The priest presented guidelines for the Christmas carol.
The Christmas and New Year period is traditionally a time when clergy visit the faithful from their parishes as part of a pastoral visit popularly called a carol. As reported by the “Goniec” portal, some parishes give their faithful strict guidelines on the course of such a visit, including topics that may and may not appear.
The priest presented guidelines on Christmas carols
Christmas is upon us. Right after Christmas, clergy from Polish parishes visit their faithful. Many priests prepare guidelines on how the caroling should look like, and although in most cases it is a rather loose list, there are also more detailed “regulations”.
On the website of the Roman Catholic parish of Our Lady of Sorrows Mysłowice-Brzęczkowice, the clergy ask the faithful to “stay vigilant” on the day of the caroling. The priests ask people whose way home is “complicated” to go outside. They also asked them to give a signal of readiness to receive the priest by opening the gate.
Priests from the aforementioned parish also appeal to the faithful not to “take offense” if the clergy accidentally misses a house. “Everyone makes mistakes. Let's pick up the phone right away and try to contact the priest who has been assigned to your street,” the parish priest encourages.
Conversation yes, but not on every topic
The further part of the aforementioned announcement included guidelines for conversations during Christmas carols. The priest emphasized that one topic should be chosen and focused on. Unfortunately, this does not mean a free choice of the area that the conversation will concern.
“You can talk about everything, but is it worth wasting time on the so-called river topics: politics, health, illnesses, weather, etc.?” – stated the priest, adding that it is also better not to talk too much, because many faithful are waiting to meet the priest.
The topic of offerings made during pastoral visits was also not left out. The priest emphasized that if one wants to make a donation, they do not have to do it during the carol service, but by putting their donation in the Sunday collection plate.
What do you think about it?