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Monday, August 22, 2005




THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE POLKA MASS

They sang "Alleluia'' with a little oompa.

Accompanied by the sounds of an accordion — and the rest of the polka band — the faithful offered upbeat songs of praise.

Nearly 500 worshippers gathered inside St. Irene Catholic Church in Warrenville on Sunday morning for a polka Mass, a celebration that mixed the traditional liturgy with the jubilant, toe-tapping sounds of The Good Times band.

"It allows people to really joyfully celebrate,'' said the Rev. Jim Antiporek, pastor at St. Irene. "They're familiar with the music and it's easy to move right into the spirit of celebration.''

This is the second time St. Irene hosted a polka Mass — the last time was about five years ago and also featured The Good Times, he said. If the reaction of parishioners at the end of the ceremony is any indication, the special Mass had a grateful audience.

"This was our first standing ovation in church,'' said band leader Dennis Motyka, who is also Antiporek's cousin.


Continue reading the story...

This thing is a pet peeve of mine. I'm part German. Polka is part of my heritage. My husband is part Polish. What's more, I think this thing started in my diocese, in Parma where many Polish people live, a suburb of Cleveland.

Think about the Stations of the Cross. Try to picture Jesus crucified, dying on the cross. Imagine Him bleeding and in torment. Imagine Him saying His last words. Look at His face contorted in agony. Now look down there below the cross and see the polka band. See the people dancing the polka round and round the cross in a grand explosion of color and joy.

It mocks the cross and the death of God. Not even the Romans were so bold.

Yes, He rose from the dead. Yes, the resurrection is a cause of our joy. But that joy must be serious. It must be tempered by the sacrifice. It cannot be a wholesale burst of exuberance unless the crucifixion is forgotten. Unless the Holy Sacrifice is banished from our thinking. And if we banish the sacrifice, there is no cause for the joy of resurrection because there is no resurrection without first there is a death; and we may as well sleep in on Sunday. The message sent by this ritual is one of confusion--of obfuscation of the meaning. Calvary was not a polka Mass.



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