PowerPoint Horror!!

By Autumn -
I would say that the last two weeks have shown that the faithful at my parish Church are coping admirably with the new Liturgy of the Mass, using laminated Mass cards as a help, for the tme being. Ok, so the rhythm's not quite right yet, but, given time...

I can't quite describe my horror as, after Mass this morning, a huge PowerPoint screen, placed directly above the altar, was given a test run. This will be used on Saturday Vigil and Sunday Masses from now on. Such things may be acceptable in protestant, evangelical Churches, but during the Mass??? It is an aesthetic abomination, especially due to its positioning. Our beautiful crucifix of the risen Christ is obscured.

I hae made my feelings known to my Priest and Deacon, but I doubt it will make any difference, sadly, even though others share my disquiet and concern. My Priest sais we need to "get up to date with the 21st century", and that "it will help the young people". The "young people" get all the technology they need out of Mass, at home and at school. The Church needs, I believe, to hold back from the relentless tide of intrusion that technology makes into our world and our lives. I don't think our young people will be any more taken with it than our old people (or those inbetween!)

If there are any Priests reading this, I implore you, please don't desecrate the beauty of the Sanctuary with such dreadfuls inventions of modern technology. Ok, they might work in the classroom, but they will be a distraction from the beauty of the Mass...and if you think I'm an old stick in the mud, you are free to say so!

Do we really want what the Anglicans have got?

Comments

  1. EC Gefroh3:42 pm, September 17, 2011

    Autumn, we had something similar happen in our church. Two beautiful statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary were removed and in their place are two big screens were announcements and hymns are displayed during the celebration of the Mass. Sigh...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fr Seán Coyle11:50 pm, September 19, 2011

    I tried unsuccessfully to post the other day. Overhead projectors and screens have been quite common in churches here in the Philippines since the 1970s. Any I’ve seen are over at the side of the sanctuary. They are used mainly for the words of hymns and responses.

    I inherited a screen and projector in a parish where I was assigned from 1993 to 1994. I didn’t find it a distraction, though I don’t think I would ever install them. One Sunday at Mass a crazy young man came up, knocked over the projector and put it out of action. Fortunately, nobody was hurt.

    I don’t know why ‘young people’ are used as an excuse for so many things! Sometimes here I find the opposite: if I ask young persons, for example, why they follow certain practices and they’re not sure why, they’ll usually say ‘That’s what the old people do’!

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