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Mi_Rose
Guest
Two women in our parish have service dogs. They are trained to lie down under the pew during mass. It is a good thing as they are both bull mastiffs.
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westie
Guest
Seems to be many things bothering you. Once it was over, “Let go and Let God!”.
Perhaps a “Mary and Martha moment” (see Luke 10:38-42) that we all experience at one time or another.
Rejoice in the Lord Always!
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franklin
Guest
Well I was curious as to whether you could bring pets into mass and legitimately concerned about the rules around how early you had to arrive to mass to receive the Eucharist since I was under the impression that you had to arrive prior to the Gospel reading. But yes, I tend to get bothered when I feel like things could have been done better by myself or others and typically like to have discussions around these to have a better understanding next time around. Thankfully prayer (and the community - including this board) have helped tremendously in helping me grow in my spiritual life and to trust in the Lord more. God Bless!
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lilypadrees
Guest
I have a friend whose dog is both a service and therapy dog, mascot at two parishes and never goes up for Holy Communion. The dog is legally allowed to go into more places than his master.
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Joe_5859
Guest
So how do you suggest a blind person with a service dog attend Mass?
Tis_Bearself
Patron
Don’t you think it gives the blind person more dignity to be able to be independent, get himself to church and in and out with the assistance of his well-trained, well-behaved, and non-distracting dog friend?
The dog is also a creature created by God, and is likely creating much less of a fuss, problem, noise, or “reverence” issue than many of the people in attendance at Sunday Mass.
The dog is also a creature created by God, and is likely creating much less of a fuss, problem, noise, or “reverence” issue than many of the people in attendance at Sunday Mass.
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BlueMaxx
Guest
Slowly and cautiously…?
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donbosco77
Guest
No that’s the problem in the new mass its a scandal there is no reverence a dog should not be allowed in a mass
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stpiosson
Guest
I have no problem with bringing pets to mass in theory but in practice it’s probably not really wise. I actually think it’s quite beautiful to include our pet friends. I would love to bring my cats but if I took them out of the carrier they would probably run around causing distraction so I don’t.
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BlueMaxx
Guest
Service animals can be tricky…
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babochka
Guest
What does the presence (or absence) of a pet have to do with the new Mass? The only time I have ever seen a dog (excluding service dogs) at Mass was in an FSSP parish at an EF Mass. I was horrified.
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ascetic
Guest
Good job, Father!
I only recall seeing it once(in one person’s case, that is) growing up Catholic. The pastor allowed a wealthy, elderly woman to have her lapdog in her purse in the pew. The suspicion my parents voiced was that she was a good donor. The pastor did have that reputation, whether or not it was deserved I can’t say(and wouldn’t anyhow). Either way though, that woman did have proper respect for the Eucharist and for the entire mass UNLIKE the woman you saw. More recently, I remember one parishoner who trained service dogs; she always had them at the 9:00 mass.
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lilypadrees
Guest
I believe that decision should be left up to the parishioner’s priest.
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on_the_hill
Guest
I don’t like it when people take their dogs into Home Depot. Can’t imagine my revulsion if it happened in church.
The lone exception is at our church where an elderly blind man who has his seeing eye dog with him. I think that’s ok.
The lone exception is at our church where an elderly blind man who has his seeing eye dog with him. I think that’s ok.
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Cor_ad_Cor
Guest
I would certainly hope someone proclaiming to be Christian and advising others on how to be Christian would exercise more charity than you’ve shown in these comments.
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His_helpmeet
Guest
One of the things service dogs are used for is to warn their handler of an impending seizure. Not something a human will be able to do.
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lilypadrees
Guest
Again, that is up to the parishioner’s priest to decide.
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Mintaka
Guest
I consulted St. Alphonsus Liguori’s Moral Theology, and he says that a priest has no business keeping a savage dog close to the road where it can hurt someone, or in a situation where it can break its chain and hurt someone. Also, priests aren’t supposed to let their horses run wild and run people down.
