Prayerie Girl1

Rules of detachment -- part 2

 

"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?

And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy

and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep."

Luke 15:4-6

 

It is said that in ancient times that if a shepherd had a lamb that would continually stray he would break its leg, set it and then while it healed carry him on his shoulders until it healed. During this time the shepherd would feed it, sleep with it in order that that sheep would then be forever bonded with the shepherd and would never want to stray again. This story as well as reading of the history of the Church and of the saints... those who lived heroically Christian lives... enlightened me to a reality that was in the beginning a little daunting if not scary. I soon realized that all those good people, the ones who were Jesus' closest friends had very difficult lives... starting with the apostles and the disciples. Down through the ages there have been more than I can count. For a period of time I was hesitant to give myself fully to the Lord... would that mean I would suffer, would I lose loved ones, suffer some terrible disease or even lose my head (like some before me)!?! 

I loved the consulations and the tenderness from the Lord in the days and months after He dragged me out of the brambles in which I had been lost. I felt exactly like the little lamb on His shoulders and I felt the joy and rejoicing... what was lost was now found. I knew the limitlessness of His mercy and his love for sinners... I felt it deeply. I also felt the tug... the invitation to go deeper, to love more, to live more for Him...it seemed as though I would take one step forward and then retreat back two... fear of what going forward would mean was like a bungee cord holding me back.

What doesn't help is a widespread belief that if you are good (ie give lots of money to the church, do charitable works, be active in your church) then God will reward you with good things. This is a very Protestant... at least in some denominations... it has lead to the "prosperity gospel" which is preached in many mega evangelical churches today. People like Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels.... Yes God wants us to be happy... but we are poor judges of what will bring true happiness because we cannot see beyond ourselves and without His grace we are a seething mass of disordered attachments and subjective feelings--- unable to discern true good from our own self centered idea of good.

The trials in our lives are not sent by God to punish us... and often times they are the result of our own choices and disordered attachments to things and creatures... but they are allowed by God so that He can draw a greater good out of them. Othertimes, like what we have just witnessed in Japan, they are bigger than us and the seem to make no sense... but God will work miracles through this disaster. These things change peoples hearts... when everything is lost it is then you come to see what is really important.

This has happened in my life... The Lord seems to like to help me particularly during lent. Some examples are the year my mother died... she became very sick during Lent and she died during Holy Week. I didn't know how I was going to survive as I was her caregiver as well as her daughter. I was blessed because aside from elderly grandparents I had never lost anyone real close to me like parents, siblings, etc. So this was my first real big loss. My mom had always been there when ever I needed her... what now? It was the first time I felt truly helpless... I couldn't stop her disease I could only lean on Jesus and pray that His will be done for all of us and that he comfort my mother and give courage and peace and comfort to me and my family as we walked this path. I learned that even during trials we are not alone... the Lord will provide for us what we need if we trust in Him and his divine plan for our lives. I learned family is important... do not let less important things interefere with what is really important.

Another Lent I was having health problems and went through a lot of medical tests... at one point they told me I had Lymphoma...As weeks went by I had test after test... all non conclusive and one almost killed me. Finally I had surgery and got good tissue samples and it was not lymphoma but sarcoidosis--- non-fatal. That was another one of those times when I was totally helpless--- I could do nothing to change my circumstances but beg the Lord's mercy... that his will be done and that I have the strength, grace and courage to deal with the outcome... That time I learned that we have no guarantees in life... our lives can change in an instant and we can do nothing about it... it could be over with tomorrow.... so what is important is what I do today... how well do I handle the "duty of the moment" the Lord puts before me... How well have I loved those around me and more important how have I loved my God in the things I did today.

The point I am trying to make is that often times the struggles and difficulties we face are medicine for our souls... the Lord's invitation to draw closer and surrender our pride, to admit who we are and who He is... and that is not easy....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding the Narrow Way---- Part One

I am a "cradle Catholic". And I have to say that I am most grateful to my mother because she did her duty as a Catholic mother to make sure her children were educated in the faith and received the necessary sacraments for the Christian life. Somewhere along the line things went wrong. My parents divorced and from that point on my mom no longer went to Mass, and so being children, my sister and I stopped too. This coupled with a purely secular education lead to a falling away from my faith.

