The Death of 'Me-Church'

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ockham
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
O

Ockham

Guest
The Death of ‘Me-Church’
by Steve Skojec
8/21/09

This past Sunday, as I attempted to get my wriggling, squeaking, squirming children settled in our pew for what usually amounts to a liturgical rodeo – see if you can keep them on their best behavior for eight seconds without getting thrown out of the church – I noticed the arrival of two women in their sixties who clearly looked like they did not belong. Processing up the aisle in search of a seat, they were dressed very casually, with the short-cropped, boyish, almost intentionally unattractive hairstyles that seem to be de rigeur for the aging members of America’s post-feminism movement. They stood out in a sea of suits, ties, dresses, and chapel veils.

…]

As I looked at them (they were partially blocking my view of the altar, so I couldn’t help it), I felt not my usual twinge of irritation at the guardians of “Me-Church,” but instead a kind of amused pity. They couldn’t perform their non-conformist schtick, mad-libbing their way through responses that, in Latin, they couldn’t understand. Hindered by the liturgical language barrier and unfamiliar with the posture of the priest, they were also unable to determine when to hold hands inappropriately during the “Our Father” and were ritually deprived of the showy displays of human affection afforded them by the Sign of Peace.

…]

The visitors’ triumphalistic “We Are Church” mentality was made irrelevant by a more humble, less self-conscious Catholicism. The people around them were far less concerned with having the attention focused on them, and far more concerned with keeping children quiet and well-behaved, and making it through the confession line before Communion time.​

Steve Skojec is a columnist and blogger for InsideCatholic.com.

insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6727&Itemid=48
 
Ockham said:
The visitors’ triumphalistic “We Are Church” mentality was made irrelevant by a more humble, less self-conscious Catholicism. The people around them were far less concerned with having the attention focused on them, and far more concerned with keeping children quiet and well-behaved, and making it through the confession line before Communion time.
Click to expand...
Let us pray that the “we are Church” mentality is definitely on its death bed.

Thank you for this article.
 
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
Ockham said:
The Death of ‘Me-Church’
by Steve Skojec
8/21/09

This past Sunday, as I attempted to get my wriggling, squeaking, squirming children settled in our pew for what usually amounts to a liturgical rodeo – see if you can keep them on their best behavior for eight seconds without getting thrown out of the church – I noticed the arrival of two women in their sixties who clearly looked like they did not belong. Processing up the aisle in search of a seat, they were dressed very casually, with the short-cropped, boyish, almost intentionally unattractive hairstyles that seem to be de rigeur for the aging members of America’s post-feminism movement. They stood out in a sea of suits, ties, dresses, and chapel veils.

…]

As I looked at them (they were partially blocking my view of the altar, so I couldn’t help it), I felt not my usual twinge of irritation at the guardians of “Me-Church,” but instead a kind of amused pity. They couldn’t perform their non-conformist schtick, mad-libbing their way through responses that, in Latin, they couldn’t understand. Hindered by the liturgical language barrier and unfamiliar with the posture of the priest, they were also unable to determine when to hold hands inappropriately during the “Our Father” and were ritually deprived of the showy displays of human affection afforded them by the Sign of Peace.

…]

The visitors’ triumphalistic “We Are Church” mentality was made irrelevant by a more humble, less self-conscious Catholicism. The people around them were far less concerned with having the attention focused on them, and far more concerned with keeping children quiet and well-behaved, and making it through the confession line before Communion time.​

Steve Skojec is a columnist and blogger for InsideCatholic.com.

insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6727&Itemid=48
Click to expand...
Wow, comments like that are precisely why I wonder if I should ever dare enter a TLM. I was thinking of it, but I have short hair, I don’t dress to the nines (since I don’t have a job that requires me to…my sons have never worn suits, and neither did Jesus, come to think about it), and I have never spoken Latin in my life. Those women might have gone to the mass to see what it was like, but if most people who attend such masses are as uncharitable as this writer appears to be, then no doubt they did not feel welcome and will never return.

Mt 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
 
People should read the whole article to get a better idea of it. In the longer version of it he talks about how the women are standing during the consecration. Clearly if they had never been in a TLM or any Latin Catholic Mass they might be confused but would usually sit down or kneel. The fact that they were standing seems to me to be some sort of a weak protest.

Had this point not been made I would have though the author might have been going after only his assumptions.
 
RedSoxFan said:
People should read the whole article to get a better idea of it. In the longer version of it he talks about how the women are standing during the consecration. Clearly if they had never been in a TLM or any Latin Catholic Mass they might be confused but would usually sit down or kneel. The fact that they were standing seems to me to be some sort of a weak protest.

