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Catholic Nostalgia
Topic Started: Wednesday, 28. November 2007, 21:49 (1,044 Views)
Rose of York
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Searching the internet for the price of misalettes I came across a fascinating web page.



Click this link to the newsletter of St Josephs Bonnybridge

There are excerpts of old newsletters, from 1938 to 2000.

They include tellings off about people talking during Mass, arriving late, leaving early (just after the sermon), and kneeling at the back of the church. The priest decided, eventually, to BAN the practise of kneeling at the back, they were all to go to the pews, and hanging around outside until Mass began was forbidden. Mothers were blamed for absence of their children from benediction.

The pages for World War II are good. Read them, find out what parishes were doing for the troops.

One day, the priest found a half crown in the plate, and announced that news in case it was a mistake. We don't get notices asking if the fivers were given in error.

Its fascinating stuff.
Keep the Faith!

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Very interesting indeed Rose and thanks for posting it. Although I am not quite that old , certainly the flavour of my youth in the Church comes through and musch is very recognisable. It is interesting too --I am not trying to score points--that questions of poor attendance were already an issue then. I have seen from a history of North Ayrshire Catholicism in my possession that mixed marriages were becoming increasingly commom around this time too whereas we tend to think of this as a more recent "problem".
John
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I just spent ages looking through those notices. Good find, Rose.
They never had much luck getting the kneeling at the back of Church message across did they?

KatyA
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Rose of York
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Katy, it was quite common. We used to have a lot of men kneeling, in the back of our church. They rolled in at the last minute, some timing it to be in time for the Offertory. Some left at The Last Gospel, that meant they had physically fulfilled their obligation. Strangely, those who stood around during most of Mass, knelt at the consecration. I do not recall seeing it in the seventies or eighties, but in the early nineties I used to attend the city centre church in Lincoln, and it happened regularly there. There would be 20 to 30, all men, leaning on the pillars or against tables at the back of the church.

Did you notice one of those newsletters announced a silver collection at Christmas? Our parish used to do that (silver meaning no coppers or three penny bits).

The parish ladies knitted socks for parish men in 1938, then for troops during the war. Imagine a 21st century Green Cardigan poking you with a knitting needle if you talked in church. :rofl:
Keep the Faith!

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I remember that in Ireland and in those parts of Britain with large Irish congregations it was almost accepted that men would leave the Church for a smoke during the homily. Sometimes, just sometimes (see Catholic preaching thread) I think they might have had a point!
John
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Clare
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Putting the "Fun Dame" into Fundamentalist
:rofl:

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Box at church door to enable socks to be knitted ... hope women will show a little more enthusiasm.


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MIDNIGHT MASS - Doors open from11.30pm - non-Catholics discouraged.

Ooh! Did they have Ministers of Discouraging in those days?!

S.A.G.

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Rose of York
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Christmas in bygone days

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18th Dec 1938  Xmas Midnight Mass notes - 1 silver collection, 2 no-one under the influence of alcohol will be admitted, 3- no school children will be permitted


Was the Christmas collection in those days, the priests' Christmas present?

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8th Dec 1940  No Midnight Mass


That must have been an advance warning due to the wartime blackout.

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17th Dec 1944  Xmas eve - midnight mass - no children allowed except for good reason - let such reason be made known to Fr MacArdle or myself.
24th Dec 1944  No kneeling at back of church


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25th Dec 1949  Next Saturday - Holy Year (1950) Ceremonies. Holy hour begins at 11pm followed by sung Mass at midnight - church doors will be closed at 11pm so everyone must complete whole ceremony.


We knew who was boss in those days. So did the boss!

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24th Dec 1950  Xmas Eve - Midnight Mass - bus leaves Haggs at 11-15pm. Next Sunday evening Midnight Mass - service begins at 11pm, bus leaves Haggs at 10.15pm


ditto

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31st Dec 1950  Everybody intending to be present at midnight Mass must be in church by 11.00pm when the Holy Hour begins. Doors will be closed at 11.00pm


Why would there be a midnight Mass on New Years' Eve? Would it be for the start of the 1950 Holy Year?

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23rd Dec 1951  Midnight Mass - doors open at 11.30pm. Don't forget it is Mass not a show. Curiosity often makes non-Catholics want to go; not to be encouraged. Midnight Mass bus leaves Haggs at 11.15pm taking same route as Sundays.


Oh dear, curiosity leads to questions, and questions lead to possible conversion.

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20th Dec 1953  Thursday Xmas Eve Midnight Mass. Doors open 11.30pm. Don't forget - non-Catholics not encouraged to attend Midnight Mass. Everybody should try and received H Com for Xmas. (Xmas Eve - day of Fast & Abstinence)


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18th Dec 1955  Saturday evening - doors open for Midnight Mass at 11.30pm. As usual you are reminded that it is Mass and non-Catholics should be discouraged from attending unless well-disposed and they must be in company with a Catholic.


