Traditionalist Forums that are Faithful to Magisterium?

[jeannetherese]

Thank you for posting the above quote from Fisheaters. That site doesn’t sound like that is faithful to the Magisterium; it sounds more like yet another disgruntled person who thinks they know better than the Church.

Fisheaters is very large and contains a great deal of material. It is a rich source of traditional prayer and magisterial content. It can also be polemical, (as can many of the posts on this forum).
As with any source, it might a good idea to scrutinize posts carefully, with the awareness that all authors are recovering sinners and likely will be so tomorrow as well.
I appreciate the honesty of the forum developer in putting his views forward in such a forthright manner. Those in disagreement, may screen for the bias and still mine the content they find helpful.

 

[severus68]

introduction fisheaters

Thanks for this. I know what rubbish is spewed on that forum. May I suggest that anyone who wants to recommend FE to anyone, do do by PM.

 

[MikeDunphy]

CAF member Shin has a small, pleasant, devout group at Saints’ Discussion Forums, which Tired Mama and some of the other posters here may enjoy visiting.

 

[Faithdancer]

Are there any online forums for traditionalist leaning Catholics that are not dominated by people who attend Masses that are not approved (sorry, I’m sure this isn’t the appropriate term) by the local bishop? I know of Fisheaters but it seems that many of its posters attend SSPX or other independent Masses.

“attending an SSPX Mass” and “attending SSPX Masses exclusively, to the exclusion of one’s Sunday Mass obligation at a diocesan Mass” are two different things. Some of the Fisheaters may do one, some may do the other.

 

[TrueLight]

introduction fisheaters

Or you can also find really informative articles like this:

Eucharistic Adoration
The simplest, least formal, and most common way that Catholics honor Christ in the Eucharist outside of the Mass is by making simple visits to a Church to be near the Blessed Sacrament. They may go to pray, to sit quietly, to meditate, pray the Rosary, read Scripture, etc. As churches lock their doors now in response to the paganization of Western culture, it’s become much more difficult to randomly visit a church and find it open to pay our respects, but one can possibly arrange with one’s priest or with the parish office to be allowed inside during off-hours.

The Blessed Sacrament should be kept in the Tabernacle on the High Altar in the sanctuary, and with a sanctuary lamp (“ner tamid” to the ancient Israelites) burning nearby, but sometimes you might find the Tabernacle in a side chapel (often called a “Blessed Sacrament Chapel” or, if your parish offers Perpetual Adoration, a “Perpetual Adoration Chapel”). The tabernacle itself is the receptacle that holds the vessels that contain the Blessed Sacrament. It is lined inside with either gold or white silk, and is covered outside with a veil called a “canopeum.”

Note: A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful, under the usual conditions, who visit the Most Blessed Sacrament to adore it; a plenary indulgence is granted, under the usual conditions, if the visit lasts for at least one half an hour. Note also that when women make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament (or any time they enter a church), they should cover their heads; men should uncover theirs

Lectio Divina

Lectio
When we are relaxed and in a contemplative mode, we trace the Sign of the Cross on the book of Scripture, kiss the Cross we traced, and then open it to read. Some may want to focus on Scripture from that day’s Propers. Others may want to read the Bible straight through, starting with Genesis. Others may want to focus only on the New Testament or the Psalms. We aren’t trying to “accomplish a goal” of reading X amount; we read what is easily digested at that time. Whichever selection we choose, we read it with our minds, slowly, gently, coming to an understanding of the words themselves.

Having a solid orthodox Catholic commentary (pre-Vatican II commentary with Imprimatur or the rare, well-chosen post-Vatican II commentary), a nice Concordance, etc., in order to get a good grasp of the meaning of the actual words – their historical cultural context, their etymologies, the Fathers’ thoughts on the relevant Scripture, etc. – is imperative. We should always approach Scripture with the mind of the Church, in the spirit of the Ethopian eunuch who asked Philip to guide him:

Acts 8:30-31
And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest? Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

We should always keep in mind Peter’s admonition that “no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20) and that Scripture can be difficult to understand, something “which the unlearned and unstable wrest…to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).

If you come to a verse you don’t understand, or that you understand in a way that is contrary to Catholic teaching, seek traditional Catholic commentary on it. Any apparent contradiction between Scripture and Catholic teaching is just that: apparent, and not real. As an example, even a simple verse such as one that refers to Mary’s “firstborn” will be misunderstood if one is ignorant of Jewish law, as are many Protestants who believe that reference to a “firstborn” means there must be a “secondborn,” and who then go on to deny Mary’s virginity. Seek a Catholic commentary which would refer you, in this case, to the Old Testament law of the “firstborn” and will teach you what that word really means (see Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:14-15, Numbers 18:15 and research the term “pidyon ha-ben”).

