Traditional Catholic View of Body Piercing and Tattoos
I was called to the hospital last evening for a sick woman. As I looked for her room in the ER I ran across a young man in another room. He scared me because his whole face was filled with evil tattoos. There was tattooed blood coming out of his mouth, spikes going up from his eyebrows and many other disturbing images. Then as I was leaving I noticed another young woman with red hair. At that moment she was called and as she stood up I could see a star tattooed on her back.
When I got back from the hospital I went to the near by park to exercise (by walking) and encountered two young women with strange hair styles and a lot of face piercing. Needless to tell all of you, tattoos and body piercing are the rage.
The worst tattoo I have seen was on the arm of a young woman. She actually had a tattoo of a couple in Tango stance with the man’s head leaning toward her neck which had been bitten and was bleeding. I could understand a man wanting to tattoo his dream of becoming a vampire, but a woman actually showing off wanting to be a vampire’s victim, just does not make sense to me.
With the Twilight movie series, most girls and women and some men have opened their dark side to the fascination with becoming evil blood suckers or victims there of. Almost all Catholic young women and older girls (and some teenage boys) have told me that they have seen the Twilight series and they think their is nothing wrong with it. In these movies they are convinced that romance with a vampire is something exciting. They are told that if a vampire bites you, he will make them immortal (the no longer can die). So they exchange a blood shedding Jesus for a blood sucking man to give them eternal life.
In the Book of Leviticus it is stated: “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead, neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks: I am the Lord.”
When God created the human body and soul He declared it good. Why do we need to improve on what God has already made beautiful? The tattoos also call a great deal of attention to ourselves rather that to God who made us in His image.
The subject of the tattoo is also of utmost importance too. There are Catholic symbols tattooed on bodies. But that is still not right. But then there is all sorts of satanic and morose images too. And then there are also all the tattoos to elicit sexual stimulation. Most tattoos being applied to bodies right now are to draw some sort of attention to the person and that part of their body. They also speak about the kind of life that person is living and their beliefs.
It is wrong and it is disturbing. It is a waste of money that could be given to the Church or to the poor to have food or medical care they desperately need but do not have the funds to obtain the medicine or operation they need. Just because all the world is doing something wrong does not make it right. I am sure that many of these people will regret the tattoo some day and have to suffer a lot to have them removed.
If you want to proclaim your faith, instead of a tattoo, use your example of how you love and live. If you think you have to write something about it or about someone you loved on your body, why not do it instead in your heart where God see it. We can have our names written in the Heart of Jesus.
As to body piercing. They also disturb the natural beauty of God’s human order. Pierced ears for girls and ladies to distinguish them from boys (when they are little) seems alright. But if people want to use that as an excuse to pierce everywhere, then lets give up even tasteful woman’s earrings. But all the boys and men having earrings is ridiculous. They are coping the sports and movie stars. Some homosexual men pierce the right ear to quietly let people know that they are homosexual.
Many women have so many earrings in their ears now. They also pierce there lips, nose and skin above their lips. I find it provocative and ugly.
Going back to yesterday in the Emergency Room. When going out of the sick ladies room, I purposely looked into the young man’s room and waved to him. He smiled back. I did that because I know that I am to love and reach out to everyone. Who knows if that greeting may begin his returning to God. Maybe he has already started to return, and the tattoos are from his past. I did not know. Even though my first reaction was “he is a satanist”, I overcame that to do what was right. To show love and concern for someone in the hospital.
In spite of my disgust of ugly piercings and tattoos, I know I need to go right on smiling and greeting these people. But I will also try to tell others to please not mess up the great gift of their bodies to please themselves or others. It is wrong and hopefully you will regret it some day.
While on the subject of regretting things; I tell the youth that they should not put pictures of their naked bodies on the internet, because some day they may want to marry another person or become a priest or nun, and that picture will come back to haunt them. All stuff on internet does not go off into oblivion, but remains out there forever. Just think what the government is doing or could do with some of the things Catholics (some bishops and priests too) look at (pornography) or pictures or sex calls or provocative emails sent through cyber space. That is why it is so important to be totally holy inside and outside. Then you have only good things that witness to your love of God and His Holy Catholic Church. Hopefully we traditional Catholics are only doing things we are proud of for God.
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