I don’t know where everyone on this thread lives. But so many posts on this thred make it sound as if the Catholic mass is going to hell in a hand basket, as if this is a universal experience. I’m just wondering how much is actually accurate, how much is the experience of some places and how much may be over reaction.
I have lived and worked in the the Diocese of Florence, Italy; the Archdiocese of Washingtonn, Dc; the Diocese of Arlington, VA; the Archdiocese of Guayaquil, Ecuador; the Archdiocese of San Juan, Pueto Rico; the Diocese of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, the Archdiocese of New York and the Archdiocese of Miami.
I not only lived in these dioceses, but was employed by them and have not seen all of these abuses. I saw liturgical dance once.
I have never seen anyone but the priest say the words of consecration, always the words as prescribed the sacramentary. I have only seen priests and deacons preach the sermon. I have seen extraordinary ministers of holy communion used in parishes where there are a thousand or more people at a mass with one priest. I have seen communion in the hand with great reverence. I have seen female altar servers without taking anything away from the liturgy and another diocese with only male altar servers. I have seen religious brothers give exhortations at the mass, but it was clearly understood that it was an exhortation and not a homily, such as when there is a visiting missionary that comes to ask for financial support for his mission. The priest will give him the opportunity to address the congregation.
I have seen liturgies integrate classical music and modern music very seamlessly.
I have seen only one church building where the original sanctuary was dismantled and remodeled. Which I felt was a pity, because it was very beautiful. But I have seen many where the original sanctuary was left intact and a new altar was built to fit the original architecture and it fit in seamlessly as if it has always been there. This I have seen in at least three parishes.
My current parish is a very simple church that was built 25-years ago. It has more of a chapel type architecture, which is very simple, not as ornate as the Romanesque or Gothic styles of European churches, but it’s very consistent with the religious order who built it. They are Capuchins. All of the churches that they build are very simple in design. If you look at the chapel on EWTN, that’s a typical Franciscan style. Simplicity with reverence is their tradition. However, I have mostly worked along with Franciscans all my life and they administer parishes that were built by other orders or by secular priests. The churches are very European, because they’re older, some going back more than a century and the friars have been very faithful to the original architecture and have removed nothing, except to add the altar in the center of the sancturay and as I said, it has been deliberately designed to blend in with the architecture around it.
My current parish has lines for confession as long as 400 people on holy days and less on regular Saturdays. We have a Life Teen mass that is beautiful with contemporary music and sometimes some parts of the mass in Latin plain chant, which is different from classic Gregorian chant, but it exposes the kids to the Latin and the chant. It attracts about 1000 kids every Sunday night.
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I don’t like the music that they use, so I rarely attend that mass. My 18-year old son likes that better than the 11:00 mass with is more quiet with traditional hymns, the organ and so forth.
In the jungles of Ecuador, we had mass in Quichua with beautiful Quichua hymns. The usually took some part of scripture and put it to music, nothing wrong there. These masses were full.
In the Diocese of Arlington we had few religious orders, because the diocese was blessed with many secular vocations to priesthood, so they did not have to ask religious to run parishes for them.
In Guayaquil, more men joined religious orders than the diocesan seminary. Therefore, religious ran most of the parishes. The same in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. In Latin America the religious orders are getting many vocations, where as the secular priesthood is getting much less. Therefore the bishops have to ask the religious if they will do the diocese the favor of covering some parishes, which religious do not have to do. Nonetheless, they do so with great joy and charity.
I see great charity on the part of religiious orders, which we the laity should be thankful that they are willing to take on a duty that is not their responsibility. Religioius do not join religious orders to run parishes. Most religious orders have a mission of their own given to them by their founders.
Again, I’m not saying that everything is perfect. What I’m saying is that in may 35 years of being a Catholic and working for the Catholic Church the number of faithful priests, parishes and religious out numbers the nut jobs.
These posts make it sound like the nut jobs are running the Church and the liturgy. That’s a misrepresentation. Maybe it’s a local problem or over reaction. Only the posters know for sure.
My overall experience has been very postive, very holy and I am very grateful to the religious communities who have stepped up to the plate to take over parishes where there are not enough secular priests to do so. We should thank them. This is not their responsibility. Parish work is the responsibility of secular priests, not religious. Only clerical religious institutes were founded to run parishes and their aren’t too many of those.
I wonder if we should rethink about this and see it in light of the bigger picture of what is happening around the country and around the world.
Do we really know what we have and appreciate the gifts that have been given to us?
JR
rayers & blessings