The Local Parish as Microcosm of the Church

Image from The Village Reporter, Montpelier, OH

A microcosm is a community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger. This is the relationship that I believe can exist between a local parish and the universal Catholic Church.

When I shared my distress with my husband a few months ago over the state of the Church and the ongoing revelations of the sex abuse scandal, I was a bit upset with him for not being of like mind with my angst. He hadn't been following any news at all since Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, and I felt like he was sticking his head in the sand. He said something about the "microcosm" of our parish church, how much he likes the people and enjoys the messages, etc., but I wasn't ready to consider his idea then. Now with my realization of having been "frog boiled" by the anti-Pope Francis posse, of having been sucked into the vortex of suspicion and elitism of ultra-traditionalists on social media, I'm totally on board with my husband's approach. 

This fall I joined the Rosary Altar Society, a women's group at our parish. Last evening we hosted our church's annual chili and soup supper for the community on voting day. My family had never attended this event. The food was amazing, and there was a spectacular turn out. I enjoyed being a part of serving our church and our town, bringing people together and nourishing them body and soul. I found the picture at the top of this post on the Internet, of some of our church ladies from the chili/soup supper a few years ago. 

Our parish is small but active, with a lot of young families and people of all ages, and a sister parish in a nearby town with which we share a priest. The Mass is the typical Ordinary Form, complete with Eucharistic ministers and altar servers that include females. Lay men and women serve as commentators and lectors as well. We have a wonderful choir and sing standard hymns. The architecture and decor of the church is humble but homey. It's the stuff the ultra-traditionalists, who believe the Tridentine (Latin) Mass is superior, regularly deride. 

My husband is a lector, our teenage daughter is an altar server, and this year, with the Rosary Altar Society, I've found a place to be of service as well. The people of our parish are kind, friendly, generous, and welcoming. Spirits are fed in this community. Our church evangelizes by providing a home for local Catholics to worship together, and we reach out in love and service to our neighbors. We are simple witnesses to Jesus. And in so being, we build up and heal the Body of Christ. We are a microcosm of what the Church truly is, despite the failures and shortcomings we sometimes see in the news. This is the way of hope. 

So if you are still reeling from all of the negativity that has been brewing during Francis' pontificate, which obscures the good work and powerful message of the Holy Father, the most profound way you can help the Church is to pray, pray, pray, and be a positive member of your local parish. My family's parish is blessed to have an amazing bishop who radiates joy and enthusiasm for the Catholic Faith, so do extend your participation to your larger diocese community if possible. Focus on the grace that you receive from the sacraments, and be deeply thankful if you live in a place where you can regularly receive them. 

Read Pope Francis' own words, rather than relying upon comments taken out of the context; and avoid the interpretations of the news media and self-appointed Catholic policemen of social media. This is a time to make your faith stronger through adversity. When you feel you are suffering, offer that up for the poor souls in purgatory or someone whose cross is heavier than your own. Be the microcosm of the communion of faithful saints. 

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary | Embracing Peace

It is now late in the day of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and I've found a new sense of peace and hope. I have not had the willpower to avoid all news and stay entirely off YouTube, as I planned to this month, but I've gained a new perspective on the issues I've been recently writing about. 

Yesterday while using the computer I saw that Dr. Taylor Marshall was live from Rome on YouTube, and out of curiosity I tuned in. I didn't watch the whole thing, because I could feel my serenity being broken, and I was proud of myself for tuning back out. 

Taylor was bemoaning an indigenous Amazonian tree planting ceremony, led by a woman (quel horreur!), and attended by Pope Francis in the Vatican garden. He basically said that he and his cronies had been commiserating about how they might be able to destroy the tree. It just seemed silly, and the scrupulosity I've seen growing among some traditional Catholics is beginning to grate on my nerves. 

Taylor also spoke about how happy he was to have gone to a High Mass that day, without all the Novus Ordo type "distractions" of altar girls, Eucharistic ministers, communion in the hand, etc... While it's certainly wonderful that he had the privilege of attending the Latin Mass in Rome, and if I were there, I'd welcome the opportunity as well, I felt tired of this typical spiel. 

I had gone to Mass that morning myself. My daughter was an altar server, and my husband was the commentator and lector. Our priest, still weak from cancer treatments, needed to sit during Holy Communion, so everyone received it from a Eucharistic minister. I received on the tongue, which anyone has the choice to do. The kids who will receive the sacrament of Confirmation in February and their parents were called up front for a ceremony, and we prayed for them as a congregation. After Mass we all ate a delicious brunch together and fellowshipped with one another. The entire morning was lovely and Spirit filled, the weather was gorgeous, and I was grateful to be there. 

Here's my point. Dr. Marshall did mention that the Novus Ordo (Ordinary Form) Mass is valid, but he clearly seems to think it's inferior to the Tridentine Mass (Extraordinary Form). After encountering this attitude prevalent on the Internet, I too once became distracted by what were being called the "liturgical abuses" of the Ordinary Form. It turned out that nothing I was concerned about was actually an abuse. I refuse to be influenced anymore by this elitism that attempts to suck the joy out of the fact that I receive the Real Presence of Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity, every time I partake of the Eucharist! 

