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“Daily Mass as the original ‘small group.’”

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4 comments on “Daily Mass as the original ‘small group.’”

Thoughtful reflection from Amy Welborn on the utility of "small groups" in Catholic parishes.

When I go to daily Mass in this town, whereever  go, there are at least fifty people there.  During Advent and Lent, far more.

Think about it – in your parish, during Lent, probably 200 people gather daily in a “small group.”

They enjoy catechesis through the language of the liturgy itself, the Scripture readings and the homily.  They enjoy the deepest fellowship of all through the Eucharist – being joined not only to the others present but to ever Catholic throughout the world, in heaven, and to Christ himself.

That catechesis, grace and fellowship are real. 

…..when considering “small groups” in a Catholic parish…start with daily Mass. Thank God for what happens there…build on it…stop trying to invent, invent and invent some more.

…and maybe follow the old guys for their after-Mass coffee at McDonald’s and then their morning at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store.  Fellowship? Check. Works of Mercy? Check.

Amy writes in the comments:

When we start from “Wow..there’s no community in this humongous parish..how do we create and build it?” we are rather subtley declaring our dis-believe in the sacramental life of the Body of Christ.

It should be more “We are in communion with each other and with the whole Body of Christ. That is so amazing and fantastic! How can we live this out and be Christ to each other and the world? How are we called to be like Christ crucified and poured out in love?”

Yes.

Comments

4 responses to ““Daily Mass as the original ‘small group.’””

  1. JMB Avatar
    JMB

    It’s great if it works for you – that is a “daily mass” community. For me, I’m a good 20 years younger than most of the folks there, and nobody seems to care about me at all. I’m not complaining, I kind of like the randomness of it all, but if you go to daily mass to make friends, you will be disappointed. The type of people who go to daily mass are hard core freaks, in the sense that people who go to Star Trek conventions or hang out at the race track.

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  2. bearing Avatar
    bearing

    I think Amy’s point is that the most fundamentally important kind of “community” is to be had in Communion, and that parishes should remember that this is the source of all parish life. Any decisions to engender other kinds of socializing and community should keep that in mind.
    I think there’s an important distinction to be made between “people who go daily to Mass” and “people who go to daily Mass.” True, there are a lot of people who get to Mass every day (though TBH “hard core freak” is not the word I would use to describe any of those whom I know personally) — but I think of daily Mass as something that’s there every day to be taken when one wants to. I like Saturday morning masses, myself, and rarely get to a daily Mass except about once a month on a Saturday. Still, that once-a-month “daily Mass” has been very fruitful for me. And I have had some remarkable personal encounters, even though I haven’t “made friends” (and wasn’t seeking to).

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  3. JMB Avatar
    JMB

    Don’t get me wrong, I attend daily mass mostly every day (except Sat) and I’ve given up the fantasy that I might make a friend there, or that someone might take an interest in me. It is very humbling, since I’ve always been a kind of popular girl, but when you are with a crowd that doesn’t care about being fashionable or popular, if that is what you are used to in your social scene, you may be disappointed in the sense that you won’t make any friends on that account. I love going to mass and I’m a different person because of this.

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  4. Bridget Avatar
    Bridget

    Daily Mass small group~ very insightful connection. My boys get birthday cards and random blessings from the elderly daily Mass ladies (members of our small group). We do join the coffee hour on Saturdays on occasion, and that fellowship has been an incredible inspiration. I will make a concerted effort to smile at strangers and welcome the new faces…
    (from a ‘hard core freak’ who loves daily Mass and keeps it at the center of our home school “to do” list each day).

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