Questions on Thanksgiving Mass

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anonymous1995

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I assisted at a Thanksgiving Mass (Ordinary Form) for the anniversary of the Catholic Society of students at my college. Yet, I found out something in the Mass which I am dubious of:
  1. The Eucharistic Prayer did not belong to any of the four Eucharistic Prayers I knew. The Preface was written to suit the occasion (e.g. there were phrases like ‘thank you God for your protection of our Catholic Society’)
  2. An altar girl did not wear black leather shoes
  3. The prayers after the Consecration were hugely modified and there were no commemoration of saints (which I think all four approved Eucharistic Prayers have mentioned to varying extent)
  4. The President of the Society rushed to the Altar at the end of the Mass (before the final blessing) to promote future activities. (The Cardinal frowned.)
  5. The Response Psalm was replaced by a hymn.
  6. There were only two Blibical readings.
I want to know if these are liturgical abuses. I don’t have the Ordo Missae at hand.
 
anonymous1995 said:
I assisted at a Thanksgiving Mass (Ordinary Form) for the anniversary of the Catholic Society of students at my college. Yet, I found out something in the Mass which I am dubious of:
  1. The Eucharistic Prayer did not belong to any of the four Eucharistic Prayers I knew. The Preface was written to suit the occasion (e.g. there were phrases like ‘thank you God for your protection of our Catholic Society’) There are many more Eucharistic Prayers than the 4 which appear in most missalettes.
  2. An altar girl did not wear black leather shoes There is no universal rule that altar servers have to wear black leather shoes. Different pastors have different expectations.
  3. The prayers after the Consecration were hugely modified and there were no commemoration of saints (which I think all four approved Eucharistic Prayers have mentioned to varying extent) - Again, he was probably using one of the other EPs.
  4. The President of the Society rushed to the Altar at the end of the Mass (before the final blessing) to promote future activities. (The Cardinal frowned.) That was probably not the best thing to have done, but announcements are permitted between the Prayer After Communion and the Final Blessing.
  5. The Response Psalm was replaced by a hymn. That’s not permitted.
  6. There were only two Blibical readings. Weekday Masses have only 2 reading.
I want to know if these are liturgical abuses. I don’t have the Ordo Missae at hand.
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anonymous1995 said:
I assisted at a Thanksgiving Mass (Ordinary Form) for the anniversary of the Catholic Society of students at my college. Yet, I found out something in the Mass which I am dubious of:
  1. An altar girl did not wear black leather shoes
I want to know if these are liturgical abuses. I don’t have the Ordo Missae at hand.
Click to expand...
You might want to find out more about the Mass if you really think that not wearing leather shoes is an abuse.
 
Regarding #5 - are you sure it wasn’t a psalm, just found in the hymnal? Sometimes we do this at Mass, usually because the cantor is using a different tune so it’s easier for everyone else to follow the version in the hymnal instead.
 
Phemie, regarding the Responsorial Psalm, in the US there are several options:

In the Dioceses of the United States of America, instead of the Psalm assigned in the Lectionary, there may be sung either the Responsorial Gradual from the Graduale Romanum, or the Responsorial Psalm or the Alleluia Psalm from the Graduale Simplex, as described in these books, or an antiphon and Psalm from another collection of Psalms and antiphons, including Psalms arranged in metrical form, providing that they have been approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop. Songs or hymns may not be used in place of the Responsorial Psalm.

So it would depend upon whether or not the Psalm was replaced with a legitimately approved option, or truly with a hymn or other song.
 
anonymous1995 said:
  1. An altar girl did not wear black leather shoes
Click to expand...
I would worry more about whether or not there should be girl altar servers than what kind of shoes they wear. There is nothing invalid about girl altar servers, it’s just that the position is usually seen as discerning the possibility of vocation to the priesthood.
 
GandalfilGrigio said:
I would worry more about whether or not there should be girl altar servers than what kind of shoes they wear. There is nothing invalid about girl altar servers, it’s just that the position is usually seen as discerning the possibility of vocation to the priesthood.
Click to expand...
I’m sure the current altar boys would be shocked to find this out. I have never heard this before.
 
PhiloMed said:
I’m sure the current altar boys would be shocked to find this out. I have never heard this before.
Click to expand...
I dunno, I’d say you can’t have discerned your vocation unless you’ve seriously considered all your possibilities. Being an altar boy is an excellent way (probably the best way, in fact) of seeing the priest “in action”.
 
Well, I’m even more worried that the altar servers, be them male or female, say that practices in each of their parishes are different. They don’t know what to do except standing and sitting. There was no incense that day - don’t know why.

I checked out and the hymn is a Psalm. But this just make me feel even weirder - why do they not adopt the Gradual or at least some Psalms with similar meanings with that day’s Responsorial Psalm? And why not engaging the ‘active participation’ of the crowd to sing…

As far as I checked on the Internet, the Eucharistic Prayer used that day is not seen in any of the four Eucharistic Prayers, the four EPs for Various Occasions, or the EPs for the Mass of Reconciliation. So basically it must be written with novelty.

WHAT???!!! The Holy Mass is ALWAYS, and should always be in honor of and gratitude for God the Father. This is especially so for a Thanksgiving Mass. The Mass is not merely an ‘activity’ to celebrate the establishment of the Catholic Society, and it should be a minor ‘intention’ for a Mass. Am I right?

This gives me the impression that EPs can be written by anyone for any purpose to celebrate any event - God ceases to become the limelight of Mass.

Of course I am not surprised by this as a teenager. I am an odd teenager who does not crave for excitement. I am an odd teen who does not shake hands or hug during the Sign of Peace, one who does not highly regard of joining hands during Pater Noster.

I’m not being didactic - but really Liturgy should be executed in line with the Church’s teachings. This is part of our Faith.
 
I am always frustrated when priests and devoted Catholics who lived before the Vatican II days I talked to seem to neglect liturgical abuses, be them minor or major. Not to mention my peers.

Some old Catholics just say that they enjoy the majesty and beauty of liturgy in those old days, and then say that this is a new era so liturgical localization comes first. This to me is self-contradictory. Why not preserving some good things in the past such as Chants, Latin polyphonic music and kneeling for the Holy Communion on tongue?

No one understands me.
 
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