Had this point not been made I would have though the author might have been going after only his assumptions.
Click to expand...
I have been to several different churches in my diocese, and kneeling is not required at all, especially the parishes where seating is so tight that there is NO room to kneel. It depends on the parish. Perhaps these women come from such a parish, and didn’t know the protocol of the TLM, especially if they have never gone to one before.
 
Wow, it seems to me that if anyone is guilty of a “Me-Church” mindset here, it’s the author of this rather self-centered, self-righteous, and overwritten blog article who appears to have spent the bulk of time at Mass in judgmental search of material to write about, and not so much in the act of divine worship. Or maybe I didn’t get the memo that attendees at the TLM get to judge others by their hairstyles.
 
Ailina said:
I have been to several different churches in my diocese, and kneeling is not required at all, especially the parishes where seating is so tight that there is NO room to kneel. It depends on the parish. Perhaps these women come from such a parish, and didn’t know the protocol of the TLM, especially if they have never gone to one before.
Click to expand...
Given the age of the women I doubt they would have never been in a Church that required its members to kneel before the consecration. That and given the fact that everyone in the church would have either sat or kneeled it’s pretty obvious the intention of the two women. That and the kneeling is required at all Latin Rite Masses, although many dioceses/parishes seem to have no trouble crossing the lines into liturgical abuse. Believe me I wish it was not, but I do not doubt the intentions of these women was to make a point by standing.
 
Though I agree that the writer of the articule could have done so in a more charitiable manner. It is my feeling that if all stand then stand if all knell then kneel. If all sit then sit. I when to the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox once and had know idea what was going on, but did my best to blend with those around me. These women if would appear were tring to make a statement. That is as sad as the way the articule was written. I do know think it really has much to do with the way they were dressed as if that was the only problem and thing that made them stand out the articule would not have been written.
 
One does have to wonder…between watching the kids and all that animosity within the bloggers mind…where did he find time to pray the mass.

Guess he doesn’t like women having short hair.
 
The tone of the article does sound uncharitable. However, whenever I have been at a church where I did not know the protocol I did know what my momma taught me…"when in Rome… ". You stand when they stand, you kneel if they kneel, you try to sing the hymns, you sit when they sit, you dress with an eye to not being a distraction. I have been to weddings and funerals in many churches with particular styles of worship. While I can pray silently my Catholic prayers or sometimes join with theirs, I am a guest in their home.
As for the writer, he should know better as well…custody of the eyes and welcoming of the stranger.
As for the women who were visitors, my mom’s advice would have served them better.🙂
 
Stop judging so much. Leave that to God. It likely isn’t their fault they dressed in this manner, because they were likely brought up in a parish where this was the norm. They probably meant no intentional disrespect, and were probably slightly confused. You could be much more charitable my friend. You could maybe give them a piece of advice in a kindly manner. Belittlement and hatred rarely produce influence and compliance. In fact, it usually causes quite the opposite.

God bless you.
 
Wow. What a jerk. And I don’t mean the ladies with the bad haircuts.
 
That is one of the most uncharitable and self-righteous things I’ve ever read on his board. The smugness of the author certainly overshadows anything the women may have done.

The snarky, shallow comments regarding the ladies haircuts really seemed to set the tone. I was not aware there was a recommended hairstyle to attend a TLM.

How sad.
 
Oh yeah, sorry, but I didn’t realize this wasn’t your own posting. I direct my previous reply to the writer of the blog. 😉

God bless.
 
I’m really glad that when I went to my first TLM, and looked like I was new to the experience, people welcomed me, made sure I knew where to find the Missals, and coached me on what was going on, instead of smirking at me from behind and writing articles making fun of me. :rolleyes:
 
Ailina said:
I have been to several different churches in my diocese, and kneeling is not required at all,
Click to expand...
Kneeling is required in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If you don’t want to kneel before your God then I’m sure there are many Protestant denominations available to you.

The author’s point was not the hair styles but liturgical styles of the aging 'Spirit of Vatican II" reformers. He pointed out that one shouldn’t judge a book by appearances but that sometimes if it quacks…it’s a duck.

It’s interesting how the easily offended self righteous crowd so often commit the sins they protest.
 
Ockham said:
Kneeling is required in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If you don’t want to kneel before your God then I’m sure there are many Protestant denominations available to you.

The author’s point was not the hair styles but liturgical styles of the aging 'Spirit of Vatican II" reformers. He pointed out that one shouldn’t judge a book by appearances but that sometimes if it quacks…it’s a duck.

It’s interesting how the easily offended self righteous crowd so often commit the sins they protest.
Click to expand...
:ehh: :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Look who’s talking…
 
Ockham said:
I’m not offended. Nice try.
Click to expand...
Ugh!
:flowers:Ok I will then change my tactics & kill you with kindness. Have a good night & a wonderful Blessed Sunday…my computer is running really, really slow so I’m getting off.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top