Sunday, May 21, 2017

"IF" you love Me, you will keep my Commandments and THEN My Father will love him and we'll make our home with him.


And don't let anyone tell you anything different.  Not even if a Pope, God help him, tries to caricature the tools of salvation as ideological fanaticism.     Just a reminder from today's Gospel.     

You're welcome.

In a little bit of personal news, I recently sold my home and moved to a place that's about 60 miles from my beloved city of Boston.   For the first time in my life, I don't live in the Archdiocese of Boston.    (Though I will still be reporting on the shenanigans!)

It's a little unsettling to make a move from your spiritual home.  There's a lot of work and high blood pressure involved in finding a parish where the priests keep all the Mz. Wearthepants and the poor uncatechized under their tutelege in check, celebrate a reverent Holy Sacrifice and keep the Protestant converts from turning the mission into the town's welcome wagon.

In this period of our history, I find all the work only leads to a temporary reprieve.  The place goes up for grabs when a good shepherd moves on.   Even most of the good shepherds are building consensus with ambiguity, cult of personality and religious entertainment.  When he goes, whatever shtick the next leader has gets instantaneous traction.      But at least when you have familiarity with your diocese, you know where all the landmines are and avoid them.

I really lucked out.   I'm in one of the best parishes for practicing Catholics in the Commonwealth.   You don't realize how the number of small things we let go of make such a huge impact.  

In most parishes, there are a couple of handfuls of Catholics who are practicing living every day in a state of Sanctifying Grace and trying to teach their family and loved ones to do the same.   We sit in the pews struggling for oxygen.   We break our necks to juggle our chores and commitments to make  to the hour a week the priest dedicates to the Sacrament to Reconciliation.    More often than not, the priest isn't even sitting in the Confessional during the hour a week set aside for the Sacrament that absolves his  people's sins.   He's in the Sacristy or office counting the money or candles.   When you finally find him and ask him to go back into the Confessional, he looks like he's just encountered the town's Tyrannosaurus Rex.    He acts flustered an annoyed that time is being taken from what he's doing.   And this happens with our orthodox priests!

This is the world most of us live in.   We settle for validity of Sacraments in a place we at least won't hear heresy and we call it good.     The people who attend Mass act like the walking dead.  They're looking for a 30 minute Mass where they can stumble in and vocalize their disinterest and boredom with their prayers and the Sacred Liturgy and put the pedal to the metal heading to the greasy spoon for Sunday morning bacon and eggs and back home to mow their lawn.

The Catholicity of my new parish blew me away.   The dynamic of people saying prayers like they are communicating in their loving relationship with Christ, there were about 40 women wearing mantillas at the Novus Ordo, everyone was well-dressed for the banquet, excellent catechesis in the homilies, vespers on Sunday night, 24 hour adoration, priest-led consecration to Christ through Mary, etc.

The place is rocking.  Every Mass is filled to the rafters.

The difference between this and orthodox priests building consensus with cult of personality is - wait for it...Confessions before EVERY MASS!   A half hour of confessions, sitting in the chair, before every Mass so that every person who needs confession has it available to them at a time they can make it work on a consistent basis.   Every person knows the priest puts the absolution of sin as his number one priority.  There is no chasing him around the sanctuary and giving you the stinkeye when you catch up to him.   It is a steady flow of Sanctifying Grace that survives the tenure of the priest.  

When I've mentioned this to priests, they immediately fly into a sob story about time management does not allow dedicated time for the absolution of sins when people can actually come.

Please.  LOL.

We've got to work harder to get traction on this.   It's worth making our number one priority.









21 comments:

Kelly said...

That sounds heavenly.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on finding a Good Parish! I'll pray those holy Priests stay there . Just one thing about Mantillas I never understand why women think they Must wear one at a Latin Mass and not any other? The reason women wear Mantillas is because they are in God's House, God is always physically present in every Catholic Church Body, Blood Soul and Divinity in the Tabernacle soooooo?
So what if I'm the only one wearing a mantilla in mine, sometimes there's one or two others, oh the looks you get ! Women should start being Women! Stop wearing clothing unsuitable in the presence of God! Be an example!

