Almost walked out of Mass

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ivory said:
I apologize if this post sounds too confrontational. That is not my intention.

I attended Mass yesterday evening at the parish I used to attend before moving out of the area. A family member passed away yesterday afternoon so I wanted to offer some prayer for her. It was your standard “modern” Mass nowadays, with a guitar, bass, and (irritatingly) drums. The parish I go to now had these things but managed to be respectfully subdued with them.

The evening started off on a bad note with the band previewing the songs they’d play during Mass, which included the dreary Protestant song “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”. When Mass started, the priest’s mic was turned up far too loud and was grating to the ears. It made focusing very difficult. His diction was also very dull, sounding more like somebody reading off a grocery list than leading a Mass. At this point I was only mildly irked and tried my best to focus on God. But the point where I almost got out of my seat and left was during the Gloria. It was played with a horrendous country music rhythm with a male singer more concerned with sounding like Garth Brooks than praising God. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the performance had a break section that encouraged everyone to start clapping in rhythm while they were singing along.

I was completely dumbfounded, and probably more so angry. This kind of spiritually dead “praise” music was one of the many reasons why I left non-denominational Protestantism for the Catholic Church. This kind of behavior struck me as embarrassing and completely insulting to the solemnity of the Mass. Only through the sheer force of will did I stay. The Gospel was enlightening as always and gave me some comfort, but the priest’s homily was completely lifeless. It was a simple “The Bible says X, and the Bible also says Y”. No attempt to show what it meant to us in our modern lives, just quotations. As I cannot receive Communion just yet, I spend the entire time in prayer. The flashy twelve string guitar being played during Communion was a major distraction, especially when the player missed notes.

I walked out of the building as soon as the priest declared Mass was over. I couldn’t be bothered to sit through a second rendition of “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”.

If I had left the Mass, would I have been committing a sin? Although definitely not an abuse on the scale of “Clown Masses” and “Balloon Masses”, this was something that detracted from the seriousness of the Mass and left me spiritually cold. And not only was it infuriating, it was boring. This was the first time I had ever been bored by a Mass. The last time I felt this bored at church was when I was watching a ‘non-denominational’ minister point to Bible quotes on a giant TV screen.

I made the choice to convert to Catholicism because of the rich history and tradition it had. The absolute majesty and beauty of the faith that can be traced directly not to a mortal man, but to Jesus Christ Himself. As I sat through this anger-inducing Mass, I asked myself this question: If the Catholic Church has such a wonderful history and tradition, why don’t people use it? Why are many so quick to abandon it? It genuinely saddens me as a convert.

What do you guys have to say about this?
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Sounds like you found the LifeTeen Mass. Note to self: Don’t go back. Note to self: So glad we are a UNIVERSAL Church and don’t have to divide over something like music. 😃
 
ConstantineTG said:
The Mass isn’t something we’re NOT supposed to suffer to? Tell that to the martyrs of Egypt and Syria in the last year who were blown up while attending Liturgy.
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I don’t think we’re supposed to suffer at mass. St. Thomas Becket was slain at mass, but it’s not the norm.

Otherwise it would be in the GIRM.
 
MisterCorduroy said:
You get extra graces when you attend a Mass that makes you uncomfortable or is poorly “performed”. If the music sucks, or the building is ugly**, or the priest boring, or the altar girls are wearing flip-flops**, or anything else annoys you–rejoice, for you are storing up treasures in heaven. The best thing about the Church is that God uses people–the worst thing is… that God uses people.

I think your instincts are right that it would have been a sin to walk out. You would be turning your back on Jesus present in the Eucharist.

