Monday, September 17, 2007

Homily, Sunday, September 16

Hey! Well, have I got news for you! We're done! At long last, the liturgical commission of Spirit of Vatican II Faith Community has completed its Resolution on Matters Concerning Proper Liturgical Forms. Instead of rattling on and on in a boring old homily today, I'm just going to read you the document. You'll be excited to know that copies have already been sent to the Diocesan Office as well as the Vatican. Anyway, here goes. Oh... wait a second. Maryann, can you bring me a glass of water? Thanks. No... I'll wait...

...thanks!...

Whew! That was refreshing. Anyway, here goes:

RESOLUTION ON MATTERS CONCERNING PROPER LITURGICAL FORMS
Spirit of Vatican II Faith Community Liturgical Commission
On the Anniversary of the Beginning of Ghandi's Fast in Protest of the Caste System, 2007 CE

WHEREAS the peoples of the world are clamoring to have their voices heard, crying ever louder for those in positions of power to bend their ears to hear the cries of the disenfranchised

INASMUCHAS the ROMAN CHURCH has heretofore cast a deaf ear upon the cries of the poor, despite the urgent need to exercise a preferential option on their behalf

COGNIZENT of the fact that amongst the poor are not merely the poor in food, the poor in environmentally sound ecosystems, and the poor in spirit, but also the poor in liturgical innovation

WE THE PEOPLES of the Spirit of Vatican II Faith Community, in SOLIDARITY with the indiginous peoples of REDFERN AUSTRALIA, and in the name of all catholics and fellow faith-probers everwhere do hereby

DECLARE that the norms of the ROMAN MASS as laid out in the GENERAL INSTRUCTION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL and as detailed in countless laborious tracts of duplicitous emanations are so many fetters upon the o'er-restrained limbs of the PEOPLE OF THE BODY OF THE CHURCH

WE RESOLVE to cast aside such shackles, particularly as they are manifested in the enumerated areas enumerated hereafter:

I. LITURGICAL CREATIVITY: We reserve the right, as members of THE BODY OF THE CHURCH to determine the free course of action for our Faith Communities, Parishes, Worship Teams, and Love Circles. We will not be bound by a hidebound set of "rubrics" or "dogma" or "doctrine," but will instead follow the example of the CHURCH FATHERS and do it our way.

II. LITURGICAL MUSIC: Among those areas most greviously impaired by the STRICTURES OF THE HEIRARCHY is the freedom of the Peoples to make a Joyful Noise. Henceforth, we shall employ instruments that speak of the joy in man's spirit, such as the tamborine and the juice-harp. We execrate the Organ and other such tools of capitalist oppression.

III. LITURGICAL DANCE: The body is a precious instrument of art and beauty. The expression of beauty should not be limited by traditional restrictions that held modesty to be a virtue, and rigid Prussian Formalism to be the highest expression of pious art. We recognize that the flowing lines of limbs flung with abandon can be equally valid liturgical expressions of prayer and beseeching.

IV. LITURGICAL COSTUMING: The Stole, the Alb, the Ambo, and the Vestment are all ancient costumes copied from the Romans. We don't see why we have to wear just these things and cannot wear costumes that speak to our particulary cultural norms in ways that are new and creative. We reserve the right to have a Star Trek Mass, a Clown Mass, or a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Mass.

KNOWING the reaction of the bourgiois sectarians within the HEIRARCHY, we the peoples of the Spirit of Vatican II Faith Community do hereby pledge our sacred honor, our trust, and our very lives in the way of the hurtling death machines of the Inquisitors, and we dare you to dissaude us from seeking our valid faith choices and expressing them in new and innovative ways.

Signed,

The faith communicants of the Spirit of Vatican II.


After that we listed all of your names and addresses. Aren't you proud of our Liturgical Commission? Let's have a big round of applause for the Liturgical Commission Team. All of you LCT people, please stand up. Great! Thanks!

15 comments:

Che' Lovell said...

Father Tim! That was awesome! I mean I think you and Maryann really showed them. IN YOU FACE VATICAN PEOPLE WHO WANT US TO SPEAK LATIN ALL THE TIME!

YAH!

Anonymous said...

This is typical male-dominant gender-fascism from so-called "Father" Tim.

There is NOTHING in here about equal womyn's ministry!

Surely we womyn must be allowed to offer thanks to the Earth Mother for the gifts of the environment (or whatever it is you do with the wholemeal bread up there at the Communal Table).

But no, "Father" Tim wants to keep that for himself, and in a typical male way he wants womyn reduced to "liturgical dancing" - like all the other lecherous pornography-viewing rapist men. What next - a POLE for us to dance around while you exert your penis-worshiping power trip?

As for "follow the example of the church FATHERS" and "the joy in MAN's spirit", Mother Gaia give me strength!

Che' Lovell said...

Hey Abbie! That's an awesome idea about the pole.

We've got the maypole thing in the spirit maze but we should have one inside too and also we've got one of those "ashera poles" I think you call them in the meditation room. But one for liturgical dancing. THAT WOULD BE AWESOME! I'm going to talk to Maryann and Todd about that!


Che'

Sir Galen of Bristol said...

