Attending Mass

[DavyCrocket2003]

Hi guys!
I had the opportunity to attend mass today. It was really interesting. I went with a friend of mine from school who is Christian but doesn't really belong to any church. It was really neat. I liked how there was a lot of singing. I'm hoping to attend some other local churches around here. Have any of you had the chance to go to some other worship services? What were your feelings and experiences?

 

[Katzpur]

Hi guys!
I had the opportunity to attend mass today. It was really interesting. I went with a friend of mine from school who is Christian but doesn't really belong to any church. It was really neat. I liked how there was a lot of singing. I'm hoping to attend some other local churches around here. Have any of you had the chance to go to some other worship services? What were your feelings and experiences?

I attended a Christmas midnight mass once. It was a beautiful, spiritual experience, marred only by the passing of a collection plate, which kind of turned me off. Other that that, though, it was really a wonderful experience.

I attended a Unitarian Universalist worship service last summer with a former (only because she has been AWOL for so long) member of RF. I really enjoyed it too. I liked the sense of respect that I felt for all human beings.

I attended a Pentacostal Church in Harlem, New York as part of a Harlem tour. It was also really interesting. The people were really friendly and welcoming. It was awfully loud, though!

My last experience attending a church other than my own was a visit to an Evangelical Christian Church here in Salt Lake City. They had a guest preacher the week I attended. His sermon was on the evils of Mormonism. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least.

Of my four experiences, the Catholic mass was unquestionably my favorite.

 

[madhatter85]

I have attended a few catholic masses because my in-laws are roman catholic. They are quite interesting to listen to however I was turned off by the collection plate, the skull at the bottom of the crucifix and the infant baptism i witnessed. I understand their intentions and reasons but I could not get Moroni Chapter 8 out of my head the whole time.

 

[Mister Emu]

What exactly is it about the collection plate that you are turned off by?

There is/was a tradition that spread through the early Christian population that Christ was crucified over the burial spot of Adam. It symbolizes the first Adam, through whom death entered the world, below the new Adam, through whom life returns. It can also symbolize the victory of Christ over death, death represented by the skull and bones beneath Jesus.

Though I understand that the skull imagery is not for everyone...

 

[zomg]

I've always wanted to attend a Mass...

 

[Sola'lor]

I read somewhere that the collecton plate was also an early Christian tradition.

 

[Katzpur]

What exactly is it about the collection plate that you are turned off by?

For me, it was two things:

1. I don't like the idea of everyone seeing how much the person next to him gives. I like the fact that what I give, I give privately.

2. It just seemed to me to disturb the atmosphere and feeling of reverence I was feeling. I was just sitting there enjoying the peaceful feeling when all of a sudden a plate full of money was passed in front of my face. I guess it was just kind of unexpected, and I felt quite awkward at the time.

I understand that the skull imagery is not for everyone...

Yeah, it's definitely not for me. It just seems to ghoulish for a church.

On the whole, though, I loved the experience. I would go again in a minute if I didn't have to go alone. (I went with a friend the first time.)

 

[Mister Emu]

1. I don't like the idea of everyone seeing how much the person next to him gives. I like the fact that what I give, I give privately.

That leads to a question... how does the LDS collect tithes?

2. It just seemed to me to disturb the atmosphere and feeling of reverence I was feeling. I was just sitting there enjoying the peaceful feeling when all of a sudden a plate full of money was passed in front of my face. I guess it was just kind of unexpected, and I felt quite awkward at the time.

Understandable...

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

For me, it was two things:

1. I don't like the idea of everyone seeing how much the person next to him gives. I like the fact that what I give, I give privately.

FWIW, you don't see how much the person next to you gives in every Catholic church. At my wife's church, most people make their donation in an envelope: regular parishoners pick up a box of envelopes at the beginning of the year, all with an ID number on the outside so that they can figure out the amount for your tax receipt (though there's no obligation to give your name if you want to be anonymous). You can also set up pre-authorized payments through your bank. They've also got envelopes in the book racks on the backs of the pews.

Usually, the only people who put money straight into the basket are people who just put in change. Most people use the envelopes; a significant number don't put anything at all in, but nobody has any way of knowing whether they've already donated by pre-authorized payment.

But this is just my experience at one church.

 

[DavyCrocket2003]

I've always wanted to attend a Mass...

