Why Are You In Your Present Parish?

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ez3714

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I am a likely future immigrant to Catholicism, so this question is born of ignorance rather than malice.

I thought being a Catholic was like being a voter: You could only go to the precinct to which you were assigned. “Not So,” I’ve been told. So, I’ve been praying constantly to be led to the Parish where I “belong” and have attended Mass at 5-different ones in hopes of recieving the knowing “You’re Home, Bubba.”

A Catholic acquaintance informs me that I’m being too Protestant about this. He says that, other than stylistic differences between Priests, every Parish is the same. I can hit a different one each week, and it won’t matter. Being a member of the Body is all that counts.

I concede the point that some Protestants - especially us Charismatic/Pentecostal types - have to guard against over-reliance on emotionalism. Even smart Pentecostals caution against this. Still, I recoil at the thought that God has not prepared a special place for me in a group where I need their specific charisms, and where they are incomplete without mine. Just show up for feeding somewhere/anywhere on Sundays, and I’m good to go.

Talk to me, y’all: Do I need my attitude adjusted? How did You arrive at “Home?”
 
ez3714 said:
I am a likely future immigrant to Catholicism, so this question is born of ignorance rather than malice.

I thought being a Catholic was like being a voter: You could only go to the precinct to which you were assigned. “Not So,” I’ve been told. So, I’ve been praying constantly to be led to the Parish where I “belong” and have attended Mass at 5-different ones in hopes of recieving the knowing “You’re Home, Bubba.”

A Catholic acquaintance informs me that I’m being too Protestant about this. He says that, other than stylistic differences between Priests, every Parish is the same. I can hit a different one each week, and it won’t matter. Being a member of the Body is all that counts.

I concede the point that some Protestants - especially us Charismatic/Pentecostal types - have to guard against over-reliance on emotionalism. Even smart Pentecostals caution against this. Still, I recoil at the thought that God has not prepared a special place for me in a group where I need their specific charisms, and where they are incomplete without mine. Just show up for feeding somewhere/anywhere on Sundays, and I’m good to go.

Talk to me, y’all: Do I need my attitude adjusted? How did You arrive at “Home?”
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I’m rarely at any one place for more than a few months at a time…
But when I’m at home, I’m at one of two parishes because they are the most traditional parishes in my area.

When I’m at school (both abroad and in the States), I am at the FSSP - It’s the only Traditional Latin Mass I can find in the area, and I travel ~40-60 mins to get there.

When I’m at work/internship, I’m at the closest “traditional” parish I can find, be it the TLM or a reverent NO (typically the former:-D).
 
I do not attend my local parish church because it does not offer the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. For this reason, I travel to another parish across the city. If my local parish decided to regularly offer the Traditional Latin Mass, I would attend every week. However, my local parish church is not equipped for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, nor does there appear to be a strong demand for it.

I am more than willing to travel for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and I look forward to attending every Sunday. I attend the Ordinary Form throughout the week, but I would switch to a Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form if this became available.

Another reason I choose to attend another parish is that my local church is not traditional. There are no stained glass windows, few statues, no paintings, no altar rail, and no high altar. I have a preference for traditional churches because these (name removed by moderator)ire me to pray and worship the Lord. I find traditional churches more awe inspiring, and they remind me that I am in a holy place.
 
Ok, you guys are Way over my head with most of that. But the parts that I understand are parts that I have felt guilty about.

I have heard some wonderful Priests. But I find many churches to be about as awe-inspiring as a TGI-Fridays. (No pun intended). Am I wrong to desire to be put in awe? Or is that my personal responsibility, and not that of the church architect?
 
Our family converted from protestantism.

The awe you are looking for may not come from the parish itself. In fact the awe should not come from the parish.

It is the presence of Christ in the eucharist that blew me away. He is there. Very there. And it has little to do with the priest who officiates at Mass. Priests and parishes come and go.

However, it is lovely to find a church family that you can work and play with. Keep looking. And if you are moved more strongly by the traditional Mass I hope you can find one of those.

But remember, it is Christ who calls you. Not a parish priest or parish community. They are icing on the cake.
 
ez3714 said:
Ok, you guys are Way over my head with most of that. But the parts that I understand are parts that I have felt guilty about.

I have heard some wonderful Priests. But I find many churches to be about as awe-inspiring as a TGI-Fridays. (No pun intended). Am I wrong to desire to be put in awe? Or is that my personal responsibility, and not that of the church architect?
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Lol, I kind of expected that.

