Leaving Our Parish

[Nichevo]

So we’ve decided to leave our parish. This all stems from a homily made a few weeks ago by one of the Deacons assigned to our parish. Deacon ___ is pretty well known for his anti-Bush anti-war stance. In other homilies he has been critical of the war. This time though he went beyond the pale. He opened his homily by telling the story of the strong nationalism in Argentina prior to the Falkland Islands war with the United Kingdom in 1982. He went on to talk about how much nicer and less nationalistic Argentina was after they lost the war. It was easy to see the not-so-subtle comparison he was trying to make. Once the US stops being so mean and full of nationalism, jingoism, and xenophobia, the world will be happy and we will have learned an important lesson. What a crock EDIT

He then went on to insult those of us in uniform by offering juvenile psychoanalysis of those who join the military attributing their motivation to “dreams of glory.” His basis for this judgement is that this was the reason he joined the military. He then expressed remorse and hoped that anyone he shot at when he was in the military wasn’t harmed by his bullets.

The arrogance of this man is amazing. He knows nothing about me or anyone else who is presently serving. he knows nothing of our motivations so he makes broad sweeping judgements. First, if I were in a unit with him, I’d do my best to get him sent elsewhere. No one wants a glory hound nearby, they tend to attract bullets. Second, every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Coast-Guardsman, etc, comes to the service with their own story and their own reasons. Finally, while he may feel remorse for sending rounds downrange, I doubt highly that his opponents had or have similar feelings of remorse. His harangue should have been given from a couch to his therapist not from a pulpit to a congregation.

The homily had absolutely nothing to do with the Gospel, not that it seems ___ would let something as minor as the Gospel interfere with what was really important, expressing his opinion. The intentions were also a piece of work as we only prayed for those servicemen and women who asked for our prayers, not for all of them. Way to be inclusive ____! If I recall correctly, Jesus was moved by the faith of the Centurion yet, if it were up to ___ and other clergy like him, they would have instead lectured the Centurion on being a part of the oppressive, imperialist, colonial occupiers of Judea and sent him on his way.

 

[geojack]

Nichevo:

So we’ve decided to leave our parish. This all stems from a homily made a few weeks ago by one of the Deacons assigned to our parish. Deacon ___ is pretty well known for his anti-Bush anti-war stance. In other homilies he has been critical of the war. This time though he went beyond the pale. He opened his homily by telling the story of the strong nationalism in Argentina prior to the Falkland Islands war with the United Kingdom in 1982. He went on to talk about how much nicer and less nationalistic Argentina was after they lost the war. It was easy to see the not-so-subtle comparison he was trying to make. Once the US stops being so mean and full of nationalism, jingoism, and xenophobia, the world will be happy and we will have learned an important lesson. What a crock
He then went on to insult those of us in uniform by offering juvenile psychoanalysis of those who join the military attributing their motivation to “dreams of glory.” His basis for this judgement is that this was the reason he joined the military. He then expressed remorse and hoped that anyone he shot at when he was in the military wasn’t harmed by his bullets.

The arrogance of this man is amazing. He knows nothing about me or anyone else who is presently serving. he knows nothing of our motivations so he makes broad sweeping judgements. First, if I were in a unit with him, I’d do my best to get him sent elsewhere. No one wants a glory hound nearby, they tend to attract bullets. Second, every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Coast-Guardsman, etc, comes to the service with their own story and their own reasons. Finally, while he may feel remorse for sending rounds downrange, I doubt highly that his opponents had or have similar feelings of remorse. His harangue should have been given from a couch to his therapist not from a pulpit to a congregation.

The homily had absolutely nothing to do with the Gospel, not that it seems ___ would let something as minor as the Gospel interfere with what was really important, expressing his opinion. The intentions were also a piece of work as we only prayed for those servicemen and women who asked for our prayers, not for all of them. Way to be inclusive ____! If I recall correctly, Jesus was moved by the faith of the Centurion yet, if it were up to ___ and other clergy like him, they would have instead lectured the Centurion on being a part of the oppressive, imperialist, colonial occupiers of Judea and sent him on his way.

Thanks for your service to our country. Your deacon sounds like my priest.

 

[slyboots]

Thank you for serving and defending our country.

