Fellow Catholics...

B-chan ^ | 2002.10.08 | B-chan

[american colleen]

Yes, you are right. I live in a small town where you know everyone and there is only one Catholic parish here, so it is hard to leave. But it is difficult as my kids like the parish priest. We are, however, slowly pulling away and searching for an orthodox parish somewhere else. No luck so far unless I want to drive for an hour each way (which we do every other week). And I do like to attend Mass during the week when I can.

[Desdemona]

I live in a small town where you know everyone and there is only one Catholic parish here,

That's definitely a problem. Just like a monopoly. I thought you were closer to Boston.

[Dusty Rose]

Perhaps you can switch allegiance to the other parish (financially and otherwise) to demonstrate support where your heart is. You could still attend daily Mass at the nearby parish. We switched to another parish when the kids began their confirmation program. We wanted them to experience committed Catholic community with solid teaching, not the drive-thru type Sunday Masses. We had to travel further, but it was so well worth it.The girls no longer complained about getting up for Mass. They see how enthused we are and no longer hear us continually complain about what was happening in the parish. We could not change what was happening in the former parish, and it became just a huge negative, so the move was one of the best things we ever did for the family.

[Siobhan]

I pray for you and your family each day, Colleen. But I am changing my prayer to include a petition for a Damascus Road conversion for your pastor, or the replacement of your priest and Attila the Nun with a new committed real Catholic priest and staff.

[american colleen]

Thank you, Siobhan, from the bottom of my heart.

I remember my priest every day during my rosary. Attila the Nun is beyond hope, I think. She's the driving force behind a lot of the "confusion of the sheep" in my parish. A soft spoken woman with an iron will. Reminds me of Eve holding out the forbidden fruit to Adam... and he took it without protest.

Up until this week, I thought maybe I could have some sort of affect on things, but with the parish mission stuff, my eyes were opened and I think it is fruitless for me to keep banging my head against the wall.

I was thinking however, that this nun is from the Diocese of Providence, RI and our parish is in the Archdiocese of Boston... I wonder if it is OK to "cross boundries" and be a pastoral associate out of your own area... I am going to try to find the answer to that question. The Archbishop Chaput coming to Boston rumor is still very much alive... I am hoping to God that it will be fulfilled. Cardinal Law is pretty much paralyzed right now.

[Macrinus]

Have you been to the Latin Mass at Holy Trinity in Boston? It's the real thing.

[american colleen]

Yes, but thank you for mentioning it! Holy Trinity has a website with pictures, the history of the Latin Mass and some of the differences between the NO and the Latin.

I've attended with my kids, but it is a hour's ride each way and they don't like to go too often. So, I oblige because I don't want them to dislike Mass for any reason. The exposure to the Latin Mass is great for kids, I think - it allows them to see some of our rich Catholic tradition that has been passed down for centuries.

Too bad the parish, although beautiful, is in such a run-down area of Boston, plus, it is hard to find unless you know your way around.

[Salvation]

I guess they are kinda the SSPX of the Episcopal Church.

That's interesting. From what my son has told me, they are very structured and very Catholic leaning.

We were even talking one day about how the conservative churches might unify one day. Interesting thoughts and provoking discussion.

[sockmonkey]

That's interesting. From what my son has told me, they are very structured and very Catholic leaning.

They (the Anglican Church in America-ACA) also say they have apostolic succession, and are part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Rome would differ on that, and since the thirty-nine articles of faith, to which they adhere deny transubstantiation, and pronounce the repugnance of Romish, and Papish doctrines such as the Seven Sacraments, purgatory, and some other things, I can see why.

[dsc]

I like your note. I'm a boomer, and I'm not wild about what my generation did, either. It's reassuring that younger people see our mistakes.

Oh, by the way, just as an aside, "acid" is LSD. Lysergic acid diethylamide. Not trying to start a quarrel; just thought you might like to know.

[dsc]

"You must have wonderul priests and nuns in your parish"

Well...no. But I do know some. There are a bunch associated with the Academy of the Visitation in Frederick, Maryland. Just wonderful people, all of them.

"because I don't think it is that easy to "get them out."

No, I think it will require civil disobedience. Tactics as strong, perhaps, as those employed by labor unions.

