Uncomprehendable priests

[VeiledCatholic]

As someone mentioned, sit as close to the front as you can. It does help. We have a priest with a thick accent. I think he’s Korean. It can be hard to understand him, but sitting up front away from distractions (fussy children, people walking in late, people talking, etc) helps because you can focus better on the words. Taking notes is a good idea too.
Hopefully you got some good ideas on here…and most of all, keep your priest in your prayers daily and have patience with him.
Blessings! :grouphug:

 

[Tony_the_mad]

I agree with the other posters who say that foreign priests are a great blessing and that you should be happy to have a priest.

The other side of the coin, though is that this is just another example of how the shortage of priests, brothers, and sisters is much deeper than ensuring that every parish has a priest. The ‘bare minimum’ to have weekly mass, etc. is not near enough. Priests are often put into positions they would not be put in if there were more qualified priests. Worse the bond between priests and religious made possible by them living in small communities is broken leaving many priests lonely and alone.

In that situation who would want to be a priest? Who in their right mind would think they are capable of being the spiritual and temporal leader of a parish with such little preparation and with such lack of support from fellow priests, etc. Only those who trust God implicitly and fully (which is very good) or those whose self-esteem is unassailable (which is very bad) will apply.

Some of the shows on EWTN like to crow about an upswing in the number of seminarians recently and I think that is great, but we need a lot more in order to not merely survive, but thrive.

Even more we need sisters and brothers. In a world that values, money, power, and sex, the most important people in our society may be those who reject all three in favor of the much greater good of prayer. Priests do that, but people inevitably think that they do it only because they have to for their job. A religious brother or sister on the other hand, chose their vows with no hope for authority or any other temporal reward doing so only to enhance their life of prayer.

I apologize if I have ranted or hijacked your post. Foreign priests are a great asset to our Church (even if we had more than enough priests). We should be thankful for them and learn patience and appreciation for the worldwide nature of our Church from them.

 

[DJK100]

I don’t think that would be charitable unless all priests were printing out their homily. Not to mention it’s probably not a good idea to distribute the homily before it is preached. If the parish has a website maybe it could be uploaded later in the day.

That’s a good idea. If the priest doesn’t prepare it before hand it might be worth recording it and then having the parish secretary transcribe it the next day.

 

[jeannetherese]

We have a new priest from out of country at my local parish. It has been helpful for me to be patient with myself, knowing that as I become accustomed to his accent, it will be easier for me to follow his words. The high quality of his catechesis is a real blessing and I am so grateful that he is ministering in our parish. However, I understand that older people who are hard of hearing will need additional time to adjust.
Sitting as close to the front of the church as possible can help with this challenge. I’m finding this strategy useful at my Latin mass parish, where proximity to the priest seems to be helping me to compensate for my lack of formal training in Latin.
At both masses reading along with the mass has been helpful to me.
You might also take a bit of time after mass to visit with your priest. I’ll bet he is having similar challenges understanding his congregation at times, and it might be helpful to him to have a friend who will slow down a bit to help him with his understanding. You will be such a blessing to your parish.
May God bless you!

 

[CatholicSheila]

We currently have an deacon from the African continent (not sure where) as well as a Priest at the Cathedral both of whom I have trouble understanding.

. I do my best to understand the homily, but the rest of the mass I know what is been said even if I don’t understand, It in no way limits my appreciation of the mass. If anything it reminds me of just how much I have to be grateful for and actually helps me to focus

 

[TryingToLearn]

Go on mission for a month in a country where you barely speak the language. Attend Mass celebrated by a priest that does not speak a single word of your language, and only speaks a language that you spent 2 years in high school learning to speak and barely scrapped by with a C… After a couple of Masses you’ll figure out what Christ is trying to teach you… But, you don’t have to make that trip to learn what I learned by going on Mission…

You are incapable of EVER completely understanding Him and He is always trying to be with you, but most of the time you are oblivious or just don’t get it. He’s coming to you there at the Mass whether you understand Him or not. And you CAN NOT POSSIBLY understand Him completely. So, get over yourself. Humble yourself before your Lord. And be overjoyed that He thinks you’re worth Him making the trip to spend time with you.

 

[anp1215]

Our two parochial vicars are from India, and one has a heavier accent than the other. I found that the more I heard him speak at Mass and the closer I sat to the front the easier it was to understand him

 

[nickybr38]

Go on mission for a month in a country where you barely speak the language. Attend Mass celebrated by a priest that does not speak a single word of your language, and only speaks a language that you spent 2 years in high school learning to speak and barely scrapped by with a C… After a couple of Masses you’ll figure out what Christ is trying to teach you… But, you don’t have to make that trip to learn what I learned by going on Mission…

You are incapable of EVER completely understanding Him and He is always trying to be with you, but most of the time you are oblivious or just don’t get it. He’s coming to you there at the Mass whether you understand Him or not. And you CAN NOT POSSIBLY understand Him completely. So, get over yourself. Humble yourself before your Lord. And be overjoyed that He thinks you’re worth Him making the trip to spend time with you.

