What will make more younger people come to mass?

[Andreas_Hofer]

I would disagree. Catholicism is the most “aesthetic” of the religions and has a distinct respect for how art and music moves people emotionally to deeper faith and prayer.

Well, take it up with the pope…

I’m not saying, though (nor is His Holiness) that liturgical music should not be “moving;” of course it should move the individual to greater depths of prayer. The critique is just that when that motion is primarily one of the passions, the depth isn’t being reached. Cdl. Ratzinger called the ideal a sort of “sober inebriation.” The inebriation comes from the movement toward and union with God, but the sober element comes from the fact that good sacred music leads us to contemplate God, not feel something about God.

This is sort of a side-issue to the thread, so I won’t dwell on it, but the sad fact is that most of us, myself included, simply don’t know what the ideal in Catholic music is; we wouldn’t be able to tell you what we should be singing. All we know is what we have been singing, and this leads to great confusion because lots of that stuff is what, in the opinion of the pope, many great liturgists, and sometimes even our liturgical law, never had a place in our worship to begin with.

 

[chicago]

Well, take it up with the pope…

Oh, I’d be happy to share a good conversation upon the matter with him!

I’m not saying, though (nor is His Holiness) that liturgical music should not be “moving;” of course it should move the individual to greater depths of prayer. The critique is just that when that motion is primarily one of the passions, the depth isn’t being reached.

I don’t think that this is necessarily the case. I would suggest, for instance, that Gregorian Chant is something which speaks to the passions. If it is not intended to elevate the spirit, also, via that means, then what good is it? But, of course, that isn’t to say that other forms of music can’t do similar things.

Cdl. Ratzinger called the ideal a sort of “sober inebriation.” The inebriation comes from the movement toward and union with God, but the sober element comes from the fact that good sacred music leads us to contemplate God, not feel something about God.

And this can occur with various types of music. One of the most intriguing experiences I have had with Mass, for instance, was at a liturgy which employed only “praise and worship” style songs. But there was absolutely no doubt that the participants were being moved to comtemplation of the Lord, in a way that I hadn’t seen at most Masses, especially ones with more traditional hymns which people often sleep through.

This is sort of a side-issue to the thread, so I won’t dwell on it, but the sad fact is that most of us, myself included, simply don’t know what the ideal in Catholic music is; we wouldn’t be able to tell you what we should be singing. All we know is what we have been singing, and this leads to great confusion because lots of that stuff is what, in the opinion of the pope, many great liturgists, and sometimes even our liturgical law, never had a place in our worship to begin with.

While this is certainly true, I’d also caution that the present pontiff’s sensibilities are more German and reserved, by nature. A pope or liturgist from another environment might feel differently. The point is one, which returns to the topic at hand I think, of sensitivity to inculturization.

 

[Cat]

I would say generally that any song people might describe as “exciting” probably doesn’t belong in the Mass.

Well, then, I guess that’s the end of Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.

 

[m134e5]

what are some suggestions to how we can make the Mass more relevent to this younger generation? what can we do to encourage youger people to be more engaged and envolved in the Mass?

Have parish groups for young adults. Many parishes have youth groups, and kids programs- and programs for people over 40- but nothing for people between 18 and 35. They need groups for men, groups for women, groups for couples, groups for singles (and not just to help you find dates or convince you to save yourself for a vocation you may not be called to). These groups should get together for lunch or something after Mass, and meet during the week at least every 3 weeks (once a month is not often enough- in that age group, too much goes on in a month for that to be enough).

Church Music…I’m not saying you have to have guitar Masses or anything, but don’t let the music drone on and on either. The choir should sing like they want to be there, and the organist shouldn’t play hymns too slowly. They should also encourage those who can sing to be in the choir.

Ministry opportunities- whether they be mission trips, or opportunities to help out in the parish in more ways than giving them money and praying- young adults want to get involved. If they are just expected to go there and sit, they will get bored with it.

 

[po18guy]

I would disagree. Catholicism is the most “aesthetic” of the religions and has a distinct respect for how art and music moves people emotionally to deeper faith and prayer.

