July
13, 2008
What
we wear...
Celebrating
Father Gonzalo
On June 14, Gonzalo Lopez was ordained to the priesthood for our diocese
by Bishop Murphy. Father Gonzalo had served the parish of Saint Brigid’s
for a year while he was a seminarian, and recently he served on weekends
as a deacon. Since his ordination, Father Gonzalo has been assigned
to the parish of Saint anne’s in brentwood.
On Sunday July 20, Father Gonzalo will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving
at
10:45 am in the Chapel of Saint Brigid’s School and all parishioners
are invited to come celebrate with him. The mass will be followed by
a reception in Code Auditorium at noon. All are invited.
It’s not too often that we’re able to celebrate a newly-ordained
priest in our midst and we’re grateful to God that we can celebrate
Father Gonzalo!
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past
Columns:
July 6: We Welcome Westbrook
June
29: Sommer in the Summer
June 22: Welcome
Father Jaime
June 15: Father
Gonzalo Lopez
June 8: What happened
on Sunday
June 1: Where
do you belong?
May
25: We are the Body of Christ
May 18: Trinity,
It's About Unity
May 11: We are
One in the Spirit
May 4: Who's in
Your Top Twelve?
April 27: Now
that he's gone...
April 20: Yay
Deacons!
April 13: Here
comes the Pope
April 6: Fresh Oil
March 30: What are you doing
for Easter?
March 23: Can Easter come
too early?
March 16: Which crowd is
yours?
March 9: We believe, yet...
March 2: Oil or Mud
February
24: What are you thirsting for?
February 17: Who are You
Wearing?
February 10: Just Say No
February
3: The January
20: Being Safer
January 13: Conversations
in 2008
January 6: Matthew's Magi
December 30:
What's Next?
Christmas
2007 Homily
Columns
from 2007
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns
from 2003
Columns from 2002
What
we wear says a lot about who we are, what we value, and what we’re
doing at any given time. So the other day as I drove up Post Ave, I saw
the sign in front of our local nightclub that said, “Proper Attire
Required” it reminded me of conversations with parishioners who
nudge me to remind folks that even though we don’t have a “proper
attire” sign on the church, it still is a good idea to dress up
to come to God’s house. So let me reprint what I wrote a couple
of years ago:
“I can’t for the life
of me imagine that my role would be to stand at the doors of church and
send people away if their clothes didn’t meet certain standards.
And personally, I rarely notice what people wear - I look at folks and
see their faces and I’m SO happy to see whoever is here.
Yet, there is something to be said
by how we dress. Some people do dress more casually for church than they
do for work, birthday celebrations, visits to grandma, etc. I wonder if
the folks who are stopping in at mass on the way to the beach would ever
consider dressing up for mass and wearing their church clothes to the
beach. (Sounds a bit ridiculous, no?) So why is it OK to wear the beach
clothes to church?
I'd be much happier if the people
who are judging others by the clothes they wear would spend more of their
energy praying, but I do hear what they’re saying: when people come
to church in “beach clothes”, it can get in the way of their
praying. The most important thing we do as Catholics is gather together
for Eucharist and what we choose to wear is an outward sign of what we
value. I suspect most people would be rather perturbed if the priests
showed up at the altar for mass in a tank top (ok---slowly get THAT image
out of your mind) and that’s because the priest is expected to dress
in a way that shows reverence. Should it be any different for the rest
of God’s holy people?”
Next week, have fun picking out
nice “church clothes” to wear. But for God’s sake (literally!)
don’t stay away because your outfit doesn’t match!!
