Life Teen Mass

[VociMike]

When I was a teenager, my younger brother took up the violin. From there, I was introduced to the music of Handel, which completely blew my mind - I was in love.

Handel’s Messiah is still my favourite piece. At one point, I had all of the lyrics memorized.

And yet I wonder how many Life Teen programs have ever attempted to incorporate any of the Messiah into a liturgy.

 

[jmcrae]

And yet I wonder how many Life Teen programs have ever attempted to incorporate any of the Messiah into a liturgy.

We have no way of knowing. I know there are kids in our parish youth group who are into Messiah, though.

 

[agapewolf]

And yet I wonder how many Life Teen programs have ever attempted to incorporate any of the Messiah into a liturgy.

I keep seeing these arguments that have no basis…how many ADULT programs incorporate messiah into a liturgy? This isn’t a valid argument

 

[VociMike]

I keep seeing these arguments that have no basis…how many ADULT programs incorporate messiah into a liturgy? This isn’t a valid argument

It wasn’t an argument, it was a question. If you want to extend it to adult programs, that’s probably OT for this thread.

The point behind my question is that Life Teen seems to have a very one-dimensional idea of some cookie-cutter generic teenager, while the reality of teens (and of every age group) is so much more expansive. There’s almost a Marxian paring down of everything that it means to be a teenager to one or two supposedly universal wants or needs. It comes across as a real knee-jerk “they’re teens so this is what they must all want” attitude. Is it any wonder that so many young people, including on these forums, complain of being pandered to and talked down to?

And no, I didn’t just accuse Life Teen of being Marxist, so don’t go there.

 

[Cat]

In our city, Handel’s Messiah has been presented for 62 years by a group that originally called itself a Lutheran choir guild, but is now just called a choir union.

From the beginning, this group opened up their choir to anyone who wanted to join, and from the beginning, Catholics have been involved in the choir, as well as in the orchestra and on the organ. The various churches participating are listed in the printed program.

The choir is quite large; last year, 125 people sang.

When I was a child, my piano teacher required all of her students to attend the Messiah performance.

When I grew a little older, I joined the choir. Then we moved away for ten years, but when I came back, I joined it again. Many of the same people have been in that choir for decades; in fact, one of the women has never missed a performance. I can remember when she didn’t have gray hair.

My daughters joined the Messiah choir when they were young teenagers. They have both moved away from our city, but my younger daughter was a soloist in her college’s production of Messiah last year.

This year, I am on the Executive Board of our community’s Messiah, and yes, I am working to get more Catholics and more young people involved. The way I am doing it is through our diocescan newspaper, which was happy to promote this fine ecumenical concert. I am hoping that the publicity given to “Messiah” in the diocescan newspaper will result in many Catholics, especially Catholic young people, joining the choir. Last year, we had at least ten Catholic parishes involved. I would love to see more.

I would like to see more portions of Messiah done in Mass. I’m not exactly sure how appropriate it is, though, and it is definitely a challenge not only for the singers, but for the musicians. I think teens would be open to it–you all do know that there is a “Young Messiah,” don’t you, with a rock band and rock arrangements! I have several CDs it; a while back, a group of CCM musicians (contemporary Christian music) got together and recorded it. I actually like it. But I can’t imagine the reaction if Young Messiah arrangements were done in Mass.

And please keep in mind that Handel was not a Catholic, oh, no! So technically, those who oppose “Protestant” music in Mass would say turn up their noses at Messiah. (See the thread “Protestant hymns” in the Traditional Section of CAF.)

Music is such a sticky issue! You can see why I am glad to be just a piano player

 

[Zabby]

It wasn’t an argument, it was a question. If you want to extend it to adult programs, that’s probably OT for this thread.

