l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 by Rick aka Mr. Brutally Honest
Many miss Mass for one innocuous reason or another... but not this young
lady:
MargeauxGrahamA Umatilla teenager said she was forced to choose between
her Catholic faith and serving as a delegate to Florida Girls State, a
government-in-action leadership program for teen girls.
"I was shocked. This is basically discrimination," said Margeaux (Mar-go
) Graham, 16, a junior at Umatilla High School, who was told that she would
not be allowed to attend Sunday Mass while Girls State is hosted June 15-23
at Florida State University in Tallahassee, even though a Catholic cathedral
is across the street from FSU.
Graham's mother, Mary, offered to make the trip to escort her daughter
to church.
"The girls are not allowed to leave our program for any reason," said
Robin Briere, department secretary-treasurer of the American Legion
Auxiliary, who noted it would be an insurance liability to allow any of the
300 delegates to leave the premises.
Briere said a non-denominational Sunday service is provided for the
delegates.
As a faithful Catholic, Graham said it would be a mortal sin for her not
to attend Mass, as it's her religious and moral obligation to attend Mass
every single Sunday.
"Missing Mass is not an option," added Jackie Smart, director of
religious education at St. Mary of the Lakes Catholic Church in Eustis,
where Graham is a parishioner.
"If you're Catholic, you're obliged to gather with your fellow Catholics
on Sundays to celebrate Mass and it's not something that we can choose not
to participate in, if you're an active Catholic," Smart said. "If you really
believe what our faith teaches, there would be no way to keep you from Mass
and that's the way Margeaux feels...
"Good for Margeaux for not being afraid to stand up for her faith. There
is so much pressure on these young men and women nowadays that it's not
cool to embrace your faith, and I think that it's really great that Margeaux
is willing to stand up for that. ...She is just a very determined young
lady. She has a very strong grasps of her faith and what it means to be a
Catholic."
A friend of the Graham family, Carl Ludecke, commander of American
Legion Post 21 in Umatilla, called Robin Briere at the state American Legion
Auxiliary and proposed the idea of allowing a priest or university chaplain
to come to Girls State to celebrate Mass for the Catholic delegates.
"I thought, why not bring in somebody in at the same time as they were
doing a service in another room?, Ludecke said, recalling the idea was
immediately rejected.
"I was absolutely flabbergasted. I was just trying to get this resolved
so everybody could be happy," he said. "We had a screaming match on the
telephone and I didn't get anywhere, because I really don't have any
jurisdiction to do it."
Briere said this is the first time in her 19 years on staff with Girls
State, a privately-funded program, that religion has become an issue.
"We are a non-denominational program and intentionally keep religion out
of our program out of respect for the 300 girls that come from many
different faiths," she said. "We set aside time on Sunday morning, from our
very busy schedule, to allow each girl to honor her faith silently and the
girls collectively put a program together to honor all faiths."
The Sunday service is written and executed by the delegates, she said,
adding it's something that they enjoy doing.
"The majority of our schools in Girls State are Catholic schools that
support our program," Briere said. "And we've never at one time had a
Catholic school demand that we have a priest come into our program to
celebrate Mass during Girls State."
"I'm just amazed at the uproar over this," added Briere, who also is
Catholic by faith. "It's not like she's forced to go to this program and we'
re denying her religious rights. ... What has surprised me the most, through
all of this, was having the Umatilla American Legion commander call and
demand that we had to do it."
Briere said she does not feel less of a Catholic when she misses Mass
while being involved in leading Girls State.
"I'm doing something good to help our youths," she said of the non-
partisan, non-political, non-sectarian program that strives to teach and
inculcate in the young women a love of God and country.
And so there you have it. Ms. Briere can put herself along Nancy Pelosi,
Kathleen Sebelius and other cultural Catholics who deny basic tenets of the
faith while "not feeling less of a Catholic".
Sad.
The requirement to attend Mass on Sunday and other holy days of
obligation, rooted in the Third Commandment and codified in Church law (cf.
Code of Canon Law, canons 1246-48) is a serious obligation for all Catholics
. A Catholic who (a) is able to attend Sunday Mass (i.e., who is not impeded
by illness, lack of transportation, etc.), (b) knows the seriousness of
this requirement, and (c) nonetheless freely chooses to miss Mass, thereby
commits a mortal sin (cf. Catechism, no. 2181).
From the Catechism:
The Sunday obligation
2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more
precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are
bound to participate in the Mass."117 "The precept of participating in the
Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a
Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day.
"118
2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all
Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate
in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason
(for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor
.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.
2182 Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist
is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his
Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and
charity. Together they testify to God's holiness and their hope of salvation
. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
2183 "If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause
participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is
specially recommended that the faithful take part in the Liturgy of the Word
if it is celebrated in the parish church or in another sacred place
according to the prescriptions of the diocesan bishop, or engage in prayer
for an appropriate amount of time personally or in a family or, as occasion
offers, in groups of families."120
God bless Margeaux Graham and the example she's setting. Might she inspire
others to take a deeper step.
I can tell you without blinking an eye that attending Mass weekly has become
something I want to do, something I can no longer miss, not because
Catholicism demands it but because my soul longs for it.
I suspect it's the same for this young lady. I wish it would be the same
for others.
Might more souls long for Christ in the Eucharist. |
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