What is a "plain" Catholic?

[catholic_rn]

. . . . but despaired of finding like minded people for our children to fellowship with. We never had a problem with Church doctrine, we simply didn’t see many (any?) Catholics around us living their faith in a meaningful way.

This is a big problem for us too. Our Faith is essential to our everyday lives, but sadly, most Catholics we know are ‘cafeteria’ or Sunday-only Catholics. I find it a little disturbing that our fellow parishoners are shocked that our teenager enjoys attending things like Stations of the Cross and has built his own alter in his room, our two year old knows most of the basic Catholic prayers by heart, and our five year old says the Rosary on her own daily. I always want to say, “Your children don’t?!”

 

[Luna_Lovecraft]

This is a big problem for us too. Our Faith is essential to our everyday lives, but sadly, most Catholics we know are ‘cafeteria’ or Sunday-only Catholics. I find it a little disturbing that our fellow parishoners are shocked that our teenager enjoys attending things like Stations of the Cross and has built his own alter in his room, our two year old knows most of the basic Catholic prayers by heart, and our five year old says the Rosary on her own daily. I always want to say, “Your children don’t?!”

You know, there are plenty of us who have a faith that’s at the very core of our lives who “only” attend Mass on Sundays. The rest of the time we’re working, raising families, learning more about the Church, enriching our spiritual lives, and otherwise being a witness to our faith in this troubled world.

Someone can be a faithful Catholic “only” attending Mass on Sundays. On the other hand, there are perfectly lousy Catholics - and human beings for that matter - who say the Rosary daily and attend every Catholic service imaginable.

My point is that it’s more than a bit unkind to cast aspersions on other parishioners - referring to them as cafeteria Catholics especially - simply because of how they react to your children’s religious expressions. No one should be in a religiosity contest; we shouldn’t be engaged in the Catholic Olympics to see who can out-Catholic whom. And we certainly shouldn’t be putting our kids on religious display or taking potshots at other people’s children based on how they do or do not express their devotion to Christ and His Church.

Luna

 

[maryjk]

My point is that it’s more than a bit unkind to cast aspersions on other parishioners - referring to them as cafeteria Catholics especially - simply because of how they react to your children’s religious expressions. No one should be in a religiosity contest; we shouldn’t be engaged in the Catholic Olympics to see who can out-Catholic whom. And we certainly shouldn’t be putting our kids on religious display or taking potshots at other people’s children based on how they do or do not express their devotion to Christ and His Church.

Luna

I can’t enough.

 

[Eleanor61]

Very interesting! I have never met anyone who joined the Mennonites or Amish communities.

Do you think it is really family pride, or is it just the effects of living in a closed community, that makes them clannish and suspicious of people who come in from the outside? I would guess it’s partly suspicion of the outside world…which, in a way, your family reinforced, by coming in, staying 6 years and then leaving again. Maybe next time, they will refuse to let a family from the outside join the community at all, so as not to be a disruption.

No, it is family pride because they use it against others in the community who come from lower caste Mennonite families- poor families, those who do not keep up as well, those whose families do not include ordained men, etc.
The Mennonites, unlike most but not all Amish, take the Great Commission seriously, and actively try to make converts. They are very welcoming, especially at first. The pressure of trying to keep up with gardening, canning, sewing, entertaining, keeping an immaculate house and raising a large family is very difficult without support, although I already had most of the skills and found it a challenge. Most of the work falls on the women, to support the traditional lifestyle.
Are you trying to imply that we spoiled it for others? We tithed and are fairly well off. Most of the converts who stay are financially dependent on the church, and even they are few and far between.

 

[catholic_rn]

You know, there are plenty of us who have a faith that’s at the very core of our lives who “only” attend Mass on Sundays. The rest of the time we’re working, raising families, learning more about the Church, enriching our spiritual lives, and otherwise being a witness to our faith in this troubled world.

Someone can be a faithful Catholic “only” attending Mass on Sundays. On the other hand, there are perfectly lousy Catholics - and human beings for that matter - who say the Rosary daily and attend every Catholic service imaginable.

