Available through Amazon.com. This is the first and best of two books written by former catholic school students.
Posted on 05/28/2006 5:31:47 AM PDT by NYer
Available through Amazon.com. This is the first and best of two books written by former catholic school students.
"Byzantine Catholic parishes with more young people in them tend to eschew kneeling from my experience more than those in the rust belt with more elderly folks."
I suspect that the kneeling is an example of the influence of Western culture on the particular Eastern churches in the 20th century. You know, everyone wanted to "pass for white" in those days! :)
Today things have changed a bit and I have noticed that converts, who are often younger, tend to be a bit legalistic about such matters.
What does this priest have to say about pro-abort elected leaders who claim to be Catholic receiving Communion without asking for forgiveness and making a firm purpose of amendment in the confessional?
Ah yes...the clickers...
I remember them well. Haven't thought of them in many years.
Regards,
PS: "Growing Up Catholic" is a funny book.
I did go to catholic school. In fact, they opened the school when I was only five. There was insufficient enrollment to fill the First Grade class so they extended the cutoff to March 31. My birthday is midway through March so I essentially skipped Kindergarten and went directly to First Grade. Throughout my entire education, I was always the youngest student in the class.
Sunday morning was 9 AM children's Mass
Oh how I remember this so well! We sat with our classmates, not with the family. Sister took attendance ... at Mass! There was hell to be paid on Monday morning, for those who did not show up at the 9am Children's Mass.
The worse part was Fr. Mulz our Pastor. He had the children's Mass. If he saw someone talking, smiling or something not in accordance with the Church's rules, he would stop the Mass, have the Nun get the kid in the aisle to kneel for the rest of the Mass.
Fr. Mulz is a contributing factor to today's liberalized liturgy. His 'victims' did not want their own children treated this way and used the documents from VCII to ensure this treatment was not repeated. Of course, like you, with 'adult eyes', I can understand Father's objective and have a much greater appreciation of what he and the good sisters attemted to accomplish.
I went to communion once and had my elbows on the altar rail. We were only to have our hands in view with today's lost art of having our hands together in the prayerful way.
What would you or I now give to have this rule reinstated, given the blasphemous treatment now shown to our Lord in the Eucharist! Father meant well but pushed the limits a tad too far. Now the penduluum has swung and we are confronted with abject hostility towards proper form and behavior. Have faith! Penduluums have a way of swinging both ways :-)
After going through all of the previous, I wonder how I survived? I expect to meet Fr. Mulz and all the sisters in the future and thank them for their patience with my friends and me.
Don't forget that we were part of the post war baby boom. I attended Catholic School in Queens, NY. There were, on average, 55 students in each class (x3 for each grade) confined to the same classroom and teacher, throughout the entire school year. As we moved into the pre-teen years, the nuns grew stricter. Today, as an adult, I can't imagine how they managed us. May God have mercy on all their souls.
"Full Protration??? Where in a Roman Catholic Church does that happen?? None that I have ever seen. Ridiculous."
Not western or "Roman" Catholic, but eastern Catholic. The eastern Catholic liturgical traditions are very different. Kneeling is not the norm except during penitential times such as the Great Fast (Lent). And yes, full prostrations are part of the eastern tradition.
As for that being "ridiculous," let's just say that there are some very interesting liturgical practices coming out of the western church these days. I try to refrain from commenting on what I think about those practices, as it would tend to be inflammatory. Might I suggest extending the same courtesy when commenting on the liturgical traditions of the eastern churches?
It irks me that this Father Tran and his umpteen relatives were probably take in as refugees by the people of this diocese, and he screws them in return. What an ingrate!
Fourteen Holy Martyrs, in Brooklyn? We had a Father Mulz.
>>>Penduluums have a way of swinging both ways<<<
Amen and Hallelujah!
>>>The worse part was Fr. Mulz our Pastor. He had the children's Mass. If he saw someone talking, smiling or something not in accordance with the Church's rules, he would stop the Mass, have the Nun get the kid in the aisle to kneel for the rest of the Mass.<<<
Being an altarboy, I escaped this particular discipline, but with the nuns, many infractions took place. Sister's pointer was a more than adequate weapon!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.