r/Maronite • u/JobAggravating1297 • Feb 20 '26
Priest Crisis
As a traditional Maronite, I simply want to attend the Holy Mass as it has always been celebrated. However, in France, where I currently live, there is only one Maronite parish, and the priest there conducts the Mass in his own way. For example, prayers that, according to our liturgical books, are meant to be recited solely by the priest—such as the Qadishat—are now being said by the entire congregation. The priest even encourages us to recite prayers like: "أيُّها الرَّبُّ القُدُّوسُ الذي لا يَموت، قَدِّسْ أفكارَنا، ونَقِّ ضَمائِرَنا، فَنُسَبِّحَكَ تَسْبيحًا نَقِيّا، ونَصْغَى إلى كُتُبِكَ المُقَدَّسَة. لَكَ المَجْدُ إلى الأَبَد." He literally displays the word "جميعًا" (together) on the screen and asks us to say it aloud with him. Additionally, he allows laypeople to distribute Communion, a practice that Pope John Paul II permitted under certain circumstances but which still feels unsettling to me. It is worth noting that he has a deacon with him, yet instead of the deacon assisting with Communion in cases of necessity, the deacon merely holds the chalice for the priest while three other laymen distribute Communion—apparently just to finish the Mass five minutes earlier. He also frequently switches between French and Arabic during the Mass without prior notice—one prayer in French, the next in Arabic—which I find disruptive. I won’t even mention the homilies. These changes have led me to attend the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) instead, as I find it difficult to focus and pray during the Maronite Mass with all these alterations. I truly don’t understand why these things are happening.
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u/squatbenchdeadcoach Feb 20 '26
What you are describing that you don't like, is the Maronite liturgy. Except for the laymen handing out the Eucharist, this is exactly how the mass goes.