While poetic license is nice and you’ve exercised it well here, the above scenario plays on emotion, not what is in reality…i loathe this argument… shunning personal responsibility is my pet peeve.
There is JOY in the mass. There is JOY in our redemption. THERE IS JOY in our being Catholic.
WHY DON’T SOOOO many Catholics understand this joy? Why is it dour pain and unworthiness in so many hearts when it is the sacrifice of Christ alone that makes us worthy to stand before God?
Poetic license? How so? The reality is that each and every Mass is the re-presentation of the
same sacrifice that Our Lord made at Calvary. Nothing is more real than this. Our whole world turns on this fact. Liturgical dancing in the Mass *is *dancing around the foot of the cross at Calvary. They are one and the same. Like Clark Kent and Superman.Is there anyone here who would seriously consider it appropriate to dance at such a time as this? Perhaps we could take our cue on how to behave from His Mother? Did Our Lady of Sorrows dance at Calvary? Chris do you believe that the Mass
is the sacrifice of Calvary?
I stand by my statement that we are called to be serious at certain times. Not sure how this makes the leap to “dour pain”.
Several weeks ago our just-turned-three son climbed into my lap and whispered “Mummy, you 'member Jesus died with nails in His hands?” He was looking up at me with very serious big brown eyes. I thought for a moment “Maybe this is too much for him to handle.” But did I slap him on the back and say “Hey smile son! C’mon c’mon get happy!”? No I did not. I let the moment play out naturally. I took his open palm in mine and looked back at him with my own serious big brown eyes and said “Yes, I remember.” We both looked down at his open hand, thinking in our own way of another who freely opended His hand for us. 30 seconds later The Wild One was back to his usual happy, carefree self and the serious moment had passed. There are indeed appropriate times to experience all the emotions God has blessed us with, both serious and joyful.
I actually like clowns. They’re funny.
But not at Mass.
I take the moment of the Consecration quite seriously. We have been attending a Tridentine Mass and the minutes preceeding the Consecration are completely silent. Everyone is kneeling, heads bowed in silent prayer. Suddenly the silence is broken as the bells are rung. I lift my eyes. The Priest, facing the alter, kneels and raises up Our Lord present in the Host for adoration and worship. My heart skips a beat. My breath catches in my throat every time and I bow my head. I am the first to admit to feeling unworthy to receive The Eucharist. Do we all not pray “Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed”? In the Latin the translation is “Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” I am a fairly new Catholic (received into the Church Easter 2005) but I have never once said that statement and not meant it ferverently.
The moments after receiving Our Lord are definately filled with thankful joy. Mostly I just can’t stop thanking God for calling me home to His Church and allowing me to be united with Him in this most intimate way (and for not letting me get hit by a bus before I went to my first confession!
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I agree that we each need to take responsibilty for our own struggles against sin. But I also take seriously the tempting of others to sin via my actions, dress etc. Like it or loathe it is incumbent on us all to take great care not to lead others into sin. To do so is a *mortal *sin. This is not simply part of my argument; it is part of our religion. As a woman I make an effort to dress modestly. Men still sometimes stare and I totally agree with you that this is solely their responsibility to deal with. However we are then called to pray for them and not simply shrug our shoulders and say “Not my problem.” Do you not agree Chris?
As for going somewhere else to seek healing, I’m with the apostles when they asked Jesus “Where else would we go Lord?” Where better than Holy Mass to seek purity and holiness? Is it right that sinners should be excluded from the Mass? Isn’t that a bit like clearing a hospital of all those nasty, icky sick people so they don’t contaminate all the healthy folks? Should all sinners leave or just the ones struggling to maintain a pure heart? How long should the sinners stay away for? Maybe they could all just hang around outside? Perhaps there could be an annoucement at the beginning of each Mass.
“Warning! Warning! Attention all Faithful! This Mass will contain Liturgical Dancing. Those in danger of commiting sins against the Sixth and Fith Commandments please line up outside the confessionals where we have our Priests standing by. For your own safety please remain inside the cubicle until the conclusion of the performance.”
(Just a bit of Catholic humour for you Chris in case you thought I was becoming too painfully dour!
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