Answer with at least a COUPLE sentences of SUBSTANCE:
…
I talked about how, while good music, homily, etc. can help OPEN us to God’s grace at Mass, God graces does not DEPEND on it. But … good liturgy certainly makes it a lot easier!
So … what would the ideal Mass be for you? What makes up a “good Mass” for you? If you could plan the “perfect Mass” what would it look like? OR … describe “the best Mass I ever celebrated.” {Obviously, if you’re not Catholic, feel free to substitute an appropriate worship experience as necessary}
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A good Mass for me would be one that is interesting and interactive. It would be enjoyable and informative. A moderate length Mass would also be good, nothing too long.
It is difficult to describe the “ideal mass” because they all, in my opinion, should be different. Each mass should celebrate and emphasize a different aspect of Grace. In this way, each mass would be concentrated on a single teaching, fully analyzing how we are to act. After analysis, the priest would tell the congregation specific ways to live out that day’s lesson. Then, the next Sunday would be completely different. Some Sundays should have solemn music to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice or the ignorance of human sin. Other Sundays should be joyful, with contemporary Christian music young people can enjoy as well as traditional hymns to emphasize old Catholic values.
For me, an ideal mass would be one that is informative but interesting. It should have some modern things in it in order to capture the attention of the younger members (such as guitar music). However, the mass would always stay true to Catholic Tradition and still relay God’s word. It would have an interesting, relatable homily that could help people in their everyday life. It would also be a place where people were exposed to God’s message and changed by it. The mass would allow people to grow as a faith community and have people leave with a better understanding of their faith.
I am not Catholic, so an ideal “mass” would be something interesting that intrigues me and allows me to engage with God. Interesting music and visual effects would allow me to be more interested in the service and focus more on the meaning of Church. Although this “mass” would be interesting and engaging, it would still maintain the focus of God’s word and message that is supposed to be conveyed to the congregation.
My ideal congregation would be one with a variety of ages. I would like to be able to go up to the bimah and read from the torah every time. I like the times when theh Rabbi’s torah portion relates to today’s times. I really enjoy the silent prayer times where we can choose to read the other prayers to the Amidah, because I take that tie to reflect. My ideal “mass” would be a relaxing and fun way to engage with God.
For me, a good Mass would be one that is interesting. I would want everyone to participate. I know that music does not make the Mass what it is but I feel that good music is necessary to a perfect Mass. Also, the Mass must be modern yet focus on God.
The best mass I have ever celebrated was this past Christmas. Right when I got there people were singing and there was soo many candles lighting in the church. We talked about how to be thankful and to give thanks for everything we recieve and everyone in our lives. And it really made me think about how great my life is and how good i’ve got it. It was an amazing mass.
The best mass would be one that does not require a lot of energy to stay interested in. It should be open to where people want to come and participate. The ideal mass would connect the modern problems we face today into the Word. It would be easy to understand but still completely focused on the teachings of Christ.
I feel like the message or the sermon during the mass is not always going to be about us and what we want but, when it is I’d like to hear something that would be relavent to what’s going on in my life. Even though that might be difficult to do, when you keep an open mind you will find that the sermon will apply to you anyway. That’s my ideal. One that’s helpful, meaningful, and understandable.
AS Block C:
A good mass to me would be interesting, connecting with the people at the church. I would make it fun, tell stories and be motavating. Also, I think its important to smile and make sure to connect with each individual. While connecting with the audience keep on task of the message and sermon. I would want to be able to understand and not zone out.
I am not Catholic, but a good mass to me would be something interesting that intrigues the audience and allows them to connect with God. Good music helps send a message as well. The mass does however still need to focus on God and the message, rather than the affects.
Though I’m not Catholic, an “ideal mass” to me would be a mass that interests me on a level that I understand. Furthermore, I would want all people to be involved; allowing them to witness the Living God first hand. Additionally, I believe the mass should focus on God and Jesus because after all they are the core of the Catholic Church and teachings.
For me, a good mass would be one that is interactive and understanding. Mass is sometimes hard to comprehend. An ideal mass would have a priest who is able to connect with all members of the congregation.
The “ideal mass” for me would just be one with a homily that is short and to the point. The priest at my parish can sometimes be long-winded and hard to follow. I would just like to have a homily that is easier to understand and more interacitve.
In my opinion, Mass is more enjoyable for me when the Homily is applicable to the audience and appeals to all audiences. To keep the audience interested, I would have the Homily with a sense of humor involved, so that everyone would be laughing. Laughing awakens people, both physically and mentally, because they then associate Mass with happiness, just like laughter does. The priest would interact with the audience members and connect the readings, members, and God all together. It would help make the Homily, and Mass as a whole, more understandable.
