What do you think about Teen Mass?

[Zosimus]

I’ve been to several Teen Masses in different churches it makes my blood boil!

When these kids grow up and see that the norm isnt running up to the alter during consecration in your torn jeans or short skirt mimicking the priests gestures and that you should actually be kneeling to Christ instead of “playing the priest” and we normally don’t play top 40s Christian music. I think they will all switch over to the Penicostals for their source of entertainment during church service as they would find the mass of norm boring

 

[Irene]

Hi Zosimus,
I’m a senior in a Catholic high school, and I personally have never experienced what you describe. The school-wide weekly Masses I went to while in Catholic elementary school were children’s liturgies, and they involved reverent, basically attentive children and compassionate, engaging priests. The latter is also true for the less frequent Masses in my all-girls h.s. The Mass is the same, its some of the teen girls (but not all of them!) who have lost reverence. I’m a cradle Catholic, but it was those Masses that made me want to draw close to God, learn about Him, and live in His Church. I share your righteous anger about these young “money-changers in the Temple” but please take heart that others of their generation honor the Mass.

 

[Mike_Olson]

I have been to teen masses at my parish. The one’s I went to were like a normal mass. The music is to loud. Other than that things are normal, I also saw older people in the pews. I didn’t see any abuses or wild antics.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

A teen Mass should be a regular Mass. With the homily changed for the target group. The Music is another isue all together. Even the regular music no longer conveys correct Catholic theology. One would have to read the words of the songs to see what they really say. Another issue is the use of Extraordinary Ministers. In this diocese you had to be 18, Confirmed, and have gone through training to fill any of the Extraordinary Minister functions. In others I have seen children who have not even been Confirmed in this role.

 

[PJR]

We used to have teen masses regularly in my parish. The kids were usually pumped up from the youth conference at Stuebenville. There was usually some hand motions that went with the songs and the music was geared for the young. However, it was always correct in text, we made sure of that.

All in all, it was very moving and the kids were very respectful. The only abuse I think we fell into was the kids going up around the altar. That was corrected.

This years diocesan youth rally was another story altogether. The kids were jumping up and down on the pews, it looked like a head bangers ball. I was very disappointed by that. It goes too far real quick w/o some strick guidance.

 

[Psalm45_9]

I don’t like it, but that’s only because I don’t like worshiping in the Charismatic way. I went to Stubenville last summer, I enjoyed all the talks and guest speakers, but the rest I could have cared less about.

 

[ames61]

Zosimus:

When these kids grow up and see that the norm isnt running up to the alter during consecration in your torn jeans or short skirt mimicking the priests gestures and that you should actually be kneeling to Christ instead of “playing the priest” and we normally don’t play top 40s Christian music. I think they will all switch over to the Penicostals for their source of entertainment during church service as they would find the mass of norm boring

Sounds like a LifeTeen mass, which has good intentions, poor execution, liturgically. I think most parishes have corrected the gathering around the altar thing.

I do worry about the music, for the same reason that you specified, that if they are coming for the music, then what’s to keep them from going down the street to the Praise and Worship non denom service with better music?

I agree with Bro Rich about the words to the music. In all our masses the words to many of our songs tend to be very “all about me”. Others have tried to point out that the music used to be very vertical (all about God), and now should also be horizontal (all about us), but these don’t even include my neighbor. Its just what God has done for me. Sometimes no praise for Him, no thanks for Him, no recognition of Him as the almighty, just . . . me.

I guess I wouldn’t mind the piano/guitar/drums accompaniment if the words maybe . . . came from scripture? (now there’s an idea) I detest the hand clapping, and hand motions we do. (really truly, do we need hand motions to make the Eucharist better?) I detest the insipid Gloria that changes the words to the prayer (for pete’s sake) and I think we are underestimating the Teens by thinking that this is the only way to reach them. My kids (ages 12 and 15) think the music is stupid (their word). One likes hard rock, the other country, so they style isn’t attractive to either, and both agree the words are dumb. They both say they like the music at the masses we came to at first better (generic OCP stuff, which also has its faults, except when they accidentally go with something older or one of the few new things with meat).

So, my gut feeling is that the Teen mass tends to be more for the parents of the Teens than the Teens themselves.

 

[kage_ar]

When our parish began Youth Mass, they had NO music. The only difference was teens acted as ushers and readers, and the homily was geared to teens and their parents. After a few months, a couple of young men volunteered to play for the Mass – so, we now have 2 acoustic guitars. It is still a very peaceful Mass. No one but the Priest and Altar Servers are around the Altar. The only thing that bothers me (and my son more) is the version of the Our Father that is sung – it is not one of the standard sung versions, but some insipid tuneless meandering thing… I just wish that they would give that up…

 

[annemjones96]

We had teen Masses when I was in High School. This was about 10 years ago. It was really just Mass with Teens as Lectors and Ushers and doing the music and bringing up the gifts. The homily was geared more towards teens. Actually, that was about the only part that was different. None of those things were unusual for a Mass. There were three high school students who were ushers on a regualr basis. There were a handful of us in the choir and who would also cantor a Mass. There were also a handful that were lectors on a regular basis.