M
marthaferretti
Guest
My neighbor is in his late 70’s and in a conversation about 1 year ago he was lamenting the fact that none of his four children practice the Faith even after sending all of them to Catholic school for grades 1 - 12.
Since I’m the same age as his children, I told him they don’t practice the Faith in large part because they were never taught the Faith while going to ‘Catholic’ school. He looked at me dumbfounded.
We live in the southeastern US where there aren’t many Catholics. The history of this diocese and the ‘Catholic’ schools here have not been known for their adherence to Catholic orthodoxy. Things are a little better now but the during the 1980’s - 1990’s the diocese was under poor leadership.
Shortly after this conversation this neighbor and his wife invited me and my wife to dinner at their home. He brought up the subject of our conversation again. He knows that I assisted at a TLM for many years whereas he & his wife go to a Catholic Church down the street which is not exactly traditional in its archtechture or practice of the Faith. He told me he went to the TLM for many years when he was a young man. He said that he hoped that the TLM would ‘die and be buried’.
I laughed at him at the dinner table. I asked him how many vocations to the priesthood and religious life had come from the large (3000 families) ‘modern’ neighborhood parish he went to for the last 40 years. He wasn’t aware of any. I then told him that the small traditional chapel I had been going to for the previous 6 - 7 years sent 4 young men to the seminary in the time I was there, had 2 young men ordained who went to seminary prior to my time there and sent 2 young women to the convent. Needles to say, he wanted to change the subject of the conversation.
It never ceases to amaze me that these Catholics don’t see any connection between how they practice the Faith and the fact that what they do bears little to no fruit either among their family or among other Catholics.
Since I’m the same age as his children, I told him they don’t practice the Faith in large part because they were never taught the Faith while going to ‘Catholic’ school. He looked at me dumbfounded.
We live in the southeastern US where there aren’t many Catholics. The history of this diocese and the ‘Catholic’ schools here have not been known for their adherence to Catholic orthodoxy. Things are a little better now but the during the 1980’s - 1990’s the diocese was under poor leadership.
Shortly after this conversation this neighbor and his wife invited me and my wife to dinner at their home. He brought up the subject of our conversation again. He knows that I assisted at a TLM for many years whereas he & his wife go to a Catholic Church down the street which is not exactly traditional in its archtechture or practice of the Faith. He told me he went to the TLM for many years when he was a young man. He said that he hoped that the TLM would ‘die and be buried’.
I laughed at him at the dinner table. I asked him how many vocations to the priesthood and religious life had come from the large (3000 families) ‘modern’ neighborhood parish he went to for the last 40 years. He wasn’t aware of any. I then told him that the small traditional chapel I had been going to for the previous 6 - 7 years sent 4 young men to the seminary in the time I was there, had 2 young men ordained who went to seminary prior to my time there and sent 2 young women to the convent. Needles to say, he wanted to change the subject of the conversation.
It never ceases to amaze me that these Catholics don’t see any connection between how they practice the Faith and the fact that what they do bears little to no fruit either among their family or among other Catholics.
Seriously, people who attend the Trinidine mass think they are better than those who attend ordinary mass??? I am in an ordinary parish with an extraordinary priest and 2 young men are looking into the priesthood and 5 young women are looking to become nuns.