The point behind my question is that Life Teen seems to have a very one-dimensional idea of some cookie-cutter generic teenager, while the reality of teens (and of every age group) is so much more expansive. There’s almost a Marxian paring down of everything that it means to be a teenager to one or two supposedly universal wants or needs. It comes across as a real knee-jerk “they’re teens so this is what they must all want” attitude. Is it any wonder that so many young people, including on these forums, complain of being pandered to and talked down to?

And no, I didn’t just accuse Life Teen of being Marxist, so don’t go there.

Well, there’s something that you have to understand about the Life Teen Mass, it’s just when you go there, you go with expectations for one specific thing. I mean it’s not just the kids who do that, it’s the adults too. If you have, even once a month, where you change it up, I know you’ll get complaints from a lot of adults in my parish. It’s actually kind of interesting about how sometimes they remind us that the Life Teen Mass isn’t just about us, it’s about everyone there and that involves the 2/3s of the congregation that are Adults.

Also, VociMike! Awesome link to the music. I really like it. It’s a good change of pace to listen too.

 

[VociMike]

Well, there’s something that you have to understand about the Life Teen Mass, it’s just when you go there, you go with expectations for one specific thing. I mean it’s not just the kids who do that, it’s the adults too. If you have, even once a month, where you change it up, I know you’ll get complaints from a lot of adults in my parish. It’s actually kind of interesting about how sometimes they remind us that the Life Teen Mass isn’t just about us, it’s about everyone there and that involves the 2/3s of the congregation that are Adults.

But why should this be the case? Why should it be assumed that teens want one liturgical style and one only? Now if they called it the Praise and Worship Mass then they are defining the style so of course they should use that style. But how does Teen = Praise and Worship and nothing else?

Teen means Teen. It doesn’t automatically mean one who likes Praise and Worship to the exclusion of anything else. Are Life Teen Masses about the teens, or are they about the style of liturgy? If they are about the style of liturgy then they should change the name. That is basic truth in labeling. But if they are about the teens, then they should treat the teens as full human beings and not cardboard cutouts. And they should rethink their assumptions about what teens want, especially in light of surveys such as this one that fly in the face of those assumptions.

(a quick summary of that article shows that Catholic teens rate “Traditional Choral” music highest, and both “Religious Easy Listening”, “Improvisatory Vocal” and “Rock and Twentieth Century Instrumental” lowest - exactly the opposite from standard Life Teen fare)

Also, VociMike! Awesome link to the music. I really like it. It’s a good change of pace to listen too.

Happy to pass it along. After all, that music is your music too.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

After going through this thread from the beginning, it appears Bro John, who opened this thread in order to share his moving experience at a Life Teen Mass, back in February, hasn’t been around since.

I wonder if he stopped going to the Life Teen Mass, or just stopped coming into this forum?

I hope its the latter.

Jim

 

[Cat]

But why should this be the case? Why should it be assumed that teens want one liturgical style and one only? Now if they called it the Praise and Worship Mass then they are defining the style so of course they should use that style. But how does Teen = Praise and Worship and nothing else?

Teen means Teen. It doesn’t automatically mean one who likes Praise and Worship to the exclusion of anything else. Are Life Teen Masses about the teens, or are they about the style of liturgy? If they are about the style of liturgy then they should change the name. That is basic truth in labeling. But if they are about the teens, then they should treat the teens as full human beings and not cardboard cutouts. And they should rethink their assumptions about what teens want, especially in light of surveys such as this one that fly in the face of those assumptions.

(a quick summary of that article shows that Catholic teens rate “Traditional Choral” music highest, and both “Religious Easy Listening”, “Improvisatory Vocal” and “Rock and Twentieth Century Instrumental” lowest - exactly the opposite from standard Life Teen fare)

Happy to pass it along. After all, that music is your music too.

“Teen means teen.”

I disagree with this statement.

I think this depends on your population of teens.

I’ve written a couple of teen novels, and one of the criticisms is that the kids in the novels are too “mature” and not typical of “real” teens. I can accept that criticism.

