Why are people so against life teen mass?

[benedictgal]

Thanks for the posts Benedictga

I will see into talking to my youth directer about gathring around the altar thing. I would need an exact source were I could find the documents saying we cannont do that so that I have prove so if anyone could link it for me that would be great. I am not sure I can do anything about the music however cause we current use guitar and an electric drum set and some other proction insturments. I am not sure what all I can do but I ight raise a concern about it. I probly will still go to life teen mass but I will probly dress in my school uniform ( uniform is what I would call church clothes). I also might try and talk to my friends at lifeteen (who I persoanl think are good Catholics) about this but how do I talk to them about this kind of thing. Any help would be appractaed.

Here is a link that you might find rather infornative:

jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2004/07/flash_lifeteen_.html

Some exerpts from the article:

As a result of these and other discussions, the letter states:

As the founder of this youth movement (BG comment: this was written by the founder of the movement, Msgr. Dale Fushek who has now since gone off to found his own church), I am writing to confirm our adherence to the new GIRM, and as always, our obedience to our own local Bishops. In this spirit of obedience, we are asking all parishes that implement the LIFE TEEN model to make the following changes:

1. In accordance with the new GIRM, teens are no longer to enter the sanctuary for the Eucharistic prayer. Being in the sanctuary is to be reserved for the priest celebrant, concelebrants, and those performing a specific ministry.

1. The GIRM very specifically offers three options for the end of the Mass. We are to cease using the phrase “The Mass Never Ends, It Must Be Lived” and begin using one of the three prescribed endings found in the Missal.

1. After music practice or welcoming, please make sure there is a period of silence to begin the liturgical celebration.

1. As we have always taught, please make sure the music does not in any way detract from the action at the altar, ambo, or chair.

1. Please make sure that full implementation of the GIRM is done in accordance with your Diocese and accomplished with a spirit of joy.

I am sure these issues will be hard on some parishes and teens. But, let me assure you, our cooperation with Rome and the BCL will only enhance our liturgical celebrations and our mission in the Church. It will be essential that we catechize our teens and their families on what we are doing, and why we are doing it.

Actually, even the previous edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) did not make allowances for any of these practices.

 

[jhcooper]

We are trending towards creating a quasi-Protestant environment in the Catholic Church. Our kids who are being raised in this environment will find it that much easier to leave the Church for a Protestant denomination. Our kids need to experience a Catholic culture, otherwise, I think we are sowing the seeds of our own misery.

 

[VociMike]

One thing that has struck me over the years here is how many teens and recent teens have objected to the LifeTeen approach. If we can say anything, I think it is safe to say that one size (the standard LifeTeen model) most certainly does not fit all teens.

So, where is the once-a-month LifeTeen Mass with chant and polyphony and incense? Where is the once-a-month LifeTeen Mass in Latin (OF or EF, whatever)? I’m not sure such things exist in any LifeTeen program. I am absolutely certain they don’t exist in the vast majority of programs.

The dismissive answer I sometimes see is “well, those teens can just go to another Mass for that stuff.” So, all teens are not equal in the LifeTeen view? Certain teens get the Mass they want (or it is assumed they want), while the wishes of other teens (wishes entirely in accord with the mind of the Church) are ignored.

For a movement that claims to be for teens, LifeTeen blatantly and continuously discriminates against a large percentage of them as regards liturgical preferences. Explain why that is acceptable.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Watch the videos on this page and then you will know why people are against Life Teen Masses.

charismatic-heresy.blogspot.com/2006/11/life-teen.html

 

[Freshman88]

One thing that has struck me over the years here is how many teens and recent teens have objected to the LifeTeen approach. If we can say anything, I think it is safe to say that one size (the standard LifeTeen model) most certainly does not fit all teens.

So, where is the once-a-month LifeTeen Mass with chant and polyphony and incense? Where is the once-a-month LifeTeen Mass in Latin (OF or EF, whatever)? I’m not sure such things exist in any LifeTeen program. I am absolutely certain they don’t exist in the vast majority of programs.