On the Anniversary of the Beginning of Ghandi's Fast in Protest of the Caste System, 2007 CE

That just kind of says it all, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

Che, YOU ARE DEMEANING WOMYN!

Do you keep your brain in your pants like most men? If so great - we can remove it easily when we chop off your balls!

As an Albigensian I (for are we not each just a part of our communities) was PERSECUTED by the industrio-military paternalist fascist combine that calls itself the "Catholic Church" PRECISELY because I and my sisters refused to allow them to treat us as "wives" (sex-slaves) and "mothers" (forced to bear the next generation of men to oppress our sisters).

Of course I am at home in my body, and attuned to my sexuality and urges within Gaia, so that I can seek and offer gratification free of the shackles of marriage and procreation.

BUT, dunderhead, this does NOT mean that I am happy to cavort on a phallic pole for the seedy selfish pleasure of a bunch of delayed-adolescence socially-inept MEN who are incapable of an adult relationship with real independent womyn and can only see us as either Virgin or Magdalene (whore).

ESPECIALLY as part of a ceremony presided over by a self-proclaimed "father" who seems to have an incestuous attitude to his spiritual "daughters", seeing us as fit only to dance rather than participate equally in the community celebration with Christ the Earth Mother.

You have destroyed my karma for the whole day now.

Anonymous said...

AMEN SISTER!!

Anonymous said...

A-MEN?!?!??!?! More masculine oppression, sister!

It seems that everyone here is indoctrinated. This place seems to be less a "community" and more a fascist boot-camp for the oppression of womyn.

amYn surely (or even amyl, if you've got any)

Anonymous said...

my apologies sister. I've been so busy making corn husk dolls for our annual Samhain Fest-I completly lost my head! All are invited-after Mess-I mean Mass, everyone takes a cornhusk doll. Then we go out back to the bonfire and while liturgically dancing throw the dolls in the fire!!! Very inspiring! All Are Welcome! And there are NO POLES!

Anonymous said...

I forgot to mention...some cornhusk dolls are made with penises, so you are free to choose which one to throw into the fire, male or female. After all, its all about CHOICE! peace be upon you.

Anonymous said...

Splendid, sister peacetrain!

Could I dress my corn doll as the male chauvinist so-called "Holy Father Innocent III", and burn him in memory of the thousands of my sisters who he cruelly put to death for trying to free themselves from the scackles of male church oppression?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3ssE40RSEk

Anonymous said...

Whatever floats your boat Abbie! In fact, I would encourage it! If everone had an actual person in mind it would take on so much more meaning!! Lets see...which Pope should I pick...hmmmm. I will give it some thought.

H. Robert Williams said...

Abbie,

I am afraid that you are unfamiliar with SOV2. And I am distrubed by your reactionary tendencies.

You seem to try to pigeon hole people into categroies such as men and womyn. And from your comments, you seem to presume that liturgical dancers are womyn. Far from it. Most of the dancers are middle aged biological males clothed tastefully in spandex.

The issue of gender is not a "big deal" here at SOV2. You are what you are which is what you embrace in the gender identity or identities you feel most comfortable with. We welcome everyone in a completely non-judgemental way.

I recommend my course "Confronting your Inner Bigot" which is available from Villanoce College On-Line and will help you see and understand the prejudices that you bring with you. This will help you dialogue with others and share and understand their life experiences.

Thank you for your participation!

H. Robert

Anonymous said...

Ha, so it's just a coincidence that the only priest is a MAN?

Notice how the boys all gang together to defend themselves, issuing their grand patristic directives.

You're as bad as the Vatican or that SSPX lot - or the Inquisition!

This sort of assault always weakens my karma and allows the spirit of my ancestress (who was BURNT TO DEATH by the paternalistic Church) to channel through me. And she leaves me with flashing orange lights in my aura for days - and there isn't a decent reiki healer anywhere around here.

Che' Lovell said...

Hey! This is stupid because everybody knows that I'd much rather see womyn liturgical dancers than people like Keith. Yah, I know Todd and Maryann work really hard to make sure there's something for everybody but I mean, some stuff is too weird.

I mean that's not demeaning at all because its just the way it is because most myn are really pretty ugly and a lot of womyn are ugly too but then there's a bunch of womyn who look like Julia Robert's except not maybe so pretty but still cute. I mean wouldn't you rather see Julia Roberts doing liturgical dancing then someone like Keith?

So I don't go to the SHOUT! liturgy and stuff doesn't mean that I don't think its okay or something. You know it's there body and stuff so whatever and they need a place too.

I think people are forgetting what SOV2 is all about because it isn't about HEY! THIS IS MY THING and HEY! YOUR THING IS STUPID! Its about HEY! IN YOUR FACE TRADDIES AND REPUBLICANS!

Because basically I don't want people like George Bush telling me what to do. I want them to do what I think they should do like not flush the toilet so much because that kills fishes.

And I happen to know that Father Tim received honorary earth-mother award from the South Central Womyn's Leadership Solidarity Conference so I think you maybe need to say I'm sorry or something because I don't think you are really being church.

ignorant redneck said...

do this meen I can where my buckskins and skunkfer hat?