The reason that my characters are “mature” is that my children hung out with a very “mature” population of teenagers. They attended a private secular prep school, where many of the parents (not us) were doctors, lawyers, and corporation executives. We had several milliionaires and multi-millionaires in the school (including the child of the “Marshmallow Peeps” company owner!).

Obviously, these kids came from very privileged backgrounds. Many of them went to their cabins in the Colorado Rockies (we live in Northern Illinois) over the weekends. It was not unusual for these kids to spend the week of spring break on safari in Africa, or touring Europe. Amazing.

They were great kids and I loved them! Friendly, caring, outgoing, welcoming kids who worked their butts off to succeed in that very tough (academically) school. We were thrilled to have our kids in this group.

I drove a group of them to Ravinia once for a Stephen Sondheim show. During the drive there, the group of young teenagers very knowledgeably and enthusiastically discussed such topics as “What makes Stephen Sondheim different than other writers? Are his musicals better or worse than others?” etc. They also discussed various philosophies–the subject was far above my head.

But they included me in the discussion. I wasn’t just the mom who was acting as their personal servant. No, they were just as interested in my opinions as I was in theirs.

And it was from these kids that I created many of the teenaged characters in my novels. Some of the “unrealistic” discussions in my novels are taken verbatim from real discussions that I was part of while my kids were in school. Ha ha.

My kids also hung out at the ice skating rinks with other skaters, and although these kids are very definitely real teenagers, they have a different focus that many “typical” teenagers. The kids my girls were friends with got up at 4 in the morning and spent several hours before school at the cold ice rink, punishing their bodies. And in order to do this, they would go to bed no later than 9 P.M. every night. THAT’S not typical teen behavior.

So to get back to the statement “Teen means teen,” and the application to religion–there are many teens who have somehow managed to develop a deep spiritual life, have a mature understanding of the Catholic faith, who have an appreciation of history and liturgy, and who enjoy the ancient traditions of the Church.

But there are also many teens who have a very shallow spirituality, with only a vague or possibly even an incorrect understanding of Catholicism, who think that history is boring, liturgy is dull, and ancient traditions should be dispensed with. Some of these teens are outwardly polite and respectful to their elders, but inside, they are waiting for a chance to get out of the Catholic Church.

And sadly, there are teens who actually reject any aspect of religion. Sometimes this can be blamed on the parents, but most of the time, the parents have done everything right and the teen has chosen a different path.

So if you give your music survey to the first group of teens, of course they will put Gregorian Chant at the top of their list.

But give that same survey to the second or third group, and you may get different answers, if they even bother to fill out the survey.

Life Teen is an attempt to reach out to the second group of teenagers, and to a certain extent, the third group. The first group of faith-filled teenagers have plenty of other Mass options and many opportunities to fill their lives with traditional music (perhaps through joining community choirs such as my “Messiah” organization that i wrote of earlier).

There is no need for a Mass to reach out to them. They are already safe in the harbor.

But that second and third group are walking on the edge. Life Teen is an attempt to reach out and grasp their hands and eventually pull them in to safety, too.

Yes, it’s a Mass, but it’s also a “mission.” The fact that others enjoy the Life Teen music, especially “boomers” like me, is not important. The important thing is that those youth sponsors who use the Life Teen program have a “tool” that they can use to try to reach out to Catholic teens who otherwise might just slip away and never be found.

There are other tools, and perhaps if you are in charge of a youth outreach and given the “charge” to “bring them in” (referring to those who have lost interest in their Catholic faith), then you would perhaps choose to use one of those other tools. And IMO, if you were working with the right motive–LOVE–your tool would be just as effective in reaching out to teenagers as Life Teen. Surely you’ve read of various outreaches in the ghettos

In Harlem, an ice skating rink offers the “Figure Skating in Harlem.” Ghetto kids, mainly African American, can apply for this program, which includes classes and tutoring, and programs that help the kids stay away from gangs and drugs, to maintain good grades in school and be good citizens, and to come to the rink and skate for a few hours every week. “Stars” of the figure skating world, including Dorothy Hamill and Michelle Kwan, help to raise funds for this very worthwhile program.

