Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea parish in San Francisco, presented a 13-minute homily on Sunday, May 2 as he prepared to give First Holy Communion to six children.
As he invited the first communicants to a special kneeler, he commented, “That’s the best way to receive Communion – kneeling and on the tongue. No question about it. The best way, the way our Church has always done it; we prostrate ourselves in humility and rather than receiving on the hand as we would receive a cracker, we receive like a little bird being fed on our tongues.”
And then he addressed the issue of Mass attendance: “Branches that separate themselves from the vine wither very quickly and die. …Stay connected to the vine. You will die. I will die – if we separate ourselves from Jesus Christ. We will go to Hell. We will create a little bit of a Hell here on earth, and we will go to Hell after we die if we don’t remain in Jesus Christ.”
Go to the 7 minute 20 second marker of the video: “The Catholic Church says every Sunday we go to Mass. In non-Catholic Christian denominations it is optional to go to church on Sunday. Not for Catholics. Obligatory. Mortal sin if you don’t go to Mass on Sunday without a good reason. Because without Him we die.”
Six kids? I thought people like bohemond and Romulus claimed traditionalist parishes were booming with large, young families. Where’s the beef?
My novus ordo parish has 38 kids making their first Communion.
And hopefully they are being taught that they are actually receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Savior Jesus Christ. Based on the most recent stats, 70% of Catholics don’t believe in The Real Presence, so imaging the errors they teach their own children. Check your pride.
Just like a traddy to assume that Catechesis at a normal parish is deficient. Trads have nothing good to say about their fellow Vatican II Catholics. Why is that? Why the jealousy? Why the bitterness? It’s great that the poster is pointing out that novus ordo, Vatican II Catholicism is alive and well. The fantasy that the TLM is the only growing part of the church is a lie.
It was the spirit of Vatican 2 that destroyed parishes in the spirit of “openness”: altar rails ripped out, statues of saints physically destroyed, frescoes white washed, 70 percent loss in belief in the Real Presence.
Nothing to be jealous about when such huge numbers of “Vatican II Catholics” do not believe Church teaching about The Real Presence. Your hostility toward folks believing what the Church actually teaches is astonishing.
Firts- there are no”traddy” Catholics and “Vatican II Catholics. One is a Catholic or is not. True Catholic loves the Lord and His Church, knows and lives the faith, suffers and dies for it. Faithful Catholic loves everyone, including his enemies. Your talk about bitternes and jealousy is entirely misplaced. Jealous of what? People who claim to be Catholics while being completely ignorant of the most basic truths of the their fath? People who claim to be Catholics while supporting most grave sins and those who committ them, like abortion supporting politicians? Vatican II Catholicism caused massive exodus of Catholics from the Church, generations of Catholics turning into NONEs and those who still attend Church for cultural or social reasons to have their faith so watered down that is practically non existant. You call that alive and well. I call it the ruin of the Church. But, thank God, the gates of hell will not prevail. The Church will survive as she always did, supported and carried with the remnant of the faithful who keep the faith.
May your eyes and your heart be open to the truth.
Your parish may be much larger, and have a fully-operating Catholic school, full of kids making their First Communions. Right now, Star of the Sea is just starting over with their new classical Catholic education program at their school, and may not be fully operating, due to the Pandemic. It is also a smaller, inner-city parish, with many families of different cultures.
This is correct. The number of First Communions is a poor indicator for the health of a parish. It’s simply predicated on whether or not the parish has a school. All too often school families join in First Holy Communion as a cultural act, or simple because everyone else is doing it. Then you don’t see them again until Confirmation, then not until a family baptism or wedding or when seeking approval to be a godparent. And all too often when you explain to them that being a godparent requires more than coming to Mass on Christmas and Easter the response is “But I went to Catholic school!!”
Six First communicants from a parish without a current school is excellent—that’s at least six families who are not having their children receive First Communion as a cultural event, but are really raising them in the faith. And of course the numbers will increase when Stella Maris Academy opens in the fall.
Anonymous, there is no such thing as a novus ordo parish. I assume that you mean your parish.
