What do you all think of Taize?

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yellowbicycle

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I went to my first ever Taize prayer service last night, and I must say I thought it was absolutely beautiful!
I found it to be probably the best hour I have spent in church in recent times. (though this likely had as much to do with the fact that I was without kids and husband as it did anything else)😃
Still, I found the whole experience very peaceful.
I hear people saying that taize smacks of protestantism, but I kind of don’t understand that. It didn’t feel protestant to me at all. Can anybody tell me why people think this seems protestant?
On the plus side, since it was a prayer service and not a Mass, I felt like it was something that I could invite my Protestant friends to, who are put off by the Mass.
 
I have a lot of Taize music that I find soothing.

I believe Taize is an interfaith worship of God.

Nothing wrong with it as far as I know.
 
yellowbicycle said:
I went to my first ever Taize prayer service last night, and I must say I thought it was absolutely beautiful!
I found it to be probably the best hour I have spent in church in recent times. (though this likely had as much to do with the fact that I was without kids and husband as it did anything else)😃
Still, I found the whole experience very peaceful.
I hear people saying that taize smacks of protestantism, but I kind of don’t understand that. It didn’t feel protestant to me at all. Can anybody tell me why people think this seems protestant?
On the plus side, since it was a prayer service and not a Mass, I felt like it was something that I could invite my Protestant friends to, who are put off by the Mass.
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Better than the Mass?!?

I think some peoples’ knee-jerk reaction to taize prayer has to do with the fact that “The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic order in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is comprised of a little over 100 brothers who come from Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions.” (rf. Wikipedia)

If I have anything personally against taize prayer is that for several years it and the labyrinth were touted as the greatest thing going. During Lent they were allowed to totally take the place of the Stations of the Cross and the Rosary and many found that insulting. In some cases those hard feeling remain even though there has been a good amount of reform.
 
Taize is neither Catholc nor Orthodox nor Protestant. It dose not belong to the Orthodox Church, nor to a Protestant denomnination, nor to the Catholic Church. It’s an ecumentical Christian monestary, and it’s songs are basically prayers, meant to help people with meditation and reflection. It was founded by a Protestant and is now led by a Catholic.
 
yellowbicycle said:
I went to my first ever Taize prayer service last night, and I must say I thought it was absolutely beautiful!
I found it to be probably the best hour I have spent in church in recent times. (though this likely had as much to do with the fact that I was without kids and husband as it did anything else)😃
Still, I found the whole experience very peaceful.
I hear people saying that taize smacks of protestantism, but I kind of don’t understand that. It didn’t feel protestant to me at all. Can anybody tell me why people think this seems protestant?
On the plus side, since it was a prayer service and not a Mass, I felt like it was something that I could invite my Protestant friends to, who are put off by the Mass.
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I went to stay in Taizé during my last Autumn Break, and LOVED IT!
It certainly had very little to do with “protestantism”. It was “ecumenical”, in the sense that all were encouraged to participate in the common prayers, and that it wasn’t denominational (no sermons preaching sola scriptura or immaculate conception, for instance). The Brothers are a mix of RCs, Lutherans, Reformed, etc.

A typical Taizé-prayer service consists of a lot of singing, readings from the Gospels in various languages, "Kyrie Eleison"s and "Hallelujah"s.

Taizé, despite being ecumenical, is very high church, and I loved every minute of it! And I actually came home with a much more positive view of the RC church than I left with; mainly due to the charity, openness and wisdom of the Catholic Priests, and Brothers, I encountered there.

I don’t know if my :twocents: count for anything regarding this for you guys, since I’m not RC, but there they were…
 
LutheranDK said:
I went to stay in Taizé during my last Autumn Break, and LOVED IT!
It certainly had very little to do with “protestantism”. It was “ecumenical”, in the sense that all were encouraged to participate in the common prayers, and that it wasn’t denominational (no sermons preaching sola scriptura or immaculate conception, for instance). The Brothers are a mix of RCs, Lutherans, Reformed, etc.

A typical Taizé-prayer service consists of a lot of singing, readings from the Gospels in various languages, "Kyrie Eleison"s and "Hallelujah"s.

Taizé, despite being ecumenical, is very high church, and I loved every minute of it! And I actually came home with a much more positive view of the RC church than I left with; mainly due to the charity, openness and wisdom of the Catholic Priests, and Brothers, I encountered there.

I don’t know if my :twocents: count for anything regarding this for you guys, since I’m not RC, but there they were…
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Stop insulting us. It’s the Catholic Church not the “Roman Catholic Church” and certainly not the “RC church.”

I’m just guessing, but could that be a reason some Catholics dislike taize prayer? Because they would come into contact with people who would mischaracterize the Catholic Church?
 