Between the years of 1967 and 1995 a lot has happened to me and to the Church. In 1995 I had a successions of events in my life that lead me back to my true home. It was nothing tragic in the classical sense. Just a gnawing sense that there was something missing from my life. Even though I had a pretty great life, husband, kids, a home... good job I felt empty... There was a big hole in my life and I didn't know how to fill it. From my secular point of view I had everything and there was no reason for the emptiness that grew year by year. I searched and experiemented with everything from yoga to the occult looking for fullfilment. It all began to change one day when listening to one of my guided meditation tapes. I was visualizing walking on the beach and the person guiding the meditation said... "you see a figure coming towards you and you know they are looking for you... they have something for you" this person approached me and hugged me and said "peace" in my ear. When I looked up into this persons eyes it was Jesus Christ---- WHOA!----that was a surprise but slowly my life began to change in ways that were ordinary and extraordinary. Until one day about a year later I had an uncontrollable desire to go sit in a Catholic Church. I got in my car and drove to one that was near to our house. I wanted to just sit in the back in the quiet and think... well when I got there I was surprised to see a bunch of cars in the parking lot... I hesitated but thought I could sneak in and sit way in the back.... well when I opened the door there was something going on... the place was packed. The priests had just carried a huge wooden cross in and put in front of the altar. The people were invited up to to venerate the cross. I stood in line not quite sure what I was going to do... my turn came and I reached up to the cross beam and touched. Something welled up in side of me and tears were streaming down my face and in my mind I was repeating two words "I'm Sorry" over and over. I went back to a pew to kneel down and gain some composure when I realized at that very moment that I had offended the Lord very deeply because my children did not know Him... I failed at the most important task I had in raising my children. Right then I prayed that if He would help bring my family to Him I would do anything He would ask of me. In three years the Lord grated me my request of Him. My two secular Jewish kids (teenagers to boot) and my unchurched Protestant husband were all received into the Catholic Church... they all decided to join the Church without any threats or cajoling from me--- this was a miracle! Now it seemed Jesus had accepted my bargain. Now I knew I would have to make good on my end... Just what would that mean? I found myself wondering frequently. With some trepidation on my part and a bunch of fits and starts I began to gather what I was going to do for Him.... 

This I know first hand

Bad Masses lead to loss of faith

A weakening of faith in God, a rise in selfishness and a drop in the number of people going to Mass in many parts of the world can be traced to Masses that are not reverent and don't follow church rules, said two Vatican officials and a consultant.

Finally! I was so tired of hearing that the reason was:

• They don't allow married priests
  
• they don't allow women "priests"
• their "archaic" stand on contraception, human sexuality, divorce
• the church is too "patriarchal", "rigid", "old fashioned", etc....

This would perhaps hold some merit were the circumstances reveresed. What I mean is that if after Vatican II the decision had been to change nothing... but yet instead we see after the council "threw open the windows" and everything was modernized... that is when the pews, religious orders and the priesthood began to empty out. To blame it on the "old church" when it happenend under the "new" church seems illogical and to me has always sounded like scapgoating.

"If we err by thinking we are the center of the liturgy, the Mass will lead to a loss of faith," said U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, head of the Vatican's supreme court.

This is the truth of the situation in the Church in a nutshell. I can only speak from my experience in my diocese but I would say easily 90% of the parishes suffer from this to some greater or lesser degree. After I left my first parish we went to just about every parish in the county we live in.