Now for the Pope, Mother Angelica said it best " if your not a thorn in someone's side your not doing Christianity right" Fanatic? Maybe, fanatic about God, the Blessed Trinity, Father Son and Holy GHOST and His Church, not so much the "community".

John the Mad said...

This morning at Saint Issac Jogues parish in Pickering Ontario there was a line up at the confessional of a dozen parishioners before mass. Every mass has confessions beforehand. The NO masses are celebrated with great reverence. There is a Latin mass (Extraordinary form) on the first Saturday of the month. Eucharistic Adoration and Devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help every Wednesday and on First Fridays. The rosary is recited before mass.

The choir sings the propers. The Gloria and Sanctus etc are sung in Latin (as are many other hymns; e.g., Panis Angelicus); the Kyrie in Greek, of course. Homilies are relevant and completely Catholic. Many receive communion kneeling on-dieu (as my wife and I do). Our parish has two (diocesan) priests and two permanent deacons. The many altar server are very well trained. The parish has a senior choir, a youth choir and a Gregorian chant choir. The organist is superb.There are very active (pre-teen and teen) youth groups. The Knights of Columbus and Catholic Womens' League are active and large. We just celebrated ordinations of two of our young men (brothers). Others are in formation in religious orders.

I agree with you. Such a parish is a gift of grace, a joy to the spirit and a foretaste of Heaven. It is what happens when the clergy are committed, orthodox Catholics seeking, first and foremost, the salvation of their flocks. I love my parish. It is an island of Catholic sanity in a bleak heterodox landscape. Thanks be to God.

John the Mad said...

This morning at Saint Issac Jogues parish in Pickering Ontario there was a line up at the confessional of a dozen parishioners before mass. Every mass has confessions beforehand. The NO masses are celebrated with great reverence. There is a Latin mass (Extraordinary form) on the first Saturday of the month. Eucharistic Adoration and Devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help every Wednesday and on First Fridays. The rosary is recited before mass.

The choir sings the propers. The Gloria and Sanctus etc are sung in Latin (as are many other hymns; e.g., Panis Angelicus); the Kyrie in Greek, of course. Homilies are relevant and completely Catholic. Many receive communion kneeling on-dieu (as my wife and I do). Our parish has two (diocesan) priests and two permanent deacons. The many altar server are very well trained. The parish has a senior choir, a youth choir and a Gregorian chant choir. The organist is superb.There are very active (pre-teen and teen) youth groups. The Knights of Columbus and Catholic Womens' League are active and large. We just celebrated ordinations of two of our young men (brothers). Others are in formation in religious orders.

I agree with you. Such a parish is a gift of grace, a joy to the spirit and a foretaste of Heaven. It is what happens when the clergy are committed orthodox Catholics seeking, first and foremost, the salvation of their flocks. I love my parish. It is an island of Catholic sanity in a bleak heterodox landscape. Thanks be to God.

TTC said...

Anon, thank you!

I hear what you are saying about mantilla at the Novus Ordo. The reason ive never done it is until this parish, there is nobody at the NOs who do it and I feel like it would call attention to me and distract people's thoughts from Christ.

In a parish like my new one where there is momentum, I may feel less like I'm standing out like a sore thumb and calling attention to myself but I'm not feeling it yet. Might take a bit longer to shake old thoughts and habits!

TTC said...

John, it's hard to beli be parishes like this exist but I am sooo thankful they do. What refuge!

Michael Dowd said...

Sounds like your new parish is FSSP, SSPX, or Sedevacanist as it hard to imagine a secular parish being as you describe.

Anonymous said...

TTC, wear the mantilla, when you get that feeling concentrate & keep your eyes on the Tabernacle it's for God!
I'll pray you can shake that feeling, be an example for others. I've had men ask me why I wear it because they're daughters wanted to know.
Remember, no one but the Women's Lib Movement told women they shouldn't cover their heads.

M. Prodigal said...

I can attend two parishes in town that have confessions with each daily Mass and have two daily Masses a day. One parish offers a TLM at noon on Sundays. I moved from my home town and diocese to here for all of this! I was going to lose my faith had I stayed in the former heterodox diocese with the homosexual priest. Moving is not easy but it was certainly the right thing to do.

Marie said...

I wear a hat to Mass, whether it's in the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form. The idea is to have my head covered for the sake of the angels. 1 Corinthians 11:10

Marie said...

