Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Crescat

Home
Catholic
Jimmy Fallon and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Liturgy…

Jimmy Fallon and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Liturgy…

Last updated on: January 10, 2015 at 9:38 pm by Katrina Fernandez

Jimmy Fallon and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Liturgy… 2015-01-10T21:38:00-05:00 Katrina Fernandez

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

… Dear Jimmy Fallon,

A few years ago you surprised and delighted us all by declaring your papist roots in an NPR interview. Only, did you know your interview has been and continues to be used by some as justification to vilify Vatican II and the Norvus Ordo mass, saying it’s a perfect illustration of why people leave the Church? I’m sure you didn’t mean for that to happen but the internet being what it is, stuff happens.

I read that you tried to go back, which is a start, but were deterred by some bad liturgy; which, by the way, would make an awesome musical parody… “Bad Liturgy ’til the day I Die.” You can’t let Conan and Colbert hold claim to all the Catholic shtick.

Also, you should totally have Cardinal Dolan on your show.

You said;

GROSS: Do you still go to church?

Mr. FALLON: I don’t go to – I tried to go back. When I was out in L.A. and I was kind of struggling for a bit. I went to church for a while, but it’s kind of, it’s gotten gigantic now for me. It’s like too… There’s a band. There’s a band there now, and you got to, you have to hold hands with people through the whole Mass now, and I don’t like doing that. You know, I mean, it used to be the shaking hands piece was the only time you touched each other.

Firstly, congratulations on the Tonight Show and being able to stay in New York City. I’m sure you’re relieved you won’t be returning to L.A., home of the bad liturgy experience. Hopefully that means we can expect to see you in the pews of any one of New York’s finest Catholics Churches some time soon, right? Because I’m sure you weren’t just using bad liturgy as an excuse not to go back to Church.

Excuses are “ew”.

I know from personal experience how cringe worthy terrible liturgy is, with it’s hand holding and awful tambourine music. Yes, it does not motivate one to want to return to that Church. “That” being the imperative word. That particular church with the terrible liturgy, not The Church.

That’s why I bet you’re thrilled to pieces to be staying in New York where beautiful liturgy abounds. I’m excited for you to experience again the glory and solemnity from your childhood altar serving days. From that time where your love of The Church had you considering the priesthood.

GROSS: So you went to Catholic school when you were young.

Mr. FALLON: Oh yeah.

GROSS: Did you have…

Mr. FALLON: I wanted to be a priest.

GROSS: Did you really?

Mr. FALLON: Yeah. I loved it.

GROSS: Why?

Mr. FALLON: I just, I loved the church. I loved the idea of it. I loved the smell of the incense. I loved the feeling you get when you left church. I loved like how this priest can make people feel this good. I just thought it was – I loved the whole idea of it. My grandfather was very religious, so I used to go to Mass with him at like 6:45 in the morning, serve Mass. And then you made money, too, if you did weddings and funerals. You’d get like five bucks. And so I go ‘Okay, I can make money too.’ I go, ‘This could be a good deal for me.’ I thought I had the calling.

That’s why I am confident you won’t let a severe case of bad liturgies keep you from returning Home to Rome, or keep your daughter from having the same wonderful childhood experiences as you did. Also, congratulations on her birth. I can’t wait to see the baptism pictures you’re sure to share on your Tumblr feed.

Experiencing your children discover their family faith and prepare for their sacraments is one of the many wonderful blessings of being a parent. But you already know that, you said so yourself in Glamour this month. Well, sort of, in a roundabout way.

“She’ll see every James Cagney movie because I’m Irish and that’s what you do. “

Yes, that’s what you do. You share with your kids family history, cultivate a pride in your Irish heritage, and share things from your youth that helped shape who you are today. Like being Catholic.

So please, Mr. Fallon, my hope is that you’ll make one of these parishes in your fine city your new home. Don’t let bad liturgy, bad theology, bad homilies, bad church ornamentation or any other form of badness deter you and your family from Church.

Church of The Holy Innocents, on B’way & 37th

The Church of Our Saviour, located on Murray Hill

Church of St. Michael, 424 West 34th St

And if you never read this (which is highly likely you may not because who am I?) maybe someone else who left the Church for whatever reason or excuse will read this and consider coming Home themselves.

Whatever your past experiences with a particular parish, known that single church does not encompass the Universal Church. There’s a place for everyone. It may be harder to find for some than others, but it’s there and it’s patiently waiting for you to come Home.

Come Home

Jimmy Fallon

Liturgy Behaving Badly

Previous Post

February 20, 2014

Presidential Duties and Honest Reporting? What's That Look Like...

Next Post

February 26, 2014 Caption This Potpourri of Popery...

