I went to the New Kids on the Block concert.
On purpose.
This didn’t happen 20 years ago. It happened this week. My lovely bride begged for my attendance at this teeny bopper concert gone middle-aged. I will never be the same again. And for good reason.
As we approached Nassau Coliseum, I reflected on the fact that I saw no men going to the concert. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. The concert was wholly and completely attended by women in their late 20’s and early 30’s dressed in retro early 90’s clothing. I considered the fact that I very well might be exploring uncharted territory as a man and decided to remember every single moment so that if I lived, I might be able to tell men what happens when you get 20,000 women together in one room. I also wondered why I was there.
I didn’t understand all the fuss. I didn’t really know all the songs. I wasn’t getting as excited about this as everyone around me. I could probably be doing other things.
Then the concert started.
I made the decision at that point. I was going to become a New Kids fan.
I clapped. I sang. I danced. I laughed. For two straight hours. It was a blast.
I certainly had more fun than I would have had if I decided to just be cynical and sit down the whole night, ridiculing the whole thing. I think there were a few reasons for this, too.
1. I participated. It was just more fun when I decided to sing along with the parts that I knew and clap loud on the parts I didn’t know. I laughed at the silliness, but fully committed to becoming a fan for at least two hours. It made the time fly. It made the concert a real experience for me.
2. Other people participated. The people around me decided to participate as well. This meant that we didn’t have to worry if someone was singing off key next to us or if they happened to bump into us while we were dancing or if we were clapping too loud.
I think the combination of these two elements made the night what it was. If everyone decided not to participate in the concert, when Donnie Whalberg decided to yell out, “Let me hear you New York!” there would have been no response. What type of concert would they have given? How much would we have enjoyed ourselves?
As I was leaving the concert, I figured we had learned something about ourselves and about being human beings. When it comes down to it, when was the last time you were really “into” Mass? When was the last time you got something out of it?
The truth is, we probably approach Mass the same way that I approached the concert at first. I saw myself as an outsider because I didn’t understand why everyone was there in the first place. How many times do we go to Mass and “not get it?” We go but do not grasp why everyone is there in the first place.
We don’t understand that we are participating in the work of God. That we are privileged to take part in the divine sacrifice of God. Once we understand it, these two things need to happen:
- 1. I participate. I will just get more out of this thing called Mass if I respond and sing with the songs that I know and put an effort into the ones that I don’t know. If I fully commit to the prayers and what is happening at the Mass, I open myself to the experience that is real, waiting for me to simply open myself and respond.
- 2. Other people participate. This is where #1 becomes so important. If everyone makes a decision to participate in the Mass, then we don’t have to worry if other people are going to judge our bad singing or criticize our bad praying. We simply give it our all. What an amazing price to pay! There is no set cost, just everything you have!
In fact, this whole “participation” thing could work in a lot of areas. When we decide to participate in something, we experience the true reality of it, as if we finally tune our radios to the correct station. It is in that experience that we know what it means to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
The New Kids on the Block may not have had everyone there for the right reasons. They might not have all understood it and some of us were not the greatest fans in the world. It is the same way with the Mass. Not everyone is there for the right reasons. Not everyone understands it. Some of us are not the greatest Catholics in the world. When we all participate, we participate in something supernatural, super-real, bigger than us.
Do you want proof that this works? Go to a concert. Look at the results in New Orleans at http://www.seetheproof.org/. Check out the thriving vocations with the Sisters of Life, the Franciscans of the Renewal, the success of youth ministry programs where the entire parish participates.
You know it when you see it.
You know it when you hear it.
You know it when you feel it.
You know it when you finally, for the first time, realize that you are a part of something real that has been going on for a long time without you.
Now go make it happen.
