Today vs. Yesterday: Observations From An Old Guy

Recently I received a very nice note from Anne, who is the current chieftain of Catholic365. She picked up that a few years ago I was a regular contributor to this website and invited me back to contribute again. After ‘pondering’ it over, praying about over a Rosary (a daily occurrence), I decided, good idea. This bald, gray beard old guy of 68 may just be able to come up with a piece every month or so that might interest someone. After all, I’m old, grumpy, have had a lot of experiences, some good, others not so good, and have come up with some conclusions. I guess that is fitting, because when you get old you are allowed to be opinionated, so I guess I’ll give some of mine.

First, I do have a story. I am, as previously mentioned, 68 years old. I am retired from making legal decisions for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which I started employment at the age of 48. Prior to that, I worked as an underground Coal Miner, a truck driver, worked in the financial services industry, and instructed adults with mental and physical handicaps. I’ve worked with tough guys, worked with the vulnerable handicapped, and had folks come before me while adjudicating legal cases with about as many stories and bs excuses as you can think of. Some of them were rather creative, actually, and I probably should have awarded some sort of points for them. But you’ve got to follow the letter of the law, and that is what I did.

Raised Catholic, I always knew the reality of the faith (the good sisters at St. Brigid School in Meadeville, PA were responsible for that), and that knowledge never left me. I drifted from the faith, as many young folks do, but by the grace of God it never got too far in my rear-view mirror. I finally returned to the faith in the mid eighties, and at the age of 47 I decided to stop listening to what others said about our faith, and decided to find out myself. So, I decided to enroll at Mt. Aloysius College, a Catholic school in Cresson, PA, and over the next several years earned a degree in Pastoral / Theology. Now, if any of you guys with college aged kids want and education, go back to school with them. That alone is an education. The impetus for doing that was a brain tumor that was found during a head on traffic accident. It was found by chance, and had to be removed immediately. That accident was a blessing, but it sure didn’t seem so at the time. I was on the operating table for 9 hours, and it got kind of dicey. During the time on the table, I had some experiences I will never disclose. But, I did come out of it a very different man, a better one, with an absolute devotion to Our Lady. More on that another time.

Now, for the meat of this particular piece. One of the courses we had to take when I went back for my degree was on Vatican II. We spent a whole semester on it. I found myself agreeing with the priests that it is a magnificent document. In fact, many of the administrative changes that Martin Luther and others advocated in the 16th century were addressed here. Now, I am no apologist for Martin Luther, but beyond his erroneous theological concerns, he did have some valid beefs. The selling of indulgences was absolutely one of them. This addressed so much of that.

It also reaffirmed the fact that as followers of Christ we are called to serve, and that includes the clergy. That call to service is one made to all of us. Don’t forget, I grew up prior to Vatican II. At that time, the priest was the BOSS, on everything. You did not participate in Mass....you went and watched Father celebrate Mass. You did not know what was going on, because it was in Latin, and you were not involved. St. John Paul II was one of the architects of it, and he had recognized that the level of education and sophistication of the average parishioner had reached the level where a modification was needed. It was the right document at the right time in history.

Now, here’s my rub. So many folks blame all the ills of the Church on Vatican II. It’s easy. It’s so easy to talk about the good old days, where all the clergy were like Bing Crosby’s Fr. O’Malley in “Bells of St. Mary’s”, things were simpler. And, yes, there were a lot of good priests and pastors then. And, there still are. Some are better than others. Some are excellent homilists. Some are not. That’s OK. The sad affair of the sex scandal that reared its head during the 80s through 2002 shook the Church, and it is widely blamed on Vatican II. But, as an old guy, I will clue you in on something: that misbehavior has always been around. Those stories were around when I was a kid, prior to Vatican II. And, that is a fact. There have been McCarricks around before, and sadly, there may be again. As any organization that is staffed by fallible, flesh and blood people, those situations are going to arise. One just has to look at the history of the Church, and even some characters that we had as Popes confirm that, as you study them. Still, the Church has NEVER erred on her teachings. NEVER. That’s what Christ promised when He set the Church up. “The gates of hell will not stand against it”. But, He was talking teachings.....not personalities. It would seem that so many fail to remember that.

Now that I’m opining, and on a roll, the striking thing is the fact that so many Catholics seem to mix up politics with theology. Now, folks seem to fail to realize that the Pope is a pastor. Not a politician. Every day I see articles by fellow Catholics frying the Holy Father. Now, I am a pretty conservative guy, but I try to separate politics from theology. Of course he reaches out. He should. That is his job. The Pope is also from a socialist leaning country, which does effect his secular political view. It does to each of us. If one wants to take the time to read the history of Latin America in his younger days, perhaps you’d understand. The governing bodies in his part of the world were extremely cruel and harsh. I remember those days pretty well. For a while, the fishermen who made their living fishing the waters could not fish off the coast because of the human bodies floating in the shore line. If you got out of line, or mouthy, or felt that it was unfair, you disappeared and that is where many wound up. Now, do I think the Holy Father does some puzzling things? I do. Do I think the Holy Father is somewhat ham handed and does not have the sophistication in dealing with the media as JPII did? Yes, I do. I think he gets himself into a lot of controversies that could be avoided. I do think he allows himself to be set up. But, the fact is, that He has NOT changed the teachings of the Church. He cannot. He never will. That’s where the faith in the papacy comes in. It works just as Christ set it up to. And, it must be remembered that the Pope is the head of 1.3 Billion Catholics, a small number who live in the USA. I honestly don’t think US politics is the number one priority of the Vatican. It is to many Americans, and I get that, but you’ve got to remember the world wide picture.

Lastly, in this first article I’ve written in a few years, I’m going to make this observation. One of the most successful things Satan has accomplished, in my opinion, is to cause in fighting among the faithful. Many folks are divided into two camps, the Ordinary Mass camp, and the Novus Ordo camp. Personally, I like both of them. But it seems a lot of folks seem to be focusing on how other lovers of God hold their hands during the Our Father, and whether or not there are female altar servers. I don’t mind either way, if the chair of Peter says OK, then it’s OK. We are there to unite ourselves with the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, which we do at every valid Mass, whether Novus Ordo or Latin. Or, even Byzantine, or Maronite. We need to focus on that, not on what the guy down the pew is doing.

I’ll get into further discussion later on. My ‘specialty’, strength if it were, is Catholic moral decisions, so a lot of stuff will go there.

Keep praying. Keep faith. Totus Tuus Maria.