 

[jannes]

Please don’t take this as a criticism of all Americans but why do so many of them feel that they have a monopoly on the right accent? In this day and age millions of people travel all over the world I am sure there are many American priests and missionaries all over the world who sound just as strange to 'Foreiigners"as they do to you.If they can take the time to be polite and tolerant of the incomers to their parishes maybe a change of attitude wouldn’t hur t in regards to the brave men who give their time and talents to help serve the very under served parishes in the US.I am sure they would be more comfortable staying in their own countries. It reminds me when I salied through the South Pacific after we left Hawaii we didn’t see the US flag in the next fourteen stops all the way to Sydney.As every stop flew the flag of the country they were affiliated with// well in this case most of the stops were flying the Union Jack and the ship would put the local flag on the dining room tables.We had many Americans complain to the captain in all seriousness that they did not approve… in their thoughts America was the power centre of the world and as such no one else should be flying other flags while they were aboard .So you can just imagine the impression they left on all the other nationalities aboardI had. J had a couple from Texas ask me was it difficult to learn to speak English when I emmigrated to Canada and as I was a foreigner did I celebrate Christmas and Easter on the same day as them… no kidding

 

[HelenRose]

We love our Nigerian Priest.

The Children in our mission Church are putting together an album for his parents in Nigeria. Without his knowing it I have been gathering photographs of the children and his interaction with them. The kids will decorate the pages and sign their names. We are discussing various things to write in the album such as “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Enyieca, Thank you for giving us your son to be our priest.” “We love your son.” “We know how much you must miss him.” etc.

It has been a learning experience for the children to learn about Nigeria and to understand that in his country people are being killed because they are Christians.

The children have had a lot of questions and are learning to appreciate the hardships these priests have to face in this rather cantankerous country of ours.

We need to appreciate their sacrifice.

The children will present this to our priest the last day of Religious Education to send to his mother and his father.

 

[jazzy0710]

With the shortage of priests, there are more priests coming in from overseas namely India and Africa. While I am ceratin of their devotion to the priesthood and the Church, some are more comprehendable than others. My regular parish has 2 foreign born priests who are very nice. One is easier to undestand than the other, but at least you can mostly understand them.

At a Church where I attend daily mass sometimes, the pastor was replaced with an administrator who we almost never see and he is being assisted by a visiting priest from I believe Ghana. The congregation really struggles to understand him for most of the Mass, with the homily being the worst part. How do others handle this situation where you really want to enjoy Mass but end up struggling with it because you cant understand it.

If it was me I think I’d approach him gently and away from other people, explain that I find it difficult to follow mass, could her perhaps speak at a slower pace.

 

[HelenRose]

If it was me I think I’d approach him gently and away from other people, explain that I find it difficult to follow mass, could her perhaps speak at a slower pace.

Chances are he gets told that on a daily basis. It takes time to speak a new language.
The success of the bold experiment of having these brave men come to America depends an lot on our appreciating their efforts and humbling ourselves.

It is our responsibilty to care for them and love them. One reason why there is a shortage of priest is the miserable way they are sometimes treated. A priest comes to serve his flock but he is not our servant. He is not someone to be at our beck and call. Priests are human beings in need of compassion and understanding.

 

[Brendan]

I used to do a lot of global travel for work, which meant I’ve gone to Mass in many, many countries.

In addition, I go on yearly mission trips to Tanzania. Not only is most of the English spoken there with a heavy Swahili accent, most of the nuns I worked with were from places like India, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Belgium and yes, even (God forbid) Canada

To me it is always a sign on how diverse and universal the Church is.

So if you are sitting in the pew hearing a difficult accent being spoken from the pulpit, take some time out for thanking God for the missionaries for bringing the Faith to his country, and for thanking God for sending missionaries to our country so that we can continue to spread the Faith here.:

 

[Sarabande]

I used to do a lot of global travel for work, which meant I’ve gone to Mass in many, many countries.

In addition, I go on yearly mission trips to Tanzania. Not only is most of the English spoken there with a heavy Swahili accent, most of the nuns I worked with were from places like India, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Belgium and yes, even (God forbid) Canada

To me it is always a sign on how diverse and universal the Church is.

So if you are sitting in the pew hearing a difficult accent being spoken from the pulpit, take some time out for thanking God for the missionaries for bringing the Faith to his country, and for thanking God for sending missionaries to our country so that we can continue to spread the Faith here.:

So true!!!

