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Thursday, February 04, 2010

Faithful

In our Pastoral Theology class, one of the issues that came up is the need to "be all things to all people."  This is where the "trad" vs "liberal" labels are so damaging.  If I express to someone that I have attended the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and LOVED it, I am AUTOMATICALLY labeled as a "traddie" or some similar title.  For that person, the door of communication closes because they will assume that everything I say is going to be "pre-Vatican II". 

If I say to another person that I usually attend the Ordinary Form of the Mass and find it to be just fine when done reverently, perhaps they label me as a "spirit of Vatican II" type.  And then the door to good communication is closed there as well as they will assume anything that comes out of my mouth is going to be tainted with...well...use your imagination. 

And the reality is, both of those attitudes, of enjoying BOTH forms of the Mass, are my attitudes.  I'm right in line with the Pope on this one, for, as he points out, the two forms are supposed to be MUTUALLY ENRICHING, which means it allows for the proper organic growth and change that has always characterized the practices of the Church over the centuries. 

But I don't want to get into a bunch of nit-picking about liturgy or who's right or what Vatican II really said vs. what people want to believe it said.  (Read the documents, people. The ACTUAL documents themselves!).

What I want to say is this:   DANG IT, JUST LET ME BE A FAITHFUL CATHOLIC! 

Thank you, peace be with you.... et cum spiritu tuo. Amen.

I feel better now.

11 comments:

Melody K said...

I'm with you; do we have to choose up sides for everything? I have good memories of the TLM when I was a child; I love the Ordinary Form used now; both can be celebrated well or poorly. Any Mass is a blessing beyond our comprehension.

Mary N. said...

Adoro, did you pull an earlier post down? I was going to send the link to someone who I thought it would help but I can't find it. It was about the New Age and the dangers of mixing Catholicism with New Age practices. I knew I should have snagged it when I was here earlier :) It was very good by the way, Jesus never failed to speak up when He saw His Father's House being corrupted, either. Your post made me think of the cleansing of the Temple.

Adoro said...

Mary ~ Yes, I did take it down. It was a post from 2006 which I took down YEARS ago for the snarkiness of it and did not intend at all to be on the front page. My blog is better off without it.

Should it become NECESSARY to post it again, I will. Until then...I'd rather use my blog for better things than dwelling on evil.

It was an error that put it back up and it's old news anyway.

I still have another post related to it but it's also one that should be taken down or at least edited to make it more universal and less specific to that particular situation. So...I won't be posting that one here or anywhere, either.

Thanks for your comments, but believe me, it is best for us all if that one goes into oblivion right now.

Mary N. said...

Okay. At least I know I wasn't seeing things that weren't there;) I didn't go to THAT many keg parties when I was young [lol].

frival said...

You know what Adoro, you're right. It seems like whenever you talk about certain topics the label is applied to you without thought. Worse, it seems sometimes that from the outset of discussion people are looking for labels to attach to one another. For me, the only label I want is "faithful". It's a long way between here and there, but I'm trying...

Rob said...

Well said! To be Catholic is to be catholic. If the Father's house has many rooms, then our church can have different expressions of the same faith, That is as long as that faith is true to the magisterium.

Maggie said...

You're right, Adoro. I hate the labels we use- they put people in such narrow boxes. I enjoy being a walking contradiction though; my father refers to me as a "bleeding heart liberal" while my DRE thinks I'm a young fogey traddie. Sigh.

Thank goodness that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

kam said...

I'm also in the camp of enjoying both Masses. I hadn't been to the 'Latin Mass' since I guess the 60's and after two times my memory was jogged and I sort of remembered. I don't find any problem with having both available, for me it's a nice change on a Sunday.

The Ironic Catholic said...

Amen.

Fr. John Mary, ISJ said...

Our monastic community strives to be a point of "unity"...offering both Forms of the Roman Rite. We want to live "at the heart of the Church."
Unfortunately, we are too "traditional" for some, and too "liberal" for others...
Hans Urs von Balthasar once said that if you're getting shot at from both extremes, you're in the right place, you're in the heart of the Church.
Good counsel, no?

Adoro said...

nazareth priest ~ I didn't know that...very cool that you offer both forms! I have heard that quote from von Balthasar before and I definitely agree with it!