J
jheii
Guest
I am something of a traditional Catholic. I usually attend an EF mass at our Cathedral parish. This Sunday, however, I had a friend with me who is a lapsed Catholic who wants to return to the Church. I don’t know any of the priests at the Cathedral, so I wrote an e-mail to the priest at the parish I attended growing up (he helped bring me back to the faith), and he said he was very busy but would talk to us about it at mass this weekend. That is how I ended up attending an OF mass this weekend.
Since I came home to the Church, I have been to a few OF masses. These would be described as “reverent” by most people here. People walk in, bless themselves, genuflect, sit down, and pray before mass begins. There is a procession with adult, male servers, etc. etc. Things were totally different at this “new” parish. First of all, my friend and I were shocked to walk in and find nearly everybody standing and talking, some of them right in front of the altar! The mass wasn’t even in the church, as the church is too small for all of the people who attend. Instead of in the church, the mass was held in something of an auditorium in the back, with folding chairs and pads to kneel on. All of the altar servers were young girls. Father started the mass off with “good morning.” The “choir” included a piano, guitar, and tamborine. The EMHC was not thrilled about placing the host on my tongue, and even tried holding it down in an effort to make me change my mind. All in all, not what I or my friend were expecting from a Catholic mass.
There were some positives, though. Unlike the Cathedral, it was nice to see that everyone seemed to know each other, and Father seemed to know everyone as well. They were installing confirmation students, and I couldn’t believe how many there were! Keep in mind, this is a fairly small town in rural Georgia, and there were close to thirty confirmadi. Father’s sermon was solidly orthodox and inspiring. And–in my opinion one of the biggest positives–the congregation sounded like they really meant what they said when they responded with “amen” or “and also with you,” recited the creed or the our father, etc. At the Cathedral OFs and EFs (we do something of a dialogue mass), the people just sort of mumble the responses, but here you heard serious passion in people’s voices. These were all things that I wasn’t used to experiencing at a Catholic mass.
All in all, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I really felt inspired by the sense of community that exists there. I also felt that even though many of the people weren’t reverent in the traditional sense, they really did take their faith seriously. On the other hand, there was no latin (even the OF at the cathedral uses latin for the agnus dei and the sanctus). There really weren’t any of the things that inspire me with awe and reverence (gregorian chant, incense, etc)
Am I being selfish in wanting a traditional parish? It wasn’t my intention to include this train of thought in my post, but it just now occured to me. When I go to mass, I look for the externals that fill me with awe. Shouldn’t all I leave those things to the priest and the choir director, and focus on Jesus and the other people who belong to the parish. There may be music I don’t like, but it’s still sacred because it’s being used in the context of the holy sacrifice. I’m not sure where I’m going with this anymore. I feel conflicted in a way. Keep going to this OF parish, or go back to my EF one, where everything is solemn and unapologetically Roman Catholic. I think if I go back, I’d like to go to the vigil mass or the early sunday mass, both of which are held in the church proper. That’s certainly not too much to ask for. Any thoughts? Any advice?
In Christ,
jheII
Since I came home to the Church, I have been to a few OF masses. These would be described as “reverent” by most people here. People walk in, bless themselves, genuflect, sit down, and pray before mass begins. There is a procession with adult, male servers, etc. etc. Things were totally different at this “new” parish. First of all, my friend and I were shocked to walk in and find nearly everybody standing and talking, some of them right in front of the altar! The mass wasn’t even in the church, as the church is too small for all of the people who attend. Instead of in the church, the mass was held in something of an auditorium in the back, with folding chairs and pads to kneel on. All of the altar servers were young girls. Father started the mass off with “good morning.” The “choir” included a piano, guitar, and tamborine. The EMHC was not thrilled about placing the host on my tongue, and even tried holding it down in an effort to make me change my mind. All in all, not what I or my friend were expecting from a Catholic mass.
There were some positives, though. Unlike the Cathedral, it was nice to see that everyone seemed to know each other, and Father seemed to know everyone as well. They were installing confirmation students, and I couldn’t believe how many there were! Keep in mind, this is a fairly small town in rural Georgia, and there were close to thirty confirmadi. Father’s sermon was solidly orthodox and inspiring. And–in my opinion one of the biggest positives–the congregation sounded like they really meant what they said when they responded with “amen” or “and also with you,” recited the creed or the our father, etc. At the Cathedral OFs and EFs (we do something of a dialogue mass), the people just sort of mumble the responses, but here you heard serious passion in people’s voices. These were all things that I wasn’t used to experiencing at a Catholic mass.
All in all, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I really felt inspired by the sense of community that exists there. I also felt that even though many of the people weren’t reverent in the traditional sense, they really did take their faith seriously. On the other hand, there was no latin (even the OF at the cathedral uses latin for the agnus dei and the sanctus). There really weren’t any of the things that inspire me with awe and reverence (gregorian chant, incense, etc)
Am I being selfish in wanting a traditional parish? It wasn’t my intention to include this train of thought in my post, but it just now occured to me. When I go to mass, I look for the externals that fill me with awe. Shouldn’t all I leave those things to the priest and the choir director, and focus on Jesus and the other people who belong to the parish. There may be music I don’t like, but it’s still sacred because it’s being used in the context of the holy sacrifice. I’m not sure where I’m going with this anymore. I feel conflicted in a way. Keep going to this OF parish, or go back to my EF one, where everything is solemn and unapologetically Roman Catholic. I think if I go back, I’d like to go to the vigil mass or the early sunday mass, both of which are held in the church proper. That’s certainly not too much to ask for. Any thoughts? Any advice?
In Christ,
jheII