The Average Catholic Parish has become an Idiom.

The Modern Catholic Church/Parish saw Vatican II as a catalyst for modernization and reform. Instead of reawakening the Church here in America by "cutting away some of the old dead leaves" they have instead "thrown the baby out with the bath-water." Now this isn't true for every Parish, but for many this has been the case.

 

Both of the above phrases in red are IDIOMS. That is exactly what many American Catholic Parishes have become... Idioms. The definition of an idiom is:

1. an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket or hang one's head, or from the general grammatical rules of a language, as the table round for the round table, and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics.
2. a language, dialect, or style of speaking peculiar to a people.
3. a construction or expression of one language whose parts correspond to elements in another language but whose total structure or meaning is not matched in the same way in the second language.

It is a little more than a figure of speech. The words of an idiom form a collective unit, they fossilize themselves to a very distinct and specific meaning. The other major feature of an idiom, is that it is usually only understood by those who speak that language and understand the particular idiom, outside of its particular "literal" context. In other words, one cannot necessarily derive the meaning of the idiom, from the words used to construct it. It is meant to be illustrative or metaphoric, but to a specific group that is aware of its meaning.

 

So how is the average Catholic Parish an idiom? Well... what do you see and experience when you walk into many modern day Catholic churches? I mean the ones built post 1965ish. What do they look like? What do they resemble? What are the floors: marble, tile, carpet? What does the Altar look like? What is the experience at Mass like? The prayers, Music, the "full and active participation" of the faithful? What does it sound like, smell like, look like, feel like?

 

Think about how you would DESCRIBE a Mass to someone that has never been to Church before. The sights, the sounds, the feel. What would you tell them they should look for, expect to see, need to know? Imagine you are a "Religious Real Estate" agent, and you are "Selling" your Church, Mass included, to someone who is willing to join the church with the best "overall offer".... What would be your key selling points? (The answer here isn't location, location, location.) What makes a Catholic Parish - Authentic?

 

How would you explain the difference between a Catholic Church & Mass and a service at a Protestant Mega-church?  What are the benefits of your parish? How about a smaller evangelical church? A Lutheran or other main-line Protestant Church? Is it getting harder? Are the lines blurring? Try doing the same with a Church and Parish built in the '30s, '20s, or possibly even earlier? How do your answers change? What are the differences now? Is it easier to explain the differences?

 

I think for many of this... we don't have good answers. The lines between Catholic Parishes and Protestant Parishes have blurred horribly in many areas... and unfortunately, a lot of the time in those areas the Protestants do it better. The few areas that Catholics continue to outshine the Protestants in, doctrine, rubrics, and theology have unfortunately been "abandoned" as not important.

 

The Catholic church decided that the best way to modernize the Church, was to follow the protestant model. They saw the growth of many evangelical churches, that could pop-up, recruit new followers, and becomes models of success. So they decided to "speak" to Christians, and "seekers" of Christ in idioms. Rather than building on the solid foundation of tradition, community, and doctrine they went another route. This idiom route can only be described as gimmicks. We stopped seeing Cruciform churches and started seeing the Church-in-the-round. We went from marble floors,  to carpet. Pews and kneelers to upholstered seating. We went from hand carved altars that rose to the heavens, to video screens and flying banners and beams. Pillars were abandoned for long beams allowing for vaulted (not cathedral) ceilings. Organs were abandoned for guitars, keyboards, drums, and rain-sticks. Why these changes? They didn't have theological under-pinnings, in fact many of the changes required for an alteration or even complete abrogation of certain beliefs and practices, just to conform these new features to Catholic teaching.

 

Was this intentional? Yes, I believe it was. I believe that the "powers that be" in the American church were looking for a way to "spice up" the average American Parish that they chose this route, because it looked "new and exciting." Was it malicious? For the most part no, I don't think it was. I think that there was an element of Cultural depravity attached to it, but I don't think in large part that there was some malignant strain of theological belief that found some chink in the armor, and was trying to bring down the traditional theology and doctrine of Catholic belief. I do believe that there are some that have grown into this modernist-progressive mindset, but I think it was a slower process than some seem to forwarding.

 

So why do I say it is an idiom? Well.. because we have become a metaphor of protestantism. The Authentic nature of Catholicism can no longer be clearly seen in many aspects of the Average American Parish. Sure, we have something resembling the Mass most days, but is the Parish, the Church, and the community Authentically Catholic? Let me ask it this way, do you know that it is Catholic because of what it appears to be, or because of what it says it is? If I say I am a New York Yankees fan, but you catch me wearing a Red Sox hat, am I really a Yankees fan? I mean, deep down at the intrinsic "Absolute Truth" level a Yankees fan? This is where the idiom part comes in.

 

You see, the Catholic Church, and Parishes likewise, used to be an AXIOM. The definition is:

a self-evident truth that requires no proof. Universally accepted, as true. Unmistakable as to its meaning or truth.

Self-evident. Requires no proof. It is, what it appears to be. Isn't this what a Catholic Church should be? Self-evident? Shouldn't a person be able to go into a Catholic Church and sense that it is Catholic? Shouldn't it be authentic and true? Why then do we appeal to people in idioms, when we want them to speak in axioms? Why have parishes molded themselves in the image, of exactly that which they are opposite of? Why do they quest for Truth, yet do so in the mask of something else?

 

Think back to the thought experiment I proposed earlier. Should we not be able to talk about things such as statutes, icons, golden consecrated vessels, embroidered vestments, incense, the Mass, Sacredness, worship, chant, Authentic music, and a slew of other things that clearly set apart the Church from other Christian denominations? Shouldn't we seek to be less like them, as opposed to more like them? Isn't the Catholic Church supposed to be counter-cultural?

 

When will Catholic Parishes give up this gimmick and revert back to the Authentic teachings of the Church? When will we stop speaking in idioms and reclaim the AXIOM? When will we, the faithful demand this from our Parish? When will we step-up and commit ourselves to providing what we can to the Authentic nature of the Church.

 

• Go to Daily Mass.
• Go to Mass early - say the Rosary.
• Go to Adoration.
• Make your sons be Altar Servers.
• Start and apologetics apostolate in your Parish.
• Volunteer to host fellowship parties or bbq's at your house.
• Invite a priest to dinner, bring them dinner, have them out to a social event, or even just speak to them casually.
• Start a special collection to buy a statue for an empty alcove at your Parish.
• Find out what "needs" the priest or Parish have and start a collection amongst your friends for an "Authentic" version of those needs.
• Join your Pastoral/Parish council.
• Join the groups at your Parish.
• Take up your sword and fight for your faith and Christ!

I have always said we are in a BATTLE, a real WAR against evil. One of the strongest weapons the devil has is complacency and sloth. Do not let him win. It is so disheartening to hear from my protestant friends all the amazing things they do at their Church because their folks are on fire. All they have are four walls and the Word. We have centuries of tradition, custom, and the TRUTH of theological doctrine and we have to used protestant-esque idioms to "attract" our faithful....

 

When will our Parishes give up these idiomatic gimmicks... and return the Axiom of Authentic Catholicism?

 

 

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