What now virtually-abandoned liturgical practices from your youth do miss most?

[Phemie]

While not a practice per se, I miss going to the Mass when everything felt instinctively “correct” while I was largely oblivious to the actual rubrics.

Sometimes knowledge of the rubrics can be extremely distracting.

“AMEN” to that! In some ways I’d like to go back 10 years to a time when GIRM would have been a misspelled disease-causing organism and when I didn’t have to keep my eyes closed during Mass to avoid seeing Fr. do the fractioning rite while the Sign of Peace is being offered, then pass around the Body of Christ to the EMHCs & altar servers like a bowl of candy as we’re saying the Agnus Dei, then take Communion himself at the same time as the EMHCs and altar servers.

 

[byers]

The praying of the prayers especially to St Michael the Archangel after Mass.

 

[daeve]

Yepper…reminds me of my days at St John the Baptist near Chicago growing up…EIGHT Masses on Sunday, and at almost every one, two to three priests came in to distribute Communion…mostly out of need, I’m sure…when you’re running one-hour-and-fifteen-minute headways, there isn’t time to tarry

Back in the 60s my parish didn’t have an actual church. Right after the new school was built, the church burned down. There was no money to build, so they put the church in the gym of the school. It was there for at least 20 years. During that time, there would be Masses on Sunday in the church/gym and at the same time in the school cafeteria. There were two at 9am, 12 pm and on Saturday evening too.

In the 80s in Brooklyn, the parish there did the same thing. It was a huge parish, and on Sunday there were two Masses going on most of the morning…one in the church and one in a big meeting room in the basement. But I’ve never seen a parish that big before. We had over a 1000 kids in the school of religion the 3 years I taught there.

 

[Antonia_T]

I miss respect for the sanctitiy of mass. It has all become too casual.

Toddlers play on the alter steps and their parents just smile. Recieving communion is like feeding time at the zoo, while the person in front is still walking away, the servers have already begun with “Body of Christ” and it is in your hand before you can get the words “Amen” out of your mouth. People chatting in church before and after mass while you are trying to pray. And my all time favourite, clapping the choir or band at the end of mass.

I could go on but I think you get the idea.

 

[Anthony02]

These were all things which I regularly experienced in my post-Vatican II youth (the 1970s), yet, for the most part, I haven’t seen in two decades.

In no particular order:

• Receiving communion at altar rails
• Altar boys (not girls) with patens
• Sanctus bells
• Priests actually preaching from the pulpit (instead of wandering around like a talk show host)
• The priest purifying the sacred vessels at the altar (however I recently saw an Indian priest at one local parish doing this)
• The choir actually in the choir loft
• Extra priests coming out at communion time to help distribute
• Confessions offered immediately before Mass
• Pre-Mass rosaries
• Post-Mass recitations of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
• Post-Mass benedictions
• May crownings

I’ve barely experienced any of them in the last 20 years despite the fact that I attend Mass at many parishes in my travels…and despite the fact that Vatican II NEVER abolished any of these practices!

What now virtually-abandoned liturgical practices from your youth do miss most?

My parish has almost all that and we celebrate the Novus Ordo Mass in English. Our parish uses the Santus bells, our Diocese won’t allow female alter servers, our priests are stationary during the homily, the precious vessels are purified at the altar after communion, our choir is in the choir loft in the back of the Church, we use instituted acolytes (all male of course), confessions are heard half hour before every Mass, daily rosary before Mass, we pray for the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel, and have benediction as well as exposition of the Blessed Sacrament ever monday through friday. We don’t use communion rails and since we use acolytes, we don’t have the other priest help with communion. Those are the only things mentioned we do not do. We are blessed to live in such a great diocese. Our bishop is as orthodox as they get.

 

[benedictgal]

As late as 1976, we were still using the Communion Rail in my hometown. I say 1976 because that was the year I received First Holy Communion and I received on my tongue as I was kneeling at the communion rail. I certainly miss that.

I also miss the black vestments. When I was a little girl, our pastor had worn black vestments on Good Friday. My mother explained that we were in mourning for Jesus.

As far as the sanctus bells are concerned, I do miss them at my current parish. We do have them, however, at the Cathedral.

 

[James_Miller]

I miss the priest ringing a bell at the moment of leaving the sacistry so we all knew to stand. The priest wearing his biretta and after genuflecting handing it to the altar boy. The priest putting his biretta on at the end of Mass.

 

[lak611]

I miss the priest ringing a bell at the moment of leaving the sacistry so we all knew to stand. The priest wearing his biretta and after genuflecting handing it to the altar boy. The priest putting his biretta on at the end of Mass.

My pastor does not wear biretta, but he has an altar boy ring a bell by the sacristy door before the procession out of the sacristy to the altar. This is something he started doing right before Christmas. He got tired of standing in the back of the church waving his hands so the organist knew when to start playing. Now everybody knows when Mass is starting.

 

[JimG]

My pastor does not wear biretta, but he has an altar boy ring a bell by the sacristy door before the procession out of the sacristy to the altar. This is something he started doing right before Christmas. He got tired of standing in the back of the church waving his hands so the organist knew when to start playing. Now everybody knows when Mass is starting.

Now that’s a good idea. I do recall the altar boy ringing the ‘starting bell’ now that it’s been mentioned. It seems to me that it would still be useful now that the priest and servers are coming from the back of the church and not the front.

 

[Sarabande]

Now that’s a good idea. I do recall the altar boy ringing the ‘starting bell’ now that it’s been mentioned. It seems to me that it would still be useful now that the priest and servers are coming from the back of the church and not the front.

Yes, it is a good idea. Our sacristans ring the bells when the mass starts as well since we don’t have altar boys at our cathedral.

