Tuesday, December 29, 2009

inactive Catholics

I was at a party, (it was a very unusual party, for sure,) and I had several interesting conversations with interesting people about interesting things.

One was a guy from the Czech Republic, and while we didn't talk for long, he did make clear to me his disdain for anything besides the Tridentine Mass. (I told him to come to St. P, that he has probably never seen a Novus Ordo quite like how we do it there, and it might change his views on that...) I wish I had gotten to talk to him longer, to find out more his background, and why he thought that way, etc.

More interesting to me, however, was a girl about my age who I talked with for quite some time. She seems to be an "inactive Catholic," and the only reason that she said was that while growing up, the church she attended had just had guitars and tambourines, etc, and it just never appealed to her, and she thought that if she had been in a more reverent environment, she would have continued going to a Catholic church. (of course, I also told her to check out St. P--which she has been to but 10 years ago; quite different now!--next time she is in the city.)

relevance? ha. for all of human history, when people have gone to worship, they have not wanted anything relevant or every-day! rather, something different; holy and mystical.

She mentioned something about no one her age still going to church back where she is from, and I asked her if it was because they stopped just because of apathy, or if it was for her reason; that they would have appreciated a more reverent liturgy.

She didn't know.

oh, if we only knew the level of damage. the clarity of truth revealed.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The conversation you had with that girl reminded me of the main reason I left the Catholic Church for 10 years from the mid 70's to the mid 80's. I grew up in the reverence of the Holy Mass of St. Pius V. But then came Vatican II and the Novus Ordo Mass that followed, with not only guitars and While there can be reverent Novus Ordo Masses, my opinion is that the church and the world would have been better off if there had been no Vatican II and no Novus Ordo Mass.

Anna Pagano said...

Hey Mara, just checking you out! haha I find your blog very interesting. I agree with the anonymous commenter. Paul and I have started going to a TLM only Parish, it is so mystical, transcendent really. I am still very attached to the NO, having grown up in it, but if it were to cease, I don't think I'd be upset at all. It good to hear a good, faithful, young Catholic trying to do things the right way. If I'm ever in MI, I'll take a trip to St. P's, I've never attended a Latin NO Mass.