Friday, March 23, 2012

A letter to a parish priest

Dear Father,


I respect the priesthood.. I respect Holy Mass. I respect freedom of speech. I like jokes, even off colour jokes, as much as the next person.


Just not in Mass.


No, not even at the end before the final blessing.


And as if jokes aren't bad enough, distracting us from the liturgy, off colour jokes about nuns and the human body are really distracting.


It does not lift our minds and hearts towards God to hear a joke in mass about a nun lifting a fig leaf to look at you-know-what.


It is inappropriate. It demeans religious. It demeans Holy Mass. It makes a mockery of the term custody of the eyes. It may even make the expression of curiousity seem justified to that thirteen year old boy searching the internet and finding a porn site. 


Please.


Just stick to the final blessing. A smile and a thank you.


Leave the off colour jokes to a different setting.


In charity, I thank you.

They don't wear rose vestments any more?

In a parish I attended on Laetare Sunday ( mid Lent, rejoice!) the commentator read at the start of Holy Mass.."Today is what used to be called Laetare Sunday. In days gone past, priests would wear rose coloured vestments ." 


Really? In days gone past?


Then someone better explain that to our Cardinal, Cardinal Pell, celebrating Holy Mass  last week on Laetare Sunday, at the installation of a new parish priest. 


They don't wear rose vestments anymore?