Your Top 3 Reasons for Drop in Mass Attendance?

[ConstantineTG]

1. too many Filipinos

In behalf of my people, I apologize that we are good and fervent Catholics. I will start telling Filipino immigrants like myself to start converting en masse to Pentecostal and Evangelical Protestantism like what is happening back home so that your Catholic parishes will be empty for your pleasure.

To add: attitudes like this is why many choose to leave the Church for friendlier confines of Protestant congregations.

 

[Orleans_Attny]

You haven’t come across a rich parish? Well, welcome to my area.

You have a right to your opinion. However, I DO not think it’s fitting and proper to be taking up two collections every mass , the second one being for many different things, WHILE the priests who pastor the parish enjoy themselves on an expensive bahama cruise (which is a gambling cruise and not for Bible study or teaching purposes).

While others are invited to attend (per parish bulletin) for the expensive price of the week long cruise, many of us wouldn’t even be able to consider it due to being out of work or barely making our bills.

A church offering these kind of “parish activities” certainly doesn’t need my meager tithe. They have plenty of money if they have enough surplus for these things.

So, I have explained number 2 for you.

Interesting. So did the parish directly pay for the priests’ tickets? Or did they pay out of their salaries? Or were the tickets a gift? Just wondering because to the extent there is an ethical issue, the source of the funds is an important variable.

Two collections has never been the standard at any parish I’ve attended. Usually the second collection is for a special need like a youth retreat, repairs to the retired priests home, choir trip, first communion gifts, earthquake relief, etc.

And, of course, there is NEVER an obligation to actually contribute - especially not to both.

Pax,
OA

 

[TrueLight]

From what I have overheard at my K of C meetings regarding my parish

1. Awful singing
2. monotone priest
3. too many Filipinos

(I did not say this, this is just what I overheard.)

I hope you protested point 3. These things should not even be said in a Catholic Church or anywhere for that matter.

 

[JerrySeibert]

And I looked among them, for one to STAND IN THE GAP.
Will you be the one to stand in the gap? Complaining about the lack of attendance? Or reverence?
Have you volunteered to join the pastoral council or liturgical council or spoken with your Pastor about your concerns? Or are you like the Pharisees Jesus spoke of thinking they were holy?
The Church is perfect, those involved with it make it imperfect. How often have you prayed or even spoken with that pastor to ignite a flame of spiritual renewal? Or do you only vent on these forums giving advice on how it would be if you were in charge.
Have you given your sons to be priests? Or your daughters to be nuns? Hoping the reverence you taught them would help the Church? Have you volunteered to teach CCD or RCIA so you could instill your level of belief in the new Catholics or the children of those around you?
If you have done all of that, then I guess you have right to air your grievances.

 

[Orleans_Attny]

From what I have overheard at my K of C meetings regarding my parish

1. Awful singing
2. monotone priest
3. too many Filipinos

(I did not say this, this is just what I overheard.)

Oh for Pete’s sake…

In the parishes I’ve attended over the last several years almost all of the parish volunteer work is done by people of Filipino descent, amost the entire choir is Filipino, almost all the CCD teachers are Filipino, the EMHCs, the DRE, etc…

To sum of the problem I’ve encountered in the last 5 years. . . We half-*** the mass. Poor dress, poor singing, no reverance, poor behavior, extemporaneous and unfocuses homilies, and a rushed can-we-get-this-over-with-so-that-I-can-get-to-dunkin-donuts liturgy of the eucharist. Confession is scheduled for 15 min to 30 min once a week, and even during the appointed time you have to hunt down the priest in his office (if he’s even in the church) and bother him for a chance to confess. And then once you’re in the confessional, he half-***es his duty with gossip and personal sidebars and no penance assigned and no act of contrition.

I hate to admit it, but I’m so very jealous of people who can attend a serious ceremonial mass, who enjoy many priests to have sufficient time to take their time with you, homilists who appreciate intellectual rigor. I know I’m unlikely to find it, but I truly long for an environment that feels more like serious and reverant worship and less like Sunday School or the thing we have to endure before we can enjoy our McHotcakes and Sausage.

That said, my last priest was wonderful, intellectual, focused on the rituals of the mass and on the sacraments and on providing a good, solid catechesis. And he was loathed by many in the parish as “Father Doom and Gloom.” I suppose he didn’t tell enough funny stories about his dog…

For Americans the problem seems to me to be almost epidemic. No wonder we homeschool so much. I wanted to send my sons to Catholic Elementary school, but the diocese is more focused on math and sports than theology - and the parish’s mass sings an Our Father that sounds like something straight out of Prairie Home Companion. And for this ridiculousness they charge a fortune.

