Animated worship in protestant churches vs. Traditional Catholic Mass

[Credendum]

Sometimes when I’m at Mass, I listen to the prayers as they are read aloud, and remember the times in my protestant days when there were no written prayers, but instead spontaneous outbursts, if you will. I remember attending worship services that resembled rock concerts, with psychedelic lights, spontaneous praise, and lots of glamour. I have heard many protestants say that the Catholic Mass is dead because there is nothing to excite the people and get their emotions aligned with the word of God.
My question is: How do we debunk the myth that the Mass is dead when there is so much more in other churches to grab people’s attention and entertain them?

 

[stevusmagnus]

I remember attending worship services that resembled rock concerts, with psychedelic lights, spontaneous praise, and lots of glamour.

Sounds like a Life-Teen Mass!

I have heard many protestants say that the Catholic Mass is dead because there is nothing to excite the people and get their emotions aligned with the word of God.
My question is: How do we debunk the myth that the Mass is dead when there is so much more in other churches to grab people’s attention and entertain them?

If the Mass were nothing more than a memorial meal where we get together for fellowship, they’d have a point. As it is they reject the key component of what makes a Mass infinitely valuable and that is the fact that it is the Sacrifice on Calvary re-presented which applies the graces of Christ’s death to you and me and those we pray for.

Thus, the Catholic, at a reverent Mass, has his mind and heart lifted to God in contemplation while the priest says the ancient prayers developed by the Church under the Holy Spirit for the last 2,000 years. The Catholic has a deeper spiritual appreciation for the meditation and adoration due to God and in that way comes closer to Him depending on the purity of disposition.

The Protestants don’t believe anything mystical or sacramental is happening at their services. Thus the point of their services becomes stirring up passion and emotion. Thus their loud songs, hand waving, shouting preaching, etc. A Faith based on emotional highs is not a Faith that is enduring. The Catholic Mass avoids this emotion based approach and instead goes deeper into the mystery of the cross.

Trying to “jazz up” our Masses to appease Protestants is a disaster as it just reinforces the idea of the Mass as entertainment.

 

[Monica4316]

I used to actually think so when I was a Protestant…

now I consider myself a traditional Catholic lol strange how things change.

I think a possible answer might be this…

what makes something “spiritually alive”? Is it lights, etc? or is it the Holy Spirit? Hopefuly the Protestant would agree it’s the Holy Spirit. Many Protestants think that He is more present in spontaneous type of services than the liturgy. But - the Mass is a participation in Calvary… it’s like we’re there, spiritually. And we worship with all the Angels and Saints. Jesus Christ is really, substantially before us. It’s very holy so loud music, drums, etc, would be disrespectful in that context… basically, if we could worship Christ at Calvary, would we worship Him more like in the Mass, or more like in an evangelical Protestant service? the Sacrifice is an eternal event, and in the Mass it is re-presented before us. You can even say how - in the Bible when it says “Do this in remembrance of Me”, the Greek word for remembrance there, doesn’t mean to mentally remember, but to actually re-present… to make something present.

Here is a video about the spiritual reality of the Mass and what St Padre Pio said about it (he could see the spiritual reality) youtube.com/watch?v=zjxL3sgfMqQ

God bless!

 

[centurionguard]

Sometimes when I’m at Mass, I listen to the prayers as they are read aloud, and remember the times in my protestant days when there were no written prayers, but instead spontaneous outbursts, if you will. I remember attending worship services that resembled rock concerts, with psychedelic lights, spontaneous praise, and lots of glamour. I have heard many protestants say that the Catholic Mass is dead because there is nothing to excite the people and get their emotions aligned with the word of God.
My question is: How do we debunk the myth that the Mass is dead when there is so much more in other churches to grab people’s attention and entertain them?

My question is: How do we debunk the myth that the Mass is dead when there is so much more in other churches to grab people’s attention and entertain them?

Too me this comes down to (“Faith”) in the Catholic Church and its teachings even if you don’t have the capacity to understand everything the Catholic Church teaches (“including Dogma’s”). Some people want to dissect and discredit beliefs in the Church because it doesn’t fit their comfortable understanding and morals.

There’s a Wesleyan church in my city comprised of 55% of ex-Catholics.
What made them turn away from their own faith and from Jesus in the Eucharist? Its truly say.