A priests conversion: traditional practice of Faith causes him to “get it” now

A Blog for Dallas Area Catholics ^ | 3/10/15 | Tantumblogo

[BlatherNaut]

My wife is a big fan of Fr. Richard Heilman of Madison, WI. He is a regular diocesan priest who oversees several parishes but who has found the great beauty and rewards from the traditional practice of the Faith, and especially the Traditional Latin Mass. He relates in a recent post how his experience of tradition has made him a much better priest and has fired his external apostolate, reaching out to random souls encountered in the world and bringing them back to the Sacraments. Note, this return – nascent though it may be – is not through watering down doctrine or appeals to a sentimental “mercy,” but through sharing the beauty of Catholic belief, a rigorous understanding of Doctrine, and clear calls to return/conversion. Some excerpts below:

Two days ago, I was standing in someone’s kitchen with a couple of guys, and I got talking about how Confession is so amazing and, with that simple prayer of absolution, we get “do-overs;” we are made a brand new person. They both admitted they had not gone in decades and, two minutes later, we were stepping into the next room to celebrate that Sacrament. They both emerged with HUGE smiles on their faces and, I believe, a new incentive to get back into their faith. I’ve been doing stuff like this a lot lately.

Something is happening in the Church and in the world today. And, I know something is happening with me. I can’t recall many times (any?) in my priesthood that I would unabashedly – with great confidence and joy – invite people on the street to these amazing sacraments. Instead, I guess we priests felt that, “if you build it, they will come.” But, build what? [Funny he would use that phrase. I used that for a long time trying to encourage local priests to offer more Confession. And, at one parish where (it had nothing to do with me) Confession times were doubled or quadrupled, probably 10x or more as many people started availing themselves of the Sacrament weekly, it certainly seemed to work. But with regard to flippant, Laugh-in style liturgies with faces popping in and out every 5 seconds…….doesn’t work.]

I had spent a great portion of my priesthood buying into the notion that, if we create all kinds of trendy “programs” and socials, while we kept our liturgy as cheery and entertaining as possible, people would hear about how “cool” and “fun” and “with the times” we were, and come running. We may have “held our own” with numbers in the pew, but I also noticed the average age was continuing to rise, and – where were all the men? I could see that, while this trendy approach had short-term results, the future was looking unsustainable. [I’d say that’s about as generous assessment as can be given. It drove men away in particular, and Mass attendance generally. Overall, “numbers” were in a steady decline across the board for decades, and still are]

It didn’t make sense. I was led to believe that “hip” and “trendy” appealed to the youth. And, we believed men didn’t go for all that ceremonial stuff – “Johnny Six-pack” likes it “real” like the rest of the world.

And now, in retrospect, I ask myself, “Why wasn’t I going into the streets to invite people to that?” And, “Why, all of a sudden, am I doing that now?” I believe it is because we now have something REALLY real to offer them……. [Sounds like before, the priesthood was an academic exercise, one that may not have been entirely convincing, but now, the priesthood is an affair of the heart, it is a passion. That’s what the TLM and the return to Tradition can do. God bless the priest’s who take the plunge]

……we were shocked and appalled to discover that, up to that point, we were receiving information through a liberal/modernist/progressive (pick one) filter. Essential facts were being left out or twisted to perpetuate this modern liberal agenda. There was an emphasis on what they wanted us to know, and a de-emphasis of things they did not want us to know. [He started learning about Tradition and the TLM over the internet, was captivated, and it completely changed the course of his priesthood. Now he’s so on fire he propagandizes for the Faith wherever he goes, even strangers on the street (which……I’m sure he uses some tact)]

The fortunate and hopeful reality of our times is that “truth” is like a poison for the whole liberal movement. Many, especially the young who are more Internet savvy, are not buying what the liberals are selling any longer……..

……..Young people, especially, are coming in droves. We came to understand that while we were trying to “keep it real,” we were failing to offer something that “rang true” to them. They seem to want something the world can never give them – a Holy Father who demands reverence, a Savior who requires careful worship, and a Spirit who must be obeyed. They are looking for true, deep, intellectually robust spirituality, and they weren’t finding it until now. [I think this is generally true, except that the “keeping it real” was just seemed like a never ending attempt to keep the late 60s/early 70s alive no matter how passe’ and ridiculous it appeared to those who came along later. Even attempts to be very “relevant” with things like youth Masses are at least 20 years out of date, because the people running them (not the priests) are trying to revive cultural touchstones from their own youth back in the 80s or whenever. Even on a natural level they were always doomed to failure. But none of that is the real reason all these worldly attempts failed, they failed because they are not what the Mass is about and do not render proper worship, honor, and glory to God! That worship was established 1500+ years ago (at least) and gradually, imperceptibly shaped by great Saints and Fathers over centuries. It was a work of God, not a work of human hands, and when men arrogated to themselves to mess not only with the Mass, the Source and Summit of our Faith, but with all the timeless beliefs and practices, failure was foreordained. We have been messing with things way beyond us, things we think we understand but really don’t, things that were not meant to be manipulated and massaged according to the whims of the world and this or that generation’s touchstones. People sense that, often unconsciously, and they are turned off. The liturgical revolution and all the other ones unleashed on the Church were all grounded in a massive hubris so huge it blinds its perpetrators to the destruction it has wrought. It is a miracle when a priest like Fr. Heiland sees through the charade.]

Why do I find myself more freely inviting people on the streets to this? As Bishop Schneider puts it, “the renewal of the Church cannot be brought about without a profound review of our devotion to the Eucharist, which produces a new momentum and fervor in our sacramental practice.” We’ve come to understand that when the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated with due reverence, honor and beauty, it opens our hearts to receive the magnificent power and majesty of God…..

Exactly. And when we open our hearts to that great power, we suddenly find ourselves capable of all kinds of things we never imagined being capable of before. Proselytizing souls, giving up bad habits, throwing ourselves into the study of the Faith, practicing virtue…….all these things flow from our closeness to that Source and Summit. It’s not impossible for people to develop that kind of passionate faith outside the TLM and outwardly traditional communities (whatever that means to whoever says it), but it is much more difficult. And most people don’t make the connection at all, they are blinded by the human show and miss the reality of the Mass. And that is a prime reason why so few Catholics accept the moral Doctrine of the Faith, because they don’t have that deep love for Jesus Christ, and it just seems like a bunch of pointless rules created by long dead and irrelevant men.

That’s the great shame of all this, is the souls lost to the Church, and quite likely lost to God forever. I pray God is very merciful to them and to all of us who have been led by blind guides and whited sepulchers. There are so few true leaders in the Church today, even the prelates we trumpet as so wonderfully orthodox would have been strictly middling a century ago. So we’re all lost to one degree or another, surrounded by a culture that hates us and awash in utter filth.

We do need mercy. It’s just not the kind of “mercy” being tossed around like a sharp edged sword of late.