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

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I really worry about folks who hold these kinds of positions.
It is the definition of pride, and that’s big spiritual trouble no matter how many rosarys he prays.
 
Prodigal1984 said:
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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It is very sad, but not a valid excuse.

If you know of a Latin Mass near you, you should let her know so her husband can return to mass
 
Our priest said this sort of thing is like not ‘going to a bar because you don’t like the barmaid’.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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.
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I agree with @finn, I don’t think that is really what’s going on. Sure, it’s most likely an excuse for some (if not most), but I don’t think it is for a man who prays the Rosary at home.

Personally, there is one parish near my house that I simply cannot stand attending Mass at and only go there when I have to (they have a 5PM Sunday Mass).

The reason, no matter how much I try not to let it bother me, the crazy music they play makes me sinfully mad at mass. I try so hard not to let it bother me, but I can’t help it. Sometimes, I get so bothered that I can’t receive communion.

I don’t have that kind of reaction towards the Ordinary Form, but I do have it towards some music.

If the man has that kind of sinful reaction towards the Ordinary Form, I can understand why he doesn’t go. I don’t condone it… but I understand it.

God bless
 
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phil19034 said:
If the man has that kind of sinful reaction towards the Ordinary Form, I can understand why he doesn’t go. I don’t condone it… but I understand it.
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Unless this guy lives in a very small, isolated town with one church, he could just attend mass at a different parish. “I don’t like the way they do it here” is a reason to go to a different parish, not stop attending Mass altogether.
 
LawyersGunsAndMoney said:
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phil19034:
If the man has that kind of sinful reaction towards the Ordinary Form, I can understand why he doesn’t go. I don’t condone it… but I understand it.
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Unless this guy lives in a very small, isolated town with one church, he could just attend mass at a different parish. “I don’t like the way they do it here” is a reason to go to a different parish, not stop attending Mass altogether.
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I totally agree with you. My only guess (assuming that he truly is devout) is that the entire Ordinary Form makes him sinfully mad.

When I experience a parish like that, I would avoid it. But it the entire mass in English did that to me… well, I would seek out a Latin mass. Even if I had to drive for it.

That’s why I said, “I don’t condone it” (the “it” being that fact that he’s skipping mass)
 
Poor guy. Try to find an FSSP parish or chapel near you. He’ll love it.
 
This makes me think of all of the Protestant churches and religions. They essentially left because they didn’t like something that the Catholic church said or did.

Instead of starting his own church, he simply stayed home.
 
phil19034 said:
I totally agree with you. My only guess (assuming that he truly is devout) is that the entire Ordinary Form makes him sinfully mad.
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Yeah, it’s possible. I tend to think like Bear in this one; he just doesn’t feel like going and saying the rosary is an attempt at rationalization/quieting his conscience.
 
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He is, of course, wrong to stop attending Mass. OTOH, there will also be judgement brought down on all those shepherds who have trashed the liturgy in large ways and small, and damaged or destroyed the faith of so many.
 
LisaB said:
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.
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You make it sound so simple, but in reality a Latin Mass or an Eastern Rite church is not an available option for many. I found one parish in my entire province where the EF is celebrated. I’m a two-day drive away from it. No Eastern Rite at all here. It’s still not a reason to miss Mass though.
 
Poor guy, he has succumbed to temptation. I am sure it is not as simple as just going to a Latin mass. He should read some books on the saints and see how the devil if he cant beat them, will divide and conquer. Pray for him. That’s one of the saddest things I’ve heard in ages I will pray for him too.
 
LawyersGunsAndMoney said:
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phil19034:
I totally agree with you. My only guess (assuming that he truly is devout) is that the entire Ordinary Form makes him sinfully mad.
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Yeah, it’s possible. I tend to think like Bear in this one; he just doesn’t feel like going and saying the rosary is an attempt at rationalization/quieting his conscience.
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Maybe

But, personally, I’ve never met a Catholic who prays the Rosary but doesn’t go to Mass.

This guy sounds like an “exception to the rule.”
 
We actually have an EF mass at a parish in the diocese probably about 40 minutes drive away, done by two younger priests in the diocese. They are great. And I guess one of the seminarians in the diocese who was just made a deacon is also interested in learning the EF. It’s wonderful.
I told her about this, she seemed to be open to it, but a lot of older people don’t really like change. She is involved with a lot at our parish so we’ll see.
 
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Agree it isn’t a valid excuse. But Latin Mass doesn’t exist everywhere. Perhaps you’re privileged enough to live in an area where it does exist. Frankly, for me, I didn’t even know Latin Mass was a “thing” until fairly recently because it simply wasn’t offered anywhere near where I grew up. Other liturgical styles didn’t even come to mind. It is quite likely this gentleman does not live in an area where Latin Mass exists.

Again, still not a valid excuse to skip Mass, but want to clear the air that everyone has different perspectives when it comes to liturgical style.
 
No. Just no. He’s setting himself up as his own Church, essentially, with his own over-riding authority. He’s a protestant denomination of one.
 
I don’t and can’t know his salvation. I pray that he is in the state of grace.

I can, should, and do judge the way his behavior was represented. If what the woman said is true, his attitude it silly and prideful and should be avoided.
 
A lot of the older folks who fell away or were driven away when the reforms were imposed (and many, many silently just stopped going after trying to suffer though it…) are not “plugged in” and do not realize the Mass they loved so much is still available. Please do these folks a favor, look up the closest traditional Latin Mass, and give them the time and address.

As for those folks not going to the new Mass, who are we to judge? Those times that drove them away were very confusing. They were very much like the times described by St. Basil, when he said “the better laity shun the churches as schools of impiety” (letter 92):

St. Basil
The doctrines of the Fathers are despised; apostolic traditions are set at nought; the devices of innovators are in vogue in the Churches; now men are rather contrivers of cunning systems than theologians; the wisdom of this world wins the highest prizes and has rejected the glory of the cross. Shepherds are banished, and in their places are introduced grievous wolves hurrying the flock of Christ. Houses of prayer have none to assemble in them; desert places are full of lamenting crowds. The elders lament when they compare the present with the past. The younger are yet more to be compassionated, for they do not know of what they have been deprived. All this is enough to stir the pity of men who have learned the love of Christ; but, compared with the actual state of things, words fall very far short. (Letter 90)
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Now, however, the younger do know of what we have been deprived and we need to tell the elders that what was taken from them has been justly given back (even if only in a miserly way in some dioceses).
 
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