Here’s a link: figureskatinginharlem.org/inside/index.html

Now many people would say, “Figure skating? For kids from the hood?!! No way!” But it works! Many of these kids are succeeding in life, using the principles that they are taught in this very worthwhile program that logically, shouldn’t work at all. It’s the love of the people who run this program that is key to its success.

So far, when it comes to Mass, the main programs that I have seen, other than a program that Sarabande discusses, are Life Teen type programs for teens. **Perhaps it’s time for the lovers of Catholic traditions to put their time and money where their heart is, and develop a Traditional Teen Mass. **

I realize that some people believe that there is no need for “special” Masses for teens. I respectfully suggest that these people don’t have a realistic appreciation of the state of teenaged culture in the U.S. today. Perhaps the population of teens that they know are part of the “reverent” group of faith-filled teens, and so they have the incorrect perception that teens don’t need anything other than a regular Mass. But as I stated at the beginning of my post, teens are NOT teens. We send missionaries to various people groups in the world, and we run those missions differently, depending on the population (e.g., a clinic in an area that has been destroyed by a natural disaster, a reading library in an area that is hungry for learning, etc.) . Our teenagers are a “mission field” that are ripe for harvest, and we need to use the proper implements for the in-gathering.

 

[VociMike]

“Teen means teen.”

I disagree with this statement.

I know what you’re trying to say, but you made a funny here.

Life Teen is an attempt to reach out to the second group of teenagers, and to a certain extent, the third group. The first group of faith-filled teenagers have plenty of other Mass options and many opportunities to fill their lives with traditional music (perhaps through joining community choirs such as my “Messiah” organization that i wrote of earlier).

There is no need for a Mass to reach out to them. They are already safe in the harbor.

But that second and third group are walking on the edge. Life Teen is an attempt to reach out and grasp their hands and eventually pull them in to safety, too.

You have stated this many times, but the Life Teen mission statement doesn’t support you:

“Life Teen is an international Catholic movement that serves the Church by providing resources and faith experiences that help lead teens closer to Christ.”

Their statement certainly doesn’t speak about only certain types of teens.

And of course, even if what you say is true, that doesn’t mean that their approach is the best approach. I still hold that it treats the targeted teens as cardboard cutouts rather than as complete persons. But the fact is, if Life Teen groups throughout the country have the same narrow view of Life Teen’s mission as you do, then they (and you) have distorted the stated mission.

 

[jmcrae]

True. There are lots of atheist teens who prefer classical music to rock or pop.

 

[snhs]

“Teen means teen.”

I disagree with this statement.

I think this depends on your population of teens…

…So to get back to the statement “Teen means teen,” and the application to religion–there are many teens who have somehow managed to develop a deep spiritual life, have a mature understanding of the Catholic faith, who have an appreciation of history and liturgy, and who enjoy the ancient traditions of the Church.

But there are also many teens who have a very shallow spirituality, with only a vague or possibly even an incorrect understanding of Catholicism, who think that history is boring, liturgy is dull, and ancient traditions should be dispensed with. Some of these teens are outwardly polite and respectful to their elders, but inside, they are waiting for a chance to get out of the Catholic Church.

And sadly, there are teens who actually reject any aspect of religion. Sometimes this can be blamed on the parents, but most of the time, the parents have done everything right and the teen has chosen a different path.

So if you give your music survey to the first group of teens, of course they will put Gregorian Chant at the top of their list.

But give that same survey to the second or third group, and you may get different answers, if they even bother to fill out the survey.

