S&F-Confessions of a Cradle Catholic III: Angry Jesus

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And he said to them, “It is written: ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of thieves." (Mt 21:12-13)

Jesus is always thought of as being peaceful and accepting, but remember he is fully man, and obviously he has a temper as well.

This is not the Gospel today, however, in going through the events of Holy Week this is one of my favorites and it gives me a chance to rant, which, as a grumpy old man, I love to do.

Every Christmas season for as long as I can remember I go to Church every week and see the parents from the school peddling gift cards in the back of the church.  While the people buying the gift cards get them at full value, the school gets a cut on each card purchased.  Huh?  Are these parents just the money changers?  Am I allowed to channel my inner Jesus and flip their table?

I know what you are saying.  The gift card sales aren't jacking up the price of the gift cards or charging interest of something.  So the idea of gift card sales does not have a bad intent.  But I'm sure that there were people in the temple area just trying to make money they needed to support their family by selling goods during while the celebration of Passover was going on.  They didn't have a negative intent.  But Jesus still took his whip and drove them from the temple area.  Good intent does not mean good reality.

While flipping the table and making some cool speech would be cool, I resist my urge to do so.  I just don't think it would be accepted unless Jesus actually did it.  However the purpose of this Cradle Catholic Series is for me to fix the Church, at least in the view of a grumpy old man.  So here's my wish for the gift card sales this holiday season, stop selling gift cards, like the money changers, in the house of prayer.  They can distribute order forms but move the actual transaction to the school office or to the rectory.

Now I know when I look at the back of the church this Christmas season I'm sure that nothing will change and I'll see school parents doing their duty and selling gift cards.  Once again I will resist my urge to shame them for turning the church into a den of thieves.  But I tell you this, if I see them selling doves back there I can not be held responsible for my actions.  Those tables doves and all are gonna be a flippin.

S&F-Confessions of a Cradle Catholic II: Catholic School

I never got to go to Catholic School.  I was a public school kid and am very proud of it.  However, both of my kids did get the privilege of  being able to attend a catholic school and I realize that it is something that should be taken advantage of if a family is able to do so.

However, this is my series on rants about the church, so you know there is going to be some problem with Catholic School that I have an issue with.  Before you say, what do I know since I never went to a Catholic School?  I submit that I have seen Catholic schooling in my family for over 2 decades and at one time I was on the school advisory council for Our Lady of Grace.

First I want to say the educators and teachers are great at Catholic schools in the area.  I have never heard of an issue with teachers pushing agendas or other inappropriate practices like we tend to see occasionally in public schools.  I do believe the staff and teachers at parochial schools do what is best for the development of their students both socially and scholarly.

That's where I have the problem.  Some of these places have placed the education over the spiritual.  They have become schools that happen to be Catholic rather than Catholic Schools.  I understand that they are private institutions that must have great STEM academics to get high quality students.  I know some of them have to even recruit athletes to highlight their athletic programs.

And that's great and all, but as a Catholic whose money I put in the collection every week is subsidizing these schools I would rather see statistics on the percentage of students who become priests rather than go onto a college scholarship in a sport.  Or number of young women who enter the convent from Catholic Schools as opposed to go to four-year universities.  Yes, its important to educate the students, but its also important to help their spiritual discernment.

I do try in these rants to come up with a solution.  While this is defiantly beyond my level, I think that their should be scholarships at both the elementary school levels and high school levels for altar servers.  They have taken an interest in the church and participating the the mass and should be rewarded for it.  Those individuals are our best chances to find deacons, priests and religious sisters in the future.

This one hits home because we are well into Lent, but by no means should a Catholic School be on spring break for Holy Week, especially Good Friday.  It seems like most of the Catholic schools in the area are taking off Good Friday and then the following week for spring break.  Good Friday is part of the most important triduum of our faith.  What are we teaching the students if we are prioritizing getting a day off to travel over the death of Jesus on the Cross.  At a minimum they should have a morning of prayer and reflection, focused on Stations of the Cross.

It's time to remember that the word "Catholic" comes before the word "School" in every school's name.  Maybe students should go to mass more as part of their school day.  Maybe they should be studying the Bible just as much as their chemistry book.  Maybe they should be spend as much time in prayer as practicing free throws.

 

S&F-Confessions of a Cradle Catholic I: Music

I was born an raised as a Catholic.  Even times when I wasn't active in the church, I still saw being a Catholic as a big part of my life.  And part of being in part of the Catholic laity, I was raised to be non-questioning in the Church.  Afterall, how can I say that I know something better than an institution that is 2 centuries old with a leader who is actually can use the phrase "Infallibility of the Pope."

That being said there are some things I wish were different about the Church in the current day.  And risking excommunication (although hopefully none of these are going to anger the Pope that much), I am going to put together a little series of things I miss from the Church I grew up in that are missing in today's Church.

I hate the Music.

There I said it.  I love the people that do the music.  They are extremely talented singers and musicians.  However, it seems like the modern hymns that they choose are only being sung by the choir or cantor. Most of the congregation chooses not to sing, either because the songs are unfamiliar or flat out beyond the level of most of the people in attendance.  There seems to be overlaying of lyrics on top of other lyrics that make the normal person in the church struggle to follow.  We aren't supposed to be singing a round of Row-Row-Your Boat where different people jump in at different times.

I used to go to a church in Virginia where the Our Father was sung.  It was kinda nice to really reflect on the words as we sung them slowly.  Them problem was the men would start and then the women would come in later.  It just seemed disjointed and if you didn't know it was coming, you could get lost in one of the most important parts of the mass.

I wish we could go back to the days where the music was simple and familiar.  The instruments were led by things like organs and not tambourines and rain sticks.  The cantor and choir were there to lead the congregation in song praising God and not use the time as an opportunity to show their talents.

I know there are a lot of people who love the music in church.  But I do look around and see a large majority of the people just mindlessly sitting there waiting for the song to end so we can get to the next part of the service.  And that's sad.  Music should enhance our worship.

I wish I could come up with a fix for the music.  I do know some churches have "no music" masses. That's actually kind of disappointing we have gotten to that level.  But maybe it is time to look at the music chosen and make sure that they are ones that the congregation can really get behind.  We are supposed to be participants and not just spectators in the mass.  That's what Vatican II was supposed to change over 50 years ago.