…Is being a Traditional Catholic a dying breed? I have several friends that I grew up with that are no longer Catholic. Actually, most of the kids I went to Catholic school with. The few that are, don’t know what Our Catechism says or our Catholic Bible. I am finding it hard to find someone our age that is knowledgeable about our faith to share fellowship. I know we should share our faith with others, but sometimes its nice to hang out with other that are like us.
My recommendations:
(1) I agree with your perceptions that something isn’t right, that things shouldn’t be as they are, that what you have been confronting and experiencing is a state of affairs that is out of whack.
(2) But, this is how things are. You are not God. You cannot change this.
(3) But, hope is not lost.
(4) Above all, deepen your FELLOWSHIP with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. NO group, parish, or mortal human friend can fill the emptiness that only God can fill. I know you know that. But, still, we can all forget that, right?
(5) Per #4 above, don’t get caught up in the endless search for the right parish, the right priest, the right mass, etc., etc., etc.
(6) Live out your private family life with God.
(7) Do not depend on ANYONE else to teach the Catholic Faith to your children. YOU must know the faith deeply and broadly, and constantly TEACH it to them yourself.
(8) Of course, as it always said, the MAIN way you teach Faith, Hope and Love is by living it out in your daily life.
(9) Blessed Pope John Paul II called the basic family unit the “domestic church.” Focus on that. As parent, you are a leader or the leader in your domestic church.
(10) Waste no time or energy or thought in being disappointed with all the lax Catholics. As I said in #6, just live out YOUR private family life with God.
(11) I believe the main protection against your children leaving the Catholic Faith is for you to give your all in being the very best parent in the world. Raise them so that they love you so much that they’d rather be boiled in oil than disappoint you.
(12) Going to Mass at a place that only offers the traditional Latin mass might help. But beware: Sometimes the people at those places are OBSESSED with and very ANGRY at all the “liberals” at the places that have the Novus Ordo (ordinary form) mass. Some get obsessed with blaming all the problems on the Vatican II Council. Others want to blame “the culture,” the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, Karl Marx, Immanuel Kant, the Protestant Revolution, Feminists, Freemasons, Sigmund Freud, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or something. I really advise not to get caught up in this Us versus Them business. Just skip the holy war. It is a lot like politics, and it just makes you sick and despairing after a while. Per my idea #6 above, just live out your private family life with God. Don’t get involved in any great movement to reform or save the Church. That is what many in those traditional Latin mass places are trying to do. God bless them. But you are a mom with little kids! You don’t have time to save or reform the Church! Just live out your little private family life with God. Think of yourself as “little,” per the recommendation of St. Therese, the “Little Flower.” Don’t let these troublesome times trouble you. Keep your faith in God and in God’s Church. In reality, everything is just fine in the Kingdom of Heaven, and for those who are in harmony with Heaven through Jesus Christ.
(12) Lots of traditional type Catholics find fellowship, solace and security at Opus Dei study centers. There is apparently one in South Bend, Indiana. There may be others closer to you.
I found this on the Opus Dei web site:
Where does Opus Dei have centers in the United States?
Opus Dei has more than 60 centers in or near 19 cities in the U.S.: Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Delray Beach, FL; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; Milwaukee; New York; Pittsburgh; Princeton, NJ; Providence; St. Louis; San Antonio; San Francisco; South Bend, IN; South Orange, NJ; Urbana, IL; and Washington, DC. Additionally, Opus Dei conducts activities in many other cities. To learn more about Opus Dei’s activities in your area, please send an e-mail to
info@opusdei.org indicating where you are writing from and any other details you wish to include.
opusdei.us/sec.php?s=494
Opus Dei has separate meetings for men and for women. They also have activities for kids that I think are very helpful.
Honestly, I don’t understand why all traditional-type Catholics don’t get associated with Opus Dei.
As I understand it, most people don’t actually join Opus Dei. Rather, most people just associate with it, go to meetings and masses they offer, and enroll their kids in activities they offer for kids (sports and educational programs, mainly, I think).
It the lifetime of St. Augustine of Hippo, the Roman Empire, including I think even the city of Rome itself, was getting conquered and sacked by “barbarians” (mainly Germans, I think). This led many of the Roman people to ask, “How can this be happening? This is Rome!” This led some people to blame the Catholic Church for this. They said, “If Rome had kept its traditional religion (the pagan one), none of this would be happening!” This was upsetting so many people that St. Augustine wrote a whole book to refute the view that it was all the fault of the Catholic Church becoming the religion of Rome. And, as we all know, those troublesome times passed, and by most people are completely forgotten.
These troublesome times will pass too. But, your life and the lives of your children DO matter! So, per my #6 above, just live our your private family life with God, and don’t worry.
