Liturgical Dancing

Father Stephanos touched on the subject of the liturigical dance. Silly, but he sure makes a point!

I never heard about liturgical dancing until I moved to Hawaii. My family and I then experienced it personally at a few of our parish's Masses. However, at that time we didn't know the strange swaying during the offertory had a name.

For a brief period in time, our Mass tried something new during the offertory. I seem to remember a few women walking down the center aisle, each carrying a wooden bowl, probably made of Koa. However, they just didn't walk..they walked a few steps and then stopped, stepped back and then walk a few steps. This pattern continued until they reached the waiting priest at the altar.

So that was a liturgical dance? Who knew?

My second experience with liturgical dancing came when someone from our diocese complained to Rome about the hula not being performed properly during some of our Masses. 


Now this one was a little harder to detect as being a liturgical abuse. I say that because when performed properly and respectfully, the hula is one of the most beautiful and graceful of all dances. As you may know, each movement tells a story. 


Did it have a place in the liturgy? I don't know; probably not. However, I believe, certain ethnic customs and traditions are sometimes incorporated into the Catholic Mass.

If you'd like to read the newspaper article hula objection Click here



Going back to my first experience with LD, I believe it lasted only one week or so. The pastor put a stop to it...and rightfully so.