You must rush to read the whole of Robert Royal’s latest column. HERE
I preface it with a reminder that I posted a tongue in check call to arms that wasn’t really tongue in cheek at all. HERE
Here’s the pattern that I have seen repeat itself over and over and over in the Church. Libs, let’s say lib priests though this is present in many spheres, can do any damn thing they want and proper authority rarely, if ever, disciplines or corrects them. But if “conservatives” do something, the bishop is on the phone to beat the guy black and blue and, in effect, bully him into dropping something that he has the right, and moral high ground to do. Priests going into parishes are told: “For heaven’s sake don’t upset The Proletariate… People. Don’t make changes for a year!” Libs immediately start to tear down everything the previous conservative pastor built. Conservatives tend to obey. But… do they raise their heads up for juuuuust a winky tink, Bishop Thrasybulus – no, rather, since I’m in Rome – Bishop Lucius Tarquinius Superbus is on the blower calling them “downtown” for a little Tall Poppy treatment.
Lay people. It is time to FIGHT BACK.
FIGHT BACK in the secular sphere when the anti-Catholic bigots go after us.
FIGHT BACK in the ecclesial sphere when the… ummmm… anti-Catholic bigots go after us.
Self-absorbed… GRRRRR.
I’m starting on a new program of special Psalms. You know the ones. The psalms written under inspiration but which the tender snowflakes don’t want to hear. They plug their ears when they are mentioned and sing “And I will raaaaaaise you uuuuup….”, so they don’t have to acknowledge they exist. Special Psalms.
Now go read Royal.
What are you waiting for?
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Looking forward to the “forbidden psalms” (who ever thought that would be a thing?) series.
Nice…Bishop Lucius Tarquinius Superbus…. I see what you did there…
The Catholic Democatics are a huge and well defined political party in many regions. They are Democrats by choice, liberal by necessity (it is party politics) and catholic by birth or ethnicity.
Funny thing about parish life on the ground here, we have a combination of lack of volunteers to do things combined with a parish that is largely ignorant of higher ecclesial matters/news (even though we’re not in the middle of nowhere). ALL of the recently hired staff and many of the most stable volunteers here are open to Tradition. All we really need to begin renewal here are more volunteers to step up and create that critical mass (Mass?) to start moving in that direction. All that ‘happy gas’ blowing around in the Church is pretty much going over the heads of the people in the pews.
Parishes need volunteers, people! Step up and make renewal happen!
Father you appear to be feeling what many of us are often feeling.
“Parishes need volunteers”
Amen and Amen!! If folks want to “do something” about the mess in the Church then stop belly-aching, stop swooning, stop complaining, and START PRIORITIZING your parish life over the hundreds of other activities that pull your family in thousands of directions. From sports (especially the dreaded “travel” sports) to clubs to scouts to music lessons . . . etc. – every excuse you give for NOT helping grow the life of your parish – whether that’s not attending daily Mass, not going to Adoration, not helping out with a parish dinner, not attending a parish talk . . .etc. – every excuse is music to the ears of the True Enemy. When we die, how well our kids play the violin or kick soccer goals won’t be part of the judging criteria. Those things have their role, and that role is BELOW the needs of your parish.
You want to DO something? If you’re among the laity, focus your efforts on the things the laity can do. We’re not going to be changing any translations for the liturgy or making judgments on doctrine. Instead of worrying over all that stuff, why not:
-put together a math Olympics within your parish.
-Or host a music recital.
-Or set up a ball room dance practice for the youth to learn how to dance gracefully and morally.
-Or organize a parish square dance.
-Or start a mens/womens/youth/homeschool book club.
-Or debate club.
-Take your kid and make him/her enroll in the Junior Legion of Mary.
-Can you play an instrument? Then offer music lessons to other kids WITHIN YOUR PARISH!
-Why not buy a projector, screen, and sound bar and start up a parish movie night (featuring CLASSIC movies) as an alternative to modern junk?
-Go sing carols with your parish at a local nursing home come Christmas Time (and if your parish doesn’t do that, then ORGANIZE it and MAKE IT HAPPEN).
And when push comes to shove, USE YOUR OWN MONEY. Don’t wait all day for parish funds to bail you out – if bureaucracy even hints at getting in the way, GO STRAIGHT AT IT and NEVER MIND THE FINANCING (adopted from Captain Aubrey’s key strategy).
Way too much of parish life is falling on the shoulders of a few committed folks who are getting burned out very quickly. There is need for laborers in this field. STOP planting your seeds in foreign fields and START cultivating your parish life.
United and ROOTED we stand. Divided and wandering we fail.
With great trembling and trepidation, I must disagree with Msgr. Z. on one point. . .
We tell our seminarians that it is *wise* not to make any major changes in a parish their first year in priestly service. Why? Because we have seen over and over again that eager, young priests get traumatized by the over-reactions of parishioners and ecclesial bureaucrats to their changes. They also earn for themselves an undeserved reputation for being troublemakers. It also gives some of the Fr. Baby Boomers (more) reasons to sneer at the Throwbacks.
Also, making wholesale, top-to-bottom changes simply reinforces the Boomers’ model of the pastor’s authority. IOW, when the newly ordained sweeps into a parish, throws out the Gather hymnal, buys all new silk vestments, and fires the altar girls, he is imitating the methods of the immediate post-Vatican Two liturgical revolution.
Get to know your people, serve them, let them learn to trust you. . .and then throw out the Gather hymnals, etc.
Fr. Philip Neri, OP
[Ehem… I am not sure you disagreed with me. And thanks for “accompanying” me. Being an internal forum monsignor is… well, let’s just say I’m misunderstood.]
Ha! The dogma lives loudly within me, now hear me roar!
Also, known as “hagan lio!”
Thanks for the pep talk Father Z :-)
But how do we laypeople fight back? Priests cannot be criticized since it offends Jesus whom they personify…
What do we do when we cannot challenge certain beliefs of priests because they are priests?
I have been finding the psalms about defeating enemies very comforting lately.
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Here in Canada we have an “Unorthodox Catholic” who commanded that anyone who runs for election with his party must be pro-choice, loves a good Pride Parade, and passed Transgendered rights law. With friends like that…
Dear Father Z, [Ummm… I didn’t write the quote that follows. Always address first the person to whom you address yourself. That helps!]
To Fr. Neri, I would suggest that the new pastor change one substantial thing in his first year so as to demonstrate he understands the all three offices of the priesthood. Too many Fathers are afraid of upsetting their children in the pews and abandon their consecrated office of governing. Be a lion in the pupit and a lamb in the confessional, but be a strong loving man when it comes to your staff and pastoral council.
Multinucleate- Huh? Since when can’t priests be criticized? If a priest preaches heresy, messes with absolution prayers, commits egregious liturgical abuses, you damn well better criticize him. Not criticizing priest got us dens of pedophiles in many places.
I have noted that use of the pocketbook lever is effective in getting a point across. Though a small minority, Jewish congregations have been aware of this for quite some time. I believe there is something in the gospels about using crass money for good purposes (freely translated). Might be time to revisit this approach.