Blessing the iPod: Churches sanctify music devicesTRENTON — The New Year's Day service at St. Mark's Catholic church used to draw a dozen people. Now it is the most popular service of the year, drawing hundreds of young people. The reason: Father Bolgren has started blessing the iPods.
"It's a way of getting their hearts and minds," he says. "Kids take it very seriously."
On the first day of 2006, several hundred teenagers stand in line to have Bolgren bless their iPods with a prayer and a daub of oil. All morning, Nanos, video iPods, Minis and more parade before him.
All kidding aside, the satirist makes this statement at the end of the article:
"You can't have Jesus in your heart and Desperate Housewives on your iPod,'" he says.
Christians are less likely to abuse that which is sanctified -- sort of like having sex with your mistress on the altar in the sanctuary. Even nominal Christians would cringe from such an act.* If your television, stereo, computer, or iPod has been sanctified, would you use it inappropriately?
Maybe churches should adopt this practice.
*A historical parallel stands out: during the Middle Ages, the Church often declared certain days or weeks sanctified and forbade warfare under pain of excommunication during that holy time in desperate attempts to stop violence. Example.
3 comments:
Ever seen Dogma? Silent Bob slas a demon with a bishops golf club. The bishop had blessed it hoping to shave a few strokes off his game.
Hmm I wonder if the Catholics will bless my pistols? If that won't shrink my group size, nothing will. Unfortunately the Archbishop of Mainz declared that rifling is a tool of the devil in 1547, so maybe that isn't a good idea. I'll bring my shotguns instead, they're smoothbore.
What a fascinating story!
The Archbishop of Mainz conducts tests to discover why rifling makes muskets more accurate, and concludes that demons guided the spinning balls. The result is bans against the manufacture and possession of rifles in most Roman Catholic countries.
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