Disrespectful altar boy. (Letters).I enjoyed reading "Altar Call" (May), and I liked the idea Brian Doyle put forth, but then I read his essay titled "Memoirs of an altar boy" (May). While well written with quaint and interesting detail, at its core it is minimally disrespectful dis·re·spect·ful adj. Having or exhibiting a lack of respect; rude and discourteous. dis  re·spect and at most heretical. Specifically, two paragraphs toward the end of the essay insult the eucharistic miracle. "Few priests drank a full load of wine; even heavy hitters found cheap burgundy distasteful at dawn." This statement denies Transubstantiation transubstantiation: see Eucharist. transubstantiation In Christianity, the change by which the bread and wine of the Eucharist become in substance the body and blood of Jesus, though their appearance is not altered. and characterizes the Blood of Christ The Blood of Christ in Christian theology refers to (a) the physical blood actually shed by Jesus Christ on the Cross, and the salvation which Christianity teaches was accomplished thereby; and (b) the Eucharistic wine used at Holy Communion Salvation Secondly, Doyle says, "After I discovered the Hosts came wholesale from a convent in New Jersey, the consecrated con·se·crate tr.v. con·se·crat·ed, con·se·crat·ing, con·se·crates 1. To declare or set apart as sacred: consecrate a church. 2. Christianity a. Host never tasted quite as savory again." It seems as if the value of being an altar server described in "Altar Call"--teaching the faith, inspiring vocations, encouraging family unity--for the author, in "Memoirs," boils down to being the apprentice to a cigar-smoking "wizard" who can pull off the miracle of the Mass in 22 minutes. A magazine that calls itself Catholic should be more careful to make sure its content reflects the dogma of the church. Dana M. Thibault Pentwater, Mich. I was tickled by Brian Doyle's "Memoirs of an altar boy" in the May issue. It brought back a rush of my own pre-Vatican II altar boy memories: Father Boucher--his 6 a.m. Mass never took more than 17 minutes. Altar boy initiation--locking the new guys in the closet with a lit censer. Communion at the rail--giving my classmates Classmates can refer to either:
"Altar boy pride" dictates that I take issue with Doyle on a couple of specifics. He reported Father Dennis Whelan sending "his right hand out for the chalice chalice [Lat.,=cup], ancient name for a drinking cup, retained for the eucharistic or communion cup. Its use commemorates the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper. as his left was carving a blessing." No priest, not even Father Boucher during his speediest Masses, would ever do a blessing with his left hand. Then he relates how, after taking off his alb, Whelan "peeled his surplice off over his head." While I know you're never supposed to say never--I never saw any priest wear a surplice under his alb and this certainly was not part of the prescribed attire. Finally, Doyle recounts how "by then my amice am·ice n. Ecclesiastical A liturgical vestment consisting of an oblong piece of white linen worn around the neck and shoulders and partly under the alb. and cassock were hanging in my locker." Cassock? Yes. Amice? No. The amice was the rectangular linen which the priest wore over his shoulders under the alb. We altar boys wore surplices over our cassocks, not amices. Thanks for the tender memories, Doyle. Steven J. Dzida Irvine, Calif. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion