Are traditional parishes bringing in converts?

[jmcrae]

Except at St Anthony’s in Calgary. That one is at noon on Sunday. Makes for a lonnnng fast!

That’s very true. (They also have evening Masses on Thursdays and Fridays - which makes me wonder whether they actually do observe the fast, at least on those days.)

 

[paramedicgirl]

That’s very true. (They also have evening Masses on Thursdays and Fridays - which makes me wonder whether they actually do observe the fast, at least on those days.)

I think the norm is the three hour fast for the TLM.

 

[twf]

Rien: That RCIA instructor is a heretic of the highest degree…to reject the Real Presence is to outright reject Catholicism. You should contact the pastor, and if that doesn’t work, the bishop. This sort of thing can not be tolerated. Imagine how many souls are being lost…

 

[Christe_Eleison]

I don’t know what numbers really prove. All I have to say is I would rather have 1 good catholic over 100 lukewarm/cafeteria catholic converts anyday. We are living in sad times.

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

I’m sorry, Malcolm I’m at a loss (I hope) as to what you’re saying here. Are you saying most parishoners who aren’t poor are teachers?? Do you mean by “good members”, faithful Catholics; people with jobs; educated people…? “Unless we pay them…” What does this mean, and who’s “we”, society? And are you really calling British TLM devotees money-focused kooks? I’m not getting any of this!

I am speaking completely practically. The typical British catholic is an old lady towards the end of life, with a small pension, not much education, and not in very good health.

Now I am not saying that such a person may not be a good Catholic that they might be devout and obedient. I am not even saying that the Holy Spirit, in His own way, may not work great things through such a person. However in a purely practical sense they can’t contribute much to church finances or church activities. A young to middle aged person with a good job can.

The typical schoolteacher is a good example of a member with resources. They have a reasonable level of education, a reasonable amount of money, they need to have a lot of energy to do their job. We have a system of state-supported Catholic schools in Britain. So if you are a teacher in a Catholic school in Britain, church attendance fits in well with your career. When you look at “resourceful members” you find that almost always they are teachers at Catholic schools. As I said, I am not thinking of any one individual here, it is just that, overall, it is not a positive trend.

The big problem we have in Britain is not the absolute numbers, but the lack of dynamism. That is why the lack of energetic youngish middle classish people is so worrying. Young men don’t tolerate leaky roofs. If insurance rules mean that parishioners aren’t allowed to undertake repairs themselves, they find a mate with a building company and work for it as technical employees. We just don’t have that kind of energy.

The atmosphere of a TLM mass is very different. TLMers tend to be be rich, not money-focused, because the level of intelligence and education is fairly high, also because of lot of them come from rich family backgrounds. I am talking specifically about Britain.