Why Tradition Matters and Why We Need it More Than Ever

As an Orthodox Christian making my spiritual journey to Rome I've been raised and immersed to have a respect for tradition ever since I was 6 months old. So it comes as somewhat of a surprise when I have to defend my traditionalist Catholic views to my friends who are cradle Catholics. Many Catholics, post-Vatican II, in fact, have adopted a minimalist Christian view on the liturgy. Just as long as you go to Mass on Sundays, receive confession, and get Holy Communion you'll be okay. This is not a healthy path to salvation. Doing the bare minimum doesn't cut it. Because God the Father made everything and Jesus Christ gave everything for our salvation. Christ and the Saints never asked themselves "What's the least I can do, and still make a difference?" This Christian minimalism has no doubt led to many cases of abuse in the Holy Mass.

If you've ever been to a Latin-Rite Mass, and then to a Novus Ordo Mass, you'll notice very significant contrasts. Abuses such as communion in the hand and the priest facing West are all very common in the Novus Ordo Mass. These abuses that have crept its way into the liturgy matter because it forms the behavior of many faithful Catholics. Communion in the hand diminishes the reverence towards Christ in the Laity, and the priest facing West only rubs salt in the wound. These mistreatments are a grave betrayal to the liturgy handed down to us by Christ and the Church Fathers. We as laity and clergy are meant to preserve the Holy Mass in its entirety, no exceptions. As Fr. Zuhlsdorf once put it, "Save the liturgy, save the world."

The modernist philosophy that has sought to distort and "modernize" the Holy Mass has grown among the Catholic clergy in the past 50 years. It's even made it's nesting in the laity as well. The popular notion of the modernist philosophy seems to be that as long as you have and can derive faith from the Mass then it's okay. Sure, if you want to derive your faith from sappy Christian music and laser light shows, go ahead, but these things have no place in the Holy Mass. Traditionalist language and viewpoints, such as mine, have been called divisive by my Catholic friends. But which is better? Being divisive or being deceptive?

Being divisive can be a good thing. The Church is divisive on it's teaching sexual morality and birth control, but the Church is not deceptive about it. Jesus Christ came offering the truth knowing it would cause division. Calling an active and unrelenting adulterer an "adulterer" may be divisive to the family, but it is not deceptive. It's the deception of so many clergymen that has caused the mass exodus of Catholics from the Church.

The blatant lies on behalf of Church leaders have caused many to fall away from the faith. In regards to the SSPX, I hear your cries. However, the Novus Ordo Mass, despite its abuse, is still a valid Mass. And even though the priests and bishops have lied to you for far too long, and your anger is understandable, Holy Mother Church has not lied to you, and would never want to. And if the Church is our mother, then we should treat her as such. If your mother is suffering spousal abuse or drug and alcohol abuse, you would want to remove and rescue her from those negative influences.

We as laity need to protect our Holy Mother Church from such abuse because it will save the Catholic faith. When the local shepherds of the flock water down all the beauty and glory of the Church, the flock will soon wither and stray to find greener and more aesthetic pastures. If proper and authentic faithful formation is not reached, and the abuse continues, then the Catholic Church will become no different than any other Protestant denomination. So it will not matter to the faithful if they leave because there is no distinction. It used to mean something to be Catholic. Now it hardly means anything to be a Christian. This is why we need to love, practice, and preserve tradition. May God bless you, Our Lady pray for you, and St. Michael protect you in battle.

"It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass." - St. Pio of Pietrelcina