Communal Blessing

I always love going to Mass.No where is life as shocking as my one hour in my local Catholic Church. Today's voyage had considerable shock value. Just a point or two about what kind of Catholic I am. Conservative. I believe that the Mass is a holy thing.This holy thing should never be tampered with.That's why I was so shocked at today's Mass.The Catholic Mass has a beginning,a middle and an end.Each part set up to keep the next part vital and important.The last part of the Mass is where Catholics say goodbye until the next Sunday.The priest offers the parish news and there might be a speaker to push whatever parish or Catholic organization that needs to be pushed.

At today's Mass the other priest in the parish announced that he was going to a Middle Eastern country to administer to American troops,he is a chaplain.At the end of his short goodbye the priest saying the Mass said that we were going to offer a blessing for the priest going away.So I lowered my head to hear the blessing(a short prayer followed by In The Name etc)and when I raised up to see I was shocked. Many of the people has their arms out like sleep walkers and their hands were palms down like they were pretending to give absolution to an imaginary person. I could not believe what I was seeing. You see our church is becoming more like what we used to call Protestant.I always thought of the Protestant church as a church where everyone is a preacher. We all lay on hands,we all sing praise,that sort of thing.Catholics have the priest to do this.Until now.Apparently it is now OK for anyone in the Catholic Church. It seems that it is now OK to even do a communal blessing. In other words even pretending to do the blessing,the laying down of hands on a fake person,is OK. Well I will not do that! Only the priest can bless.That's the way I am and that's the way I will stay.Hands at my side partner.

Ger