Wymyn At Wyrk. “Priestesses” doing their thing. Hijinx ensues.

Someone sent me this for an anti-birthday gift. I think he was trying to shorten my life. He failed, however. I believe laughter is supposed to lengthen life.

You simply have to grit your teeth and get into the part where they have written their own “eucharistic” prayer.

Goodness gracious, this is a hoot.

Honestly, these poor people are so confused. I am pretty sure most of them have no clear idea of how sacrilegious this is.

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79 Comments

  1. jesuitschooled says:

    Well at least they used the Mass of Creation.

  2. Wryman says:

    “The gift of reflective awareness: >snort< coffee all over the keyboard.

  3. RuralCatholic says:

    These poor women remind me of why they used to put post menopausal women in madhouses such as Bedlam to protect them from harming themselves and others. I’m glad father has a sense of humor. I find it just makes me cringe. It isn’t so much about being sacrilegious as totally out of touch with reality. Oh, my! Poor dears.

  4. Gregory DiPippo says:

    Was this celebrated for a meeting of “Senectutem” ?

    [I’m glad you are on our side.]

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  5. ppb says:

    This is sad on so many levels. One thing I particularly noticed: it sounded like the whole congregation recited the words of institution together, reflecting the false theology that the assembly as a whole somehow consecrates the Eucharist. But really, what else do they have to fall back upon but Protestantized notions? In a way, it seemed like a tacit acknowledgment by everyone that the female leaders didn’t actually have any special priestly status.

  6. MikeJDP says:

    Shameful. I cringe when I watch this video and cannot imagine this sitting well with our Lord.

    It is clear to see the dissent from Catholic teaching far beyond allowing women to become priests. Why is congregation reciting the prayer? What exactly is going on here?

    Heretics are delusional due to mental illness or just simply to self-absorption (evil). It occurs to me that almost all evil is due to a selfish nature and placing oneself in place of God.

  7. Precentrix says:

    Also… one gold, one white, one red. Confused…

  8. M. K. says:

    They also seem to be doing an unexpected mix of ad orientem and versus populum – the woman with the standing crucifix behind her is in a ‘versus populum’ position, while the one is gold vestments opposite her does ‘ad orientem,’ including turning around to address the (invisible) congregation that is presumably facing the liturgical East along with her. Meanwhile, the only congregants visible are sitting choir-style.

  9. Kerry says:

    “Homer: Oh mother sea. Giver of fish, taker of boats. Toilet to the world. The Greeks call you Poseidon. The Romans, Aquaman. Look into thy starfish heart and protect thy soul so we may go tubing on you again.”

  10. frahobbit says:

    Freudian slip at 00:39 “except our gifts…”

  11. Curley says:

    I was waiting for one of them to accidentally utter “Father”, err… Creator and seeing the other two start twitching. Really sad though.

  12. mpmaron says:

    M.K.-
    It is not ad orientem nor ad populum. I’m not Joe Latin, so I’ll just ask the group what’s it called when you worship each other?

  13. Gerard Plourde says:

    Sadly, this is an example of the danger one faces when one abandons the Barque of Peter for a rowboat in the midst of a storm. As a consequence of their denial of the teaching and discipline of the Church, they have slipped the moorings that preserve the Faith that comes from the Apostles. I note that the Eucharistic Prayer of unknown origin that they use seems to possess a heavy dose of Gnosticism and lacks any clear proclamation that the Mass is the unbloody sacrifice of Calvary, thereby missing the miracle of the Incarnation and the full implication of the Redemptive Act Our Lord performed out of love for us sinners and our fallen world. We should pray for them that they may receive the grace necessary to see what they have lost and return humbly to the Church, their and our Mother.

  14. iPadre says:

    I wonder what apostate allowed them to use his church. If you look up above, you can see the stations of the cross. This is a Catholic church.

    Anyway, they are poor things. God have mercy on them. May they repent before He comes to take them from this life.

  15. wmeyer says:

    Last time I checked, the number of women priests in the Church equaled the number of unicorns in the world. On the other hand, the number of women who have excommunicated themselves through such delusionary antics is slowly increasing.

