While in Church Funny Haha
So I went to church today and boy did I pick a mass to go to. It was my daughter’s May Crowning. Something that St. Hedwig still does. It’s a nice ceremony, a little long especially since we brought baby squishy. So, as mass is going along the first reading I think by Peter is being read by a lady that apparently wanted us to be gripped by EVERY word. OH MY GOD! 12 sentences took about 3 minutes to read. I’m pretty sure Peter put in comma’s and period’s where he wanted the pauses. But what do I know. It must be the highlight of this lady’s week to get up there and be that close to God.
After the first reading as Catholics and I think most religions you get to sing. Usually they find some nice uplifting Psalm to sing too and the refrain is always pleasant and very catholicky. Today’s was a beaute and so timely I had to write it down before I forgot it:
“The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone”
I beg you to read that over and over again and not laugh. Here we are in church canting on about rejected stones and I can bet you that half of the blue hairs in the front rows find no irony in that.
Then the 2nd reading comes and Mrs. Pausealot is on her game and stretches 5 sentences into the most profound words of Christ ever written by Paul or some schlep.
Then Father Andrew does his reading and get’s down in dirty for the Homily. The church is pretty fool errr full and Fr. Andrew never misses a beat with a full church to either ask for money or beg for more priests. Today was no disappointment. But, Father made sure to let us know that in 1969 there were 49,000 seminaries and today less than 4,700. There used to be 5000 seminary schools and now there is like 400. Bishop Salterelli last year buried more priests than he annointed (or whatever the term is). Less churches have priests now than ever. Less people go to church.
Please, become priests?!!!! He was begging these poor children. I asked my daughter if she listened to father today? “I stopped listening after he told us to become priests” Prescient words.
But father wasn’t done. After father ranted about the decline of Priests he went on to lament about how a majority of people voted for the President that supports abortion. It was TEH AWESOME! Father then went on to talk about society and how they are more accepting of abortion, euthenasia and homosexuality. One big note I made is that he never mentioned the WARS going on. You see, Father Never rallied against the war. He must have missed that one big reason people voted for Obama.
So, as I recall the Psalm from today; “The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone”
I can’t help but wonder who is rejecting who.
So is this your way of telling us that you feel a calling to go into the priesthood?
On the abortion front. I have noticed that “the unborn” are the biggest Catholic marketing tool now. It is abortion, abortion, abortion nowadays.
Talk about the GOP dwindling into a hard core lunatic remnant. The Church of Rome is giving them a run for their money.
And you keep going because?
Looking as an outsider, it definitely seems like the U.S. Catholic Church has become more overtly political in the last few years, and I think it coincides with Pope Benedict.
The next time I plan on setting foot in a church is for a Wedding, a confirmation and/or a funeral God forbid.
After that I’m done. All the masses to go to and I have to sit and listen to an out of touch priest…
I give them 30 years before they either allow marriage, women priests or the pedophiles back in
Wonderful post, DV. If they want more Catholic priests, they will have to allow priests to marry and/or have women priests – preferably both. And the shift in perspective that will bring will be benficial to the blindspot faced by Catholic Conservatives regarding war, health care, and the environment.
What’s a son of Italy doing at St. Hedwig’s????? 🙂
I married a Pollock….big mistake. Those people should stick to their own.
Must of rubbed off on you…..your first name is as long as any slavic surname I’ve ever seen. Actually, a quick look makes one think of an East Indian surname. :0)
Can you ‘tweet’ w/a name that long?
Without trying to sound like an apologist for the church, I might be able to shed some light on your experience.
As much as some people complain about the amount of time priests spend preaching against abortion, just as many, if not more, are convinced priests do not spend enough time on the subject. With the weekly church-going crowd, abortion’s a winner of a homily subject. I’m with you in that I’d like to hear more on war, poverty, economic injustice, etc. There are priests who preach on those as well, and I’d bet others who’d like to but fear a backlash from the pews.
I’m determined to never be a one-issue voter. I am a practicing Catholic who voted for Obama and don’t feel an ounce of guilt over it. But for others, there is never any justification for voting for the pro-choice candidate. (Unless, of course, both candidates are pro-choice, in which case they are more than ready with a bag full of excuses.)
I don’t see anything wrong with a priest asking boys to consider the priesthood. Most priests will tell you their vocation began with a similar invitation. I don’t think this approach will be successful enough to reverse the decline in the number of priests, and the church will have to consider alternatives in the next 15-20 years.
UI, as an insider so to speak, I think the change began before B16 became pope. John Paul II made the church much more centralized that it had been under Paul VI, and he appointed conservative bishops who in turn have ordained more conservative priests. The leaders of the church in the U.S. today are bishops like Rigali, Dolan and Burke, who have made abortion the principal item on their agenda. Haven’t heard much about torture, which the church classifies as an “intrinsic evil,” the same as abortion.
Like I said, I’m not trying to defend the church. I find myself shaking my head at the things that come out of Rome and the local church as well. Just trying to offer some perspective.
Thanks for the perspective. Nothing you said I missed, the Psalm that was read that day and canted several times coupled with his speech was the idea of the post.
They don’t get it and are rejecting those that could become the rebirth of them. But instead, they chose to walk themselves over the cliff
You made a great point. Trust me, I’ve felt that way plenty of times while sitting in church.
It seems like that you not only didn’t make a great point, you missed the point entirely. Christ is the head of the corner. The rejection of the message of Christ is rejecting what will be the central determination your existence. Yeshua (Jesus) gave us the way. There are many who despise that way and think they can make their own way. The unfortunate truth is that they are only heading the wrong way. That is Peter’s message.
Some people think the Church is a social club and they are the head of it not Christ. They are not. They think that they can do whatever they want. They can but it will not get them the results. They need to follow in obedience the Lordship of Christ to have the life they claim to want. The truth of the Gospel never changes. The Church will never be remade in post modern image. Thank God for that.