Is FSSP mass ok to go to?

[Nihil Obstat]

So yes, I agree that the FSSP work hard for their parishioners to understand the Mass. They have a great devotion to the Mass itself.

But at the end of the day, nothing will substitute for simply experiencing it. For me it took 4-6 times before I was fairly confident following... You will get lost in the meantime, that is fine. It happens. Very quickly you start seeing parts you are familiar with, and after a few months the structure of the Mass is very clear. In a couple years it is simply second nature.

I usually recommend not to get preoccupied about knowing exactly what is going on. It comes with time, and just knowing what is going on is not what gains you the real graces from worshiping at holy Mass. 

This video is a good one, from what I recall. I cannot embed it properly, so just follow the link. If you are so inclined, you could also read The Holy Mass by Dom Prosper Gueranger, or The Mass in Slow Motion (intended for children) by Ronald Knox.

[Nihil Obstat]

That post was not as in-depth as I had intended it to be. The two book suggestions are solid though.
I was up until 6am working on my paper, and had to wake up by 10.  It was a long day.

[havok579257]

So what do people do who have to travel a distance for the Latin mass.  Do you guys join that parish or are you still members of the nearby parish?  Do you just go to the Latin mass but still work and volunteer through your nearby parish? Or do you belong to that parish and just not be as involved since 30 minutes one way a day for daily mass or adoration or volunteering is not possible for most people.

[Nihil Obstat]

57 minutes ago, havok579257 said:

So what do people do who have to travel a distance for the Latin mass.  Do you guys join that parish or are you still members of the nearby parish?  Do you just go to the Latin mass but still work and volunteer through your nearby parish? Or do you belong to that parish and just not be as involved since 30 minutes one way a day for daily mass or adoration or volunteering is not possible for most people.

I am roughly a 25 minute drive from mine, more like 35-40 around rush hour, and I registered as a member of that parish. I never go to my previous parish, so there was no reason to remain a member there, although of course canonical parish territory rules still apply.

It is a bit of a drive and it would be nice if it were closer, but I live in a big and very sprawling city so it comes with the territory. We are quite involved, and we know people who are even more involved and have an even farther way to go. Some families live outside the city and drive more like an hour one way.

[havok579257]

21 minutes ago, Nihil Obstat said:

I am roughly a 25 minute drive from mine, more like 35-40 around rush hour, and I registered as a member of that parish. I never go to my previous parish, so there was no reason to remain a member there, although of course canonical parish territory rules still apply.

It is a bit of a drive and it would be nice if it were closer, but I live in a big and very sprawling city so it comes with the territory. We are quite involved, and we know people who are even more involved and have an even farther way to go. Some families live outside the city and drive more like an hour one way.

Do you have children? I am wondering how it's possible to be heavily involved in the church and the surrounding community when it's 30 minutes one way with 4 small children. I mean to do mass 1 to 2 times a week, kids catechism class, be involved in 1 hour of adoration if the church has it and be involved in 1 to 2 ministry's your talking 5 to 6 days a week driving at least an hour with 4 young kids. One my son's loves adoration and going to chruch regularly but to add in possibly more than 5 hours of driving per week might change that.  I know would for me.  I mean with jobs, school, homework, sports, school activities  there is not a lot of extra time to spend at least an hour of drive time a day.  

 

I guess that's what's hard for me to grasp. I want to be involved in the chruch community but am not seeing how it's feasible with the chruch being over an hour drive there and back. Obviously being involved when a parish is 5 minutes away makes it easier.  So if you have kids, how do you manage it?

[truthfinder]

Basically what Nihil said. I live in a city with extensive public transportation. Using that, and baring any major transit hold-ups, it takes me about 30 mins to get to church. I am registered there and that's where my donations go. It's also where I go for confession (because there have been some slightly odd confessions in other places - not invalid just with penances that left doubt). Granted, I'm very fortunate that my church has confessions before every Mass for about 15 mins. I don't know what they do, but it seems like between the two priests, they can get through everyone who wants to go in that time. The EF mass is sandwiched in-between OF Masses.