An “ideal mass” for me would be one with interaction. When the priest simply talks on and on, I sometimes loose focus. I enjoy when the priest either makes us laugh, or makes a connection with very modern day. This interests me and I pay attention and enjoy mass so much more.
A good Chruch service for me would be when the pastor relates the service to my personal life. Often during church serrvices it can get boring just reading scripture because we can not really relate to what is being said. It make the message a lot more meaningful when it is connected back to our lives.
i feel that a “perfect mass” would be that the pastor makes what he is saying relate to my life. it would also be fairly short because if the mass is super long i tend to not pay attention towards the end of it.
An “ideal” church service for me is one with a very well written, thought provoking, intelligent sermon. Without this, for me, it is very difficult to pay attention. The preacher at St. Francis is very well educated and his sermon have a really nice mixture of humor, history, and thought provoking statements. He makes them ver applicable to peoples daily lives and even quoted Shakespeare at one point. I look forward to hearing what he has to say when I go to church.
My ideal mass would have to be interesting and the priest/deacon should interact with us. The homily would be more helpful if it related to my life. I enjoy good music at church, it keeps me entertained and it seems easier for me to focus if there is good music throughout the mass.
The best mass in my opinion is one that is interesting and interactive as well as easy to understand. A lot of times in mass, I find myself dozing off because I am not sure of what the priest is talking of. My “perfect mass” would be one that the homily clearly explains the gospel reading by referring to it. I love great music (the guitar). The perfect mass would be more prayer from the heart than is usually done in catholic masses today.
An ideal mass would be one with a homily of moderate length that has an interesting story connecting to the readings with a good message to take away. There should be music, perhaps with the organ. Of course, not every mass can be perfect because there would be nothing to distinguish them as “perfect”.
one of the best church services that I’ve gone to, was a day where the high school seniors make speeches about their faith life at our church. some of the music was performed by students too. I just liked that we all had the chance to say goodbye to the students we loved. although, i realize that the service wasn’t ENTIRELY focused on God… so i guess that one of my favorite services is the midnight eucharist at christmas, when the sanctuary is filled with candel light 🙂
My favorite mass is Christmas Eve at 8 pm. It’s my favorite because the little kids are usually asleep so it is just us “adults.” I also love Christmas Eve mass because Father usually has some funny or interesting demonstrations/stories. The music at our church is phenomenal, and I think we have the best choir in the city.
A good mass for me would be very engaging and it would have an uplifting feel to it. I would want the Homily to be a personal type of story, that is easily relatable to any age of person. There would be singing and it would be no longer than 45 minutes.
The best mass I have attended wasn’t one that was fun by any means, nor were the songs uplifting, but the main reason why that mass was one if my most memorable for me was the priest who led the mass. He asked these intuitive questions, and brought up questions and ideas about certain topics pertaining to the psalm or homily we had read, and these questions he had asked had made me really think, and apply everything that we had learned about in school. To me the mass needs to have a leader or priest who can get everyone thinking, someone who is willing to take time for everyone to process everything in their minds, and help them understand exactly why we are at church and why we are followers of God.
A “good” mass to me is when our priest at church makes the homily interactive and relative. It would also be short and to the point so that I do not get bored and loose interest. There would also be music and songs to sing.
For me, a good mass is when the priest relates to events in my life because that helps me better understand and relate what he is talking about to the world. Also an ideal mass would consist of great music and the use of candles, it would be really cool to go to a candlelit mass outside at night. The best mass I have ever celebrated would definitely have to be Christmas Mass at midnight when I was younger.
The kind of mass I would really like to go to is one where the priest is an engaging speaker and the music is something that everyone can participate in. Some songs are only sung by the people in the choir and I think it would be good if everyone attending sang, too. A good mass is one that anyone can participate in.
The ideal mass is one with a homily that is interesting and something that all the members of the Church can connect to. I also think if the service is kept at a moderate length the members are more likely to participate and not get bored. Another aspect that can make mass more ideal is including a variety if music that appeals to everyone.
An ideal Mass for me is when there is a lot of upbeat music and everyone is together having fun but also listening to what the preacher has to say. The preacher is really fun and keeps us interested in the word. The service is about an hour and everyone is really nice and welcoming.
For me, tthe ideal mass would be one that contained what was needed, but was not too long at the same time. A “good mass” would be very concise in the way that it gave me what I need through scipture and was not very long at the same time. I think a mass that is too long where they sing every line of a song and spend much time doing everything that needs to be done causes people to lose interest, which is not what God wants out of a mass.
An ideal mass would be one where everyone is participating. One where everyone is singing along with the songs. Also a positive attit ude is important. An ideal mass is one where everyone wants to be there and does not feel like they are obligated to participate.
