Sadly, not many people will now remember life before 1968....and those of you who do will be having your afternoon nap right now.
But the Catholic Church was different then, and that is not just nostalgic selective memory working.
Not everything was good but most of Catholic life was, shall we say, at a much higher spiritual level than it is today.
"Yikes!" I hear you cry. "Are you saying that modern Catholics are less spiritual than their forbears?"
Yes, I am.
It's rather like saying that we were all much healthier (physically) pre 1968, and the stats prove it.
Now, in the UK, clinical obesity is on the increase and we are much fatter than our counterparts of the 1960s.
Arteries are hardening, fatty tissue surrounds the heart, blood pressure is up - I am talking about our spiritual health today......most modern Catholics are in the red zone of impending loss of soul (and a few traditional ones as well).
Jay Boyd (courtesy of Ann Barnhardt) is carrying a good post on the subject, please read it if you wish to have a quick dose of reminiscence therapy or, if you would like to know what it was like being a real Catholic.
Hippocampus? I don't think it's there
But the Catholic Church was different then, and that is not just nostalgic selective memory working.
Not everything was good but most of Catholic life was, shall we say, at a much higher spiritual level than it is today.
"Yikes!" I hear you cry. "Are you saying that modern Catholics are less spiritual than their forbears?"
Yes, I am.
It's rather like saying that we were all much healthier (physically) pre 1968, and the stats prove it.
Now, in the UK, clinical obesity is on the increase and we are much fatter than our counterparts of the 1960s.
Arteries are hardening, fatty tissue surrounds the heart, blood pressure is up - I am talking about our spiritual health today......most modern Catholics are in the red zone of impending loss of soul (and a few traditional ones as well).
Jay Boyd (courtesy of Ann Barnhardt) is carrying a good post on the subject, please read it if you wish to have a quick dose of reminiscence therapy or, if you would like to know what it was like being a real Catholic.
Great intro to Ann Barnhardt's post, Richard!
ReplyDeleteOne of the most poignant messages of this post is the discussion about young boys serving the Mass. Our teenage son serves the EF Mass in the most beautiful and dignified way and it touches our hearts. Is he academic, saintly or geekish? Well no, he is a loveable rogue who is into all kinds of adventure. We need young boys and men to accept the invitation to serve the Mass and not see it as standing in any kind of opposition to the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteP.S. daughters - be like Our Blessed Mother for here true womanhood will be found.
Here, here Elaine. Well said.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jay, keep up the great posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this Richard its fantastic.
ReplyDeleteJoseph
Thank you so much Joseph.
ReplyDeleteI remember well before 1968 (I have just woken up from my nap) and everything she says is true especially about the priests and the altar servers. The priest wasn't the star of the show, the Holy Sacrifice was, and I loved seeing the ranks of male altar servers of all ages. What a blessing...and what happened?
ReplyDelete