Showing Reverence in a Catholic Church

How did we, as Catholics, get to this point? People coming into Mass dressed as though they just stepped off of the tennis court. People coming into the Nave as if they were entering a social hall without genuflecting or even acknowledging Jesus' presence before sitting in the pew. People walking into the Nave speaking in a loud voice, regardless of whether there is anyone else in the church. 

Jesus is Waiting

In a Catholic Church, the Sanctuary is our "most holy place". This is where Jesus is in the Tabernacle on the Altar. Even though He's not exposed, He is there. He waits for us. He waits to be revered. He waits to be worshiped. He waits to be glorified. Not just during Mass...every single moment of every single day He waits.  Tom Nash (Catholic Answers) writes: Church tabernacles located in sanctuaries, and often behind altar rails, are a New Covenant analogue to the holy of holies in the Old Covenant Temple in Jerusalem. How do we know Jesus is in the Tabernacle? Look for a red candle. Anytime Jesus is present, a red candle should be lit near the Tabernacle. The Code of Canon Law 940 cites: A special lamp which indicates and honors the presence of Christ is to shine continuously before a tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved.  

The first thing any Catholic should do upon entering a church is to look for the tabernacle. Having found it, before entering a pew or approaching the altar, one should genuflect. In my opinion, we are becoming lazy with bowing instead of genuflecting. Obviously, if the person is unable to bend the knee, then bowing should be done. St. Thomas Aquinas is attributed to saying Satan doesn't have knees because he genuflects to no one. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal No. 274 states A genuflection, made by bending the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and therefore it is reserved for the Most Blessed Sacrament, as well as for the Holy Cross from the solemn adoration during the liturgical celebration on Good Friday until the beginning of the Easter Vigil. 

When the Nave isn't Used for Mass

At my Parish, there are times when the Nave is used for things other than Mass, like retreats or the Parish Mission. I've noticed that there are people who don't seem to know (or remember) that Jesus is waiting in the Tabernacle, that this is the place where bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and that the reverence should still be there even if there isn't a Mass being celebrated. It saddens me that people aren't being educated in reverence. It may be okay in a Protestant Church, where the real presence of Jesus is, well, absent. But not in a Catholic Church. Before anyone comments or thinks about why I am looking around instead of focusing on Jesus let me say this: It's hard not to notice if it happens right in front of you. 

Then there's the "gum issue". The first time I went to a Protestant Service was in college. A roommate invited me home for the weekend and we went to this small Southern Baptist Church in Northeast Tennessee. Just for point of reference: this is the same place where an elephant was hung. But I digress...We went in and sat down, and my friend immediately asked if I wanted a piece of gum. I asked, "You can chew gum at church?" which had the family in stitches.  The difference is that Jesus isn't present in a Tabernacle in a Southern Baptist Church. Quoting Tom Nash again: God is indeed present everywhere (omnipresent), and yet he manifested his presence most intimately in Old Covenant times in the holy of holies. 

Last Thoughts

How would you dress/act if invited to a highfalutin banquet? Jesus is calling us to the most important banquet of our lives. There are days when I'm doing well to get to Mass, much less dress up. We've all heard (or even used) the argument that Jesus doesn't care how we're dressed...He's just glad we're there. I'm guilty, but show modesty. I'd much rather see someone in a t-shirt or sweatshirt and jeans than in something resembling a tennis dress or clothes that look like they just got off the beach/lake. 

Make the effort. Show Jesus the reverence He deserves. Learn how to quiet yourself when walking into the Nave. In doing so, you also respect those who arrive early to pray and prepare themselves for Mass. Let's bring back the reverence! 

What Has Happened to Respect?

Photo by Ric Rodrigues from Pexels

What has happened to respect with the Church? My parents raised all of their children to be respectful when attending Mass, and to be respectful to the clergy and religious. When did people forget how to act during Mass?

Modesty, Mouthies, and Name-Calling

At a recent Confirmation practice, one of the Sponsors (who I estimate to be in his late teens/early twenties) walked into the Sanctuary with a big cup of soda. I asked him politely if he would take the cup out of the Sanctuary. He did, but I was at the receiving end of some glares. I mean, really? You're going to disrespect Jesus by bringing that in the Sanctuary and by sipping on it? Our Eucharistic Chapel has a sign on the door:

Do people not understand that our Lord is present in the Holy Eucharist? Sure, He may be hidden away in the tabernacle, but check the red candle, people!

