Few religious publications are willing to delve into the issues facing the Catholic Church today when it comes to declining attendance. Most priests do not want to recognize the fact that churches are now emptier today than ever before and parochial schools are closing at an accelerating rate.
Only about half of Americans are married today, down from 72 percent in 1960. The age at which one first gets married has risen by six years and now only 20% of Americans get married before the age of 30. Why has marriage declined? Most experts point to the woman’s liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. As more women earned college degrees, entered the workforce and delayed motherhood, marriage became less necessary for their economic survival. Studies have been published linking the use of the birth control pill to women’s earnings. Access to the pill narrowed the gender wage gap. Although the divorce rate has fallen since the 1980s, when it was at an all-time high, it is still twice as high as it was in 1960 and currently hovers around 50%. Sadly, our ranking on the socioeconomic ladder determines our willingness to marry.
The U.S. birth rate is declining. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were 3.93 million births in the United States in 2013, 9% below the high in 2007. The average number of babies dropped to a record low of 1.8 babies, well below the 2.1 needed for a stable population. Statistics show that birth rates among Catholic couples fell well within the current national statistics.
The concept of the family is changing. Fewer than 25% of American households are made up of a married man and woman with their children. The change in the makeup of the American family is the result of two primary factors: more babies are now born out of wedlock and second, divorce rates remain high resulting in nearly half of all marriage contracts being broken. The overall attitude toward relationships and commitment has shifted. Having a child outside of marriage is acceptable. Having a wedding after the baby is also not uncommon. Cohabitation is on the rise and lasting longer.
Overall, America’s Catholic schools are closing at a rapid rate. At their peak in the mid-1960s, more than 13,000 Catholic elementary and secondary schools enrolled 12% of U.S. school children. But by 2012, fewer than 7,000 Catholic schools enrolled about two million, or 5% of U.S. school-aged children. Why? A number of reasons explain the decline: No more nuns. From a peak of over 100,000 sisters in the 1960s down to about 6,500 in 2010 still working or less than one per Catholic school. Rising tuition. In 1970, nearly 75% of all Catholic schools charged less than $100 in tuition. By 2010, the average tuition was about $4,000 at a Catholic elementary school and around $8,000 for a high school. The Church itself, many scholars suggest, would like to withdraw from general education and use its limited resources for strictly religious education.
Given all of this, we might ask whether faith formation classes on Sunday morning at a local parish are a good substitute for a Catholic education? Do enough children participate to make it a meaningful endeavor? Scholars all seem to agree that the Catholic home is the best place to foster the Catholic faith. But if neither of the parents participate in their Catholic religion to any extent, will parish-provided faith formation provide any lasting benefits?
The Catholic congregations are aging and dying off. At least 60% of most congregations today are over 65 years of age. The older the church’s membership, the more likely that the church is to have falling numbers, weaker finances, anemic youth programming and a sense of spiritual fatigue.
The pews will remain empty unless the Catholic Church can address the issues blocking attendance. This will not be an easy task. The issues have to be addressed at the highest level in the Church.
Full story at Catholic Journal.
The article misses the point in a number of important areas, and the language itself is problematic
Bishop Robert Barron correctly identifies the Huge Harm from the Homosex Ephebophile ‘priest’ Scandal Targeting Adolescent Boys as a central factor in the American Church and its relations with Rome
“Women’s Liberation” is politically biased & misleading – The real issue is poisoning of the well by Radical Gender Feminist MISANDRY (Hatred of Men & Boys, Masculinity & Normal Heterosexuality), making the whole ‘Dating / Relating’ scene more like playing hopscotch in a minefield. The insanity of Men making a commitment to ‘Love, Honor & Cherish’ those who despise, demean and denigrate them gets no mention
Catholic Schools that…
Catholic Schools that Are Catholic do better than schools where the staff despises Church Teaching and functions as an arm of the Dem-Krat Party
It is no joke to say the best way to drive young people from the Church is to send them to a Catholic College
The 50% Divorce Rate fails to account for Multiple Marriages – pegging the number at a higher level than justified – although it functions as a Feedback Loop helping to bring about a self fulfilling paradigm
Times have changed and the Church needs to change with them. Until the 13th century the Church taught that usury (i.e. charging interest) was a sin. This is no longer the case. Some will assert returning to a pre-Vatican II Church will solve all of these problems, but they are sadly mistaken. Can We Save the Catholic Church? Yes We Can – and should – Save the Catholic Church! But it will require hard work, bold leadership and change!
