P
Phemie
Guest
Just returned from our Epiphany Mass and it was good to be home again.
We spent Christmas and New Years with our daughter and family and I attended three Masses at her parish. When we first went there several years ago I was thrilled to be able to attend Christmas Mass in French, as I have little opportunity to worship in my mother-tongue otherwise. But over the years I’ve become more and more disenchanted with the state of Francophone Mass: none of the sung Ordinary used anything close to the official text and that seems to have the approval of the CCCB since the sung settings in the French missalettes often don’t match the official text either.
Usually I attend Midnight Mass but this year we took the kids so attended a 6 p.m. Mass Christmas Eve. Though not officially a children’s Mass, that one was at 4:30, Fr. called the children forward for the homily which he addressed directly to them. At one point he said, “Listen! Do you hear something?” and over the speakers came the sound of whooshing wind, sleigh bells, and ‘Ho, ho, ho!” Santa appears in the sanctuary.
Five year old grandson whispers to his mom, “Maman, is that the real Santa?” When she asks what he thinks he replies that he thinks it is. Then, “Maman, is Santa going to die?” He”s had all kinds of questions about death recently. She says her first thought was, “If your Mamie gets her wish he’s got about 5 seconds left”
So I’m back home where we may not have the greatest choir, or the most beautiful vestments, or a century old gorgeous stone church, or Mass in my mother-tongue but where we follow the rubrics 99% of the time. Thank you God for what I have.
We spent Christmas and New Years with our daughter and family and I attended three Masses at her parish. When we first went there several years ago I was thrilled to be able to attend Christmas Mass in French, as I have little opportunity to worship in my mother-tongue otherwise. But over the years I’ve become more and more disenchanted with the state of Francophone Mass: none of the sung Ordinary used anything close to the official text and that seems to have the approval of the CCCB since the sung settings in the French missalettes often don’t match the official text either.
Usually I attend Midnight Mass but this year we took the kids so attended a 6 p.m. Mass Christmas Eve. Though not officially a children’s Mass, that one was at 4:30, Fr. called the children forward for the homily which he addressed directly to them. At one point he said, “Listen! Do you hear something?” and over the speakers came the sound of whooshing wind, sleigh bells, and ‘Ho, ho, ho!” Santa appears in the sanctuary.
Five year old grandson whispers to his mom, “Maman, is that the real Santa?” When she asks what he thinks he replies that he thinks it is. Then, “Maman, is Santa going to die?” He”s had all kinds of questions about death recently. She says her first thought was, “If your Mamie gets her wish he’s got about 5 seconds left”
So I’m back home where we may not have the greatest choir, or the most beautiful vestments, or a century old gorgeous stone church, or Mass in my mother-tongue but where we follow the rubrics 99% of the time. Thank you God for what I have.