This is something that was perpetrated in a JESUIT church in NYC, the once and still mostly beautiful St. Francis Xavier, which is part of a large and once important High School.
Watch and bite your lip till bloody. This was in 2017. PENTECOST.
On Sunday June 4, 2017…parishioners at The Church of St. Francis Xavier in New York City were asked to let loose and “celebrate” in honor of Pentecost. Father Bob VerEecke blasted Kool & The Gang’s 1980’s hit “Celebration” and asked his congregation to “abandon care to the wind” and join him in THE WAVE!
An NYPD cop friend who went to that school wrote to me:
That’s unbelievable. It’s offensive. Ignatius is probably embarrassed. Kool and the gang is probably mortified as well
Not to mention God the Holy Spirit!
Run, don’t walk, to my Papa Ganganelli page with great swag. Clement XIV suppressed the Jesuits in the 18th c.
>>HERE<<
UPDATE:
But wait… there’s more. Here’s the guy who did that… thing in church.
He keeps using the word “dance”. I don’t think that “dance” meant the same thing to the early Jesuits as it does to him.
Perhaps he will be joined by this fellow.
Noooo… on second thought the video of the openly “gay” Jesuit candidate would just pointless.
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When priests pull these stunts, there needs to be immediate, on-the-scene pushback from the pews. We shouldn’t worry about being disrespectful or desecrating the Mass: the offending celebrant has already done that, and a prompt response is called for. If we can’t bring ourselves to riot, we should at least all sit there, stone-faced, and refuse to participate.
Just another example of a Jesuit priest in good standing with his religious superior and having the support of the cardinal archbishop who has given him faculties in his archdiocese. Mind you, this Jesuit priest has not, nor will he ever, challenge the Church’s teachings or rubrics about liturgy.
I’m with Anita Moore: if you ever witness something like that, a courageous response would be to go to a microphone and chastise the priest in front of everyone for his desecration and irreverence. They count on people’s timidity to get away with the stunts they pull.
Is Fr Z being a bit harsh?
Ignatius Press publishes many useful and worthwhile works, and new school chapel for a Jesuit secondary or High school in Tampa, Florida (http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2018/08/the-dedication-of-holy-cross-chapel-at.html#.W6FBwfZReUk) and the offering of the Mass of Ages by some Jesuits priests and a bishop recently. There is a notable degree of division between a ‘Spirit of V2’ faction, of whom the Pope and the Superior General Fr Sosa are present examples, or earlier Teilhard de Chardin SJ, and conservative, if not traditional minded, Jesuits like those running the Ignatius Press. The SJ need radical surgery. Papa Ganganelli was pushed into winding them up by a concerted effort led by the Portuguese (really the Marquis de Pombal) and other courts, and softened the blow by allowing ex-Jesuits to continue living in community, where possible.
I would suggest the Redemptorists (onetime known for their fearsome and necessary mission sermons) as a stronger example of an Order wholly deformed by V2.
I have one of the beer steins (used for tea, though).
I know of something more disturbing. At the Easter Vigil this year, in a parish in St. Louis that is listed in New Way’s directory (only 3 parishes in St. Louis are on the list, and the one I speak is named after a queen), a family entered the Church together. The parents were two women who are “married” to each other and their children. Their family picture was included on the front of the bulletin along with the other candidates. This parish is not known for promoting chastity. One parishioner is a MO state rep and is backed by PP. The parish also permits Democratic ward meetings in the parish hall. In October, the parish’s pro-life committee prays the Rosary before both Masses on Sunday, which the parishioners promptly drown out before the main Mass.
I’m not a parishioner of this parish. I did attend for a year because I lived a block away. I generally avoid it now unless someone asks me to come along. It is one of the few parishes that invokes so much anger in me. Even the Jesuit parish that’s 3 miles away isn’t as bad. What I want to know is how these people can get away with it.
Church is worship, not entertainment. Some of my Protestant brethren have told me that they too are turned off to the “happy clappy”, “let’s be cool”, “let’s get buggy kissy” mentality.
