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catherineajt
Guest
Welcome back! I myself have returned to the Catholic Church after converting to Orthodoxy. It’s great to be home, isn’t it? 
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Duke_of_Mantua
Guest
It’s weird, but I feel like I am in a renovated home. It’s the same house, but I am getting more out of it; therefore, I like it more.Welcome back! I myself have returned to the Catholic Church after converting to Orthodoxy. It’s great to be home, isn’t it?
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ProVobis
Guest
“I strongly recommend that you stick with the FSSP”
Is there an FSSP parish in Chicago?
Is there an FSSP parish in Chicago?
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catherineajt
Guest
A very apt analogy. I was raised in the Roman Catholic church and now am working on becoming Byzantine Catholic. It’s much like you described.
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368ofk
Guest
I had to read the original post twice. Because, just as in the OP’s and poster Magnum V8’s cases, this is precisely what happened to me. The chain of events, the emotions…everything. It’s uncanny.
The TLM was truly the means by which I was drawn to God and to the teachings and traditions of the Church…something that had never happened to me before, despite years of attending the Novus Ordo Mass and CCD classes in childhood. I had felt disconnected and disinterested in Mass growing up, and I later realized that I had learned virtually nothing about the Catholic Faith in CCD.
My disinterest resurfaced after attending the Novus Ordo Mass 5 or 6 times as an adult. Yet, since I “discovered” the TLM, I find myself eager for Sundays to come. When I lived in a city where it was available, I would even wake up at 5 in the morning to go to daily Mass several times a week. And, over the past 4 years, I’ve taught myself volumes more about my faith (not complex theory, but basic facts) than I ever learned in CCD.
I suspect this scenario isn’t as uncommon as one might think.
And, since St. John Cantius was suggested previously, I’ll pipe in and strongly suggest you attend Mass there at least once. It’s simply awe-inspiring
The TLM was truly the means by which I was drawn to God and to the teachings and traditions of the Church…something that had never happened to me before, despite years of attending the Novus Ordo Mass and CCD classes in childhood. I had felt disconnected and disinterested in Mass growing up, and I later realized that I had learned virtually nothing about the Catholic Faith in CCD.
My disinterest resurfaced after attending the Novus Ordo Mass 5 or 6 times as an adult. Yet, since I “discovered” the TLM, I find myself eager for Sundays to come. When I lived in a city where it was available, I would even wake up at 5 in the morning to go to daily Mass several times a week. And, over the past 4 years, I’ve taught myself volumes more about my faith (not complex theory, but basic facts) than I ever learned in CCD.
I suspect this scenario isn’t as uncommon as one might think.
And, since St. John Cantius was suggested previously, I’ll pipe in and strongly suggest you attend Mass there at least once. It’s simply awe-inspiring
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Magnum_V8
Guest
You’re not alone in that one, either.
Church Fathers?..Huh? Who are the Church Fathers?
Real Presence?..Of Whom?
Rosary?..Well, yeah, I’ve heard of it…but so what?
Go to confession?..C’mon, I haven’t KILLED anyone!
Awwwww, MOM!..I don’t wanna go [to Mass]!
Immaculate Conception?..Yeah, Jesus’ conception.
I could go on and on. I’m sure you know all too well.
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jmcrae
Guest
I’m not sure. You’d think, though …
They have a map on their site, but I can’t tell at a rapid glance whether Chicago is on it, or not.
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368ofk
Guest
No kidding.
Rosary? Heck, I wasn’t even taught the Hail Mary.
The Real Presence? I remember thinking, while at Christmas Mass in my 20’s (I was visiting the family and was forced to go), “Gee…I notice now how the Mass seems to all lead up to Communion for some reason. What’s the big deal about receiving a wafer and some wine?” I kid thee not.
Nope…no confession after my first one. Well, not until I got up the courage and confessed 20+ years of sins to the FSSP priest.
It’s a sin to receive communion if you’ve committed a mortal sin? Uh…OK, if you say so. By the way, what’s a mortal sin? And, since you qualified “sin”, does that mean there’s more than one type?
Why do Catholics kneel when going into the pew? I never did. I never knew what a tabernacle even was. And, even if I did (and even if it were visible to me when I entered the church), I wouldn’t have had any idea why someone would kneel in it’s direction.
Purgatory? Purga-what?
Yeah, I could go on all night long, too.
But, you know what? I bet you I can still make a mean felt wall hanging.
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Evangelical Protestant.
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Duke_of_Mantua
Guest
It’s a relief other people share this experience with me. I spoke to my parents about it and they were shocked just to find out I stopped going to church and flirted with atheism. They still haven’t come to terms with that. It seems all my complaints about the NO is invalid because I lost faith and I am some false prophet preaching about the TLM even though they grew up with it.
It’s ironic because I avoided religious conversations in the past to conceal my drift, and now that my faith is stronger, my effort to talk about it is met with the belief I have drifted.
I thank God I found this place. This is some healthy discussion: both for the mind and soul.
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jmcrae
Guest
Are they worried that you might have drifted into a “look-alike” of the Catholic Church that is not in full Holy Communion with the Pope? There are a great many of these type of organizations out there, and you would want to reassure them that you haven’t gone into schism against the Pope. Show them the FSSP mandate, and explain to them that the FSSP is actually personally directed by the Pope; there is no danger of schism. Point out that the FSSP priest was appointed by the same Bishop who appointed their own priest at their parish - this will go a long way to relieve their worries.
