I was sitting at the table with a number of priests, one of whom had had a tad too much to drink. It was a fundraiser banquet for an orthodox Catholic cause, and most of the priests were rather stolid types. I had just finished explaining the homily I had endured that day. The Gospel reading was the Woman at the Well, and the homilist had explained to us how this encounter shows how Jesus “grew” in his ministry, how he learned to be less “sexist and judgmental”, and how we, like Jesus, should learn to “grow beyond our boundaries”, that that’s what Lent is all about, learning to “grow beyond your boundaries”.
“Do you know what I would have done?” asked the priest who had thrown back a few. “At the end of his homily, I would have stood up and said …” here the priest stood up at the table and expounded in a loud voice, “YOU SON-OF-A-BEECH!” and made an Italian gesture of contempt. The other clerics stared at him somewhat aghast.
“But,” he said sadly, sitting back down, “I’m a priest and I can’t say that.”
“Well,” I consoled him, “I’m a layman, and I can’t say that either.”
But, my friends, what would happen if we did?
What would happen if we made so much noise that the bad homilist and the effeminate music minister and the angry parish nurse began to hesitate? If we made them think twice before using their heterodox preaching, subversive music , and secular agendas against the Body of Christ? If, as they keep telling us, “we are Church”, then why shouldn’t we Church get off our lazy Church butt and shout YOU SON-OF-A-BEECH to the people who are threatening us Church and everything about us?
Chesterton surprises us when he says that feminism is the surrender of women to men – a paradox that only he could see and explain. Is the great apostasy of modern times partially the result of the surrender of lay Catholics to blind authority? It would seem to be just the opposite. We’ve been told since the Council that laymen now have a far greater role in the Church than ever before. We’ve been told that it’s wrong to heed the old authority, the “hierarchy” and the privilege we once granted them.
But what we have now is a new priesthood, a priesthood of which we – and most clerics – are terrified., the priesthood of the liberals, who bully their way into positions of sham authority that we’re too frightened to stand up and rail against.
The emblematic expression of this new level of authority is the privilege granted to extraordinary ministers of communion. In the past, liberals were angry that priests gave one another communion before distributing to the rank and file in the pews. Now the priests give one another communion and take ten minutes to give communion to the twenty or thirty lay “Eucharistic ministers” in shorts and tank-tops who jam themselves around the altar, and who themselves get to receive before distributing to the rank and file in the pews. We have not seen a layer of authority and privilege wiped out; we’ve seen a new one created.
I’m afraid, however, that we’ve all been brainwashed to believe that it’s wrong to fight for what you love, that the manly virtues that would make a lover of Christ shout “you son-of-a-beech” to someone who’s attacking the divinity of Christ and the common sense and Good News of the Gospel are somehow wrong, that it’s never right to make waves, even when the ship has been taken over by pirates who are doing their best to scuttle it.
Anyway, this is my suggestion for taking back the Church. The mutineers have made headway in their attempt to hijack the ark, and we need a few brave souls to throw the hijackers out, with the battle cry of, “Let’s roll”, or at the very least “you son-of-a-beech” – before we’re all wracked and beached for good.
I wish all it took was courage, Kevin. I know someone who’s been under a restraining order for years to keep him off the church campus. He investigated the priest’s relationship with his secretary.
That same priest gave a memorable homily on Pentecost that I remember: The Pentecost was the “winds of change” and those who were stuck in the “old ways” should get out of the way.
I go to Mass for the Eucharist. Period. I try to meditate during homilies. Sometimes I surreptitiously read, if possible. They tell me that back before Vatican II, people couldn’t understand the Latin so they prayed their rosaries during Mass. I really wish I couldn’t understand the English.
I believe that we need to take brave action for defending our Church. However there is always a time and a place for it. I don’t think that during Mass is an appropriate time. At least in most cases. And as always, I think steps of action should be preceded by prayer, advice and more prayer (preferably in front of the Eucharist).
