How to get used to the Ordinary Form of the Mass?

[SyroMalankara]

Hi, all.

I grew up in a very traditional Byzantine Catholic Church that celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Women wore scarves on their heads, there was lots of incense and chanting in Church Slavonic, and most clergy had long beards. These are of course just small traditions that don’t necessarily mean a whole lot to our faith, but I find that the traditions that make up our heritage as Catholics, especially when it comes to showing reverence in God’s house, really shapes and effects my experience of the Church.

My forefathers lived during the harsh anti-religious regime of the USSR. I have extended family that died in labor camps or were shot in front of their families because of their faith, such as the case with an extended relative who was a Russian Orthodox priest, shot in front of his wife and children because he would not tell his congregation that God didn’t exist. Because of this persecution, the people in Eastern Europe held tight to the traditions of the Church when it went underground, and it was sticking to these traditions that the Christian lifestyle was preserves and eventually resurrected.

I live in a community (a diocese) that only offers the Ordinary Form of the Mass. Some Churches are a bit on the crazy side (the tabernacle is in the back, no one ever goes to confession, etc. You’d think they were Episcopalians!) And some are very solid and perform the Ordinary Form of the Mass, keeping things like the old statues and the like. Nothing wrong with a charismatic mass, as there is room for that in the true universality of Catholicism.

My issue here is not with the Ordinary Form of the Mass. I fully accept its validity. I’ve read the documents of Vatican II, which are so beautiful that they remind me of sacred scripture. I acknowledge that there are those on both sides of the spectrum that have gone to the point of heresy, but the Church has always had heretics.

My issue is with my own faith.

I have so much trouble in the Ordinary Form of the Mass. I have such a difficult time connecting to it. No incense, no chants or hymns (I can’t abide guitars at mass. I just can’t.) This is something I was raised with, but in the Catholic world I feel like something of a pharisee. I want to have the love that the people around me have, love for Christ in the Eucharist which transcends the language of the liturgy or anything else.

What can I do to become more used to the Ordinary Form of the Mass? My diocese has been very effected by a liberal bishop who put in some pretty liberal pastors (though I hate to use the term!) At one point he tried to take out kneelers from the Churches - imagine a Latin rite Church without kneelers!

The people around me at mass have such a ridiculous amount of faith and love for Our Lord and His Church. I was raised to almost put tradition upon the altar and worship it, or at least that seemed to be the attitude of those around me.

I tried attending the Tridentine Mass an hour away. The priests and people were very extreme right-wingers, and many of them didn’t even like the Holy Father (this parish was FSSP.) I like the TLM, but after a while the intolerance of the people around me, and the strange homilies at mass got to me, and I had to leave, because I felt myself losing that spirit of faith, hope and love.

What’s also getting at me is that I think I may have a vocation to something. I’m very much attracted to the Franciscans, and I can see why the Ordinary Form of the Mass in its simplicity and intimacy would very much fit in with Franciscan spirituality. No matter where I go, at least for the time being, I’ll probably be living my life around the Ordinary Form of the Mass. This scares me. I will be with people who love and adore our Lord and pay no mind to the changes that have been made to the mass, while my mind isn’t able to get off of the topic for too long.

Please help me. I’m not trying to sound judgmental, self-righteous or anything like that. I was just raised in a tradition that’s pretty foreign in comparison to the majority of the Church.

I’m just not sure how I can stop letting it bother me that people other than the priest and deacon distribute Holy Communion, that people receive the Eucharist in their hands, that little girls serve in the altar, etc.

How can I stop letting these things bother me? After a year of being in the Latin rite, it’s starting to really effect my spiritual health.

There are a few other options. Where do you live? Perhaps another Eastern Catholic Church is nearby, maybe even though not exactly your Sacred Tradition. Or even an Ordinariate parish?

 

[otjm]

There are a few other options. Where do you live? Perhaps another Eastern Catholic Church is nearby, maybe even though not exactly your Sacred Tradition. Or even an Ordinariate parish?

Or a monastery? I happen to have a Trappist monastery within about a half hour drive, and they use incense; I also have a Ruthenian rite parish and a Maronite rite parish about 20 to 30 minutes away, and a Benedictine abbey abut 45 minutes away…

 

[OraLabora]

Or a monastery? I happen to have a Trappist monastery within about a half hour drive, and they use incense; I also have a Ruthenian rite parish and a Maronite rite parish about 20 to 30 minutes away, and a Benedictine abbey abut 45 minutes away…

A monastery is an excellent option.

Not just on Sundays though, when there will be incense, etc. but also on an ordinary weekday. The concept of graduated solemnity is interesting and a relatively austere weekday Mass vs. a Sunday or Solemnity makes an interesting and necessary contrast to fully appreciate liturgy.

