Can’t attend Traditional Mass

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Matt_Michael

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Today I found very last minute that I was able to get transportation to go to the Latin Mass. I live in the main city of my dioceses (In Canada Ontario). The problem is even though my dioceses is quite large, the Latin Mass is hard to attend. The nearest one is a 30 minute drive from where I live and I don’t own a car. Mainly I’m just frustrated with the incredible amount of liturgical abuse at my diocese Cathedral. Which I have to attend now to meet my obligation. It’s disheartening to go and depressing to attend. The homilies lately don’t focus on the Gospel and have become political garbage. It sometimes doesn’t even feel like a Catholic Church. Communion is done like a McDonalds drive through and the priests aren’t passionate about the Eucharist. They also have the largest standing army of Eucharistic ministers. Heck there’s not even a crucifix in the centre of the Church. The only real one you can see by the altar is the processional cross and it’s planted to the side. We have this obnoxiously ornate wooden bishops throne with a large statue of St Peter at the top and that’s it. The tabernacle is hard to see. You can’t even see it when you enter. I know I sound jaded but as a new convert after being a Protestant then having the chance to attend the Latin Mass then having to miss two weeks in a row on advent…it’s just plain disheartening. I obviously still go to Mass out of love for my Lord but it breaks my heart to see how he’s treated like he isn’t even there. Please pray for me and have a great Sunday.
 
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Offer up your distress at the Cathedral as a prayer that the liturgy may improve.
 
You can have your aesthetic opinion, but in your entire entry, you have not described a single liturgical abuse. Not one.

Abuse of the Liturgy is a very serious charge, and it is not charitable to make frivilous accusations, especially if you are not familiar with what constitutes an abuse.
 
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Keep on living, you’ll find substantial things to get upset over that are real injustices and require real solutions. Everyone gets their turn to solve some problems. Save your outrage for the real thing.
 
Matt_Michael said:
I obviously still go to Mass out of love for my Lord but it breaks my heart to see how he’s treated like he isn’t even there.
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I understand exactly what you feel, and I agree with you completely. It’s so disheartening to go to a Mass where there is zero reverence or respect for the Real Presence of Jesus.
Have you heard of the fisheaters forum? I feel like you would find some common ground there 🙂
Praying for you dear friend, please pray for me. God bless.
 
Keep your chin up. If anything, having to attend such a Mass reminds us of how much of a treasure the Traditonal Latin Mass truly is and how thankful to God we should be when we are able to assist at one. What is really disheartening is that the irreverences and indifferences against the Blessed Sacrament you witnessed don’t even consititute abuses according the the rubrics of the New Rite. That fact in itself is telling and alarming. All of it goes hand in hand with the tendency to “normalize and pretend everything’s ok”.
 
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runningdude said:
You can have your aesthetic opinion, but in your entire entry, you have not described a single liturgical abuse. Not one.

Abuse of the Liturgy is a very serious charge, and it is not charitable to make frivilous accusations, especially if you are not familiar with what constitutes an abuse.
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You are technically correct, what the OP refers to are annoyances not abuses, but that does not make them unimportant.
Suggestions for the OP:
You can communicate with the rector of the cathedral. If you do so, keep it brief, and not too frequent. Prioritize only the things that bother you a lot. It would help if you introduce yourself to him first, shake hands after Mass without bringing up any grievances while he is busy.

It would help if you could find older pictures of the cathedral altar area. There might be something visible then, that was removed under the renovation frenzy, that would look good now if it were restored. For instance, if X used to be here, and it has a local historic connection, and if it fits in with the overall design of the church, maybe something like that might be considered now.

You are not going to change the way they “do” Communion or the sermons.

Is there a chapter of Una Voce, or similar advocacy group, nearby? You might contact people from the church where the Latin Mass is, and ask if they know of people from your neighborhood who come to that Mass. This might help you get a ride to that Mass, or maybe they know of others in that neighborhood who want a Latin Mass. If many people want it, petition the diocese. They might not put one in that cathedral, but maybe there is another tiny chapel or parish nearby.
 
commenter said:
You are technically correct, what the OP refers to are annoyances not abuses, but that does not make them unimportant.
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Abuse of Liturgy is a serious accusation. Calling a bishop’s use of lawful discretion in liturgical matters an abuse is spiritually dangerous. This is the path the SSPX took, leading it into an irregular status, and has sweeping away other traditionally-minded groups away from communion entirely. It is especially risky if there are others who hold these opinions at the traditional mass he attends.
 
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If this is the only mass you desire to attend, then it isn’t so traditional is it ?

When you think of all the Masses you pass bye on your way to the TLM, perhaps your idea of traditional has more to do with feelings of being more Catholic than the people who actually attend a traditional Mass in their own parish.

Only you can discern this and you should pray about it.

I’m sure Jesus is as present in the Mass of the parish which is close to you, as He is in the TLM you can’t attend.