A Catholic Priest got slammed (and his account taken down) on Twitter for requesting that women cover their shoulders when attending Mass. Granted, most of the people angrily responding to him probably weren't practicing Catholics. His reasoning could have been communicated differently: Instead of saying it was to "protect the purity of the men", he could have said, " out of respect for the Holy Eucharist". Some tweeters are calling for women to show up to Mass in his parish wearing tube tops. REALLY??? You're going to disrespect Jesus like that? Oh, how the devil is surely eating this up. It's not okay to come to Mass in ripped jeans (no matter how much they cost you), short skirts/shorts, or with half of your upper body/stomach exposed. IT'S. JUST.NOT. Show some respect!

It's also not okay to chew gum during Mass. You may not have technically had anything to eat 1 hour before Communion, but you're about to put Jesus in your mouth. Wrigleys and Jesus don't mix. I was especially appalled to see a grown woman chewing gum while in the line to receive Communion. Did she swallow it, or did she receive the Eucharist with the gum still in her mouth? I was equally appalled to see a later elementary-aged child smacking away on his gum while in line for Communion.

And what is with people calling priests & nuns/sisters by their first names, deleting "Father" or "Sister"? I read an article written by a Sister of Mercy. When the commenters mentioned her name, they left off "Sister". Out of my mother's 7 siblings, 3 were priests and 1 was a nun/sister. My grandmother called each of them "Father" and "Sister". There was no calling them by their given or chosen name. I've spoken with people who have aunts and uncles who are priests and sisters, and they all call them by their name, leaving off their title. The sister at my parish and I have become close friends. She told me I didn't have to call her "Sister" but I told her that I certainly did. Yes, I know some priests have done some horrific things, but that doesn't change the fact that each of those men and women consecrated their lives to Jesus. The Sisters have married Jesus, and the priests have married the Church. That in itself is something to be respected.

Just pure ignorance...

I just don't get it. I don't understand where this is coming from. It has to be a lack of education. People are just ignorant of what the consecrated host really is. They are ignorant about how they should conduct themselves in the house of the Lord. I've heard, "Jesus doesn't care how I come to Church; he just cares that I'm there." True to a point, but would you go to a banquet with holes in your jeans or in a tube top? There are times when I don't wear my "Sunday best" to Mass, and there are times I show up to Daily Mass in a t-shirt, but you certainly won't see me in ripped clothing or with part of my upper body showing. Even when I was a lot younger, I wouldn't have dared to show up to Mass like that. Why wouldn't you be respectful to Him who gave his life for all of us so we will have everlasting life? It's time we started educating people (in a non-judgemental way) to respect the Church.

"Me Time"

Searching for Jesus

The reflections I read about today's Gospel (Mark 1:29-39) were about knowing that God gave you a purpose, or that we should always seek Jesus. Even Pope Francis got in on it:

The Homily was given by the Bishop through a recording (Bishop's Appeal Sunday), and he mentioned how we should all search for Jesus. He said that some people find Him at an early age, and some search their whole lives. I fall into that last category. Sometimes I feel like we're playing "hide & seek"...I find him and have a great relationship with him, but then I go through a dry period & I feel like I lose him for a time. Are you with me?

Not my take

Interestingly, though, that's not what I got out of the Readings. In the First Reading  (Job 7:1-4, 6-7), Job is talking about his sufferings. I remember those nights that seemed to go on forever...walking around the room or rocking a newborn. Just me & my baby for what seemed like hours, especially since I was so tired and just wanted to go to bed. Seeing the sun coming up was such a relief. Then it would seem like a blink of an eye that the day would be gone and I would pray for the baby to sleep all night. Thankfully, I didn't have very many of those nights; maybe that's why I remember them so vividly.
Fast forward to now...the babies are grown men and those sleepless nights are a distant memory. Every now and then, though, I will have a sleepless night thanks to the dogs. When I'm up, I'm up and there are nights when I can't go back to sleep. Nights when I lay back down, staring at the clock, knowing I have to get up in "X" amount of hours. Those nights don't seem as long as they did when I had babies to comfort. Oh, but the days! There just isn't enough time in the day to accomplish all I need or want to.

But I'm so tired!

