David Ancell / Monday, September 23, 2002 / Comments(0)
Catholic Exchange has a good Dear Grace column on cooperation with evil posted. Check it out.
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David Ancell / Sunday, September 22, 2002 / Comments(0)
As I’ve said, it’s going to be light, if any, blogging next week. I had a tough week last week and expect next week to be the same. I had long work hours during a week that ended with the death of an uncle of mine. I’ll be missing the funeral, but I plan to visit my family next weekend. My work is taking a lot out of me, but I’m enjoying this. I’m in charge of my end of the operation, and I’m slowly learning how to be in charge. Lucky for me, I’ve been sent there with two excellent people who also have an awesome sense of humor.
I was grateful to the Lord that my uncle was able to be baptized a few weeks before dying. The Lord gave me the grace to call him and suggest it. I hope it did the trick, but I have a feeling it did. It may seem unfair to some that it takes what may seem like so little to save him, but we could never save ourselves anyway. It’s all grace. He died young, but perhaps this was for the good of his soul. As hard as it is to take, it will be for the best if he is enjoying eternal life with the Lord.
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David Ancell / Saturday, September 21, 2002 / Comments(0)
Maybe I’m just a crank . . . I don’t want to go to Mass to criticize it. Even in some of the worst liturgy I’ve seen, Jesus is still there. That alone should fill my heart with joy. I wish I could easily just offer it up when I see what I’m about to list below. Unfortunately, I’m bothered by these things.
My basic view is that a priest should stick to the book when saying Mass. When we go to Mass, we are entering something that is so sacred and so much greater than ourselves that no one, including the priest, has a right to alter it according to his personal tastes. It’s also a question of faithfulness and obedience. If a priest isn’t obedient in such a simple matter as reading words from a book, then I wonder what else he is doing.
I just don’t know how to deal with it when one of the following happens (in no particular order):
1. We are invited to “greet one another” before Mass starts. (read this for more info)
2. The priest says “Good morning!” (or anything else, for that matter) before making the Sign of the Cross.
3. The Penitential Rite is introduced with no mention of calling to mind our sins (e.g. “Let’s take a moment and think about what impresses you most about Christ as a person.” – I kid you not; this happened.) What’s the point of the Penitential Rite if we aren’t calling to mind our sins?
4. The words “The Lord is with you” are used in place of “The Lord be with you.” This cheats us out of a prayer. In fact, I wish for none of the words to be changed unless it is permitted by the rubrics.
5. The Scripture readings and/or the hymns are changed to reflect “inclusive language” or some other form of political correctness. Honestly, the renderings are not always bad, it’s just the fact that someone thought he/she needed to do this.
6. During the preparation of the gifts (“Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation . . .”) the bread and wine are prepared together. (Uh, hello, the separation of the blood from the body symbolizes death. Remember that Mass is a re-presentation of Calvary.)
7. Holding hands during the Our Father. Just what is the point of that? I don’t think it’s diabolical, just pointless.
8. Part of the Mass is rendered in Latin, but I don’t have the text in front of me when I’m supposed to sing. Actually, I really do like Latin, but I don’t know it. I need the text to follow along.
9. Right before Communion, the priest says “Happy are we who are called to his supper” instead of “Happy are those who are called to his supper.” Uh, did you ever figure that those words refer to all of the Church throughout all ages. Besides that, they also refer to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb at the end of time. We cannot and should not presume that we will be called ot this. (Read this excellent book by Fr. Francis Randolph for more information.)
10. The final blessing consists of “May Almighty God bless us . . . ” instead of “May Almighty God bless you . . .”
11. People leaving right after communion.
12. People leaving during the singing of the closing hymn. I know some people need to leave, but surely not all of them.
13. The host is not shown to the people after the consecration. Yes, I have seen this.
14. Talking in the Church. I have no problem with a simple acknowledgement of our brothers and sisters, but extended conversations need to go into the narthex or outside.
15. Ushers trying to seat someone during a prayer or time of reflection. Hey! Just wait a second. Seriously, I’ve had this problem before, and I mentioned it to the usher after refusing to move until the prayer was finished.
16. Music that isn’t prayerful.
17. Things being done that give the appearance of having been taken out of a book entitled something to the effect of “Cool Things to Do At Your Liturgy.” For example, during one Pentecost Sunday, the first reading was read in French. On Holy Thursday in another parish, the readings were read “dramatically” (like a play); then, at the same Mass, we had the washing of hands instead of the washing of feet (Pontius Pilate washed his hands; that’s the only corollary I know of.).
18. Walking into the Church and having difficulty locating the tabernacle or confessional. I guess they decided they needed to move Jesus since he was getting in the way of their liturgy.
19. References to sin before the Penitential Rite that do not mention God. For example, one priest said before the penitential rite “Let’s take a moment to call to mind those times we’ve failed to love and forgive each other.” I have no problem with a priest saying “. . . love God and one another.” This makes sense.