…**Perhaps it’s time for the lovers of Catholic traditions to put their time and money where their heart is, and develop a Traditional Teen Mass. **

I realize that some people believe that there is no need for “special” Masses for teens. I respectfully suggest that these people don’t have a realistic appreciation of the state of teenaged culture in the U.S. today. Perhaps the population of teens that they know are part of the “reverent” group of faith-filled teens, and so they have the incorrect perception that teens don’t need anything other than a regular Mass. But as I stated at the beginning of my post, teens are NOT teens. We send missionaries to various people groups in the world, and we run those missions differently, depending on the population (e.g., a clinic in an area that has been destroyed by a natural disaster, a reading library in an area that is hungry for learning, etc.) . Our teenagers are a “mission field” that are ripe for harvest, and we need to use the proper implements for the in-gathering.

No it doesn’t. A teenager is someone between the ages of 13 and 19, those who are within that age range are teenagers/teens.

You present the two latter situations in an unusual way. The aim of the Church should not be to cater for them in a limited way by feeding them “dreck”, but should be to nurture them and explain the Mass in such a way that they become members, in however lukewarm a way initially, of the first group.

This is why when conducting studies a random sample or control of some description is used. Now if you have a reputable study which shows that teenagers actually think that P&W music is most appropriate for Mass, or that Catholic teenagers or the unchurched favour P&W or Rock music, or some other genre then present it for consideration.

I still wonder if you’ve actually looked at that study yet. The unchurched, like Catholic and Lutheran teenagers, favour Chant ahead of other genres, they consider P&W and Contemporary Christian music among the least appropriate for Mass.

We already have one actually. It’s the same one that exists for the over 60s, 50s, 40s, 30s and 20s age groups. It’s also the same one that many of the Saints attended. Perhaps that’s why the TLM is sometimes called the Mass of the Ages?

It seems odd that you first admit that you’ve written books for teenagers which they have told you are unrealistic and now you are telling us about what teenagers want. And then when a survey is presented which actually tells you about what teenagers from various denominations prefer you try to ride roughshod over it and ignore it completely.

We do however need the proper tools. We need Priests to follow the Apostles in becoming Fishers of Men. Now can anyone think about which Seminaries are overflowing? Groups like the FSSP get record numbers, Diocese faithful to tradition such as Lincoln, NB and others outclass just about every other Diocese in Seminarians per capita. We need Nuns and Brothers both to assist in active ministry and to pray. Which orders are having great success in attracting vocations? Traditional orders, most of which have retained the habit etc, while many liberal orders are gradually dying out. We need lay people who think that it is not enough to get backsides on pews and keep teens going to Church. What we need them to do is to promote a true version of Catholicism, to show to them their heritage rather than hiding it underneath some lite version coated with a veneer of guitars and whatever music their parents might have liked to have at the Mass. If we do that they shall not come to Mass reluctantly or for other reasons such as the Music or to meet up with their mates but for the right reasons. We do not want the next generation of parents and leaders of the Church to have a “very shallow spirituality, with only a vague or possibly even an incorrect understanding of Catholicism”, which is exactly what we are going to get if we persist in promoting such hollow versions of Catholicism instead of the fullness of the Church’s teachings.

 

[marchoi]

So this might be slightly off-topic, but I still would like to ask this… I understand the concern with having praise and worship music in a liturgical setting. I think that chants and more solemn hymns are much more fitting in the context of Mass than the more “pop-music” praise and worship - be it the Catholic contemporary music (like Matt Maher - who is great, btw) or the more generic and “Protestant” music. But how about praise and worship outside of the context of Mass? Does that seem problematic to anyone? What about the more “Protestant” music, provided it doesn’t contradict Catholic teachings?

