Well, I can tell you! I was pretty durn lax and I did Google my way in here a few years ago. I had some question about something, can’t even remember what. CAF was a little nerdy for my taste at the time, but I got hooked after a few visits over a year or so period.
I stumbled across these fora back in April '07. I posted a “hello” at the Meet ‘n’ Greet, a passel of jokes in the joke forum, then disappeared for almost a year. I “rediscovered” CAF back in Feb of this year; I started to slowly wade in on the more serious discussions. Now I’ve had almost 700 posts in 3 months.
I had no idea that communion in the hand was frowned on so harshly, or that the standard Mass was considered so bad. This forum has been a real eye opener for me, not in an entirely positive way. The fervent zeal seems to cross the line into anger and intolerance frequently here.
Agreed. Enough so that I have made a few angry rejoinders to some of the “catholicker-than-thou” posts I’ve seen. I was driven to tears once over constant bashing of the NO Mass. I’ve seen posts here that have stated that it is a mortal sin to not own a gun; that men who wear a pink shirt or who cry at funerals (or for any reason) or do “women’s work” are failing in their duties as Christian men and are contributing to the horrible state of the Church and the world; etc. I’ve even seen one thread started by someone who who was scandalized by pictures of St Teresa of Lisieux acting in a play or wearing “immodest” clothing (a picture of her as a youth before she entered the convent, in garb typical of her day, i.e. extremely conservative).
[Catholics] do not seem to have knowledge of the basics. … I wonder how often they go to confession before receiving the true body and blood of Christ.
That was a
mea culpa of mine before I came here. I had been an irregular attendee at Mass, received Communion while not in a state of Grace
, and sufficed with a yearly General Reconciliation (a liturgical abuse, I found out later; also with the onus on the recipient to still make a good and proper confession later). Now I realize (thanks to these boards) that I don’t need to receive Eucharist every day – it’s only required once a year – and that it’s more necessary to receive frequent reconciliation than frequent Communion.
No, and I think a lot of them are much better off. They go to Mass, the receive our Lord in communion, and they are happy.
Many of the people here get so tied up in knots over trivial matters that they lose sight of what really matters. And instead of walking out of Mass happy – like those average Catholics – they walk out angry and upset.
Who is better off?
Reminds me of Paul’s letter to the Romans: ‘Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”’
The problem is the slippery slope/thin edge of the wedge: What is trivial might lead to something less trivial, and so on, until finally what is left is not a Mass at all: one can run the danger of invalidity if one starts straying too far from the rubrics. While wearing a clown nose may not invalidate the consecration, omitting or changing the words will.
There is some pretty weird stuff said on here, but most of it seems pretty balanced to me. Sometimes when I think some thread is nothing but a bunch of angry wackos, it seems somebody with a good head comes along and says something wise.
Lord knows I try.
The one thing I regret is that CAF seems to be increasingly assailed by political or theological idologues who come in here in attack mode with all sorts of prepared “sources” and try to persuade people that Catholics should vote pro-choice or that the Catholic Church is the devil’s own club. I shudder to think what some of the less firm Catholics I know would think of some of that. I’m not a moderator, but if I was, I think I would shut down a lot more threads than do get shut down, and for that reason.
I agree here as well. Right now there’s a thread about a group called the BNP; some call it a cult, it’s been banned in a number of diocese in the US and the Philippines, but it has it’s own apologists on the boards saying “give it a chance”, “keep an open mind”, “Padre Pio/Mother Teresa were under interdict too”, etc. Until the standing of some groups within the church is clarified, we should be extremely careful. It’s easier to ignore (IMO) error when it comes from without; but when it comes from within, it is especially dangerous.
Before I came to this website, I had no idea that there was any kind of controversy surrounding the Latin Mass, Communion in the hand, veiling, modest dress, and especially the music.
Same here. I have found that the more I explore my faith, the more conservative I become in many areas. I will now be receiving on the tongue, not because in the hand is “wrong”, but that the arguments I have read for on the tongue are,
to me, “better”.
I really don’t have anyone to discuss this with. I have few friends – I am not the most gregarious person around, it takes me a long time to make acquaintances, let alone friends – and none of them are Catholic.
I guess that’s why I spend so much time on the boards (too much, actually); it’s like wandering the desert and finding a juice bar.
