SPLIT: If I can't pray along with the Mass would I be participating?

[englishredrose]

following on this, from a Roman Catholic point of view, the fact that I can’t pray with words, does that mean I would fail to participate in the Mass? As of the person who can’t or wont sing, I really can’t pray with words and do intercessionary prayer.

I know what happens for me at the Anglican Service and the Priest is fully aware and we don’t have restrictions like you guys to but say if I was Roman Catholic, then would the priest be stopping me receiving communion because I can’t pray with words. I do the service and sometimes when that’s hard, I just immerse myself into that it happening all around. But intercessions I am a quiet bystander as such. I listen and know what I don’t want to hear. But can’t pray them. Would that be considered a sin.

No I am not catching anyone out on this. Just simply would like to know how this would really be treated by a Priest in the Roman Catholic Church.

 

[Jean_Anthony]

aaa

 

[1ke]

I don’t understand the question. Are you saying you have a speech impediment that prevents you from saying the Mass responses aloud? That is not an impediment to attending Mass or fulfilling the obligation.

The deaf, the blind, and the mute can attend Mass. I think you have a wrong understanding of what participation in the Mass means.

 

[Iron_Donkey]

following on this, from a Roman Catholic point of view, the fact that I can’t pray with words, does that mean I would fail to participate in the Mass? As of the person who can’t or wont sing, I really can’t pray with words and do intercessionary prayer.

I know what happens for me at the Anglican Service and the Priest is fully aware and we don’t have restrictions like you guys to but say if I was Roman Catholic, then would the priest be stopping me receiving communion because I can’t pray with words. I do the service and sometimes when that’s hard, I just immerse myself into that it happening all around. But intercessions I am a quiet bystander as such. I listen and know what I don’t want to hear. But can’t pray them. Would that be considered a sin.

No I am not catching anyone out on this. Just simply would like to know how this would really be treated by a Priest in the Roman Catholic Church.

Taking only the facts that you said in your OP: you want to know what the priest would do/if you would be said to participate in Mass if you were to attend Mass and say nothing out loud?

In all likelihood, even if the priest noticed, which he may or may not depending on the size of the parish (and his focus on the Mass may prevent him from noticing even in a small parish), I would guess that the chances of him denying you communion are pretty near zero, based purely on silence on your part.

As for participating in the Mass - it is certainly possible to participate in a Mass silently. As 1ke mentioned, mute people do it all the time.

 

[Ad_Orientem]

At a Latin Mass, usually the people say nothing the whole Mass. Only the altar servers give the responses. That is because the Mass is not just a prayer service but a true sacrifice. We participate primarily by uniting ourselves with the intentions of the priest in offering the sacrifice, and by offering ourselves to God in union with the sacrifice of our Lord.

At a vernacular Mass the same principles apply, but there is more expectation that the people (who are able) will also participate by vocal prayer, because it is more geared that way. If you are not comfortable with this setting you might want to try a Latin Mass.

 

[englishredrose]

I don’t understand the question. Are you saying you have a speech impediment that prevents you from saying the Mass responses aloud? That is not an impediment to attending Mass or fulfilling the obligation.

The deaf, the blind, and the mute can attend Mass. I think you have a wrong understanding of what participation in the Mass means.

I am not too sure myself if I am being honest with you.

I don’t have any speech impediment and do say the Mass responses aloud and sing and participate fully. I attend Mas - by the way am anglican if you not forgotten but just wondering from an RC point of view.

I 100% attend Mass. When am serving on the altar I am at Mass in a practical way. When I am singing in the choir I am at Mass in that focused way.

It not a dumb or a mute sense. Just that my own prayers, intercessionary prayers I never really done and shared that this more with the current priest. So I am there in body and in mind and in spirit and on hard weeks for me I am I kind of immerse myself to that I am there in that practical way. I have found my own prayer style through the priest at home and apply that in the service as such and it just simply is Being with God.

Just that with all the finger pointing about if one doesn’t sing at Mass through whatever reason then they are not fully participating… then what other reasons are considered as not fully participating. If one can be there in mind spirit and body but not verbally communicating then why does it matter if one chooses not to sing because they may be still with God?

 

[Iron_Donkey]

Just that with all the finger pointing about if one doesn’t sing at Mass through whatever reason then they are not fully participating… then what other reasons are considered as not fully participating. If one can be there in mind spirit and body but not verbally communicating then why does it matter if one chooses not to sing because they may be still with God?

I’ve never understood that sort of finger pointing myself, and I’m reasonably sure it’s not actually based on anything legitimate. I also tend to think it doesn’t matter if one sings, so long as the choice is made for real reasons one way or the other. Although there are things we’re supposed to do, and we should do them as we are able, I’ve always thought worship and Mass participation and the like was primarily an interior thing.

So far as I understand the argument, there are some people who see their singing as a important part of how they praise God, who get a lot out of it, and who seek to honor God with their music. These are the more active people who say “he who sings prays twice,” and that sort of thing.

And then there are people like me who would just as soon pray twice. Now I will sing at mass, sometimes (the actual mass parts primarily), but for me the singing part is a forced action. It is not in the least a natural way to praise God.

Occasionally members of the first group think members of the second group aren’t participating because we just aren’t as outwardly active. To be honest, I’m now mildly amused when I see this happen because it reminds me of how my mom and I tried to talk to each other when I was a teenager.

I’d be sitting on the couch having just read something interesting and being lost in thought about it, to have my rather more outgoing mom come up and say “Are you depressed? Why aren’t you doing anything? Aren’t you happy? Why don’t you call up so and so? Bowling is half off today you know, or you could go _____. You look too serious. Why are you frowning? are you angry? annoyed? what’s wrong? shouldn’t you be doing something? why are you just sitting there?”

(At which point my train of thought would go over a cliff, I’d completely forget what I was thinking about, and I’d fall back on that old teenage standby “I dunno.”)

I joke about it now, but I think some people fail to realize that some of us just operate in different ways, and so interpret more silent participation as “just sitting there,” or “not doing anything.”

Those people are wrong.

Well meaning, yes. Generally really attempting to help, yes. But in reality, when they push for more “active” participation, for some of us they are just driving a train of thought, a prayer, over a cliff without realizing it. (And of course, as a reply, they often get an “I dunno” back afterwards because often we don’t understand them either.)