Sunday's StarTribune had three more letters reacting to Nick Coleman's column in the Strib of more than a week ago reporting on the walkout at St Stephen's. Two agreeing with Coleman, and one opposed. Michael Bayly wondered why the Church is so threatened by "inclusive language." I commented.
They kept the faith
My heartfelt support — emotional and spiritual — goes to the people of St. Stephen’s parish who have chosen to relocate their worship service (“The push for conformity shoves away parishioners,” March 2).
I know a number of people, myself included, who choose not to support the worship dictates of the men who call themselves our leaders. We have kept our faith, but we have lost our church.
Diocese spokesman Dennis McGrath states that “they had plenty of warnings to get their act together.” What a heavy-handed, thuggish way of putting it!
Apparently they did get their act together and found a place where they could celebrate their faith in a way that harmonizes with their values.
Susan Weyrauch,
Whose gospel is it?
Let’s see if I got this right — among other things, the parishioners of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church thought they, mere mortals, could improve upon the teachings of our creator, our Lord Jesus Christ, and change the words to the prayer that Jesus himself taught us to pray (“Our Father and Mother, Who Art in Heaven”?)
Yikes! Who died and made them God?
Joe and Becky Eibenseiner, Sauk Center, MN
WWJD?
What would Jesus do? I doubt very much he would alienate devoted followers using tough-guy talk like Dennis McGrath did when he said, “They’ve had plenty of warning to get their act together.” This is the type of intolerant leadership that drives people away from the church.
For many people, congregations such as St. Stephen’s and St. Joan of Arc’s are their last stop before leaving the church for good. The basic tenets of the Catholic Church are faith, hope and charity, yet for these faithful, it gives no hope or charity.
Would Jesus put more emphasis on carrying out the message of his gospels or following the rubrics?
I think he’d be leading the disenfranchised parishioners out the front door of the church down the road to where faith, hope and charity have real meaning.
Joe Boller,
4 comments:
Good points, Ray! It seems so simple but it seems hard for people to follow, for some reason (our rebellious nature?)!
Thanks, Laura.
I should have used the term "rebellious" but actually I posted that first on the blog of the director of one of the groups that seems to have major problems with the wording of the Mass and many other policies of the Church, too.
Say, Mom, how come you're not showing off your latest arrival? I had to make a surreptitious visit myself to find out that young Tom is present and accounted for and is speaking for himself when he's not satisfied.
It surprises me, but I seem to be getting a great deal of enjoyment checking out the youngsters at the parishes I attend. They are our future and I pray for them.
[I know I should be praying, but I just can't help myself sometimes.]
As a member of the incoming Generation Y, I can assure you that most of my fellow Gen. Y Roman Catholics, at least the ones I have met, adhere strongly to the Magisterium of the Church, especially those of us (like myself) who feel called to the priesthood and/or religious life.
We've seen what modernism does to the Church, and it saddens us. Most of us have been cheated out of a solid understanding of our faith by the Baby Boomer generation of Catholics (although, many of us learned a lot from our parents).
Thank God for the Catholic Studies and Philosophy departments at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, and that there are still orthodox Roman Catholic theology professors here (albeit they are a minority) I've learned so much about my faith and how to defend it from my classes there. Those two departments, and the orthodox Roman Catholic theology profs, still provide a true Catholic liberal arts education to those looking for one.
-LandOLakesJesuit
Thanks for a good comment, LOL-J
All organizations have members of varying quality.
I do know that both of our seminaries are far better than they were in the 70's, 80's and early 90's before the arrival of Archbishop Harry Flynn and his appointment of new rectors, professors and other staff members.
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