If there aren’t any novus ordo parishes then there aren’t TLM parishes either.
Nonsense we are in a functioning schism
There are a few parishes which are run by orders that only have the Tridentine Mass. Most Catholic parishes only have the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. They are all Catholic Churches. They are all parishes in a Catholic diocese.
There are some chapels that are not a part of the Catholic Church that have only the Tridentine Mass (as there are some that only have the OF.)
Referring to a novus ordo Mass came from schismatics. Unfortunately, error spreads.
A Catholic parish is just simply– a Catholic parish. It may have different types of Masses– the Novus Ordo in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Tagalog, Italian, Latin, or any language. And they may have Charismatic Masses, too! And maybe the old Latin Tridentine Mass. Few parishes are limited to just one kind of Mass. Even parishes that primarily serve one particular nationality, may have a variety of different kinds of Masses.
37 of them will be gone for good, come university.
It’s the Springtime of the New Evangelization. Thanks, V2!
My Dear Martin, TLM parishes are booming and all young.
That’s what you say. Novus ordo parishes are over 98% of the church.
Pretty funny. First comment is about Trads. Somebodies have Trads living in their minds….
Star of the sea is not a traditionalist parish. It is a Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. They have both forms of the Roman Rite. I have attended there-the ordinary form was offered by Father Illo. At Communion, he asks for those who want to receive kneeling and on the tongue to come up first; then those who want to receive in the hand, standing (which was most of the people) go up.
Yay for Father Illo and the First Communicants. May they always receive the Body of Christ worthily.
Sorry– but I think Fr. Illo is very poor at relating to little ones. Little children cannot go to Mass all by themselves. Their parents must bring them. Too much talk about Mass attendance, missing Mass is a mortal sin, and warnings about death and Hell– very, very inappropriate for poor little children making their First Communions! Instead– encourage little ones on that special day, to always love Jesus and want to receive Him in Holy Communion, and encourage the little ones to get involved in children’s devotions and activities at the church.
I agree it was not the right time for such things to be said to little kids. I hope he didn’t scar any of the little ones.
Looks like the only ones scared are the adults.
The excerpt here is taken out of context. It is an excellent homily. There are a couple times that he misspeaks (March is the month of St. Joseph; May is the month of Mary) and I do not remember being taught that at first Communion we become spouses of Christ. Maybe because the Church is the bride of Christ and at first Communion we become in full Communion? I really can’t find anything online or in the Catechism about it.
I have heard bishops and priests say March is the month of St. Joseph, and May is the month of Mary. That has been in official Catholic prayer books for decades. In fact Pope Francis declared this liturgical year The Year of St. Joseph, and many Catholics — in all rites — are doing the Consecration to St. Joseph by Fr. Calloway.
And, yes, the Church is the bride, and spouse, of Christ in the supernatural sense. In years past all Catholic women wore veils or hats before the Blessed Sacrament to stress that point. Men representing Christ were bareheaded.
A la gente no le gusta que le digan la verdad, siempre la tratan de maquillar para que no se escuche feo, pero en mi opinión me gusta directo y al punto. Esta bien cuando dijo el Señor Cura Illo. Que es pecado no ir a misa. Yo lo recuerdo desde mi infancia esa terminología. Y es correcta según lo dice el Catechismo de la Iglesia Catolica .
En ocasiones me gustaría que el señor cura fuera más fuerte y apasionado en el momento de sus homilías porque en esta vida nadie nos llama la atención hacemos lo que queremos y el es…. la voz de Cristo en la Misa.
Why are you responding in Spanish to an English comment? I’m not sure CA is an English speaking state any more , but why not use Google translate?
If children are not taught about sin and hell, how are they to know? The 3 young Fatima children were shown a vision of hell by Our Blessed Mother. Are you going to second guess her methods too? The devil goes after “the little ones” too, they must be warned.