“We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.” – Pope Benedict XVI
Christ never preached a Church that changed with the times. He preached a very definite Faith! Few have the courage to follow the True Faith. The True Faith is not of this world. Since the beginning of Christianity, we have been taught to leave worldliness, and follow Christ. It is the job of trained clergy and nuns, to form Christ in the Catholic Faithful, from childhood. In the day of St. Francis of Assisi, the Catholic Church was in very bad shape, too! St. Francis received his famous vision of Christ, at San Damiano, in which Christ asked St. Francis to rebuild His Church. And he did! It is said that St. Francis, the “Seraphic Saint,” was the closest of all the Saints, to being truly Christ-like.
Until the 13th century the Church taught that usury (i.e. charging interest) was a sin.
Partially wrong.
Charging interest on a loan is not a sin.
Usury is the practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest. Doing so is STILL a sin against the seventh commandment.
“Times have changed and the Church needs to change with them.” Don’t even get me started….
The Church taught Usury is such a straw man. This is leading toward you can’t trust anything the Catholic Church teaches outside the dictates of modern secular humanist ideas and science du jour. (like “so called” Climate change, homosexual “so called” marriage, women priests, go on down the list) Do you think this readership is that mentally crippled (could be with the dillapidation of a faith that produces such well founded and logically sound “arguments” as the Church taught against usury.) NO guy/gal, the Church taught AGAINST modernism, against moral relativism, against Free Masonry, against divorce and remarriage, and those teachings have been abandoned, (even if in lack of enforcement of the above) and THOSE type of…
There are two generations that have not been taught the Catholic faith!
If people were really taught the Faith, they would be on their knees before the Lord in the Tabernacle and when receiving Him in Holy Communion. They have no idea what is actually happening on the altar especially at the Consecration!!! Our Lady is behind the Priest and all the Saints and Angels are surrounding the altar……..
And Our Dear Lord comes to us, as He promised…..NEVER TO LEAVE US! WOW.
Diane, I disagree with your basic premise, that two generations have not been taught the Catholic faith! I remember, years ago, railing against all this love and other stuff my kids were getting in CCD. They weren’t expected to memorize the Catechism? Over time, I came to realize that instead of memorizing the “faith”, they were being taught to live the faith. Growing parishes are in the community making a difference; feeding the poor, clothing the homeless, etc. Our people know what is happening on the Altar. They come every weekend by the thousands and to the other parishes in the area, by the thousands. Now, if we could just get some decent music!:)
Smaller but Holier here we come…..
The implosion of the Roman Catholic Church can all be easily explained in one simple answer: A widespread loss of actual and sanctifying grace! Without these graces flowing from God to its members, the members lose their Roman Catholic Faith. If the young and new members have never been taught the true Faith, then these members are also going exit the Church do to a lack of interest supported by grace. If scandals occur within the clergy or high-level lay positions (due to a loss of grace or grace never received) those scandals cause disgust and distrust, a sense of hypocrisy and incentive to leave the Church. Why is it that 2/3rds of modern Catholics don’t believe in transubstantiation according to national surveys? Perhaps they…
You’ve got it backwards. The problem isn’t God withholding grace. It’s that Catholics reject the gift of grace by losing their faith. God waits for us, not vice versa. “Thou shalt not put the Lord Thy God to the test.”
