Worst Liturgical Abuses?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Crusader
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Crusader

Guest
What are the worst liturgical abuses you have been witness to?

At my parish I have seen extraordinary ministers of holy communion acting literally as concelebrants as they stood around the altar and took communion along with the priest.

I have also seen barefooted liturgical dancers in the sacristy that was downright offensive. Liturgical dancing is a special abuse here in my diocese.

I have also seen “excess” Precious Blood treated in a horrible manner.
 
At my former Jesuit parish, lay people will routinely give the Homily on the feast of the Holy Family, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This has occurred for years. The book is also brought up by the lay person who is the First Reading Lector. On Unity Sunday last year a Lutheran minister who is female gave the homily and sat on the alter with the Pastor (she did not concelebrate the consecration thank God).
I finally left that parish after experiencing the Mass at the Cathedral. There is nothing like being at a parish that is traditional in every sense of the word. Imagine a mass with incense and the sprinkling rite every Sunday, not just at Easter and Christmas.
  • LauraAnn
 
I can’t say that I’ve wittnessed anything as bad as what has already been mentioned but I’ve heard of a Easter mass where the priest dressed as the Easter bunny. I’ve also heard of clown masses and imagine this stuff happened during the 70’s.
 
40.png
lauraannj:
At my former Jesuit parish, lay people will routinely give the Homily on the feast of the Holy Family, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This has occurred for years. The book is also brought up by the lay person who is the First Reading Lector. On Unity Sunday last year a Lutheran minister who is female gave the homily and sat on the alter with the Pastor (she did not concelebrate the consecration thank God).
I finally left that parish after experiencing the Mass at the Cathedral. There is nothing like being at a parish that is traditional in every sense of the word. Imagine a mass with incense and the sprinkling rite every Sunday, not just at Easter and Christmas.
  • LauraAnn
Click to expand...
That’s very painful to hear about. No wonder so many people are becoming fanatics about precisely how the Mass is celebrated.
 
one of the local priests, instead of vesting in the traditional advent colors during football season, vests in the colors of the local professional ball team.

Might be technically an abuse, although perhaps he is just showing his team spirit and attempting to create a buzz.
 
40.png
Fullsizesedan:
one of the local priests, instead of vesting in the traditional advent colors during football season, vests in the colors of the local professional ball team.

Might be technically an abuse, although perhaps he is just showing his team spirit and attempting to create a buzz.
Click to expand...
Might also be a confused individual who is placing recreational sports ahead of Jesus Christ. Very sad.
 
At the Catholic School where I teach the priest brings up students from different grades to stand behind the altar with him during the eucharistic prayer and then through their reception of the eucharist when they return to their seats. During the celebration the priest has the students bow with him and the whole thing seems rather concelebratory.
 
40.png
Crusader:
What are the worst liturgical abuses you have been witness to?
Click to expand...
“Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world.” -Philippians 2:14

Liturgical abuse is a sad truth in the modern Church that we can hope to correct. But we must be careful to insure that our efforts towards reform do not degrade into grumbling and complaining.
 
jccurtis said:
“Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world.” -Philippians 2:14

Liturgical abuse is a sad truth in the modern Church that we can hope to correct. But we must be careful to insure that our efforts towards reform do not degrade into grumbling and complaining.
Click to expand...

“Grumbling and complaining” is certainly not preferred, but if it get results, I’ll take it over well-mannered apathy anytime.
 
40.png
Charles:
At the Catholic School where I teach the priest brings up students from different grades to stand behind the altar with him during the eucharistic prayer and then through their reception of the eucharist when they return to their seats. During the celebration the priest has the students bow with him and the whole thing seems rather concelebratory.
Click to expand...
Far better if this priest had young men serving at the altar as altar boys in place of this uncomfortable and embarassing charade.
 
How about these? All of these happened to me at different times in different parishes.
  • I walked into one parish where the church was being renovated. Daily Mass was held around the rectory dining room table. The Eucharist was in a ciborium sitting on the mantle of the rectory with the Paschal Candle next to it. Communion was distributed by each person passing the patten to the next and saying “The Body of Christ.” The communicant would then pick the Host up out of the patten and take it.
  • One parish had a communal penance service where we wrote down our sins, showed the paper to the priest, and received absolution.
  • At the aforementioned service, the priest would say, instead of the regular words of absolution "Grant your servant pardon and peace, and absolve him of all sins . . . "
  • Another priest said the following substitute for the words of absolution “Christ forgives your sins in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
  • I went to a Holy Thursday Mass where the readings were read “dramatically” (kind of like the Passion on Palm Sunday), and they had the washing of hands. At the time, I didn’t know better and thought it was a cool way to get participation of the entire congregation. Now I know that the only Scriptural precedent was that of Pontius Pilate.
  • One priest gave a homily on rational-emotive therapy. No, I’m serious, his theme was that “our feelings are caused by our perceptions.”
  • The Memorial Acclamation was replaced with the chorus of Marty Haugen’s “We Remember.”
  • The Creed was skipped. The priest said he was doing it, so there’s no way in heck that this was an accident.
  • The Litany of the Saints on Easter Vigil included King Solomon. Granted, he might be in Heaven, but this isn’t grounds for public veneration.
I have been fortunate not to have to endure such things as a crucifix with balloons on it, clowns coming in to Mass, priests wearing “football team” vestments, or anything that outrageous, but, as you will note, I may have received potentially invalid absolution on more than one occasion. This is just as serious as any abuse in the Mass.

