Yesterday I went to Mass at a Church I normally don’t go to. It has been over twenty-four hours and I am almost cooled down over what I experienced. Normally my predilection is that if I walk into a Church and there our bongo drums in the sanctuary is to run for my life (Fright or Flight reaction). I calmed down and told myself that regardless of any externals, that Christ is brought to us in the Eucharist and that I should not work myself up over inconsequentials. I tried to pray before Mass started but the noise of the congregation as they casually talked was only slightly less than the noise I experienced when I use to work in a shop underneath the flight deck during flight Ops. The parish is very upscale as was evidenced by the many luxury cars in the parking lot. The Church is also quite large and it looked like they spared no expense, except when it came to having an organ, crucifix, or just one statue of Our Lady.
The Mass started with them raising the house lights to stun. I knew I should have brought sunglasses with me when I saw the massive light board at the entrance to the Church that was suitable for Metallica to take on tour. Now if only Kirk and Spock had this light board with them in Operation: Annihilate they would have made short work of those parasitic creatures on Deneva.
The entrance song and most of the hymns played were from Dan Schutte repertoire and I have built up some immunity to his songs. They did not have a choir but had a singer with his guitar and another playing the piano. The arpeggios and other riffs were executed nicely and he had a good voice. Outside of Mass it would have been fine if you like that variety of Contemporary Christian music. But there is just something wrong with even nicely performed hammer-ons during Mass. I thing I know why it it called Contemporary music – I have nothing but contempt for it.
Previously I have never heard the Gloria massacred. Sadly I can no longer make that claim. The Gloria was played with a highly syncopated beat and this is where my jaw dropped down to the nether regions. I have experienced hand-clapping to the beat previously with Shine, Jesus, Shine as an exit hymn. But this was a whole new adventure with Gloria clap-clap, Gloria clap-clap, In Excelsis Deo clap-clap. WIth every verse the hand-clapping grew louder. Instead of a crucifix above the altar they had what appeared to be a prancing Jesus. This blond blue-eyed version of Jesus I believe was born in Stockholm and not Bethlehem. By the happy-go-lucky pose and the arms raised at waist level I expected that this might be a Disney’s animatronics Jesus and and it would also start clapping to the beat. I really don’t think I would have been surprised if that would have indeed happened.
The Gospel for the 19th Sunday isn’t very long and yet the Missal had a short form where both the first and last paragraph could be skipped. Possibly being beaten severely for not being prepared when the master arrived is not liturgically correct according to the modern liturgist. Then there were the typical liturgical abuses such as pouring the Blood of Christ into the vessels after the consecration and the EEMs gathering around the altar prior to the Fraction Rite. I have seen all of this before and it normally doesn’t phase me. I guess it was the combination of people talking throughout the Mass, the extremely casual clothing worn, and the musical performance that bothered me. But mainly what annoys me is that I am still unable to ignore it all and consecrate on the greatest prayer on earth – the Mass.
36 comments
Wow, With a couple of exceptions you are describing our Parish’s worship style. Unfortunately, the parishes within an hour’s drive are pretty much the same or worse! God help us and protect our children!
John B
Try watching “Sister Act” and consider that you might need to call ahead and find out when the boring mass is and avoid the Glory and Praise of the more moved Catholics.
Boy, I’m right there with ya Jeff. We must have been at the same church. I went to a 5pm Mass at a place other than my own parish. Same thing! Bongo drums, marracas (sp?) and about 20 ego-tripping nasal whiners singing every verse in a six verse song that belonged on Barney the Purple Dinosaur show. Topped off by a priest I’d never seen anywhere (blessing) who added a few paragraphs to our otherwise perfect rubrics. I hated feeling disgust while I was trying to attend Mass. Penance? Humility? I don’t know. –I very much enjoy your site, by the way. God bless. Alexa
Jeff:
I really have to ask – the Gloria was in Latin? It sounds like you landed in a late 60’s timewarp.
Pray for them, then pray for them some more.
And if you think it will do any good, write the pastor a letter – not that it will do anything, but maybe, just maybe, his heart will be softened just enough that God’s grace might move him to an appreciation of just what the Holy Mass is.
Perhaps, ever so slowly, he might be moved to more fully understand the mystery of the Paschal Sacrifice…
Just that one section was in Latin.
Oh boy, this sounds depressingly familiar … I go through a similar experience quite often. In our parish, I’m the organist for our choir which sings in the loft at the back of the church. (This is about the only “old-fashioned” aspect of the setup.) There is a lot of talking by choir members and congregation alike, even tho our PP preaches frequently about silence being necessary to hear God properly. I too have often been angry at myself for not being able to focus more intently on the real reason for being there — to worship God and thank Him for the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist. I’ve even seen people receiving the Host with chewing gum in their mouth — revolting! Of course I’ve mentioned it, but people say, just ignore it & concentrate on your own thing. Kind of hard to do. BTW, one gum-chewer’s husband is a religion teacher and former priest. Go figure. My sympathies, Jeff — I know where you’re coming from.