The dismissive answer I sometimes see is “well, those teens can just go to another Mass for that stuff.” So, all teens are not equal in the LifeTeen view? Certain teens get the Mass they want (or it is assumed they want), while the wishes of other teens (wishes entirely in accord with the mind of the Church) are ignored.

For a movement that claims to be for teens, LifeTeen blatantly and continuously discriminates against a large percentage of them as regards liturgical preferences. Explain why that is acceptable.

Spot on!

 

[trokll]

Thanks for all the post everyone.

Well I persoal would in that group that would want a regular mass. I honestly have never been to a latin mass ( I have only been truley living my catholic faith for only about a year) but that also sounds fun. If I wanted to get reform at my local Lifeteen what would probley be the best way to do it.

 

[TigerKitty]

Let me start off by saying I’m all for anything that involves youth in the Catholic family - HOWEVER -

I’m not fully informed about “Lifeteen” masses. I would like to know more about them.

I can share my thoughts on the “youth mass” at our local church…

It disturbs me. I’m not that old (36). I have served many years in the music ministry of the church, and I believe the sole purpose of liturgical music is to focus the attention and adoration upon the Most Holy Sacrament.

I am so disturbed at the “Youth mass” by the music. It’s TOO LOUD, to thepoint of distortion, and the young women who stand up front in the choir with too short skirts - and the way the youth (boys and girls) sing with these “wordly” “sexual” angst in their voices as you hear on the top 40 radio stations.

And the electric bass players are bopping back and forth as though they are backing Judas Priest (no pun intended!).

I find the whole thing very “of the flesh” and upstaging of the Holy Sacrifice and Blessed Sacrament. I tried out the youth mass about three times, but after the final “hymn” (which, except for the words, is full of suggestive “longing” type of singing and music) the congregation claps…I will never encourage this behavior with applause. I find the whole “teen music ministry” thing just distasteful at this parish.

(I don’t feel at home there at all, but just relocated due to marriage. If I had it my way, I’d rather attend a more tradiaitonal parish with NO music, rather than be exposed to the sexual undertones of the youth choir).

Why can’t we involve and welcome the youth of the Catholic faith in a manner which is more befitting and honorable to the Blessed Sacrament?

• TK

 

[Dauphin]

As someone who was very recently a teen, I can’t imagine what the appeal is. Why would we want to secularize and banalize the most sublime of mysteries? Why bongo drums and rock music instead of the Church’s ancient musical patrimony? To impose modern, profane elements on the liturgy is to obscure the mystery and destroy the tradition.

LifeTeen Masses are utterly incomprehensible, tasteless, and devoid of authentic Catholic spirit.

 

[JPUSC]

I am so disturbed at the “Youth mass” by the music. It’s TOO LOUD, to thepoint of distortion, and the young women who stand up front in the choir with too short skirts - and the way the youth (boys and girls) sing with these “wordly” “sexual” angst in their voices as you hear on the top 40 radio stations.

Your post reminds of this video I found while looking for Mass clips:

youtube.com/watch?v=7C8sh3LJpXw

I believe this is a Catholic chapel.

 

[TigerKitty]

JPUSC -

Oh . My . Goodness .

I just watched your link and only lasted through half of it. EXACTLY what I was talking about. How degrading, and what a total abomination.

The youth choir at our church has about 25 teens, and all the guitars are electric (or amped), and they also have drums and keyboards. The girls do wear such inappropriate clothing - as another poster said, “flirting” is alive and well at these events. I’m avoidng the youth mass like the plague. In their defense, they have never done such a horrible thing as use a secular melody, but they HAVE taken many songs from the “Praise” collection you see advertised on TV. In fact, the youth choir has just released it’s first CD!

The adult choir is not much better (musically they are great, but they don’t know their liturgical place) - they ARE the center of attention at mass (choir is up front at right of altar). And they’ve got their issues, too, although not too bad…but let me tell you, they don’t “need” the congregation to sing with them.

