The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1959-10-23


at Mass and why did the
Church decide on . definite
number such as two for Low
Mass, six for High Mass, etc?
A. In the early church can
dies were used for illumina-
ton: they were obviously nee
essary for Mass in the eve
ming or in the catacombs. The
seven-branch candlestlck was
required for Jewish worship
and the pagans too recognized
the symbolism of lights. The
blessing of candles for church
services with the symbolism
of purity, Of pene tratlng
darkness, of fostering life and
of representing Christ the
Light of the World soon be-
came part of Christian Wor-
ship. Two candles would be
obviously necessary on the al
tar for illumination and to
serve as Ito change the sig
nification) signs of honor to
Christ upon the altar or in
the tabernacle. The added
solemnity of six candles may
not be quite SO obvious, but
with the use of three on each
side we have the use of the
traditional number in honor
of the Trinity. One. three and
seven too are from ancient
times taken as (symbollcally)
infinite numbers as lllustrat-
ed in ST. Peters question
about forgiving seven times.
For Benediction of the Bless
ed Sacrament the number re-
CURED is (at LEAST twelve and
for Exposition during Forty
Hours Cat leasO twenty.
@. Some time ago ! besan
questioning the Faith and my
doctor said that my mental
anguish over this and other
things was deadly for my
mental health. He suggested |
quit going TO church for .
while. I've been thinking of q
retreat.
A Making a retreat would
be a step In the right direc-
ton. Staying away from Mass
would be a long step III the
wrong direction. Sometimes
religion te.g. a sense of guilt
or scrupolosity) can be in
volved in mental problems
but we need religion all the
time. We need faith and con
fidence in God more when we
are seriously troubled than at
any other time. On retreat we
have time to tn and
pray away from our ordi-
nary routine and away from
persons and places which
may make peace Of soul
difficult to acquire. Also the
retreat master is qualified
to advise us in the matter of
serious moral, religious and
indirectly mental problems.
A good Catholic physician
can usually recommend a
qualified psyehi artist who
would not solve mental prob
lens by eliminating our dig
nifty as free moral persons. A
stone, a vegetable or an ami
NAL does not have mental
problems but reducing us to
that moral level is not a
worthwhile solution to any
problem.
@. Are sleeveless dresses 10
be worn in church, What
about people going TO church
without hose7 Are these &C.
fions sinfuI7
A. One moralist Prummerl
states: Women who are
gravely indecent in dress or
makeup should be turned
away from receiving Holy
Communion, but in this mat
ter careful consideration must
be given to local custom and
great prudence must be ex-
ercised" Apart from other
more usual reasons for mod
esty lie. danger of leading
others into sins of thought or
deslre) IT Is important that
men and women dress becom-
ingly in church Especially at
Mass men should be dressed
in accordance with the re-
spect due to the house of God
and to Christ Whom we are
there TO honor, That would
seem to indicate wearing a
shirt and Temperature per-
mitting) a coat or jacket. For
women the same decorum
would seem To indicate avoid
ance of extremes in sleeve
length, neck lines. etc. Ex-
eept in the most extraordin-
airy circumstances it would
certainly exclude Stacks, etc.
In all details, however, it is
diffic1lit for m~ora1ists IN cs.