Why haven't i learned a single thing in Mass

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Hey…did our e.e. cummings devotee go away? I was interested in learning about Mormonism through the eyes of a Mormon learning about Catholicism.
 
I am an old lady and I have never heard a priest cuss during mass or any other time either

This person needs RCIA and a big dose of truth serum…
 
Salonika said:
While I agree that the aim of the Mass is not instruction in the faith, I feel short changed if the homily does not either give me real food for thought or at least introduce me to some new aspect of the gospel reading, make me think about my interpretation of the reading and/or how I should change my behaviour or attitude as a result.
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Maybe there is a lesson there in humility or compassion, in the priests inability to present and our inability to accept his failing. Maybe in these cases the lesson we are being taught is about attitude instead of behavior? I don’t know but it seems I’ve been hit from the side by lessons on numerous occasions:o
 
I don’t understand this attitude at all. Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and all you can do at Mass is think “Yeah, well, what has his church done for me LATELY? Why isn’t it all crystal clear for ME?”

God’s gift to you is already and always before you. Mass is a time when you come together to recognize, celebrate, praise, and revere HIM for the gift that He has given you…for the gift that He IS for you!

I suggest if you want answers to specific questions you have, call up your local parish and ask to schedule a meeting with a member of church leadership who can answer your questions (the Priest or a Deacon, I’m assuming…I don’t know because I’ve never done it, but I’m going to soon). Mass is not an appropriate time to question or dispute any aspect of the faith.
 
dzheremi said:
I don’t understand this attitude at all. Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and all you can do at Mass is think “Yeah, well, what has his church done for me LATELY? Why isn’t it all crystal clear for ME?”

God’s gift to you is already and always before you. Mass is a time when you come together to recognize, celebrate, praise, and revere HIM for the gift that He has given you…for the gift that He IS for you!

I suggest if you want answers to specific questions you have, call up your local parish and ask to schedule a meeting with a member of church leadership who can answer your questions (the Priest or a Deacon, I’m assuming…I don’t know because I’ve never done it, but I’m going to soon). Mass is not an appropriate time to question or dispute any aspect of the faith.
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Although a good homily can get a person to think more deeply about his/her faith and in the process this can lead to questions about various aspects of faith. This type of questioning can lead to a closer walk with Christ. A good homily can uncover misconceptions.
What I remember from orientation to the Theology class I never took about reading scripture is “look for the questions, not the answers.” It was a freeing comment that allows a person to enter the mysteries of life and faith.
 
redrosetea said:
I am an old lady and I have never heard a priest cuss during mass or any other time either
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Young man, never heard it either. Forgive my cynicism but I think that was just a little ‘‘extra’’ shot at the Church, to bolster up his side of the argument, which is falling down around his ears.
 
Um…well, yes. I agree with that. I am confused as to why you quoted my post. Is your post meant to answer some question you thought I was asking? There is a difference between a good homily that causes us convinced Catholics to reevaluate our faith and question our assumptions and someone who attends mass with the attitude that they can’t learn anything from it because it is nothing but a bunch of dead rituals, as presumably such a person will not listen to the homily with open ears anyway. It seems that the OP really needs to reach a basic understanding of the reasons for the form and content of the mass before they can even be open to the homily in the first place.
 
falisrm said:
Mass has to be one of the least interlectural meetings in existance. The sermons the priest gives is quite frankly, a joke. Half the time he just begs people to be “good” and to make an attempt to come to church. The words have no substance or value.

The rest of the mass is tradition of sitting down, standing up, sitting down, standing up. It took me 2 times to memorize the entire thing. After the sermon is the “peace be with you” peace be with you". sit down, stand up. It the mass some sort of ordinance of memorized meanings?
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It is obvious that you are taking way to much “me” to mass.
It seems obvious that you are going to mass to see what “they” will “give” you. What will “they” “teach” you. that really is not what the mass is about. The mass is ABOUT the Eucharist. It is also about sharing the Good news through the reading of scripture (2 readings during the week and 3 on Sundays) The Homily is generally just a short talk geared to the readings.

It is, primarily, a time of praise and thanksgiving to God for His Loving Providence and Blessings in our Lves. It is an opportunity to receive Christ physically into ourselves and to reaffirm our committment to Him in so doing.

I could go to Mass and be completely satisfied and refreshed even if there were no serman given at all.

My advise to one in your position is to look at what you are “expecting” the mass to be and recognize that the mass is NOT a “Prayer meeting” or “Bible Class” but rather a sacramental activity of great significance and devotion, culminating in our receiving, into our very selves, the Body, blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ Himself.

Peace
James
 
Mass isn’t necessary about learning new things, it’s a practice of faith in reverence to God…you can always learn things by yourself, there is catechism, self research, thousands upon thousands of catholic courses and such, and let’s not forget Google our best friend.

If you believe you get rubbish sermons use Google for good sermons, homilies, speeches, encyclicals, etc.

Seriously man, complaining about a lack of information these days is just showing a lack of incentive on your part.
 
JRKH said:
It is obvious that you are taking way to much “me” to mass.
It seems obvious that you are going to mass to see what “they” will “give” you. What will “they” “teach” you. that really is not what the mass is about. The mass is ABOUT the Eucharist. It is also about sharing the Good news through the reading of scripture (2 readings during the week and 3 on Sundays) The Homily is ]generally just a short talk geared to the readings.
It is, primarily, a time of praise and thanksgiving to God for His Loving Providence and Blessings in our Lves. It is an opportunity to receive Christ physically into ourselves and to reaffirm our committment to Him in so doing.

I could go to Mass and be completely satisfied and refreshed even if there were no serman given at all.

