Requesting Help in Las Vegas

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AliciaMarie

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Hello everyone! I am so happy I found this forum, as I’m in need of some help from any fellow Las Vegas Catholics that may be here. This post may be a little long, but I would greatly appreciate any advice, so thank you in advance.

I was baptised Catholic, made my First Communion, and went to Church regularly until I was about 13. (I am now 23) Unfortunately I grew apart from the Church and, after much soul searching, I have decided my rightful place is with Catholicism. I’ve grown so much in regards to my spirituality in the past ten years and have come to appreciate the beauty of my faith.

That being said, the Church I attended from birth to teen was a traditional Catholic Church in upstate NY. The masses were solemn and respectful and the atmosphere gave a feeling of truly worshiping God and Christ. It’s what I’m used to, and what I love. Since I have decided to come back to Catholicism I’ve been searching for a Church in Las Vegas with the same type of traditional worship and atmosphere and haven’t had much luck. My husband needs to make his First Communion (he was baptised Catholic) and we both need to make our Confirmations, as well as have our marriage validated in the Catholic Church. However, we are both extremely uncomfortable doing all of this, as well as regularly attending mass, in churches we feel uncomfortable in. Let me elaborate:

Of the Catholic Churches we’ve attended, the only word I can use to describe how I felt about the mass is “disrespectful.” There was SO MUCH SINGING! And, along with that singing, was a band! WHY? (I do NOT go to Church for entertainment!) Also, there were no pews, just chairs, and no kneelers. Nobody kneeled throughout the ENTIRE mass. In one of the Churches, when it came time for Communion, I was told by the person sitting next to me that I didn’t have to go to Confession to receive…all I had to do was ask God to forgive my sins and that was that. :confused: Well, having not been a practicing Catholic or been to Church in 10 years I felt it would be gravely disrespectful of me to receive Communion without going to Confession, having a serious discussion with a Priest about my fall from my faith, and doing what the Priest advised for penance.

Where is the solemnity I love and remember? Where is the beautiful architecture I remember from Churches? Where are the beautiful statues, paintings, and stained glass windows? The “modernness” that I see makes me want to cry. This is where I need help. If any Las Vegans know of a traditional Roman Catholic Church that is the complete opposite of what I have experienced I would be so grateful for your recommendations. I’ve found two Churches that claim to be traditional, but, according to one Church web site I found, they are not Roman Catholic Churches under the Las Vegas Diocese. (I’m not sure what that means exactly so an explanation of that would be appreciated as well).

One more thing, I mean absolutely no offense in anything I have written about these modern Catholic Churches. If you attend them and/or enjoy them then that’s fine for you…it’s none of my business. I just happen to not enjoy that and prefer the traditional atmosphere I was brought up in and would like to continue worshiping in.

Thank you all for your time and any help/advice you may have. God Bless. 🙂
 
Hello Alicia Maria,
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                    Your story reflects the beauty of God's mercy and is profound.  I know what you mean. As a convert I must say all the irreverent Masses and immoral behavior (by those who sadly are unaware of God's love and the dignity He gives them) turned me away from the Church for a number of years. I believe that the majority of the youth are lost through poor catechesis and horrendous spiritual formation. The Tridentine Mass was an important factor in in conversion. Enough about that.
Here is a link. I believe it is only for Tridentine Masses and that all the places listed have the necessary faculties (important as SSPX priests do not possess the necessary faculties to perform valid marrriages, confessions, or confirmations unless in danger of death).

web2.airmail.net/carlsch/MaterDei/churches.htm#nevada

There is a church listed that is in the Las Vegas diocese. It seems okay but I have never been there. While I love the Mass I feel the Tridentine is the better suited than the current form of the NO to draw one closer to the mystery that is God. Whatever parish you do join be careful not to get caught up in parish politics (it happens all over is rarely spiritually beneficial). Also just because a priest celebrates the Tridentine does not mean that he is can offer sound spiritual guidence. If the parish community is sound it might also help to ask others on advice who to approach for confession and guidance for your situation. Both are from my personal experience and have proven helpful.

My parish priest also says that one’s prayer for their own salvation is infallibly efficacious since God wishes it and then our will is united with God’s. It would help to pray that often especially as you face difficulty finding a place to sink roots and grow spiritually.

I hope this helps. Please continue in God’s path as you never know whos life He will touch through yours. A life lived in holiness is more priceless than the the most beautiful piece of art. God bless both of you.

Ps: What was the parish in upstate NY you mentioned? Just curious as I live in the area.
 
Thank you so much for your reply and advice, Sed libera nos, and thank you for the link. 🙂
Ps: What was the parish in upstate NY you mentioned? Just curious as I live in the area.
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St. Therese Chapel outside of Saratoga Springs.
 
You are very welcome. That is funny. I went to Saratoga Catholic School for senior year. I don’t know where St Therese’s chapel is though (then again I wasn’t a Catholic at that time). I attended St Peter’s in Troy until it was closed a few months ago. It was a beautiful church.

You asked “according to one Church web site I found, they are not Roman Catholic Churches under the Las Vegas Diocese. (I’m not sure what that means exactly so an explanation of that would be appreciated as well).” That probably means they are SSPX or a variant or sedevacantis.