 

[johnnykins]

Nichevo:

So we’ve decided to leave our parish. This all stems from a homily made a few weeks ago by one of the Deacons assigned to our parish. Deacon ___ is pretty well known for his anti-Bush anti-war stance. In other homilies he has been critical of the war. This time though he went beyond the pale. He opened his homily by telling the story of the strong nationalism in Argentina prior to the Falkland Islands war with the United Kingdom in 1982. He went on to talk about how much nicer and less nationalistic Argentina was after they lost the war. It was easy to see the not-so-subtle comparison he was trying to make. Once the US stops being so mean and full of nationalism, jingoism, and xenophobia, the world will be happy and we will have learned an important lesson. What a crock
He then went on to insult those of us in uniform by offering juvenile psychoanalysis of those who join the military attributing their motivation to “dreams of glory.” His basis for this judgement is that this was the reason he joined the military. He then expressed remorse and hoped that anyone he shot at when he was in the military wasn’t harmed by his bullets.

The arrogance of this man is amazing. He knows nothing about me or anyone else who is presently serving. he knows nothing of our motivations so he makes broad sweeping judgements. First, if I were in a unit with him, I’d do my best to get him sent elsewhere. No one wants a glory hound nearby, they tend to attract bullets. Second, every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Coast-Guardsman, etc, comes to the service with their own story and their own reasons. Finally, while he may feel remorse for sending rounds downrange, I doubt highly that his opponents had or have similar feelings of remorse. His harangue should have been given from a couch to his therapist not from a pulpit to a congregation.

The homily had absolutely nothing to do with the Gospel, not that it seems ___ would let something as minor as the Gospel interfere with what was really important, expressing his opinion. The intentions were also a piece of work as we only prayed for those servicemen and women who asked for our prayers, not for all of them. Way to be inclusive ____! If I recall correctly, Jesus was moved by the faith of the Centurion yet, if it were up to ___ and other clergy like him, they would have instead lectured the Centurion on being a part of the oppressive, imperialist, colonial occupiers of Judea and sent him on his way.

Hang in there moi droog.

As you have learned clerics are sometime idiots.

 

[Confiteor]

You’ve probably heard this before. Some find corny, but mostly because it is SO true:

"It is the soldier, not the theologian, who has secured our freedom of religion.

It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has secured our freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the protestor, who has secured our freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the judge or the lawyer, who has secured our judicial system.

It is the soldier, not the entrepreneur, who has secured our economic opportunity.

It is the soldier, whose coffin is draped in the flag, who has secured freedom for those who wish to burn the flag.

Without those who have been willing to sacrifice for the cause of liberty, none of the freedoms mentioned above would be possible."

Ditto for clergy who mouth off at the ambo…

 

[Walking_Home]

Nichevo:

So we’ve decided to leave our parish. This all stems from a homily made a few weeks ago by one of the Deacons assigned to our parish. Deacon ___ is pretty well known for his anti-Bush anti-war stance. In other homilies he has been critical of the war. This time though he went beyond the pale. He opened his homily by telling the story of the strong nationalism in Argentina prior to the Falkland Islands war with the United Kingdom in 1982. He went on to talk about how much nicer and less nationalistic Argentina was after they lost the war. It was easy to see the not-so-subtle comparison he was trying to make. Once the US stops being so mean and full of nationalism, jingoism, and xenophobia, the world will be happy and we will have learned an important lesson. What a crock
He then went on to insult those of us in uniform by offering juvenile psychoanalysis of those who join the military attributing their motivation to “dreams of glory.” His basis for this judgement is that this was the reason he joined the military. He then expressed remorse and hoped that anyone he shot at when he was in the military wasn’t harmed by his bullets.

The arrogance of this man is amazing. He knows nothing about me or anyone else who is presently serving. he knows nothing of our motivations so he makes broad sweeping judgements. First, if I were in a unit with him, I’d do my best to get him sent elsewhere. No one wants a glory hound nearby, they tend to attract bullets. Second, every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Coast-Guardsman, etc, comes to the service with their own story and their own reasons. Finally, while he may feel remorse for sending rounds downrange, I doubt highly that his opponents had or have similar feelings of remorse. His harangue should have been given from a couch to his therapist not from a pulpit to a congregation.

The homily had absolutely nothing to do with the Gospel, not that it seems ___ would let something as minor as the Gospel interfere with what was really important, expressing his opinion. The intentions were also a piece of work as we only prayed for those servicemen and women who asked for our prayers, not for all of them. Way to be inclusive ____! If I recall correctly, Jesus was moved by the faith of the Centurion yet, if it were up to ___ and other clergy like him, they would have instead lectured the Centurion on being a part of the oppressive, imperialist, colonial occupiers of Judea and sent him on his way.

