Monday, July 16, 2018

Message to Old Ladies at the Novus Ordo: Give It a Rest.

Crisis has a good article written by Tony Esolen on the antics of old ladies in the Novus Ordo. 

I'm an old lady myself, so I couldn't be more appreciative for the prayers of older women--especially daily Mass go-ers. I truly believe they provide the gas in all of our engines.

But, let us face it: some of the behaviors are obnoxious and counterproductive. Especially in parishes where a mild-mannered priest has permitted the dynamic to get out of control in every ministry in the parish. Tony describes it well...
I kneel and try to pray before Mass. I’m trying to say those preparatory prayers that used to be in the old missal, but seem to have been banished, certainly from the experience of the churchgoers, because the place is usually abuzz with conversation. Mainly I hear whispers from old ladies. It would tend to be old ladies, since as to their demographic opposites, young men, they have been wiped out in a massacre, and are nowhere to be found.  
A woman ascends the pulpit. She says her name, and welcomes everybody. I do not want to know her name, and I am trying to pray. She announces the names of the readers, the Eucharistic ministers, and the altar servers. She announces the name of the priest. At one church, I am urged to get up (if I can; they make allowances for people with disabilities) and greet the people around me by name. I do not want to do this. I find it false. I do not remember the names of strangers, and I do not like to give my name out to strangers, either. It’s an act of aggressive etiquette, parading as bonhomie. I do not go to church for bonhomie. For that, if I ever wanted it, I would go to a bar and order gin and tonic.  
The choir, milling about up front, finally put themselves in order. Then comes the hymn....
Do finish reading his fun description, to which we can all relate!

These folks have never taken the voyage to the mystical world where Christ and His Angels and Saints are present. They have no idea what it's all about. Tony gives a perfect description for the corny clamor, heresy and worship spaces full of cartoon-like banners: painful and frustrating.

 I actually wonder whether priests in these parishes have ever journeyed to the mystical world. Is his service to God limited to the recitation of a formula to Transubstantiate? I cannot fathom any priest who knows and lives in the spiritual world who would resort to the insipid cornballery in their Masses. I find it impossible to believe that they would see what we see, feel what we feel, experience what we experience and still lead their people in an hour of asshattery.

I'm blessed to be in a parish where banality and abuses are non-existent. The prayers, homily, music is rich in Catholic tradition. There are no Eucharistic Ministers at daily Mass but they do serve at Sunday Mass when the House is rocking. Yes, I'm one of those Catholics that moseys on over to the line where the priest or deacon communicates the Blessed Sacrament.

I've actually been feeling a little guilty for sneaking out of the lines of lay people in this parish. The parishioners are very traditional, devout Catholics. Several women are veiled, a lot of homeschoolers, etc. So, a few weeks back, I decided to throw caution to the wind and stay in the line where the woman was two inches away with the ciborium of the Divinity of Christ.

Big mistake.

I approached with my hands folded and extended my tongue. She had Christ in her hand and she kept gesturing towards my hands. After Christ was hostage to a few rollercoaster dips in her hands, I sighed in exasperation and opened my hand She could detect my frustration and said "I didn't know what to do". I said "I don't receive in the hand. My hands are not consecrated." I walked away thinking "Come to think of it... neither are yours! What am I doing!!!!"

Old ladies are not doing the Church a favor when they are the face of every opportunity in the parish. Men and young people do not want to hang out with old ladies. And the dull as dishwater religious entertainment is painful. Give it a rest. Worthy is the Lamb.

20 comments:

  1. I attend the novus ordo during the week. Basically the same three old ladies are "extraordinary" ministers for the 25 or 30 people in attendance. I do lector (read) one day a week. The other days have other ladies. We do have men only as servers during the week though. I used to be an EMHC but we have enough ladies serving. On Sunday, as often as I can, I attend a parish with a noon TLM.

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  2. M, I don't think reasonable people get upset about lectors. Even EMEs are low hanging fruit. It's all the other stuff that can sometimes go with it that pushes people over the edge. Keep us in your prayers!!!

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  3. Priests cannot just snap their fingers and call into being parishioners who want good liturgy and have the talent and knowledge to assist at it.

