Protestantized Catholics

I’ll first point out that the purpose of this post is not to bash protestants but to point out that many Catholics would make good protestants and that’s not really a good thing, because if your Catholic, be Catholic and go all the way otherwise it doesn’t make any sense.

Over the years as I have grown and become more knowledgeable about my faith I have noticed that many Catholics are moving to a ‘newer feel good Catholic church’ known as the charismatic movement. And although I will go into that more deeply in a later post what I really want to talk about it the way that the Church is taking a turn and not for the best unfortunately into becoming more protestant which can probably be traced back to the charismatic movement.

I myself am not a traditionalist but am just a Catholic who does his best to follow the teachings of the Church. I have taken notice recently at a disturbing change in the Church and that is manly that we are substituting our Catholic culture for the protestant culture. Paul did a post about the art in the Churches now-a-days and how it is either completely absent or is ugly or is pleasing to the senses only and is not very meditative. We see this trait in protestant churches, either they have no art because they say that it’s distracting or they have art that’s very modern and plan, just for decoration, not for a person to venerate or to meditate on. Many people may argue that its easer then for a person to convert because its closer looking to the church that they just came from. Hmmm… I don’t know about you but to me that’s stupid reasoning; most people convert because they found something, The Holy Eucharist. Our priests and bishops must recognize that we must have buildings that reflect that.

This problem is also infecting our religious education, not only in CCD classes but in the general knowledge about what people know. How does one connect this with the protestantation problem you may ask? Simple, because our churches are adopting the culture of other churches we start to water down our own teaching. I know a bunch of people that don’t think that little kids should know anything about Hell. So, then you’re saying Our Lady was wrong when she showed the children at Fatima a vision of Hell, and then because Mary’s will is the will of God then God is wrong, then if God is wrong you are the only one right… wait a minute… you are then placing your-self above God, I wonder how lightly God is going to take that on judgment day. Another example is that last month I was in a class to become a Eucharistic minister (I no longer am, it’s not my place) and a question was asked. “What about people who are in a similar situation to the soldiers that were trapped on small islands for months when we invaded Japan, could they then offer they’re own mass if they have bread or what ever, because I hardly think that God would care then.” What the heck was he thinking, the priest then explained to him that if there are certain things you can only do if you are married than there are only certain things that you can do as a priest the, the two sacraments are very different. I found my-self thinking, ‘Man how can you embarrass you’re self like that and not care.’ This is a man who I often wonder why he is Catholic.

Probably the biggest thing that happened to make the Church more protestant is the music!!! I went to an alter boy appreciation in my diocese and during the mass they had this band with a guitar, drums, tambourine, ect for the mass. Before the mass even started he was introducing the band members (like they do at some concerts) and at the drummer he said, “… and this is Bob on the drums, where they (drums) belong, in the Church!!” does this sound like a jab to you or is it just me!? His name wasn’t really Bob by the way, I just don’t remember his name. Then they started playing and the mass started. Durring the consecration I was trying to meditate on the passion and the crucifixion, but I couldn’t do it. After the mass I did my thanks giving and was thinking what Our Lord and Our Lady would have thought, rather, did think about the mass, I came to the conclusion that I’m sure that Jesus wasn’t head banging on the cross or was rockin’ out on the cross. This answer came to me when I went to a mass at the friary a couple days later, and everyone who goes there knows how beautiful and reverent the mass is. There we sing a mixture of Gregorian and traditional hymns and if you are a person who dosen’t know what a mass without a guitar sounds like you should make a visit, it’s beautiful. And how is this and protestantization connect? Because protestant’s don’t have the Eucharist and thus make they’re praise through mostly song. Don’t get me wrong some of it does sound good but come on, we are Catholic, we have our own way of singing to God; you don’t need to go to another source. The mass is the same sacrifice that happened on Calvary, the only difference is that there is no blood, there is no other difference!!! Let me ask you something, if you were there during that first mass and saw Jesus barley recognizable because of his wounds (The Passion of the Christ went easy on the way he looked by the way, in the movie I don’t think that he was scourged more than 120 times all together), would you be at the foot of the cross with your guitar and your drums next to Mary, St. John, and St Mary Magdalene who where crying so much that there eyes were swollen, and start to play a song. Or would it be more appropriate to be singing the Salbat Mater, or to just kneel in deep prayer?

I will have a future post on music so for now I won’t go too deeply into it but I think that the change in the music plays a big role in the protestantized Catholic Church. We are Catholic not protestant, please act it. And again if you are a protestant this post is not picking on you in any way but is simply telling Catholics to straighten up and be themselves.