I’m a Catholic who is sick of this Pope and the homo clergy.
My local bishop engaged in a programme of church closures blamed demographics. When I told him it was entirely due to the lack of teaching Catholicism, at every level of education, he in effect, anathematised me!
Michael – When you write the Bishop “In Effect – Antithematised Me” – did this serve as a full Excommunication or a Simple Denunciation?
We seem to have very similar experiences of Certain of the Church Hierarchy – although continents apart
I doubt the politicization of the ‘clergy’ is as widespread as the bought and paid for ‘free press’ claims – but there certainly is a Hyper Militant Politics in the level of Denunciations coming from certain quarters
I have to wonder how much of this is a smoke screen to draw attention away from cocaine fueled homosex orgies in the Vatican
SEE Pope Francis allies blast – accuses group of forming an alliance of ‘hate’ with evangelical Christians to back President Trump
Lack of catechesis is why the pews are empty in “most” churches. Ask any nominal Catholic what s/he believe. All religions are the same, sin is what I decide it is, everyone goes to heaven, priests have surrendered their role as leaders to parish councils and “liturgical ministers.” No one goes to confession but everyone goes to Communion. The rosary is lucky charm to hang from my rearview mirror.
You want to see full pews? Pews with young families with lots of children? Go to any Traditional Latin Mass parish where the “hard truths” are taught. The Catholic Church is the One True Church outside of which there is no salvation. The 4 Last Things: death judgment, heaven, hell. Jesus Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist,…
Priests, bishops, cardinals and the ‘elite’ laity just don’t get it! the ‘spirit of Vatican2’ has destroyed the Catholic Church…..along with 3 generations of ‘uninformed’ Catholics….when the church fails society…then society fails….even atheists would look to the Catholic church for direction….but not today…the church is so amoral…glorifying & legislating every sin on the earth and under the earth….the sacred and holy are gone….never a sermon on SIN!!!…and true repentance….the confessional lines are nonexistent….our churches look like protestant churches…we are so worried about social justice, ecumenism, making saints out of protestants…..nothing in Martin Luther’s life warrants sainthood….Our Holy…
Juanita – I think that the “Professional Catholics” who saw the Church as a Career (often requiring only a ‘holy pose’) – often abused their positions to Subordinate the Church to a radical Leftist Demi – Krat political agenda, Denouncing those who failed to vote as told as Un-Good. Ahem
SEE
The Legacy of John Paul II
https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/527/editorial/legacy-john-paul-ii
Pope John Paul II will go down in history as the most important world leader in the second half of the 20th century. He changed the course of history… He admired the American people but was not afraid to challenge government policies that were contrary to moral values, whether these were the Clinton administration’s population policies or both…
yes…all you have to do is step back and just take a look at how it all went down after Vat 2…I personally think, until the church goes back to real traditional Catholic basics pre-Vat 2 it will continue to slide down the abyss to the nether world….”Professional Catholics’ are a good way to put it…the only ‘business’ this church should have is saving souls..’THE CATHOLIC WAY’ thru a sacred and holy liturgy, confession, repentance, learning the one true, holy, catholic and apostolic traditional Catholic faith….Our Holy Mother and the lives of the saints….the heart of our church in Jesus and Mary….
St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church in Encino, CA once had an abundance of Masses on Sunday, and the school had a high enrollment. Today the school is almost empty, and there are only two Masses on Sunday, which are poorly attended. Speaking with an Orthodox priest whose religion purchased a huge convent in Wisconsin he told me that the effects of V2 are devastating. The only things increasing since V2 are bishops and dioceses. Everything else is in decline. Notre Dame church in Springfield, MA will be demolished to make room for condos, and look at all the churches that have been turned into mosques. The Catholic Church is dying, and with Pope Francis calling faithful Catholics jihadists, the pace is speeding up.
