LIBS! University level liturgy course for YOU! BIG PUPPETS!

At the UConn Drama department:

Puppet Arts

Classes in puppetry were first taught at UConn in 1964 by Professor Frank W. Ballard, who had joined the faculty of Theatre Department as a set designer and technical director eight years earlier. After three years, the demand for these courses had grown so drastically that the department had to limit enrollment in puppetry classes.  [Lib liturgists are all aquiver.]

 

[…]

The promoters of this would have benefited enormously form such a course.

Ah… it never gets old.

Some of you may not have seen this video before.

This, friends, is where progressivist, liberal liturgy winds up.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in Classic Posts, Liberals, Lighter fare, Linking Back, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

34 Comments

  1. CradleRevert says:

    No matter how many times I see these videos, they still just boggle my mind. Regardless of whatever ideology these people are pushing, nothing about these “liturgies” are even the least bit aesthetically pleasing. They’re just downright creepy. I don’t get the point.

  2. mburn16 says:

    And yet, sadly, there is more incense and holy water present in this…erm….liturgy than in most of the Catholic masses in the world.

    I’ve just been invited to join our Parish’s Worship Commission, and had intended to request instruction on good liturgical resources…I don’t think this quite cuts it, though.

  3. TWF says:

    Only two types of people attend the types of “liturgy” depicted above:
    1) ancient, decrepit hippies of a bygone era
    2) those they drag along kicking and screaming.
    No one under the age of 40, of any political persuasion, of any faith, would find anything inspiring or attractive in that diabolical display of creepiness. Not one. Anywhere.

  4. So the million dollar question: did all that, including the puppets, invalidate the liturgy in the video?

  5. APX says:

    Whenever our Latin Mass choir sings “God We Praise You” (which shares the same hymn tune as Sing a New Church), this video pops into my mind.

    It’s Chautauqua from my elementary school days all over again (and yes, it was organized by hippies).

  6. Fr. Reader says:

    Ay… at the end of the video there are some links to other videos… ay…!

  7. Lazylyn says:

    Words fail me – did anyone notice that the priest did not bless the congregation at the end of Mass ?

  8. Charliebird says:

    Wow. Thoughts:
    – these poor people are all either insane or oppressed by demons
    – what’s that priest doing there?
    – you ruined my breakfast

  9. pelerin says:

    Lazylin – perhaps he was waiting for one of the puppets to give the blessing!

  10. Scott W. says:

    I think the article is saying that the program was introduced in 1964 and that three years later, 1967, they had to limit enrollment due to popularity. Rather see, “UConn soon became one of only two (soon to be three) universities in the country offering a BFA degree in puppet arts and the only institution in the country offering masters degrees (both MA and MFA) in the field.”

    Puppets in liturgy is indeed atrocious and I helped spam the CTA puppet video as much as anyone, but that was ten years ago. Thankfully, while liturgical puppetry goes on, there hasn’t been an incident of such monumentual foolishness in awhile. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a serious news item about Call To Action in awhile.

  11. Kerry says:

    Part of the creepiness-ness of the large shrunken pumpkin heads is the placement of the eyes. Our eyes are not above the middle (horizon) line of the face, but right on it. Note JPII above.
    As self representation, the mouths’ sizes may be too small.

  12. APX says:

    That’s Bishop emeritus Remi De Roo from somewhere in Canada (diocese of Victoria, I think). Despite his unorthodox ways and heretical theology, he was still permitted to tour across Canada spouting his heretical nonsense to Catholics.

  13. David in T.O. says:

    Ah, how nice to see Canada’s notorious Bishop Remi de Roo in “call to action” mode.

  14. cowboyengineer says:

    OK, that was very creepy. I haven’t seen anything like that in protestant churches, although we occasionally have to sit/sleep through a dance performance.

  15. Vincent. says:

    I’m reminded of this history of big puppets: (Which I think I may have first read through Fr. Z’s site…)

    http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1544/whence_come_these_puppets_of_doom.aspx

  16. sw85 says:

    @CradleRevert–

    “Regardless of whatever ideology these people are pushing, nothing about these “liturgies” are even the least bit aesthetically pleasing. They’re just downright creepy. I don’t get the point.”

    That IS the point. See this article: http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1544/whence_come_these_puppets_of_doom.aspx

    Advocates of liturgical puppetry are quite open about their aim being to shock and scandalize pious Catholics out of their bourgeois sensibilities, to jangle their nerves, and to soften them up for the coming revolution.

  17. wanda says:

    Could only watch til the first swoop/swish. There is not enough coffee, Mystic Monk or Maxwell House, to make giant puppets and those who love them palatable, ever, yuck.

  18. Sonshine135 says:

    Father,

    Please incorporate a warning message when ginormous puppets are present. Nothing turns the stomach more than liturgy and puppets….well, maybe with the exception of liturgy and clowns.

    And while we are at it *sarcasm on- Yet more proof you hate Vatican II!!! *sarcasm off.

  19. Komo says:

    Rather like watching a train wreck. It is so disturbing……….but hard to look away.
    Yuck.

  20. TheAcolyte says:

    I have to say it: the obviously lost acolyte (who I pity for having to endure the liturgical rite of LIB Puppet) looks like Mike Teevy from Willy Wonka (the Johnny Depp version)!

