I've been on a Parish Pastoral Council, I'm involved with the parish baptism team, communications team, often do the parish newsletter. I think I am involved in the parish. My problem is that when I'm in this forum I could possibly be described as being all for mercy and light on the justice. But put me in any parish setting mentioned above ans I seem to be regarded as some fundamentalist who risks offending people by my talk of old fashioned morality. I even felt I had to leave the PPC because the other members didn't think we should have any particular opinion about the abortion legislation brought into Ireland last year. It seems to me that parish work is meant to be all feel good, happy clappy stuff, but if you even suggest having a free magazine at the back of the church that points out the real issues of modern life, you're seen as a nutter. Are other parishes like this or am I nutter?
I would hazard a guess that every parish in Ireland is like this, if not worse. It certainly sounds like a very accurate description of my own. Just out of curiosity, does your PPC organise tea and biscuits inside the church after Mass? This is a regular occurrence in my parish and a neighbouring one. And I don't mean in an adjacent room, I mean tea and biscuits right there in the pews. The priests don't see any problem with this!
Wow wee! Guess I should not complain about my church then. Didn't we just have a Gospel on Jesus turning the tables of the money changers over in the synagogue for making a place of worship into a social event? I would be talking to the priest and bishop on this one
The priests have no problem with this, they are the instigators! My sister had strong words with our priest about it and he point blank refused to see anything problematic with it. He handed out sweets and cakes to the school kids after mass and they ran amok through the church, even across the sanctuary, and he thought it was all great fun. At the moment my diocese has no bishop and I don't want to sound pessimistic but I'm really not convinced that talking to the bishop (or administrator, in his absence) would have much effect. The horse has bolted.
The Bishop is thinking of closing our Parish down. I don't blame him. Don't get me started. The last Parish Priest refused me request for a statue of Our Lady as he said it was a health and safety issue as it might fall over and hurt someone. Sigh.
The parish I belong to just got a new pastor, Father Francis. He is no non-sense. During a recent homily he spoke about people attending Mass inappropriately dressed, coming in late, not staying through the entire Mass, etc. I like the guy! That being said, I cannot speak to what else goes on in the parish.
You are not alone. In our parish the priest tip toes around any issues that may ruffle feathers (abortion, homosexuality, etc) because he is afraid that preaching the Truth on any issue will decrease donations. When a Deacon at our parish gave a strong, eloquent pro life speech during an Ash Wednesday prayer service he was admonished and never allowed to speak again.
Thank God the in house teas hasn't happened in my own parish but it occasionally occurs in the locality. My latest experience of the "let's not offend anyone" stance really knocked me, I suppose I'm getting used to being on the other end of the spectrum here! the parable of the yeast is in my head lately - I'm currently of the opinion that the yeast raises all the dough even though it is mainly wheat which has no such power on its own. So if we are faithful we can raise those around us even though their only action is that the don't resist. But I'm putting no money on the theological correctness of my current opinion-i could be like BXVI and change my opinion in 40 years time!
Once when I was crying out to Jesus, asking why he took me out of community ( I lived in Craig Lodge Community in Scotland) and put me in the world were I did not want to be, He answered me, in clear words in my mind, not my ears, " You are yeast and I trust you". The salvation of the many is won by the few. Incidentally, I'm the sister who confronted the priest about having the kids party in the Sanctuary, he suggested we get around my problem by moving the Blessed Sacrament out to his car! God help us! I begged him to give the children a sense of the sacred, they have parties up to their eyeballs but no sense of the Holy. But he wouldn't agree, he actually had tears in his eyes and said that he was never at any of these parties. I think it was the vetting and formation of these men that's caused the crisis we have now, along with other factors, I see the print of the cloven hoof, if you know what I mean. Atonement and Reparation.
At our parish we are going from having the opportunity for confession once a month to twice a month. Even though small, I feel it is significant. Bartimaeus, I was wondering if you have noticed a change in the number of people asking for baptism...increase, decrease or staying about the same? Are more adults requesting sacramental preparation?
Our poor priest sat week after week waiting for someone to come for confession and no one ever came, so he stopped having confession at all except for at the penitential services during adventure and lent.
Baptism is still popular, but for the wrong reasons - imho! Mainly I think people want a celebration and the baptism creates that occasion. And secondly, parents are generally so out of touch they think the children need to be baptized to get into the primary schools - or else are baptized as preparation for a day out for the first Communion! Sacramental initiation is more like a series of family get together s than anything else. I've never known an adult in my locality to request sacramental preparation but I've seen it when on holidays in France and England. My neighboring parish has NO scheduled Confession except for Christmas and Easter.
Jimmyiz - have you been reading my mind? We had a priest who retired and stayed in the parish for a few more years. He would sit in the Confession box after Saturday morning Mass until 12 noon and pray, irrespective of how many people came. I remember once dragging up the hill with my shopping and when I saw the door of the church open I remembered he might be there. Seeing that light on and being able to confess was literally a weight off my soul. Now you have to be fast to get in or the priests are gone, but as you say, what could be more important? Ordination makes sacraments possible, most other 'clerical' activities could be divested to laity. It's like getting a master chef to make toast day in day out - a complete waste of talent and training... besides the spiritual dimension. If a soul is in danger of being lost for want of Confession, would the culpability shift to the priest for not making Confession available, and would the priest have to bear the sin instead?
Jonah, one of the main reasons why the confessionals are not full is because their is no sense of sin. Maybe a poll should be taken on this forum when the last time anyone has had a homily on sin? Ah, no sin, no reason for confession! Maybe if preists followed the lead of the Cure of Ars, St. John Vianney, who preached the faith day and night and when we wasn't donig that he was in hearing confessions for hours on end. Yes, there is a crisis of faith, but it comes from a crisis of the clergy refusal to teach on sin.
My sense is that here in Ireland priests are still reeling from the child sex abuse scandals. They are just so glad to be accepted that the vast majority would do nothing to offend. It's ok to preach about water charges, but in my adult memory the only sin based homily I heard preached was actually in Belfast re abortion - God bless that priest. So probably I should spend more time praying for our priests than I do making comments on here!
That's right , Fatima, most Sunday Mass goers believe that they have no sins. Of course venial sins are forgiven in the Mass, but how many of us accept that forgiveness and are thankful for it, aware of the price Jesus paid so that we could receive it. So often I'm not, so often just saying the words and not entering fully into the meaning. Once I was given the grace to enter fully into the Mass without becoming distracted, and given a deeper understanding of the meaning of it. I don't wait around for confession times if I have a real need to confess, I ask the priest before or after Mass if he has a few minutes, I've never been refused yet.
Jonah- that's been my experience too. I'm not shy at all about asking a priest for confession even when it's not the"time". I've received a frown every once in awhile, but never a refusal and honestly most priests are quite happy to accommodate.
For some reason this is a major obstacle for me. I can hardly imagine a set of circumstances where I'd have the 'courage' to ask for Confession for myself. I've done it for late arrivers on a Saturday morning, but I tremble at the thought of asking for myself. Deep rooted something I guess!
Well we don't have those concerns really out this way because we have a monastery not all that far away that pretty much offers confession everyday. You just ring a bell and the priest comes, we are spoilt! But, and actually it's a big but, there is talk that the monastery will be closed next year. This is Killnacrott Abbey and it seems the site was sold to an organisation linked to "Ann the lay apostle" with the monks only staying on for about a year and then vacating the place. Anyway, I know this is a lot to ask, but I was wondering could people out there say a few prayers that the monastery might survive? I think it's a great facility, despite some bad stuff that occurred a long time ago now, and would be a huge loss spiritually to this whole area if we were to lose it.
