Overcoming Temptations To RadTradism

Part One

As promised in my post Surviving Sunday Mass, I want to offer suggestions for overcoming temptations to radical Traditionalism. If you too have struggled with temptations to spiritual fruitchucking and have so far triumphed, please feel free to add your suggestions.

First, to deal with a bit of “old business” from the combox for Surviving Sunday Mass:

What is my definition of radical Traditionalism? Unlike a devotion to the ancient Catholic customs and disciplines of the Church, radical Traditionalism is when a Catholic allows himself to become so disillusioned with genuine problems in the Church, such as liturgical abuses, and begins to reject the Church’s authority to regulate the Church’s customs and disciplines. RadTrads are most commonly found attending schismatic and “independent” Catholic chapels, but can also be found filling the pews of indult Tridentine Masses. I must quickly add that not all (or even most) indult attendees are RadTrads — for example, I personally know a number of Traditionalists who can in no way be termed “RadTrad,” who simply prefer the Tridentine liturgy, and who dislike the black eye given the movement by RadTrads. But I can say that the RadTrads are likely to be at least part of the reason many bishops hesitate to expand permission to celebrate the indult Tridentine or to form indult Tridentine parishes.

Another reader said:

"Are you really of the opinion that Catholic Traditionalism is a sin which temptations to must be guarded against, or even a disease for which you must search for a cure or an innoculation?

"Words fail in the face of such condescension."

No, I’m not of that opinion because I believe that a sharp distinction must be made between Catholic Traditionalism (which is a spirituality allowed by the Church) and RadTradism (which is a movement of Catholics who have allowed themselves to become so angry that it has disturbed their spiritual peace). RadTradism is a distortion of genuine Catholic Traditionalism and should not be confused with it. Just as the so-called Spirit of Vatican II is a distortion of the Church since that council, so we might call RadTradism a false Spirit of the Council of Trent.

Now, on to a few of my suggestions, in no particular order.

Don’t church-shop.  Recently, a gentleman contacted Catholic Answers asking if he could register at a parish outside of his diocese because “all of the parishes in his diocese” were allegedly so problematic that he felt could not worship as a Catholic in his own diocese. The only church at which he felt “at home” and “spiritually fed” was in a neighboring diocese. I told him that he was free to register at any Catholic parish he pleased, but I also cautioned him against the church-shopper attitude. Being “at home” in a parish is simply a matter of attending long enough to become part of parish life and Catholics are “spiritually fed” through valid sacraments. Privately, I highly doubted whether he had actually attended “all” of the parishes in his diocese and so could even make such a judgment about his ability to attend them. It was more likely that he was making an over-generalization about his diocese based on an overall impression of the diocese.

Church-shopping can be justified in certain cases, such as when you need to make sure that your children are properly educated in the Catholic faith, or when the problems in the parish completely outweigh any benefit the parish provides. But church-shopping to find a parish that you think will be heaven on earth can lead to RadTradism. Parishes are rarely static — pastors are reassigned, liturgy committees change hands, DREs come and go — and a parish you think will satisfy you could shift toward laxity within a few years. If you too easily throw in the towel and move on, where will your roaming end? For a former cyber-acquaintance of mine who was so disturbed by abuses at parishes he visited in his diocese, his roaming in search of heaven on earth eventually ended in sedevacantism.

Support your priests. A few years ago, a parish in Texas was outraged by the apparently unjust reassignment of the pastor. (I use the qualifier “apparently” because the only information I have on the case was what appeared in the blogosphere.) A member of the parish called Catholic Answers soon after the reassignment, distraught that the majority of the parish’s congregation had left to follow this priest to his new assignment. He was disappointed that the new pastor had adjusted certain traditional practices the previous pastor had adopted, but his main concern was how he could support the new pastor who was facing a terrible situation. This gentleman knew that any new pastor thrust into such a situation would have had a difficult job and he wanted to give this pastor the support he’d have hoped would be there if his own son were a priest facing such a situation. I was mightily impressed with this gentleman’s Catholic spirit. He could have followed the crowd to the new parish, but he felt it important to support the new pastor. And, perhaps because of that, he may have been unwittingly guarding himself against RadTradism.