Deus Vult– Deus caritas est. To be a good teacher, you have to be able to reach your students. Teaching is a gift. Jesus had that great gift, to be able to understand each person who came to Him, and teach them well. He was beautiful with little children. Jesus would never threaten a little child with Hell– no reason for Him to do such a mean thing. Instead, He would teach a child to have confidence, and to love and trust their Father in Heaven. Many children may grow up to pursue priestly and religious vocations, if catechists can reach them in the right way, when they are young. And a child must be taught that there is no sin that God cannot forgive. None. Never worry– just trust His love for you, and go to Confession– and all will be well. A child should be taught about sin, death Satan, and Hell, in a way that they can understand, but not be frightened about– because God is in charge, Christ died for our sins, it is still a good world, life is worth living, and God has a good plan for that child’s life. God wants that child to come live in Heaven with Him, someday. And save the topic of horrible mortal sins– particularly, sexual sins– for when a child is much older, in high school and college– rape, prostitution, gay sex perversions, and other horrible mortal sins. One must protect the innocence of childhood. Many misguided, mean-spirited, hard-hearted religion teachers, with no ability to teach, have committed serious child abuse, harming a child for life. Child abuse is a serious sin and a serious crime.
If Catholics won’t teach their kids about sin and hell, the world most certainly will. The moral groundwork must be laid from their earliest years, and expanded as is age appropriate. If you wait til teenage years to teach sexual morality, you are too late. Be not afraid!
Deus Vult, it sounds like you have no experience with children at all! With a child, teaching is in a much simpler way, on the child’s level. For example– from toddlerhood, you begin to carefully teach children social manners, and instill good habits– just in small ways. In preschool years, children are learning social/emotional skills. And they need early training in things like compassion, empathy, giving, and forgiveness. If you pushed your baby sister, say you’re sorry, know she hurts, try to understand that and empathize. Learn self-control, learn to use your words, not push and shove. Mom, dad, and later, teachers and catechists, as well as priests, must help a child grow in good behavior and moral training.
You start with sexual morality in simple ways, too. Do not mention the actual word, “sex,” and anything related to it– a small child is too young.
You ignored the parts about “age appropriate” and laying out the moral groundwork.
Properly, I will ignore your assumption of my having no experience with children.
Deus Vult– if you want to be a good catechist, you must first love God snd love your neighbor, and really have the sincere desire to reach little children, and form them slowly in Christ, for love of Him Who inspired you to teach in His Name. Little children are beautiful. Teaching religion classes to young children is a unique and special vocation.
It is not for mean, nasty, immature, hateful, negative, egotistical, angry, cold, proud, hard-hearted, sin-and-Hell zealots, who reject Christ, for their own evil, prideful ways! Those who are taught from an early age, to be Christ-like and loving, obedient to Him, out of love for Him– have almost no taste for sin, nor for selfishness and selfish desires of the flesh. They will learn early, to be an obedient, humble, loving, selfless servant, hard-working, with joy, for Christ. Christ’s School is the Divine School of Love, in which a child is formed in Christ, day-by-day.
We get it, you didn’t like Fr. Illo’s talk, though thankfully he is the humble, loving, hard working selfless servant you describe. Move on with your life now.
No, Deus Vult. I am not interested in what Fr. Illo said, in this excerpt from his sermon. And I believe the whole brief excerpt might have been taken out of context. I think you may have no interest anyway, in being a catechist for children, so it doesn’t matter.
There is one more important thing that people of today should learn, in spiritual life. Many clerics in the post-Conciliar Church mistakenly follow the “pop psychology” culture, (even Pope St. John Paul II, as well as Pope Francis) which emphasizes “me, me, me,” and being extremely emotional, extremely personal, and warm, and extremely self-gratification-oriented in life, relationships, and even self-gratification with God. This is narcissism. Humanistic to the point of babyishness and narcissism. Instead, we need balance, detachment from earthly things and detachment from people and from our desires.
It is important to be objective, and detached from your own desires, always ready to serve God, and do what is right. “Approval-seeking” is a sign of neurosis and poor leadership. If you really love your sheep, you will correctly guide and discipline them.