While I greatly sympathize with the SSPX their status is irregular. They lack the proper faculities as mentioned earlier and have some other issues. If only for issues of conscience I would avoid them. The route of caution is best where conscience is concerned when there is no clear direction. Aside from that while the Mass they offer is valid the marriage, etc isn’t since they can’t do that without the permission of the Holy Father or the local bishop and to date none of them have it. Thankfully the Holy Father and some of their leaders are working on coming to a reconciliation- hopefully soon. Until then… Avoid the sedevacantis. They are further off than the SSPX and have some serious issues. As you probably guess they don’t possess faculties either.

Here is a links to Father Zs website on this topic. He is an excellent priest and is willing to answer any questions you may have,
wdtprs.com/blog/2009/07/quaeruntur-sspx-questions/

Don’t worry about mentioning the beauty, etc of the traditional architecture. Beauty objectively exists. Some people think that any criticism of the peripheral aspects of the Church are sinful, etc. They are not. Healthy criticism is fine when it states out obvious contradictions between periperal things and the mission/ identity of the Church contradict. If our desire is that these things (architecture,certain aspects of the liturgy, etc) be more truly conformed to the Divine purpose of the Church it is good. Objectively the problem with modern architecture is that it does not grasp or express the mission/ purpose of the Church and substitutes something else for it. My opinion of the NO is that the designer (Bugnini and his council) did not truly grasp the purpose of the Mass. This lead to its banal celebration and total misunderstanding of it on the part of many who are not informed by a traditional Catholic mindset. Many people forget that part of the liturgy’s purpose is to catechise. The Tridentine (if you understand it,using a missal,etc) does it much better than the NO. The NO is not as explicit, clear (despite the english translation) and is less dignified in its approach to God. This affects how we view God. People forget we can critique the outword form of the Mass (ie phrases, rubrics) but never the essence. The essence of the Tridentine, NO and all other rites are the same. The Holy Sacrifice is the same. Those who say that no criticism is valid forget that th Vatican itself is asking the US conference of Bishops to do a more faithful/ dignified translation. They also forget that some were lobbying for the Mass in the vernacular in the 60s. It is illogical to say that to criticize the NO is sinful and say it was okay to critique the Tridentine in the 60s. Those who say it was sinful to change forget that the Tridentine was altered in many ways since Trent. It also had local variations (differed slightly- but not substantially). It is best to take the middle ground as both extremes present a Gordian knot (and are not helpful).

The purpose of beauty in the liturgy is to draw us to God. So many on both sides forget that. Also some Tridentine communities become obessed with the form and lose sight of the purpose of the liturgy. Always guard charity. I know a priest (who is a liturgist I beleive) who had a Tridentine devotee critcize him for not following the rubrics to the letter. What that person failed to notice was in that church it was impossible to do it with the proper dignity befitting the celebration of Holy Mass. Not even all churches built in the 1800s were even up to “rubrical standards.”

As far as singing the Holy Day Mass is supposed to a high Mass according to liturgical documents. Singing is important to that. Sadly many people are not aware of that. Such a Mass has moments of intense silence but also dignified music- fitting for worship of God (ie Gregorian chant). I can personally testify that Chant (in latin helps- historical connection to the ancient Church) does aid prayer and adds to the transcendence. No, what commonly called worship music has no place in the Mass (though it may in non liturgical settings).

Hope it isn’t too long. I just wanted to advise you of some of the issues I have been warned about/ come across. There are special areas to be careful in when you follow this route. From my experience so far the best advice to follow is moderation in all but holieness, faith , love and hope. All else will pass away and it to be used to draw closer to God. I can’t empasize this enough as there can be much dissension in some circles and they will attempt to draw you in. While they may mean well they forget our purpose in life is to know and love God. Everything in our life should be molded to that and all that works against it should be eliminated.

I truly hope this helps. Your story is inspiring- it is amazing how God draws us to His love and how patient and merciful He is. It truly gives meaning and purpose to one’s life. I would greatly appreciate any prayers and you can be sure both of you will be in mine. God bless.
 
I know of a couple other forum members from Vegas, hopefully they post, because I am of no help at all. As a matter of fact, I would LOVE to find a traditional service, but so far haven’t found anything (except one connected with SPPX). My church is exactly what you don’t want. I didn’t know any different, and attend St. Thomas More to become Catholic, but I KNOW you would not like it.

Are you in North or South Las Vegas? Big area… that one link to a church that offered the TLM once a month - it is deifnitely a haul there, and my husband would have a cow.

Time to go to bed, I’ll check in tomorrow.
 
Of the Catholic Churches we’ve attended, the only word I can use to describe how I felt about the mass is “disrespectful.” There was SO MUCH SINGING!
**Aren’t you aware that the Missa Solemnis, sung throughout, is supposed to be the NORM of Eucharistic worship? Low masses that are simply recited without singing are merely a tolerated accomodation to human weakness and not having enough singers and ministers.

There are two parishes of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys located in Las Vegas. Have you tried them?**
 
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