Get to know your priests and religious. When a priest or religious is just a face on the altar or in the classroom, it is easy to depersonalize them into cogs in a “Vatican apparatus.” When you invite them to a meal, bring them Christmas cookies, get to know them on a person-to-person basis, you are inoculated against a tendency to believe the worst about people with whom you might disagree. One of the reasons I am generally optimistic about the state of the major religious orders is because I’ve met great Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, and even Jesuits. As a Dominican friend once put it, the troubles in the major orders are like a microcosm of the troubles in the universal Church. Being able to think in terms of concrete individuals whom you know and love can keep you from brooding over abstractions like Those Darn Jesuits.

Pray for spiritual peace. Feel free to use my prayer, “Lord, please don’t let me become a spiritual fruitchucker!” But pray for grace to overcome temptation. Without grace any struggle against temptation is futile.

Examine your conscience. Many RadTrads lamented bitterly over John Paul II’s decision to examine the conscience of the human element of the mystical body of Christ and repent of the sins committed by that human element throughout Christian history, rather than implementing their proposed method of dealing with dissent: Kicking butt and taking names. But if we expect God to grant us the grace to overcome the dissent, we must first be willing to repent and seek forgiveness. This is true on the universal level and on the personal level. If your parish disappoints you, first examine your own conscience to see whether you are yourself a part of the problem.

More suggestions to follow later.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

81 thoughts on “Overcoming Temptations To RadTradism”

  1. rather than implementing their proposed method of dealing with dissent: Kicking butt and taking name
    ROFL

  2. Great comments. I think many great Catholics and Catholic families are lost to radtradism. I find myself plagued by this temptation. Ultimately, it is rooted in pride…in the one area where it is so obvious that “I” had nothing to do with it: the gift of faith. Perseverance and faith are direct gifts of God. To boast in them as if they were one’s own accomplishment smacks of the worst self-righteousness. Indeed, this is one of my most often confessed sins.

  3. I am eager to attend a traditional Latin Mass, but the nearest approved Mass in our diocese is at least 3 hours away.
    I have seen that there are a couple of non-approved Masses in our area, but I would not consider supporting a community that is not in union with our bishop.
    Pray for me. God may be calling me to speak to our pastor about an indult Mass in our parish. We ARE the second largest parish in the state, after all.

  4. Because the Holy Mass is the re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Calvary I remind myself that many people who witnessed the actual event did not understand what was occurring or wanted to see our Blessed Lord crucified. Anytime I witness abuses or irreverent people at Mass I pray for the grace to receive our Lord with the humility, purity and devotion that our Blessed Mother received Him.
    Our Lord asked who do men say that I am? I think our reverence, charity and God-willing humility at the Holy Mass should be our answer. Sometimes we might feel like our Blessed Mother or John at the foot of the Cross while everyone else has left Him. That is the time to thank Him for the grace to recognize Him and pray that His Church may be one. My two cents.
    Take care and God bless,
    Inocencio
    J+M+J

  5. Michelle,
    Respectfully, since you state (correctly) that most traditionalist Catholics attending the indult Masses are not “radtrads” (and we needn’t argue about the correctness of your assertions about those who attend non-approved Masses), perhaps a better blog thread would discuss the merits of traditional Catholicism.
    Perhaps, to compare and contrast traditionalism and conservativism (I know all labels only imperfectly describe), with emphasis on the good points of both, might help those conservatives who are genuinely interested in traditional practice due to concern about liturgical abuse or just due to their natural spirituality.
    I mean, it would be hard to fathom anyone who could go to the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest website http://www.institute-christ-king.org (for example) and find anything objectionable. By the way, they have a fully approved traditional parish in Oakland, for those of you in CA.
    Such a thread could be really informative and we could avoid the pejorative labels of “neo-Catholic”, “neo-conservative” or “radtrad”.

  6. The Evil Spirit’s intention is often to reinforce prejudices that help him divide and conquer. I especially liked “Get to know your priests and religious” because I believe the key to unity and vitality in our Church is in our relationship with one another as much as it is in our fidelity to the laws in the Church. Thanks for the post!