 

[Joan_M]

I would say, buy a Missal (the latest translation) and, silently reading along, follow the Mass with the Missal. This is the best way. The pros are that you will see and hear everything that is being prayed. A con can be, if the priest who celebrates the Mass is one of those who ad libs, you will find out what he should have been saying!

 

[Cat]

It wasn’t possible for St Maximillian Kolbe to have a reverent Mass in a concentration camp, so he made do with what was available. However, in our modern world, it is possible to have more reverent Masses, and I think that there’s a trend toward that, since a lot of priests and/or bishops are seeing the merit in a more reverent Mass.

Things can change. We can have hope, without giving in to despair, that the situation will improve. We can pray for it, and offer sacrifice for this end. Even if we pine and sigh for what is not yet available, it can become a means for our sanctification, if we view it correctly.

But it’s not up to us, the laypeople. We can continue to pray, yes, and we can continue to make our requests with respect for the authority of the priests and bishop. Yes, I agree, this approach can become a means of sanctification.

But there’s a balance, and we must achieve it for our mental and emotional health.

We ourselves cannot change whatever Masses are available to us. We will only become discouraged and bitter if we continue to nurture a dissatisfied and sad attitude in our ourselves.

So the best thing to do is be grateful that Jesus is Present, and keep our eyes and our hearts fixed on Him throughout any Mass that we assist at. Look for the good rather than fixating on the frustrating.

 

[Cat]

LatinByzCath, you have my deepest sympathy, affection, and love. I am in the same situation with regards to the O.F. Mass. Most of the time it is celebrated atrociously in my area. I often try to influence my somewhat-moderate pastor to use incense more often, and to sing the dialogues of the Mass. My best way of helping him make the Mass a little more reverent is to altar-serve with him. He is slowly coming around to a more “traditional” way.

The best way you can get used to the O.F. Mass is to memorize it. One great advantage of it is its paucity of words and simplicity of manner. To keep all of its words, actions, and responses in your heart is very easy. Once it is memorized, sit in a quieter pew out of the way of others, close your eyes, and meditate. Imagine you are surrounded by billions of angels in festal gathering, bearing incense, gold, myrrh, vestments, and holy oils. The gifts go up with the great archangel to the seraphim, who presented them to Christ and to God the Father through Him.

Sit with the Mass. Even the worst celebration of Mass can be mulled over. Ignore the external actions of others. Those who are irreverent, use guitars, or do other things we dislike should merely be offered to the Lord in our prayer. Be silent, listen, and love. If you are tempted to anger by the way Mass is celebrated, remember that the Holy Mass is the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection all at once. Offer your “little crucifixion” to God through Christ’s Eucharistic crucifixion. I assure you that every time someone sings like a hinge, He cringes a little bit with you.

Be patient… God will restore Israel…

But don’t be silent during the parts where you are supposed to join in! The responses and the hymns are meant to be done by the congregation.

You’ll get more out of the OF Mass if you do it the way it was designed by Holy Mother Church.

 

[TimothyH]

LatinByzCath, you have my deepest sympathy, affection, and love. I am in the same situation with regards to the O.F. Mass. Most of the time it is celebrated atrociously in my area. I often try to influence my somewhat-moderate pastor to use incense more often, and to sing the dialogues of the Mass. My best way of helping him make the Mass a little more reverent is to altar-serve with him. He is slowly coming around to a more “traditional” way.

The best way you can get used to the O.F. Mass is to memorize it. One great advantage of it is its paucity of words and simplicity of manner. To keep all of its words, actions, and responses in your heart is very easy. Once it is memorized, sit in a quieter pew out of the way of others, close your eyes, and meditate. Imagine you are surrounded by billions of angels in festal gathering, bearing incense, gold, myrrh, vestments, and holy oils. The gifts go up with the great archangel to the seraphim, who presented them to Christ and to God the Father through Him.

Sit with the Mass. Even the worst celebration of Mass can be mulled over. Ignore the external actions of others. Those who are irreverent, use guitars, or do other things we dislike should merely be offered to the Lord in our prayer. Be silent, listen, and love. If you are tempted to anger by the way Mass is celebrated, remember that the Holy Mass is the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection all at once. Offer your “little crucifixion” to God through Christ’s Eucharistic crucifixion. I assure you that every time someone sings like a hinge, He cringes a little bit with you.

Be patient… God will restore Israel…

It’s difficult for me to understand how the Mass, any Mass, is something to be endured and suffered through.

-Tim-

 

[johnnyc176]

Those who are irreverent, use guitars, or do other things we dislike should merely be offered to the Lord in our prayer

I realize not every parish has a Quiet or Low Mass but that would also be an option to get away from the guitars, etc. They are usually an early Mass.

firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2012/11/the-mass-of-the-very-old-men

There are a few ladies present of similar age, but this is a Mass for men who rise early and who like the opportunity for quiet prayer, the absence of music and the fluttery busyness of others.

