We want an EF mass. The priest says we sound like schismatics

[CilladeRoma]

Again, does he have other obligations?

Has the Bishop issued some regulations regarding number of Masses said?

Unless you know the answers to these questions, you do not have complete information.

I don’t know where you live, but most of the priests in my diocese could not, even if they wanted to, add an EF Mass to their already busy schedules.

 

[Crusader13]

…the priest told us he grew up with the EF and was in seminary during the Council and we need to forget about the old ways for they have passed away and we are beginning to sound like schismatics .

His response seems more troubling then his not wanting to accommodate an EF mass at the parish. I’m sure there may be legitimate reasons that may hinder having an EF mass and these reasons could’ve have been conveyed in a different manner.

However, his disdain for the “old ways” and the fact that he chose to label you as a possible schismatic is quite telling. I too would be upset.

 

[CilladeRoma]

His response seems more troubling then his not wanting to accommodate an EF mass at the parish. I’m sure there may be legitimate reasons that may hinder having an EF mass and these reasons could’ve have been conveyed in a different manner.

To be honest, we do not know for sure if this is the exact terminology the Pastor used.
We are getting second-hand information from someone who is disappointed in a decision made by their Pastor. In my experience, what was said and what was heard could actually be two very different things.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

His response seems more troubling then his not wanting to accommodate an EF mass at the parish.

Unfortunately, whenever anybody is posting here that “We said this and the priest said that” we’re getting one side of the story. The priest is not posting here, and we weren’t there to see how this all went down. It’s pretty easy to take a quote by a priest out of context (“He called us schismatics!” ) or to skip over the fact that maybe the priest was having a bad day or it was a bad time to approach him or that no one offered to cover costs, etc.

 

[GordonP]

many of the 11 people making the request are young, impressionable, and might well not stay in the parish long term

Good point, but even if they do stay around, some of them will probably lose some of their new-found enthusiasm for the TLM and stop attending.

Eleven is a terribly small and totally unworkable core group to start with, and attrition due to loss of interest is more probable than growth. Like they say, don’t count your chickens before they are hatched. And, unlike in films, if you build it, you can’t count on anyone coming.

The priest wants to see pie on his plate, not pie in the sky. Someone has to pay for the lights, the heat, the air conditioning and their fair share of the bills, and eleven people are going to have a hard time doing that.

Msgr. Pope has a good article about this:

An Urgent Warning About the Future of the Traditional Latin Mass

In this post I want to summon my fellow Catholics who love the Traditional Latin Mass to a greater appreciation of their obligation to evangelize. I sense tha...

www.ncregister.com

 

[Prodigal1984]

The priest wants to see pie on his plate, not pie in the sky. Someone has to pay for the lights, the heat, the air conditioning and their fair share of the bills, and eleven people are going to have a hard time doing that.

This Church is always open and has a 24 hour adoration chapel and a mass at 5 PM OF. It isn’t like they close the church when it isn’t being used. It isn’t an inner city church. People can go in anytime they want.

 

[po18guy]

Do not “blame” your local priest. This is the ministerial culture he was raised in, how he has proceeded in his ministry. To pressure him may very well be a near occasion of sin for him. Since his masses are just as valid, do not begrudge him that he will not flex to each and every request. Would you want him to celebrate if his heart was not in it?

Neither would I.

We all know that the EF is the lesser used form. We know that it appeals to a select group of the faithful - for reasons both good and some not so good. (mostly good, due to its natural beauty). It was not clear - repeat: not perfectly clear over several decades - that it was still valid and legitimate. So cut him sonme slack and Google around.

If you must drive an hour, so what? Pray the Rosary and Chaplets of Divine Mercy as you drive. That is certainly a good use of your drive time.

 

[on_the_hill]

on_the_hill:

If the parish has only one priest who is already celebrating one or two Masses on Sunday, and a Mass on Saturday, and has all the other pastoral duties 24/7, asking him to celebrate an EF Mass might seem like a lot of extra work.

We want an EF mass. The priest says we sound like schismatics - #28 by Prodigal1984

D’Oh! my bad

 

[GordonP]

This Church is always open and has a 24 hour adoration chapel and a mass at 5 PM OF. It isn’t like they close the church when it isn’t being used. It isn’t an inner city church. People can go in anytime they want.

Like anyone who has had to pay the bills before will tell you, TANSTAAFL. You’ve gotta pay your fair share. Your economic analysis is a bit faulty here. It’s little wonder that the priest was skeptical. That and your over-optimism. Pie on the plate tastes a lot better than pie in the sky. Did you read the article I linked to? It’s a healthy dose of reality. Here’s the link again:

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/msg...bout-the-future-of-the-traditional-latin-mass

 

[Prodigal1984]

Since his masses are just as valid, do not begrudge him that he will not flex to each and every request. Would you want him to celebrate if his heart was not in it?

Again. We are not asking him to be the priest who says the Mass…

 

[po18guy]

We are a faith of wiling obedience. In all things but sin, we never err if we pratice obedience. Seek another parish, as that is the clear choice. Check with FSSP?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

This Church is always open and has a 24 hour adoration chapel and a mass at 5 PM OF. It isn’t like they close the church when it isn’t being used. It isn’t an inner city church. People can go in anytime they want.

Well, that’s part of your problem right there. Busy churches like this simply don’t need the traditional Latin Mass “trade”.

The churches I see around town who are most supportive of traditional groups and their Masses are the ones that frankly are struggling a bit to get people in the pews and money in the coffers.

Do you have a church like that around - one that is struggling a bit and might welcome a new group worshipping there?

You need to think like a business person when you’re pitching a “new” idea to a church.

 

[Prodigal1984]

We are a faith of wiling obedience. In all things but sin, we never err if we pratice obedience. Seek another parish, as that is the clear choice. Check with FSSP?

The FSSP has a Church about 2 and a half hours away. The ICKSP has one about 3 and a half hours away. Typically the SSPX has a chapel less than 20 minutes away.

 

[Loud-living-dogma]

I’d be tempted to say “okay, Father, I guess we’ll be going to the SSPX chapel then”.

 

[Prodigal1984]

I’d be tempted to say “okay, Father, I guess we’ll be going to the SSPX chapel then”.

Well this isn’t something any of us want. We are obedient to the Church. Sure that has run through my mind but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I know that the parish has lost some people over the years who do go there now though.
All we are asking is a valid EF mass that is within a reasonable distance.

 

[GordonP]

You need to think like a business person when you’re pitching a “new” idea to a church.

Exactly. To the pastor, and the bishop, if it doesn’t make sense in dollars and cents, then it makes no sense at all.

 

[CilladeRoma]

Currently there is a EF mass in the southern part of the diocese on Sundays but this is almost an hour drive.

The FSSP has a Church about 2 and a half hours away. The ICKSP has one about 3 and a half hours away. Typically the SSPX has a chapel less than 20 minutes away.

You have an EF Mass, sponsored by your diocese, about an hour away.
Why not get your 11 people to carpool there a couple of times a month, and work with that congregation, to bring one closer. I am sure many of the people who already attend drive quite a distance.

 

[po18guy]

If you find a priest who is willing to offer the mass locally, think about having him approach the local priest as a peer. Priests hear all sorts of zany requests from the laity and it may have been in that mindset he reacted.

 

[QwertyGirl]

Maybe ask permission from the bishop, directly, to hold the mass at a different location?

 

[Mi_Rose]

What about costs? Visiting priests in our parish are paid for the masses they say. Does the church have patens for the altar servers? Vestments?
How many of the practical things have you talked over with either priest?