Advanced Coping Strategies for Tradition-Loving Catholics

We 21st-Century Catholics who love Catholic tradition in the liturgy have two choices: escape or endure. Either we must sacrifice lots of time and money to travel to a reverent, obedient parish, or we must grit our teeth and heroically endure what the local modern churches present to Almighty God in the name of Holy Mass. My husband and I…

Why YOU Should Be a Traditionalist

Some people think of so-called Traditionalists as grumpy, nerdy, elitist, conspiracy-theorists who want to imprison other Catholics in the dreaded Middle Ages. The term “Traditionalist” describes those Catholics that value the “smells and bells,” that is, the fullness of Catholicism expressed in teachings and morality, traditions and prayers, and in the celebration of the liturgy. It’s really not scary and weird like people think.

6 Keys to Catholic Culture from the Age of Faith

I have a small ambition: I really want to change the world. I want to save it–or at least, the souls in it. I want to help rebuild and restore Christian culture. Are you with me? Of course, it’s an immense undertaking that will likely take millions of people, generations of effort, and a constant outpouring of God’s abundant…

What’s on Your Altar?

Oh, it’s so good to be home! I’m just back from a wonderful, multi-state trip that involved going to Sunday Mass (Ordinary Form) in a little parish church in western North Carolina. Modern (built recently in the 2000s) on the outside, and modern in many ways on the inside, there were yet many statues and holy images prominently placed…

Find the Best Mass Possible

Today I want to urge all of you dear readers: Don’t be one of those people who are settling! Don’t settle for attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at a local parish church, if you see pastors and staff in you parish church ignoring what the GIRM (General Instructions of the Roman Missal) and the documents of Vatican…

Facing God

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a peaceful, joyful, reverent Mass, celebrated in English. During the Elevation (and of course, the whole Eucharistic prayer) the priest prayed like this: Thanks be to God, this is actually my experience every Sunday at Mass now. And what a difference it makes to me to go to…

Homemade Sacred Art

Do you remember that missal cover project I started weeks ago? I got it finished in time for it to be an Easter gift for my mother. In the above view you can see the front and back covers, and below is a view of just the front cover. I don’t mind telling you, it was…

Coping Strategies

Do you ever emotionally struggle with your parish’s lack of sacredness during the celebration of Holy Mass? Is the celebration of Mass loud and distracting, banal or ugly, casual and secular-flavored where you are? Do you have to grit your teeth each and every Sunday morning, wondering how you’re going to get through the next hour? Over…