Parish and Personal Priorities--are we obsessing with the trivial?

[Evan]

Where is wearing jeans equated dressing like I would for a BBQ? That is your interpretation. That is the whole point…it is people’s subjective opinion…(leaving modesty out of it-thats differentit) I wear jeans occasionally to Mass…especially daily Mass…I do not find what goes on there to be unimportant…which is why I make time everyday for it… But I would not equate someone wearing jeans with the horror of Abortion…

I am just fine with CITH (and yes I have asked myself those questions)…so people spending time worrying about me receiving CITH yes are in my opinion wasting time…especially since the Church has spoken. OR do you not trust the Church?

I generally avoid these discussions.

But I can understand those who do when I see someone wearing beachwear to Sunday Mass (barefoot, short shorts, tight tee, and sun-bonnet).

Or if I see someone receive CITH and slip the host in a pocket or break it and give some to a 2 year old.

I also am able to multi-task: I can dress nicely, receive CITH or COTT and AT THE SAME TIME pray for the end of abortion. And they are not equal, but they are all part of a humanity that works on many levels. Telling me one is more important does not set aside other concerns.

I take care of myself, of my family, of my home, of my parish, of my community, of my country, and of my world. And I have to do it all at the same time. I’ve never had any problem with arranging my life on all those levels.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

I generally avoid these discussions.

But I can understand those who do when I see someone wearing beachwear to Sunday Mass (barefoot, short shorts, tight tee, and sun-bonnet).

Or if I see someone receive CITH and slip the host in a pocket or break it and give some to a 2 year old.

I also am able to multi-task: I can dress nicely, receive CITH or COTT and AT THE SAME TIME pray for the end of abortion. And they are not equal, but they are all part of a humanity that works on many levels. Telling me one is more important does not set aside other concerns.

I take care of myself, of my family, of my home, of my parish, of my community, of my country, and of my world. And I have to do it all at the same time. I’ve never had any problem with arranging my life on all those levels.

You may able to…but the point is arguing about things that are legitamite (not abuse) and generally a matter of taste…seems trivial when you compare it to some of the real problems of the world…and arguing over someone wearing jeans just seems trivial…

But glad that you can do it all…most of us are not that way…not being perfect and all

 

[TimothyH]

I’m kind of leaning towards forgetting all these little issues and trusting that the Holy Spirit will take care of them. Instead, I’m thinking that maybe we should get busy working to rid the U.S. of greater evils that are threatening our Church and will make “dress codes” and “contemporary music” unimportant in a country where Mass will be illegal and be celebrated only in secret locations “underground.”

Ridding the world of artificial contraception is the most ignored, yet most important work of our time.

Contraception is a scourge repsonsible for creating a culture of recrational sex which demands pornography and abortion and produces fatherless children, sex addicted husbands, divorce and STD.

The HHS mandate is just part of this, and we have to stand our ground. It isn’t about the first ammendment or religious freedom, it’s about 1.5 million butchered infants and wrecked lives which the culture of recreational sex causes.

-Tim-

 

[Diana_Catherine]

It’s obvious that I’m on vacation from work, as I have time to sit and start new threads!

A week ago, I attended a meeting at my parish about the HHS mandate and our diocescan and parish response.

It was done by the Catholic Medical Association, and we heard a doctor, a lawyer, and a priest give excellent and informative presentations.

As I sat there, I couldn’t help but think about all the threads on CAF about dress code, music, chatting before and after Mass, Latin vs. vernacular, etc.

It kind of reminded me of a movie I saw in which the prisoners in a Nazi death camp, while awaiting their execution, were angrily arguing about whether a recipe included one teaspoon or two teaspoons of a certain ingredient.

The priest at our presentation made a passionate plea for parishioners to wake up and smell the coffee. I was totally convicted by what he said, and felt ashamed of myself for getting involved in all the trivialities.

I realize that little trivialities have a way of growing into big issues. I think it’s good to nip little sins in the bud (the “little foxes” spoken of in the Song of Songs).