---

This is an insult to every man or woman who has served and is serving this country. If it was not for them that have served and all those who have died, this priest may not have the freedom to stand there and denigrade them.

 

[BlestOne]

Ohhhh Nichevo,
I am so sorry that you have had that experience. You need to send that deacon to my parish for a little bit, we will straighten him out! Our town used to have an Air Force base but it closed years ago. A good percentage of our parishoners are retired or ex military (including myself). Our absolutely awesome pastor is also in the ANG (Air National Guard) and has been to Iraq, but the most life changing experience has been his trip to Lanstuhl Germany to minister to the soldiers in the hospital there. He has told us alot about his experiences there. As a parish, we support him, love him, and pray for him especially when he is deployed. Give us your deacon for a week or two…we will straighten him out, I promise!

Thank you for keeping us free!!!

 

[m134e5]

Nichevo:

So we’ve decided to leave our parish. This all stems from a homily made a few weeks ago by one of the Deacons assigned to our parish. Deacon ___ is pretty well known for his anti-Bush anti-war stance. In other homilies he has been critical of the war. This time though he went beyond the pale. He opened his homily by telling the story of the strong nationalism in Argentina prior to the Falkland Islands war with the United Kingdom in 1982. He went on to talk about how much nicer and less nationalistic Argentina was after they lost the war. It was easy to see the not-so-subtle comparison he was trying to make. Once the US stops being so mean and full of nationalism, jingoism, and xenophobia, the world will be happy and we will have learned an important lesson. What a crock

Countries who think the world exists to cater to them get cut down to size eventually. The US may be on top of the world- but so was Mongolia (the largest empire to ever exist, in fact), centuries ago, and it certainly is not a major world superpower now. Who are we to say our form of government is perfect or is best for everyone? I know Pope John Paul praised it and I’m sure other spiritual leaders have too, but it is not perfect- it is having its day, which may or may not last forever. Who are we to tell people what they want and impose it on them? In the late 1700’s the people of France got sick of how things were, and they overthrew the government themselves. The Iraqis could have done the same eventually, if they wanted to badly enough.

Mass was not a place to make a political statement. The deacon was wrong to do this. He would also have been wrong had he made statements supporting the war. (It is fine to encourage people to support troops regardless of whether or not they agree on what they are fighting for, but that is different- that is encouraging simple charity).

By the way…when you replace cuss words with other words, you might as well just say what you’re thinking- we know what you mean, and the way you wrote it someone reading it fast enough would probably read it as the word you were not-so-subtly hinting at.

 

[m134e5]

He then went on to insult those of us in uniform by offering juvenile psychoanalysis of those who join the military attributing their motivation to “dreams of glory.”

You should have told him to be thankful the military defends his right to say that. It is a great honor for a man to defend something or someone he loves. Some do it for the glory- there is no glory in that. Many, I think, do it because they have a sense of duty. There is great honor to be found in that.

 

[kage_ar]

Have you sat down and talked to your Priest about the situation? Prayers for your family!

 

[Della]

m134e5:

Countries who think the world exists to cater to them get cut down to size eventually. The US may be on top of the world- but so was Mongolia (the largest empire to ever exist, in fact), centuries ago, and it certainly is not a major world superpower now. Who are we to say our form of government is perfect or is best for everyone? I know Pope John Paul praised it and I’m sure other spiritual leaders have too, but it is not perfect- it is having its day, which may or may not last forever. Who are we to tell people what they want and impose it on them? In the late 1700’s the people of France got sick of how things were, and they overthrew the government themselves. The Iraqis could have done the same eventually, if they wanted to badly enough.

I see, and the Mongolians were trying to bring democracy and stability to a troubled region of the world just like we are. Right. If you don’t know the difference between a country that believes in freedom, even if it can’t live up to that ideal perfectly, and hordes of invaders whose only goal was to rape and pillage then I seriously doubt you know anything about history or your country.

As for the Iraqis being able to save themselves–not with the system of government they’ve lived under for years generations, they couldn’t. The very idea of the freedom of the individual is so foreign to them we may as well have been Vulcans coming to explain it to them as human beings. People who have lived under tyranny for centuries know nothing else. And as for the French Revolution, its leaders were even worse than the king they replaced. It isn’t referred to in the history books as the Reign of Terror for nothing, you know.

By the way…when you replace cuss words with other words, you might as well just say what you’re thinking- we know what you mean, and the way you wrote it someone reading it fast enough would probably read it as the word you were not-so-subtly hinting at.

