What bugs you at Mass?

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Peace Pilgrim:
Maybe the honeymoon is over (I’m a new convert) … but yesterday at Mass, I was irritated… :ehh:

It’s that early Exodus syndrome. Some leave right after or soon after they receive Communion. :eek: A flood of people leave right after the priest recesses (how demoralizing and insulting to the choir). St. Augustine taught: Singing is praying twice. Well, actually, he said, “Singing well is praying twice.” Granted, I may not sing well, but it is for me a sacred time to glorify Him in song before I leave and definitely a part of worship.

I was so tempted to put up a sign at every door:
“Arrive before the priest processes; leave after the last hymn is sung.” Any suggestions to remedy this situation?

For that matter, what bugs you at Mass?

In God’s Light ,
Peace Pilgrim
A Spiritual Journey
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What bugs me?

When people leave early

When they show up late

communion in the hand, why do they think no one accepts the teaching of the Church?

contemporary music that has nothing to do with prayer.(“on eagles wings” is a good example) The hymns are meant to be prayer. “When you sing, you pray twice.”

Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, the priest and deacon/s should distribute the sacrament.

Priests should have Confession before The Mass.
 
Dear Jimmy,

Sorry, I couldn’t resist . . . 😉

Eagles Wings is very appropriate during Advent, and I happened to think of this hymn when we had the reading recently from Isaiah during the week. It echoes his prophecy in Chapter 40, and concludes with verse 31:

“But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall soar with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Carole
 
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Joysong:
Dear Jimmy,

Sorry, I couldn’t resist . . . 😉

Eagles Wings is very appropriate during Advent, and I happened to think of this hymn when we had the reading recently from Isaiah during the week. It echoes his prophecy in Chapter 40, and concludes with verse 31:

“But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall soar with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Carole
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It may have good theology and all, but it is not proper for a hymn during mass. If you read the old hymns they are all composed in a way that they praise God or exhort Him to have mercy or something along those lines. There are some that are prayers to Mary. On Eagles Wings is just a mishmash of statements.

I don’t bring this song up because I have heard it during Advent, I haven’t. I bring it up because it is the first to come to mind that fits the description.
 
What bugs me:
  1. People holding hands during the Our Father. This is not in the GIRM and is not an approved gesture.
  2. Women dressing inappropriately: tank tops (summer months), hip huggers, low necklines. Some even dare to wear shorts. It’s less of a problem during the cold winter months though.
  3. Men dressing inappropriately: T-shirts with decals on them (eg. a Van Halen T-shirt), shorts, and those weird baggy jeans that have the … uh … the part where the legs meet in the middle … hanging way low. Those are going out of style though, thank goodness.
  4. People leaving Mass before the last hymn is over.
The priest has been cracking down on a few problems lately, so things are slowly improving.
 
I agree with Jimmy—the mass, and all the hymns and rituals contained in it are meant to glorify God—everything is about Him. It’s not about us or how we feel or what we want or how we may soar on wings like eagels—it is about Him and extolling His greatness and His glory. That is what hymns were created for. Today’s church has become so mundane—we have tried to bring God down to our level, instead of striving to take ourselves (with His help and His grace) to His level.
 
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lizzardbreath:
I agree with Jimmy—the mass, and all the hymns and rituals contained in it are meant to glorify God—everything is about Him. It’s not about us or how we feel or what we want or how we may soar on wings like eagels—it is about Him and extolling His greatness and His glory. That is what hymns were created for. Today’s church has become so mundane—we have tried to bring God down to our level, instead of striving to take ourselves (with His help and His grace) to His level.
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**Amen ! **
Soaring on eagle wings is best left to guitar strumming around night camp fires at folkie gatherings.
 
I have a hard time with songs being used at Mass that aren’t directed toward God or the saints. Myself, I make a distinction between hymns (a song of praise or thanksgiving to God) and other songs. At Mass, I think that we should make sure that we don’t have any songs that focus more on us, than on Him.

As for children at Mass… it may just be because I’m from a large family, but I don’t find the cooing, giggling, yelping, and screaming of children to be as distracting as the talking of adults. I often thank God during Mass that people have the courage to bring their children. There is a notable lack of discipline a lot fo the time I’ll admit, but I think it’s good that they are there, even if they’re making a bit of noise.

God bless,

Agricola
 
People who are too lazy to genuflect. If you are physically unable too thats one thing, however I see too many folks who either do a half-hearted one, or don’t even bother trying.

Doing songs or hymns that nobody has ever heard of. When I was going to church as a child, there wereabout 20 std catholic hymns that were always done at mass. Everybody knew the words, thus most folks sang along.
 
We usually have a good crowd but I would like to change one thing that is sort of inconsiderate.

Our church gets quite full, and some people seem to get there early and stake out a spot next to the aisles, so that later, to get a spot, people have to scramble over top of them.

