Is not liking the reforms in the 1960s a valid reason to not go to mass?

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Prodigal1984

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I was talking to a woman at mass who goes to daily mass , she is probably in her early 80s and she always talks about her husband she has been married too since 1958 and I asked her why I never see her with him at mass( assuming maybe he is of some other Christian community or something), but the answer I got was not what I was expecting.
She told me her husband is very devout and prays the Rosary daily but that he hasn’t been to mass besides weddings and things of that nature since the early 70s because he doesn’t like the new mass and the reforms and thinks mass should be said in Latin and just doesn’t go.
Is this a valid excuse? That’s kind of sad.
 
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Of course it is not a valid excuse. It’s his attempt to convince himself that it’s okay not to go. It’s his choice - plain and simple.
 
And if there weren’t, it would still be an invalid excuse.

There are socially stigmatized people attending Mass in countries with low degrees of freedom of religion, and immigrants in various countries all over the world attending Mass in a language they don’t understand surrounded by people that speak a different language. He’s an American with easy access to worship and he’s staying home.

The decision is very unfortunate.
 
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Judging by the precipitous drop off in weekly Mass attendance since the reforms, a lot of Catholics feel the same way - perhaps the proportional majority.
 
Prodigal1984 said:
I was talking to a woman at mass who goes to daily mass , she is probably in her early 80s and she always talks about her husband she has been married too since 1958 and I asked her why I never see her with him at mass( assuming maybe he is of some other Christian community or something), but the answer I got was not what I was expecting.
She told me her husband is very devout and prays the Rosary daily but that he hasn’t been to mass besides weddings and things of that nature since the early 70s because he doesn’t like the new mass and the reforms and thinks mass should be said in Latin and just doesn’t go.
Is this a valid excuse? That’s kind of sad.
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Short answer: Nonsense!

It seems that everyone is always looking for a reason to avoid this or avoid that. How many birthdays, how many anniversaries, how many other civil events can one choose to miss and still claim they love those being celebrated and remembered?

If you love Christ, you obey Him.
 
Finn said:
Judging by the precipitous drop off in weekly Mass attendance since the reforms, a lot of Catholics feel the same way - perhaps the proportional majority.
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I think that is true. Some of the Masses said on campus that I attended had slide shows, rock music, women dancing up and down the aisles. The local Church here had a Chinese dragon snaking through the aisles at the time of the Mass and we were told that if you touch the dragon, you would get good luck. IMHO, you will not get either good luck or bad luck by touching a Chinese dragon in a Catholic Church to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Yes, it is true that there are some wonderful teachings of Confucius and of Buddha which I can respect and admire, and I don’t mind Chinese religious or cultural ceremonies in a Catholic Church during or before Mass, but I personally don’t see how touching a Chinese (puppet) dragon can give you good luck.
 
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We are obligated to attend Mass on Sunday.

We are not excused if we don’t like the way Mass is being said.
 
You often talk about “puppet Masses” and the like. I’ve never encountered such rubbish as a practicing Catholic. Rest assured that reverent, beautiful Catholic liturgy is still alive and well.
 
I feel for the man, I really do. I often think about how hard it must have been for many people when the mass was changed, and how hard it would have been to accept the changes. But, he needs to find a solution. Find a Latin Mass or even an eastern rite church in his area to fulfill the obligation to attend mass. Simply not going at all is not an option. He has to realize that if he only has one Mass option and attends despite not liking it, solely out of obedience to the Lord, the Lord will reward him for it.
 
I have heard from a few people in their 80’s where spouses have stopped attending after the reforms. The main reasons expressed by those I have spoken too was the lack of reverence within Mass and the Most Holy Eucharist. Very sad.
 
The Novus Ordo is licit. We are obligated to attend mass.
Christ is fully present in the Eucharist whether it’s a traditional mass or a new mass.
Either way, we are obligated to attend.
 
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Sounds like the husband is devout. He just isn’t a devout Catholic.

We shouldn’t judge him. We each need to find our path in this life.

His wife’s explanation is a little silly, though. Perhaps she hasn’t come to terms with the fact that he has left the religion which is still apparently so important to her.
 
I have to admit, when I find one of these people who no longer goes to Mass because they don’t like this or don’t like that about the Mass, I kind of figure they just didn’t want to be bothered going to Mass any more anyway and they found some excuse to justify not having to go.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I kind of figure they just didn’t want to be bothered going to Mass any more anyway and they found some excuse to justify not having to go.
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Not sure if that’s the reality in general though, and seems less than likely in the instance the OP references.
 
You’re hearing it from the man’s wife. She’s going to make it sound nice about her husband.
Whether true or not, it’s what she would want to believe.
 
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