Breastfeeding At Mass

[Angel*Star]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1851129' date='Apr 28 2009, 03:08 AM']People would just lift up the cover?! Can't say that's happened to me, but then, I haven't used a cover when feeding my son in months (he doesn't like a cover).[/quote]
Yes, I was pretty shocked. I would never dream of going up and lifting a cover. Generally I would assume the baby was asleep, and well....who would want to wake a sleeping baby? I have also had strangers want to hold my baby. They are pretty understanding. Sometimes I feel sorry for them (but still don't let them hold my baby!) because I think they just haven't held a baby in a long, long time.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Angel*Star' post='1851938' date='Apr 29 2009, 05:21 AM']Yes, I was pretty shocked. I would never dream of going up and lifting a cover. Generally I would assume the baby was asleep, and well....who would want to wake a sleeping baby? I have also had strangers want to hold my baby. They are pretty understanding. Sometimes I feel sorry for them (but still don't let them hold my baby!) because I think they just haven't held a baby in a long, long time.[/quote]
Best to let sleeping babies sleep, IMHO. I've had someone ask if she could see my son when I had the cover over him (when he was really little), and I said no because he wasn't asleep. We were at a lecture, too.

As for strangers wanting to hold him, I've had strangers actually pick him up at the bus stop, when I was folding his pram or something. Both times were elderly men, and they were just trying to help, but yeah. Both times, as well, my son freaked out, and so they quickly gave him back to me and carried the pram for me instead.

[pat22]

Father Paqua had a whole talk about how he did masses in eastern countries and women would just start breastfeeding very UNdiscretly. he was trying to say that whats a sin for some cultures, the very same thing(such as immodesty) may not be a sin for others. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you really can't define as a sin just cause you, or your culture, doesn't do it.

[Apotheoun]

Breastfeeding is a natural thing, and I see no reason why a mother cannot feed her child during the liturgy if the baby is hungry.

[Luthien]

This thread is blowing my mind a little bit. I could be hijacking, but whatevs. I pose this question...

Why do men find breasts attractive? What is it about breasts that makes men aroused?

BECAUSE THEY ARE ATTRACTED TO THE FACT THEY'RE OFFSPRING WOULD BE FED WELL.

Don't ostracize women because the porn industry has made so much money off of these essentially, "baby feeders." I personally would not expose my breasts in public during breastfeeding, because I am aware of this sickening cultural twistedness surrounding breasts. However, not feeding my infant during Mass? SERIOUSLY? If it bothers you so darned much, try paying attention to the Mass, not people around you. Honestly, quit worrying about everyone else around you. This whole thread just hit a nerve is all.

Its not the mother who needs to change her behaviors, its anyone who would be grossed out or offended by a breastfeeding mother.

A lot of the posts in this thread smack of an anti-family attitude.

[jmjtina]

[quote name='Luthien' post='1854528' date='May 1 2009, 02:30 PM']This thread is blowing my mind a little bit. I could be hijacking, but whatevs. I pose this question...

Why do men find breasts attractive? What is it about breasts that makes men aroused?

BECAUSE THEY ARE ATTRACTED TO THE FACT THEY'RE OFFSPRING WOULD BE FED WELL.

Don't ostracize women because the porn industry has made so much money off of these essentially, "baby feeders." I personally would not expose my breasts in public during breastfeeding, because I am aware of this sickening cultural twistedness surrounding breasts. However, not feeding my infant during Mass? SERIOUSLY? If it bothers you so darned much, try paying attention to the Mass, not people around you. Honestly, quit worrying about everyone else around you. This whole thread just hit a nerve is all.

Its not the mother who needs to change her behaviors, its anyone who would be grossed out or offended by a breastfeeding mother.

A lot of the posts in this thread smack of an anti-family attitude.[/quote]

my thoughts exactly.

and the ironic thing is, these are people [i]at[/i] Mass.

[MissyP89]

[quote name='Luthien' post='1854528' date='May 1 2009, 04:30 PM']This thread is blowing my mind a little bit. I could be hijacking, but whatevs. I pose this question...

Why do men find breasts attractive? What is it about breasts that makes men aroused?

BECAUSE THEY ARE ATTRACTED TO THE FACT THEY'RE OFFSPRING WOULD BE FED WELL.

Don't ostracize women because the porn industry has made so much money off of these essentially, "baby feeders." I personally would not expose my breasts in public during breastfeeding, because I am aware of this sickening cultural twistedness surrounding breasts. However, not feeding my infant during Mass? SERIOUSLY? If it bothers you so darned much, try paying attention to the Mass, not people around you. Honestly, quit worrying about everyone else around you. This whole thread just hit a nerve is all.

Its not the mother who needs to change her behaviors, its anyone who would be grossed out or offended by a breastfeeding mother.

A lot of the posts in this thread smack of an anti-family attitude.[/quote]

THANK YOU. Seriously...if someone is bothering you or distracting you at Mass, be it their behavior or dress, look away! A little guy got out of the pew this past weekend and had started sprinting around the church. His father, very embarrassed, had to chase him down. Sure, I noticed, but I didn't spend ten minutes staring at the two of them.

Practice self-control and discretion. Moms practice modesty by covering themselves as they breastfeed; allow them that same modesty by not staring. Trust me, they'd all rather have you watching the miracle taking place at the altar.

