MASS HYSTERIA

[00:01:57] CA: If you want to know what social networks you can catch me on You’re going to see the link to what i’m about to tell you in the description below, but follow my link tree link This is such a stupid URL, man.

[00:02:11] It’s really dumb. L I N K T R dot E E slash Catholic Adventurer Linktree slash Catholic Adventurer Adventurer L I N K T R dot E E Slash Catholic adventurer, stupid link, stupid URL, very, very stupid, but very, very handy and helpful. All things Catholic adventurer can be found there. This almost seems like a boring topic because everybody and their mother, as we say back in the old country, everybody and their mother is talking about this, about the mass, things having to do with the mass. So why am I talking about it? I try to break the mold. Here’s why. 

[00:02:52] Idolizing the Mass

[00:02:52] CA: I’m running into things on socials that are just so troubling and I don’t only see that see this on socials, I see it [00:03:00] increasingly in parish life too. There are people who idolize the mass, who have turned the mass, the liturgy, into its own into a sort of religion, who have turned the liturgy almost into its own God, into a completely, a completely different divinity or deity, I should say.

[00:03:18] And it really is something that needs to be addressed. So first, let me start out with, uh, with some rumors that have been swirling. 

[00:03:27] Rumors About the Traditional Latin Mass

[00:03:27] CA: Rumors are swirling that the Pope is about, you know, speaking about laying smackdowns on things. The Pope is about to lay the final smackdown on the traditional Latin mass.

[00:03:36] There are rumors swirling across news, so called news outlets that I will not name because to me they’re just toilet paper on a screen. So I won’t name them. Um, but they claim to have sources, sources which may or may not, be trustworthy. I really don’t know. I’m not making a claim. And these sources claim that the Vatican is about to, “ban”, that’s the word that I’ve been hearing, ban the traditional Latin mass.

[00:04:07] Now, can he do that? To be honest, I don’t know if, if I had to, if, if I had to give you an answer to that, can the Pope do that? Can the Vatican do that? My first, my, my sense is no, because it’s a valid mass, but the church has authority over the liturgy. The church has authority over, I mean, look, when [00:04:30] the original traditional mass, or rather when the original Latin mass was promulgated.

[00:04:37] Most other liturgies that didn’t cut the mustard were banned, but they were banned because they were not, they were deemed to be, um, I’m going to loosely use the term invalid. Invalid, just because they had been muddled with and muddled with across various rites, across various churches. Uh, throughout Christendom, they had been, they just were deemed not valid or not good enough.

[00:05:02] They just didn’t make the cut. It’s, it’s complicated and I don’t know it, , well enough to, to voice all of the complications. But anyway, the masses that were no longer permitted to be celebrated were no longer permitted because they fell outside of the margins of what the Vatican was putting forward with what we have come to know as the Latin mass.

[00:05:23] . So the Vatican has authority over the liturgy, but even the Vatican’s, I think, the Vatican’s hands are tied as far as banning a valid liturgy. But the Vatican can place restrictions on the extraordinary form, the extraordinary form of the liturgy is the traditional Latin Mass. It can place restrictions on the Mass that are so stringent.

[00:05:49] That it’s practically the same thing as banning the liturgy Can the vatican all out ban the liturgy? No, can it restrict it in such a way that it’s practically banned probably [00:06:00] Do I think that’s a good idea? No No, I don’t I don’t support that and i’ve said this Um on podcasts and i’ve said it I think in in some of my writing And i’ve said it on socials that I think something needed to be done about what Catholics are doing With the Latin mass, which I’ll get into in a minute.

[00:06:19] Something needs to be done. But I think the Pope is being heavy handed with what he’s doing. I’ve been, I’ve been very consistent in that, in that assertion, in that belief. Okay? Or in, in asserting that belief.

[00:06:32] Understanding the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms

[00:06:32] CA: So let’s set a foundation. For those of you who don’t know, The ordinary form of the Mass is the Mass promulgated after the Second Vatican Council. It’s the Mass you all have come to know. And many or most of you have grown up with that Mass. Okay, it’s just the regular Mass. Now, following Vatican II, there were some revisions made to the Mass, but the Mass is substantially the same as what it always was.

[00:07:00] The If you go to a traditional Mass, or, hell, if you go to a, if you go to an Eastern Orthodox Mass, which is going to be very different from a, a modern day Latin Rite, not a Latin Mass, but a Latin Rite Mass, the ordinary form Mass, between the Eastern Orthodox liturgies and the Roman liturgy of today, they’re going to be dramatically different, yet still, you’re going to see they have the same substantial [00:07:30] pillars.

