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Are You Part of the Great Catholic Migration of the 21st Century?
Canterbury Tales ^ | January 30, 2013 | Dr. Taylor Marshall

Posted on 02/02/2013 10:48:10 PM PST by Brian Kopp DPM

Wednesday, January 30, 2013


Are you part of the Great Catholic Migration of the 21st Century?

Ever since my post "My Initial Doubts about the Latin Mass" also known affectionately as the "Grover Mass Post," I have been receiving numerous Facebook messages, emails, and comments from Catholics who read this blog and want advice about their current "parish crisis." The messages go like this:
What is to be done? My advice is that you should join the Great Catholic Migration of the 21st Century. Most people recognize that there is a de facto division growing within the Catholic Church. It's not popular are "ecclesiastically correct" to talk about this, but it's the elephant in the living room.
There are those cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, and laity who are 100% supportive of the Holy Father and Catholic Tradition and then there is another group that is not 100% supportive.

My experience, and the experience of others, confirms that Group B is not sympathetic or helpful to the lay people belonging to Group A. I realize that this is a controversial analysis. I'm avoiding the terms "liberal" and "conservative" so that this comment feed doesn't spin out of control. However, we can all readily identify the theology, liturgical styles, magazines, publications, Catholic schools, politicians, and Catholic universities that belong to Group B. Group B is, no doubt, still the majority in America.

Yet in the last several years, since the beginning of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, a migration has been occurring. The folks in Group A are growing weary and discouraged. They love Christ, love Mary, love the Pope, love traditional devotions, they love traditional Catholic architecture (not white-washed auditoriums or modern "worship spaces"), they love Gregorian chant, reverence, beauty, and anything else that brings glory and honor to Christ. These people are those that pray and give the most, and they are tired of being beat up. They are now migrating.

Here is what I mean by migration. These Catholics are not physically moving to new geographic areas (though some Catholics do literally move to be part of a wonderful parish). They are realigning their attendance, resources, skills, and money to those parishes, orders, schools, colleges, and other institutions that support and promote traditional Catholic orthodoxy and practice. These Catholics see beyond the slogans, clichés, and gimmicks of Group B's institutional advantage, and they are becoming aware of Catholic leaders and clergy who are spear-heading this great migration.

This migration is made possible through public transportation and the internet. People can now drive to the "good parish" in the diocese. They can now download great homilies at places like audiosancto.org. They can now have fellowship and friendship with like-minded Catholics via the internet. They can refuse to put their money in the local parish collection and instead send it the FSSP, the Norbertines of Orange County, the Canons of St John Cantius, or to a solid orthodox College that promotes the magisterial teachings of the Catholic Church. A large network is currently being extended and strengthened. It's unstoppable. 

What we have is a Catholic realignment and people are talking about it every day. It is only a matter of time before more and more people vote with their feet and vote with their pocket books. The dissenting parts of the Church will wither and die. Their influence will shrivel up. 

For those that have written to me about their crises of conscience, my advice to you is this: begin the migration. I'll probably catch flack from this, but I have prayed about it and asked Christ to lead me on this question. I'd encourage all of you to do the same. Ask Christ our Lord where He wants you to be. 

Is it a form of good stewardship to tithe your money to dissenting priests and parish staffs? Is it a form of good stewardship to submit your children to lame homilies, banal liturgy, and heterodoxy? I've only been given one life to live and Christ will ask me to give an account for each and every moment. I don't want to waste it and I bet that you don't want to waste it either.

Begin migrating to the good and holy priests who offer themselves as living sacrifices...for our spiritual well-being. Support these holy men! Find a monastery and get to know the religious there. Are they solid? Then support them with your money and prayers. Where is the closest discalced Carmelite convent to you? Start supporting them asking for their prayers? What about seminaries? You don't need me to tell you that not all seminaries are faithful and orthodox. There are still rotten seminaries out there. Research and ask about the seminaries near you. Visit them and learn about their curriculum and liturgical practices. Support the best seminaries. Focus your resources there. Begin researching Catholic Colleges that actually instill a deep Catholic faith in their students. Are these colleges equipping 22-year-olds to live debt-free, have large families, or find vocations?* Support them. These institutions are the future of Catholicism. Don't waste your God-given time and money on apostolates, parishes, and schools that are not fully supporting the one true Faith without which it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6).

I'd like to hear from you:

First, is the Great Migration an over-reaction? I don't think it is, but there may be those that beg to differ. 

Second, have experienced a crisis in your own parish life. If so, pause, take a deep breath and don't write anything scandalous in the comments. Show respect and restraint. Instead, share with us how you fixed the problem or migrated with your family.

Third, I'm advocating a positive approach. I don't think we should be a crusade to rip apart the dissenting parts of the Church. I prefer to be a gentlemen about it. I'm not going to fight or argue about it. I'm just going elsewhere. I'm going quietly, but I'm bring people with me.

Fourth, please subscribe to my blog for daily updates on this subject an others. You can get a daily email with posts like this, free, by clicking here and signing up for the email feed.


Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

* One of the biggest cultural roadblocks in America to holy marriages and religious vocations is COLLEGE DEBT. If a Catholic young man and a catholic young lady have a combined debt of $80,000 from their Catholic college experience, will they not be tempted to delay marriage or contracept? Likewise, religious orders don't take novices who have debt. There are hundreds of young people wanting to enter the religious life, but they are shackled with debt. Creating "zero-debt" graduations is one of the major planks in the apostolate at Fisher More College.


TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: faith
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To: steve86
I personally would have difficulty with the lack of priest celibacy, but other than that, more power to ya.

