Arm around spouse/ date/"nuzzling" in pews during Mass?

[1cor1313]

Ah, so the perfect ideal you mentioned earlier isn’t so practical. I would say that if one is concerned about the state of the souls of others based on whether they have their arm around their spouse or they are focused enough (for them) on the Mass, then they have a very serious issue of judgementalism.

There is absolutely nothing judgemental about wanting everyone to experience the joy and glory of worship. And yes, the “perfect ideal” as you you call it isn’t practical - when people around you are more concerned about pleasing themselves in Mass than focussing on God. I think you completely failed to see my point…or maybe we just have different views on faith and salvation. I’m not at all sorry that I have such a deep love and concern for other people when it comes to salvation. I wish for everyone else exactly what I hope to attain myself, even though I know that we are all equally unworthy of the grace, love, peace, joy, and forgiveness of the Father.

 

[Dominique1234]

Enough is enough.

This is the third time now that you have thrown out labels for someone based on posts that you disagree with. First, with the “Cafeteria Catholic” comment; second with the “Protestant” comment; and now, by claiming that people “do not know what the Church teaches”.

If you have documentation of someone who has legitimate teaching authority in the Church providing guidance for the interpretation of the GIRM to mean that we should not put our arms around our spouse during the readings or the homily; or, that we should not kiss them during the sign of peace, then please present it.

mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/proper_church_conduct.htm

Read it and you will find ALL the answers you are looking for. Thanks! God bless.

P.S. If you can’t find it, you haven’t looked hard enough.

 

[Dominique1234]

There is absolutely nothing judgemental about wanting everyone to experience the joy and glory of worship. And yes, the “perfect ideal” as you you call it isn’t practical - when people around you are more concerned about pleasing themselves in Mass than focussing on God. I think you completely failed to see my point…or maybe we just have different views on faith and salvation. I’m not at all sorry that I have such a deep love and concern for other people when it comes to salvation. I wish for everyone else exactly what I hope to attain myself, even though I know that we are all equally unworthy of the grace, love, peace, joy, and forgiveness of the Father.

What I would like to know is what is the purpose of doing such actions in a Church setting? How does this help people who do it grow in their spirituality and understanding of what’s going on at Mass? Is physical contact in any way even necessary at Mass between spouses? (other than at the sign of peace, of course, e.g. handshake)

Isn’t there a better time other than Mass to cuddle, kiss, or embrace one another? Is it absolutely necessary to do such things in front of anyone and everyone in a Church setting? Do people need to see you cuddle, kiss or embrace one another? Do these actions create distraction for the individual giving it, for the individual receiving it, or the individual (who doesn’t have a choice sometimes) seeing it?

Thanks for being logical and thinking of others before yourself. God bless you.

 

[Dominique1234]

I’m not projecting anything. I don’t care what they’re motivations are; that’s irrelevant. I’m saying it is irreverent and disrespectful to Christ to focus on your spouse at His expense.

I’m not easily distracted at Mass. During the Liturgy of the Word, my eyes and ears are on the celebrant, lector, and the cantor. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, my eyes and ears are on the celebrant at the altar. I’m not bothering with this thread because of me–I’m here because of Christ.

Like I said, I don’t know why people do the things they do, and I don’t care. What I’m saying is to be reverent. If you were on Calvary watching Christ die on the cross, would you nuzzle your spouse? Don’t do it at Mass!

Nope, I’d be crying like I have while watching “The Passion” and thinking about all the times I’ve hurt him, putting myself in the place of the guy driving the nails. I certainly didn’t feel like cuddling with my wife when I watched the passion. I was too focused on how God was filling me with His Holy Grace and my relationship with Him. I try my best to treat every single Holy Mass I attend in this manner.

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut. God bless you.

 

[Kathryn_Ann]

Thank you so much Kathryn Ann for your many words of wisdom. You are a strong woman and continue on your path as a new Catholic! I was a cradle catholic and left the church for a time, but came back to it, thankfully. Since then I’ve made it my purpose to know as much as possible about our wonderful Catholic Faith.

I am thankful for people who do not know what the church teaches and give their opinions on things. This forces me to re evaluate my thoughts on certain subjects and look up what the Church teaches on it. So I thank those who challenge my Faith.

I thank you, Kathryn Ann for your loving words. I will keep you in my prayers and keep it up on your Journey! God bless.!!