Perhaps it was your “convert zeal” that causes you to feel uncomfortable around anything that reminds you of the “Egypt” of Protestantism you left behind. I would rather hear praise and worship songs and hillbilly music than any of the “Catholic” songs in the Gather hymnal. I’ll take Chris Tomlin songs over “Eagle’s Wings” or “Here am I, Lord” any day.
**
I’ve been to equally atrocious “performances” of the Mass where an old lady was farting away on the organ and the handful of senior citizens present couldn’t sing on key. But when the priest held up the consecrated Body of Christ I was reminded why I came. Not to be entertained or motivated by a great homily, but to have the King of the universe enthroned in my heart.**
I once went to an EF Mass and the homily had nothing to do with any of the Scripture readings but was more just the priest “riffing”. Didn’t like the way he just mumbled in Latin up front while we sat in the pews trying to keep occupied. I would take happy-clappy over that dull Mass, but that’s just me.
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👍

👍
I prefer the girls in flip flops to the ones in spikey heels.:eek:
 
Yeah, I think it’s really sad too. I’m a convert, and a young one at that. I’ve never had to experience these kinds of things, but I’ve seen them on Youtube and whatnot. I really don’t understand why people do these kinds of things. Once we relativize, we can pretty much do anything we want. I thought converting from Protestantism would get me away from this stuff, but apparently not. It was very disappointing when I found otherwise.

I seriously don’t understand how this works logically: “God loves me!!! So I can do whatever I want!!! God doesn’t care!!!”
 
Do you think an all-loving, all-powerful, perfect and supreme being like God can be insulted by man’s action?
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Let’s see now. 40-day Flood, Tower of Babel, Sodam and Gomorrah, did someone already mention Cain’s unpleasing sacrifice?

What was the First Commandment again?
 
To the OP, you are experiencing the innovations encouraged in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. The Mass, the music, the sermons are open to a certain amount of innovation and the extremes to which these are taken are up to the pastors and bishops. Of course, we all have different tastes so the Mass is arranged to please our human tastes whether we like polka, mariachi, C&W, blues, folk, rock … and all of the instruments used to perform them.

Your choices are to shop around for a Catholic church which appeals to your genre or attend a Mass at a less convenient time to get the right mix of music and activities. You can certainly speak with your pastor and tell what you would like.

IMHO, anything that interferes with or detracts from the focus of the Mass, which is the unbloody sacrifice of Our Lord on Calvary, should be avoided.

The OP would probably find what he is looking for at a church which offers the EF of the Roman Rite. Microphones are typically not an issue.
 
Personally, I think walking out of Mass is serious business, not to be done because it makes you uncomfortable, or you don’t like the music or the sound system, or the priest, or altar girls, or minor abuses, etc. Because when you walk out of a Mass, you are walking out on Jesus Christ Himself–in the tabernacle and in the priest. That priest is acting in persona Christi from the very beginning of the Liturgy, not just at the Consecration. What we think of the priest and the way he says Mass (unless the abuses are serious enough to invalidate the Mass, or outright heresy is being preached) is irrelevant–Christ is there in that priest, and it is not our judgment to make to say He isn’t or to doubt that.

Now if Jesus can stay there in that church and “put up” with certain things and not withdraw His presence from us, what is wrong with us that we feel we have the right to withdraw our presence from the Lord just because something is not to our liking, or Mass seems irreverent, or our neighbors are talking, or we disagree with the priest, or the music is too loud, too modern, too, too whatever. Can we not wait one hour with HIM? Compared to the Sacrifice He made for us on Calvary, and what is re-presented at every Liturgy, it is a very small sacrifice, indeed, to stay at a Mass we want to leave.

I am not singling out anyone here, but I don’t think people realize fully what they are doing when they leave Mass for their own personal reasons or tastes or ideas. That priest doesn’t know why you are leaving, it has no effect on him, but like the Church teaches, Christ is there in the person of that priest and in the tabernacle and in the Eucharist, and it is Him we are leaving.
 