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 30 Days of Dressing Like a Girl Adult Libations Advent Aiming To Misbehave Altar Boys Answered Prayers Art Art Behaving Badly Art Renewal Ask The Crescat AWAKE Baby Jesus Weeps Bad Ass Saints Bad Assery Bat Shit Crazy Beauty Being Single Blessed Virgin Mary Blogging Book Reviews Books Glorious Books Booze Boy Scouting Burnt Offerings BXVI Can You Hear My Eyes Rolling Canonizing Saints Caption Contests Catholic Bling & Finery Catholic Fangirl Catholic In The News Catholic Kitsch Catholic Social Teaching Catholics Behaving Badly Celebrity Catholics Charlotte Christmas Church MILITANT Church Posturing Church Teaching Church Universal Churches and Church Architecture Cinema Class Wars Classical Music Come Home Crafty Crescat Craptastic Craptastic Nativity Scenes Crescat Endorsements Damn Hippies Dear Crabby Death of the West Deep Thought With The Crescat Defenders of Faith Devotions Diocese of Charlotte Doctor Who DUH Easter Easter Liturgies Behaving Badly Eastern Catholicism Election 2012 End Rant Entertainment Exposing Obama Fan Girling Farmer Kat Fashion Feminism is Misogynistic Fine Art Friday Friday Features Friday Fishing Friday Fun Geekery Gender and Equality Girly Blather Give Aways Glaring Irony Gospel According to Crescat Hifreakinlarious Highly Suspect Hiss.Spit.Growl Holiday Gift Giving Guide Holy Days and Holidays How To Fail At Catholic Piety Humor Hump Day Humor I Actually Know What I Am Talking About Here I Blame The Parents I Call Bull Shit I Can't Hear You Over Your Own Hubris I Hear The Tiber Is Nice To Swim This Time of Year I Love You Nathan Fillion and You Will Be Mine One Day By God You Will I thought I saw Some Morals Around Here Somewhere Icons and Iconography In the News Is Outrage! It's Like I'm Martha Stewart if Martha Stewart Were Constantly Drunk and Incompetent Just Asking Just Because Kat's Been Drinking Again Learning Spanish Lent LENT2012 Liberal Lunacy Literature Literature Behaving Badly Liturgical Terrorists Liturgical Year Local Events Mad World Man-lace and Manliness Manufactured Outrage machine March For Life 2012 Martyrs Mass Appeal Mass Chat Mass Hysteria Mass Lunacy Maybe a Little Crazy Media Bias Memes Miracles and Wonders Molto Bello Monday Monk Gazing More Than Mortal Beauty Motivational Monday Movies Much Humble Music MUST HAVE ALL THE CHICKENS My Religion is Cooler Than Yours Natural Beauty Near Occasion of Sin News That Never Was Notable Birthdays Novenas Nun Gazing On The Rare Occasion I Actually Shut Up I Can Sometimes Hear God Orthodox Orthodoxy Outfreakingstanding Parenting Patheos Writers Perfectly Acceptable Wastes of Time Perils of Parenthood Persecution Personal Pinished That Shit Play Ball Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Francis Potpourri of Popery Prayers and Devotions President Behaving Badly Propaganda Protecting Children PSA Punk Quoted Racial Issues Random Recipes Red Flags Redemption Relics Religion of Peace Reviews Roma Rosaries Russian Art Sacraments Saints Sanctity of Life Science and Religion Seems Legit Self Appointed Pontiffs Sexuality She is Too Fond of Books and it Has Turned Her Brain SHINY! Single Life Single Parenthood Small Victories Soap Box Spain Strangely Unrelated to Anything Stuff Stupid Things Stupid Things I Do On Any Given Day Swiss Guard Technical Stuff That's catholic with a little "c" The Boy The Catholic Five Talk Show The Narrative THE RACK! The Real The Sexes The Stuff Priests Are Made Of There I Fixed It Thirsty Thursday Time of Persecution Tipsy Tuesday Traditions True Story Tuesday Tunes TV Is Where My Brain Goes To Die Ugly Churches Uncategorized Vapid Cliched Inanity Disguised As Original And Intelligent Thought Vaticanista Videos Viral Virtues Vocation Wanderlust Warm and Fuzzy Welcome Home What Does The Church Really Teach Why I Am Still Single Works of Mercy Wussification of Boys WYD You Can't Spell "DIET" Without "DIE" You're Very Existence is God Granting Me An Exercise In Patience Youtube

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 April 2008 March 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 October 2006 June 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who is credited with predicting Cyrus by name, who would rebuild Jerusalem?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Zechariah Isaiah Ezekiel Jeremiah