It took me several years to figure out what it was in the parish I came home to that was so unsettling to me. What Cardinal Burke states above is EXACTLY the conclusion that I came to. I remember saying to my husband one day I feel like we are celebrating ourselves... not worshipping God. Then I began to pay attention to the things that created this atmosphere. Things like the cacophany inside the church prior to Mass... it was impossible to think let alone recollect yourself in preparation for the Mass. Homilies that sound like Dr. Phil wrote them, Hymns we are the center of and that tell God what a great community we are... as well as hyms that put words in God's mouth. I remember one Suday singing one of the hymns that drove me nuts due to it's narcassistic nature "Sing a New Church". Here are the words:

~Delores Dufner, OSB

Summoned by the God who made us
rich in our diversity
Gathered in the name of Jesus,
richer still in unity.

Refrain: Let us bring the gifts that differ
and, in splendid, varied ways,
sing a new church into being,
one in faith and love and praise.

Radiant risen from the water,
robed in holiness and light,
male and female in God’s image,
male and female, God’s delight.

Refrain

Trust the goodness of creation;
trust the Spirit strong within.
Dare to dream the vision promised,
sprung from seed of what has been.

Refrain

Bring the hopes of every nation;
bring the art of every race.
Weave a song of peace and justice;
let it sound through time and space.

Refrain

Draw together at one table,
all the human family;
shape a circle ever wider
and a people ever free

I could never sing that song again!!! it is so self centered... all the we's and I's. Then I notice how many of these hymns are just like it. Like:

I myself am the bread of life
you and I are the bread of life
taken and blessed, broken and shared
by Christ
that the world may live.

or:

We are called, we are chosen.
We are Christ for one another.
We are promise to tomorrow,
while we are for him today.
We are sign, we are wonder,
we are sower, we are seed.
We are harvest, we are hunger.
We are question, we are creed.

There is also a shift to focusing on the Mass as a "family meal". One pastor I know replaced the altar with a square dining table and used table runners instead of altar cloths and changed the vessels to common everyday glass vessels. This completely obliterates the most important element of the Eucharist and that is that it is a SACRAFICE... That is the vertical aspect without which the "family meal" (horizontal aspect) would not be possible. I have been asked when I mention it if it is really that important what the furniture and utensils look like. Yes it is! because each and every one of these things shifts the focus from worshiping Jesus as God and savior and turns our attention towards the mundane and to what pleases us and makes us feel good. I have seen the effects of this over emphasis on the horizontal aspect of the Mass on congregations and as Cardinal Burke says it causes a loss of the true faith.

I have seen Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist dump the Precious Blood down the sacrarium and when someone else asked to drink it and was told "what's the big deal... it is just wine". I was invovled in an RCIA program for 4 years and not once in those 4 years was the Eucharist ever explained in terms of being a sacrifice or the Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ... I made sure I told those I was sponsoring... but I wondered how many others are ever told. The reality was born out one Sunday when I witnessed a horrible abuse of the Sacrament. I am not blaming those parishioners involved because I don't think any of them even knew or understood what they were doing. The presider accidentally knocked over a full chalice of the Precious Blood. I know this priest felt bad and was embarrased but I was unprepared for what happened afterwards. After trying to use a few purificators to mop up the spill... which in reality just kind of spread it around. He went and stood in the exact spot where the Precious Blood was still quite obvious on the floor. After that person after person walked up to him to receive the Body of Christ and walked right through the Precious Blood on the floor. It became obvious to me that those who did that do not believe what the Church teaches. The sad part is that I am sure most of them were unknowingly desecrating the Body and Blood of Christ... but it proved they did not have the faith of the Church. I am not judging them... but rather I blame what has happened on not only poor catechesis but more importantly to the rampant bad interpretations of the Liturgy that have made what is holy and transcendant profane. The end of my story was not good... the priest never even returned to clean up the spill. Me, my husband and ONE other parishioner finally spent an hour wiping the Precious blood from all the places it had splashed. I then went to an associate pastor and told him what happened so the area could be properly taken care of.

Cardinal Burke and Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, spoke March 2 at a book launch in Rome.

The book, published only in Italian, was written by Father Nicola Bux, who serves as a consultant to the congregations for the doctrine of the faith and for saints' causes and to the office in charge of papal liturgies.

