If your parish is planning on putting on a goofy display for Halloween, please do not encourage your child to take part. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is being done no honor when we invite children in costumes to “parade in church” during the liturgy. I’m really disappointed that Holy Cross would promote such an activity, especially since they are sometimes regarded as one of the better parishes in this diocese.
We have a long way to go.
Tags: Progressive Drivel
|
At least the blurb uses the words “feast days” and describes the correlation. But still . . .costumes? In church? I think the kids would focus more on the fun aspects thereof than the theological/hagiographical.
Not the perfect situation I will be the first to admit, but at least (1) it’s taking place at the end of Mass and the “parade” mentioned in blurb will actually be the recessional, (2) the emphasis is on saints and other “positive characters,” with the implied encouragement to avoid dressing up as witches, demons, etc., and (3) if history is any guide, almost all the kids participating will be pre-schoolers whose parents have been encouraged to help them learn something positive about the saint of other character they will be portraying.
Get thee to the social hall! I don’t believe such activities are appropriate in the Holy Sanctuary of the Lord but my objection is tempered by the appropriate educational spin the parish is putting on the activity and the plan to ‘parade’ as part of the recessional. If it is possible with this age group! perhaps the adults can keep the parade more on the solemn side than festive.
I don’t know. I can see your point, perhaps this is inappropriate.
On the other hand— of all the things to complain about- I think there are far bigger fish to fry, especially in the Diocese of Rochester.
In other words- no offense- but I think conservatives at times can be just as annoying as liberals. Priests have to deal with liberals who want the Church to be nothing more then a club of like minded people that does social work, and otherwise believes nothing of substance. Then they have to deal with conservatives who think they are more Catholic then the pope, and any time a priest does anything which bends the rules slightly the priest has to contend with people complaining he isn’t Catholic enough.
I feel (again no offense) that this is one of those times. If it were me, would I do it? Probably not, but I am not going to complain about it at the same time. If it helps the children to understand All Saints better, or aids them in devotion to saints, why harm does it bring? It also helps to transform Halloween away from the ghouls and goblins to more positive things.
I will quote the article: “Please dress up as a Saint, Bible hero, knight, princess, veggie tales or other positive character”
Do tell, how does dressing up as a tomato help children understand Saints and devotion to them?
What harm does it bring? It turns the Mass into a pageant; it transfers the focus from God to man.
Perhaps? Of course it’s inappropriate. Many Catholics today have a flawed understanding of the Mass if goofy innovations and displays such as this are considered acceptable. We have become so desensitized over the years that if something isn’t as bad as other liturgical irregularities that we have witnessed, that it somehow isn’t worth addressing.
“any time a priest does anything which bends the rules slightly the priest has to contend with people complaining he isn’t Catholic enough.”
Pray tell, why am I being uncharitable when someone ordained or lay does something in or TO the Mass that is NOT part of the Mass? At what point do YOU step in and say, “Well, THAT is not appropriate?”
Yesterday for Mass, I dressed up as an old guy in a suit…
Get thee to the social hall!
My new motto. And illustrates why such things are not little issues at all. It is all part of what I call Abusing the Captive Audience. If all non-liturgical activity (beyond basic announcements) was relegated to the social hall, it would (gasp!) have to work for its audience. But noooo, gotta go with where parishoners don’t really have the option to vote with their feet. Faugh.
“Pray tell, why am I being uncharitable when someone ordained or lay does something in or TO the Mass that is NOT part of the Mass? At what point do YOU step in and say, “Well, THAT is not appropriate?”
I didn’t say you were being uncharitable, I was simply offering a musing about conservatives and liberals in general and the reality that BOTH extremes can be just as bad. I was also asking if this was worth getting upset about given the rest of the nonsense going on in the Diocese of Rochester. This seems rather mild in comparison. If I had a choice between a dissadent priest as a pastor, and a priest who was otherwise faithful but allowed stuff like this from time to time- I would glady put up with it.
How does dressing up as a Tomatoe help kids to understand the saints? It helps them to understand that Holloween isn’t about glorying evil.
No parish is perfect. But the principal I use in determining when something is not appropriate is “Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for Man.” If someone is keeping to the rules just for the sake of keeping to the rules, I think that can be just as bad as liberals who break the rules becasue they think they know better then the Church how to offer Mass.
I am not saying this parade in a Church is appropriate, especially after reading the other comments which suggested hosting this in the parish Hall, and so forth. What I am saying is if the pastor of this Church otherwise is a commited Catholic and believes and professes what the Church believes and professes, and defends it, etc- I think he can be forgiven for something like this.
I suppose in short what I am trying to say is “Know when to take a stand, and know when to simply tolerate something.” A pastor openly criticizing the Church’s stance on a number of moral issues is one who needs to be confronted. A pastor who does something like this from time to time, but is otherwise commited I think can be tolerated.
I really dislike your rhetoric of “conservative” and “liberal”
You didn’t answer my question.
What about if you keep the rules because the rules protect the reverence and dignity due to the Mass?
Abaccio,
I realize many people do not like “labels” for many reasons.
I think when generalizing as I have done, it is difficult to avoid using them.
“What about if you keep the rules because the rules protect the reverence and dignity due to the Mass?”
And that is a great question. The answer is (don’t call me nuts!) I think it can be just as sinful to keep the rules as it is to break them depending on your motive or intention.
For example: suppose the bishop of the Diocese forbids euologies at funerals. Suppose a priest upholds the rule, but suppose he is upholding the rule not beacause he really believes it is a good thing which in the end is best for everyone involved, but just becasue he wants to be a jerk- I believe that is just as bad as breaking the rule becasue you think you know more then the Church.
If a priest is keeping to the rules becasue they uphold the dignity and reverence due Mass, great. But if a priest is holding to the rules simply for the sake of doing so— in a legalistic sense—keeping the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law, I think that is just as bad as breaking the rules.
Understood.
To clarify, I am not trying to be a jerk. I truly believe in protecting the solemnity of the Mass.
And so we are clear, I was not trying to say you are being a jerk. I believe you do want to protect the solemnity of the Mass.