Humanae Vitae, financial corruption, the sexual and physical abuse scandals, lazy laity, increasing social secularism and arrogant bishops and priests have led to the decline of the Church. Most parents nowadays would NEVER leave their children in the care of a priest, nun or religious educator. There are more resources than ever before addressing catechesis – many parishes have a RICA program, a director of religious education and there are many online resources. Incompetence, phony religiosity and good old fashioned sin and evil have had a negative impact as well!
Why such empty pews?
-lack of beautiful sacred liturgy and lack of Catholic dogma
The fundamentalist, conservative Catholics have driven anyone who does not agree with their version of the Catholic faith (e.g. the Latin Mass is the only licit form of the Mass) and have ruined the Church. The legacy of Pope St John Paul II and Pope Benedict is the large number of shuttered Catholic Churches. Pope Francis is working very hard to clean up the messes (sex abuse scandals, corrupt bishops and cardinals) left by his predecessors and instill faith, hope and charity.
Why here is a brilliant idea!
Traditional Catholics, who control nothing in the church, are to blame for the demise of the church that ceased to be traditional after 1965.
Much like non-Democrats are blamed for anything that goes wrong in California, even though the Nazi Democrat Party controls everything. Brilliant!
And Confusion.
The root of the rot: Vatican II.
Three years ago, Rush Limbough stated that Pope Francis is a socialist. Last night Dr. Charles Krauthammer, who is Jewish, said that the pope is a follower of liberation theology, a movement which has destroyed the church in Latin America. Martin Luther said it was easier to live life as a Lutheran, but it is better to die a Catholic. Because original sin is no longer taught, and universal salvation is being forced down a necks, who should an ordinary person be a Catholic? The evangelical churches are full; new ones are being built, while the Catholic Church is imploding, and Her churches being sold off or razed. No nuns means no schools. And those of us who are strong in the faith, are called jihadists by the Vatican. Diabolical…
Pilar, then we must ask the question: why are evangelical churches full and new ones being built? What can we learn from them?
That’s easy: because they remained true to their strong traditional interpretation of scripture, and to traditional family values and marriage.
However this obvious explanation will fall on deaf ears.
I think the evangelical “churches” are full because it’s easier. It’s feel-good Christanity-Lite. But the road to perdition is wide and smooth.
It’s harder to practice the True Faith. It requires a rigorous approach to how one lives life. It permeates everything. It requires an utter rejection of this world and all of its pomps. God and His Church come first. All else is secondary.
And it doesn’t mean sour faces. We should joyfully live our Traditional Faith in its totality, and thus be a Light unto others, to draw them into living Holy Lives.
How can this be? Was not the Second Vatican Council going to bring fresh air into the Church, the New Pentecost? Wasn’t abandoning the Tridentine Mass and embracing the Novus Ordo going to make Mass relevant for modern Catholics? Embracing false religions was going to bring about the brotherhood of all men. Who needed all that stuffy teaching of the Church from 33 to 1960 AD? Well, the last 50 + years have been a total and complete disaster. Either we return to the traditions that nourished the faith for nearly 2 millenia, or we will continue to see the Faith evaporate. In the words of St. Pope Pius X: Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists.
I live in a county with five Catholic parishes. One is thriving and growing, two are muddling along and two seem to be in permanent stagnation if not decline. The parish with traditional music, one Latin Mass a week, respectfully conducted masses, solid sermons given by the priest, parish school, is the one thriving. In my opinion, the future will include the survival of the parishes like the thriving one. Many more parishes will close. The current divisions in the Catholic Church in the U.S. will continue to lead to a smaller church. Most of the colleges currently identifying as being somehow Catholic will over time drop that identification. To turn a phrase, we’re gonna need a smaller boat.
