Nope.  Not in the church. Just, nope.

Shall we get all the silliness out at once?

This comes to you from the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Abbeville, LA.

I looked around on the Youth Group’s Facebook page (I dislike Facebook more and more) and it looks as if these young people are trying to do good things.

THIS, however, doesn’t belong in church.  That’s a big nope.

Nope.  Not in the church.

Palm Sunday.

Dry Bones Skit!

Dry bones, come alive!!

Posted by St. Mary Magdalen Life Teen on Sunday, March 25, 2018

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25 Comments

  1. Joy65 says:

    OH this makes me so sad to be at a Church that I know of. I will DEFINITELY let them KNOW my displeasure of this spectacle. God have mercy on us and on the whole world.

  2. Suburbanbanshee says:

    If it had been “staged” in the vestibule, or even in the aisles instead of up on the altar, it would have been better. Out in front of church on the steps of on the lawn, it could have been great.

    This everything at Mass, kitchen sink, Seventies attitude causes a lot of trouble.

  3. Suburbanbanshee says:

    I do not blame the kids. (Though they are old enough to know.)

    The pastor is the one who is supposed to control parish groups, and especially their use of the church. But whatever adult laypeople are supervising – they should also have known more about canon law, or basic reverence. This parish looks like it should know better.

  4. TonyO says:

    How is it that young persons (say, teens) even imagine that this belongs in Church? As far as I can tell, the idea ALWAYS comes from some someone older who is driving an agenda. Someone who can condition / warp them into thinking “it’s OK, really”. Thus, someone who they respect as really knowing whether it is OK or not.

    And that someone (either a “Youth Group Minister”, or a religious sister, or a priest) generally has to get the approval of the pastor. And so what in H**L is going on in a pastor’s mind who says yes to this? He cannot possibly think it is OK if he has even the least shred of sense about the sanctuary being reserved and “set aside” for holy sacrifice to God. So, my guess is that if you peer underneath the outer covering, whenever you find this sort if grotesque idiocy going on, usually you have a pastor who either doesn’t actually believe in the Real Presence, or doesn’t believe in sacrifice properly speaking. I admit that there might be outlier cases, but the illness here is an infection that spreads out from priests who don’t believe in the Real Presence, and think sacrifice is old fashioned nonsense.

  5. Fr_Sotelo says:

    I’m baffled as to why they did a skit on “dry bones” on Palm Sunday? And the Palm Sunday liturgy is so long, who has time to add skits into the liturgy? On the bright side, at least they weren’t running around half naked and barefoot in leotards. lol. Poor kids. They are having to experience what we went through in the 80’s.

  6. mepoindexter says:

    The Parish where I live did Jesus Christ Superstar in the sanctuary. “The religious spectacle” itself.

  7. acardnal says:

    Sometimes I wish the bishop and/or the Apostolic Nuncio had the authority to issue monetary fines to pastors. Perhaps even jail time.

  8. Joy65 says:

    MOST important we need to pray DAILY for ALL Priests, Religious Brothers and Sisters, Deacons, Seminarians, our Pope, Bishops, Cardinals and all those discerning vocations to and preparing for the Priesthood and the Religious Life. God Bless all of you and yours and all of us who belong to the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.

  9. majuscule says:

    The sanctuary is not a stage. Although you would never know it in some places.

    At least bring back the communion rail to set it apart.

  10. Giuseppe says:

    If there’s room in the sanctuary for yoga, stretching, dance, a show, or puppetry, there’s room for a communion rail, which should put a stop to such nonsense!

  11. elijah408 says:

    I’ve worked with Life Teen in the past for years. Unfortunately they are increasingly becoming disrespectful in churches and other sacred places turning them into stages of performance (such as this). And cheering and clapping in church to boot.

    The thing is, is that when they are no longer teenagers and become adults, rarely do they remain Christian let alone Catholic. Many have gone through our program as teenagers. It’s been almost 8 years since I stopped and as I think about the kids that were in our youth group I honestly can count on one hand how many are still practicing their faith as adults. It is a feel good, happy clappy, program.

  12. maternalView says:

    Just no. Nowhere is this of any benefit.
    Not even the school gym. How dreadful to have to sit through this and then as a parent to have to pretend this is such a great thing.

