Ummm.. thats not a mass!

[youngsaint]

Was this in Big Bear? I went there several summers ago…attended a daily mass and everyone went up around the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer. Did not like it and did not go back for the rest of my vacation. (Was home by Sunday)

It was! At Saint Michael church, blue roof.

 

[youngsaint]

I guess I will be the only one to say this: I think you should have honored your mother and father’s wishes, and deferred to their judgement.

I was thinking about it, but I wasn’t sure if it was sacrilegious/heretical etc. to go back it.

And they were more “requesting me” to go in, haha not dragging me in beating me with a club.

 

[youngsaint]

It seems the root cause of the problem is not enough priests especially in rural areas. Maybe if more reverence returns to the Mass, there will be more vocations. I think everyone can help with that. I do hear about positive trends like more seminarians and improvements to the translation of the Mass. In the mean time, it is helpful to read the guidelines for communion services when there is no priest available and to support the priests we have.

I’m starting to seriously concider priesthood, just so this type of stuff won’t happen.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Actually, quite a few of the Churches near me have this. It actually seems to be quite common these days. Check out the websites for the Catholic Churches in your diocese, you will likely find more have these type of services than you think. Although, I will say that this is the first I have heard of any Church using this on a Sunday in place of an actual Mass.

I’ll also say this is one more reason why I attend the Traditional Latin Mass. We don’t have ‘Communion Services’.

This service is called “Sunday service in the absence of a Priest”. It is meant to be used on a Sunday when no priest can be present for that community. It is not designed to be offered instead of daily Mass. We have no obligation to attend Mass or receive communion during the week, so if no priest is available and the faithful want to meet, it is best for them to recite the Liturgy of the Hours together.

There are many places in the world and the USA where they have a serious shortage of priests. If one priest is serving more than one parish, he often can only be at one parish per Sunday because of distance or difficulty in travel. In those cases, the Church has specifically created the “Sunday service in the absense of a Priest” for the purpose of the lay faithful coming together to hear the Word of God and receive communion (reserved for this purpose).

No it is NOT a Mass and it is not pretending to be one. The danger is that we are often very complaciant and do not understand that in rural areas especially, there is a shortage of priests. We should pray for vocation daily. And those of you who are unmarried men with no other impedients should seriously consider God is calling you to the priesthood.

 

[puzzleannie]

This morning, I went to a Catholic Church up in the Mountains. Unfortunately, the priest was who-knows-where. It was the only Catholic church in the area, and it only had one priest. I went in and started praying, as is my custom before mass. The alter servers soon came in, followed by the first reader, then by a woman dressed in an alb! When she went up to the alter, she immediately started, with the confession of sins! (I have sinned through my own fault, through my thoughts and my actions…). At this point I was really weirded out, can’t only a priest say that? I patiently sat through it, all the way through the second reading. Then the choir started singing “alleluia”; she went over, kissed the alter, picked up the gospel, and went over podium! At this point I left the church, in total disgust. I then remained outside, praying the rosary for the rest of the “mass”, despite my parents asking me to come back in. It turns out, that they were doing a community gathering or something instead of a mass.

Am I in the clear for missing mass, and did I do the right thing? I’m not quiet sure, but I would do the same had I gone back.

You were not obligated to stay. If there was no priest to say Mass, and no chance to get to another parish, you had no Mass obligation. It does not sound as if anything wrong was going on. You came into a Sunday celebration of communion in the abscence of a priest. Yes, if a deacon or religious had been available to proclaim the gospel, but any lay person who has been delegated and trained to do so can lead this service, which is NOT Mass. She did not say “confession” she led the penitential rite, as she should have. You did not stay, so you are unable to say if communion was distributed properly.

Another time it might be more prudent not to react negatively until you have proof positive that there really is a problem.

and good for you, your are right if more young men considered the priesthood these events would become uncommon, we will be praying for your vocation.

 

[Magdalena09]

And a woman should never read the Gospel in public.

Huh? In general or in formal settings?

 

[jmcrae]

So what you are saying is that we can disagree with the church if it goes against ones conscience. That opens up a can of worms.

No; they are saying that a communion service isn’t a Sunday Mass, and there is no obligation to attend one, even if there is no Mass available to attend.

