The seminarians at St. Charles Seminary in Philly have a little fun with the various different styles of the sign of peace. Me, I am a sit in the back pew and wave guy.
Good job guys!
The seminarians at St. Charles Seminary in Philly have a little fun with the various different styles of the sign of peace. Me, I am a sit in the back pew and wave guy.
Good job guys!
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June 23, 2010 at 5:09 am
For me, the most touchey-feely mass environment has to be the state of Washington (a theological "lost cause" IMHO). I was there last year during flu season with a a scarf wrapped around my neck and mouth trying to control the fluid in my lungs so that I would not cough incessantly during mass. But this did not stop the throngs of people from trying to grab at my hands to hold them during the "Our Father" or to lunge and try and get a piece of me during the kiss of peace. I remember thinking, "really? seriously? half the people here are coughing, sneezing and sniffling, and you want to swap yet even MORE germs? Really?" My counter was to put my hand over my heart and nod my head (the same gesture I use when i don't want to shake someone's hand outside of mass without appearing to snub them).
I'm the guy that bear-hugs his friends (male and female) and greets kids by lifting them above his head and gnarling on their ears. But at a NO mass in flu season, I'm definitely a "no cooties" type of guy.
June 23, 2010 at 5:33 am
And then there was the lady who after shaking my wife's hand and mine at the sign of peace pulled out her disinfectant dispenser and gave her hands a good scrub. Smart lady. Give it a few years and it may become part of the liturgy.
June 23, 2010 at 12:50 pm
He, he, he. This really cracked me up!
June 23, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Mass attendance could perhaps feature a hand-holding section and a non-hand-holding section.
— Mack
June 23, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Patrick, I understand your point but I need to address you personally. You can't love your neighbor, let alone a brother Christian, from the back pew with a diffident wave. Understand I'm not a Kumbaya Catholic, I loathe the demonic sensuality and narcissism we got from the 1960's. But the Body of Christ is intimate and (until the next world) messy and I don't think God has allowed me to absent myself from that intimacy. And do you expect a priest from your children when you yourself hang back from the altar?
June 23, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Oh gosh. All of these have happened to me. I especially hate the death grip handshake.
June 23, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Folks, it is not "hanging back from the altar" to leave off the Kiss of Peace. The pew is not the altar. The KOP is an optional practice which the GIRM leave to the discretion of the priest. Mind you, the priest. Not the bishop or the laity. The KOP is NOT an essential part of the Holy Mass without which the sky would fall and our faith would be lost. It is a habit from monastic communities and originally was for the priests alone to do. You are not a bad Catholic if you demur. You are a bad Catholic if you do not have a keen awareness that, as soon as all this glad handing is over, the very King of the Universe will be fractured for you and for many. Usually the KOP comes to an end at the send line of Agnus Dei is sung or said. That's obscene!! How can their be 'peace' if we won't even offer respect to Our Lord?
June 23, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Andrew W,
I recommend reading the letter by St. Augustine where he discusses not allowing yourself to scandalize or be scandalized.
You can find it in the wonderful book, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 3, within the first 11 pages. Just my two cents.
June 23, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Yikes! They were in a Catholic chapel, in the presence of Jesus in the Tabernacle and were filming this? I am shocked and appalled. I am all for looking at the lighter side of things but could they not show respect here and find a different location?
June 23, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I was hoping the Blessed Sacrament was not present.
June 23, 2010 at 6:43 pm
It wasn't, that chapel is not in active use at that seminary.
June 23, 2010 at 6:51 pm
The sign of peace is undeniably a terrible distraction and is often carried too far in some more liberal parishes. I have seen it last for up to 10 minutes, and that seems longer than you think when you want it to end. When this happen, one is forgetting why they are assisting at the Holy Sacrifice of Mass.
I believe everything has a place in its own given time. There is plenty of time to socialize after Mass and go crazy with all sorts of signs of peace, perhaps in ones everyday life. It is a blessing that it is not practiced at the Tridentine Mass, and for very good reasons. It focuses on the Sacrifice itself rather than the people themselves.
June 23, 2010 at 7:12 pm
I helped make the video. The Blessed Sacrament was NOT present. This chapel is simply a practicum chapel for transitional deacons. The Mass has not been said in there for several decades. It is in an abandoned wing of the Seminary.
…Just to place certain minds at ease.
June 23, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Dymphna is right: The SOP is optional in the GIRM.
Many of us think it was a mistake to allow it at all – seeing how it has been abused in actual practice. I have seen some masses transformed into a veritable Baptist service, with the priest working up and down the aisles while some very energetic congregants range far and wide dispensing bear hugs in a strange episode which can can often last over a minute.
This is one of things that bugs me most about the Paul VI mass – at least in practice. I would not miss it if it were dropped.
When I do attend an ordinary form mass, to fair, I don't cold shoulder anyone approaching; but neither do I move from my spot, or go out of my way to make body contact with anyone. I second Gerald's comment above: "There is plenty of time to socialize after Mass." Right on. That's what coffee and donuts are for.
Thanks to Dave for clarifying that the Blessed Sacrament was not present.
June 23, 2010 at 7:24 pm
I'm pleased to hear the Blessed Sacrament was not present, but is that place still a chapel? Why are there altar cards on the high altar? I'm kind of shocked that seminarians would be making a mockery out of parts of the Mass.
June 23, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Dave, thank you for the info about the location of the video. It seemed odd that seminarians would be disrespectful toward the Real Presence. I see now I jumped to an uncharitable conclusion, sorry about that.
June 23, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Anonymous 11:12 AM,
Just a correction, the Kiss of Peace did *not* originate in monastic communities and was *not* originally reserved to the clergy. The oldest description of the liturgy we possess, St Justin's from the mid 2nd c., includes the Kiss of Peace among the faithful. Many other sources refer to the practice as a norm.
We can make arguments about whether we think/feel that the Kiss should be included in the liturgy of the mass and how frequent, or where we think it should reside, or what form it should take. But we can't engage in revisionist history mistakes Tridentine or medieval practice with "originally."
June 23, 2010 at 7:43 pm
I hope this video was made with the permission of the seminary, I know what kind of trouble we used to get in if we used the seminary's name in a public forum back in my seminary days. -Fr. Andrew
June 23, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Sorry, folks. I've shifted the video off public status. I will not have it fuel debate or even hatred for this part of the mass. It was meant to be lighthearted and humorous, and thanks to those of you who have appreciated it as such. -Gary
June 23, 2010 at 8:34 pm
One more note..
Remember that I said that this was a practicum chapel. This chapel is used for practicums for those who would like to learn the Extraordinary Form.
The Sacrifice of the Mass has not taken place there in decades, as I said, and the whole wing, as a matter of fact, is abandoned.