The Collapse of Cultural Catholicism

Standing on My Head ^ | 1/27/11 | Fr. Dwight Longenecker

[marshmallow]

Shery Weddell at the St Catherine of Siena Institute reports that 32% of Americans raised Catholic abandon the identity altogether by their mid twenties. An additional 38% retain the identity but rarely practice their faith. 30% of those who call themselves Catholic attend Mass only once a month. On a given Sunday only about 15.6% of American Catholics attend Mass.

What is the reason for these disastrous statistics? Basically because for the last forty years Catholics themselves have not taught Catholicism to their children. They've taught 'American Catholicism' which is a watered down blend of sentimentalism, political correctness, community activism and utilitarianism. In other words, "Catholicism is about feeling good about yourself, being just to others and trying to change the world." The next generation have drawn the obvious conclusion that you don't need to go to Mass to do all that. You can feel good about yourself much more effectively with a good book from the self help shelf, or by attending a personal development seminar. You can be involved in making the world a better place without going to church.

If only 15% of Catholics go to Mass on a given Sunday, look around and see how many of them are old. Even the 15% who are there won't be there for very long.

The solution is simple: we must return to the supernatural realities of the historic faith and evangelize like the Apostles of old. The big difference is that the Apostles knew their targets were pagans and the pagans knew they weren't Christians. We're dealing with a huge population of Americans (Catholics and Protestants alike) who are pagan but who think they're 'good Christians.' It is very difficult to evangelize people who already think they're fine just as they are. We don't know what we don't know, and the vast majority of poorly catechized, lazy and worldly Catholics aren't aware that there's anything wrong.

What will it take for us to wake up?

[lastchance]

Thank you for your reply. We regret to inform you that at this time it does not serve our present needs. Should there be any future need for this reply we will contact you. Your answer will be kept on file for 30 days.

[Judith Anne]

I really think it should be closed. RnMomof7 is off on some tangent about double predestination, and Christ’s predestination, Quix is badgering people, and Dr. Eckleburg is busy calling Catholicism a cult.

We evidently cannot have any kind of decent open thread on this forum, whatsoever.

[diamond6]

Good post. My hubby and I are trying very hard to teach the faith to our children. My eight year old says a rosary every day. He loves Davey and Goliath and other religious programs. He has even shared with me that he might want to be a priest someday!! :)

[diamond6]

LOL!!!!!!

[Judith Anne]

May I borrow that?

[lastchance]

Yeppers.

[RnMomof7]

The birth of Jesus was contingent on the "yes" of the Blessed Virgin, freely given. Nobody was railroaded.

So if Mary had said no there would have been no Savior?

The predestination was one of foreknowledge for God sees all things, from all eternity.

Trying to cherry pick another word to replace predestination does not help much

The greek word
proginōskō

1) to have knowledge before hand
2) to foreknow
a) of those whom God elected to salvation
3) to predestinate

[RnMomof7]

You could apologize for trying to put words in my mouth

[diamond6]

Boy they don’t give up, just like a pitbull with locked jaws on your leg.

[lastchance]

That is wonderful. I thnk too we need to let our children know who the enemy is. Children love epics and there is nothing more epic then the eternal struggle. They also love a just and happy ending. We can tell them with confidence who triumphs in the end. Emphasising that they too are soldiers in this struggle will appeal to them. They are not bystanders but warriors for Jesus.

[Quix]

WHAT

!UNMITIGATED BALDERDASH!

THE TRUTH IS

A HUGE PERCENTAGE of RC's on FR

1. ARE so utterly thin-skinned;
2. utterly DEMANDING that FR become a virtualy Vatican ran office of the 'holy' See of Rome;

3. Haughtily indignant that they should have to put up with anything close to a level playing field;

4. Self-righteously outraged that they should have to face getting called on their rubberized histories; rubberized 'Bible's; Daffynitionaries; Maryolatries and other outrages to basic Biblical Christianity;

5. Challenged beyond their wimpy ability to respond by factual statistics about the farces, deceptions, delusions, illusions and out-right lies they've been spreading about Catholocism lo these many years by the recently posted well derived statistics;

6. Piqued beyond their purple robes that they should have to contend for THE FAITH with any hint of equity and fairness;

7. Evidently mortally and terminally resentful that the old standard on FR of molly coddling the RC's has been replaced by an extremely fair and fair-minded RM--even though they still seem to get more than their share of free passes and mild slaps on their frothing fingers. Even that is not enough for such greed and power hungry power-mongering!

8. Blaming, manipulating, leaving in a huff; threatening, accusing, stomping their 2 year old feet seems to be all they can manage.

Whooooop-T-Doooooooo!

For the record, please color the Proddys

!UNDERWHELMED!

BTW, I've got news for you . . .

If you think it's going to get easier as the Anti-Christ takes more and more overt control over the planet--you're wrong.

Y'all better learn what the BIBLICAL majors and minors are of the Christian Faith and CLING TO GOD ACCORDINGLY. NOTHING ELSE WILL DO.

If, as seems highly likely and increasingly incrementally so, the Vatican continues to line up with the globalist/fallen angel agenda, values, mandates and revisionism on history and reality--masses of RC's are going to be going absolutely bonkers because they bet on a heretical system of man and man's self-serving, self-'saving' rituals and dogma instead of on THE GOD OF THE BIBLE and faith in Christ alone.

Such folks at risk for their hearts failing them out of fear, confusion and abject disillusionment are going to need AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANS--even of an authentic RC flavor--to help them retain any kind of Faith IN GOD at all.

Folks who can't even deal well and fittingly with the Proddys on FR are likely going to be too immature, wimpy, pouty and the like to be of help to themselves, much less to other RC's literally falling apart at the seams.

DEAL WITH IT.

CONSTRUCTIVELY, BIBLICALLY, REDEMPTIVELY

AND PREFERABLY WITH SOME HUMOR.

[RnMomof7]

Judith Peter said Jesus was predestined.. how do you think all that OT prophecy was written..was God just guessing?

[marshmallow]

So if Mary had said no there would have been no Savior?

Exactly.

Which is why Catholics esteem her so highly and call her the second Eve. For what Eve destroyed with her disobedience, Mary helped to repair with her "yes", freely given.

Trying to cherry pick another word to replace predestination does not help much

Well then, it's lucky I just posted this thread, isn't it?

[RnMomof7]

Praise God ! They stoned Steven for that ....

[lastchance]

I could and in the spirit of not taking out my frustration with my bank I shall.

I should not have used a term that you did not use in your post. I apologize.

[lastchance]

In the great green room was a

[diamond6]

My dad once shared with me when I was a kid that when he was growing up, in Boston, he lived around alot of “separated brethren”. He told me that they bullied and teased him because of his Catholic faith. He couldn't even ride down the street without being harassed. He told me that after that experience, he swore that if he ever had children he would never raise a religious bigot and that we should never get in the faces of people who differ in opinion, or treat them un-Christlike because of different faiths. That has always stayed with me and when I read posts such as these I think that these people are no different then in my dad's day. Its very sad.

[RnMomof7]

I asked.... So if Mary had said no there would have been no Savior?

....You responded Exactly.

..Was Mary predestined?

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Hey, I started a thread about the difference between justification and sanctification and it turned into a Mormon meatball fight.

That’s life. Discuss the thread however you want. No one is stopping you.

[RnMomof7]

Thats ok.. I think we all are guilty of reading things into other peoples word.. just human