Thank you too, Dominique1234, you are in my prayers too. It is always a good thing to study “to show yourself approved.” as the scripture goes. We as Catholics don’t rely only on our personal interpretations, but instead we trust the Church which Jesus gave us to help us. We don’t always have all the answers, but can look to the Magisterium, the Catechism, the Holy Father and tradition to help us find loving ways to interact with all our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Blessings to you and all here,
Kathryn Ann

 

[jwinch2]

mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/proper_church_conduct.htm

Read it and you will find ALL the answers you are looking for. Thanks! God bless.

P.S. If you can’t find it, you haven’t looked hard enough.

Yes, I read it and yes, they make the same claims as you and yes, just like you, they do not back them up with anything authoritative to support them. Some of the other claims on that link make attempts at backing them up, but that section doesn’t even have a single citation.

What is particularly great is the encouragement to so-called “traditional Catholics” to not participate in the sign of peace at all. Instead, they are encouraged to ignore that part of the Mass and kneel instead.

The ‘kiss of peace’ of old was for those who were in the peace of Christ. There is no true peace of Christ for those who violate Christ’s law (e.g. those engaging in contraception, divorce, abortion, etc., those failing to believe in the Real Presence, etc.). Therefore, to indiscriminately offer a ‘kiss of peace’ to those opposed to Christ’s peace is certainly most unsuitable. This is why some traditional Catholics prefer to kneel and adore the Holy Eucharist during a prescribed ‘kiss of peace’ rather than engage in such activities. Traditional Catholics also tend to engage in silent prayer while others exchange distracting ‘greetings’.

So we are encouraging Catholics to ignore the GIRM and do their own thing during the Mass and as justification for doing so we are to presume a state of mortal sin in those who surround us?

What an absolute joke of a website. And we are supposed to take this article, with no author’s name, no magesterial citations, and who gives such drivel as advice as authoritative? Are you serious?

 

[pnewton]

There is absolutely nothing judgemental about wanting everyone to experience the joy and glory of worship. And yes, the “perfect ideal” as you you call it isn’t practical - when people around you are more concerned about pleasing themselves in Mass than focussing on God. I think you completely failed to see my point.

And you missed mine. How do you know, or why do you assume, that those around you do not have the same joy of worship that you have? How do you know that they have not attained the level of spirituality that you say you have attained? Or even more? If you are basing this upon something so silly as whether a husband has his hand around his wife, then yes, I would call that judgemental, as this would claim a look into the heart that God alone can see.

 

[pnewton]

What I would like to know is what is the purpose of doing such actions in a Church setting? How does this help people who do it grow in their spirituality and understanding of what’s going on at Mass? Is physical contact in any way even necessary at Mass between spouses? (other than at the sign of peace, of course, e.g. handshake) .

I think we may be talking about two different things. I do not think anyone is promoting making out in Church. However, there is as natural tendancy to touch one’s spouse as their is to touch one’s child. It is casually done without thought. Do you know know that God has made them one flesh? As Mass is a communal worship, this tends to make the Holy Sacrament that is marriage stronger. I would have to actively engage myself into *not *touching my family in order to keep to myself. I simply do not wish to focus on my family at Mass just so I can keep from touching them.

 

[1cor1313]

What I would like to know is what is the purpose of doing such actions in a Church setting? How does this help people who do it grow in their spirituality and understanding of what’s going on at Mass? Is physical contact in any way even necessary at Mass between spouses? (other than at the sign of peace, of course, e.g. handshake)

Isn’t there a better time other than Mass to cuddle, kiss, or embrace one another? Is it absolutely necessary to do such things in front of anyone and everyone in a Church setting? Do people need to see you cuddle, kiss or embrace one another? Do these actions create distraction for the individual giving it, for the individual receiving it, or the individual (who doesn’t have a choice sometimes) seeing it?

Thanks for being logical and thinking of others before yourself. God bless you.

Thank you so much! You have articulated my point perfectly! God bless you!

And you missed mine. How do you know, or why do you assume, that those around you do not have the same joy of worship that you have? How do you know that they have not attained the level of spirituality that you say you have attained? Or even more? If you are basing this upon something so silly as whether a husband has his hand around his wife, then yes, I would call that judgemental, as this would claim a look into the heart that God alone can see.

That is not at all what I said. I neither know nor assume that anyone else experiences more or less joy as I do and I certainly do not have a window into anyone else’s spirituality. All I said was that I have the same hope for others that I do for myself. It doesn’t matter what any of us does, we are still all sinner and we are still all unworthy of God’s love and grace. As much as we may try on our own, we all need the same saving grace that was offered to us on the Cross. There is absolutely nothing judgemental about what I’ve said except that we are all worthy of being damned without the saving power of Christ.