The English translation of Father Bux's book title would be, "How to Go to Mass and Not Lose Your Faith."

Cardinal Burke told those gathered for the book presentation that he agreed with Father Bux that "liturgical abuses lead to serious damage to the faith of Catholics."

Unfortunately, he said, too many priests and bishops treat violations of liturgical norms as something that is unimportant when, in fact, they are "serious abuses."

Cardinal Canizares said that while the book's title is provocative, it demonstrates a belief he shares: "Participating in the Eucharist can make us weaken or lose our faith if we do not enter into it properly" and if the liturgy is not celebrated according to the church's norms.

"This is true whether one is speaking of the ordinary or extraordinary form of the one Roman rite," the cardinal said, referring to Masses in the form established after the Second Vatican Council as well as the Mass often referred to as the Tridentine rite.

Cardinal Canizares said that at a time when so many people are living as if God did not exist, they need a true eucharistic celebration to remind them that only God is to be adored and that true meaning in human life comes only from the fact that Jesus gave his life to save the world.

Father Bux said that too many modern Catholics think the Mass is something that the priest and the congregation do together when, in fact, it is something that Jesus does.

"If you go to a Mass in one place and then go to Mass in another, you will not find the same Mass. This means that it is not the Mass of the Catholic Church, which people have a right to, but it is just the Mass of this parish or that priest," he said.

This is exactly what my experience has been in this diocese. I am fortunate that I was directed to a wonderful parish where I have worshipped now for 3 years. The charism of the order that runs it is the "restoration of the sacred". From experience I can tell you the way the Liturgy is done... if it is according to the reforms of the Vat II in Sacrosanctum Consilium... and not the whim of the priest, bishop of liturgy director it makes a huge difference... when everything points to Christ--- When Christ is the center of the Liturgy and not the personal whorship "style" of the community the people will come. In three years our little parish has grown and is filled with young people, young families... tons of children... parking logistics as well as room in the church are becoming an issue... but it is a wonderful problem to be faced with. I thank God everyday for the fullness of the faith I have now and I pray as liturgical reforms continue that all parishes will have the same problems. In fact see the inspiring story of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius

 

Catholic Cafeteria serving the "meat of idols"?

  First study of Chicago Catholics reveals unwavering faith.

I admit when I clicked on the link I was expecting something different.... but when I saw who had done the research I wasn't surprised at all by the findings. The first irony is the title of the article... unwavering faith and then we are told:

"Greeley wrote that the survey suggests "two separate Catholic identities — an imaginative, story-telling identity and a rules identity," commonly referred to as "Cafeteria Catholics." Those Catholics revere the sacraments and run in primarily Catholic circles, but they make their own choices on moral, religious and political issues."

What that means is that rather than being formed by the truth as reveled by Christ and His Church their conscience is formed by their own opinion. We all have opinions...zillions of them... but in no way does that mean that all our opinions are grounded in truth...many times they reflect our "feelings" about something and feelings are anything BUT objective. This thinking represents the mantra of secularism which is that truth is relative... you have your truth and I have mine. This thought process does not reflect "unwavering faith" even though they may "revere" the sacraments and hang out with Catholics. One can sit in a pew every week for 50 years and not be faithfully Catholic.

"Faithfully" as it pertains to these circumstances is defined as:

adhering firmly and devotedly to someone or something that elicits or demands one's fidelity. Faithful and loyal both suggest undeviating attachment."

