[VermiciousKnid]

If this is true, I will consider it very good news indeed.

Last Sunday, I attended Mass as usual. We sang "Amazing Grace," which is an admittedly beautiful song, but not terribly Catholic (and they felt the need to mess around with the words: no more "wretches" in the New Church!), then we sang, "See Us Lord About Your Altar," which is without a doubt the LEAST Catholic song in the hymnal ("...where once was flesh and blood now is bread and wine..." -- something like that), then we sang "The Lord of the Dance," which...well...I consider it the "Feelings" of hymns...once you've got it in your head it takes a full week to stop saying, "and we danced with the flowers and we danced with the trees and we danced with the squirrels and we danced with the bees..."

And as if that wasn't bad enough, we had a visiting priest who preached a very nice, holy homily and when he stepped down from the pulpit, the congregation applauded.

Wait! It gets better! Then the new pastor (a monsignor) came onto the altar and called up all the new catechists for the year. There were literally 50 people on the altar (in the middle of Mass). Monsignor spoke a few words, asked them to vow to teach the children with integrity, and then he told the congregation to "raise your right hands" and bless these teachers.

I'm sorry, but I simply cannot do this sort of thing. It looked like a skinhead rally in there and I refused to do it. Instead I said a simple, silent prayer that the catechists would do well this year and left it at that.

Like I said, I hope this report is true.

Regards,

[Aquinasfan]

#685. Ugh. Been there, done that.

[NeoCaveman]

then we sang "The Lord of the Dance,"

OMG, it doesn't get worse than that. Hopefully that is something being done away with in the reform of the reform.

[NeoCaveman]

I'm sorry, but I simply cannot do this sort of thing. It looked like a skinhead rally in there and I refused to do it. Instead I said a simple, silent prayer that the catechists would do well this year and left it at that.

You did the right thing. Dominus vobiscum.

[american colleen]

I just had to skip catechisis Sunday at my parish this year. Much of the same goings on as you report only this year "Talk about Touching" (program written by a secular company with ties to SIECUS) will be implemented in our parish grades 1 -4 CCD programs with the blessings of our new Bishop O'Malley. :-(

I took refuge in the local Indult. No clapping, no altar girls in sneakers (heck, no one in sneakers!), tabernacle front and center, COnfession before Mass, and the most beautiful liturgy, homily and most of all, time to pray and worship without interruption.

A couple of weeks ago our parish priest told the parents to turn to their children and bless them - your story reminded me of it. I can't figure it out... but I noticed that no one actually did it.

[saradippity]

Well,you had quite the service,didn't you? Once I had a little fun with that stupid blessing ritual,I came in a little late and said,so that everyone in the back of the church could hear,"Holy Mackeral,it looks like they're "Heiling Hitler",nice and loud. It is one of the best things about getting older,I could be talking loud because I might be deaf or addled or eccentric. No one quite knows.

I agree with you about those songs especially "Lord of the Dance".There is another really goofy one that has something to do with "sing a new church into being",it's best quality is the fact that it is utterly tuneless,it gets out of your head real quickly.

But Sunday,in anotherwise reasonably moderate New Order Mass ,they sang a song over and over and over. The words were

We've got to love,love,love each other,

We've got to love,love,love ourselves.

We've got to love,love,love Jesus.

We've got to love,love,love.

It was the most bizarre and ridiculous thing I've ever heard in church,I longed for a dozen over ripe tomatoes,I thought of nothing else until the mass was over,in fact I got into my car and thought I should go to the grocery store. Then I thought,what do I need? And realized I still wanted those over ripe tomatoes.