Jim
 
runningdude said:
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commenter:
You are technically correct, what the OP refers to are annoyances not abuses, but that does not make them unimportant.
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Abuse of Liturgy is a serious accusation. Calling a bishop’s use of lawful discretion in liturgical matters an abuse is spiritually dangerous. This is the path the SSPX took, leading it into an irregular status, and has sweeping away other traditionally-minded groups away from communion entirely. It is especially risky if there are others who hold these opinions at the traditional mass he attends.
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You are right, people shouldn’t throw around terms loosely that have a specific meaning. Not only is that uncharitable, but makes it harder to respond when a real liturgical abuse happens, like crying Wolf.

But discretionary annoyances are not unimportant either, and the feelings of the OP are important, even if he used the wrong term.
 
If you are having a problem going to Mass at the cathedral, then go to another parish in the city.

You have not stated one single issue which is a liturgical abuse.

Homilies are political garbage? I suspect that when Christ answered the Pharisees concerning the tax coin, some said the same thing then. As you show no examples, response is impossible.

Communion like a McDonalds - that is one of the snottier comments I have heard for awhile. You have absolutely no ability to determine the reverence or lack of reverence of the majority of communicants, but have slandered the whole group. Great charity.

Priests aren’t passionate bot the Eucharist? And you have surveyed and had extensive conversations with… how many? Or is this just another slanderous swipe at those who have given their life to Christ?

I can’t speak to the GIRM of Canada, but for the US, the processional crucifix is all that is required; whether you like that or not is not a reason to be depressed.

Christ treated as if he isn’t even there? You show a serious lack of knowledge of the Mass, and its theology.

I would suggest that if you were to go back in time to the first 300 to 600 years of the Church, you wouldn’t like anything then, either.

When I was in about the 8th grade, my family met a young man in our local seminary - about 1958. My aunt ended up bringing his mother over from Vietnam to the ordination. From him, I learned that he and his mother and a few relatives had managed to flee North Vietnam for the South. Others were captured trying to flee, some were in jail (and if you want an idea what that was like, read about the Hanoi Hilton) and others were executed.

That is something to be depressed about - being killed for being Catholic, or being imprisoned.

There are far more similarities between the OF and the EF than you seem to be able to see. If you have to travel to Mass, I am not going to have much sympathy; I moved a year ago from my parish of 27 years, and most Sundays I travel 34 miles, taking about 45 to 50 minutes to go to Mass at my old parish - because I have been involved with parish activities for so long and these parishioners are my extended family.

Sorry, but you don’t get my sympathy. I have no problem if you prefer the aesthetics of the EF. The vast majority of Masses in the Roman Rite is the OF and the vast majority of people who attend Mass in the Roman Rite do so at the OF. If you wish to do something other than what the vast majority do, it certainly is your choice; but don’t come complaining about it. As JimR-OCDS noted, make an effort to find a way to solve your issues. He has some good suggestions.
 
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I have only ever been to the Tridentine Latin Mass, I have never been to a novus ordo (though I have seen them on EWTN).

I unfortunately used to live in an area that had no TLM and so we began going to a Byzantine Catholic parish. While it wasn’t the TLM or a Traditional parish, we did love the Eastern Rite immensely, and I am thankful for the years we spent there because now I feel at home in either “lung” of the Church!

For the past 5 years I have been severely physically disabled (cannot walk) and for this reason I “attend” the TLM online now (live streaming). I’m homebound and do not drive, plus even if I could get out of the house there is no TLM anywhere within an hour anyway.
 
There is something you can do! Contact Suggestions

You can write the priests in your diocese, you can order brochures to leave them at your parish (or all of them, I do) write the bishop, etc. Talk to parishioners and form a group. We started one where we used to live. Lots of Hispanics preferred the Latin mass and didn’t know it was still around. Now they drive an hour away to the nearest one but keep pining at their priest to offer one locally. The squeaky wheel…
 
That’s UNNECESSARY to do! I’m a Latin Rite Catholic worshiping in the Maronite Rite
and I was specifically TOLD by Latin Rite Cardinal’s office that if I worship PRIMARILY
in the Maronite Rite that I SHOULD follow THEIR (Maronite) schedule of holy day’s of obligation.

By the way, I have NOT formally transferred rites!
 
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Trent made no major changes in what could easily be called the Gregorian Mass. What in the world are you talking about?
 
Vonsalza said:
I only attend the REAL traditional masses in the pre-Tridentine style of the true Church that was used before these Tridentine innovators mucked it up.
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What innovations made at Trent do you find to be most disturbing?
 
The Latin Liturgy Association lists two Latin/Hybrid OF Masses at your diocesan cathedral (10am and 12pm). This is obviously not the same as the EF Mass, but may have some of the aesthetics that you’re looking for if you can’t attend a TLM. Are those Masses no longer available there?
 
This is not actually true. We are bound by the canons and holy days of our ritual church, even if we attend primarily or exclusively another ritual church. Whoever told you the above gave you the wrong information.
 
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