Posted on 05/17/2010 9:18:11 AM PDT by markomalley
Tonight, we went to Mass at a local parish we had never been to. I’ve been wanting to go to a Mass there because I know several people who are parishioners at the parish who really like it. After tonight, I’m confused as to why. Besides the typical architectural disaster that this building was, the misplacement of the tabernacle and the lack of Catholic art (good statues, stained glass, etc.), the sense of what was about to happen was not Mass… it wasn’t sacred… it wasn’t important… it was just a thing. That’s what I got when I first walked in.
As Mass started, I was highly disappointed in what was taking place… a jazz concert masked by the appearance of a worship service. Between the really obnoxious singers (all mic’d up individually, ouch!) and the electronic drum set, I couldn’t figure out what was happening… was it about the music group? or about the Mass? In my mind, the music was winning, although it didn’t have much of a following in the congregation. As Mass continued, I realized what the problem was. It was shouting at me loud and clear…
There were virtually NO MEN in servant-leadership roles! The vast majority of the servant-leaders were women, which has almost nothing to do with the women, and everything to do with the men. When men don’t actively serve in parish life, specifically in the Mass, a parish is going to suffer. Here’s the scenario at this parish; these numbers are typical for most parishes around the country.
So, out of 32 servant-leadership positions, (31 really, when you remove the priest from the list) only 4 were filled by men! And one of those 4 was a 12 year-old boy altar server! This is despicable. Again, this has nothing to do with the women, and everything to do with the men! I’ll explain myself in more detail, in the next post… you’ve got to come back!
Where are the men?..........They are at a TLM. No altar girls, no EMHCs, people dress appropriately, no folk music,etc. I drive 45 minutes to an hour and it is well worth it.
That’s a relief ... I get a bit worried when a PGK is talking about packing it in.
It seems to me that this concern has been voiced in the past, and it’s a valid one.
I have seen men offered teh seats on the parish council only to turn it down because they just see it as a waste of time.
Frankly, it was probably more UCC or (liberal version) Methodist or maybe PC-USA than Roman Catholic.
My husband is a convert..he says the Novus Ordo is the same as the Methodist service..
I could believe it. It sort of has a generic "protestant" flavor to it, sort of like the generic "protestant" services that they held at military chapels.
Especially when they use Eucharistic Prayer II.
Doubtful. I’m sure it was very Roman Catholic.
the Roman Catholic church is the only true scriptual church on earth.....after all, they wrote, in book form, the gospels, epistles Old testament books, acts, etc etc etc....they preserved them, meticulously transcribed them, protected them so now you protestants have a book from which you can remove portions, quote out of context, let king james have his opinions considered.....yep, the first 1500 years didn’t count, it is only after good old Martin Luther came along that we know the truth.....pathetic
No...don’t think I ever really could pack it in, just venting some frustration from yesterday’s shambles of a Mass.
When men give up their God-ordained role as spiritual head of their family, women fill the vacuum.
Sad.
Hardly. Only those who claim the substitutionary atonement, death, burial and resurection of Jesus Christ for salvation through faith alone, and not own their own merit can be said to belong the True Church.
There are many places that the Roman church has deviated from God breathed Scripture.
after all, they wrote, in book form, the gospels, epistles Old testament books, acts, etc etc .
Actually the scriptures were written by GOD, TO the Church, the vast majority of books written by Apostles from the Jerusalem Church(the TRUE Mother Church) and by Paul. The Roman church did not even exist when the OLD Testament was penned.
, the first 1500 years didn’t count, it is only after good old Martin Luther came along that we know the truth.....pathetic
READ the SCRIPTURES! Read the Book of Romams, Ephesians, Galations, it oozes with message of Salvation by Faith alone apart from works.
Actually the scriptures were written by GOD
NONE of the scriptures were written by God, they were revealed through prophets and were finally transcribed by the Catholic church...the catholic church NEVER deviated from trur scripture, Christ promised that it wouldn’t hAPPEN, and it didn’t. Infallibility, when in matters of faith and morals is guaranteed within Catholicism. The Johnny come latelys from the fifteenth century are not allowed, because they disagree, th change the bible or anything else
Well, if it was yesterday, the first reading (we won't count the rest of the Mass that's straight out of scripture) was the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. Then there's a psalm, another reading from the epistles and a Gospel reading.
Listen, the world is not all honky-dorrey all the time when men are in charge. It depends on the men. Some have no concept of hospitality. Some just are not organized and many don't pay attention enough to detail to make it all come off well (we won't get into the last time the altar boys' surplices were ironed). Fortunately, when it comes to the vestments, the sisters that serve the archbishop take care of cleaning, repairing, pressing, etc.
It comes down to the pastor and how well he has things in control. I'm not talking about being a tyrant or a "pray, pay and obey" sort. I mean a man who has the gift of being able to lead the people well and right and somehow get the women WANT to do other things. A lot of times, the happy clappy places are the parishes left open to house the revolutionaries to keep them out of the rest of the archdiocese. Even here, in the Rome of the West, where there are at least 10 Latin Masses every weekend and liturgical correctness tightens more every year, there are a handful of parishes that are abominations liturgically. The newer mega-churches out in the county are hideous. Each Newman center at the various universities is, to be kind, experimental. Up on the north side, one of the most famous churches is really a Redemptorist mission that ROCKS on Sunday and one devout daily Mass-goer I knew was convinced it wasn't really a Catholic Church.
So, even those of us who are in places where Canon I is the norm with bells and incense and organ and chant, etc., can be one parish away from crap. I just feel bad for the women who are convinced that in order to fully participate in parish life, they have to be "on stage" at Mass. To be honest, it can be wearing week in and week out.
Our Iowa bishop seems more and more worthy of spitting on; I knew the Illinois bishop back in Indiana; we have considered in the past crossing the Mississippi to attend Mass in a Catholic diocese...
And here we find agreement, at last.
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Have you found or tried a local Latin Mass?
“When men give up their God-ordained role as spiritual head of their family, women fill the vacuum.”
We often disagree, so it is with great and fraternal pleasure that I acknowledge that YOU ARE RIGHT!
INDEED.
WELL PUT.
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