MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: THE SACRIFICE

So last week was eighth grade graduation at St. Sebastian Parish School.  The church was packed with students, proud parents, and admiring relatives and friends.  First we celebrated Mass and when it was over we had a graduation ceremony.

THIS IS THE WAY I ALWAYS THINK IT IS GOING TO BE:

THIS IS THE WAY IT ALWAYS IS:

Following that local area Catholic high schools come out to announce scholarships.  This year's class earned approximately $200,000 in high school scholarships!  That is pretty amazing.

Afterwords we walk down to Zwisler Hall for an after graduation party.  I like to walk around and congratulate students and parents alike.  But there is that point when the lights are turned off, the screen comes down out of the ceiling and they show the 8th grade slide show or whatever those things are called these days.  14 years of 8th grade slide shows are enough I would say.  Actually 8 years was enough.  So I take that time to slowly fade off into the distance.

It was a warm night so I put on shorts and a T-shirt to take Sebastian for a walk.  Fr. P. braved the show longer than I did and so joined for the walk in his cassock.  (This is an awful picture of him.)

It was 11PM and we could not believe that THEY WERE STILL CELEBRATING in the hall.  We came across a dad who told us they were having a dance and that it was going to last another half an hour.  "They have plenty of pizza in there go in and get a slice," he offered us.

Being so dressed down I had no desire to go in there.  It seems the more sneaky you try to be, the more you just draw attention to yourself.  Something would happen and in the middle of everybody being dressed up to the nines, somehow the fact that I walked in looking like a homeless man would be broadcast far and wide.

And that is the joy of having a parochial vicar to sacrifice.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Welcome to your Friday dose of American Catholic Etiquette with your hosts Mrs. Fenner and Monsignor Manners.  Today we begin where Mrs. Fenner begins: at the beginning of one’s sacramental life: BAPTISM.

BAPTISM

TIME:  As Mrs. Fenner points out under normal circumstances one’s baptism should take place as soon as possible after the birth.  Most often the times for baptism at any given parish are set.  “One should not ask to have the ceremony performed at a special hour to suite one’s convenience but should concur with the custom of the parish.”  (I’m glad she said it so Monsignor Manners would not have to.)

Monsignor Manners would note additionally that quite often these days it is required that persons take a class before baptism.  Do not wait until after your child is born to inquire about baptism.  Call your parish concerning the requirements for the parents and godparents.  If there is something like a class involved, take it well in advance of your due date so that when it is time to baptize, the parish is aware of your upcoming sacrament and can fulfill your request for a baptismal date more readily.

PLACE:  This is more important than you might, at first, think.  Where your child is baptized will have lifelong consequences.  So, as Mrs. Fenner points out, baptism should take place at the family parish.  Later on in life your child will need to consult the parish at which he was baptized in order to make First Holy Communion, Confirmation, and Marriage or Holy Orders.  Monsignor Manners notes how difficult it can be at times when a child assumes he knows where he was baptized but is incorrect and parents are no longer around to ask.  It becomes rather difficult because a recently issued baptismal certificate from the parish at which he was baptized is obligatory for Catholics before such a celebration as a marriage can occur.  Having a baptism at St. Coolbuilding with which the family has little contact normally can, later in life, try the patience of the bride or groom and the priest.  And I cannot believe how many people do not have their baptismal certificate in some sort of file at the family house.  Monsignor Manner’s mother was rather overly scrupulous in this regard and had saved his along with every other scrap of paper of any possible importance from before the day of his birth until her untimely demise.  This file currently takes up half of my office filing space.

Mrs. Fenner notes these exceptions:  If the child is born while the family is at their summer home (HAHAHAHAHA!!!) sorry, I lost my composure.  Besides, most Akronites do not summer.  Those lucky enough to be able to do such a thing tend to winter over somewhere.  There is a definite weight shift on the continental shelf during the winter months from Ohio to Florida.  But I digress.  If the child is born while the family is living elsewhere temporarily such as if the parents are on military duty, the child may, for the good of his soul, be baptized promptly where the family regularly worships during this time.

