Priest Suspended for Riding Hoverboard Up Aisles During Christmas Mass

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He did something stupid, he has been disciplined (proportionately), and he has apologised. It may have been an abuse of the liturgy, but worse abuses of the liturgy (perhaps not as flamboyant, but worse nevertheless) happen very regularly and not much is done about them.
 
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St. Joseph of Cupertino is lifted in flight at the sight of the Basilica of Loreto,
by Ludovico Mazzanti (18th century)

Suspended … perfect verb for this one.

You’re not supposed to use artificial means of transportation during mass. And in fact when St. Joseph of Cupertino had his ecstatic visions and began levitating at mass – THAT got disciplined at the time as well.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_of_Cupertino
… the occasions of ecstasy in Joseph’s life began to multiply. It was claimed that he began to levitate[2] while participating at the Mass or joining the community for the Liturgy of the Hours, thereby gaining a widespread reputation of holiness among the people of the region and beyond. He was deemed disruptive by his religious superiors and Church authorities, however, and eventually was confined to a small cell, forbidden from joining in any public gathering of the community.
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As the phenomenon of flying or levitation was widely believed to be connected with witchcraft, Joseph was denounced to the Inquisition. At their command, he was transferred from one Franciscan friary in the region to another for observation, first to Assisi (1639–53), then briefly to Pietrarubbia and finally Fossombrone, where he lived with and under the supervision of the Capuchin friars (1653–57). He practiced a severe asceticism throughout his life, usually eating solid food only twice a week. He passed 35 years of his life following this regimen.
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Finally, on 9 July 1657, Joseph was allowed to return to a Conventual community, being sent to the one in Osimo, where he soon died.
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Levity (pun intended) aside … it does seem to be more of a thoughtless distraction to be “hoverboarding” in the middle of mass (as opposed to St. Joseph’s more passive and involved ecstacies … which are probably now deemed miraculous after the Church’s due diligence investigated the matter).

Even if the collection baskets may have shown an appreciative uptick applauding the
liturgical novelty.

:takeoff: - However low the altitude, Mass should be a no-fly zone.*
  • St. Joseph of Cupertino - like ecstasies being an exception worthy of a dispensation. 😉
 
peter26 said:
If it was just before the final blessing, it was not after the Mass.
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Thanks for the context. JUST before the final blessing is often the announcements portion of the gathering. The readings, offertory, consecration, and communion have been completed and the more community oriented business gets a moment or two before dismissal.

TRUE, it’s still Mass … and it’s a better idea not to include something like this (however good the motive might be). But the offense seems like more of an infraction than if it had been incorporated in the midst of a more reverent part of the liturgy.

May some good come of it.

St. Francis once gave a sermon to a flock of birds when he thought his human listeners were turning a cold heart to the gospel. < Probably not at mass, true … but legend has it that birds flocked from everywhere to gather about him as he walked from the town.

Cynics might be mollified by the explanation that Francis was well known to love animals, and likely fed birds as he walked along as a matter of course. And if his strategy to get people to pay attention to the Good News was a bit of a “trick” … :rotfl: good for him!

"If you will not hear God’s good news, I’ll preach it to the birds of the air … " followed by an aviary salute as he walked from the town is almost “just as good” whether it was an inspired moment or an ingenious act of attention getting for the best of causes.

The best part of this story is that it seems to have gotten due scrutiny and a defense of the sacredness of the mass.

Should the sensational aspect of the story work to the end that some of the parish’s more
detached or separated members come back to Mass with a better attitude or even return out of curiosity … it wouldn’t be the first time God used unusual people or acts to attract souls back to him.

👍 Seven Sorrows … I agree that AFTER mass (or before) would have been better … if it needed to be done at all.

👍 to whoever it was who said to forgive the priest and be merciful too. That’s just as important in its way as defending the sanctity of the Mass. < We can do both IMO. 🙂

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Couldn’t find the exact story online per St. Francis and the Birds (there are several about him and animals) … but it was rather like this one about St. Anthony (a Franciscan) whose encounter with skeptical heretics in the town of Rimini, caused him to preach to the fish in the river and sea nearby.

ewtn.com/library/MARY/flowers1.htm < Chapter XL from the “Little Flowers of St. Francis”
 
I agree. I wonder if had commited a more serious abuse, such as changing the words of the Eucharistic prayer, would he have been suspended? I guess the flamboyant nature of what he did has created some scandal, but essentially the abuse itself is less serious than many abuses that seem to happen for to often and little done about them.
 
CaptFun said:
Thanks for the context. JUST before the final blessing is often the announcements portion of the gathering. The readings, offertory, consecration, and communion have been completed and the more community oriented business gets a moment or two before dismissal.

TRUE, it’s still Mass … and it’s a better idea not to include something like this (however good the motive might be). But the offense seems like more of an infraction than if it had been incorporated in the midst of a more reverent part of the liturgy.

May some good come of it.

St. Francis once gave a sermon to a flock of birds when he thought his human listeners were turning a cold heart to the gospel. < Probably not at mass, true … but legend has it that birds flocked from everywhere to gather about him as he walked from the town.

Cynics might be mollified by the explanation that Francis was well known to love animals, and likely fed birds as he walked along as a matter of course. And if his strategy to get people to pay attention to the Good News was a bit of a “trick” … :rotfl: good for him!

"If you will not hear God’s good news, I’ll preach it to the birds of the air … " followed by an aviary salute as he walked from the town is almost “just as good” whether it was an inspired moment or an ingenious act of attention getting for the best of causes.

The best part of this story is that it seems to have gotten due scrutiny and a defense of the sacredness of the mass.

Should the sensational aspect of the story work to the end that some of the parish’s more
detached or separated members come back to Mass with a better attitude or even return out of curiosity … it wouldn’t be the first time God used unusual people or acts to attract souls back to him.

👍 Seven Sorrows … I agree that AFTER mass (or before) would have been better … if it needed to be done at all.

👍 to whoever it was who said to forgive the priest and be merciful too. That’s just as important in its way as defending the sanctity of the Mass. < We can do both IMO. 🙂

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...ure_Gil31.jpg/758px-Josep_Benlliure_Gil31.jpg

Couldn’t find the exact story online per St. Francis and the Birds (there are several about him and animals) … but it was rather like this one about St. Anthony (a Franciscan) whose encounter with skeptical heretics in the town of Rimini, caused him to preach to the fish in the river and sea nearby.

ewtn.com/library/MARY/flowers1.htm < Chapter XL from the “Little Flowers of St. Francis”
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You may be onto something about spreading the Good News everywhere. Didn’t Voyager II carry some “note in a bottle” to extend same to outside the solar system?
 
Well, it has been awhile since this happened.

I hope this priest is back at his parish. It wasn’t really the most horrendous thing in the world.
 
There’s a time and place for fun and games but the Mass is about Jesus and his sublime sacrifice.
 
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