Can we make mass less "cheesy"..?

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TEPO said:
This might sound funny, but I just went on a haunted hay ride with my kids, and ended up having more discussion on God after the ride then I ever had after mass… My kids dont like to go to mass, and I have a hard time getting my older daughter to go… She dosent even want to be confirmed.

…But whenever we discuss “evil” the kids seem to want to ask questions… 🤷

I think people may actually yearn to fear God as well as praise Him.
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Ja ja that is so trust. Last year when I though confirmation the students had tough time grasping some of the teaching or even paying attention, but as soon as I got to the topic of Angels, demons, sin, and end of all things there eyes were all on me. They asked more questions then the entire program put together. I think this is the problem with the church they still think they are in the 70’s and all they wish to talk about is mercy & social justice, but this is a new generation and in the culutre we live in they need something that will be a “shock” or “:hard hitting” for them to be able to atleast turn around to God.
 
paperbackwinter said:
First, we gotta stop building these barns that pass for churches. While I understand a Catholic Church is a community, we don’t need to have Mass in the meeting room. A beautiful setting is needed.

Second, if you really want to see the beauty of the Mass, go to a weekday Mass. You’ll be amazed. The response to the prayers is as loud as a Sunday Mass but with a 90% fewer people. The people that go to weekday Masses don’t have to be there, but they are. And they truly show their love for the Mass. Chanting and music is nice, but a weekday Mass with people truly devoted to their God is absolutely stunning.
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Thanks for the great response… I’ve seen the most devoted Catholics before weekday mass saying rosaries and the first five saturdays… I even joined them when I was out of work last year. These were truly the most devoted Catholics I’ve ever seen. I love them.
 
thistle said:
You are not obliged to hold hands anyway. Nobody can force you to hold hands.
When its time for the Our Father simply put your own palms together.
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Thanks for the knowledge. I’ve been doing the holding-hands thing for years now even though it has always “cheapened” my spiritual experience at Mass.

I think I’ll stare at the crucifix and ignore all the others holding hands from now on.
 
dconklin said:
We have a non-denominational church here in town that has all the stage lights and special effect that you would love. They have full band and an espresso machine as well. However, I bet that do not have any incense and the definitely don’t have the Eucharist.
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See thats just it! We’ve got to have the incense, the “chanting” style prayer, and the sacrificial Eucharist to experience the Mass.

I’m just trying to think of ways to make it “strange” again… Possibly even a little “spooky”… I mean lets face it, the Eucharist IS strange.

God is strange too, after all He’s Supernatural…!
 
giuseppeTO said:
There is a parish in Maryland who did the dramatic lighting thing for a while but eventually dropped it. There was a series of 4 buttons on the pulpit and on the altar and the priest and lectors changed the lighting for different parts of the Mass. I found it distracting.
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If the lighting was’nt done with sophisticated music and incense, then it lacked the full experience…

It can’t be “cheap”.
 
archangel04 said:
Ja ja that is so trust. Last year when I though confirmation the students had tough time grasping some of the teaching or even paying attention, but as soon as I got to the topic of Angels, demons, sin, and end of all things there eyes were all on me. They asked more questions then the entire program put together. I think this is the problem with the church they still think they are in the 70’s and all they wish to talk about is mercy & social justice, but this is a new generation and in the culutre we live in they need something that will be a “shock” or “:hard hitting” for them to be able to atleast turn around to God.
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This is the substance of my entire thread…! 👍
 
archangel04 said:
Ja ja that is so trust. Last year when I though confirmation the students had tough time grasping some of the teaching or even paying attention, but as soon as I got to the topic of Angels, demons, sin, and end of all things there eyes were all on me. They asked more questions then the entire program put together. I think this is the problem with the church they still think they are in the 70’s and all they wish to talk about is mercy & social justice, but this is a new generation and in the culutre we live in they need something that will be a “shock” or “:hard hitting” for them to be able to atleast turn around to God.
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I agree. Why is it ok to scare kids out of smoking and drinking, but it’s not ok to scare them into heaven? I always think of the kids who say how “cool” their parents are for letting them smoke weed and drink when they’re 13, then they end up in jail for 10 years or flipping burgers the rest of their lives. A parent needs to be firm when necessary.
 
GIR said:
I agree. Why is it ok to scare kids out of smoking and drinking, but it’s not ok to scare them into heaven? I always think of the kids who say how “cool” their parents are for letting them smoke weed and drink when they’re 13, then they end up in jail for 10 years or flipping burgers the rest of their lives. A parent needs to be firm when necessary.
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But that’s not exactly the atmosphere I’m going for here.