Priests who are relatives should, when it is possible, come to the child’s parish to baptize.  This will require you first to ask your pastor if he would be willing to have a priest come in before asking the Fr. Relative.  Though the practice at St. Sebastian is, “Anybody who wants to work is welcome,” other parishes are not so willing for various good reasons.  This request should be made early especially if the priest is from out of the diocese and permission from two chanceries may need to be sought and paperwork submitted.

NEXT WEEK:  GOD PARENTS AND IF THERE IS ENOUGH TIME AND SPACE: NAMING THE BABY.  (Ooooh.  That should be good.)

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

“There’s always a king somewhere.”

Or so says Michner in his book, “The Source.”

I tend to agree with him.  No matter how democratic a democratic nation or organization might be, there is a person or small group of persons with undue influence on how things go.  There is a de facto person in charge.  Even if it is simply by natural selection there is that person that people will naturally turn toward as leader even if that leader is charged with making sure the democratic nature is upheld. 

I would also augment Michner’s statement to say, “There is always a pope.”  We could extend it further and say, “there is always a Tradition.”  And it seems the more a church fights against popes and tradition, the more they entrench the very ideas they wish to deny.

Take, for example, a typical non-denominational church where the very thought of having a leader acting as a universal vicar for Christ is taught as an abhorrent notion.  Where does that very notion come from?  The pastor of the church – perhaps in consultation with some form of elders.  Sounds very much like a pope in consultation with his cardinals.  There is an established hierarchy (even if there is a strong effort to deny and hide the fact) but the belief system is not left to chance.  There is a clear message with an authoritative leader.

“Ahhh,” a dissenter from this thought might say, “but that pastor or that church board is not speaking on its own but, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is only speaking the unadulterated truth of the Gospel and not adding anything to it.”  (Sola Scriptura as it is known.)  This is actually a very good retort and one that could be taken seriously if those who subscribed to such a belief did not splinter into thousands and thousands of churches on just about every point in the Bible. 

Take this example:  Baptism.  Some say that it is necessary for salvation, others do not.  Some say that it transforms who we are, others see it as a rite of passage.  Some see it as permanent, some do not.  Some see at as an assurance of heaven, some do not.  Some understand the Trinitarian formula much as the Catholic Church does, some are far from it.  If Scripture is so very clear so that all one has to do is read it and it will give you the exact instructions on what to do to be admitted into heaven, how on earth could there be so many interpretations of what it says?

And how do people of any given denomination (or so called non-denominations) know what interpretation to follow.  There is only one answer:  It is their Tradition – the very unbiblical interpretation of what they are reading and pass on from one believer to the next.  It may be voted on by a conference, a congregation, held in a writing of a founder, interpreted by a pastor, history book, or decided upon by grandma at the dining room table and passed on to her family but in any event it is a Tradition on how to interpret the Scripture being read.  (Even which version of Scripture to read is a Tradition.  The accumulation of the Bible itself is a result of Tradition.)

Every church you pass on the way to Mass has some form of pope and exercises some form of Tradition.  It is just much more transparent at your Catholic parish.

YOU'RE WELCOME

I don’t think (correct me if I am wrong) that any other religious denomination receives as much free advice as the Catholic Church.  I think we should take it rather a compliment that so many people want to be so helpful.  How often are there editorials telling the Episcopalians how to manage their affairs?  Or letters to the paper debating about the leadership of the Baptists.  Or Fox news telling Jewish people what they should believe by interviewing dissident Jews?  Or radio personalities touting non-practicing Methodists as experts on the practices of Methodism?  But the Catholic Church receives grand attention and in a back handed way I suppose we should take is as flattering that we are so (effective? numerous?  noticeable? counter cultural?) that we are deemed so attention worthy.

A recent article took the Catholic Church to task for having the name “Catholic.”  Catholic means, of course, universal.  (It reminds me of the true story of someone traveling overseas who saw a sign that stated, “Catholics fixed here” and what they meant was universal joints on your car.)  The Catholic Church is for all people, all times, and all places.  But if this is so, why do we not throw open the doors and let in all the people regardless of where they are in life? 

