By The Brook: Madness

Monday, February 18, 2008

Madness

And though I've been on a musical bent of late, I don't mean the group... ("ONE....STEP....BEYOND!!!!)...at the moment.

I will be brief. Due to the beloved's Sunday work schedule, we often go to the late 5 pm "regional" Mass (or, more properly, "cinders" Mass) so we can go as a family. The kids call it "Cheater's Mass" for all the people who slept late. The priests rotate weekly, so I do my best to avoid going when I know that one of the less inspiring and/or alarmingly liberal (I barely stop short of "heretical" here) of the local clergy will be saying Mass. Here's why:

"He took the cup, gave it to His sisters and brothers, and said...."

Is it just me? WT....? Maybe he believes the DaVinci Code and thinks St. John is really Mary Magdalene in the painting? This is a new one in the "all inclusive" Hall of Shame.

I wanna move away from here before I give in and only watch Mass on EWTN instead of subjecting myself and my family to this nonsense each week.

12 comments:

X said...: Can you talk to him about this brother and sister thing? Talk about causing mass confusion (er...no pun intended.); February 18, 2008 at 1:12 PM
Kit said...: I thought about it, but I have had words with this particular priest before (when I asked if/where there'd be a Latin Mass, he rolled his eyes and asked "why in the world would you want to go to THAT?"), so I am fairly certain it would be a huge waste. The few of us slightly more conservative folks around here are so derided once we "out" ourselves, you get looked at like you have horns sprouting out of your forehead when you ask questions or make even the kindest and politest of suggestions.

I hate feeling like the Liturgy Police, too -- not my place, and I am still not well-versed enough to cite sources on my feet ...which helps whe you are dealing with these types (i.e., I can scream "GIRM" "CCC" and "CCL" but not direct someone to specific sections).

Very frustrating.; February 18, 2008 at 1:42 PM
the mother of this lot said...: Sorry Kit, I would've had to say something. I cannot stand this inclusive language business.

One of my favourite verses in the Bible is:
'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men'. Two thousand years that sentence has stood the test of time. Know what my newest Bible says?
'Follow me and soon you will be catching people.' Not quite the same ring to it? Sounds more like a game of tag.

Please, credit me with enough intelligence that when I read or hear 'men' I think 'mankind'.

Rant over.; February 18, 2008 at 3:41 PM
Kit said...: Mother,

I know....I know....I am at an ebb, living here -- almost 4 years of fighting and I am tired of being treated like I'm the freak!

:)

I tell the kids there's only one way to cross a stream, and that is to keep walking. If you are tempted to go with the flow, you're not going to reach the other side. You'll end up snagged and mired with all the other dead stuff way off in the distance and far away from your goals...; February 18, 2008 at 3:56 PM
Cathy said...: It's not just inclusive language.
I'm pretty sure changing the words at that particular point renders the Mass illicit.
Valid, but illicit.
Though I could be wrong.

Here's what kills me.
The words are:

...gave it to His disciples and said..."

IT'S ALREADY GENDER-NEUTRAL!

Get a clue, Father Whomever.

That makes me want to gag.; February 18, 2008 at 8:06 PM
The Digital Hairshirt said...: "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of HIS name, for our good and the good of all HIS church."

I loudly say the "HIS" part to drown out the ones who insert the term "God's" because they can't stand non-inclusive language. And I gotta LOUD voice when I want to have one!

I would still ask, though: "Hey, Fadduh, I couldn't help but notice you mentioned the sistuhs at the Last Supper - I gotta ask, who WERE they?"; February 18, 2008 at 9:43 PM
gemoftheocean said...: I am currently blessed with getting to assist at 5:15 Mass every sunday for a priest who never misses a comma that's written. He wouldn't change the words if a gun were held to his head. He's also almost 80.

A few times I've had the misfortune to attend Masses where the priest feels the "need" to change things and be "hip." some are REALLY annoying == that would be your "brothers and sisters" guy [especially as it was already pointed out, anyone but a pinhead would know "DISCIPLES" is already gender neutral] -- and it also includes those priests who are "close but no cigar" "Please Lord we ask...blah, blah, everything else was correct, but why do you need to throw in the word "please" all over, it ain't there, sparky.

The former is a pain in the a$$ and the latter merely annoying, but if otherwise a good priest, you hate to get the bishop on his butt but hope he cleans up his act.

I am CONVINCED that if one had the guts to say just loudly enough "Hey, sparky, JUST READ WHAT'S THERE." When the priest goes off base ... if a few people did it enough times he'd cut that crap out.

I am CONVINCED the most you'd get in purgatory would be the time it takes to say ONE "Glory Be."

Trick is, who's brave enough to bite the bullet and take the short straw.

I would have had a great answer for that "Why would you want Latin?"

"So a=holes like you can't ad-lib"

Karen; February 19, 2008 at 3:17 AM
swissmiss said...: On the bright side, at least he didn't refer to God as she. And I always thought that WAS Mary Magdelene in the portrait of the Last Supper...AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! (You missed my rant awhile back when my hubby was taking a grad class and the prof at the local Catholic university had them read the Da Vinci Code. WT...? Like there are no other books in the entire world he could've chosen for an ENGINEERING masters program. Makes no sense to me!); February 20, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Kasia said...: I had a similar experience here with a priest who changed "disciples" to "friends". Turns out that's actually a permitted change - it's authorized by the Canadian bishops and priests here are allowed to use it too.

I checked, though, and "brothers and sisters" is not an approved form (duh). However, the person I asked (a priest canon lawyer) said it doesn't render the Mass invalid OR illicit, because the basic language of the Mass is Latin, so whenever you translate you get the potential for variation. (He did, however, say "This is why it's better to just not mess around with the wording."); February 21, 2008 at 9:15 AM
Dymphna said...: Brothers and sisters? But how? Women traditionally would not have been present at the Passover meal. The women would've been in another room. A priest ought to have enough education to know that.; February 21, 2008 at 9:17 PM
Kit said...: Hi Kasia & Dymphna --

You'd think one would know better, but note that the order was "SISTERS and brothers..." and thus clearly an inclusionist agenda at work. One of the other priests does the "friends" thing, which is slightly annoying, but this one goes ou of his way to let it be known how he feels.

Arrrrrghhhhh....; February 21, 2008 at 11:06 PM
eulogos said...: I hear the friends thing all the time. I hear "Pray sisters and brothers" instead of "Pray, brethren" . But I hever heard "gave it to his sisters and brothers." No women there, just Jesus and the disciples, so no sisters.

I spoke to the priest who does the "Pray sisters and brothers" and generally changes everything, mass and scripture to be inclusive horizontally. (He doesn't change the words for God, thank God, although one of the churches in the cluster sings "Glory to God in the highest and peace to God's people on earth"-if I have to go there, I sing "Peace to HIS people on earth" loudly. Anyway, I spoke to the priest and he said his conscience required him to change the words to the inclusive form. I told him most women knew 'men' included them, and he said not the ones he talked to, and I said well then they were poorly informed and being fooled by the academic feminists, at which point he gave a heavy sigh and walked away from me. I fantasize about getting some of Fr. Z's "Say the black, do the red" signs and sneaking them into all the sacristies.
Susan Peterson; July 20, 2008 at 1:39 AM