|
Post by Vyckie D. Garrison on Nov 1, 2009 17:54:32 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by sargassosea on Nov 1, 2009 21:10:29 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by xara on Nov 1, 2009 21:17:56 GMT -5
It is a shame when religion makes you give up good things. And there seems to be so much of that.
Nice post.
|
|
|
Post by arietty on Nov 2, 2009 4:57:45 GMT -5
Calulu that is so sad. I knew a lot of people who gave up things valuable to their family of origin or culture because they were now uhh.. free in Jesus to give stuff up. And free in Jesus to enter into conflict with their families because of it. Often rich and meaningful traditions are traded in for a very sterile culture. Fundamentalism fears traditions that trace their origin back to other countries, the older the more scary. I mean.. Catholics might have embraced it and that is very scary stuff. LOL!
|
|
calulu
Junior Member
Posts: 76
|
Post by calulu on Nov 2, 2009 11:01:57 GMT -5
The saddest thing about it is that for the last five years of my father's life I never did this again with him or took part in any of the other things he got so much joy from, like Halloween or Easter egg hunts. I didn't let my children participate in anything not approved of by the church, they didn't get to spend much time with their grandfather because he was a Catholic I believed was sinful.
I feel robbed of those last five years even though I know I could have rejected the rules of the church. Sometimes forgiving yourself is the hardest thing.
Yesterday at my big mainstream church the pastor recognized All Saints Day by reading out the names of loved ones and church members that had passed on and then ringing the bell once for each. It was touching that he would be flexible enough in this big Protestant church to acknowledge a Catholic Holy Day.
|
|
|
Post by amyrose on Nov 3, 2009 16:38:55 GMT -5
Remembering/honoring the dead is a tradition in some ways in so many cultures. And I am baffled that so many Protestants work so hard to avoid any such traditions.
We had our mass for All Saints here at school today, and I was touched by how important it seemed to be to our students (and their teachers) to write the names of their loved ones in the book that we place on the altar for that mass. Everyone crowded the table where the paper was and there was not enough room.
At the same time, there was one teacher who is not Catholic (very vocally so) and her son who is a student, standing apart and looking angrily at all of us. She informed some of us later that such remembrances are wrong and silly. I bit my tongue, but what I wanted to say was that there is nothing wrong or silly about traditions that remind us of those we love. I wrote the names of a great uncle and two great aunts who died in the past year. And the students wrote names of grandparents and other loved ones. How can we call it wrong or silly for the young to have an opportunity to honor and celebrate their connections to the past?
|
|
|
Post by lattelaura on Nov 3, 2009 19:39:29 GMT -5
quote from amyrose: "to write the names of their loved ones in the book that we place on the altar for that mass"
That sounds like a nice way to acknowledge our deceased loved ones. I would think it would be helpful in the grieving process.
|
|