MR C Block
An ideal mass, for me, would take place in a beautiful classic Catholic Church. There would not be a lot of singing, but it would be very pretty and simple singing. It would be focused on individual prayer and the homily would be very concise, yet thought provoking. It would be a peaceful experience where peole felt welcome and apart of a great religious group
An ideal pooja for me (equivalent) would be one in which everyone can be involved in. It has to be more like a celebration of god and serve the purpose of bringing one closer to god. It should be stimulating and ensure that everyone can participate and come closer to gods. A pooja, or for Catholics, a mass, should be something that brings each individual closer to god and strengthens their faith in god and the world
the best mass that i went to was one at South East Christian Church and i liked it so much because, unlike catholic mass, there wasn’t just bible readings and singing. They talked about real life examples that show God’s love or how to be a better person. And the singing wasn’t out of a book with a choir, it was a group of people on a stage with a band that sang songs about Jesus’s love. I liked this mass a lot because it was very informal and fun
I think that a better mass sould be more interactive. I think it is hard for people to just sit and listen to the priest. I think it would be easier to pay attention and be involved if it was more interactive.
MR ablock
A good church service for me (a noncatholic) is just a relatable service. I would eant my church to have good music that doesnt drag on too long and not to have over dramatic services. But what is really important to me is that the service can connect to me. That we just dont talk about ideas but we hear about hwow it effects my life and how I can apply gods message to my life and its not just theologly or just felling the spirit stuff, balanced and not dragged on to much
The best mass would be located out in nature, and connecting with it. There would be beautiful singing. Everyone would want to be there. People would talk to one another, and share important moments in there life. It would have to be fun, but still be serious moment
The ideal mass for me, would be something simple nothing too over the top. There would be singing as usual, but nothing too fancy or drawn out. The homily would be entertaining and relatable but not too lengthy. The ideal mass for me is a mass that is capable of hooking me and drawing me into the community of the church. Sometimes, I feel as though the mass goes on about something that isn’t even relevant and I tend to lose interest at times.
The ideal mass for me would be an interactive mass or one where there was a lot of involvement in what was happening, such as during the homily. The homily would not be too lengthy however because sometimes the priests tend to draw out the homilies. Also, there would be a lot of music that was chosen by the people in order to boost participation at the mass. It would be a completely friendly environment and anyone that was new to the church or had never been before would feel welcome.
One of my favorite Church services are the ones on Easter weekend. When the Pastor was was done, a man came onto the stage and sang a rhyming song that he created about Easter and its importance. When messages are more interesting and fun, you will listen and remember what they talked about. The experience will be hard to forget.
The ideal service for me would be one that speaks directly to me and relates exactly to my life. One that motivates and moves me. One that is warm and welcoming. Where everyone is singing and just having a good time celebrating gods light on all of us.
I think my perfect mass, wouldn’t have to be always in a church. I mean I will always attend church when I can, but reading scripture and interpreting it in your own way is also effective in a home enviroment, where there are no distractions, you aren’t worried about what you or others are wearing, or about getting distracted
A perfect mass for me would be one where people could be moving and active rather than just listening and sitting in pews. I think a worship where people could be involved in the homilies and all the functions held during the mass would be really great. I sometimes get a tile bored just listening to someone speaking and would like to participate in the mass myself.
I think the ideal mass would be where everyone participated. I feel like peoplesometimes feel judged if they sing I also think that it would be best if they didn’t just read off scripture.
A good mass for me would be filled with good songs and cheerful music. The people of the church would be joined together for worship and prayer. The perfect mass for me is people participating and listening to the preacher.
A good/perfect mass for me would be good music and praying to God together and making each and every one of us feel his presence.
A good mass would be where the people were involved and it was fun to participate. People dislike sitting through mass because it long and the priest just talks. It would be fun if it were cheerful, modernized, and interactive. It would also be good if things talked about in church were relatable and people could make connections to everyday life.
Something short and concise would be what I depict as a good mass. Music and interaction would also contribute to this as well.
I think midnight mass on Christmas is always the perfect mass. The church is decorated beautifully, and at my church they light a lot of candles around. Everyone is always particularly involved in this mass and it has a special feeling because it is Christmas. Every seat is filled and there is a large sense of community. Also, the music is beautiful on Christmas mass.
^^ I forgot to put my block for my comment above… LF Block C
A good mass Wuld Wuld involve more participation. For me, an ideal mass would be one that is informative but interesting. However, the mass would always stay true to Catholic Tradition and still relay God’s word. It would have an interesting, relatable homily that could help people in their everyday life. It would also be a place where people were exposed to God’s message and changed by it. The mass would allow people to grow as a faith community and have people leave with a better understanding of their faith.
