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Latin
Mass / Catholic Tradition
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Where
Do We Stand?
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In brief, we stand for tradition. We think much has
been lost over the past decades and wish to see it return in all its
glory. We believe that the Novus Ordo Rite of Mass is valid (when
said with proper matter, form, and intention), although we fear it may
be
harmful (especially to faith in the Real Presence and fear of the Lord)
and tends to encourage irreverence and sacrilege. We strongly disagree
with sedevacantists. While we recognize the necessity of protecting
one's faith and that of one's family, we do not think it is right
to engage in truly schismatic
activities.
While we recognize that many Traditionalists do
much to foster the faith, we also find that some 'Traditionalists' seem
to "give us a bad name". We think we should do all we can do,
as appropriate, to restore Church traditions, but we do not think it is
our place to judge the hearts of others.
We believe obedience is obligatory, however, we do
recognize that obedience must have limits, as expounded by the saints of
the past. Where that line is, we dare say, is the tricky point. We believe
the safest course is to examine what would have been considered
appropriate by saints and popes of the past.
We think there is much confusion out there and
that the only safe place to be is "clung firmly to tradition".
We are strongly against compromise in matters of faith.
While we think it's best not to
"air dirty laundry" in public, we do think the truth must be
stated, appropriately and reverently, and in such a way as to not help
our enemies. We know we are part of the 'Church Militant'.
We are troubled by what passes of as "Catholic"
in many parishes and we are saddened by the actions (or non-actions) of
many prelates. Our hearts break at the sight of Catholics who were
"raised right", yet have buckled under pressure.
While we would consider it an incredible honor to
give up our lives for the Traditional Mass, we know that - despite its
incomprehensible importance to us and our great love for it - it is not
all that we must concern ourselves with. We must also concern ourselves
with the other twenty-some odd hours in the day. We know that we are
sinners and that we must do better, each and every day. In short, we
know that the most important job we have is to save our souls -
something that can only happen by the grace of God.
As "cradle-Catholics" who have come to
Catholic tradition a bit later in life, by the grace of God, our
perspective is that we feel we have been
"reclaimed", as it were. It is not that we had been obstinate
in our "concessions to the modern world", but that our
orientation had been unknowingly off. Frankly, we did not know
any better. Like many, we thought a "Latin Mass" was just the
"regular" Mass said in Latin. And then, by the grace of God,
we learned more...
Now, with our feet very firmly rooted in
tradition, we can see clearly that "traditionalists already agree
in favor of traditionalism", but little is done to help those who
are, like we were, "unknowingly off". We suspect that there
are many thousands of "pre-traditionalists" out there, who
just need a little more knowledge.
To help them, we think it is necessary to reach them
at their level - as St. Paul has said, "To the weak I became weak,
to win over the weak. I have become all things to all..." (1 Cor.
9:22). We strongly feel that rather than standing from a distance and issuing condemnations, we should reach out and help
lift them up to tradition. Frankly, most persons born in the 1960's or
later know nothing else than what is "new", and may be turned off by a more
in-your-face approach. It is not their fault that things are the way they
are and we cannot expect them to embrace something without even knowing
of its existence. Further, they may have been "warned" against
traditionalism by modernist priests or simply are turned off by traditionalism
thinking that it is for "fuddy duddies" who are stuck in the
past. They may have no reason to know that there is anything else behind
the traditionalist position, and they may even think it was
"superseded". The fact is,
like it or not, the average parishioner can only be reached at certain
levels. If we wish to reach them, we have to go to them.
Our approach, therefore, may mean the inclusion of
material from the
Council of Trent alongside the traditional teachings contained in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church. We may quote Pope St. Pius X and also quote
traditional teachings spoken by Pope John Paul II. We may reference
Scripture both from the Douay Rheims version of Scripture and also from
modern translations. While we find some things in modern translations
troubling, we also know that the certain truths speak for themselves,
even despite potentially less desirable (or even less
precise) wording and troublesome headers/footnotes. We do not shy away
from topics like hell, judgment, the pains of purgatory, etc., but
rather strive to educate others about them.
We know that fellow traditionalists can be an
invaluable help to those who are not yet traditionalists, and we greatly
desire them to provide their assistance here, but we do ask that persons please keep criticisms aside.
Remember that our purpose is not to
condemn individuals for something they cannot help, but rather to help them
discover something they never knew existed. We are living proof that this
can happen and we hope to help share the great gifts of the traditional
faith & practices with others as God has so graciously done to us.
Unfortunately, however, we do recognize that many
persons enjoy the "fun" or "pleasantness" of certain
more modern practices. It is our hope also to educate these persons of the great
richness and deep happiness to be found in the old ways. We trust that
those of good will can see what is best if they
are given the information, and we hope we may be able to help in this area. We know
first hand that such information can make a great difference in one's
life!
Finally, we think that if enough people of good
will cry out for a
return to certain time honored practices, God will answer our prayers!
Therefore, we think it is necessary, at least, to start
somewhere.
While
we have tried to base our opinions on the facts, as well as on sacred tradition,
holy scripture, writings of the popes, saints, councils, etc., we
recognize that many will disagree with us. Should you disagree with our
position, we ask that rather than contact us about the disagreement
(which, sadly, we do not have time for), please pray to the Sacred Heart
of Jesus for us. Prayers on
our behalf are much appreciated. Furthermore, we ask that you presume our good faith and
leave our judgment to God. We can assure you that those who have gone
through years of painstaking efforts to create this site and maintain it
in no way wish to mislead anyone or offend God. We thank you for
visiting. May God always bless you.
O
Iesu, Fili Dei vivi, miserére nobis! (O
Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us!) [Latin / English]
The
above is provided for informational purposes only and is not
comprehensive. We make no guarantees regarding any item herein. By using
this site you indicate agreement to all terms. For terms information,
see "Important Notice" above and click
here.
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