So if there is not fidelity to major religious or moral doctrines one cannot be called faithful or unwavering in their faith... simply they love the idea of Church, the community it brings as long as they feel free to pick and choose what is true for them in certain arenas. That also apparently means homilies that leave them with a warm glow or that affirm their personal affinities and opinions (or at least won't challenge them to reconsider otherwise). The article starts with this tidbit:

"In fact, the study, to be unveiled Wednesday, reveals an even deeper faith on the part of young Chicago Catholics who are "more at ease with the practice of being Catholic on their own terms."

but yet further in the article Fr. Greeley's nephew says:

"One of his beliefs about Catholicism is that it is a communal religion, and this was something that would probably support that theory,"

Yes of course it is communal. This isn't a finding of Greeley's research... it is the way Christ designed his Church!! The word Catholic comes from the Greek word which means universal. With regard to the Church it means it includes everyone, everywhere and it requires and maintains unity among believers to remain communal. How is unity maintained when people feel at ease to be Catholic on their own terms? If everyone holds to their own concept of what being catholic means there is no unity! It reduces the church to a shared social activity... something that you do that gives you a good feeling... not something that transforms you into the image of Christ. In 1Corithians 8:9-11:

But make sure that this liberty of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak.

If someone sees you, with your knowledge, reclining at table in the temple of an idol, may not his conscience too, weak as it is, be "built up" to eat the meat sacrificed to idols?

Thus through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction, the brother for whom Christ died.

The "meat of idols" in our times is the secular culture... accomodating the Church to the culture...especially when validated by those with power and reknown in the Church... is creating stumbling blocks for the weak... those who in most cases, through no fault of their own, were poorly catechized and do not know any better--- they are brought to destruction because accomodating the secular world is contrary to the mission which Christ gave us in the Church which is to transform the world... not to give in to it. Yet this seems to be the gist of Fr. Greeley's "research". He says:

"The only safe prediction seems to be that … there will be, whether the leadership likes it or not, varied forms of affiliation with a Church most of them still love," Greeley wrote.

Another comment worth noting is this one:

"Among the findings were revelations that set Chicago apart from other cities and reflected national trends. For example, like most American Catholics, parishioners gave a higher approval rating to their parish priest than Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Francis George, who received an 86 percent approval rating."

The Vicar of Christ is not running a politcal campaign... Popularity isn't important... further more the Church is not, has never been, or will it ever be subject to a popular vote... the goal is not to be popular... Christ, our Lord and Savior was exceeding unpopular... so much so they killed him because of his message...

The article closes with these words from Tom Smith, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Society at the National Opinion Research Center at the U. of C:

"[Leaders] have to be aware that the church is [perceived as] too authoritative, makes too many rules. Its sermons tend to be uninspiring," Smith said. "There are a lot of areas in which the survey can point to areas where the church might want to try to strengthen."

"If someone sees you, with your knowledge, reclining at table in the temple of an idol, may not his conscience too, weak as it is, be "built up" to eat the meat sacrificed to idols?"

This in my opinion is what Fr. Greeley's research indicates....

    

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1.03.01

Why Celebrate Mass in Latin? | Archdiocese of Washington

Today beginning at 12:30 pm here in Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a Solemn High Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be celebrated in the Great Upper Church. For those unfamiliar with all the Church jargon of the previous sentence let me decode. The “extraordinary Form” of the Mass is the form of the Mass as it was celebrated prior to 1965 when Liturgical changes brought about the Mass as we have it today. Prior to these changes the Mass was celebrated exclusively in Latin with only the homily (and sometimes the readings) in English or whatever the local language was. The celebrant also faced in the same direction as the people which some have wrongfully described as the priest “having his back to the people.”  To say this is a “Solemn High” Mass means that all the ceremonial options are observed. There is incense, extra candle bearers, and many of the prayers and readings  of the liturgy are sung. The celebrant is also assisted by a deacon and subdeacon. To say this is a pontifical Mass means that it will be celebrated by a bishop and will include two extra deacons and an assisting priest. Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa is today’s celebrant.

via blog.adw.org

I think this is an excellent sign. The first time in decades that this has happened. As a sojourner for most of the 12 years since my return to the Church I have been restless going from parish to parish. At first most places felt warm and open but after a few years or in some cases several months I would feel restless again--- like something didn't feel quite right. Finally, one day I realized what was lost was the feeling of holiness--- or today what I would call the loss of the sense of the sacred.

