Wednesday, September 7, 2011

You Call This a Mass?

Yesterday, I found myself in an unfamiliar place for Mass, and I think it's best I do not return.  What I witnessed was truly unbelievable.

The celebrant arrived wearing an outfit that caused me to at first mistake him for a dentist.  When he came out of the sacristy in his "vestments", I thought, "oh, he's a deacon, and I bet this will be a Communion service."  Wrong.  His white alb and green stole, were in fact, his idea of vestments.

I give him credit for raising the Host and allowing the faithful time to adore the Lord in the Eucharist.  However, I was very dismayed that an unnecessary minister of Holy Communion approached the altar with her cell phone in her hand, went into the sacristy, and exited with the cell phone still in her hand.  The priest, in a move I confess I've never seen before, handed her a piece of his Host, which she took with one hand with the phone still in the other.  When he said the words "Behold the Lamb of God", the unnecessary minister shoved her phone in her pocket and then raised her piece of the Host as well, and  self-communicated.

After Mass, a gaggle of EM's approached the tabernacle and began to place the appropriate number of Hosts in their pyxes.  Apparently, what I just witnessed wasn't dismaying enough.  A woman who came in too late for Holy Communion approached one of the EM's and asked to be given Holy Communion.  I have never even seen a priest do this for someone who missed Mass.

Last week, when I complained about spiritual aridity, many of you wrote with helpful insights and suggestions.  I decided today that once I have concluded the prayers that I normally pray on the commute, I will listen to some of my favorite sacred music, rather than listen to the radio.  And I'm going to avoid liturgy like what I witnessed today with everything I'm worth.

4 comments:

  1. Yes Joyce, you are right to avoid this sort of Mass. It is very common here in Wales which is why we only attend EF Masses in spite of the travelling involved.

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  2. Richard, what do you do about weekday Mass? I'd be interested to hear. Thanks! Joyce

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  3. This kind of stuff makes my heart hurt, it robs me of my peace and focus. When I participate in a Mass like this I often don't feel like I am in the right place to receive Our Lord.

    I confess that, while I know it is wrong, I attend daily Mass infrequently since falling in love with the Extraordinary Form. I have a hard time praying the N.O. because of it's lack of silence and exit-stage-left, enter-stage-right distractions. While there are a few N. O Masses were this is not the case, when I am at one where there is liturgical abuse and personalization of the Mass, it has become jarring to me.

    I fail at suffering for Our Lord....

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  4. Thanks Allison, I can relate to what you're saying. The same priest who celebrates the TLM celebrates as perfect a Novus Ordo as you can, from a liturgically correct standpoint. Trouble is, I can't get to my own parish during the week because the daily Mass is too late. I have to think more about this.

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