Is there such a thing as American Traditional Catholicism?

[odile53]

There are a lot of different ethnic practices that some people continue to hold dear, but these are usually private devotional practices. Some of them might have liturgical significance, however. The church on the reservation where I grew up made much of Mass celebrated on Rogation Days. Why? Because the Iroquois, being a society that lived very much in contact with the seasons of the earth, identified much with the heralding of a new season both liturgically and in the course of nature. In the Iroquois pre-contact religion, there are thanksgiving feasts celebrated at specific times during the year, identified when certain natural events occur, like when fresh corn is ripe for harvest, when the strawberries appear, and so forth. Those celebrations go way back in time before the arrival of Europeans on this continent, and so it was natural for the Iroquois who had become Catholic to make much of Rogation Days, again, going way back to the time of the early Iroquois Catholics. It stuck well into the twentieth century and still hasn’t petered out altogether on the reservation. Mass frequently featured the first communion kids in their outfits processing in, special hymns to God as Creator, incense, that kind of thing. We natives loved it.

When we moved from a reservation to New York City, if you had asked the typical Catholic what a rogation day was, they probably would have looked at you dumbfounded. Obviously, Mass was still celebrated every day, but there wasn’t the emphasis on a rogation day being anything “special.”

We ended up moving to a section of Manhattan that had a lot of Italian-Americans. One of their big liturgical customs was the custom of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday. Since my dad was of Italian extraction, and we had a couple of second cousins on his side living in Manhattan as well, we started doing it, too, but nobody on mom’s side (the Iroquois side) ever knew why. I still don’t know why, and haven’t researched it, so feel free to tell me!

You can still go to some small ethnic enclaves and pick up on their traditions. They all seem to be in line with magisterial teachings but fall under the heading of “popular piety.” Personally, I love the idea of being able to go to an ethnic parish on the occasion of one of their special observations and take part in the celebration, even if I’m not of that ethnic group.

That would be one way of looking at the term “American Traditional Catholicism.” Lots of things, because there are a lot of different groups of people, but all recognized by Holy Mother Church. We’re not a homogenous melting pot, we’re more of a stew, with individual elements all contributing to the richness of the whole stew. And like good stew, the more elements, the better!

 

[iloveangels]

I added a little more. Can you take a look at my edit?

About the visiting churches, also just a family custom. Sometimes ethnic, but not universal.

There really is no such thing as American Traditional Catholicism. We have regional variations, probably, but they’re not universal at all, and have little meaning for anyone else besides those in those geographical areas. Just customs.

People do this sort of stuff. The thing that gets to me is when people start thinking their little customs and preferences are more important than the Gospel or the Church herself. That’s the problem with this local customary stuff. That - and sometimes local customs can be sort of meaningless or dumb with respect to the rest of the church, which makes insisting on them even crazier. **

 

[ProVobis]

Do you agree that the Christmas tree should not be lit until Christmas? Is that Catholic practice?

I know this same lady said that it is the custom in Poland that whenever a Catholic passes a Catholic church, if time permits, one goes into the church and spends a few minutes greeting our Lord, but when one is pressed for time, one just makes the sign of the cross.

I had never heard the part about entering the Church and praying for a few minutes every time one passes the church if time permits.

So that would be an example of a common practice in Poland, I guess. ProVobis can confirm.

I’ve never been in Poland but that sounds something we used to do a long time ago in the U.S. At least when the doors of the church were still open.

The one thing of note, however, is that Catholics generally don’t sing or play Christmas carols until Christmas. The secular world has it backwards. Christmas music is discontinued the day after Christmas.

 

[iloveangels]

I’ve never been in Poland but that sounds something we used to do a long time ago in the U.S. At least when the doors of the church were still open.

The one thing of note, however, is that Catholics generally don’t sing or play Christmas carols until Christmas. The secular world has it backwards. Christmas music is discontinued the day after Christmas.

I don’t know that Catholic individuals don’t play Christmas songs before Christmas because I think many do…but liturgically we use Christmas songs til the Epiphany (January 6th) and that’s a difference.

 

[TrueLight]

I’ve never been in Poland but that sounds something we used to do a long time ago in the U.S. At least when the doors of the church were still open.

The one thing of note, however, is that Catholics generally don’t sing or play Christmas carols until Christmas. The secular world has it backwards. Christmas music is discontinued the day after Christmas.

Oh I thought you were raised in Poland??

 

[iloveangels]

Thank you Henrihank for giving me a place to ask this question.

A Polish practitioner told me that she is going to finish decorating her tree today and then she will turn on the lights on Christmas day.

So I asked her if she always waits for Christmas day and she told me that it is Catholic tradition, as in Universal Catholic tradition, because Christ has not come yet.

Is this American Catholic tradition as well??

She’s doing what so many Catholics do, and trying to legislate her own preferences into the Church. It’s her own custom and that’s all.

 

[TrueLight]

She’s doing what so many Catholics do, and trying to legislate her own preferences into the Church. It’s her own custom and that’s all.

I’m sure she is not purposefully doing it as she is one of the most pious, kindhearted people I know.

However, if you are raised in an environment where that is the local custom, it is sometimes hard to distinguish what is universal versus local.

 

[iloveangels]

I’m sure she is not purposefully doing it as she is one of the most pious, kindhearted people I know.

However, if you are raised in an environment where that is the local custom, it is sometimes hard to distinguish what is universal versus local.

Yeah, true. But the church is a lot bigger than most peoples’ personal memories and they need to be aware of that.

 

[ProVobis]

Oh I thought you were raised in Poland??

Sure seemed like it. No, just in the U.K. and U.S.

 

[Hubertus]

Do you agree that the Christmas tree should not be lit until Christmas? Is that Catholic practice?

In American Catholicism as a whole, I would say that’s definitely not standard practice. I think most have their decorations up around the first day of Advent. But it’s likely to be different in the traditional communities, and I’m pretty sure my family has always set up the Christmas tree and decorations on Gaudette Sunday (when, as the pink candle shows, our joy in anticipation at the coming of Christ is welling up within us). Churches, though, are usually not decorated until after the last Mass of Advent.

As far as my opinion goes, I think the decorating on Gaudette Sunday does make more sense, but it would probably make most sense to me to hold off on the decorations until Christmas. Especially since the Church does it!

I know this same lady said that it is the custom in Poland that whenever a Catholic passes a Catholic church, if time permits, one goes into the church and spends a few minutes greeting our Lord, but when one is pressed for time, one just makes the sign of the cross.

That sounds less like a custom to me and more like a pious habit. It makes sense that, when passing by the physical dwelling place of your Creator, you should stop in for a minute, if it is not impractical. During the semester, I walk by my church every day on my way back from class, so I’ve been trying to stop in more for some quick prayer. I’ve also known a few people who do cross themselves when passing by a church.