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workingman
Guest
Has any one heard much of or delt with this group? I put a link to there web page. Thoughts?
freewebs.com/plaincatholic/
freewebs.com/plaincatholic/
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A
Apollos
Guest
Looks like an experiment that may not last more than a generation or two. Wait and see.
H
hxcCatholic413
Guest
I’ve heard of them before…they live very simple lives like the Amish. I think the movement will be very good for the Church in the long run…it definitely beats the secular world we live in.
M
melchesidechpio
Guest
not quite sure what their purpose is. Living in simplicity is wonderful. It can be done through any religious order in the Catholic Church both religious and secular.
P
Plain_Catholic
Guest
Perhaps, but Plain Catholics also support each other in simplicity and in their “living in the world but not of the world”. We are another charism within the beautiful diversity of our Holy Church to which the Holy Spirit calls us. This is mentioned at the website which was created some years ago now.
Just as there are many religious orders, each with their own charism, so too there are many charisms for living the vocation of marriage in fidelity to Christ.
M
melchesidechpio
Guest
I get what you are saying, but my main question is your way of life approved by the Church??
A
AdvanceAlways
Guest
Although I can appreciate the earnest intentions of groups like this, the fact of the matter remains that this is the world we live in, and at least in my opinion, it isn’t as bad, and evil as people will make it out to be. Reality is that we need to evangelize the world, and living in a tucked away style will not bring the world to Christ’s Church… just my thoughts on the matter though. (I’m not referring to monastaicsm at all however.)
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Apollos
Guest
Why would it need Church approval? Nobody’s taking any vows here.
M
melchesidechpio
Guest
still any life style that one promotes as such should be approved by the church regardless if vows are taken or not
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workingman
Guest
As I have thought about it and read the replies. I can see the benefits of living in a community as such. I do find it intriguing. The community support must be wonderful in a communal type setting. I guess I wonder how it would help spread the faith further though in a outreach type setting.
A
Apollos
Guest
I just got rid of my TV and (outdated) VCR. I also dropped the text-messaging option from my phone plan, and I haven’t replaced my car radio since it was stolen a year ago. I make my own bread, and soon my own cheese. I grow about a quarter of the vegetables I eat over the summer and I freeze lots of them for the winter. I buy practically all my clothes at second-hand shops. Am I free to simplify my life further, or should I confer with my bishop?
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Lost_Wanderer
Guest
Indeed. If the world is so loathsome, I don’t see why we attribute its creation to God. Saying humanity ruined what’s good in the world is no excuse to think there’s no chance of any good left or better yet reclaiming what was lost.
P
Plain_Catholic
Guest
The Church has already approved of Faith, then Family First: these are our objectives. Furthermore the Scriptures and Pope Clement (as well as many encyclicals and Saints) reiterate that we are to be separate from the world in our values. There is no compromise with secularism. “Workingman” has Pope Clement’s quote on this in his signature.
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
and
Luke 16:13
“No servant can serve two masters. 8 He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
We do not take vows. We do not make Promises which have a canonically less prescriptive status. We are obedient to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church and participate in our local parishes. The Magisterium endorses modesty which we follow in our homemade clothing. The Church endorses teaching our families the Faith. The Church endorses the priorities we have embraced in her various and sundry writings by the Popes, the Saints, and her Encyclicals. Our approach is simplicity through prayer and work, living according to the Values of the Faith rather than that of Wall Street.
While Plain Catholics live in various locales, not in community (unless God makes clear that such is to exist), there is a Church-Approved, Public Association of the Faithful that does exist in a similar fashion as the Amish, Plain Catholics and communitarian faith groups. They are the Brothers and Sisters of Charity brothersandsisters.org/home.html
They have consecrated members as well as families living in an integrated expression in a life of simplicity and prayer, farming and ministry.
Living a life of good example speaks quite loudly in a raucous world. Trying to actually live the Faith in a way that speaks of good example is considered the most valid form of evangelism by the Church. All one needs to do is study the Scriptures, the Saints and the Catechism. Of course, how one chooses to pursue this is according to the charism to which the person is called by the Holy Spirit.
Finally the Church is not in the business of micromanaging how families pursue these values as long as they are faithful to Church teaching and do not violate the teachings of the Church or another’s Free Will in his discernment of his walk with God.
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