Nothing has been worse than the Newman Center masses where I am. The laxity was been so bad, one of the EEM’s was actually a non-Catholic, to say nothing of the liturgical wackiness.
Jeff,
You could have been describing my former parish. The Gloria (clap clap) Gloria (clap clap) was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me believe it or not. One Sunday those of us who did not clap were actually scolded (during mass) by the priest for not doing so. :0
A Church with Bongo Drums
The Curt Jester shares his harrowing weekend Mass experience with a lightshow befitting a rock concert, an almost-prancing blonde and blue-eyed Jesus above the altar, and a massacred Gloria. Not for small children or sensitive adults….
I wish things were more uniform in the Church. I’ve been to Mass where it felt like you were in a monastery — and then Mass where it seemed like…what you described. Dismal times, these. You write about it with a good deal of humor. Thanks for sharing.
Yay, the Clap Clap Gloria! Found at all good retro-Masses, along with “In bread we bring you, Lord, our bodies’ labour . . .” and the “israeli” mass with the quadruple Sanctus.
What were you doing at this mass anyway, Jeff?
They used to use the Boogie Gloria at the very good parish we used to attend. The pastor got Cacciaguida and me to lead Gregorian chant at one of the Sunday Masses. We were getting on very well, lots of people becoming accustomed to the chant and joining in (we used the familiar Missa Jubilate Deo), when the pastor was reassigned to the back of beyond, and the chant Mass was discontinued. Bother.
Thank you God, for the Oratory…
Thank you thank you thank you…
Blessed be God, in His angels and in His saints, most especially St. Philip!
Jeff –
Brother, you have the sympathies of this newbie Catholic from Virginia! Uhy, what a horror! I don’t know if I’d have had your internal fortitude to stay and endure such a “mass” – I’d have been tempted to leave and endure penalty for missing a Sunday obligation rather than put up with such a mess.
I’ve heard the “happy clappy” Gloria at one parish I’ve been too, but excused it as it was also a Newman Center. Unfortunately as visitng celebrant I can’t veto bad music. I was visiting celebrant last weekend where they played that gawdawful “Gloria mass” (must be by Haugen or some such loser). I called it the boogie-woogie arrangement. If I go back there I will ask them to change it.
Unfortunately, this sounds all too familiar (minus the Swedish Jesus and lightboard, but that’s *it*). The new pastor of a parish very like the one you described (very VERY very like) is beginning to bring it around at a glacial pace. In the meantime, I opt for my parish of 11 years (http://stfrancisparish.org/) while mom and dad EM and scratch their heads. If people are concerned about keeping the youth Catholic, they should try acting more like Catholics.
I feel your pain! Now let me tell you how it could have been worse. Last Sunday I went to Mass at a parish I had never been to before and saw what can only be described as the most hideous cloth monstrosity ever hung where the crucifix ought to be hanging. The banner was huge, twenty feet tall at least. It was fashioned of what appeared to be burlap in a sort of wheat color randomly interwoven with various abstract designs – none of them suggestive of anything in existence, mind you, and certainly not anything religious – in the fetching colors mustard, burnt orange, slate blue and mud brown. Sound awful? But wait there’s more! Periodically the weave would dissolve in places into strings which were then -I swear I am not making this up- macramed. Yes really! Just like a plant hanger from the 1970s. Bad enough? Not yet! No, the crowning touch was the way the thing at the bottom dissolved into ropes with knots and beads. Big brown, chunky wooden beads. All different shapes. All different sizes. No regard for pattern or symmetry or taste or sanity or… but I rant. Just imagine trying to worship when this is directly behind the altar. And the worst part is that they have a beautiful life size crucifix which no doubt used to be where the hideous monstrosity is. You can see it next to the tabernacle (which you can’t see from the pews) if you sort of crane your neck.
Yeah, Parishes like these need to get their act together. Luckily for us Jesus will always be present in the Eucharist! Check this out too:
http://www.ladyofroses.org/1aolr/direcint.htm
What upsets me most is that I know of a bishop who actually told someone that they had to cut down on the polyphony, use more people-friendly hymns and stop receiving at the communion rail at their Masses b/c “It makes the other parishes look bad.” No kidding, he actually said that!!
However, I just read an article about the new generation of priests: orthodox, traditional and on fire! So there’s hope that these types of garish-parishes will fade into oblivion.
BTW – Bret – welcome to the Virginia branch of the “Family”! :o) Sounds like your parish is a good one if you converted there!
Thanks, Michelle!
My parish is St. James in Falls Church, VA, which looks like a real old-fashioned Catholic church. Fr. Cornelius O’Brien is the pastor, a wonderful 73-year old Irish dreadnought of the old school who is totally right-on! He was recommended to me by Catholic friends in VA, he taught my RCIA class, and received me and some 20-odd others this past April. A parish like St. James and a pastor like Fr. O’Brien are as rare as snow in August. And I am deeply grateful to have such a parish and such a pastor at all in this day and age, and to have the added bonus of being only 4 miles from away.
