Dallas is a jungle but Dallas gives a beautiful light...

I have relatives coming in town this week. Whenever I have relatives or friends coming into town, I am reminded of why I like Dallas so much. I am reminded of why I like Texas so much, too, but that is a topic for another time. Plus, to expound on the merits of Texas would just take forever and I am trying to keep this one brief and to the point. Dallas…

Ok, I just spent twenty minutes updating the third party wireless assistant I use because it doesn’t communicate with the wireless network on campus that well and it locked up the wireless on my computer. I finally get the damn thing to install correctly and start up, then it tells me that I can’t enter my license key because I am not connect directly to a router that is directly connected to the internet. I’m guessing on campus a hub is used to split the signal to various routers throughout the building I’m in, so I’m stick with a trial version I can’t really use. Ugh, what a pain in the rear. I completely lost my train of thought because I had to restart my computer. Where was I? Oh, I was going to use a quote…

Dallas, as Jimmie Dale Gilmore puts it, “is a jewel, oh yeah, Dallas is a beautiful sight.” My friend Jon put it simply when we were driving into Dallas from a road trip to Waco, and said that he just feels excited to see the downtown skyline coming into focus from the distance. It is the third largest city in Texas and the ninth largest in the United States. Dallas is the core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea. The city's prominence despite this comes from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, its position along numerous railroad lines, a strong industrial and financial sector, and its status as a major inland port (due largely to the presence of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, one of the largest and busiest in the world). The city was founded in 1841 and formally incorporated in 1856. With a population of over 1.3 million, the city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, which the residents refer to as the Metroplex.

I could go on with a history lesson about Dallas, but that just wouldn’t get my point across. I’m talking about why I like living in Dallas in the present, not why I’m proud of Dallas, a pride that comes from its prominence as a focal point of both Texas and American history. Here and now, Dallas has everything you need within its 385 square mile area, and if you want more, you can travel throughout the Metroplex’s 9286 square mile area and find it. Dallas is flat, with some small areas of rolling hills and a river, the Trinity, wandering beneath it. It’s hot during the summer, one of the hottest areas in the United States during those months. It’s mild in the winter, wet in the spring, and cool in the fall; though the temperature and climate changes don’t necessitate all four seasons. If you live here you know it’s either hot (summer) or cool (winter). Dallas has a signature skyline, with several buildings over 700 feet tall and all sorts of architectural eras and styling. It is punctuated, literally, but Reunion Tower, which is one of the most recognizable parts of the skyline. Moving from the skyscrapers of downtown you go in any direction and find yourself in a unique neighborhood, offering cultural, retail, dining, and nightlife diversity to fit any taste. I can’t go into all of them, but let’s just say there is no lack of places to go or people to see.

The culture of Dallas is unreal. Though politically the Metroplex is the third most liberal of Texas metropolitan areas after Austin (Hippies) and El Paso (need I explain), the city itself can be seen as moderate. I don’t want to go into the scandalousness of Dallas politics any more than that, other than to say that since I live in the north Dallas area I vote with the majority of my neighbors for Republicans. Let’s just move on to the food. Dallas has been on the forefront of barbeque, authentic Mexican, and Tex-Mex cuisine for years. Dallas features the third nationally ranked steakhouse, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, the best hotel restaurant in the US according to a Zagat survey, Fearing’s (the signature restaurant of chef Dean Fearing, a personal hero), and is the starting place for famous chain restaurants Chili’s and Romano’s Macaroni Grill. Let us not forget the best thing to come from the Dallas culinary scene…the FROZEN MARGARITA…invented right here in Dallas. After you’ve eaten, you can take in a symphony or an art exposition in the Arts District. Go to the Meyerson Symphony Center to experience one of the most acoustically sound places I’ve been to and performed in or go to the Dallas Museum of Art to see their intriguing collection of Egyptian and Nubian art. High art not your scene, find yourself a concert at one of several music venues in the downtown area. Or you can hit up one of the several small independent art galleries nestled among the downtown shopping, featuring up and coming local artist with unique flare. What if art is not your thing at all? Dallas is home to several major league franchises spanning the majority of professional sports. This includes the Dallas Mavericks (making their NBA finals playoff run right now), the Dallas Stars (enjoying their NHL off season, I’m sure) and the Dallas Desperados (bagging groceries at Kroger since Arena football may never be coming back). Like the soccer scene, then check out an FC Dallas (perennial MLS contender) game. Fan of semi-pro hockey (who isn’t), then you can see the Texas Tornado (three-time champions of the NAHL) play at the Déjà Blue Arena in Frisco. What about football? Need I really mention America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys, who will be moving into their new (super) stadium in Arlington next season? Speaking of Arlington, what about a little baseball with the Texas Rangers, or their double A farm team, the Frisco Roughriders. If you’re on the other side of Interstate 35, the Fort Worth Cats can fill your need for the stick and ball sport. Other teams in the Dallas area include the Dallas Harlequins of the USA Rugby Super League, as well as the Dallas Diamonds, the two-time national champions of the Women's Professional Football League, and the Dallas Revolution, an Independent Women's Football League team.