As Linda Maria pointed out, Our Lord spoke to St. Francis and told him to “Rebuild My Church!” It seems every day more clearly to me that perhaps Satan appeared to Pope Francis and told him “Destroy His Church!” These seem like mean words, but the truth be told, things are definitely getting worse each day as the decay of the Catholic Church quickens. I pray for the Holy Father, but I believe the Church will continue to rot from the inside. Russia was not consecrated to Our Lady correctly, and I think the Third Secret had to do with Vatican II destroying the Church. Ave Maria Purrissima!
Does anyone really believe that the Church higher leadership is going to address this problem which by the way didn’t happen over night. It’s been going on for decades so why has it taken them so long to address this serious issue. In fact they don’t address the major issues of our society in our evil times. Their answer is that we need more Hispanic immigration to save the Church, except large numbers of them become Evangical Protestants. Also women seem to outnumber men and I believe the reason is that the clerics over feminize Jesus which eventually turns males off. The reality is that Jesus was a macho leader but its never emphasized. If you knew you were going to be tortured and crucified and willingly allowed it you are…
either very brave or crazy.
EGO=edging God out!!
As someone who was attending college at the time of Vatican 2, I have observed the relatively rapid decline of the Church subsequently. In my opinion, V2 has been the driving force. However, there are numerous other forces that have impacted all of society since then both in the US and elsewhere. Then, we have the matter of the hierarchy which at so many levels has been a dismal failure in which the Catechism has been replaced by socialist political thought. Sad to say that our current Pope is leading that pack.
Very simple, Not preaching the Gospel. Years ago theire was a Priest from Texas who told us if our Pastors preached the Gospel, he would empty the Churches. Fr. Rick Thomas, SJ was so correct as you can see it is happening. Here in Beverly Hills our beautiful Catholic Church has many empty pews. You never hear about abortion, mortal sins, etc. And what is happening in Rome? Are the prophecies of the Charismatic Conference for Leaders 30+ years ago coming to pass? Try to find what Ralph Martin proclaimed during the Conference and I believe when Pope Paul VI was attending.
Janice Brown
Keith: sorry…you are wrong! Please do a bit more research on the early church’s teaching on usury. Charging any interest on a loan was considered sinful. St. Thomas Aquinas also wrote about the sinfulness of charging interest.
. . . . Take for example the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. The sacred words have probably changed the least of all the seven Sacraments; but look at the immodest dress at weddings today. The bride and bridesmaids are half topless showing no reverence to God. Modesty and proper dress as a sign of respect for the occasion is important to God! If God is not pleased how the immodest bridal party and guests are dressed, do you honestly think the new couple will receive a whole lot of graces needed to stick together for life? Someone correctly cited above that over half of modern Catholic marriages end in divorce, likely due to a lack of grace from the Sacrament of Matrimony and others.
. . . . Mike McDermott correctly cited above that over half of modern Catholic marriages end in divorce — likely due to a lack of grace from the Sacrament of Matrimony and others. Former Altar Boy correctly cited above that the confession lines are almost non-existent today. So few are receiving grace through the Sacrament of Penance to fight temptation and grow closer to God. Modern bishops and pastors don’t want to scare members away preaching about the committing sins, at least so they seem to think. It is doing the opposite effect, without receiving sanctifying grace to fight temptation and remain close to God, we sinners will lose our faith.
Say What?
Mike McDermott from CA never said “Over Half of modern Catholic Marriages end in divorce”
Quite the Opposite – Catholic Marriages tend to be More Stable than Non-Religious ones, and I pointed out that the 50% number was influenced by the Repeated ‘marriages’ & Divorces found in places like hollyweird and other bastions of Leftist Ideology
‘Stars’ like Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton and their ilk tended to skew the marriage numbers with their frequent divorces – and in their case Remarrying each other
The attribution of contrary positions to me is incorrect – although I cannot speak for Mike McDermott (II) U.K.
Pilar: I NEVER trust Rush Limbaugh’s or Dr. Charles Krauthammer’s characterizations of anyone. Pope Francis is not a socialist and was against liberation theology when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. All of the recent popes have criticized unbridled capitalism and the excesses associated with it.
