How do we feel about parish shopping?
As a newly minted RC, one faces the new experience of being part of a truly universal communion that is explicitly united in the essential ways. Accordingly, one technically does not need to "shop" for a parish; one can quiet fears about valid orders, orthodox homiletics (hopefully), and "fellowship" and just obediently and regularly show up, as St. Augustine taught, in the parish that is closest to one's home. There, one fulfills what C.S. Lewis describes as the vocation of the layman: to submit with obedience and thanksgiving to whatever of the available teaching and companionship is good, and then to persist in sincere commitment, seeking humbly to reform whatever is remiss.
However: another feature of this universal communion is that it also contains under its maternal roof the whole variety of Christendom's cultures. Among Rome's parishes there is charismatic RC, political RC, family life RC, monastic RC, high church RC, low church RC, evangelical RC, Anglican Use RC, Eastern Rite RC, Jesuit RC, Dominican RC, Franciscan RC, etc. etc. etc. There are even those select parishes that cater to the needs of young, single, transient yuppies. How to choose?
And ought one to "choose?"
However: another feature of this universal communion is that it also contains under its maternal roof the whole variety of Christendom's cultures. Among Rome's parishes there is charismatic RC, political RC, family life RC, monastic RC, high church RC, low church RC, evangelical RC, Anglican Use RC, Eastern Rite RC, Jesuit RC, Dominican RC, Franciscan RC, etc. etc. etc. There are even those select parishes that cater to the needs of young, single, transient yuppies. How to choose?
And ought one to "choose?"
posted by MM at 3:10 PM
6 Comments:
Not unless flat-out heresy is being propagated in your nearby church.
Histor
MM,
First of all, I noticed your quotation of the great poem (The Hound of Heaven) that Fr. Hawkins recited in yesterday's homily at St. Mary the Virgin, where my family and I are members. I am curious to know if you were in attendance before I attempt to address your question about parish shopping. Nevertheless, I will proceed to offer my insights on your perceived dilemma in the hope that you might make a more informed decision when choosing your home parish. I apologize in advance for my lack of brevity. First of all, there are two exigent criteria that must be observed in any parish that I will worship in.
1.) There must be a tabernacle housing the Real Presence in the Sanctuary at all times. Having spent the first twenty-three years of my life as an Episcopalian, I was spoiled on this. Every church I attended growing up had one. Truthfully, for the majority of my upbringing, I never understood what it was I was reverencing when I would genuflect before entering the pew. I was the product of poor liturgical teaching - something that my children will never be guilty of. As you can imagine, I received some funny looks the first few times I knelt upon entering/exiting a pew at St. Joseph's Catholic Community when I started attending mass there with my wife and mother-in-law some years ago. Of course, they had no tabernacle in the sanctuary. I'm not sure the majority of parishioners there even knew what one was. Moreover, it couldn't be said that they really had a sanctuary at all, as there was no clear partition separating the sanctuary from the nave (see my second criterion below). Instead of celebrating the Mass, baptizing children, performing marriages, and consecrating the M.B.S. in the presence of the tabernacle in which the Body of Christ resides, the priest (or more likely, the late Bishop Delaney) saw to it that the Real Presence was removed to a side chapel where it has been largely ignored by those churches that practice this horrendous act of sacramental neglect. This, of course is a direct result of the sweeping reforms of Vatican II and the overzealousness with which the Western Catholic church sought to make the Mass "more accessible" for the laity. I have often commented amongst my friends (many of whom are pious Anglicans) that if I had a time machine and a length of rubber hose, I would pay Henry VIII and Paul VI each a special visit. I would argue that no two men in the course of history have done more to damage the Catholic Church by their pride and ignorance, respectively.