See, while I was at WYD SYD there was a concert on Friday night. It featured Matt Maher, but also Hillsong United, a mainstream Christian praise and worship band. I was somewhat split on my feelings regarding Hillsong… I mean, I liked them, and a lot of the others seemed to like them. But having a non-Catholic praise and worship group at a Catholic youth gathering? Same deal with Third Day at the FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) National Conference…

 

[VociMike]

So this might be slightly off-topic, but I still would like to ask this… I understand the concern with having praise and worship music in a liturgical setting. I think that chants and more solemn hymns are much more fitting in the context of Mass than the more “pop-music” praise and worship - be it the Catholic contemporary music (like Matt Maher - who is great, btw) or the more generic and “Protestant” music. But how about praise and worship outside of the context of Mass? Does that seem problematic to anyone? What about the more “Protestant” music, provided it doesn’t contradict Catholic teachings?

See, while I was at WYD SYD there was a concert on Friday night. It featured Matt Maher, but also Hillsong United, a mainstream Christian praise and worship band. I was somewhat split on my feelings regarding Hillsong… I mean, I liked them, and a lot of the others seemed to like them. But having a non-Catholic praise and worship group at a Catholic youth gathering? Same deal with Third Day at the FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) National Conference…

I don’t see anything wrong with having such music in a non-liturgical setting, as long as it is not heretical or morally objectionable.

But at the same time I think Catholic young people deserve in addition a concert of more traditional Catholic music, chant and polyphony. Nutrition for the soul is just like nutrition for the body - variety is good. So don’t cut off the P&W in non-liturgical settings, but don’t hide the traditional music either. It’s a big world, there’s room enough for it all.

 

[VociMike]

…We already have one actually. It’s the same one that exists for the over 60s, 50s, 40s, 30s and 20s age groups. It’s also the same one that many of the Saints attended. Perhaps that’s why the TLM is sometimes called the Mass of the Ages?

I agree with your post in general, but to suggest that the only alternative is the TLM is to march right off the cliff, IMO. Would a NO Mass celebrated the way the pope celebrates at the Vatican, or the way the Benedictines celebrate at Solesmes, not be good enough?

 

[Zabby]

I still hold that it treats the targeted teens as cardboard cutouts rather than as complete persons. But the fact is, if Life Teen groups throughout the country have the same narrow view of Life Teen’s mission as you do, then they (and you) have distorted the stated mission.

VociMike, I can agree that their choice in music in the Liturgy might treat teems like cardboard cutouts, but that doesn’t mean that they treat kids as cutouts at all the places. At least, personally, at my Life Teen group, I know that I’m more then just a nameless face that they rehash the same thing every week too, but of course, it does very from parish to parish. I get what your sayin’, but the way you said it was kind of offensive.

Also, I have a special opportunity in my parish because one of our old youth ministers now works for the national life teen organization as one of the higher up people. I know her pretty well, and she comes and holds bible study every week. Would you like me to ask her why they don’t include the sacred music in the Mass and get back to you with an official answer? It might take me a few weeks because I don’t know when I can make it to bible study next, but what do you think of that?

 

[Andrewcarey]

In my home parish, they never have a Life Teen Mass and I don’t think that they never have a Life Teen Mass in my Diocese

 

[VociMike]

VociMike, I can agree that their choice in music in the Liturgy might treat teems like cardboard cutouts, but that doesn’t mean that they treat kids as cutouts at all the places. At least, personally, at my Life Teen group, I know that I’m more then just a nameless face that they rehash the same thing every week too, but of course, it does very from parish to parish. I get what your sayin’, but the way you said it was kind of offensive.

I thought I was clear that I was talking about the one-size-fits-all liturgies that seem to be associated with Life Teen programs.

Also, I have a special opportunity in my parish because one of our old youth ministers now works for the national life teen organization as one of the higher up people. I know her pretty well, and she comes and holds bible study every week. Would you like me to ask her why they don’t include the sacred music in the Mass and get back to you with an official answer? It might take me a few weeks because I don’t know when I can make it to bible study next, but what do you think of that?

Yes, I’d be interested in their answer as to why they don’t offer a broader “sampling” of Catholic liturgy, and why in particular they avoid the music that the Church holds in special esteem, Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony. Ask why they can’t do even one Mass a month using more traditional liturgy.