[00:07:31] Okay, the opening prayers, the reading, um, I think even in the Orthodox churches they have preaching. Uh, you’re going to see the same pillars involved , in the, the, uh, consecration of the Eucharist, reception of the Eucharist. You, it, you’re going to see the same pillars there, even though the two liturgies looks, look and sound so different because in many ways they are very different, but substantially they are, they are ident, I don’t want to say identical, but let’s just say they’re practically identical.

[00:08:01] I don’t like that term either, but what are you going to do? If you look at the traditional Latin mass and the new mass, same thing. There are ways where they’re definitely distinct from each other, but they are, they are substantially identical. The same substance that needs to be in the mass is in the new mass as is found in the old mass.

[00:08:23] Okay? Okay? So, the Mass you all know is the Novus Ordo Mass, that’s the Ordinary Form Mass, the Traditional Latin Mass is the Extraordinary Form Mass. It’s a valid Mass that may be celebrated, but it’s celebrated extraordinarily. It’s not the common Mass. The common Mass is the Novus Ordo, okay?

[00:08:45] Summorum Pontificum and the Early Rise of the TLM

[00:08:45] CA: Now, Pope Benedict issued a motu proprio, which is a letter of his own authority, in 2007, called Summorum Pontificum.

[00:08:54] In Summorum Pontificum, again, 2007, Pope Benedict [00:09:00] acknowledged the right of all priests to say the traditional Latin Mass, the Mass of the Roman Missal of 1962, okay? He authorized everyone who knows how to say it, he said, they’re allowed to say it, they don’t need special permission from their bishop, provided that, ah ha, no one wants to talk These, these caveats, provided that the Mass is not used, and this is my paraphrasing what I’m about to say, provided that the Mass is not used as a rejection of the, of the Second Vatican Council or the Novus Ordo liturgy.

[00:09:35] In other words, that Mass may be celebrated, there’s no special permission required, this was in 2007, there’s no special permission required, if you know how to say it, you’re allowed to say the Mass. I’m kind of oversimplifying it, but you’ll, you’ll be grateful that I am. As long as the priest knows how to celebrate the mass, he may celebrate it.

[00:09:52] He does not need special permission. Um, and the faithful may attend that mass because it’s still a valid mass, and this is all, this is all fine, provided that the faithful and the celebrant are not celebrating the traditional Latin mass as a rejection of the new mass or as, as, as defiance. To, , the Second Vatican Council.

[00:10:17] No one wants to talk about that caveat. If you want to see it for yourself, just do a search for Sumorum Pontificum Pope Benedict 2007. Even if you misspell Sumorum Pontificum, you’ll find it. [00:10:30] Sumorum Pontificum 2007 Pope Benedict XVI. And you can read it for yourself. So that was in 2007. Now let me tell you my, my, my personal perspective on this in 2007.

[00:10:42] My Perspective on Summorum Pontificum and TLM

[00:10:42] CA: So the traditional Latin mass was making appearances throughout the church on a very small scale before 2007. Late 90s, early 2000s, traditional liturgies were starting to pop up. Even in my own diocese, In the early, in the very early 2000s, I think there were two of them. Okay? So, they were starting to pop up everywhere.

[00:11:10] And I was a big supporter of that. Big supporter. Big and vocal supporter of it. I want to, I want to establish that, because that’s going to be important that you understand this. Even before Sumorum Pontificum in 2007, 2007. I was a staunch and vocal supporter of the traditional Latin mass. It should clue you in that I’m using the word was, and I’m not saying “stil am”, but I’ll get to that.

[00:11:40] So that’s 2007. The traditional Latin mass didn’t pop up in 2007. It was always a valid mass, and even before 2007, you could find them being celebrated here and there. It was, it was, it was few and far between, but you could still find them. Okay?

[00:11:56] Pope Francis and Traditiones Custodes[00:11:56] Pope Francis’ Tradiciones Custodes

[00:11:56] CA: Now, Pope Francis comes [00:12:00] onto the scene, and he implemented changes, uh, in a document and his own, of his own motu proprio, Tradiciones Custodes, or Custodes.

[00:12:11] That was in 2021, Tradiciones Custodes, Pope Francis 2021, if you want to Google that. And in that document, the Holy Father restricted the celebration of the TLM because he believed it was, or there was a fear that it was being used in an ideological way. Now, the Holy Father didn’t do this on a whim. He met with a number of bishops, ordinaries of diocese, to kind of check the pulse of what was going on from their point of view.

[00:12:45] Let me pause there for a second. It would have been my preference for the Holy Father to just let the ordinaries of diocese deal with it themselves. The Vatican slash the Pope, the Roman Pontiff, whoever he is at the time, has authority to do something about this. He’s the chief pastor of the whole church.

