Q. What could possibly be more lame than the idea of a water park on an island surrounded by the Pacific Ocean?
A. Having MASS at that water park.
Hawaii is a tough place to be Catholic. After Bishop Ferrario's epoch of intolerance to all things traditional, and Bishop DiLorenzo's quick departure, many Hawaiian Catholics hoped that Bishop Silva would help straighten out a diocese awash in modernism and indifference. Instead, it looks like the diocese will stay awash.
Perhaps it is best to remind ourselves at this point that the Mass is not entertainment, it is not amusement and it is not to be taken lightly. When we attend Mass, we witness the unbloody re-presentation of the Death and Resurrection of Our Lord. It is a solemn event that demands piety and reverence.
So why is Bishop Silva of Honolulu permitting Mass to be offered in an amusement park?
On September 1, the Diocese will attempt to reach out to a generation that is distracted to death by a culture of entertainment and amusements by luring them into a water park and hoping that they might just offer some spiritual significance to young people in between the water slides and artificial waves.
Something here just isn't right.
For those interested in registering, you can get out your surf jams and bikinis and call the Office of Diocese Youth and Young Adult Ministry 808-203-6763...if that's your idea of "ministry".
For those who wish to express their concern, you too can call the diocese at 808-585-3300.
If you don't have time to call, at least say a prayer for Bishop Silva. Let us all pray that he open his mind and heart more deeply to the true renewal that Pope Benedict wants for our Church.
The Church's situation is, I'm convinced, hopeless -- a devastated vineyard, as Dietrich von Hildebrand astutely observed. The ravaging of the Bride of Christ began with Vatican II, and has only gotten worse over the passing decades. Why, His Holiness just appointed a man to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (what had been the Holy Office, the protector of dogma and doctrine) who has publicly proclaimed his disbelief in the perpetual virginity of Our Lady! To be sure, her Immaculate Heart will ultimately triumph. But what can we do in the meantime that will make any kind of difference? Precious little. Pray, of course. Support traditionalist apostolates, sure. But let's not kid ourselves -- the Church's collapse is inevitable and imminent.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to be a contrarian dear Hammer, but I could not disagree with you more. The Church may be in shambles in places, but I hold fast to the promise Jesus gave to Peter, that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against His Church.
DeleteWe're more in agreement than you think, me auld warrior. As I wrote in my initial post, Mary's "Immaculate Heart will ultimately triumph"; the gates of hell will indeed not prevail. That said, I maintain that the Church, in her human aspect, is pretty much finished. But keep in mind that there's an important distinction between "collapse" and "extinction" -- the Lord will restore the Citadel in His own good time.
Delete"When all seems lost and paralyzed, know that the arrival of a complete restoration is at hand." -Our Lady of Good Success
ReplyDelete"My Immaculate Heart will triumph." -Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima
I see a tsunami of hope on the horizon!
Will this be the beginning of the luau mass?
ReplyDeleteHmmm...
ReplyDeletePerhaps you'd get your point across more directly if you (and a select group) showed up at this Sunday's Mass in the cathedral, wearing only bikinis, Speedos, and thongs.
If such attire is inappropriate for one venue, it's inappropriate for the other.
Will an Elvis impersonator show up and do Blue Hawaii?
ReplyDeleteMy mother is from Hawaii (Kaua'i). I grew up going there and remember going to Mass in the 1970s. It seemed it continued to get worse and worse. What's the Haole connection? ho get PLENTY Haoles ovah deah brah.
ReplyDelete