In this post I want to summon my fellow Catholics who love the Traditional Latin Mass to a greater appreciation of their obligation to evangelize. I sense that the Traditional Latin Mass has reached its peak in terms of numbers attending, though I admit to having only anecdotal evidence. Further, I believe that not only are the numbers attending the Traditional Latin Mass not growing, they may begin to decline if we are not more urgent. I would like to begin with a story from my early priesthood to make a general point, and then apply it to us who love the tradition.
Some years ago when I was assigned to a parish, the archdiocese explained to me that one of my first tasks would be to close the parish school. This school had been part of an inner city consortium of Catholic schools for some 10 years. Despite raising tens of millions of dollars through fundraising, sharing resources, and trying every conceivable way to attract more students, most of the 14 schools in the consortium were more than half empty and the money supply was simply exhausted. A study was conducted and a commission decided that the schools with low enrollment would have to be combined into regional schools, which were no longer parish-based.
Read Full Article »