Not what goes on inside the church, some of the church buildings themselves horrify me though, especially those built after the post 1960s modern ugification.
I’m not sure of the connection you appear to be making. This guy was uncomfortable because he was dressed up and in a Catholic Church? How would his attire have anything to do with it? Unless everyone else was wearing the standard Catholic Sunday attire of jeans and football jerseys.
No, But people are aware that Catholics take their faith very seriously, and I’m sure he felt compelled to make a good impression and exhibit a high level of respect.
No kidding!No, But people are aware that Catholics take their faith very seriously, and I’m sure he felt compelled to make a good impression and exhibit a high level of respect.
A family Baptism is a big deal. I’m sure his relatives were pleased.
Good for him. Now if we could only get the cradle Catholics to dress appropriately…
When people have no sense of self-respect, it’s kind of hard to get them to grasp the concept in other settings.No kidding!
Even in Canada (where we get about two weeks of summer), we still get girls showing up at Mass in tank tops and short shorts. Where has the reverence gone…
I’d like to know why the parents of said girls (and the guys, too, let’s be fair) allow it. Pray for their parents, that their eyes may also be opened.No kidding!
Even in Canada (where we get about two weeks of summer), we still get girls showing up at Mass in tank tops and short shorts. Where has the reverence gone…
In many Protestant worship houses where the congregation is mostly African-American I see a lot of the people dressed up to the last minute. So as I can see there shouldn’t be any reason for people to come to church dressed like they just came from the beach.
I was afraid to enter a Catholic Church, because I had been taught that it was the church of the devil. That stuck, as I went a Catholic Church for the first time as an atheist, I felt like I was doing something really wrong. Along with the feeling that as an atheist, I was messing something up for the believers, somehow.
I took the leaf home and told my husband I had a blessed leaf! He said, oooookay. It took a full year of going to Mass to feel completely comfortable. As Palm Sunday came around again and I understood what was going on, the experience had become amazing, though, a blessed leaf still strikes me as unusual. Most English speaking countries have at one time or other been under the cultural or political influence of either Britain or USA, both Protestant nations. As such the Catholic faith is unfamiliar since it has not been part of the culture of any of these places.I was afraid to enter a Catholic Church, because I had been taught that it was the church of the devil. That stuck, as I went a Catholic Church for the first time as an atheist, I felt like I was doing something really wrong. Along with the feeling that as an atheist, I was messing something up for the believers, somehow.
Also, coming from a background where the churches I went to as a child/teen were purposely very plain, white walls, no paintings, but there was an American flag in the corner…the volume of art and color in the church was overwhelming. I remember thinking our Cathedral was like being on the inside of a Faberge egg.
Then add in the liturgy itself, which is very extravagant compared to what I was raised with, and I felt like a foreigner in a foreign land.
I focused on what I did like. The sun coming in through the stained glass, the hymns, the prayers. As I went to Mass every Sunday I felt uncomfortable for a long time, mainly because I didn’t get what was going on, and just as I thought I had it figured out something new and weird would happen, like handing me a palm leaf and then blessing it. Weird!
Catholic churches and all things associated to them are very foreign to a lot of people. It is not unusual to feel uncomfortable, but at the same time, feel like you just need to keep going back. Recommend to any newcomers to focus on what they do like.
Couldn’t agree more. I love old church buildings, Protestant or Catholic. On our Good Friday crosswalk in our town we got to see a few old Protestant buildings that were just beautiful, inside and out. They just have a character modern buildings lack.
It may interest you to know, if you didn’t already, that the palm leaf has a long history of tradition within the Jewish religion.As Palm Sunday came around again and I understood what was going on, the experience had become amazing, though, a blessed leaf still strikes me as unusual.
As indicated in the link I provided, the Feast of Tabernacles is a remembrance of the Israelite’s time in the desert, after being freed from Egypt, and before entering the promised land. During that time, they dwelt in tents, or “tabernacles.” The palm branches are taken up to rejoice in God, who is their salvation and providence.
In the town I grew up in, there are indeed some beautiful old Protestant church buildings. Even buildings that are not churches have a character about them if they are beyond a certain age that modern structures do not have. I will say that one exception to that would be the John Deere Administrative Center in Moline, Illinois. Designed by Eero Saarinen in 1963, it uses weathering steel with a glass facade and fits in with a rustic surrounding.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File
eere_%26_Company_World_Headquarters.jpgThey don’t scare this one, at least, I don’t think they do. Should they?
Thanks, that is great info.
Haha same here. I’m pretty lucky though, my church was built in the 60s and it seems to have avoided most of the ugliness of that era. Most of it.