Rhetorical question: How many were singing and clapping at the crucifixion?
Since mass is and will always remain the eternal sacrifice, the crucifixion made present to us, I think deep contemplation and sorrow for ur sins (that caused it in the first place) is the proper attitude. Problem is, Catholicism and Protestantism are apples and oranges competing for souls. We need prayer meetings and praise services (which “they” have) outside of mass, but HARD to get anyone to those…

Protestantism, in effect, has trivialized the sacrifice, making it much more difficult to unite the faith.

Christ’s peace to all.

 

[Lepanto]

what are some suggestions to how we can make the Mass more relevent to this younger generation? what can we do to encourage youger people to be more engaged and envolved in the Mass?

Isn’t this what Teen Life Mass was supposed to accomplish?

 

[PatienceAndLove]

This would be precisley my advice from my own relatively recent experience (I’m only 24). All through my high school and college years I was presented with programs “geared toward me” that were horribly insulting. I was treated like someone who was incapable of understanding the Faith and would probably reject it if I heard it. Then I was subjected to liturgies that many people my age enjoyed but that were the exact opposite of what I needed to quench my spiritual thirst - they gave me hugs, clapping, rock music (no kidding, like Phish and Dave Matthews), no kneeling, when all I wanted was transcendence, a taste of the Divine. Granted, lots of people loved what they had to offer, but what they had to offer didn’t change them. Even the choir directors were binge drinkers who slept around. Tinkering with the liturgy doesn’t bring people to the faith, it just brings them to a substitute for it.

A second area of insult was actually more one of betrayal, when I found out that my priests and teachers had been withholding so much of Catholic teaching and tradition from me. All the things that never get taught because they think people don’t want to hear, well, I wished I had heard. And when I finally did I felt so betrayed.

Now, as some have pointed out, this doesn’t exclude being creative outside the liturgy. But being creative doesn’t mean presenting the faith as something congruent with “cool” culture. That’s where the biggest part of the challenge comes in. People will die for an exclamation point, but they won’t lift a finger for a question mark. We need to offer the Catholic faith and its traditional life in all its fulness. We need to offer it as something countercultural. We need to not shy away from its distinctiveness. All the talk of how much we share with our Protestant brethren and how much we can do together may have a purpose, but it’s certainly not going to, on its own, draw people to the ONE true Church of Christ. Part of what His Holiness is now trying to do is restore Catholic identity so we all will have something distinctive we are proud to be a part of and pass on to others.

EXACTLY!!! Glad to know that I am not the only 20-something that was COMPLETELY disenchanted and disappointed in the things “geared” towards “me”. And I felt betrayed when I learned the Fullness of Truth. It was like my “elders” felt I was only “ready” for spoonfuls of information that had to be watered down for me to “understand”

 

[Teelynn]

I’ve heard it said and seen a small amount of evidence that the younger priests coming out of seminary are much more orthodox. That tells me that the tide is indeed changing. It would also tell me that what is starting to be taught is also more orthodox. More like the “real” Catholic Church. This is exactly what is needed for every age group including our youth. Yes, they need a sense of belonging and purpose, they need to be challenged. We need talented leaders that can reel them in for that. And instill that sense of being needed and wanted, but as important as that if not more so is the real truth to be taught. We need priests that are on fire for The Lord and His Church, the REAL Catholic Church. The watered down message of “Jesus loves us unconditionally and will accept us no matter what and lets have group hugs” (excuse me), is not the whole truth. And our teens are smart enough to know that, so they keep searching for the truth. The more the Church conforms to the real message of the Gospel, the more they will be attracted to it. And the more the Mass is celebrated with the Majesty and Mystery that was intended, and the more they are taught what the Mass really IS, the more they will return.

We need a few thousand more Fr. Corapi’s and Fr. Larry’s at our disposal. A priest in my diocese once told me that he has a prayer in the Sacristy: “LORD, MAY I CELEBRATE EVERY MASS AS IF IT WERE MY FIRST AND AS IF IT WERE MY LAST.” Maybe we need that prayer to hang in every Sacristy.

