Tuesday, October 20, 2015
An Appeal for Stability and Calm in an Unquiet Sea
By: Thomas More
The Remnant is for all Catholics who know that something is terribly wrong
I recently started writing for The Remnant. I had never written publicly about Catholic matters before, but I felt compelled to begin writing because I could no longer find any Mass within my city that was treated as being anything more than a common meal of “The People of God.” Keep in mind that I live in a major world capital. However, within every Parish that I attempted to attend in a reasonable distance from where I live, the respectful nature of the Sacrifice of the Mass was not to be found.
In one Parish, the priest put his vestments on while in the sacred space of the Sanctuary, while the Parishioners were waiting for him to start; in another, the words of the Mass were changed to be “more inclusive”; and, in another, the priest thought that it would be quaint to bring all of the children around the altar to pray during the Mass. We have all seen the abuses, and these are but a few examples. They are not the worst, by any means.
In one Parish, the priest put his vestments on while in the sacred space of the Sanctuary, while the Parishioners were waiting for him to start; in another, the words of the Mass were changed to be “more inclusive”; and, in another, the priest thought that it would be quaint to bring all of the children around the altar to pray during the Mass. We have all seen the abuses, and these are but a few examples. They are not the worst, by any means.
This is mentioned not to start a debate about abuses of the Liturgy, but to highlight the fact that I had become irate, lost and confused. The post-Vatican II Church into which I was born was fast becoming a chimera—an illusion—and I felt that if I did not act soon, the Church risked becoming a Chimera, a devolved, undisciplined, unholy monster with many parts, but no coherent whole. I felt compelled to write, to protest, to try to do something before it was too late and all of the discipline, Tradition, Universality and Catholicity were drained from the Church we love so well.
So, I wrote a little piece analysing what I thought to be an important issue, what would happen if it were allowed to go on unchecked, and trying to bring attention to the matter. To be honest, I forget what the piece was. But I do know that I looked on the Web for someone who had a kindred spirit, and I found The Remnant and I submitted my work totally unsolicited, and not knowing whether it had a shot at being published.
Michael Matt got in touch, said he liked the piece, and ultimately he published it. Since then we have become “friends” in the professional and arms-length sense: I respect and admire him and what he and his family do through their apostolate, tremendously.
Now, I know that some of you who visit this site believe that we already have passed the point of no return since Vatican II. Fair enough. I respect that view, and I see your point. I still have hope that the Ordinary and the Extra-Ordinary forms of Mass can co-exist, that one form can inform the other. I think that the Church was starting to grow, to correct its mistakes under Benedict XVI.
At least, I have hope that reform of the reform can be done. For the strictly Traditional among you, there is even the possibility that if it cannot be done, if it is tried properly, with devotion, it will result in the Extra-Ordinary form completely dominating because of the rebirth of holiness the Latin Mass endears. All hope is not yet lost, as the SSPX and many others within the Church agree. But, all of this is an aside.
The Remnant stands as a beacon for those of us who know that the Church has gone wrong somewhere, and it allows us to communicate our frustrations, our beliefs, our hope and our Faith to one another. We may not always agree precisely on the exact nature of the problem, or its exact cure, but we do visit this site—most of us several times a day—and we read the articles and the comments to see what people, what complete strangers, think and believe, because we know that despite everything, we are all very similar. And, the vast majority of us are respectful of one another, as the Lord would want.
We know that right now we are at a crucial point in Church history. It is obvious to us all. Do we allow the hierarchy to cut loose completely from our Biblical and Traditional moorings leaving us all adrift on the treacherous sea of Modernism, or do we look back and look at what the hierarchy did wrong, and demand that the problems be rectified?
In the midst of this, we have always known that The Remnant would always be there, a great strength of commonality for us all, and point of resistance, a rock when other rocks are threatened. Thus, like you, I was shocked to read Chris Ferrara’s piece last week about how The Remnant is in financial difficulty. I was, honestly and genuinely shocked and dismayed. Of course I do not know the Matts to the point that I expected them to tell me, but I had absolutely no idea, and I was stunned when I read the article.
Similarly, Michael Matt had no idea that I was writing this, and I don’t even know whether he will publish it. But, if The Remnant were to go under, where would we turn for information, stimulation, discussion and comradery on the issues that matter so much to all of us? And, I have to state at this point that I do not have any financial interest in this at all. The only thing that is motivating me is respect for the publication and the web site, something we all undoubtedly share.
For those of us who want to make sure that we continue to discuss Church matters in a free, respectful and stimulating environment, if you have not yet made a donation or contribution already, and you are able to do so, could you now please support The Remnant financially by pushing on the button below or signing up for the newspaper? I know very well that some of us can only offer our love and prayers, but for others who can do so easily, would you mind doing so now? We need The Remnant.
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