re: #270 Mattand

If there’s a family event there, I go. I don’t kneel or take communion anymore, but it means something to my relatives to see us there.

Same here. I’ll go to family weddings, funerals, christenings, etc. I just refuse to take part in the service in my own way — I stay silent during the prayers, don’t take communion, or anything. I’ll do the physical motions of the Mass, but I don’t put any stock in it anymore.

I recently went with my boyfriend to visit his grandparents, and while we were there, their parish priest showed up to give them Communion and to say prayers because the grandmother has advanced Alzheimer’s and they can’t get to church all that often. I nodded along politely and was respectful, but when I was offered Communion, I turned it down. That’s not my thing anymore, but I’m not going to be mean about it.