In the St. Joseph First Communion Catechism, if you look in the section regarding the Sacrament of Penance, you will find a list of sins to help a child examine their conscience. It is all written well, age-appropriate, in a language and style that most children can understand. Listed there,first of all, we find as follows: “Did I miss Mass on purpose on a Sunday or Holy Day?” There is a huge difference between missing Mass “on purpose,” and missing Mass because you were sick, or because your mom and dad are not regular Mass-goers, and did not take their children to Mass! A poor child deserves to know the difference! You have to tell him/her, that it is a sin, to miss Mass deliberately!
What period does the six children receiving First Communion at Fr Ilio’s church represent? If it is a month, that is quite different than if it represented an entire year. A little specificity would help greatly.
mikem–They all attended a First Communion class, specially for First Communion in the old Latin Tridentine Mass rite. I am sure they were thoroughly prepared.
First Communions for kids are always in May and they are always the year’s batch. It’s not like baptisms, which are held every month. Once a year for First Communions.
Usually but since Covid our parish has been separating into school kids and CCD kids and there are always some kids who for whatever reason did not get to make their first Communion with the group who have theirs at whatever Mass their family usually attends.
That’s the Novus Ordo. Not true in the TLM. We have first communions all year around.
What diocese are you in?
My grandparents all were born in the 19th century, and then immigrated to America. One of my grandfathers, an Italian, attended fine Jesuit schools in Italy, including a fine Jesuit boarding school– and was beautifully educated. However, he was deeply shocked in his religious faith as a child. A nun prepared the little boys for their First Communion, in a special class. She warned them not to “chew Baby Jesus,” not to let the Sacred Host touch the roof of their mouths– or they would go to Hell. So– guess what happened? My poor grandpa could not figure out how to swallow the Sacred Host whole, and it did touch the roof of his mouth– and he chewed it up and swallowed it. His whole day was horrifically ruined. He was just a little boy– and was deeply traumatized. Plus, the Jesuits, though very brilliant educators — were also very demanding of the boys, and cruel with discipline, at times. My grandfather was hurt, and later lost interest in religion, basically ignoring the Catholic Church, rarely ever going to Mass– though he still considered himself to be Catholic, to life’s end, always making sure he was correctly identified as “Catholic,” if ever needing to state his religion.
Corporeal punishment was used in all schools back then — including in the public schools in the United States. The nun probably meant for your grandfather to let the Host dissolve in his mouth, but that cannot be done with all Hosts. I have had a Sacred Host stick to the roof of my mouths, and it is difficult to get one down with ones tongue to swallow it. The nun had probably seen some children chew the Hosts in a silly, impolite manner and wanted that to stop but did not explain it very well. It seems she should have left out the “hell” part, and told them not get silly or they would lose a reward.
My grandpa said that in his Jesuit boarding school, if a boy misbehaved, he would be sent to bed with no dinner. The sheets, blankets, and pillows, as well as the mattress, would also be removed from the boy’s bed, and he would have to sleep on just the bare wooden foundation.
There is no doubt that some were ran like the United States Marine Core.
Semper Fi.
For those who might not know what “Semper Fi” means, it is the motto of the United States Marine Corp, and is short for the Latin “Semper Fidelis”, which means “Always Faithful”.
See what I mean when I say that western history is steeped in Latin?
One nice thing that the Jesuits did, was that they took the boys every Sat. afternoon to the matinee at the local opera house (in Naples, Italy) with treats afterwards! Everyone had a wonderful time! My grandpa also came from a musical family— but couldn’t sing on pitch!– anyway, he always loved to hum (sometimes off-key!) operatic arias, while working around the house!
You have been enriched by knowing your Grandpa. I wish he could have seen past the abuse and the difficulties and found the priceless pearl.
Anonymous, my grandpa was a fine man, extremely intelligent, hard-working, who loved his family, very sweet, kindly, easy-going, loving, self-sacrificing, virtuous, strong and gentle. He was loved by everyone. He had a big supervisory job and helped many, during the Great Depression. He also helped run Communists out of the country, when they were trying to infiltrate in America, and coax workers to join them, especially in the Depression era.