20. Having the dismissal consist of “Let’s go out in to the world and serve one another.” Why not say “Let’s go out into the world to serve God and one another.”?
Let me add that my point is not to judge the intentions of the people who do these things. Only God can do that. However, I long for a recovery of a sense of the sacred. Things that are treated as a toy to be played with are not being treated as sacred.
I bemoan the difficulty in finding understandable reading on what liturgy is about. I know there are some good books, like the one mentioned above and Cardinal Ratzinger’s The Spirit of the Liturgy, but I know of little else. I’m about to start reading The Eucharist: Essence, Form, and Celebration by Johannes Emminghaus. I hope it is good. It seems like the Mass is often regarded as “whatever you want it to be,” so materials on its objective meaning are hard to find.
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David Ancell / Saturday, September 21, 2002 / Comments(0)
Well, I’ve had a most hectic week. Next week promises more of the same. Expect light, if any, blogging. Don’t worry. I plan to come back in full swing. I really enjoy this, but sometimes I just can’t.
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David Ancell / Saturday, September 14, 2002 / Comments(0)
Speaking of renewal . . . . check out this article. I found it linked to on Amy Welborn’s blog spot, but she had a different take on it than I do.
I have a friend who is a seminarian for the Diocese of Memphis at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO. I had the opportunity to talk to him about the scandals. He said that there is a lot of resolve among those studying in his seminary to preach the truth and live holy lives. Hopefully, this is the case all around the world.
Of course, there’s another important renewal that I hope will start . . . . my own. I hope that each of you are beginning your own renewal as well. If “We Are Church”, then we all need reform. I wonder if many dissent from Church teachings because they’ve never seen the joy of living them out. I know that I held some indifference to Church teachings until I came to Memphis and met people, including people my own age, who believed the Church’s teachings.
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David Ancell / Saturday, September 14, 2002 / Comments(0)
Do you ever feel that you’ve done the Lord’s will only to feel hurt or regret of some kind? Does following Christ’s commandments seem oppressive? Such moments must have occurred often throughout the history of Christendom. Maybe it’s because we didn’t do God’s will, but what if we did?
No matter how bad we feel, we must remember that God knows what is best for us. God wants what is best for us. After all, we don’t know what would have happened if we had turned the other way. Things probably would have been worse. At least in the long run, our ultimate happiness is secure by following God’s will.
Oh, so easy this is to write, but how hard it is to live!
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David Ancell / Saturday, September 14, 2002 / Comments(0)
Here’s the New York Times on canonical issues with the “zero tolerance” policy towards “pedophile priests”. I think the paragraph quoted below says it all:
The canon lawyers’ most frequent criticisms of the American bishops’ policy are that it denies due process to accused priests, ignores the statute of limitations in canon law, defines sexual abuse too broadly, and imposes the same harsh punishment – permanent removal from ministry – on every offender, regardless of the severity of the crime.
As I’ve said before, I hope the Vatican bounces this like a basketball. Then, I hope that better plans are drawn up. I hope we will have plans, not only to combat the scandal, but to renew the Church. It may take years for renewal to begin; it will take more years for a full renewal to take place, but I’m not going to lose hope.
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David Ancell / Saturday, September 14, 2002 / Comments(0)
Just a notice . . . once Monday rolls around, it’ll be light blogging for me, if there is any blogging. I may have something to say later in the week, but I may be too darn tired. No, I’m not in Steubenville. I haven’t achieved “somebody” blogger status yet. My business will be job related. Let’s just say I have a lot of work to do.
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David Ancell / Thursday, September 12, 2002 / Comments(0)
If you were looking for my blog tonight, I’m afraid I’ve not much to say. My brain is crispy fried. I had to do some work in Nashville today. I left here at 5 AM, and arrived at my destination at about 8:15 AM. I got home about an hour ago (about 10:45 PM).
So what is this all about? I’m grateful to the Lord for protecting me and getting me home safely. I just wish I had had more confidence in him during the trip. Well, one day I’ll get it. I’m not much on the get up early and then stay up late the same day routine. Maybe I’m just getting too old for this.
Well, maybe I’ll muster the energy to give you just a little food for thought. I desire very much to have priests and bishops in our Church who boldly preach the Gospel, including the difficult teachings. That boldness can also be used to proclaim God’s love. While we hope that the terrorists are stopped, God’s love demands that we hope for their salvation. At the same time, God in his love will forgive your sins if you come back to him.
To really understand God’s love, we must have an appreciation for the horror of sin. Then we can know how much God loves us, that he forgave our sin. Let’s not forget that the cross wasn’t pretty.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, September 11, 2002 / Comments(0)
I went to noon Mass today in a nearby parish. The priest gave a great homily on how we as a society have lost our ability to see evil. He needs to give that homily to the NEA. As I have stated earlier, one would think 9/11 would be enough to convince them of the existence of evil, but I guess not. When we can’t see evil, it’s bound to continue.
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