 

Held up for particular praise in this regard is the Episcopal Church.  Their “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You” signs, billboards, and advertising are most well known.  Their doors are wide and wide open.  One might think that if anybody was going to use the term “catholic” or universal, it would be them.  In fact, if you go to "Google Image" search and type in the words, "The Catholic Church welcomes you" all you will get is Episcopalian signs!

I wonder if Universalists would be surprised to discover that they are catholic (at least in name.) They could have signs that state, “The Unitarian Catholics welcome you!”  But I digress.

But having a church named “Catholic” does not mean that it is open to anybody regardless of what they believe, but that it is open to anybody willing to believe what the Church believes.  Whether you be poor or rich, young or old, male or female, of any nation, background, or of dubious history, you are to be welcomed into the Catholic Church if you hold her teachings to be true for she believes that it isn’t just about taking you no matter where you are or where you are going, but taking you from where you are to something greater – to what you are meant to be in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is yours if you want it.  It is universally open to all, not universally open to interpretation. 

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCLX

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  "I'm not saying that television is vulgar and dumb because the people who compose the Audience are vulgar and dumb. Television is the way it is simply because people tend to be extremely similar in their vulgar and prurient and dumb interests and wildly different in their refined and aesthetic and noble interests." David Foster Wallace  h/t to E.G.

IN OTHER NEWS:

From the Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter:  "It's time to get out and enjoy summertime. Come and celebrate with faith communities across the Diocese of Cleveland at summer picnics and parish festivals."  Read more here.

DON'T FORGET:  In Theaters now!  For Greater Glory.  See there site here.

Need some inspiration?  Russ sent this 5 min. video in.  Kids can be so awesome!

Lynn (no, not that Lynn) sent this 2 min. video in of Tim Hawkins for those who need a little laugh.  Thankfully we do not have this problem at St. Sebastian.  ;)

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT

After a particularly intense week of roasting the Catholic Church I woke on Sunday morning to see a front page article on the Diocese of Cleavland's new religious curriculum for high school students.  (?)  It seemed so bizarre.  Then I saw this article (which had to be greatly edited for print here) that might help explain it a little bit.  This seemed important enough to skip Monday Diary and so the special edition of Adam's Ale:

DISSOCIATED PRESS:  CLEVELAND:  Sunday morning the people of northeast Ohio awoke to the shocking revelation that the Catholic Church may have done something right.  A front page, above the fold article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer revealed the disturbing details.  The diocese, under the leadership of their bishop Richard Lennon is implementing a new high school religious curriculum that better reflect the Church’s teaching that is to be used in all high schools throughout the diocese.

Reaction throughout the embattled diocese was swift and pointed.  Percy Perfidious of Fallen Away Catholics Together (FACT) were among the first to make a public statement.  “In the whole article there was not one mention of priestly abuse or church closings.  This was a slap in the face of FACT members everywhere and we will not take it laying down.”  Nor on the golf course apparently.  FACT leadership is encouraging all its members to give up golf on Corpus Christi weekend and protest the affront to their beliefs by showing up and participating at Mass.  “We’ll show them,” said Perfidious, “They’ll wish they had never closed any parishes.”

Meanwhile numerous calls were made to Miss Kwoeted, the official spokesperson for the Diocese for the diocese’s reaction to this singular turn of events.  Kwoeted however refused to say anything except, “I have no idea how to respond.”

Meanwhile the city of Akron has announced that it will be suing the diocese for inciting a riot.  “Many thought that it was the beginning of the Apocalypse” said a lawyer for the city.  “Grocery stores were flooded with people buying canned goods and batteries, fearing that end of the word was at hand.  Shop windows were broken and several cars overturned as panicked citizens raided the Acme Number One.  Such a large organization has a certain responsibility to act consistently and not subject communities to sudden acts of good will that can only cause public disturbances.”

In a counter protest, a handful of faithful Catholics resubscribed to the Plain Dealer.  “Somehow this doesn’t feel right,” said one of a handful of protestors, “but I can’t think of anything else to do.”

