Twin Cities Woman Preaches During the Homily

[mcrow]

Blog/Article Link

I think I would have fell out of the pew.

 

[st_lucy]

From the pastors notes:

love the Church, I love the sacred liturgy, I love chant in Latin and English, and I treasure being involved with all these as a monk and priest. It has been an honor to serve until recently as chairman of the music committee of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) that prepared all the chants for the new missal. But my involvement in that process, as well as my observation of the Holy See’s handling of scandal,** has gradually opened my eyes to the deep problems in the structures of authority of our church.**]

Bolded mine.

It looks like this priest has a huge problem with authority and the Church.

Also from their bulletin:

We are a welcoming Eucharistic Catholic Community called by God to live out the message of Christ in love and service to all.

I am sure that Archbishop Nienstedt is already on top of this though.

 

[mcrow]

No doubt about it. This Priest seems to be walking on the edge a bit and I’m sure Archbishop Nienstedt will have it all straightened out soon.

 

[Lutheranteach]

I am sure there are plenty of Lutheran Churches in the area that would be happy to have both the priest and the lady he allowed to preach.

 

[runningdude]

While I was at school, the priest would give on rare occasion give a two minute homily and then allow our female campus ministry director do an extended “reflection”, because the gospel or feast fell within her expertise. I thought it kind of odd, but she never said anything scandalous like questioning the authority of the magisterium as in your case.

 

[Catholic90]

They are just trying to keep up with this parish…

stjoan.com/stjoan/index.php

Nienstadt has not done much about this one, from what I can tell.

 

[pablope]

No doubt about it. This Priest seems to be walking on the edge a bit and I’m sure Archbishop Nienstedt will have it all straightened out soon.

Looks like it…

Twin Cities archdiocese critical of lay preaching at Bloomington church

Posted by Rose French

Last update: February 23, 2011 - 10:18 AM
46
At a recent Sunday Mass at St. Edward Catholic church in Bloomington, a woman stepped up to the podium on the altar – and started to preach.

For at least one parishioner, the act of a female lay person (albeit with a master’s degree in theology from St. Paul seminary) addressing the congregation during the homily portion of the worship service was too out of bounds.

So the parishioner contacted the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis after the Jan. 23 service. And not long after, the Rev. Peter Laird, the archdiocese vicar general, spoke to St. Edward’s pastor, the Rev. Mike Tegeder, about the situation.

According to Tegeder, Laird said it was not appropriate for a lay person to preach during the homily, the part of the Mass when priests or deacons usually reflect on the Gospel and scripture. Tegeder said Laird indicated it was only OK for lay people to preach or make comments after Holy Communion, near the end of Mass.

Tegeder, however, stands by his move to allow the woman to address the congregation about the issue of adult faith formation at St. Edward, an area she’s in charge of leading at the church – one of the largest in the Twin Cities with nearly 6,400 members.

Tegeder maintains lay parishioners have many skills and gifts to offer churches and their talents should not be wasted.

“She probably is more competent than most priests when it comes to putting together a good message,” said Tegeder, a frequent critic of Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt. “She has basically the same training as a priest.”

As many parishes across the country (including those in the Twin Cities) struggle with a growing shortage of priests, lay participation in church ministry (or lack thereof) can have very real impact on a church’s existence, proponents of lay preachers say. Also, they maintain that lay preachers allow for a diversity of voices and views to be heard within the church.

For decades, the Catholic Church did allow for lay followers to preach during Mass – a practice approved of in the 1960s at the Vatican II council. The idea behind lay preaching was to encourage greater participation by non-clergy members in the Mass and other church activities.

In 2004, however, the Vatican amended the practice to say lay people could only preach or make comments following Holy Communion, near the end of Mass.

Twin Cities archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said the archdiocese is following the policies of the Vatican.

“The purpose of the homily at the Mass is to interpret the Gospel,” McGrath said. “Normally a priest is far more qualified to deliver that message. Also there’s an opportunity there for wrong teaching or misinterpretation (with lay preachers).”

Tegeder said the woman parishioner is scheduled to preach at an April 11 Lenten penance service at St. Edward’s, which is not a Mass. He’d also like her to preach at a Mass celebrating Mother’s Day in May. He said he’s not sure yet if he’ll ask her to preach during the homily or after communion.

What do you think? Should lay parishioners be allowed to preach during the Mass? Are there other churches in the Twin Cities area which use lay preachers?

 

[mcrow]

I think according to the Church it’s OK if it’s after the Eucharist, but not during the homily.
If the vicar general says that a post Eucharist talk by a lay person is OK, then I don’t see a problem with it. It seems that the boundery that has been crossed is letting this occur during the most important parts of the mass (before the Eucharist ends).

That, I totally agree with. Personally, I don’t want a lay person, no matter what degree they hold, preaching to me when a priest should be.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

I’d like to say I’m shocked, but it is the Twin Cities after all.