Ever seen a priest ride a bicycle up to the altar at the gathering song? It’s been done at a few places, including the Jesuit staffed parish close to Georgetown. A priest in the Austin Diocese (who ended up leaving the priesthood to marry – he is now an Episcopal priest) I knew years ago did this a few times at his parish. When I went through minister training (I was an usher) this now former priest used to say, “Mass is a show.”
Good priests know that Mass is NOT a show and if congregations refuse to participate in the shenanigans (by the way, I have witnessed Catholics walk out of a few “teen oriented Masses”), the pastor, the parochial vicar, the deacon, the music director, the visiting priest, etc. will take the hint.
Father, I have a confession to make. On Sunday I went to Mass at a church run by Jesuits. There was nothing untoward about that Mass itself but just before the final blessing a Jesuit made a plea on behalf of World Jesuit Missions (or some such). I confess that I left before the Jesuit could start his plea and I missed the final blessing.
Nothing may ever top the “liturical puppets” mass (lower case is used to question its validity) in terms of comedy. See https://youtu.be/rh_nqtp3VrU
Google Video’s old site had a “womenspriests” mass. It was so bad–old, fat women in priestly vestments shaking tambourines and swaying and celebrating mass in a bland auditorium with gender-neutral prayers–it was funny! I wish I could find it.
I’ve seen pictures of other liturgical abuses involving magicians and clowns at Mass in real churches.
You know when something is wrong when people try to make Masses more “entertaining.”
For what it’s worth, the 2018 Pentecost liturgy wasn’t much better.
I know people who were there for a baptism. It was embarrassing, and fundamentally a celebration of the community’s self-centered narcissism.
If you want to be truly horrified, watch this if you can… I sent a link to a video of this abuse to the Holy Father soon after it happened in 2006!
http://romancatholicblog.typepad.com/roman_catholic_blog/2006/12/halloween_mass_.html
I’d have gotten up and walked out as soon as that music started. To actually sit there and do the wave in Church is unbelievable. Sad, disturbing, heart breaking and really and truly a slap in Jesus’ face.
Back when I was a still very ignorant “re-vert” to the Faith, a very religious friend invited my family and I to the big Pentecost service in NH. It was her favorite Mass of the year, so we went.
Well.
Dancing priests down the aisles? Clapping along to upbeat, modern music? All the instruments you could imagine (other than the organ)? Oh yeah, all that and more. It seemed all fun on some level, but deep down I knew it was all wrong.
I was confused then, knowing that I needed Catholicism but not sure where I was supposed to find Him amongst all the noise. I’m grateful that He gave me the grace to keep searching for reverence, rather than giving up and going rogue-protestant, like I almost did. These sorts of irreverant goof ball masses really grind my gears now. I really wonder how many people are actually happy at these events, and how many are disgusted or at least have some level of discomfort as their conscious tells them how wrong it all is. It is hard being Catholic these days for many reasons, ignorance of what is stolen from them being a major hardship.
The priest is now gone. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/jesuit-priest-from-pro-gay-parish-removed-after-boundary-violations-with-ma
Jesus wept…
This reported today at LifeSite:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/jesuit-priest-from-pro-gay-parish-removed-after-boundary-violations-with-ma
Quite the fan boy…
And it says a whole lot about the laity as well.
Liberalism, as it is defined and practiced for the last 50 or more years, is a poison arrow, delivered by half witted utopians into the body of common sense. Our church, our schools, and all human activity that depends on discipline to function properly, such as marriage, or raising a family, is plowed under, as we entertain ourselves with a search for whatever makes us feel good. Sensible people look on in horror as we see what was once good and honorable cast aside by people with no sense of purpose. Yet, our hierarchy, both political and spiritual, look on without lifting a hand to end what can only result in a catastrophe.
Part of the reason why well meaning but ignorant Catholics go along with this is the unfortunate double meaning of the word celebrate.
The Las Cruces Experiment lives on.
