I was visiting my neighbors today and we got to talking about religion, faith, etc. They are Protestant and I am Catholic but we enjoy each other's company and share the differences rather than argue about them.
We were talking about how we observe Holy Week and I mentioned how some of our priests prefer having boys serving Mass rather than girls. One of my friends bolted upright and said, "Excuse me? Did you say GIRLS serve Mass at your church? That just doesn't sound right! Does your Pope ALLOW that?"
I said that Rome had allowed girls to serve but it was sad how it chased away some of the boys who might be missing out on a vocation because they never get to be that close to the altar. My friend just kept shaking her head over it.
We then went on to agree that males and females are different and it was a shame the world kept trying to make them one and the same. She said she worked because she was a single mom and had to in order to support her daughter. She said that when women just work 'to find themselves' or to buy a bigger house or fancy cars, they could be taking away a job that a male head of the household needed for basic support of his family. She wondered if pushing females into the service of Mass could also be pushing males aside.
Personally, I'm for teaching my girls to emulate the Blessed Mother and doing so does not include serving Mass, being a reader, or an extraordinary minister. I did not, however lead this particular conversation on and it was interesting to see how our liberal Catholic ways are seen by someone outside our Faith. Not starting a debate here but you have to wonder how it will all turn out.
