I was visiting with my in-laws in North East, PA and went to their parish for the Epiphany (Anybody know why it was moved back from the 6th?). I noticed something there that I've noticed at other parishes, and it drives me nuts. Those familiar with the Diocese of Erie (home of Bishop TrautFishmanperson) are probably thinking of the usual laundry list of liturgical abuses, such as improper vessels. That abuse, among many mentioned in Redemptionis Sacramentum, is a concern with the "trappings" of the mass if you will. What irks me is the slovenly attire worn by those attending mass, in particular those serving at the altar.
How can people serve at the altar in the Divine Presence wearing blue jeans and sneakers? How can parents allow their children to dress so poorly for such a high office? More importantly, I wonder how priests can allow children to serve like that? I've even seen it at weddings!
I've heard arguments about God wanting us to "come as we are" and that it's good that parents bring their children to church at all. Granted, it is better to be there than to not be there, and some people cannot afford fancy "Sunday go to meetin'" clothes, but I'm certain these suburban folks, working class though they are, would dress themselves and their children better if the Mayor, the President, Dad's or Mom's boss, or the Pope came to dinner. Why can't they dress appropriately for the King of Kings as we celebrate the Paschal Meal?
I've also heard that priests couldn't just turn kids away for dressing thusly. Why not? Servers are not mandatory. Serving is a privilege, not a right. Poorly dressed, poorly trained, and sometimes poorly behaved children should not be permitted to serve at mass. They set a bad example for the rest of the congregation and are poisonous to the catechizing aspects of the liturgy. I am reminded of Archbishop Fulton Sheen who said, "If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave." The Church was more explicit about this 500 years ago.
"It is fitting that He Whose abode has been established in peace should be worshipped in peace and with due reverence. Churches, then, should be entered humbly and devoutly; behaviour inside should be calm, pleasing to God, bringing peace to the beholders, a source not only of instruction but of mental refreshment. Those who assemble in church should extol with an act of special reverence that Name which is above every Name, than which no other under Heaven has been given to people, in which believers must be saved, the Name, that is, of Jesus Christ, Who will save His people from their sins. Each should fulfil in himself that which is written for all, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow; whenever that glorious Name is recalled, especially during the sacred Mysteries of the Mass, everyone should bow the knees of his heart, which he can do even by a bow of his head. In churches the sacred solemnities should possess the whole heart and mind; the whole attention should be given to prayer." - Second Council of Lyons, A.D. 1274
As a kid growing up in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, I saw a decline in the decorum and dignity of the office of acolyte. Venturing beyond the orthodox confines of the Pittsburgh Oratory and Saint Paul Cathedral, I am seeing the same sad trend in the Roman Catholic Church.
Catholics: Is this, or has it been, a problem in your parish? Was it or will it be rectified? What did/will you do? Protestants: Is this a problem at your church or friends' churches? Is this a widespread problem or seem to be limited to certain denominations or sects?
Funky Dung
Comments 16
One thing I'll say for dear ol' Erie is that I'm not as confused when I'm at Mass here because it's still Bishop Donald during the Eucharistic Prayer.
The parish we attend here does pretty well with respectful kids on the altar - in all aspects. Last weekend (day after Christmas) we had a lector who couldn't have been more than 13 and he was awesome. Father Z. has the servers in cassocks & I can't say that I've noticed anything inappropriate sticking out from underneath.
I could go on about other things that irk me about Erie… but I won't. I'll just tell you what I love. I think the parish here in Grove City does a bang-up job with RCIA, and the support for couples who follow Church teaching and use NFP is excellent.
Funky, has Pittsburgh gotten any better with NFP since I "left"?
+0
Posted 04 Jan 2005 at 10:42 am ¶I was in the land of good ol' Bishop Fishperson over Christmas. Thankfully, I had the luxury of staying here in Pittsburgh for Midnight Mass. However, the Feast of the Holy Family was spent in Erie.
I cannot say that I noticed how the servers were dressed, but I expect it was probably in tennis shoes. I was more turned off by the fact that there was no singing at this particular Mass - not an opening, not a closing hymn to be found. Mass lasted all of 35 minutes. What surprised me more was that the priest was a young guy, he was actually in the seminary with my best friend's husband and word had it that most of the young guys were more solid. His vestment was awful and his preaching wasn't much better. Even without singing, his prayers (such as Blessed are You, Lord, God of all creation…) weren't audible, which is something I've come to expect by being around the Oratory so much.
