Forgive me Father…..

A very close priest friend of mine sent me this video link which I found interesting and very true http://www.wimp.com/carlinlanguage/ (copy paste the link and see the video before you read the following).

The video hilariously explains how language is now coated with jargons and layered with verbosity to hide or subdue the reality or simplicity. Some of the examples are humorous but come to think of it, it is true and happening. Simplicity of language is now articulated with words either to show intelligence (most often the reverse) or to belittle the listener and project authority. Most often it is just to project a cool image.

Simple words like difficulty or a problem is now termed as ‘challenge’. Accents are introduced to words like ‘often’ where the ‘t’ is now phonetically pronounced. Friends are now ‘dudes’, and parents are ‘folks’ and ‘Jesus Christ’ is an exclamation. It was a big exclamation for me with the Catholic Church in Bombay (and maybe all over India for English masses) suddenly changing its format of prayer during Mass. Simplicity of prayers is now jargon.

The most simple prayer ‘Lord’s prayer’, where we prayed as ‘Our Father in Heaven, Holy be your name’, is now ‘Hallowed be thy name’. Does God really need praise with jargon of words? ‘Forgive us our sins’ is now ‘Forgive us our trespasses’. So when did sin become something trivial as a trespass? The simple prayer ‘I believe in God’ which is also known as ‘Nicene Creed’ and wonder how many know what that means; is also now twisted. Church goers now have to refer to a pamphlet to say their prayers which was earlier something simple and taught from childhood.

For me the feeling was a like a child who forgot his poetry lines and needed to be assisted with a written chit. The little devotion I had is now spent in saying what the Church wants me to say and not what I was taught to pray. The reasoning behind the change was to standardize prayers in the Asia subcontinent. Standardize it to whose levels? Why couldn’t it be standardized to what Indians are used too, and have the rest of the world do what we were doing in fervor and simplicity? Now with the change, neither there is the fervor or simplicity.

The most beautiful (Indian way) of receiving communion served on the tongue, is now given an option to stretch out your palm and receive it, which looks like one has to beg for Christ. Change in the saying prayers is not going to build faith or have God hear you better. Let not religious practice be standardized to global levels but let it be standardized to more cultural Indian levels. In my childhood the ‘The Lord’s prayer’ which was said with joint hands and head bowed down, is now said with a stretch of hands, with some stretching their hands so high as if trying to touch God. So will the sign of peace which is done with folded hands and bowing to the next seated to you, be standardized to the ‘kiss of peace’, which is practiced in some parts of the world.

Instead of changing prayers and glamorizing them with jargons, it would be better if we could strive towards changing hearts and minds. Educating the community towards values and social issues where we can contribute and build our mark as a community which would be more ‘Christ like’, rather than trying to have Christ like us, in the way we pray……..where I pray “Forgive me Father, for I know not what I pray”.