The perfect mass for me would be one that I go to with my whole family. It would also have the songs I know and like to sing with a relatable homily given by the priest. It would be at the Church I regularly go to so that I would know other people there, and feel more apart of the community.
I do not go to church enough to really think about what a perfect mass would be. When I was younger a perfect mass was going on a holiday with my all my aunts, uncles and cousins after a nice brunch or early dinner. A perfect mass also included music that was fun to sing and not boring like some songs. However i feel like there isnt a way we can have a perfect mass because everyone has differents opionins on how the mass should be done or shouldnt be done.
I am not catholic, but an ideal service for me is when everything in the church is participating in the service. I love when the congregation joins in worship together and really gets into the service. I love when the pastor reaclly touches on something that is going on in our lives.
A good mass for me would be one that holds my attention but still contains all of the important information. A good way to hold my attention and make it interesting would be through good music. Although like you said good music is not nessissary.
Block A
A good mass to me is one where I can connect with the Homily and the music is uplifting, also a perfect mass would only be able to take place if I am well rested and can participate fully
Block D
I am not Catholic so my ideal service would be one of great music and worship. The pastor giving an awesome message that really speaks to me. Feeling good about what is being spoken about.
A good mass to me would be one that we’re able to particiapte in. I would like it to have modern and up to date music. I think it would be better to shorten the length of mass.
I really enjoy and short mass because if it drags out too long, I lose focus and my connection to God. Shorter masses help me really think and participate.
I like the homilies that mean something, yes I like the stories that the priest tells, but I want to walk out of my church and take what I learned and put it into my own life. My ideal mass would be for the Priest to teach us on what we should do in our lives to be more connected with God.
AL
I think a good mass for me would be to have homilies that have have a meaning, and a lot of contemplation of what the preist has siad. My ideal mass would be a lot of comtemplation and homilies that the Preist helps explain.
I think that the ideal mass for me would be everyone outside communing with nature. I like it when the songs are really pretty and everyone is singing and even though it might be out of tune its all very nice because everyone is together and there is just an abundant sense of community
My ideal mass would be 30 minutes long with all the components of regular mass. For the music, I would want modern muusic that can be related to God so everyone at the mass would know the words and be able to sing along. I would want to have a short homily that was relatable so I would know what the priest was talking about.
The ideal mass for me would involve an amazing homily that spoke to me and my life. During this homily I would be very interested because it would involve personal stories from the priest that taught me valuable lessons about life though they might not seem valuable to some, they affected me in a profound way.
A good mass to me would be where there is good music that everyone is farmilular with so everyone sings. I like when the priest is innergetic and interesting and tells a story in the homily so we can relate. I like when the whole church is really invested in the mass so everyone participates and I can feel that sense of community.
I do not particularly enjoy mass in general. We are taught and read the same readings, and then the preist continues to drone on about HIS opinion of the gospel reading. Then during the prayers of the faithful, we scare duly pray for all the people in the world that are suffering, despite race, religion, etc. I feel like the perfect mass is up for interpretation, because there is nothing perfect about it. In my honest opinion, I would not like to attend mass at all. I formulate my own opinions and thoughts, and I believe that the Church is not always correct in their views. We are all individuals and we should be able to worship God in our own way, on our own time. Memorizing prayers and saying them in dull monotone with the rest of the community is a waste of time and energy, and lack meaning and feeling.
to me a good mass would one that is interesting and interactive. i would also want the mass a good length, nothing too short or too long. a good mass would also be one that i get something out of and can carry out in the rest of my day.
To me, a good mass would be a moderate length. I think that it shouldn’t be too long to bore you, not saying this in any offensive way. It wouldn’t bore people exactly, it would just lose the attention of a lot of people. I feel like a good mass would also be interactive and allow more time for ourselves. In my opinion, and personally, that would fit for me.
An ideal mass would be upbeat and interactive. A perfect balance between ancient scripture and issues in our modern world.
Personally, I am not Christian in my belief system. However, the best masses I participated in were engaging and really got you to think. The best way to draw the congregation back in is with the homily, which from a raised-Baptist perspective, would take up the majority of the service.
A good mass would be a more involved one. It’s really easy to get distracted during mass or to simply feel bored when everything just seems to drag on. If there were more variety to how things were presented than simple, drone preaching, I believe mass would be more interesting and able to participate in more fully.
The best mass I have ever celebrated was at my middle school. They tapped into the more modern music, using electronic guitars, drums, and other modern instruments to create a more eventful mass. Also, the homily was very easy to connect to and helped me understand the Bible better. He also asked questions involving everyone in the conversation.