Professor Wahdayah Wannahear of Knotsow Catholic University called for calm on both sides of the debate.  “This is a singular occurrence,” said Wannahear, historian and social scientist.  “There is still Vatileaks, unopened reopened churches, the nun investigation scandal, and the very real possibility that out of the well over one billion Catholics in the world a good number will continue to do stupid things that we can complain about.”

Time alone will tell.

See related article on page 9: Bishop Hospitalized after Reading Paper.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: AMERICAN CATHOLIC ETIQUETTE

In 1961 Kay Toy Fenner, wife, mother, newspaper woman, and magazine writer came out with a book entitled, “American Catholic Etiquette.”  I picked it up at a yard sale some place twenty years ago and actually referenced it when it I was ordained.  Mrs. Fenner, according to the book jacket, includes in her family two Jesuit priests, a secular priest, a Marist priest, a Christian brother, and a Sister of Charity.  “In the course of an active social life, Mrs. Fenner has had occasion to supervise family weddings, large and small, ordination parties, and funerals.”  In her life she had been invited to speak before Catholic societies, highs schools, and colleges on sacramental etiquette and youth problems.  Interestingly enough, her book as an imprimatur and a nihil obstat which makes the whole thing even more delicious.

 

Such a book as this (updated of course) is needed more than ever.  But American Catholic practice is so diverse how does one even try to codify its etiquette in any way that could speak to the entire Catholic American community?  It is an absolutely impossible, impudent, insurmountable, insufferable, and audacious task.  So I thought I would give it a try.

Allow me to introduce you to Monsignor Manners.  (A moniker I received in the seminary when trying to form my brothers on certain occasions.)  Not that I hold any fantasy that I practice them well.  Like charity, I often fail in the attempt.  But that does not mean we do not hold up the ideal upon which to base our actions.  So here is the Friday Potpourri series for the next little while: we will go through Mrs. Fenner’s book and see if, to the best of our ability, we can update it for the modern American Catholic.  If nothing else – it might be fun.  (Your comments will always be welcome.)

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

Mrs. Fenner writes, and Monsignor Manners notes that her writing is as fresh on this point today as in her own day, that we are in a period, “of steadily increasing informality of dress, entertaining, and manners.  Some people, confusing correct behavior with outmoded ceremoniousness, have concluded that there is no longer a standard code of polite conduct and have been content to rely upon their native taste as a guide to proper behavior in any set of circumstances. 

“They are wrong.”  There are standards of behavior that are held in esteem and one either practices them or does not to the detriment of themselves or those around them.  Manners, far from being a secret code that the initiated hold over others, are a set of practices to make life better for everyone involved.  In other words, proper manners insofar as they are true manners, are virtues and to practice them is to practice charity.

Our hostess for this journey also puts an emphasis on Catholic manners.  For the vast majority of manners, Catholic behavior is the same as all other citizens.  So, as Mrs. Fenner writes, those places of concurrence are avoided in her book as well as this series.  But Mother Church has given us seven sacraments to assist us and guide us on our way to heaven.  And the reception of most of them are accompanied by social functions.  This is where she and we will focus our efforts in order to define and explain, “the social duties and privileges entailed in the reception of the sacraments and the social functions accompanying them.”

Another reason for the emphasis on “Catholic” is because, “wherever we go and whatever we do, our behavior is judges as the behavior of a Catholic.   Always and everywhere, we are ambassadors from our Church to the world."

Next week’s installment: BAPTISM.

WOULD TRINITY BY ANY OTHER DEFINITION SMELL AS SWEET?

There is no other dogma so central to Christianity than the one the Catholic Church celebrates this weekend: that of the Holy Trinity.  It is the building block upon which all Christian belief is constructed.  We hold, always have, and always will hold that it is essential to defining oneself as Christian.  It is not simply a belief in Jesus.  It must also be a belief in what He taught; which is a belief in His nature, which is in the unity of the Trinity.

It is interesting to note for fundamentalists who hold to a “if it is not in the Bible I do not believe it” faith that the word Trinity is not found in the Bible, and neither is the concept of Holy Spirit being part of the Trinity or that Jesus is of the same substance of divinity as the Father or that Jesus was fully God and fully human from the first moment of conception or that He was one person with two complete natures or how those natures function . . .  So neither the word nor much of the assumed dogma of the Trinity can be found in Scripture.

