Many of our readers (and writers!) are “traditional Catholics” — unreformed and unrepentant! We think… no, we believe that the Roman Catholic Church was doing just fine in the 1950s, when we grew up, before the “renewal” of Vatican II.
Some of us traditionalists are quite open about our preference for the Mass of All Time and the old ways of practising our Faith. We go to the “Mass centres” of the Society of St. Pius X or the Fraternity of St. Peter. We home school our kids. And some of us — the “rad trads” — reject entirely the errors of Vatican II and the diabolical disorientation that has followed in the Council’s wake.
To use a word which has been much misused of late, you could say we traditionalists have been “woke”. I was. As I wrote in “I became a Catholic and look what happened!”, I converted from liberal Protestantism to Catholicism while Vatican II was in session. For years I went to a mainstream church, and served in my parish as lector, cantor, catechist and even (horrors!) a “lay minister of the Eucharist”.
And all that time, slowly but surely, it dawned on me that there was something wrong. One pastor told me I shouldn’t kneel to receive Holy Communion. Another criticized me for singing Latin hymns — still in the hymnal then, but gone now. And I never got used to going into the “reconciliation room” to sit face-to-face with the priest. It all felt wrong! This wasn’t the Church I joined!
Dear reader, have you ever had that feeling? Do you recall with nostalgic pleasure the Catholicism of pre-Vatican II times? Here are a few questions to determine if you are really, in your heart of hearts, a traditional Catholic! Do you…
- Still genuflect when you cross the center aisle of the church, even if the Blessed Sacrament has been hidden somewhere in a corner?
- Go to the place where the priest (not one of the lay servers) is giving Communion… and receive the Host on your tongue rather than in your hand?
- Still take your well-worn pre-Vatican II missal to church with you, because it has the Latin prayers and many holy cards tucked into it?
- Still kneel during the Consecration, even though others are sitting or standing, in spite of your knee or hip replacement surgery?
- Tell others (especially your children) what it was like to go to Confession in the old days, and come away with a lighter heart?
- Find comfort in lighting a candle in church (if your church still has votive candles)?
- Sit near the front of the church so you can catch a whiff of incense, when they use it?
- Find it uncomfortable to shake hands or (worse!) embrace half a dozen strangers during the “Rite of Peace”?
- Wish the Pope, the bishops and your pastor would stop speaking in riddles and give clear-cut answers to questions about faith and morals?
- Still wear a Scapular and/or carry a Rosary on your person?
Scoring: Give yourself 2 points for every “Yes”, 1 point for every “Sometimes”, and (surprise) no points for every “Never”.
0-4 points: You’re firmly in the mainstream.
5-8 points: You can’t remember the Latin prayers but starting to think things were better “back then”.
9-12 points: You’re starting to long for that ole-time religion.
13-17 points: You’re praying for the Church to come to her senses and put things back the way they were.
18-20 points: You go out of your way to hear Holy Mass at a traditional chapel. Welcome, brother/sister! You’re not alone!
The Apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima have been declared worthy of belief. Our Lady’s Message is very much part of Catholic tradition, and contains a prediction of the diabolical disorientation which the Church is now experiencing. Click here to read The True Story of Fatima: A complete account of the Fatima Apparitions, by Father John de Marchi. And click here to request a copy of our magazine, the Fatima Crusader, FREE!
Further reading: “Beware that Latin Mass! The Political Miracle in Italy and Its Link to Catholic Tradition”, by Chris Ferrara, Fatima Perspectives #1206.