One of the best things about being Catholic is that you can
attend Sunday Mass at any parish in the world and follow along. The language may be different, but the
liturgy is the same, the readings are the same, and the Eucharist is the
same. We are truly united in
Christ. That said, the experience can be
different.
My son, his wife and our four grandchildren live some 460
miles from us. Several times a year, we
make the long drive to visit and attend Mass at their parish where my son is
Director of Liturgy and Music. Same
Mass, same liturgy, different experience.
I made a list of comparisons between the two.
Our Local Parish Parish we visited
1910 building Modern
building
Capacity 200 Capacity
1233
Prayer to St. Michael before Mass Prayer for Vocations before Mass
Tabernacle in center Tabernacle
off center to right
Traditional seating Semi-circular
configuration
Pipe Organ Electronic
Organ and piano
Pews nearly empty Pews
nearly full
Older congregation Average
age 29
No school School (pre to grade 8)
I would consider myself a rather conservative Catholic. In the past, I have been critical of some of
the post Vatican II reforms. Yet, I find
the Mass at my son’s parish to be much more enjoyable, for lack of a better
word. The things I would generally find
distracting, the tabernacle off center, facing other parishioners the way pews
are configured, seemed insignificant. Accustomed
to worshipping with about sixty people in our mostly empty church, how wonderful
to be in the presence of a thousand parishioners where ushers need to assist
latecomers to find a seat.
Like it or not, the celebrant has a huge impact on one’s
experience at Mass. The two homilies we
heard during our last visit, by two different priests, were nothing spectacular,
but they were delivered thoughtfully and to the point. Homilies at our local parish are often
repeated, drawn out unnecessarily, and somewhat condescending at times,
probably the main reason our local attendance is so low.
The point of all this is that the spiritual temperature of a
parish is not dependent on the form of the liturgy, the configuration of the
church or its size. The Mass is the Mass
regardless of peripherals. What can make
a difference is how the Mass is celebrated. For me, the experience of being at Mass with a
thousand other souls, praying and singing together was refreshing.
I liked the prayer for vocations before Mass, and apparently
it is effective. After Sunday Mass, our
family went to a small restaurant for lunch.
As we waited for our food, in walked five young men, at least one of
them a priest, and the others possibly seminarians judging by their youthful
appearance. All wore collars and cassocks. I grew up in a parish where our pastor wore a
cassock most of the time. That was many
years ago, and I haven’t seen a priest wear one in our little parish since
then. It is interesting that many of the
young men entering the seminaries these days are going back to the more
traditional garb. You can be contemporary and still be conservative. I think it bodes well
for the future of the Church.