I can’t imagine that they want to be near the aisles to get out of the church as fast as possible, because if they’re in that bad shape that they can’t stand that 30 more seconds, I don’t know why they’d be at Mass. Gee, would they be in trouble if Mass lasted another 30 seconds? Of course not.

These people walk fine and look normal. They just need to scoot over about 10 feet and that’s it. But I think a lot of them are possessive about declaring their own spot to sit in every week, also.

It is very, very difficult to step over them and not hit them or fall onto them. One day I probably will fall over onto one of them.
 
  1. People receiving communion like they are eating a potato chip.
  2. Canned homilies.
  3. Inclusive language. The priest intentionally leaving out the word “Men” during the Creed. “for us … and our salvation…”
 
Interesting question, calls for a interesting answer.
  1. cell phones ringing
  2. chit-chat before and after mass, lack of respect for the house of Christ.
  3. parishoners wearing blue jeans to church
 
This is silly but it erks me. When the time comes for everyone greet each other people are like to lazy to say all of the 4 whopping words ‘peace be with you’. They look at you and say ‘peace’. I feel like holding up my two fingers like a hippie and saying ‘peace brutha’. 😃

-D
 
A choir that does not belt out the Allelulia before the Gospel. The windows should be rattling when it’s sung!

The same goes for the Holy, Holy, Holy. If we are joining the choirs of angels, we should be singing joyfully and loudly.

The choir at our church makes both sungs sound almost like a funeral dirge.

Notworthy
 
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Darrel:
This is silly but it erks me. When the time comes for everyone greet each other people are like to lazy to say all of the 4 whopping words ‘peace be with you’. They look at you and say ‘peace’. I feel like holding up my two fingers like a hippie and saying ‘peace brutha’. 😃

-D
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😃 People at our church do that. They make the peace sign to people on the other side of the church.

The way people dress bugs me. In the summer they will come to church in shorts, tee shirts and flip flops(both men and women) and in the winter it’s sweats and tennis shoes. :mad: And these are people that I know have better and can afford better. What’s up with that anyway?

I’m not officially Catholic yet (though I consider myself to be) and am still learning the beliefs and customs but I think this is terribly disrespectful. There are times when I feel out of place because my family and I dress for mass in our “Sunday best”.
 
We have lot of families with big numbers at church. When the littlies get really squirmy, and the picture books of saints etc is not doing the thing, the big kids take them out or dad…they go for a run on the grass in the shade they are pretty quiet coz there are more folks standing outside cos there is never enough room inside…on the whole they are well behaved and go up to communion with the rest of the family for the blessing received from the priest.

I guess I do not really know cos I try to concentrate on the Mass and not the gecko chewing up the bugs etc…😃
 
I acknowledge that this thread ‘has gone cold’…completely and totally so!!! But I had not sighted it and have been going over the Posts reading others comments. The Church to me is a gathering into unity of a motely type of crew indeed!..and we were from the very beginning and the first twelve!
My failings are indeed someone else’s virtue and vice versa. If I am pointing the finger at someone then equally can someone point the finger at me for some reason. We are a motely and colourful crew and God loves us! I was reading a Post by Joysong, but cannot recall where and she states about pondering in the presence of the faults I can see in another, the virtues that I cannot see and to offer these unsighted virtues to God rather than dwell on any negatives about the person. A wonderful concept!

To me The Mass is just incredibly beautiful from only one angle considering the prayers in The Mass … and also wonderful to contemplate that in The Mass all over the world universally and without exemption, we are all celebrating exactly the same Mass…only different locations and nowadays in our own native tongue. And that about sums it all up…we are all at a different spot spiritually…and have our own unique spiritual identity…yet celebrating the One Lord.

I may arrive late for Mass now and then and annoy the lady who is sitting next to me…but she keeps jangling her rosary beads and annoying me! God love us!🙂

Viva la difference! A tapestry is of many colours but the one tapestry and every single colour no matter how minute to a purpose in the overall tapestry! I do love tapestry and work with it now and then - put one stitch wrong and it glares out of the entire tapestry. Every stitch important!..from this little stitch!..and since this Thread went cold in January 12 months ago…as oft is, I lag way behind the rest.:whacky:

Happy Christmas all…Barb
 
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Darrel:
This is silly but it erks me. When the time comes for everyone greet each other people are like to lazy to say all of the 4 whopping words ‘peace be with you’. They look at you and say ‘peace’. I feel like holding up my two fingers like a hippie and saying ‘peace brutha’. 😃

-D
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There is no requirement for people to say these or any other words. They are only asked to “offer a sign” to each other. Depending on culture, age, sex, and how well you know your neighbours this could be the word “peace”, a handshake, kiss, hug. bow, or, yes, the two-fingered sign popularised by the hippies.
 
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