Some Thought From Boston: "Be Respectful But Stand Your Ground"

In illo tempore Blog ^ | 13 Dec 06 | Hans Jaegerstatter

[Serviam1]

Holy Trinity has a rich history that makes it part of not only Roman Catholic German-Americans heritage, but of the collective historical inheritance of Bostonians and all Americans. Technically the property "belongs" to the Archdiocese, but rightfully it belongs to those parishioners whose blood, sweat and tears (and that of generations gone before) built and maintained the property with love and devotion to the glory of God. The parish is solvent from what I understand. Why close it? For what possible reasons? To turn the church building into condos?

I hope that members of Holy Trinity will not "go" quietly. Put up a fight! Respectful yet insistent! Petition the Pope who loves both German heritage AND the Latin Mass, or occupy YOUR church building. Odd that the the heirarchy, (which, since Vatican II, has stressed the importance of the laity) will fall back on the old and tired "You must be obedient like sheep" theme in matters like this. Obedient in matters of faith and morals, yes. But in matters of stone and mortar where no debt or expense is put upon the Archdiocese?

The men and women in the pews DO matter. Let the Archbishop know this and stand your ground. Even if the church building ultimately closes you will know that you were good Catholics to the end and that you TRIED. Absolute obedience to authority in every instance can lead to a corruption of authority, as recent history has shown us, nation wide. Bishops answerable to no one. Bishops who do not reply adequately or at all to heartfelt concerns from layfolk.

Holy Trinity is prayer in stone. It connects people to past years and life events marked by ceremony and to future hopes and aspirations. To say that the "Church" is the people and not, in an important sense, the edifices that make the spiritual concrete, is erroneous. If the "people" are all that matter and not physical manifestations of the Faith, then why not sell the Cathedral of the Holy Cross? Is it any more important to Catholics, most who never go to it, than their own parish churches which are much more woven into the fabric of generations of lives?

[Serviam1]

Many share Hans' thoughts as the suppression of the historic Holy Trinity (German) Church looms. It may well fall victim to Sean Cardinal O'Malley reconfiguration juggernaut that has already claimed 62 parishes resulting in 46 church buildings now abandoned in the Archdiocese of Boston. The Domus Dei is now regarded as "worship space" by reconfiguration propagandists...Sad indeed.

Checkout: http://www.holytrinitygerman.org and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saveholytrinity/

[bornacatholic]

More than once I was in Boston visiting my brilliant and beautiful daughter when she was a grad student at BU. The Fam tried to get into and tour that Church but it was always closed. Nobody was ever around. I got the impression it was only open for Sunday Masses.

I was quite sad as the photos of the inside I have seen are beautiful