Mass is boring?

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The question itself challenges the faithful to a greater involvement with the needed evangelization within the Church. It certainly invites many of us to pray for our own continuing conversion as well as the deepening of the spirituality with our Brothers and Sisters. The causes themselves are initially varied but suggest that there is a lack of spiritual growth within our communities. In fact, this condition actually indicates a level of immaturity which is normally prevalent among children where basic catechesis is needed. It concerns me when varying liturgical activities such as lector, usher… are engaged in order to give oneself “an activity.” It does suggest though that a Parish which experiences this situation should be challenged to have their ushers, lectors… receive ongoing catechetical and spirituality instruction, retreats, and stewardship meetings.
 
Donna P:
I didn’t like any of the answers. While they all contribute, instruction should start in the HOME! That is why I talk about our faith and the Church all the time with my girls. When at Mass, I make sure they know what is happening - Especially at the consecration!!! That is Jesus!

I talk about confession and making my soul all clean and shiny for Jesus. And then I talk about having Jesus within me after communion.

It starts in the HOME!
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I agree 100%

:clapping:
 
Donna P:
I didn’t like any of the answers. While they all contribute, instruction should start in the HOME! That is why I talk about our faith and the Church all the time with my girls. When at Mass, I make sure they know what is happening - Especially at the consecration!!! That is Jesus!

I talk about confession and making my soul all clean and shiny for Jesus. And then I talk about having Jesus within me after communion.

It starts in the HOME!
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I agree with this as well. My father use to always ask us what the most important part of the Mass was (Consecration). He told us back then we shouldn’t flinch and should be most fully focused at this point. Which brings up the second thing…

The Mass, and the homilies:

The Mass is not entertainment, it is for the unconditional worship of God. If one is bored with the Mass, then they are making their worship conditional. Expecting flaring music, clowns, liturgical dancers, and “stimulating change” to avoid sameness is making worship conditional. People are terribly mistaken if they feel they cannot fully participate unless they are serving the Mass or involved in some way within the Liturgy other than being in the pew. Participating fully in the Mass by receiving the word of God and returning words of praise and prayer is what is truly needed. We all play a role in this and it drives us to become one with the Mystical Body during the Mass.

Mass needs to follow the norms as set forth in the GIRM and in RS, among other documents available so that people may worship God fully.

The homilies need to start hitting home. My pastor recently talked about Consecration and ditto’d the words of my dad. You ought not flinch during this part of the Mass. Priests need to be more concerned with salvation than self-esteem.

I’m in a parish now where love and mercy are well balanced with sin, justice, sacrifice, and devotion. There is no resurrection without the cross.

God’s love for us is unconditional and therefore, our worship of Him should be unconditional.
 
I suppose if Mass is boring enough and we were not entertained enough we could ask for our money back! Really I don’t know where to lay the blame other than at my own feet. You see, I truly know what is happening at Mass. Have I by my actions in church added to the problem…do I chit-chat?..do I dress in a modest way?..do I spend a few moments after Mass in thanksgiving? Do I in charity let it be known that chewing gum during Mass is not allowed? Have I reminded others that we are truly at the foot of the cross? Have I reminded myself that I am at the foot of the cross?
Mike
 
I think some are boring and some are not.

It is very interesting that the church feels it has to threaten us with eternal torture to get us to attend what has been described as a wonderful and beautiful celebration.

Sometimes I think all this does is allow priests who are boring and who put nothing into the ritual or their sermon to keep their jobs and not be saying mass to an empty church. I certainly avoid them.
 
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prophetdaniel:
Who is to blame, primarly, for this way of thinking? If Mass is boring, is Mass suppose to be entertainment then? I’m asking this question because I need to decide how to approach a few co-volunteers who find Mass boring and help them get more out of Mass when they are not helping out in ministry and assist them in their faith formation.
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Maybe dancing nuns can help with the entertainment=the hussle maybe?http://www.csasisters.org/site_uploads/gallery/photo693_1.jpg
 
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patg:
I think some are boring and some are not.

It is very interesting that the church feels it has to threaten us with eternal torture to get us to attend what has been described as a wonderful and beautiful celebration.

Sometimes I think all this does is allow priests who are boring and who put nothing into the ritual or their sermon to keep their jobs and not be saying mass to an empty church. I certainly avoid them.
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at my school the priest gives homilies that pertain to us. he is a part of our community we feel.
 
I know people who decided to, as they put it, “help out the church on Sundays” so they do not feel bored. I guess this is good in some ways. I disagree with it most of the time. The problem is they only see it as “helping out” rather than serving the community so they show up when they feel like or have the time to attend Mass. What a contradiction!? They also become upset because some people do not go out of the way to greet them when they do show up.
 
