Last month Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith wrote up a list of ten Church buzzwords he would like to eliminate. An interesting list and one I mostly agree with. Some of the buzzwords listed were not ones I had thought much about, but can see that they are indeed buzzwords.
So this got me thinking about my own list of buzzwords and phrases I could do without. Now I would admit that some of the ones I am going to list might just be perfectly acceptable and even be used correctly in faithful circles. I am going by mostly my own reactions to them and the negative connotations they have for me. So that should be enough of a disclaimer.
- Presider. The announcement at the start of so many Masses that Fr. so-and-so will be the presider. This has the Mass as meeting connotation where instead of a priest as In persona Christi we have heading this meeting is. Now the term “presides” and “presider” does show up in English translations of Vatican documents. I just think the use of this just before Mass starts is not helpful. Though really the Mass needs no introduction such as this. Heck if they are going to go ahead and do this I would almost prefer a Soap Opera substitution phrasing such as “The part of Jesus is now being played by Fr. so-and so” — well not really. Celebrant doesn’t annoy me as much, but let’s just skip the introductions.
- Worship Space. I like how the term shows a proper orientation towards God. But what is wrong with the world “church”? Why substitute “worship space” which seems much more abstract? “Honey it is time to wake up the kids so we can go to worship space.”
- Faith Community. Again a fairly accurate term, but I pretty much only find the word used in more liberal environs. Welcome to our faith community is another part of the introduction I hear from time to time. Just use “parish” instead of going with more wordy phrases.
- Sending forth hymn. This one grates on me whenever I hear it which just shows how irrational pet-peeves can be. Maybe though it is because when at the end of Mass the Cantor announces a “Sending forth hymn” it is usually a hymn that really sends me forth to escape the sounds attacking my ear drums. It is rather amazing how many times a “Sending forth hymn” is accompanied with castanets. Now Peter was called to cast a net, but not the choir. Besides “Recessional hymn” is good enough for me. Though the whole 4-hymn or 5-hymn sandwich for Mass I could also easily rant on.
- Prophetic voice. It is pretty much a certainty when somebody says they are speaking with a prophetic voice they are doing anything but that. Just the problem with the pride of calling yourself a prophet or the group you associate with is enough to set off warning signals. Those who proclaim a prophetic voice seem to know nothing about the prophets. The prophets were persecuted and martyred because they called Israel back to the faith and proclaimed against their errors. The self-proclaimed prophets are more pathetic than prophetic. They call people away from the faith and then proclaim errors as truth. They say the Church will change her teachings — just add time.
- Healing Mass. Technically there is no specific category of a Healing Mass, generally though all Masses involve healing. What is usually meant by this term is Mass followed by some kind of healing prayer service. Sometimes you even see the Sacrament of Anointing given out like a blessing where people just stand in line and receive the sacrament. When I have encountered this there was no discernment regarding danger of death or any other caveats about when it is appropriate to receive this sacrament of healing. When prayers for healing in a liturgical or non-liturgical occur in context of the norms of the Church I of course have no objection. I just prefer accurate terms.
- Progressive. Chesterton said enough about this in Heretics that I will not attempt to improve on him.
- Seamless Garment. I am not critiquing Cardinal Bernadin’s original use of this which certainly reflects a truth. Rather I critique what it has morphed into. In the modern use I call it the “Shameless Garment” since it is used rather shamelessly to be an excuse to vote for pro-abortion politicians or be involved with pro-abortion groups just as long as they also do some objective good. The hierarchy of truths which the Seamless Garment should reflect has been flattened down to make all issues equal.
- Catholic Identity. Used mostly by those who should be sued for Catholic Identity Fraud. Usually is a term used as a veneer to apply a Catholic patina to an institution that has mostly lost it’s Catholic faith.
- Eucharistic Minister. Part of the flattening out of the clergy and the laity. It is not just for ease of use that the actual title “Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion” is replaced. I don’t have to rant about how ordinary the extraordinary is at Masses since that has been well-covered in the Catholic blogosphere. Really though this one was just easy pickings to round off my list to ten.
What are your least favorite Catholic buzzwords/phrases.
63 comments
Memorial Mass instead of Requiem or Funeral Mass really gets me, especially if it is “to celebrate the life of ….”
