Teaching Mass

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cherbieg

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I recently attended a very wonderful event held at our parish, A Teaching Mass. It was roughly 2 hours long and the priest went through everything from vestments, to pillars, to as much explanation of what the symbolism is in the mass as the time allowed. Since then I have been looking for something just as complete in a DVD format but haven’t had much success. The one DVD I found, The Catholic Mass Revealed looked ok but when I watched the preview it was not as detailed as the actual Teaching Mass I attended. I would love to share this with my family and friends and to have a copy as our children grow. If anyone has any links or ideas please share!
 
I don’t understand the deal with these teaching Masses. Why not just teach, then have a Mass? Or have a Mass, then teach after? There’s honestly no reason why we should interrupt to teach about the Mass.
 
SonCatcher said:
While not a DVD, my parish had a teaching Mass a few years ago and has posted it on their YouTube Channel.
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youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-H8PNwJwkGU#t=300s
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-H8PNwJwkGU#t=500s
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-H8PNwJwkGU#t=752s

Gosh, he could at least start by wearing the stole in the right place under the chausable (first link), and not ad lib the prayers of the Mass (second). Then listen on: he just openly admits that he finds nothing wrong with simply making up his own collects (3rd).

What a mess. And they haven’t even started the first reading yet.
 
superamazingman said:
I don’t understand the deal with these teaching Masses. Why not just teach, then have a Mass? Or have a Mass, then teach after? There’s honestly no reason why we should interrupt to teach about the Mass.
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Your students learn more if you teach as you do. They get verbal, visual, and physical reinforcement to what is being taught them. When I was training some of my guys on how to properly assault and clear a building I taught as we assaulted and cleared the building (a very slow pace). After that it was a simple matter of repeating the exercise at an increasing pace (with corrections when needed) until they could do it on their own at combat speed. Teaching as you do it is much more effective for long term retention of the lesson than the “learn than do” method.
 
oldcatholicguy said:
Your students learn more if you teach as you do. They get verbal, visual, and physical reinforcement to what is being taught them. When I was training some of my guys on how to properly assault and clear a building I taught as we assaulted and cleared the building (a very slow pace). After that it was a simple matter of repeating the exercise at an increasing pace (with corrections when needed) until they could do it on their own at combat speed. Teaching as you do it is much more effective for long term retention of the lesson than the “learn than do” method.
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That’s all fine and dandy, but the Mass isn’t a classroom. Anyways, most people who would go to a teaching Mass will have been to Mass many times before, so it’s not like there’s any great loss in teaching about the Mass beforehand. It’s not as if they won’t know what you’re talking about as the priest talks them through the Mass and explains it.
 
superamazingman said:
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-H8PNwJwkGU#t=300s
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-H8PNwJwkGU#t=500s
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-H8PNwJwkGU#t=752s

Gosh, he could at least start by wearing the stole in the right place under the chausable (first link), and not ad lib the prayers of the Mass (second). Then listen on: he just openly admits that he finds nothing wrong with simply making up his own collects (3rd).

What a mess. And they haven’t even started the first reading yet.
Click to expand...
When I used to be in charge of arms rooms inspections I always told the armors to have coffee and donuts for the division and corps inspectors in order to start off on the right foot with the inspectors. I told them this because an inspector in a bad mood or with an axe to grind can always find something to point out as a violation of the regs if he looks long and hard enough. Your above post indicates to me that you don’t like coffee or donuts.
 
superamazingman said:
That’s all fine and dandy, but the Mass isn’t a classroom. Anyways, most people who would go to a teaching Mass will have been to Mass many times before, so it’s not like there’s any great loss in teaching about the Mass beforehand. It’s not as if they won’t know what you’re talking about as the priest talks them through the Mass and explains it.
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Got it. I won’t bother trying to hold a conversation with someone who obviously does not like teaching Masses and has no intention of actually discussing the issue. Have a good night.
 
oldcatholicguy said:
When I used to be in charge of arms rooms inspections I always told the armors to have coffee and donuts for the division and corps inspectors in order to start off on the right foot with the inspectors. I told them this because an inspector in a bad mood or with an axe to grind can always find something to point out as a violation of the regs if he looks long and hard enough. Your above post indicates to me that you don’t like coffee or donuts.
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And I won’t bother with someone who doesn’t care about obedience in the small things to Christ, who gave his authority to holy mother church.

The point is, the church has said quite clearly that the liturgy is not ours to tinker with or modify, no matter the reason. When that priest was ordained, he promised obedience.

