Divided We Will Fall

       

 We have been traditional Catholics for 4 years.  And I can tell you, traditional Catholics are a strange and particular lot.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't think trad Catholics are crazy.  Heck, I'm one of 'em.  I just know we have issues in our little small circles and I think the devil likes it that way.  Let me try to explain.
     There are traditional Catholics everywhere.  They are sitting in the pews at your local Novus Ordo parish, where they are easy to spot.  Most of them, though, eventually find a place where the Tridentine Mass is offered.  Some of these places are within the various societies and establishments "officially recognized" by the Church.  Other trad Catholics, for various reasons, attend Masses at other chapels not "recognized" by the Church but where they can receive the Sacraments and practice their Faith. And while everyone has made their decision based on prayer, thoughtfulness, and information, there is an awful lot of name calling and accusations thrown around in real life and in the blogosphere.
     Considering the state of the post-concilliar Catholic Church, it's a real shame that traditional Catholics insist on stoking the tensions between them.  The criticisms reach such heightened levels sometimes that many Catholics just simply begin to avoid each other out of fear of having to discuss "Faith issues."  In spite of the one thing we can all agree on---that the post-concilliar Church is a danger to one's faith and quite possibly a new religion---the disagreements and divisions actually keep us from being able to make any real headway in the restoration of the Church.
     Generally speaking, it's like a dysfunctional family rivalry.  Those traditional Catholics who attend the Tridentine Mass under one of the official "legal" wings of the Church, like the FSSP or ICK, often totally reject those people who attend SSPX chapels by labeling them schismatics.  Then there are the SSPXers who don't trust any priests except their own.  Both of those groups reject and avoid those Catholics that openly challenge the validity of the person who is the Pope.  And all of those often lament that the independent priests with private chapels have gone off the deep end.  It has become a nasty mess of bickering, attacking, fighting, and down right shunning.  It's worse than an episode of Survivor or Big Brother and nothing good comes of it.
     You see, our salvation is at stake here.  This is not about sitting on committees or singing in the choir.  It's not about feeling good or important or finding your sense of belonging. It's not even about the Mass. It's about our Catholic Faith.  If we lose that, then we lose everything, especially our place in Heaven.  Isn't that what the devil wants after all?  A generation ago, people knew where to look for their Catholic Faith.  They could go to any Catholic Church and find a good, holy Catholic priest.  They could send their children to Catholic schools and they could trust the nuns would teach them the Faith.  But those days are gone for good.  Now one must look for the Faith.  One must know what it truly is and recognize if their priest or bishop actually has it.  It's a crisis like that of St. Athanasius' time.  How was the Church restored then when 95% of the priests and bishops were heretics?  Did the "trads" in those days bicker and fight over who or who was not the Pope or whether or not their church was official?
     Isn't it the same in our modern day?  It's no secret that the post-concilliar Catholic church is infused with Modernism, which, as Pope Pius X told us, is the synthesis of all heresies.   Everyday we hear a priest orbishop spouting some Modernist drivel, yet we are afraid to call them out.  Our Pope openly professes Modernist thinking and we are afraid to say so for fear of being disobedient.  We are afraid to leave our Churches where our children are loosing their faith, where our altars have been ripped out, where many no longer believe Christ is present in the Eucharist, where our priests are teaching us lies, where our very souls are in danger.  We are afraid to be disobedient to our priests, our bishops and our Pope.
     Unfortunately, traditional Catholics are no better.  They criticize and condemn each other. They refuse to engage in real discussions, or consider the possibility that their priest or group is compromised or questionable.  We must absolutely stop this bickering and in-fighting.  Instead, we must do better to help each other find and keep our Faith.  We can not do this if we are constantly fighting and accusing each other of not being real Catholics.  How much could we accomplish together, how many souls could be saved if we just tried to work together?
     In reality, it's not about where we attend Mass. It's about the Faith! Your cathedral may have a large group of young families and beautiful music, but without the Faith, they are just noisy makers.  Your chapel may have monks and nuns still in habits, but without the Faith, they are just men and women.  Your church may have a vibrant priest, nice vestments, and a marble altar, but without the Faith, these are just props.  We must know our Faith.  We must be prepared to fight for it, defend it, and be willing to hide it among ourselves to keep it.  Let us never forget the Japanese Catholics who hid underground for over 200 years without clergy, without the Mass, without schools.  They had only their rosaries, their scapulars, and their Faith!
     Our Lord promised that the devil would not win this battle.  The Church will survive.  Of that we can be sure.  But where is the Church?  Where are the people of Faith?  That is for you to search, to seek out, and hang on to as if your eternal life depends on it.  After all, it does.

Viva Cristo Rey!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

St. Athanasius, pray for us!

Martyrs of Japan, pray for us!

   
 

Shhh! That’s a 4-letter bad word…

    Just over 15 years ago, I converted to Catholicism. I hope in the future to go into more detail about my conversion but for now, I think it's best to simply say on Easter Eve 1996, I became a Christian. Even though I had gone through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults class, I still knew as little about Catholicism as I did prior. It's a shame really and part of the problem the Catholic Church faces today---poor catechesis. But whatever little I knew, I was still a Catholic, whatever that meant. The 6 or 8 months of classes and questions did very little except clarify that Mary was a virgin for her entire life and that Jesus is God.