And I don’t think anyone should immediately think we can be so clearly understood. Just go to regions in the US alone where the local dialect is pretty thick and, I know for myself at least, I come away “What did that person just say?” It’s only because I assumed that I’d be able to understand that person so easily since we both spoke the same language, thus I didn’t “listen” as intently as I would. haha! (And that person I was speaking to probably thought the same thing of me.)

I’ll always remember this one incident when I was studying in Austria. Our accompanist was from northern Germany and spoke “hoch deutsche”. We were on the bus, when these two adorable old men started to have fun with me and another one of my classmates. When we got off, our accompanist said in her thick German accent, “We speak the same language, but I had no idea what they were saying.” During that time, I was also the only American in my coursework studying at the conservatory, so I was the odd man out and I’m very sure I was sometimes difficult to understand trying to speak German. What’s funny is that we had such a mixture of people from all around Europe in my course, that I ended picking up a strange accent since I was there for a while with all of us speaking accented English (as it was the common language to all of us), was trying to practice using my German more outside of school, and had no other Americans to speak to. It wasn’t until I met up with a couple other Americans who began their own coursework study that I realized I didn’t sound “American” when they asked me on different occasions what country I was from.

 

[englishredrose]

Actually, I have difficulty hearing. I sit in the front pew. I listen very carefully. I focus. I take notes and ‘fill in the holes’ as best I can. If you’re half deaf the problem isn’t his accent anyway, you’d have difficulty even if he had perfectly clear speech but a soft voice.

I think the idea of having the homilies printed up or on a website is good too, for those who ARE hearing impaired… but for most people the issue is they just aren’t paying enough attention and I’m not sure a written homily would help them. They just aren’t trying hard enough to get used to a foreign accent and having a printed homily would just encourage a kind of mental laziness.

Anyway… I’m pretty harsh, I know, but I grew up around difficult accents and over the years I’ve learned there’s only one solution: Focus.

Sorry because I know the debate is about understanding rather than accents.

I serve so sit on the Altar and actually he is hardest to hear from there though better when he started to use the pulpitt. When I sing in the choir I hear him easily though we are literally the other end of the church. I strangely found him very audiable when he used the High Altar for the special King James Service

He knows I have specific problem and knows I do listen and thats enough. I do naturally say when I’m extra deaf, when I am serving. He did check his mic, but even that wasn’t getting through for me Being Anglican I do not have to confess I couldn’t hear so couldn’t apply the sermon in my life I guess. Though sneakily suspect he would tell me that isn’t a sin since I can’t help not being able to hear… judging by my last confession.

Though I really wish he would download them - or let me do it for him. Its good anyway because it would allow anyone to read as we can of any parish that does that.

sorry because it does wind me up somewhat when people say, concentrate. it even more embarrasing when people have a speach defect or a totally different accent. It not as straight forward as concentrate. So sorry for that Nicky.

 

[Anna_Claire]

It can be difficult for some, especially the elderly. I agree it’s important to focus and that is what we should be doing anyway…right?
On another note, I think we walk a fine line when we point out ethnic issues as a negative thing (and it has nothing to do with political correctness). We need priests because we need the Eucharist. At this time in church history we are blessed to have these men. Yet, just the other day a family member of a deceased person called and said the family did not want the black priest with the accent for the funeral mass. In humility, he stepped aside and the pastor did the funeral. I could see the hurt in his eyes as he related the story to me.

 

[englishredrose]

Colour is another question altogether…

But if one is having difficulty understanding what the priest is saying as in language barriers etc. The simplest thing in the world is to simply say so. Not as a criticism but out of genuine desire to overcome. The priest needs to know if he isn’t reaching his people. Its all well and good that he works hard on his sermon all week but what is the point if delivery is failing to reach… for whatever reason. He would want to know that his sermon is being heard and if there is anything he can do about it to help.

Its the way one says so that matters…

 

[KCT]

At a Church where I attend daily mass sometimes, the pastor was replaced with an administrator who we almost never see and he is being assisted by a visiting priest from I believe Ghana. The congregation really struggles to understand him for most of the Mass, with the homily being the worst part. How do others handle this situation where you really want to enjoy Mass but end up struggling with it because you cant understand it.

Pray that their English gets better. Until then, be grateful you have daily Mass.

At the parish where I work, folks complain about the foreign priests w/ accents. “Where do they get these priests?” They really don’t understand THERE IS NO ONE ELSE to say Mass. They need to start encouraging their sons to be priests.

 

[ProVobis]

Pray that their English gets better.

I find this to be rather condescending and arrogant. What if they feel it’s your English that needs to be improved?

 

[anp1215]

I find this to be rather condescending and arrogant. What if they feel it’s your English that needs to be improved?

I don’t feel it’s condescending. If I moved to Japan and was trying to learn Japanese, I would hope that the people there would pray for me to improve in my knowledge and ability to speak Japanese clearly. Of course I would be the one who needed improvement, not them.