Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Reintroducing Logic and Reason to the Age of Sentimentalism

Let’s Learn Latin: The Glory Be

If you’ve been following along in the Let’s Learn Latin series, then you should be able to say both the Our Father and the Hail Mary in Latin. If not, no worries, go back and keep practicing, this article will be waiting for you. Or you can join along anyways, it’s entirely up to you.

The Glory Be is quite possibly one of the easiest prayers to learn, as it is one of the shortest. It is also used frequently within the Traditional Latin Mass, so if you attend the TLM regularly, then you should be more familiar with it.

What is exciting about our current progress is we can soon recite the Rosary in Latin. There are still a handful of prayers that we must learn, but we are getting very close. Soon we will be able to cause the Devil and his minions even more anguish by reciting our daily Rosary in Latin. Please, don’t hesitate to encourage your friends to learn these prayers as well.

Here is the Glory Be:

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.

As I said in the last post, we Catholics should know our prayers and responses in Latin. If we expect our priests to start learning and offering the Traditional Latin Mass, we should also do our part. Priests mostly have to learn a brand new Mass when going from the Novus Ordo to the Traditional Latin Mass. The least we can do is be knowledgeable with our responses so that we can assist in the way that we laity can.

Thank you for joining me in this third lesson, and look for future lessons where we will continue to expand our knowledge and dive further into the prayers of our faith.

Jeff May 11, 2020 2 Comments Permalink

Let’s Learn Latin: The Hail Mary

Have you memorized the Our Father yet? If you have good! If you haven’t, then check out the first lesson in this series.

The Hail Mary is undoubtedly one of the most powerful prayers that we Catholics have at our disposal. Many saints have taught that Satan hates the Hail Mary, which is part of the reason why he hates the Rosary. Additionally, since Latin is the language of the Church, Satan hates prayers when spoken in Latin. So what happens when you combine the awesome power of the Hail Mary with that of Latin? Boom! An instant weapon against Satan and his ilk.

As I did last time, I’ll give you the prayer below, and we’ll memorize this together. If you know the Hail Mary, I ask that you consider sharing and encourage your fellow Catholics to join in on learning this excellent prayer.

Without further ado:

Áve María, grátia pléna,
Dóminus técum.
Benedícta tu in muliéribus,
et benedíctus frúctus véntris túi, Iésus
Sáncta María, Máter Déi,
óra pro nóbis peccatóribus,
nunc et in hóra mórtis nóstrae.
Amen.

As I said in the last post, we Catholics should know our prayers and responses in Latin. If we expect our priests to start learning and offering the Traditional Latin Mass, we should also do our part. Priests mostly have to learn a brand new Mass when going from the Novus Ordo to the Traditional Latin Mass. The least we can do is be knowledgeable with our responses so that we can assist in the way that we laity can.

Thank you for joining me in this second lesson, and look for future lessons where we will continue to expand our knowledge and dive further into the prayers of our faith.

Let’s Learn Latin: The Glory Be is the next lesson.

Jeff February 23, 2020 Leave A Comment Permalink

Let’s Learn Latin: The Our Father

One of my goals for this year is to learn more prayers in Latin. At one point in time, I was able to pray the Rosary in Latin, and it was pretty cool. However, over time, I’ve allowed my Latin to get rusty despite frequent attendance at the Latin Mass. That said, I thought it’d be fun to encourage you all to learn some Latin alongside me. We can go on this journey together.

Now, a simple Google search for “Our Father in Latin” would give you plenty of results, and then you could be off on your way. But what is the fun in that?

For those of you who know the prayer, good job, and keep on plugging along! I ask that you think of someone you know who might need some help with this prayer and pass it along to them. Share this on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever social media platform you prefer.

Without further ado, the Our Father in Latin:

Pater noster qui es in coelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum;
adveniat regnum tuum,
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in coelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
et ne nos inducas in tentationem
sed libera nos a malo.
Amen.

As laity, we need to learn the language of the Church, which has been and always will be Latin. If we desire our priests to offer the Traditional Latin Mass, then we should do our part and learn our prayers, as well as our responses in Latin. Priests have an enormous task before them to learn the entire Mass in Latin, along with various postures and positions that are different than that of the Novus Ordo.

Thank you for joining me in this first lesson, and look for future lessons where we will continue to expand our knowledge and dive further into the prayers of our faith.

Let’s Learn Latin: The Hail Mary is the next lesson.

Jeff February 11, 2020 2 Comments Permalink

How To Be Catholic in 2020

2019 was not an easy year to be Catholic. Though, if we are being honest, it hasn’t been easy to be a Catholic in any year. There are times within the Church’s history where it is easier to be Catholic due to cultural acceptance and toleration, but those days are long gone, at least for the foreseeable future.

What makes it even more difficult today is the complete lack of support from the hierarchy, from the local parish priest, up the chain to the bishop, the cardinals, and even the Pope himself. It goes without saying that there are the occasional priests, bishops, and cardinals who are indeed fighting the good fight. Still, these clergymen are few and far between.

Last year the Church in America, and certainly in other areas around the world, was rocked hard with scandal after scandal. From clergy sex abuse scandals to supporting immoral practices (including homosexual activities and birth control, to name a few), and even the misuse of money given by the faithful. Let us not forget the dreaded Pachamama incident that the Vatican and the Pope were both behind and in complete support of. There are still plenty of people who defend this nonsense and try to paint the Pachamama as some version of Our Blessed Mother, but who are they fooling?

