Posted on 05/19/2005 2:44:51 PM PDT by Salvation
We had a non-religious Jewish neighbor, whose daughter was pregnant with a Down Syndrome baby. Her daughter wanted to terminate. But our neighbor loved her unborn grandson and wanted to see him born. We didn't know her very well, but she obviously knew our adult son who lives with us has Downs, so she came over one day in tears and begged my wife to speak to her daughter.
Long story short, the baby was born and is the light of his parents' (and his grandmom's)life.
This non-religious Jewish woman's respect for life is often missing even among daily Mass attendees.
YEah, somebody tried to shake my hand before the service the other day, and I said "I thought we didn't have to get into that business until the peace."
It's nothing personal, you just don't know where those hands have been, and I only bring one waterless cleaner packet to mass with me a week. Maybe I should bring more, I don't know.
Considering what has been going on with the Rainbow Sash crowd, the gender bending, and the sex molestation scandals, it seems entirely inappropriate to try to force people to touch one another at Mass. I find the pyschobabbleization of Catholicism to be ridiculous. It should stop.
Here's an example. I was at Mass one Sunday and when I turned around to give the "sign of peace" there was a prominent "Catholic" liberal Democrat politician in the pew RIGHT behind me. I didn't want to "shake hands" with this person because he is well-known for giving aid and comfort to the pro-abortion agenda in American politics. It was VERY awkward and I felt ill, nauseated, and like I wanted to throw up. It really ruined the mood of the Mass for me. It made me very angry that I was forced to be in the situation where I had to shake hands with a pro-abortion maniac or look rude. And it put me into a state which was an undesirable disposition for being at Mass and preparing to receive Holy Communion.
I have a suggestion for priests and bishops: Get rid of the sign of peace or kick the pro-abortion politicians out of the Church.
Yes, I was surprised at some of the replies.
I too have seen the nit-picking mostly in people who seem excessively scrupulous, and extraordinarily busy in parish life, than in people who are just there for mass and then out the door.
"The primary "community" I'm responsible for right now is my family, though, and trying to turn my 4 kids (ages 3-14)into Godly adults is my number-one priority. When they're grown, I'll have a bit more time and freedom."
Well said.
Regards
I'm happy for the blessings you received, but what does that have to do with Catholics who do not practice their faith as they are supposed to?
First, among many, my mother; who would be hard pressed to articulate any article of the faith and finds it extremely difficult to believe in Jesus in the Eucharist yet still believes; who, unknown to me, continued to pray I would return to the Church for decades after it was obvious I had lapsed and gentle urging would not bring me back.
And their replies are valid also.
A Real Catholic attends at Mass in a reverent manner and follows the commandments (about talking in Church -- keeping God first.)
On a few occasions when I went in early to pray,I have just said,"I am a Catholic,here to worship and pray to God". The responses were interesting and polite. They ranged from:"me too" to "Gee,I'm going to think about that".
Now that did bring rears to my eyes. What a beautiful little real life story. Thanks.
I see a lot of this misdirected scrupulosity even among those "committed to the poor." They're the folks who work in soup kitchens, hand out sandwiches, and everything. But they won't give a few bucks to a bum on the street who personally asks for it. They worry that he'll get drunk on it, or some such thing. But they sure don't have such qualms against, say, giving a drug-addled star money for his movie or music. For the life of me, I can't figure out why homeless alchoholics are less worthy of our money than the famous ones.
I'm one who will not give money to panhandlers. It's a habit I learned years ago when working in a downtown church. The police told us to give them peanut butter sandwiches. Nourishing and filling.
I've offered to take these guys to a hamburger shop and buy them a burger.
Only one ever took me up on it.
Should we encourage homeless alcoholics to keep drinking by giving them money?
Its my habit never to refuse a neighbor's extended hand, so avoiding the situation is a high priority. But there are times when it can't be avoided.
My charitable solution for the "hand-hold" threat: After the Great Amen, just before the priest says "let us pray with confidence to the Father in the words our Saviour gave us," drop your head, close your eyes, and clasp your hands in the traditional way.
Very few people will interupt you in order to make you hold hands. And if they do, pretend not to notice :)
###"As far as greeting the person in the pew next to me, I greet people after Mass. While in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, our focus should be on Jesus, not on social interaction with our neighbor."####
Complete agreement. There are people in the pews who are socializing when they get in Church, during and after Mass. The noise level is terrible. By the time I get out of Mass I know the best sales available at the local K-Mart.
I only greet those who greet me. There are those who are stll climbing over pews to get to the third aisle while the priest is dividing the Euharist for his own reception.
Partial answer by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum on holding hands.
"While there are no directions as to the posture of the faithful, the rubrics clearly direct the priest and any concelebrants to pray the Our Father with hands extended — so they at least should not hold hands.
One could argue that holding hands expresses the family union of the Church. But our singing or reciting the prayer in unison already expresses this element.
The use of this practice during the Our Father could detract and distract from the prayer's God-directed sense of adoration and petition, as explained in Nos. 2777-2865 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in favor of a more horizontal and merely human meaning."
Very few people will interupt you in order to make you hold hands.
Wanna bet? I've been tapped on the hand or the shoulder several times by someone wanting to hold hands while assuming that same posture. One lady forcefully grabbed my hand once when I indicated I didn't want to do it. I can't figure out why the hand-holders are so darned insistent on that.
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