  7. Respectfully, since you state (correctly) that most traditionalist Catholics attending the indult Masses are not “radtrads” (and we needn’t argue about the correctness of your assertions about those who attend non-approved Masses), perhaps a better blog thread would discuss the merits of traditional Catholicism.
    It would be good to discuss the merits of traditonal Catholicism, but that doesn’t mean one ought not to discuss the demerits of radical traditionalism. That would be like discussing only why Catholicism is correct and ignoring why Protestantism is wrong.
    Also, you must realize that from your perspective certain things are merits to traditional Catholicism. I am not disagreeing with you, however there are many faithful and orthodox Catholics who would disagree with some of what you may feel are merits. When comparing various aspects of traditional Catholicism and those of more recent times, it is true that objectively, some are more meritorious than others. However, until we have a Church teaching declaring some of these to be so, we must not attempt to regard our opinions as definitively superior to those of others in this area.

  8. I had been attending a Byzantine Catholic Church for a couple of years and made the decision to switch rites. However after that I have quite a few in my Homeschool keep asking me why I simply didn’t go to St. XXXXXX and participate in the Traditional Latin Mass.
    To me my Rite switch was two fold.
    1) The Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy and the whole world view of the East is how I am wired.
    2) The western Rite and the Current Missal was becoming a near occasion of sin for me, because instead of directing my thoughts toward God, I was increasingly focused on what what was going wrong with the Mass.
    That said, I will never say that the new missal is invalid. I have been to some reverent masses that were said with the New Missal, and for the record I have attended the missal of 1962, and found it nice, but it wasn’t where my heart is.
    For me the Divine Liturgy is moving, with the Deacons incensing, the congregational chanting, the icons. I have truly found Heaven on Earth.

  9. John Gibson’s comment raises a question I’d been hoping to have answered for some time: what about Roman Catholics who decide not to switch rites but simply attend liturgies at churches belonging to other Catholic rites? I was under the impression that this was a no-no unless one was in a locale where there were no Roman Catholic churches and a Catholic non-Roman rite was all that was available. Besides adopting the “church shopping” attitude Michelle warns against, doing so might also be perceived as insulting by our brothers in the Catholic faith.
    (I should reiterate that formally switching rites is perfectly legitimate and I have no problem with that.)

  10. +J.M.J+
    I like Polish Prince’s comment about pride. I was once a “spiritual fruitchucker”, getting annoyed not just by big abuses but even when the priest changed the words of the liturgy just slightly (like turning “brethren” into “brothers and sisters”). That kind of stuff got me very annoyed and critical.
    Sometimes, my husband and I would start picking apart the Mass we’d just attended once we got in the car afterward to drive home. Then it dawned on me one day that God had not appointed us the “Siskel and Ebert” of the Mass! Giving Sunday Mass a (figurative) “two thumbs down” is a less-than-spiritual practice.
    I then began to realize how much my pride entered into this judgmentalism. I had my own little “vision” of how I thought every Mass should be, and stamped my little feet in frustration whenever it failed to measure up to MY expectations! I had to face the question: What if my idea of a “perfect” Mass isn’t God’s idea? Oh sure, I thought I knew the “right” way, but what if I am wrong? After all, he didn’t exactly put me in charge of the Church!
    I really don’t know to what extent my taste in liturgy jibes with God’s will. So I have to stay humble. God will judge me by the same measure I use to judge others. What if God were as unmerciful toward my personal imperfections as I have been toward the way Mass is sometimes celebrated?
    In Jesu et Maria,

