Liturgical Dance

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scylla

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A couple days ago it came out in the bulletin that we will have a liturgical dance workshop in our Parish on Saturday.
(why we don’t have any adult catechesis is beyond my understanding) I am not going to sit back and just let them keep turning my Parish into a sissy lala community.
I want Catholicism!

What do I do?, (other than beat my head into the wall until the sickeness in my stomach doesn’t bother me anymore.)

We have no priest in our parish, just a good ol Parish Coordinator. Someone from her community is coming to do this to us.

When I raised a stink about it, the parish secretary defended it saying it was in the GIRM. I told her I would look to check, and I haven’t found it yet.

Any advice?

God Bless
Scylla
 
scylla said:
A couple days ago it came out in the bulletin that we will have a liturgical dance workshop in our Parish on Saturday.
(why we don’t have any adult catechesis is beyond my understanding) I am not going to sit back and just let them keep turning my Parish into a sissy lala community.
I want Catholicism!

What do I do?, (other than beat my head into the wall until the sickeness in my stomach doesn’t bother me anymore.)

We have no priest in our parish, just a good ol Parish Coordinator. Someone from her community is coming to do this to us.

When I raised a stink about it, the parish secretary defended it saying it was in the GIRM. I told her I would look to check, and I haven’t found it yet.

Any advice?

God Bless
Scylla
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Is there another Catholic Church which you can worship regularly at within a reasonable distance? If so, I personally would make a quiet exit and once you have left make a kind report to the bishop, not bashing anyone, of course. A little off topic, does your church even have any assigned deacons? This doesn’t really have anything to do with liturgical “dancing,” but it does show where the church may be heading. If you choose to stay, keep making a “stink” about it and ask why no adult catechesis is offered when these liturgical “dancing” workshops are.
 
Since you do not hav a priest, go directly ot the Bishop. This should not be allowed even as a worshop.

PF
 
Ask the secretary to show you where liturgical dance is mentioned in the GIRM (she won’t find it), rather than you showing her.

Liturgical dance is not allowed within the Western Rite, period. It may however, be permitted (tolerated) OUTSIDE the liturgy, but never within Mass. Some liturgists cleverly plan the performance as a pre-mass warm-up, before the opening hymn. (Even orthodox Bishops have been known to tolerate this reluctantly.)
Whatever . . .
 
The Secretary also said the Pope danced and had dancing at his consecration, of which I find no evidence.

Unless someone can inform me of potential problems I am going to the Parish Coordinator first with this, then on up.

God Bless
Scylla
 
DWPC said:
What kind of dance? The Pope just said no more limbo.😃
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THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!! Just when my blood started to boil, you brought me back to reality. It is so difficult to keep the blood-boiling under control. I think God expects better of me. So, thanks again - that was great!
 
scylla said:
The Secretary also said the Pope danced and had dancing at his consecration, of which I find no evidence.

Unless someone can inform me of potential problems I am going to the Parish Coordinator first with this, then on up.

God Bless
Scylla
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She won’t find a thing in the GIRM. Or the RS.

Let me help…
**Notitiae, **11 (1975) 202-203

Dance has never constituted an essential part in the official liturgy of the Latin Church. If local Churches have introduced the dance, at times even in the temples, this was an occasion of feasts in order to show feelings of jubilation and devotion. But the dance always took place outside the liturgical actions. Conciliar decisions have often condemned the religious dance, as not befitting worship, and also because it could degenerate into disorders…hence, it is not possible to introduce something of desacralized and desacralizing elements; and this would mean the same as introducing an atmosphere of profanity, which would easily suggest to those present worldly places and profane situations.
 
Elzee said:
Don’t forget Cardinal Arinze, too. Maybe he can hit the ‘play’ button for you. *

5 , 6, 7, 8…!*
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Who is Cardinal Arinze? Is he the President of the Cogregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments? If not, the President thereof should be invited as well.
 
*“Dancing is not a form of expression for the Christian liturgy…None of the Christian rites includes dancing.”
*
-Pope Benedict XVI (as Cardinal Ratzinger)

*"There has never been a document from our Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments saying that dance is approved in the Mass.
…
I saw in one place – I will not tell you where – where they staged a dance during Mass, and that dance was offensive. It broke the rules of moral theology and modesty. Those who arranged it – they should have had their heads washed with a bucket of holy water! [laughter]

Why make the people of God suffer so much? Haven’t we enough problems already? Only Sunday, one hour, they come to adore God. And you bring a dance! Are you so poor you have nothing else to bring us? Shame on you! That’s how I feel about it.

Somebody can say, “but the pope visited this county and the people danced”. A moment: Did the pope arrange it? Poor Holy Father – he comes, the people arranged. He does not know what they arranged. And somebody introduces something funny – is the pope responsible for that? Does that mean it is now approved? Did they put in on the table of the Congregation for Divine Worship? We would throw it out! If people want to dance, they know where to go."
*
-Cardinal Arinze
 
prv said:
Who is Cardinal Arinze? Is he the President of the Cogregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments? If not, the President thereof should be invited as well.
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I just did a quick Google search, and learned that the term is actually “prefect.” Ya learn something new every day 😉
 
Thanks for the comments, tomorrow I will go in and make my own comments at the parish.

God Bless
Scylla
 
scylla said:
Thanks for the comments, tomorrow I will go in and make my own comments at the parish.

God Bless
Scylla
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You’re certainly on strong ground. It’s not in the GIRM, no matter what the secretary thinks. The Pope says there’s no place for it. the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments says there’s no place for it, and if somebody asked them for permission they would “throw it out!”

So the only question is, are they going to defy the Church and do it anyway, for no other reason than “because we want it!”?
 
“Dance” in the liturgy has been accepted in some cultures where it had been a common expression of worship through the centuries (preChristian) - think of the third world-continents - allowances had been made for those particular cultures. Unfortunately, those in the Western Church who seem to think worship is somehow “incomplete” in its present form thought that they’d “Americanize” the liturgy by introducing dance, in a place where it was never intended to be. In the western world, dance has always been associated with entertainment and courtship, not worship. So . . . while we have seen some expressions of dance at Papal Masses (note the cultures that may have been participating in those Masses), even the liturgists in Rome allowed some “dancing” to creep in when they shouldn’t have . . . Pope Benedict and such have put a stop to this, thank goodness. Our Beloved John Paul II was a little more lenient.
So . . . “Liturgical dance” is forbidden in the Western Church, but I believe is still somewhat tolerated in other parts of the world.

I’ve been to Masses where the entire set of readings have been “danced” . . . Yuck, a thousand times YUCK!! What are they thinkin??!!

Ad Jesum per Mariam
 
scylla said:
A couple days ago it came out in the bulletin that we will have a liturgical dance workshop in our Parish on Saturday.
(why we don’t have any adult catechesis is beyond my understanding) I am not going to sit back and just let them keep turning my Parish into a sissy lala community.
I want Catholicism!

What do I do?, (other than beat my head into the wall until the sickeness in my stomach doesn’t bother me anymore.)

We have no priest in our parish, just a good ol Parish Coordinator. Someone from her community is coming to do this to us.

When I raised a stink about it, the parish secretary defended it saying it was in the GIRM. I told her I would look to check, and I haven’t found it yet.

Any advice?

God Bless
Scylla
Click to expand...
The parish secretary is either ignorant or a liar. Liturgical dance was expressly forbidden in Western cultures in the Notitiae of 1975.

And now I remember why I shouldn’t post until reading the whole thread so I don’t repeat what netmil(name removed by moderator) has already provided much more thoroughly.
 
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