Going to church, I realized, felt more like going to a social club. Before Mass there was so much chatter and laughter (in the sanctuary)that one could not pray or recollect themselves in preparation for the Great Mysteries we are privileged to participate in.

Soon little things jumped out at me. I felt like the liturgy was more a performance and the priest was the star performer. Fellow parishioners chose Mass according to who was going to be center stage or who was doing the music. I noticed that the hymns we sung tended to be more about us. Rather than praising God we would be singing with, as the author of this article says Good Hymns, Bad Hymns "a vibe of self-congratulation. Here we are, Lord, doing your thing. Ain't we special?"

Not that Latin is a magic shot that restores the Liturgy but there is some thing to be said preserving Latin for sacred use. Just as we use our fancy china and crystal for special occasions and special guests (imagine a Whitehouse dinner on chinet plates with solo cups and plastic silverware!!!) using a sacred language elevates the occasion beyond the mundane. It is an immediate reminder that we no longer belong to this world--- that we are privileged to be members of the Heavenly Kingdom sojourning here on earth for a while.

It is not that I am some liturgy expert what happened is I finally found a parish 2 1/2 years ago where I stopped feeling restless. Where I felt going to Mass was about worshiping God--- not about celebrating ourselves or being at a stage show. I also realized it had a lot to do with the very things that changed so dramatically after the second Vatican Council.

1. The priest and the people face the same direction towards the east(at least liturgical east) the direction we expect Jesus to come from when he returns. The priest isn't the center of the liturgy. We are participating with him--- not watching a show.
2. The Choir is behind us--- not up front as the back-up band to the priest.
3. We have a Communion rail---further emphasizing the sacredness of what happens up on the altar. Aside from those who can't--- almost everyone kneels and receives on the tongue--- BY CHOICE.
4. Last but certainly not least both forms of the Roman Rite are celebrated there. Even in the ordinary form Latin is reserved for parts of the Mass. It is not confusing, difficult or distracting--- after a few weeks you don't even need to look them up in the missal--- and since the Latin is used for parts of the Mass everyone knows well (Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, memorial acclimation) there is no need for translation since you already know what you are saying from the English versions.

These are just a few of my perceptions after finding my parish home--- the other one which surprised me at first--- it isn't just a bunch of old fogies like me who were raised on the "old" Mass--- it is mainly young people and young families--- many of whom had never participated in the Tridentine Mass--- IOW's they sought it out and found it more enriching than the reformed Masses they grew up on.

So while it is not as simple as bringing back the "old" Mass--- The popularity of Latin and the Extraordinary Form, especially among younger generations, shows that the "reform of the reform" is not only needed but well under way.

New Liturgical Movement: The Sacred Liturgy: The Neglected Foundation to Building the Culture of Life

 

"In Evangelium Vitae, John Paul II taught that the root cause of the culture of death is a loss of the sense of God and, in the same vein, one will note that Pope Benedict XVI has been working quite intently to bring back the sense of transcendence and God-centredness within our liturgies; in short, to bring back a sense of God. So it is that a consistent theme emerges and also a consistent recognition of a problem within our churches today. The Holy Father knows well that if God is obscured within the sacred liturgy – the very place that is not only the source and summit of the Church, but also the heart, soul and primary point of contact for the faithful -- then it is likely to follow that God will be absent or obscured in the lives of the faithful as well. Consequently, this lack of sense of the Divine can lead to living a humanistic or self-centred existence which further leads to a lost sense of the sacredness of man; without a Creator, man becomes a mere organism in the vast universe of organisms that can be manipulated and used for any kind of fantasy by anyone who is stronger or more powerful.