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the_phoenix
Guest
Mega-Welcome, Duke of Mantua!
Cradle Catholic here, grew up knowing the Faith thanks to my parents and grandparents, never left the Church … That said, God sure taught me something awesome about Himself in one moment during the Latin Mass that somehow escaped me during years of the English-language Mass where language should not have been a problem.
Basically, The Latin Mass has deepened my appreciation for the Presence of the Holy Trinity at Mass.
In the Novus Ordo Mass, I’d gotten used to the understanding that Jesus is Truly Present in the Holy Eucharist, and sometimes, especially on hearing a good sermon for example, I would sense the Presence of the Holy Spirit.
But God the Father seemed distant to me. I would hear the Gospel reading of the Prodigal Son, where the father sees his wayward son returning from a long ways off and goes running down the road to welcome him home. Well, to me it was a nice story that I had some trouble getting the reality of, even though I could intellectually see the symbolism in the parable.
Then one day at the Latin Mass while the priest was leading us in prayer, I felt God’s Presence, and thinking about it later, it came to me that the experience was like God the Father running towards the priest to embrace him … and me, and everyone else present at Mass.
This has helped me to better understand the Mass as a complete whole.
~~ the phoenix
Cradle Catholic here, grew up knowing the Faith thanks to my parents and grandparents, never left the Church … That said, God sure taught me something awesome about Himself in one moment during the Latin Mass that somehow escaped me during years of the English-language Mass where language should not have been a problem.
Basically, The Latin Mass has deepened my appreciation for the Presence of the Holy Trinity at Mass.
In the Novus Ordo Mass, I’d gotten used to the understanding that Jesus is Truly Present in the Holy Eucharist, and sometimes, especially on hearing a good sermon for example, I would sense the Presence of the Holy Spirit.
But God the Father seemed distant to me. I would hear the Gospel reading of the Prodigal Son, where the father sees his wayward son returning from a long ways off and goes running down the road to welcome him home. Well, to me it was a nice story that I had some trouble getting the reality of, even though I could intellectually see the symbolism in the parable.
Then one day at the Latin Mass while the priest was leading us in prayer, I felt God’s Presence, and thinking about it later, it came to me that the experience was like God the Father running towards the priest to embrace him … and me, and everyone else present at Mass.
This has helped me to better understand the Mass as a complete whole.
~~ the phoenix
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Magnum_V8
Guest
Funny you bring that up. Growing up, I learned from my mom the actions of genuflecting before getting into the pew, of kneeling to pray once you’re in the pew…and, of course, the particular points of the Mass when we are to kneel. But I had no idea the significance of those acts of faith.
Upon my return, I joined a parish (Novus Ordo) which did not have kneelers. It threw me off, but only because I remembered kneeling, and kneelers, being the norm; but it was no big deal, just unfamiliar. Still, I did not understand what kneeling meant…lex orandi, lex credendi.
Yes, the TLM showed me the importance. It showed me enough that now my family and I are the only ones who kneel at our Novus Ordo Sunday Mass. I even made kneelers for us, forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=208566
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368ofk
Guest
Wow. That’s both impressive and depressing.
While I’ve heard that such places exist, I’ve never been to a Catholic church where there were pews without kneelers. I might not have known why I was kneeling, but I was always able to do so.
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Magnum_V8
Guest
When I’m sitting in the pew, looking down, I can see the spots on the pew in front of us where the old kneeler hardware used to be mounted. Literally, sometimes I want to cry.
An older lady who I talk to at the parish --BTW, she kneels at the Saturday Vigil Mass – I guess her mother-in-law was very active in the parish and knew where the old kneelers went once they were removed. She said that she’d talk to her mother-in-law and try to get an idea where they are. I said I’d tell our pastor that I’d install them for free if we could recover them. She seems to think that the kneelers are held up at someone’s house.
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catherineajt
Guest
The Roman Catholic parish my family and I used to attend until about a year ago was renovated and new pews put in…without kneelers. Same with another parish in our area. My mother in law was appalled that we would choose such a parish–and asked, “How do they kneel?” In our archdiocese, it’s been decided that it’s up to each individual parish whether they kneel or stand.
Now we attend a Byzantine church where, while we do not kneel on Sundays, there is a HECK of a lot of kneeling during Presanctified Liturgy!
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holdencaulfield
Guest
This thread has helped me. I find the Nuvos Ordo sadly quite boring. It isn’t consistent with what has been taught for 2000 years. Tomorrow I am sending an email to my Archdiocese in hopes of finding a TLM in my city. I hope I can find one. I think I should however I live in a city of 2 million. If I can’t find one I’m writing a petition to my Archbishop asking him to start one. I hope I can find one.
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JRKH
Guest
Not sure if it is totally up to date but check out this link for a list of masses around the US.
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holdencaulfield
Guest
Thank You, I found two parishes. Its a long commute for me, but who cares.
CatholicCajun
New member
We do not have any TLM near us, either. But welcome back!!Your “VERY LUCKY” to have a TLM near you. Not many of us are!.
Welcome to the forum!
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