  11. I think what nearly got me to edge of the SSPX cliff was beacause it was nearly impossible to find a parish that celebrates a traditional mass. Out of 170+ parishes in my archdiocese there is only one indult TLM (out in the middle of nowhere) and one parish that celebrates the NO with Latin, chant, incense, solemnity, etc (and this parish is in the worst part of town). It is disheartening when you actually read conciliar documents such as Sacrosanctum Concilium that calls for the retention of Latin and a “pride of place” with Gregorian chant and yet you cannot find these in 99% of the parishes. Yet what you do find nearly everywhere is a banality never called for by VII (inclusive language, armies of EMHCs, hand holding, kumbaya secular soft rock music, heterodox homilies, versus populum). I am not calling these banal liturgies invalid, but they certainly don’t feel like the Holy Sacrafice of the Mass, it feels like what I left behind in Evangelical Protestantism. It is no wonder that 75% of Catholics don’t believe in the Real Presence.
    The only thing that kept me from jumping off of the SSPX cliff was that I couldn’t get around the pope, if I break communion with the successor of Peter then I have reverted back to Protestantism (albiet with Catholic smells and bells).
    I would disagree with Michelle on the church shopping point though. Commuting to a parish that celebrates a reverent, traditional mass helps me not to sit at church nervous about what is going to happen next, what abuse is going to raise its ugly head this time.

  12. James Maliszewski,
    That would be the rule for Eastern Orthodox churches (which I once had to make use of when in the Aleutians) Eastern Rite liturgies are freely available to any of the faithful who would like to take advantage of them, whether for curiosity, education, or in Mr. Gibson’s case, because they feel more at home there. Switching rites is more akin to registering in a new parish than any kind of conversion. My family and I have atteded on occasion at bothe the Ruthenian Rite and the Byzantine Rite parishes in our state. While the Liturgies are very reverent and holy, the incense triggers my wife’s .asthma, so that wouldn’t work out for us

  13. Shane, why is it so easy to ascribe pride to the motives of traditonal Catholics like some in this blog do without for a moment considering the pride involved in the condescension and judgement of those motives by themselves? What are they afraid of in the traditional movement? Difficult truths that may make them uncomfortable? Isn’t it easier to go to the typical abuse-filled novus ordo Mass and congratulate themselves that they recognize and disapprove of the abuses instead of really doing something about it? That by ascribing the motive of humility to their inaction (either in not attending Mass where these types of sacrileges and abuses don’t occur, or in failing to persistently request and demand orthodoxy in the celebration of the Mass as is the right of the laity under canon law) it helps keep their consciences quelled and avoid sleepless nights? That no matter how bad it gets, “At least I’m better than most of these others”, to paraphrase the pharisee?
    The Mass is not the private property of any person. It is the worship of God by the Church. We do not do well to let it be treated as it is.
    I do not ascribe pride to your motives, or to anyone’s, in the matter of the constant pummeling of traditionalism on this or any blog. All I say is that, as a traditionalist who attends a fully-approved traditional parish, and who for thirty-seven years would have described myself as a conservative, the jumping to conclusions and condescension I get here is disheartening.
    Regarding your final point, we do have definitive Church teaching allowing and encouraging the traditional Mass. We do have definitive Church teaching on the sacrificial nature of the Mass. It is ok to attend. That is not my opinion, that is the position of the Church.

  14. oops, I’ll swallow my pride 😉 and admit I messed up my typing in the last parentheses– in not attending Mass where these abuses < > occur, not .
    freudian slip?
    And Shane, the pride comment was not directed at you, so forgive me; your post just got me going generally.
    God bless.

  15. Danby,
    While you are totally correct that any Latin Rite Catholic can attend Divine Liturgy at any Eastern Catholic parish he chooses whenever he chooses, actually switching one’s rite is a little harder. It can only be done once in a person’s lifetime, and if I remember my friend’s recent experience, it requires permission from both bishops (Eastern and Latin).
    Diana (Latin rite Catholic, but lover of Divine Liturgy)

