A reader sent me this story from one of his fellow priests.
For exceptional reasons, which he did not explain, he had a Monday afternoon wedding today which took place at a Mass at the high altar at his parish in a beautiful Gothic church within the city limits of Chicago. Everything went normal until the kiss of peace. During the wedding Mass, after he said, "Now let us offer one another a sign of peace," he watched incredulously from the altar as the father of the bride handed his cell phone to his daughter (the bride) so that she could give a sign of peace to the person on the other end of the phone call. My friend was so surprised to see this happen that he did not say a word of correction to them. After Mass he asked the bride, "Was that your mom you were talking to on the phone during the greeting of peace?" The bride admitted that it was. Her mom works in the gift shop of a large casino in Las Vegas and could not get the day off to attend her daughter’s wedding, so they exchanged the greeting of peace by cell phone during the ceremony.
Well I’m a believer that people generally should abstain from cell phones during Mass. Though strict cellibacy is only a discipline and not a doctrine. Long distance during the sign of peace is nothing new though. Some people live their pew to go a long distance to shake everybody’s hands.
14 comments
I wish they had published the casino’s name that would not let a mother off from work to attend her daughter’s wedding.
Hmm… Strange to say, something like this happened in Spaehounds of IPC by E. E. “Doc” Smith, an old, OLD science fiction story.
That’s “SPACE” hounds… sorry.
Her mom wasn’t at the wedding!?!?!?! That’s even more insane than the gratuitous sign of peace to me…
Why not just hold the wedding on a day when mom can be there?
Her mom works in the gift shop of a large casino in Las Vegas and could not get the day off to attend her daughter’s wedding, so they exchanged the greeting of peace by cell phone during the ceremony.
How perverted is that?
Some of Satan’s most destructive words:
Genesis 3:4 [DR]: …No, you shall not die the death.
Sacrosanctum Concilium committee notes: And we can change the Kiss of Peace to the Sign of Peace – where everybody can greet each other and forget about all that dry spiritual stuff…
I can’t get all worked up over this. As long as it does not become a habit to use cell phones during Mass (a real risk today, I’m afraid.) This is an exceptional circumstance and ignoring this infraction of piety might be a pastoral approach.
Loved the “cellibacy” part.
It’s….still….weird.
I can’t believe the mom was talking on the cell phone while she was supposed to be working! She’s lucky she wasn’t fired, boy.
Wierder things have happened in a Church:
http://cumecclesia.blogspot.com/2006/05/lone-dancer-or-curse-of-liturgical.html
The exception that proves the rule, I’d say.
But yes, I have to say I’d be quitting the job that wouldn’t let me off to attend my own child’s wedding.
One sign of globalization is that our church in the rural Philippines has a sign in it saying to turn off your cell phones.
Cell phones are fairly cheap, and you can buy 100 peso “load” (2 dollars) and text quite cheaply…and so many people have them, not just the rich…
(snicker… cellibacy)
Ahhh, I see you refer to what I call “pew-leapers,” which is why I omitted the circus from my wedding. I must say that my brother’s very liberal godmother was most incensed.
I will, however, take a pew-leaper over a rude cell phone episode any day of the week. This has to be near the top of crummy cell stories.
This whole scenario is stupid. Can’t get time off for her daughter’s wedding? Hmmm. Isn’t that curious…
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