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    1. And if the priest does nothing to "form" parishioners to understand the liturgy properly and to assist as they ought, then who will? It's not one extreme or the other, Father, and this column speaks volumes as to the sad reality of what comes across as competitive theater.

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    2. Father,

      I think the majority of us are right in front of you, suffering in silence.

      Isn't the real question is, who is in control, and why?

      If the same 25 old ladies are running everything, a priest needs to step up to the plate and fix the problem.

      Let people come to the realization there is a new sheriff in town by passing out materials about how the Liturgy is conducted and why and to implement changes immediately. A two-hour lesson solves the problem. This is the exact opposite advice that they usually give priests in the seminary but the old guard has done a terrible job dealing with liturgical abuses and their instructions have not been at all helpful.

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    3. please, no clapping, the priest is not there to entertain (having said that, we just had one who did that)

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  4. Well, no, they cannot Fr. The Church spilled the milk many moons ago and now, how do you get it back in the bottle? I'll tell you how one of the Shrines I'm close to is attempting a resurgence back to at least a little more tradition. The head Rector there is introducing a few things very gradually...... VERY incrementally so as to get people used to the idea....for instance.....he put two kneelers up in front of the Altar, and those who would like to kneel and receive may do so. Been going on for quite some time now and people are responding. But.....it doesn't happen overnight. He also has just recently begun to say their early morning daily Mass Ad Orientem. People at Mass seem to really like it. I'm sure before anything else is done he will give ample time for people to accustomize themselves. Realizing that Parish Priests are extremely busy people, I'm sure that on occasion, there could be a refresher training course for (extraordinary) Eucharistic Ministers so that they feel more comfortable distributing on the tongue if Parishioners so wish, and which should be done but I digress. Priests do have the ability to encourage in the direction of at least more sane traditional practices, albeit ever so slowly as to not send N.O. parishioners into melt down mode. People are creatures of habit, and a good number of N.O. parishioners are just going through the motions. Yes, it would be nice if Parishioners would ask for more Tradition, but we're really just a bunch of dumb sheep that truly needs their Pastor's guidance, and he can do it ever so slowly and gently as not to whip the pot of soup into a frenzy.

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  5. The Church has been outflanked by the Protestants, Freemasons, and Communists. This is only part of the result.

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    1. True. But they are a product of poor catechesis, poor formation in seminaries and lay people who have not given the priests the back up they need to make the changes. The Sacred Liturgy is easy to clean up. It's decent homilies, rich and faithful form, training willing and catechized people and letting everyone who objects to it sit back down in the pews or mosey on down the road. Picking out appropriate music. If we get control of Liturgy and homilies, we are 90% there. Things are so out of control.

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    2. Yep...tell me about it!!!!

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  6. My thoughts....bring back the original prayers of the Mass that were drooped and/or changed after VCII, the priest Ad Orientem, get rid of the "songs" and bring back the real hymns, encourage kneeling and receiving on the tongue, proper dress, less chatter, less use of Extraordinary Ministers, altar boys not girls, use of Latin in the Mass, esp. The Gloria, Kyrie, Sanctus, Pater Noster, Agnus Dei for starters. Introduce the Mass of the Ages, the Ageless Traditional Latin Mass at least once a month for starters.

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  7. Last month in the Church bulletin or pastor listed proper dress and conduct in church before, during and after Mass. Unfortunately it seems no one paid attention. Socalizing continues in the church before and after mass. I kneel and pray befor and after trying to be an exaple but I get strange looks. Proper dress is also ignored. Men wearing flip flops, shorts and tee shirts, women in tight jeans and yoga pants. I attend a Byzantine Devine Litergy a couple of times a month and there are none of these problems. I think it is because of the loss of belief in the real presences. If they really believed in the sacrafice of the Mass and that God is really present in the tabernacle they would not act or dress the way people do. I always thinko of how I dress like this,I would not dress inappropriately if I went to see the President or a king or a country. How much more should should I dress appropriately when I enter the house of God.