The pews in my Novus Ordo parish church were packed yesterday. I did not feel like a member of a dying Church. It's time for me to go to sleep now, as I pray my Rosary in the dark. And I pray that you let nothing disturb you. Simply be in awe of the wonder of our enduring Faith. 

Restoring the Catholic Church: Dr. Marshall's Infiltration, Receiving on the Tongue, and Veiling

Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Catholic Church from Within, by Dr. Taylor Marshall, will be released May 31. I've been following Dr. Marshall's YouTube show, "TnT," co-hosted with Timothy Gordon. These guys shoot straight from the hip about all-the-things surrounding the ongoing crisis in the Church. The goal of this book is to provide an explanation for what and who led to the events and revelations related to the 2018 "summer of shame." Last summer exposed for the world a systemic sex abuse scandal involving the highest levels of Church hierarchy and reaching back many decades. 

How can the laity help to heal and restore the Body of Christ? I'm awaiting Dr. Marshall's recommendations, but I've already begun to implement small steps of my own. Many Catholics have been calling for a return to tradition for some time, especially in the liturgy of the Mass. Some are fortunate to have regular access to the Tridentine Mass, or Traditional Latin Mass, and have been spiritually edified by what they feel is a more reverent worship of God. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI re-instituted this pre-Vatican II form of the Mass while he was still the acting pope. He asked that the faithful refer to this as the Extraordinary Form. (The 2nd Vatican Council was held from 1962-1965.)

The Ordinary Form of the Mass, instituted after Vatican II, is the one most available across the world and is spoken in the vernacular languages. It's often referred to as the Novus Ordo. Unfortunately, division has been created by liturgical abuses in the Ordinary Form and by those who prefer one form over the other, with very vocal protests. I won't go into the reasons for the debate here, but you can read all about it on the Internet. Do be aware that there's a lot of misinformation out there. 

One approach to bridging the gap is to return, even if only on an individual basis, to more traditional practices in both worship during the Mass and in private devotions. Near to where I live, the Extraordinary Form is only available once a month, at a parish in an adjoining county. I've been to it a couple of times, but my family has always attended the Ordinary Form otherwise. Even with a guide to follow the Latin with English translations, I was honestly lost during the Tridentine Mass. I plan to go again soon so I can make a better evaluation of the differences between the two forms.

Last Sunday I began to receive the Eucharist on the tongue rather than in the hand, and to make sure that I'm in line to receive from either the priest or deacon, rather than from lay persons (known as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, who can only distribute the Eucharist in the Ordinary Form). In the Tridentine Mass, the Eucharist can only be received on the tongue and is distributed exclusively by a priest or deacon. Here, only the host (the bread) is available. Both the bread and wine can be received at the Novus Ordo.

I felt a profound difference immediately from receiving the consecrated bread on the tongue. I'd been feeling awkward and uncomfortable receiving in the hand and from a lay person. These practices are allowed in the U.S. and do not desecrate the Eucharist, which Catholics believe is the Real Presence of Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity, in the transubstantiated bread and wine. In order to receive the consecrated wine, doing so from a lay person is unavoidable at the parishes I attend, but it's fine to receive the host alone. And since the wine is in a chalice and isn't directly touched by the Extraordinary Ministers, I'm more comfortable with it. 


Today I wore a head scarf, in the tradition of women veiling, a practice which goes back to the early Church and is a biblical exhortation.  The Church no longer requires women to veil at the Mass, but from what I understand, this was never officially stated. Rather, the requirement was only omitted from an update to Canon Law at some point following Vatican II. My feeling is that women can have a profound impact in their parishes by taking up this devotion in humility to Christ and as role models for the restoration of tradition. I have veiled at other times, and once it brought such great joy to a man who had grown up with women veiling at church. He said to my husband, "You must be so proud of her!" I feel an internal shift toward piety when I wear a head covering at Mass, and I don't think I'll be able to go without it anymore. 

In so many ways our modern society is faltering, failing, and sinking into the abyss as a result of the loss and intentional rejection of traditional values. As the rot in the hierarchy is rooted out, we can return to the roots of our Faith. The solution is not to leave the Church. I converted to Catholicism because I came to believe that this is the one Church founded by Jesus on the rock he named Peter. I believe that in this Church, full of snakes and sinners, the fullest expression of Christian Truth can be found. I believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and I will not be deprived of this spiritual nourishment. Don't let Satan win. Fight in your own little way, until the light you shine becomes irrepressible. 

My goal for this summer is to continue to implement ideas for the restoration of tradition in Catholic worship and with my family in the domestic church, and to create a picture for you of how all this fits with the virtue of simplicity. Please share your own ideas and practices in the comments!

St. Rita of Cascia, patroness of Impossible Causes, pray for us!