Posted on 04/16/2006 8:17:00 PM PDT by Philistone
So I had just finished dropping my daughter off at Psychotic-Ex-Wifes house and decided to stop off at my favorite watering hole.
One of my favorite bartendresses was there looking very glum:
Me: Why so glum? Her: It's Easter and I'm working. Plus, this morning I went to Mass and it was in Arabic. Me: You mean Aramaic? Her: No, in Arabic. I said a prayer and left. I couldn't deal with it.
WTF?
OK, this is San Francisco (St Thomas More Church for those who know about it...), but if there is ONE day of the year where the Mass should be in English or Latin, it's today.
Sorry, but if the Catholic church is not ready to defend itself from Islam, I don't know why the rest of us should be.
"What's the problem if a Christian Mass is performed in Arabic? "
If I went to a Catholic church on Easter expecting to hear a mass on the most important day of the calendar year without a for warning that this Easter the mass would be said in Arabic. I would be extremely upset.
Note: This is a parish that does masses in more than one language on a regular basis:
Sunday
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. (Sunday Vigil)
Sunday, 8:00 a.m. Portuguese/Brazilian
Sunday, 10:00 a.m. English
Sunday, 11:45 a.m. Arabic & English
Sunday, 8:00 p.m. English
Nowadays, it's not uncommom for urban parishes to offer masses in more than one language. It is important to check the mass schedule first. Nothing unusual.
Would you have been equally upset to find the service being conducted in Chinese? German? Russian? Polish? Vietnamese? Swahili? Because I can assure you, somewhere in the United States, there was a Catholic Easter Mass celebrated in every single one of those languages.
The language doesn't matter. It never has (except for Latin - and even then...). It's the form, the ceremony or ritual, and the *reasons* behind it that matter.
Christianity needs all the converts and believers it can get at this point in history. You want to turn people away from the Church because they might not understand English?
In addition, I suspect that, if it follows the model of most churches in the US, the times and languages of the services are not only posted in the bulletin, but on the signboard out front.
This thread is bad enough, but your comment was totally uncalled for. What reaction are you attempting to lay bait for around here? Go back to DU and tell them your attempt to troll FR failed miserably.
Admin Mod: Troll cleanup on aisle 38 please.
Catholic Ping, perhaps?
And, if you want to be persnickety about it, today the Mass should be celebrated in Aramaic *only* - if you're going to go by the original texts.
Lighten up, Francis.
Arab Christians worship the Christian God, same as other Christians. They just call Him Allah. Other Christian languages, such as Georgian, also call God Allah.
Nevermind the facts, Philistone thinks what ~he~ wants :~D
You've counted?
Ask the lady how many others were attending the Arabic service today.
Growup.And I don't like WTF and Easter-stay the hell out of bars.Better yet I hope you get a zot for Easter.
There are Spanish, English, Italian and Masses in other Languages. They should have stuck to Latin that way no one understood.
:)I bet you speak english oh what the heck.
You are absolutely correct! Arabic is the contemporized version of Aramaic. Both the Melkite and Maronite Catholic Churches have liturgies in Arabic.
Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 22 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches. It is immediately subject to the Roman Pontiff as Patriarch of the West. The Eastern Catholic Churches are each led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan, who governs their Church together with a synod of bishops. Through the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Roman Pontiff works to assure the health and well-being of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
While this diversity within the one Catholic Church can appear confusing at first, it in no way compromises the Church's unity. In a certain sense, it is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity. Just as God is three Persons, yet one God, so the Church is 22 Churches, yet one Church.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this nicely:
"From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them... Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity" (CCC no. 814).
Although there are 22 Churches, there are only eight "Rites" that are used among them. A Rite is a "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony," (Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 28). "Rite" best refers to the liturgical and disciplinary traditions used in celebrating the sacraments. Many Eastern Catholic Churches use the same Rite, although they are distinct autonomous Churches. For example, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Melkite Catholic Church are distinct Churches with their own hierarchies. Yet they both use the Byzantine Rite.
To learn more about the "two lungs" of the Catholic Church, visit this link:
The Vatican II Council declared that "all should realize it is of supreme importance to understand, venerate, preserve, and foster the exceedingly rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern churches, in order faithfully to preserve the fullness of Christian tradition" (Unitatis Redintegrato, 15).
To locate an Eastern Catholic Church in your community, follow the following link:
Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.
A Roman rite Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic Liturgy and fulfill his of her obligations at any Eastern Catholic Parish. A Roman rite Catholic may join any Eastern Catholic Parish and receive any sacrament from an Eastern Catholic priest, since all belong to the Catholic Church as a whole. I am a Roman Catholic practicing my faith at a Maronite Catholic Church. Like the Chaldeans, the Maronites retain Aramaic for the Consecration. It is as close as one comes to being at the Last Supper.
HELLO! There are Arab Christians, you know. Just cause someone is Arab, it doesn't mean they are Muslim.
Not EVERYTHING is political, as you, I hope, have learned from the Orthodox who have posted here.
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