Differences in Masses

[Celtic_Maiden]

That is a great idea… thank you for your (name removed by moderator)ut! My wife and I want to travel to Europe someday, and one of our stops will be Rome. I can guarantee you that we will be going to a Mass over there.

I guess I will just have to do more research on my own, and who knows…maybe can make a database for people like me who want to know what kind of Mass certain areas have, at different Parishes. A lofty and maybe impossible idea, but it could be useful to many, I think…

Just a little tip. Write to the Apostolic Nuncio, telling him that you and your Wife will be in Rome on what day and Date and until when, and where you will be staying and PHONE NUMBER, asking him could he pass it on to the person in charge of being to attend the Holy Father’s Mass, If its granted they will ring you in whatever place your staying at , I am praying that Lord will grant this request for you. So please write, who knows ?

 

[Oneofthewomen]

Jake,

It is fine to have opinions and preferences.

That said, it is also a luxury for many of us who live in larger communities to be able to “Parish Shop”. I live in a community where I have about 30 choices of parishes for Mass that are all within a 20 minute drive of my home. I drive past 5 parishes to get to the one that I go to most regularly. Not everyone has that ability, I hope that you realize this.

I go to the parish I go to because, as you say, it helps me to connect better to God. For me, it the building itself. It is a small “country” church w/ lots of wood & stained glass. The music is not always what I would pick, one of the priests who helps out on the weekends has a couple of very annoying (to me, anyway) habits, and because it is an old building, there is no room for a “cry room” or gathering space and it is quite often very loud before Mass begins, and sometimes even during, because we are blessed to have many, many children under 5. However, none of those things are why I go to Mass, I go because Jesus is there. And if he can show up, despite the lack of organ music and quiet reverence, who am I to complain?

 

[JM3]

I will go to a Catholic Church where I feel most “with” god.

Irreverence comes from within, not from without. If you feel less ‘with’ God in one place then another, it is not because God has moved away from you. It is because you have moved away from Him.

 

[Celtic_Maiden]

Back again with another thought- here in England we have Monasteries where we can go to for Sunday Mass, have you any Monasteries near you that you can go to for Sunday Mass as the way the Monks celebrate Mass in the Novus Ordo is beautiful, reverent, and traditional Hymns to. Do a search.

 

[JakeWI]

Jake,

It is fine to have opinions and preferences.

That said, it is also a luxury for many of us who live in larger communities to be able to “Parish Shop”. I live in a community where I have about 30 choices of parishes for Mass that are all within a 20 minute drive of my home. I drive past 5 parishes to get to the one that I go to most regularly. Not everyone has that ability, I hope that you realize this.

I go to the parish I go to because, as you say, it helps me to connect better to God. For me, it the building itself. It is a small “country” church w/ lots of wood & stained glass. The music is not always what I would pick, one of the priests who helps out on the weekends has a couple of very annoying (to me, anyway) habits, and because it is an old building, there is no room for a “cry room” or gathering space and it is quite often very loud before Mass begins, and sometimes even during, because we are blessed to have many, many children under 5. However, none of those things are why I go to Mass, I go because Jesus is there. And if he can show up, despite the lack of organ music and quiet reverence, who am I to complain?

I used to travel 30-40 minutes through farm fields down side roads to go to a church that I had belonged to before I moved to another area, because of the Priest AND music. I would do the same and make that work wherever I was. I guess some people’s priorities are different… and maybe mine are out of wack…who knows. If I was forced to go to a Mass with the rock bands (or if I was dirt poor and couldn’t drive), I would go… but would I have a clear head to be with God 110%? No. If it was absolutely forced on me to go there, I would probably be going to the Priest to work out some sort of compromise to provide a traditional mass during at least one of the services for those of us that enjoy it. I would think that would be fair.

