Liturgical Dancers

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In my current parish, a Byzantine Catholic temple, movement of the entire congregation is almost a given. The introduction of pews has constrained the worshippers, almost penning them up like animals but my priest encourages us to stand. We take full bows at the waist, touching the floor with out hand if we are able. We cross ourselves often, far more often than any Roman Mass of any type. On those occasions that are appropriate for kneeling we go right to the floor, palms down, pressing our foreheads to the hard floor, then we stand straight up while praying aloud and right down to the floor again! It reminds me of Revelations, where the Kings bow down before God, tossing their crowns to the floor.
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With a name like Hesychios, what could we expect! LOL! Yes, you are right and my feelings match yours my friend. I have yet to possibly go Eastern (by that I do not mean airlaines). I have read much on Eastern Catholic Spriituality. My spiritual director is bi-ritual. We have lost the mystery and the reverence that the Eastern churches have. Yes, they have their own problems also…but it is beautiful, even heavenly!

Hesychios would be a term for Orthodox monks isn’t it, my friend? 😉

Blessings,
Shoshana
 
Fundamentalist “bible-christians” have been accusing the catholic church of being a pagan religion for years, and these liturgical dancers are only giving them more ammo to fire at us!

Jesus, may you restore your church to its purity and reverence…
 
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MGEISING:
Do you have Liturgical Dancers in your Parish? How do you feel about them? (BE CHARITABLE PLEASE :eek: )
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Charitable? Calling evil by its right name is charitable, is it not? Turning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass into a musical-comedy dance routine is an abhomination. It is evil.
 
No, my parish doesn’t have liturgical dancers. No thanks, don’t want them. Nor clown masses. The Mass is the re-presentation of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross, not just another form of entertainment. If I want to be entertained, I can tune in to a variety show on television. Conversely, TV variety shows are not usually organized around themes of penance, contrition, sacrifice, instruction in right living, and adoration of God.
 
These photos are classic ‘What WERE they THINKING?!’
I’d be mortified if I wasn’t laughing so hard :rolleyes:

Boy, have the laity and the assenting clergy been messed up over the years or what?!

I once saw liturgical dancers at a Mass in Lahaina, Maui. It was lovely, it was moving, it was inappropriate. They shoulda been at the Polynesian Cultural Village, not at the Offertory.
 
I was onced forced to go to a call to action confrence by the newman center i attended and they had liturgical dance. It was the ridiculus thing I have ever seen. I guess the people there thought that it was moving or something, but I just ended up laughing because it was stupid.
 
Many years ago, I was invited to the celebration of the elevation of our new Bishop in Southern California.

That was the first time I saw liturgical dancers.

It was strange to me. Thinking back, I didn’t feel very comfortable with it. It was different, I guess.

I have seen it a few times since, and I have accepted it a bit better. I guess I am neutral about it. It doesn’t excite me one way or another.
 
I wonder if it is any coincedence that there are SIX “nuns” in the picture from the Mahony Cathedral… six being the Devil’s number. Dancing like pagans is inviting Satan into our churches. :bigyikes:

Crusader, I live in the same city and diocese that you do… Bishop Ryan is MUCH too focused on modernism… I am glad that he is retiring and I sincerely hope that our next bishop is somebody like Burke of St Louis, who has his head on straight!!
 
Dancing like pagans is inviting Satan into our churches.

I think we are a bit late…the Holy Father Paul VI proclaimed that the Enemy has already been invited…:crying:

Blessings,
Shoshana
 
LOL, I guess people really do get carried away with their liturgical ‘creativity’! Hopefully God has a sense of humor. I’m no liturical correctness fiend, but this goes more than a little too far, even for a liturgically laidback person such as myself! Plus, I’d hate to get an uncontrollable fit of laughter in the middle of Mass, it might be embarrassing.
 
Wowsers.

None of this stuff in MY parish. None in my diocese, that I’m aware of!!

I have HEARD of liturgical dancers, but never saw pictures until now. Yikes.

Much prayer is needed, for steadfast, orthodox bishops…for holy men to enter the priesthood, for loyal Catholic laity who will step up and defend the Lord!!
 
I was looking on the net for something at a neighboring parish and on their calendar they have a nightly “Liturgical Dance Camp”. How confusing is this. It is not supposed to be done and then the Church sponsors it?

Oh well - glad it’s not my parish.
 