But how do you know Jesus didn’t get a good look and listen and say “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!”? haha
 
Crusading_Canuk said:
Is the Mass not the perfect Sacrifice, instituted by Christ Himself for the remission of sins? Is Christ not truly present in the Sacrament, and should we not give Him the devotion and worship we owe to so good a God? The Mass IS a Sacrifice and to say otherwise is blatant heresy! I suggest you go put Mtt. 9:13 into context; He was referring to the hypocritical Pharisees who prided themselves on outward signs of piety, while shoving charity down toilet.
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The Mass is not Christ’s perfect sacrifice for the remission of sins. Christ’s perfect sacrifice occured once for all, on calvary, 2000 years ago, in Palestine. Mass is a re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice to God the Father, and that re-presentation makes his perfect sacrifice on the Cross which took place two thousand years ago, present and efficacious for us here and now, in the present time and in the place where we celebrate the Mass. But the Mass is not Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. He did that only once.

Yes, we do need charity. And Christ himself tells us that any worship we offer to him without first loving our neighbor appropriately is unacceptable to him. I agree one hundred percent with what you say about the pharisees outward show of piety and shoving charity down the toilet.

Sacrifice was the most important thing in the life of a jew. For Jews of the Old Testament, worship meant sacrifice, and it only happened at the temple in Jerusalem. That is why the law commanded that men go up to the temple three times each year, to offer worship - sacrifice - to God. It was the most important thing a Jew could ever do in his life, offer worship to God at the temple.

But then Jesus gave his sermon on the mount. In this sermon, Jesus radically redifines what is important to God.

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)

Jesus redefined holiness from how you worshipped, or even if you worshipped, to how you treated other people, going so far as to tell us that we should not worship if we have treated anyone badly - that we should go seek forgiveness from that person first, and only then should we offer worship to God.

King David understood this.

For you do not desire sacrifice or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.
Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,
burnt offering and whole offerings;
then they will offer up young bulls on your altar
(Psalm 51:18-19,21)

David understood what was important to God. That worship without a clean heart and a life of virtue - which begins with humility - was of no value to God.

Yes, God deserves the greatest worship we can offer. He deserves the most grand, most reverent, highest Mass we can afford to offer. And even that will not begin to approach what he really deserves. That is why God gave us the Mass itself, so that we could offer God the Son to God the Father. Offering God to himself is the only way we can begin to worship God the way he really deserves. But worship is our absolute minimum requirement.

Some seem to forget that the word “Mass” mans “Sending forth”. Mass is just the beginning. If that is all we do, wring our hands over the Mass, we are nothing more than unprofitable servants. If we think that the Mass is what makes us holy, then we are wicked and unfaithful servants. Worship is just our absolute minimum requirement. But how we treat people every day, the other 167 hours of the week, is what makes us holy. Jesus sees how much we love him not because of what Mass we go to, or how many Masses we go to, but in how we treat each other and how we treat the lowest in our society. That’s how Jesus knows if we love him or not, and not by our attendance at Mass.

Complaining about people on an interent forum, even if it is in the context of a Mass is not charity. Pointing out the faults of another is not charity. Questioning the motives of another is not charity. Standing in the pew and demanding the Mass that you want, and later going on an internet forum and complaining about and pointing out the faults of those who stand at the altar and sit in the the choir loft is not charity - it is exactly the same behavior as the “Hypocritical Pharisees who prided themselves on outward signs of piety, while shoving charity down toilet.”

People hear the phrase, “The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith” and assume that the Mass is the most important thing a Christian can ever do. Christ himself taught us that worship without charity - love for our neighbor - is unacceptable to him. Pointing out the faults of others is not charity, and it turns our attendance at Mass - any Mass - into an unacceptable sacrifice.

-Tim-
 
ivory said:
I apologize if this post sounds too confrontational. That is not my intention.

I attended Mass yesterday evening at the parish I used to attend before moving out of the area. A family member passed away yesterday afternoon so I wanted to offer some prayer for her. It was your standard “modern” Mass nowadays, with a guitar, bass, and (irritatingly) drums. The parish I go to now had these things but managed to be respectfully subdued with them.