We should all remember that the pre-Vatican II church was very traditional… and was the same all around no matter where you would go (at least from what I have heard from my Catholic grandparents). The Church has adapted to the times, changed to the times and what people “want” at their churches. I know some people call the organ “old and tired” as well as the music, but I call it reverent and calming. Some go to church to be energized and celebrate praise through upbeat song and dance. I go to be with God, in a calming yet joyful atmosphere.

So yes, if all other Churches burn down around me and I cannot drive for whatever reason, or no one who I knew would be able to get me to a church I feel closest to God or even with God, I will go just because I have to. Just because they do the same things as the other Catholic churches doesn’t mean the experience is the same… especially when it gets muddied up with things that interrupt my experience with God.

 

[JakeWI]

Irreverence comes from within, not from without. If you feel less ‘with’ God in one place then another, it is not because God has moved away from you. It is because you have moved away from Him.

I disagree. I have never felt more close to God than I do right now. If I was sitting with Jesus at a rock concert, I wouldn’t be able to hear him clearly or be able to have a special experience with him. If I was sitting with Him on a rock on a mountain, or in the forest, or in a temple with a harp playing, I would be able to hear Him loud and clear… and be able to 100% give myself to Him.

Celtic Maiden… I will have to look into that. I am betting there is, be it that I live near the city where the Archdiocese is. And thank you for the (name removed by moderator)ut on the contact in Rome, and getting into a Mass there. I really do appreciate it!

 

[andrewstx]

It is about where I feel most with Jesus. There is a reason I don’t go to a mega church, or a Protestant church, or any other church. I choose a Roman Catholic church as that follows what I believe and follow. I would be content with the original pre-Vatican II Masses as well. I think that Latin is beautiful and Gregorian chant is as well.

I am not saying I wouldn’t go to church… I am just saying I will go to a Catholic Church where I feel most “with” god. When I have drums, tambourines, guitars, and keyboards… that isn’t solumn and I cannot have a prayerful one on one relationship with God that way (this is just me, again, not talking about what others should or shouldn’t believe). It is distracting me from the core thing I am there to do. Mass, for me, is the one day a week I can just sit for an hour and be with God, in a prayerful, respectful way.

Again, others may be fine with it… and that is OK. Go to that type of Catholic Community, and enjoy. If you can connect with God more that way, then that is totally individual. There are some though, that find it a distraction and interrupts the core reason that they go… and thus the reason why I wish there would at least be a label to what kind of Mass it is… so it respects those who go, and allows them to pick a Mass that they feel most “with God” at.

Sorry Jake. but you might as well learn to live with keyboards and pianos. I prefer a pipe organ myself, but the builders are going bankrupt and fewer. Organs are becoming more and more costly. Their are fewer that can play the organ, and new organists are not being trained. Very few churches can afford an organ as well. It is sad, but what to do?

 

[OraLabora]

Back again with another thought- here in England we have Monasteries where we can go to for Sunday Mass, have you any Monasteries near you that you can go to for Sunday Mass as the way the Monks celebrate Mass in the Novus Ordo is beautiful, reverent, and traditional Hymns to. Do a search.

Good advice. I am an oblate of a Benedictine community just 35 minutes drive from where I live and that’s where I attend Mass almost every Sunday.

It’s in the Ordinary Form; but the propers are in Latin Gregorian chant, the Ordinary is also in Gregorian chant (Latin/Greek), all from the Graduale Romanum, and the rest in French plainchant. Very reverent and beautiful. Even the readings are chanted; the only thing not chanted is the homily. I’ve been to similar monastic Masses in the UK, France, Italy. Even the communities doing Mass entirely in the vernacular do it beautifully.

But I’ve also been to non-chanted Masses that moved me as well. My favourite is the 7 am weekday Mass at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, atop Mount Royal. OF, spoken Mass, very low key, always the same faithful in the pews. Enter in the dark, then come out 30 min later at sunrise with the city awakening at your feet; or in summer, arrive at 6:30 am and pray the stations of the cross in the special stations-of-the-cross garden they have.

