Walking into a Catholic Cathedral is probably one of the more moving experiences someone can feel in his or her lifetime. One does not even have to identify with this faith in order to feel the power the building holds. The strongest thing one notices is the scent which permeates the building. It is the smell of years of incense burning and generations kneeling and sitting between its walls. There is a slight sound of running water as the baptismal font runs on its now electric faucet. The choir is practicing songs for the upcoming mass quietly in their corner. As one makes his way to his seat, he can feel the floor boards compressing under his feet, he can hear their creaks. He sits and sees the high ceiling, painted pink with angels flying about. The delicate designs of carved into the pillars also outline the stained glass windows each of which depict Jesus in some point of his life, most of which have the various Stations of the Cross. The sunset pours in from the west, casting beautiful dancing pieces of light onto the floor. The altar is decorated in green dressings, with the twenty foot crucifix behind it with the golden tabernacle just below Jesus’ feet. The green robes signify that it is the sixth Sunday in Ordinary time, which would really be insignificant if it were not for the readings for that day.
The first reading was from Sirach 15:15-20, the responsorial psalm was Psalm 119, the second reading was 1st Corinthians 2:6-10 and the Gospel reading was Matthew 5:17-37. Initially, all of these readings appear innocent; they are merely speaking to the population about obeying God’s word, being faithful to the commandments and avoiding sin. However, considering the weekend which this occurs, the one before the Hallmark Holiday (since no one seems to remember it is a Saint’s day) of Valentine’s Day, the majority of theses passages can be, and frequently are, interpreted in a more political manner.
The homily is the moment when the priest can express his interpretation of the gospel readings as well as its place within the context of the first and second readings. Generally, priests use this time and speaking opportunity as a mechanism to preach Catholic teaching (the purpose for which it was originally designed) and sometimes to convey a set of political beliefs.
Many church-goers, especially the more moderate set in the Catholic faith, have a tendency to dislike when the priest uses his position to push a political agenda. Many people believe that the church is a place to grow closer to God, not a place to push the political system and the way a “good Catholic” should vote.
The father began by citing Sirach, saying, “If you choose to keep the commandments, they shall save you. To none does God give license to sin.” He emphasized this idea of free will within the Catholic Church, but stressed that in order to get to heaven, one must freely choose to do God’s will.
He then moved onto the second reading where he quoted, “We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away.” At this point, the priest moved away from the lectern and began pacing the ground in front of the altar. He moved his hands and spoke with conviction, as if his words were irrefutable. He was preaching to a crowd of Catholics who are taught to stay quiet throughout mass, not utter a word and the idea of calling the priest out is so ludicrous that no one even says it is something unacceptable because everyone just knows, you will probably go to hell for doing such a thing.
And then he quoted the gospel, “Remember what Jesus said at the beginning of our gospel reading today, ‘Whoever breaks the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do so, will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven!’ So no matter what people in their ivory towers say, the truth is that God counts all of his rules! To include even what people believe to be a small and minute detail of the bible.
The first reading was from Sirach 15:15-20, the responsorial psalm was Psalm 119, the second reading was 1st Corinthians 2:6-10 and the Gospel reading was Matthew 5:17-37. Initially, all of these readings appear innocent; they are merely speaking to the population about obeying God’s word, being faithful to the commandments and avoiding sin. However, considering the weekend which this occurs, the one before the Hallmark Holiday (since no one seems to remember it is a Saint’s day) of Valentine’s Day, the majority of theses passages can be, and frequently are, interpreted in a more political manner.
The homily is the moment when the priest can express his interpretation of the gospel readings as well as its place within the context of the first and second readings. Generally, priests use this time and speaking opportunity as a mechanism to preach Catholic teaching (the purpose for which it was originally designed) and sometimes to convey a set of political beliefs.
Many church-goers, especially the more moderate set in the Catholic faith, have a tendency to dislike when the priest uses his position to push a political agenda. Many people believe that the church is a place to grow closer to God, not a place to push the political system and the way a “good Catholic” should vote.