 

[The_Rock]

Years ago I was at a large Catholic Twin Cities parish were the retreat leader for Lent was a protestant woman minister. Our pastor was a disobedient priest. He allowed the woman to give the homily. She apparently did not like the fact that she was not allowed to do the Gospel reading. So she read the Gospel over again after the Priest had already done so and proceeded to give a “homily” about questioning authority and thinking for ourselves. Be assured that the current Archbishop will not allow these outrages to continue. He is already being attacked for his strong stands so he needs our prayers, not our impatience.

 

[mcrow]

I’d like to say I’m shocked, but it is the Twin Cities after all.

You are right. I lived there for 15 years and the “progressives” have completely infiltrated most of the protestant churches and even some of the Catholic churches as well. It’s really sad to see the complete disregard for Tradition, particularly from a priest.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Pray for them, and I mean it nicely. People get very defensive when they think they are being ‘judged’ and ‘unfairly criticized’; they get much more inclined to actually consider another point of view when they feel genuine love and support for them as persons. Whenever I fail to consider that before I make some comment (even really really ‘wise’ ones), I **always **wind up regretting that failure. So genuine loving prayers to our fellow Catholics in the Twin Cities area, genuine respect and thankfulness for their priests and their years of service, and genuine desire for unity and Truth in all aspects and especially in liturgy and Church teachings would seem the best thing to do in these circumstances.

 

[1holycatholic]

They are just trying to keep up with this parish…

stjoan.com/stjoan/index.php

Nienstadt has not done much about this one, from what I can tell.

The parish web site used to document and celebrate liturgical abuses in the parish. It also had documents in open defiance of the magisterium i.e. “if we don’t get women priests we’ll start another Church that does.” Those documents seem to have been pulled, though I haven’t the time or inclination to scour their entire site.

There are some odd things that remain on the web site: “eco-sprituality”???

 

[26Mike70]

At my parish, the pastor invited a couple to give their testimony about their experience with stewardship, figuring that it would be better received by parishoners than a direct appeal by the pastor himself. It wasn’t received well by me because it took the place of the Homily. I would have felt more comfortable with it if the message were delivered after communion and before dismissal. I wasn’t aware of the Vatican’s policy at the time, but something just didn’t seem right about it.

I’m glad that a parishoner let the Archdiocese know in the St. Paul situation. When I attend Mass, I don’t go there to hear lay people speak in the role of teacher, no matter how educated they are. The Homily is not the time or place. Bible study? Sure. RCIA? Absolutely. There are plenty of roles for lay people in the Catholic Church, but the Homily is not one of them.

 

[Elizabeth502]

When I attend Mass, I don’t go there to hear lay people speak in the role of teacher, no matter how educated they are. The Homily is not the time or place. Bible study? Sure. RCIA? Absolutely. There are plenty of roles for lay people in the Catholic Church, but the Homily is not one of them.

This. ^

and also this:

For at least one parishioner, the act of a female lay person (albeit with a master’s degree in theology from St. Paul seminary) addressing the congregation during the homily portion of the worship service was too out of bounds.

Twin Cities archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said the archdiocese is following the policies of the Vatican.

“The purpose of the homily at the Mass is to interpret the Gospel,” McGrath said. “Normally a priest is far more qualified to deliver that message. Also there’s an opportunity there for wrong teaching or misinterpretation (with lay preachers).”

I have alread experienced this first hand (in another diocese, another state). Naturally the Vatican and this archdiocese ^ are correct in their predictions. I have endured this situation for a few years in one parish. The lay preachers have misinterpreted the Gospel. (Only in the case of one preacher was there theological background, and it was clearly not in scripture.) Further, a homily is not an academic talk. One gets trained to give actual homilies, in seminary – to tie the Gospel in with Christian spirituality and in a way that the hearer can make life connections with. Jesus preached, he did not give academic talks. He helped his hearers to see the deeper meanings of Torah in their everyday lives.

By contrast, all the lay preachers have gone off on irrelevant and even embarrassing ego-tangents. They make the homily about them – and not in a way that universalizes it (the way priests know how to do: ‘I’m discussing this aspect of the Gospel because here’s a similar example of something we have all gone through’…)

Or these ‘lay preachers’ make the “talks” intellectually pretentious. I have no clue why they’re chosen, or if they volunteer themselves. The last one I heard was a complete disaster.

I’m alarmed that in the Minnesota case, the pastor is defying the archdiocese, if I understand the aftermath correctly. Please someone correct me if I’m wrong, because if so, it’s pretty shocking.

 

[Tigg]

The parish web site used to document and celebrate liturgical abuses in the parish. It also had documents in open defiance of the magisterium i.e.** “if we don’t get women priests we’ll start another Church that does.” **

I can honestly say I wish they would and leave ours alone!

 

[latin_rite]

I am sure there are plenty of Lutheran Churches in the area that would be happy to have both the priest and the lady he allowed to preach.

You can have them. Would you like for us to gift wrap them for you?