If there is no Sunday Mass available, we aren’t actually “required” to do anything at all.

 

[scylla]

Communion services do not constitute worship and if you can, it is better to leave and find yourself a Mass. Nothing compares itself to the Holy Mass, though if you are in a rural area where there is no Priest available, then a communion service can be made available.

These days it is not that difficult to drive 20-30 minutes to where there is a Mass available and if not I would put a request in to the diocese that they make one available. Being that it was Big Bear, that makes it a bit more difficult, you should probably call the diocese of San Bernardino and see what they plan to make available. You are Catholic and deserve better than just a Communion service, especially these days when Priests have offered to serve in San Bernardino.

Every Diocese has the ability to allow Priests from other areas to come in and serve and if enough people request it then maybe some more would provide Priests. Or maybe, just maybe, they would be faithful, promote vocations, and fill the Seminary.

Pray and be faithful
Scylla

 

[malachi3]

It sounds like a communion service, or more precisely, Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest.

When there is no priest available there can be no Mass. There can, however, be prayers, Scripture readings, and communion.

You walked out on the opportunity to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.

Why didn’t the “presider” just announce that’s what it was?

 

[NeelyAnn]

This service is called “Sunday service in the absence of a Priest”. It is meant to be used on a Sunday when no priest can be present for that community. It is not designed to be offered instead of daily Mass. We have no obligation to attend Mass or receive communion during the week, so if no priest is available and the faithful want to meet, it is best for them to recite the Liturgy of the Hours together.

There are many places in the world and the USA where they have a serious shortage of priests. If one priest is serving more than one parish, he often can only be at one parish per Sunday because of distance or difficulty in travel. In those cases, the Church has specifically created the “Sunday service in the absense of a Priest” for the purpose of the lay faithful coming together to hear the Word of God and receive communion (reserved for this purpose).

No it is NOT a Mass and it is not pretending to be one. The danger is that we are often very complaciant and do not understand that in rural areas especially, there is a shortage of priests. We should pray for vocation daily. And those of you who are unmarried men with no other impedients should seriously consider God is calling you to the priesthood.

As I said, in my area, I havenot heard of it being used on Sunday but it is used during the week at a number of parishes. That may not be the original intent on offering these type of services but it is being used that way none-the-less.

As I already stated, I attend the TLM only and we do not use ‘Communion Services’ in place of Mass. We do have to drive nearly an hour to get to Mass but we are accustomed to that and we do it willingly.

 

[puzzleannie]

Communion services do not constitute worship and if you can, it is better to leave and find yourself a Mass. l
Scylla

uh, yes, communion services properly conducted by authorized persons, under the proper conditions are indeed Catholic worship. What they are not is Mass. If there is no opportunity to attend Mass, there is no obligation to do so.

 

[puzzleannie]

Why didn’t the “presider” just announce that’s what it was?

we don’t know what the presider announced because OP left early. evidently judging by what his parents told him later, yes some announcement was made which he misunderstood to be a “community” service. from the context it also sounds as if OP was not driving, and that furthermore the family was in an unfamiliar area and so there was not any opportunity to find a Mass at that point. We should be careful about laying burdens on other people without knowing all the circumstances.

 

[scylla]

uh, yes, communion services properly conducted by authorized persons, under the proper conditions are indeed Catholic worship. What they are not is Mass. If there is no opportunity to attend Mass, there is no obligation to do so.

I would have to disagree, if you mean worship in the sense of making an worthy offering to God.

Now if you mean worship by including veneration and showing love of God then I would agree with you, yet proper worship of God objectively requires the perfect Sacrifice of Jesus to be offered by a Catholic Priest.

This is why the Catholic Mass\Divine Liturgy is the only proper way to worship God as it gives to God that which is perfect and with which we can unite our imperfect sacrifices to make them worthy.

I would agree with you if you mean worship in the generic sense that most non-catholics lump it all together such as Bible services, Communion Services, Singing, Praising and all the like.

I meant true, proper worship of God.

Thanks for the comment, correct me if I am wrong,
Scylla

 

[ProVobis]

Can. 1248 §1 The obligation of assisting at Mass is satisfied wherever Mass is celebrated in a catholic rite either on a holyday itself or on the evening of the previous day.

