Have you ever gotten in trouble at your parish for doing what's right?

[jrabs]

I** replied by slamming-down the key harshly on the counter and sayin**g “Don’t you EVER treat the Blessed Sacrament as you just did! Not ever!” With that I walked out of the sacristy.

I do not see you behavior as anything to boast about.
While leaving the Blessed Sacrament open and unattended is wrong, your behavior is not justified either. Jesus deserves respect - absolutely - but so do people.

There was a better way to deal with this irreverence. Perhaps they have been trained and instructed to do so. Addressing the issue properly would have been better.

In your description, sounds like you are a bit proud of your aggressive gestures - slamming, harshly, turning around and walking out after you’ve spoken your mind.

Anger management?

 

[iamrefreshed]

Frankly, if it were my wife you spoke to in that manner, we would have settled the issue in the parking lot.

 

[Magicsilence]

Reverently I locked the tabernacle and removed the key. I walked into the sacristy and instruct the EMHC that the tabernacle should never be left open, unlocked and/or with the key in it. She glared at me and hissed “that was on purpose! It makes things easier during Mass!”

I replied by slamming-down the key harshly on the counter and saying “Don’t you EVER treat the Blessed Sacrament as you just did! Not ever!” With that I walked out of the sacristy.

I received the obligatory phone call from my pastor early that week, apologizing for what happened but that I needed to be more tactful in such situations and that I scared the woman. Thankfully the call ended there. 4-5 people “quit” being EMsHC because I was “not punished.”

Hmmm,

Often, EMHC’s are not clued up on liturgical practice, and just follow the priest’s instructions.

So, perhaps they were surprised at your anger?

I certainly would have been if I was simply doing what the priest asked me to do.

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

Literally, I have been nailed to the cross next to Jesus for mentioning that we have been lax in taking care of our Hispanic immigrants who are now in our church. They need to be ministered to in their own language. With a Spanish mass & confession at the bare minimum.

God forbid that we welcome them with open arms. We might be deploring our property values?

Or you could just have the Mass in Latin (either the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form) and then not segregate the church into languages.

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

What ever happened to humility and charity?

Gee, did you write a letter to the Bishop while you were at it?

How can some of you possibly receive the Blessed Sacrement in a proper state when you behave the way you do?

When you go to Mass, do you actually absorb what is taking place before you, or are you preoccupied with looking for “Liturgical Abuses” ?

Rule #1: There is a God

Rule #2: You are NOT him.

The only problem is when you know the liturgical abuses, and are upset you are not receiving the Mass of the Church, but rather the Mass of whomever happens to be pastor/priest at Mass.

Liturgical abuses are often poking you in the eye once you know them. It’s quite frustrating.

Example: At our parish, our liberal priest has taken to having a little “Anniversaries, Birthdays” session, where he walks around the church asking people to stand if their birthday is this week, and what they wish for. This happens after the announcements, when we should be praying and reflecting upon Christ inside us.

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

Again, the manner of addressing the wrongdoing was probably overbearing, but there was an obligation to do something.

This is a bad faith question and a false dilemma as well. Most people can overlook accidental things, but with serial abuse and bad habits, then someone needs to speak up. Probably not in this manner of the op, but somehow.

There is a glaring irony here. We constantly hear from We-Are-Church types that laypeople have a voice, and yet when a layman speaks up about an easily correctable abuse, suddenly it’s “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!”

Agreed.

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

Hmmm,

Often, EMHC’s are not clued up on liturgical practice, and just follow the priest’s instructions.

So, perhaps they were surprised at your anger?

I certainly would have been if I was simply doing what the priest asked me to do.

EMHCs should be clued up on liturgical practice, though, be it through their own learning, or through pastoral assistance.

 

[jrabs]

EMHCs should be clued up on liturgical practice, though, be it through their own learning, or through pastoral assistance.

