Father Rodriguez on the crisis in the Church -- Part 2

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon.
 – Revelation 12:7

Here is the second part of the interview with Father Michael Rodriguez of El Paso, Texas. In this segment he speaks extensively about the traditional Latin Mass and what it can teach us about our Catholic faith.



I think Father Rodriguez makes an important point when he says that "our Catholic faith has been compromised" by the new Mass. After seeing the latest defeat of the Catholic faith in New York with regard to the issue of "homosexual marriage" and the response from the Church leadership, I was faced with my own personal crisis of faith.

And I asked myself, "If a child is raised up in the Catholic Church as it exists today in the United States, will that child learn to love God as Christ commanded with all our heart, soul, strength and mind?" And even from a pragmatic point of view, would that child be equipped to do battle with the secular culture as is required of all Christians in this age in which we live?

What I see is the same thing that Father Michael is saying, which is that the secular culture has crept into the new Mass. And as the culture infiltrates the Mass and dilutes it, so too is our faith diluted. We become more accepting and tolerant of the secular culture in areas where it is in sharp conflict with Catholic teachings.

We have two choices. Either we can abandon the Catholic Church and find a Christian denomination that is standing up against the culture. Or we can demand that the Catholic Church in America truly defend the teachings of our faith.

One way to begin to recapture our faith is to attend the Latin Mass. This does not mean that we must totally reject the new Mass, but it means that we must demand that the Church truly accept its mission of proclaiming the Word of Christ -- especially when this goes counter to what our culture teaches.

 +++

See the first part here:
Father Michael Rodriguez on the crisis in the Church

See also:
Father Michael Rodriguez defends marriage

See the website for San Juan Bautista Catholic Church in El Paso for links to Father Rodriguez's homilies.
http://sanjuan.webhop.org