Defending Tradition

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stpurl said:
devotion, headcvering for women, and many ‘outmoded ideas’ such as rote memory, ‘sin’, and humility. . .and wished not to add, but rather, to completely replace those and others with the OF, Divine Mercy
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I don’t think Divine Mercy was meant to replace anything. I think it was instituted to help obtain mercy for sinners. But yes there is an increase of intolerance to tradition
 
Thank you so much sir for your words of encouragement. Have a wonderful day!!! Dominus Vobiscum
 
What I meant (and I like the Divine Mercy chaplet actually) is that the rosary beads for a traditional rosary devotion are also used in the Divine Mercy chaplet. It’s quicker to pray as well. And there is nothing wrong with it, but you can often find people who are more comfortable with praying that than praying a rosary.
 
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Welcome to the club. I still get comments like “Aren’t you hot in that?” (long sleeves, full length skirt).

True story (no flags, please!):

About 10 years ago, I was putting gas in the car at the gas station and 2 ladies asked me if I was Jewish. I was surprised. I told them I’m Ukrainian Catholic and asked them why they came to that conclusion. Reason: They thought I was Jewish because I wore a head covering (it was a chapel cap). 😱
 
People are judging you, as people shall. It’s particularly difficult when those people are family members who are supposed to love you, and probably do, but are misguided or don’t understand, and when you lose close friends over you religious practices and beliefs.

This is a form of emotional persecution. They might not be aware of that, and if you pointed it out to them, some, at least, might be moved to stop it.

True friends will respect your religious beliefs and practices. If they are disrespectful, they aren’t real friends.

While I have no problem with Vatican II, and think it was guided by the Holy Spirit, I have no problem with traditional practices, either. I do some of them, myself – such as covering my head at Mass. Since Vatican II, this has become a choice, not a mandate any longer. I’m fine with that.

Some of the traditions of the Church are beautiful and still very meaningful. Vatican II has made the Church more open to participation by lay parishioners, has made it more tolerant and less judgmental, and less rigid in, I believe, a good way. But, basic doctrine was never abandoned, and hasn’t changed. The Church has remained true to Christ’s teachings.

Tolerance is the problem your family members and friends have, and they need to realize that the tolerance you’ve shown them they need to also show you. But, if they don’t, pray for them. And continue practicing your faith as the Paraclete guides you.
 
I’m really sorry to hear what you’re going through, continue to pray for perserverence. I’ve luckily never been called out for being a “trad”, which is what I imagine most people would consider me. My fiancee and I currently attend an OF parish. My fiancee and a few other women veil, and the only comment she has gotten so far is that her veil is pretty, and where did she buy it. We also, thank God, have been able to continue to receive the Eucharist the way we prefer, on the tongue while kneeling, and it hasn’t been weird. There’s a few actual members of the parish who also receive that way. I really think that this on again off again war between “trads” and most “modernists” will eventually cool off and we’ll reach a happy middle ground. Please pay no mind, as hard as it is to those who ridicule you, and continue to live the faith the way the Lord moves you to.
 
Tradition doesn’t need defending, the Roman Catholic Church has been around long enough now that it can handle itself in regards to tradition. If anything the Roman Catholic Church might want to start considering hiring armed security to start defending physical churches outside of mass, and just in general.
 
This is between you and the Lord… between you and the Eternal. All else is just temporary noise.
 
I am reading through an RCIA program on my own because none of my local N.O. have an RCIA program. I have been invited several times to a TLM since the Covid lockdowns put the brakes on my search to come back to Catholicism. At any rate, I have found my friends all turn up their noses to the RCC whether it be the modernist version or the TLM.
I prefer the more traditional way of doing things. My family will be joining the FSSP community and I look forward to being back in communion with the Catholic Church.

I need a class on using a missal and all of the things I never learned.

People who are living luke warm will never understand why people seek holiness.
That is until something rocks their reality with something terrible or really disturbing.

My friends are mostly luke warm or non practicing Christian folks. They dont get my drive to learn Latin and learning the prayer and traditions.

Anyway, G*d bless you and keep on that narrow path.
Pray for me.
 
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Yes, I get opposition as well. I am a new teacher at a Catholic school, and I was met with suspicion by the school’s pastor during my job interview when I told him I attend a TLM parish. I have been told by someone, “I’ve been a Catholic for 40something years, and I never was told you have to go to confession before receiving communion. Why do you feel you have to do that? I’ve been to confession like three times in my life.” I think there’s a suspicion that trads think they’re better than other Catholics. Of course, we need to keep this in check ourselves and be humble. But other Catholics need to understand that other people taking their faith seriously is because they do it for God, not to “one-up” them in their faith practices. Its not a competition.
 