My point is that it’s more than a bit unkind to cast aspersions on other parishioners - referring to them as cafeteria Catholics especially - simply because of how they react to your children’s religious expressions. No one should be in a religiosity contest; we shouldn’t be engaged in the Catholic Olympics to see who can out-Catholic whom. And we certainly shouldn’t be putting our kids on religious display or taking potshots at other people’s children based on how they do or do not express their devotion to Christ and His Church.

Luna

I realize that someone can be a good and faithful Catholic while attending Mass only on Sunday. But someone who ONLY attends on Sunday and follows NONE of the Church’s teachings is, in my opinion, a “Sunday Catholic” or a “cafeteria Catholic.” I’m sorry if you think it’s unkind that I speak the truth regarding what I see in MY parish. I never said this about you or anyone else in this forum. I was speaking about MY parish.

I am not in competition with anyone, nor do I think I am in the Catholic Olympics. I do NOT put my children on religious display. Why would you think I do that?? Because I mentioned what my kids know and love and appreciate about our Faith? Would you prefer that I tell my children to sit quietly and not participate in any of the Mass because they would be showing off? Or being put on public display? I’m sorry if this offends you, but as parents it is our duty to teach our children the Faith, and I sometimes find it very irritating that other parents neglect this duty but are so surprised that we have not.

I’m sorry if this offended you. That was not my intent.

 

[Plain_Catholic]

gotta be honest here…unlike many responders to this thread, i am VERY intrigued by the lifestyle.
…
i would actually be interested in developing these practices into my own life…but would love it if there were many ‘plains’ living around me so we wouldn’t be all alone in it., something to think about.

There is a page at the PC website that helps you with suggestions to become more Plain Catholic in your life. Change slowly, add a little bit at a time so as to not shock your family and friends all at once. Slow change is also good in that it helps you to retain more of the new practice. Here is the page plaincatholic.webs.com/stepstobecomingplain.htm

 

[Dale_M]

My point is that it’s more than a bit unkind to cast aspersions on other parishioners - referring to them as cafeteria Catholics especially - simply because of how they react to your children’s religious expressions. No one should be in a religiosity contest; we shouldn’t be engaged in the Catholic Olympics to see who can out-Catholic whom. And we certainly shouldn’t be putting our kids on religious display or taking potshots at other people’s children based on how they do or do not express their devotion to Christ and His Church.

um… wow.

Luna, I wonder if you misconstrued the points she was making. I don’t think she was judging the children of other Catholics or putting her own children on a pedestal. Rather, she was lamenting that most people she encounters in her parish do not make the faith central to their lives. I think I know the disappointment she feels, as I had similar feelings when I left RCIA at my university and merged into a community parish.

Perhaps you have never encountered an attitude I have run across, but there is a feeling among many Sunday-only Catholics that it is undesirable, even disreputable, to be “too Catholic.”

The three persons I have known who may have been Plain Catholics (by their simple dress and lifestyle) were very down to earth, humble and caring people. My sense is that humility is very much a part of the Plain Catholic ethos.

But, yes, I dislike the term “Cafeteria Catholic”, too. Unfortunately, its use is widespread in many online circles, including this one.

 

[catholic_rn]

There is a page at the PC website that helps you with suggestions to become more Plain Catholic in your life. Change slowly, add a little bit at a time so as to not shock your family and friends all at once. Slow change is also good in that it helps you to retain more of the new practice. Here is the page plaincatholic.webs.com/stepstobecomingplain.htm

I agree all the way! We are not fully Plain, but slowly making our way. It’s better to take your time to discern if this is a good fit for you or not.

 

[MrsFlapjack]

I just wanted to say that I am totally overjoyed that there are Catholic family groups out there who have embraced simplicity! I have long admired the Amish and Mennonite families, and have wondered at times if Catholics would be welcome to join their communities. Unfortunately, my husband would never go for this type of lifestyle, he is more addicted to technology than I am.

God Bless all of you! I will bookmark the plain Catholic sites that are listed here and visit them regularly.