In the Gospel, Jesus healed a bunch of people, then got up at the crack of dawn to pray. He had to be dog-tired after all of the healing he did the day before, yet he got up to spend time with God. Those mornings when I just want to stay in bed? Yeah, I'm going to have to remember this Gospel.
My parents were almost always the first to get up in the mornings. They never stayed in bed because they were tired. If they were still in bed after we got up, they were ill, and they were never ill. (A slight embellishment...they were rarely ill!) Once they were empty-nesters, they attended Daily Mass every day except Sat. (mom said that was their day to "sleep in"...sometimes until 8:00!) My mom would wake up around 6:00 every morning, go into the kitchen, and pray and read the day's readings. My father was raised on farms, so he had always been an "up and at 'em" kind of guy. There wasn't a lazy bone in either of their bodies. But I know they had to be tired. Just like Jesus was.

Early to bed; early to rise

What kept them going? It had to be the promise of salvation. Some mornings I can't wait to get up and see what the day's Readings are. Other mornings, I want to hit the snooze and take just another 15 minutes before I get up. Then I remember the passage in Matthew Kelly's Resisting Happiness where he talks about hitting the snooze button being the first resistance of the day. So, I get up and get on with my day. There's definitely something about being the first one up in the house. It's always been my "me time". Just me and the dogs, trying to get my act together for the day. My days definitely go smoother when I have that time to pray and read. Some mornings there isn't a whole lot of reflection going on, and on my Adoration days sometimes I'm a little slack because I know I'll have an hour that evening. Some days I have more to pray about than others because, well...3 grown boys. The worrying never stops, y'all.  I can definitely "feel it" when I don't have that time in the mornings. After reading the Gospel this morning, I guess even Jesus needed his "me time"!
So...what about you? When is your "me time"?

{SQT} Advent Take-Aways

At the end of the first entry in my Blessed is She Advent Journal, I wrote "I want PEACE". By the 3rd Sunday, I had found it. The weird thing is that the night before, I had a dream, and I had a physical memory of the dream. At least, I think it was a dream. I don't know how to describe the feeling, except to say that it felt almost like a panic attack. In my dream, I immediately said, "Jesus, I love you" followed by "Jesus, Mary, & Joseph, pray for me". I woke up the next morning feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I actually felt really good. I felt good about my oldest son moving to the West Coast. I felt good about not focusing on "things" this Advent. I just felt...GOOD.

As I told a friend of mine, I'm still trying to get the hang of this "Empty Nest" gig. Letting go is extremely hard for me; I'm a total control freak. But, I've really come to embrace "God's got this" over the past 4 weeks. Man, these weeks went by quickly! I get so dependent on the "special times" of the Liturgical Calendar that I don't want it to end. I've got to keep working at getting closer to God during "Ordinary Times". 

I always thought the beginning of Matthew was one of (if not the) the most boring chapters in the Bible, with the list of genealogy. I've never understood why that was included until I read the reflections. Now I understand that it's to underscore that Jesus didn't just come from nothing...he has a family tree that is similar to just about everyone's on this planet. There are saints, and there are sinners; there are murderers and prostitutes, but there are also good, saintly people.

We all know that Jesus was born in a manger...a feeding trough. It wasn't until this Advent that I put the feeding trough and the table of God together. We come to that Table through the Eucharist. (And that only took me 54 years to realize!)

I loved the readings that had to do with signs. We are encouraged to not look too hard for signs, but rather just trust that God will take care of us. God gave people signs, but they didn't see them. He sent the largest, most blatant sign of all, but people didn't see. In fact, some don't see it today. 

The 2 words that summarize this Advent for me are "Trust" and "Gratitude". Elizabeth & Zechariah trusted God, John the Baptist trusted God, Mary trusted God, Joseph trusted God. All of these people had plans that weren't God's. Yet, in the end, they didn't fight His plan or go against it. They trusted in Him, and they were grateful to Him, even when His plan was tough to follow. 

Last, but certainly not least, this Advent taught me to take a look at past Advents and readjust my attitude. For the past 28 years (at least), I've tried to have a perfect Christmas for my boys. And in doing so, I think I missed out on teaching them what it's really all about. Sure, we always had an Advent Wreath and a Nativity Set, and we went to Mass. I wanted them to have the memories that I have of Christmas: the baking, the decorating, the gifts. Last year, one of my sons suggested that we skip the gifts this year; they aren't important to him. Another one of my sons told me a few weeks ago that he felt like Christmas was just another day in the last month of the year. That really cut to the bone, but he did immediately say that he guessed it was an important day. I just have to keep praying that he'll come back around some day. 