Some will argue that “it is illogical to claim that since the word "Trinity" is not found in the Bible that its concept is not taught therein. This kind of objection usually demonstrates a prejudice against the teaching of the Trinity. Instead, the person should look to God's word to see if it is taught or not.”  Yet this is precisely the argument used in teaching against Purgatory.  It isn’t a Biblical word so it is thought a Catholic invention.  Yet the Church freely admits to completely making up the name but it did so to give a title to a reality that Christ and others give us in Scriptural teaching.  We say very little about what Purgatory is other than it is a something most must go through before entering heaven for it is clearly taught that nothing unclean shall enter before God.  Purgatory simply means that one is purged of their sins before entering heaven.

The teaching of the Trinity is becoming more of an issue recently as Mormonism is rises in notoriety.  There is some debate between two camps that argue whether a Mormon is in actuality a Christian or not.  (Not whether they are good people or not – but as to whether they can take the title Christian or not.)  A recent NPR show had a woman who is a Mormon stated emphatically that she is Christian and will not allow anybody to tell her otherwise.

Here is the main point of debate taken from Fr. Z’s blog, “Gods, for Mormons, were mortals who became gods. Mormons hold that “God the Father” actually has a wife, a “Heavenly Mother”, with whom he procreated “Jesus Christ” who also acquired “divinity”. For Mormons, the “Holy Spirit” is also the offspring of parents. For Mormons, four gods guide the universe, three of whom form a sort of “trinity”.”  In order to claim that they are Christian, one must completely redefine what the Tirnity is – much the same way that marriage must be redefined as something else before it can be applied freely to other forms of relationships.  For further reading he recommends going here.

N.B.  This is not a commentary on whether a person is qualified to be president or not.  This is a post about the most ancient teaching of the Trinity and what it means to be a Christian,

RANT - COUNTER RANT: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE DO NOT THINK THROUGH THEIR OPINIONS

Jennifer Turley writes to the editor in the Akron Beacon Journal Tuesday May 29^th edition that she is interested in truth.  I am glad.  I hope she takes this analysis of her letter in that same vein.

Take this sentence from her letter; “How much longer must we endure the ‘traditional’ concept of marriage that’s being sullied by every celebrity on the planet (Kardashians anyone?) while those in loving, faithful, and devoted relationships are being denied the opportunity to solidify their commitment with a vow or ceremony?”

One might argue that not everybody who is in a “traditional concept of marriage” is trashing it nor are those not in “traditional” marriages honoring it.  And there certainly isn’t anybody preventing anyone from exchanging a vow or having a ceremony.  But I am fairly confident that is not what she means.  She wants these nontraditional marriages to be officially recognized by the government all of which sounds innocent enough.  I would also imagine that she realizes just because a same sex couple moved in next door to her that civilization would not come to a screeching halt, planes will not fall out of the sky, and the parousea will not begin.

She requests that nobody “thump a Bible” at her and I quite agree.  It will do little good.  To begin, not everyone in the United States believes in the Bible.  Further, not everybody believes that the Bible says the same thing.  As one Episcopal bishop put it about 10 years ago, “Don’t go quoting the Bible to me about this.  You can make the Bible say just about anything you want to.”  And he is correct.  That is what happens when there is no authority or tradition.

It is better to respond logically.  If I were a bettin' man I would wager that Turley did not write the title to her letter but that it was given by the paper.  It states, “Allowing Marriage for All Loving Couples.”  This title is rather short sighted and I would suppose that Turley would find it offensive and narrow minded.

Whereas the Church (and by that I mean the Catholic Church) cannot change its teaching on marriage because it would have to change the very definition of marriage thereby throwing most of its theology and tradition into chaos, the state is not thusly encumbered.  It can break with precedent (which in this case does go back to the Bible) and simply change its definition. 

