Posted on 08/25/2011 11:55:55 AM PDT by Pyro7480
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the East Coast on Tuesday rattled a church in Alexandria, Va. so hard that bricks fell through a stained glass window in the ceiling and then broke off the right arm of Jesus Christ on a large crucifix above the altar.
The damage occurred at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Old Town Alexandria, just a few miles across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
Further damage to the church included collapsed chimneys and brick walls crumbling. It was the latter that sent bricks tumbling through a stained glass window above the crucifix in the church sanctuary that sheared off Christs right arm.
The Rev. Dennis Kleinmann told CNSNews.com that the damage could have been much worse and some parishioners have commented that the damage seems symbolic of Christs devotion to holding up the church in times of trouble....
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Just a flesh wound!
>>Never understood why a parish would choose to do that (as opposed to a Tridentine Mass). <<
Because it’s fine to help a parish learn the Latin by performing the Ordinary Rite in the Sacred Language. Later, the TLM will be less foreign.
You have to admit that the TLM is tremendously different. More sacred silence, less participation. For a parish that knows no Latin, even the simplest phases, a TLM is a whole other world. While an NO in Latin beings the process of moving in the right direction. Once the parishioners are familiar with the Latin, change in the form of the Holy Mass is easier to understand.
We don’t want to do what they did in the 60’s. Take what people know, turn it on it’s ear and expect that everyone will be happy with it.
...the virgin hurricane (St. Irene) hits the virgin colony (Virginia)? ;)
Hmmmmm... could be...
Thanks...interesting...more to think about.
Good answer, I can see that, although the goal should never be for everyone “to be happy with it”. But are you sure the parish goal is to move toward the Tridentine and not just stop with the Latin NO?
As a pre-Vatican II Catholic I admit I can not see things through the eyes of a contemporary parishioner (although Latin really is foreign to me also as I was very young prior to the change). It is the reverence and correctness that appeals to me regardless of language.
>>But are you sure the parish goal is to move toward the Tridentine and not just stop with the Latin NO?<<
We did.
We had a Latin NO on Wednesday mornings. Many people attended. My girls sang there. As soon as the TLM got the Universal Indult, we began celebrating a High Holy Mass as one of our seven weekend masses.
Just as people will need to adjust to the new Missal, people need to learn the beauty of the TLM and the Latin vs. the vernacular. Considering the pablum that some parishes pass of as an NO, it may take some time.
One time I heard a homily that reminds me of this picture. At some parish, a wacko had taken the hands off an outdoor statue of Jesus that faced a busy street. Someone hung a sign around the neck of the statue saying “You are My Hands”.
Maybe this parish is being reminded that it is Jesus’ right arm.
There is no such thing as coincidence. Some of the visionaries of the BVM have spoken about her holding back the arm of Jesus. Maybe we are about to get a celestial spanking. Rosary time.
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.