B
boppaid
Guest
I think hard candy breaks the fast, though.
- Status
P
pnewton
Guest
That is a good point. Does anyone have a link on what the rules are on the one hour fast before the Eucharist? If it does, I guess I’ll have to go back to water, or just cut the singing when I’m ill.
M
mercygate
Guest
Medication is allowed.
C
cleofet
Guest
I have to agree with everything you have said above. I am also a Cantor and member of the Choir. I am not a professional and still after many years of doing solos I get severe dry mouth because of my nervousness. No water no voice. There are ways to take a swallow of water from a bottle and not draw attention to yourself. Some people have their own reasons for drinking water. Those of you who speak for everyone, saying absolutely no water bottles, shouldn’t.
P
paramedicgirl
Guest
This thread is still going on? angelqueen.org
P
pnewton
Guest
Don’t blame me. I came late and just found it. I swear I saw the horse twitch.
A
anamchara
Guest
S
shirleytowers
Guest
Water bottles during mass?
Sure, for the priest, and the choir… and the lectors
and nursing mothers and diabetics and those with sickle cell
My husband has lupus. His mouth dries out and hurts, has sores. Water helps. Could he bring water?
People who take medicine that requires lots of water to be taken by the patient with the medine.
In other words, there are probably legit reasons for it in some cases. And I hope the sight of a water bottle in church doesn’t send people into fits. I cannot imagine that God would mind. After all, he served dinner during at least one sermon.
Sure, for the priest, and the choir… and the lectors
and nursing mothers and diabetics and those with sickle cell
My husband has lupus. His mouth dries out and hurts, has sores. Water helps. Could he bring water?
People who take medicine that requires lots of water to be taken by the patient with the medine.
In other words, there are probably legit reasons for it in some cases. And I hope the sight of a water bottle in church doesn’t send people into fits. I cannot imagine that God would mind. After all, he served dinner during at least one sermon.
P
paramedicgirl
Guest
There’s that horse again! angelqueen.org
B
baltobetsy
Guest
OK, let’s sum it up and maybe it can be closed.
People with medical conditions should always be allowed to bring water to Mass.
People who must sing or speak should be allowed to bring water to Mass if drinking in advance is not helpful to them.
Some of us believe that people who do not fall into these two categories should also be allowed to bring water to Mass, because in our current society, it is acceptable to bring water into formal places and to formal ceremonies. Since it does not break the Eucharistic fast, it must be OK during Mass.
Others of us believe that for people not in the first two categories, it is rude and disrespectful to bring water into a formal ceremony at all, and especially to Mass, because it places one’s own comfort above the respect due to God Himself.
OK, now has the horse breathed its last?
Betsy
People with medical conditions should always be allowed to bring water to Mass.
People who must sing or speak should be allowed to bring water to Mass if drinking in advance is not helpful to them.
Some of us believe that people who do not fall into these two categories should also be allowed to bring water to Mass, because in our current society, it is acceptable to bring water into formal places and to formal ceremonies. Since it does not break the Eucharistic fast, it must be OK during Mass.
Others of us believe that for people not in the first two categories, it is rude and disrespectful to bring water into a formal ceremony at all, and especially to Mass, because it places one’s own comfort above the respect due to God Himself.
OK, now has the horse breathed its last?
Betsy
A
anamchara
Guest
My husband is a cantor so he does need it at times, mainly during allergy season. Wait…didn’t I already say this? I’m having a posting deja vu
A
anamchara
Guest
Well, it looks like it
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
B
BlyssfulDreamer
Guest
T
Traditional_Ang
Guest
Brother Hrolf:
Before the both of us get flamed for being uncharitable, St. Mary’s has easily accessible restrooms where those congregants who do need water can get water, and neither of us would want to deny water from the ill or infirm. The rest of this post is for most of us who really need to leave our creature comforts at home and to concentrate on worshipping God, listening to His word and receiving the Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood than trying to keep some sort of “Hydration Schedule”…
An Anglican Solemn High Mass lasts close to 2 hours, and I’ve been at a service where we had a Bishop, where we had someone accepted into the Church, Confirmations, someone accepted to the Subdiaconate, and an Ordination to the Sacred Priesthood. The service lasted 2-1/2 hours.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a water bottle on Sundays, and the old priest who really is quite ill discretely sips some water from a glass when he needs to.
When I was scheduling the readers at one of the Masses at St. Ignatius in San Francisco in 1977-78, I don’t think I ever had occasion to see any of the Readers show up with a Water Bottle.