No, you are not being wrong in wanting to be awed. I think (personally) that by attending a TLM, you will be awe-struck. If not the first time, then a few times after that.

I think the best I can recommend to you, right now, is read “This is the Fatih” by Canon Francis Ripley. It’s like a catechism, but it’s in “book” form, so it’s an easy read. But, it’s not dumbed-down or higher-level, so anyone can access it.

While you do that, find a TLM to assist at. 😉

If you need help finding a TLM (if there is one nearby), PM me, and I’ll help ya out.
 
I’m a convert from evangelical Protestantism, along with my husband, who grew up in the Assemblies of God.

Beware! Others who are cradle Catholics don’t understand, but I do–you are falling into the Protestant trap of church hopping. Stop it right now! OK?

We attend the parish that we are assigned to. It’s right up the street from our house, so we never have the excuse of “too far away.” It’s a huge parish with nine Masses on Sunday, but we have settled in and made some friends. My husband is an assistant with RCIA, and I play piano on a substitute basis. The Masses are othodox, reverent, and abuse-free. There are several choices of Mass, depending on your preference in music (traditional, no music at all, contemporary, folk, rock).

I would strongly suggest attending the parish you are assigned to, unless you discover from other Catholics that you know and trust that it is a liberal parish. You can probably spot this easily enough–if you hear the priest talking about the need for abortion to be legal, e.g. But BE CAREFUL! To some “traditionalist” Catholics, ALL of the Catholic churches that don’t use the Latin Mass are “liberal.” Don’t listen to them.

As a Protestant convert, you must get used to the idea and accept the doctrine that YOU are no longer in charge. Your CHURCH is in charge. Your CHURCH is your Authority, because Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. You do not have control anymore like you did as a Protestant.

Cradle Catholics, please back off of this one. You have no clue what it means to be Protestant and be your own pope, and so you don’t really understand what the OP is asking. You are trying to turn this into a EF vs. OF debate, and that is NOT the issue here!. Please allow this dear convert to assimilate and practice giving over the authority to his Church. Please.

As for being awed, I agree with the poster who said that the Eucharist, Jesus Christ Himself, will awe you if you keep your eyes off all the trappings and stained glass and veils and altars and statues. They are beautiful indeed, and helpful to enhancing your “feelings.” But as a Protestant, surely you know by now that feelings are fleeting, and will vary depending on what you had for breakfast and how much sleep you got the night before and what’s going on with your job. BEWARE! Look at Jesus–He is Truly Present in ANY Catholic Church. Learn to be joyful in your spirit, no matter what the externals are (noise, distractions, people wearing indecent outfits, screaming children, etc.). Learn to worship internally, in your spirit, just as Jesus said that we shall worship Him in spirit and truth.

A wise Christian will enjoy the beauties of this earth, including beautiful Catholic Churches with magnificent organs and singing and language, but that same wise Christian will be aware that all of these things can and will be taken away in an instant. If they are your only joy, then you will suffer horribly when an illness prevents you from attending the Mass of your choice, or when a new priest is assigned who does things differently, or when you move to a different city, or heaven forbid, when you are given over to an enemy and imprisoned (this happens to soldiers, missionaries, journalists, etc.–I’m not being overly-dramatic.)

Be humble and docile and SUBMIT to the Church by attending the parish that you are assigned to. The discipline of submission will do you much good and enhance your relationship to Jesus, who tells us that the ones who love Him obey Him. (I believe the refereence is John 14: 21)

The only exception should be if you are of a certain ethnic background, and there is a parish in your city that is for your ethnicity–then you can certainly request to attend this parish. We have an Italian parish, a Polish parish, and a Hispanic parish in our city, and I often play for the Italian parish–always a pleasure for me.
 
I attend, yea am a member of, the local Melkite parish.

Why? Because it’s the healthiest spiritual enviornment I’ve experienced.
 
In my previous parish, I heard a dirty joke told by a priest during the Mass while he was on the altar.

I just love my present parish, thank you very much.

Actually, I attend two parishes: My official home parish offers a reverent English-language Mass. Sometimes I attend the Latin Mass downtown at my secondary parish.

~~ the phoenix
 
Cat:

Faithful are the wounds of a friend. You are correcting me firmly, but I do not for a second question your love for me as a brother in Christ.

