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Liturgy Guy: Why Families Need Traditional Parishes

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Over at long-time 1P5 contributor Brian William’s blog, Liturgy Guy, there is an important guest post by Chris Lauer, a founder of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community, entitled Why Families Need Traditional Parishes. Lauer adds a layer of consideration to the much-discussed article, What I’m Never Going to Tell You About Homeschooling, by Elizabeth Foss. The latter — which essentially warns parents that to expect homeschooling to be a magic bullet against the temptations of the Devil, the world, and the flesh is to set ourselves up for crushing heartbreak — is something I’d also like to reflect on here, but not today.

Instead, I’ll let Lauer’s essay speak for itself:

In short the author [Foss] reminds people that, while homeschooling may give families a “better shot” of raising holy children who will grow up to be faithful adults, it is by no means a guarantee. No matter what curriculum or preparations that parents employ, there will always be children who make bad choices and fall away from the faith. We must not be prideful or naive in our human efforts, and must continue to strive in personal holiness while praying for our children. I will add that we also must not underestimate the depravity and allure of the world, or overestimate our ability to maintain virtue and holiness through reason alone. While Ms. Foss focuses on our roles as parents, I wish to expand the topic to discuss the roles played by our Catholic parishes in the formation of our children.

The Catholic Church has always recognized that parents are the primary catechists of their children; however, few would dispute that the parish church is of vital importance. The parish is an important refuge for families where they can not only receive the sacraments, but also find fellowship with other families, learn more about their faith, and share in the devotional life of the Church which in turn serves as a means to pass along the faith to younger generations.

Isolation from the world is not the goal; rather the parish provides a shelter where young Catholics can be trained to defend their faith before going out into the world. Similar to what we ask of St. Michael, the parish provides “protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil, who prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”

As an analogy, consider the modern military base. A military that allowed enemy soldiers onto the base, or one that attempted to train their newest recruits in the thick of a battle, might not yield the best training outcome. Instead new recruits are trained on military bases surrounded by tall fences and armed patrols in order to provide them with shelter. They receive combat training from battle hardened experts who teach them how to recognize and defeat the enemy. The soldiers are molded into cohesive units where bonds are formed and accountability to one another is instilled.

This too is how we need to transmit the faith to our children. Our children need a sheltered environment in which they can practice virtue and learn how to exercise their free will in a way that is most pleasing to God. They need a shelter in which bad decisions are met by a peer group of faithful Catholics who will hold them accountable in a loving way – not a secular peer group that will often celebrate their bad decisions. Only in our sick modern culture is providing shelter for a child considered a pejorative.

With this in mind, it is important for us to make an honest assessment of the state of the Church in the context of the vocations shortage and consider what type of formation and sacramental life we can expect from our parishes.

In one seemingly typical American diocese who publishes statistics, the ratio of active Catholics to priests is about 3,700 to 1. We can presume that this ratio will continue to get worse as the baby boomer generation of clergy continues to retire and pass away each year. With few exceptions globally, the pace of retirements and deaths of priests are severely outpacing ordinations with no relief  in sight. The ecclesial crisis in Europe is even more grim. It would be naïve to think that the crisis will not become this severe here in the United States.

Consider what parish life is like now and try to imagine what it will be like with a ratio of 5,000 Catholics to 1 priest or even 10,000 to 1. Ratios such as these may very well occur in our lifetimes. Imagine how difficult will it be to receive the Sacraments? Will there be a priest available to administer last rites when the time comes for you or a member of your family? Will spiritual direction even exist anymore or will it be a distant memory? How long will it take to schedule a baptism or to schedule an appointment on Father’s calendar?

We must concede that we are now living in a post-Christian country. When the moral foundations of the world are crumbling, at the same time as the sacramental life of the Church is in decline, what are parents supposed to do? How are we to give our children the formation they will need to stand any sort of fighting chance in the world? While Ms. Foss paints a grim picture, there is good reason to believe that it may actually get a whole lot worse. She enjoins us to pray and continue striving for our children, but I feel  there is more that can be done.

Holy Mother Church, in her wisdom, provides us an  alternative form of parish for which these dangerous trends  do not apply: parishes devoted solely to the Extraordinary Form or Traditional Latin Mass as it is also known. Setting aside all discussions about the liturgy itself, there is a compelling case for Catholic families, even those who might not prefer the Traditional Latin Mass, to start attending for the sake of their children.

Why does he think that TLM parishes may be essential for Catholic families wishing to give their children the best shot at heaven? For his answer, you’ll have to go read the rest. (I can’t steal the whole thing!)