  16. Del says:

    There is a style of television humor in which the characters find themselves in ever-more awkward and uncomfortable situations. The audience can see how this is going to end badly for everyone, but the characters seem oblivious as they plunge headlong into more embarrassment. These “cringe-worthy” moments are the source of modern humor — we are invited to laugh at their suffering.

    I can’t stand to watch shows like that, myself.

    Fr. Z says that this is hilarious, because, “Honestly, these poor people are so confused. I am pretty sure most of them have no clear idea of how sacrilegious this is.”

    Perhaps so, but I can’t laugh at it.

    Fr. Z is right. The gals are so blinded by pride and self-righteousness in their disobedience. I suppose that all sin is like this, and we should see ourselves “with the gift of reflective awareness” in their sacrilege.

  17. papaefidelis says:

    “It is not ad orientem nor ad populum. I’m not Joe Latin, so I’ll just ask the group what’s it called when you worship each other?”

    Infra absurdum.

  18. majuscule says:

    I was confused about which one was the priestess–the one with the pita bread or the one with the pottery wine glass?

    As far as I can tell they sang these words: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord

    Or was that an auditory hallucination?

    Okay, I will go pray for these people…

  19. sw85 says:

    It may be a Catholic church, iPadre, but the presence of Stations doesn’t necessarily prove that it is. Some Lutherans and Anglicans also practice devotion to the Stations, and both have proven in the past more than friendly to these kinds of groups.

  20. incredulous says:

    Honestly, I think I prefer a high mass or misa cantada of the traditional latin form. If they had bongos, it would be better.

    Also Gregrory… Senectutem… you are truly mischievous.

  21. SaintJude6 says:

    Precentrix
    Obviously their colors don’t match, because that would have been a faux pas. Like wearing the same dress as your best friend to prom.
    When the slow lane to hell isn’t moving quickly enough, some people jump into the express lane.

  22. Gerard Plourde says:

    Dear iPadre,

    I think that it’s more likely that the building being used in the video is one of the splinter churches descended from the Old Catholic Movement that launched in defiance of the promulgation of the Dogma of Papal Infallibility during the First Vatican Council in 1870. They claim lineage from the See of Utrecht in the Netherlands but have moved far from Catholic theology, discipline and practice.

  23. Choirmaster says:

    This is surely no “hoot” for me. I’ve lived through this, but not with silly, harmless, confused old ladies; no, with duly incardinated priests, in good standing and full communion with their bishop. I’ve been lectured by these same characters, and I’ve been told that my disagreement means I need to pray for conversion.

    And worse, I did it (not the praying for conversion part… at least not for my conversion). I did it for money, and for the promise of more money in the future. I felt like a whore, moving from one client to another thinking maybe this next client won’t be so gross. There was no “gradualism” about my escape though: one day I had had enough, and I quit, and found other, fully-Catholic avenues of employment and artistic expression. Sadly, such avenues are not abundant in the dioceses of these U.S.A., but I don’t regret my decision one bit.

    I think the people caught up in the liturgical-musical complex that produces what we see in this video (be it a heretical, schismatic wymyn-priestess thing like above, or a perfectly approved scenario like I described) need our prayers for escape and conversion, just as we would pray for the prostitute or the hit-man, or the tax-collectors and publicans.

  24. Franko says:

    Those prayers were more gender-neutral than the NRSV translation of the Bible.

  25. murtheol says:

    Geeez. even the music is fake. Electronic piano, synthesized strings.

  26. Gerard Plourde says:

    The location is apparently actually St. Andrew United Church of Christ in Sarasota, FL.

  27. TitanTom says:

    There is a Catholic church in Temecula, CA, that favorably teaches that community consecration and wymyn priests are inevitable, and will be a welcome change.
    If you challenge them you are branded a “zealot” or “liturgical police.” Not funny, but, no coincidence, this church and ones like them in SoCal, all pour the consecrated Blood of Christ, into crystal goblets or some such, to be distributed by an army of extraordinary ministers. That was a Cardinal Mahoney special dispensation of certain rules in the GIRM.
    God gives us all the priests we need. When we save the Liturgy from ” anything goes/free thinkers,” perhaps we’ll have a much needed “purge” and we’ll have more than enough priests to go around.