That second buzzword, “worship space,” is very ambiguous. It can either mean “a worship space” or “to worship space.” “Church” is definitely better.
“Vibrant”. Things being called ‘vibrant’ almost always aren’t.
In the same spirit ::cough:: as our OP
“Table of the Lord”
“Cup”
“Praise”
“Welcome”
“Facilitate/or”
“Social Justice”
“Saying Mass”
“Celebration”
“Reconciliation”
“Face-to-face”
“Gather”
“Humankind”
“Gift -ed -edness”
“Director of Liturgy”
“I have a masters degree in theology/liturgy …” I suppose I should be thankful as this gives me time to prepare a ::facepalm:: for what surely will follow.
Dialogue…as in ‘ I dialogue, you dialogue, we have dialogued….’, which strangely enough tends more towards what I would think of as a monologue.
I’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity.
Ambo!!!!
Narthex!!!!
Yes to all of the above but this is the most recent I heard, “How was your ‘church experience’?”
Working by your disclaimer myself here–
I still think The New Evangelization was actually Pope John Paul II mumbling “Let’s Do Evangelization.”
“buy a mass for someone” aughhhhhhhhh
Yes to all of the above buzz words, and this is the most recent I heard, “How was your ‘church experience’?”
“Bread Minister” or “Cup Minister” in reference to EMHCs and which sacred species they will be administering.
“In the Catholic Tradition” in reference to, for instance, a college or university that has actually abandoned traditional Catholicism.
I’m with you 100%. That’s the reason I ditched the Novus Ordo as soon as I discovered a TLM in the parish next to ours. Huzzah! Isn’t that what all of you, my fellow conservatives stuffed into a liberal box, do?
[…] Catholic Buzzwords and Phrases I Would Ban – Jeffrey Miller, The Curt Jester […]
Seamless garment = seamless shroud
Let’s not forget the dreaded “going up for the bread” in First Holy Communion programmes.
I once read a parish council report that talked about ‘the envelope for worship’. I still have no idea what that means.
The accalamation after the Consecration, “when we eat this ‘bread’ and drink this ‘cup’, we proclaim your death…”. Why can’t we say instead “When we eatest of thy flesh and drinkest of thy blood…”. Yes, use “thy” to connote the majesty of what we are doing. We are just not eating bread and drinking wine. Bad theology.
“Social justice” is used repeatedly in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and other church teaching documents. Don’t ban it just because it is misused. That is acting no different than iconoclasts.
“Welcome Home”
Whenever I tell my story of being away from the Church and how I started attending Mass again (almost eight years ago now) I often hear that cringeworthy phrase. I blame Catholic Radio Hosts for this buzzword.
Then there’s the words and phrases in our current crop of insipid (and popular) hymns.
1. The ever so-meaningful “courage to enter the song” from “Gather Us In” (aka the Demagogue Song).
Gather us in the rich and the haughty
gather us in the proud and the strong
give us a heart so meek and so lowly
give us the courage to enter the song.
2. The self-centered obsession with being “wounded” or our “woundedness” is a navel-gazing Catholic meme. Google “Catholic woundedness” and you’ll see what I mean.
It crops up frequently in our hymns, as in “our hearts, both wounded and free” (can’t remember the title of the hymn); “We are the dwelling of God, fragile and wounded and weak…” (from “Pan de Vida”); ” a million wounded hearts” (“We Remember”.)
Anything to deflect the attention away from God and towards ourselves!
“Values”. A weasel word when we mean Truth. I don’t have Catholic values – I believe Catholic truths.
Actually, I misquoted “hearts, both wounded and free”, it’s “a heart both frightened and free” from “All That We Have.”
Whatever, it’s just more “I, me, my, we, us, our” claptrap. Contemporary Catholic hymns are big on first person pronouns.
I’m shocked to be the first to mention this one: “Pastoral” — as in, “Cardinal Burke isn’t being very ‘pastoral’ when he preaches that supporters of abortion rights should be denied communion.”
I would ban “Cradle Catholic”. People use it as a “disclaimer” of sorts to describe themselves as opposed to “Converts” who know more about their Catholic faith than those supposedly born into it.