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    1. Unfortunately, this lack of reverence in Church can be traced back to the implementation of the Novus Ordo Mass. I grew up with the Latin Mass, in the Children's Choir singing Latin parts of the Mass, Latin and English Hymns. It was understood that general conversation was not to be done in Church because Jesus was present in the Tabernacle. Of course, all of the actions that went along with the Latin Mass, such as kneeling for Holy Communion, receiving on the tongue, proper thanksgiving after, no women handing out Holy Communion, Altar Boys wearing the cassock etc. all pointed to the fact that something very special and holy was going on here, we needed to act in an extraordinary way. It is true that the Byzantine Divine Liturgy (Divine Liturgy, Is this what we have forgotten?) did not change after VCII and having attended one, there was none of these problems. Could this be the reason the world is in the mess it is now? We have pulled the Divine Lord down to our level instead of allowing the Divine Lord to raise us up to His Divinity.

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    2. So true Bob. Prayers for your priest. Hope he keeps reminding them. It eventually sinks in. People at my parish are dressed lovely. People in the NO got sloppy because the catechesis stinks. Sin makes us stupid.

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    3. Anonymous. You're right about pulling Our Lord to our level. All we can do is keep praying for and encouraging our priests.

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    4. The N.O. Mass of today is valid, but BARELY SO. It's the reason you see such out of control laity at Mass, and also OUTSIDE of Mass. The way you pray is the way you believe. We desperately need to start to bring back tradition into the liturgy, but as I said....if priests would do this ever so slightly and incrementally, people would get used to it over time. I don't think it would work as well if you went whole hog immediately. And that's not to speak of having to dance around their BISHOP. They will be walking a tight rope for sure. Pray for our priests AND our wayward Bishops!!

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  8. What you described with receipt of the Eucharist is exactly what I do. I never go to "extraordinary ministers". The one time I was away from home and attended Mass at an unfamiliar parish, I noted the flow of people when it came time to present for the Body and Blood of Christ, worked to make my way to the line to the priest but was an usher not so gently persisted in pointing/waving me to the correct line. I simply returned to the pew and knelt at which point he tried to come to me and tell me where to go. I let him know after Mass that he isn't in control of the Eucharist and it's not his concern from whom people receive.

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    1. Brian. Wow. Sounds like you hit the Mr. Bossypants jackpot. I'm glad you spoke up to him after Mass. Hopefully, it helped him realize what he was doing. I honestly understand there are situations where the priest needs help--but I'll never go in a lay person line again.

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  9. I grew up in Milwaukee, WI which was strongly Catholic in those days. Everyone on the block knew everyone. You could have block parties. People watched out for one another. People greeted people and were not afraid of being thought of "scoping out the territory." People came to Mass and it was a community. In fact, you went to the parish you were residing close to unless you were visiting family or friends elsewhere. These days are not those days - fortunately or unfortunately. We have problems with building community. Many people in a parish do not know a majority of others in the same parish, even if it is not a large parish. In fact, many parishes have dwindled because of the lack of "belonging." It is because of these reasons that I, as a pastor, HAVE INITIATED this at my parishes. It encourages people to reach beyond themselves and get to know others - whether parishioners and visitors. Heck, if we need help doing this, we sure cannot and are probably not able to evangelize!!! I UNDERSTAND the desire to pray before Mass. So get here 15 minutes before it, not 15 seconds before Mass has been scheduled to start for years! The Mass officially does NOT begin until the Processional hymn starts or the Sign of the Cross. There is nothing wrong with having this done at this point "in" the Mass as opposed to after the petitions or after Communion. There will always be complainers. Unfortunately, announcements needs to be made, and this is the time when the least is being disrupted because Mass has officially NOT started. People SHOULD pray after receiving Communion (I am NOT saying they should not pray before Mass). Catholic Christians need this unfortunately to become less self-centered and be more sociable with their common brother/sister in Christ - which is sad. I would LOVE to have the conditions when we do not NEED to do this: 1) when everyone in a parish knows everyone else; 2) when the parishioners reach out to unfamiliar faces/visitors upon arrival without being coaxed to do so; 3) when people READ the gosh-darn bulletin so as to be connected to THEIR parish family and know what it going on and participate in it! Until that time comes, this needs to happen.

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