In a previous blog post on the Father David Toups,
pastor of a Florida parish the author drew our attention to a young but
accomplished priest who was doing his best to live the vocation he was given.
As a secular priest he’s pastoring souls to Jesus by encouraging them to lead
lives of holiness. And remember, holiness is not reserved to a few; it is
however, open and “achievable” by all. So the question becomes: How do I work
on becoming holy?
Father Toups offers the following:
- pray in silence at least five minutes a day
- read the Scriptures at least another five minutes
- pray with family pray the Rosary while stuck in traffic (“texting Our Lady).
One of Father Toups November “how-to” list emphasized table manners for coming to Mass. One wonders if the people of Toups’ parish is following his direction, but as a he said in the article now before, a father tries to help. If you want to change the culture, talk about it, make people aware of the seriousness of communal faith. 5 points when coming to Mass:
- A dress code (“what you might wear to a wedding”)
- Washing up before Mass (meaning confessing sins as well as hand-washing)
- Coming on time and genuflecting at the entrance
- Eating politely (not gobbling the Eucharist as if it were a french fry)
- Not sneaking out early (Toups calls ducking out the back doors “the Judas shuffle”).