[00:13:08] But it falls outside of Catholic norms, the norms of Catholic governance. The, the usual norms of Catholic governance. It falls outside of those norms that the Pope does something like this that addresses things going on in local churches. You understand? You generally don’t find that [00:13:30] happening. If you find that happening, you would expect that to happen from conservative popes, from more conservative popes.

[00:13:38] But even Benedict XVI was not that heavy handed. And I want to be clear, I wish Benedict XVI had been that heavy handed and put, and put the kibosh. He did a little bit, but not, not in the way like Pope Francis is doing to the TLM. I wish he would have put the kibosh on some liberal loosie craziness that goes on in the church.

[00:13:58] I wish he had been a little more heavy handed. That being said, Tradiciones Custodes didn’t come from a whim. The Holy Father met, I think it was the Holy Father, it might’ve been people who were meeting with these bishops and then reported to the Holy Father. But I think, I think the Holy Father was directly involved in these meetings with ordinaries, some ordinaries of some diocese, to check the pulse of how this, the motu proprio of his predecessor, Pope Benedict, was playing out in the faith lives or the church lives of people in actual individual diocese.

[00:14:38] Following that, we have the modu proprio traditiones custodes. Where pretty strong restrictions were placed on the traditional Latin mass. And that’s where we are today. 

[00:14:49] Where Are We Now?

[00:14:49] CA: Now, the rumors are swirling that the Holy father or the Vatican, we don’t know who, the Vatican displeased [00:15:00] with, I guess tradiciones custodias didn’t improve the situation.

[00:15:04] As much or as quickly as the Vatican or the Pope had hoped. So they’re going to further put the squash on it by placing restrictions so strict, so rigid, that it’s a practical ban of the traditional Latin mass.

[00:15:17] These are rumors. We don’t know exactly what’s going on. We’ll find out in the coming weeks, I guess.

[00:15:25] Okay, so that’s where we are. 

[00:15:26] Personal Perspective on the Traditional Latin Mass

[00:15:26] CA: Now, here’s my opinion on the matter. I am still a supporter of the traditional Latin Mass as it is. However, I do not support what Catholics, what, let me, let me be clear, what many, not all, traditional Catholics have done with it. Many, not all. I understand that some Catholics need the traditional Latin Mass, either they need it spiritually or they need it practically because their nearest Novus Ordo parish or Novus Ordo Mass.

[00:15:59] is a nightmare. Look, personally, I’ve been to Novus Ordo Masses that were not to my liking. I don’t think I’ve been to one that was a nightmare, but some people have different, different people have different experiences in different diocese, right? So some people have a choice between the traditional Latin Mass at a parish ten miles away, or the nightmare liberal loosie Mass one mile away.

[00:16:25] So, and they choose The traditional at mass, I understand that. I, I [00:16:30] wouldn’t go that far, but people have different tolerance levels for different things. To me, if the mass is valid, it works for me. Uh, it, it just works for me. I, I can, I can identify and recognize this thing that shouldn’t be so, or this thing that, that I think is stupid.

[00:16:47] Sure. But it, it, the, to me, the mass is the mass. To me, the mass is the mass, but not everybody is me. Okay. So there are people who, for honest and understandable reasons, even if I can’t relate to them, they are honest and understandable reasons why some people need to go to traditional Latin mass. And then there are people who don’t need to go to traditional Latin mass.

[00:17:07] They just choose to go to one. And then there are some people who are kind of in the middle. They only go to a, to a traditional Latin mass, maybe once a month. For, for some, you know, unique spiritual nourishment there, but most of the time they go to a Novus Ordo. So there’s all kinds. And I want to acknowledge that up front.

[00:17:27] The Debate Over the Traditional Latin Mass

[00:17:27] CA: But let’s also acknowledge, and this is going to shock and horrify some of you, but let’s also acknowledge that there are Catholics who have turned the traditional Latin Mass and traditionalism into another denomination of Catholicism. You see it all over the socials. Look at the profiles. Traditional Catholic.

[00:17:47] Traditional Catholic. Traditional Catholic. I’m a T It’s my favorite. TLM Catholic. TLM Catholic. I’m a TLM Catholic. And, apart from the, the, the bios and write ups and things, when you listen to them [00:18:00] speak or see what they write, they are very deliberate to point out that they are traditional Latin Mass Catholics.

[00:18:08] Very deliberately, as if to say, well, in my traditional Latin mass parish, or, you know, as a, as a TLM Catholic, I do X, or, that’s, that’s intriguing to me as a TLM Catholic. They even talk about it, treat it like it’s another denomination of Catholicism, or even another religion. I know that is not all traditionalists.