But honestly, it seems that some people think that a parish that sings Marty Haugen songs is a parish that will eventually include liturgical dancing in the Mass, and then eventually embrace open homosexuality and welcome certain politicians to the ambo to co-celebrate with the priests, and of course, they will all be wearing clown costumes.

So what should the parish priorities be? What should our personal priorities be?

I’m kind of leaning towards forgetting all these little issues and trusting that the Holy Spirit will take care of them. Instead, I’m thinking that maybe we should get busy working to rid the U.S. of greater evils that are threatening our Church and will make “dress codes” and “contemporary music” unimportant in a country where Mass will be illegal and be celebrated only in secret locations “underground.”

I’m thinking of maybe getting back to the basics–prayer, fasting, regular confession of sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, study of Scripture and Catechism and good sacred books and articles, Adoration of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and of course, the Mass, along with more diligence in doing good works and making holocausts of my personal preferences and comforts.

How about you? Priorities?

I have had similar thoughts but a little different. I have thought lately that it is not that these small issues are not important or are too trivial but maybe there is a different way to work at them. Like becoming more involved in my parish. That is my goal.

All of the things you listed as basics are excellent and important but they must change us and make us salt and light so that we can work on those little things that can’t be ignored either. God cares about the smallest of details in our lives, should we not also.

IMHO the HHS mandate is just part of a bigger problem and all of the trivialities are part also. The HHS mandate didn’t just start out as a huge problem but grew from smaller issues.

 

[superamazingman]

I kind of thought that was funny the first time I saw it.

But really upon further critical examination, it’s overly-simplistic and naive. People were out killing each other for even more trivial reasons before the latest incarnation of the Mass (WW2, WW1, the Boar War, Wars of Religion in Europe, the English Civil War, Napoleonic Wars, 1812, I could go on ad nauseum).

I think he was just trying to play off of the “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” that went with Heros.

The Mass is the most important thing we can do during our earthly lives. It’s really just an extension of Lex orandi, lex credendi.

 

[superamazingman]

Where is wearing jeans equated dressing like I would for a BBQ? That is your interpretation. That is the whole point…it is people’s subjective opinion…(leaving modesty out of it-thats differentit) I wear jeans occasionally to Mass…especially daily Mass…I do not find what goes on there to be unimportant…which is why I make time everyday for it… But I would not equate someone wearing jeans with the horror of Abortion…

I am just fine with CITH (and yes I have asked myself those questions)…so people spending time worrying about me receiving CITH yes are in my opinion wasting time…especially since the Church has spoken. OR do you not trust the Church?

Now this just seems to be slipping into moral relativism. “That is your interpretation. …] it is people’s subjective opinion…”

Absolutely no one is comparing wearing jeans to abortion. Just because both are wrong does not mean that they are equal.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

Now this just seems to be slipping into moral relativism. “That is your interpretation. …] it is people’s subjective opinion…”

Absolutely no one is comparing wearing jeans to abortion. Just because both are wrong does not mean that they are equal.

Jeans is NOT wrong at Mass…maybe in your world but not for everyone.

 

[Stylites]

A good thread, Cat. We all certainly have room to grow in holiness; some think that’ll happen by how perfectly they can mimic the rubrics, and maybe for them that is a good start. It is very uplifting to see other people engaged in a common and a higher purpose than themselves, after all. Even being at Mass is itself a testament to some level of faith being present.

From there, though, it’s easy to stray into the line of thought that the reason they are not advancing in holiness is because others around them are failing to as perfectly mimic the rubrics as they themselves are, and they are being somehow polluted by being near other’s perceived or imagined irreverence, as defined by themselves.

Where they go from there, I don’t know, and feel really sorry for them that they don’t go to Mass and weep over their unworthiness of God’s love, instead of fuming over altar girls and CITH and EMHCs and how wrong the Church is and how right they are.