As far as I can tell, the parish I attend does not have a special designation or 'cultural' parish status that some other Latin Mass communities do. Vancouver, BC springs to mind - if you attend there, that's your parish. I think I'm 'culturally' linked with the church on campus - which I do sometimes attend Masses at, especially when it's a feast day and I can't attend the EF. I also like that this church has public hours, so visits to the Blessed Sacrament are easier on campus. (Also, it's not like I have any doubts in the priest there - he's not consecrating as "this is the body of the redeemer" or any such nonsense. Actually the sermons there are usually very good - it's just the "liturgy coordination" which drives me round the bend and keeps me away more often.)

 

In all, it's a bit of a sacrifice - there are plenty in my (registered) parish that drive in probably an hour. I know at least one who doesn't own a car, but regularly uses a car-share program. As to your latest question - this depends on the family. In some of these EF communities, there are not those programs, because parents want to be more hands-on in their teaching, or they're very good about lumping all the programs (particularly like first communion catechism) on Sundays - so you make a day of it. 

You build what's most important into your schedule, and realize you have to give up parts elsewhere. I would love to be at my parish more frequently, but some of the Mass times conflict with my work and on others are just not feasible. 

[Nihil Obstat]

29 minutes ago, havok579257 said:

Do you have children? I am wondering how it's possible to be heavily involved in the church and the surrounding community when it's 30 minutes one way with 4 small children. I mean to do mass 1 to 2 times a week, kids catechism class, be involved in 1 hour of adoration if the church has it and be involved in 1 to 2 ministry's your talking 5 to 6 days a week driving at least an hour with 4 young kids. One my son's loves adoration and going to chruch regularly but to add in possibly more than 5 hours of driving per week might change that.  I know would for me.  I mean with jobs, school, homework, sports, school activities  there is not a lot of extra time to spend at least an hour of drive time a day.  

 

I guess that's what's hard for me to grasp. I want to be involved in the chruch community but am not seeing how it's feasible with the chruch being over an hour drive there and back. Obviously being involved when a parish is 5 minutes away makes it easier.  So if you have kids, how do you manage it?

I do not yet, but some of the families who are more involved than we are do have young kids. They make it work. I guess I will find out how it is done when it is my turn. Some of those families are homeschooled, but certainly not all of them.

I mean, it is a Catholic church. We are used to kids, we know that families get busy, we accommodate them. People volunteer to the extent that they feel able, and they step back or take a more involved role as their circumstances allow. I have seen this particularly in the choir. Not everyone can make weekday practices, mothers with young kids sometimes step back for a few months, the world keeps turning.

For the activities with which I am familiar... sacramental prep classes happen after the midday Mass on Sundays. children's choir practices at the same time. Adult choir and schola practices on Wednesday evenings, before Mass on Sundays, and sometimes after Mass on Sunday or Saturday afternoons before bigger feast days. There is 24 hour adoration which is pretty well covered, I do not think we have any gaps at the moment. Patrician's Society and Legion of Mary meet on weekday evenings. Families trade off running the coffee/donuts/luncheon after Mass. Altar boys have practices every few months, but generally they are pretty self-sustaining. We have an incredibly strong group of boys for that. Obviously we do not do readers and extraordinary ministers, so that is not a concern.

I am not aware of anyone who is involved in all of those things. But in general the larger families tend to be some of the more involved. There are always tradeoffs.

[havok579257]

17 minutes ago, Nihil Obstat said:

I do not yet, but some of the families who are more involved than we are do have young kids. They make it work. I guess I will find out how it is done when it is my turn. Some of those families are homeschooled, but certainly not all of them.

I mean, it is a Catholic church. We are used to kids, we know that families get busy, we accommodate them. People volunteer to the extent that they feel able, and they step back or take a more involved role as their circumstances allow. I have seen this particularly in the choir. Not everyone can make weekday practices, mothers with young kids sometimes step back for a few months, the world keeps turning.

For the activities with which I am familiar... sacramental prep classes happen after the midday Mass on Sundays. children's choir practices at the same time. Adult choir and schola practices on Wednesday evenings, before Mass on Sundays, and sometimes after Mass on Sunday or Saturday afternoons before bigger feast days. There is 24 hour adoration which is pretty well covered, I do not think we have any gaps at the moment. Patrician's Society and Legion of Mary meet on weekday evenings. Families trade off running the coffee/donuts/luncheon after Mass. Altar boys have practices every few months, but generally they are pretty self-sustaining. We have an incredibly strong group of boys for that. Obviously we do not do readers and extraordinary ministers, so that is not a concern.