[00:18:30] I know that. I know that that is not all traditionalists. But let’s be honest with each other and acknowledge that it’s many traditionalists. Let’s also acknowledge that they’re traditionalists and they’re radical traditionalists. The radical kind are way, way, way to the right. The traditional kind, the plain old, traditional la, you know, traditional Catholics, they, they are different degrees of them.

[00:18:56] They’re not all crazy. Many of them are not crazy. Yet in the least, many of the traditional Catholics are not crazy in the least. And some are. The further to the right they go, the crazier they are, until what you get is radical traditionalism. And then it further progresses into the land of crazy town, when they become radical traditionalists and they become practical Sedevacantists, which is another story.

[00:19:21] So that’s what and in that field, you will find many a Catholic That treats the traditional Latin mass like, [00:19:30] like it is a divinity, like that is their divinity. You want some, some evidence? I’ll give you some evidence. Recently, I’m not gonna name names. Now, this is a person who I disagree with about half the time, but he’s a classy person.

[00:19:47] , pretty kind. I disagree with him half the time, but, but he’s kind. I just don’t want to sound like I’m attacking him. , you know me folks, even people who I really don’t like, I might talk about and say, so and so says this, and this is why it’s crazy. You’ll notice. I don’t even name them. I don’t want to, I just don’t want to get, get ugly.

[00:20:05] A Sin to Miss THIS Mass?

[00:20:05] CA: Especially this person. I think he’s a classy person. Good family guy. I don’t want to name names, but he recently ran a poll that was very revealing on X. It goes like this. I’m going to, I would have shown it to you except now, then you’re going to see the person’s name, and I don’t want to do that. 

[00:20:21] The Sin of Missing Mass

[00:20:21] CA: If the, here is what the poll was, if the only mass available to you on a Sunday was at a parish that displayed pride flags, would it be a sin to miss that mass?

[00:20:33] Let me pause for a second, I’m going to read it again and I want you to think for a minute what you would answer. If the only mass available to you on a Sunday was at a parish that displayed pride flags, would it be a sin to miss that mass?

[00:20:49] What do you think? Tick tock, tick tock, time’s up. The correct answer is yes, it would be a sin. But wouldn’t you know it, 65 percent of the respondents [00:21:00] to this poll, at the time that I saw it, At the time that I saw it, it had I don’t know. It had more time left, so it wasn’t closed yet, but at the time that I saw it, 65 percent of the respondents said no, it would not be a sin to miss that mass.

[00:21:15] If it’s the only mass you have available to you, but the church is displaying pride flags, it would not be a sin to miss that mass. Shocking and unbelievable that 65 percent of Catholics think that it would not be a sin to skip that mass. If you’re wondering, well, Why would it be a sin to skip that mass?

[00:21:36] After all, they’re displaying pride flags. I’m going to explain to you why it’s still a sin to miss that mass. First, I have to share with you, some people commenting either to the poll or to me, because I, I made a comment about it, some people have said, well, if the pastor is preaching heresy, then yeah, it’s not, you’re not required to attend mass if that’s the only mass you have access to.

[00:21:59] That is, that is wrong. Well, yeah, pride flags, that’s, that’s supporting sin, so you don’t have to go to mass if that’s the only mass you can go to. That is wrong. Across the board, though, everyone who commented to my viewing, either they commented to me or it was comments that I saw, everyone who commented that I saw, who likely voted no, that wouldn’t be a sin to skip that mass, why do they think it wouldn’t be a sin?[00:22:30]

[00:22:30] Because after all, they think the mass now is invalidated by a pride flag being hung on the church. The mass is invalidated, so you can miss that mass. Or, the mass is heretical, which is one comment. How a mass can be heretical is beyond me, but the mass is heretical, so you are not required to attend that mass.

[00:22:51] What’s at the center of these arguments, folks? What’s at the center of these arguments? The mass. The mass is at the center of these arguments. But why do we actually go to mass folks? Why do we go to mass? to worship God God should be the focus God should be the focus But for many a Catholic Who call them not for all but for many a Catholic who call themselves traditional?

[00:23:21] The mass is what’s in focus for them. Not god and they will deny it They will be shocked and horrified to hear it, but damn it, it is the truth. And I say this in fraternity and out of love and respect and concern, and with all due respect to everyone who calls themselves a traditional Catholic, with all due respect.

[00:23:38] And I want to say again, I know that this is not everyone who calls themselves a traditional Catholic. I know. Brothers and sisters, I know. But I’m here to tell you, it’s many, it is not all, but it is many who call themselves traditional Catholics. If you want more on some of my thoughts on this, you can look in my [00:24:00] podcast catalogue or on my website, CatholicAdventurer.

[00:24:02] com, and the podcast catalogue is everywhere you find podcasts. Look for an episode called, uh, Tradition and the Desert, , The Two Churches, that’s another one, another episode, um, The Trouble with Tradition, and The Importance of Tradition. If you want to know everything I think about Catholicism, traditionalism, the state of the church, and all that stuff, those are four episodes for you to listen to.

