Maggie O’Keefe
Mr. Phillips
AP English III
10 October 2018
Change is Needed in Catholic Church Services
As someone who attended Catholic school for 9 years and has gone to mass every Sunday at an array of Catholic church services, I can confidently say that going to mass is not something I look forward to. Growing up, I dreaded each and every Sunday morning: I hated the dismal mood, the slow music, and most of all, the repetitive and tedious sermons that did not relate to my life. Attending church is supposed to instill a deeper meaning of God and make attendees excited about their faith. Instead, most people just go through the motions of attending church, and do not actually pay much attention because of how disengaging mass services tend to be. Many older members of the church I belong to reason that mass should not change in any way because of the nature of tradition. However, keeping in this archaic mindset is what causes many young people to disassociate with their religion. The Catholic church should make mass engaging and relatable to youth and young adults in order to promote a more positive connotation of Catholicism.
I do not know anyone my age who enjoys going to mass at a Catholic church, however I do have a lot of friends who go to churches of different faiths, and who look forward to attending their church service every weekend. When I initially moved to public school and was exposed to people of many different religions, I was in awe that so many of my friends enjoy going to church, a drastically different opinion than that of my Catholic friends and I. When I ask non-Catholic friends about their experience with religion and church services, the main difference that I am able to identify between my church and theirs is how scripture is discussed. At their churches, ministers are enthusiastic and inject modern insight into the scriptures and ideas they’re teaching about. Almost every time I go to mass at a Catholic church, the homily--a short lecture used to provide insight into the meaning of the scripture passage--puts me to sleep. It rarely relates to current events, or made understandable to teens who are not likely to want to listen to a lecture on their Sunday mornings.
It is important to keep church positive and interesting so that younger attendees will stay engaged, and learn more of what each service teaches. With huge changes in music as time progresses, no one wants to listen to the hundreds of years old somber music sung in church. When I go to mass, the amount of parishioners not singing produces a deafening silence, broken only by the cantor--someone required to sing regardless. Having music that parishioners like will give the service a happier overall atmosphere. By making worship music upbeat and modern, without compromising its value of prayer and praise, people attending mass will be enthusiastic and excited about church. After all, God bestowed to humans the gift of music and creativity, I would think that not using those talents to praise Him would be a disgrace.
The Catholic church needs to invert it’s backwards ways and adjust to a changing social climate. Evolution is important--core traditions in the mass should not change, but there is no reason not to make the music upbeat and happy, or to revive the dull service by providing an energetic, relatable sermon. While some claim that going to mass is not something that should be enjoyable, claiming that parishioners are there solely to worship God, it is important for everyone to enjoy their experience with God and promote positive connotations of religion. If these changes are not made, the church will continue forcing archaic traditions down the throats of young people, and will result in more and more people losing their faith. The Catholic church should not upend its core traditions, but does need to change some aspect of the mass: modernizing the mass will not compromise its integrity, but rather add value.
Mr. Phillips
AP English III
10 October 2018
Change is Needed in Catholic Church Services
As someone who attended Catholic school for 9 years and has gone to mass every Sunday at an array of Catholic church services, I can confidently say that going to mass is not something I look forward to. Growing up, I dreaded each and every Sunday morning: I hated the dismal mood, the slow music, and most of all, the repetitive and tedious sermons that did not relate to my life. Attending church is supposed to instill a deeper meaning of God and make attendees excited about their faith. Instead, most people just go through the motions of attending church, and do not actually pay much attention because of how disengaging mass services tend to be. Many older members of the church I belong to reason that mass should not change in any way because of the nature of tradition. However, keeping in this archaic mindset is what causes many young people to disassociate with their religion. The Catholic church should make mass engaging and relatable to youth and young adults in order to promote a more positive connotation of Catholicism.
I do not know anyone my age who enjoys going to mass at a Catholic church, however I do have a lot of friends who go to churches of different faiths, and who look forward to attending their church service every weekend. When I initially moved to public school and was exposed to people of many different religions, I was in awe that so many of my friends enjoy going to church, a drastically different opinion than that of my Catholic friends and I. When I ask non-Catholic friends about their experience with religion and church services, the main difference that I am able to identify between my church and theirs is how scripture is discussed. At their churches, ministers are enthusiastic and inject modern insight into the scriptures and ideas they’re teaching about. Almost every time I go to mass at a Catholic church, the homily--a short lecture used to provide insight into the meaning of the scripture passage--puts me to sleep. It rarely relates to current events, or made understandable to teens who are not likely to want to listen to a lecture on their Sunday mornings.
It is important to keep church positive and interesting so that younger attendees will stay engaged, and learn more of what each service teaches. With huge changes in music as time progresses, no one wants to listen to the hundreds of years old somber music sung in church. When I go to mass, the amount of parishioners not singing produces a deafening silence, broken only by the cantor--someone required to sing regardless. Having music that parishioners like will give the service a happier overall atmosphere. By making worship music upbeat and modern, without compromising its value of prayer and praise, people attending mass will be enthusiastic and excited about church. After all, God bestowed to humans the gift of music and creativity, I would think that not using those talents to praise Him would be a disgrace.
The Catholic church needs to invert it’s backwards ways and adjust to a changing social climate. Evolution is important--core traditions in the mass should not change, but there is no reason not to make the music upbeat and happy, or to revive the dull service by providing an energetic, relatable sermon. While some claim that going to mass is not something that should be enjoyable, claiming that parishioners are there solely to worship God, it is important for everyone to enjoy their experience with God and promote positive connotations of religion. If these changes are not made, the church will continue forcing archaic traditions down the throats of young people, and will result in more and more people losing their faith. The Catholic church should not upend its core traditions, but does need to change some aspect of the mass: modernizing the mass will not compromise its integrity, but rather add value.