GenZedong

FWIW, I was raised Catholic (atheist since... well, I forget, but a while) and the only thing I really "miss" is the sort of pre-made community of it. It can also be annoying when I'm at like a family get together kind of thing and people want to have prolonged convos with each other about religion and I just don't have a lot to say because if I voiced how I feel about it, it'd probably start an argument. I also wish I missed the Catholic shame, in that it was gone, which still tends to linger on me. By that, I mean a kind of internalized point of view that gets especially self-conscious around matters like sexuality, but sometimes even general day to day behavior.

I think I was already predisposed to being more self-conscious than some and the Catholic stuff made it worse. In particular, teachings about impure thoughts are just a breeding ground for OCD-like intrusive thoughts to take hold. What better way to ensure an intrusive thought will turn into a chronic source of fear and shame than telling people that lingering on impure thoughts can be sinful. 😑

On the up side, I do believe they're on to something with the ceremony and it's something we shouldn't neglect as a thing to learn from in the way it impacts people and inspires them. Hell, the whole split with traditional Catholics and the novus ordo (new order) seems to be largely driven by people not liking the style of the new Mass. They will tell you it's more than that, I'm sure, but one of the complaints I hear is simply not liking the style of music. The old Latin Mass does Gregorian chant and tends to use a pipe organ, and Gregorian chant can pad the length of the Mass a lot but also has more of a vibe of reverence, solemnity, and meditation, like as if you were in a monastery or something. The new Mass tends to take more of a "protestant" Christian spin, more often using guitars and more modern pop-style musical arrangements (for lack of a better genre to put it in).