[00:24:27] Tradition and the desert are really good, a really important one. The two churches, or it might be called Beware the Two Churches, um, the trouble with tradition and the importance of tradition. Now moving forward.

[00:24:40] We hear often from some traditionalists, I’m going to say many, but not all, traditionalists. That, the Mass, the Mass, the Mass, the Mass, the Mass, the Mass. The traditional Latin Mass made many saints. That is incorrect. The Mass made many saints. The traditional Latin Mass is spiritually nourishing. 

[00:25:02] Spiritual Nourishment and the Mass

[00:25:02] CA: Well, I, first, I agree that for some Catholics The traditional Latin Mass is uniquely nourishing to them.

[00:25:09] I get it. And I’m, folks, if that’s you, I’m here to tell you, that condition is temporary. You’re going to get to a point where any Mass, anyone, any Mass is going to give you that same spiritual nourishment. You’re going to get to a point where you’re going to connect the same way to every Mass. Not everybody is there yet.

[00:25:29] I’m [00:25:30] spiritually immature in some ways, where you are more mature than I am. And I’m spiritually mature in some ways, where others, some others are less mature than I am. That’s the spiritual maturity that I have. Where every Mass is the Mass, okay? And you’ll get there. You will get there. And you won’t get there because you’re special.

[00:25:50] Neither am I special. You’ll get there because God will bring you there. Enough said about that. So they continue to center everything on the Mass, the Mass, on the traditional Mass, traditional Mass, traditional Mass, traditional Mass. 

[00:26:02] Debunking Myths About the Traditional Latin Mass

[00:26:02] CA: The traditional Mass made saints. The traditional Mass is spiritual nourishing.

[00:26:05] The traditional unites a culture. Uh, no. That is the mass that does those things, not the traditional Latin mass uniquely.

[00:26:14] That’s the mass that does those things. Not gonna beat this to death folks, but I want to say it one last time because I know I can say it 50, 000 times and there will still be people who will selectively edit that out of their hearing. I am NOT anti traditional Latin mass. I was a proponent of the TLM Likely long before most, most current TLM attendees had ever heard about it.

[00:26:42] Nuff said about that. My beef is not with the traditional liturgy. My beef is with what people have made out of it. And what they have done with it is they have turned it into a religion by itself, of its own. They have, and some have turned it into a [00:27:00] divinity. And the thing that just absolutely amazes me is when I have told people this, when I have said to people, you see what you’re saying here?

[00:27:09] This shows that you actually worship the liturgy, not God. They reject it, right? They reject that, that charge. And then in their rejection, they will continue to demonstrate that they worship the liturgy. For instance, you know, because, because you think that only the traditional Latin mass Make saints.

[00:27:31] Well, that’s evidence that you worship the liturgy, not God. That’s not true. I worship God and God is worshipped in the tradition and God is worshipped only in the traditional Latin mass or something like I’m making that up, but it’s something like that, where in their rejection, they further make the point.

[00:27:50] Okay. Look, I don’t have the liberty. I was going to say, I don’t have the liturgy. I don’t have the liberty or freedom or license. To just be pissed off about this Or to just give you know pointless blind commentary. I’m doing this To help everybody as best as I can even if it’s in some tiny way So let me stop my griping there And try to build on something you can learn from here.

[00:28:18] Okay 

[00:28:19] The Sin of Skipping Mass[00:28:19] Why It’s a Sin to Skip the Mass

[00:28:19] CA: First, would it be a sin to skip that mass? It’s the only mass you can go to, but there are pride flags. We don’t know where the pride flags are hung. We don’t know if they’re being used as an altar cloth, if they’re all over the inside of the [00:28:30] church, or if they’re hung on the outside of the church.

[00:28:32] The person who ran this poll doesn’t specify, which is completely understandable. That might be digging too deep and might be pointless. But all we have is, it’s a Sunday mass, it’s the only mass available to you, and there are pride flags displayed. Would it be a sin to miss that Mass? Yes, it would be a sin to miss that Mass.

[00:28:49] Why? First, because you have to go to Mass. Right? You have to be at Mass. Every Sunday. It’s not just one of the precepts of the Church. It’s divine law. It might be a theological, it might be a little theological stretching to just flat out say, it’s divine law. But here’s how those, how I make that connection.

[00:29:13] Und erstanding Liturgical Worship

[00:29:13] CA: It’s divine law to keep holy. The Sabbath day, but we’re not Jews. We don’t have a Sabbath, right? We’re Christians. Well, so we understand that as the Lord’s Day. Keep holy the Lord’s Day or the Sabbath day, but we’re not Jews. So what’s the quote unquote Sabbath for Christians? Well, from apostolic times, the Lord’s Day for us has been Sunday, the day of the Lord’s resurrection.

