After mass, I feel as if I must now go to confession.

This Saturday was the 'Family Mass' at Our Mother Of Sorrows Parish, which I am a member of. It was nothing short of an abomination. The opening hymn was the song, "Awesome God," which I have always associated with Protestants, ever since I first heard it in third grade. I absolutely detest that song. It is irreverent, loud, and uses improper grammar. It has the word 'ain't' in it! Not only did they begin the mass with that awful song, but they also had children standing on the altar making hand gestures. Flowy, slow, ritualistic hand gestures. On the altar. If that doesn't detract from Jesus and the mass, then I don't know what does.

The mass from there up until the communion hymn went normally, that is to say, not properly, but at least normally for the parish and most parishes. I do fervently dislike the holding hands during the Our Father, but to be quite honest, that's not the largest of our problems right now.

The communion hymn was that awful 'Spirit Alive' song, the one that screams, 'We're so great, we're giving people money!" It's not about God, it's about us. I hate it.

After, the closing hymn was something called 'Celebrate Youth,' another thing about people, not God. It was awful. I was just happy that the children were too busy leaving the mass to stand up on the altar and make little hand motions.

Also, somewhere in that mass(maybe the preparation-for-the-eucharist hymn?) they had the children making the little hand motions again. It was awful. It distracted everyone from the Eucharisitc Prayer, which happens to be the most important part of the mass.

This mass left me torn between continuing to attempt to change MOS from the inside and instead leaving and going to a more orthodox parish. I understand that MOS needs inside influence, but in order for that to happen we need to actually DO SOMETHING. 

The Diocese of Rochester has fallen on hard times indeed. It seems all we can do is pray and wait for a new bishop.