  21. JKnott says:

    In his book “Liturgy and Personality” Dietrich Von Hildebrand basically said that we are ‘formed by a good liturgy”. That explains why we never saw these abominations in the EF Mass, which has been responsible for making saints, known and unknown for centuries. Why did the EF never produce cardboard monsters?
    Truth produces beauty. The true Sacrifice of Christ in the Mass is never ugly. Those puppets are objectively ugly to look at. The erosion of truth in the abuses of the NO produces deformation in the personality, which in turn distorts the physical appearance and dignity of God’s creatures, made in His image and likeness. All very revealing.
    But why has this been allowed to exist? Why is it not corrected?

  22. cda_sister says:

    As my jaw hit the floor, I had to stifle the gorge in my throat. I am speechless. This is beyond creepy…it’s downright blasphemous. Kyrie Eleison….

  23. mcgarveya says:

    I had to turn it off, I couldn’t watch anymore. Our Lord’s sacrifice being mocked and denigrated like this makes me sorrowful.

  24. Kathleen10 says:

    Ah yes, singing about the “female made in God’s image”, always an inspiring message. As the female dancer leads with her hand movements, the priest puppets down that tricky straight line to the altar, which they could not find without her feminine genius. If not for that leadership, they would wander out the door and down the street, alarming drivers and small dogs.

  25. Grumpy Beggar says:

    It isn’t the first time I’ve seen this, but it just doesn’t lose its shock value.

    Why only the Mass ? Why didn’t they put a big puppet of Pinocchio with a 3 foot-long nose just outside the confessional or something ? Can’t these guys even follow a totally idiotic theme all the way logically through ? It’s like they never outgrew halloween.

    Could you imagine the Anointing of the sick ? Some poor soul would see this humongous big swollen ugly face that looked like the south end of a nothbound hyena looking at him, and he would figure that he had already died and ended up in the wrong place.

    Save us Lord (save them too please).

  26. Gerhard says:

    So, who was laughing and joking, tickling their agenda, and at making a mockery of His teaching, life and death at Calvary?

  27. organistjason says:

    It should be noted, the “puppets” at mass………happened on more then one occasion, at masses where the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires (then Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio), was the principal celebrant. Once is an accident. Twice is giving permission. The videos are on youtube. Put’s this practice into crystal clear perspective. Let us pray Cardinal Sarah and Msgr. Marini collectively put their feet down on this practice from ever happening at Papal Masses, Masses at the Vatican and any other liturgy’s at the Vatican. Also…..no hover boards……please. All though the practice of puppets could be changed, “at the stroke of a pen”. The “pen” is being wielded quite a bit as of late…..

  28. PostCatholic says:

    CONS! I’m so disappointed; this course had nothing to do with liturgy.

  29. MarkJ says:

    I would classify this as not only Liturgical Abuse, but also Elder Abuse, for subjecting people nearing the end of their earthly lives to such atrocities. Maybe it’s to give them a last vision of Hell to encourage the grace of final perseverance, but there are better ways… Horrific scandalous inexplicable behavior – I could not think of a more effective way to wreck someone’s Faith and send people running away who might otherwise be interested in exploring the Truth. So, so sad…

  30. The Cobbler says:

    “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a serious news item about Call To Action in awhile.”
    Serious news item about Call To Action — isn’t that an oxymoron?

    “It’s like they never outgrew halloween.”
    Or never grew into it, considering Halloween used to be (depending on which part of Europe we’re talking about at which point in Catholic history) in part about mocking the Devil rather than God and in part about reminding people that they are going to die and really ought to, well, you know what Father’s always telling us.

    Actually, I just got a wonderful, awful idea. If this madness should ever make a comeback — God forbid, but if it were to come to pass — I do believe I shall dress up as a devil and kidnap the puppets from the sanctuary (or, preferably, on their way in, since I’d rather not leap up into the sanctuary myself; but I’ll make an exception to get other monstrosities out if necessary); it would be only fitting and just might reactivate some people’s brains (hmm, there’s a zombie joke in here somewhere too…). And, if I can’t find a devil costume, I suppose a Daredevil one wouldn’t be entirely inappropriate either, considering Matt Murdock’s own Confessional visits and their effect on his, shall we say, superhero’s journey. Hippies, don’t you dare come back, ’cause I’ll be ready for you if you do…

  31. Grumpy Beggar says:

    lol

    I think I should probably retract something I posted a little earlier:

    Grumpy Beggar says:

    “this humongous big swollen ugly face that looked like the south end of a nothbound hyena looking at him,”

    Looking at those puppets again , it would be more proportionate to refer to each of them as a ” humongous big swollen ugly face that looked like the south end of a nothbound moose looking at him,” ( I guess size matters to them . . .gotta admit though, that they may have a point in reference to the big mouths and swollen heads).

    Still, so weird that they would choose puppets – given that, in the real world, a puppet has never had free will. Real Christians make very poor puppets actually : because we don’t like to be manipulated.

  32. JerrytheYTPer says:

    I have seen pictures of Episcopalian churches using better looking puppets than these ‘c’atholic groups! Did the group purposely make the puppets look like some hideous potato-pingpong paddle hybrids or are they just that inept in puppetry?

  33. The good news: the video is 8 years old and so are the paticipants and celebrant.

  34. Absit invidia says:

    Amazing how liberals, with their insane goofiness of one, just one act, can completely UNDO the work of Catholic Apologetics

Comments are closed.