by Fred Moleck
The Defiant Catholic
One of the more popular subjects of conversations for us Pittsburgh urbanites is the defiant pedestrian. It is the person or persons who continue walking at the stop light, not pausing to look both ways before entering into the traffic flow. They appear to be oblivious to the "death factor" that looms at the crosscorner.
I understand that the defiance is not peculiar to Pittsburgh. Just a couple of weeks ago in Cleveland, a young mother and three small children stepped off the curb and ambled piu lento across the street.
By placing herself and her three toddlers in front of us, she defiantly crossed the street creating an atmosphere of seething rancor, but it was bridled by middle-class manners by letting her pass. No car horns were blown, but there were not many "smiley faces" on the drivers.
Then there is the singular male who stops his car in the middle of the street to initiate and continue a conversation with a buddy standing on the nearby sidewalk. The rancor level skyrockets at this type of behavior.
It is a type of defiance that just might hint of a helplessness on the part of the walker or driver. To delay traffic is a power play.
God bless 'em, but defiance is not restricted to urban passive aggression.
Defiance could have been invented by Catholics at Mass.
The most ancient form is the "end-of-the-pew squatter." Their numbers are legion. You have encountered them on those rare times when you were not leading the music ministry or serving at the altar.
From early childhood on, I remember being dragged over people's feet, purses, laps, and other children, so my parents and I could sit in a pew before Mass, but not without climbing over human terrain.
As of yet, no one has offered a reasonable excuse for such obvious rudeness, unless the end-sitter is suffering from some type of gastronomic malfunction or is vigilant about urgency announcements from a tiny bladder.
That type of positioning on the aisle is understandable. My sense, though, is that these folks are in the minority.
Perhaps the defiant pew-sitter is so dedicated to a full participation in the liturgy that he or she claims the end of the pew to assure a full gaze of the choreography of the processional and recessional.
Evidence of that rapt attention these folks exhibit can be observed when one sees that they are mute. They rarely sing the entrance and departure songs because of their profound concentration on the panoply and pomp of parish liturgies.
Another liturgical defiance is the inward gaze of the person who refuses to exchange the sign of peace. The deep reverie these people fall into is so evident when one extends the hand to wish Christ's peace but is warded off by a Catholic so rapt in prayer that the prayer life of Thomas Aquinas or St. Therese would pale.
This type of paraliturgical defiance is in a different league than the defiance Jesus demonstrated when he confronted the haughty establishment of his community. It's not the same defiance that Mahatma Ghandi wove through his life, illustrating that defiance can be peaceful and effective.
My fear is that the defiant pedestrian will be sitting at the end of the pew the next time I come to Mass. I have no language for negotiation.
You can reach Fred Moleck via email at fmoleck@earthlink.net