There were, of course, multitudes of Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, which, unforunately, made me shy away from receiving our Lord on the tongue because of previous unpleasant experiences. But my favorite part of Mass in Erie, besides the lack of reverence, is everyone standing until the entire congregation has received the Eucharist. Who came up with this?!?! I refuse to participate in this little change to the liturgy, because as far as I'm concerned, with the Lord present in the Eucharist on my tongue - I want to be on my knees, not standing there waiting for everyone else to receive and then just sitting down. And of course, after the petitions, we couldn't just respond "Lord, hear or prayer" or "Hear us, O Lord," it had to be some mushy thing - I wish I could remember, like "Lord of Love, fill our hearts." How is that appropriate for a petition??
One other little pet peeve is the talking that occurs as soon as Mass is over. In Heinz Chapel it doesn't bother me so much, one because Matt continues to play the organ, but also because there is no tabernacle. When did the sanctuary of the Church turn into the time to catch up with our neighbors and shoot the breeze??
Phew - I'm done now.
+0
Posted 04 Jan 2005 at 6:16 pm ¶OK so Emily hit upon my least favorite thing about Erie
+0
Posted 04 Jan 2005 at 10:48 pm ¶Better in what way(s)? Amanda and I haven't taken any classes on it yet.
+0
Posted 05 Jan 2005 at 1:20 am ¶Let me know if you ever find a class advertised in a bulletin. That would be a step up.
I couldn't even figure out where/how to take a class in the diocese, short of calling whatever hospital was listed on the sheet in the box at Engaged Encounter… and we just didn't have a means of getting in to the city for any sort of class at that point.
Email me if you're curious to know more about the saga… I'd be more than happy to share, but it's a long story.
+0
Posted 06 Jan 2005 at 2:51 am ¶P.S. I'm almost surprised you haven't taken a course…
P.P.S. Keep a look out… soon, I shall blog about Why FishPerson Says Stand
+0
Posted 06 Jan 2005 at 2:53 am ¶Everything we know about NFP we've learned from friends or read in "taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Wechsler. It's written from a secular point of view that allows for artificial birth control during fertile times, but the medical information and methods are solid. There's a cool program based on Wechsler's FAM (fertility awareness method) called Ovusoft. It makes charting a breeze.
+0
Posted 06 Jan 2005 at 4:04 am ¶I saw some similar-sounding software at a Catholic online bookstore site once… tried to convince dh that we ought to buy it but he's afraid he'd forget to use it. This from the man who spends most of his waking hours at his computer! lol.
+0
Posted 06 Jan 2005 at 11:04 am ¶Let us know when you make that post about Fishperson and standing.
+0
Posted 06 Jan 2005 at 2:11 pm ¶Will do, Emily. I actually had a post all ready to go but messed up by accidentally clicking a link that opened in the window my entry was in. I'll try again tomorrow.
I'm afraid it's going to be a bit lacking. I realized as I wrote the first edition that I didn't remember much of the explanation at all… which could say something about my opinion of it. I'm bad like that.
+0
Posted 07 Jan 2005 at 2:51 am ¶The "fishperson" stuff is cute until one realizes it is based on an Anglo-narcissistic approach to language. The German adjective "Traut" means beloved.
Getting back to thread topic, generally you see people treat Sunday for how they perceive it. Is it part of the leisure weekend? Is it a religious/social/cultural focus for the week? One tends to see wealthier churches dress more casually, but the shift to casual is pretty widespread in the West.
+0
Posted 07 Jan 2005 at 4:30 pm ¶Todd, I'm not sure if you were adding to the joke about PC language or actually chastizing us.
+0
Posted 07 Jan 2005 at 4:59 pm ¶Emily (and anyone else),
I posted my commentary on standing here
+0
Posted 09 Jan 2005 at 12:35 am ¶Why not at butterfly blog?
+0
Posted 09 Jan 2005 at 12:46 am ¶FD, probably a bit of both. The German (lowercase) man is a pronoun for "one." (Der) Mann would be the male designation, so even the good bishop's forebears had the foresight to land on the right side of the issue there.
I think ideologues on the other side could have just as much fun lampooning the current curia's rage for Capitalization and Excessive Adjectivization in English liturgical translations.
Finding an effective path through it all: that's the trick, eh?
Nice blog, btw.
+0
Posted 09 Jan 2005 at 3:06 am ¶Thanks. I'm glad you like it.
+0
Posted 09 Jan 2005 at 3:24 am ¶Post a Comment