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catsrus:
We live in an “entertain me NOW!” society.
Children say “I’m bored”.
Children are no longer taught that they have chores to do and are a responsible part of the family unit.
Parents “entertain” them constantly with t.v., videos, play stations, gameboys, etc. Families, in general, no longer read stories together, play board games, ride bikes, quiz each other on daily events; in general think.
All this lack produces the “I’m bored” person who sits and waits to be entertained.
Mass is no exception.

In the early 90’s, the group Nirvana sang a song, “Here we are now, entertain us!” which pretty much sums it all up.
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I agree! How could anybody be bored if they truly believe that Christ is there and we receive Him during communion? As you say, people want big-screen moniters,drums, guitars, in other words, a regular stage show. In other words, a protestant mega-church. No thanks.
 
I answered with the last choice, but in truth, “all of the above and then some” would be my preferred answer.

God commands that we set aside this time to worship him “in sacred assembly.” Instead of the seventh day, early on the apostles, and the churches they established saw the beauty of worshipping on the first day, as the Resurrection marked a new beginning. Also, the significance of “Sun” day, the day God brought forth light from the darkness (Gen 1:3), was well-suited to recall the Light of the World, the second person of the Trinity, Christ Jesus. It also clearly marked that we were now under the new and everlasting covenant…for the gentile converts, it signified that they were not converting to Judaism, but to the divinely ordained continuity of the old in the new.

The first solution is to teach the faith that has been handed down from Our Lord, through His apostles, that He is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity, in the Blessed Sacrament. Mass is no mere social obligation. What good person should not desire to be in the physical presence of the Christ, the eternal sacrifice of the new, the Lamb of God. We prepare for the Liturgy of the Eucharist by our profession of faith, and by expressing sorrow for our sins, but the Liturgy of the Word is a chance to absorb the sacred scriptures, and the Gospel in particular.

The mass is the great prayer of the Church. In order to get something out of it, you have to pray it…in your heart…not just mouth the words and go through the motions. If you understand it, and really pray it, you will not be bored, but receive the words of eternal life, and the very flesh and blood of the Lord, which is the food of eternal life.

Yes, I believe the blame for the current situation is on all of us…so we must all work to fix it.

Blessings,
jb
 
A little from all of the above would probably be correct. All to often now Mass has to compete with every other secular concern because we have allowed the faith to become less important. We have allowed the few who wanted wholescale changes to have their way. It’s our fault.

You really can’t blame people though. They have been taught that all the religion really requires is one hour a week and you can do that on Saturdays if you want. Holy Days of Obligation, whats that? Be required to do something like that? Not me bud, the Bishop says we don’t have to and I agree. I can’t be bothered like that. Anything that infringes on my personal liberty and decision making must necessarily be wrong. After all, we are whats important here, not God. We are what matters, just us and nothing more.

Thats why we we have to be entertained with jugglers, clowns ,liturgical dancers and everything else. Hand clapping, charismatic masses, puppets, Masses celebrated in the most irreverent way possible, female priests, Extraordinary Ministers running around every where, and hey, don’t like a prayer, change it!!! They’re all the same, why not use a Jewish one or maybe a verse from the Holy Koran? It’s all good. And politically correct too I might add. Just think of the ecumenical value in something like that!!!

Yes we need to be properly entertained and if the Church can’t do it, off to another. All faiths are essentially the same and all have value, right?. God won’t mind, not at all. He exists to serve us not the other way around. And don’t you forget it.

It all makes me sick to my stomach. And the worst thing is we allowed it to happen. Not only allowed, we welcomed it and we reveled in it. The Church wasn’t running things anymore, we were. More power to the people! remember that old sixties slogan? Well we got the power I guess, but we let the faith slip away. We gave it all up. We let those few who wanted wholescale changes to have their way.

The fault really lies with each of us for this sad state of affairs.
 
In my opinion, anyone who says that Mass is boring truly dosen’t
understand what happens during Mass. I would find parents at fault. My Daughter did not go to a Catholic school. She took CCD, but ultimately, I (and her Father) made sure that she fully understood what the Mass means and what actually takes place on the Altar. If you don’t know or if you do but choose not to believe what really takes place, then it could be boring .It is the parent’s responsibility, is it not? Something as important as this should not be left up to others. That’s my:twocents: .
 
So nobody thinks it could be the priest’s fault?

Interesting.

While I agree that lack of understanding about the nature of the Eucharist could be a factor, I think that if a parish has a priest who is just going through the motions and counting the days toward retirement will play a large part in the question.

It could also be a problem with the liturgist or music director. What if the choir has a repetoire of only 10 songs? What if the liturgist uses the same decorations for all liturgical seasons?
 
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cheese_sdc:
So nobody thinks it could be the priest’s fault?

Interesting.