I am not aware of anyone who is involved in all of those things. But in general the larger families tend to be some of the more involved. There are always tradeoffs.

Any advice on the low mass.  I want to go to one because the Latin mass we went to last week was nearly 2 hours.  Which is hard with a one year old.  I know the low mass is shorter but I have read online that it might be 20 minutes.  It's a low mass that is not sung.  I know it qualifies as a mass but to me, I am not wanting to go to a mass which is 20 minutes long.  I want to experience more. Do you know, is 20 minutes the norm for the low mass that is not sung ?

[truthfinder]

12 minutes ago, havok579257 said:

Any advice on the low mass.  I want to go to one because the Latin mass we went to last week was nearly 2 hours.  Which is hard with a one year old.  I know the low mass is shorter but I have read online that it might be 20 minutes.  It's a low mass that is not sung.  I know it qualifies as a mass but to me, I am not wanting to go to a mass which is 20 minutes long.  I want to experience more. Do you know, is 20 minutes the norm for the low mass that is not sung ?

On Sundays, you'd be hard pressed to find a low Mass at 20 mins. They're all going to have a sermon and your mileage varies there. 20-30 min sermons are not unheard of, although my current parish runs typically 7-10 mins. Honestly, Lent is a bad time to start attending because the Masses tend to be longer, especially as we move increasingly closer to Easter. The average low Mass without a sermon will be about 30 mins (but that's outside of Lent, and on days that don't need extra orations).

That being said, and not having kids myself: I find Latin parishes much more forgiving if you need to get of your seat with your child and stand at the back and bounce or rock them around or let them crawl around. As long as they're not actively screaming, it's fine. Even then, parents here will often just step outside and if they don't come back for a while, the other parent might go and switch off, especially around communion time. 

[Nihil Obstat]

39 minutes ago, havok579257 said:

Any advice on the low mass.  I want to go to one because the Latin mass we went to last week was nearly 2 hours.  Which is hard with a one year old.  I know the low mass is shorter but I have read online that it might be 20 minutes.  It's a low mass that is not sung.  I know it qualifies as a mass but to me, I am not wanting to go to a mass which is 20 minutes long.  I want to experience more. Do you know, is 20 minutes the norm for the low mass that is not sung ?

 

21 minutes ago, truthfinder said:

On Sundays, you'd be hard pressed to find a low Mass at 20 mins. They're all going to have a sermon and your mileage varies there. 20-30 min sermons are not unheard of, although my current parish runs typically 7-10 mins. Honestly, Lent is a bad time to start attending because the Masses tend to be longer, especially as we move increasingly closer to Easter. The average low Mass without a sermon will be about 30 mins (but that's outside of Lent, and on days that don't need extra orations).

That being said, and not having kids myself: I find Latin parishes much more forgiving if you need to get of your seat with your child and stand at the back and bounce or rock them around or let them crawl around. As long as they're not actively screaming, it's fine. Even then, parents here will often just step outside and if they don't come back for a while, the other parent might go and switch off, especially around communion time. 

What she said. Especially for a Sunday Mass, you will not find such incredibly short Masses. I would imagine that you will never see a 20 minute Mass outside of some strange emergency situation. That will mainly be limited to a priest's private Masses.

My current priest says a low Mass with no sermon on most weekdays, and in my experience these are around 40 minutes. For your average Sunday Mass with a sermon you will be approaching an hour, though perhaps not quite hitting it.

Two hours is rather long for an average High Mass though. Did anything out of the ordinary happen that day? Or was there an exceptionally long homily or something?

[Norseman82]

When I first attended an EF Mass, it was a High Mass, and I also was completely lost because:

1)  I was in a far corner and could not see the priest on the altar very well;
2)  The singing was constant and often overlapped into other parts of the Mass 

It was about 10-11 years later that I tried one again, but this time, i went to a Low Mass.  The singing was minimal,
it was more audible, it was in the downstairs chapel (smaller), and, one thing that was very important:  I sat on the
center aisle in a position where I could follow the priest's actions and compare it where I was in the missal. 

So, my suggestion would be to go to a Low Mass and position yourself and your family in such a way that you can follow the priest's movements.

