You Know Where To Go (to complain about liturgical dance)

Curt Jester ^ | August 17, 2006

[NYer]

THAT is a Jesuit Father?

Here's another .....

Jesuit Fr. VerEecke

As one might expect from someone who has devoted the past twenty years of his life to performing and teaching dance, Father Robert VerEecke, SJ, is fervent about its benefits. With a Master's degree in Dance and Liturgy from Lesley College, and another in Divinity from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, the priest serves as Artistic Director of the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble at Boston College, Artist in Residence at the same institution, and pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Boston.

Dance - but not in the liturgy,

[AnAmericanMother]

Seems from the linked article that he's trying to stay within the letter of the law, but he's not happy about it.

A little aside here to demonstrate my earlier statement that the fools can't dance.

Fr. VerEecke is holding a good, solid posture with tension through the shoulder girdle and the trapezius muscles, out into the base of the palm. He's obviously a trained dancer.

Now look at the four idiots behind him trying to imitate him. They (more or less) have their hands in the general area, but they haven't ANY idea of the underlying structure or tension (which is what dance IS, not where your hands happen to be located in space.)

Second woman from the right had 2-3 years of ballet as a child, but it didn't sink in properly. She thinks if she tilts her head like a ballerina, it will make it all o.k. The expression of the woman on the right is priceless . . . if she just screws her mouth up tighter, she'll get it right . . .

This stuff really hurts . . . like hearing musicians sing off key.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Hey, I'm a CONSERVATIVE Protestant. I'm not a prude. I don't think dance itself is sinful. But if someone started doing that dancing stuff in the front of my church I'd grab the kids and nudge the missus and walk down the middle aisle of that church faster than you can say fruitcake.

Hooray for this Cardinal. I might not agree with him much about RC theology, but I agree with him that worship is where God's people focus on GOD. If there's clapping for anyone, it's wrong.

[muawiyah]

It is? Could have fooled 'em on the Day of Pentecost.

The "standard argument" used by non-Pentecostal Protestants to deal with the issue is to claim that "the day of prophecy is closed as is the time of miracles".

You'll notice that tosses the burden of defending the practice back to the Pentecostals.

[muawiyah]

And all of that is OK, but thanks for pointing to "they shall be joyful in their beds" which suggests that the apocryphal "Church of St. Mattress" may well have been a joke shared by God Himself.

[lightman]

And all of that is OK, but thanks for pointing to "they shall be joyful in their beds" which suggests that the apocryphal "Church of St. Mattress" may well have been a joke shared by God Himself.

Bedsheet evangelism by a married couple is church growth the good old-fashioned natural way!

[Armando Guerra]

For a couple of years our parish had a half dozen prepubescent girls go up to the communion rail area, dressed to the nines, spread themselves across the front of the church and be the "sign language" singers for a couple of songs.

How awful. You still have communion rails? That's so pre-Vatican II. (just kidding, of course!)

[starfish923]

How awful. You still have communion rails? That's so pre-Vatican II. (just kidding, of course!)

My error.
We don't have the rails any more. I should have written "the former communion rail area."

I went to Mass in Marianplatz, in Munich this year.
The BIG church, the one all the tourists go to, the Frauenkirch, was innaccessible because of a giant race-run (10k) being put on by the city. So, I went to a smaller but equally gorgeous church right off this main plaza in old town Munich. This was the day after Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup this past June.

Anyway, the priest faced away from the congregation, as in the old days, and there still was a communion rail.
Some people knelt at the rail, some stood. Some received communion by mouth, some by hand.

I also went to Mass at St. Peter's in Rome, at the chapel of St. John, which is in the left hand apse of the bascilica. The masses are held on the hour, every hour.
The priest faced AWAY from the congregation but there was no communion rail. We all stood in line, just like here.

Sidenote: the entire RIGHT hand apse of St. Peter's is dedicated to confession. There was a barrier and a guard who let people in that area only for confession. I had never been to confession at St. Peter's so I went in. Why not? I was 50 feet from the bones of Peter himself.
Anyway, there were about two dozen confessionals, all in different languages. NO ONE was in there but me. The rest of the bascilica had 10 zillion people milling around and I was ALL ALONE in that enormous apse.
I asked where the English confessional was. The confessionals had the language listed on them. My old priest's languages were CHINESE, English and Polish. Harhar.
After confession I felt very moved. I realized that I could now STAY in the apse and say penance and walk around the area ALL BY MYSELF.
Then I went to Mass across the way at St. John's chapel.
What a moving morning for me. I felt very lucky, very blessed.

[Armando Guerra]

Sound's wonderful. I did not know about the confessional, though wish I had. I enjoyed St. Peter's and was very moved by the Pieta.

Sorry to hear the communion rails in your church were removed. Amazingly, the rails remain in our cathedral although I am sure the Bishop would love to see them go (he already wanted to rip out the tabernacle, pews and re-orient the church - Lynch btw). Luckily, that has not been done but the threat remains. I still hope for the communion rails to make a come back. I remember being an alterboy walking behind the priest with the paten to hold under the chins as communion was given on the tongue. I would prefer it still be done that way.

[marshmallow]

How does that old Abba song go....

"........and when you get the chance.....you are a dancing queen......"

My first thoughts on seeing that Nureyev wannabee, Fr. George.

[hellinahandcart]

"Church of St. Mattress"

At least get the name right. It's St. Mattress of the Springs.