  16. “What is my definition of radical Traditionalism? Unlike a devotion to the ancient Catholic customs and disciplines of the Church, radical Traditionalism is when a Catholic allows himself to become so disillusioned with genuine problems in the Church, such as liturgical abuses, and begins to reject the Church’s authority to regulate the Church’s customs and disciplines. RadTrads are most commonly found attending schismatic and ‘independent’ Catholic chapels, but can also be found filling the pews of indult Tridentine Masses.”
    At least you recognize that it is YOUR definition. Of course it is convenient to define what appears for all the world like a perjorative to mean exactly what you want it to mean, just like Humpty Dumpty.
    “I must quickly add that not all (or even most) indult attendees are RadTrads — for example, I personally know a number of Traditionalists who can in no way be termed “RadTrad,” who simply prefer the Tridentine liturgy, and who dislike the black eye given the movement by RadTrads.”
    How kind of you to allow that not all Traditionalists are RADTRADS.
    “But I can say that the RadTrads are likely to be at least part of the reason many bishops hesitate to expand permission to celebrate the indult Tridentine or to form indult Tridentine parishes.”
    Or at least because of the perception that everything associated with the pre-VCII Church is not all warm and fuzzy like the enlightened Catholics that finally crawled out of the Medieval dreck that was pre-conciliar Catholicism.
    “I believe that a sharp distinction must be made between Catholic Traditionalism (which is a spirituality allowed by the Church) and RadTradism (which is a movement of Catholics who have allowed themselves to become so angry that it has disturbed their spiritual peace).”
    So a distinction must be made between those Traditionalists you find acceptable and those you reject. And what Catholic would not be angry at the squandering of the Catholic patrimony that has occured since VCII? And which Catholic would not be angry when forced to endure banal liturgies and heretical sermons? You are, but you suppress it.
    “RadTradism is a distortion of genuine Catholic Traditionalism and should not be confused with it. Just as the so-called Spirit of Vatican II is a distortion of the Church since that council, so we might call RadTradism a false Spirit of the Council of Trent.”
    This coming from someone who would rather sit and stew through an irreverent Novus Ordo Mass and make all kinds of rationalizations as to why the problem is yours and not those who abuse the liturgy and with it the theology of the Catholic Church. But it least it puts you in the reasonable middle between two false spirits you can condemn, believing that you are the true defendor of true Catholicism. Forget those RADTRADS. They got it all wrong.

  17. “So a distinction must be made between those Traditionalists you find acceptable and those you reject.”
    No, a distinction must be made between those Traditionalists who are loyal and obedient to the Church, and those who are disobedient and reject the authority of the Church when it suits them.

  18. “No, a distinction must be made between those Traditionalists who are loyal and obedient to the Church, and those who are disobedient and reject the authority of the Church when it suits them.”
    Please, explain again why such a distinction MUST be made and who assigned you and Michelle the task of making that distinction. How could you know, since only God knows what is in a persons heart?
    Perhaps what really must happen is faithful Catholics should be LESS willing to judge the motivation of others and spend more time praying for unity and peace, not just personal peace, but peace among faithful Catholics (Novus Ordo and Traditional) so we can begin to work together to fix this mess.
    This jockeying for the hallow prize that is recognition for seemingly being the follower of the most true and faithful approach to Catholicism is repulsive. And that is all this blog post amounts to, simply a statement that I am better than them.

  19. It’s funny this post comes up, because I remember at my parish, my priest friend who’s a Byzantine priest, ended up having a discussion one night with our parish’s Roman Catholic priest about the “Liturgy.” It got pretty heated, it was interesting to see the major differences in opinions between the two. From my own experience, “RadTrads” come off more annoying than Protestants, when it come to discussing the faith.

  20. +J.M.J+
    >>>Perhaps what really must happen is faithful Catholics should be LESS willing to judge the motivation of others and spend more time praying for unity and peace(snip)
    Then why is it okay for traditionalists to judge non-trad orthodox Catholics calling them “frightened” or “judgmental” of traditionalism (I don’t find it frightening at all), or accusing them of “rationalizing” rather than doing something about liturgical abuse, or of thinking they are superior because they are so humble… etc. Trads should be praying for unity among Catholics rather than tearing into their brethren like that.
    In Jesu et Maria,

  21. “Please, explain again why such a distinction MUST be made…”
    To avoid going into schism.

