The readings this past weekend were very well-suited for our purposes here at Cleansing Fire. I think, if we can be perfectly honest, that we were all driven here because of some measure of anger, sorrow, frustration, or disappointment. If we can then compound this honest realization with our current situation, we can then reasonably state what we, as Catholics, ought to do in this Babylonian exile.
Primarily, we need to find a safe place for Mass. Of course, seeing the frequency with which we talk of Our Lady of Victory and the Latin Mass Community, I think most of you have. But there are several of you, I know, who are outwardly angered by these abuses we discuss, but are either apathetic and caught up in enthusiasm, or are so afraid to tread on those sanctimonious toes of our administraitors (not a typo) that verbosity translates into inaction. I urge you, rouse yourselves from your fears and apathy and make a step in the proper direction - i.e. to the nearest parish that is not home to illicit and invalid Masses. It may be gut-wrenching to "make-the-break," but would you not rather have a wrenched-gut than a weeping soul?
In addition to this, I urge you, read the documents that are always mentioned in the debates here. They include (but are not limited to)
Sacrosanctum Concillium,
Redemptionis Sacramentum and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, i.e. "
GIRM." If we, as Catholics, have a clear and firm understanding of these documents, without reading into them personal opinions, biases, views, etc. then we can more readily combat the various manifestations of the heresy of liberalism which has taken root in the Diocese of Rochester and several other places.
A third bit is not to turn
every injustice into a martyrdom. If everyone is grievously wounded by every single word uttered by any living person, schismatic, Traditional, or Traditionalist, then there's a serious problem. If you are asked to sing less boisterously, don't say "I've been slain by the liberals! My life-blood flows!" No. Don't be a liturgical drama queen. However, this doesn't mean we should be push-overs, either. We need to be firm and unyielding on important matters - i.e. Liturgy, the Sacraments, Morality. If your lay preacher or administraitor changes what kind of soap is in the restroom, don't make a fuss. By nitpicking every solitary detail of an administration, we lose credibility. We look like reactionary ninnies. Example: I love the soap which Nanacy DeRycke uses in the Good Shepherd restroom. Smells like lilies and freshly-washed albs.
Compounding these three things is a fourth - don't be embarrassed to ask questions, to "mess up" from time to time, to mis-speak or have some metaphorical typos. If you have no clue why the Church has used Latin for the majority of its life, ask us. We can't band together if we intimidate each-other into silence.
A major bit which we must all take to heart is a sense of humor and a sense of sin. Putting faces of various diocesan personalities into a video, or by saying "Fr. _____" did something bad at Mass, is NOT A SIN. We are obligated to expose liturgical abuses, and if we can do that and laugh at the same time, I tend to think Our Lord would be well-pleased. However, there is sin and we are all capable of it. It would be a sin to criticize a priest's character, i.e. "Fr. ______ is a flaming queer." Spreading rumors and half-truths is sinful, indeed. Try to avoid it. It is just as sinful, though, to turn a blind eye to heresy and irreverence towards Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. There's a difference between mockery and reprimanding with humor. I should think that we do the latter.
So, in short - find a good, reliable Mass. If you don't go there every week because of emotional connections to another parish, fine. Go to the "good" Mass when you're feeling discouraged or drained. Also, be literate in terms of Church documents. Don't be a liturgical drama-queen. We
have enough of those. Ask questions. Have a sense of humor, and have a sense of sin. These are each imperative for those of us who actually hope to grow in spiritual maturity rather than wallow in reactionary cesspools of hate and malice.