But I can give you a brief synopsis: even setting the more reverent liturgies aside, traditional parishes tend to have more priests, more vocations to the priesthood, more access to the sacraments, more frequent confessions, and parishioners who are truly dedicated to a more authentically Catholic way of life. Many who attend TLMs — even well-established ones — still travel long distances to get there. The willingness to make sacrifices to be a part of something larger than themselves increases the likelihood that such devotion infuses the lives of those in attendance, and helps to create an environment where children (and parents) can build the sort of friendships that will be a help, not a hindrance, to sanctification.

There are no guarantees here either. I’ve come into contact with some rotten eggs even in traditional Catholic families. But as with homeschooling, attending one of these parishes should not be done with the thought that it will eliminate the chance that your children will take a wrong turn into a life of sin — an impossibility in our fallen nature — but rather about giving them the best possible chance of success.

And isn’t that what all of us want?

10 thoughts on “Liturgy Guy: Why Families Need Traditional Parishes”

  1. In a nutshell, if you want your family to go to Heaven, then they need to live (or at least die) in a state of grace. Traditional parishes are organized consciously to creating a society conducive to living (and hence dying) in a state of grace.

    Reply
    • The whole modern state seems set up for the express purpose of making traditional villages impossible to exist, does it not? I mean, among a plethora of other nefarious purposes.

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  2. As a member of an FSSP parish, I can attest to the truths presented in this article. In addition to the beautiful, reverent liturgy and solid, no-holds barred homilies, we also have a vibrant parish life. Our two priests (one of whom is pictured here) are involved daily in different events for families, and work tirelessly to educate the flock in the Faith. Seldom is a social gathering held that does not have at least one priest in attendance. Home blessings and home visits are common.
    I myself moved last year in large part to be a part of a traditional parish, and more families are arriving all the time. If you have children, you owe it to them to at least investigate what it would take to find work and move to be a part of a parish like this.

    Reply
  3. Fair and balance, presenting truth with the positives of ones experience. I rejoice with the members who love their Church & Mass. I go to a regular parish and I rejoice how a priest through his teaching in adult confirmation lead me to understand my faith and appreciate the great gift that is mine. The different ministries of the Legion of Mary, and a consecrated lay apostolate, prolife catholics in front of abortion clinics have made an impact on me for which I give thanks for all the gifts of the Church.

    Reply
  4. We have a priest in residence who is giving weekly talks. While it was welcome to actually have a cleric do some teaching, his teaching is poor. He told the people that if they do not sing and ‘actively participate’ in the mass that they might as well stay home. Well, staying home from Sunday Mass is mortal sin and not singing is not a sin. And how can one know if another is praying or not? He also said we should do what everyone else does so if there is talk before and after Mass, we can too. If everyone holds hands, we should too. We should do nothing to set us apart. I disagree. I think the Saints did not just follow the crowd when it came to devotion. And they were, of course, detracted because of it as many more traditional Catholics are now..

    Reply
    • i think you need, badly my dear, a traditional parish. there are three types: Latin, Byzantine or Eastern (Melkite, Syrian, Coptic, Indian), and the new Anglican-Catholic Ordinariate of St Peter. Also look for traditionally minded orders like the Oratory of St Philip Neri, and a few different traditional areas like some monasteries & convents, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, FSSP, SSPX, and a few different traditional Canons orders (Canisius, Norbertines et al)…All together, that’s a good chance that most Catholics in AMerica can find something good within a short Sunday morning or afternoon’s drive. I believe even Matins and Vespers from Orthodox services honour God – I have distinctly enjoyed the Presence of the Holy Spirit there.

      Reply
  5. This appeared in the article: “In one seemingly typical American diocese who publishes statistics, the ratio of active Catholics to priests is about 3,700 to 1.” A 2012 survey stated that the ratio is about 2,000 to one, priests to Catholics. But if perhaps 25% of American Catholics practice their Faith, the ratio of priests to practicing Catholics improves to about 500 to one. And that is a better ratio in comparing priests to active Catholics than existed even in much better days for the ’50s or ’60s. Of course, the ratio is only better becajuse so many Catholics have given up practice.
    The FSSP parish in my town has three priests for perhaps a thousand parishoners. But the Ukrainian Catholic church I more frequently attend has a ratio of about a hundred to one. Can’t beat that. It’s nice to be on the happier fringe of a statistical bell curve.

    Reply
    • 25% is pretty generous — if the polls are any indication, 10% is an upper-limit on the proportion of Catholics who are actually faithful (though granted, at least some of the 90% are probably just horrendously catechized and might fall in line if they were told the truth at some point in their lives).

      The interesting thing about this exercise is the way it makes you think about the “priest shortage.” It seems there are more than enough priests to minister to the actually faithful Catholics, i.e., the Catholics who want to be Catholic and actually want the Sacraments, the life of faith, a community which facilitates living in a state of grace, etc. So maybe what we have is not a “priest shortage” but a “laity surplus.”

      Reply

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