D
Debra_C
Guest
We are having a Parish Mission this week. Smething I usually look forward to, because often the guest speaker has a new or different perspective on things, and it can be really helpful.
I went to the daily Mass this morning which was being celebrated by our guest priest. He announced that since he would be giving a short mission talk after the Mass that he would dispense with the homily. I thought, odd, but I can live with that I suppose. He made some introductory comments about the feast day of Josophat (sp?) and his martyrdom. No problem there.
Then he began the Penitential Rite… which was then blended into more teaching about Josophat… which was, almost like an afterthought, turned into a prayer about sins against the Church’s unity, which dumped straight into the kyrie. This seemed like a bit of a train wreck, but I got over it pretty quickly.
Soon it came time for the Gospel reading, which he interupted three times to explain what he was reading to the point that it was actually difficult to tell where the reading began/ended and his words began. At this point I found myself praying the Divine Praises silently to myself rather than listening to anything else he said, because it just seemed so disrespectful to the Word of God. Then, just as he said, he skipped the homily and jumped straight to the prayers (though it seemed to me that he’d actually skipped the Gospel reading and given the homily without it).
Next came the Eucharistic Prayer. The Epiclesis was normal-- the words of Consecration went as always… then, just as he was coming to the last section of the Eucharistic Prayer, he interupts himself again to explain that at this point we always pray for our dead. He went on for some bit. At this point I couldn’t take anymore. I picked up my purse and quietly excused myself, as if making an emergency exit for the restroom. As the door closed behind me, he was starting to suggest that the congregation join in saying some traditional (albeit completely misplaced stuck into the Mass at this point) prayers for the dead before closing with the Doxology.
I am in shock. Of course, it was a valid Mass-- the Consecration took place. Yet somehow it resembled a free for all Communion service instead… What do I do? Was I right to leave? Should I have staid? Do I ignore it? Do I go back as if nothing is amiss tomorrow morning? Do I talk to this priest about my problem with this? Or my pastor?
I just don’t get why a priest would skip the homily only to cut apart the liturgy and insert it where it doesn’t belong in scattered pieces throughout the Mass. This makes no sense to me. It made everything disjointed and hard to follow. It all but ripped me out of my mode of prayer. There are a lot of odd little things that go on at my parish, most of which can be written off to attendees not getting what we are doing at Mass to begin with. But this was beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed before. Yet, I feel somehow disobedient in allowing myself to get upset and walking out. No one else did so, after all, and being that this was part of the mission, there were far more people in attendance than usual.
Fortunately there will be another Mass later, and one of our own priests will celebrate it. But I find myself wondering if I need to go to Confession first.
Needless to say, I am quite confused at this point.
I went to the daily Mass this morning which was being celebrated by our guest priest. He announced that since he would be giving a short mission talk after the Mass that he would dispense with the homily. I thought, odd, but I can live with that I suppose. He made some introductory comments about the feast day of Josophat (sp?) and his martyrdom. No problem there.
Then he began the Penitential Rite… which was then blended into more teaching about Josophat… which was, almost like an afterthought, turned into a prayer about sins against the Church’s unity, which dumped straight into the kyrie. This seemed like a bit of a train wreck, but I got over it pretty quickly.
Soon it came time for the Gospel reading, which he interupted three times to explain what he was reading to the point that it was actually difficult to tell where the reading began/ended and his words began. At this point I found myself praying the Divine Praises silently to myself rather than listening to anything else he said, because it just seemed so disrespectful to the Word of God. Then, just as he said, he skipped the homily and jumped straight to the prayers (though it seemed to me that he’d actually skipped the Gospel reading and given the homily without it).
Next came the Eucharistic Prayer. The Epiclesis was normal-- the words of Consecration went as always… then, just as he was coming to the last section of the Eucharistic Prayer, he interupts himself again to explain that at this point we always pray for our dead. He went on for some bit. At this point I couldn’t take anymore. I picked up my purse and quietly excused myself, as if making an emergency exit for the restroom. As the door closed behind me, he was starting to suggest that the congregation join in saying some traditional (albeit completely misplaced stuck into the Mass at this point) prayers for the dead before closing with the Doxology.
I am in shock. Of course, it was a valid Mass-- the Consecration took place. Yet somehow it resembled a free for all Communion service instead… What do I do? Was I right to leave? Should I have staid? Do I ignore it? Do I go back as if nothing is amiss tomorrow morning? Do I talk to this priest about my problem with this? Or my pastor?
I just don’t get why a priest would skip the homily only to cut apart the liturgy and insert it where it doesn’t belong in scattered pieces throughout the Mass. This makes no sense to me. It made everything disjointed and hard to follow. It all but ripped me out of my mode of prayer. There are a lot of odd little things that go on at my parish, most of which can be written off to attendees not getting what we are doing at Mass to begin with. But this was beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed before. Yet, I feel somehow disobedient in allowing myself to get upset and walking out. No one else did so, after all, and being that this was part of the mission, there were far more people in attendance than usual.
Fortunately there will be another Mass later, and one of our own priests will celebrate it. But I find myself wondering if I need to go to Confession first.
Needless to say, I am quite confused at this point.
, and you let yourself be distracted from Him by other stuff.