Not sure I am following you. The Maronite Church does allow married me to be ordained to the priesthood but ONLY celibate clergy are sent to the diaspora. If anything, Cardinal Sfeir, the former Patriarch, praised priestly celibacy at a General Synod of Fathers, convened at the Vatican in 2005. Inevitably, this topic usually surfaces with Western clergy who suggest that allowing for married priests will prove to be the elixir in resolving the shortage of priests. The Cardinal's response is quite astute.



Vatican City, Oct. 07, 2005 (CNA) - The Cardinal defended the practice of the celibate priesthood and discussed the beauty of the tradition, calling it the "most precious jewel in the treasury of the Catholic Church."

While pointing out that "the Maronite Church admits married priests" and that "half of our diocesan priests are married", the Cardinal Patriarch said that "it must be recognized that if admitting married men resolves one problem, it creates others just as serious."

"A married priest", he said, "has the duty to look after his wife and family, ensuring his children receive a good education and overseeing their entry into society. ... Another difficulty facing a married priest arises if he does not enjoy a good relationship with his parishioners; his bishop cannot transfer him because of the difficulty of transferring his whole family.

He noted that "married priests have perpetuated the faith among people whose difficult lives they shared, and without them this faith would no longer exist."

"On the other hand," he said, "celibacy is the most precious jewel in the treasury of the Catholic Church,"


Essentially, while allowing married priests resolves one problem, it creates new ones. First off, the married priest must be matched with a parish that can financially support the wife and children. If for some reason it does not work out, the cost of relocating the entire family is far greater than that of a celibate priest. FWIU, the married priests are also employed to cover additional costs. More importantly, divorce in Lebanon is rare, whereas here in the west, it is more common. It would be scandalous for the church to have a priest who divorces his wife.

For these reasons, only celibate priests are allowed to serve outside of Lebanon. Our bishop here in NY, draws additional priests from a monastic community. These priests are young missionaries who live to serve God through His Church. Our pastor is only 35 years old and delivers Christ centered homilies. If you have the opportunity, I would encourage you to attend a Maronite Divine Liturgy. You will be moved by the depth of spirituality and reverence.

21 posted on 02/04/2013 4:49:49 AM PST by NYer ("Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." --Jeremiah 1:5)
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To: NYer
For these reasons, only celibate priests are allowed to serve outside of Lebanon.

I happened onto that piece of information last night a while after leaving my comment. Had read a little on the issue in the past, but apparently had stopped before getting to the distinction between Lebanon and the rest of the world.

Perhaps on a future trip to Portland, OR, my family might get an opportunity to visit the Maronite parish. That would be quite the treat!

22 posted on 02/04/2013 7:32:45 AM PST by steve86 (Acerbic by Nature, not Nurture™)
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To: Tax-chick

Just as well, I suppose.

A North Carolina vanity license plate saying ‘CATZ’ would stand out around here, and not necessarily in a good way!


23 posted on 02/04/2013 2:24:02 PM PST by steve86 (Acerbic by Nature, not Nurture™)
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To: steve86
Perhaps on a future trip to Portland, OR, my family might get an opportunity to visit the Maronite parish. That would be quite the treat!

Should you go, please freepmail me ahead of time and I will provide you with more detailed information on the liturgy. Our parish recently moved across the Hudson River from Troy to Watervliet. Since the move, several local area catholics have begun to join us. When I see a new face, I make time to explain some of the differences they will experience, for example, the sign of peace. Unlike the Latin Church, the Maronite approach is very reverent. The altar represents Christ, who is Peace. The priest places his hands on the altar, then transfers that peace to an altar server who brings it to 4 "peace bearers", usually children. These children then "carry" the peace from one pew to the next where it is passed along.

Another interesting element of the liturgy is the consecration of the chalice. The Maronite Church in its liturgy is fortunate in being the heir of at least two rich traditions, those of Edessa and Antioch. The Church of Edessa traces its origins to the preaching of the liturgical contributors including St. Ephrem and James of Saroug. The first Christian converts to the Church of Edessa included the earliest Jewish-Christians. Some of those traditions are preserved in the Maronite liturgy. For example, at the consecration of the cup, the priest tips the chalice in the 4 directions of the world, indicating that Christ spilled his blood for all mankind. This is a carryover from the ancient Jewish tradition where the priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the four corners of the altar.

The Divine Liturgy of the Maronite is more ancient than that of Rome. The Church of Antioch was the ancient See of Peter and developed its liturgy with influences from the Church of Jerusalem. The Maronite Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles represents the oldest tradition of the Church of Antioch. St. John Chrysostom took this Anaphora with him to Constantinople and became the basis of the Byzantine liturgy. As heir to the Patriarchate of Antioch, the Maronite Church represents the Antiochene liturgy in its fullness. Thus, the Maronite Church, in its prayer life, preserves the way of worship of the Apostles and their earliest disciples.

24 posted on 02/04/2013 2:42:35 PM PST by NYer ("Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." --Jeremiah 1:5)
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To: NYer; Tax-chick

Thank you for the additional info, including what sounds to be a very appealing version of sign of the peace. Now if the Latin Novus Ordo had gone with that, and not introduced numerous errors, liturgy in the post-conciliar period might be much less contentious than it is!

I think it’s close to a certainty we will make the trip eventually, but I will still have to twist tax-chick’s wing to get that van out here if the trip is going to be anytime real soon!


25 posted on 02/04/2013 3:06:58 PM PST by steve86 (Acerbic by Nature, not Nurture™)
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To: steve86

I’ll tell Fr. Pro you need an extra-large vehicle and see what happens ... or maybe there’s a patron saint of semi-trucks ...


26 posted on 02/05/2013 2:26:04 AM PST by Tax-chick (Watch out for spiders.)
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To: NYer

We “migrated” to the Maronite Rite a couple of years ago. Thank God in Heaven for leading us there.


27 posted on 02/08/2013 5:54:18 PM PST by TheStickman
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