The evening started off on a bad note with the band previewing the songs they’d play during Mass, which included the dreary Protestant song “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”. When Mass started, the priest’s mic was turned up far too loud and was grating to the ears. It made focusing very difficult. His diction was also very dull, sounding more like somebody reading off a grocery list than leading a Mass. At this point I was only mildly irked and tried my best to focus on God. But the point where I almost got out of my seat and left was during the Gloria. It was played with a horrendous country music rhythm with a male singer more concerned with sounding like Garth Brooks than praising God. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the performance had a break section that encouraged everyone to start clapping in rhythm while they were singing along.

I was completely dumbfounded, and probably more so angry. This kind of spiritually dead “praise” music was one of the many reasons why I left non-denominational Protestantism for the Catholic Church. This kind of behavior struck me as embarrassing and completely insulting to the solemnity of the Mass. Only through the sheer force of will did I stay. The Gospel was enlightening as always and gave me some comfort, but the priest’s homily was completely lifeless. It was a simple “The Bible says X, and the Bible also says Y”. No attempt to show what it meant to us in our modern lives, just quotations. As I cannot receive Communion just yet, I spend the entire time in prayer. The flashy twelve string guitar being played during Communion was a major distraction, especially when the player missed notes.

I walked out of the building as soon as the priest declared Mass was over. I couldn’t be bothered to sit through a second rendition of “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”.

If I had left the Mass, would I have been committing a sin? Although definitely not an abuse on the scale of “Clown Masses” and “Balloon Masses”, this was something that detracted from the seriousness of the Mass and left me spiritually cold. And not only was it infuriating, it was boring. This was the first time I had ever been bored by a Mass. The last time I felt this bored at church was when I was watching a ‘non-denominational’ minister point to Bible quotes on a giant TV screen.

I made the choice to convert to Catholicism because of the rich history and tradition it had. The absolute majesty and beauty of the faith that can be traced directly not to a mortal man, but to Jesus Christ Himself. As I sat through this anger-inducing Mass, I asked myself this question: If the Catholic Church has such a wonderful history and tradition, why don’t people use it? Why are many so quick to abandon it? It genuinely saddens me as a convert.

What do you guys have to say about this?
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First, let me say, “welcome home,” and please don’t judge all Catholic parishes by one bad experience.
Not all Catholic churches are like that. As others have said maybe you found a lifeteen mass. If it was just a one time visit, I wouldn’t go back but don’t think all Catholic churches are like that. I live in an area where there are many Catholic churches. Most are not that way but there is one that sounds like what you have described. Very protestant evangelically. There are parishes that try to maintain Catholic traditions and that is growing .

Also, I have to say I got a chuckle out of your comments about “I Lift Your Name on High.” I am a revert who was in nondenominational churches for awhile and I can’t stand to hear that song anymore. It is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

All that said, if at all possible I wouldn’t walk out on a mass. Try to close your eyes and concentrate on Jesus. Ask the Blessed Mother to pray and help you through the bad points.

God Bless.
Suzie
 
CB_Catholic said:
Personally, I think walking out of Mass is serious business, not to be done because it makes you uncomfortable, or you don’t like the music or the sound system, or the priest, or altar girls, or minor abuses, etc. Because when you walk out of a Mass, you are walking out on Jesus Christ Himself–in the tabernacle and in the priest. That priest is acting in persona Christi from the very beginning of the Liturgy, not just at the Consecration. What we think of the priest and the way he says Mass (unless the abuses are serious enough to invalidate the Mass, or outright heresy is being preached) is irrelevant–Christ is there in that priest, and it is not our judgment to make to say He isn’t or to doubt that.

