Do you pray in a Protestant Mass?

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Oof.

And, the ironic thing is, Protestant theology owes a lot to the EO.
 
I can agree with you on your comments. when we go to a service with my Protestant parents we stand and sit at the appropriate times, we even cross ourselves when it is appropriate, even though we may get a look or two. But that is OK as we are secure and not ashamed of our Catholic Faith. we might even get a few questions as to why we would come to a Southern Baptist service.

My mothers funeral was a Protestant service. Although it was a natural thing for me, it did cause some looks or raised eyebrows, when i approached the coffin i bowed deeply then knelt in a short prayer, after i traced the sign of the cross on her forehead. as for me i used that moment as a way to evangelize my faith by example in some little way.
 
Yeah, it isn’t a mass. If charity demands that you attend this funeral service, you may do so, but I’m pretty sure you can’t actively participate, because it’s a place of worship of a false religion; a false church.
 
Oh that whole line was Baptist and apparently there was a huge ruckus when Uncle Bobby converted to marry my sweet Aunt Margaret.

I am always amazed my grandmother tolerated my Catholic father. Her head nearly exploded once when I was about nine and I told her JPII - whom I have always loved - was a great man. 🤣🤣🤣 I ran and asked my Daddy if he was, and Dad almost flipped when he said “who told you he wasn’t” and I had to fess up her name. Oh dear Lord. 😆😆

I just thought that she must’ve wondered with all these Catholics around if it was End Times. 😂😂 Don’t get me wrong, I adored the woman - but still.
 
I went to a Episcopalian funeral service about a week and a half ago. It was similar to a Catholic Mass but not quite the same. First of all there was a female acting as “priest”. I didn’t genuflect when entering the pew because Jesus is not present in the tabernacle. I did stand when they stood, I prayed the Our Father, recited the Apostles creed (the Catholic way). Everyone was invited to receive communion, my wife and I stayed in the pew. I was a little taken aback by the bread they used. It looked like a loaf of Hawaiian bread you can get at the grocery store. She said a consecration prayer, lifted it up, said amen, then started distribution. She would just pull a piece off and give it to the recipient. Then they would dip it into the cup and consume it. So it was similar in some ways but no way the same. I hope this helps.
 
As we have went away from circuit pastors and each church has their own. We’ve gone back weekly communion. The sign of the cross we got lectured on by the vicar as disrespectful when I was in school so I don’t do that. (My dad failed him but for other things )
 
Protestant funerals aren’t worship services. They’re memorial services. Why wouldn’t a Catholic go to pay respects?

Good heavens. I’m glad my Protestant family didn’t have a problem with or at my dad’s Catholic service.
 
Wannano said:
I find this most interesting. As a non-Catholic I have always stood etc when in a Catholic service whenever the rest of the people did. I felt this was the respectful thing to do and never dreamt that any Catholic watching might interpret it to mean that I was in agreement with all things. Whatever is wrong with participating in one another’s worship of God??

Recently I was in a Catholic funeral where I noticed a group of non-Catholics who were seated together did not stand at the appropriate times and stayed seated. I must admit I felt uncomfortable with that as it apeared to me to be disrespectful and had the look of an act of defiance.
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Participating in the Protestant service or not is up to the individual Catholic, just like participating in the Catholic service is up to the individual Protestant.

I have seen Protestants go to the Catholic church and refuse to do certain gestures like genuflect before the Tabernacle because they don’t believe in the Real Presence, or they sit in the pew when everybody else is praying, etc. Therefore, it would not surprise me if some Catholics also didn’t want to actively participate in the Protestant services.

In the case of a funeral, somebody had to make the decision as to what denomination would conduct the service, and it may well be that other relatives do not agree with the choice or that there has been an ongoing issue over religion within the family, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see some group making a point of not participating. I myself didn’t do that at my in-laws’ Protestant funeral services, but religion was not a point of contention within our family.
 
Augustinian said:
Sounds pretty disruptive. If a group came into Mass, perhaps non-catholic and made a point to stay in their seats and not engage in prayer I would wonder why they came in the first place.

If this is what you want to do, you’d be better off staying home for the event.
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It’s somebody’s funeral, not just a random Mass.

People come to the funeral to pay respects to the deceased and show support for the family, not necessarily to join in some religious tradition that is not their own.

They can be respectful sitting quietly in the pew. It’s not required that they “participate” in order to be allowed to be present.

As long as they aren’t being openly disruptive, like making rude gestures or trying to drown out the priest, it’s fine if they come to a funeral and just sit there and mentally or very quietly say their own prayers or good thoughts for the deceased.
 
I agree with this. In religious service, it is entirely up to the person concerned whether to join or not. Respect is in the attendance, not joining the praying. Sitting at the back quietly without making any untoward attention should be fine, if that is the person’s choice.