 

But if this is done it spits amounts of toothpaste out of a tube most never imagine.  Once precedent is done away with, the definition of marriage can be whatever we want it to be.  (That doesn’t sound so bad does it?)  Here Turley states very well that marriage should be for those in, “loving, faithful, and devoted relationships.”  But who is to say that this should be between just two people?  Precedent is now done away with and the idea that having children (naturally) is done away with and eligibility for marriage is simply based on persons in a committed relationship, what is to prevent us from having three people married even if they be of the same or mixed sexes?  Why not 5 of various sexes and preferences?  Why not 20?  How can we possibly limit it to 2 people?  What is to prevent us?  What of those in truly committed relationships that are not in the “traditional” limit of 2? 

I contend that once “tradition” is breached then there are no safe guards, nothing to which we might refer that could morally or legally keep marriage to two individuals.  As long as there is a strong enough backing, marriage can come to mean just about anything.

It is not about hating anybody or depriving a good thing grom anyone.  It is about recognizing that when marriage can mean just about anything – it ceases to mean anything.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCLIX

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IF MAY BE FOUND:  "I have had people tell me indignantly to read the Bible instead of the Catechism. I have had others denounce Catholicism as a "man-made" religion.  Others argue vehemently against the rosary or the teachings against contraception, about the pope, et cetera.  Virtually all of them have not done one thing though:  They have not read why Catholics believe what they do.  They say "I disagree" without knowing the premise.  They disagree only with conclusions - the surface level - not the teachings.  The Church has a formal instruction of the Faith because of its depth, beauty, and truth."  Stephen Muff in This Rock magazine

IN OTHER NEWS:

Mary sent this in:  "As I continue to follow your blog, with a particular appreciation for your appreciation of beauty, I thought you'd really enjoy this Catholic Exchange blog, The Way of Beauty. The blogger, David Clayton, is a teacher at the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, where he directs a program called, also called the Way of Beauty, which is an integral part of the curriculum, in which all students participate. Just take a look at yesterday's blog on "What is Culture?" for a glimpse of this man's writing. I am confident you'll be inspired. Also yesterday, he wrote about the "Traditional Symbolism of Four", which again, I think you'd find of interest."  Thank you Mary.

Here is a headline from the Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter: "Cleveland-based law firm files suits across the U.S. representing 43 Catholic dioceses, hospitals, schools and church agencies . . . Diocese of Cleveland in full support"  Read more here.

Are you looking for Church statistics in the United States for the past half a century?  Here is a good place to start.  I came across it doing research for last week's post on priest to parishioner ratios.

Another Catholic Movie is coming out.  This one looks to have some real potential.  "Academy Award® nominee Andy Garcia headlines an acclaimed cast as General Gorostieta, the retired military man who at first thinks he has nothing personal at stake as he and his wife (Golden Globe nominee Eva Longoria) watch Mexico fall into a violent civil war. Yet the man who hesitates in joining the cause will soon become the resistance's most inspiring and self-sacrificing leader, as he begins to see the cost of religious persecution on his countrymen."  Here is the website for the movie, "For Greater Glory."

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: A MONSTRANCITY

This is another monstrance at St. Sebastian.   We tend to use it at special events such as Corpus Christi (coming up in a couple of weeks.)  It is a bit larger than the monstrance featured last week and it weighs a ton.  It does not feel too bad when you first pick it up, but go on a long procession holding it up in your arms and it becomes a test of your endurance.  This year Fr. Pfeiffer has the honor of bearing our Lord in our Corpus Christi procession. Good think he is working out.

As you can see it is topped by a cross.  Our Lord finds His seat in the middle of a sun burst, which represents His Divine Glory.  Hundreds of gold metal rays shoot our from the center (and one has to be careful not to be stabbed by one or get it caught on a passing piece of material.)

It is difficult to make out here but Our Lord is surrounded by seven cherubim angels.  Cherub, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, is an Assyrian word that means to be near.  These represent the "near ones" to Jesus who are His servants, body guards, and courtiers. 

The base is equally beautiful.  Notice the rams heads toward the top of the base.  The ram in Christian symbolism had a few meanings.  Since the ram valiantly protects its heard it is a symbol of protection - appropriately at the base of a vessel holding something we consider most dear.  It is also a symbol of sacrifice (the sacrifice of Jesus and of the Mass.)  The Latin name for ram is Aries taken from the word meaning altar and so becomes an Old Testament name for Jesus.

