Why is it so hard to find a CATHOLIC Mass at a CATHOLIC Church?

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DavidFilmer

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I am a Catholic in a large city (Portland, Oregon). I am simply AMAZED how difficult it is to find a CATHOLIC Mass.

I can find PLENTY of Catholic Parishes that celebrate their OWN version of the Mass (which is neither “catholic” nor “Catholic”). I can find Parishes where the sermon is preached by a layperson (while the priest sits), or where the liturgy is re-worded to fit the feminist ideals of some priest or liturgical director, or where the normative manner of Eucharistic reception is intinction by the communicant (I’m not exaggerating – I have experienced all of these things and more).

As a Catholic layperson, I have a RIGHT to the Sacraments - celebrated in the manner proscribed by the Catholic Church. Yes, this is my RIGHT under the norms of Catholic jurisprudence.

It’s one thing if my RIGHTS are abridged due to lack of resources (such as Communion Services in the absence of a priest), but it’s quite another thing when my rights are trampled upon by the very priests who charged with upholding them as their sacred duty!

I don’t ask for Latin hymns. I don’t ask for bells and incense. All I want is a Parish that “says the black and does the red.” All I want is a Parish that celebrates the Sacraments the way it’s supposed to! Why do I have to drive twenty miles (and pass six Catholic churches) to find this???

Why is it so darned difficult to find a CATHOLIC Mass at a CATHOLIC Church?
 
I can only imagine the heresy that goes on in larger cities, but it seems that personal interpretation of God’s will has plagued the Church from her infancy.
Pray the Rosary for those 20 miles, in can’t hurt.😉

It was 7 miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. 😃
 
Yeah, portland is a pretty crummy place to go to church. I know a couple who crossed the bridge and went to a church in battle ground, Wa to find a nice orthodox mass.
 
My brother, who died at an early age, leaving a wife and several children, lived in Portland. He must be turning over in his grave. They were staunch catholics, now his wife, a grandmother many times is living with a man she is not married to, who has been married and divorced five times, my nieces and nephew follow in her foot steps, are into really strange stuff, etc. etc… We have observed the strange stuff coming out of Oregon for some years now, so it is no wonder things are so amiss in the church there and every where. I also long for a place of peacful orthodox worship. Our diocese is closing half of the inner city parishes, it seems to want to push us into a few jam packed parishes for money’s sake, as for me, the local Latin Mass church is looking mighty good. I pray daily for the Pope and all church leaders and for Jesus to return soon or there won’t be anybody left. Amen.
 
Peace David,

I’m sorry for your experience. I just moved from Portland (Lake Oswego), and I can’t say that I experienced anything quite that bad. I’ve heard some inclusive language, but none of the outright abuses you mention…I guess I was lucky? Where are you?

Parishes where I’ve attended Mass include Our Lady of the Lake (Lake Oswego), Resurrection (Tualatin - Stafford Rd exit off Hwy 205), St. John the Apostle (Oregon City), Mt Angel Abbey (Mt Angel…okay, that’s definitely off the beaten path). Are any of these close to you?

I went to St. Francis (Sherwood) for adoration because they have a perpetual presence in a chapel - ditto for St. Joseph (Salem) and St. Mary (Corvallis) - , but I can’t vouch for their masses.

Hopefully
 
Sorry…hopefully, you’ll find a good home.

I have friends in the Knights of Columbus who were happy with the orthodoxy of their parishes, so let me know and I can make more recommendations.

God bless,

Robert.
 
Greetings,

I was based in Portland as a Flight Attendant and attended various Catholic Churches until I found one I really liked when I moved to Vancouver. I was looking for a Charismatic Prayer group and did find one in WA.

I have never ever been in a Catholic Church anywhere, where a lay person preached the Homily. For some strange reason, some folks still think a Deacon is a lay person. Could this be what you are talking about?

Do they celebrate Mass at the Grotto?
 
Look up Holy Rosary right near the Blazer center, or whatever it is. Very orthodox, faith-filled church. In fact, it’s almost TOO conservative for my conservative mom.

I went there when I visited for Thanksgiving. It’s awesome. 👍
 
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robertaf:
Greetings,

I was based in Portland as a Flight Attendant and attended various Catholic Churches until I found one I really liked when I moved to Vancouver. I was looking for a Charismatic Prayer group and did find one in WA.

I have never ever been in a Catholic Church anywhere, where a lay person preached the Homily. For some strange reason, some folks still think a Deacon is a lay person. Could this be what you are talking about?

Do they celebrate Mass at the Grotto?
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Yes they have Mass at the Grotto. There is a schedule on their website. Being in RCIA I don’t know if our Mass is or is not up to par. It seems pretty traditional, priest does the homily most times. We have a seminarian who’s done the homily once or twice. But it seems to be by the Book most weeks.

I could ask around and see if there are some parishes known to have traditional Mass in this area. Portland is way “out there” but I’d hope the Church could remain true to her traditions.

Lisa N
 
wow, i totally forgot the grotto! that is a really cool mass to go to especially the outdoor one in summer!
 
first of all, all you Portlanders i feel you pain. i live here too. for those of you who dont remember our state is the one that almost didnt pass the ban on “gay” “marriage”…especially in the Gomorrah (portland, multnomah county) area.
I go to Portland State University which is very hostile to Christians, though there are a lot of Christians who stay quiet. also there is a Newman center and a good Catholic Church next door.