It is well known that many parishes today have become more centred upon themselves as a community than being clearly centred upon God – what Ratzinger has called the “self-enclosed circle”. Many parishes are not following the authorized liturgical texts and rubrics -- often out of a misguided sense of "pastoral" creativity, or even simply out of ignorance. Nor do they sufficiently consider (let alone express) those elements which lend a sense of transcendence to the worship of God, particularly as expressed through the medium of beauty. To some these might seem rather unimportant surface considerations, but they are not. The sacred liturgy and doctrine are intertwined and the experiential dimension of the liturgy is a profound moment for catechesis and conversion. Accordingly, when there is problematic approach to the liturgy, and when unauthorized innovations are introduced, there can be a deficiency as well as a coinciding distortion of Catholic belief passed on to the faithful, and further a loss in the power of the liturgy to move the human heart and mind towards God.

via www.newliturgicalmovement.org

Oh How true this is! I spent YEARS not being able to put my finger on what was wrong. This same article states 79% of Catholics support abortion and I know through personal experience probably 90% of Catholics contracept. I even got in hot water at my former parish for bringing up contraception in a women's group--- Wow did I step in it that time--- I thought they were going to have me thrown out the door! I was baffled by the fact that so many good people, and they are very good people, could be at odds with so many important elements of our faith. And I mean not just indifferent towards them but openly hostile. On several occasions I made comments that for Catholics should be about as controversial as apple pie on the 4th of July and I was blindsided by the ire that was raised by these completely innocent statements. It was not only disquieting to me it totally baffled me!

But now I realize after two years in an incredible parish--- it is all about the liturgy. There are reasons why the Church so closely guards and upholds its rubrics--- in Latin it is Lex orandi, lex credendi---  loosely meaning "the law of prayer is the law of belief". You innovate with the liturgy and you put it off balance and soon so are the people--- you subtlety shift peoples hearts and minds from the transcendent and mysterious to the self centered and mundane . The second paragraph I quoted describes not only my former parish but probably 3/4 of all of them in every state and diocese. A coincidence? I don't think so.

On Being an 'Ultra-Catholic'

 A friend wrote me about a school principal, a religious sister, speaking to a parent and requesting school funds. The gentleman was described as an "ultra-Catholic." My friend asked me: "What is that, do you know?" Evidently, the "non-ultra" principal thought it all right to siphon needed cash from the "ultra" parent. No strings were attached. Once the funds were donated, the non-ultra establishment would go its non-ultra way. The ultra was good for his cash, if he still had any. His ideas were, well, ultra.

via insidecatholic.com

It is a strange time to be Catholic. I spent 3 years looking for a parish after leaving one I belonged to for 8 years. It was not an easy decision to leave. I had roots there. It was the parish I had come home to after 25 years away and there are so many good people whom I truly cared about. The problem came when there was a change in leadership.  Liturgy became more like a Broadway production. Instead of being able to pray quietly before Mass we often had to rehearse our "parts" and if there was no rehearsal that Sunday it didn't matter because there was so much noise you couldn't pray even if you wanted to. That was more annoying than serious what really pushed me over the edge was the hostility towards certain teachings and to Church hierarchy. As someone who was involved in adult formation I was "warned" on more than one occasion not to discuss certain topics because they were "too sensitive" things like abortion, homosexuality, and artificial birth control which not only are not open for personal interpretation but they are THE social/political issues of our times. It became a matter of conscience for me as well as becoming a near occasion to sin since I would often leave meetings and events feeling unsettled and at times down right uncharitable. I hate to admit it--- and I don't know if it is true--- but I often felt my "ultra Catholicism" was merely tolerated because I worked and tithed generously for the parish. Just like the article implies I was too Catholic but my money and time weren't. IOW's as long as I swam with the flow I was accepted--- otherwise my "radical" sentiments  were ignored or "tolerated".

Two years ago I was blessed when I found my current parish. It is heaven on earth (the way it is supposed to be). It is a warm, inviting and vibrant parish--- and it is filled to the rafters with young people and young families. People here want the fullness of the faith--- not watered down or politically  "correctified" to coddle questionable consciences. I often hear homilies with teeth (as my husband says). Homilies that give me something solid to chew on and that challenge my thinking--- not appease it. Most of all I have peace--- no one looks at me cockeyed for being "too Catholic". That is