§2 If it is impossible to assist at a eucharistic celebration, either because no sacred minister is available or for some other grave reason, the faithful are strongly recommended to take part in a liturgy of the Word, if there be such in the parish church or some other sacred place, which is celebrated in accordance with the provisions laid down by the diocesan Bishop; or to spend an appropriate time in prayer, whether personally or as a family or, as occasion presents, in a group of families.

 

[puzzleannie]

I would have to disagree, if you mean worship in the sense of making an worthy offering to God.

Thanks for the comment, correct me if I am wrong,
Scylla

all liturgy is worship, that is, the public prayer of the Church
liturgy of the word
communion service
liturgy of the hours
rites outside Mass such as baptismal rites or those associated with RCIA
sacraments, within or outside Mass
the grace for all these is derived from the Eucharist, but Catholic worhsip is not and never has been limited to offering the Sacrifice of the Mass

 

[JKirkLVNV]

all liturgy is worship, that is, the public prayer of the Church
liturgy of the word
communion service
liturgy of the hours
rites outside Mass such as baptismal rites or those associated with RCIA
sacraments, within or outside Mass
the grace for all these is derived from the Eucharist, but Catholic worhsip is not and never has been limited to offering the Sacrifice of the Mass

I was going to say. Worship is what the Church says it is, regardless of what we as individuals might think of it.

 

[DorianGregorian]

all liturgy is worship, that is, the public prayer of the Church
liturgy of the word
communion service
liturgy of the hours
rites outside Mass such as baptismal rites or those associated with RCIA
sacraments, within or outside Mass
the grace for all these is derived from the Eucharist, but Catholic worhsip is not and never has been limited to offering the Sacrifice of the Mass

The only “public prayer” (that is the prayer of the Church) is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Divine Office.

All other devotions, even if done in public, are technically considered private.

Grace also is not derived from the Eucharist, but from God. The unity of the Church comes from the Eucharist, and without the Eucharist we do not have a Church.

THE most important prayer is the Holy Mass, then the Divine Office, then other devotions. Also I am not sure what you mean by ‘rite outside of mass’ RCIA is not an act of Worship but is instructional in the faith.

Remember though, the Mass is the only prayer we’ve had since the beginning of the Church, it is why archheretic Martin Luther said “If we destroy the Mass we will destroy the Church.”

 

[mystified]

Several observations.

1. Technically, any baptised person can wear an alb.
2. I have attended Sunday services in a remote area where a priest may not be available every week, and no deacons are available either. In this situation, the head catechist, an older woman, has been assigned with permission of the bishop to conduct a simple service of prayers and reading of the gospel prior to distribution of Communion. I don’t know if she follows exactly the guidelines as published, but all is very reverent and nobody sees her as a “substitute priest”.
3. Many years ago, I was commissioned at the chancery office to conduct a paraliturgical service in an extremely remote area to which it was no longer practical to have a priest drive three hours each way every Sunday. I opened each service by making it clear that I was not a priest or deacon, and that there would be no Communion. The service was kept simple, with prayers and readings of the day, and a short talk urging those present to keep God uppermost in their lives in the coming week, pray for vocations, and an announcement that there would be no collections taken up .

 

[Spirithound]

So actually it was wrong of you not to attend the remainder of the service as it is a valid replacement for mass when the priest is absent and thus fulfills the Sunday requirement.

There is no replacement for Mass. When there is no Mass, there is no obligation.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

The only “public prayer” (that is the prayer of the Church) is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Divine Office.

All other devotions, even if done in public, are technically considered private.

Grace also is not derived from the Eucharist, but from God. The unity of the Church comes from the Eucharist, and without the Eucharist we do not have a Church.

THE most important prayer is the Holy Mass, then the Divine Office, then other devotions. Also I am not sure what you mean by ‘rite outside of mass’ RCIA is not an act of Worship but is instructional in the faith.

Remember though, the Mass is the only prayer we’ve had since the beginning of the Church, it is why archheretic Martin Luther said “If we destroy the Mass we will destroy the Church.”

Could you please provide an authoritative citation of a document where the Church describes the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as its “only” public prayer? Thanks!