How to know if a Church is Orthodox enough

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Hello, I have yet to choose a church for confirmation, however I am hoping to get one that is not wacky or liberal. I would like a traditional as possible. How do I find one that is like this?
 
I think if you find a parish where Holy Eucharist is received kneeling at a communion rail, most everything else will probably fall into place.

The sacrament of Confirmation is conferred by your Bishop though, and may or may not take place in your parish. I attend a very traditional parish, but I was sent to a more modern parish for the ceremony when I was Confirmed.
 
I think if you find a parish where Holy Eucharist is received kneeling at a communion rail, most everything else will probably fall into place.

The sacrament of Confirmation is conferred by your Bishop though, and may or may not take place in your parish. I attend a very traditional parish, but I was sent to a more modern parish for the ceremony when I was Confirmed.
Yes, that is what I am looking for a parish that is very traditional. So kneeling should be an obvious give-away.
 
Look at church bulletins and look for these buzzwords: (Mostly available online)
  • Adoration (perpetual adoration is a good tip off)
  • Information about pro-life events
  • Frequent Confessions offered
  • Any Latin, Tridentine, or Extraordinary Forms of Mass offered
  • Information about public, private devotions (a rosary group before Mass, "meet at the ____'s house for such and such Novena, Chaplet of Divine Mercy prayed at three o clock in parish hall, etc)
Then visit the Churches, look for:
  • Statues, stained glass, and Icons
  • Kneelers
  • A crucifix at or near the altar
  • The placement of the Tabernacle
  • Holy Water fonts with Holy Water in them
If you see a communion rail, hear Gregorian Chant, or can catch the whiff of Incense still lingering on the air, sign up now.

Finally, attend Mass. Look for:
  • Proper vestements, gestures, phraising, etc.
  • A respectable “Sign of Peace”. This means the people greet the others in their immediate vicinity. The priest stays in the Sanctuary. If anyone crosses an aisle or runs up and down the aisle, remain for the rest of Mass and look elsewhere.
  • Proper, respectable music
  • A priest or deacon giving the homily. If a woman speaks, look elsewhere.
  • Listen to the Homily and make sure it’s orthodox.
  • If people kneel for Communion, sign up now.
  • If women are wearing veils, that’s a good sign.
If at any time the congregation surrounds the altar to ‘co-consecrate’, run, flinging Holy Water over your shoulder.
If you see anyone swaying as they carry bowls of incense, especially if they’re in leotards, run and apply Holy Water liberally over shoulder. Full out Liturgical Dancing requires the calling of your Diocese’s Exorcist.
If the priest advocates “Gay Marriage”, abortion, contraception, or puts heavy emphasis on “The Spirit of Vatican II” and or “One’s personal concsience,” run.

Finally, make sure this is a Catholic Church in Union with Pope Benedict the 16th, under the jurisdiction of your local Bishop.

That should do it! 😛
 
Look at church bulletins and look for these buzzwords: (Mostly available online)
Thank You so much
Any Latin, Tridentine, or Extraordinary Forms of Mass offered
I thought the Latin rite was not allowed any more?
The placement of the Tabernacle
Whats the good placement?
If anyone crosses an aisle or runs up and down the aisle, remain for the rest of Mass and look elsewhere.
What do you mean?
Listen to the Homily and make sure it’s orthodox.
What do you mean?
If at any time the congregation surrounds the altar to ‘co-consecrate’,
Not sure what this is.
If you see anyone swaying as they carry bowls of incense, especially if they’re in leotards
What do you mean?
 
I found one so far that has:

Parish A
  • Adoration
  • Rosary
  • Saturday Confession 9:00am - 10am
Parish B
  • Pro-Life
  • Adoration
  • Confession 6:30pm Thursday or 2:30 - 3:30pm Saturday
Some say who the pastor is. Is that the same thing as a priest?
 
Do you think it would say on a website where to see if it has Gregorian Chant. I really love the sound of that.
 
The Latin Mass is perfectly fine…not only is it allowed, the Pope encourages Bishops and Priests to make it avalable.
 