[00:29:38] So, the way we keep holy the Lord’s Day is is not just by resting, but by worshiping God. The worship of God, the worship of God for Christians is liturgical. I’m sorry, it is not prayer. Prayer is a type of lowercase w worship, [00:30:00] but it is not uppercase w worship throughout the scripture. Worship has always been liturgical.

[00:30:07] Always. In scripture, when they say the magi, Um, arrived at the baby Jesus at the nativity, and they worshipped him. Some translations of scripture will not use the word worship. They will say adore. Why? Because the word worship used in that context can be confusing, and the translators know that. So many translations won’t even use the word worship there.

[00:30:35] Why? Because there is capital W worship and lowercase w worship. Prayer is a type of worship, but when we are talking about the worship of God, like the ultimate worship of God, when we are talking about the worship of God prescribed by, you guessed it, God, when God says, this is how you worship, when we’re talking about that, we’re talking about capital W worship, and that is liturgical.

[00:31:02] It has been liturgical since the Old Testament, repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, and it’s liturgical in the New Testament. Hashtag the Last Supper. That’s what we’re talking about when we’re talking about the worship of God. It is liturgical. So for us to keep holy the Lord’s day is to worship God liturgically on Sundays.

[00:31:24] Now we can do that every day. In fact, we do that every day, right? There’s a mass every day, but we’re, [00:31:30] we’re required to be there on Sundays.

[00:31:34] The Validity of Mass Despite Controversies

[00:31:34] CA: But what if the church is hanging pride flags? Well, I don’t want to see pride flags on Catholic properties either. I’m with you. Believe me, I am with you. And yes, that would annoy and trigger me, too.

[00:31:47] But it does not nullify the Mass. The display of a pride flag does not nullify the Mass, therefore, it is still a valid Mass and still a valid consecration. Therefore, we cannot skip that mass. We can’t skip it, if it’s the only mass available to us. And folks, I’ve been in situations sort of like that, where the only mass available to me, um, was a nut job mass, and I knew, I knew, I knew it would be a nut job mass, because I knew that I was in nut job diocese at the time.

[00:32:25] I gotta say, I did not witness any mass abuses, But they weren’t, they were kind of, they weren’t the masks that I’m used to. Let’s put it that way. I’ve been in that situation where the only mass available to me is a nut job mass.

[00:32:38] Let’s just put it that way. I can’t now recall what happened at those seasks. It’s only happened three or four times in my life. Thank you. The point I’m trying to make is, I’ve been in that situation where the only mass available to me was a mass I didn’t want to be at.

[00:32:50] But as long as the mass is valid, then you have to be there. And frankly, the only way you’ll know that the mass is not valid, is by being [00:33:00] there. So you can’t even skip it then, because the only, the only way to say yes, this mass is definitely nullified by how it’s being celebrated, is First of all, you better really know your stuff to make that judgment. The only way to really make that judgment is by being there. So even then you can’t say, well, it’s gonna be null. It’s gonna be nullified mass, be, it’s, the mass will be nullified by how it’s being celebrated.

[00:33:25] It’ll be celebrated illicitly, wrongly, and correctly. And therefore I don’t have to be there. Well, the only way to make that judgment is to be there. So you’re defeating your own argument, if that’s what you say. So the pride flag doesn’t nullify the Mass, and it doesn’t invalidate the consecration of the Eucharist.

[00:33:42] Even if the celebrant is a nutjob, his consecration of the Eucharist is valid if he’s following the rubrics, and I’ve I’ve never known a priest to not follow the rubrics. In, in the consecration, in the consecration, even at nut job parishes, I’ve never known the priest not to follow to the letter how the consecration is supposed to go.

[00:34:06] Even if he’s in nut job, even if he’s in mortal sin, the consecration of the Eucharist is still valid because the Eucharist is consecrated not by the priest’s power, but by his authority as a priest of God, a priest of the church. Not by his power, by his authority and authority he has from Jesus.

[00:34:26] Understand? Would it be a sin to miss that [00:34:30] mass? Yes. Because pride flags do not nullify the mass. If we are rejecting the mass because there’s a pride flag there, then we’re not really there for God. Are we? We’re there for ourselves. We’re there for ourselves. 

[00:34:47] The Danger of Worshipping the Liturgy

[00:34:47] CA: We’re not there to worship God, we’re there to worship the liturgy.

