Meaning of "A parish church is not Catholic enough"?

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dmftx

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I have never heard this before. Any ideas of how a parish church that follows Catholic practices could be described as this?
 
Another Catholic priest. Just never heard it before and it’s not like there is much give and take when it cones to following Catholic tradition.
 
I have heard similar comments regarding parishes that tend to practice liturgical abuses or those that engage in social praises (clapping for parishioners or singing “happy birthday”) during the Mass. Maybe he meant something like that?
 
My 2 cents:
When I think of “catholic” in a sentence, I think of universal.
I think of parishes who work int he world, have great outreach, programs for the disenfranchised, service opportunities int he community.
Church is more than sit, stand, don’t clap, to me.
Being Catholic means being the hands and feet of Christ.
A dynamic parish does a lot IN ADDITION to having good liturgy.
Mass first, go out and be merciful, second.

Having said that, he probably meant that they don’t have enough hours of Adoration or devotions.
 
dmftx said:
Another Catholic priest. Just never heard it before and it’s not like there is much give and take when it comes to following Catholic tradition.
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That priest’s problem is with something else.

Catholics love to tell other Catholics that some attribute of those others is “not Catholic enough”.

Whether true or not, it’s just a tic.

Why not pray, “O God may we be Catholic enough in Your eyes”, surely an excellent and wonderful prayer which He shall surely hear.

🙂
 
dmftx said:
Another Catholic priest. Just never heard it before and it’s not like there is much give and take when it cones to following Catholic tradition.
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“Another” priest? Who was the first priest? Are you saying that you are a priest? :confused:
 
It could mean different things to different people so you would have to ask the priest who said it what he meant by it.
 
Like the hand holding thing, feels protestanty to those who are not used to it. Easy to call it “not catholic enough” if I say it in this context it is more comical and personal. However some would say it with a true condemnation.
 
👍
pianistclare said:
My 2 cents:
When I think of “catholic” in a sentence, I think of universal.
I think of parishes who work int he world, have great outreach, programs for the disenfranchised, service opportunities int he community.
Church is more than sit, stand, don’t clap, to me.
Being Catholic means being the hands and feet of Christ.
A dynamic parish does a lot IN ADDITION to having good liturgy.
Mass first, go out and be merciful, second.

Having said that, he probably meant that they don’t have enough hours of Adoration or devotions.
Click to expand...
👍🙂
 
pianistclare said:
My 2 cents:
When I think of “catholic” in a sentence, I think of universal.
I think of parishes who work int he world, have great outreach, programs for the disenfranchised, service opportunities int he community.
Church is more than sit, stand, don’t clap, to me.
Being Catholic means being the hands and feet of Christ.
A dynamic parish does a lot IN ADDITION to having good liturgy.
Mass first, go out and be merciful, second.

Having said that, he probably meant that they don’t have enough hours of Adoration or devotions.
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Of course. And many of us would say that good liturgy, which is the very prayer of Christ, will and must produce such fruits by its very nature.
 
It is like saying a bowl of ice cream is not chocolate enough.

I am on staff and a parishioner at Jesuit led parish. Almost all other parishes in our area are staffed be diocesan priests. A friend of mine who used to be a parishioner at our parish but has since moved and now belongs to a neighboring parish has been heard complaining about our priests. Her parish frequently celebrates the Mass in Latin. I do not think they are more Catholic.
 
Not knowing the context of the situation, it’s impossible for me to say what they mean.

My experience when this is said is that some churches have become so liberal and watered-down in their teachings that they sadly are not fully Catholic anymore. I’ve heard of churches where the Real Presence is downplayed, the Tabernacle is not central in the Church, Reconciliation is not stressed at all, etc. It’s sad…some took so many liberties with the changes in Vatican 2 that they misinterpreted them, or get so focused on being “inclusive” and “inoffensive” they fail to teach the Catechism.

The good news is…many St.John Paul the Second Era Catholics like myself are wanting a return to the real, solid teachings of the Church. And many parishes are bringing them back.
 
ahs said:
I have heard similar comments regarding parishes that tend to practice liturgical abuses or those that engage in social praises (clapping for parishioners or singing “happy birthday”) during the Mass. Maybe he meant something like that?
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Oh yes…I’ve attended Masses like this, the celebrant and the parishioners seem to have the best of intentions, but it makes me squirm in my seat. Those things are meant for after, not during, the Liturgy.
 
I would suggest it may have something to do with factors such as music (contemporary vs traditional), type of vestments used, do they have benediction or not and finally the structure of the church building.
 
dconklin said:
It is like saying a bowl of ice cream is not chocolate enough.
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I’m not sure I understand the analogy. If a bowl of chocolate ice cream tastes like vanilla ice cream, wouldn’t this remark be justified?
veilofveronica said:
My experience when this is said is that some churches have become so liberal and watered-down in their teachings…
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I agree, but it’s important, I think, to remind ourselves that a lot of folks impose their tastes onto others, but insist they’re just imposing objectively unchangeable standards.

An example might be someone who insists that receiving Holy Communion in the hand is just not as objectively valid as receiving it on the tongue. Or those who argue that kneeling during the consecration is the only valid means of adoring God—when Eastern Catholics are standing at that moment in their Divine Liturgies. (Obviously, this second example does not justify disobedience to the Liturgical Norms of the Roman Rite. Those parishes that are disobedient wonderfully conform to your description, IMO.)
 
Here is my recent experience with this. I moved across the state I live in a couple of years ago. I started attending Mass at the parish in my community. We live in a rural state and generally there is only one Catholic parish for each community. I got involved with parish ministries and made friends. The longer I attended Mass there, the more I felt a loss of peace.

There is a sense of complacence there, that the structure or reverence of the Mass isn’t important as long as everyone is having a “good time”. The choir, which happens to be excellent, over does every song. The homilies are interactive and viewed on power point. People chat during the consecration, I guess because they don’t understand what is going on. When entering the church from the gathering space people are talking as loud as they would if they were in the parking lot.

Often the sign of peace is still going on when “Lamb of God” is over. I could go on. I prayed for months for my heart to change, to accept this type of worship. I tried but it came to a point when I felt worse after Mass than I did going in.

So I started going to Mass in the next town over. It’s about a 25 minute drive but the peace of celebrating Mass in a reverent manner is back. It was a difficult decision to leave the wonderful people of that parish but I know I made the right one for me.

I’m in no way saying the first parish is “less Catholic” than the other. They both have fine priests and celebrating Mass in the proper way.
 
I agree, but it’s important, I think, to remind ourselves that a lot of folks impose their tastes onto others, but insist they’re just imposing objectively unchangeable standards.

An example might be someone who insists that receiving Holy Communion in the hand is just not as objectively valid as receiving it on the tongue. Or those who argue that kneeling during the consecration is the only valid means of adoring God—when Eastern Catholics are standing at that moment in their Divine Liturgies. (Obviously, this second example does not justify disobedience to the Liturgical Norms of the Roman Rite. Those parishes that are disobedient wonderfully conform to your description, IMO.

Well, yes, but those are all valid according to the GIRM and our Catechism. What I mean are churches that stray far from these or take unusual liberties.
 
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