 

[Eleanor61]

I think that there needs to be some understanding that people who want to live their faith more perfectly and provide their children with good role models are not necessarily guilty of spiritual pride. I am really tired of this sort of bickering. People are being intimidated into not wearing a veil, not frequenting the sacraments, not dressing modestly, not grounding their children firmly in the traditional catholic faith, not attending Latin mass, because we wouldn’t want to be a distraction or be thought “holier than thou”.

Some of us, like Blaise Pascal and St. John Vianney, are attracted and held, fed and sustained, by a faith that may seem legalistic to others. Rules and traditional practices can be rich and supportive to such a spirit, intellectually stimulating to such a mind. Such souls are not necessarily judgmental of others, nor should they be judged as such. To notice and lament a real problem in the church is not uncharitable.

A spirit of charity which extends to heresy and heterodoxy has gotten the church into a rather bad spot, where even many of the people at Mass each week support pro-choice politicians and do not understand or believe in the real presence. Tolerance is not one of the cardinal virtues. The term cafeteria Catholic persists because it so aptly describes the problem.

 

[maryjk]

I realize that someone can be a good and faithful Catholic while attending Mass only on Sunday. But someone who ONLY attends on Sunday and follows NONE of the Church’s teachings is, in my opinion, a “Sunday Catholic” or a “cafeteria Catholic.” I’m sorry if you think it’s unkind that I speak the truth regarding what I see in MY parish. I never said this about you or anyone else in this forum. I was speaking about MY parish.

I am not in competition with anyone, nor do I think I am in the Catholic Olympics. I do NOT put my children on religious display. Why would you think I do that?? Because I mentioned what my kids know and love and appreciate about our Faith? Would you prefer that I tell my children to sit quietly and not participate in any of the Mass because they would be showing off? Or being put on public display? I’m sorry if this offends you, but as parents it is our duty to teach our children the Faith, and I sometimes find it very irritating that other parents neglect this duty but are so surprised that we have not.

I’m sorry if this offended you. That was not my intent.

Much like Luna, I took your post to mean that you do see Catholics that attend Mass only on Sundays to be cafeteria Catholics. Or at least you see them as the same.

Our Faith is essential to our everyday lives, but sadly, most Catholics we know are ‘cafeteria’ or Sunday-only Catholics.

What were we suppose to take from the above statement???

I find it a little disturbing that our fellow parishioners are shocked that our teenager enjoys attending things like Stations of the Cross and has built his own altar in his room, our two year old knows most of the basic Catholic prayers by heart, and our five year old says the Rosary on her own daily. I always want to say, “Your children don’t?!”

I am sure the comment " your children don’t?!" is what caused Luna to talk about Catholic Olympics.

 

[catholic_rn]

Much like Luna, I took your post to mean that you do see Catholics that attend Mass only on Sundays to be cafeteria Catholics. Or at least you see them as the same.

What were we suppose to take from the above statement???
I am sure the comment " your children don’t?!" is what caused Luna to talk about Catholic Olympics.

What I said was clear - most Catholics WE know. . . .

I was making a statement regarding individuals in OUR parish, not a sweeping generalization of all Catholics.

I have never said “your children don’t?!” to anyone. I sometimes want to say it, though, when fellow parishoners who are not teaching their children the Faith react so profoundly to my children and how they express their devotion. The comment I made was an expression of how I would like to react to the way others first behave towards us. Again, I was speaking specifically about the people who attend our Church. The entire reason for the original post was to find others like us, who practice, dress, live the Faith the way we do, because we have no else in our community like us. I did not mean to offend anyone, and I’m sorry if I did.

 

[Plain_Catholic]

What I said was clear - most Catholics WE know. . . .
I was making a statement regarding individuals in OUR parish, not a sweeping generalization of all Catholics.

I have never said “your children don’t?!” to anyone. I sometimes want to say it, though, when fellow parishoners who are not teaching their children the Faith react so profoundly to my children and how they express their devotion. The comment I made was an expression of how I would like to react to the way others first behave towards us. Again, I was speaking specifically about the people who attend our Church. The entire reason for the original post was to find others like us, who practice, dress, live the Faith the way we do, because we have no else in our community like us. I did not mean to offend anyone, and I’m sorry if I did.