Yes, just recently I had the privlage to attend a mass in Old St. Joseph’s Church in Center City(downtown) Philadelphia. I live about 20 miles from the city. Great place, very old Church. See the web site:
http://www.oldstjoseph.org/
What’s the story with Our Lady of the Roses and Veronica Lueken? I found a bishop’s condemnation of her “prophesies” through Google. What’s the story?
I honestly don’t know. I doubt she was makeing them all up. I’ll have to look it up.
RDS and Don,
The Bayside apparitions have been always been condemened by the Diocese where they occured as inauthentic. My previous Bishop was in that area before coming here was part of the board that researched this.
One of the bizarre messages that came out from this “seer” was that Pope Paul VI was drugged and kidnapped while an imposter (an Italian actor) was installed on the throne of Saint Peter is but one example of the spurious nature of this apparition.
Another one of the false teachings was that test-tube babies do not have souls. This is silly in face of what the Church teaches. There is no life without a soul – whether plant, animal, or human.
The clincher though is the disobedience of the seer to the Church.
Brett –
How weird is that! I’m in the Legion of Mary at St. James and teach second grade CCD there! It is an awesome parish. Father O’Brien used to be the assistant chaplain at my alma mater – Christendom College – heard of it? Isn’t his voice awesome?! And he certainly is right on – doesn’t pull any punches!
So are you involved in the parish at all?
Michelle,
Wow, small world. I haven’t gotten too involved yet, though I am seriously considering offering my services as a lector, since I was a lector for over six years at my former Episcopal parish (they call them lay readers). Yes, I know that Fr. O’Brien used to be at Christendom College; I have heard of it and have a number of their publications (including things by Dr. Walter Carroll).
Fr. O’B is a true priest of the old school, a blessing, and a treasure. I love it when he preaches, I’m sitting there doing an Amen Corner under my breath when he does a homily. And when he teaches RCIA…..it was the high point next to Mass, and I miss the every Tuesday evenings of RCIA. How many people these days can say that about their RICA!? I told Fr. O’B early in RCIA last fall that he could be the Irish C.S. Lewis – fortunately he likes Lewis and understood that I was paying him a compliment. Like Lewis, he has a depth of mind and heart, a horror of all that is shallow and tacky, and a super sense of humor. The man has a heart as big as Texas, and I also see in him a steel that would not stand for silliness and nonsense.
Fr. O’Brien will have a great reward in Heaven, and I’ve said as much to him – shoot, I told him once that by me, he should be wearing the red yarmulke (red hat for Cardinal)! Last December 8 he preached the homily for the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Having developed a deep love for Mary when I was still Anglican, I told him after Mass “you wonderful Irish dreadnought, you can talk to me anytime about my momma!”
And the site:
http://www.wandea.org.pl/errors-bayside.htm
That explains those teachings are not with Church teaching.
Brett –
Amen to that! :o)
You might want to check out our Patricians Group. We meet every 2nd Thursday of the month in the Knecht Conference Room (next to the gym) at 7pm. It’s an informal Catholic discussion group. Someone gets up and talks for about 15 minutes on a point of Catholic doctrine and then we discuss it and then Fr. Fred Edlefson gives the official Church teaching and then we discuss some more.
We’re meeting tonight, in fact and the topic is Converting Muslims: Fact or Fiction. Don’t know how intersing this will be, since I’m giving the talk! LOL But afterwards, we vote on what the next topic of discussion will be.
Consider it ongoing Catholic education. 😉
Sorry Jeff,
Some of us prefer this style of Mass. The Church is big enough for many worship forms – from the Latin Mass to more modern styles of worship. Some us us orthodox Catholics prefer guitar ‘praise band’ music. Please don’t infer that we are somehow less Catholic.
As for the ‘other’ liturgical abuses – give them a copy of Jimmy Akin’s book.
Yeah, I’m a huge rock & roll fan. So I’d prefer an acoustic guitar to a piano. But it’s the clapping thing Jeff is trying to point out
Greetings to dear Fr O’Brien. You are so fortunate! What a treasure. I was confirmed at St Timothy’s at the beginning of his tenure there.
Peony,
🙂 Father O’Brien is one of about five people I’ve met in my almost 49 years on this earth that I’d walk to Hell, spit in Satan’s eye, and walk back again if I was asked. By me, he should be wearing the red yarmulke and I’ve told him as much.
An outstanding priest of a type that is sadly far to rare in today’s church. Believe me, I’m not just fortunate to have him and St. James, I’m blessed right out of my socks and am very grateful for it.
At least you had a Gloria and responsorial psalm and Credo! I’ve been to Sunday masses from Indult Latin to Latin Novus Ordo to devoutly done Novus Ordo to sloppy N.O. to. . . this: see http://cradlecatholic.blogspot.com for August 3.
cradle catholic, even though a Catholic Mass might get out of hand it is never ever Novus Ordo.
So what? Big deal… you clapped they clapped. I hope you sang or thought about singing.
So you had a change. Try it once in a while. It won’t kill you.
No I am not liberal and yes I am a Steubenville grad, c/o 85.
What state are you in? I live in Florida
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