    After those classes and my Confirmation, there was very little instruction, preaching, or teaching. I went to Mass, heard some Scripture reading, listened to a sermon filled with little anecdotes, and sang a few songs familiar to my Protestant upbringing. Whatever beliefs or philosophies I brought with me to my new faith, I was assured, were quite compatible with Catholicism. It wasn't until much later that I learned Catholics have about as many beliefs and philosophies as American politicians. And it also wasn't until much later that I realized that the majority of Catholics in America don't really have the tiniest understanding of their own faith.

    Probably because I came to Catholicism via Southern varieties of Protestantism, once I became a Catholic I wanted to know and understand it better. Before the internet was widely available, I spent some time reading books at the library. I learned a lot of information that way, but it was extremely limited, nonetheless. But in the recent years, I've discovered the internet contains a wealth of information and there is no shortage of opinions or facts regarding the subject. So it is there that, in the last decade, I have discovered truths and falsehoods about Catholicism.

    I can safely say that, when I first became a Catholic, I was very much of the liberal variety. I'll say I was a "Cuomo Catholic" because I often said I was "personally" this or that but didn't have those expectations for anyone else. Abortion was something I considered I would not necessarily do myself, but I concluded I couldn't make that decision for anyone else. Homosexuality? Not my place to condemn. Birth control? My business. And so on.

    Over the years, though, I have abandoned all those liberal views and adopted much more conservative ones. Initially, I think this change in viewpoint was purely directed by my own experiences or observations rather than by Catholic doctrine or dogma. After studying some biology classes in college, for example, I clearly understood that a human embryo is a real person and intentional abortion, for whatever purpose, was egregious. Because I had been exposed to so many Protestant beliefs, I understood that they were all different somehow and they couldn't all be the "only" true religion. I am sad to say that neither of these observations was brought to my knowledge in a Catholic Church. In fact, I don't recollect ever hearing much about either until just a few years ago.

    Without revealing the particulars, I can say the first eye-opening revelations about Catholicism didn't come until about 5 years later, when a very "traditional" minded priest counseled me. Rather than humor my ideas, he chastised my behavior. He sent me to the confessional and let me know, gently, that Catholicism didn't necessarily make us "feel good" but required us to "do good." It was a shock to my system, but one that my soul desperately needed.

    During this period, I spoke to my priest often and followed his direction. I prayed in the manner that he suggested and I prayed some more. I read books and I listened. The process was slow, but my attitude changed and the veil began to slowly lift. I counted myself as an "authentic" Catholic---one who wholeheartedly "agreed" with everything the Catholic Church teaches.

    A priest I know often tells us that all Catholics must grow spiritually. If we aren't growing, then we are drifting backwards, just like a canoe sitting on a stream in a current. That is certainly how it appeared a few years ago after we moved from our "authentic" Catholic parish in the South to our "progressive" Catholic parish in the North.     I will suffice it to say that it was spiritually painful. It would take another post to list all the abuses and scandals I witnessed and experienced in the last several years. And precisely because it was so painful, I began to pray and study yet again.

    It was during this time that I began to realize there is great division in the Catholic Church. You see, the Catholic Church has a very unique and long history. It is the Church established by Christ in 33 A.D. There are ancient documents by honored theologians. There are collections of books and accounts of all the Church councils and dogmatic decisions. There is a history and it all traces back to the apostles. It is a Church that has remained unchanged through time. Until recently. And that is where the great division lies.

    To those who are not Catholic, this information will be new and confusing. To those who were born after 1962, this information will also be new and confusing. To those born in the decade prior, this information will only be a vague recollection. And those born in the 30s or 40s, either are long gone or are the very ones who embrace and perpetuate the divisions. In the years between 1962 and 1965, the Pope called for a new council—a meeting to discuss what was happening in the Church and in the world and how the Church might be a bigger influence in a rapidly changing society.

To those on one side of the division, this council was a great success. Many changes were made and continue to be made that have brought life and freedom to so many Catholics. They don't particularly label themselves in any manner. They just consider themselves to be good and faithful Catholics. This encompasses a lot of individuals. There are the so-called "liberals" who profess many of the same values I held upon my conversion. They proudly announce their dissent from long held doctrine and dogma and advocate for safe access to abortion, promote "safe sex" programs, and support homosexual "love." But also on this side are the so-called "conservatives." They are quite "traditional" in their way of thinking—anti-abortion, anti-homosexual—but they still agree the council was a great success and gave new life to the Church.

But on the other side of this division are the TRADS—the Traditionalists who think the changes in the Church since the 60s have altered the Church in such a way that She is no longer distinct and recognizable. Just as the Modern Church encompasses a variety of views, so do the TRADS. That, too, is for another post. But what TRADS all share in common is the understanding that being a Catholic is more than language or ritual. Catholicism is a world view, an attitude, a philosophy, a life style that, throughout history, has had an amazing impact on the world.

I am one of those TRADS. And I hope to highlight all the things that the Modern Catholic Church is silent about. My spiritual growth is still merely a sprout. I continue to pray, only differently. I continue to go to Mass, only in a different manner. I continue to read about Catholicism, only with a new perspective. And I am finally learning what it really means to be Catholic.