It doesn’t matter if it’s small. It doesn’t matter if we think it’s more pastoral to change the greeting or the opening prayer. you just don’t do it.
 
superamazingman said:
And I won’t bother with someone who doesn’t care about obedience in the small things to Christ, who gave his authority to holy mother church.

The point is, the church has said quite clearly that the liturgy is not ours to tinker with or modify, no matter the reason. When that priest was ordained, he promised obedience.

It doesn’t matter if it’s small. It doesn’t matter if we think it’s more pastoral to change the greeting or the opening prayer. you just don’t do it.
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Yet, you have not shown that a teaching mass violates what the Church allows. What you have done, though, is to ignore obedience in the small things by questioning total strangers commitment to their faith with “someone who doesn’t care about obedience in the small things to Christ” (the strangers being myself and the Fathers being discussed in this thread).
 
oldcatholicguy said:
Yet, you have not shown that a teaching mass violates what the Church allows. What you have done, though, is to ignore obedience in the small things by questioning total strangers commitment to their faith with “someone who doesn’t care about obedience in the small things to Christ” (the strangers being myself and the Fathers being discussed in this thread).
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There’s two issues here:

1) the priest’s personal disobedience to the rubrics laid down in the missal
As I mentioned above, in just the first part of the Mass, the priest wore his stole incorrectly (over his chausable), changed the wording of the greeting, and said there’s nothing wrong with changing the opening prayer (and it sounds like he may have done it, although I can’t confirm it, because I don’t have the text handy). All these things are explicitly forbidden by the church. There was all that, and I didn’t even get to the first reading.

2) the addition of commentary (the teaching part)
Redemptonis Sacramentum makes quite clear:
[Priests] ought not to detract from the profound meaning of their own ministry by corrupting the liturgical celebration either through alteration or omission, or through arbitrary additions.
The allowance to add the “teaching” parts to the Mass is not in the liturgical books (to my knowledge. If you think otherwise, cite chapter and verse!). On that grounds alone, it should not happen. By doing so, they are corrupting the celebration of the Mass. That’s the church’s words, not mine!

The liturgy is not the personal property of the priest, and it is never his place to add, remove, or change things in the liturgy. Paragraph 24 of the GIRM echos this:
However, the priest will remember that he is the servant of the Sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass.
 
Not that I haven’t heard the term Teaching Mass but I am sure such mass should not be for the general public who want to fulfill their obligation. It is more of a private mass that can be said during a retreat or a seminar with similar theme.

The mass should not be turned into a teaching session about the mass. If the parish considers that the parishioners are not well catechized about the mass, it can be taught in a separate session of its own outside the mass. The recent briefing about the GIRM shows that it has to be done outside the mass.
 
The Pastor of my daughter’s parish did teachings on the Mass during the homilies during the six weeks of Lent one year. Since this was going to extend the length of the Mass, he did announce this previously so people would be prepared or choose to attend another parish. They also videotaped them and put them on the parish website. They are very good. It was enormously popular and the church remained packed for Lent–these people really wanted to learn.

He also did this with the Rosary the next year. He taught them how to say the Rosary and taught all the mysteries. It too, was very popular.

My daughter said he was appalled at the lack of basic Catholic education in the parish and decided to teach his parishioners himself. He calls it the Parish Lenten Penance.

This parish is one of the most engaged parishes I have ever been to–they are amazing.
 
superamazingman said:
And I won’t bother with someone who doesn’t care about obedience in the small things to Christ, who gave his authority to holy mother church.

The point is, the church has said quite clearly that the liturgy is not ours to tinker with or modify, no matter the reason. When that priest was ordained, he promised obedience.

It doesn’t matter if it’s small. It doesn’t matter if we think it’s more pastoral to change the greeting or the opening prayer. you just don’t do it.
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You’re totally right. The small things are what is most important…having said that, I believe you are supposed to capitalize the H, M, and C in Holy Mother Church. 😃
 
CB_Catholic said:
The Pastor of my daughter’s parish did teachings on the Mass during the homilies during the six weeks of Lent one year. Since this was going to extend the length of the Mass, he did announce this previously so people would be prepared or choose to attend another parish. They also videotaped them and put them on the parish website. They are very good. It was enormously popular and the church remained packed for Lent–these people really wanted to learn.

He also did this with the Rosary the next year. He taught them how to say the Rosary and taught all the mysteries. It too, was very popular.

My daughter said he was appalled at the lack of basic Catholic education in the parish and decided to teach his parishioners himself. He calls it the Parish Lenten Penance.

