Done With Parish Shopping: Long Post

[bankerdavid]

I sympathize with your situation. But there is only one real liturgical abuse-and that’s that we are allowed to receive our Lord through the Holy Eucharist.

I’d like to suggest that you read Scott Hahn’s Lamb’s Supper, or listen to the EWTN presentation on the same. If you truly understand that when we go to Mass we’re experiencing Heaven, you may not think too much about tube tops, what others do with their Host, et al.

But all in all, just keep trying to find that one gem of a parish where you can sigh, smile, and say “Finally, I’m home”.

God Bless You.

 

[Philothea_2.0]

You’re going to have much better luck finding orthodoxy and reverence in the Arlington Diocese than in Archdiocese of Washington churches. It’s too bad that’s kind of a commute for you. I agree with whoever suggested Catherine of Siena in Great Falls – easy commute from Maryland and I’ve only heard good things.

 

[Patchunky]

Do you think that you could drive over to Northern Virginia on a Sunday morning? There isn’t much traffic on the beltway then

No, but summer is the height of the road construction season and they’re STILL working on the WW Bridge and the Mixing Bowl:hypno:

It’s almost as bad on Sunday morning as it is on Monday morning…

 

[Philothea_2.0]

Great Falls is just over the Legion Bridge from Potomac, so you’d avoid all the nasty traffic on the Eastern side of the Beltway. When I was still a Protestant and living in Kensington, I drove to McLean Bible Church every Sunday that way and never hit traffic once. All my in-laws live in Silver Spring and I know the perception up there is that Virginia is sooooo far away and hard to get to, but really, from Silver Spring, McLean/Great Falls is about a fifteen minute drive on the weekends. Not too bad at all.

 

[Windmill]

Thank you for sharing that moving story, Miserissima.

I started a men’s gregorian chant group (www.brazoschant.org) because I was tired of it all, too. In fact, I was tired of being tired of it all. I don’t understand why so many accept the abuses and blandness out there.

If you have to continually remind yourself at Mass that you are at a solemn sacrifice, then something’s terribly wrong. The visible should mirror the invisible reality occurring before you.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

Finally, I asked about not genuflecting to Jesus in the tabernacle. She said that during the Mass, the altar table becomes our focus, not the tabernacle. I replied – as gently as I could – that yes, **during **the Mass the table represents Christ – the cornerstone of the Church. However, before and after Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is in repose in the tabernacle, and GIRM 274, 275 instructs us to genuflect. She cited that people may be following the lead of the elderly, who cannot genuflect, but only bow.

Sadly, as you pointed out in GIRM 274, the so-called liturgist was actually rubrically correct on this point, i.e. *during *Mass, the tabernacle is only acknowledged at beginning and end. You are perfectly correct, though, that this provides no excuse for disrespecting the Lord outside of the celebration of Mass.

 

[mystified]

We can hope and pray that the MP will be the return to sanity, whether with the use of the TLM or with real concern about celebrating the NO without deviation, dancing girls, priests doing softshoe routines in front of the altar, Barney, clowns, etc.
I fear, though, that many US priests and bishops will look on it as mere suggestion.

 

[StephenB]

Sister in Christ - It is a shame that so many things are occurring to distract from your mass attendance. I subscribe to much of what you are saying about individual attitude during mass - but the best I can do is pray that I not be so judgemental that the Lord uses the same scale of judgement on me.

That said, there is a small church around the corner from that rinky dink university up there - I think the school is named Georgetown (TIC) - my wife and I had the opportunity to visit for Good Friday when visiting our daughter - Holy Trinity on N St in NW DC. Only time I was there, and a pretty rigid order of events - but for what they did, it was extremely reverent.

God speed in your search for peace.

 

[brotherhrolf]

My story: DW and I met when I was in grad school. We were married in the university parish church. This was 1978.

We attended the cathedral parish, however, because there was none of the guitar masses, etc. that were part and parcel of the university parish church. In 1981, number one son was born. We were not members of the cathedral parish but were members of a fairly orthodox parish - where we registered and had number one baptised.

DW’s father passed away shortly thereafter and we moved into a trailer to take care of DW’s mother. This was 1982. We began attending DW’s parish. Father would sweep out of the procession to greet people and clasp their arms. Father would leave the sanctuary to greet people and shake their hands during the sign of peace. Didn’t matter which Mass you went to. 7 am on Sunday was the same as 10:30.

I just couldn’t handle it. So I stopped going. In 1983 one of my co-workers was a paid chorister at the cathedral. Hey, they needed singers - who knew Latin. Bingo! Knew Latin, sang in kid’s choir (in Latin), sang in glee club in Catholic high school …joined the cathedral choir and drove 25 miles to Mass.

First year…I have to admit we were pretty pedantic. It was nice to sing the Asperges Me but we were not challenged.

In 1984, we had a new bishop and a new pastor. Out went Latin. Fr. Frank brought in a new organist and a new choir director . In September 1984 number two son was born. We had been attending the cathedral for over a year and we both said, this is where we will raise our kids. So we looked into what we had to do to transfer our membership from DW’s parish in which we lived 25 miles to the south of us.

You need a letter from the pastor. Called parish. Pastor said come meet with me. So I did. Why do you want to be a member of the cathedral parish which is downtown and 25 miles away?

Father, I mean no disrespect but it is more reverent. WHAT??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN??? Father, I grew up with the Latin Mass and Latin. I don’t like either the music or all the running up and down the aisles during Mass.

Oy! Out came bell, book, and candle. Father dismissed me - yep, that’s the right word, and said we would hear from him. We got such a letter from him…oh, such a letter from him…“If you die, I will not respond.” I’m not making it up.

Took said letter to Father at cathedral parish. He read it, went white-faced, and said “don’t worry about it”. Twenty-three plus years later, we’re still members of the cathedral parish and anyone can become a member of the cathedral parish without having to go through their geographic pastor. So, yes, parish shopping is something which needs to be considered.

And, yes, if and when the MP is issued, we will have a Latin Mass. Too many of us boomers and those of our parents’ generation or just before still alive. BTW, when we joined the cathedral parish in 1984 there were 200 members. Our ranks are close to 2000 today.