He “jumped quota,” as at that time, there were restrictions on southern Europeans entering America legally. He loved America, joined the military and fought in WWI, in the last cavalry unit (he told me all about his horse!) and desired to become a good, loyal American. He had to carefully wait, however, until after his grandchildren were born, for himself and my grandma and other relatives, to actually become American citizens (due to quota-jumping) — of which they were very, very proud. He died more than 50 years ago, of a serious illness, and called for the priest, who gave him the Last Rites, and buried him in the Church.
I enjoyed hearing your grandfather’s story. I am glad that he reconciled with the Church. You are blessed to have him in your life. It also sounds like our country was blessed to have him come over here.
Bless you, Anonymous! Most of us have family members and ancestors who immigrated to America, worked hard, endured many trials, persevered, with Faith in God and good Christian beliefs and values, raised good families, and helped make America a great country!
I believe that catechists should teach children, teens, and adults according to their age. I believe that only college-age teens, who can get to Mass by themselves, and adults, should be told that it is a mortal sin to miss Mass– and know that they are required to be there. I would also encourage little children, and teens– and adults, too!– and tell them, “Come to Mass! Jesus loves you! He misses you always, in the Tabernacle, at church! Go often to the church, when possible, make Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and go to Adoration when possible, too! Jesus would love to see you!” I would tell the parents to always be sure to bring their children to Mass! And help them at home, with proper preparations for their new Sacraments, after First Confession and First Communion!
Kids must be taught the necessity of going to Mass, under pain of mortal sin. They can take it.
Parents who want to raise Catholic children will ensure they get to Mass. If not, they are hypocrites and their kids will walk away too.
No, Deus Vult. You seem to have no faith, no trust in God and His Love for you. God is Love. Those who are taught His Love will desire to love and serve Him, and will always want to go to Mass and worship Him, and do many beautiful things for Him. They will also love and help their neighbors, and will gladly take up their daily crosses, in loving, joyful sacrifice for Him. They will have little taste for sin, and will daily battle sin, gladly– for love of Him. The Devil wickedly loves fear, intimidation, hate, anger, vengeance, vindictive punishment, war, killing, lust, laziness, and pride.
Good Catholic parents always instill self-discipline, responsibility, the work ethic, giving to others, and self-sacrifice, as well as love, humility, obedience, and respect for God, family, and country, in their children. If these habits are deeply instilled, when you are older, you will desire to always carefully fulfill your responsibilities, even if you have times that are difficult for you. Parents teach best, too, when they are good Role Models for their children. Older generations, long ago, knew these things well. People of today, need to re-learn them. God is first, and your responsibilities to Him, in all things.
All that you said is true but parents can do everything right and their children can still be tempted away from the Church.
The Church can do everything right and people will still be tempted away from the Church.
The devil hates everyone. Everyone is tempted.
Prayer and love are the best defenses.
Age appropriate education sends you off the cliff? Please get some help, you are triggered beyond what website comments can address.
Deus Vult, You obviously have no training nor interest in working with children. Children have to learn according to what they can understand for their age. It is extremely ignorant, selfish, egotistical, and cruel, to foolishly expect a child of five to comprehend what a child of ten can comprehend. Your curriculum must always be age-appropriate. And no– you cannot control the mind of a child nor of an adult. Very poor teaching method. All you can do is teach, and pray, and do your best. Leave the rest to God. They are His children, not yours. The Code of Canon Law strictly forbids abuses like mind-control and domination of others, by priests, nuns, or laymen, in the Church. Such evil, diabolical tactics are extremely egotistical, dangerous and horrific abuses of power, condemned by the Church. Many great Saints took years and years to come to God, and leave behind a life of wrong-doing. Each one slowly made their own way to God. St. Monica prayed for her son, St. Augustine, for decades, and he finally converted– and became a great Saint.
We were taught not to chew the host.
Something that I thought was interesting, is that my grandpa said that the water in Italy was so poor, the children were always given water mixed with a little weak wine, at meals. Even horses were given water mixed with a little wine! Once, when the future Pope Pius XII was riding his horse to a class at the seminary, he stopped for lunch, gave his horse water mixed with some wine, and the horse– a little bit drunk– lay down and had a nap. The young seminarian, Eugenio Pacelli, then walked the rest of the way to his class, and later returned for his horse, and rode back home. He lived at home while attending the seminary, due to poor health, at that time.