 

[zab]

Maybe we are an exception and maybe it is rare, based on what I have heard, but it is a fact that our parish has beautiful Masses in the Ordinary form, with lots of incense (there is a Mass that one can go to without incense if they have allergy issues), chants and hymns, beautiful vestments, beautiful church surroundings (statues, vigil candles etc) no girl altar servers, the choir in the loft and no guitars. But what I have to say to the OP is that if your ancestors could suffer persecutions even to the giving of their very lives for their faith, why can you not endure a little persecution of your own? I agree with** cat , **who had a wonderful recommendation to think of what martyrs like Maximilian Kolbe had to go through (or the ancesters of OP). If that is the only Mass that is available to you within a reasonable distance, then suffer the little persecution for the love of your Lord, present at that Holy Mass.

 

[27lw]

Maybe we are an exception and maybe it is rare, based on what I have heard, but it is a fact that our parish has beautiful Masses in the Ordinary form, with lots of incense (there is a Mass that one can go to without incense if they have allergy issues), chants and hymns, beautiful vestments, beautiful church surroundings (statues, vigil candles etc) no girl altar servers, the choir in the loft and no guitars. But what I have to say to the OP is that if your ancestors could suffer persecutions even to the giving of their very lives for their faith, why can you not endure a little persecution of your own? I agree with** cat , **who had a wonderful recommendation to think of what martyrs like Maximilian Kolbe had to go through (or the ancesters of OP). If that is the only Mass that is available to you within a reasonable distance, then suffer the little persecution for the love of your Lord, present at that Holy Mass.

Hah. Persecutors are usually our formal enemy, not our own fellow parishioners. Such is life, I guess.

 

[johnnyc176]

Maybe we are an exception and maybe it is rare, based on what I have heard but it is a fact that our parish has beautiful Masses in the Ordinary form, with lots of incense (there is a Mass that one can go to without incense if they have allergy issues), chants and hymns, beautiful vestments, beautiful church surroundings (statues, vigil candles etc) no girl altar servers, the choir in the loft and no guitars. /QUOTE]

Interestingly I think what you describe is becoming more the rule than the exception in the south (USA).

 

[stavros388]

My suggestion is that you contemplate/meditate on Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament throughout the Mass. Keep your eyes off the people and the actions taking place and instead, see Jesus only.

+1

I converted from Orthodoxy, and had the opportunity to participate in the Divine Liturgy in Korean, Russian, Antiochian, Greek, Ukranian, and American parishes.

Now that I am Catholic, I participate in the OF Mass by singing all the songs a well as I can, enjoying the presence of God, and by focusing entirely on the Eucharist the entire time. I am thereby fulfilled.

Sorry if I am being redundant. I don’t have time to read all the responses here but can certainly relate to the OP.

 

[zab]

Hah. Persecutors are usually our formal enemy, not our own fellow parishioners. Such is life, I guess.

I’m thinking that the word “martyrdom” would probably have been a better choice of word, depending on exactly what the OP has had to suffer. Sometimes people do persecute you with insults, misjudgments etc. for your love of traditional ways

 

[zab]

I am in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[Denise1957]

But it’s not up to us, the laypeople. We can continue to pray, yes, and we can continue to make our requests with respect for the authority of the priests and bishop. Yes, I agree, this approach can become a means of sanctification.

But there’s a balance, and we must achieve it for our mental and emotional health.

We ourselves cannot change whatever Masses are available to us. We will only become discouraged and bitter if we continue to nurture a dissatisfied and sad attitude in our ourselves.

So the best thing to do is be grateful that Jesus is Present, and keep our eyes and our hearts fixed on Him throughout any Mass that we assist at. Look for the good rather than fixating on the frustrating.

I agree that we must find a balance for our spiritual and emotional health. But we can change the Masses that are available to us. There’s been a steady, though rather slow, increase in the number of TLM’s (EF) offered here in the U.S. over the last 15 years or so, especially since 2007 when Summorum Pontificum was released by our dear Pope Benedict.

Many of the Latin Masses (EF’s) that are now offered are due to the hard work and effort of laypersons, who were able to request Latin Masses in their dioceses. In my city, a group of dedicated trads remained faithful to the bishop and diocese, while having only a Sunday Latin Mass. After many years and prayers and requests to the bishop (they wouldn’t give up! ), the FSSP were finally invited and now there’s a daily Latin Mass, and all of the Sacraments are offered.

But yes, I agree too we must continue to focus on Jesus in the tabernacle and in Holy Eucharist, regardless of which Mass we attend.

 

[ProVobis]

I agree that we must find a balance for our spiritual and emotional health. But we can change the Masses that are available to us. There’s been a steady, though rather slow, increase in the number of TLM’s (EF) offered here in the U.S. over the last 15 years or so, especially since 2007 when Summorum Pontificum was released by our dear Pope Benedict.

