Posted on 12/01/2005 10:07:56 AM PST by Salvation
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1) Take notice of the priest(s) and perhaps habited sisters. Pray that they may have the Grace to faithfully fulfill their vocations.
2) Take notice of the teenagers and young adults. Pray that they will have the Grace to discern, accept, and follow whatever vocation God is calling them to.
I recall a few years ago when our former pastor, dressed in his cassock, would walk the aisles of the church between Masses (obviously, at Masses where he was not the celebrant). Those who tended to treat these times as jovial social occasions, upon seeing him, would usually clam up. Anyone who didn't get the message would be gently reminded that this was a house of prayer, not an episode of "Cheers." It made a difference!
I've not been able to calm down my mind and focus in the past but since getting into yoga and walking without headphones I can. I don't need to even carry books with me to church now. I just walk in and pray. I used to be very bad about concentration in church.
People need to be taught how to behave at Mass: no talking during it - and this includes people who actually seem to think it's okay to chat on their cell phones during Mass!; people should stay in their seats until the priest and servers have left the church; and they shouldn't do things like file their nails during Mass. I kid you not, I saw this a couple of weeks ago.
I think this is partly connected to the VatII liturgy, however. The horizontalism that is implicitly part of it and shows up in things like the "handshake of peace," which takes about 10 minutes and requires running all over the church grinning, the greeting "Good Morning" or even "Hi" when the priest enters, etc. has had its effect and I suspect many people do think of it as merely another social occasion.
Good message, always timely!
I think you make too much of that ... it is, however, very much a part of the much touted, spurious "spirit of vatican II", in which liturgial abusers discourage a sense of sacredness in anything. It's thoroughly possible for the "new" Mass to be offered in a dignified, Christ centered manner, and many real-world examples exist.
Contrary to opinion popular in some circles, the opening words of the Mass are "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", not "Good Morning".
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Excellent article. Thanks for posting it.
I wish the bishops would issue an instruction to that effect. Last week, the priest opened with those words - and then suddenly went into folksy mode, said Good Morning, gave a completely clueless summary of his idea of what the Gospel was about (no idea why that has started appearing at Masses now), and told us to all turn around and greet each other. You can imagine the effect.
I agree that the VatII Mass does not have to be horrible. But the only good parts of it are the parts that remain from the Tridentine Rite. I also agree that the Tridentine Rite needed a bit of cleaning up here and there, and originally many of us thought that was all the NO was going to be - a tweaking, reflecting the suggestions of various scholarly and perfectly orthodox liturgical reformers in the early 20th century, and a translation of at least parts into the vernacular.
To add insult to injury, what we have in the US isn't even a translation; it's a selective paraphrase.
One might begin to suspect that he's been the victim of some sort of brainwashing ... or maybe some malicious alien mind-parasite has taken him over < /paranoid SciFi mode>
But the only good parts of it are the parts that remain from the Tridentine Rite.
I believe the best part of the new Rite is the greatly expanded lessons from the Sacred Scriptures. If the priest uses "Eucharistic Prayer I" it's otherwise basically a stripped down (perhaps too stripped down) Tridentine Mass. Except that:
what we have in the US isn't even a translation; it's a selective paraphrase.
and an abhominable paraphrase, at that.
Bump for faith.
Those who tended to treat these times as jovial social occasions, upon seeing him, would usually clam up.
***
I'd like to see this in my parish. This past Sunday, right before Mass, I was straining to hear the instructions from the cantor regarding what we would be singing. Straining because there was a man who had walked down the side aisle and then stopped to talk with someone in a loud voice. I wanted to shush him, and then I realized that it was the pastor!
Thanks that hit the mark.
Perfection is reserved for Heaven and someday I hope to be there but I live in the world and it is far from perfect and I can't let the world hamper my journey. Hopefully I can help others on their journey too but that is also up to God. There is a reason we are in the world and there is a reason God didn't create us perfect. There are reasons why the Church isn't perfect either. God knows those reasons, I don't.
Except about LIBERAL politicians!!!!!!!!!!
"The horizontalism that is implicitly..."
From an 18 year old in Wisconsin (me):
Indeed. i don't much like horizontalism in Mass. At my Church, 1/2 the people show up 5 minutes before Mass, about 1/4 of the people leave after Communion, and another 1/4 leave as Father is walking out (before he is out of the Church). It's very sad.
Oh, and walking around that parking lot after Mass is hazardous to one's safety.
It is easy to forget that prayer, like anything else, takes practice.
I find that praying in front of the sacrament during adoration helps me to focus and helps to improve my ability to pray at other times.
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