I am, however, the brother that every sister wants to slap into the middle of next week…one body part at a time if necessary. Shall I interpret your post as acknowledgement that God does indeed have a specific place in a specific local church for me, but that in order for me to see it, I must first demonstrate obedience? Then let Him move me around as He sees fit? Could that be why I am failing to get the “You are now home” message: because I need to seek first the Kingdom, and trust that the rest shall be added?
 
I live in a college town that has a Newman Center that probably more closely resembles the Protestant church you’re leaving than a Catholic Church. The bored college students, guitar music, etc, makes it difficult for me.

My town also has a small parish, which in the 1980s moved from a beautiful old brick country church into a new, ugly, banal church. The pastor consistently abuses the rubrics of the Mass, so I don’t like that one, either.

These environments are not conducive to my spirituality, so I go to the nearest cathedral, 45 minutes away,where two priests offer the EF. Because, as Cat so eloquently put it, the Masses in my little town are much too liberal.
 
to answer the title question, because I live here.
in general a Catholic is a member automatically of his territorial parish, unless he is under some other jurisdiction, by rite, ethnicity etc. Unless there is a very good and necessary reason he or she should participate in parish life there. Nowdays, sadly, when liturgical abuse and dissent is so widespread there are no guarantees that he can support his faith in the territorial parish, so he should seek the most convenient parish that does meet the needs of himself and his family.
 
We have the blessing of having perhaps 15 parishes within a 20 minute drive.

During the many years we were broke, we lived up the street from one of the poorest inner city parishes in the area where we attended, our kids were educated, baptized and confirmed, and where one was married. It is not air conditioned and the pastor is in his mid seventies now. Occasionally the rectory gets robbed and once in a while the church. But the Blessed Sacrament is firmly ensconced in the old altar.

Once things got better, we moved to a few blocks from one of the more well to do parishes in the suburbs. It has everything - wonderful floral displays, contemporary seating, air conditioning, three priests. Yeah you have to look around to find the blessed sacrament, but it’s there somewhere.

We continue, however, to drive over to the old parish. When I pray there before the Blessed Sacrament, when I put my envelope in the bucket, and when I look around and see a lot of people with big families and not so great clothes, I feel pretty good about it.
 
ez3714 said:
I am a likely future immigrant to Catholicism, so this question is born of ignorance rather than malice.

I thought being a Catholic was like being a voter: You could only go to the precinct to which you were assigned. “Not So,” I’ve been told. So, I’ve been praying constantly to be led to the Parish where I “belong” and have attended Mass at 5-different ones in hopes of recieving the knowing “You’re Home, Bubba.”

A Catholic acquaintance informs me that I’m being too Protestant about this. He says that, other than stylistic differences between Priests, every Parish is the same. I can hit a different one each week, and it won’t matter. Being a member of the Body is all that counts.

I concede the point that some Protestants - especially us Charismatic/Pentecostal types - have to guard against over-reliance on emotionalism. Even smart Pentecostals caution against this. Still, I recoil at the thought that God has not prepared a special place for me in a group where I need their specific charisms, and where they are incomplete without mine. Just show up for feeding somewhere/anywhere on Sundays, and I’m good to go.

Talk to me, y’all: Do I need my attitude adjusted? How did You arrive at “Home?”
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I don’t think all parishes are the same, some are more traditional in style than others. Some look like a movie theater with the arrangements of pews. Some are more traditional in architecture. It depends on what you like.

There are differences in parishes in what groups they offer. Some have very active Knights of Columbus, some do not. Some have groups for various age groups, some have singles groups, some have groups for widows/widowers, etc. Some churches are much smaller and some are huge. There is something for everyone. It does not hurt to “shop around” to find where you feel at home and where the homilies inspire you.

My parish is the one I grew up in. But we were away from our hometown for some thirty-two years, much of which time I was away from the church. When we moved back to our hometown, I started going back to the old church (153 years old) and came back to Mother Church. Although there are other parishes more “up to date”, I love the traditions and setting of my parish.
 
ez3714 said:
I am a likely future immigrant to Catholicism, so this question is born of ignorance rather than malice.

I thought being a Catholic was like being a voter: You could only go to the precinct to which you were assigned. “Not So,” I’ve been told. So, I’ve been praying constantly to be led to the Parish where I “belong” and have attended Mass at 5-different ones in hopes of recieving the knowing “You’re Home, Bubba.”

A Catholic acquaintance informs me that I’m being too Protestant about this. He says that, other than stylistic differences between Priests, every Parish is the same. I can hit a different one each week, and it won’t matter. Being a member of the Body is all that counts.