Now if Jesus can stay there in that church and “put up” with certain things and not withdraw His presence from us, what is wrong with us that we feel we have the right to withdraw our presence from the Lord just because something is not to our liking, or Mass seems irreverent, or our neighbors are talking, or we disagree with the priest, or the music is too loud, too modern, too, too whatever. Can we not wait one hour with HIM? Compared to the Sacrifice He made for us on Calvary, and what is re-presented at every Liturgy, it is a very small sacrifice, indeed, to stay at a Mass we want to leave.

I am not singling out anyone here, but I don’t think people realize fully what they are doing when they leave Mass for their own personal reasons or tastes or ideas. That priest doesn’t know why you are leaving, it has no effect on him, but like the Church teaches, Christ is there in the person of that priest and in the tabernacle and in the Eucharist, and it is Him we are leaving.
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And how do you know that He hasn’t already withdrawn Himself so why stay and take part in what might be sacrilegious actions.
 
MisterCorduroy said:
I think your instincts are right that it would have been a sin to walk out. You would be turning your back on Jesus present in the Eucharist
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True
MisterCorduroy said:
I’ve been to equally atrocious “performances” of the Mass where an old lady was farting away on the organ and the handful of senior citizens present couldn’t sing on key .
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:mad:

Leviticus 19:32 Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the old, and fear your God. I am the LORD.

Psalm 71:9 Do not cast me aside in my old age; as my strength fails, do not forsake me.

I love all the elderly in my parish. They are great witnesses.
 
Hunter53 said:
And how do you know that He hasn’t already withdrawn Himself so why stay and take part in what might be sacrilegious actions.
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I was thinking the samething but decided not to say it because I didn’t feel like getting yelled at.
 
I don’t think one should walk out on mass because the music is not to one’s taste. It is not as if they are desecrating the Eucharist.

However, as some have pointed out, either find an EF, a reverent OF or Eastern Catholic liturgy, to attend, and you won’t have to worry about such things.
 
Thank you all for the (name removed by moderator)ut. I really did want to see (name removed by moderator)ut from different sides of this kind of thing. Can’t respond to all of them, but here are a few.
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MisterCorduroy:
Perhaps it was your “convert zeal” that causes you to feel uncomfortable around anything that reminds you of the “Egypt” of Protestantism you left behind.
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I definitely think that this is at least partially the case. My time with Protestantism was a very boring and spiritually dry one. I still have bitter feelings about it. I broke down in tears when I went to my first Mass because a combination of nervousness and what I believe was Christ welcoming me home. It was a defining moment for me.
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Sirach2:
Please don’t judge the Church or that parish by one isolated experience, for you do not know the details. It would be a good idea to call the rectory in advance when you do not have a bulletin and ask if the vigil mass is a youth mass.
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This was a parish that I attended for a few months before I moved out of town. I highly doubt that it was a youth Mass, considering the people in attendance were mostly older than my 19 year old self. If it was, then the definition of ‘youth’ is stretched pretty darn far. :rotfl:
Contra Mundum:
Go to EF mass if you can. That is what you are obviously looking for.
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I’m looking to see if my local parish or any nearby offer it. It’s definitely something I want to experience.
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yablabo:
Best wishes for you, and I hope for your speedy release from grief.
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Thank you. It truly is a tough time for me and my family right now, especially because the death was so sudden and out of nowhere. It only reinforces why I will never touch a cigarette. Cancer is a vicious monster.
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TrueLight:
I don’t think one should walk out on mass because the music is not to one’s taste.
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This was what I thought, and ultimately was why I didn’t leave. But the music was extremely distracting, however, and really pulled me out of my focus on Christ.
 
ivory said:
.

I definitely think that this is at least partially the case. My time with Protestantism was a very boring and spiritually dry one. I still have bitter feelings about it.
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My experience was different. I had many years where I walked close to the Lord as a Protestant. Something was missing,but I didn’t know what until I came home.

I am thankful for Protestantism because I learned how to worship God, study scripture, be in the world and not of the world. I had my years of spiritual dryness too, but that was my fault.
 
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