God bless and protect Fr. Illo. With us, too, it must be as with Robert Cardinal Sarah, God or nothing. We, too, must know the power of silence.
Ad orientem denudo vertamus, and He comes down into that silence.
The Lord is not in the wind nor in the fire nor in the earthquake with all its noise and clamor, but in the silence. It is in that silence that we hear His still small voice, and he comes to us. The power of silence against the dictatorship of noise.
As with the Prophet Elias, It is the Virgin Mary and her Son or Jezebel and the prophets of Baal. Which will you choose?
I should have been clearer in this post. I was referring to some of Cardinal Sarah’s books, “God or Nothing” and “The Power of Silence; Against the Dictatorship of Noise”, as to the silence needed while receiving Holy Communion in a reverent manner — which is also similar to the way the Prophet Elias (Elijah) communicated with God on the mountain while opposing the priests of Baal.
You should stay and pray after Mass.
I do whenever possible — that is whenever we are not being hurried out of a parking Mass, or one inside the church where there needs to be clean up before the next Mass, or there is an important reason to get somewhere on time.
Anne TE– I agree! Isn’t Cardinal Sarah wonderful?
I like him too.
The point of praying after Mass is to thank the Lord Jesus for humbling himself by coming to us mere creatures in the Eucharist, and Christ is still within us if we have taken Communion for around fifteen minutes afterward. I was told — probably until digested. So we should commune with him at that time. Some churches are too noisy for that after Mass, whereas others keep the silence more. There are beautiful prayers in both the older Latin Mass missals and the Newer Mass missals for praying in thanksgiving after Communion.
Through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, may all Catholics be made aware of their errors and be given the grace to convert their thoughts, words and deeds to those of faith, hope and charity, in humility and docility.
In case their are others who did not know, the icon is Christ, the True Vine.
I always thought it would really hurt my feeling if I got a thumbs down, but it is really just confusing because I have no idea why someone did not like it. If I was wrong, I would rather someone write a comment that says that. I know very little about icons or ikons and I would like to know more. If I said something stupid, let me know.
I gave you the thumbs up on your last post and wondered, too, why anyone would give you a thumbs down as you were correct. It might have been posted by accident, but the person should have explained in that case.
Thanks Anne TE
Maybe just not be so sensitive. The internet is the Wild West. Thumbs up or thumbs down, it’s not anything important just fun.
My Pastor, Father Illo, is such a gift to his flock. He is tirelessly saving souls every minute of every day. May God continue to bless his holy work.
Deus Vult– Deus Caritas est! To be a successful teacher, you have to be good at teaching your students. I believe Jesus was beautiful with little children! He knew just how to reach each person that came to Him! That is a great gift! There is no reason to be mean to your students, nor threaten them with Hell. Instead, you should instill confidence in them, and help them learn their subject matter well, and proudly share their new knowledge with their mom and dad, and brothers and sisters, and little friends! Many priesthood and religious vocations are also born that way! As for Our Lady of Fatima, I really have no idea about that situation. All I know, is that many misguided people, in many denominations, have committed child abuse with religion, and have severely harmed little ones for life. Child abuse is a serious sin, and a serious crime. Yes, little ones should learn about Heaven and Hell, sin and salvation, etc.– in a manner appropriate for a little child’s mind to understand. A child must also learn to trust in God’s loving forgiveness, and that there is no sin that God cannot forgive– just trust Him, go to Him in the Sacrament of Penance! And there are many evil mortal sins you must never talk about with a child– save that for when he is much older– sexual sins, rape, pornography, prostitution, gay sex sins, etc. A child’s innocence must be carefully protected!
The point was that children are to be taught as is age appropriate, no one is arguing to take away childhood innocence.
Do not stay ignorant about the Fatima apparitions, they are Church approved and you will be thankful to learn the story from a Catholic website.