 

[Tim_Kirchoff]

It seems that what adolescents want is the opposite of what they grew up with-- those from stricter backgrounds like charismatic, and I for one would like to see more Latin masses

 

[PatienceAndLove]

We need a few thousand more Fr. Corapi’s and Fr. Larry’s at our disposal. A priest in my diocese once told me that he has a prayer in the Sacristy: “LORD, MAY I CELEBRATE EVERY MASS AS IF IT WERE MY FIRST AND AS IF IT WERE MY LAST.” Maybe we need that prayer to hang in every Sacristy.

Fr. Larry is my Pastor.
No- we don’t have LT

 

[4unborn]

It seems that what adolescents want is the opposite of what they grew up with-- those from stricter backgrounds like charismatic, and I for one would like to see more Latin masses

If we see more Latin Masses, we will see more young people at Mass. Even if you do not care for the Latin Mass, tune in this Friday to see a most beautiful shrine:

SOLEMN HIGH MASS
EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE ROMAN RITE (90:00) LIVE
Celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass from the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama.
Sept. 14 8:00 AM - Live
Sept. 14 6:00 PM Encore
Sept. 15 12:00 AM Encore

I have emailed EWTN, viewer@ewtn.com, asking them for the Latin Mass as frequently as possible, and plan to continue to do so.

 

[Cat]

Rhetorical question: How many were singing and clapping at the crucifixion?
Since mass is and will always remain the eternal sacrifice, the crucifixion made present to us, I think deep contemplation and sorrow for ur sins (that caused it in the first place) is the proper attitude. Problem is, Catholicism and Protestantism are apples and oranges competing for souls. We need prayer meetings and praise services (which “they” have) outside of mass, but HARD to get anyone to those…

Protestantism, in effect, has trivialized the sacrifice, making it much more difficult to unite the faith.

Christ’s peace to all.

Read Book 4 Chapter 3 of Imitation of Christ. Several times the Disciple uses the word “Celebrate” to refer to the Mass. Once he actually says “communicate or celebrate”. This is an ancient book, full of contrition for sin and sorrow for our worthlessness, but there is still talk of celebration and joy during the Holy Mass.

The Catechism of the Cathlolic Church refers to Mass as a liturgy of celebration. Paragraphs 1345 through 1355 describe “The Liturgical Celebration of the Eucharist.” Paragraphs 1356 through 1372 discuss the Sacrifice of the Mass, including the admonition that the Mass is a Sacrifice of Praise (the meaning of Eucharist).

Although there is certainly good in remaining sorrowful during parts of the Mass (the Confiteor, the Agnus Dei, possibly the readings and homily), there are many parts of the Mass in which which we should be joyful and lift up our hearts and voices in loud praise to the Lord. E.g., the Gloria is not the time for sorrow. Neither is the Alleluia or the Sanctus. And depending on the readings and homily, we could be joyful during these as well.

I personally think that the transubstantiation is an incredibly joyful time during Mass. I don’t feel sorrow because My Lord is now present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity! I am awed and grateful, but not sorrowful.

And the Closing Hymn should be a joyful time as well. Mass is ended. We are to go in peace (to love and serve the Lord!). This is the perfect time for happiness and joy, not sorrow.

Anyway, give those CCC paragraphs a read, as well as the Chapter from Imiitation of Christ.

 

[boppaid]

What will make more younger people come to Mass?

How about their parents?

– Mark L. Chance.

That’s true. But what happens if their parents fail? What can WE do, as fellow Christians?

 

[chicago]

If we see more Latin Masses, we will see more young people at Mass.

How do you figure that?

 

[Epsilon_Omega]

Have it be mandatory that all teens in your parish attend a Steubenville conference Have the stronger teens be trained, so they can have some leadership qualities.