 

[lak611]

Now that’s a good idea. I do recall the altar boy ringing the ‘starting bell’ now that it’s been mentioned. It seems to me that it would still be useful now that the priest and servers are coming from the back of the church and not the front.

My priest also is starting in the front not the back. He comes out of the sacristy, goes down the side aisle toward the back, then comes up the middle aisle to the altar, like the way the procession is done in the TLM.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

I’ve been letting this thread go on for awhile, but nobody has listed what I miss: Forty Hours’ Devotion.

I grew up in Chicago northside German parishes, St. Gregory and St. Alphonsus. The Redemptorists (St. Al’s) are VERY big on 40 Hours, and they conducted more than one retreat at St. Greg’s.

Yes, there is adoration. Yes, a parish in my area has perpetual adoration. Yes, Corpus Christi is being revived. But nothing quite brings it home like Forty Hours, the Eucharist in procession with the K of C, the A&R Society, Holy Name, the First Communion class in their outfits, all honoring Our Lord in the Eucharist, 40 hours of prayer.

 

[lizaanne]

• Receiving communion at altar rails
• Altar boys (not girls) with patens
• Sanctus bells
• Priests actually preaching from the pulpit (instead of wandering around like a talk show host)
• The priest purifying the sacred vessels at the altar (however I recently saw an Indian priest at one local parish doing this)
• The choir actually in the choir loft
• Extra priests coming out at communion time to help distribute
• Confessions offered immediately before Mass
• Pre-Mass rosaries
• Post-Mass recitations of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
• Post-Mass benedictions
• May crownings

I’ve just now gotten to this thread -

Wow - we have everything on this list at our parish except for rosary before Mass, unless that happens over at the school or convent I’m not aware of. We are very blessed.

~Liza

 

[lak611]

I’ve been letting this thread go on for awhile, but nobody has listed what I miss: Forty Hours’ Devotion.

I grew up in Chicago northside German parishes, St. Gregory and St. Alphonsus. The Redemptorists (St. Al’s) are VERY big on 40 Hours, and they conducted more than one retreat at St. Greg’s.

Yes, there is adoration. Yes, a parish in my area has perpetual adoration. Yes, Corpus Christi is being revived. But nothing quite brings it home like Forty Hours, the Eucharist in procession with the K of C, the A&R Society, Holy Name, the First Communion class in their outfits, all honoring Our Lord in the Eucharist, 40 hours of prayer.

My parish tried to have 40 Hours’ Devotion, but they could not get enough people to come to the church in the early morning hours. Nobody signed up for 4 am to 5 am. I signed up for 2 slots, 2 am to 3 am on both Saturday and Sunday morning. Both my pastor and a layperson spoke about this, but the interest among the parishioners was not there. My parish also tried Adoration, but the interest was not there either.

 

[maryj]

• Receiving communion at altar rails
• Altar boys (not girls) with patens
• Sanctus bells
• Priests actually preaching from the pulpit (instead of wandering around like a talk show host)
• The priest purifying the sacred vessels at the altar (however I recently saw an Indian priest at one local parish doing this)
• The choir actually in the choir loft
• Extra priests coming out at communion time to help distribute
• Confessions offered immediately before Mass
• Pre-Mass rosaries
• Post-Mass recitations of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
• Post-Mass benedictions
• May crownings

What now virtually-abandoned liturgical practices from your youth do miss most?

We have them all, except May crownings. I’ll be asking Father about that at our Pastoral council meeting on tuesday. Hey, does blessing of throats on St. Blaize count. I miss that.

 

[lizaanne]

We have them all, except May crownings. I’ll be asking Father about that at our Pastoral council meeting on tuesday. Hey, does blessing of throats on St. Blaize count. I miss that.

We did this yesterday at our parish - it was the first time I’ve had my throat blessed! It was really a cool thing!

I wonder if there is a blessing of hands for those of us who try to spread the Truth over the internet?

~Liza

 

[daeve]

My pastor does not wear biretta, but he has an altar boy ring a bell by the sacristy door before the procession out of the sacristy to the altar. This is something he started doing right before Christmas. He got tired of standing in the back of the church waving his hands so the organist knew when to start playing. Now everybody knows when Mass is starting.

We have a very old priest who broke his hip last year. When he’s the celebrant, we have the bell because he doesn’t process up the aisle. The other priest is waving from the back, but the cantor is waiting for him, so it’s not like he’s trying to catch someone’s attention.

I don’t remember the biretta coming off and on again.

 

[daeve]

We had throat blessing yesterday too. I have a chronic cough that’s centered in my throat not my lungs. I’m hoping this helps because nothing else has.

 

[Lepanto]

Entrance bells, birettas, black vestments at funerals, 40 hours devotions, blessing of throats, saintly sodalities, Corpus Christi/eucharistic processions, receiving communion at altar rails, etc…all are wonderful pious practices that I’ve never experienced.

Another would be the “churching” of women. Never seen it.

If not for my own reading and CAF I might not even have ever heard of these practices despite having attended numerous parishes over the past several decades.

One would think that Vatican II suppressed and forbid these practices under pain of excommunication, because in my experience they are all but extinct.

Makes me wonder how much less the next generation of Catholics will know.

 

[daeve]

Entrance bells, birettas, black vestments at funerals, 40 hours devotions, blessing of throats, saintly sodalities, Corpus Christi/eucharistic processions, receiving communion at altar rails, etc…all are wonderful pious practices that I’ve never experienced.

Another would be the “churching” of women. Never seen it.

If not for my own reading and CAF I might not even have ever heard of these practices despite having attended numerous parishes over the past several decades.

One would think that Vatican II suppressed and forbid these practices under pain of excommunication, because in my experience they are all but extinct.

Makes me wonder how much less the next generation of Catholics will know.

What do you mean by the “churching” of women? Am I going to get mad at you?