(Also: so [i]that's[/i] where the male fascination with our chest comes from. All this time I thought it was just because I had something they lacked. )

ETA: Apologies, I thought someone replied to this post, it was just a poll vote. Way to revive a dead thread...

Edited July 13, 2009 by MissyP89

[Thomist-in-Training]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1596091' date='Jul 9 2008, 12:34 PM']I had thought it was still something you could ask for in the Latin Rite, just that it wasn't customarily done. It seems like a beautiful thing, though, and I love the connection to presenting Christ in the temple at 40 days.[/quote]

Hey, I'm not gonna read all the posts to see if someone already mentioned this, but if you asked a FSSP church or another church with the Latin Mass (or an Eastern rite Catholic church if by chance there's one near you), you could go through the churching ceremony, I believe.

(This is a list of churches so you could look up where you live: [url="http://web2.iadfw.net/~carlsch/MaterDei/churches.htm"]http://web2.iadfw.net/~carlsch/MaterDei/churches.htm[/url] ) God bless!

[Thomist-in-Training]

SORRY in advance for not wanting to read the whole thing yet posting this long piece of an article. But it's relevant. The author is Fr. Angelo Geiger, FI; his website is maryvictrix.com, and this was posted on the Dawn Eden blog. I bolded the most relevant parts.

Quote:
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I am well aware of the iconographical tradition of Maria Lactans (Mary Breastfeeding), such as the many images in Italy of Madonna delle Grazie. This is an old and venerable tradition that once was very widespread and continues in various parts of the world down to this day. Sandra Meisel’s excellent article on this subject is well worth the read. I just part company with her when she, like West, chides anyone who might be a bit squeamish about such images.

I would surmise that that these images became popular when it was common to see women breastfeeding. Living in the Philippines some years ago, I was at times shocked to see women breastfeed in public with little if any effort to cover up—sometimes even in Church! No one made anything of it. I admit I was scandalized.

In America men generally consider exposure of a woman’s bosom provocative, and [b]I assert that men who are trying to live chastely find the such exposure inappropriate, not because they think the female body is evil, or because they have a sexual hang up, but because they find too much exposed flesh in that area, regardless of the context, sexually arousing. Period.[/b]
I have been a guy for my whole life and a priest for more than sixteen years. I know well enough how men think. Women can pooh-pooh this all they want, but there is really nothing more complicated, sub-conscious or deep and dark about it than plain old male libido.

I personally have no problem with Maria Lactans, if it is done without the Classical, Pre-Raphaelite or such-like voluptuousness. It was only due to the preponderance of such images that nudity in sacred art “with a beauty exciting to lust” was condemned by the Council of Trent:

Moreover, in the invocation of saints, the veneration of relics, and the sacred use of images, every superstition shall be removed, all filthy lucre be abolished; finally, all lasciviousness be avoided; in such wise that figures shall not be painted or adorned with a beauty exciting to lust; nor the celebration of the saints, and the visitation of relics be by any perverted into revellings and drunkenness; as if festivals are celebrated to the honour of the saints by luxury and wantonness (Canons and Decrees, sess. 25).
Meisel refers in her article to the “decorous reforms of Trent,” in a not altogether favorable context, but admits that not all the images of Maria Lactans and Maria Gravida (Mary with Child) were destroyed subsequent to Trent. In fact, the council was able to distinguish the difference between the moral character of various visual images. Lust is not only a matter of interior disposition. There are in fact concrete non-subjective factors that excite lust.

In any case, [b]I do not think, as West has suggested, that the image of Maria Lactans, however it is executed, needs to be used as a tool for the exorcism of prudishness, or that we should ask ourselves why it might make us uncomfortable and chide ourselves for having unresolved sexual tensions.[/b]

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End quote.
The article whence comes this excerpt is from a series of polemics re Christopher West's rhetoric and approach.

[Angel*Star]

I'd rather a mom take care of her child than the man I HEARD and SAW clipping his nails! Yes, that really happened!

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Angel*Star' post='1918363' date='Jul 12 2009, 10:18 PM']I'd rather a mom take care of her child than the man I HEARD and SAW clipping his nails! Yes, that really happened! [/quote]
+J.M.J.+
or cell phones ringing at the most inappropriate times. like the homily or the consecration (yes, i've been to a Mass where that happened - right at the Consecration!)

[CatherineM]

Our priest continues no matter what distractions. We had EMT's dealing with an elderly woman right in the middle of the consecration once. Another time, a boy passed out, and our pianist went to deal with it. She's a nurse most of the time. He just kept right on with his homily with the mom freaking out.

[princessgianna]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1919975' date='Jul 14 2009, 04:08 PM']Our priest continues no matter what distractions. We had EMT's dealing with an elderly woman right in the middle of the consecration once. Another time, a boy passed out, and our pianist went to deal with it. She's a nurse most of the time. He just kept right on with his homily with the mom freaking out.[/quote]
I find that tacky. I mean at least make sure that the kid is being taken care of then continue but to totally ignore it -geesh.

[CatherineM]

I was actually amazed he could continue without missing a beat. When the elderly woman became sick it was so quiet, and she was in the back, half the congregation didn't even know anything was going on, but when the boy (who was 12ish) passed out in the heat, his mom was screaming at the top of her lungs. He was fine. I'm surprised more don't pass out in summer when it gets so hot in the church.

[Spence06]

I've been to a few masses where people have passed out. Most priests will continue without missing a beat or just the glance to make sure it is being handled.