Oh, and ask her why the Life Teen website hasn’t done a review of Chant: Music for the Soul, which was one of the biggest traditional Catholic music releases in quite a while. Big oversight there!

 

[snhs]

I agree with your post in general, but to suggest that the only alternative is the TLM is to march right off the cliff, IMO. Would a NO Mass celebrated the way the pope celebrates at the Vatican, or the way the Benedictines celebrate at Solesmes, not be good enough?

Yes, of course . The TLM was just an example which “Traditional Teens” have the option of going to and which is, or should be at least, available to them. I didn’t intend to imply that it was the only alternative, just one possibility. I’m also beginning to think there should be an official CA definition of ‘Traditionalist’ and ‘traditionalist’ .

 

[Skevin]

LifeTeen is offensive.

I have twice attended LifeTeen Mass with my family. We usually go to the morning Mass, but when we are unable to make it, we go to evening Mass. Having just moved to a new city, we decided to do this, unaware that at our new church, the evening Mass was LifeTeen.

Here are some of the fundamental problems that I have with LifeTeen:

-MUSIC
From beginning to end, the music was borderline sacreligious. It featured a synthesizer, several guitars, drums, and STROBE lights. There were also long intro/outro segments that appeared to serve no purpose other than to allow the musicians to show off. Ultimately, my problem with the music was the same as my problem with LifeTeen in general: it places too much emphasis on the individuals who are up there performing it and too little on the religious content.

The concert style presentation was tasteless and excluded anyone in the congregation who wasn’t already familiar with the songs, which were basically Christian rock songs. There was not one traditional hymn. The songs were all about the actual music and musicians rather than the content. At one point, they actually introduced everyone who was playing the instruments so that they could get a round of applause.

-ORDER OF THE MASS
The Order of the Mass was significantly altered, to the point where it was impossible to follow what was going on. This, to me, defeats the purpose of the Catholic church. I’ve been to Mass that was conducted in a foreign language and had a better idea of what was going on than I did in this mockery of a Church service. The final straw for me was when they changed the words to the Our Father and to the Creed so that they could fit into the cutesy lyrics and rhythm of the song. It was inexcusable.

-DANCING/HAND MOTIONS
I couldn’t contain myself from laughing out loud when people in the congregation started dancing and doing cheerleader style hand motions along with the music. I wasn’t aware that we are supposed to celebrate Mass in the form of a pep rally. I prefer to celebrate the Mass in a dignified manner, not screaming and dancing like a Protestant at a Christian rock concert.

-GATHERING OF PEOPLE IN FRONT OF THE ALTAR
Like many elements of LifeTeen Mass, the portion where the teens all gather in front of the altar for Eucharist is exclusionary and adds an element of chaos and excessive casualness to the sacrament of Holy Communion. A Mass that consists of people of all ages is not the appropriate time or place for activities that are only open to specific people. Rituals that exclude other Catholics during Mass are uncalled for and actually go against the very nature of Catholicism, which by definition means “universal,” or inclusion of everyone. It was extremely disruptive and, in true LifeTeen tradition, too heavily focused on drawing attention to certain individuals rather than putting the focus on God.

If these kids really need something like LifeTeen to appreciate the Church or take an interest in their faith, they’re missing the point.

Another big problem I have with LifeTeen is that it’s not an accurate representation of the Catholic faith as adults typically practice it. I think a lot of these kids who get accustomed to these Protestant inspired “praise band” centered worship services are going to end up leaving the Church for a Protestant faith instead of growing in their appreciation for Catholicism.

However, if they really feel the need to do this type of “worship,” (and I use the term loosely), I would prefer that they do it on their own time, as a youth group or extra-curricular activity, rather than actually devoting a Mass to it in the presence of other people, who are excluded from their activities regardless of their presence at the Mass.