Catholic_rn that was a lovely explanation and apologies, both posts. Hopefully no one else will feel the need to badger and belittle you for what was obviously a momentary expression of frustration on your situation.

Only he or she who has never expressed themselves in frustration can pitch stones at you without guilt.

 

[Portrait]

The movement itself is more than 100 years old. Interestingly, the internet has made it easier for Plain Catholics to find each other and communicate. We do control what we access on the internet and other popular media.

Modesty, simplicity and separation from popular secular culture are three rationales for our living this plain life. It helps us to focus on Faith and Family. You can see the teachings for this from Catholic Popes, the Catechism, theologians and Scripture at the Plain Catholic website.

It is a charism and not everyone is called to it. We are. We do not show disrespect or engage in debates or sarcasm with those who choose to follow a different charism. As Christ said, in heaven are many mansions.

Dear Plain Catholic,

Cordial greetings and a very good day.

It rejoices my heart greatly, dear friend, to read of the Plain Catholic movement which, bless God, evidently takes seriously the Catholic call to holiness, which is a call to every Catholic and not only a few thoroughgoing ‘spiritual types’ - “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (S. Matt. 5: 48). Striving for a more deeper union with our Blessed Saviour necessarily entails sanctity and separation from the godless world and its debased culture, for how can there be any true holiness “without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gruadually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 2015, see also paras. 2013-2014). Many contemporary Catholics, especially the youth, seem ignorant of the fact that the whole course of this life is a state of probation and that we must diligently labour to confirm our call and election (cf. II Pet. 1: 10, 11). No holiness, no Heaven.

“Modesty, simplicity and separation from popular secular culture” are, dear friend, not only “rationales” for the living the plain life, but are also essential requirements for living up to the arduous demands of an authentically pious Catholic life - “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord” (II Cor. 6: 17,18). Unfortunately, Western Catholicism is now populated by multitudes of cultural Catholics who have adopted a hand in hand with the world type of religious practice that makes little or no demand upon them as regards self-denial and the pursuit of holiness. Certainly, our religion was never intended to make us melancholic and that there is a place for innocent merriment and wholesome leisure activities, is something that I would not stop to deny, for God has given all things richly to enjoy in moderation. However, this is wholly different from the Catholicism Lite which now plagues the Church and which stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that some forms of worldly indulgence simply do not comport with the call to Christian holiness. This easy-going comfortable approach to religion, now so fashionable, is nothing but a shameful worldly conformity that fosters a very earthbound outlook. As Catholics do we not declare that “here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb. 13: 14)? If that is the case then clearly we should not dote upon worldly pleasures and pursuits (some should be avoided altogether), but rather upon growth in personal sanctity, depth in prayer, charitable good works and cultivating a more intimate communion with Christ. Should not these be the noble aims which fill our horizon? As St. Paul says, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3: 1-3).

Alas, dear friend, even raising the issues of modesty or separation from the godless world is likely to elicit a frosty response and one may find oneself branded a ‘Puritan prude’, or at least be accused of ‘overscrupulosity’. However, there is no escaping the incontrovertible fact that many cultural Catholics live lives that are virtually indistinguishable from their pagan neighbours. True, they may fulfil Sunday Obligation, do some charitable good work and even be orthodox as touching faith and morals, but there is no real earnest pursuit of holiness, no keeping themselves “unspotted from the world” (Jam. 1: 18). Far too many Western Catholics have fallen into a lukewarm religious practice that is tepid, flabby, half-hearted, limp, always wanting to compromise and indifferent. Surely, such straddlers are a disgrace to the holy religion of Christ and seriously tarnish its credibility in the eyes of the watching world. How we Catholics must dare to be different and provide an alternative Christian counter-culture that will truly impact our godless age.

Thanks be unto God, I say, for the Plain Catholic movement -splendid stuff and very much needed given the Laodicean times in which our lot is sadly cast.

God bless.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax

 

[TheRealJuliane]

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