Jesuit at Gay NY Parish Removed for ‘Boundary Violations’
Complaint from adult led to Fr. Bob VerEecke’s removal from St. Francis Xavier
How suprising. On Lifesite news today, this pastor has been removed due to “boundary violations” with a male parishioner.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/jesuit-priest-from-pro-gay-parish-removed-after-boundary-violations-with-ma
Is he reliving his Studio 54 days or is he performing for the men in the pews?? Does he not fear the wrath of God ?? This is THE MASS the Jesus Christ instituted. SHAME on the people in the pews going along with the sacrilege taking place.. They should have walked out. I hope some priests bless the altar and the whole Church. Unbelievable!!!!
Bounday violations? Sure the correct term is clericalism?
The lifesitenews article said it was a RECENT violation. So many thoughts on that. With all the news of the scandals he chooses now to not exercise good judgment? Why would he think he was safe to do so? How many other boundary violations has he had?
In regards to the “womenpriests” mass mentioned by a poster,
I think this is the video to which he referred:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnVxz6Hxcsc
Search for “womenpriests” on YouTube and
you’ll be appalled at how common this delusion is.
So many call themselves “Roman Catholic”.
I can call myself a mermaid, but it doesn’t make it true.
Is it still a sacrilege to strike a Catholic priest?
[Objectively, yes. Striking a consecrated person is the sin of sacrilege. On the other hand, there is also the subjective dimension of sin. There are circumstances that can mitigate the guilt of the objectively sinful act. For example, God forbid, a priest should make an improper and very much unwanted advance, were you to do physical harm to him in warding off the advance, you would not be guilty of the sin. Of course, in these cases you don’t break both arms if one arm will do. You don’t break an arm, if a punch in the face will do. You don’t slug the guy, if a really strong push will do. If strong language will suffice, you don’t need to do more. Of course, when you are in the midst of something, you don’t always know how dangerous the situation really is.]
I think the Jesuit rot may be confined to the West. I’m in a Jesuit missionary parish run by brilliant, erudite Jesuit priests who limit themselves to biblical exegesis in their homilies rather than go along with the current nuttiness. Of course most of them are over 70 but we also have 1 or 2 young local Jesuits who are exemplary, holy priests. So please remember the good Jesuits in your prayers rather than tarring the whole Order with a “Franciscan” brush!
I am sure that The Late, Honorable Antonin Scalia, Xavier High School ’53, would have a few things to say about this.
Seeing that elderly woman- on the first video- standing up to do the Wave reminded me of something my liberal sister-in-law said. The thanksgiving dinner we had right before the new translation went into effect (2011 or 12?) we discussed the upcoming changes to start at Holy Mass and she shook her head with this (false) compassion and said, “I feel sorry for the old people”. That was the first time i had pumpkin pie come out of my nose. Seeing that older woman do the Wave was, well… priceless.
And I thought I had it bad when the priest started a “name that tune” during a homily……Mea culpa
watching the “wave” made me so sad…..
Jesus wept……
So if you happened to wander into St FX that day, what would’ve been the proper response to the request to WAVE? I suspect that a refusal to participate is not enough.
This is why (and I am sure many Catholics agree) that when I travel I try to keep in mind names of good parishes. In New York City, I will be at either Fr. Murray’s parish (which does have an 8 PM Sunday evening Mass) or at St. Vincent Ferrer, which is close to a subway line, and staffed by Dominicans. In Los Angeles I will be either at the parish in Hawaiian Gardens staffed by the Oblates of the Virgin Mary or at the parish in Alhambra that does the EF. If you’re not being fed properly, vote with your feet.
These events make it very difficult to teach people about reverence and purpose regarding liturgy. There was a video from the Philippines that had a Jesus “pop up” behind the altar. People applauded. As a music and liturgy employee I am constantly fielding statements like “I went to a church in **** and they clapped during the alleluia. Why don’t we do that?” or “I visited *** parish and they sang Lord of the Dance. Why don’t we sing it?”. There’s obviously more, but moving people’s hearts and minds to true worship is so incredibly hard when they don’t connect the dots to the real presence. We do the best we can but people’s idea that entertainment equals joy is an up hill battle!