I spent this Advent getting ready for Christmas...spiritually. I woke up early, read the Daily Readings & some reflections, said morning prayers, and wrote in my journal. I also viewed the clips from Best Advent Ever from Dynamic Catholic. I feel prepared, yet unprepared for Christmas at the same time. I didn't get stressed about not doing this year; I didn't get stressed about not buying. This has definitely been my best Advent yet. 

I'm linking up with Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum for Seven Quick Takes. 

{Second Sunday in Advent}: HE KNOWS

As I read the Readings for today, the above verse jumped out at me. How many times do I look at someone and immediately make a judgment? There's a lady in my parish who used to sit a couple of rows ahead of me during Mass. I would see her look around, watching people as they came in. In my head, I could hear her make comments about them. My reaction was to think that this woman was really nosy, and more interested in people than what was going on at the altar.  And then I met her and spent a little bit of time with her. I had the opportunity to see what an absolutely beautiful person she is. I saw her come into Mass Sat. evening, and I thought about my wrong first impression of her. This was before I read and heard the Readings. Even during the reading during Mass, I didn't catch it. Then, Sunday morning as I read the Readings at my kitchen table, this hit home:
Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide.  (Isaiah 11:3)
It's so very easy to be swayed by someone else's opinion, and I'm the world's worst at that. We are urged to think for ourselves and not be influenced by what others think. 

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another. (Romans 15: 5)
Jenna Hines wrote today's reflection for Blessed is She. The target of the reflection is to be in harmony with other people. Not to change their thoughts, just to work on yourself and let God worry about the big picture. Yesterday, during an Advent Reflection at a nearby convent, Sister mentioned that there is no need for us to worry about anything; God is in control. He knows all: He knows when we're going to mess up, and He knows how we're going to fix it. www.USCCB.org offers this explanation of that line: 
[15:5] Think in harmony: a Greco-Roman ideal. Not rigid uniformity of thought and expression but thoughtful consideration of other people’s views finds expression here.
Isn't that perfect for right now, considering what's happening post-election?

Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.  ( Matthew 3:10)
We are called to live out our lives for God. We are called to evangelize and to go out into the world and proclaim God's word, if not by our words, then by our actions. It all goes back to the question: If we were on trial for being a Christian, would we be found guilty?

For the Gospel's reflections, both ePriest and my parish priest explained that when in the desert, the Israelites learned to depend on God. When they were in the desert, they had to give all control to God. Tying the Gospel in with the other Readings, all 3 have the component of letting go and putting everything in God's hands. Man, that's difficult! There are things that go on in my life, with my adult children, that I want to control. I end up getting all stressed out about it because I think I have to be in control, when I should lift it up to God. HE's the one in control. He knows how things are going to be "fixed". When I think I have to be in control, I get physically sick to my stomach. As I learn to hand the problems up to God, I can feel that sinking feeling and the anxiety being lifted.
ePriest mentioned that John's baptism helped get rid of old attitudes and old ways of thinking. This Advent, my goal is to let go of my old attitudes and old ways of thinking I'm in control, and to LET GOD.

{SQT} Staying Positive

Joining Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum for Seven Quick Takes.

What a week! It hasn't been too hard to stay positive. WHAT? Did I really just say that? Yes, I did. Here's how I did it:

1) Stay off of social media. I listened to Hallie Lord's show on The Catholic Channel the other day; she said she made the mistake of getting on twitter, and then proceeded to fight all day long. Why do people insist on putting their political opinions on social media? Does anyone really care what my opinions are? (Yeah, I didn't think so!) Likewise, I don't really care what anyone else's opinions are...least of all some celebrity.

2) Remember the words of Father Leo Patalinghug: We will continue to be One Nation Under God. We have to continue to pray for the USA and for all of our leaders. We have to pray that the Holy Spirit will give them the wisdom to make the right choices for all of the citizens.

3) Remember the US Motto: In God We Trust. That's something we see every day, we just don't notice it. We have to trust that God knows what He's doing.

4) Keep in mind the words of a friend:  It is not the responsibility of ONE president to make sure I'm OK. It is MY hard work, effort, the love of my family and the everlasting love of my God that will carry me through. God bless the USA!

5) Uplifting videos, like this one:

6) Watching non-political clips:

7) Wednesday morning, I woke up and went to work just like I do every weekday...just like most Americans.