This parish is one of the most engaged parishes I have ever been to–they are amazing.
Click to expand...
👍

Great story and a wonderful example!
 
Thank you for the link. I am deeply saddened by the tone my simple question brought on in other posts. The teaching mass I attended was not to fulfill the Sabbath or was it during a normal mass time. I was simply a way to expand our knowledge of our faith. Unfortunately I know many people of my age group (20 and 30’s) had very little to no real education in the Catholic Faith/Catechism. It was as though we fell through a gaping whole in the faith education department. My own parents admit now that had they know how little was being taught to us at the Catholic school we attended and in our CCD classes on our actual faith they would have tried even harder to incorporate more actual teaching into our household. That being said I am ecstatic to see how many parishes are embracing our Year of Faith and incorporating different and new events into their regular schedules to educate all of the parishioners.
 
cherbieg said:
Thank you for the link. I am deeply saddened by the tone my simple question brought on in other posts. The teaching mass I attended was not to fulfill the Sabbath or was it during a normal mass time. I was simply a way to expand our knowledge of our faith. Unfortunately I know many people of my age group (20 and 30’s) had very little to no real education in the Catholic Faith/Catechism. It was as though we fell through a gaping whole in the faith education department. My own parents admit now that had they know how little was being taught to us at the Catholic school we attended and in our CCD classes on our actual faith they would have tried even harder to incorporate more actual teaching into our household. That being said I am ecstatic to see how many parishes are embracing our Year of Faith and incorporating different and new events into their regular schedules to educate all of the parishioners.
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It’s not your fault if your honest question led to lack of charity from others. Unfortunately, it seems to happen way too frequently on this board. It’s just a product of human emotion, passion, pride, etc. Obviously, that passion probably needs to be channeled a little differently and humility placed before pride…but none of us have reached perfection yet 😊.

Having said that, I thank you for starting the thread because I was unfamiliar with the subject and I have learned something as a result.
 
superamazingman said:
And I won’t bother with someone who doesn’t care about obedience in the small things to Christ, who gave his authority to holy mother church.

The point is, the church has said quite clearly that the liturgy is not ours to tinker with or modify, no matter the reason. When that priest was ordained, he promised obedience.

It doesn’t matter if it’s small. It doesn’t matter if we think it’s more pastoral to change the greeting or the opening prayer. you just don’t do it.
Click to expand...
I agree. But what I find interesting through ALL the “small disobediences” youll find (I will goes as far to say most people) will defend them.

The big question is WHY?

A few examples… Not kneeling during consecration seems some lectors,choir, and extra ordinary Eucharistic ministers think they are exempt from doing this.Holding hands during the Our Father. alter girls (you have to admit they look rather silly dressed like a priest). orans posture, blessing the children during comminion. Thunderous applause.extra ordinary Eucharistic ministers at every single mass.Where is the alter rails? they were NEVER to have been removed.Why in the instructions of ordinary mass is it noted for the priest to turn and face the people three times?..etc

If you try to follow the GIRM youll go against the grain of what everyone else is doing.

And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall defile the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the continual sacrifice, and they shall place there the abomination unto desolation. [32] And such as deal wickedly against the covenant shall deceitfully dissemble
 
CB_Catholic said:
The Pastor of my daughter’s parish did teachings on the Mass during the homilies during the six weeks of Lent one year. Since this was going to extend the length of the Mass, he did announce this previously so people would be prepared or choose to attend another parish. They also videotaped them and put them on the parish website. They are very good. It was enormously popular and the church remained packed for Lent–these people really wanted to learn.

He also did this with the Rosary the next year. He taught them how to say the Rosary and taught all the mysteries. It too, was very popular.

My daughter said he was appalled at the lack of basic Catholic education in the parish and decided to teach his parishioners himself. He calls it the Parish Lenten Penance.

This parish is one of the most engaged parishes I have ever been to–they are amazing.
Click to expand...
I am glad that has worked very well and sort of turn the parish around. The Pastor seems to make drastic action for the needs of the parish. I couldn’t disagree with that as it fits the local situation.

My general comment is that the mass is catering for the general public, knowing that our Church is always very big where the congregation is made up of varieties of Catholics. Of course not all local churches are the same in composition and outlook.

Ours for example is a very big cathedral where many masses are said during the weekend. In this situation to introduce a teaching mass would surely be met with indignation from certain quarters especially if it has to extend the length to up to two hours. Then there is time constrain to be considered as the next mass has to start on time. Perhaps that is the consideration a bigger church has to consider. Thus in our case, specific program is always done outside the mass.
 
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