What impact has the Internet had on the celebration of the Mass and our overall experiences at our respective parishes?

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What impact has the Internet had (as a gateway to an ocean of information) to the celebration of Mass in our respective parishes and our overall liturgical experiences at our parishes?

The Internet has certainly made a great deal of information available to the average Catholic, including Vatican.va, EWTN’s great document library and resources like the forum. Resources that were often once limited to clergy and those fortunate enough to live near a seminary library. I can remember one female religious order used to print and mail encylicals and other documents through the US Mail which the average Catholic knew little or nothing about.

In 2000 I went through RCIA and each of us had to complete a “project” which ranged from crafting songs of praise and prayers to my report on the “liturgical status” of my parish. My paper was 13 pages long with a total of 38 footnotes. I can still remember my former pastor’s response when I submitted it to him – and once he had read it. The ability for the average layman to do something like that prior to the Internet without a GREAT DEAL of effort and expense would have been impossible.

That experience certainly helped me to better understand the Mass – from both a spiritual and mechanical standpoint. So in that respect (and in many others), the Internet has been a wonderful gift to millions of people wanting to better understand the Church and more specifically, the Mass.

On the other hand I think it has led to some cynicism (more and more begin to realize just how bad certain things are in some parishes) and in some cases, this ready access to information has probably placed a great deal more pressure on pastors? Looking back, my pastor at the time had no answers and I think it caused him both embarrassment and anger.

I suspect some even consider the laity having ready access to Church documents and such is a negative – maybe even a dangerous negative, without “proper guidance”?

Did most members of the laity even recognize real (particularly subtle yet real) liturgical abuses prior to the widespread commercial application of the Internet? Were things wildly different in 1985 versus 2005 in this context?
 
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Duesenberg said:
Did most members of the laity even recognize real (particularly subtle yet real) liturgical abuses prior to the widespread commercial application of the Internet?
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Yes. Probably.

The difference today is anyone with access to a WIFI connection has a soapbox to bellyache about things that are not to their particular liking, and then mask them in claims of these things being “liturgical abuse”.
 
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Hereiam said:
Yes. Probably.

The difference today is anyone with access to a WIFI connection has a soapbox to bellyache about things that are not to their particular liking, and then mask them in claims of these things being “liturgical abuse”.
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Did they, really?

I remember my former pastor doing something that seemed VERY wrong – he would mix an “overabundance” of consecrated hosts with unconsecrated hosts that were then set out for use at Mass. I really didn’t know whether or not he had some sort of authority that allowed him to do it?

I (very naively) asked him about it, and he said that the rubrics surrounding the Mass were only meant as guidelines and suggestions. I sincerely didn’t know any better.

I remember emailing Mr. Colin O’Donovan at EWTN for advice – which he provided, along with back-up. Only THEN did I know for certain one way or the other.
 
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Duesenberg said:
What impact has the Internet had (as a gateway to an ocean of information) to the celebration of Mass in our respective parishes and our overall liturgical experiences at our parishes?
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The internet provides a lot of information on youtube that let’s you see what’s being done elsewhere. If you want to hear what a hymn is suppose to sound like- what byzantine liturgy looks like-or the inside of the Los Angeles Cathedral, you can do it without leaving your house or missing something in your own location.
 
There are more and more parishes streaming Sunday Mass. I don’t have a list of them, but probably be easy to Google. Maybe there are two aspects of that…
  1. Get a chance to see how others are doing things. Someone mentioned music, but in general how the Mass proceeds.
  2. Maybe it might keep things more -let’s say- organized.
I’ve used that in helping bring people (back) to the Church. Remote control with people not in the vicinity. Hey, go watch this, and let’s talk later about your impressions. I’d say fair to good results. I got one friend in New England started on that, who had been away since childhood. Eventually she came back!
 
Good (name removed by moderator)ut. I really do wonder though, those parishes that steam the Mass (an excellent thing in my opinion!), just how serious do the pastors have to underscore the fact that watching a stream of the Mass does not fulfill their Sunday obligation?

Several I come in contact with over the years have been so eager to follow things like: confession is no longer necessary, my wife/husband can receive communion without being Catholic, etc.
 