“The Spirit of Vatican II”
Social Justice
@Eric M: “Church” is definitely better, unless the article is omitted as in: “We are church”
1. “I would like to thank …, and I would like to thank …, etc.” We’re there to give thanks, praise and worship to God alone. Let’s quit worshipping ourselves (and knock off the applause!) I’m not sure how/why this ever started but it is distasteful and lessens what we are supposed to be there doing. 2. “In the Catholic tradition” when referring to the name of a progressive/liberal Parish that ceased being Catholic a long time ago! 3. My personal pet peeve is “Permanent Deacon” as though it is a title! The modifiers “permanent” and “transitional” are truly unnecessary. A Deacon, is a Deacon, is a Deacon. There are three levels to the Sacrament of Holy Orders, deacon, priest and bishop, not four! After all, we don’t refer to them as “Permanent Priests!” (Then again, I am told that there are those in seminary who really consider themselves to be ordained just a “Transitional Priest” as they will certainly be elevated to Bishop one day! Ha!)
Lately I’ve been getting tired of “our separated Protestant brothers and sisters” instead of “Protestants,” it’s such a circumlocution, why say six words when one will suffice?
“dynamic” and “tremendous” — sure indication you’re dealing with a 60s liberal (or one mentored by one).
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How about “Cracked down on” as in Vatican cracked down on
“Catholic Identity. Used mostly by those who should be sued for Catholic Identity Fraud. ”
That’s funny because I mostly find “Catholic identity” used by conservatives, primarily the Cardinal Newman Society, which endorses certain colleges because they successfully inculcate and preserve their Catholic identity, as opposed to CINO (another buzzword?) schools.
Though I agree with the author’s thoughts and sentiments, his use of language is like hearing fingernails running over a blackboard. “In persona Christie”, “it’s” as a possessive, his use of commas or the lack thereof when needed, etc. His use of English would merit a “D” in fourth grade! I agree with his ideas, but his sloppy use of language damages the message. Please learn how to use English correctly, and Latin as well!
“Faith journey.” *Shudder*
Here come the “language police” again! I agree totally with Marguerite’s theology regarding Our Lord’s Real Presence, but she says ““When we eatest of thy flesh and drinkest of thy blood…”. Yes, use “thy” to connote the majesty of what we are doing.” “We eatest … drinkest”? Marguerite, repeat after me. I eat, Thou eatest, He, she, it eateth, We eat, Ye eat, They eat. I love the older English forms, but please learn how to use them correctly. As an aside, I love (and know) Lagtin, and I love the Latin Mass (though not the overwhelming silence), but I wonder how many people who attend the Latin Mass actually know Latin. Hopefully, many. But the way in which Latin is used (or rather, abused) when it is used in English sentences, leave me wondering. “In persona Christie” in item #1 above is a perfect example. “Christie”? I didn’t know Jesus was a girl! Of course, the author didn’t mean that, but that tells me that either he doesn’t know Latin or he is a sloppy writer. Sloppiness in language is a plague these days. In fact, it is so prevalent that people don’t even realize it. Just an observation. Sloppy language suggests sloppy thinking. It reflects badly on the writer (or speaker), and it damages the message. Everyone makes mistakes, but honest mistakes are different from sloppiness.
Oops! I goofed! I spelled “Latin” above as “Lagtin” once! That proves my point about mistakes. Does that make me a hypocrite?!
Many of the terms that the Original Poster, Poor Yorek, and Ray Marshall are complaining about are either Biblical words (which makes them Catholic) or are used in the Byzantine and Eastern Christian tradition (which also makes them Catholic).
The Latin Church in pre V2 1950’s America is NOT the standard of Catholicism, people.
It may not be Dixibehr, but perhaps it should be, considering.
Just a little help here. These words are not known nor said at a TLM. They are way to modern, and ambiguous, for us.
Jeff, I recall when I served at High Mass in Ladtin during the old days and I’ve just figured out why they called “IT” High Mass back then and that was because every priest use to elevate the host and wine, I mean the Body and Blood of Christ Way UP in the air to heaven and with our back to the choir audience, the hands of the priest went all the way UP and I would lift up his dress, no his robe, yes his vestment all the way UP to heaven also? Anyway when “IT” was all the way UP and taken by GOD’s Angels, I then had to ring a bell, called a ding a ling but I’m not sure about that “”ONE” ?