There’s a lot of parables getting the short shrift while indulging in such trivialities.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

A good thread, Cat. We all certainly have room to grow in holiness; some think that’ll happen by how perfectly they can mimic the rubrics, and maybe for them that is a good start. It is very uplifting to see other people engaged in a common and a higher purpose than themselves, after all. Even being at Mass is itself a testament to some level of faith being present.

From there, though, it’s easy to stray into the line of thought that the reason they are not advancing in holiness is because others around them are failing to as perfectly mimic the rubrics as they themselves are, and they are being somehow polluted by being near other’s perceived or imagined irreverence, as defined by themselves.

Where they go from there, I don’t know, and feel really sorry for them that they don’t go to Mass and weep over their unworthiness of God’s love, instead of fuming over altar girls and CITH and EMHCs and how wrong the Church is and how right they are.

There’s a lot of parables getting the short shrift while indulging in such trivialities.

 

[bmadamsberry]

I think CAF is the perfect place to talk about these small trivialities. Just because they take up a lot of space here doesn’t mean that they are our priorities, only that CAF is the perfect breeding ground for them.

And why not? I only have one Catholic friend who is interested enough in this kind of stuff to talk about small, minute details of Mass (and she’s my almost-wife!).

CAF provide a safe-haven where fellow Catholics can ask questions, but also discuss things that they can’t normally talk about. It’s like a Nerd Forum, where nerds get to talk about what they love most (even when it’s trivial). In this case, we’re Catholic Liturgy Nerds (unite!)

I would cancel my account with CAF if it went to just discussing the big things. We can fight for the big things outside of CAF in the real world, where we probably will never meet anyone who agrees with us enough about the fundamentals of Catholicism to even get to the point of discussing the small stuff.

 

[superamazingman]

I think CAF is the perfect place to talk about these small trivialities. Just because they take up a lot of space here doesn’t mean that they are our priorities, only that CAF is the perfect breeding ground for them.

And why not? I only have one Catholic friend who is interested enough in this kind of stuff to talk about small, minute details of Mass (and she’s my almost-wife!).

CAF provide a safe-haven where fellow Catholics can ask questions, but also discuss things that they can’t normally talk about. It’s like a Nerd Forum, where nerds get to talk about what they love most (even when it’s trivial). In this case, we’re Catholic Liturgy Nerds (unite!)

I would cancel my account with CAF if it went to just discussing the big things. We can fight for the big things outside of CAF in the real world, where we probably will never meet anyone who agrees with us enough about the fundamentals of Catholicism to even get to the point of discussing the small stuff.

This post sums up my opinion. I absolutely love discussing small techinicalities with my best (catholic) friends, liturgically and theologically. That doesn’t mean I don’t care about anything else, but rather, it’s almost a form of leisure.

 

[Cat]

Maybe…but I think the question is…how does you worrying about someone wearing jeans to Mass help people believe in the real presence, protect life, or help fight religious liberty?

Are we wasting time and effort on things that are up to interpretation? Such as the debate on COTT vs CITH when both are allowed?

Would not our time and effort be better put forth on those things that the Church has defiantly spoken on…,such as religious liberty or protecting life?

Thank you!

You’ve nailed it.

I never said in my OP that we should dump Eucharist, or celebrate it half-heartedly with sloppy rubrics, in order to spend the time running for public office, or leading a protest rally at the abortion clinic.

And I never mentioned the Liturgy. I absolutely agree that a parish needs to have its Mass ducks in row! Offering a Mass that ignores the rubrics and incorporates abusive practices is NOT going to help Christians to order their lives well. The Lord is mindful of our Masses and He thinks that liturgy is important–see the story in II Samuel 6 about Uzzah, who died because he touched the ark of the covenant to keep it from falling.

My concern is more with our interior lives, and also our parish life, the “corporate” focus of the entire parish.

I am concerned that we are getting caught up in issues and conflicts that we really have very little control over; e.g., how others dress for Mass, or what songs are used in the celebration of the Mass, or people who chat in the pews before or after Mass.

Yes, of course we can go to the priest and with humble respect, ask him to address the issues of dress, music, and talking.