The Latin Mass is perfectly fine…not only is it allowed, the Pope encourages Bishops and Priests to make it avalable.
I can’t find any that have the Latin Rite. Does the Latin Rite have Gregorian Chat?
 
It may not be avalable in your area (yet) but it is allowed. It usually has gregorian chant, yes…
 
I can’t find any that have the Latin Rite. Does the Latin Rite have Gregorian Chat?
Most Catholic Churches that you will encounter will be part of the Latin Rite (usually called the Roman Rite). There are other Rites in the Church (used by the Eastern Catholic Churches).

The Roman Rite of Mass has 2 forms:
  • the Ordinary Form (sometimes called the Novus Ordo Mass, or the Mass of Pope Paul VI, of the Mass of Vatican II, or Mass according to the 1970 Roman Missal)
can be said in Latin (which is relatively rare) or just about any other language

-the Extraordinary Form (sometimes called the Traditional Latin Mass, the Mass of Pope St. Pius V, the Mass of Blessed Pope John XXIII, or Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal)

said only in Latin

-There are other Forms of the Roman Rite and other Eastern and Western Rites in the Church but these are rare.

If a parish just gives Mass times then chances are it is the Ordinary Form of Mass (Novus Ordo). This is the Mass used in most Catholic Churches.

If the Mass times include the term “Traditional Latin Mass” then it is the Extraordinary Form. You are more likely to hear Gregorian Chant at these Masses but you can find it in the Ordinary Form Masses as well.

James
 
I found one so far that has:

Parish A
  • Adoration
  • Rosary
  • Saturday Confession 9:00am - 10am
Parish B
  • Pro-Life
  • Adoration
  • Confession 6:30pm Thursday or 2:30 - 3:30pm Saturday
Some say who the pastor is. Is that the same thing as a priest?
Both of these Parishes sound good. Yes, the Pastor is the Priest - it just means that he is the “head” Priest :).
I can’t find any that have the Latin Rite. Does the Latin Rite have Gregorian Chat?
First, Latin Rite does not mean anything about the Mass itself;) it means the Latin part of Holy Mother Church (someone else can explain it better). What you are referring to is Mass in Latin or the Tridentine Mass now called the Extraordinary Form (EF) as opposed to the Ordinary Form (OF) aka Novus Ordo.

And yes, the EF can have Gregorian Chant but not necessarily. The OF can too.

Brenda V.
 
Any Latin, Tridentine, or Extraordinary Forms of Mass offered
I thought the Latin rite was not allowed any more?

It is allowed, even encouraged, by The Pope. Not many parishes offer it yet, but if you find one that does, that’s usually a good sign of orthoodxy.
The placement of the Tabernacle
Whats the good placement?

On the altar, behind the altar, in a side chapel (that it still large enough to hold a fair amount of people), or off one side of the High Altar. Basically, it needs to be visible. You should be able to spot the Vigil Light with a brief glance around. Some churches ‘hide’ the tabernacle in a small back room, in another room besides the main church, etc. and that is usually not a good sign.
If anyone crosses an aisle or runs up and down the aisle, remain for the rest of Mass and look elsewhere.
What do you mean?

In some churches the Sign of Peace becomes a free for all where the Priest leaves the Sanctuary (Altar area) to greet parishoners, people spend five minutes or more saying hello, how are your kids, I didn’t see you here last time, etc. The kids are running up and down the aisles trying to find their friends, people are getting out of the pews to cross the aisle and greet other people, etc. This is generally a sign of a ‘people-centered-fellowship’ parish rather than a “Christ-centered-worship parish”. All of this is good when it’s done at the coffee and donuts meeting after Mass in the Parish Hall. The middle of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not the time for this.
Listen to the Homily and make sure it’s orthodox.
What do you mean?

The priest doesn’t say that somethign is Ok when the Church teaches it’s a sin, the Priest doesn’t speak of abortion, contraception, or gay marriage as ‘personal choices’. He doesn’t condemn the rosary, the Latin Mass*, adoration, or other traditional Catholic practices. He doesn’t say something like “All paths lead to God” and doesn’t emphasize Social Work at the exception of prayer, sacrifice, and Mass. In fact, if he mentions any of the Sacraments it should be in glowing terms, and never described as Old Fashioned.