The silver symbol below is of the Holy Spirit.

The intertwining M and A below stand for Mary.

This symbol is a monogram for Jesus and is the first three letters of His Name in Greek "IHS".

Below is our Corpus Christi procession from last year with one of our seminarians in the lead as crucifer.

INFANTS AT MASS: GIFT OF GOD OR SPAWN OF SATAN?

The priest is just about to reach the grand crescendo of his homily and then the key sentence is obliterated by an infant’s “WhaaaaaAAAAAAAAAaaaaaa!”  It happens.  What do you expect?  These little one so recently from the womb are not the future of the Church, they are the Church.  They are home.  At home one must deal with such things.

That being said, Mass is not something that one can sit back and “let it happen to you.”  If you really want to receive as much out of the Mass as you can, it requires an investment of your body and your mind.  “Active participation” as called for by Vatican II does not mean multiplying made up ministries in order for people to “have something to do,” it means actively praying particularly when we are given the instruction, “Let us pray,” it means joining in with the prayers of the priest, it means paying attention to what is said in order to understand better.  All that can be pretty difficult if you have an air raid siren going off next to your ear.

There are two ways to look at this.  I am flipping a coin at the moment to see which one will go first.  Just a sec.  Heads – This is the view of some that screaming babies have no place at worship.  We are not simply talking about fussy babies or one terrifying scream, but loud and incessant screaming.  It is during these times that I know I am losing the attention of half the nave during the homily as heads are turning and faces are crumbling into annoyance.  “They should go to the cry room – or the narthex!” comes the hue and cry after Mass.  It is disrespectful to the rest of the community who cannot “enjoy” their Mass in peace.

There is some truth to this.  If it were an adult acting like this we might be forced to call the police.  And most parishes are equipped with a place for such parents and children to be so that they might still be present at Mass, but will somewhat contained the shouting.

The other is exemplified by something a priest said during a Mass when I was growing up.  He told the story (that I am sure is apocryphal) that one day a child in his tiny church (St. Mary in Barberton) was screaming during the homily and the mother stood up to take the child outside.  “He’s not bothering me,” said the priest.  “I know,” the mother replied, “You’re bothering him.”

The priest exemplifies the idea that little ones such as these are part of who we are.  “Let the children come unto me,” and all that.  It is a sign of life in a parish.  That is what it is to be a family.  “Cry unto the Lord!”  That these little ones are among us is a great homily in and of itself.

And cry rooms are not (usually) all that great.  Unfortunately some people use them as a sick room.  Studies show that many germs are passed on in these small confined spaces.  Others use it as a play room which is terribly distracting.  I recently heard that at one particular Mass we have certain persons making use of the cry room to escape the air-conditioning and are not particularly welcoming to persons with crying babies interrupting their quiet (and warmer) Mass.

So what do we do?  I definitely vote down the Cherrios solution (as does our cleaning staff.)  Of course there has to be some give and take on both sides.  It’s largely about being part of the family.  Families are sloppy conglomerations of people whose standards vary widely.  It’s the best of families that grant each other wide tolerance while hopefully trying to look out for the sensibilities of others.

A TALE OF TWO CHURCHES: THE PRIEST SHORTAGE

Ask anybody and they will tell you that there is a priest shortage.  But as with so many things, we hear this so often that we do not think to question if it is, in fact, true.  What follows is simply asking that this assumption, which seems so true, be reexamined.  It is not a scientific study, just some observations and I invite you to expand upon it.

The benchmark for what the Church should look like for us in the United States is the 1950s.  Convents and abbeys were bursting at the seams.  Even smaller parishes which today might not merit a priest on its own may have had two.  But is this the norm?  Was it ever?  Were the 1950s an anomaly? 

The United States was considered mission territory until the 1920s.  Until about 1845 Catholics were a very small minority in here.  They tended to be English and well established.  From this point, especially with the Irish coming to the United States, Catholics quickly became (and remain) the single largest denomination spanning all classes of society.

