Horrible mass experience

[Stylites]

Oddly enough, the only dog outside of service dogs I’ve seen in a Mass are at our own daily Masses. The dog is a HUGE one, almost like a Mastiff, and he is the priest’s dog. He sits or lies quietly during the Mass, though he does make his way around the dozen or so attendees to greet everyone at the Sign of Peace.

The loudest, most unorthodox Mass I attended were the ones that preceded the special gatherings of dying (and disabled children.

. . .]

I was truly amazed at every service how in this raggle-taggle setting, amid the kitchen sound, the clattering of plates, the sounds of the children, the scuffle to comfort a seizing child or to find the medication in the chair bag and get it into the IV or stomach tube, and the gabbing of the non-Catholics that the priest(s) (sometimes more than one celebrated) were so serene and focused. The smiles of the children when they received or simply received a blessing… the appreciation of the parents caregivers, many of whom can seldom attend Mass at all as their children cannot be left alone and medically knowledgeable caregivers are rare and expensive… it was indescribably beautiful. Sometimes, parents of children who had died would come to support the rest of us, and it was very moving to see how the ministered to others and were, in turn, ministered in their grief.

Sadly the gentleman who organized all this went to the Lord. The events were called, “Jim’s Kids.” Jim Burke attended seminary but was unable to complete his studies. A devout Catholic, he opened these events to any who needed fellowship and socialization, but they were always preceded by a Mass. He was a saint to all of us.

And I think those events were what changed my hearts about Mass. Quiet and reverent is wonderful, yes. But the point of the Mass, its powerful healing and transforming qualities are not related to noise or disruption or poor music. Not for me, not anymore.

A most beautiful Catholic post. Thank you for your uplifting words.

 

[Elizium23]

We have a new Archbishop, and I think he may have been taken by surprise at the sight of the gigantic puppet of the Cathedral’s patron saint that is sometimes used when processing during the Cathedral Masses. I did not attend the installation Mass nor any of the Masses where the puppet was used. I have only seen photos. Our new Archbishop may not have said anything about the use of the puppet at the time, but I hope that he is seriously thinking about how to eliminate it’s use in the future.

Actually, gigantes y cabezudos are a time-honored tradition from Spain, which is the location of Santiago de Compostela, the premier pilgrimage spot for those with a devotion to St. James. So if I were you, I would not be so hasty to destroy something that you don’t understand, just because it is foreign to American culture.

 

[SecretGarden]

I wasn’t there so I can’t judge but I think you also need to give the bishop some slack. He is afterall human and is bound to make a mistake or two. Granted his timing is bad but who knows what was going on before he came so he couldn’t prepare. As for clapping during the songs, up here if we sing a praise and worship or anything that has a bit of a good beat during the mass, we will clap to it. It’s what we do.

Conferences are not always the best places to have masses because something is bound to happen. In this case it really did. Bad masses are going to happen no matter where you go so enjoy when you get a good one because if you want to talk about bad masses, how about going to a Christmas mass for the first time as an exploring christian, not yet Catholic and have the homily be about the importance of not being a John the Baptist because you don’t want to get your head chopped off. Now that is one for the record book.

 

[Corki]

I gather that they use this 18ft. puppet primarily for the Feast of St. James.
stjames-cathedral.org/Events/2010/picnic.htm

Actually, gigantes y cabezudos are a time-honored tradition from Spain, which is the location of Santiago de Compostela, the premier pilgrimage spot for those with a devotion to St. James. So if I were you, I would not be so hasty to destroy something that you don’t understand, just because it is foreign to American culture.

I was wondering about that. I think there is a similar custom on Italy on some feasts but the puppets are on long sticks IIRC.

I think they are a beautiful expression of some of the cultural treasures of the Church but I could understand that if they started to be used at every Mass (line up behind the processional cross) it might be problematic.

 

[inmaddfox]

Perhaps these “changes” have been there all along and its you that has changed. If you have in any way tried to deepen your journey into the Catholic faith, the things you found unsettling at this conference may have always been there, just that now you are more enlightened or sensitive to what takes place. God may be asking you to continue to further strengthen your faith, you may be on a different part of the journey than the rest of the young people that were at the conference.

You could bring the issues up to the Bishop, but I still think having a mass in a conference setting is always extremely chaotic and disorganized to a certain extent and some of what you have issues with can not be resolved easily.

I would say that the Bishop isn’t going to come in there and be the heavy. I would think that the people that organized the conferance would quiet things down in preperation for Mass. Young people are not stupid, they know they need to settle down for Mass. They might need to be nuged like “come on guys”, These folks wouldn’t be at a Youth conferance if they didn’t know what Mass is all about. The part about music from Journey being played, that’s the organtzers fault.

 

[zab]

Actually, gigantes y cabezudos are a time-honored tradition from Spain, which is the location of Santiago de Compostela, the premier pilgrimage spot for those with a devotion to St. James. So if I were you, I would not be so hasty to destroy something that you don’t understand, just because it is foreign to American culture.

Thanks for that information. I wasn’t aware of that. I seldom attend Mass at the cathedral but the photos that I have seen of various cultural celebrations at the cathedral are very colorful and beautiful but I sometimes wonder about the appropriateness of cultural dress, music and dance at these Masses. I’ll leave that up to the bishop to determine it’s appropriateness. He seems like a wonderful, faithful shepherd and I have no reason to doubt his leadership.

 

[zab]

I would say that the Bishop isn’t going to come in there and be the heavy. I would think that the people that organized the conferance would quiet things down in preperation for Mass. Young people are not stupid, they know they need to settle down for Mass. They might need to be nuged like “come on guys”, These folks wouldn’t be at a Youth conferance if they didn’t know what Mass is all about. The part about music from Journey being played, that’s the organtzers fault.

I agree.