Thanks Lazerlike42. Are there specifics in the Liturgy that I should watch out for? I haven’t attended a mass yet, and I’m not sure I’ll catch the subtleties you allude.
I’m going to assume you’ll be attending an Ordinary Form Mass, because that’s what the vast majority of them are.
For starters, is there anything that very clearly does not seem like the sort of thing that belongs in church? For example, people dressed up like clowns or in some other sort of costume? Is there dancing going on? If there is anything that seems really goofy, that’s not the parish for you.
Once the Mass starts, does the priest dress in all of the vestments? Basically what you are looking for is that the priest looks something like
this, rather than something like
this. In the second picture the priest is not wearing the chasuble, which is that overcoat sortof thing. He shouldn’t just be wearing the stole - the thing that hangs over the shoulders.
Do the priest and others involved walk respectfully down the aisle at the beginning of the Mass, carrying a cross and perhaps a book, or do they rush in, or act weird in some way? The priest might be singing, which is ok.
Does the priest kiss the altar? He should.
Does the priest or a deacon begin the Mass with a long, drawn out message about the day that almost sounds like a mini-sermon? He really shouldn’t. Many good priests at good parishes will certainly say something here, or mention the importance of the feast that is celebrated that day or something, but it shouldn’t seem like you’re hearing a sermon or something.
Whenever the priest or any of the other people working about the altar walk in front of it, do theye bow to it? Do they genuflect to the tabernacle when walking by it? They should.
Does the priest refer to
sin in the opening part of the Mass, where everyone says “Lord have mercy,” or does he instead talk about “our failures,” or “our mistakes” or whatnot? He should be either telling you to ask forgiveness for your sins, call to mind your sins, or begin the Confetior prayer, which starts “I confess to almighty God…”
This can be a hard one to judge, but does the priest seem to be trying to pray to God when he says the prayers, or does he seem to be talking to the crowd, perhaps using the sorts of voices one might talk to their kids with? The priest ought to be talking to God. Now like I said, this one can be hard to judge, but you might be able to get a sense of it. Another way of looking at it is, does the priest seem to be saying the Mass as if it were a show - as if he were performing - or does he seem to be praying? This is really one of the more important things I’ll mention - whether or not the priest is trying to put on a show or not.
Are the readings read respectfully, or in some goofy way? Does the reader properly refer to God as “He” or does he or she use gender inclusive langauge?
Is the homily good?
Does the priest say the full Nicene Creed, or does he substitute either a series of questions about what you believe or the Apostle’s creed instead?
Are the prayers of the faithful after the creed good ones? Do they pray for anything they shouldn’t, like greater acceptance of gay-marriage or something?
Here we get to the very important part. Everything after this point is of extreme importance compared to the rest:
Does the priest refer to sacrifice? He should ask you to pray that the sacrifice will be acceptable. If he instead prays that the “celebration” or anything else will be acceptable, then chances are this is
not the best parish.
Does the priest maintain an aura of reverancec during this time of the Mass?
Does the priest read these prayers respectfully and perhaps even solemnly, or in some… “new agey” or whatnot way?
Here is something that’s easy to look out for. When the priest picks up the host and says the “This is My body” part, what is he doing with it? The most orthodox and reverant priests will usually bend down, hold it close to their faces, and stare intently at the host as they say these words (unless perhaps the priest is too old to bend, but he will still likely look at it). Some good priests don’t go that far, but what you don’t want to see is the priest really hardly paying attention to the host, or waving it around to the people, or treating it in any way nonchalantly. This can really be a huge sign to you.
After this, does the priest genuflect (unless perhaps he is really quite old) reverently, or does he do so very rushedly, or only halfway, or even choose to bow instead or do nothing at all?
Another biggie - at least in my mind - when the priest places the host down after he has said “This is My body” and held it up, does he do so gently and reverently, or does he just plunk it down as though it were money on a store counter?
Througout this prayer, do you at least here some references do “sacrifice” or “offering?” Does the priest mention the departed in any way?
Does the priest receive Communion reverently, or as though he were eating a potato chip?
Very, very, important: does the priest at any time here start to give some kind of a mini-homily, like I described about the beginning? Does he start to talk about how wonderful the Eucharist is, or make any reference to the community other than what the prayers might say? In other words, does he at any time stop reading the prayer to God and start talking to the people in church? He absolutely shouldn’t up until he asks you to pray the Our Father and offers you the peace of the Lord. If he does, this is a very bad sign.
Is Communion distributed reverently? If Communion is distributed only by priests and deacons, this is a very good sign. If it is distributed by ONLY lay people while the priest does nothing, this is a very bad sign. Under the best of circumstances, seeing lots of lay people distribute Communion would be a bad sign, but as it is, even the good parishes do this often times.
Is the Mass ended reverently, with a blessing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit?
These are some things to look for.
Peace and God bless