"The thing is, these guys and gals mix some ortho stuff into their teaching/preaching, so sometimes it isn't anything straight out that you can put your finger on."

Yes, the subtlety is striking. I think one way to sort out the mess is to ask, "Was this orthodox tenet included solely to provide plausible deniability?" Such things are of a kind with meaningless disclaimers.

"Most of the time it is just the horribly watered down/never mentioned things that corrupts the fullness of the Catholic faith and is responsible for the long term apathy or irrelevance outcome that people feel."

Who will demand that this stop, if not you?

[TotusTuus]

Oh, by the way, just as an aside, "acid" is LSD. Lysergic acid diethylamide.

Do you know this from the obligatory school report you had to write, or..........? (heeheehee...)

[TotusTuus]

At quick glance, this far in the thread and nobody has mentioned the possibility of attending an Eastern Rite Catholic Church....

[TotusTuus]

Or how about the "Liturgical Dancers", or Altar Nymphs, as I call them.

Vestal Virgins?

[Jeff Chandler]

Vestal Virgins?

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

[TotusTuus]

The things I've come to understand is that the "dissenters" do not like traditional Catholicism as it was understood before the 1970s.

Glance at NCR more often to understand these things more quickly.

You're not alone in that observation. I have noticed the same. There is a strong current within the Church of people who hate and despise true Catholic tradition and teaching. And many of those people occupy important positions within the Church hierarchy and bureaucracy. At the very least, that's flirting with apostasy.

Indeed! But have either of you noticed that the "next" generation seems to be hungering for orthodox traditional Catholicism. The "strong current" has gray hairs now and doesn't seem to have a following. They know this. They are therefore pushing hard at this time to "canonize" their broken agendas and defective ecclesiology...

That is one of the reasons I'm reflexively leery of those who harp on the "danger" of extending the indult.

...to a largely apathetic laity. See your Post #17:

Actually, most Catholics, overwhelmingly, won't attend Mass at all.

Those harping on the "dangers" of the indult Mass know full well that, where it is given, the Church is packed with younger Catholics. This is what they fear and find "dangerous". The younger generation rejecting their dissenting folly. They want it stopped!

Untold damage has been done these past 30-40 years as your above statement shows.

There is hope! I'm seeing more and more of the younger Priests coming out of the seminaries who are very orthodox in the totality of the Faith! They are bringing back traditional devotions with piety. Offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (which is how they refer to it), they lay their personalities aside and allow Christ to work through them in simplicity. The need for Confession is preached and given serious time by them.

While the Church is getting smaller in the short term, having left many of the young behind the past several decades, the young who stay are interested in learning their Faith objectively. In other words, they are unaware of the so called pre- and post- Consiliar Church hoopla. This new generation has the ability to look at Vatican II with fresh eyes. Consider: It took several generations to fully implement Trent, correcting the abuses which existed back then.

[Antoninus]

St. Thomas More Parish, Fort Worth, TX

See, sinky, you could even attend one if you so desired! Aren't you lucky?

[Antoninus]

The thing is, they appear to be very nice people, have very soothing voices, are ordained or part of the religious life and make us feel good about ourselves. A lethal combination. And there are tons of them out there, and I don't know why. Maybe it is worse here in the Arch of Boston, it seems most of the dissent started here, years ago.

I remember that kind of 'nice.' It's a niceness born of brain-deadness in some cases. In other cases, the niceness lasts only as long as they're not being challenged in any serious way. Have you ever heard the sermon Fr. Benedict Groschel gave on the word "nice?" Bottom line, Jesus wasn't "nice"!

[Antoninus]

Except you.

Did you actually *read* what he said? Everything he wrote was spot on, and here you go accusing him of sin (specifically) for daring to accuse others (generally) of sin. Now that's hypocrisy for you.

[sinkspur]

See, sinky, you could even attend one if you so desired! Aren't you lucky?

I'm very lucky to belong to St.Michael's in Bedford, Texas, a parish where seven Novus Ordo Masses are celebrated on weekends with over 6,000 Catholics and catechumens in attendance.

Last Easter, we had 54 people welcomed into the Faith.

The Ft. Worth diocese is a wonderful microcosm of Catholicism: vibrant Catholic parishes, a Tridentine Indult parish, two Anglican-use parishes, and four married Anglican dispensation priests.