Becoming Traditional Catholic Part II

JMJ

In my last post I discussed some of the differences between the Trad world and ... basically everything else.

But that wasn't really about 'becoming Traditional Catholic'.

For those who weren't 'born TCatholics' there seems to be a common thread.

Something happened the 'opened their eyes' to what happened or was happening. In some cases it was an intellectual realization, for others it was traumatic ... or a combination thereof.

Then there is suffering during the transition.

In the case of my family, the trauma started when one of my brothers started having an uneasy feeling about our new parish priest. He went back to our old parish and ... started asking questions.

Questions that upset the parish priest to the extent that my brother was featured (under a pseudonym) in a Sunday sermon.

My brother has that quality.

Eventually, he realized that there was something before the Novus Ordo Missae ... and found it.

This was the advent of major arguments in my otherwise quiet family.

In the end, my Dad sat down and read the Encyclopedia Britannica article on Luther and the reformation. When he finished reading the article, he looked up at my mother and said:

We've been tricked.

They had a meeting with our parish priest and the discussion culminated with them asking the priest a simple question. The priest gave the wrong answer. At that point we began Church hopping, while my brother went to the Tridentine Mass when it was offered (by Fr. Yves Normandin once every few weeks at that time ) we returned to our old parish with its very ultra-conservative priest (RIP).

Fr. Yves Normandin

My brother started to notice that there were vestiges of the Tridentine Mass hidden in plain sight throughout the Church. Candle sticks, statues, side altars etc.

Eventually, we switched to the Ukranian Rite (still Traditional at that time) and then a Sunday Tridentine Mass became available.

That was the rubicon moment.

We started to go 100% Tridentine.

This glosses over the arguments and sufferings that went along with our transition.

Not all of my family remained TCatholics, some reverted to being nTCatholics. Personally, my first day was less than stellar. However, my understanding of what was going on grew fairly quickly.

Achieving a good balanced perspective did take a number of years - but 2 years of education in St. Mary's Kansas did help!

So - what the lesson?

When the 'eye opening' moment occurs - it is a moment of grace. Seize it and profit from that moment.
Be ready for sufferings, but that is how we will merit the grace for others.

P^3

Comments

"Father, Should I Attend That Mass?" Advice on Attending Non-SSPX Latin Masses

+ JMJ I see that the 'resistors' are in a tizzy because Fr. Robinson used them as an example instead of the sedevacantists. What is interesting is that you can apply the exact same reasons against going to a sede mass as that of the 'resistors'. Namely: On the other extreme are those situations where an SSPX priest knows that a certain non-SSPX traditionalist venue is a grave danger to the faith . Frankly, most, if not all, of the Resistance Masses would fall into this category. In many cases, the behavior of these priests has been and continues to be scandalous, by their (A) spirit, their (B) preaching, and their indiscriminate conferral of the (C) priesthood and (D) episcopacy. To attend a Mass with such ongoing scandals poses a serious danger to the souls of the faithful. Yep, looking at A,B,C and D the shoe fits. On this basis the "resistors" = "sedevacantists". P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org A companion article to a recent "Questions with ...

Correcting Caricatures of the SSPX

+ JMJ Introduction First, a little background on the FSSP St. John Vianney Chapel in Mission Hill Kansas. After the 1988 consecrations and the foundation of the FSSP there was a consistent trend of Dioceses allowing the SSPX to run chapels and churches near SSPX locations. As with any 'organizational change' there were those who didn't agree with the change and no longer sought the sacraments from the SSPX. I heard from friends that in that era there was a lot of anger and tension (on both sides) between the St. Mary's SSPX and Mission Hill FSSP. Second, there have been caricatures of the SSPX position (some are evident below) in which personal opinions of SSPX priests and laity are taken as the official position or conflated with those of sedevacantists or 'resistance'. Recent Perspectives of the SSPX Position In the shadow of the consecrations a fever pitch accusations and opinions how surfaced - many of which include caricatures of the SSPX positions, of w...

SSPX: Why Is the SSPX So Criticized?

+ JMJ As long as you are ok with what happens in other Catholic Churches, Traditional Catholics will be left 'alone'. This is a paraphrase of words spoken by an Archbishop to Traditional Catholics (with a sprinkling of SSPX) who had requested the Traditional Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum. This reflects that attitude of the Church towards anyone who takes issue with some of the ambiguities of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium. If you reject the papacy but are ok with V2, the New Mass, and what Rome has stated since 1965 - then you are welcome. Question some of the more abiguous statements and ask for Rome to realise that a circle is not a square - then you are in for a world of hurt. This is where the SSPX exists and has existed from almost its very first moments. Pointing out contradictions with previous magisterium is not acceptable - under any condition. Why? Because it will cause the whole V2 house of cards to fall. I guess only when the contradic...

Stories: Early Days of Tradition Part 8 - Convention Centre Chapel

+ JMJ I came to Tradition a few years after they had bought a chapel. My wife told me of the earlier years when Fr. Normandin would come to town and Mass would be held in a room at the convention centre. He'd start by blessing the room and then proceed with Mass. This went on for a while before the one of the faithful found a small hall that would suit just fine. They pooled their money and bought the building. Then came the work as the retiree's refinished the floor, setup the sactuary. Oh, did I mention that I heard that the hall had been used by a motorcycle gang? The floor needed a lot of work. I remember seeing pictures of the founders working to make the hall into a fitting place for the Sacrifice of the Mass. That little chapel would be a refuge like many others serviced by Fr. Normandin. From Thunderbay, Ontrario to Nanaimo, British Columbia - the SSPX chapels are all the results of Fr. Normandin's missionary work in those desperate times. Without h...

How many more must die for the throne? or How to combat FUD!

+ JMJ How many more must die for the throne? (Movie Quote: Prince Caspian) The Spread of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt I've seen a lot of FUD spreading across the intergnat on various stats etc. So let's put this in context ... especially the perspective of those people in positions of authority who need to make decisions to protect the lives of their citizens. Yep, this is going to be that type of post. Like it or not the leaders of our governments have their authority from God. So, as Catholics should know, you need to have a very good reason to deliberately disobey the orders of their superiors. This is basic St. Thomas Aquinas ... so don't blame me for discussing things from a Catholic perspective. The leaders of our countries have taken action to protect the vulnerable of our countries. As much as the young and not-so-young may whine and complain - I have to ask how many more of our elderly have to die? What the armchair virologists and ec...

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