I am back home in Maryland and I have decided that this summer is not going to be the easiest. I'm already deeply saddened by the graduation of the class of 06. But to make leaving my lovely Catholic bubble for the summer even worse, I am now faced with the problem of getting to Mass - Sunday Mass, let alone daily Mass - because I have to work Sundays 8:00 - 5:00. That makes reaching even a Vigil Mass difficult since the vast majority are at 5:00.
In my quest to find potential Mass locations I decided to check out some other local "Catholic" (cough cough) colleges. Here's a look at what I found:
Loyola College:
We gather each Sunday as a community of the baptized to listen to the Word of God and celebrate the sign of God's love through the sharing of the one bread and one cup. We respond to the call of our baptism by going forth in service to proclaim by word and action the Good News of the Kingdom.
Sunday Worship:
Celebration of the Eucharist:
11 a.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., 10:30 p.m.
Interdenominational Protestant Worship:
7:30 p.m.
Daily Eucharist:
Monday-Friday: 12:10 p.m.
Monday-Thursday 10:30 p.m.
Evening Prayer:
every other Thursday: 5 p.m.
Sacrament of Reconciliation:
Communal Celebrations during Advent and Lent, or by appointment. Call x.2838.
EvenSong:
Thursdays: 5 p.m.
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Wait wait....did I say "Catholic?" oh dear. I'm so sorry. I meant Jesuit. My apologies.
But seriously people, "celebrate the sign of God's love through the sharing of the one bread and one cup." Do they not believe in the Real Presence?.
And Communal Celebrations" of Reconciliation?? Oh and only during Advent and Lent because sin doesn't need to be recognized at any other time.
...then there's "EvenSong." One can only wonder. And keep wondering you will because I'm not about ready to go over there and find out.
Can I pleeeaase go back to school now?
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20 comments:
Have you considered that this attitude of yours might be spiritually damaging? Instead of mocking the Loyola campus blowing a trumpet why don't you quietly pray that their hearts and yours are turned entirely to Christ.
I'm sure you know, but Evensong is just a combination of the vespers and compline. One doesn't have to wonder.
I've never heard the term 'Evensong' used in a Catholic context before. I always thought that was the Anglican/Protestant nomenclature.
One hopes that by 'Communal Celebrations' they mean Rite II (i.e. the type which includes individual confession and absolution) and not General Absolution.
Well, at least they have 2 daily Masses most days and four different Sunday Masses. (Including 3 that might work for you?) I have to say, I LOVED the 9 pm Mass at CUA.
I liked Loyola when I visited there, although by that time I had already applied to Catholic. I never got the impression that they tried to hide their Catholic identity/religious affiliation. And while I'll admit that their choice of wording here might be a little odd, it probably doesn't make their Masses invalid or anything.
***
Glad to have you back in MD, though!
So, wait.
They combine Vespers and Compline.
Fine.
But do they only say this particular part of the Divine Office
on Thursdays?
Agreed, SS.
This nomenclature has got me all confused.
God forbid they have 'Mass'.
And 'Vespers'.
And 'Communal Celebrations of Reconciliation'?!
Do. They. Realize. That. Doesn't. Count. For. Confession?
Oh, sorry. I was mocking them, therefore causing spiritual damage.
Please. Are you, or are you not Roman Catholic?!
The communal celebrations would likely be the one where you get together and have a reading and songs with individual confession and absolution. They should of course have weekly scheduled times for confession. This is a valid way to celebrate the sacrament. You probably shouldn't jump the gun and assume it's an attempt at General Absolution, which does count in grave emergencies, i.e. in a plane that is nose-diving.
Jesuits are not bound to do the Office, so they don't have to do any at all. Most churches don't offer communal praying of the Office, so I would be inclined to appreciate such a thing.
The Jesuits can be a bit Protestantish, but try not to jump the gun and issue a blanket anathematization to them all.
The Eucharist is referred to as bread in the Bible, it's not wrong to say it like that, but it does leave a bit to be desired.
"Gnaw on the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." doesn't sound as nice to them.
I wouldn't be attracted to a church like that, but we have to be charitable.
Jesuits are not bound to do the Office
Actually, they are. They just don't have to pray it in common.
Uh, I went to Loyola and Notre Dame both and find your tone not a little offensive. Confession is available every day before noon mass. Evensong, as someone above noted, is a combination of Vespers and Compline. I am certain that the good people in Campus Ministry would love to celebrate it more often, but as a very small school with far less money than the revered Notre Dame, they have to do what they can. And I'd point out that even ND only offers a common observance of the Office on Sunday nights.
I loved my time at Loyola and my faith grew and deepened enormously there. Indeed, it was my encounters with attitudes like the one you display in your post that made me fall away from my faith when I came to Notre Dame. I'm sure you will assume that it was because I ascribe to some "watered down" version of Catholicism. I assure you I do not. I'll take Fr. Frank Haig's heartfelt Latin Mass in the Hammerman Chapel over one of Bishop D'Arcy or Dan Parrish's overblown smells and bells Basilica productions any day. And I'll take the humble and "mere" Christianity of Loyola over the boastful and arrogant "orthodoxy" of Notre Dame on the others.
And what they mean by "communal celebration" is exactly the same thing Notre Dame does in the Basilica every Advent and Lent -- a prayer service followed by opportunity for individual confession.
Were I you, I'd do a bit more investigating before impeaching an institution's values based on the information derived from its mass schedule.
Dear Greyhound/Domer (and all concerned people),
Don't be too offened by my off handed Catholic/Jesuit joke, especially since I've heard that come out of the mouth of many a good Jesuit devotee.
