Struggled With Anger

[Groo the Wanderer]

Went to Mass this morning and stopped in shock when I entered the narthex. The floor was covered in debris from palms. Inside the church was the same...palm debris and strings all over the floor and the pews. It wasn't like this when I left Mass yesterday!

I was so angry I had a hard time concentrating during Mass. Don't these folks know that blessed palms are a sacramental and no part of them is to be carelessly discarded? Don't these folks know better than to trash our church? So many feelings and emotions went through me. I blamed the folks at the Spanish Masses since all the English Masses were done for the day when I left Sunday.




Then I proclaimed the reading and the psalm at Mass...

...I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,...


Got a lot of blind people in our own Church. This reminded me my job is not to condemn them, but to open their eyes.

Dear Lord, thank you for opening my eyes....

Edited April 18, 2011 by Groo the Wanderer

[Sternhauser]

They're probably not deliberately "discarded:" they easily fall off. Don't you know the strands easily fall off without the holders even knowing it? Do you become as angry when the priest sparges the people with another sacramental, holy water, and half of it falls to the ground? Or when it drips on the floor upon people entering the church and blessing themselves, where it is trod upon? You will find such palm strands in every church in the world. Even among the most reverent congregations.

If you want to be angry with someone, it probably ought to be with the priests. I can count on less than one hand how many times I've heard the proper method for the disposal of sacramentals pronounced from the pulpit, over the years. When's the last time you heard that artificial contraception was wrong? Or torture?

~Sternhauser

Edited April 18, 2011 by Sternhauser

[Rebecca2009]

I didn't know til today that the palms are sacramental. One of my kids shredded mine. Now I know better.

I heard some people talking on Catholic radio today, saying that they save the palms and burn them at specific times. Never heard of that before but several people called in to the show about this.

[CatherineM]

Last year's palms are burned to make this year's ashes for Ash Wednesday.

[Lilllabettt]

[quote name='Groo the Wanderer' timestamp='1303164431' post='2229940']
Dear Lord, thank you for opening my eyes....
[/quote]


Not trying to be mean.

But when I read this, the first thing I thought of was that part where the Pharisee prays "Dear God, I thank you that I am not like other men"
...
only the publican in this case is people who drop parts of their palm branches. And you for some reason found it necessary to mention they speak Spanish.

Just saying.

[Groo the Wanderer]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' timestamp='1303178517' post='2230013']
Not trying to be mean.

But when I read this, the first thing I thought of was that part where the Pharisee prays "Dear God, I thank you that I am not like other men"
...
only the publican in this case is people who drop parts of their palm branches. And you for some reason found it necessary to mention they speak Spanish.

Just saying.
[/quote]


Nah. That was my prayer when I realized that the reading I had to proclaim was what I needed to open my eyes to the right way to deal with this.

I didn't say they speak Spanish. I said it happened after the English Masses were over. All that is left is Spanish since the Vietnamese Masses moved to a new parish. We don;t have French or Nigerian Masses either. Most attendees of the Spanish Masses also speak English, so it's a non-issue. We have a 30/70 English/Spanish mix in the parish and sometimes there are tensions. One of them is the perceived irreverence done to the church building by the folks that go to the Spanish Masses. Kids running around during Mass, food in the pews (the maintenance guy even finds things like nachos), very revealing clothing during summer months, and the Tijuana-bar style music during one particular Mass. (not that the English Mass happy-clappy Haugen/Haas drivel is any better, cause it aint). At the time when my ire was roused, to me this irreverence was just another example.

BTW - I am Hispanic, so don't anybody even try going there....




So..for those that completely missed the point of this thread and decided to assume they knew what was in my heart, I shall restate...
I was telling of my rash rush to judgement this morning where I was quick to condemn those who had committed acts of irreverence to the church and the blessed palms.
I then had to read a passage that spoke to me, opened my eyes, and changed my heart about it.
Through the reading, God reminded me I am called to teach, not to judge.
Point: God works in amazing ways and still smacks me down when I need it.