Say the black, do the red!

When a priest is not wearing his chasuble for Mass, or you can see his stole (all of it), you know it's not going to go well and there's going to be a lot more to offer up.
So was it for me today at the Jesuitenkirche, as there was a different priest. My experience, while not as painful as the one in France, was pretty uncomfortable. Here are some reasons why:

• The priest wore no chasuble, as mentioned above,
• he greeted us with "The Lord be with us", giving rise to everyone awkwardly saying "And with your spirit",
• he ad libbed on the Collect, the Offertory and the Post-communion, talking endlessly,
• He referred to God as our mother as well as our father. I think this just confuses things, and it is not in accord with sacred scripture,
• he broke the host as he said "he broke it",
• the creed was a song (stick to the texts, people!!),
• the prayers of intercession were long and vague
• he walked the WHOLE length of the church (and it's a big church) to shake hands with people at the sign of peace
• he ad libbed everywhere, while at the same time talking of people who "take things too seriously"

I think his homily was actually not too bad, though I kind of switched off, as the sound quality wasn't great. I had the strong feeling that this priest was all for blurring the distinction between priest and laity, hence the "The Lord be with us" and the non-wearing of the chasuble, so he looked more like an altar server (who are wearing purple cassocks under their surplices. Let's hope there's less of this priest and more of the other. And of course, let us pray for the priest of today. Ss John Vianney and Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us!
Lord Jesus, eternal High Priest, grant grace to the priests of our day, that they may mould themselves in your likeness, and devote themselves to your Sacred Heart, and to the Immaculate Heart of Your Mother. Amen.