the habitual use of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion at Mass

[Matt33]

I don’t happen to believe that if Mass is 20 minutes longer people will start dropping out in droves. But if they did then more than likely they are Catholics in name only anyway or of the type that show up only at Christmas and Easter, which is when I imagine you get you biggest crowds anyway…

I agree. In fact I think you would see MORE people in mass if it were given it’s proper respect. It’s proper function. If people saw that “this is something special” rather than herding people through as fast as we can.

 

[Matt33]

Just as with any Christian Church, we do get many more people at mass at Christmas and Easter. Here in Illinois we have much larger problems in the Catholic Church that need to be solved before we tackle EMCHs, like the Catholic Chicago mayor who is pro-abortion, Michael Phlager a priest who can not follow the orders of his bishop and invites non-Catholics to speak from the pulpit at mass, gays disrupting Easter services at the cathedral by throwing fake blood, etc. Even if only 3 or 4 % did not come to mass because of it’s length we should take on the other things first and who knows when we get the other problems fixed the EMCH thing could fix it’s self because God may give us more priests and deacons.

The Church is certainly capable of multitasking. No need to just focus on one or two problems. I think you might be suprised at the many problems that are easier to solve if you have a climate of worship and reverance that will change hearts. As evidenced in the OT when temple laws were followed good things happened in the religious community, but when it was going through the motions or things were added, then that is when people lost focus on God and ultimately couldn’t hold it together.

 

[EasterJoy]

I don’t happen to believe that if Mass is 20 minutes longer people will start dropping out in droves. But if they did then more than likely they are Catholics in name only anyway or of the type that show up only at Christmas and Easter, which is when I imagine you get you biggest crowds anyway…

Has it occurred to anybody that a 65-year-old priest doing three Masses by himself every weekend could stand a little help? (Priests retire at age 70 in our archdiocese.) I know, I know: an extra hour of liturgy every weekend shouldn’t make a difference, oh, he should be happy to make the sacrifice, should be happy to have a little flock of uber-faithful telling about how he needs to read up on how to do a liturgy properly, and oh, by the way, 65 years old, that means he was ordained just about when all the problems in this Church started!!..

Well, after 40 years in that desert, at least Purgatory won’t come as a shock.