I haven’t been to many Catholic Churches here, so just i was wondering which Churches were the problematic ones you speak of ? I go to St John the Baptist, Milwaukie, they seem fine to me, though they could work on some stuff.
 
Might have alot to do with the current dilemna of finding it so hard now-a-days to find a catholic in a catholic church.

We’ve got a lot of work to do…"Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;” (Matthew 9:37)

God Bless…
 
If it is a Catholic parish under the Diocesean Bishop, then it is a Catholic Mass. You might not like it, it might even have abuses, but that does not change the fact that it is a Catholic Mass.
 
I know what it’s like.

I’ve tried attending Masses near me and it is very frustrating. I attend only three parishes in the Seattle Area: Holy Family, Blessed Sacrament, and St Monica’s. I have attended the Tridentine indult a couple of times as well.

It was even worse when I lived in Phoenix. 😦

Have you tried Holy Rosary Parish?:
holyrosarypdx.org/

or Mount Angel Abbey?
mtangel.edu/

I’m not sure how far you’d have to travel, but it’s nice to have a good Mass. Luckily, I only have to travel 10 to 15 miles now.
 
Hi! I’m new here. Maybe someone would know where I can find a reverent Mass in the Las Vegas area.

I used to go to the Thomas Aquinas college in CA. Now I feel like I’m in the desert in more ways than one!

😦 :crying: Thank you for any help.
 
I know how you all feel. I’ve witnessed these abuses myself. Up until recently, my new parish had laypeople often giving homilies while a priest was present. Our new full-time priest put an end to this–which was clearly a liturgical abuse according to Redemptionis Sacramentum. He also stopped what I called “the liturgy of the announcements.” At the end of each mass, before it was over, about ten people would line up to pass the cordless mike to give their announcements. Our new priest now gives them himself before the start of the mass. These changes are starting to restore the reverence for the mass, something which seems to have been lost in so many parishes.

Rome is aware of these problems. I’ve been told before that our church moves in centuries rather than years, so changes tend to take a long time. We have the GIRM and Redemptionis Sacramentum, which are meant to stop these abuses. The problem is that many parishes haven’t implemented them. If you see violations of these documents in your masses, it is your obligation to charitably bring them up to the pastor. If he ignores you, then you go to the bishop. If he ignores you, then you write to Rome. Eventually it will be fixed, but it may take a long time.
 
Hi, everyone, thanks for your replies.

I didn’t mean to suggest I have been unable to find a Catholic Mass (ie, celebrated according to the norms proscribed by the USCCB). I have actually found one - St. Anthony’s (81st near SE Powell, in the midst of a retirement community). What annoys me is that there are six Catholic Parishes much closer than this (I live past the airport, in Parkrose), but none of them offer a Mass which is celebrated in the ordinary manner proscribed by the Catholic Church.

montanaman, thanks for mentioning Holy Rosary. I was a member there for many years. It is a VERY orthodox parish - and, yes, some would say too orthodox (‘holier than the Church’).

robertaf - yes, I am aware that Deacons are not laypeople and may preach the Homily. This is not what happened in my experience (since the layperson was a woman, it could have hardly been a deacon). This happened at a very large parish (one of the three largest in Portland) very near my Parkrose neighborhood whose patron Saint is a well-known Carmelite (those familiar with Portland probably know which one I’m talking about).

Lisa N - The Grotto is VERY near to me, and I’ve visited often, but I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Mass there. I had other reasons to believe that they were not very orthodox. I would be interested to hear your further impressions. But you say that a seminarian has preached the Homily. I really hope he was an ordained transitional Deacon (and vested with a diagonal stole) as most fourth-year Seminarians would be. A non-ordained Seminarian may NOT preach a homily except in the Seminary Chapel by dispensation of the Bishop (and CERTINALLY not at a public Mass at the Grotto).

Catholic Dude - You say you go to PSU, which is “very hostile to Christians?” Um, isn’t PSU a Catholic university? Is it really that bad?
 
At the end of each mass, before it was over, about ten people would line up to pass the cordless mike to give their announcements. Our new priest now gives them himself before the start of the mass. These changes are starting to restore the reverence for the mass
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I think you confuse clericalism with reverence.
 
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katherine2:
At the end of each mass, before it was over, about ten people would line up to pass the cordless mike to give their announcements. Our new priest now gives them himself before the start of the mass. These changes are starting to restore the reverence for the mass
Click to expand...
I think you confuse clericalism with reverence.
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I think your both off on this. It is ok to have the announcements before the dismissal of the Mass.

To say that this change is clericalism is false. It seems to me to be a better way, to have one person who already has a mic on to give the announcements rather than having 10 people do it with a cordless mic.
 
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ByzCath:
I think your both off on this. It is ok to have the announcements before the dismissal of the Mass.

To say that this change is clericalism is false. It seems to me to be a better way, to have one person who already has a mic on to give the announcements rather than having 10 people do it with a cordless mic.
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My primary objection was the hint that this be left entirely to the priest and that anything else lacked reverence. However, I can accept your observation that it seems to you that having one person (clerical or lay) give all of the announcements can be preferable. Respecting the liberty of each community to determine what works best for them, I would note that for my parish wer prefer the practice of the person who is involved or leading the activity being announced give the annoucement.

The advantage is mistakes are less often made, names are not mispronounced, details are not left out, people can see the person they need to contact, etc

But to each their own.
 
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