EmbraceTradition said:
But other Catholics need to understand that other people taking their faith seriously is because they do it for God, not to “one-up” them in their faith practices. Its not a competition.
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If one is doing all this for God, then one would expect to hear a lot less about it, instead of always hearing and reading stuff about how awful OF and post-Vatican II practices are, and how much more “reverent” TLM practices are. Maybe you yourself don’t do this, but plenty of other traditionalists do, and they definitely come off like they think they are holier than others who don’t.
 
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To be absolutely impartial is, frankly, impossible here as so much relies on perception of the individual.

For a person who is himself or herself fairly calm, obedient, and respectful of others, who has never personally experienced a Mass which is wildly illicit, and who has happy and deeply satisfying religious feelings and knowledge, hearing ‘tales’ of what sound like crazy tales of abuse, or ‘trolly’ tales of people CLAIMING abuse over things which aren’t, and claiming the Trad label —those people are going to start associating the word ‘trad’ or the concept of traditionalism as people who are hateful, ‘puffing up the TLM’, ‘putting down the OF” etc. We do get posts from these trolls here.

We also get posts (and this is especially true for people who were here back in 2004) which are extremely hateful and condescending to the EF/TLM and its members. Even the ‘neutral’ posts which state something like, “so you want to veil, well it is ok to do so IF you don’t stand out, because then you’re prideful, or if you do it for the right reason, but it can’t be because you feel called because calling is only for religious, and it can’t be for tradition because that is antiquarianism, and it can’t be for a sense of the sacred because that ‘was never the reason in the first’ place, so since you WILL stand out and you don’t HAVE to do it —don’t.” IOW, ‘you are free to do what a poster thinks is acceptable to THEM, but nothing else.”

But I’m going to put in that since so much is perception, maybe we’d all be better off if we stopped worrying so much about what others think, and go to God. If there is something traditional, whether it is a head covering, the EF, home altars, devotions, year round abstinence, etc., that you like and that is ‘in good standing’ (NONE of those are in any way forbidden or condemned, NOR do they require some CAF poster blessing or that one meet some CAF poster ‘guidelines for doing’), and you want to do it, do so. Don’t be swayed by others under the false perception that you are pleasing God more by ignoring what you have chosen to do for Him in order to please ‘somebody else’ so you don’t ‘hurt their feelings’ or ‘look haughty’.
 
Margaret_Ann said:
They thought I was Jewish because I wore a head covering (it was a chapel cap). 😱
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I would just look at that as a teaching opportunity. “It’s called a chapel cap, and we normally wear it because ____________ .”
 
BlessedYoungCatholic said:
So I’m sure a lot of other Traditional Catholics have gone through this. I get a lot of opposition for being a traditional catholic among my family and friends. I never impose any of the traditions I do such as fasting or veiling on anyone else, or I never judge anyone for not doing what I’m doing. For some reason it just seems to irk them extremely badly that I go to latin mass or veil or follow traditional practices and I get a lot of backlash for it. Sometimes I even start to doubt myself. I know a lot of other people face similar issue as well , especially with today’s society and media. Please let me know your thoughts on this issue and any advice to keep on going. Dominus Vobiscum
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Fall back on Peters instruction.

1 Pet 3 13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.

So there’s no need to defend tradition per se, but persecution is the opportunity to defend the virtues of your faith with gentleness and reverence. It’s a real blessing to get to model and be a channel of Christ saving grace.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
If one is doing all this for God, then one would expect to hear a lot less about it,
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Aren’t we supposed to spread the faith?
Tis_Bearself said:
instead of always hearing and reading stuff about how awful OF and post-Vatican II practices are,
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I think if you really listen to Catholics who follow the traditions of the Church you will find they are just practicing the faith and they don’t spend as much time on what is wrong with the OF and aspects of Vatican II as it seems from a CAF position.
 
I think it is a complex issue and why people have such a reaction varies from person to person. It might be good to ask why your preference bothers them so much.
 
Congrats on coming back! The FSSP is a very good order and I find that they don’t sugarcoat anything and say it how it is meant to be said. Wonderful Priests!!
 
Thank you so much!!! I’ve decided to just distance myself from those people and try not to talk about religious matters with them
 
Thank you so much for your response and time!! I’ve decided to distance myself from them and try to not speak on religious matters unless they are blatantly putting down my practices
 
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