CELEBRATING PAGAN MATARIKI WITH THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

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Today we celebrated Mass (just 'im indoors, Father and I, that is) with the ambo decorated with a multi-coloured wrap-around billboard depicting the Maori festival of Matariki. 

To use a weaselly word I loathe, is that 'appropriate'?

It's not a rhetorical question. I'd really like to know. I asked it yesterday, and no one responded except for Linda Clarke (see below). I'd hoped that after the children's Mass yesterday the Matariki billboard would have gone. But no, it was still in place for the First Saturday Mass today, celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Matariki means 'the eyes of the god'. 'The god'. Not the God of our Christian, Catholic faith. I've struggled with this, but for purposes of discussion I introduced a word which is loathsome to the PC brigade, the thought police, and I suspect, to the NZ Church of Nice.

That word is 'pagan'.

In case you're rearing up on your hindlegs, pagan is simply the term coined in the fourth century by Christians to denote people who practiced polytheism (believing in several gods). Matariki celebrates Ranganui, the sky father, Papatuanuku the earth mother and Tawhirimatea, the god of wind. Etc etc.

Of course, because this is the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church we're dealing with, there are guidelines for decorating church sanctuaries. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states that "images of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Saints, in accordance with the Church's most ancient tradition, should be displayed for veneration by the faithful in sacred buildings and should be arranged so as to usher the faithful toward the mysteries of faith celebrated there … so as not distract the faithful's attention from the celebration itself."

"Images of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints." Nothing about any other images, let alone images of a collection of gods.  

Now of course, this is NZ and the Church of Nice, and 'we do things differently here'. But can we do things so very differently as to display a pagan image in the sanctuary of the church during "the august sacrifice of the altar (which) is, as it were, the supreme instrument whereby the merits won by the divine Redeemer upon the cross are distributed to the faithful: as often as this commemorative sacrifice is offered, there is wrought the work of our Redemption.” (Mediator Dei, Pope Pius XII).

And as Giovanni Batista Pagani wrote in the 19th century:
"We read so frequently in the histories of such people, of their having the custom of holding festivals ... to honour idols of metal, wood or stone, false and absurd gods! What a reproach it is to Christians who are admitted to be present to the most august sacrifice of the Mass, where the Son of God offers himself as a holocaust of infinite value to the honour and glory of his heavenly Father and for the salvation of man, and dare to profane this awful mystery by irreverence and contempt!

But if the sin of assisting indevoutly at the sacrifice of the Mass be so great, how much greater must it be to offer it! …. Now if a priest were to ascend the altar with a mind dissipated, with his thoughts filled with worldly cares; if he were to mix together holy prayers and profane words, reverence and disrespect, sacred and profane ceremonies, would he not be guilty before his Lord of a frightful sacrilege?

"Ah my God, my God, how canst thou endure such impiety? Why dost thou not send from thy sanctuary a devouring flame to burn up and destroy thy enemies? … But since the tender heart of Jesus does not permit him to execute all the rigour of his avenging justice, let this motive induce us to carry to the foot of his altar all the respect and devotion … with which the angels attend upon the celebrating priest, bowing reverently before their heavenly King …

"Yes, we ought to assist at the holy sacrifice of the Mass as so many angels from heaven … Let us pay the greatest honour to this most holy sacrifice, this light of the world, this miraculous operation of the wisdom, the power and the infinite goodness of God."

Okay, the language is dated. The sentiments are not. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the same today as when Christ died on Calvary. It's our attitudes to it which have changed. 

 How confusing and bewildering is it for children to try to reconcile these two concepts of sacrifice? How can they get their heads around it? They will quite likely relate better to gods of the earth, the sky and the wind here in New Zealand than to a God who died on a cross in an alien culture over 2000 years ago.

To me it's an intolerable insult to Our Lord and God Jesus Christ to offer his Sacred Body and Blood on the altar only a metre or so away from an image commemorating Maori gods. But the children did such a beautiful job, and their teacher was so thrilled with it, and offered it to Father and Father didn't want to hurt their feelings. 

What about the feelings of  Jesus Christ crucified?

Just asking.

Linda Clarke says:


Oh, Julia.   So much that you said was so perfect.    How it hurts.   They have done such a terrible thing and haven't a clue.   You ended kindly re Father - but here, I will say this is the result of him and his peers putting their toes into the waters of liberality and modernism, then their legs, then up to their waists, chest, and now up to their eye-brows.    
Of course it is not on to say anything isn't OK!!!    That wouldn't be modern, tolerant, accommodating and accepting of all.  
I am grieved and actually a little bit in shock.   But we could have seen this coming.   Pope F wants us to be all happy families with every belief and what a fruit-salad that will be.    I'm reading this wonderful book re Fatima and oh, what a comfort and consolation to read of these children's total, total commitment, even when threatened with death (boiling in oil).   Having seen our Lady and loving her and seeing hell, they are profoundly committed to whatever it takes to save poor sinners and make reparation for the outrages against God.   Let us do likewise.   So much ignorance should move our hearts to compassion and to throw ourselves (I think you are already 'thrown' !!!) into whatever our Lord asks of us FOR HIS GLORY AND THE SALVATION OF POOR SINNERS.

I say: 

I think it was not what I said but the quotations which were perfect.  Otherwise, you're right!

'Anonymous' says:

Jesus says that the gods as such do not exist. There is one Trinitarian God! I agree it is inappropriate to have this symbolism adorning the ambo which is meant to be the sanctuary area! 

So the agenda then once again, isn't it, to profane the sacred. 

Whenever you see desacralization especially in the Church, you can be sure it is Ecclesial Masonry.