  28. NBW says:

    One would think they would have a better sense of style. So very sad.

  29. mpmaron says:

    papaefidelis –
    I knew someone would step up to the plate.
    Well done.

  30. roma247 says:

    @ Kerry: “Homer: Oh mother sea. Giver of fish, taker of boats. Toilet to the world. The Greeks call you Poseidon. The Romans, Aquaman. Look into thy starfish heart and protect thy soul so we may go tubing on you again.”

    Oh no. I laughed so hard at this I think I just…um…wet…

  31. Martlet says:

    I tried to watch but couldn’t continue. I actually felt nauseated.

  32. MarkG says:

    Other than the fact that the priests aren’t men, by local standards, this really isn’t that bad – it would actually be one of the more mainstream new Masses.
    Locally, the new Mass has all kinds of weird innovations, weird vestments, improper chalices and ciboria, etc

    >>>an unexpected mix of ad orientem and versus populum
    This is just the latest innovation, where everyone “gathers” around the “table” as equals.
    The congregation probably goes around the “table” maybe even all the way around if possible as extension of the priests and deacons at the “table”.
    The saddest part of this is that it’s already planting seeds for another round of destroying Churches by taking pews out, setting up a square “table” in the center of the Church, using individual chairs arranged in concentric circles all the way around the altar and of course without kneelers.
    When I first saw this video, I thought this was one of our local Churches that just underwent such a renovation and looks very similar.

  33. APX says:

    “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

    Whoops. Slipped up on that one.

  34. Bea says:

    Started to watch it. Couldn’t continue. Felt sinful to even watch it.
    Poor lost souls.

  35. Gretchen says:

    I watched the video in sick fascination and with a sense of pity and revulsion for those women. The whole thing was so unnatural. It was like watching that Baby Jane film with Bette Davis. Lord have mercy.

  36. acricketchirps says:

    I must have a bad memory–wasn’t that just the regular Mass before they fixed the translation back in ’11?

  37. acricketchirps says:

    (only with ladies pretending to be the priests, I mean, obviously).

  38. Dialogos says:

    This is sad. It’s also so far over the top that it is impossible to parody–I suppose that’s an accomplishment of some sort.

  39. Amateur Scholastic says:

    Why do priestesses always seem to have short hair? Anglican ones are the same.

  40. YoungLatinMassGuy says:

    Sheesh…

    I’d rather grit my teeth and endure an hour-long clown Mass with a pack of guitar-playing nuns singing “I gave my love a cherry…” than attend that monstrosity!

    Nota Bene: I’d probably have to ingest a powerful concoction of various beverages before and afterward attending such a Mass, but I’d still do it before going to that… Thing.

  41. Muv says:

    Happy Birthday, Fr Z.
    Aren’t you lucky – not just one fruitcake today, but three! Have they been well steeped with alcohol?

  42. LeslieL says:

    Oh my. I have no other words….just oh, my.
    On a happier note – my computer screen is sparkling again – happens when I do a spit take with a mouth full of tea. Thanks, Fr. Z!

  43. Lisa Freeman says:

    No one is kneeling. Perhaps they know that God is not present. In any case, it does not seem to be Him whom they are worshiping.

  44. Wiktor says:

    So… if everyone is speaking the words of institution… and it happens that there is a defrocked but validly ordained priest among the congregation…

  45. Netmilsmom says:

    They feel it.

  46. benedetta says:

    Would it be wrong of me to question the pairing of white pumps with a white chasuble at this juncture?

  47. Paulo says:

    Please, don’t tell me the lady on the white-and-gold robe on the left calls herself “Francesca”…

  48. pelerin says:

    Amateur scholastic – isn’t it because they are usually ‘of a certain age’ and long hair is no longer suitable?

  49. katholos says:

    In my neck of the woods not too long ago there was an “ordination” of a woman by the wymyn priests at a local United Church of Christ congregation. Thankfully the diocesan bishop was quick to publish a communique that the “priestess” had automatically excommunicated herself.

  50. friarpark says:

    There does not seem to be any worshiping going on. The people you can see other than reading along seem to take no special notice of anything going on. This is an event, not a service, it seems to me. The lady on the left does not even seem to know what to do. She bows, the one in gold does not. It seems cold. Lifeless.

