Picture This

-
Vatican News

David Bonagura has a thought provoking article at The Catholic Thing, which reads in part:

Will Catholics Return to Mass?
By David G Bonagura, Jr.


Now, with Mass taken away from them and a new Sunday routine established, how have their lives changed spiritually? Likely, not much. Since (many Catholics) do not fully understand the Mass, they will go by what they feel: “I don’t feel like I’m missing anything, so why go back?”

Second, consider teenagers and young adults, who tend to view religion through a legalistic lens. For their whole lives, they have heard that they must go to Mass on Sunday: “It’s God’s law.” Suddenly, they learned that they must not go to Mass; that attendance is regulated not by God, but by bishops. When the contagion passes, what are we supposed to say to convince them to return? “The bishops say we have to go to Mass again.” Given the low opinion of American bishops at the current moment, we can guess how that conversation will go.

Third, consider all American Catholics, young and old, who live in a culture that exalts the individual as the only absolute. Rules, formalities, and institutions are perceived as obstacles to individual freedom. For decades, the Church has had to battle the individualistic approach to God: “I am spiritual, not religious. I can pray to God anywhere and don’t need to be in a church. I worship God how I feel and on my terms.”

After what may be months of urging people to “observe the Sabbath in some way,” a way of the individual’s own choosing, will the Church be able to convince people to come back? Or has the Church unwittingly fed the insatiable beast of individualism: “Why should I go to church now if for months it was fine to watch it on YouTube?”

[...]

If, after Mass resumes, more Catholics join the ranks of the non-practicing, will we see the prediction – a half-century ago – of Father Joseph Ratzinger come to fruition: that the Church will become smaller yet purer? He would be right on the first. And as much as we may desire the second – a Church filled with prayer warriors and angels of charity, especially after two decades of the worst kind of scandal – it will require us to make very serious efforts to rediscover the vitality and appeal needed to fulfill the Church’s mission of bringing Christ to all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Your comments will be appreciated and posted if 1) they are on topic and 2) preserve decorum.

Stand by your word.

Popular Posts

Who is Brian Holdsworth? And Why You Should Watch His Videos.

-
Image
Are you thirsty for solid Catholic content? Do you seek to raise your children in a vibrant Catholic culture that helps them become faithful adults? Are your hungry for truth, goodness and beauty? Are you tired of parish programs that waste resources and do little to feed the soul? Are you seeking to learn how you can help build up the Body of Christ? Introducing Brian Holdsworth. If you haven't watched this articulate, insightful and faithful fellow share a thoroughly Catholic understanding of the Faith, then you are invited to start by watching one of his videos. Visit Mr. Holdsworth's main site at:  https://www.brianholdsworth.ca/ Brian Holdsworth, a Catholic convert, resides in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife and seven children. His videos are rich with genuine Catholic content, revealing a deep faith. Far from being just another "influencer" or social media personality, he is a true man of God, passionately advocating for truth, goodness, and beauty within the C...
Read more

The (Large) Sign Of The Cross Done Rightly

-
Image
Tertullian (d. ca. 250) In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the Sign of the Cross (De corona, 30). The Sign of the Cross is both a prayer and a ritual blessing. The way in which a worshipper makes the Sign of the Cross can say a lot about a person's intentions and practice of the Faith. Is the gesture deliberate and reverent, or careless and rushed? Is the gesture lazy or haphazard? Does someone look like they're swatting flies? Are some words omitted? Picture any of the above scenarios, but replace ‘Sign of the Cross’ with a loving gesture toward a spouse. Now imagine it as a half-hearted kiss, a limp hug, or even a weak handshake with a friend. The way the gesture is carried out can say a lot about what the other person may or may not be feeling and thinking. What do we want t...
Read more

The Mandorla: Shape And Meaning

-
Image
Ever wonder what the curious pointed oval shape in religious art is called, the shape that is also used in various designs adopted by guilds and religious groups? That almond shape is called the mandorla, the Italian word for almond. The mandorla is a significant symbol in Christian art and theology, characterized by its almond shape, which is formed by the intersection of two circles. This shape has deep theological implications and is often used to represent the divine presence, particularly in relation to Christ and the Virgin Mary. Symbolic Meanings Divine Presence. The mandorla is frequently depicted as a radiant shape surrounding Christ in His glory, particularly in scenes of the Transfiguration or the Ascension. It symbolizes the divine light and glory that emanates from Christ, emphasizing His dual nature as both God and man. The use of the mandorla in art serves to highlight the sacredness of the figure it surrounds, marking a clear distinction between the divine and the eart...
Read more