Just found out there is an earlier mass on Sun at a monastary associated with the parish. We’re going there tomorrow morning, and it’s just got to be more reverent - it just HAS to. (Cross fingers!)

• TK

 

[LeroyCRHP]

ym.lifeteen.com/default.aspx?key=aboutus2_home

I think this is what our church follows at the 5PM mass on Sunday. Certainly a very full mass of teenagers and there are 7 other masses. I’m equally amazed at how many do the outside the mass activities. They meet for 1 hour every Saturday night in the adoration chapel in addition to much more.

I think the church has missed programs for the 2-7 year old kids and you see so many people take their kids to Protestant churches for day care and kids activities in that age. The other gap has been in the care and feeding of teenagers. Not sure how many churches have the kids mass where all the kids leave and go hear a mass that is suited for their age, I think there is value in that and also have a having a teenage mass that helps train them.

We just had our annual Destination Jesus with over 850 ~high school age kids.
Article:
francescoproductions.com/articles/catholicmoment/022705c.html
Video from the weekend.
youtube.com/watch?v=6neNzZ-uvxI
Guess Rapping Fr Stan Fortuna may not appeal to some on here.
youtube.com/watch?v=ZCNJx48N5jg&feature=related

I think we have to teach in age appropriate manner.

 

[trokll]

Thanks for all the posts everyone

Okay I know people dont like lifeteen mass but what do you all think of life nights and retreats.

 

[IrishDude45]

Thanks for all the posts everyone

Okay I know people dont like lifeteen mass but what do you all think of life nights and retreats.

Lifenights were good when I used to go to Lifeteen. Granted, the YM had to yell at the group because of people snogging in the corner and stuff…retreats were great! CHWC was great too. Pretty much just the mass itself I have a problem with, no Lifeteen in general was normally awesome.

pax vobiscum

 

[The_Theotokos]

The bottom line for me is the following:

The Mass is not a stage production. The Divine Liturgy is not entertainment. You are not there to be entertained. You are there to unite with God as a community. It’s not a video game, a rock concert, or a night club. Perhaps teenagers who think they need a more age appropriate Mass would do better going back to a Kindergarten CCD class. Obviously they are missing the point of spirituality.

 

[Rocky8311]

The whole system of catechesis that teaches kids all the “answers” early on allows them to think that by the time they complete confirmation that they’ve got it all down and that they are now “officially” Catholic and the work is over. Nobody tells them that the journey has just begun or gives them any direction to make their faith relevant to the world. Worse, since they think they already have all the answers it never occurs to them that they would have a need to ask any questions. You end up with “God in a box” that you pay your weekly dues to and go on about your life.

AMEN!!!

One problem is that Confirmation is not inherently a rite of passage. In the US and elsewhere it is often received toward the end of high school. Young people are literally told that it’s a mark of adulthood. This is utterly false. The sacrament of Confirmation can be conferred on INFANTS just like Baptism can, and this is done in the Eastern churches.

People treat high school catechesis as some kind of graduation from Catholic education, with the crowning “achievement” of receiving Confirmation. It’s absurd.

I can understand that this way of thinking might have been developed with the best of intentions, but there is NO substitute for individuals forming a personal relationship with Christ in the midst of the Catholic church. It can be facilitated by the domestic church (the family), the parish, youth groups, etc.

Back to LifeTeen, are we sure that the goal of just getting youth to go to Mass isn’t way too minimalistic? LifeTeen, I am given to understand, does very good catechesis outside of Mass. I may never understand why individuals LifeTeen supporters pooh-pooh the idea of reforming the liturgy they attend. I think that in many ways, the catechesis is much more important for the kids than it is to have a youth-oriented mass.

I mean, what are the logical steps following that? Some of the people I know who were in Life Teen in high school are Core Team leaders now. What about when they are no longer young? I hope they will know that they still have a purpose. There isn’t really an age-targeting effort after you are out of college or at least after you’re no longer a young adult.

