Variety in observance of Catholic Mass

Hello:

This post actually started as a response to a comment left on Dark Glass. I started to respond to it as a comment and thought the topic might be interesting enough to devote a post to. I'm really happy to begin interacting with a reader in this fashion. Hopefully, many future topics will evolve in the same fashion. Please be aware that I am not Catholic and though I have access to a great many resources, this BLOG is entirely my own opinion and does not reflect any official position of Liguori Publications.

Yesterday, C R Mountjoy - GDF left the following comment.

Could I ask you a question? I am Roman Catholic - very conservative. If you attend Mass regularly, have you noticed changes in your service? Our IRA Priest has put so much singing in our Mass we might as well be GD Lutherans. Next, we now sing in between the readings. Also, what is with the hand-holding during the Our Father? Then at the end (Kingdom, Power and Glory are yours) they all raise thier hands. Here's the kicker, we no longer kneel before we go up to receive COmmunion - we stand! has any of this Man-Made Crap entered your Mass? I'd really like to know. Thanks!

I'm pretty free about admitting that I'm not Catholic. I do attend Mass periodically in a variety of parishes, but I don't feel that I have the correct background to answer your question. I referred your comment to several more knowledgeable co-workers. What I heard back was that there is a great deal of variety in the style of Mass between Parishes and that despite large differences are usually "in full communion with Rome".

You may find We Worship: A Guide to the Catholic Mass by Oscar Lukefahr, C.M. and Foreword by Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke to be a useful discussion of the topic. Liguori publishes a number of titles by Fr. Lukefahr. You identify yourself as a conservative Catholic and that is reflected in your BLOG, The Neo Con Blogger (TM), so you may wish to know (if you do not) that Archbishop Burke has drawn national attention as a conservative figure.

You may also be interested in the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter which is dedicated to the preservation of the Tridentine/Latin Liturgy. The Priestly Fraternity is in full communion with Rome, and if there is a parish/church in your vicinity which is staffed by the Fraternity, they may be able to serve your spiritual needs.

I suspect that my response does not get at the heart of your question, and that the information and resources provided may not be new to you. Hopefully, other readers will extract some value from this post. Ideally, a dialogue will begin in the 'comments' section and we will be able to explore this topic more fully. For myself, "We Worship" is sitting on my desk and has been added to my reading list. If nothing else, I'm finding this educational.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci