The following letters to the editor appear in the edition of Oct. 23, 2003. Letters appearing in this space do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arlington Catholic Herald or the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. The editor reserves the right to edit letters as necessary. There is no guarantee of publication. Send letters to: letters@catholicherald.com.

No Applause in Church

I read with interest about the Pope’s draft directives regarding certain abuses at Mass, including rounds of applause ("Journalists Not Sure What They’re Catching" ACH 10/02/03). This has been a concern of mine since it was "imported" from Protestant practices about 10 or so years ago. Although my parish (St. John’s in McLean) is generally conservative and promotes traditional practices such as frequent confession and belief in the real presence in the Eucharist (which, sadly, is not consistent in the so-called "American Church"), applause during Mass is all too frequent. I have been present for three or more raucous rounds of applause at a single Mass! It generally starts with a few misguided (or not properly instructed), with most of the congregation then "joining in," perhaps to avoid looking different or "unfriendly." I (along with many other equally appalled believers) sit with my arms folded across my chest and wonder how some person (or persons) justifies a total exclusion of Christ present in the tabernacle and those who came to worship Him. Amazingly, many of those joining in (based upon their age) also had the benefit of Catholic grade school taught by sisters and priests who taught them better (and would have punished such behavior). The priests say nothing, and on a few occassions have encouraged it, although in private conversations they agree that it is inappropriate. Basically, it is a sign of disrespect for the Eucharist, and clergy who want to be popular. This behavior, however, is selfish and rude and disregards those who came to pray and ponder; instead, we must suffer through behavior appropriate only for an athletic event or a bar room. Hopefully, these misguided souls will respect the Pope’s instruction when officially promulgated, if not before. I applaud the Pope’s action!

Robert Carney
McLean

No Sympathy for Illegal Immigrants

It took a very careful reading of this article ("Freedom Riders Take Immigration Cause to Congress" ACH 10/09/03) to find out that it was all about ILLEGAL immigrants. As a daughter of an immigrant (my mother came here when she was five — LEGALLY) I would like to know how you justify breaking the law. If we don’t need to obey the laws of our country why do we need to obey the laws of the Church? These people need to go back to their home country and immigrate legally. The place where they should be marching is the capital of Mexico, Guatamala or any other country which treats them no better than dogs. The fact that they broke the law to come here takes away their credibility as far as I can see.

Christine Eastment
Clifton

Mass ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’

I hope that the way in which the canonization Mass for the three missionary priests (ACH 10/06/03) was celebrated by the pope in Rome on Oct. 5th, 2003 sends "loosen up" signals to those who, citing the new GIRM, are trying to lock the celebration of the Mass into a series of strict "do’s" and "don’ts". At that canonization Mass (according to CNS) "Catholics...held three-tiered yellow umbrellas over the Book of the Gospels, while women and men ... stood alongside holding flowers or pots of incense. Sixteen dancers ... accompanied the offertory procession. During the consecration, dancers ... performed the ‘Atari rite’ standing before the altar making slow circles in the air with platters of flowers and incense sticks." While some bishops, priests and laity may shudder at those activities as unnecessary, irreverent, or not allowed by the GIRM, I believe they were beautiful expressions of the People of God celebrating our newest saints.

Frank McLeskey
Fairfax Station

Political and Personal

Al Wavering is certainly right to insist, in his recent letter entitled "Political vs. Personal" (ACH 10/9/03), that we will each be held accountable for what we do as individuals with the many gifts God has given us (see, e.g., Mt. 25:14-30 and 25:31-46). But for Americans, one of those gifts is our democratic form of government, which gives us each the opportunity to let our elected officials know what decisions we want them to make on our behalf. For example, should our hard-earned tax dollars be used to fund abortions for poor women (as some argue), or to provide a sufficient level of temporary assistance, job training, and child care so that poor women will feel they can keep their unborn children (as the Church maintains)? Should the state impose strict limits on criminal appeals to facilitate executions, or should a moratorium on the death penalty be declared?

Personal charity is critical. Giving to Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services, for example, or volunteering at Christ House or Hope helps us fulfill our individual obligation to put our Lord’s teaching into practice. But government policies and fiscal decisions have a much greater impact on people’s lives than our individual efforts. We cannot simply take the gift of our citizenship and bury it in the ground, as the lazy servant did in the Parable of the Talents; or use that gift merely once every year or two at the polling booth. We can also advocate for public policies that reflect gospel values.

Ultimately, the political/personal issue is not a matter of either/or but both/and.

Robert More
Vienna

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