And we wonder why there is a shortage of priests . . . well, it’s because our catholic schools are more focused on getting kids sports scholarships and appointments to military academies.

Sorry for the rant…I might delete this in a few minutes…but my frustration is boiling a bit. I just got an email from the diocese cathedral informing me that they only do “ceremonial” masses at Christmas and Easter.

I try not to be disappointed as I sit through mass. . . . lately, however, I’m just not very successful.

Forgive the venting.

Pax,
OA

 

[Orleans_Attny]

And I looked among them, for one to STAND IN THE GAP.
Will you be the one to stand in the gap? Complaining about the lack of attendance? Or reverence?
Have you volunteered to join the pastoral council or liturgical council or spoken with your Pastor about your concerns? Or are you like the Pharisees Jesus spoke of thinking they were holy?
The Church is perfect, those involved with it make it imperfect. How often have you prayed or even spoken with that pastor to ignite a flame of spiritual renewal? Or do you only vent on these forums giving advice on how it would be if you were in charge.
Have you given your sons to be priests? Or your daughters to be nuns? Hoping the reverence you taught them would help the Church? Have you volunteered to teach CCD or RCIA so you could instill your level of belief in the new Catholics or the children of those around you?
If you have done all of that, then I guess you have right to air your grievances.

Yes. Often. Quite a bit. And teaching CCD is a joy, except for the lack of any parental or involvment or support. Ultimately, I’ll scrape together enough money to send my children to a Catholic elementary school (since I already work 13 hours a day and can’t spend enough time with them to help much with their education). And I hope that they’ll receive the best religious education that I can provide them. My wife and I are trading the ability to pay for college for the ability to pay for elementary school. And we’re just trusting that things will work out in the end.

I’ve only been in this new area for 4 months, after this year of CCD we will spend the summer looking for another school and parish.

Pax,
OA

 

[ElToro]

As I look through these wonderful posts here’s what comes to mind:

Unabsolved sin (disuse of confession?)/poor catechesis/poor clergy formation —> No belief in Real Presence —> Treating the sacred/divine as ordinary at Mass —> Multitude of issues (many which have beenb mentioned here.)

 

[JerrySeibert]

1. Awful singing
2. monotone priest
3. too many Filipinos

(I did not say this, this is just what I overheard.)

I’m sure our lord is so proud of your racist comment. I don’t recall in the liturgy where it is said, “Pray my brothers and sisters, except you Filipinos…”

 

[Brywan]

**IMHO

1. Lack of belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
2. Ditto
3. Ditto

If Catholics believed in the Real Presence - nothing would or could keep them away. This is the main issue - everything else is just icing on the cake (great homilies, good music, and welcoming community).**

I agree! This was the deal-breaker for me when I was considering Catholicism. If Jesus is present in the Eucharist–not just symbolically, but sacramentally present–why would you want to be anywhere else? How could you be anywhere else? Of course, this line of reasoning assumes that Jesus Christ is the most important person in your life and where He is, that’s where you want to be. Maybe we have to take a step back and realize that Jesus Christ just doesn’t matter too much to too many people…

 

[ConstantineTG]

I agree! This was the deal-breaker for me when I was considering Catholicism. If Jesus is present in the Eucharist–not just symbolically, but sacramentally present–why would you want to be anywhere else? How could you be anywhere else? Of course, this line of reasoning assumes that Jesus Christ is the most important person in your life and where He is, that’s where you want to be. Maybe we have to take a step back and realize that Jesus Christ just doesn’t matter too much to too many people…

Well, its hard to feel the Real Presence of Christ when the members of the parish do not act like Christ. Say if they complain that there’s too many of people of your ethnicity, like if one is Filipino.

 

[SirKnight2557]

Like I said I never shared the sentiments of the group (I personally told them that they are not reflecting the the mission of the Knights of Columbus, and definitely not the teachings of Catholicism) I am just sharing what I heard.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

1. Lack of interest
2. Lack of knowledge
3. Knowledgable Evangelicals.

Now, I’m not saying Evangelicals are “knowledgable”, but they know how to evangelize better than the average Catholic, who generally is a cafeteria Catholic. Many are like that, and just don’t go because they aren’t interested. They see the other mainline Protestants not going every Sunday, and figure they can too. And because of the lack of interest, they don’t know much. Therefore, the “knowledgable” Evangelicals either get to them, or secularism does.