The father began by citing Sirach, saying, “If you choose to keep the commandments, they shall save you. To none does God give license to sin.” He emphasized this idea of free will within the Catholic Church, but stressed that in order to get to heaven, one must freely choose to do God’s will.
He then moved onto the second reading where he quoted, “We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away.” At this point, the priest moved away from the lectern and began pacing the ground in front of the altar. He moved his hands and spoke with conviction, as if his words were irrefutable. He was preaching to a crowd of Catholics who are taught to stay quiet throughout mass, not utter a word and the idea of calling the priest out is so ludicrous that no one even says it is something unacceptable because everyone just knows, you will probably go to hell for doing such a thing.
And then he quoted the gospel, “Remember what Jesus said at the beginning of our gospel reading today, ‘Whoever breaks the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do so, will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven!’ So no matter what people in their ivory towers say, the truth is that God counts all of his rules! To include even what people believe to be a small and minute detail of the bible.
“And remember that final line of our gospel, ‘Let your yes mean yes. Let your no mean no. Anything more is from the evil one.’ Once again, those ‘scholars’ in their towers believe that there is an intricate story behind the argument for gay rights. Well, I tell you they are wrong. And these ‘civil unions’ are just the wolf in sheep’s clothing. The answer is simple: gay marriage is immoral.”
He went on to say that in order to get into heaven, one must respect all life; therefore, physically abusing or verbally harassing gay people is inexcusable. This did not mean, however, that we must teach our children that it is “okay to be gay” because then we will suffer for our teachings as much as the children will suffer for their sins.
People in a church have a tendency to listen to the priest and remain throughout the entire mass, regardless of what he might have said. At this particular mass, many people rose up near the end of his homily and made their way to the door. This is generally the passive way of stating that they did not agree with the message of the priest’s homily. This, however, is about the only chance for open disagreement on has inside a mass.
The priest stands above the congregation, he has a microphone, and all eyes are on him. Through the law of papal succession, he has received his spiritual authority directly from Jesus Christ. Most people within the church would believe that the human being is flawed, meaning that the priest can make mistakes, but his message is not because it is taught throughout the church, all the way back to Rome, then all the way to Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Despite disagreement some may or may not have held towards his homily, only a select few left the church.
The mass setting enables a priest to convey his point without any opposition. While this is important to being able to preach the meaning of a gospel from the point of view of the Catholic Church, occasionally the priest will let his personally biases in the way and preach what he thinks a gospel means rather than the official teaching of the church. This too is important because the gospels are meant to be catered to a group of people in a certain place rather than one interpretation across the globe; this increases a person’s ability to relate with the gospel. But when the priest uses his power to preach a political position, he is abusing that power because he is no longer preaching the message of the gospel which is love but rather preaching a political agenda.
He went on to say that in order to get into heaven, one must respect all life; therefore, physically abusing or verbally harassing gay people is inexcusable. This did not mean, however, that we must teach our children that it is “okay to be gay” because then we will suffer for our teachings as much as the children will suffer for their sins.
People in a church have a tendency to listen to the priest and remain throughout the entire mass, regardless of what he might have said. At this particular mass, many people rose up near the end of his homily and made their way to the door. This is generally the passive way of stating that they did not agree with the message of the priest’s homily. This, however, is about the only chance for open disagreement on has inside a mass.
The priest stands above the congregation, he has a microphone, and all eyes are on him. Through the law of papal succession, he has received his spiritual authority directly from Jesus Christ. Most people within the church would believe that the human being is flawed, meaning that the priest can make mistakes, but his message is not because it is taught throughout the church, all the way back to Rome, then all the way to Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Despite disagreement some may or may not have held towards his homily, only a select few left the church.
The mass setting enables a priest to convey his point without any opposition. While this is important to being able to preach the meaning of a gospel from the point of view of the Catholic Church, occasionally the priest will let his personally biases in the way and preach what he thinks a gospel means rather than the official teaching of the church. This too is important because the gospels are meant to be catered to a group of people in a certain place rather than one interpretation across the globe; this increases a person’s ability to relate with the gospel. But when the priest uses his power to preach a political position, he is abusing that power because he is no longer preaching the message of the gospel which is love but rather preaching a political agenda.
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