At any rate, in Lectio, we are reading for the literal sense of the words, trying to understand the reality the writer of the text intended to convey.

Meditatio
Now we meditate on what we have read, perhaps even reading it again, visualizing it and listening for the aspect of it that reveals the Divine Mysteries. We want the deeper, spiritual meanings of the words now, and read for its anagogocal (or “eschatalogical”) sense and its typical (or “allegorical”) sense – i.e., we consider types and anti-types, shadows and symbolism in order to understand the deeper reality the Holy Ghost intends to convey by arranging nature and history as He did, thereby inspiring the writer of the text to write as he did.

Oratio
We ask God to for the grace to be changed by what we have read, to come more fully into being what He wants us to be, and to help us apply the tropological (or “moral”) sense of the Scripture to our lives.

Contemplatio
We rest in gratitude for God and His Word.

Collatio
If we are engaging in Lectio Divina with others, we discuss what we’ve learned.

Actio
We live what we have learned.

Consider engaging in Lectio Divina with your family, perhaps on the Lord’s Day each week (if not daily). Discuss Scripture together, encouraging even the littlest ones of your family to participate (the very small can draw pictures of the stories you are reading). Make the Bible a familar and integral part of their lives.

 

[Sirach2]

Well and good, TrueLight, but I think we have all of this information and more of it right here at CAF. The danger of going to Fisheaters and bumping into erroneous information outweighs the few good informational posts such as you shared here. In addition, we have excellent moderation that is not always active at FE.

Please don’t think I’m picking on you, but this paragraph, while being a must-do for traditionalists, is not required of Catholic women in general in the new GIRM. So in that sense, it is lawful for Fisheaters’ audience consisting of traditionalists, but what about those who happen upon the post and think it applies to ALL?
Note also that when women make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament (or any time they enter a church), they should cover their heads; men should uncover theirs
Are you a member there? Would you send others to that site, considering the problems? I am fully aware of the background and skuttlebutt going on with the owners. After prayer, and if the Lord leads me to justly warn others, I’ll do so later.

 

[Indyann]

It is quite clear that this site is NOT faithful to the Magisterium. as is evidenced by post #17.

The very foundation of the site, the intro, shows that the writer is not thinking with the mind of the Church. How can anything presented there be trusted? My reasoning tells me it cannot be trusted.

IMHO, that site is about as far from Tradition as one can get. One must be very knowledgeable about the faith and be able to discern truth from error, to traverse the site, without grave danger to their faith.

People inquiring about the faith and new Catholics should stay far, far away!.

 

[Sirach2]

Hi Indyann,

With regard to your comment about post #17. Using the FE website’s own words, this confirms what I stated in post #2 from Catholicculture. I have never once seen them review a site with any discernible errors in judgment. They are very careful and thorough in their research, probably due to possible lawsuits if they misstate anything.

 

[Rich_C]

catholicforum.fisheaters.com/index.php/topic,3447416.0.html This link may tell you what you want to know.

+1

Registration is still open. You just have to e-mail the site owner to request one, nowadays. There is no cost and no hoops to jump through, you just have to email her.

 

[Rich_C]

People inquiring about the faith and new Catholics should stay far, far away!.

I think there is a lot of good information there, and what is questionable is generally presented as the owner’s opinion.

Because of the apparent errors mixed in with the good information, I agree that I would not direct new or discerning Catholics there, but for the same reason I wouldn’t direct them here, either. Forums are just not a place I would feel confident directing someone who is vulnerable to being misled.

I have already seen at least one error in a response to this very thread. Seriously.

 

[MikeDunphy]

To register on Fisheaters, first read the forum rules to make sure the place is suitable for you. If you want to join, send an email to http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r6md8bolgk8/UIQgLsuDloI/AAAAAAAAAa0/VunYt5jwnS8/s200/TracyEmail.gif
with the username and email address you want to use for your account there.

Despite the previous comments, I think the site is helpful. Some of the posts in the forum may be too acerbic for the OP, but there are many interesting and informative articles on the same site which you can read without ever joining the forum.

Tired Mama;9917458:

Anyone know why registration is disabled on Fisheaters? Are they shut down to new people?

I’ve been getting the same message for a good month Tired Mama. Perhaps someone on CAF who is active on that site might pass the message over and see if registration can be reopened or debugged?

