DC or NY . . . Were you there?

[IrishAm]

I have stayed away from the boards for several days as I was so discouraged at the negativism surrounding the DC Papal Mass.

I do not want to fall into controversy over the music or the language, or what one *didn’t *like, but wanted to ask those who attended either DC or NY – What was your shining moment?

For me, it was the Profession of the Faith. I had not expected my reaction, for this cynical veteran of a newsroom wept. As a convert, I made my first Profession in January 1971. And on Thursday, April 17, 2008, I made a Profession of Faith at the direction of the Holy Father. It was a blessing I had not expected, an experience that took me by surprise.

It was my shining moment during the Mass.

(And, by the way, “we” – in DC – got the better weather )

 

[marytk]

I just had to fight a little jealousy. I was able to watch the Yankee Stadium Mass on line and loved seeing so many people there. I don’t like to judge the music (especially just hearing it out of my computer) I tried to watch some of the other mass on line (but not live) but I am getting better at navigating so I may try again. But I it when the camera spans the congregation and seeing people who are SO happy to be there. Personally I don’t think there is one kind of music in heaven I don’t think we can imagine what the Angels can sing like

 

[PhilotheaZ]

(And, by the way, “we” – in DC – got the better weather )

“We” at Yankee Stadium had absolutely perfect weather for the closing Mass.

I can’t single out one moment. All of it was near-perfect — the congeniality of the crowds despite the long lines, the concert while awaiting Pope Benedict’s arrival, the reverence of the liturgy, the music … but of course, the arrival of Jesus at the Consecration and receiving Him in Communion was the high point.

 

[old_granny]

Did anyone else who was there witness the terrible anti-Catholic attacks going on outside the stadium from people with bullhorns?

I’m hoping that those people didn’t get any press at all. The things they were saying were so, so horrible that I won’t repeat it.

I am only mentioning it because I think we all need to focus our energy on being a little nicer to our fellow Catholic believers. There is so much evil against us in the world… in our own country, even! Fellow Catholics fighting one another (and over things like music, for heaven’s sake) doesn’t do us any good.

I’ve lurked on this board for a few years and have never posted, but what went on in DC outside of the stadium hit me really hard. I don’t care what kind of music you like, whether you think girls should be altar servers or not, or whether you think TLM or the NO is the best way to celebrate Mass. WE ARE ALL CATHOLIC.

And this probably goes in another thread, but I’ll put it here anyway… my opinion is… just follow the rules. Use approved hymnals. (Guess what? Gather Hymnal was approved by the USCCB, so to me, any song in there is approved. If one day the USCCB says a song shouldn’t be sung, then I think we shouldn’t sing it. Until then, it’s NOT UP TO US to say what’s ok and what’s not.) Communion in the hand is allowed. Girls are allowed to be altar servers, with the exception of one diocese. I don’t know why we even have threads about those things.

Just respect your bishops and priests and their decisions. That part of Catholicism is easy. Going out into the world and living like a Christian in the face of hatred is the hard part.

I don’t know if I’ll ever post again, but I had to get that off my chest and this seemed like a logical thread in which to do it, given that it was the anti-Catholic hatred outside at the DC Mass that set my heart on fire!!! This old granny is Catholic and proud of it!!

 

[IrishAm]

Did anyone else who was there witness the terrible anti-Catholic attacks going on outside the stadium from people with bullhorns?

They were at Lafayette Park (across from the White House) as well, but I saw no press on either. Despite the noise, there could not have been more than 15 individuals at either place – not much of a protest. There were also several people evangelizing after the White House event and after the Mass, but they, on the whole, were fairly respectful while handing out their tracts. I saw one give a booklet to a priest, who just handed it back; “not your market share, Father?” I asked and he just grinned.

And, yes, the protesters’ signs were quite hateful and inflammatory. I think they just wanted to provoke someone into attacking them and then they would get the press that their limited little presence could not generate. It didn’t happen, so they can just go back under whatever rock they crawled out from . . .

 

[anamchara]

I’ve lurked on this board for a few years and have never posted, but what went on in DC outside of the stadium hit me really hard. I don’t care what kind of music you like, whether you think girls should be altar servers or not, or whether you think TLM or the NO is the best way to celebrate Mass. WE ARE ALL CATHOLIC.

And this probably goes in another thread, but I’ll put it here anyway… my opinion is… just follow the rules. Use approved hymnals. (Guess what? Gather Hymnal was approved by the USCCB, so to me, any song in there is approved. If one day the USCCB says a song shouldn’t be sung, then I think we shouldn’t sing it. Until then, it’s NOT UP TO US to say what’s ok and what’s not.) Communion in the hand is allowed. Girls are allowed to be altar servers, with the exception of one diocese. I don’t know why we even have threads about those things.

Just respect your bishops and priests and their decisions. That part of Catholicism is easy. Going out into the world and living like a Christian in the face of hatred is the hard part.

I don’t know if I’ll ever post again, but I had to get that off my chest and this seemed like a logical thread in which to do it, given that it was the anti-Catholic hatred outside at the DC Mass that set my heart on fire!!! This old granny is Catholic and proud of it!!

