Comments for Why Mass is a Must at http://www.thecatholicthing.org , comment 1 to 6 out of 6 comments http://www.thecatholicthing.org Sun, 19 May 2013 01:05:15 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/why-mass-is-a-must.html#comment-5480 I find that since my entrance into the Church on Easter Vigil 2009, I cannot miss Sunday mass without feeling a great loss. I also make it a point to attend evening masses during the week when scheduled. As a batchelor I don't feel part of parish life; but then families with children and grandchildren should be at the center of any community worthy of the name. Contempt for the sacrament of Marriage is contempt for children -- we see the results of that contempt everyday. I do invariably feel welcome during the actual celebration and administration of the Eucharist. The mass isn't about me, and yet in a way it is so personal that there is no "me" without it. I've had two surprises since becoming a Catholic. One, a growing devotion to Mary. Two, an actual sense of loving the Church. Something Pope Paul VI felt and understood profoundly. I often remember that wonderful line in AMAZING GRACE when John Newton (Albert Finney) tells William WIlberforce, "I am a great sinner, but I have a Great Saviour." Bishop Conley (of the Archdiocese of Denver) uses the traditional Latin phrase "lex orandi, lex credendi" -- "we worship as we believe." The Mass is central, essential to being a Catholic. - Graham Combs Sun, 19 Dec 2010 16:44:28 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/why-mass-is-a-must.html#comment-5479 {See French original following) I think that the disaffection of the baptized for Sunday Mass is more complex. It's easy to speak of "self-proclaimed popes." But are Catholic parishes really welcoming? What are the Sunday homilies worth? The majority of the time, one feels that the homily has not been prepared, speaks of contemporary issues and ten thousand things at a time. While we're expecting the priest to clarify the life of Jesus Christ, and its meaning. Lacking constant nourishment for faith, the baptismal life grows thin. je pense que la désaffection des baptisés de la messe dominicale est plus complexe. C'est vite dit de parler de "pape auto-proclamé". Est-ce que les paroisses catholiques sont vraiment accueillantes ? Que vaut l'homélie dominicale ? La plupart du temps on sent que l'homélie n'est pas préparée, elle parle des sujets d'actualité, evoque dix mille sujets à la fois etc. Alors que nous attendons du prêtre qu'il nous éclaire sur leSeigneur Jesus, le sens de sa vie. Faute d'aliments consistants pour nourrir sa foi, la vie baptismale s'étiole. - olivier bethoux Sun, 19 Dec 2010 11:24:22 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/why-mass-is-a-must.html#comment-5476 Bill: Fair point, though my focus was more on why we should bother to get out of bed on Sunday in the first place, rather than which church to choose once in the car. Of course, if we understand my main point--that the Mass is the Holy Sacrifice of Christ on cross, and we must go to Mass to appropriate this one and only salvific act to our selves--then the things you mentioned (transubstantiation, Body and Blood of Christ) follow as important corollaries. - David Bonagura Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:51:40 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/why-mass-is-a-must.html#comment-5474 Mr. Bonagura: My office is in a town with three "Christian" churches led by female ministers. What separates these "Christian" ministers from a Traditional Catholic priest? After all, they invite people into their churches every Sunday. They don't have the charism of Orders. They cannot confect the Holy Eucharist I would think in an article on this subject you might use terms such as "transubstantiation, Body and Blood of Christ, obligation under the penalty of mortal sin, participation in the Divine Mystery, etc." - Bill Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:22:34 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/why-mass-is-a-must.html#comment-5463 Q. Is the Mass the same sacrifice as the sacrifice of the Cross? A. Yes, the Mass is the same sacrifice as the sacrifice of the Cross. Baltimore Catechism - Scott Hesener Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:34:37 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/why-mass-is-a-must.html#comment-5462 A couple of days ago a friend told me that if Dante were to enter Hell today, he'd do it through Central Booking in Baltimore. I reflected that he would also have to add a new circle of Hell just for liturgical reformers who for several decades forced Catholics to eat untold buckets of crap every Sunday. No wonder the smart money was on visiting the Mall vice Church on Sundays. Things have improved as such reformers, no longer fashionable, have flitted away. And even their attempts to erode the priesthood of Christ by dumbing down Mass is no excuse for not attending it. But they didn't make it any easier either. - Yezhov Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:06:07 +0100