Desire More Contemplative Mass-I wish things were different

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When I go to daily Mass it is not at my home parish, it is at a Church near my work 20 – 30 miles away. It starts at 6:30am. It is always very quiet, peaceful, cool, and contemplative. The Mass celebration draws me into a place of complete peace and expectation waiting for the moment of consecration. It is my little slice of heaven on earth.

Now it’s Sunday and I am at my home parish of about 50 gazillion parishioners not counting the children. It’s a complete zoo before, during, and after Mass. If I stay in the church and wait for the noise to dim and then start to pray the ushers are telling me to leave so they can lock up. Last Sunday it was “second collection Sunday” so after receiving the Blessed Sacrament I was deep in prayer and someone is pushing on my shoulder to get my attention and stuffing a collection basket in my face. I had taken off my glasses and was so deep in prayer that I am sure I looked like some half drunken dolt that was coming out of some sort of stupor.

I don’t want the Mass to be child free or anything like that. I just wish I could be at the same level of contemplation at my home parish on Sundays as I am at as a guest at the Church near my work in the mornings. At home I don’t feel at home and when away I feel at home.

Oh no, am I’m becoming a whiner …
 
Hey thinkof it this way at least they go tyo church. And if they went to daily mass you would probably move into a convent or monastery. I frequently wish I could live like St Anthony of the desert. You know I recite the LOTH (not outloud) in Union Station in DC or on the metro trains, it takes a lot of control and focus but I do it and rarely hear the crowds.
 
hilde_the_dog said:
Hey thinkof it this way at least they go tyo church. And if they went to daily mass you would probably move into a convent or monastery. I frequently wish I could live like St Anthony of the desert. You know I recite the LOTH (not outloud) in Union Station in DC or on the metro trains, it takes a lot of control and focus but I do it and rarely hear the crowds.
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YOU’RE THAT GUY IN UNION STATION ??? OMGoodness!!! I’ve seen you! LOLOLOLOLOLOL. Just kidding, or am iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ?? 😛

That’s awesome, that some serious concentration. Good for you.
 
I’ve found that the late morning Mass on Sunday tends to be the most “rowdy”. Perhaps if you attend the earliest available?
 
Is there an early Mass on Sunday morning at your home parish that might replicate the quiet of your daily Mass? In my parish, the earliest Mass is done without music and attended by many of the daily Mass folks and just a few others.

Betsy
 
b, have you ever been to the early 5:45 AM ‘private Mass’ at the Franciscan Shrine in DC.? I agree with you, quiet, devoutly said early Mass is the most contemplative experience.

;
 
b_justb said:
When I go to daily Mass it is not at my home parish, it is at a Church near my work 20 – 30 miles away. It starts at 6:30am. It is always very quiet, peaceful, cool, and contemplative. The Mass celebration draws me into a place of complete peace and expectation waiting for the moment of consecration. It is my little slice of heaven on earth.

Now it’s Sunday and I am at my home parish of about 50 gazillion parishioners not counting the children. It’s a complete zoo before, during, and after Mass. If I stay in the church and wait for the noise to dim and then start to pray the ushers are telling me to leave so they can lock up. Last Sunday it was “second collection Sunday” so after receiving the Blessed Sacrament I was deep in prayer and someone is pushing on my shoulder to get my attention and stuffing a collection basket in my face. I had taken off my glasses and was so deep in prayer that I am sure I looked like some half drunken dolt that was coming out of some sort of stupor.

I don’t want the Mass to be child free or anything like that. I just wish I could be at the same level of contemplation at my home parish on Sundays as I am at as a guest at the Church near my work in the mornings. At home I don’t feel at home and when away I feel at home.

Oh no, am I’m becoming a whiner …
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What you need for a cure is the “Extra-Ordinary Form Mass” of Tridentine Mass for short. 👍
 
Another option that some might find helpful is a Taize mass. Personally I work to avoid these, as I find the endlessly repetitive repetition of song verses maddening, but “contemplative” is one of the words most frequently used to describe these masses.
 
Sometimes a situation is just an opportunity to contemplate in another way. Have you seen an image of Tintoretto’s Last Supper? Very different from da Vinci’s…Tintoretto’s is filled with activity, with a maidservant, with a dog standing at a washbasin near the table. I think of this image when I am feeling distracted by activity at the Mass or with needing to tend to children. This image reminds me happy to be able to bring my children before Christ and less frustrated that I am turning to them to shush or redirect. Such activity presents a different way to approach Christ. Not as quiet, but just as contemplative…
 
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