And of course our best weapon is the rosary.
But yes, I do think that we need to stand up more when we see something wrong. I try to do this but it is sometimes hard to tell if I am listening to a spirit of anger or a conviction of my heart. So I also think and suggest we should pray for a discernment of spirits so that we are sure to be fighting on the right side.
That being said… Lock and load! Let’s roll!
Or to quote the title of one of John Paul II’s books “Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way”!
Long Live The King!!!
~Gina
amen
Hello shining StAR peeps!
Anyone care to join a couple of discussions on Amazon’s Christianity forum? We need defenders of the faith over there, but I do warn you – the “stuff” can really fly!
This one is: Why Catholics Need Christ
http://www.amazon.com/tag/christianity/forum/ref=cm_cd_et_up_redir?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx77WQHU8YS50Z&cdPage=320&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx3PK0FB58LFZA&displayType=tagsDetail&newContentID=Mx2X7SYFQK8CCSU#Mx2X7SYFQK8CCSU
and this one is: Catholics ARE Christians
http://www.amazon.com/tag/christianity/forum/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg173?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx77WQHU8YS50Z&cdPage=173&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx7FA6AAIJ7YKI&displayType=tagsDetail
Thank you much in advance to anyone who cares to join!
God bless.
I wouldn’t say that. The Mass is a re-presentation of Calvary. Would you utter that remark at Calvary? If the boundary
violates church teaching my usual rejoinder is “where does it say that in Vatican Two.” “Would you point out the particular document.”? It usually work quite well. Keep up the good work.
Cathal Gallagher
Playwright
absolutely spot on…! there are some hopeful signs….”the reform of the reform” and the continuing efforts of Pope Benedict to roll back liturgical abuse. The influx of conservative Anglo-Catholics will also help…as will reconciliation with the Orthodox . i am fortunate enough that in my diocese (Maine) I have access to a Latin Mass . keep up the good fight .
Ahhh…the reverence of a Latin Mass, that’ll bring ya home! 🙂
We have to hope that Pope Benedict will put an end to the vast numbers of lay “ministers” rushing to the altar to give out Communion. Technically I believe they are supposed to be called up ONLY in dire situations, where a second priest is unavailable. In most parishes, there is a crowd of them at every Mass.
But this is one of many post-Vatican II changes that has evolved over the years. We also have bad music, liturgical dance, soggy sermons and my personal favorite, holding hands during the “Our Father.”
I have done my share of complaining and letter writing; now I sit back and pray. Oh, let me add that even back in the day of pre-Vatican Latin Masses, the sermons were ALWAYS in English! And let me also add that the more recently ordained priests tend to be more orthodox in their sermons, so that is a sign of hope.
“The miracle of the Church is that it survives millions of terrible homilies every Sunday.” Cardinal Ratzinger, quoted in chiesa online today in an article on that topic. It made me go into the archives to this post.
Yes, Shirley. It was always a good thing to ask oneself, “Am I reacting or responding?” or “Am I reacting to the form of (whatever)–or to the content of it?”
Nowadays, with politics literally everywhere, we have to add another question: “Am I reacting to what he’s saying or am I reacting to the fact that he’s saying it?” (Those are the knee-jerk disapprovers. It’s the worst response of all.)
On one extreme, we have to avoid–constantly!–drowning in a sea of subjectivity and losing all our capacity to think critically; on the other, we have to take care that our ability to respond does not atrophy in the pursuit of objectivity.
And always, we have to remember that it’s our responsibility (not the speaker’s or the writer’s) to assess our response.) Doing anything well takes effort–and that includes being an audience to others’ efforts.
We are all different. and the priests are also different. This storry reminded me of a book The Life by Guy de Maupassant (it is easy ti find it at rapidshare SE http://rapidpedia.com ). He described two types of priests and I believe everybody liked the one who kept the ritual not so strictly.
Nice christian music http://www.lyricsblog.org/nfo_artist.php?name=Avalon
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