And then we can leave it in his capable hands and stop worrying about it.

There is nothing more we can do as laypeople. After all the years that I have been part of CAF, that is the conclusion that is generally reached at the end of the threads about dress codes, music, chatting before and after Mass, etc. There are some who insist that we should go further and write to our bishop, but usually others chime in and say that these issues are not going to get a lot of attention by a busy bishop who IS working on important issues like reversing the HHS mandate.

Many bishops will leave these issues for the parish priests.

We all have a limited number of hours in the day. We can’t do everything. If we spend a half hour in an appointment with our priest asking him to please address the dress code for laypeople during Mass, then that half hour cannot be spent in prayer, study, adoration, good works (including works at home), etc.

We all have to make decisions about how we will use those half-hours of our lives. There will be some who honestly believe that their half-hour is better spent talking to their priest about tank tops and shorts, or asking the priest to please ask the music minister to please never use Haugen songs again.

And that’s fine. The Holy Spirit leads us all down different paths.

But I think many of us will, if we really stop to think about it, decide that this isn’t really the best use of our time and energy.

What priorities will actually result in a change in ourselves, our parishes, and our societies that will have a lasting impact for the Kingdom of God? Prayer and fasting will have an eternal impact–the Lord tells us to pray and fast, and He wouldn’t have told us this if the practice was meaningless.

He also told us to take no thought for what we eat or what we wear. Hmmm…

I think it’s really easy for Christians to get caught up in some minor conflict that gets their focus off of Jesus Christ and causes them to become bitter in their souls. Again, I’m not talking about the Liturgy here. I’m talking about the issues about which the Church has chosen to remain very general in their teachings; e.g., various styles of Mass music.

At any rate, I do hope that posters will not continue to think I am suggesting that the liturgy be dismissed so that we can have time to write our President about HHS.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

Thank you!

You’ve nailed it.

I never said in my OP that we should dump Eucharist, or celebrate it half-heartedly with sloppy rubrics, in order to spend the time running for public office, or leading a protest rally at the abortion clinic.

And I never mentioned the Liturgy. I absolutely agree that a parish needs to have its Mass ducks in row! Offering a Mass that ignores the rubrics and incorporates abusive practices is NOT going to help Christians to order their lives well. The Lord is mindful of our Masses and He thinks that liturgy is important–see the story in II Samuel 6 about Uzzah, who died because he touched the ark of the covenant to keep it from falling.

My concern is more with our interior lives, and also our parish life, the “corporate” focus of the entire parish.

I am concerned that we are getting caught up in issues and conflicts that we really have very little control over; e.g., how others dress for Mass, or what songs are used in the celebration of the Mass, or people who chat in the pews before or after Mass.

Yes, of course we can go to the priest and with humble respect, ask him to address the issues of dress, music, and talking.

And then we can leave it in his capable hands and stop worrying about it.

There is nothing more we can do as laypeople. After all the years that I have been part of CAF, that is the conclusion that is generally reached at the end of the threads about dress codes, music, chatting before and after Mass, etc. There are some who insist that we should go further and write to our bishop, but usually others chime in and say that these issues are not going to get a lot of attention by a busy bishop who IS working on important issues like reversing the HHS mandate.

Many bishops will leave these issues for the parish priests.

We all have a limited number of hours in the day. We can’t do everything. If we spend a half hour in an appointment with our priest asking him to please address the dress code for laypeople during Mass, then that half hour cannot be spent in prayer, study, adoration, good works (including works at home), etc.

We all have to make decisions about how we will use those half-hours of our lives. There will be some who honestly believe that their half-hour is better spent talking to their priest about tank tops and shorts, or asking the priest to please ask the music minister to please never use Haugen songs again.

And that’s fine. The Holy Spirit leads us all down different paths.

But I think many of us will, if we really stop to think about it, decide that this isn’t really the best use of our time and energy.

What priorities will actually result in a change in ourselves, our parishes, and our societies that will have a lasting impact for the Kingdom of God? Prayer and fasting will have an eternal impact–the Lord tells us to pray and fast, and He wouldn’t have told us this if the practice was meaningless.

