Re: holy smoke

helena kim (keleherh@tcd.ie)
Wed, 14 Oct 1998 16:04:04 +0100 

At 10:14 14/10/98 -0400, you wrote:

>As the mass started, and as it proceeded, all kinds of kids came in.
>They looked a lot like some teenagers do here in NYC, in Greenwich 
>Village: leather, spiked hair, pierced faces, dog collars, all the
>getup.  But one by one or in groups they came into the church a bit
>gingerly, a bit sheepishly, and like me they populated the back rows
>and appeared as if they too expected to be hit by bolts of lightning.
>But however fierce they looked (and some looked damned scary to me!),
>they seemed to melt -- for just that hour or so -- into little Catholic
>school kids.  
>
>I don't know yet what kind of impression they made on me; it's only been
>a few years and I haven't written it down enough to put it in
>perspective.  But I thought it was intriguing how even at their most 
>"rebellious," the kids in the back pew with me were doing all their
>genuflections and signs-of-the-cross on cue.  I had no idea of the
>rhythm of a mass (Scottie, I hung up my surplice when, as barely a 
>teenager, I discovered girls!), and I watched the kids around me for 
>indications of when to stand and to sit and to kneel.

i would say that this is not a sign of strong faith in irish youth.

i just like to make two points...

1) in ireland, all state schools, are, by default, catholic. unlike in the
states, where the schools have no religion. when i was in the 6th grade at
12 years of age, we all made our confirmation. the only way to escape this
was to get your parents' and the school's permission. thus, out of 150 kids
in my year, 1 girl left primary school 'unconfirmed'. 

the rythym of mass you mentioned isn't from regular mass going. it's from
being forced to attend services in schools. the familiarity the kids you
saw expressed for the format of the mass isin't a sign of a strong faith in
god, it's a sign of a militant education system that has absolutely *no*
provision outside of the dublin area for children of any faith other than
christian. you will find catholic and protestant schools, but if you're not
christian, your kids will *always* be singled out in school...

2) christmas and easter are times of the year when people who never
ordinarily go to mass, go. i for one, go on those days, not from any degree
of faith, but in order to keep my mum happy. she likes to think the system
works. and *especially* midnight mass. it's a thing which people tends to
go to after the pub kicks them out (serving hours stop at 11pm) and they
are drunk and feel amotional and guilty and decide to go and pray for good
things to happen to them in the new year. (bear in mind that there is,
essentially, no control on drinking age here)

in my parish, midnight mass was actually discontinued due to the fact that,
annually, the congregation consisted of mostly drunks.

imagine a nation where everybody went to a strict catholic school. now
imagine how dysfunctional they'd be...

you get the idea. :)

what part of ireland were you in? i just find this fascinating, because
i've lived here all my life, and am taking three theology courses this
semester, and i don't think i've ever seen anyone who wasn't a child or
senile, in the thrall of the church.

ps. i'm very sorry about your uncle's death.




                              :helena kim

[ Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, 
but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. ] - rh