This would be funny if not so pathetic for a Protestant denomination (and many Catholics are open to this kind of thing) which has distance itself from the Mother Church of Rome in so many silly ways. The Lambeth Conference in the 1930's that opened the door to artificial contraception through the denigration of natural law leads to this: no children, more pets treated like children.
I wonder if any Catholic parishes have done such a thing (apart from the blessing of pets on the Feast of Saint Francis)?
This appeared in this morning's Augusta Chronicle and on the front page so important a story it is:
Church of the Holy Comforter invites members' pets to service
Church members bring pets to service
CHRIS THELEN/STAFF
Meghan
Bourque and her dog, Jasper, receive communion from the Rev. Cynthia
Taylor during A Critter Christmas at Church of the Holy Comforter.
Church members were allowed to bring their animals to Sunday's service.
No matter the outfit, Sunday’s service at Church of the Holy Comforter was a night to remember for local pet owners.
“Dogs are part of your family,” said the Rev. Cynthia Taylor, the church’s pastor. “And with Christmas being so close, we wanted to invite animals to worship with their owners during the holiday season.”
The event – coined “A Critter Christmas” – was attended by dozens of dog owners, including Georgie Blackburn, who was tugged by Cheyanne, 15; Reinee, 7; and Sidney, 2. Blackburn dressed each dog in festive attire.
“Cheyanne, Reinee and Sidney are therapy dogs and it means the world to bring them places during the holiday season,” Blackburn said. “It always amazes me how happy it makes people when they get to pet a dog – especially for individuals who don’t have family around this time of year.”
Taylor said the event was sparked by church member Heather Schneller, who attended a parish in Fayetteville, Ark., that allowed pets each Sunday. When Schneller moved to the Augusta area in May, she mentioned the idea to her pastor.
“I have two dogs myself, and they truly are members of my family,” Schneller said. “Bringing them to worship each week was something people (in Fayetteville) really enjoyed doing.”
“We’re not here to worship our dogs or anything like that,” Taylor said. “We’re here to worship with them.”
Attendees were asked to bring dog toys that will be donated to local animal shelters
7 comments:
Human beings are designed by our Creator to care for children, so with contraception, abortion and homosexuality eliminating the presence of children, I supposed our sentiments are substituting animals. It's like how seasonal allergies mistake pollen for bacteria.
Absolutely disgusting, heretical, outrageous, and dumb.
Great comment on the Chonicle website:
OK admittedly I am Old School, Old Religious.
Have we distanced ourselves from the worship of GOD, that churches are having to resort to using gimmicks, marketing strategies/concepts, Theme days, protests causes and big LED colorful signs with funny/witty sayings to get people to attend?
It is a House of Worship not a dog show.
Do I hear an Amen!?
Not long ago an Australian priest was laicized for, inter alia, giving Communion to a dog. In this case the 'Rev' Cynthia cannot validly confect the Eucharist so Jasper's biscuit was precisely that, and I'm sure he appreciated it.
St Thomas Aquinas's words do not apply here (Ecce panis Angelorum, factus cibus viatorum: vere panis filiorum, non mittendus canibus).
I was in Belgium Saturday night (Axelle Red concert) and I have 2 observations to share:
1. Nipped into a bistro for a pre-concert supper (and Belgian beer). I noticed a dog sitting happily at its owners feet in the restaurant. I didn't share my croquet madame.
2. Went to Saturday evening mass in St Isebald's, Koksijde. There were no dogs there; neither were there any kneelers, any altar rail, or (with one exception) anyone under the age of 30. The altar was wooden, and the pulpit was sort of behind and slightly above the altar. The congregation seemed to join in with much of the Eucharistic Prayer, which I doubt was the Roman Canon, but as I don't speak Flemish I couldn't tell. (Had it been Latin...) People stood up for the consecration, but I kneeled, perhaps more out of sheer awkwardness than true piety.
My conclusions: the church in Europe is in a sorry state, as evidenced by the lack of young people and dogs in the pews, which probably has something to do with Vatican II ignoring dogs altogether.
The concert, by the way, was in another large, modern church. That was kind of weird too.
Somehow I think it is more noble to lose Catholics because we remain faithful to who we are as Catholics in Faith, Morals and liturgy. To lose Catholics because we have made ourselves into something else altogether is truly sad. I hear Belgium which was at the forefront of creating a new Church after Vatican II is completely dying and that there are no young people in the pews at all.
Isn’t there a canine law provision somewhere regulating this sort of thing?
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