See, the problem with this as a solution is that you are relying on the EMHC’s to actually know they are doing something wrong.
If they have been instructed by a priest as to procedure, they relied upon him to instruct properly.

They have no idea it’s not correct. You don’t know what you don’t know…meaning there are times when you have no idea it is incorrect. Why would you look else where for instruction if your priest ( the expert) already told you ?

I think it is too easy to point a finger at the EMHC without knowing the history.
One can only be in control of himself (temper wise).

 

[Phemie]

EMHCs should be clued up on liturgical practice, though, be it through their own learning, or through pastoral assistance.

EMHCs are trained for what they do. Unless you put specific documents in their hands that contradict what they’ve been taught how are they supposed to know the difference? Around here most of the EMHCs are those who grew up when nobody would have dreamt of questioning a priest, so it’s not surprising that they accept what he tells them at face value.

Let’s face it, those of us who haunt this type of board are not the average parishioner for whom GIRM is a misspelling of a synonym for bacteria/virus and the rest of the documents are ‘church stuff’ that has no bearing on their life. And while the odd few parishioners will call or write the bishop with every trivial thing, most won’t make waves even with big things because, well, ‘he’s the priest’.

I saw that lack of knowledge when we corrected things a few years ago and people thought we were pulling things out of our hat … if not lower. That’s why when we started the liturgy committee our first mandate was to familiarize the members with the liturgical documents. Well, you know what? They aren’t interested. They want the status quo because they like it that way. That works just fine for Fr. who doesn’t want to be bothered with changes either.

Consume the rest of the Precious Blood right after communion? Nah, it can wait til after Mass.

Fr. purify the vessels? “Nope, not my job. Let the EMHCs do it.”

Prepare liturgies? Nah, we’ll wing it, after all nobody’s fussy."

Our parish has been through so much turmoil in the past 8 years that it’s a wonder that anyone is still coming to Mass.

1. Pastor with Alzheimer’s.
2. Alcoholic Pastor
3. Pastor without people skills who p.o’ed the entire parish within 3 months. Except me, I thought he was a big teddy bear and he knew his liturgy and he appreciated the fact that we knew our liturgy – those of us for whom it mattered.
4. Present pastor who doesn’t want to be here, and can’t be bothered to do anything. Prepare a new Reconciliation Service? Nah, too much work, recycle the one we’ve used for the last three years.

 

[musicgal4jesus]

I don’t think you guys should criticize the OP for reacting the way she did… After all, it was in the heat of the moment- righteous anger, if you will. As another poster said, “Hindsight vision is 20/20!”

 

[jrabs]

I don’t think you guys should criticize the OP for reacting the way she did… After all, it was in the heat of the moment- righteous anger, if you will. As another poster said, “Hindsight vision is 20/20!”

What? Is that not the point of a thread? You post a question or statement and you open yourself to opinions.

I think there were better ways to handle to issue.
We are not to strive to keep our anger in check at the risk of hurting others? Is it OK to bash others and degrade them?

 

[THurifer2]

Frankly, if it were my wife you spoke to in that manner, we would have settled the issue in the parking lot.

If it were my wife…there wouldn’t have been the abuse…and if my wife was approached in that Manner…being a blackbelt and the youngest girl in a family of Many boys who were accomplished wrestlers it wouldn’t have made it to the parking lot…

I am a very large ex-rugby player…I can Barely take my wife in a brawl.

 

[Heckesh]

While you were probably correct in telling the woman that the tabernacle should not be left open (we do leave the key in it after it is checked before mass), I think you should not have yelled at the woman or slammed the key down. That is probably what the other EMHC are reacting against. Why did you feel you needed to get angry at the women? She was probably only doing what she was told to do. Yes, I would be frightened too if a stranger came into the sacristy and started yelling at me or harsly telling me what to do. I think the best course of action would have been to close the tabernacle and then talk to the pastor about the incident and have him speak to the EMHCs about the situation.

