'The Remnant' on Juventutem and prudence in participating in WYD
A most interesting article here, brought to our attention for prayerful consideration.
- Anonymous | 9:40 AM GMT
Sunday, October 23, 2005
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Comments [4]
So what are traditionalists meant to do then? Sit in a bubble and wait for the rest of the Church to return to tradition? Well that is just not going to happen - if we do not evangelise the old liturgy at every opportunity then tradition will be sidelined in the Church. It will be relegated as little more than a minority interest. The number of people I met at WYD who had never even heard of the Traditional Mass was astounding but what was even more astounding was how interested they were in finding out about it once they had heard of it.
If traditionalists boycott WYD the only people that benefit are those who wish to see the Traditional Mass proscribed by the Church. For example I know of one incident in Duesseldorf when a bishop (whom shall remain nameles) was horrified to discover that the traditional liturgy was being celebrated in St. Antonius when he visited. now imagine that reaction spread throughout the Church - just by being at WYD we sent a message to the rest of the Church that we traditionalists exist and that we have a rightful place in the future life of the Church. Now there are many people who would utterly disagree with this idea (for example, the bishop I mentioned). They want to see the traditionalists left on the margins of the Church - they hope that once those who remember the Church pre-1970 have died off they can eliminate the last vestiges of the old liturgy from the life of the Church. That is why in many dioceses in the world indult Masses often take place in obscure places at strange times - so that participation is limited.
WYD gave traditionalists a major opportunity to both demonstrate our existence and to evangelise to others about the relevance of tradition both today and in the future. Boycotting or arranging an alternative trad WYD will only result in traditionalists being cast as divisive and as being a tiny minority. As for how other pilgrims behaved at WYD - if we can demonstrate to other people by our actions how they should behave then all well and good but it is not our place to stand in condemnation of them. I'm sure many things at WYD were reprehensible - but it is better for us to be on the inside showing people the right way to behave than to criticise them from the sidelines.
Beautifully said. We know what we were getting ourselves into - and I'm sure that we made the relevant prayerful preparations. If we are to be militant, then we need to be on the frontline. We quietly ensured that World Youth Day was not devoid of the Latin Mass.
I'm finding it terribly hard to articulate myself at the moment. I was most greatly afflicted at Marienfeld. However insignificant we were, we were there. There is no way that I am going to let my brethren remain ignorant of the great treasure that they have been unjustly deprived of. I am not afraid of going as a lamb amongst wolves to bring them home. I suffer for it everyday, and I want to give my whole life over for the cause. Please don't doubt our committed passion. We were made to drink a bitter cup.
Deep sighs raise within me - I can't explain myself properly to someone who did not attend. I would have NOT attended World Youth Day if not with Juventutem. I do not believe in Catholic Contiki tours, but I can't leave my brethren laying in a pool of banality, I can't, and I won't. I will wade through the rubbish, not dwell in it, and certainly not delight in it. This is for the glory of our Fathers, and for the good of our fight - a fight I'm willing to give blood for. You don't send the unprepared into unchartered territories - in this case, you send the ones with knees bent, hands joined, minds firm, and heads covered.
Finally, how might I thank the Lord for my fellow pilgrims? Deo gratias.
I was alerted to some minor inaccuracies in the article, and was going to post them here, but the comment got too long.
If you haven't seen it already, here's where you can find it.
If you want to comment on it, use this space to do so. Thanks :-)
Yes, I came accross those inaccuracies too - it is very frustrating you know, and you are sort of made mute about it. I told you Aristotle, how sad this type of situation makes me. It's tough enough as it is going out for the fight everyday, but when those who agree with you, your very brethren, have some aversion to you - well, it hurts. :,( Especially when commenting on something so very close to us all.
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