Catholicism - Worship: Where and How

You may have reached the correct ('wrong') answer and wondered whether you had missed something. The catch happens to be that if no two suitable Catholic godparents are available, the place of one of them (only) may be taken by a baptised Protestant in good standing

We believe that the Thurifer's assistant is more dispensible than the Acolytes. If you have ever seen (admittedly, somewhat extreme) footage of any Papal Masses, at St Peter's in Rome or elsewhere, you will know how much ritual and even choreography goes into making any Mass such a special spectacle. These would presumably include a Crucifer (cross-carrier), Book-Bearer and Episcopal Attendants to hold the Pope's (or Bishop's) staff and mitre while he is busy presiding. There will also have been a Sacristan ~ the church equivalent of a Stage Manager ~ who provides and checks the 'set and properties' before the event begins (the right vessels, cloths and garments; enough of the Holy Elements for the expected congregation, etc.).

People of a simpler religious tradition sometimes look askance at all these 'smells and bells' etc., perhaps since they are not attuned to God being offered earth's very finest in worship. All true worship should entail elements of specialness, dignity, focus and 'the numinous', and these contributory sensory elements are intended to harmonise to create that effect. Some more traditional Catholics, on the other hand, may find certain types of Protestant worship 'aesthetically thin' or even tinny, alarmingly direct rather than more contemplative, and bafflingly informal rather than recognisably liturgical. Their reciprocal label for such events and their music might well be 'happy-clappy'. The debate continues ... but usually almost anyone can find a style of worship that suits their culture and personal disposition. (If you're a Catholic, it's probably in the blood!)

The General Confession (Ans.1) is a Protestant step in its equivalent service, since Prots would probably not previously have been to individual confessional; Catholics move more swiftly into a symbolic absolution (getting-rid-of; neutralisation) of any sins that could block congregants' spiritual channel to God. The other mentioned stages would come later within the service

Once smelt, rarely forgotten!

Answer 4 is almost complete rubbish. 'Green is used', but only during Ordinary Time, which runs from after the special days of Whitsun / Trinity / Corpus Christi (usually around June), right though until Christ the King, which in turn comes immediately before Advent Sunday, i.e. typically within the last decan of November. So if you have visited a church during the summer holidays or autumn (including, coincidentally, Harvest), the chances are it was dressed in green anyway for this reason. The green will of course be interrupted for such festivals as All Saints' and Souls', and Remembrance (although this latter ~ along with Harvest and its fellow-festival of Rogation ~ does not seem to be formally bargained-for in the Catholic system)

The Catholics do not have a monopoly on organ music; some more progressive Catholic churches barely or never use it. Any of the other answers might also be discernible in (for instance) a 'high' Anglo-Catholic church: but if you detected all of them, this would be overwhelmingly likely to be a Catholic environment

'Roman' (Ans.3) is the decoy here: delete this, move-up 'Catholic', and insert 'Apostolic' as the 4th correct epithet, because this references the origins of the Church on earth through the ministry of the Apostles ~ formerly, Disciples (in 11 cases out of 12, anyway) ~ beginning on the original Pentecost Sunday

These are clearly serious obstacles, however abstract they may seem. That being said, your author can safely reveal that, particularly during his 'year out' in nominally Catholic France as an undergraduate modern-language student circa 1980, he was actively welcomed as a young churchman in good faith at a number of Catholic services and events ... not just while he was playing the organ for Masses. Indeed, on one occasion he was even seated next to the local RC bishop at the supper between a Mass and a discussion meeting (possibly as a 1-off novelty for the bishop ~ who hadn't batted an eyelid at going through at least the visible motions of giving him communion, a few minutes beforehand, and seemed not at all nonplussed when this was clarified afterwards!). The ecumenical community at Taizé in Burgundy welcomed Christians of all denominations, and presumably still actively does so. How the relevant Catholic clergy square this up with their consciences and superiors, probably lies beyond the remit of this quiz!

To all but the most puristical, Answers 2-4 inclusive are virtually interchangeable, but Catholics habitually go to Mass; the Lord's Supper (Ans.1) is more a lower-church, perhaps Scottish Presbyterian way of referring to it ~ though, by denotation or connotation, it could hardly be dubbed 'wrong' even by a Catholic, since it refers back directly to St Paul's key account of the Last Supper in 1 Corinthians (11:20) and, in turn, to Luke 22:19. The title 'Mass' derives from its final phrase in the old Latin: 'Ite, missa est' effectively means 'Go forth into the world' (cognate with the words 'mission' and 'missionary')

Ultimately, nobody is beyond the loving reach of God; how could anyone be so, when the God in question is all-powerful?