I found this article extremely enlightening and interesting. You brought up many points I didn't realize, such as how the rule of extraordinary ministers is being abused in the U.S. Having lay people as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion (which I've often heard called "extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist") is so common at every Sunday Mass that I never realized it's an abuse of the rule, yet that makes sense. I agree with you that using these extraordinary ministers just to make Mass quicker is a horrible wrong.
People tend to forget that the Mass is about God and not us. My step-daughter once came to me and said she was fearing that she was losing her faith, and she asked me what she could do about it. One of the things I recommended was for her to attend Mass faithfully, since she didn't go to Mass often. She scoffed and said, "I don't get anything out of Mass." This's the attitude of so many people, before falling away from the faith. It's so sad. Part of this common attitude is the way Mass is presented today, such as your article describes.
You may suggest to her to try different forms or rites of the liturgy. She can try a TLM, Anglican Ordinariate, Byzantine Catholic, or Charismatic depending on the situation.
Part of the problem is that Mass is not said the way Vatican II actually asked for. It is not really the priests fault though. In most seminaries, they are only required to take one class in the nature of the liturgy-the rest are practicums. Benedict XVI often lamented that there was not good liturgical formation on the ends of seminaries. The Canons Regular of St. John Cantius are among the few who say the Novus Ordo properly. I plan on writing more on this aspect of the liturgy in the near future particularly examining what Vatican II asked for and what we actually got.
I found this article extremely enlightening and interesting. You brought up many points I didn't realize, such as how the rule of extraordinary ministers is being abused in the U.S. Having lay people as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion (which I've often heard called "extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist") is so common at every Sunday Mass that I never realized it's an abuse of the rule, yet that makes sense. I agree with you that using these extraordinary ministers just to make Mass quicker is a horrible wrong.
People tend to forget that the Mass is about God and not us. My step-daughter once came to me and said she was fearing that she was losing her faith, and she asked me what she could do about it. One of the things I recommended was for her to attend Mass faithfully, since she didn't go to Mass often. She scoffed and said, "I don't get anything out of Mass." This's the attitude of so many people, before falling away from the faith. It's so sad. Part of this common attitude is the way Mass is presented today, such as your article describes.
You may suggest to her to try different forms or rites of the liturgy. She can try a TLM, Anglican Ordinariate, Byzantine Catholic, or Charismatic depending on the situation.
Part of the problem is that Mass is not said the way Vatican II actually asked for. It is not really the priests fault though. In most seminaries, they are only required to take one class in the nature of the liturgy-the rest are practicums. Benedict XVI often lamented that there was not good liturgical formation on the ends of seminaries. The Canons Regular of St. John Cantius are among the few who say the Novus Ordo properly. I plan on writing more on this aspect of the liturgy in the near future particularly examining what Vatican II asked for and what we actually got.