AmericanPapist Comments
That was probably the most ridiculous thing that I have ever seen!
Oh....my....gosh....
The worst part...applause! I didn't know Mass was supposed to be entertainment.
We must remember...prayer and fasting...prayer and fasting...
-Harrison
That's strange -- I didn't know Dance Fever was ever held in a Church. Must have been one of those moments in the 80's that I missed.
Is that some new reality show called 'Dancing with the Gospels!'
Man, that was freakin ridiculous.
I just quit my job as a Protestant minister with a Willow Creek styled church in Canada last year so that I and my family could come home to the Catholic Church.
Now, all I can say is thank Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all the angels and saints that we never saw this before I quit!!!
Owen, there is good quote to keep in mind when we see abuses like this in the Church:
"Napoleon took the pope prisoner 200 years ago and said to the pope, "I'm going to destroy the Catholic Church." And the pope said, "If we priests haven't managed to do it, you certainly won't."
I think it helps remind us all who's really in charge.
(apologies if you've heard this before)
Welcome Home! :)
*perk*
OUCH! When will my eyes stop burning?
Here my own take: http://closedcafeteria.blogspot....ack-
gospel.html
Oh. Dear. Me.
Well, coulda been worse. There could have been "liturgical dancing".
Sigh.
No liturgical dancing? Then what is the priest doing? I'm sure the only reason he's not waving his arms is that he has to hold up the book.
If you want to me more disturbed, check out the video of an infant's baptism from the same site:
http://www.churchbuilding.com/in...sn-
baptism.html
Ugh.
Arvin - yeah, I watched that second vid and refrained from posting it because I pitied the poor baby...
Gerald - Thanks for the excellent treatment, I considered going through everything that was wrong with their philosophy, etc. but figured I'd leave it in better hands... *linked*.
Why doesn't the adult who gets baptized wear a brown robe? So he doesn't feel bad or something?
"Why doesn't the adult wear a brown robe?"
Hellfire, why doesn't he just take off all his clothes and dance around?! Dancing and nakedness seem to be A-OK around there, so you'd think it go over pretty well. Someone needs to tie that priest's hands to his sides, so he stops waving things (babies, lectionaries) in the air.
May the saints preserve us.
A definite coffee on the keyboard moment!
The best part is that organist in the background trying to dance at his keyboard.
Did St. Joan's get overcrowded or something so they all flock to St. Nick's?
That was the most insipid thing I ever saw happen in a church.
BMP
Oh my! I don't know what to say other than I am so glad I have never had to see that ridiculous display in person. Watching the video was nauseating enough.
Well at least they had incense.
:P
+JMJ
Apparently St. Nicks(The "lovely" church in the footage) is getting a new pastor... you can read up a bit on him here:
http://www.stfrancislz.org/
staff...aff.htm#Gollatz
God Bless you abundantly!
-Angela
thanks for the tip, Angela.
hmm - I'm not seeing any news related to your comment, Angela... am I missing it?
I think we should look at this scene from a different angle. At the Academy Awards there was a rap group that won an award and gave a bunch of shout outs, clearly not fitting the mode of what's "proper" at the Oscars, but they weren't there to put up a front. Afterwards, Jon Stewart commented, "Now why are they the only people excited to be here?"
Now, I'm not crazy about the St. Nicholas Gospel procession, but I have seen worse. One of the first Catholic churches I attended in Louisville was, thankfully I suppose, the driest Mass I've ever experienced. While attendance was relatively decent, I could hardly follow the hymn because only about seven people seemed to be singing. The whole liturgy was "mumble mumble mumble. Amen." and "I believe mumble mumble... they might as well be speaking Latin... mumble mumble." It's quite possible whoever read the Scriptures was hung over, or maybe they simply didn't want to be there. The homily was okay, I guess. And then we still had thirty minutes... sheesh!
There was a high point -- like every Mass -- at the Great Amen when, lo and behold, I believe in miracles because everybody in this congregation actually sang something! Now, maybe they were all singing "Amen!" because half of them were about to take their Jesus and leave out the side door, but I know I left with a whole new appreciation of how Christ in the Eucharist really is the source of summit of our faith (there sure wasn't any other reason to be at that Mass!)
The sad truth is, there are too many Catholic parishes like the one I described. It's something of a running gag within Catholic circles that Mass is boring, people leave early, etc. Now be honest with yourself, if you were just the average Catholic on the street who tries to follow Jesus but doesn't care a lot about liturgical technicalities, would you rather go to a boring Mass and leave discouraged and depressed, or attend St. Nicholas where people actually enjoy worshiping Christ? We might want to ask ourselves, "Why are they the only people excited to be at Mass?"
Personally, I think what's going on at St. Nicholas is a reaction against the typical boring Mass. Fact is, both extremes are an abomination. I say the boring Mass is worse, if only slightly worse, because while we should be enthusiastic about attending Mass it is very difficult to get people excited who don't care that much. Our brothers and sisters at St. Nicholas don't have this problem and on some level I'm a little jealous of them for it. However, they have forgotten reverence. Hopefully, God will guide them to a proper and healthy balance and then serve as an inspiration for the rest of us.
(I've also cross-posted this over on Gerald's blog)
You know...the sad thing is that those of us suffering through the white martyrdom of american Catholicism almost come to expect these twisted abberations in our 'gathering' places today (I hesitate to call them churches...since they are better suited for theater in the round than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass).
Hey, druid dancing, altar babes, priests forgetting their vows...there is a remnant, though, who will be left after Satan gathers his minions.
Deo Vindice!
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