I was talking to one of the EMHCs in my parish the other day and mentioned that there were places that had liturgical dancers. At first he thought I was joking. Nobody would do that in Mass. Then, when he realized I was serious about them existing, he became horrified. Then I pointed out in an old bulletin where our pastor had prohibited them, and he went into shock. Not only was I not joking but they had been around that long (the bulletin was several years old. He has every bulletin for the past several years.

I wish I had had a camera. The expression on his face was priceless. I’m tempted to print off one of these pictures (or maybe both - the priest and the “nuns”) and show them to him.

John
 
What are these liturgical singers? I never heard of anyone in Texas using them.
 
I’ve been unfortunate enough to see liturgical dance more than once. Mostly it was nowhere as bad as the “nun-witches,” but it was definitely distracting, jarring, and out-of-place – especially the time there was a solo performance for the meditation after communion.

Impossible as it may seem, however, there actually was one time it didn’t noticeably detract from the Mass … at a special liturgy for about 7500 people on Gaudete Sunday in 1982. The 50 or so “dancers” wore wide tunics or tabards over normal clothing, their “dancing” consisted of a few slow arm movements (raising their hands and bringing them down folded together – that sort of thing – all done v-e-r-y slowly in unison) that echoed the words of a hymn, and they played a very limited role in the liturgy. After the entrance procession I sort of forgot they were there, although I think they did something during during the other hymns, too.

It actually looked – and I know you’ll find this hard to believe, because I wouldn’t have thought it possible, either – fittingly reverent. Maybe because the “dancing” wasn’t really dancing (at least as I think of it), just a practiced set of movements close to the ones we normally use during Mass, only a little more exaggerated.

The exception only makes the rest of the “liturgical dance” that’s foisted on us all the more outrageous and silly. Better to scrap the whole idea than to invite that sort of abuse.

Deborah
 
This thread makes me feel very sad. I am 31 yrs. old and have always only attended the Norvus Ordo Mass. Sometimes I hear stories from older priests and laity of a time when things were so different. People were reverent and dressed appropriately for Mass. That they knelt down at something called communion rails? I’ve never seen one. Ladies wore a Mantilla. I do not know what the Gregorian Chant sounds like. I also heard that the priests backs were toward the people during the consecration. It’s all stories for me. I’ve never seen it. But when I hear of it, I get a sense of nostalgia for something I have never known (and sometimes I feel a little gypped.) I know of one Traditionial Latin Mass celebrated a town over, but I don’t go. I feel that if Jesus is going to be here, I am not going to leave Him to endure this alone. I dress extra pretty for Church for Him to try to make up for the ones in flip flops and shorts. Basicly, I’ve got my little fist wrapped tight around the rungs on the Chair of Peter, just saying to myself over and over again, don’t let go! Remember Christ’s promise!

Ana
 
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Ana:
This thread makes me feel very sad. I am 31 yrs. old and have always only attended the Norvus Ordo Mass. Sometimes I hear stories from older priests and laity of a time when things were so different. People were reverent and dressed appropriately for Mass. That they knelt down at something called communion rails? I’ve never seen one. Ladies wore a Mantilla. I do not know what the Gregorian Chant sounds like. I also heard that the priests backs were toward the people during the consecration. It’s all stories for me. I’ve never seen it. But when I hear of it, I get a sense of nostalgia for something I have never known (and sometimes I feel a little gypped.) I know of one Traditionial Latin Mass celebrated a town over, but I don’t go. I feel that if Jesus is going to be here, I am not going to leave Him to endure this alone. I dress extra pretty for Church for Him to try to make up for the ones in flip flops and shorts. Basicly, I’ve got my little fist wrapped tight around the rungs on the Chair of Peter, just saying to myself over and over again, don’t let go! Remember Christ’s promise!

Ana
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     WOW, i really loved  this post.  It is great Ana.
I would humbly recomend highly that you go and check out the Tridentine latin Mass across the town. Can you have someone who goes frequently maybe go with you? I know when I first went (I am 32) in the year 2002 my friend “was my guide” into understanding the different parts, and in using the Father Lassance Latin to English Missal(I recomend you buy it).
Yes, it is the under 35 crowd that seems to have the nostalgia for the reverence which they don’t see at many other Novus Ordo Masses, that are not even real Novus Ordo masses because they don’t follow the Novus Ordo Rubrics, but add, and add their own little whims and dances.
It seems to be for the most part those over 40 (many) ESPECIALLY priests who are the most liberal, while the younger priests, especially the RECENTLY ordained who love tradition. They are the great priests who are not from the Woodstock-hippie- priest generation.
 
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