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We stream a later Sunday Mass. Very UNintrusive. I attend earlier Mass, so it’s not usually mentioned, but when it is, Fr. mentions it’s not a substitute.

That’s what I used a few years ago in the example I used above for my friend.
 
Duesenberg said:
Good (name removed by moderator)ut. I really do wonder though, those parishes that steam the Mass (an excellent thing in my opinion!), just how serious do the pastors have to underscore the fact that watching a stream of the Mass does not fulfill their Sunday obligation?
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I don’t know about other parishes, but when the pastor put in web streaming at the parish I worked at, I had to add the following text (in both English and Spanish) on the page of our website that led to the streaming site:
As a service for our sick and homebound parishioners, St. Anthony’s will be live webcasting all of our Masses and other services for those who are unable to attend these services at the parish. This live webcast does not take the place of your regular Sunday obligation to attend Mass. If, in your prudent judgment, you are physically able to attend Mass, you are still obliged to come to Mass at the Church.
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I think it’s had a big impact. If it weren’t for the internet, I’d never have learned about any of the rubrics or the different ways of saying Mass, and I probably wouldn’t even be going to Mass. It has made me kinda cynical like you said, so I’m not sure if it was good that I learned about the rubrics. 😅
 
Yeah, looking back, a thought my pastor at the time was sort of trying to downplay the problems. In reality, I’m not really too sure that he knew what was going on himself.
 
To be honest I’d never even heard of the different forms of the mass, it wouldn’t have occurred to me that there would be different forms and it has made me curious to go to different masses to see what it is like.
 
If it weren’t for the internet I may have not converted at all. I knew I was being called to the Catholic Church, but without a simple way to learn what I needed to know, I’m nor sure I would have really followed through my conversion.
 
ConfusedLucy said:
To be honest I’d never even heard of the different forms of the mass, it wouldn’t have occurred to me that there would be different forms and it has made me curious to go to different masses to see what it is like.
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Good. Although other people may have known about byzantine or Latin or polka masses, but instead of going just looked at them on youtube.
 
I think it’s a good thing.

When I moved to a new area for my education I used Google to find a Catholic Church within walking distance of where I was staying, and I was able to use that parish’s website to find the church schedule. I was able to know where the church was, what time the mass and the reconciliation was at, and I was able to plan accordingly.

Apart from that the internet makes it easier to access information about the church and about saints, so I don’t have to go to a library and look through books that might not even be there.
 
A dear friend of mine reported back that in her Parish, they stream, but only provide access code to shut ins.

Thus, there would be no fears that someone could park themselves down on the couch, and think they have fulfilled their obligation.

That would make it not open to everyone.

Interesting concept.
 
I wonder, if the widespread commercial use of the Internet existed in say 1965, with average Catholics having access to a great deal of Church information, how would this have effected all the nonsense that began to really ramp-up just a few years later?
 
StephieNorthCo said:
A dear friend of mine reported back that in her Parish, they stream, but only provide access code to shut ins.
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In Pittsburgh, cable TV broadcasts daily and Sunday masses and been doing it for years.

Also, radio masses for those without cable.
 
Sure. EWTN has Mass too. So does many Catholic radio networks.
 
Duesenberg said:
I wonder, if the widespread commercial use of the Internet existed in say 1965, with average Catholics having access to a great deal of Church information, how would this have effected all the nonsense that began to really ramp-up just a few years later?
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Interesting what if. Many things happened in parallel in the 60s. Could the Internet have existed without preexisting conditions of the 60s? That decade had “the pill”, a lot of questioning about many fundamental things, VIi, man on the moon, etc.

But let’s say it did exist. I can see the easy access to info helping with Church info… maybe making misunderstandings fewer. Probably a good thing. But without VII fully in place, and access to a bewildering bunch of info, maybe more people falling away. I can see it going either way, considering Church attendance was already in decline by the late 50s. (I was certainly old enough in that time frame to recall the wonders of science, being dragged across the salvation trail like a big red herring. And dragging many of my friends with it).

Can you imagine an Internet Mass with those huge vidicon based cameras in the way? And being listened to on a big boxy TV?

That’s a really interesting thing to contemplate…

Thanks!
 
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