How does one spot a non-Catholic? Do well disposed ones look different from the others: :smile:

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23rd Dec 1956  MIDNIGHT MASS - Doors open from11.30pm - non-Catholics discouraged.


That's better, they don't have to come with a Catholic. That's worse, because not encouraged has been upgraded to discouraged. :smile:

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22nd Dec 1968  The Midnight service will begin with Carol singing at 11.45. Those who go to Communion at midnight Mass may also receive on Christmas day.
Keep the Faith!

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Alan
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Rose of York
Nov 29 2007, 01:08 PM
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23rd Dec 1956  MIDNIGHT MASS - Doors open from11.30pm - non-Catholics discouraged.

In my youth we had several Churches that had Midnight Mass.

Admission to Midnight Mass was by ticket only

The reason for this was simply because the Churches could not cope with the numbers who may wish to attend. It was also a means of ensuring that people did not attend after rolling out of the pub.

In my last parish here in England in the 1970's one could not get into Midnight Mass if they were not in Church by 10.45pm. Then our Carol and Readings Service would begin at 11.00 pm.

I suspect that was the reason Non Catholics were discouraged.

Indeed even now Midnight Mass is always very well attended with standing room only for any one who arrives after 11.00pm.

God Bless all who visit this forum,

Alan.

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PJD

We all went to Midnight Mass. Then went to bed; not before looking around to see if Father Christmas had left anything.

The greatest gift one could receive, at the right age, was a bike. Unknown to us at the time - it was a prelude to doing a paper round. Half to mum, half for self.

Years later my younger brothers got away with that - didn't we give them some stick though.

PJD
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Rose
I think it helps to remember that this is a Scottish parish. At that time even among Catholics, New Year was the big secular holiday there. As you may know this was often accompanied by heavy drinking. In a bid to cut down on this, for many years in Scotland 1 January was a Holyday of Obligation. I suspect the Midnight Mass was an attempt to reinforce this discipline. Certainly in my own parish in Ayrshire, Mass on that day was always very early though I don't remember a Midnight Mass.

And the discouragement of non-Catholics was almost certainly because we didn't like them!
John
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Rose of York
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John Sweeney
Nov 29 2007, 08:55 PM
And the discouragement of non-Catholics was almost certainly because we didn't like them!
John

John, that is what I call an honest answer.

When I was in the infant's school we learnt all about non Catholics being 'bad'. I ended up marrying one.
Keep the Faith!

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Derekap
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Rose commented:

"That must have been an advance warning due to the wartime blackout."

It would have been very expensive indeed to black-out most of the old and particularly large churches in such a manner daylight could be let in and then at dusk closed to keep the light in. Some were able to black-out a chapel and use low-powered shaded lights and two candles for weekday mornings. We were an hour ahead of GMT during Winter and two hours ahead in Summer. The first Holy Mass of Christmas could be about 3 or 3.30pm on the eve. I can't remember the ruling about fasting before receiving Holy Communion. Only later in the war was there very limited very dim street lighting and this may have lowered enthusiasm to asttend any available blackedout church having Midnight Holy Mass.

I have also heard of ticket only Midnight Holy Masses but it hasn't affected me.

In the 1930s the local CofE parish choir used to process and sing carols around the neighbourhood on Christmas Eve.
Derekap
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Rose of York
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Derekap
Nov 29 2007, 09:00 PM
In the 1930s the local CofE parish choir used to process and sing carols around the neighbourhood on Christmas Eve.

Ours still does.
Keep the Faith!

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Derekap
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In the 1930's someone said they thought some schools in Scotland opened normally or for a half-day only on Christmas Day.

1 January used to be also a Holy day of Obligation in England and Wales - The Feast of the Circumsicion of Jesus Christ. To me it was a strange observance and I seem to remember of all the Holydays of Obligation it was the least observed. Of course, south of about Darlington, County Durham, it used to be a normal working day. Eventually it was promoted to a Bank Holiday and demoted to an ordinary day in the Church Calendar. It is of course a Feast of Our Lady without the Holy Mass obligation.

There was a short period during which some churches provided Midnight Holy Mass on 31 Dec/1 Jan. Presumably it didn't attract sufficient people or even attracted too many binge drinkers so it died out. For whatever reason, I don't remember attending such.
Derekap
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Derekap
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Bonnybridge 11 March 1951:

"Next Sunday St Patrick's Day - Celebration - Grand Variety Concert. We have been reminded from headquarters to make it known that Dancing During Lent - Advent is Forbidden."

It is puzzling that the social activity of dancing was forbidden but the solemnity of Lent could be broken by a "Grand Variety Concert"!

I wonder from whose headquarters the forbidding came.

I know at one time we were urged to give up smoking, not go to dances or cinemas. But we were usually urged to go to St Patrick's Ball even if it was in the middle of Lent. One of the privately owned cinemas in York was owned by a Catholic! (It eventually became a Mecca Bingo Hall and was rebuilt a few years ago)
Derekap
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