Well, Mr. Roberts needs to read up more on the many explicitly stated connections in P. Francis’ history to liberation theologians, most notably radical communist ex- Franciscan Leonardo Boff, who actually had a major input into Laudato Si.
Leonardo Boff is a condemned heretic theologian who actually believes the earth is a “sister” and alive and has a real soul like the human soul, that it is “crying out” (cf. LS n.2)and suffering because of pollution and environmental destruction. And Boff has closely advised this Pope.
Take the Sacrament of Extreme Unction which was replaced with the Anointing of the Sick. Is the Anointing of the Sick even considered a sacrament in the modern church, or just hope to make the sick and dying feel better and a recovery from illness or the grim reaper? Only remnants of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction can be found in the Anointing of the Sick, so what has that done to the grace healing power of the soul with the changes? Jesus taught His Apostles how to convey the Sacrament of Extreme Unction and the other six Sacraments; but the modern rituals aren’t an accurate representation of Christ’s Sacraments since man tampered with them. How do you feel when your children don’t follow what you’ve taught them?
but the modern rituals aren’t an accurate representation of Christ’s Sacraments since man tampered with them. How do you feel when your children don’t follow what you’ve taught them? Does it honor you or dishonor you? God doesn’t want to be dishonored, He deserves better from us. One of the reasons for the Sacrament of Extreme Unction are to give us the grace to overcome Satan’s last few minutes to tempt us and overcome our souls so he can banish them into hell forever. Oh how frightening it must me, unless of course the soul has been misled into believing through the years they have been promised heaven by their faith alone. Not by faith alone says our Lord do we earn eternal life, but by our actions doing the will of God!
. . . . Not by faith alone says our Lord do we earn eternal life, but by our actions doing the will of God! It is sad in the last 50 years that the faith has been so poorly past one from one generation to another. How many catholics learned about or remember the powerful graces received from the sacraments, like Confirmation where we become like Soldiers of Christ? How are we to resist temptation and focus on Heaven if we don’t receive this sacrament? Oh yes the pat of the cheek and dispense of holy oils by the bishop is still there to show continuance, but if you compare the old and the modern prayers making up the Sacrament of Confirmation, they have changed. With change in words comes change in meaning and intent!
The prayers in the Sacraments of Baptism, the Holy Eucharist (referring to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass), and Holy Orders have changed too. I have witnessed modern Baptisms that showed little reverence to God, it just seemed like big parties of family and friends chatting, moving about, giggling, with little respect to show toward Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, especially when the Baptisms were conducted in the Sanctuary. Maybe the attendees were regulars and maybe they were only C&Es having lost the sense of reverence. Maybe 2/3rds of them didn’t believe that Jesus was really in the Sanctuary, and maybe He wasn’t, but instead parked in a small side room than on the Altar. Wonder if He felt dishonored?
If we are irreverent and dishonor God, is He going to reduce or hold-back on the power of His graces from the Sacraments? I don’t know for sure; however I would tend to think so. As a father myself, I certainly wouldn’t reward my children for disrespectful behavior toward me, their mother, or their grandparents, especially in a public setting. I would correct them instead and if it warranted, I would punish them, preferably in a private setting. We are God’s children of course, frail in our spirituality. We could be losing out on God’s Absolute and Sanctifying Graces by our disrespectful and irreverent behavior to Him! Enough Grace that is necessary for us to love and obey Him to be received into Heaven.
Evangelical and Pentecostal churches are thriving because there is no pope, no leadership, no hierarchy. Everyone can do as they please, and believe what they want. With no real sin, universal salvation, and the notion is that faith is all that is necessary, no wonder these churches are full. Look how the outlook on abortion, birth control , divorce, adultery,and sodomy has changed within the past few years. With no guidance from a spiritual leader, these non-Catholic religions believe that if it feels good, do it. Luther said it was easier to live as a Luther, but better to die as a Catholic. That sums it all up.
