Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
March 6, 2002
Letters
Churches should be quiet refuges
Mary Jo Smith's letter (Feb. 20 Register) regarding silence and prayer in church says it all in her very last sentence, "Where can we find silence anymore if not in our churches?" I can't agree with her more.
Some of the chatting I have heard from across the church before Mass starts is so loud that it is difficult to stay focused in prayer and to participate in the Mass. We arrive about half an hour early just to pray and talk to God. Church should be peaceful — a place of refuge in this busy world.
I realize we are a community in worship, but what is so hard about having respect for others in God's house when you can clearly see that they are praying? What is so difficult about greeting others quietly and visiting after Mass?
Before Mass and during we can barely hear the priest because people are talking about the upcoming Bronco game, or problems in their neighborhoods, or with their children, and so on. We have tried different Mass times, but it is always the same.
We also attend Mass in Leadville near our cabin. That is the quietest church I have ever been in. It is wonderful! The priest greets you at the door and makes you feel welcome, yet it is quiet.
The one place of refuge you can go to get away from cell phones, traffic and endless talking and noise is church. The peace and tranquility necessary for dialogue with our Lord is becoming harder and harder to achieve because of a lack of respect for God's house and for each other. How terribly sad.
Carol A. Pachello
Arvada
Beware of false teaching
Though not Catholic nor a regular attendee of Catholic religious activities, I recently visited a Catholic parish that played host to a three-part lecture series on Islam. I reasoned that the topic would be addressed from a Catholic/Christian perspective. Being Christian, it is from a Christian worldview that I seek to understand religion, morality, politics, philosophy and ethics.
Emotionally, spiritually and mentally my discomfort mounted during the speaker's (a college professor of Islamic studies) discussion of similarities between the three great monotheistic religions. I began to get the uneasy sense that she was seeking to indoctrinate these precious people — most of whom I presumed to be Catholic and without the representation of a Catholic spiritual leader — with the falsehood that her God, Allah, was and is the God of Catholics and Jews.
The audience seemed to graciously accept the speaker's remarks, as great a tragedy in my mind as the erroneous, misguided and dangerous supposition she had hurled at her Catholic audience.
The founder of Islam, Muhammad, rejected the divinity of Christ and all the precious truths Catholics and Christians hold dear and instead melded into Islam's tenets only those Old and New Testament teachings which lent credence to his new religion.
My response has been twofold: to pray that this strong delusion (the one and same god mantra) be quelled and that both Catholics and Protestants defend historical, biblical Christianity and the truths they hold so dear — the virgin birth; the divinity of the Lord Jesus; the inerrancy of Scripture; Jesus' unity with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit; and the uncompromising, irrefutable truth that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that no man comes to the Father but through Him.
Steve Rees
Longmont
Lively music glorifies God
In response to "Music message needs heard" (Feb. 6 Register), I must strongly disagree. Every Sunday at Mass, I sing in a choir full of enthusiastic, joy-filled teen-agers. We are accompanied by bass guitars, piano, flute, drums, and occasionally keyboards or electric guitar. The songs we sing are usually upbeat, but always prayerful. Many adults have approached us after Mass, complimenting us on a job well done. I am fully aware that our job is not to entertain, but to assist in the worship and to glorify God.
I am also a Eucharistic minister and there is nothing more powerful than serving Communion while the congregation joins the choir in singing "We Are One Body."
There is nothing wrong with more traditional music, in fact, we often sing traditional songs and we even sing in Latin. We've sung "Ave Maria" and "Adeste Fidelis" and they are beautiful. However, I believe that united voices lifted up to God in joyful song can be a powerful prayer, no matter what they're singing.
For me, music only enhances the experience of the Mass, as I know it does for many parishioners. Modern music is not disrespectful as long as it is sung with the right attitude and does not detract from the purpose of the service. Isn't it only appropriate that "Little Drummer Boy" be accompanied by drums? I don't see anything disruptive or sacriligious about that. Every song we sing is sung with a reverence for God and we pray every Sunday that our voices may help glorify God.
Don't count out good music just because it's enjoyable. How can we not enjoy ourselves when we have the privilege of receiving Jesus every Sunday at Mass?
Laura Zapapas, 17
Centennial
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