Skip to main content

Auto-Constructed Catacombs

I just saw this on Rorate Caeli.
The challenge also won’t be met by Catholic traditionalists retreating into auto-constructed catacombs." - George Weigel
source

I have to admit that I have not read the entire article - but ... really do I need to?

When I read the words - it struck a chord.

What do 'Traditionalists' bring as a solution to the crisis in the Church?

Nothing.



We don't bring anything that the Church doesn't already possess.

All 'we' are is a memory of the Church.

We remember what She was before the Second Vatican Council ...

We remember what She has taught in the millennium prior to the Council ...

We remember what She must be ...

Eventually, through Prayer, Penance and Patience, we will see Her recover Her Memory.

In the Catacombs, the early Catholics gathered to worship, so yes, we gather in the catacombs, but not 'auto-constructed' ones.

What some find inconvenient are not the shadows and ignominy of the catacombs, but the Truths of the Faith.

Perhaps Mr. Weigel  fears being forced to worship in the catacombs beside the 'radtrads'.

P^3
Prayer
Penance
Patience

Postscript October 27, 2013

Well, I have now read the remainder of Mr. Weigel's article.

First, I was not far off.

Here is a core item of his article:

For the challenge now is to give America a new birth of freedom rightly understood as built upon those four truths; a new birth of freedom re-cemented to a foundation of transcendent moral truths about the human person, to the principle of government-by-consent, to a recognition of the priority of civil society over the state, and to an existential affirmation of the linkage between personal and civic virtue and liberty lived nobly. source
Unfortunately, in a number of ways, I believe Mr. Weigel has lost his mooring.

Leo XIII had some valid criticisms of 'Americanism' that are found here.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Catholic Culture - The Edgar Schein Model Analysis of the Pre and Post Conciliar Culture

 + JMJ    So ... I was thinking ... I've used Edgar Schein's (RIP) organizational cultural model (link ) in my research  ... why not apply it in a comparison between the Catholic Organizational Culture - PRE and POST Second Vatican Culture? Of course, this will be from my own perspective, I'm certain that others will think differently. 😁 Also, apologies for a rather long article. Graphic: https://mutomorro.com/edgar-scheins-culture-model/ Below is a quick mapping of the cultural factors that I could think of.  Since the Church is vast and composed of millions of Souls, it is necessarily a limited cultural map.  Yet, I think it will still be useful to assess what has changed since the Second Vatican Council. Additional Reading:  5 enduring management ideas from MIT Sloan’s Edgar Schein | MIT Sloan Artifacts Artifacts are tangible and observable aspects of the culture being examined.  All organizations have them. Walmart has their Walmart chant, Charismatics have their spe

Is it sinful to attend the Novus Ordo (New Mass) - Is it Sinful to Not Attend the Novus Ordo on Sunday?

+ JMJ A non-SSPX Catholic is upset over the SSPX statements on not attending the Novus Ordo Missae. Ladies and gentlemen, what the SSPX, or at least its website editor, is advocating is a mortal sin against the Third Commandment.  Unless the priest deviates from the language of the Sacramentary, the consecration, and thus the rest of Mass is to be considered valid.  No one may elect not to attend Mass simply because abuses are occurring therein.  Might I suggest that such absenteeism is its own abuse?  The Third Commandment binds under mortal sin.  Father So-And-So from the SSPX has no authority whatsoever to excuse attendance at Mass, be that Mass ever so unpalatable. Source:Restore DC Catholicism Well, this is interesting. First why does the SSPX issue this statement? Because it is sinful to put your faith in danger by attending a protestant service.  It is likewise dangerous to put your faith in danger by attending a protestantized mass (ie the Novus Ordo Missae

What the heck is a congregation of "Pontifical Right"

+ JMJ In a discussion with a friend the question occurred to me that I didn't actually know was is involved in being a religious order of 'pontifical right'. I had a vague notion that this meant they reported to Rome as opposed to the local diocese. I'm also aware that, according to the accounts I have heard, the Archbishop received 'praise' and the written direction to incardinate priests directly into the SSPX.  This is interesting because it implies that the SSPX priests were no longer required to incardinate in the local diocese but in the SSPX. This is something that belongs to an order of 'pontifical right'. Anyway here's some definitions: Di diritto pontificio is the Italian term for “of pontifical right” . It is given to the ecclesiastical institutions (the religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See or approved by it with the formal decree, known by its Latin name, Decretu