I’m sure you remember the saying, “Lex Orendi, Lex Credendi,” which roughly translanslated means, “How you worship becomes how you believe.”
I just wonder what’s going to happen to Catholics who can’t go without their creature comforts so they can concentrate on worshipping God when the persecutions and tribulations start hitting the Church in the West as they have hit the Church elsewhere in the world.
Your Brother in Christ, MIchael
T
Traditional_Ang
Guest
Betsy
Sorry if this is turning the dead horse into sausage, but… We aren’t supposed to be conformed to our society’s norms about what is right and right or what ir is fitting and propper. As the often quoted Scripture says, we are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. And that transformation needs to include what we put first when we go to the Divine Liturgy to worship the Lord, hear His Word and receive his Body and Blood while participating in the earthly reflection of the Heavenly Liturgy and welcoming the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords into the Tabernacle and the altar.
It’s a vision of this that caused St. Thomas Aquinas to stagger out from the sanctuary one day muttering, “Straw! Straw! All I have written is straw!” It’s this vision that caused Isaiah to say, “Woe is me! I’m a sinful man!”
Christians went for over 1900 years without water bottles and just allowing those who needed it for health reasons to excuse themselves to leave the service, or to go to the back of the church, to get a drink when they needed to do so.
Why the need to change the discipline for us? And, Why the need to place the water bottle ahead of worshipping and receiving our Lord and Savior who bought us at such a terrible price?
In this case, what is “Lawful” may not be useful or beneficial.
Your Brother in Christ, Michael
P
pnewton
Guest
I was unaware that there was ever a church discipline in this matter. I do not believe anyone suggested that water be put ahead of worship.
J
JezuUfamTobie
Guest
From a sociological standpoint, it’s very interesting that those in the roughly 40 and up crowd (who were raised to believe it is extremely impolite to take a sip of water in a formal event or when being spoken to) resist being told that this is just a custom, and instead insist it is a matter of morality.
It makes me wonder what kinds of similar views I might be holding right now. But that’s another thread entirely. Baltobetsy did a good job of summing up the general consensus on this thread.
M
mercygate
Guest
This thread isn’t about age. Check out any liturgically careful Catholic church. You won’t find any visible water bottles.From a sociological standpoint, it’s very interesting that those in the roughly 40 and up crowd (who were raised to believe it is extremely impolite to take a sip of water in a formal event or when being spoken to) resist being told that this is just a custom, and instead insist it is a matter of morality.
It makes me wonder what kinds of similar views I might be holding right now. But that’s another thread entirely. Baltobetsy did a good job of summing up the general consensus on this thread.
K
Karin
Guest
your right it is not about age…I am not in that over 40 age group and neither are my kiddies…and none of us view water bottles at mass as appropriate
(unless needed for medical reasons that is)
J
JezuUfamTobie
Guest
That’s great! I am also raising my son not to eat or drink anything during mass (at one of the most orthodox parishes in the region, mind you).
All I was trying to say in my last post is that the older folks have seemed more likely to associate sipping water with sin rather than just unrefined manners or different cultural practices. And that this is an interesting idea to me. I wasn’t trying to imply anything beyond that or say that these sentiments are absolutely confined to certain age brackets.
I am sure some of us would find plenty of the behavior in a Central American mass to be quite rude by our cultural standards and vice versa. I’ve been to dozens of different churches down there and many customs are very, very different. That doesn’t mean that their behavior (for example, the disorganized stampede down to the Eucharist or the unapologetic baring of breasts to feed young children) is sinful, though these activities are more appropriate in some countries than in others. Does anybody think differently?
Like in the chewing gum thread, I think there is clearly room for pious disagreement on the issue at this point in time. If Church authorities find the water sipping has become a large problem, I’m confident that they’ll correct us at the appropriate time.
All I was trying to say in my last post is that the older folks have seemed more likely to associate sipping water with sin rather than just unrefined manners or different cultural practices. And that this is an interesting idea to me. I wasn’t trying to imply anything beyond that or say that these sentiments are absolutely confined to certain age brackets.
I am sure some of us would find plenty of the behavior in a Central American mass to be quite rude by our cultural standards and vice versa. I’ve been to dozens of different churches down there and many customs are very, very different. That doesn’t mean that their behavior (for example, the disorganized stampede down to the Eucharist or the unapologetic baring of breasts to feed young children) is sinful, though these activities are more appropriate in some countries than in others. Does anybody think differently?
Like in the chewing gum thread, I think there is clearly room for pious disagreement on the issue at this point in time. If Church authorities find the water sipping has become a large problem, I’m confident that they’ll correct us at the appropriate time.
- Status