Monday, February 6, 2012

Mass in Nigeria

Mass in Nigeria
Mass in Nigeria
I’m Michael Voris coming to you from Nigeria.
We’ve spoken often in The Vortex about reception of Holy Communion and proper
expression of reverence at Mass and numerous liturgical abuses and so forth.
And here in Nigeria .. the same types of discussions are being had by rank and file
Catholics as well.
It shouldn’t come as a great surprise that liturgical abuses are rampant in the Mass here.......
just like in the west .. although some Catholics in the west have a kind of idealized vision
of the Faith in Africa. They need to disabuse themselves of that.
The Protestant influence is very strong in Catholic circles here as well. From lack of understanding of Sacred Scripture to the devotional life to an almost total
misunderstanding of the nature of sacraments .. the Protestant heresy has made major
inroads in African Catholicism.
At Mass .. faithful Catholics have been dismayed at what’s called Praise and Worship
demonstrated at Mass. For example .. right at the moment of consecration .. people
standing up with arms thrown up in the air carrying on in tongues and dancing and so
forth.
Faithful Catholics here have described many Masses as little else than Protestant
Pentecostal worships services .. complete with Protestant hymns and Protestant emotional outbursts.
These sorts of concerns sounded all too familiar to us .. at least in substance if not in style as debates about this are growing more intense in many places in the west. As the Traditional Latin Mass continues to grow .. the difference between Catholic Mass and Protestant Praise and Worship hi-jinks at Catholic Mass become ever more stark.
But perhaps not quite so stark as what we saw at Mass last Sunday. As much of the
establishment Church in the western countries continues to talk down about reception of
Holy Communion kneeling or on the tongue .. take a look at what we saw.
Faithful Catholics in Nigeria not only receive on the tongue while kneeling, but they
proceed up the aisle .. on their knees. That’s right they get on their knees the moment they exit their pews and process up the aisle on their knees .. receive Our Lord’s Body and Blood and then .. turn around and go back to their places on their knees.
Can you imagine .. could you even begin to picture the opprobrium that would be reigned down on a Catholic doing this at Mass at St. Whoever’s Parish in Anywhere USA?
The diocesan staff at the chancery would schedule an emergency meeting .. notifications would be fired off to all local clergy .. a flurry of statements would be forthcoming ..
press releases would be issued .. letters from various departments and divisions at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops would fly off the presses asserting local this and local that.
And all because a Catholic wanted to approach their Lord and their God on his knees and receive Him on their knees.
Meanwhile .. hardly a peep as abuse after abuse continues as par for the course in parish after parish .. Sunday after Sunday .. Mass after Mass.
Nope .. nary a peep. Maybe it’s Catholics in the west that have something to learn here. Reporting from Nigeria ..
GOD Love you. I’m Michael Voris.

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