Many of the Latin Masses (EF’s) that are now offered are due to the hard work and effort of laypersons, who were able to request Latin Masses in their dioceses. In my city, a group of dedicated trads remained faithful to the bishop and diocese, while having only a Sunday Latin Mass. After many years and prayers and requests to the bishop (they wouldn’t give up! ), the FSSP were finally invited and now there’s a daily Latin Mass, and all of the Sacraments are offered.

But yes, I agree too we must continue to focus on Jesus in the tabernacle and in Holy Eucharist, regardless of which Mass we attend.

Typically, though, the EF’s offered are in those parishes which are or have been on the verge of closing or merging. While I wish that every parish at least follow the Vatican II guidelines on the liturgy (Latin, chant, organ, etc.), I think realistically this will not be attained within our lifetimes as long as parishes are still “stuck in the 70’s,” an era where the “spirit of Vatican II” (among other things) prevailed. One can point to bishops and priests and what they allow but they come and go. Popes resign. But the parishes remain either to be closed or fluorish, so in the long run things fall upon the laity to set the direction.

 

[zab]

I agree that we must find a balance for our spiritual and emotional health. But we can change the Masses that are available to us. There’s been a steady, though rather slow, increase in the number of TLM’s (EF) offered here in the U.S. over the last 15 years or so, especially since 2007 when Summorum Pontificum was released by our dear Pope Benedict.

Many of the Latin Masses (EF’s) that are now offered are due to the hard work and effort of laypersons, who were able to request Latin Masses in their dioceses. In my city, a group of dedicated trads remained faithful to the bishop and diocese, while having only a Sunday Latin Mass. After many years and prayers and requests to the bishop (they wouldn’t give up! ), the FSSP were finally invited and now there’s a daily Latin Mass, and all of the Sacraments are offered.

But yes, I agree too we must continue to focus on Jesus in the tabernacle and in Holy Eucharist, regardless of which Mass we attend.

Yes, it is possible to bring about change in what is available to us. I think the core devotion of a parish plays a part in what priest the Bishop sends to pastor it. If enough people show a strong love for traditional devotion, then pastors will be sent to foster that devotion. Sometimes that takes years due to the prayers and sacrifices of a strong small core group of people. But what we are discussing is the current situation as described by the OP and how to deal with it.

 

[ProVobis]

I agree that we must find a balance for our spiritual and emotional health. But we can change the Masses that are available to us. There’s been a steady, though rather slow, increase in the number of TLM’s (EF) offered here in the U.S. over the last 15 years or so, especially since 2007 when Summorum Pontificum was released by our dear Pope Benedict.

Many of the Latin Masses (EF’s) that are now offered are due to the hard work and effort of laypersons, who were able to request Latin Masses in their dioceses. In my city, a group of dedicated trads remained faithful to the bishop and diocese, while having only a Sunday Latin Mass. After many years and prayers and requests to the bishop (they wouldn’t give up! ), the FSSP were finally invited and now there’s a daily Latin Mass, and all of the Sacraments are offered.

But yes, I agree too we must continue to focus on Jesus in the tabernacle and in Holy Eucharist, regardless of which Mass we attend.

Typically, though, the EF’s offered are in those parishes which are or have been on the verge of closing or merging. While I wish that every parish at least follow the Vatican II guidelines on the liturgy (Latin, chant, organ, etc.), I think realistically this will not be attained within our lifetimes as long as parishes remain “stuck in the 70’s,” an era where the “spirit of Vatican II” (among other things) prevailed. One can point to bishops and priests and what they allow but they come and go. Popes resign. But the parishes remain either to be closed or to fluorish, so in the long run things fall upon the laity to set the direction.

 

[Denise1957]

Yes, it is possible to bring about change in what is available to us. I think the core devotion of a parish plays a part in what priest the Bishop sends to pastor it. If enough people show a strong love for traditional devotion, then pastors will be sent to foster that devotion. Sometimes that takes years due to the prayers and sacrifices of a strong small core group of people. But what we are discussing is the current situation as described by the OP and how to deal with it.

Yes, we’re starting to go off-topic, so I’ll just mention briefly that it can indeed take years of prayers and sacrifices of a strong core group of people. But sometimes it’s also a case where the squeaky wheel gets the most grease (as in sending in a LOT of appeals to the bishop). Back to the topic at hand.

 

[zab]

Yes, we’re starting to go off-topic, so I’ll just mention briefly that it can indeed take years of prayers and sacrifices of a strong core group of people. But sometimes it’s also a case where the squeaky wheel gets the most grease (as in sending in a LOT of appeals to the bishop). Back to the topic at hand.

But would you not also agree that the “squeaky wheel” is more likely to get heard in a parish that is a little more traditional than what the OP described? So for the time being, the best one can do is pray and give good example in living their Catholic Faith.