We are a group of adults who have been members of Our Lady of Sorrows for many years some of us are founders who have been here from the very beginning in the late 70s
It should be of no surprise to anyone that we are unhappy with the new church ,
The fact of the matter is everyone we have talked to has complaints ,some have just a few
like the horrible sound system that makes following the Mass or hearing the sermon nearly impossible or the permanent suspension of traditional devotions and groups like the Holy Name Society or closing of the book store.
Others , Many who are established members have just left due to number of complaints being so many
All you have to do is take a trip one Sunday to the other traditional masses around the valley and you will see for yourself how many former OLOS parishioners attend
Ask the kitchen staff they will tell you Sunday doughnut and coffee sales are down by half for this time of year
Ask the Ushers they will tell you collections are down and complaints are growing ( be careful which usher you ask though some are more loyal to Fr. Riccomini then they are the church or the faith and they will report you )
The church is dying as a community . Older established members are already going and gone
soon it will be families with children, the only reason most of them stayed at all was the school
but as other traditional parishes grow with our former members they too will be able to open schools
We were going to list some of those complaints ,ones we heard over & over but this our first post is already long enough we will though list a few
The sound system
The closing of the book store
The lack of one single statue in the church
The disbanding of the Holy Name Society
The suspension of blessing religious articles
The ending of most evening masses
we could go on and on as there are a lot more but as we said this post is long enough
There are legitimate gripes, but inaccuracy detracts from the legitimate gripes.
The book store is open in Boyle Hall, smaller space, but approximately the same holdings. It is promised more space when the new church basement is built out.
There is a statue of Our Blessed Mother above the baldacchino and a Pietà at the Western entry. While I would appreciate statues at the transepts, it is evident that the parish, host of numerous priestly and lay retreats, has a church designed with side altars instead of devotional crypts to accommodate the needs of priest retreatants to celebrate their daily Mass.
While the smaller bookstore has no drop-off basket for articles to be blessed without asking a priest personally, I have heard no policy that religious articles will not be blessed. Who announced such a "policy"?
Agreed that Masses and Confessions are fewer in number, but Our Lady of Sorrows' priests are now serving distant locations. I would like the schedule to accommodate my preferences, but I cannot in good conscience imagine that my preferences for more Masses should trump the needs of those who would otherwise have no traditional sacraments at all.
At the vigil last night I was shocked at how empty the chapel was. There were maybe 3 dozen people in a building that can easily fit 300. Where is everyone? On any given Sunday you would see at least a 100. At Christmas that place was standing room only.
Really? Did you leave before Mass to rush and post your criticism? The Mass of the Paschal Vigil was PACKED in a church built for about 800 seated.
Meanwhile, our family began assisting at the 10am Mass because the 8am Mass has been so packed every Sunday. From the 300 capacity Church where it was hard to seat the family it has been déjà vu finding it hard to seat the family in a church built for 800.
I see numerous unfamiliar faces, entire families of unfamiliar faces.
All of this is good evidence that the new Church is attracting new families and the parish is growing.
That said, the sound "system," a single electrostatic speaker at the apse, is atrocious, but I think the more serious problem is the airy-fairy content of the sermons. I miss solid sermons that help us face the world, the flesh, and the devil in our daily lives.
My biggest local gripe? The recent insistence that young children not play on the lawn near the new statue of Our Lady. Who in their right mind could imagine the Mother of God frowning upon young children joyous at play? What better a place for children to play than under the gaze of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
I stand by my other criticisms of the Zionist-submissive cabal and its incompetent and dishonest dealings with the occupied Vatican and heavy-handed approach in suppressing even respectful criticism, but I cannot countenance a grossly erroneous assessment of a "dying community."
Since Fr. Riccomini has been gone for
months, how are the ushers to report to him? Sorry to say so, but that comment and the gross inaccuracy of the criticisms make me question the motives of the critics.
Topic: Phoenix sspx chapel update (Read 106652 times)