That’s my theory.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

Well, its hard to feel the Real Presence of Christ when the members of the parish do not act like Christ. Say if they complain that there’s too many of people of your ethnicity, like if one is Filipino.

That’s not too Christian .

we should accept all people, regardless of ethnicity. But that doesn’t mean we have to like all countries equally!

Es lebe der Schweiz!

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Please show us where felt banners were mentioned on the thread.

Wow, I haver to catalog every previous mention from this thread? We have talked plenty about the problems of felt banners in the past. I was simply using it as a stand-in for liturgical sloppiness.

You’ve nit picked enough of my responses to threads in the past few days. Apparently my responses are not detailed enough for you, but I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from the condescending tone.

 

[BVM_1221]

:sad_yes:

What do you think are the 3 main reasons for a drop in Mass attendance (if that’s indeed the case) over the past 40+ years in your diocese/parish. In mine I believe:

1.) Lack of reverence and solemnity. We now treat the sacred as if it were the ordinary.

2.) Increased compeitition – secular life, Protestantism, non-Christian beliefs, etc.

3.) Poor preaching.

Funny. As a relatively new Catholic, I sometimes have conversations with ex-Catholics. From this I would extract three reasons

1. As children, threatened over and over again with hell from a punishing God. :crying:

(The Church has done a poor job in spreading the news of Divine Mercy:tsktsk

1. As adults, problems dealing with the Church’s stand on Birth Control and Divorce:banghead:
2. The on-going problem of child molestation and rape by Priests, and, even worse, the prolonged cover-up. The Church has lost most of its Moral Authority.

As always, these opinions have not been endorsed nor opposed by my cats:coffeeread:

The common thread to these three is poor communication skills by the Church. We need some dramatic improvement in this area

 

[JRRTFAN]

What do you think are the 3 main reasons for a drop in Mass attendance (if that’s indeed the case) over the past 40+ years in your diocese/parish. In mine I believe:

1.) Lack of reverence and solemnity. We now treat the sacred as if it were the ordinary.

2.) Increased compeitition – secular life, Protestantism, non-Christian beliefs, etc.

3.) Poor preaching.

1. Lousy catechesis
2. Heretical catechesis
3. Tolerant catechesis
4. Non-sensical catechesis
5. The disappearance of sin

I cheated and named 5, I could name 500 more.

 

[Redratfish]

1. Secularization- birth control, abortion, ect
2. Poor chatechisis on Eucharist, confession, and all Sacraments
3. Protestant acceptance of Birth control

Music has nothing to do with it imo. People know they don’t come to Mass for a concert. If someone flat out says they don’t come to mass because of the music, then I would question their belief in God himself.

 

[ElToro]

Wow, I haver to catalog every previous mention from this thread? We have talked plenty about the problems of felt banners in the past. I was simply using it as a stand-in for liturgical sloppiness.

You’ve nit picked enough of my responses to threads in the past few days. Apparently my responses are not detailed enough for you, but I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from the condescending tone.

It’s interesting – the “felt banners” in Eastern Catholicism, Orthodoxy and even in some Latin Rite can be stunningly beautiful – just not the ones made with a hot glue gun, pinking shears by the 3rd graders.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

It’s interesting – the “felt banners” in Eastern Catholicism, Orthodoxy and even in some Latin Rite can be stunningly beautiful – just not the ones made with a hot glue gun, pinking shears by the 3rd graders.

I agree. I am all for the First Communicants making some concrete sign of the sacrament they are preparing for. I just don’t think they need to hang in the church forever after. Best place for them would be the parish hall during the donuts after Mass and then the DRE’s office.

I have never noticed banners as such in Eastern/Orthodox churches. What are they really called do you know? I’d like to see some examples.

 

[EasterJoy]

I agree. I am all for the First Communicants making some concrete sign of the sacrament they are preparing for. I just don’t think they need to hang in the church forever after. Best place for them would be the parish hall during the donuts after Mass and then the DRE’s office.

I have never noticed banners as such in Eastern/Orthodox churches. What are they really called do you know? I’d like to see some examples.

IMHO, the best place is the child’s bedroom at home.