The main concern with dogs is that you don’t give them holy things, like Communion or certain sacramentals. Apparently at one point there was a custom somewhere in Germany of blessing lamb bones, and then throwing them to your dogs to chew on. This is not to be done. (There are footnotes in case anyone is interested in looking up the reasoning, but this sort of thing usually boils down to “it was witchcraft stuff” or “it was about mocking the Church.”)
OTOH, it’s okay to give dogs and animals certain healing sacramentals (like blessed salt or blessed fodder), or protective sacramentals (like St. Roch medals on their collars, or St. Eloi horseshoes in a barn). And of course animals themselves can get blessed, at various times throughout the Church year, and on various saints’ days.
Heh! I know, you want to hear about the original topic…
As long as animals are not allowed “on the altar” (ie, in the immediate altar area, the sanctuary as opposed to the nave), there is no absolute prohibition. Different eras have had different standards. The problem is that if you let animals in, without definite rules about it, you can have a serious decorum problem. But in churches that have an open door policy, as in many rural places in the old days, it was pretty common for small animals to wander in and out.
There have also been some feastdays or occasions when animals were explicitly brought into churches for the purpose of blessing them, such as the blessings of the Palio horses in Siena. (But that’s just one horse brought into each neighborhood’s parish, and there are a lot of precautions taken to make the situation decorous; and the Palio itself is raced as an honor for Our Lady.) It’s a lot easier and more historically common for animals to be brought to the church door, or the church porch, or the road outside the church, if they are going to be blessed.
And of course, there are a lot of things that aren’t normally allowed, but which one can get permission to do – if there is a really good reason. Blind people bringing their dogs to church – pretty historically common. There are also times when weird things have happened that were associated with animal friends of saints, like the Wolf of Gubbio, or the mysterious Il Grigio (which was probably not an animal, strictly speaking).
So people should be zealous to keep churches and Masses holy. But they should also be a little flexible, and try to understand why things might be allowed that aren’t normal.
The main concern with dogs is that you don’t give them holy things, like Communion or certain sacramentals. Apparently at one point there was a custom somewhere in Germany of blessing lamb bones, and then throwing them to your dogs to chew on. This is not to be done. (There are footnotes in case anyone is interested in looking up the reasoning, but this sort of thing usually boils down to “it was witchcraft stuff” or “it was about mocking the Church.”)
OTOH, it’s okay to give dogs and animals certain healing sacramentals (like blessed salt or blessed fodder), or protective sacramentals (like St. Roch medals on their collars, or St. Eloi horseshoes in a barn). And of course animals themselves can get blessed, at various times throughout the Church year, and on various saints’ days.
Heh! I know, you want to hear about the original topic…
As long as animals are not allowed “on the altar” (ie, in the immediate altar area, the sanctuary as opposed to the nave), there is no absolute prohibition. Different eras have had different standards. The problem is that if you let animals in, without definite rules about it, you can have a serious decorum problem. But in churches that have an open door policy, as in many rural places in the old days, it was pretty common for small animals to wander in and out.
There have also been some feastdays or occasions when animals were explicitly brought into churches for the purpose of blessing them, such as the blessings of the Palio horses in Siena. (But that’s just one horse brought into each neighborhood’s parish, and there are a lot of precautions taken to make the situation decorous; and the Palio itself is raced as an honor for Our Lady.) It’s a lot easier and more historically common for animals to be brought to the church door, or the church porch, or the road outside the church, if they are going to be blessed.
And of course, there are a lot of things that aren’t normally allowed, but which one can get permission to do – if there is a really good reason. Blind people bringing their dogs to church – pretty historically common. There are also times when weird things have happened that were associated with animal friends of saints, like the Wolf of Gubbio, or the mysterious Il Grigio (which was probably not an animal, strictly speaking).
So people should be zealous to keep churches and Masses holy. But they should also be a little flexible, and try to understand why things might be allowed that aren’t normal.
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