I seriously considered Loyola when I went through the college application process, so don't think I haven't done the "bit more investigating" you suggested. I am delighted to hear that confession is readily available!
Thanks for the clarification on somepoints. My jab at "Evensong" was, as Zadok noted, out of the fact that I've never heard that term applied to a Catholic serivce, but only to Anglican. I did however find it curious that both "Evening Prayer" and "Evensong" were listed. I'd also wholeheartedly agree with you in pointing out that ND only has public Vespers on Sunday. I wish it was more frequent. A number of the dorms pray them, but it sure would be nice if it was a public event every day. As for the "communal celebration" of Reconciliation - I complain about that one no matter what school or parish its at. My complaint is not so much of the prayer service followed by private confession, but rather the promotion of such penitential rites only in penitential seasons. Sin is a year-round event.
*sigh*
(see I don't complain about other people's schools alone)
I don't think money should be brought in as an excuse for anyone though. The tution at least is equivallent.
And a Latin Mass! That sounds good! Well why doesn't CM advertise that?
Then again, it sure would be nice if ND advistised our own Saturday Latin Novus Ordo.
But as a last note, I personally take great offence at your slander of Bishop D'Arcy and Fr. Dan - both of whom I happen to admire very much. You critize me for my blunt questioning of Loyola's rather odd Mass listing, but to call ND "overblown," "boastful" and "arrogant" is no better.
I'm sorry that you find the liturgies of Notre Dame so distasteful.
A QUOTE FROM MARY LIZ:
Ok, this is something I probably should have laid out in my intro.
One of my pet peeves is anonymous commenting. Now I want non-registered users to be able to comment, but I request that if they do so they leave their name. I feel the anonymous commenting - particularly when the comment attacks the author or another commentator - is cowardly. Therefore, if I see an anonymous comment on my blog I will delete it regardless of content.
This is my blog and I make the rules. If you don't like it, start your own blog and I will respect your rules there.
YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE............
I criticize your libel of Loyola because it seemed obvious from your comments that you didn't really know what you were talking about. Your explanations don't help much.
And my comments about Bishop D'Arcy and Dan Parrish aren't slanderous or even libelous because they are contain no falsehood. I simply meant to point out that to some people (I'm not the only one), ND isn't the exactly the end-all and be-all of religious experience.
And sorry about the anonymity, but I didn't feel like going through the motions of creating a Blogger account that would make me no less anonymous than I am right now.
Dear Greyhound/Domer - I'm assuming the past two comments are still from you. I put out that rule quite awhile ago, and you are the first person to post anonymously. I'm not sure what makes me a hypocrite, unless its the fact that I've found your comments of some value and that it would be in poor taste for me to delete them. I can properly edit that entry if you wish.
You do not however have to create a Blooger account to publish your comment under a name. Under the "choose an identity" section click other and type in a name. I don't care if you make up a name, but just give me something I can identify you by.
Right now the only thing I have to identify you by is your angry style of writing.
And yes "overblown," "boastful," and "arrogant" seem rather slanderous to me.
Anonymous...we all need to be charitable and I can understand why you might be offended by some of these comments. Honestly, however most were in jest and as for the ones that weren't-- we need to remember that being charitable also involves being truthful. We NEED to criticize at times. One other thing, Notre Dame is the best religious experience in the country bar none (that includes the phenomenologists at FUS and Ave Maria). I will not dignify any argument to the contrary with a response.
On a slightly related note, I think that 5pm is a little bit early for compline.
hypocrite: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
You most definately have deleted anonymous comments in the past and in fact that is what prompted the previously sited 'rule'.
hypocrite.
Actually, those comments are in no way slanderous. They may "seem" libelous, but, in fact, they would not qualify as any kind of defamation written (libel) or spoken (slander). They are matters of opinion.
I agree that we need to criticize. We also need to have full knowledge of that which we're criticizing. By basing her criticism solely on the information obtained from the mass schedule, she doesn't seem to have a valid basis for her rather broad criticism much less her tone. The anonymous poster ostensibly has not a little experience with worship at both Loyola and Notre Dame (though her comments -- which are opinion and so not defamatory -- are unnecessarily inflammatory).
And the statement that Notre Dame provides the "best religious experience bar none" is objectionable on any number of levels.
You place religion so high in your life yet you say you 'have' to work on Sundays...
HA HA. Have you forgotten the 3rd Commandment? You expect us to believe there are no other jobs you could perform? Or is your retail job so important to you and the discount so important that you are willing to ignore the command for God's day to fulfill you own needs and desires?
Once again I think the work hpocrite is applicable.
We do indeed "have" to work, my dear Anon. If you don't work, you don't eat. Says so, right there in the Bible.
Now, it is unfortunate that this young blogger has only been able to find a job which requires her to work on Sunday. But all too many of our immigrant ancestors faced the same burden (particularly since a lot of New England factory owners didn't want the Irish attending Mass). Necessity excused them, and if she can't find a really early morning or late evening Mass, it will excuse her, too. She can make a spiritual communion as often as she wishes, until conditions get better and she can return to more ordinary practice.
No doubt the lady of the blog will receive prayers from all of us, including such a wise, holy, and loving person as you, Anonymous.
Maureen O'Brien
aka Suburbanbanshee
Damn, some of the comments are getting quite heated. I say skip the trouble and come down to College Park. We have everything that you need with our wonderful Catholic Student Center. And the comment about Mary and working on sunday was a little uncalled for I beleive because have you seen the tuition for college its not cheap and it is very hard to have a job that does not require work on Sundays. An ever faithful Catholic Terp,
KK
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