I wear a hat to Mass, whether it's in the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form. A warm beret when it's cold or a straw hat when the weather is warm. The idea is to have my head covered "for the sake of the angels." [1 Corinthians 11:10] Nobody seems to mind.

TTC said...

Mike,

I wouldn't believe it myself if I didn't see it with my own eyes! Let's encourage our priests in every parish!

TTC said...

M Prodigal - what a blessing!

Marie and Anon, thanks very much for your comments. They were very helpful.

John the Mad said...

Michael Dowd. Sorry to take so long to reply. I've been very busy at work. My parish is a regular parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto. We just have exceptionally good diocesan priests and permanent deacons. It can be done.

Michael Dowd said...

Carol and John the Mad. Such good news there is such a thing as an orthodox parish in this day and age.

By orthodox parish I mean one that speaks strongly and regularly about Catholic morality particularly in sexual matters, that frequently encourages confessions and focuses primarily on improving our spiritual lives so that we can avoid hell and get to heaven.

In my Cathedral parish the focus is on the Stewardship Program which basically translates into encouraging participation in the 113 and growing different parish "ministries" and increasing money contributions. However, of our 5 parish priests we do have two of the younger ones who emphasize the spiritual side of Catholicism but still never speak of Catholic sexual morality. My guess is that if our priests were to talk about contraception, homosexuality, gay marriage, etc. half the parish would be up in arms. Not rocking the boat is the way in most dioceses I would guess as head count and dollar contributions are considered the marks of success.

TTC said...

Michael,

What you describe is exactly what exists in most parishes. I feel like after the long period of gay priests who teach heresy, we settled for this. It was such a relief not to run into heresy and liturgical clowns, harassment and malice, that the absence of Church teaching felt like an improvement.

The orthodox priests who were formed under St John Paul II are tiptoeing around trying to survive the social service culture that blossomed in the nothingness.

I just wonder if encouraging them to do Confessions before each Mass and teaching examination of conscience is something that will covertly give traction to authentic Catholicism.

I went to the vigil last night and I continue to be blown away how Catholic it and how stupid we are to be settling for nothingness and valid Masses.

The local money and power hungry bishop would barely notice confessions before Mass and would have no idea what we are up to and why.

Michael Dowd said...

Carol--

You are right. A good first step would be to ask for daily confession before Mass for the purpose of:

---Demonstrating that Confession is important. Right now our parish of about 12,000 reserves 45 minutes for Confession with less than 1% of the parishioners attending.
---Providing a no excuses remedy for Church teaching that receiving Holy Communion in state of moral sin is itself a serious sin.
---Making a clear statement and providing evidence for the Church's belief on the importance of Confession.
---Aiding folks in improving their spiritual lives.

TTC said...

Michael,

1 percent? You would think the priests would be tripping over themselves to try to figure out why! Most think if they turn our religion into religious entertainment and a social club, the people will get out of bed and come. The reasons why they don't go right over their heads.

You have the simple plan perfect!

Michael Dowd said...

Here is the e-mail I sent yesterday to Fr. Mark.

Pentecost 2017

Father Mark—

Could you please consider having confessions before every daily Mass or at least one of the Masses? Reasons as follows:

---Demonstrating that Confession is important. Right now our parish of about 12,000 est. reserves 45 minutes for Confession with less than 1% of the parishioners attending.
---Providing a no excuses remedy for Church teaching that receiving Holy Communion in state of moral sin is itself a serious sin.
---Making a clear statement and providing evidence for the Church's belief on the importance of Confession.
---Aiding folks in improving their spiritual lives.

I think the availability of daily confession would greatly improve the spiritual life at Epiphany for the above reasons just as the new Eucharistic Adoration chapel will do. In fact, daily confession would help increase attendance at Adoration due to enhanced attention on spiritual matters. As the Cathedral parish we need to do all we can to encourage a dynamic spirituality in our parish as an example to the other parishes in the diocese.

Blessings to you always Father,

Michael Dowd

TTC said...

Nicely done Michael!

And thanks for shairing your note to him. Very helpful !

Keep us informed on how it goes.

TTC said...

ps. I am floored by the Catholicity of the people in the pews at this parish. Prayers for your success!

How about others? Give it a try!