… and I just noticed that tradcathconvert already linked to the same information I provided above.

 

[curlycool89]

Or you can also find really informative articles like this:

It seems to me that there’s nothing odd about that. Even when something is founded on a falsehood (eg - discent towards the Magisterium), you can still find glimmers of truth within its.

That’s one of the principles behind ecumenism, ironically enough. So I guess you could say that you should treat Fisheaters in the same way as you would approach any ecumenical situation: yes you can find some truth contained within the falsehood.

 

[Sirach2]

Sirach2:

After prayer, and if the Lord leads me to justly warn others, I’ll do so later.

I’ve decided not to share the information regarding the owners, even though it is public. I would suspect the regular members already know about it anyway. Their circumstance is not reflective of the entire membership, so it’s best to keep it to myself.

However, as I consider the red warning from Catholicculture, that is a matter of concern. I happened to remember a movie I watched called The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis. If you saw it, you may remember that the young boy with the ability to “see dead people” helped the police trap the nurse who had caused the death of a young girl. The nurse was slowing feeding poison to her on a daily basis in her food.
This would not cause immediate death, but if a person absorbs poison, even small amounts at a time, ultimately the effect would take place.

As this movie came to mind, I thought of our spiritual death that would take place by imbibing small doses of poison against the faith. It is insidious when it is not evident, as was the poison in the girl’s food. When we place ourselves in environments that are known to attack the faith, it would be presumption to say, “I’m immune – my faith is strong enough to enter this danger.”

 

[LoyalViews]

www.catholicnetwork.forumotion.com

It’s a forum that I am setting up at the moment, and trying to gain members. Also, I’m looking for moderators, and I hope to have everything completed in the next two weeks!

Catholic Community Forum is great, also, have you tried Phatmass?

 

[Esrb99]

Fisheaters officially views the Ordinary Form as Valid, though they do obviously hold the Extraordinary Form in higher regard. The site’s owners officially regard the Pope as the Pope, and in fact recently cracked down on people who claimed the Pope was not Catholic. They allow people who attend Diocesan, Personal Parishes (FSSP/ICRSP), SSPX, and Independent TLM’s to express their views, so long as charity is shown towards the Pope and his teaching. Yes, they may grumble from time to time on certain things, but I feel as a whole, Fisheaters can be useful. I wouldn’t recommend them to a new convert or anything, but I think for me personally, Pairing Fisheaters with both here and other forums, It’s easier for me to come to my own understanding of the crisis in the church and to try to be as faithful to the magisterium through the great tradition of the church.

 

[catholicanne]

Thank you for posting the above quote from Fisheaters. That site doesn’t sound like that is faithful to the Magisterium; it sounds more like yet another disgruntled person who thinks they know better than the Church.

Indeed.

 

[tradcathconvert]

introduction fisheaters

Do you have a link to where that is posted? I do not doubt it is there , but just haven’t noticed that at FE yet.

 

[tradcathconvert]

Do you have a link to where that is posted? I do not doubt it is there , but just haven’t noticed that at FE yet.

Spoke too soon. I found it here fisheaters.com/TLMintroduction.html

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

I think there is a lot of good information there, and what is questionable is generally presented as the owner’s opinion.

introduction fisheaters

in this section, i focus solely on the traditional latin mass based on the missal of 1962 which is used by most traditional priests (including the f.s.s.p. And the s.s.p.x.). After much study, i’ve come to the conclusion that, validity issues aside, the “novus ordo mass” is tragically flawed, something my instincts and “common sense” have told me since i was a child. The very name of this mass – “novus ordo,” i.e., “new order” – should make anyone with a true catholic nature cringe, and its effects are so incredibly sad it almost hurts to think about it. It has turned out to be a “new mass” for a “new religion” – and that religion is “not catholic enough.”

This is not merely “questionable” material.

It is direct contradiction to what the Church Teaches and what the Holy Father has said.

It is plainly divisive and should in no way be encouraged with membership at the forum paid or not.

It just makes me sick to read it and sick to see the rationalizations that support this sort of anit-Catholic hatred.

Because, regardless of their claims to being Catholic, any attack on any form of the Mass is an attack against the Faith.

 

[severus68]

This is not merely “questionable” material.

It is direct contradiction to what the Church Teaches and what the Holy Father has said.

It is plainly divisive and should in no way be encouraged with membership at the forum paid or not.

It just makes me sick to read it and sick to see the rationalizations that support this sort of anit-Catholic hatred.

Because, regardless of their claims to being Catholic, any attack on any form of the Mass is an attack against the Faith.

Yes.