David
 
40.png
Fullsizesedan:
one of the local priests, instead of vesting in the traditional advent colors during football season, vests in the colors of the local professional ball team.

Might be technically an abuse, although perhaps he is just showing his team spirit and attempting to create a buzz.
Click to expand...
Yeah… I can see the Pope doing the same thing… sure. :eek:
 
I’ve seen most of the above, and here’s a question. Is it abuse to have a puppet show after Communion at every Mass? Maybe not technically but you can imagine what part the young kids look forward to the most. . . .

Nicole in St. Louis
 
40.png
Crusader:
What are the worst liturgical abuses you have been witness to?

At my parish I have seen extraordinary ministers of holy communion acting literally as concelebrants as they stood around the altar and took communion along with the priest.

I have also seen barefooted liturgical dancers in the sacristy that was downright offensive. Liturgical dancing is a special abuse here in my diocese.

I have also seen “excess” Precious Blood treated in a horrible manner.
Click to expand...
Last Easter vigil, we were out of town and went to a Catholic Church in the town we were visiting. There were two dancers very poorly dressed in my eyes, and they were all over the Church. In addition at the point where the “Priest says this is my body” there were 8 extraordarny ministers all holding the Lord and they raised him up with the priest and self comunicated.

Two weeks latter in a different Catholic Church in that town and they decided not to say the Creed, when I asked the deacon about it after mass he replied father is in a hurry, I had to walk away I was so angrey and hurt.

The good news is none of these takes away from the perfection of the Church, it just shows they let sinners like me be a part of the Church. May our blessed Mother help all of us to be in line with the fathers will.
 
I guess you need to hear how bad it gets elsewhere. My biggest complaint is singing and changing the words in the Gloria, the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei.
 
I am glad to count my blessings after reading this thread.
God bless my Bishop.!
 
This sounds scarey to me as a Protestant on my way to Catholicism. I guess it means I need to be very careful what parish I choose to go to. :confused:
 
40.png
patricia:
This sounds scarey to me as a Protestant on my way to Catholicism. I guess it means I need to be very careful what parish I choose to go to. :confused:
Click to expand...
God bless you on your way to become Catholic! One thing I hope you keep in mind is that the"Church" is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic; it is the Body of Christ with Christ as its head. It is now, has been, and will continue to membered by sinners. There have been different periods during the two-thousand-year history of Christ’s Church when too many members of the Church Militant have lost their way and caused scandal upon the Church in the eyes of the world. However, our Lord promised that the Gates of Hell will never prevail, and He has kept that promise for these two-thousand years. The Church has survived great and widespread heresies, but has conquered each one. I beleive the Church is suffering from a great epidemic of apostacy and heresy at the present time, but the Holy Spirit will pull us through as always. Sometimes these things take many, many years. Each of us must cling to our Faith, learn all we can of the dogmas and doctrines contained in Divine Revelation, the Sacred Scriptures, and the Sacred Traditions.

Unlike the Church experience of 50-years ago (I’m in my mid-70’s), it has become necesary to seek a parish with the least distractions during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. That is a shame, because 50-years ago you could take your Missal with you and go to a Roman Catholic Church anywhere in the world and assist at the Sacrifice of the Mass precisely and with complete familiarity, except you would not understand the sermon which would be given in the vernacular.

Those days will return, but when, only God knows. In the meantime we must keep the Faith, the dogmas, the Traditions in our hearts to provide for our own salvation, and to provide the foundation blocks for recovery in the future. I urge you to learn the Truths of this Church by studying the basic documents, especially the Catechism of the Catholic Church and many of the detailed books on the lives of the saints; such as, St. Therese, the Little Flower, St. Bernadette, St. Faustina, and many others.

God bless you on your journey!
 
Worst Abuse, At a Midnight mass people were walking in with coffee cups, food items etc. then they want communion.

at another location using a real peanut butter “Cookie” for the host.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top