I ask some of our Learned Fathers here to comment on the ‘Doctrine of Works’ apparently referenced by Doug
I have a copy of a ‘Joint Declaration’ by the Catholic & Lutheran theologians stating: “By Grace Alone, in Faith in Christ’s Saving Work, and Not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit”
This seems to contradict Doug & the Doctrine of “Works”
However James 2-14 says “What good is it my brothers, if a man claims to have Faith but had no Deeds… Faith, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is Dead”
Analysis Appreciated
Without God’s grace, we can do nothing. Since grace is a gift from God, He can withhold it from us. Faith is important, along with belief. But, even the devil and his fallen angels KNOW there is a God, so faith did not save them! Not everyone who says LORD LORD will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We need to put our faith in action, by living holy lives. We do this by prayer, sacrifice and doing good to those we meet. Just because we believe in God does not mean we are going to Heaven. To get to Heaven we must know, love and serve God. We must love God above all things, and love our neighbor as ourselves, that is, living a holy Catholic life.
Michael McDermott, My discussions in no way were extracted from the ‘Doctrine of Works’. They are a compilation of what I have learned about the Roman Catholic Faith over the years from various Roman Catholic sources with a few common sense thoughts mixed in.
Let me quote a few verses to you from today’s 7th Sunday after Pentecost, from the Douay-Rheims Roman Catholic Holy Bible, (not the Protestant King James editions) St. Matthew Chapter 7, verses 19 – 21, In Our Lord’s own words: “Not everyone that saith to Me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of My Father who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven”. That is very clear direction to us! Obviously calling the…
. . . That is very clear direction to us! Obviously calling the Lord, Lord means having faith; however doing the will of My Father means obeying and taking actions doing what God calls on us to do! We are to obey, pay homage, and revere God. This also ties to the subject of God’s Grace as written in the Douay-Rheims 1 St. Peter’s Epistle Chapter 5, verse 5 “In like manner be subject to the ancients: and do ye all insinuate humility one to another; for God resisteth the proud, but to the humble He giveth grace”. Be subject to the ancients — wonder what that could possibly mean? Perhaps obey the valid Popes from St Peter’s day? Which one could conclude includes Saints Pope Pius the Vth and Xth too! They codified and defended the…
Why could it be according to national poles that 2/3rds of modern catholics don’t believe in transubstantiation? Could it be they are not receiving God’s Graces? Why, are they offending God and He in turn is holding His Grace back from them or they simply don’t believe it is Him in the Eucharist, even if they go to Communion? For nearly 40 years the words at the Consecration of the Wine were misquoted/misinterpreted until Benedict the XVIth restored Christ’s sacred words. Wonder what dishonoring of Christ’s sacred words do to the efficacy of the Eucharist, the distribution of Grace? Prayers in the entire TLM, including those so sacred in the Canon of the Mass, which St. Pope Pius the Vth codified and declared could never be…
Wonder what dishonoring of Christ’s sacred words do to the efficacy of the Eucharist, especially the conveyance of Grace? Prayers in the entire TLM, including those so sacred in the Canon of the Mass, which St. Pope Pius the Vth codified and declared could never be changed (or let him be essentially excommunicated) were changed, deleted, or replaced with less reverent prayers! Does an excommunicated priest still have the power to conduct a mass and assist in the transubstantiation? I would not think so as Luther was excommunicated and not recognized to have the powers of the priesthood after that. How perplexing it is that Francis I is honoring Luther today. What has become of the RCC?
Does an excommunicated priest still have the power to conduct a mass and assist in the transubstantiation? I would not think so as Luther was excommunicated and not recognized to have the powers of the priesthood after that. How perplexing it is that Francis I is honoring Luther today. What has become of the RCC?