I have seen non-Catholics (including Muslims - we knew by the head cover the women worn) attending Catholic wedding mass or requiem mass, and we told them politely that they can just sit down when we stand or kneel. It is not a problem for us. Some follow, some don’t.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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Wannano:
I find this most interesting. As a non-Catholic I have always stood etc when in a Catholic service whenever the rest of the people did. I felt this was the respectful thing to do and never dreamt that any Catholic watching might interpret it to mean that I was in agreement with all things. Whatever is wrong with participating in one another’s worship of God??

Recently I was in a Catholic funeral where I noticed a group of non-Catholics who were seated together did not stand at the appropriate times and stayed seated. I must admit I felt uncomfortable with that as it apeared to me to be disrespectful and had the look of an act of defiance.
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Participating in the Protestant service or not is up to the individual Catholic, just like participating in the Catholic service is up to the individual Protestant.

I have seen Protestants go to the Catholic church and refuse to do certain gestures like genuflect before the Tabernacle because they don’t believe in the Real Presence, or they sit in the pew when everybody else is praying, etc. Therefore, it would not surprise me if some Catholics also didn’t want to actively participate in the Protestant services.

In the case of a funeral, somebody had to make the decision as to what denomination would conduct the service, and it may well be that other relatives do not agree with the choice or that there has been an ongoing issue over religion within the family, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see some group making a point of not participating. I myself didn’t do that at my in-laws’ Protestant funeral services, but religion was not a point of contention within our family.
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I asked a priest once about me genuflecting and his response was that I should not do that specific action if it is not my own custom. He said the same about crossing ones self. I personally like his answers but feel freedom otherwise other than to receive Communion.

Our community is smaller and the Catholic Church is not large so at funerals they have asked me to help sing in the choir at the church. I love singing and I feel privileged to be asked. I never once felt that I shouldn’t. We serve the same God.
 
That’s nice that you feel that way.

I will not presume to speak for Protestants, but I know that in the Catholic church prior to Vatican II there was a VERY strong prohibition on participating in Protestant services and in many cases there was even disapproval from one’s priest or from other Catholics about attending Protestant weddings and funeral services.

This attitude has changed a lot and become much more ecumenical. However, individual Catholics might still worry that people might somehow think they are endorsing a Protestant faith or sending a message that all Christian faiths are interchangeable by participating in a Protestant service.

I myself would go to a Protestant wedding (as long as one of the parties wasn’t a Catholic marrying outside the Church) or funeral service, and I have been to both, but there is no way I would ever attend any other kind of Protestant service. That’s just me.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
That’s nice that you feel that way.

I will not presume to speak for Protestants, but I know that in the Catholic church prior to Vatican II there was a VERY strong prohibition on participating in Protestant services and in many cases there was even disapproval from one’s priest or from other Catholics about attending Protestant weddings and funeral services.

This attitude has changed a lot and become much more ecumenical. However, individual Catholics might still worry that people might somehow think they are endorsing a Protestant faith or sending a message that all Christian faiths are interchangeable by participating in a Protestant service.

I myself would go to a Protestant wedding (as long as one of the parties wasn’t a Catholic marrying outside the Church) or funeral service, and I have been to both, but there is no way I would ever attend any other kind of Protestant service. That’s just me.
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As an ex-Protestant I can’t say there’s a whole lot to participate in at a funeral, other than bowing one’s head as prayers are said and maybe singing a hymn.

Not much goes on at a Protestant funeral beyond that. Nor at a Protestant wedding (for the most part - there was a bit more going on at my BIL’s High Anglican wedding, but that wasn’t as foreign to me having grown up going to Catholic ceremonies).

Protestants aren’t going to genuflect as they enter the church any more than they’re going to bless themselves with holy water when they cross the threshold because they don’t share that belief. I remember being a kid and explaining to a “full Protestant” kid once what the kneelers and the fonts were for in a military chapel. It’s sort of amusing to me now how I was the translator.
 
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The first time I went to a Protestant funeral service for somebody on my husband’s side of the family, he mentioned having to put a kneeler out specially for me and one of the other Catholic relatives who was going to attend. This was news to me because I could not imagine viewing a body in a casket without kneeling and praying by it. Even if you did not pray specifically for the repose of the soul or its getting out of Purgatory, I figured you would at least say a prayer to God for help with your own grief. I asked husband what exactly they did next to their relatives’ caskets if they didn’t kneel and pray. He said, “We might bow”. I thought (and still think) that was pretty weird but to each their own.
 
I have seen kneelers by caskets at non-denominational funeral homes so loved ones could pray by the casket.
 
Yes, I usually see them at every funeral home regardless of whether the deceased was Catholic or not. Those who wish to use them, do; other people just stand by the casket, or they nod or bow or whatever it is they do.

This particular funeral home my husband’s family uses I think tries to conform the arrangement to the religion of the person using it. It’s a small town and the director knows a lot of the patrons and their families.
 
From my experience, the Minister or Chaplain will say some Christian prayers that could be used in pretty much any mainstream Christian Church, you bow and say “Amen” and that is about it. I have never been asked to do anything contrary to the Catholic Faith at a Protestant funeral.
 
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