Homily notes: 08-08-21 - What Does it Mean to be a Traditional Catholic?

“I have handed on that which I also have received.”

 What does it mean to be a "Traditional Catholic?" Is this truly what we are? Should we call ourselves Traditional Catholics?

To be Catholic means to stand apart from the rest of men and from the rest of the world.  Being Catholic means that we strive to put God in his proper place by giving the honor and glory that is due to Him, at least to the degree that it is humanly possible.

Today we live in a world that has rejected God. In the supposed "Age of Enlightenment," man turned away from God and turned to himself, and the world became man-centered rather than God-centered. With the battle cry of “liberty” and “freedom," man made himself the center of the universe, the most important thing that exists. Liberty logically follows from this assertion, as liberty allows men to do whatever they want.  Nowadays people have, by and large, rejected the moral law.  It's an "anything goes" society, as long as you don’t hurt or offend other people, more or less.  No more responsibility, no more virtue, no more charity.  This naturally leads to the destruction of family and society, since they require responsibility, virtue, and charity to exist.  This leads to the rejection of God, a total destruction of authority, and ultimately the destruction of sin -- sin doesn’t exist anymore.

To be Catholic is to stand apart from this. 

We shouldn’t even have to say that we are "Traditional Catholics," we should just be able to say that we are Catholic, which means we belong to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ Himself, a Church of unity in faith, a Church whose one goal is the honor and glory of God by leading men to their eternal home. To say that we are Catholic is to say that we belong to the One Church which was passed down to us from the Apostles, who received this faith from Jesus Christ himself.

To say, then, “traditional Catholic” is redundant!  To say you are Catholic IS to say you are traditional!

But unfortunately that is not the case today. The Church has been affected by the spirit of the world.  At Vatican II, the Church took a turn for the worse. Many things, although not completely denied, were brushed to the side and are no longer preached. The need, at the time, was to conform the Church to the world so that people of the modern world could more easily join the Church.  Yet the Church cannot conform itself to a world that rejects God and embraces a false idea of freedom.

Yes, man is a free creature and has free will and is therefore free to choose the will of God.  Unlike animals who are not free to choose, man is free and has been given freedom to choose God. 

Rather than turning men toward God, the Church turned men to look more on themselves. This is not in keeping with what the Church had done since the beginning and until that point.

If we look at the lives of the saints, we see that they didn’t look at themselves.  They turned their focus onto the only thing that matters: Our Lord Jesus Christ.  St. Paul realized he was not worthy to be called an apostle.  He said: "I’m nothing, I’m worthless, I persecuted the Church." But through his conversion he was able to say: "for me, life means Christ." His whole life revolved around Christ, and all of his teachings are directed toward bringing others to Christ.  

St. Paul's Conversion

Look at St. Augustine and St. Ignatius. Both were on fire with zeal for God. They had very strong conversions. Look at St. Mary Magdalene - she had a great conversion of heart. She loved Our Lord so much that she was willing to do anything for him. They all became saints by learning to serve; by learning to give themselves completely to God.

Saint Augustine's Conversion

Saint Mary Magdalene's Conversion

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Why do we say traditional Catholic?  What does that mean?  Does it mean we prefer the Latin Mass? That can’t be the whole of what we mean — Mass is not just a preference. If Mass were just a mere preference, then we'd have to be willing to give it up when asked to by authority.  Pope Francis sees the Latin Mass as causing disunity and something that needs to be gotten rid of for the sake of unity.  If its merely a preference, then we should be willing to get rid of it. But it’s not merely a preference!

Look at the word tradition. The Latin root word is tradere.  It means to hand over, to pass along. St. Paul uses this term in his epistle: "Tradidi enim vobis in primis quod et accepi:..." -- I delivered to you that which I also received. That’s why we use this adjective traditional to define our faith. It's to remind us of what we really stand for: the Church of all time, the faith that was given to us by Jesus Christ and was passed down to us by the Apostles, popes, and bishops. This faith which is the same, essentially unchanged. That’s why we keep the Latin Mass, because it’s the Mass passed down to us from the previous centuries. Small changes have happened to inessential parts of the Mass, changes that did not break with tradition, usually changes to help the faithful. The Mass we have today is not exactly like the Mass that the Lord said at the Last Supper, but it does date back to the early times of the Church in its essentials. It’s a true and perfect summary of our Faith.  We hold onto the teachings that have been passed down to us as a reminder that God does not change, God cannot change, and so truth does not change. 

Lefebrve stood up to denounce serious changes being promoted by the church. In 1988, He consecrated the four bishops in order to pass on what he also had received without a break from the past, in order to preserve the faith.  On Archbishop Lefebrve's headstone it says "Tradidi quod et accepi" – I have handed down what I received.

What does this mean for us who consider ourselves "traditional" Catholics?  It means we must cherish the faith that we have received and transmit that faith.

How can we do that?  We need to study our faith, and we must also hand on what we have received.  

How can I transmit the faith that was given to me? By example. By living the faith.  Jesus told his disciples, "You are the light of the world” and "Charity for one another is how they will know that you are my disciples."  Not by telling them, but by showing them.  We must live the faith in our every day lives, and by that example we will draw others to God.

St. Simeon Stylites lived over 30 years on a pillar apart from the world. Crowds came out to see him: what is he doing? Why?  They wondered what would compel him to live like this.  As crowds gathered, he taught and catechized them. 

St. Simeon Stylites, a Syrian ascetic saint who achieved notability for living 37 years on a small platform on top of a pillar near Aleppo

We lead by example and take the opportunities that come to instruct and teach.  We can use the natural situations that arise, the natural questions that people may ask us:  “Why do you pray before meals?” “Why don’t you work on Sunday?” “Why do you always dress so well?”  People will be struck by your external appearance and actions, they will notice that you act differently than others, and that will have an effect on others around us. We can take the time to instruct and teach, and then that example can bear fruit. If Mormons come to your door, you can use that as an opportunity to talk to them about the faith. You can open the door to grace. They won’t convert on the spot! But grace can be planted.

Stand up for your faith and set a good example. That is what it means to be a traditional Catholic: to receive the faith of all time and then pass that faith on.

Ask Our Lord for the grace to keep the faith and spread the faith. Ask Our Lady for help. Ask the Apostles, ask St. Paul for that same zeal for souls that he had: “I have handed on what I have received.”