My advise to one in your position is to look at what you are “expecting” the mass to be and recognize that the mass is NOT a “Prayer meeting” or “Bible Class” but rather a sacramental activity of great significance and devotion, culminating in our receiving, into our very selves, the Body, blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ Himself.

Peace
James
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Indeed! 👍
The Trappist monastery in Conyers often does not have a homily.
 
redrosetea said:
I am an old lady and I have never heard a priest cuss during mass or any other time either

This person needs RCIA and a big dose of truth serum…
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Maybe the topic of the homily was The Four Last Things? 😃
 
DebChris said:
I would disagree that we should not expect anything from Mass. Since the Sacraments are efficious signs of the Holy Spirit, we can expect to be transformed, to become more Christlike. To worship is “to place ourselves at the service of.” We will not necessarily “feel” the inner change that is taking place within us, but if we truly believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, we can also expect that our lives will more fully become a reflection of that life that we receive when we partake of the Eucharist.
I agree the Mass is not a place for entertainment. It is a place of transformation.
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Sorry…I realized I didn’t phrase that properly. What I meant to say is that we shouldn’t expect to necessarily “feel” anything when we are at Mass. That “feel good” doctrine and emotionalism are what the fundamentalists and Protestant charismatics use to draw people away from the Church. How you feel isn’t always indicative of what’s happening to your soul. We don’t have to “feel” anything for the Sacraments to work, they work regardless.
 
falisrm said:
I’m saying they don’t teach you a single thing about the gospel. You can go for a hundred years and they would never have taught you they believe in the Resurrection or the doctrine of the resurrection. Meaning, we will all be resurrected just like Christ was and we’ll all have eternal, physical bodies in heaven. With the same body we have right now. They don’t teach those kind of doctrines or principles in mass.
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They do in my Mass. Maybe you need to try a different Parish. There is always a lesson to be learned each week from the Gospel, and my Priest presents it in such a way that I always find something personal I can take from it…and I am not even a Catholic.
 
falisrm said:
I’ve been dozens of times and they haven’t taught a single thing. Its just a ritual. The only thing that makes sense is the sacrament part with the communion.
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I think that God want us to continue to change and grow throughout our entire life, and to always deepen our understanding of him.

If the mass you attend is just a ritual that doesn’t improve your relationship with God, then I recommend finding another way to worship him.
 
I am just curious to know why if the OP is mormom are they attending Catholic masses?

OP are you still there? I’d really like to know why you are going to a Catholic Church.
 
Poor little Falisrm, please pray this prayer every day for a week:
Code: 
      LORD, I do believe, heal my unbelief.
I guarantee results.

Peace,

Gail
 
falisrm said:
Mass has to be one of the least interlectural meetings in existance. The sermons the priest gives is quite frankly, a joke. Half the time he just begs people to be “good” and to make an attempt to come to church. The words have no substance or value.

The rest of the mass is tradition of sitting down, standing up, sitting down, standing up. It took me 2 times to memorize the entire thing. After the sermon is the “peace be with you” peace be with you". sit down, stand up. It the mass some sort of ordinance of memorized meanings?
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No, the Mass is the Holy Sacrifice of Christ. It is much more than a mere ‘meeting’. We all mourn the virtual breakdown in catechetics, but if you want to learn about the central truths of our faith I suggest you consult the St Pius X Catechism. Prior to the mid-sixties, most Catholic kids were obliged to learn the Baltimore Catechism by rote (no easy task!), and there was greater assurance that Catholics were intimately acquainted with the tenants of their religion. All that has now been swept away, and it is to the detriment of us all. Seminaries no longer teach theology to same rigour as they used to and the condition of the liturgy in 90% of US parishes is abysmal. It’s easy to get depressed in the face of such a crisis, but if you want to get good preaching and liturgy I suggest you change parishes, a Traditional Latin Mass in communion with Rome is usually a guarantee of both orthodox preaching and gorgeous reverent liturgy.
 
falisrm said:
Mass has to be one of the least interlectural meetings in existance. The sermons the priest gives is quite frankly, a joke. Half the time he just begs people to be “good” and to make an attempt to come to church. The words have no substance or value.

The rest of the mass is tradition of sitting down, standing up, sitting down, standing up. It took me 2 times to memorize the entire thing. After the sermon is the “peace be with you” peace be with you". sit down, stand up. It the mass some sort of ordinance of memorized meanings?
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You aren’t even Catholic! I wouldn’t get anything out of a Mormon service or protestant. I have no understanding of their beliefs.

Everything in the Catholic Mass makes sense. We participate. We dont just sit compfortable. I have heard comments about Mormon and Protestant services but I won’t go into it because for them it might have meaning. For me it has none.
 
falisrm said:
Mass has to be one of the least interlectural meetings in existance. The sermons the priest gives is quite frankly, a joke. Half the time he just begs people to be “good” and to make an attempt to come to church. The words have no substance or value.

The rest of the mass is tradition of sitting down, standing up, sitting down, standing up. It took me 2 times to memorize the entire thing. After the sermon is the “peace be with you” peace be with you". sit down, stand up. It the mass some sort of ordinance of memorized meanings?
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Hmm. Mass is an act of worship. It is prayer and sacrifice. It brings us the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is not like Protestant services nor is it like Sunday School or Bible classes. It’s an opportunity for a community to come together and prayerfully, as one, worship Almighty God. There is always instruction available regardless of the grandeur of a homily. The readings are assigned to the Mass. All people are given the same readings for reflection and understanding, no matter how well or how poorly the priest or deacon might present his thoughts on the readings in a homily.

Maybe you would appreciate attending some classes in Church history or in Scripture or in Theology. The Mass feeds our souls - and if we allow it - our minds and hearts too.
 
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