[00:34:50] If they change the liturgy to be something other than what we like, it’s no longer the object of our affection and desire, and so we abandon it. Sound familiar? It’s also why many, not all, many people are abandoning the Novus Ordo Mass to go exclusively to traditional Latin Masses. Because the Mass, not God, and not the church or the faith. The mass becomes the object of their desire and worship.

[00:35:18] And folks, I want to tell you, this will probably be the last point I make on this. It is also a thing that some people worship the Catholic faith. Some people worship the liturgy. Some people worship the Catholic faith. You have to be careful about that one because that one is very tempting and easy to do.

[00:35:35] You know why? Because the Catholic faith is easy to understand and God is not. The Catholic faith It just takes study, time, research, to understand. It takes a lot more than that to understand God. So oftentimes, and I have, I have had to check myself on this too. Oftentimes, the object of our desire and affection becomes the [00:36:00] church, not God.

[00:36:01] When really, the church is the gate, the church is the gateway to God. The church is the means to the end, and the end is God, Heaven. Church is the means to that end. For many people, the church or the faith becomes the end itself. Orthodoxy, not holiness, becomes the end itself and not the means. The Mass, and not holiness or God, becomes the end in itself and not the means.

[00:36:29] So kind of a short little episode for you here because I didn’t want to drool on, you know, the last episode, episode 31, I did like three solid, uh, segments. And I do like breaking a show up into segments, but sometimes that can become repetitive. You know, I’ll tell you something else that’s funny.

[00:36:46] In the last episode, I said, I don’t know when I’ll have time to do another long form podcast. But this one, I made time to do. I’ll tell you why. Because I’ve actually, this is stuff that I’ve thought about a lot over years. And I’ve made some comments about, you know, What’s going on things that I’ve mentioned today.

[00:37:04] I’ve made some comments about this on socials. I’ve done some short form clips on TikTok so this this show is almost already done in my head Unless it’s really brilliant. Then I want you to think that I just came up with this just now which I guess that’s half true So the moral of the story my friends.

[00:37:28] Oh And I have a quick announcement to make after this [00:37:30] the moral of the story is Is this will the pope put the kibosh on the traditional latin mass I kind of hope that he doesn’t but I don’t care if he does And I I and i’m sorry to my traditionalists Brothers and sisters in particular the ones of you who who are not crazy I’m, very sorry And I think it’s it’s a damn shame if it comes to this.

[00:37:54] I still think it’s heavy handed If the pope were to “ban” the tlm, I still think it’s heavy handed. I still think he shouldn’t do it but I have to tell you, the division being caused not by the traditional Latin mass, but by the people who worship the traditional Latin mass. The division being caused by many traditional mass goers is so lethal and so poisonous to the church.

[00:38:20] And I, I am going to say this right now. That is more lethal and dangerous and poisonous to the church than Arianism could ever hope to be. Pretty big claim, right? That’s a pretty big claim, because Arianism is a flat out heresy, saying that Jesus Christ was a man, but not God. I mean, that’s serious, right?

[00:38:43] How can it be even more dangerous for people to make almost a church within a church out of the traditional Latin mass? Because it’s a gateway drug. It’s not a heresy. But it’s a gateway drug. It’s an error that leads [00:39:00] to greater errors. Folks, the devil is very patient. The devil is very, very patient. You think he’s satisfied with one error?

[00:39:08] No. But it’s a gateway drug. It’s the first thing that separates people body, mind, and spirit. Not soul, but body, mind, and spirit from The Holy Church. Now they’re still going to a valid mass. They’re still attending, probably, a valid parish. But it doesn’t end there. Because eventually they go to um, masses by priests who are no longer authorized to celebrate mass publicly.

[00:39:36] But they’re traditional. Or they begin going, or they progress, here’s a simpler example to give you. They progress to Sedevacantism. Which I know a couple of people who have made that progression. There are some public figures who have made that progression. Folks, if people can sway so far to the left that eventually they, they apostatize from the church and they become reformed Catholics or whatever, well, if that can happen on the left, do you really think that doesn’t happen in the other direction on the right?

[00:40:04] Of course it does. Of course it does. That’s nothing. That’s not even new. What is new though is that the ingredients of that apostasy, the ingredients are found churchwide. Where it used to be local aberrations. Now you find it church wide. Now, I don’t travel the world, but I can tell you this, as an [00:40:30] evangelizer, public speaker, and so on, I’ve been, I’ve been to a lot of the church.

[00:40:37] A lot of the church. I’ve been to a lot of the church. Mostly the American church, but not only the American church. I’ve been to a lot of the church. And I can tell you, these ingredients are everywhere. The ingredients of, of, I’ll, in quotes, I’ll say, conservative apostasy, and that’s in quotes. Don’t be offended, conservatives.