It always moved me by its simplicity and quiet. Plus as a bonus you get to pray on the tomb of Saint André Bessette either before or after Mass. When the rector would celebrate Mass, he would always give us a great, and very incisive 1 or two sentence homily.

 

[JakeWI]

Sorry Jake. but you might as well learn to live with keyboards and pianos. I prefer a pipe organ myself, but the builders are going bankrupt and fewer. Organs are becoming more and more costly. Their are fewer that can play the organ, and new organists are not being trained. Very few churches can afford an organ as well. It is sad, but what to do?

Oh I understand. Pianos don’t bother me at all. I would take piano over keyboard or guitar anyday, however. Our church splits time between the organ and piano, depending on the songs, and has lately been combining the piano with a beautiful cello or viola to give it a little more depth. I have actually been contemplating learning to play the organ to help at our church (as I think our Dir of Music for the church doesn’t play the organ, but an older gent)… as I have learned piano in the past. I know it is more difficult, but if there is a will, there is a way…

 

[Sunbreak]

There is no absolute way to figure out what kind of Mass is being celebrated in a particular parish. You can get some idea, as other posters have said, from looking to see if the parish has a Tridentine Mass, traditional devotions, etc. I look at webpages for parishes when I travel to another state. You can get an idea of what the parish values by looking at pictures of the parish. Is there a crucifix up front behind the altar or a banner with fall leaves on it? That will give you a clue.
I agree with you that the setting makes a difference. As one priest said online about the atmosphere of different churches, “build a church and the people will come - build a barn and the animals come.”

 

[zab]

There is no absolute way to figure out what kind of Mass is being celebrated in a particular parish. You can get some idea, as other posters have said, from looking to see if the parish has a Tridentine Mass, traditional devotions, etc. I look at webpages for parishes when I travel to another state. You can get an idea of what the parish values by looking at pictures of the parish. Is there a crucifix up front behind the altar or a banner with fall leaves on it? That will give you a clue.
I agree with you that the setting makes a difference. As one priest said online about the atmosphere of different churches, “build a church and the people will come - build a barn and the animals come.”

I would be against advertising or describing the Mass with the labeling of “contemporary” or “traditional” as has been recommended by the OP. What you have written is probably the best way of figuring anything out. Unfortunately, not every parish has a good and updated website.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

As one priest said online about the atmosphere of different churches, “build a church and the people will come - build a barn and the animals come.”

I don’t know – and don’t want to know – who said this. All I will say is that I think you need to tread very carefully.

Architecture is as much as matter of taste as music. Some people prefer modern simplicity, others prefer baroque. Calling either of their church buildings a “barn” or the people who worship there “animals” is utterly disgusting. We’re all members of the Body of Christ!!

 

[andrewstx]

Oh I understand. Pianos don’t bother me at all. I would take piano over keyboard or guitar anyday, however. Our church splits time between the organ and piano, depending on the songs, and has lately been combining the piano with a beautiful cello or viola to give it a little more depth. I have actually been contemplating learning to play the organ to help at our church (as I think our Dir of Music for the church doesn’t play the organ, but an older gent)… as I have learned piano in the past. I know it is more difficult, but if there is a will, there is a way…

Pianos bother me a great deal. I have not been Catholic or Orthodox all of my life. I was raised first in a fundamental Protestant ecclesial community. They had a grand piano played in the Jimmy Swaggert ‘cawntry’ style. And on the other side of the pulpit a tiny electrical spinet home organ. That ‘organ’ doodeld softly behind the ‘pianer’ and only supplied the bass. There was no altar at all. These people loved their piano and only tollerarted the ‘organ’.

I have loved the pipe organ and only tolerated the piano since.

 

[YoungTradCath]

If your marriage retreat was for marriage prep then I advise you to stick that stuff out, get married, then go to Mass wherever you want.