:clapping::grouphug:

I mainly watched CNN and a bit of EWTN. They pretty much all had the same feed. Just different commentary. I liked the priests and experts they had on CNN though. Lots of stuff was being explained. I never heard anything negative. Also, I never saw any protesters on the news so I guess those people didn’t get the coverage What I thought was cool is how touched the CNN news anchors were, they genuinely showed a great deal of respect and interest.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I was at Yankee Stadium for the Papal Mass.:extrahappy:

Even though it was chilly (cold) and DH and I were seated in different sections…It was absolutely beautiful and moving. The music, everything.

We were there for over 5 hours, and the time flew so quickly, and my kids were 2 extremely well behaved kids, my little DD tried to clap and sing in unison with everyone.

I am very happy today and feel very fortunate.

---

As for protesters, I saw exactly 3 of them on the way in. One by the subway station. One, while we walked toward the stadium, and another while waiting in line. They came across as being more pathetic than menacing…

Then there were the street vendors that were funny, one was shouting, “Pope buttons, get your Pope buttons, 3 dollars!” A few feet away his competitor had them for 2 dollars.

 

[anamchara]

As for protesters, I saw exactly 3 of them on the way in. One by the subway station. One, while we walked toward the stadium, and another while waiting in line. They came across as being more pathetic than menacing…

** Then there were the street vendors that were funny, one was shouting, “Pope buttons, get your Pope buttons, 3 dollars!” A few feet away his competitor had them for 2 dollars**.

I hope some posters post pictures! I’d love to see them.

 

[IrishAm]

I hope some posters post pictures! I’d love to see them.

Unfortunately, I am apparently not smart enough to figure out how to do that! Have some great ones, thought. . . .

 

[anamchara]

Unfortunately, I am apparently not smart enough to figure out how to do that! Have some great ones, thought. . . .

Oh bummer, it is really easy though. If I can do it anyone can.

 

[mikeledes]

YES!!! I WAS AT THERE!!! :extrahappy:

I was in Yankee Stadium! It was great! The gift bag was good too.

God Bless,
Michael

 

[mikeledes]

I was at Yankee Stadium for the Papal Mass.:extrahappy:

Even though it was chilly (cold) and DH and I were seated in different sections…It was absolutely beautiful and moving. The music, everything.

We were there for over 5 hours, and the time flew so quickly, and my kids were 2 extremely well behaved kids, my little DD tried to clap and sing in unison with everyone.

I am very happy today and feel very fortunate.

---

As for protesters, I saw exactly 3 of them on the way in. One by the subway station. One, while we walked toward the stadium, and another while waiting in line. They came across as being more pathetic than menacing…

Then there were the street vendors that were funny, one was shouting, “Pope buttons, get your Pope buttons, 3 dollars!” A few feet away his competitor had them for 2 dollars.

Did you get the “Mary’s Command” pamphlet? There were approximately three anti-Catholic Protestants near the entrance to Yankee stadium. Two had big signs hanging from their neck and one of the two was preaching against the rosary. The third one was distributing the “Mary’s Command” pamphlet, which had an image of the Blessed Mother. It was cleary designed to trick Catholics into reading the pamphlet.

God Bless,
Michael

 

[masondoggy]

“We” at Yankee Stadium had absolutely perfect weather for the closing Mass.

You must’ve been sitting in the lower sections? We were freezing way up in the upper level! But hey, I asked Jesus to hold the rain until we got on the bus to go home and that’s exactly what He did! So I won’t complain…it was my fault for not dressing warming.

Did anyone else who was there witness the terrible anti-Catholic attacks going on outside the stadium from people with bullhorns?

I’m hoping that those people didn’t get any press at all. The things they were saying were so, so horrible that I won’t repeat it.

I am only mentioning it because I think we all need to focus our energy on being a little nicer to our fellow Catholic believers. There is so much evil against us in the world… in our own country, even! Fellow Catholics fighting one another (and over things like music, for heaven’s sake) doesn’t do us any good.

I’ve lurked on this board for a few years and have never posted, but what went on in DC outside of the stadium hit me really hard. I don’t care what kind of music you like, whether you think girls should be altar servers or not, or whether you think TLM or the NO is the best way to celebrate Mass. WE ARE ALL CATHOLIC.

And this probably goes in another thread, but I’ll put it here anyway… my opinion is… just follow the rules. Use approved hymnals. (Guess what? Gather Hymnal was approved by the USCCB, so to me, any song in there is approved. If one day the USCCB says a song shouldn’t be sung, then I think we shouldn’t sing it. Until then, it’s NOT UP TO US to say what’s ok and what’s not.) Communion in the hand is allowed. Girls are allowed to be altar servers, with the exception of one diocese. I don’t know why we even have threads about those things.

Just respect your bishops and priests and their decisions. That part of Catholicism is easy. Going out into the world and living like a Christian in the face of hatred is the hard part.