Stromboli said:
Stop insulting us. It’s the Catholic Church not the “Roman Catholic Church” and certainly not the “RC church.”
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If you want to see insults whereever you go, and not relate to the actual contents of my post, that’s your choice mate. But I stand by the phrasing. RC is short for Roman-Catholic, a term which many even on these forums use. If people from the RC church use it, so can I, and if that rattles your cage, it’s your problem, not mine.
Stromboli said:
I’m just guessing, but could that be a reason some Catholics dislike taize prayer? Because they would come into contact with people who would mischaracterize the Catholic Church?
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I have not mischaracterized the RC church. Did you even read the entirety of my post, or did you just start ranting when you saw the buzz-words? :rolleyes:
 
Robert_Sock said:
I have a lot of Taize music that I find soothing.

I believe Taize is an interfaith worship of God.
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No, it seems quite explicitly Christian to me. It is ecumenical, but the difference between ecumenical and interfaith is huge and should not be blurred.

Edwin
 
Stromboli said:
Better than the Mass?!?
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As far as getting to spend QUIET time in the Church, it’s the best hour I’ve spent (I don’t go to adoration, it ends before I get home from work). Mass is wonderful, but I’m always in the cry room with my twin 16 month old girls, and about half a dozen other batty children so my ability to really and truly participate gets, well, off track.:o
 
Contarini said:
No, it seems quite explicitly Christian to me. It is ecumenical, but the difference between ecumenical and interfaith is huge and should not be blurred.

Edwin
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What IS the difference? Just curious, thanks!
 
LutheranDK said:
If you want to see insults whereever you go, and not relate to the actual contents of my post, that’s your choice mate. But I stand by the phrasing. RC is short for Roman-Catholic, a term which many even on these forums use. If people from the RC church use it, so can I, and if that rattles your cage, it’s your problem, not mine.

I have not mischaracterized the RC church. Did you even read the entirety of my post, or did you just start ranting when you saw the buzz-words? :rolleyes:
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DK, I think the issue the poster had, although I’m not justifying their reaction, is that many protestants use the term “Roman” in a pejorative manner. Coming from a protestant background, I’ve run into many fundamentalists and evangelicals that take some sort of weird pleasure in calling us “Roman Catholics.” The phrase is then followed with a knowing smile or a somber nod as though we poor souls did not realize we belong to the Roman Whore. My response is usually an internal “whatever.”

I attend the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church; it was the Rite through which I was received into the Church; therefore, I am a Roman Catholic.

I’m afraid that many on this forum are not always very charitable to separated brethren.
 
My thoughts on Taize:

I don’t understand why Catholics need it. We have our own liturgical traditions, including the Divine Office. It seems to me that many parishes will host Taize services yet never even think to have Vespers or Lauds. All in the name of “ecumenism,” of course. I fail to see how singing some repetitive, 20th century songs is more prayerful and “ecumenical” than chanting the Psalms.

I don’t mind some Taize songs during Mass, but they get repetitive and annoying after awhile, and like my issue with the prayer service vs Divine Office, I don’t understand why we need Taize hymns in the Mass when we have our own Catholic hymns that convey the Catholic Faith in a much less hippie-like fashion.

P. S. I am not talking about the “Catholic” “hymns” in the Gather hymnal either.
 
I love Taize prayer. I used to be one of the leaders of it when we had it at our parish. It was so beautiful with all the candles and the opportunity to spend some time kneeling before the cross (unlike the “kiss the cross and move along” that happens on Good Friday veneration). The music is so calming and meditative.
 
Joannm said:
I love Taize prayer. I used to be one of the leaders of it when we had it at our parish. It was so beautiful with all the candles and the opportunity to spend some time kneeling before the cross (unlike the “kiss the cross and move along” that happens on Good Friday veneration). The music is so calming and meditative.
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The “kiss the cross and move along” (Veneration of the Cross) that occurs on Good Friday has been prescribed by the Church for a very, very, very long time. We don’t worship the Cross, we worship He Who was sacrificed upon it. Perhaps instead of spending some time kneeling in front of a cross at a Taize prayer service, your parish could have the Blessed Sacrament exposed instead, where everyone can kneel before the Lord Himself, not just His symbol.
 
BennyBoy89 said:
My thoughts on Taize:

I don’t understand why Catholics need it. We have our own liturgical traditions, including the Divine Office. It seems to me that many parishes will host Taize services yet never even think to have Vespers or Lauds. All in the name of “ecumenism,” of course. I fail to see how singing some repetitive, 20th century songs is more prayerful and “ecumenical” than chanting the Psalms.

I don’t mind some Taize songs during Mass, but they get repetitive and annoying after awhile, and like my issue with the prayer service vs Divine Office, I don’t understand why we need Taize hymns in the Mass when we have our own Catholic hymns that convey the Catholic Faith in a much less hippie-like fashion.

P. S. I am not talking about the “Catholic” “hymns” in the Gather hymnal either.
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I can appreciate that.
Our particular parish does both Taize and Vespers. 🙂
And speaking with some of the people after Taize, they are also very much looking forward to Vespers! I am too…if by some grace of God my kids go to sleep early again, you can bet your buttons I’ll be there!
 
John Paul II, during his visit to Taizé on October 5th 1986, said “I would like to express to you my affection and my trust with these simple words with which Pope John XXIII who loved you so much greeted Brother Roger one day: ‘Ah, Taizé, that little springtime!’"
 
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