 

[havok579257]

2 hours ago, Nihil Obstat said:

 

What she said. Especially for a Sunday Mass, you will not find such incredibly short Masses. I would imagine that you will never see a 20 minute Mass outside of some strange emergency situation. That will mainly be limited to a priest's private Masses.

My current priest says a low Mass with no sermon on most weekdays, and in my experience these are around 40 minutes. For your average Sunday Mass with a sermon you will be approaching an hour, though perhaps not quite hitting it.

Two hours is rather long for an average High Mass though. Did anything out of the ordinary happen that day? Or was there an exceptionally long homily or something?

The homily was probably 20 minutes . Nothing else out of the ordinary .

 

Well since the low mass will not be 20 minutes long I am going to try that at the fssp parish this weekend.  They have a sung one but the time does not work well with our kids schedule. 

I liked the Latin mass from last week.  The old Chapel was beautiful, the organ was great (almost all other parishes we go to do not have an organ), the priest walking around with the Holy water and the incense were great.  The only 2 complaints I have is  the acoustics were not great even with a microphone so it was hard to catch everything and of course the not being able to follow the mass which seems to come with time.

 

We shall see how the fssp goes this week.

Edited April 1, 2017 by havok579257

[Nihil Obstat]

No incense or asperges at low Mass.

[havok579257]

well the low mass was really different.  so it was spoken and they did not use a mic.  so it was really hard to hear except for the readings and homily.  also just the normal noise of people coughing and babies and walking were louder than the priest.  not to mention the confession door kept opening and closing because they had confessions during mass.  this low mass at the fssp church was really hard to follow because it was so quiet.  its really hard to focus and follow along with the mass with it being so quiet.  the longer mass was easier to follow because although I did not understand latin at least i could hear the majority of the priest prayers.

 

 

[Nihil Obstat]

Yes, quiet on that level is something most Catholics today are not used to experiencing.

[truthfinder]

I was going to mention before, mics tend not to be used at the ef. They're certainly an oddity in my experience. 

[Kateri89]

The low Mass is sometimes nicer because of the ability for more contemplation and reflection due to the quieter atmosphere.  I have the 1962 missal that I follow along in and usually the thing that helps me stay on track are the bells.  Like your experience, the priest in my parish is all but silent so I can't hear the prayers to follow along.  The bells are marked in the missal so when I hear them I know where I'm supposed to be following along.

However, when I attend the high Mass I'm just mesmerized by the chant and polyphony from our Schola.  It took me a little while to realize that there are parts of the Mass where they sing while the priest continues to pray silently at the altar so I listen to the music while still following his prayers in the missal.

If you can buy the 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal, I think you'll find that it's much easier to follow along with the Mass.  It's a bit expensive but perhaps you could find one used in a catholic bookstore or online.  You'll figure out how you like to place the ribbons to keep you on track.  For instance, I always use the red ribbon to mark the order of the Mass.

Anyway, hope this is a little bit helpful to you.  The other PMers have pretty much covered it as well.

[beatitude]

On ‎02‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 6:50 PM, Nihil Obstat said:

Yes, quiet on that level is something most Catholics today are not used to experiencing.

For a while the Low EF Mass was my regular Mass, because it was the only one that fit with my work schedule. Even though I was used to spending at least half an hour a day in silent prayer, such a quiet liturgy did take some getting used to. It was a challenge at first (not in a bad way), because I would usually arrive straight from work at a residential school for children with intellectual disabilities, with my mind teeming with 101 things related to my job. I do prefer Mass on Sundays to have music, but I think attending the Low Mass did help me to become more recollected over time - it's worth persevering with even though it may feel strange at first.

[havok579257]

yeah the low mass is definetly more of a challenge with young children.  i mean they are not old enough to understand quiet reflection during mass.  i think the novus ordo mass definetly helps younger children be more involved/follow along with the mass.  the low mass is hard for younger children when they can't hear what the priest is saying and its not like they can see what is going on since they are so small.  its no so bad for the child who can stand in the isle and see the priest but for the other who are in the pew and can't see and can't hear it does make it harder for them to feel involved in the mass.  i know the goal of the mass is not about what we get out of it but it is to glorify God, although kids don't understand that.  to them it makes it harder when they already can't see what's going on and then on top of that can't hear it.

[DominicanHeart]

I am quite blessed to belong to a Diocesan Parish with the Latin Mass. It's just a short walk away. I wish there were some FSSP Parishes closer to me though