Byzantine Rite and Skipping Latin Mass

[babochka]

babochka:

The bottom line was that the parish was important to me and if people like us did not make a commitment to it, it would not continue to exist. So I guess that is kind of making the point of people who say that they get aggravated by people who come around and just hang out with her feet in the water and never really jump in. But I have a lot of sympathy for those situations. We are a parish that requires commitment. In addition to the long drive just to get to church, we’re going to ask you, personally, to help out. We’re going to have cleaning days because we don’t have a janitor. We’re going to have fundraisers and ask the parishioners to do secretarial work, because we don’t have any paid staff. We have a lot to offer, but we don’t have programs and committees and regularly scheduled ECF classes.

Yes this is how I feel also. I find it disheartening when the semi-regular families that come to our church don’t ever volunteer to , well DO something to help us grow! These same families have been coming off and on for several years now. They’ll show up for a few weeks, disappear for a while then come back…

Many of our semi frequent visitors drive an hour or more to get to us. It just isn’t reasonable to expect them to participate more. On the other hand, we have had parishioners who drive up to two and a half hours every Sunday for years and years. We don’t really expect them to show up for fundraisers, either. But sometimes they do. And sometimes our visitors do. Not so much for the cleaning days. But every once in awhile, they surprise us. I’m still in the category of “just glad to have them here when they come.”

 

[HeDa]

Maybe they donate money instead of helping with the cleaning of the church or other tasks that need to be done?

 

[babochka]

Maybe they donate money instead of helping with the cleaning of the church or other tasks that need to be done?

Oh, absolutely! Our parish is sustained by people from outside of our parish. Many of them have never set foot in our church and many are occasional visitors. We would not exist without the generosity of others. 15 families cannot sustain a parish.

As I mentioned, I don’t have a problem at all with frequent visitors and semi regulars. We are happy to have them. It is much better to see 70 or 80 people in the pews then 50.

 

[HeDa]

I have overheard conversations when a Catholic has said to their visiting non Catholic family members and friends that they don’t have to put any money in the offering if they don’t want to. One father´s reply was that he put money in because the music and singing was so beautiful and he wanted to help the parish. I am not surprised as music and singing in that parish is like bringing heaven to earth for a little while.

 

[Augustinian]

15 families cannot sustain a parish.

As a general rule of thumb, that’s usually correct. However, if the 15 families include the Rockefellers, Mellons and Fricks, that rule of thumb goes out the window.

(A lot of the great churches we have here in Pittsburgh were funded by steel and coal money- Example given is St. Paul’s Cathedral which was paid for by Frick’s money)

 

[babochka]

babochka:

15 families cannot sustain a parish.

As a general rule of thumb, that’s usually correct. However, if the 15 families include the Rockefellers, Mellons and Fricks, that rule of thumb goes out the window.

(A lot of the great churches we have here in Pittsburgh were funded by steel and coal money- Example given is St. Paul’s Cathedral which was paid for by Frick’s money)

We have a Serbian Orthodox parish in town that was largely funded by a couple of NBA players. We (and our mortgage) currently occupy their former home.

If you know of such a benefactor, send them our way. We have an amazing priest a solid congregation.

 

[Catholicwife32]

I would look at this in terms of a practical matter on your spiritual life rather than “Am I following all the right rules?” Any Rite of the Catholic Church is in full communion and as such will meet our Sunday obligation. My husband and I prefer more reverent liturgies but often go to Mass at a parish nearby to make our obligation if we get up late.

But there is a downside to this especially if you’re mixing liturgical calendars. You have to ask yourself what’s the best thing to do at this point of your spiritual journey. But yes, in terms of minimal requirements, you can switch it up.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

That happened a lot after VII. One of our parishioners (deceased) was Roman Catholic. He was in the seminary during VII and was 1 year away from being ordained a priest when the Latin rite of ordination changed. His grandmother was part Ukrainian, so he knew about the UGCC. He started to attend our parish and eventually switched to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He was our sacristan, janitor - you name it, he did it. And somehow he managed to get an entire Rosary in before Liturgy started!

 

[Angel_Gabriel]

Oh I understand when it’s people who are driving several hours. There’s only a few who do that and they come very infrequently b/c of it. I guess I’m referring to the people who live within 30 min or so who show up often enough but never really offer to help us. Maybe they assume we don’t need help but honestly it was like pulling teeth to get a lot of them to do anything. And it wasn’t that they responded that they were busy or anything ( i get it, I have kids and a part time job and life is hectic) they just didn’t respond…