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Samuel, Well I don’t know the best way to bring the people back to the pews, but I do know what is driving them away – the ridiculous utterances of our Commie Pope Francis.
From Eric Lendrum at American Greatness:
“On Saturday, Pope Francis claimed that a ‘rigidity’ in Christian lifestyle is causing the religion’s global decline amidst a “minefield of misunderstanding and hatred,” ABC Newsreports.
Pope Francis claimed that Christians are “no longer the only ones that produce culture, no longer the first nor the most listened to.” As a result, he says, Christians are turning to rigidity in order to cover for their own issues, with “rigidity and imbalance [fueling] one another in a vicious cycle…and these days, the temptation to rigidity has become so apparent.”
This “rigidity,” Francis claims, “is born of fear from change and ends up disseminating stakes and obstacles in the ground of the common good, turning it into a minefield of misunderstanding and hatred.”
“The pope’s statements further reflect the growing divides within the Catholic Church as opposition grows to his more liberal and secular approach to faith. Francis has criticized the idea of tradition, saying that it “is not static, it’s dynamic.” This outlook has manifested in his attempts to soften the church’s stances on such issues as divorce, as well as other hot-button political issues such as immigration, to the point that he has clashed with several other world leaders, including President Donald Trump.”
This morning I went to Christmas mass at my local church in Toluca Lake ,CA. A very beautiful church of Spanish Baroque design paid for by Bob Hope’s wife Dolores , Loretta Young and Ann Blythe in the 1950’s. The choir was Cathedral Worthy today with soaring Christmas song renditions and a service that was wonderful, but for the first time the pews were not filled to the brim with a unusual scattering of empty pews. On Christmas and Easter for as long as I can remember Christmas and Easter services have been standing room only affairs with the older 1920’s church on site, now used as a parish hall, also filled to the brim with the overflow crowd that did not come early enough to get into the main church. But not today. I can only guess that it was the Pope’s callous remarks that caused that lack of attendance.
I’ll be praying you attend every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation and set an example for the other young men and women in your parish. I know it is very difficult, but don’t let Pope Francis get you down – it is not his Church – it is Christ’s. And no matter how hard he tries, Francis can’t destroy the Church. It is quite ironic that the TLM has grown under Francis.
I second this.
I really will try! I just don’t want to promise… yet.
When I went back to school, I met a handful of incredibly impressive youngsters in the same boat as I. It really is a welcome irony. There’s a lot to be hopeful for!
Merry Christmas, Scott!
It’s really something, ain’t it. That’s what’s so strange. That I’ve got a complaint with the Pope for being to lax shows how much I’ve journeyed during the last half decade…. I used to be a mess!
Samuel, I will also pray for your regular attendance! You might try checking online for parishes within driving distance that seem to have what you are wanting in a parish. Look at Masstimes.org and then parish’s websites for their bulletin. It’s sometimes obvious which ones are vibrant, which ones are not. You might also check for a daily Mass that you could hit before work or on your way home from work that would help build on your attendance habit. Or stop in at a parish that has adoration when you’re on your way to or from work. Once you make some friends in a parish, you will find a home.
I’m afraid the Pope has it exactly backwards. Of all people to be criticizing tradition! The Church should be a bastion of tradition. Tradition connects us to those who came before us. Jesus said to Peter, “On this rock I build my church.” He didn’t say “On this shifting sand of trendy social fads.” It’s why he named him Peter. It means “Rock” (the French version of the name “Peter” is Pierre, and the word for “rock” is “la pierre”).
He was conveying the unchanging stalwart nature of His church. Instead of seeing the unchanging-ness as a comforting anchor in the turbulence of the modern world, leftists choose to see it as being stodgy. We aren’t “afraid of change,” Francis. We just recognize when it’s not necessarily a good thing. People need a solid foundation they can count on, especially now when men are in the ladies’ room, people don’t seem to know which sex they are, nobody is allowed to call things what they are.
Welcome and Merry Christmas! It may take a little time to find a church that feels right, but that will encourage your more regular attendance. I would suggest volunteering at the parish in order to meet some like minded individuals like yourself. Volunteering as a lector or usher will make sure you get there regularly. Volunteering at a parish festival will introduce you to a wide range of parishioners, and possibly the young ladies you are seeking. May God grant you the grace to find what you are looking for.
There is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God… Luke 15:7
Prayers, Samuel.
There really is no shortage of madness these days!
Thanks guys!
So the trouble is that I’m not exactly in a single location at the moment. My goal is to break into filmmaking, and at the moment I’m trying to help my brother get a record label off the ground. (I figure it’s time our side took a shot at breaking into their institutions.) It’s likely that I’ll be bouncing around a bit, and spending a lot of my time in the places that the sinners go.
That works okay for me, I grew up around those places. In fact, I suspect the reason so many in the church have succumbed to popular who-am-I-to-judge attitude is that they haven’t spent any time on the streets – they’re where it’s nice and comfy.
Of course this doesn’t negate the point @scottwilmot and @oldbuckeye make – it probably reinforces it, I ought to be in church as often as I can! But being ungrounded the way I’m used to, it makes it a little tough to settle down in all kinds of ways… including any kind of regular attendance to anything.
I’ll be sure to keep you guys in Ricochet Catholics posted on this. ( It’ll probably help me keep my eye on what’s important too.)
Thank you!
I hear people complain about thoughts and prayers, and I always think: man, I can’t get enough of those!
I travel a lot for business, including the ocassional week-end away. Finding the local parish for mass is a delight, not a chore, once you realize that it’s the same liturgy everywhere. (Yeah, there are variations, but within the bounds of the GIRM.)
There are a lot of distractions in this world that makes the journey home difficult at times. I would suggest slipping into the pews when the occasion allows not just for Mass, but for some quiet reflection as well.
http://ricochet.com/708250/the-worker-in-sandalwood/
Samuel, every year @spacemanspiff gives us this gift at Christmas. While you are going through your search remember this story. G-d heard the cry of the poor.