I concede the point that some Protestants - especially us Charismatic/Pentecostal types - have to guard against over-reliance on emotionalism. Even smart Pentecostals caution against this. Still, I recoil at the thought that God has not prepared a special place for me in a group where I need their specific charisms, and where they are incomplete without mine. Just show up for feeding somewhere/anywhere on Sundays, and I’m good to go.

Talk to me, y’all: Do I need my attitude adjusted? How did You arrive at “Home?”
Click to expand...
In my opinion the best way to choose a parish is to volunteer for activities. Try out serving on several committees to see which one you fit into the best. When you find the committee you enjoy the most, then stick with that parish and get to know the Priest. Volunteer as much as you can for whatever your major interests are and then you will find your “home parish”.
 
I live in a college town that has a Newman Center that probably more closely resembles the Protestant church you’re leaving than a Catholic Church. The bored college students, guitar music, etc, makes it difficult for me.
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I was raised a Baptist, and we never used guitars.
 
ez3714 said:
Cat:

Faithful are the wounds of a friend. You are correcting me firmly, but I do not for a second question your love for me as a brother in Christ.

I am, however, the brother that every sister wants to slap into the middle of next week…one body part at a time if necessary. Shall I interpret your post as acknowledgement that God does indeed have a specific place in a specific local church for me, but that in order for me to see it, I must first demonstrate obedience? Then let Him move me around as He sees fit? Could that be why I am failing to get the “You are now home” message: because I need to seek first the Kingdom, and trust that the rest shall be added?
Click to expand...
Yes, I think you’re definitely approaching this with a good attitude.

I suggest that you read an excellent book called “The Imitation of Christ,” by Thomas A Kempis. You can find it online or in Catholic bookstores. There are so many wonderful things in that little book, but I think the best is the teachings about humility and contentment.

I think you’ll find that as you turn your eyes upon Jesus, the things of this earth will truly grow strangely dim. (You know the hymn.)

And even if the music isn’t exciting, the organist is lame, the cantor can’t carry a tune, the hymns sound dead, and the priest is boring–that doesn’t matter. These are things of this earth, and the humans who are doing them are doing them the best they can. Try very hard to open your spiritual eyes and ears, and you will see (in your spirit) the angels who surround the altar at Mass. You will hear them singing and playing the heavenly melodies, and you will hear the Holy Spirit teaching you the deep teachings of God, straight from His Word, which is proclaimed at every Mass–you remember that we have the promise that the Word of God will not return void.

Now take care–I’m NOT saying that we should divorce ourselves from the physical. As you know by now, the Catholic Church is very physical. It restores the balance between our flesh and our spirit (Protestant churches tend to totally disregard the physical realm). There is much richness in the Catholic Church–I often call it a castle. Certainly enjoy these things when you have the opportunity–gorgeous organ music, vibrant rock music (at our Life Team Mass), the candles, the statues, the altars, the golden gilt, the vestments, the incense–oh, how I love it all, after the staid and stark “gymnasium” churches that I grew up in!

But don’t allow these things to become more important that Jesus Christ Himself. Even the most humble little Catholic Church, with the most dull pastor and music in the world, becomes magnificent when Jesus is made Real on the altar and we receive Him.

In the readings this week, Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” Remember this, and attend the parish to which you are assigned. Learn to love it, just as you learn to love your spouse.
 
My wife and I moved to this area 2 years ago. We tried several parishes within a 10 mile radius, but settled on our present parish because we really like our priest, Father Dave. He is just so full of love for the Lord and this comes out in the way he says Mass and presents his homilies. The plus side with our parish is that we have met a lot of good folks here. Because of this envirornment, we were inspired to become Eucharistic Ministers. The actual physical church was built a little weird, one of the reasons I didn’t like the place at first, but the other congregants drew us “home”. Good Luck! You WILL find the right parish. It will just happen!
 
I wouldn’t get too worried or anxious about it, but I think it becomes a vice to “parish hop.” If are really really into the EF (old Latin mass), then go ahead to wherever it is offered, or if sometimes for convenience’s sake or whatever reason you go somewhere other than your parish, fine, but I think one should go to one’s local parish just as in the “precinct” example. And just maybe… your presence there or your getting to know the pastor will have some influence on toning down any flakiness that might be happening at your parish. There are so many dangerous traps of pride, willfulness, etc., lurking everywhere, especially now. The Evil One wants to divide us into camps, to make us into snobs about liturgy, to isolate us, etc. etc. Let’s stick to our communities and rebuild the Church from within. Good luck to you!
 
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