Love Our Lady of Fatima. But I do not think today’s Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, the entire Vatican, and most Church leaders, are very faithful to her. Some clerics preach and perform the Five First Saturdays, and daily pray the Rosary, as Our.Lady asked– but are not faithful in upholding Church teachings on man/woman Biblical marriage, sexuality, birth control, chastity, and defending the lives of unborn babies against the sin of abortion– and are not faithful in other important religious and moral responsibilities.
Well, “Anonymous,” you never disappoint. Many recent polls — such as the Pew Poll, show that a minority of Catholics know of, or believe in, the Real Presence. This defect is precisely caused by watered-down teachings after VII. Come on, when a communicant does not kneel, eats the Host out of its filthy hands, and is rarely told about Hell (and how you can get there by ignoring your Catholic obligations), you know what kind of “Catholic” is being formed. God Bless the little children of neglectful parishes, and God Bless Fr. Illo.
I don’t think receiving our Lord standing in the Hand is what has caused the problem. I think there definitely is bad catechesis. I think a healthy dose of the fear of hell is good for people because it is a real consequence that you should try to avoid.
In my experience, there are people who are ignorant but there are more people who just reject these teachings because they do not want to believe or they may be so steeped in sin that they cannot believe.
Many people find out tenets of the faith when they are doing something or saying something and someone says “That is a grave sin or mortal sin” or “Catholics aren’t supposed to do that.”
i have heard homilies about the Real Presence and I always feel that the priest could have said more. Even Father Illo says the “Body and Blood of Christ” which is correct but he could have explained “Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity” and talked about Him being alive and risen.
Take every opportunity. When people say, “Yes, we know” or “Amen” then you can go on to the next person. iron sharpens iron.
No, Anonymous. “A healthy dose of the fear of Hell” is incomplete, lazy, mean, vindictive, and ignorant teaching! You have to patiently teach the entire Catholic truth, if you are a Catechist, encourage your students, tell them of the seriousness of sin, of the terrible and destructive effects and results of sin in our souls, and in the world– — but also, tell them how Christ died for our sins, tell them of God’s Love and Mercy! Tell them God is ready to receive you lovingly, in the Sacrament of Penance, if you fall into sin– go to Confession quickly, and trust! Never lose hope! Tell them all about the joys of Heaven, and how pleasing God is a very great and beautiful and necessary thing! We must do good, avoid evil– and our Guardian Angels can help us! Tell them how we all must help Christ build God’s Kingdom, how we can imitate the Saints, practice virtue, overcome temptation, receive sanctifying grace from God in the Sacraments, plus, actual graces, which we can receive by prayer– and thus, become more and more Christ-like. You have to make sure your students understand the whole material.
Anon., just saw this. You are correct. You need to teach the entire Catholic Faith. I did not mean to imply that you don’t. When I was speaking of correction, I was speaking of adults or even adolescents who have not been properly instructed. I have come to the conclusion that unless your family really lives the Faith, you will be deficient. It is almost impossible for a Catechist in 45 minutes per week to really cover every Truth. Since the Catechisms got watered down a few decades ago, we have had people who as adults learned the Faith and converts who found that Catholics were ignorant of the Faith, produce a lot of educational materials for adults. Adult education at Churches grew. Also, you can educate yourself. Another thing that hurt was that at least at my Church, they felt like kids get too much homework at school so they would not give home work. A 10 minute read on a subject would help educate both the children and the whole family.
Your post was excellent and correct but you left out Marian devotion which is super important. Other than that I cannot fathom why anyone would thumbs down your post.
Traddys sure get a lot of mileage out of the poll that “showed” Catholics don’t believe in the Eucharist. Maybe the question was worded in a bad way that confused the respondents.
How about this? How about we poll people at TLMs whether they think Benedict is still the pope? I bet that poll would reveal many TLMers are schismatics for not accepting the authority of Pope Francis. They keep it hush-hush, but I know it’s what many of them secretly think and discuss among themselves, and they feel superior for their gnostic knowledge that Benedict is the real pope while all those poor, misguided, unenlightened Vatican II Catholics are following an “antipope”.
Wow, you know other people’s secret thoughts???