What is a Catholic to do? As laity, we don’t have much power within the Church. But we do have some power, even on a human level. We laity need to say enough is enough. We are sick and tired of the abuses that the evil and immoral men in the Vatican and throughout the Church force down our throats daily, telling us that it’s Catholic. We aren’t stupid, and we won’t tolerate it anymore. 

Now, this isn’t saying that we are to leave the Church. We can’t and we won’t. We need to protest the solemn nonsense promoted by those in the hierarchy who are interested in promoting error. Whether it be Protestant, Pagan, Muslim, or whatever flavor of error is featured for that day. Compared to the Protestants protesting the Catholic identity of the Church, we are merely opposing the modernism that has become so prominently featured within the Church.

How do we do this?

  1. Find and attend the Traditional Latin Mass. If your local Novus Ordo parish doesn’t want to be faithful and there is no hope of it becoming traditional, then it is time to leave. Bad liturgy affects your soul more than you realize. It might mean that you have to travel much further to fulfill your Sunday obligation. But there is a relief when you know that you will go to Mass and don’t have to worry if the liturgy will be tampered with. You won’t have to worry about the sermons being heretical or tip-toeing close to it. If you can’t find or attend a TLM for some reason, then I suggest the following.
  2. Find a traditional priest. Encourage him to learn the TLM. Help out in any way that you can.
  3. Receive the Eucharist only from the priest or the deacon. Do not receive from a layman. Line jump if you have to or sit on the side that Father administers from.
  4. Receive the Eucharist kneeling and on the tongue. 
  5. Do not hold hands during the Our Father.
  6. Do not participate in the Sign of Peace.
  7. Dress your best. Men wear suits. Women dresses and veils.
  8. Reject any mannerism that is a novel idea that was not practiced within the Church before the Second Vatican Council.
  9. Frequent the Sacrament of Confession a minimum of once a month, ideally every other week. This way, you are always within the plus or minus eight days to receive a plenary indulgence. Go more often if you fall outside of the state of grace.
  10. Pray the Rosary daily! Our Lady of Fatima has begged and pleaded us to pray the Rosary. 

Ultimately, the entire list can be summed up as a straightforward rule: Be Catholic. We can no longer sit idly by as our Church become less Catholic. We must take an active role and lead by example. We must also remember to fast and pray, for as Our Lord said in Mark 9:29, ” This kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”

Jeff January 13, 2020 1 Comment Permalink

A Recap of 2019

2019 has come and gone, and now 2020 is underway. I thought it’d be good to start this year off with a recap of the most viewed articles of the last year. I know most people do this at the end of 2019, but, as always, I’m late to the party. For those of you who frequent this blog, or at least used to, you should know that by now.

In looking at the statistics for the last year, I only published two articles for the entire year. Pathetic.

Since I only have two articles for the last year, I’ll recap what those two articles were and then give a top 5 for the posts that most people viewed. So, without further ado, here are the top posts of the year!

Top Two Articles Published in 2019

2. Put Pride In Its Place With the Litany of Humility
In 2019, I added the Litany of Humility to my daily morning prayers. I noticed that a lot of elements of my pride began to fade away slowly. I was starting to care less what people thought of me, and I was not worried as much about being “the best.” I have, for the most part, continued this practice, only missing a day here and there. I highly encourage you do make it part of yours as well.

1. A Synopsis of the Synod of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Archbishop Bernard Hebda has called for a synod to be held within his Archdiocese. The synod will go on for a couple of years and in various phases. I went to one of the first listening sessions held and reported on what I encountered.

Most Read Posts of 2019

5. Traditional Latin Masses in the Twin Cities
I’ve created a page that lists all of the TLMs in the Twin Cities. I try to keep it as up to date as possible. It seems a lot of people come to the blog for merely learning where they can attend the Latin Mass here in the Twin Cities. If you are looking for TLMs in your area, you can check out latinmasstimes.com for a complete listing.

4. Why Is Matthew Kelly So Popular?
I wrote this article four years ago when people were asking why his books were always handed out after Christmas and Easter Masses. At one time, I was a big Matthew Kelly fan. In fact, you can search through older articles on this blog to find articles in which I highly praise him as being revolutionary. Alas, this is not the case anymore, nor has it been for some time.

3. Mortal Sin Against the Fourth Commandment
Wow, this article goes way back, and I’m surprised that so many people still search for this. Here I recall some mortal sins that violate the Fourth Commandment and the reasons why. Seeing that many people are still searching for, this tells me I should probably finish writing articles on mortal sins against the rest of the commandments.

2. The Rediscover Catholicism Movement Is Not the Solution
At one point, many parishes and dioceses across the country were using Matthew Kelly’s materials for parish enrichment. I wrote this article to talk about why that was a mistake. It seems that people aren’t using him as much, but then again, I’ve been hanging out in the traditional communities for the most part and ignoring what the mainstream Church is doing these days.

1. The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary and Why You Should Dump Them
Without a doubt, my most popular post as this one always riles up people. It doesn’t matter that Pope St. John Paul II said they were optional. It doesn’t matter that he said that you didn’t need to meditate upon them and could ignore them if you wish. Apparently, pointing that out makes you a hater and someone who has clearly lost the faith (no, seriously, many commenters have accused me of this). I’ve wanted to write a follow-up article to address some of the points and to dive deeper into this thinking, and maybe this year will be the year I do that.

I’m hoping this year I write more. In fact, to ensure that I am doing that, it’s my goal to publish one article a week. Sometimes, it’s challenging to think of a topic to write about, so if you have any suggestions for topics you’d like to see or questions you’d like answered, please drop a comment below, and I’ll do my best to write something up.

God bless, and may 2020 be an enjoyable and grace-filled year for you.

Jeff January 5, 2020 Leave A Comment Permalink