This thread is really an attempt to rediscover a more well rounded Sunday Mass that more accurately displays the emotions that our God has shown us. I’d like to see the Mass as a more dramatic exploration of our faith… Just like God was dramatic when he asked the Jews to make sacrifices…

I’m not attempting to create an imbalance within the Mass, in order to “scare” people into acting good… Its not even about that, its more about faith.

IN order to increase faith, we need to explore the “strangeness” of God, and stop trying to portray God as todays most popular common “good guy”.
 
Dosent it make more sense to attract people through a true and solid faith, rather than pick at their fears to “trick” them into heaven…?
 
Dosent it make more sense to attract people through a true and solid faith, rather than pick at their fears to “trick” them into heaven…?

We need to explore a fuller and more well rounded understanding of God. We can do this by introducing special effects into the Holy Mass in order to exagerate the “wierd” parts such as Eucharist… This Church needs to stop cowaring away from Her supernatural aspects.
 
TEPO said:
Dosent it make more sense to attract people through a true and solid faith, rather than pick at their fears to “trick” them into heaven…?

We need to explore a fuller and more well rounded understanding of God. We can do this by introducing special effects into the Holy Mass in order to exagerate the “wierd” parts such as Eucharist… This Church needs to stop cowaring away from Her supernatural aspects.
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The Mass doesn’t need any special effects. God in His humility is hidden under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist. He is not making an appearance with drum rolls and flashing lights. He will come in glory at the end of time, not now. For now we need to have faith to “see” Him.
 
TEPO said:
The actual mass is more about Faith, Worship and Gods Miracle of the Eucharist. Much less about community. Community time is after Church.
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From the beginning the Mass was community event. It is not an accident that the Church requires each Catholic person to be present in a Mass in every Sunday and Holy day of obligation under the penalty of grave sin.

The private Mass (without people) is a compromise, not the natural state of the things.
 
Cathryn said:
The Mass doesn’t need any special effects. God in His humility is hidden under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist. He is not making an appearance with drum rolls and flashing lights. He will come in glory at the end of time, not now. For now we need to have faith to “see” Him.
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If one looks deeper into the purpose of the Mass, one finds that mass is actually a two-part operation… Two parts which are inseperable.

The first part of our Sacrificial Mass is our sacrifice in which we glorify God through adoration, thanksgiving, prayer and expiation…

The second part of the Sacrificial Mass is our acceptance of the Holy Eucharist which as a supernatural gift from God serves to sanctify our souls. Now if one fails to believe that the Eucharist is a supernatural gift, in which God physically enters our body, does that person retain the sacramental benefits of the Eucharist…??? After all, the leopars were only cured by their beleif, as they went off on their way to the preist as they were told.

So why shouldnt we exaggerate the breaking of bread…?

And why then have we been hearing bells rung during the consecration of the gifts…?

How can one say “God is not making an appearance”, “He will come at the end of time”…? I have to disagree.

But even though I disagree, I’m not claiming to be correct. I’m not attempting to correct the Church if I am actually wrong. But why else would we even ring the bells in the first place?
 
laszlo said:
From the beginning the Mass was community event. It is not an accident that the Church requires each Catholic person to be present in a Mass in every Sunday and Holy day of obligation under the penalty of grave sin.

The private Mass (without people) is a compromise, not the natural state of the things.
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I have to agree.
 
This topic reminds me of the CD produced by Matthew Kelly call the Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality. GREAT CD btw…He has the Mass as one of the 7 Pillars and goes through this whole bit on "The Problem with the Mass is…and the 15 million reasons people give. The truth is and he is right is that the problem isn’t out there…it is inside people’s hearts. That is why the people who go to daily mass witness a completely different side of worship…the people who go daily are on fire for the Lord and it shows! His suggestion is for each person (or child) to come away with ONE thing from each mass that the Lord speaks to them and write it down…could be verse from a song, scripture passage, message from Homily etc…

My suggestion is to study the Bible and learn how and why our mass flows from it…Sign up for Jeff Cavin’s Adventure Bible Timeline course and it will open your eyes to things you never knew and will make the mass even more meaningful. His course on Revelation shows how the mass is seen in heaven. Teach yourselves and your children…go through the parts of the mass with them and show them in scripture where it is and the story behind it…Example…John the Baptist saying as Jesus comes to be baptized…“Behold the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world”…once you find out why we do things we do in mass…your appreciation of it will grow and you can teach your own children. Watch EWTN new show…The Biblical History of the Mass"…As for the person whose child doesn’t want to be confirmed…check out Revelation 9:3-5…It talks about the people who had the seal of God on their foreheads (which is confirmation) and that they were not to be harmed when the “evil spirits” (locusts) were allowed out of the bottomless pit…

If your Church doesn’t offer these classes…order the materials yourself and do it together as a family. I just wish I had done it earlier…
 
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