If the priest does not intend what the Church intends—perhaps manifesting this in substantive omissions or additions to the Eucharistic Prayer, or in other explicit doctrinal statements during the liturgy—then the sacrament is of doubtful validity, as you, Doug, no doubt know.
Perhaps the principle of Canon Law of “ecclesia suplet” may apply to the Catholic acting in good faith: but if one knows these facts, one should not attend a doubtful sacramental celebration.
That was the principle by which Cranmer’s Ordinal and its consequent episcopal consecrations and priestly ordinations were ruled invalid, first by Leo XIII and then later by John Paul II.
Regrettably, many of us have had the occasion of working with and listening closely to what a certain number of priests have asserted about their explicit disbelief in the doctrine of transubstantiation.
One well-known one-time liturgy professor at JSTB regularly conducted—still does so, now in another state—“workshops” at which he explicitized his rejection of the doctrine, and then conducted a “mass” later on, with deletions of substantive parts of even the modern EP’s 2-4, to conclude the workshop. There is no doubt that the sacrament was invalid.
But everyone had a good time.
Roman Catholic doctrine I have been taught is that when we sinners commit a mortal sin and do not confess our remorse and ask for forgiveness before we go to receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist, then we are actually mocking God and in turn we do not receive the Graces as they are withheld from God. It may have been one of the great Doctors of Holy Mother the Church, Saint Thomas Aquinas who taught this doctrine.
I wonder how God regulates His Graces to those who’s minds constantly wander, dress immodestly, or chat, at services, or seldom go to confession? If a celebration were held in our honor and terms, and many of our invited guests completely ignored our terms and decency, how would we feel about giving them favors?
Jon, Sorry to burst your bubble but you are the one who is flat wrong. You have drank the koolaide of those who with the alibies for the liberal changes. A 94 year old friend of mine said the differences between the Novus Ordo service and the modern Church after the V2 Ecumenical Council compared to the Tridentine Latin Mass and traditional rites were “like night and day”. A soul would have to be blind not to see the changes and the great loss in the true faith since the V2 Ecumenical Council. Spiritual blindness can be caused by a lack of Grace and/or Sin. Bear in mind, I am not accusing you of anything. That is God’s place, not mine. Excommunicated protestor Martin Luther would be aghast and applauding the V2 Ecumenical…
Excommunicated protestor Martin Luther would be aghast and applauding the V2 Ecumenical Council changes, for they far exceeded Luther’s own changes. Look at the loss in the faithful–by the millions!
Anomynous, You raised a very important point that I was avoiding; but being that you brought it up . . .
The very first Sacrament changed by the V2 Ecumenical Council was that of Holy Orders! Yes changes to the Consecration of priests to bishops and Ordination of men to priests. Sacraments that few people have witnessed relatively speaking so it was easy to get away with. Wonder how the God’s Graces were changed there? By the way who were the Council ecumenising with? The 6 protestant ministers and rabbi(s)? who helped? If so, this…
. . . . Wonder how the God’s Graces were changed there? By the way who were the Council ecumenising with? The 6 protestant ministers and rabbi(s)? who helped? If so, this was the wrong direction of ecumenising. Ecumenising is acceptable if it is to bring converts to the true Roman Catholic Faith, and the Faith is preserved, not compromised. However, compromising the true RC Faith to satisfy and recruit protestants and other religious sects is wrong. By the way, the pictured interior of St. Albertus RC Church is very ornate and beautiful to glorify God, designed in a large part before the V2 Ecumenical Council, unlike the sterile amphitheaters/lecture bowls found in many protestant parishes.
No. Kids read about science and just don’t believe many of the teachings of Jewish history.
Catholics need to be real with science or risk losing it all. Admit ancient mistakes written by
people as being written by people. People do not tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but
the truth and young ones have access to more information than older generations, They are not
so eager to just trust when they see how crooked writers can be. As did Einstein, enter science facts
as being a vision into God’s incredible massive wisdom and re-explain jewish history in a reality
that they can believe.