I don’t know if I’ll ever post again, but I had to get that off my chest and this seemed like a logical thread in which to do it, given that it was the anti-Catholic hatred outside at the DC Mass that set my heart on fire!!! This old granny is Catholic and proud of it!!

I was lucky enough to miss the protestors. But I was very unlucky enough to get stuck in a near stampede trying to get out of there. Obviously, Yankee Stadium is NOT designed to handle a crowd very well. It was very, very croweded trying to get outside and we ended up at a standstill right at the gate to get outside. I had people pushing up against me from behind. At first, everything was pretty calm, but then people started getting more and more aggressive to where a few people just plowed through, knocking everybody over in their path. At that point, Thank God, the door cleared up and the crowd started moving again. It was getting scary! I have to wonder how that would have played out with a different type of crowd that hadn’t just come from Mass.

 

[TOP]

My two oldest son’s (10 & 16) were at the D.C. Papal Mass. My 10 y.o. said the highlight of the experience was “seeing the Holy Father give Mass and seeing that many christens in one place”. I don’t dare tell them that the D.C. mass is considered “irreverent” by some because of the music. It would crush them spiritually while they are at a certain crossroads in life. To them the experience can’t be beat and for me to say otherwise would only assault their conscience and confuse. Tim

 

[masondoggy]

Oops, I hit submit before I was finished…

I forgot to add what touched me the most about the whole thing was the excitement and enthusiasm from the crowd. I’m not sure that could have been caught on EWTN for those watching from home. And there were soooooo many young people who were just so excited to see the Pope. It really gives us reason to hope!

Catholicism is alive and well in the United States of America!

 

[stanthonyserver]

We were there in the Loge level above third base. My impressions:

1. Anti-Catholics - we saw a few, the biggest response they got was one lady wagged her finger at them. The rest of us just ignored them - turning the cheek so to speak.
2. Lines and Crowds - were long as you would expect getting in etc. but everyone was in a good mood and very polite.
3. Food; we were told not to bring anything in so we had to buy food. The concession near us had LONG lines and after waiting an hour we were told that they had run out of food. Shame on Yankee Stadium - its not like they’ve never handled a sell out crowd before.
4. The concert was very well done and organized.
5. The Celebration of the Mass was INCREDIBLE. It was spiritual, communal, enthusiastic etc. etc. We all felt very renewed. I only wish the lines for Communion were that well organized at our church - 57,000 ‘served’ in 20 minutes.
6. We were all told before hand that we would not be permitted to leave the stadium until after the Holy Father had left for security purposes. That is why there was such a crush at the exits. We waited a bit and had no problem leaving.

The entire experience was amazing.

God Bless Benedict XVI

Yours,
David

 

[anamchara]

My two oldest son’s (10 & 16) were at the D.C. Papal Mass. My 10 y.o. said the highlight of the experience was “seeing the Holy Father give Mass and seeing that many christens in one place”. I don’t dare tell them that the D.C. mass is considered “irreverent” by some because of the music. It would crush them spiritually while they are at a certain crossroads in life. To them the experience can’t be beat and for me to say otherwise would only assault their conscience and confuse. Tim

perfect!

 

[Karmastrike]

I had to watch online, would’ve love to go though…

 

[masondoggy]

1. Food; we were told not to bring anything in so we had to buy food. The concession near us had LONG lines and after waiting an hour we were told that they had run out of food. Shame on Yankee Stadium - its not like they’ve never handled a sell out crowd before.

No kidding! The food situation was awful. I got lucky in that security let me in with the two pop-tarts I had stashed in my pocket. If not for those crumbled up pastries, I would’ve starved until NINE O’CLOCK when our bus finally stopped for dinner.

At one point, my mom and I went to find a reasonable line to get into for food. After navigating the congestion (um, that’s an understatement) for about a half hour, we came to a dead-end. There was a line for Confession there and we had to decide whether we’d get in line for Confession or brave the horrid lines for food. Mom opted for the Sacrament and well, I opted for food after envisioning getting hungry and fainting in those scary bleachers during Mass…so we went in our seperate directions. Well, mom made the right choice. She got absolution and I went hungry, lol…

1. The Celebration of the Mass was INCREDIBLE. It was spiritual, communal, enthusiastic etc. etc. We all felt very renewed. I only wish the lines for Communion were that well organized at our church - 57,000 ‘served’ in 20 minutes.

Yea, that was pretty amazing! Communion was very scary for us. We were in the upper level, where you DO NOT want to be if your even remotely afraid of heights! One wrong slip and…Yikes!

 

[Brendan]

My wife and two oldest (9 and 7) were at the DC Mass. We didn’t get enough tickets for the whole clan, so I stayed back and babysat the youngest ones in the hotel.

My high point was that my wife and kids were at a Papal Mass.

The whole family got to see him during one of the Popemobile motorcades, as well through the fence when he spoke at the White House ( got a great vid of the Honor Battery firing a 21 gun salute ).

cid-d48dbdc01a7e8a7d.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/21%20gun%20Salute.wmv