He also told us to take no thought for what we eat or what we wear. Hmmm…

I think it’s really easy for Christians to get caught up in some minor conflict that gets their focus off of Jesus Christ and causes them to become bitter in their souls. Again, I’m not talking about the Liturgy here. I’m talking about the issues about which the Church has chosen to remain very general in their teachings; e.g., various styles of Mass music.

At any rate, I do hope that posters will not continue to think I am suggesting that the liturgy be dismissed so that we can have time to write our President about HHS.

And the parish priest can only do so much and address so much. He nor the Bishop can personally make sure that everyone dresses correctly. People will talk about Vatican rules but it is not the Vatican…we are going to turn people away from Mass?

I would personally like to see the priest spend time talking about the real presence and things of the gospel.

Like is said…pick your battles…

I hate to see people lose their peace over such things…

 

[Diana_Catherine]

I think CAF is the perfect place to talk about these small trivialities. Just because they take up a lot of space here doesn’t mean that they are our priorities, only that CAF is the perfect breeding ground for them.

And why not? I only have one Catholic friend who is interested enough in this kind of stuff to talk about small, minute details of Mass (and she’s my almost-wife!).

CAF provide a safe-haven where fellow Catholics can ask questions, but also discuss things that they can’t normally talk about. It’s like a Nerd Forum, where nerds get to talk about what they love most (even when it’s trivial). In this case, we’re Catholic Liturgy Nerds (unite!)

I would cancel my account with CAF if it went to just discussing the big things. We can fight for the big things outside of CAF in the real world, where we probably will never meet anyone who agrees with us enough about the fundamentals of Catholicism to even get to the point of discussing the small stuff.

I agree. This is a safe place to discuss the small things. In our world we are all usually made very much aware of the larger things. They are constantly brought to us on the news, in the newspaper, our bulletins and other places. Sometimes people want to discuss the small things. It doesn’t mean we don’t care about larger things but small things matter to us also.

CAF is a place where Catholics can come together and discuss things that for the most part are specific to being Catholic. With the way our world is so spread out today it is hard to do that anymore. It is kind of a fellowshipping.

 

[Diana_Catherine]

Thank you!

You’ve nailed it.

I never said in my OP that we should dump Eucharist, or celebrate it half-heartedly with sloppy rubrics, in order to spend the time running for public office, or leading a protest rally at the abortion clinic.

And I never mentioned the Liturgy. I absolutely agree that a parish needs to have its Mass ducks in row! Offering a Mass that ignores the rubrics and incorporates abusive practices is NOT going to help Christians to order their lives well. The Lord is mindful of our Masses and He thinks that liturgy is important–see the story in II Samuel 6 about Uzzah, who died because he touched the ark of the covenant to keep it from falling.

My concern is more with our interior lives, and also our parish life, the “corporate” focus of the entire parish.

I am concerned that we are getting caught up in issues and conflicts that we really have very little control over; e.g., how others dress for Mass, or what songs are used in the celebration of the Mass, or people who chat in the pews before or after Mass.

Yes, of course we can go to the priest and with humble respect, ask him to address the issues of dress, music, and talking.

And then we can leave it in his capable hands and stop worrying about it.

There is nothing more we can do as laypeople. After all the years that I have been part of CAF, that is the conclusion that is generally reached at the end of the threads about dress codes, music, chatting before and after Mass, etc. There are some who insist that we should go further and write to our bishop, but usually others chime in and say that these issues are not going to get a lot of attention by a busy bishop who IS working on important issues like reversing the HHS mandate.

Many bishops will leave these issues for the parish priests.

We all have a limited number of hours in the day. We can’t do everything. If we spend a half hour in an appointment with our priest asking him to please address the dress code for laypeople during Mass, then that half hour cannot be spent in prayer, study, adoration, good works (including works at home), etc.

