The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC, 1387) categorically stipulates; “Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of the moment when Christ becomes our guest.” Hence, our conduct encompasses everything we do, including what we do in preparation for the Eucharistic celebration.Last Sunday (07 June 2009), my family and I attended the 8.45 am, Mass at a church in the East of Singapore. We arrived 15 minutes before the commencement of the Eucharistic celebration, when I was attracted by a boy playing a video game on a mobile phone. The lad appeared to be around 12 years-old, and sat with his parents two pews in front of me.
The irreverent conduct of the boy brought to my mind Psalm 69:9: "For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me." By highlighting this unacceptable behaviour on holy grounds, I am not condemning the boy or his parents. But I want to publicize the importance of maintaining a reverent disposition in church at all times, as stated in 1 Timothy 3:15; "If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth."
I believe that if Jesus had come up to the boy to gently reprimand him for his irreverence ", He would have told the boy, "Don’t make my Father’s house into a video game arcade." This would have been similar to what Jesus told people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers in the temple: "Take these things out of here! Stop making My Father's house a marketplace!" (John 2:16).
Having said my piece about keeping our Father's house holy, it is incumbent upon parents and guardians to teach their children / wards how to behave themselves in church and in the presence of Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle of the altar.
Shalom and Warm regards
Lionel Jerome de Souza
Comments
Besides playing games, there are many who sms during mass too. There are also many parents with young children who are simply out of control.
Granted kids will be kids, it is the parents' responsibility to teach and guide them on proper behaviour in church. I have seen children who just play and scream loudly in church and their parents are nonchalant about the ongoings.
Then, there are those who are dressed in their beachwear, marketing wear (what they would wear when they go to the market), and even pyjamas, to mass. We, in Singapore, are so blessed to have churches within our housing estates but surely we should know what to wear when we go to church.
In many parts of the world, you need to be properly attired or you will be denied entry into the church. Perhaps it's time we have wardens in our churches turning away people who are not properly attired?
Its the House of God we are entering. We should have the sense of how to dress and behave, shouldn't we?
As we call upon parents & guardians to teach their children proper behaviour during Holy Mass, we should seriously consider the possibility that there are many adults who are ill-equipped to exercise such responsibility. This may be due to an ignorance of the essential meaning of the Mass, its awesomeness and its ranking as the greatest of all Sacraments. And, if indeed there is this ignorance, is there a system in force to teach the teachers.
Otherwise, the Catholic News will continue to receive letters from concerned and sometimes frustrated parishioners commenting about such unacceptable behaviour as we gather together to celebrate what Pope John XXIII called the “Source and Summit of Christian life”.
God Bless.
Derrick D’Souza
Those who advocate the pro- choice position need not necessarily be pro abortion. They may be against abortion personally but in favour of people having the freedom to choose. It is a confusion on the process of the two stages of abstraction, where statements of value, of belief, become statements of judgement, when such statements are but inferences or hypotheses. What pro- lifers are saying, for example, is abortion ought to be viewed as murder and pro-choice position that abortion is not murder is a statement of what ought to be, not what is. The point made is that we form inferences (hypotheses) from which theories are derived and which lead progressively to higher levels of abstraction. What ought to be need not be what is and it carries no obligation to do.
In law, for example, empirical disagreement about law is a disagreement about the words used in the statute books. Theoretical disagreement in law, however, is problematic, because it is disagreement about grounds in law. There have been debates on whether judges discover or invent law. Dworkin, professor of jurisprudence at Oxford University and professor of Law at New York University, elucidated it this way – the crux is not really the discovery or invention but whether segregation, for example, was in fact illegal before the decision. If it was, there was no theoretical disagreement about grounds of law. If it was an invention, it means segregation was not illegal and the judge changed the law in the decision. Such decisions, however, can only come from the supreme or high courts; not lower ones.
The dress code for church in the context mentioned above is not specific, on grounds of church law, and open to personal interpretation of what constitutes decorum. The letter and comments written on dress do not have the exactness of boundary and are in fact statements of value, or belief, of the congregation, which aspire wrongly to the status of statements of judgement and, a fortiori, are not based on similarity to theoretical disagreements in law . There is no obligation attached to the statement of dress which is merely a statement of inference (personal inference), as has been stated, in the process of abstraction. The Ten Commandments, on the other hand, are specific not only in content but also in nature as commands concomitant with obligation.
The dress “code” dialectic polemic is in fact a connotative disagreement over issues of morality and fidelity not church law. If it is church law there is no argument. For example, Islamic law forbids male and female sitting together to revere God. It stipulates the prayer clothing to be used by females in prayer. There is exactness (denotation) and command. Bearing this in mind let there be no tendentiousness to force others to the precepts of certain sections of the congregation. If there is a law it must be obeyed by the faithful. In the absence of such laws, why should anyone be coerced, by vociferous segments, of the congregation, to their way of thinking? We must be aware, but often are not, that from inferences we leap higher into abstraction by interjecting our personal values in the form of statements of judgement. This is selective perception where we take what is in favour of our personal belief and discard equipollent factors not in favour. Wendell Johnson coined the phrase “dead-level abstracting” in reference to the practice of freezing on one level of abstraction, which occurs at the higher levels. We must be careful to avoid this pitfall which opens when we are blinded by personal values and the obsession to make others proselytes to our mindset.
Yours truly
Dudley Au
11 July 09
During the celebration, we noticed among the many parishioners, a mother with 3 children, 2 girls, the older one looked well in her teens, a younger girl and the youngest, a boy about 9 years of age.
Just before the homily and throughout, the oldest decided that it was time for her to have a nap and seeing his older sister in that state, the boy decided to get real comfortable and napped too. Their mother did nothing to rouse them and was seen telling her son to lean back so that he would be in a better position. He decided on a fetal position - yes, right there on the pew with his jacket as a pillow!
What are these children being taught at home by their parents concerning reverence for the Lord? What is happening to our Catholic families? Wearing shorts to Mass? Yes, that's exactly what the younger daughter was wearing!
Their father is a Eucharistic Minister - surely he knows, if the mother is in total oblivion, the proper decorum when attending Mass? Parents, it's time to sit your children down and give them a good talking to. It is your duty and responsiblility !
My 25 year old son, on seeing their outrageous behaviour muttered, 'Uncontrollable! '
--- Luke 6:37
"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
--- Matthew 9:13
Generally, I agree that the attire we wear for Mass should reflect an attitude of respect for God and for our fellow worshipers. Indeed, our attire and behavior should, as much as possible, be considerate and not offend or distract others. Parents of young children, especially, should do their part to educate and to instill discipline in their children. Man or woman, adult or child, we should do our best, during and beyond Mass, to show our love for God and for our neighbors.
But let us also be mindful, that Mass attire also varies according to the occasion, location, climate, culture, age-group and the incredibly unique circumstances of individual worshipers. Let us not condemn others but rather pray for those who may seem to be lacking in finances, formation, wisdom, etc.
I appeal to my fellow Catholics to be more Christ-like. Let us be sympathetic and charitable towards those whose dress sense and general etiquette may seem to be inappropriate. Jesus welcomed the poor, the sick, the children, even the sinners. Our Mother Church has shown profound wisdom in writing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which stated that “bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of the moment”, while respecting our individual choices and the wide array of possible, genuine circumstances that may be known to God alone.
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