  25. Hi all,
    If you have an Eastern Rite parish near you, you can register and attended liturgy there all you want. You also can have your children’s sacraments done there, but the Eastern Rite pastor must ask permission from the Latin Rite Bishop first. Also if you remain Western Rite, the order of Sacraments then follows the Western Tradition i.e. 1st communion at 6 or 7, confirmation when the Bishop of that diocese recommend it.
    Switching Rites is harder, however in my case it was one of the fastest that my pastor had ever seen. You will first write a letter to the Eastern Rite Bishop asking that you be placed under his spiritual care, he will then forward a copy of that letter to your Latin Rite Bishop. If the Latin Rite bishop has no objections the he will send a letter that says so back to the Eastern Rite Bishop. Once that happens then a letter is sent to your parish and you you will sign it along with two witnesses. Once that is done then you are Officially Eastern Rite.
    To make it easier the Eastern Rite Bishops ask that you have been attending and participating in an Eastern Rite parish for over a year. The reasons are varied but what they want to make sure is that you are switching for the right reasons, not because you simply hate the New Order of the Mass.
    Finally we have had our share of ultra-traditionalists come to our Church as we get the following questions:
    why don’t you have stations of the cross
    why don’t you have statues
    why don’t you chant in latin
    why don’t you have a communion rail.
    We had one guy who insisted that we were heretics and that we would burn in hell due to the fact that we weren’t really Catholic.
    On the other hand, we have several traditional catholics who have come to our Church and have stayed and asked questions about what we are. We show them that there is indeed a rich and truly diverse (the correct use of the term) Catholic Church were we do believe the same things, but we express them in different ways.
    John

  26. Michelle, you peg “RadTrads” as those who are beset by disturbance and lack of spiritual peace, but if I remember correctly, you were the one who was just posting about having to survive your parish Mass and fighting anger – not me.

  27. Heather,
    Michelle’s actually defined RadTrads in this way:
    “…radical Traditionalism is when a Catholic allows himself to become so disillusioned with genuine problems in the Church, such as liturgical abuses, and begins to reject the Church’s authority to regulate the Church’s customs and disciplines.”
    So, it is a loss of peace, which becomes anger which leads to a rejection of legitimate Church authority.
    Michelle made it clear that, though she wrestled with frustration at lapses and abuses in the liturgy, she didn’t, ultimately, allow that to upset her peace. She was tempted, and she resisted (with God’s help).

  29. ——————————————————
    “Please, explain again why such a distinction MUST be made…”
    To avoid going into schism.
    ——————————————————
    No, because she extends her definition to cover even many traditionalists who attend indult masses, that could not possibly be what it meant. The question remains, why would a Catholic set themselves up as judges of other Catholics? How is it that someone who suffers through a bad NO mass is fit to cast judgement on those who have had enough and have gone to the TLM?
    And most importently, though it has been studiously avoided on this blog, what happens if, as it is reported in the Italian media, Pope Benedict shortly declares that the Mass of Pius V was never validly suppressed and every priest of the Latin Rite is free to say it?

  30. “what happens if…Pope Benedict shortly declares that the Mass of Pius V was never validly suppressed and every priest of the Latin Rite is free to say it?”
    Then we as obedient Catholics will continue to obey the pope decisions. Which has been our point through this whole discussion.
    Take care and God bless,
    Inocencio
    J+M+J

  31. “Then we as obedient Catholics will continue to obey the pope decisions. Which has been our point through this whole discussion.”
    Hardly. By asserting that Radtradism is a problem that cuts through the indult masses, that is clearly not the case. You keep avoiding the definition that Michelle gave, which is entirely dependent upon the interior disposition of those she is presuming to judge. At the same time, the choir keeps squawking, Schism!, perhaps purposely and dishonestly blurring the distinction between those traditionalists who follow the Pope and true sede-vacantists to satisfy your own pretensions to superiority.

  32. Read Michelle’s definition more carefully, Michael, especially the words “begins to reject the Church’s authority.”

  33. You asked a question, I answered. I apologize if my answer was not what you wanted to hear.
    Where did I state in my answer or posts that “Radtradism is a problem that cuts through the indult masses”?
    “At the same time, the choir keeps squawking, Schism!”
    Have you read Ecclesia Dei?
    I hope we all have a prayerful and fruitful Holy Week.
    Take care and God bless,
    Inocencio
    J+M+J