2.) There must be a communion rail. On this I will not compromise. The only appropriate posture in which I feel it is acceptable to receive the M.B.S. is kneeling in perfect supplication before the Real Presence. I am blessed to worship in an Anglican Use parish (of the Pastoral Provision of John Paul II for the Roman Rite) where the rail was left in tact when St. Mary's entered the Catholic Diocese of Ft. Worth. We were allowed to retain certain of our observances, and are fortunate to have a priest who values the propriety inherent in receiving the Most Blessed Sacrament whilst kneeling. This is something that the ethno-Catholics who visit my church cannot seem to grasp. We had a woman in attendance yesterday at the 10:30 high mass who stood during the entire Liturgy of the Eucharist. I could have understood if she had knee problems and had also stood during the Liturgy of the Word, but no. Almost with an air of impetuous defiance (it seemed to me), she stood during the Agnus Dei and for the presentation of the consecrated host. I was furious. At least she could have sat if she didn't want to kneel. I might have given her a pass, but then, she went to the communion rail and stood. Stood. I wanted to throttle this woman (which I then had to chide myself for for indulging such feelings during the holiest moments of my week). I was incensed. But here's the kicker: we had a diocesan representative come to speak briefly before the final benediction about child abuse prevention. Father introduced her, she stood, exited the pew, approached the rail, entered the sanctuary and offered not so much as a nod in the direction of the tabernacle. Two regulars behind me audibly huffed and sighed at this, and I must confess, I almost purposefully tuned-out every vapid syllable uttered by this irreverent P.R. stooge. But then, I thought to myself: it's not really her fault. Her only fault is ignorance. The real onus is on the Bishop or parish priest to see to it that the Body and Blood of Christ is present during the mass.
Those are my requirements. mediocre homiletics, bad music, even the occasional guitar will I suffer before I acquiesce on either of the two criteria above. But the best news is that I don't have to compromise on any of these items where I worship now. For as long as Alan Hawkins is priest at St. Mary's, I know that our traditions will not be abrogated. We have the most beautiful mass setting I have ever experienced (Missa de Angelis), in which we chant/sing the Gloria in Excelsis Deo, the Credo, the Pater Noster, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei all in Latin. Short of a full Tridentine Mass, we have retained the best elements of the Latin Rite and merged them with the Anglican liturgy in a way that accentuates the holiness and due reverence that God deserves in His Mass.
There are other liturgical subtleties that I like to see observed in a parish, but I won't ramble on further, and instead welcome other people's comments (if they have any) on the subject. I would simply offer as a final thought that St. Augustine lived in the fourth/fifth century, more than 1500 years before the atrocities of Vatican II eschewed the most pious liturgical observances of the faith. Upon reflection, I think I would first go visit St. Augustine with my time machine before visiting Henry and Paul, hand him his own rubber hose and invite him to join me in a pair of floggings. I have little doubt that that he would be game.
Dear MM,
The phrase "Eastern Rite RC" is a contradiction in terms. One can either be Roman Catholic, or a member of one of the 20+ Eastern Catholic Churches. There are a number of 'rites' used in the Eastern Churches (Byzantine, Syriac, et al.), as there are several 'usages' in the Roman Church (Sarum, Ambrosian, Gallican, et al.) Just because someone is Catholic does not automatically make them Roman.
- a member of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church (but in no way Roman)
Brandon,
I was wondering if the abuses you site are a direct result of V II or represented abuses of V II. It is off the topic of the thread so maybe you could email me an give me more perspective on that.
It is almost certainly not the job of the individual lay person to judge whether or not a priest is preaching heresy. If there is any question about an individual priest's teaching one should probably speak with the offending priest and perhaps the bishop if one's concerns are not fully addressed. If the bishop declines to punish the priest for any reason it is probably best to submit to either submit to the bishop's judgement, although one might reasonably contact whichever archbishop or cardinal has authority over the local bishop if the concern is felt strongly. Either way one needs to submit to the judgment of the church in the end.
That said, it is possible in this fallen world to either not get fed in the closest local parish or to get fed things which are somewhat less than the fullness than the truth, so it can be acceptable to go to a more distant parish if one finds that one isn't getting fed no matter how careful one is to seek nourishment in the community. It is also important to remain connected to the broader church since it is fairly common for individuals in any parish, and even whole parishes occasionally, to treat a relatively unimportant issue as if it was a fundamental doctrine.
Jon
Thank you all for these really insightful comments- they are truly appreciated.
And Brandon, yes I was at St. Mary's on this past Sunday! What a wonderful church. I am so grateful for Fr. Hawkin's ministry...
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