[00:40:54] I consider myself a conservative, but I consider myself Catholic first. These ingredients are everywhere. So just remember why you’re in it. You’re in it to win it? Great. But remember what that means. You’re not in it for the worship of the mass. I wish we could have, I wish every mass could be the mass of my youth, which was a Nova Soto mass, but it was super reverent, super, super tight, very reverent.

[00:41:22] I’ve talked about it before, smells and bells and good preaching. And there was chant. Even when the chant was in English, they were chanting. You know, I wish we could return to that mass. I have a longing for masses like that. But this is the desert God is bringing us through. Check out that episode, Tradition in the Desert, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

[00:41:42] This is the Way to Sainthood

[00:41:42] CA: This is the desert God is bringing us through. And so, just talking about myself, I had to learn to find God in the liturgy without the help of the sensual experience of the Mass. [00:42:00]Let me say it again. I had to learn to find God in the liturgy without the sensual experience of the Mass, without the smells and the bells and the chanting and the this and the that and all the things that make the traditional, lowercase t, traditional Mass, the older Masses, so beautiful and so engaging.

[00:42:24] I had to learn to find God without the help of those things. Learn to find God in the Mass without the help of those things. And I have done that. I have done that. Sometimes my heart still longs for the mass of my youth. Oh well. That’s, that’s the road of sainthood, my friends. 

[00:42:45] The Road to Sainthood

[00:42:45] CA: The road to sainthood takes us down sections of the road that are uncomfortable, bumpy, cold.

[00:42:50] We don’t like them. Oh well. That’s how this goes. What do you expect? You expect to find heaven on earth? That’s how this goes. The road to sainthood is sometimes uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s difficult. And then sometimes we find our legs on this difficult road. We find our legs and it’s just like we’re walking any other road.

[00:43:10] But then our thoughts go back to, Oh, I remember when the road was much easier. Damn, I wish I could walk a road like that again. Oh, well, this is the road to sainthood. Keep on, keep on moving. Eyes forward, never back. Easier said than done. Believe me. Easier said than done. [00:43:30] But it’s the road to sainthood. And I don’t say this as someone who thinks he’s a saint.

[00:43:35] I don’t. All I know is that I’m on the road. And I don’t know how far ahead I am. All I know is that I’m there. So I’m only telling you from that perspective of someone who is on that road. And many of you are too. And from my perspective, what I have learned is The road to holiness, sometimes it just sucks, but you have to learn to let that go.

[00:43:59] Because as long as we’re attentive to the suckage, we have our feet planted too firmly in the earth, in the temporal, in the sensual. How do we expect to be converted to holiness when we’re rooted too much in the temporal, in the sensual? And God has to uproot us from that, in order to prepare us for something greater that he has in store.

[00:44:23] Individually, us individually, and as a church. Hmm?

[00:44:28] Special Announcements and Closing Remarks

[00:44:28] CA: Oh, uh, I dropped a surprise episode the other day. This is a very lucky day for you guys catching me, uh, in the podcast catalog and elsewhere because I did episode 31 and then I dropped a surprise episode, uh, about 20 or so minutes long, uh, where I addressed a commenter on TikTok who was going through what I’m just generically calling a period of spiritual darkness.

[00:44:51] It’s about 20 or so minutes long. It’s called, uh, Through the Darkness. Um, and it, it’s kind of a slow episode. It’s like 20 [00:45:00] slow minutes. It’s very, it’s kind of somber and, and, and I guess quiet. It’s not very exciting or excitable. Um, so just keep that in mind. It’s there. It’s in the podcast catalog. It’s also on my website, CatholicAdventurer.

[00:45:12] com. If you’re following me on socials, you’ll, you’ll notice I’ve been posting clips, uh, from it. , you might want to check it out, especially if you are going through a period of spiritual darkness. , you might want to check that out because I mentioned I read the person’s comment and then I respond directly to some of the things he’s saying or asking.

[00:45:31] Um, I would say that’s probably one of the most, if not the most important episode I’ve ever done. Not the most bombastic, not the most exciting, but I think it’s a pretty important episode. Um, so that’s called Through the Darkness. It’s in my podcast catalog. It’s also on my website at CatholicAdventurer.

[00:45:48] com. Um, please check out, um, Everything that I do at linktree. catholic, linktree. catholicadventurer, stupid URL, see the description to this episode, I’ll give you a very easy to follow link to that, every link that’s important I’ll put in the description. And I guess that’s about it. That’s, that’s the end of episode 32.

[00:46:13] This has been another fantastic episode of the Catholic Podcast that doesn’t suck the Catholic experience. I’ve been your host, the Catholic adventurer. Follow me on my socials and the [00:46:30] links provided in the description below. Please say a Hail Mary for me and for my family. God bless you. God be with you all.

[00:46:37] Bye bye.