  13. Carrie says:

    All three of these examples are extreme liturgical offenses, for sure. It’s not clear what years these are from—certainly have a 70s feel to them. Perhaps all are current. But, I wonder if your intended message is: it’s the-TLM-or-this. Most parishes have respectful and beautiful Masses, whether in English or Latin, whether organ or piano or guitar…

    I appreciate liturgical simplicity more and more.

  14. Kathleen10 says:

    I can’t believe it, I usually hate these things. My only complaint is where it is being held. In a church hall, it would be terrific! It’s a wonderfully Catholic message.
    These are well meaning young people and they worked hard on this. I watched it the whole way through (usually I can’t get through 30 seconds), but they have a very good message. Young people do sometimes enjoy using contemporary music and this time it’s to good effect. Adele is a powerful artist with a rich voice. I’m not sure what she’s saying except “Come Alive” and the performance is demonstrating that these young people were slaves to sin and Satan (and death) and were freed by Christ and faith. They clearly worked hard on the synchronization and it was effective as a performance. I loved the part where they ended up facing the altar with their hands in the orans position. Perfectly traditional and beautiful. The performance wasn’t lame or gimmicky and this would get the attention of children and young people in a good way.
    It presented an effective message about supernatural realities and perhaps, choices.
    If it were in the church hall I’d give it five stars!

  15. maternalView says:

    I have a hard time believing that the use of secular modes of entertainment in church will have a long term effect of bringing hordes of people into the church. Eventually they realize they can just stay home.

    The Church has a lot to offer that the secular world doesn’t. Yet those in the church administration seem to think the secular mode is going to save them.

    I don’t care how entertaining this program was or the sincerity of the participants when we waste time and effort on such things we have lost opportunities to share Jesus’ saving message and the beauty of the Catholic faith.

  16. Fr. Reader says:

    Around minute 4 of the video looks not only not liturgical or disrespectful, but profoundly pagan.

  17. Ben's son says:

    The singer is Lauren Daigle , who sorta sounds like Adele.
    The song “Come Alive (Dry Bones)” is relating to Ezekiel 37.
    -I would tolerate the stage show only if they bowed or genuflected every time they passed center altar…

  18. tamranthor says:

    This is a symptom of the idea that the Mass is the “Father Show.” Hint: it isn’t.

    This does not occur at Churches where Mass is said ad orientem.

  19. xpihs says:

    Perhaps this should not be dismissed so simply. There is an important element that is neglected. The “demonic” begins facing the West. As redemption comes the orientation is redirected and ends Ad Orientem and toward the original high altar. Perhaps it’s subconscious, but it’s certainly true. It also seems that the Most Blessed Sacrament is not on the high altar but at the side altar for what it is worth. There seems to be something eminently powerful and meaningful about facing toward Christ/East that they grasp so easily and communicate rather effectively.

  20. Diaconos In Aeternam says:

    I’ve been to this parish before and the Blessed Sacrament is in the tabernacle on the high altar and not a side altar.

  21. Fr. Kelly says:

    Whatever else this Life Teen Skit is, it is _not_ a faithful interpretaion of Exechiel’s account of the Dry Bones. (And it has no place in church.)

    Reread Exchiel 37. There is nothing there about the devil acting as puppet master over the bones. Exechiel prophesies the promise of the Lord to the bones and they are reassembled. they are covered with sinews, flesh and skin, but do not yet live. He prophesies to the Spirit and the Lord causes them to live again.

    This event is a reassurance of the Israelites that God is faithful to His covenant and that He will send the Messiah to restore them to their inheritance. The only Spirit involved is that of God. This skit seems rather to be about how temptation makes us puppets of the Devil and we need the Lord to cut our strings and free us from that slavery. Not a bad message, but disrespectful to the Church, to Our Lord and to Exechiel. It is fairly typical of my experience with Life Teen, though.

  22. Skits, drone entrances, costumed comic book characters, and the fact that two bishops speaking truth about Liturgy and Holy Communion is remarkable.
    It’s always interesting to check in with you from Eastern Orthodox land.
    Happy Easter, Father. Now, back to Holy Week for us……
    Dn N

  23. oakdiocesegirl2 says:

    Whew! I guess I’ll stop complaining about the liturgical irregularities at my church now. They’re nowhere near as bad! The first thing I thought of when I saw this was [also]: if there was an altar rail, this wouldn’t be happening!

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  25. Ben's son says:

    The singer’s song that was playing during the skit is supposedly related to Ezekiel. I do not know what the skit itself is supposed to be about.

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