While I agree that lack of understanding about the nature of the Eucharist could be a factor, I think that if a parish has a priest who is just going through the motions and counting the days toward retirement will play a large part in the question.

It could also be a problem with the liturgist or music director. What if the choir has a repetoire of only 10 songs? What if the liturgist uses the same decorations for all liturgical seasons?
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I don’t understand your post. “The lack of understanding about the nature of the Eucharist COULD be a factor” (my emphasis on could). How much more exciting could the very fact that Jesus humbled himself and gave himself to us in the form of the Eucharist? How could that ever be boring? How do you know if a Priest is just going through the motions? Is he saying the Mass according to the rubics?All that matters is that he is presiding at Mass properly and reverently. If he is saying the Mass properly, then what else does he need to do? Tell a joke or two? Does he have to entertain us? I don’t know what you mean, exactly. Try another Catholic Church in your area if you don’t care for the Priest. Have a problem with the music? Speak to the director. What the decorations for each liturgical season have to do with this leaves me scratching my head! We don’t have new decorations every year at my Church. Maybe some new ones could be donated? That’s easily remedied. As Catholics I feel we have been given such a gift in the Mass and The Eucharist ,and that is AWESOME, NEVER BORING!
 
The NO liturgy is choppy and noisy. Doesn’t have a sacred flow like DL or the TLM. Two thousand year church at the will of “enlightened liturgists”

“Houston, we have a problem”
 
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Lucania:
I don’t understand your post. “The lack of understanding about the nature of the Eucharist COULD be a factor” (my emphasis on could). How much more exciting could the very fact that Jesus humbled himself and gave himself to us in the form of the Eucharist? How could that ever be boring? How do you know if a Priest is just going through the motions? Is he saying the Mass according to the rubics?All that matters is that he is presiding at Mass properly and reverently. If he is saying the Mass properly, then what else does he need to do? Tell a joke or two? Does he have to entertain us? I don’t know what you mean, exactly. Try another Catholic Church in your area if you don’t care for the Priest. Have a problem with the music? Speak to the director. What the decorations for each liturgical season have to do with this leaves me scratching my head! We don’t have new decorations every year at my Church. Maybe some new ones could be donated? That’s easily remedied. As Catholics I feel we have been given such a gift in the Mass and The Eucharist ,and that is AWESOME, NEVER BORING!
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I merely find it interesting that nobody has yet entertained the idea that the problem could be the priests. The consensus appears to be that if there is a problem, it the individual parishioner’s fault, but the priest or parish administration is excused.
 
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cheese_sdc:
I merely find it interesting that nobody has yet entertained the idea that the problem could be the priests. The consensus appears to be that if there is a problem, it the individual parishioner’s fault, but the priest or parish administration is excused.
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Cheese,

I used to feel that it was the fault of the priest for not educating the people from the pulpit. I now feel that, while the clergy still has some responsibility, it is also up to us to educate our fellow Catholics. We may only have access to a few people (or families, coworkers, friends), but those of us who understand what’s going on in the Mass have to communicate it to others. I don’t have control over the priests’ homilies, but I do have control of my actions.

I went through many years of going to Mass and didn’t have a clue. As a result I was bored every week. I’m currently reading Pope John Paul II’s encyclical on the Eucharist and the information in there is so powerful that it’s mind boggling. There is no way the Mass could be boring if we truly understand what is going on. It’s pretty obvious that the average Catholic doesn’t understand what is happening at Mass. That’s where those of us who may understand more need to step in. We have a responsibility to spread the word.

God Bless,
Gary
 
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cheese_sdc:
I merely find it interesting that nobody has yet entertained the idea that the problem could be the priests. The consensus appears to be that if there is a problem, it the individual parishioner’s fault, but the priest or parish administration is excused.
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I will try to explain this.

Some people do not take an initiative to learn; relying on others to tell them. For example, “Person X” does not know why the altar cloth is green, purple, red, or white on a particular day when Mass is celebrated. Or why there is year A, B, and C. Whose responsible for this lack of knowledge? Parishes and Diocese offer refresher courses and programs on the basics of the faith. Not going and then claiming to be bored is dissapointing. Attending and seeking for an explaination is always welcomed.
 
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gez722:
Cheese,

I used to feel that it was the fault of the priest for not educating the people from the pulpit. I now feel that, while the clergy still has some responsibility, it is also up to us to educate our fellow Catholics. We may only have access to a few people (or families, coworkers, friends), but those of us who understand what’s going on in the Mass have to communicate it to others. I don’t have control over the priests’ homilies, but I do have control of my actions.

God Bless,
Gary
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I agree. The mass is not supposed to be a review of the Catechism. The mass is supposed to be the culmination of the catechism. Thus, the catechism is taught outside, and available in book form to describe all of those interesting details, such as the hundreds of pages on the Apostle´s Creed.

Aaron
 
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