 

[Rocky8311]

During a mandatory Confirmation retreat when I was 16 years old, a young seminarian led us in prayer. He told us to close our eyes and think the words, “Come, Holy Spirit.” He told us to believe in our hearts that the Holy Spirit dwells withint us. In all my years as a Catholic school student, no one had ever said that to me before. That’s what young people need. They need to be taught how to pray, how to read Scripture and use it as a map for their lives. They need to learn to say the Rosary and meditate on God’s Word. We see this huge movement in our country toward yoga and meditation - why not Rosary and meditation? If Life Teen isn’t working, let’s take it in a new direction - a new, quiet, peaceful, meditative direction.

Yes! Not all youth are looking for more noise. I think all people need less noise.

 

[Charles_22]

I was working third shift for about 2.5 years, before I was let go, but during the period I had to go to a LifeTeen Mass, and it was fairly agonizing for me.

The two things that I recall the most easily, that annoyed me, or made it cheap, what have you, is that it basically became pretty much a clap festival. A good many people went out of their way to turn especially the closing hymn into a clap fest. There was often applause after a homily too.

The other thing I most easily recall was the annoying tendency for them have a hymn ‘after’ the communion, so people sat around another good 3-4 minutes extra. That might not had annoyed me so much, but it made prayer after the Eucharist most difficult. Then to make matters even worse, the priest would have everybody rise within 15 seconds of that song being through. IOW, I had about 15 seconds of concentrated prayer, that is, if I hadn’t already became disgusted that they went on and on trying to do who knows what with all the unnecasary extra singing.

These sort of Masses helped turn me away from the Church as a youth, as I was fed up with the Kumbayah garbage and guitars.

BTW, the youth masses I described which are present day, the singing was made worse by a girl, who often sang solo (I wish it was so-low I couldn’t hear her) and was the worst singer I have ever heard behind a microphone; just pathetic.

 

[Rocky8311]

My parish during high school did not have life teen. They have since implemented a different kind of youth-oriented mass. For perspective, I’m younger than 30.

Anyway, what really made the difference for me as a high schooler was a bible study leader whose Catholic faith really mattered to him. I’m hoping to teach religious education classes at my parish (or A parish) in the future but I don’t have the same gift of patience that he does and when I hear something untrue about the faith I feel like I have to contradict it immediately. I probably wouldn’t work well with someone who I didn’t think I had something to learn from.

 

[warartmx]

In those I have talked to, most of those who disapprove of the LifeTeen (LT) Mass are generally over the age of 50. Not all, but most. They are the same people who dislike guitar music during Mass (vs. organ music) and really dislike the use of more contemporary music. Perhaps they feel it is not “Catholic” music? They tend to prefer the old ways…traditional, reverent (a.k.a. slow) music that they can keep up with. What these people do not realize, or perhaps they just don’t want to admit it, is that some of the contemporary music follows Catholic teaching quite well, and the more upbeat rhythms draw in our youth today. This does not make it any less reverent, just different.
As for making time for a “special” Mass, I believe this is a smart investment in the future growth of our Catholic churches. To make the youth feel good about their faith, to learn more about it, and to keep them involved is key. There are so many free-thinking churches out there drawing in the under 30 crowd with their “different” upbeat music, their lack of structure (sacraments, fasting, etc), and other such things that we have to make any additional effort to educate our youth before Confirmation so they are better prepared for the world after they graduate high school. Not all parishes do this the same, but we should encourage those who are trying. Encourage by volunteering, offer friendly advice (vs. negative criticism), ask questions (politely, of course), etc. Communcation is the key, and it’s one too sparsely used. We should try to use it more.**

 

[ibkc]

In those I have talked to, most of those who disapprove of the LifeTeen (LT) Mass are generally over the age of 50. Not all, but most. They are the same people who dislike guitar music during Mass (vs. organ music) and really dislike the use of more contemporary music. **

Hang around here for a while and you’ll find it is quite different. At least on this forum, it often seems like it’s Baby Boomers who are most attached to rock music styles at Mass.