We all have to make decisions about how we will use those half-hours of our lives. There will be some who honestly believe that their half-hour is better spent talking to their priest about tank tops and shorts, or asking the priest to please ask the music minister to please never use Haugen songs again.

And that’s fine. The Holy Spirit leads us all down different paths.

But I think many of us will, if we really stop to think about it, decide that this isn’t really the best use of our time and energy.

What priorities will actually result in a change in ourselves, our parishes, and our societies that will have a lasting impact for the Kingdom of God? Prayer and fasting will have an eternal impact–the Lord tells us to pray and fast, and He wouldn’t have told us this if the practice was meaningless.

He also told us to take no thought for what we eat or what we wear. Hmmm…

I think it’s really easy for Christians to get caught up in some minor conflict that gets their focus off of Jesus Christ and causes them to become bitter in their souls. Again, I’m not talking about the Liturgy here. I’m talking about the issues about which the Church has chosen to remain very general in their teachings; e.g., various styles of Mass music.

At any rate, I do hope that posters will not continue to think I am suggesting that the liturgy be dismissed so that we can have time to write our President about HHS.

I think you said this well. Our interior lives is where we should be focusing and the mass is the most important thing there is.

I don’t think the small things should be ignored but dealt with along with the big things so they don’t become big things. All big things started out small once but maybe we should take it to God in prayer and if he leads us to our priest fine. Maybe we could be spending more time praying for our priests that we have more of them and they follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. I think in times past Catholics spent more time doing that. When you look at older Catholic prayers many are focused on praying reparation for sins against our Lord, His Church and the Holy Eucharist and Mary.

Also, personally I don’t get as bothered by people discussing the small things as much as the rudeness and insults that come out and attack at people when they ask a question or bring up a topic. Many posters today are putting in disclaimers asking for no arquments. They just want to know or have answers to their questions and as I said in a previous post similar to this,there are people coming from all over the world, in all walks of life, coming in to the Church or coming back to the Church and they have questions and come to this forum hoping to talk with other Catholic christians. Some questions have been asked before and many of the questions are trivial to those who are here all the time and have discussed the same things over and over but to a newcomer these things are important and what happens when they ask. BAM they are attacked with insults and spoken to very rudely. This bothers me more. Maybe we could think about this being a Christian forum and try answering people with a little more respect and kindness. There are of course those who do not insult and are very kind but there are others on here that instead of answering questions immediately get defensive and insulting and accusing. I am sure I have done this myself. I think more people would be turned away from the insults and rudeness rather than the discussing of small things. This I find very disheartening for a Christian forum.

 

[TimothyH]

I think you said this well. Our interior lives is where we should be focusing and the mass is the most important thing there is.

The Mass prepares us for the rest of our day and week. It is important because of who God is and because of our worship of God, but worshipping God at the Mass is our minimum obligation. Jesus himself taught that what makes us holy and pleasing in his sight is how we treat each other, not how we worship. Mass alone does not get us to heaven nor does it show God how much we love him.

We show God how much we love him by how we treat other human beings. That is what the Sermon on the Mount was all about. The Mass, through which the Eucharist comes to us, prepares us to do just that. Without the power of Jesus working in our lives - and that means the Eucharist - we cannot love our neighbors as ourselves.

Focusing, discussing and even arguing about every little detail of the Mass or detail of devotion to the exclusion of how we treat other humans is a waste of time. Jesus taught with crystal clarity that how we treat other humans is what makes us holy and pleasing in his sight. And the Eucharist is what gives us strength to do that.

The Mass is the center of my life but I understand that as one who is created by God, I owe him that worship. Worship is God’s by right. Worship is my minimum obligation because of who God is, and I do it because I love him more than I love my own life. But what comes out of that worship - the Eucharist - is what gives me the strength to do, to act, in a way which makes me holy and righteous in God’s eyes. If all I ever do is worship then I am a lazy and unprofitable servant.

The Eucharist is what gives me strength to love my neighbor as myself. That is what make me holy and pleasing in the eyes of God, not what song is played or whether I recieved on the tounge or in the hand. Those things are important, but they will not get me to heaven.