Sharing The Beauty Of Evensong In The Catholic Church

-
Image
DURANDUS | NLM Evensong is a liturgy of the Daily Office where psalms and other biblical passages are sung or said, usually close to sunset. The Latin word vesperas was rendered as aefensang  by Old English speakers, and this became "evensong" in modern English. https://singtheoffice.com/  | Music companion for chanting the Office. Variable audio support available. A very useful site! Structure The office of Vespers normally includes psalms, the Magnificat , a hymn, and other prayers. By the Early Middle Ages, it became common for secular clergy to combine Vespers and Compline . By the sixteenth century, worshippers in western Europe conceived 'evensong' as Vespers and Compline performed without break. Modern Byzantine services advertised as 'vespers' often similarly conclude with Compline . Background The Anglican archbishop Thomas Cranmer created choral evensong as a component of the Book of Common Prayer (1549) during the Edwardian Reformation, drawing on t...
Read more

The Solemn Rite of Betrothal in The Ordinariate

-
Image
St John Henry Newman, Victoria, BC | Betrothal Rite The Ordinariate is blessed with a patrimonial treasure of tremendous beauty and goodness. The Solemn Rite of Betrothal might be familiar to more than a few Anglicans. It is a beautiful gift that helps couples enter more fully into their emerging communion in Christ and provides an acknowledgement of the path ahead, ornamented with avenues through which a couple may dispose themselves to God's grace. Betrothal betroth  (v.) | Online Etymology Dictionary c. 1300, betrouthen , "to promise to marry (a woman)," from be- , here probably with a sense of "thoroughly," + Middle English treowðe "truth," from Old English treowðe "truth, a pledge". It is attested from 1560s as "contract to give (a woman) in marriage to another, affiance." Middle English also had a verb truth ( treuthen ) "become betrothed" (c. 1300). -al suffix forming nouns of action from verbs, mostly from Latin an...
Read more

Angelic Thrones: The Many-eyed Ones

-
Image
Thrones, also known as Ophanim (Hebrew: אוֹפַנִּים ʼōp̄annīm), meaning “wheels,” are described in Ezekiel’s vision of the merkabah (chariot) in Ezekiel 1:15–21. These wheels are connected to Daniel 7:9, where they are called galgal , often described as “the wheels of galgallin ” in a “fiery flame” and “burning fire.” They are shown as four eye-covered wheels, each formed from two nested wheels, moving together with the winged Cherubim beneath God’s throne. The wheels move in harmony with the Cherubim. The Celestial Hierarchy of Dionysius refers to the Thrones from the Old Testament description as the Third Order of the First Sphere, the other two superior orders being the First Order, the Seraphim, and the Second Order, the Cherubim. CHAPTER VII Of the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones, and their first Hierarchy The name of the most glorious and exalted Thrones denotes that which is exempt from and untainted by any base and earthly thing, and the supermundane ascent up the steep. Fo...
Read more

PSALM 37

Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing that is right : for that shall bring a man peace at the last.

POPE LEO XIV

The right to freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, religious freedom, and even the right to life are being restricted in the name of other so-called new rights, with the result that the very framework of human rights is losing its vitality and creating space for force and oppression. This occurs when each right becomes self-referential, and especially when it becomes disconnected from reality, nature, and truth.

ST AUGUSTINE

The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.

SAINT PHILIP NERI

The greatness of our love of God must be tested by the desire we have of suffering for His love.

ANTONIN SCALIA

Knowledge is one thing, virtue is another; good sense is not conscience, refinement is not humility. Liberal Education makes the gentleman. It is well to be a gentleman, it is well to have a cultivated intellect, a delicate taste, a candid, equitable, dispassionate mind, a noble and courteous bearing in the conduct of life. These are the natural qualities of a large knowledge, they are the objects of a university. But they are no guarantee for sanctity of even for conscientiousness; they may attach to the man of the world, to the profligate, to the heartless.

MARCUS AURELIUS

There is but one thing of real value - to cultivate truth and justice, and to live without anger in the midst of lying and unjust men.

MARK TWAIN

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.