Greeting at the beginning of Mass

[JoeFreedom]

which is still “before the Mass begins” to me.

So that makes me curious. When does Mass actually start? (I’m asking because I don’t really know). Does it start at the moment the procession begins to the altar? Or does it start once the priest reaches the altar and begins with “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”?

 

[HomeschoolDad]

It begins, as you describe, when the priest gets to the altar and makes the sign of the cross with the invocation of the Blessed Trinity.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

It is a liturgy . Liturgies have set phrases and verses. It is not something that has inflections and tones of voice like a sermon does. Neither priest nor worshiper is expected to put emotion into the words. It just doesn’t work like that. I can understand how this might seem bizarre to someone who is used to worship services having emotive, soaring turns of phrase, as a pastor might use in a sermon (think of Billy Graham or TD Jakes). Two different things.

Edited to add (and I don’t have that little pencil thingy, evidently because someone has liked my post):

If you feel like it sounds too flat or “painful” to recite the liturgy in a normal speaking voice, you might want to consider the sung liturgy of the Eastern churches. Those definitely have a joyful, engaged character to them:

 

[LisaB]

I don’t care for the greeting described in the OP but I can tolerate it. What I cannot tolerate is being forced to introduce ourselves/“greet those next to you”. That would be my first and last Mass at such a parish.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

I don’t care for the greeting described in the OP but I can tolerate it. What I cannot tolerate is being forced to introduce ourselves/“greet those next to you”. That would be my first and last Mass at such a parish.

I can put up with it, if I am visiting a parish, but I agree, it is intrusive. When making such introductions, I either use my given name, or my last name which sounds like a common first name — I go by both. Strangers aren’t entitled to my full name.

One thing to keep in mind, and I don’t think this is “just me”, is that there are deep racial and ethnic divisions in our society that need to be healed. Almost as often as not, I find myself sitting by someone of a different race or visible ethnicity. If I have to, I won’t refuse to exchange greetings, or even hand-holding during the Our Father if they offer their hand — for some ethnicities, the slightest thing can be interpreted as a snub. If you live in a monoculture, you might be able to get by with it, but I don’t live in a monoculture — and would not particularly want to. My son, age 12, views himself as post-racial (though he is so “white” that he could blend into any crowd in Reykjavik or Oslo) and keeps me on my best behavior on racial matters. Glad to see that I did something right in his upbringing!