The Mass is the center of my life because it brings to use the Eucharist, and the Eucharist is the source and summit of my faith because it is Jesus, and Jesus is the source and summit of all I do. But faith without works is dead and Mass without loving your neighbor as you love yourself is lifeless worship.

-Tim-

 

[Diana_Catherine]

We show God how much we love him by how we treat other human beings. That is what the Sermon on the Mount was all about. The Mass, through which the Eucharist comes to us, prepares us to do just that. Without the power of Jesus working in our lives - and that means the Eucharist - we cannot love our neighbors as ourselves.
-Tim-

I agree and that is why I said I find it so disheartening some of the responses given to people when they ask something that might be trivial to one but important to others, especially if that person is a newcomer and hasn’t heard all these posts before. I don’t mind the trivial questions I just get saddened at the lack of love in the responses and how we are treating each other. True, the Sermon on the Mount is all about loving our neighbor.

 

[Exorcist]

It’s obvious that I’m on vacation from work, as I have time to sit and start new threads!

A week ago, I attended a meeting at my parish about the HHS mandate and our diocescan and parish response.

It was done by the Catholic Medical Association, and we heard a doctor, a lawyer, and a priest give excellent and informative presentations.

As I sat there, I couldn’t help but think about all the threads on CAF about dress code, music, chatting before and after Mass, Latin vs. vernacular, etc.

It kind of reminded me of a movie I saw in which the prisoners in a Nazi death camp, while awaiting their execution, were angrily arguing about whether a recipe included one teaspoon or two teaspoons of a certain ingredient.

The priest at our presentation made a passionate plea for parishioners to wake up and smell the coffee. I was totally convicted by what he said, and felt ashamed of myself for getting involved in all the trivialities.

I realize that little trivialities have a way of growing into big issues. I think it’s good to nip little sins in the bud (the “little foxes” spoken of in the Song of Songs).

But honestly, it seems that some people think that a parish that sings Marty Haugen songs is a parish that will eventually include liturgical dancing in the Mass, and then eventually embrace open homosexuality and welcome certain politicians to the ambo to co-celebrate with the priests, and of course, they will all be wearing clown costumes.

So what should the parish priorities be? What should our personal priorities be?

I’m kind of leaning towards forgetting all these little issues and trusting that the Holy Spirit will take care of them. Instead, I’m thinking that maybe we should get busy working to rid the U.S. of greater evils that are threatening our Church and will make “dress codes” and “contemporary music” unimportant in a country where Mass will be illegal and be celebrated only in secret locations “underground.”

I’m thinking of maybe getting back to the basics–prayer, fasting, regular confession of sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, study of Scripture and Catechism and good sacred books and articles, Adoration of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and of course, the Mass, along with more diligence in doing good works and making holocausts of my personal preferences and comforts.

How about you? Priorities?

There is a lot of truth to what you say but where do the little things end? Attending Mass in my diocese is fairly painful. Not because of dress/music but because no one seems to give a darn. Masses in my diocese (with few exceptions) seem to be designed to process many people through their weekly obligation as quickly as possible. I think that hardened mindset was forged in part by completely ignoring (if not encouraging) the small problems.

 

[Exorcist]

Prayer, fasting and penance, confession and the Eucharist!

A lot of the rest is ego gratification.

I would add one more to your fine list. Community.

 

[fred_conty]

Jeans are a reflection of what is now, not what they are going to do.
It is after the fact and a little late for reform.
I remember when people wore suits and ties. It made an impact.

Bigger things are made up of little things.
Get sloppy in little things around the house and what do you have?

We must do one and not neglect the other.
we pay the mortgage for sure, but can we ignore the utilities?

Our attitude is composed of small ideas which run our lives day to day.
Can we ignore traffic signs or being on time? What would that bring?

Yet we mustn’t ignore the smoke comming out of our basement.

People are problem solvers. We should take them on as God hands them to us, big or small.

Just a few thoughts.