I hear ya Jeff! Those were the good old days when you stole from GOD’s Angels! Right Victor? 🙂
Don’t funny folks:(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOAjAWToYMI
Peace
“Eucharistic Liturgy” If you mean Mass, say Mass; if you mean Communion Service, say Communion Service.
God’s name is “I AM WHO I AM” . And all the sovereign persons whom our Creator has endowed and adopted are men who are sacred.
“Those that proclaim a prophetic voice seem to know nothing about the prophets.” “WHO” is the pronoun to address a person. The correlative pronoun “that” can only be used when “WHO” is used. “Who” proclaims sovereign personhood and relationship to “I AM WHO I AM”. I was hoping for an example. THE GREEK REALLY SCARED ME. NO FAIR.
“Meaningful” as in “Wasn’t the Mass more meaningful today?” As if anything a human could do would make the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass more meaningful!!
The handshake of “peace” is obnoxious.
“liturgist”
“liturgy” instead of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
“gathering song”
All “liturgical” music except for chant–that is, REAL chant
(((Sister Terese Peter { 10.16.12 at 7:41 pm } The handshake of “peace” is obnoxious.)))
With all due respect, forgive me but I’m no longer sure if I’m talking to a real sister of the true Catholic Faith and should not be that hard nowdays to imagine what I mean by saying that on the internet. Having said that, I must agree with you that handskaking can on so many occasion be obnoxious.
For example, there are people who literally won’t shake your hand during Mass. We hear of people saying that they are sick which in reality is accepted as a good reason and some are very convincing and I won’t get into some of the silly reasons that I’ve noticed.
Long story short, I wonder where and why such a rule was made and I must also say that from my experience, I’ve noticed that now over 99 % of the people in our church shake hands atlhough there was a older couple of females who were determined to only give everyone the peace sign and no one even tried to sway them.
Forgive me but a few years ago when some did not shake hands with their brothers and sisters cause they were sick and I know that was wrong but I use to mutter under my breath and I’m sure some probably heard me saying, something like, I guess they must believe that GOD could never heal them.
Anyway, I’ll close by saying that some time we humans can be our own worst enemy and leave “IT” at that.
Peace
Gathering song
Gathering space
Gather Us In
We Gather Together
Gathering in general, I guess
Woundedness
Becoming Church, as in we are becoming church
Any use of the word Tapestry
Contemporary, as in contemporary music, which usually means drivel from the 70s or 80s.
Okay, pretty much any use of the word Contemporary.
Any of those nutty tropes that are still in use during the Lamb of God.
That hymn that has the word “manifest” in it about a hundred times.
That about wraps it up.
Gathering space
Joyful Sunday (Is Gaudete really so hard to understand?)
Any hymn written by Schutte or Haas
Church without a preceding article (the or a)
Reconciliation Room
Perhaps another Catholic phrase that needs to be deleted is ROMAN CATHOLIC which is misapplied on so many levels such as the following “very generalized” examples:
1) What religion are you? I’m ROMAN CATHOLIC. Actually, you’re CATHOLIC who practices the ROMAN RITE unless you live in ROME, ITALY.
2) Who’s the current pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church? Pope Benedict XVI is the current pope but pope over all CATHOLICS, not just CATHOLICS of the ROMAN RITE or ROMAN CATHOLICS who live in ROME, ITALY, or are members of the DIOCESE OF ROME located in ROME, ITALY.
3) What ROMAN CATHOLIC church do you attend? I attend Saint Mary Roman Catholic Church located in a small city in the Canada. Actually, you attend Saint Mary Catholic Parish not Saint Mary Roman Catholic Church or Saint Mary Catholic Church; the actual church you are a member of is the specific CATHOLIC DIOCESE of the ROMAN RITE where your parish is located.
Dropping the ‘s from names of parishes. St Joseph Church. NOOOOOOO It is St Joseph’s Church. Why? It is dedicated to him and is HIS property! It is NOT St Joseph Church!
Cradle Catholic