OF daily, EF on Sundays-anyone else get whiplash doing this?

[Fitswimmer]

I attend a TLM on Sundays, but can’t attend the daily Mass there due to my work commitments. I do have a church less than 5 minutes from my office that holds Daily Mass at 12:10 and I’ve been attending that. I’m discovering that it’s a pretty liberal church and the difference is giving me whiplash!!

The tabernacle off to the corner in it’s own little alcove. Nobody even is aware of when the tabernacle door is open if you aren’t really watching. The priest has even started the benediction while it’s still open!! The other day during the Eucharistic Prayer, Father had people say the names of people they wanted to pray for out loud. The “regulars” all hold hands during the Our Father and raise their hands to the sky when they say “for Thine is the Kingdom”-even the Priest!! He looked like he was calling a Touchdown! I won’t even get into how fast the Consecration is done!! There’s barely time to bow your head before it’s over!

Am I doing worse harm to my soul by going to this liberal Mass at noon?

 

[homewardbound]

Thats up to you. Are you getting anything from this Mass? Do you walk away from mass everyday feeling closer to God and happy? Or do the actions of those around you prove too much a distraction?

I know the Newman Center here where I live is right up the street, but I can’t stand to go there. They do everything you described, plus their choir is so loud and all about getting attention that should be God’s. Me and my boyfriend drive over an hour away to a EF Mass on Sundays instead, and we plan to start going there daily if we can.

I’ll pray for you and this situation. Its tough.

 

[JRKH]

I attend a TLM on Sundays, but can’t attend the daily Mass there due to my work commitments. I do have a church less than 5 minutes from my office that holds Daily Mass at 12:10 and I’ve been attending that. I’m discovering that it’s a pretty liberal church and the difference is giving me whiplash!!

The tabernacle off to the corner in it’s own little alcove. Nobody even is aware of when the tabernacle door is open if you aren’t really watching. The priest has even started the benediction while it’s still open!! The other day during the Eucharistic Prayer, Father had people say the names of people they wanted to pray for out loud. The “regulars” all hold hands during the Our Father and raise their hands to the sky when they say “for Thine is the Kingdom”-even the Priest!! He looked like he was calling a Touchdown! I won’t even get into how fast the Consecration is done!! There’s barely time to bow your head before it’s over!

Am I doing worse harm to my soul by going to this liberal Mass at noon?

Of course not!! That is so long as you are concentrating on the reason you are there and not being unduly distracted by other things.

Here are some hints:

1. Place yourself up front where you are not distracted by what others are doing.
2. Sit where you can see the tabernacle, if possible.
3. Take your missal and say your prayers before and after mass.
4. Remember the parable of the wheat and the chaff.

My wife and I do the same thing as you. We attend NO during the week and TLM on Sunday. While our NO liturgy is pretty good, it can still be distracting so we follow the tips above and it makes a great difference.

God Bless

James

 

[ABiii]

Sorry… what are these terminologies and acronyms you are all referring to?

 

[JRKH]

Sorry… what are these terminologies and acronyms you are all referring to?

These would be the
OF = Ordinary form or “New Mass” also called the N.O. or Novus Ordo
EF = Extraordinary Form or Tridentine Mass also called the TLM or Traditional Latin Mass.

Hope this helps.

James

 

[Melanie01]

I found on the few occasions I have done so,extraordinarily distressing…I guess if you find it not too distracting do so… I prefer to drop into an open Church and say a rosary or similar.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Of course not!! That is so long as you are concentrating on the reason you are there and not being unduly distracted by other things.

Here are some hints:

1. Place yourself up front where you are not distracted by what others are doing.
2. Sit where you can see the tabernacle, if possible.
3. Take your missal and say your prayers before and after mass.
4. Remember the parable of the wheat and the chaff.

My wife and I do the same thing as you. We attend NO during the week and TLM on Sunday. While our NO liturgy is pretty good, it can still be distracting so we follow the tips above and it makes a great difference.

God Bless

James

Thanks for the excellent ideas. I hadn’t thought of taking my missal in, that will really help!

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

The tabernacle off to the corner in it’s own little alcove. Nobody even is aware of when the tabernacle door is open if you aren’t really watching. The priest has even started the benediction while it’s still open!! The other day during the Eucharistic Prayer, Father had people say the names of people they wanted to pray for out loud. The “regulars” all hold hands during the Our Father and raise their hands to the sky when they say “for Thine is the Kingdom”-even the Priest!! He looked like he was calling a Touchdown! I won’t even get into how fast the Consecration is done!! There’s barely time to bow your head before it’s over!

Am I doing worse harm to my soul by going to this liberal Mass at noon?

If your attitude is constantly “this is terrible, we do things so much better at St Sophia’s” then maybe it is not so good to attend that parish.
But remember it is a weekday Mass. Only a few people are there. They probably know each other very well, and are all highly committed Catholics. So the liturgy tend to evolve into an in thing. It is possible to call out names because the priest knows that there is no silly person there who will abuse it by calling out ten names or “Donald Duck” or something. They’ve adopted the habit of holding hands during the Our Father, again something that tends to be false if there is no real social connection there, but may have a kind of legitimacy if in fact they are all good friends.

I don’t think it is really desireable that liturgy goes like that, becasue it means that someone from outside, like yourself, may be uncomfortable. But it is not a gross violation either.

 

[Fitswimmer]

If your attitude is constantly “this is terrible, we do things so much better at St Sophia’s” then maybe it is not so good to attend that parish.
But remember it is a weekday Mass. Only a few people are there. They probably know each other very well, and are all highly committed Catholics. So the liturgy tend to evolve into an in thing. It is possible to call out names because the priest knows that there is no silly person there who will abuse it by calling out ten names or “Donald Duck” or something. They’ve adopted the habit of holding hands during the Our Father, again something that tends to be false if there is no real social connection there, but may have a kind of legitimacy if in fact they are all good friends.

I don’t think it is really desireable that liturgy goes like that, becasue it means that someone from outside, like yourself, may be uncomfortable. But it is not a gross violation either.

I don’t recall saying that we do things “better” at my sunday parish, only that the differences between my sunday parish and the daily mass were striking.

If the hand holding and the calling out of names has grown out of the daily mass attendees becoming a small community-then isn’t that a problem? Aren’t those behaviors sending a message to newcomers that they are “outsiders”? Could that behavior have seemed cliqueish to other newcomers and driven them away?

I have always been under the impression that the rules and rubrics of liturgy were set up for a reason-so that whatever parish you attend, the Mass would be the same. That way a Catholic will feel comfortable in ANY parish. Obviously, there will be differences between EF and OF, but all EF masses should be the same as should all OF masses. Once you know the rituals of either, you should be able to attend anywhere comfortably. We’re not Protestant.