Yesterday, my family was out of town for most of the day, so the only Mass that my wife and I were able to attend was the local parish's "Life Teen" Mass at 5:15 p.m.

If it weren't for the fact that I received Jesus in the Eucharist (which is obviously no small matter), I think I would rather have sat through dental surgery.

If I hadn't known I was at Mass, I would have sworn I was at some Evangelical "megachurch" back home in Dallas. From the ugly architecture of the "worship space" to the clapping hands and heavy drumbeat of the rock music "performances", I kept thinking to myself "I left Evangelicalism and became Catholic for THIS ?"

UPDATE:
When the Dominican pastor [who did not preside over the Mass - there was a guest priest who celebrated] saw my wife and me walk in, he expressed surprise at seeing us there (knowing our more traditional tastes), and said he hoped we brought our earplugs. We told him we had been out of town all day, and that this was the only Mass we could attend. His response: "Well, you can consider this your penance."