish hymns, as translations give me words that correspond with old Polish hymns known to me. There are Lenten hymns too that sound like Polish Medieval pieces, and there are Christmas carols that sound like Polish – I discovered this through a CD by Finola Ó Siochrú.
When I listen to traditional hymns in English, I perceive some coldness and distance. I have never attended the Mass in Irish – perhaps people sing more during this and the atmosphere is different.
Overall, my feeling is that for most Poles in Ireland, the Polish Mass suits their emotional needs better than the English Mass, and not only because it is in Polish (though the language is important – 100 years ago, An Claidheamh Soluis published many articles in defence of the Polish language, persecuted in the unfree Poland, but that’s history).
We are a rather emotional people, and strange to say, the Irish emotionality corresponds with ours, our sense of humour is compatible and our historical grievances towards Big Brother are similar, but somehow we do not fit during mainstream Masses.
We get on well, usually, anyway.
It is worth remembering too that not every Pole in Ireland came with the intention to stay forever. Having the Mass in their own language is a great comfort, improving their emotional well-being.
They have English for everyday use! I of course agree that they should learn English – but, I would rather start by encouraging them to use English in other social contexts, like sport or pub life, tourism, maybe music and dance schools (in Poland, Irish music and dancing are very popular), hobby activities, or internet-based social scenes.
But this, of course, is just my opinion!
Katarzyna Gmerek is a librarian at Poznan’s Adam Mickiewicz University whose PhD examined cultural and historical relations between Poland and Celtic countries, notably Ireland.
