EMBRACING TRADITION: SMALL BUT GROWING NUMBER OF CATHOLICS RETURN TO RIGID RULES, LATIN MASSES

San Jose Mercury News ^ | Fri, Jul. 04, 2003 | Lisa Fernandez

[nickcarraway]

Cynthia Hummon, left, and Cassie Hamilton recite the stations of the cross during a retreat at St. Aloysius Retreat Center.

Tucked away in the hills of Los Gatos is a conservative Catholic retreat where much of modernity is rejected: Priests wear ankle-length black cassocks, children's play structures look like ancient castles, and Mass is celebrated in Latin.

[BlackElk]

Thank you for posting the full exchange of correspondence so that those who read or post here may judge the meaning for themselves.

[ultima ratio]

By the way, do you think we would pray for the Pope at every Mass if we intended separation?

[RobbyS]

How about that! This is the understanding that I have had all along. I must have heard this thirty years ago. It is the intention of the worshipper that counts here. I think it would also apply to the attending of an orthodox service.

[sinkspur]

Homily preparation is probably the single worst indictment that can be leveled at priests today. Most homilies sound as if the priest prepared them while walking up the aisle for the processional. On the whole, they have no content other than platitudes, and don't demand any action other than "love God and your neighbor." They're vapid and horrible.

The Anglican converts preach rings around the native Catholic priests, almost to a man.

I had a great homiletics teacher in the seminary, God rest him. The guys now are obviously not very demanding and, as a result, Catholics are starved for inspired preaching.

[ninenot]

Yesterday we had a Jesuit who told a cute story about how Fr. DeSmet converted some Indians.

SSSSnnnnooooooorrre.......

[sinkspur]

Just out of curiosity, what is it about the Tridentine Mass you dislike?

I don't "dislike" the Tridentine. I just prefer the Novus Ordo and, as long as one is available, I'll attend it.

[Slyfox]

I have nothing against traditionalists because I are one. I prefer the Mass to be prayed without the help of an entire contingent of strumming guitars. But, when the entire conversation after Mass revolves around JPII being blamed for every ill in the Church, I gotta take a rain check.

[sinkspur]

Oh, and another sign of the laziness of many priests is an alarming tendency to type out and read the homily.

In my view, if a priest can't begin praying over the upcoming Sunday readings a week in advance, keep them in his heart while inviting the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and preach them from his gut for ten minutes on a Sunday morning, then he should let somebody preach who knows how.

The reason Protestant preachers are generally better than Catholic priests are that preaching the Word is all they've got.

If they fail at that, who needs them?

[ultima ratio]

For once I agree with you. One of the aspects of attending an SSPX chapel is the superiority of the homilies--which are focused on the Gospels and Catholic doctrine and are the result of prayer and reflection.

Years ago, when I was still attending Novus Ordo Masses, I actually made an appointment with a young priest to complain about his homily. I got tired of his vapid idiocies--more reminiscent of Ann Landers than true Catholicism. It was obvious he had given very little thought to what he said and had very little interiority or understanding of the necessity for his own recollection.

"You can't give what you don't have to give" is an ascetical admonishment often repeated by priests who are in the know. Priests can't move others with words if their words are off-the-cuff and lack the depth of meaning that comes from mental prayer and long reflection on the Gospels.

[ultima ratio]

Why don't I believe you? I oppose the Pope's policies, but never once have mentioned him after Mass--it is unnecessary. We wouldn't be there if we didn't agree on religious issues. At my chapel people, in fact, don't talk religion after Mass--we talk about our kids, women swap recipes, men talk about sports. I think you are making this up.

[Loyalist]

On the whole, they have no content other than platitudes, and don't demand any action other than "love God and your neighbor." They're vapid and horrible.

If people want a faith without defined teachings and morality, they'll get sermons without content or context.

They'd better not complain about being bored or patronized if they don't want to hear any difficult or uncomfortable.

[Alberta's Child]

Ironically, the story of DeSmet and the conversion of certain native tribes is actually quite remarkable, and offers a great lesson in the understanding of grace and the role of a true "calling" from God in one's conversion.

Some years after the first Catholic missionaries began working in North America, a pair of Indians from a western tribe (I believe it was the Nez Perce) showed up in St. Louis looking for some men they called the "Black Robes." This was the second pair of Indians that had been dispatched in search of these missionaries -- the first pair had been sent out a couple of years earlier but had never been heard from again.

When asked why they were looking for these "Black Robes," the Indians said that they were sent to find them because "we heard they have good medicine." ("medicine," it should be pointed out, was their word for "wisdom"). It turns out that some of the missionaries' teachings had made their way westward over time as the region was slowly settled, and a few of the tribes living out there were very quick to pick up on them. In fact, they knew right away that what the "Black Robes" were saying made far more sense than the earth-worship nonsense that most native tribes accepted as the truth up to that point.

[sinkspur]

No matter the Rite, there is no power in preaching without prayer. None.

A priest or deacon who doesn't pray has no core. He thinks he can "wow" the congregation by himself--like a Tom Peters in a stole.

He fails to realize that it's the Holy Spirit who emboldens and empowers his words, not him.

If the Spirit is not in him, he's wasting everybody's time.

[Desdemona]

The Anglican converts preach rings around the native Catholic priests, almost to a man.

And they talk three times longer than they need to. Give me a concise 5 minute homily any day of the week over the rambling.

[Maximilian]

Thank you for posting the full exchange of correspondence so that those who read or post here may judge the meaning for themselves.

Which news station has the motto "We report -- You decide."

[St.Chuck]

Which news station has the motto "We report -- You decide."

Answer: The most blatantly biased news channel being broadcast.

[nickcarraway]

What does Mel Gibson's upcoming film have to do with it? Even nonCatholic Christians believe in the Passion of Christ, no? (and I don't remember these kind of articles when Lethal Weapon came out.)

[Maximilian]

No matter the Rite, there is no power in preaching without prayer. None. A priest or deacon who doesn't pray has no core. He thinks he can "wow" the congregation by himself--like a Tom Peters in a stole. He fails to realize that it's the Holy Spirit who emboldens and empowers his words, not him. If the Spirit is not in him, he's wasting everybody's time.

Great point. And great post. This hits the nail on the head. What you are left with is the Rev. in "The Simpsons." I always think of him as the perfect representation of thinking that you can preach without the grace of the Holy Spirit. Might I suggest that this extends from the non-denominational protestants to the New Mass Catholics? The Simpsons church is not that different from a lot of New Mass parishes.

But you would never mistake it for a Latin Mass parish. The Latin Mass is the antithesis of preaching without prayer. Sometimes it might go to the extreme of prayer without preaching. But that is certainly preferable to the alternative.

[Slyfox]

I attended our local SSPX Mass and after every Mass the priest gave a catechism talk. The talk always centered itself around JPII and the 'wrong he has inflicted on the Church'. I'll tell you it made me sick. Especially after having attended such a lovely Mass. I found out later that that happens quite frequently at SSPX functions.

I don't happen to share the opinion that the Pope akin to the anti-Christ.

[ultima ratio]

The passion for saving souls was behind the Jesuit missions. They underwent unbelievable hardships--and these were men of refinement who had been raised in the best houses in Europe in the lap of luxury. Yet they kept on coming--even after they were martyred for their troubles. That was the power of the Catholic faith in those days, especially among the Jebs.