  51. Matt R says:

    Even Anglicans believe in the Catholic Church, though they of course have a deficient theology of the Church. These women don’t even claim that their offering, which is decidedly not a sacrifice or even in memory of His sacrifice, is for the good of Christ’s holy Church. The part about recognizing His presence in the universe made me chortle. By reason we can come to know there is a god, and I would argue we could come to know that only God exists, not also Zeus and Thor and so on. But they refuse to recognize Christ’s presence in the Eucharist brought to us by his priests in the liturgy. That means they have refused grace. As Father Z says, they probably don’t know what they are doing at this point, yet someone at some point in time knew perfectly well what Christ instituted through his Church!

  52. Massachusetts Catholic says:

    Yes it is sad. It is hard even to be angry at these women, because they are so far gone. God’s mercy is infinite, but His justice is something to be feared…
    However, I’m not so compassionate that I didn’t think of a different ending for this video. Thescene where the Nazis open the Ark of the Convent in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0APF3SO9tqE

  53. Bea says:

    It’s your birthday???

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

    May St. Jude look after you today and forever.

    OF, HM, GB Amen

  54. Atra Dicenda, Rubra Agenda says:

    The arrangement of fauxcelebrant wymynpryst and fauxconcelebrant wymynpriests reminds me a bit of the “ping pong table” arrangement of protestant ministers that Michael Davies describes the Anglicans using for a short period of time during Cranmer’s godly order, but in that case the ministers were standing on opposite ends of a “table” which they had pushed back against the eastern wall.

  55. Choirgirl says:

    And guest singer Elvis Tribute Artist Chip Hanes steps in to sing the Credo

  56. frjim4321 says:

    Well the [un-]priest’s back is to the people, so that would satisfy some proclivities here.

    I don’t like the crappy photocopied prayers. Tacky.

    Seems like it is a “real” church and not a warehouse like the community of St. Peter in Michigan. There are station of the cross

  57. MrsMacD says:

    Love the high heels! Her toes still aren’t liberated.

    Notice how red the man is in the background. It’s pretty embarrassing but what can you do when she wears the pants, er chasuble?

  58. I can’t watch. It will give me Catholic-all-girl-high-school flashbacks to the 1980s, those heady days of female altar servers, female liturgical dangers, and DIY liturgies.

    I gave a public lecture in Hobart recently, and said the following: “Anyone who has had the misfortune to attend a liturgy planned and executed by women religious aged 60 and over will know exactly what I mean about fossilisation.”

    God was clearly listening and laughing, because for my sins, within a mere two weeks I had to attend – guess what – an ecumenical paraliturgy planned and executed by women religious pushing the age of 80. It was identical to the stuff we’d had to do in high school, a mere 30 years earlier.

    Mummery AND paralysis. It’s not often you get both.

  59. Cantor says:

    I didn’t really enjoy it, but couldn’t turn it off, waiting for Hermione to arrive on her broom.

  60. MouseTemplar says:

    This really turns me upside down in my tummy….

  61. jilly4life says:

    I wonder if the congregation feels shut out of the little exclusive “priestess” circle. You know, “one for thee, two for me, and three for we the blessed glee.” None for the plebs in the pews.

  62. mariadevotee says:

    I only got to 1:39 before I had to quit. Just couldn’t do it. (shudder)

  63. Mojoron says:

    I liked the camera taking multiple shots at the “showing” of the bread, nice touch,

  64. FrAnt says:

    My thought is that this is a convent somewhere. When reading the things the LCWR say one could imagine it. It is very sad. I’m saying a Rosary for them. Mary will show them the way back.

  65. bmadamsberry says:

    So cute! I used to love to dress up and play pretend. Sadly, I grew up. Although these aren’t real wymyn priestesses. *Real* wymyn priestesses would have included a few guitars, would have excised any mention of that symbol of all patriarchy… what was that person’s name… oh yeah, ‘Jesus,’ and they would have included a few more “peace be with you”s.

  66. Kerry says:

    Maybe it was performance art. Nevertheless, they shouldn’t oughta be doin’ that.

  67. Steve says:

    While watching this, I pondered: Are we supposed to bow our head when they say the name of Jesus, or because this is a sacrilege, we should not?

