From the only reliable source of Catholic news on the net, Eye of the Tiber:
When told about this Pope Francis responded, “They aren’t going to sing Kumbaya then are they? No? Good! Nothing sillier than a bunch of gringos and gringas holding hands and trying to sing!”
Footnote; Whirling Dervish was offered as a means of embracing cultural divides and a hope that Catholics would consider the importance of poverty. When asked the pontiff said; ” I love the idea. We might have a problem with pew space however. Maybe in a few years…after we remove the kneelers.”
On a serious note, I have problems with the handshaking after the Our Father. Mass is for worshiping God, not for “communalization.”
This all reminds me of a thought heard during the Vat II hyper-hootenanny Mass days of the seventies.
“Isn’t God lucky to have us as worshippers….”
I do not shake hands with any other neighbor but silently pray that God might bless each and everyone.
Jesus is on the altar. All people are in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Benedict XVI had asked to have the handshake removed to before Consecration, to before we come to Jesus, to before we celebrate our forgiveness of our sins. I have been called out as unhumble and selfish. Yes, well, so….
Let me add, too, that at one Mass, the priest left Jesus on the altar to shake my hand in the last pew. The priest’s vocation, the priest’s job is to minister to Jesus… made me feel bad.
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unhumbly yours,
Mary De Voe
It is uncomfortable for me too Mary.
Plus the priest at that point has already said from the altar- “my peace I give you”
Yes, Anzlyne, I, too, have thought that the priest gives us Christ’s peace.
yeah- after he has said it as Christ said it, seems quite a step down to shake of his role as alter Christi to go down the steps and out and shake hands with the folks on the ends of the pews as Father Jones
Perhaps it is a measure of the current state of the liturgy and the Church that I thought this was an actual news story not a parody until I neared the end. Not fair. I ranted at my poor wife and my blood pressure went through the roof. Then I spotted that it was from the eye of the Tiber. I’m typing this with a red face while chuckling, but if I have a heart attack next time, I’ll sue. My wife for some reason looks very pleased I made a mistake. Odd that.
Several years ago, my parish priest tried to put a stop to the hand holding.
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He wasn’t entirely successful.
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But on the bright side, I’m at peace with ignoring the guy down the pew who’s reaching out towards me.
In fairness I must admit a special moment that occurred when I visited my future mother in law. We went to her church for mass and the time came for a sign of peace. When Jeanne and I reached out for each other a very meaningful exchange did transpire. Years later we talked of that moment.
It was undeniably a grace we witnessed together.
In the TLM,, our focus is on God, and rightfully so. I am refreshed renewed and responsive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The sign of peace is inward and holy. It manifest itself to neighbor concretely and the intentions of my works of charity / mercy are rooted in the peace that the world can not give.
First it was holding hands at the Our Father,then shaking hands after the Our Father. Now we have to shake hands and tell the people around us who we are at the beginning of the Mass. Then we have to shout out “good news” from the week. It creates a circus of noise and laughter while I am trying to prepare myself for the Mass. I know I’m a “trad” but I think if anything the priest should remind the flock of the “holiness and seriousness” of the Holy Sacrifice at that time. There’s plenty of time for that after Mass in the social room.
Unfortunately, the reality at many Masses is worse than the repellant/repulsive picture painted by the Eye of the Tiber.
Joke, huh? Why is this so easy to believe of The Rodge? He has made the “Liturgy” of his former archdiocese so unnatural. Nothing flows, just one odd posture after another. I hope we have heard the last of him but I won’t be satisfied until the present archbishop restore the Mass to what I hope is 99.9 percent of the rest of the world.
I have to admit, this morning a friend I see rarely waved so excitedly at me, I couldn’t turn her down. :{
You guys would be absolutely horrified with me. I usually don’t grab strangers hand, but this disabled, elderly widow was sitting by me this past Sun & was so sweet to me & seemed so Linley that I did hold her hand (I initiated the holding) during the Our Father. During the collection of the offering, she turned & told me what a beautiful voice I had. Things like that are very comforting to me as I attend church by myself.
And even after that, the power of the Holy Spirit was so strong after receiving the Eucharist that I cried & repeatedly worshipped God when I returned to my pew. It was a glorious service. The focus was on the need for & availability of forgiveness through repentance and the love Christ shows to us through the forgivess of sins. I love it.
Isn’t the hand shake and the kiss of peace supposed to make us feel welcome? Today, Sunday, I brought some young people to Mass. No ushers. All the end pews were filled and the seats in the center of the pews were empty. One has to do a lap-dance to get to the empty pew. We did. On the way out, it was said that they never felt more unwelcome in any church. And it was said more than once with a promise never, never to return.
I have climbed over beached whales in shorts with pink skin and blond hair. The guy was at least 300 pounds and he would not budge an inch. Wasn’t Vatican II supposed to make us more familiar with the Mass in the vernacular?…more welcome?
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It is a holy day so I am not going to think what I am thinking. Hypocrites comes to mind.
Mary De Voe.
One Hail Mary.