I’m getting long winded, as I knew I would, so I am going to cut it off there. Needless to say, if you have a need for recreation, trendy local events, religious facilities, medical attention, or higher education, you can find a variety of those in Dallas as well. I guess that is kind of the point I’m trying to get to…variety. Dallas is so diverse and large that you don’t have to go the same place or do the same thing if you don’t want to. There is always something new you can try, something strange you haven’t done, or some group of people you haven’t experienced. Sure, I don’t take advantage of all the great opportunities I have living in Dallas unless I have relatives coming to town, but knowing that I have them and, not to be smug, they don’t, is nice. Big Tuck makes my point clearly in his song “Welcome to Dallas” when he says, “Never been to Dallas, then you ain't never been to Texas.”

Catholic Answer Series: What to do with your hands?

As I was standing in church this morning for the saying of the Our Father, I felt the same uneasiness I have been feeling for years now. It is the uneasiness of being one of the few people who still folds their hands during this prayer while the rest of the congregation has their hands raised in praise or is holding hands with the person next to them. I have always folded my hands during this prayer, except for the few occasions while working with the youth when I would hold hands in a prayer circle as a sign of unity with them. Today I felt especially out of place due to the fact that I was crowded in with people on either side of me, both of them holding their arms up in praise during one of the most solemn and important prayers of the Mass. It sparked my interest to find more information about what the “right” or “wrong” thing to do during that prayer, seeing as I was taking a firm stand against the “praise and worship” hands that everyone else seems to be sporting these days. I am not against standing in this way for the Lord’s Prayer, necessarily, but come on, we’re not Protestants.

Apparently this is a common liturgical question since I am not the only one with an opinion on the subject. Actually, there is no norm as to what posture the laity should adopt during the Lord’s Prayer at Mass. The “General Instruction of the Roman Missal” (the official instruction manual for the Mass, which I carry with me to Mass every Sunday) is silent on this particular issue. As such, besides the commonly accepted praying gesture of folding hands (which should be literally interpreted as the right way), there may be some legitimate room for variety…but only insofar as the practice does not contradict local regulations or disrupt the prayerfulness of the Mass.

The posture of outstretched arms is called the “orans” position, and was a common sign of praise and adoration in the early church. During the development of the Roman Catholic liturgy, this posture became closely associated with the intercessory role of the priest on behalf of the people. The recent appearance of uplifted hands among the congregation probably originated in charismatic communities, but has since gained wider use. If it is done, individuals should be careful not to obscure the unique role of the ordained presider. It may be helpful to consider that even in concelebrated Masses; only the principal celebrant (not all the priests) maintains the “orans” posture while “Deliver us, Lord, from every evil…” is prayed.

The practice of holding hands is also very widespread. It is a devotional practice that can be very beautiful, and many families do so as part of their domestic piety during prayer. It might make sense if couples, families, or close-knit groups wish to hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer at Mass; but those who do this must guard against three things. First, this posture should not be mandated or broadly encouraged for the entire congregation. Holding hands can be harmless if conducted with dignity and if nobody is pressured into it. Those who hold hands must recognize and respect that many are uncomfortable with such an intimate posture, which often requires a strong sense of personal familiarity. Second, this practice should never detract from filial adoration of God, which is a focal point of the Our Father and of the entire Mass. The end of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is devoted to the Lord’s Prayer, and No. 2781 says this: “When we pray to the Father, we are in communion with him and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Then we know and recognize him with an ever new sense of wonder. Therefore, the liturgical recitation of the Our Father must not be self-centered, or otherwise distract from what should be a humble disposition before the Father’s transcendence. It is not primarily about us, but about God. Third, it would be misguided to hold hands during the Our Father if it is meant to promote a sense of unity or community that is allegedly lacking in the liturgy. Not only can this easily become superficial or devolve into a worldly understanding of solidarity, but the principle source of unity should always be the liturgy itself…especially the Eucharist and the reception of Holy Communion. We are preparing to enter into real communion with God while asking him to “keep us free from sin,” so that we may more perfectly live our adoption as his sons and daughters in the bond that is the body of Christ. Our goal is elevation into the community of saints.

So, although many practices are not explicitly forbidden, any extra actions or postures during the Lord’s Prayer must ultimately be evaluated according to whether they keep intact the integrity and reverence that are so fundamental to the Mass. In other words, there is no definite “right” or “wrong” way to participate in the communal recitation of the Our Father, except to say that it should be done with God in your heart.