Martin, What? Nope, read the poll, and it is — sadly — not the only one. In fact, very recent polls show that “Catholics” refuse to agree with Church teachings that (1) homosexual marriage is contrary to Natural Law; (2) divorced and remarried are forbidden to receive Holy Communion (without annulment; and, No, the crazy “exhortation” of Francis in Amoris Laetitia (see, e.g., fn. 351) does not change any Catholic teaching); and (3) sex outside of a man-woman marriage is always morally wrong. They know full well what they believe in.
You know, “Traddys” did not invent Catholic teachings, they only live by them. Your comment is offensive in suggesting that somehow a “conservative” Catholic is anything but mainstream. These things cannot be changed, as the bishops in Germany will find out, one day.
I love when Novus Ordonarians call us “Traddies” we simply call ourselves Roman Catholics! Remember you were once what we were, it is you who changed not us. And yes we love The Holy Father Pope Benedict the XVI he freed the Traditional Latin Mass from 50 years of bondage and we will always be grateful to him for that. Just remember Martin before your Vatican II came about Mass attendance was at 75% in the United States now it stands at 5%! This is a fact so as for the New Springtime of Vatican II being this wonderful opening up of the Church tell me Martin what happened? Empty and closed convents, closed or empty seminaries, closed hospital’s, closed parochial schools, and yes closed churches galore.
There is no competition. Really. Give it a rest.
Yes. And lots of corrupt, bad Jesuits, sinful, false “Catholic” schools and universities, a Pope who no longer champions the right to life of the unborn child, nor the holiness of the Sacrament of Matrimony– and praises “civil gay unions”– and abandonment of true Catholic Faith and Morals, corruption worldwide.
The above post is in reply to the post of Romulus Augustus, on May 14, at 4:53pm
I wonder what percentage of California Catholic Daily readers want to make every story about the TLM and NO.
Honestly, some stories aren’t related to the form of Mass celebrated.
Maybe Joe Biden promotes baby killing because he went to a Novus Ordo Mass.
And, maybe some Spanish soldier killed some natives because he went to a Traditional Latin Mass.
But, I really don’t think so.
I don’t think those are all causes and effects of which Mass was attended.
Oh, BTW, I don’t think Fr. Illo was talking about that either.
Nobody sins because of Mass.
Exactly my point. Fr. Illo talked about First Holy Communion, kneeling and the sin of missing Mass (regardless of which Form). After 50 comments, most about the Forms of the Mass, I want to point out that that is not the subject of every story.
That is not totally true. If the priest is encouraging serious sin in his sermons at his Masses, some parishioners might be encouraged to serious sin. The others will leave and find a more orthodox Catholic priest.
It’s not just the NO or the TLM. Those are covers or proxies for a much larger divergence of worldviews. Basically it lines up this way:
TLM: Benedict is Pope, Vatican II was illegitimate, and the earth is only 6,000 years old and God created each species directly.
NO: Francis is Pope, Vatican II was a legitimate council, the universe is 13.7 billion years old and evolution occurred.
No, Anonymous. Do you serve the True Christ, in your daily life, and seek daily to be more and more Christ-like, and serve Him better each day?? That is all that counts. True believers are rare.
From a very early age, I recall learning, by rote, that sexual immorality is a terrible mortal sin that merits eternal punishment in Hell, for unrepentant sinners. I recall hearing some stories of famous Europeans and Latin Americans with lovers, prior to marriage– and adultery, with mistresses, after marriage. We were taught that this was a terrible mortal sin. However– we never knew, exactly what those terrible sins were! What was the sex act?? We had no idea, and were kept innocent. People never talked graphically about sex, the way they have, since the filthy 1960s. And yes, Satan tries to snatch souls– but your Guardian Angels will help, protect, and guide you, along with Christ and Our Blessed Mother. Pray the Rosary a lot, and that helps! The Devil hates holiness, holy water, holy medals, scapulars, Rosaries, all sacramentals, the Blessed Mother, all the Angels, the Blessed Sacrament, crucifixes, and will speedily turn and run from these things!