*Note, He may say he doesn’t believe many people want the Latin Mass, may say he doesn’t understand it, may say he’s uncomfortable giving it, etc. These are just concerns he has, and may be valid ones. If he says it’s “Medievel” or “Archaic” or that it’s a step backwards or “irrelevant” that’s something more serious.
If at any time the congregation surrounds the altar to ‘co-consecrate’,
Not sure what this is.

Some priest will have a group of lay people come up and gather around the altar. They may stretch out their hands, hold hands, etc. and all say the Consecration prayer. This is strictly forbidden and horrible theology.

The only lay people you should see in the Sanctuary are Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (or altar servers, who are really young children usually), and they won’t enter the sanctuary until just as the priest starts the prayer of consecration. Then they should just stand in the background, hands clasped and silent, until they’re brought forward to help distribute Communion.
If you see anyone swaying as they carry bowls of incense, especially if they’re in leotards
What do you mean?

If you see this:

youtube.com/watch?v=7aLLsJa9xYY
youtube.com/watch?v=4jfREgBhayg&feature=related
youtube.com/watch?v=jk8pvqcAtzE

RUN!

Note, that last one is making fun of Liturgical Dancing, and it’s a montage of different dancers, but it’s still something that shouldn’t be done at Mass.
 
Just checked. Even the main parish of my Archdiocese doesn’t have any Traditional Latin Masses. Maybe I will send an email to my Archbishop. It seems a bit odd that none would have it.
 
Just checked. Even the main parish of my Archdiocese doesn’t have any Traditional Latin Masses. Maybe I will send an email to my Archbishop. It seems a bit odd that none would have it.
If you don’t mind saying which Archdiocese you are in then maybe someone can help you out. It it probably likely that someone on the forums lives in the same area as you.

James
 
If you don’t mind saying which Archdiocese you are in then maybe someone can help you out. It it probably likely that someone on the forums lives in the same area as you.

James
uhhhhhhhh sorry call me paranoid, but thats just the way I am.
 
uhhhhhhhh sorry call me paranoid, but thats just the way I am.
It is completely understandable.

With me I wouldn’t mind giving my address, my telephone number, and maybe even my social security number. If someone wants to steal my identity bad enough then they are welcome to it. 😃

I just thought it might be a good way to help you find a parish. Other than that you probably have the right idea - contact the diocese.

James
 
It is completely understandable.

With me I wouldn’t mind giving my address, my telephone number, and maybe even my social security number. If someone wants to steal my identity bad enough then they are welcome to it. 😃

I just thought it might be a good way to help you find a parish. Other than that you probably have the right idea - contact the diocese.

James
I think so, I’m just going to ask them whats a good parish for my needs. It would be so much easier if they just kept the Traditional Latin Mass.
 
I think so, I’m just going to ask them whats a good parish for my needs. It would be so much easier if they just kept the Traditional Latin Mass.
Ordinarily you are expected to attend the parish that is closest to you home, so don’t be surprised if you are not only advised to do this, but possibly told that is your only option.

Find a church that was built before 1960, and then go inside and see if the communion rail is still there.

Here’s a couple of very traditional parishes in Houston, the first is my parish:

Holy Rosary

Annuciation

The art inside the church will tell you a lot about the parish. You’re really not going to know until you attend mass. I was told I could not become a registered parishioner at my church unless I had been attending there for three months, and even then I had to have permission from the pastor, because I did not live in the immediate vicinity of my parish. Speaking of the church in my neighborhood, they do still have their communion rail (I’ve never seen it used for communion though), it’s a stunningly beautiful church built more than 100 years ago. But the music is certainly not traditional, and the sign of peace is a free for all wander about the entire building. I hate to sit in judgment of them (I’m certain it’s a very loving community), but it’s just not what I would consider traditional, now that I’ve been spoiled by the very holy Dominican priests at Holy Rosary!

Keep in mind we are one church, and you might be told that when you call asking about how individual parishes celebrate the mass.
 
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