Do. It's really neat. And there's really no way to understand what it's like without going.

At the congregation I attended today, they had these mesh baskets on the end of poles that they used to collect donations. The walked down the aisles and reached the poles to anyone wanting to donate. I saw that some people gave both times with envelopes, and some with wads of cash. I agree that there is something about it that I don't like. I would definitely go for the prearranged deal if I were catholic.

The LDS give tithes in an envelope before or after church (or sometime during the week) that only a member of the bishopric sees.

I thought the ensemble that did the music was really good. Listening to the priest sing, I wondered if you have to have an okay voice to become a catholic priest. It would be weird to have a tone-deaf priest leading the singing.

I really liked the passages read from the Bible today. One of them was the chapter on Charity in Corinthians. The wording was foreign though: it used the word love in place of charity.

 

[Katzpur]

FWIW, you don't see how much the person next to you gives in every Catholic church. At my wife's church, most people make their donation in an envelope: regular parishoners pick up a box of envelopes at the beginning of the year, all with an ID number on the outside so that they can figure out the amount for your tax receipt (though there's no obligation to give your name if you want to be anonymous). You can also set up pre-authorized payments through your bank. They've also got envelopes in the book racks on the backs of the pews.

Actually, that's how I thought it was handled in all Catholic Churches. I guess I was just surprised.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I really liked the passages read from the Bible today. One of them was the chapter on Charity in Corinthians. The wording was foreign though: it used the word love in place of charity.

Word definitions change over time. At the time of the King James Bible, the word "charity" had a meaning that's closer to our modern usage of the word "love" than what we call "charity" today. Modern translations take into account our modern usage and translate the word as "love". This isn't a Catholic-specific thing; it's more of a difference betweeen KJV-only Protestant denominations (and Mormons?) vs. all the Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox churches that are okay with other translations.

 

[madhatter85]

What exactly is it about the collection plate that you are turned off by?

There is/was a tradition that spread through the early Christian population that Christ was crucified over the burial spot of Adam. It symbolizes the first Adam, through whom death entered the world, below the new Adam, through whom life returns. It can also symbolize the victory of Christ over death, death represented by the skull and bones beneath Jesus.

Though I understand that the skull imagery is not for everyone...

It seems to me however that symbols of death should not be a focal point on a belief system that is supposed to uplift people.

 

[Druswid]

Ah, church services. As far as I can remember, I've only been to two different churches for services. I once went to a Unitarian church for some reason or the other, and to the best of my knowledge, it seemed like a pretty human, sympathetic sermon. But that was only once, so my memory has faded. Then there's the Greek Orthodox church in town that my mom was raised in (but does not attend), my grandmother and grandfather have been lifelong members, and my best friend has been the head alter boy for years now. I don't like those services. They're all the same, and they aren't particularly uplifting, if you ask me. The priest reads some in English, then in Greek, waves the Bible, waves his hand, waves some cloth, waves a cross, you get on your knees so you can be uncomfortable in church while asking for mercy... not fun, or enlightening. Needless to say, I don't attend that church. Then again, I attend no churches, since I was raised in a secular household.

 

[zomg]

To those who have attended mass-

Did you partake of the eucharist?

 

[lunamoth]

To those who have attended mass-

Did you partake of the eucharist?

Are non-LDS allowed to share communion at LDS worship? I'm just curious.

 

[Katzpur]

Are non-LDS allowed to share communion at LDS worship? I'm just curious.

Yes. Probably most non-LDS visitors would hesitate to do so, but it's not a big no-no.

 

[lunamoth]

Yes. Probably most non-LDS visitors would hesitate to do so, but it's not a big no-no.

Thank you Katz!

I would love your input about LDS baptism in the new thread I started. If you want, I could post the baptism rites in our church, for comparison.

 

[madhatter85]

To those who have attended mass-

Did you partake of the eucharist?

No. I don't think i could see myself doing that either. knowing what the sacrament represents it just feels wrong to me.

On the other hand I know of people who feel "well it's not the same so it doesn't matter" I am simply not one of those people.

 

[Katzpur]

To those who have attended mass-

Did you partake of the eucharist?

I'm pretty sure it would not be permitted. I believe you must have been to confession first. I think you can have the priest bless you or something like that, but you can't take communion.