Is FSSP mass ok to go to?

[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