I am almost certain her actions would be the common practice today had I not shook things up. The very sort of practice that is terribly difficult to eradicate. And so you know,** leaving the key in the tabernacle during Mass gives a TERRIBLE sign value. It’s a horrible practice.**

My first instinct was to lock the tabernacle and just leave with the key. In retrospect, I’m glad I did what I did.

FWIW, I was not a stranger to her. I’m not sure why you implied I was. Second, her response (words and tone) to me when I told her to keep the tabernacle locked said volumes.

 

[Heckesh]

not more than once a week lately

if I did speak to a volunteer rudely I would expect to be censured, and possibly to lose my job

had OP spoken from love for the Lord rather than from anger he may have been the means of educating the EMHC in question, and the others who have threatened to leave over his actions, a missed opportunity to evangelize. In this parish, if the EMHC had opened the tabernacle shortly before Mass he would have been following instructions.

Opening the tabernacle was never a question. Walking away with the Blessed Sacrament unsecured was.

No one has the authority to leave the tabernacle wide open in that situation. She clearly didn’t have a clue about what even goes on during Mass, yet she was a “mass leader.” Thankfully at least in that area, things have changed greatly at my parish.

 

[Heckesh]

I never said I was angry about the reprimand. After all I was expecting it.

The fact that abuse is GONE makes me feel like I did the right thing. I’m not at all confident that talking to the pastor would have done much.

So you know I did initially approach this lady in a gentlemanly manner.

 

[Heckesh]

Frankly, if it were my wife you spoke to in that manner, we would have settled the issue in the parking lot.

Frankly when it comes to the Blessed Sacrament, I would have gladly taken you up on your threat.

 

[Heckesh]

There is a glaring irony here. We constantly hear from We-Are-Church types that laypeople have a voice, and yet when a layman speaks up about an easily correctable abuse, suddenly it’s “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!”

Nothing in any of the responses implies anything that disagrees with this.

True. I would guess that most here who find problems with my response are likely the sort who lack the resolve to confront people who are deliberately treating the Blessed Sacrament in a bad way.

Notice the focus on PC manners and not on protecting the Blessed Sacrament.

 

[Heckesh]

See, the problem with this as a solution is that you are relying on the EMHC’s to actually know they are doing something wrong.
If they have been instructed by a priest as to procedure, they relied upon him to instruct properly.

They have no idea it’s not correct. You don’t know what you don’t know…meaning there are times when you have no idea it is incorrect. Why would you look else where for instruction if your priest ( the expert) already told you ?

I think it is too easy to point a finger at the EMHC without knowing the history.
One can only be in control of himself (temper wise).

ANY properly catechized Catholic Christian should know that walking away from an open tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament exposed is WRONG. They should also know that leaving the key in it is WRONG.

 

[kage_ar]

And so you know,** leaving the key in the tabernacle during Mass gives a TERRIBLE sign value. It’s a horrible practice.**

.

I’m an observant person, to the point of it becoming annoying. I am the first to notice if you had a haircut or have new glasses frames. Friends say I would make a great crime scene witness, as I notice small details and irregularities.

Never once, not one time, have I noticed if a key was in or out of the Tabernacle during Mass.

I doubt that Joe Pewsitter would ever see that sign, one way or another.

 

[catherineajt]

True. I would guess that most here who find problems with my response are likely the sort who lack the resolve to confront people who are deliberately treating the Blessed Sacrament in a bad way.

Notice the focus on PC manners and not on protecting the Blessed Sacrament.

There’s a middle road between being PC and “slamming a key down harshly”. I would take that as a threat, personally, and while I commend you for your desire to protect the Blessed Sacrament, I do not think you did approach her in a “gentlemanly” manner, and her attitude did not give you a green light to be rude.

Just my humble opinion. I am married to a man who would have done the same thing you did, FWIW, but he would also look back and regret the slamming the key down and raising his voice. One can be protective without being rude.