And I’m sure Nichevo needed this little rebuke added on top of your insulting the country he serves. Nice going–not!

Nichevo, ignore this person’s “analysis,” it’s just the same old liberal nonsense one has to put up with these days. Blech!

And thank you for your service to our country! Send your letter to the deacon. He needs to read for himself what a jackass he truly is. God bless you in your new parish where I hope they stick to the Gospel and respect those who put their lives on the line for our freedoms.

 

[Walking_Home]

The influence the Neocats have had on the Church is down right threatening to the welfare of the people. They have taken scripture of “loving the enemy” to where its sinful to defend your country and protecting those that cannot protect themselves. Those Neocats that take it to the extreme, do not even believe in the protection of the family if some satan inspired person breaks into the home to kill them.

Dear merciful Lord, how much longer.

 

[m134e5]

Della:

I see, and the Mongolians were trying to bring democracy and stability to a troubled region of the world just like we are. Right. If you don’t know the difference between a country that believes in freedom, even if it can’t live up to that ideal perfectly, and hordes of invaders whose only goal was to rape and pillage then I seriously doubt you know anything about history or your country.

Democracy is a relatively new concept in world history. Who says it is the best form of government? We don’t know how things will be once this country has been around for 500 years or so. Democracy may end up destroying itself in the end.

As for the Iraqis being able to save themselves–not with the system of government they’ve lived under for years generations, they couldn’t. The very idea of the freedom of the individual is so foreign to them we may as well have been Vulcans coming to explain it to them as human beings. People who have lived under tyranny for centuries know nothing else. And as for the French Revolution, its leaders were even worse than the king they replaced. It isn’t referred to in the history books as the Reign of Terror for nothing, you know.

I know about the Reign of Terror, and personally disagree with the French Revolution because that is what it led to. I was using that as an example (though it wasn’t a very good one I admit). The people were unhappy, so they revolted. It can be done. That was my point.

And I’m sure Nichevo needed this little rebuke added on top of your insulting the country he serves. Nice going–not!

I love my country, but God first- and it seems many in this country make the country instead of God. That is not right- and the founding fathers of this country never would have approved of that.

Nichevo, ignore this person’s “analysis,” it’s just the same old liberal nonsense one has to put up with these days. Blech!

If you read my other posts, you will see that I am far from liberal.

And thank you for your service to our country! Send your letter to the deacon. He needs to read for himself what a jackass he truly is. God bless you in your new parish where I hope they stick to the Gospel and respect those who put their lives on the line for our freedoms.

I agree- the deacon should have been admonished as that was highly inappropriate.

 

[m134e5]

Walking_Home:

The influence the Neocats have had on the Church is down right threatening to the welfare of the people. They have taken scripture of “loving the enemy” to where its sinful to defend your country and protecting those that cannot protect themselves. Those Neocats that take it to the extreme, do not even believe in the protection of the family if some satan inspired person breaks into the home to kill them.

If we are always going after those who are being attacked, trying to play the hero for every conflict, then we’ll end up destroying ourselves. We should work to end injustices, but we can’t do it if we get ourselves into wars we can’t get out of.

 

[Nana_Rose]

Dear Nichevo,

First of all thank you for the sacrifice you have made for our country and for the service you gave. Both our daughter and her husband are military. I have suffered hearing garbage like this for years. It is a sad state of affairs. That being said, I think the idea of talking to your priest is a good one. Why should you leave your parish because of one person? I believe you are right that the homily must be connected to the gospel reading. I would say go talk to your priest, and ask him if you should talk to the deacon. I might even suggest talking with the deacon. I’ve heard some looney things from people at our parish, thank God, not from one of the deacons. Hope it works out. Maybe God put you there to challenge it?

 

[NPS]

Nichevo:

So we’ve decided to leave our parish. This all stems from a homily made a few weeks ago by one of the Deacons assigned to our parish. Deacon ___ is pretty well known for his anti-Bush anti-war stance. In other homilies he has been critical of the war. This time though he went beyond the pale. He opened his homily by telling the story of the strong nationalism in Argentina prior to the Falkland Islands war with the United Kingdom in 1982. He went on to talk about how much nicer and less nationalistic Argentina was after they lost the war. It was easy to see the not-so-subtle comparison he was trying to make. Once the US stops being so mean and full of nationalism, jingoism, and xenophobia, the world will be happy and we will have learned an important lesson. What a crock of shite.