  34. We need to be sure we are faithful to Magisterium, and in order to do that we need to be informed of what the Magisterium teaches and what it has always taught.
    I think that we need to be careful about the way we throw around labels because they can be very hurtful and are often misused or misapplied.
    It is valid to be angry when the pearls of the faith are being trampled. It is very painful to see. But I agree that we need to be careful not to be in a constant state of anger. At the same time, it doesn’t seem charitable to judge someone who is committed to the Magisterium and avails himself or herself of the opportunities to attend the Tridentine Mass when it is approved by the Church.
    We need to love God and love one another. And we need to respect those who so love the Tradition and Sacred Liturgy of the Church that they are deeply hurt by liturgical abuses. But at the same time, we need to be humble and realize that we cannot change all these problems by our anger. And we need to always be ready to submit to the Authority of the Magisterium. For, this is pleasing to God.
    Those are my comments. I hope they help, at least a little.
    Now, I want to add a prayer. Will you join me in praying it?
    Oh, God, we love you and we praise your Holy Name. We thank you for the gift of Your Church, which you, our Lord Jesus Christ, established on the Rock of St. Peter. We thank you for your promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Oh, Lord, please help our Church. Please help our Pope and our bishops and priests. And please help us. For, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, and you promise that if we so hunger and thirst, we shall be filled. Your Word says, “Be angry but sin not.” Lord, help us to know what to do when we see or hear something that is contrary to your Word, contrary to your voice on Earth, the Magisterium. Please let the Church be strong in defending the Truth in Charity, Oh Lord, for only then will true unity come. And please help us all to see, completely according to Your perfect Will, what has been discussed here. And let us be one as You are One-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We ask this in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, through the the Holy Spirit, to You Oh Heavenly Father, one God forever and ever. Amen.
    God bless you.
    – TJ

  38. In the late 70’s my grandma once recited the rosary during a Novus ordo mass, so loud that the priest had to stop. She was making her statement. In her case, and she is not dead yet, but I just caught myself saying, “God have mercy on her soul…” :)–in her case, yes that was a sacrelidge, and embarassing and traumatizing for your’s truly, the 4th grader, at the time.
    But come on Michelle, haven’t you ever been put, unexpectedly in a position, where you know the entire congregation is doing something insulting to the Blessed Sacrament? You’ve never had liturgical dancers prance down the isle in thong leotards for the communion hymn? You didn’t have a priest, for his homily, tell you that the Bishops of the church were the Pharisees, because they didn give all the great works of art to the poor? Nothing like that…? I attend the novus ordo, and Church shopping is a necessity, if you have kids and you care about thier souls…

  39. In fact: the local church that I had my daughter take her first communion with, was so bad, that I think that they are thier own cult. They instructed non-catholics to go ahead and take communion for my daughters first communion, but, jokingly..”don’t tell the bishop i said that…” This was the angry feminist who runs the church–who is in complete control of the church, and the priests like it that way. The same priests are also the professors at saint mary’s college in moraga. They are also the ones who say, don’t listen to the bishops, they are pharisees. They also are “accepting” of all sexual preferenced people…The people who attend that church dont ask any questions…everybody’s happy. The church is a flying saucer of liberalism. In true sociallist spirit, each year they read thier financial report instead of the homily, because “we” the people are the corporate owners of the church and “they” answer to “us.” They don;t teach the catholic faith thier to the kids…I felt that my daughters first communion was one big tainted tragedy. 5 miles down the freeway is St. Mary’s in Walnut Creek. The priests there are fantastic. They teach the faith, they give a damn about truth. They are excelent confessors… Tell me again why I should not shop for a Catholic Church…Kids are only impressionable Kids once.

  40. inarticulus-
    I certainly would never say that faithful Catholics should never “shop” for a truly orthodox Mass, but there are reasonable limits to this before it becomes basically no better than Protestantism.
    I would by all means flee from the Mass you described, and shake the dust from my feet on the way to the car.
    God bless you in Jesus Christ His Son, our risen Lord, this Easter!!!

  43. If you focus on the darkness, you will be drawn into the darkness. If you focus on the light, you will be drawn into the light.

  81. How come the combox is now infested with ads such as the one above? Doesn’t thay qualify as spam?

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