  68. Cajetan says:

    Oh my. That was sooooooo absurd they had to be chanelling Albert Camus, Eugene Ionesco, and Samuel Beckett.

  69. Fr. JPH says:

    It was sad and almost completely unrecognizable… until the “mass” of Creation’s Holy, Holy, Holy. I just lost it. Especially when some of the women forgot themselves and sang, “Blessed is HE who comes in the name of the Lord.” We laugh to keep from crying!

    May the Lord lead them back to His Church.

  70. acricketchirps says:

    Steve, I can’t help but think it’s always and everywhere appropriate to bow our heads at mention of the Holy Name, but sometimes the bow might be accompanied by a short Act of Reparation.

    e.g. May the Holy Name of Jesus be infinitely blessed! (x 5)

  71. dominic1955 says:

    Looks like they were trying to do some sort of “Lion and Unicorn” old school Anglicanesque altar position.

    In reality, that was just painful to watch. At that point in your “faith journey” I don’t know why folks just don’t hit the snooze button.

  72. RJHighland says:

    Great lead up to Halloween Father, rank that up there with the Exorcist, I was expecting heads to spin around and projectile vomiting at any moment.

  73. Claire says:

    The scene is indeed pathetic, ridiculous and horrifying — but it has nothing to do with the “celebrants'” ages, the length or color of their hair, the kind of shoes they’re wearing, or the fact that they’re not very attractive (neither was Mother Theresa (to those who don’t know what real beauty is)).

    It reminds me of the incident a priest related to me about being at an “ecumenical” meeting and asking one of his Catholic colleagues how to address the Protestant women “bishops.”

    “They’re just as much bishops as any of the others,” his friend told him (referring to the Protestant “bishops”).

    Of course the issue of gender is fundamental here, but I see a great disrespect for women in some of the comments (and I realize some of these commenters are women).

    Sad. I’ll definitely be praying a Rosary about this.

  74. Matthew says:

    I think the gold outfit (I hesitate to call them vestments) are made from drapes we had when I was a kid. Even the tassel that tied them back is on there on the back of the head whatever she is, you know the one showing everyone the tortilla.

  75. Alaina says:

    And this is why I buy Seignadou soap.

  76. Marissa says:

    Of course the issue of gender is fundamental here, but I see a great disrespect for women in some of the comments (and I realize some of these commenters are women).

    Sex. Gender is a linguistic term.

    I don’t see anyone disrespecting women as a sex, merely these women and their disobedience, including their disobedience to St. Paul’s instruction on the crowning glory of women and the proper role of older women. Their age is under consideration as they are of the generation that mostly celebrates this kind of nonsense.

  77. Claire says:

    Marissa,

    According to m-w.com, the most common definition of gender is “: the state of being male or female.” And — unlike the word “sex” — “gender” is a narrower term.

    Is it unacceptable for a Catholic to think that it’s disrespectful to comment on a woman’s age and appearance (including her hair and clothing) when Father Z’s original post dealt with Church doctrine — specifically, sacrilege? IMHO the actions of the people in the video would be just as sacrilegious if the “celebrants” were young, beautiful, had long hair, and wore designer shoes.

    I’ll leave it to Father Z to teach us about “St. Paul’s instruction on the crowning glory of women and the proper role of older women.” (I don’t see anything in the index of the Catechism, but maybe I’m missing something. Par. 1652 states, quoting Gaudiam Spes, “‘By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory.'”) As for myself, I follow Our Lady’s teaching that it’s my soul, and not my hair, that’s my “crowning glory.” The way a woman — or anyone for that matter — dresses is related to modesty — but it doesn’t usually rise (or sink) to the level of sacrilege..

  78. +JMJ+ says:

    Phillipa Martyr wrote:
    I gave a public lecture in Hobart recently, and said the following: “Anyone who has had the misfortune to attend a liturgy planned and executed by women religious aged 60 and over will know exactly what I mean about fossilisation.”

    A retreat planned by (most) women religious in that age range is even worse…

  79. Claire says:

    “Fossilization”?! When I think about women religious aged 60 and over, I think of Mother Teresa — please, Lord, let me become such a “fossil”!

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