He then went on to insult those of us in uniform by offering juvenile psychoanalysis of those who join the military attributing their motivation to “dreams of glory.” His basis for this judgement is that this was the reason he joined the military. He then expressed remorse and hoped that anyone he shot at when he was in the military wasn’t harmed by his bullets.

The arrogance of this man is amazing. He knows nothing about me or anyone else who is presently serving. he knows nothing of our motivations so he makes broad sweeping judgements. First, if I were in a unit with him, I’d do my best to get him sent elsewhere. No one wants a glory hound nearby, they tend to attract bullets. Second, every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, Coast-Guardsman, etc, comes to the service with their own story and their own reasons. Finally, while he may feel remorse for sending rounds downrange, I doubt highly that his opponents had or have similar feelings of remorse. His harangue should have been given from a couch to his therapist not from a pulpit to a congregation.

The homily had absolutely nothing to do with the Gospel, not that it seems ___ would let something as minor as the Gospel interfere with what was really important, expressing his opinion. The intentions were also a piece of work as we only prayed for those servicemen and women who asked for our prayers, not for all of them. Way to be inclusive ____! If I recall correctly, Jesus was moved by the faith of the Centurion yet, if it were up to ___ and other clergy like him, they would have instead lectured the Centurion on being a part of the oppressive, imperialist, colonial occupiers of Judea and sent him on his way.

No offense intended but…you’re leaving your parish over this?

How often does a deacon give a homily–twice a month, maybe?
The bottom line is that the deacon is probably not following the rules for his homilies, which are to be based on the day’s readings. Don’t let him win by leaving! Do yourself and the entire parish a favor—go down and talk to the priest in person. It is overwhelmingly likely that the priest will tell the deacon to cool it on the non-gospel homilies.
We had a priest who was our normal substitute when one of our priests would be out of town etc. This priest ended up helping out on one mass each weekend. He started devoting his homilies to his anti-war efforts. Finally one “homily” was devoted exclusively to the war and how “bad” America is and went on for so long about the Iraq war that some of the old vets (literally WWII guys) got up in the middle of mass and went to the pastor’s office. By the time they got back he was still going on about Bush etc. The pastor talked to him afterwards and since then we stay on topic.

The homilist has a duty and an expectation to stick to the readings for his homily. Talk to the priest and end it.

 

[palmas85]

Nichevo, I truly understand how you feel, more so than you might realize. Years ago, I lived in a rather isolated community near the US Mexico border. The town itself was rather small, very poor and overwhelmingly Hispanic. The rest of us were either active duty military, dependents, US Customs and Immigration Officers and Border Patrol Agents. Our parish did not have a pastor and we were served by what could be best described as circuit riding priests, usually Jesuits. The parish day to day activities were handled by my good friends, the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood :bigyikes: , a truly amazing grioup who I have dealt with on several occasions on this forum.

Take it from me, what your Deacon did was absolutely nothing in comparison to my friends the Sisters and their antics. Just as an example, they usually presented the entire Mass, including the Gospel reading, the Homily and on occasion, with the full support and knowledge of the circuit riders, the consecration itself. They would commune each other, a few of the favored locals and usually no one else, as we were all deemed unworthy by nature of our involvement with the US government and thus were complicit in its evil. On several occasions illegal aliens, usually hooded, mainly from El Salvador, were presented to us as the living embodiment of Christ.

There were no other churches in the area and since the activities of the sisters and the circuit riders were very well known to the Bishop, we were really kind of stumped and at a loss as to what to do.

In your case, I suppose that the pastor is not aware of what is going on so talk to him. I don’t think walking away is the answer though. People walking away and letting the radicals have their way is one of the reasons the Church is in the sorry state it is today. Fort years ago if people had stood up and said Hey wait a minute, things would be a lot different now.

Being prior military myself, I support, salute and thank you for your service.

 

[Rand_Al_Thor]

Pax vobiscum!

You had better tell your priest that this deacon is going to end up losing your parish it’s non-profit status if he keeps giving political sermons. If I were you I’d sit down with the deacon and the pastor and have a nice long discussion with them about this deacon’s behavior. Let them know just how insulting his comments about those in the service were.

And I’d also like to thank you, Nichevo, for your service to our great country!

In Christ,
Rand

 

[pnewton]

Della:

And I’m sure Nichevo needed this little rebuke added on top of your insulting the country he serves. Nice going–not!

Yes, he did need that little rebuke. The events in his parish does not suspend the rules for him, nor does his service.

I would be tempted to let the deacon know loudly and in public at the end of Mass what an abuse he made of the homily.

 

[NeelyAnn]

Thank you for your service!