As you can imagine this becomes a huge increase in a population that needs to be ministered to by priests.  Then throw into this mix those coming from other nations with different language needs and the whole situation in the United States becomes challenging.

Those coming over even from Catholic nations did not necessarily have priests falling all over themselves trying to minister to them in their native lands.  There were places that this was the case but not for all of them.  I take my family, particularly my father’s family, who rarely attended Mass save for very special days.  This was simply the way they experienced Church in Europe.  Until relatively recent times with improved roads and a better economy the priest only visited the village once every few months.  They did not have a full time priest.

My home parish did not have a permanent pastor at its founding in 1914.  This was not all that unusual particularly with the ethnic parishes.  There were simply not enough priests to go around.  They spent many years as a sort of mission parish with visiting priests from nearby parishes. 

In the 1950s a Gallop pole estimated that three out of every four Catholics attended Mass.  Let us suppose for a moment that this number remains true through 1965.  Here is where we get into it.  I invite people to check my math – a subject I have always liked but have never been good at.

According to this site, in 1965 there were 45.6 million Catholics in the United States.  At the same time there were 58,632 priests.  If we consider that only three quarters of those who were Catholic went to Mass, that means that there was approximately 1 priest for every 584 practicing Catholics.  (Gads, I hope my math is correct.)

Now, in 2011 there is a huge uptick in those who are Catholic in the United States.  According to the same source there are 65.4 million Catholics here.  But the number of priests has dropped to only 39,466.  But there has also been a dramatic drop in the number of people who attend Mass on a regular basis – perhaps as little as one quarter.  So, if we divide the number of current Catholics by 4 and then divide that number by the number or priests that we have, it comes out to about 414 people per priest.  If my reckoning is correct, we actually have a better priest to parishioner ratio. 

 

Of course the next question would be are fewer priest leading fewer people to come to Mass or are fewer people coming to Mass leading to fewer priests?  What is a good ratio?  Perhaps we are there and just do not realize it.  But if this is so why might it not feel like it?

There are a number of possible reasons for this.  The first may be the distribution of priests.  There are areas of concentration where there are simply more priests.  There are some diocese that produce more priests for service to their people.  This will throw the ratio off for such a large place as the United States.  Inside a diocese the distribution of people can set this off also.  Maintaining many parishes in an area with a diminishing Catholic presence will make staffing more and larger parishes in the suburbs more difficult.  This is the question of equitable distribution.

Lastly is the idea of what we expect a parish and subsequently a priest to do.  The main tasks of a parish is to perform sacraments and to teach.  If that is all we did we would be successful parishes.  But in the United States we are expected to do much, much more.  A parish responsible for all sorts of social programs, outreach, sports, arts, and scores of programs that make priests visiting our nation raise their eyebrows.  “You do all that?”  How did we get there?  There are two factors.  The first is the ethnic parish that became the center of their communities and tried to provide for their people all the things that society wouldn’t or couldn’t.  The second influence is the Protestant church that provides all kinds of services in order to attract worshipers.  The simple Catholic parish saw all this and thought that it had better get on the ball and so started expanding the area of services that it provides.

Life has also become more complicated.  The amount of work that is necessitated by government regulations, diocesan mandates, and good business practices require an enormous amount of time not previously needed.  For example a parish can no longer just let a volunteer or the parochial vicar run a youth group.  Today, priests and volunteers alike must spend time taking classes in how to be around children, have background checks, and participate in continuing updates.  Coordinating volunteers so that there are always two people present is a must.  There must be files constantly updated for all volunteers that show they are compliant, recruiting of volunteers and sending them off for classes and so forth.  And this is just one aspect of one area.  All this takes priests away from ministry.

So is there a priest shortage?  Maybe.  Is there a poor use of resources?  Maybe.  Have we lost sight of our mission?  Maybe.  Is it that we just expect more?  Maybe.  Or it could be a combination of all.  I’m not saying stop worrying – worry.  If we want to keep doing what we are doing – we need more priests.  But if the numbers above are true, does it not seem God is taking care of us even when we don’t see it?