Gerald at The Cafeteria Is Closed links to Miss Kelly, who is parish-hopping. I did this for awhile when I was first reverting. I was looking for a Church that looked like a Church, a priest that was reverent and a parish that really reflected Catholicism. I attended Mass at 40 different parishes and found some of the same things that Kelly and Gerald found. The nice thing about the Diocese of Rockville Centre is that there are literally dozens of parishes within a 30-40 minute drive. I did end up going mostly to my own childhood parish, which I came to appreciate more, and now I attend my wife's parish, even though we don't live in its boundaries.

The worst experience I had in parish-hopping was at one parish where the priest would process down the aisle during the opening hymn, then instead of beginning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, he would ask if anyone was celebrating a birthday or anniversary. People would shout out their answer and then everyone would applaud. It was juvenile, and totally inappropriate, I felt like I was in the 2nd grade. I also was in a couple of parishes where instead of a homily, a priest would talk about the annual fund raising appeal or a particular group in the parish. This is sometimes necessary, but it should never replace a homily totally. I am very picky when it comes to Liturgy and don't see why it is so hard for parishes to make it reverent and prayerful.