 

[patches]

EXACTLY!!! Glad to know that I am not the only 20-something that was COMPLETELY disenchanted and disappointed in the things “geared” towards “me”. And I felt betrayed when I learned the Fullness of Truth. It was like my “elders” felt I was only “ready” for spoonfuls of information that had to be watered down for me to “understand”

Honestly, I think the “elders” have been trying to find their way through a period of confusion themselves. And in their own bewilderment, they have been incapable of passing along what they were so unsure of themselves. I think it has a lot to do with an insidious decades-long move in the direction of questioning of the Real Presence. If you really think about it, if there is a strong faith in the “source and summit,” how can everything else not fall into place: reverence, awe, humility, respect, etc? But I have great hope, the movement toward worshipping a god of our own making, rather than the One who is, seems to be gradually reversing itself. Ironically, (God’s favorite way) it seems to be happening through a renewed sense of true faith of the young.

 

[Soldier4Christ]

Have the stronger teens be trained, so they can have some leadership qualities.

The Archdiocese for Military Services has a program to train young adults (18-35) to start up and lead groups of their peers discussing the faith. It’s called Catholics Seeking Christ. Relatively new, but has had a decent amount of success. Some civilian dioceses have either used this same program or developed something similar to it. The website is www.cscmilarch.org

 

[Heather07]

Well, one answer might pretty much be the life-teen masses. But if priests will wear clown noses, sprinkle holy pumpkin juice and give out chocolate chip cookies it would have the same “positive effect”.



So what’s my point? While I think the so called life-teen masses might draw in young people, I don’t think we should have such masses. I think they generally have a negative effect on the people. I would much more prefer good education and thus making sure that by the time a child grows up, they will understand all about mass, the importance of it and the reason why masses are not a social gathering of people to generally have a good time (well, they should have a good time but for an entirely different reason).

50 years ago we didn’t need life-teen masses, why do we need them now?

In Christ,
~G

I totally agree.

I am 21 now but I came into the Church when I was 19 and I had been attracted to it for quite some time before then and I can honestly say that if it weren’t for the Latin Mass and the more “conservative” & “traditional” aspects of the Mass, I would not have been as attracted to the Church. I think modern music and socializing are perfectly fine, but should be done outside of Mass.

My grandfather is a convert and he told me that the first thing that attracted him to the Church was how quiet and reverent ppl used to be before and after Mass and how there was no chatter PERIOD…now as soon as the priest makes his final procession down the isle to the doors, the whole church is full of chatter before the music even stops and I have seen ppl on their knees trying to pray but I don’t see how they can concentrate with all the loud noise…why can’t ppl just wait until they are outside of the church to talk? Just my opinion, no offense intended.

I think trying to dumb the Mass down for younger ppl like myself is not really helpful, and it may seem insulting to some because bringing it “down to their level” almost sounds like they are somehow below other “normal” Catholics. I know I would not have settled for anything less than a traditional reverent Mass…Latin is nice but not manditory, as long as there is solemn reverence, and thats becoming harder and harder to findin a lot of parishes, I have looked when searching for parishes out of town and usually am disappointed.

My main point is that the Mass has remained the same for 2000 years and I think it should remain the way Christ intended it to be for everyone of all ages and not try to change it to suit current popular adittudes. I just don’t like the Mass to be watered down for any reason or excuse. If God wants to draw in more young ppl, they will come one way or another, I believe.

This is just my own humble opinion.

 

[Tim_Kirchoff]

The Latin, I think, is more appealing to those who already go to Church regularly, like me. It’s not a bad thing, but charismatic is more likely to bring in those who aren’t going already.

 

[KCT]

The Archdiocese for Military Services has a program to train young adults (18-35) to start up and lead groups of their peers discussing the faith. It’s called Catholics Seeking Christ. Relatively new, but has had a decent amount of success. Some civilian dioceses have either used this same program or developed something similar to it. The website is www.cscmilarch.org

Thanks for the link. I’m in Baltimore and we’re happy to have Archbishop O’Brien here!

I have a son in the Navy and will forward the link. —KCT