By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
“The Lord is risen, Alleluia!” A most blessed Easter season to you and your family.
Only the Lord knows what He wants to accomplish with our obedience, and we must trust Him to see His will through to the end, while asking only for the grace that we remain faithful in doing His will as we intend to do what the Church does. Let me give you a practical example of what I mean by this.
As some of you may know, after over 15 years on active duty in both the Army as a combat arms officer and in the Navy as a priest, I continue to serve in the Navy Reserves as a chaplain. A few summers ago I did active duty for training over several weeks in Alaska, where I celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass daily.
I received a powerful message from a Navy chief petty officer who got back in touch with me via Facebook after attending those Masses pretty faithfully in Alaska. As he makes clear in his message, he knew little about the Catholic faith and even less about its traditions as they existed prior to the ferment of the 1960s.
I am sharing his message in full because it is wonderful testimony, which I am sure will move you as it did me, but also because it bursts some long-held stereotypes and shibboleths about our Catholic Tradition and, specifically, the use of the Latin language in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass:
“I am not sure if you will remember me or not, but hopefully so, at any rate I am HMC [Name Withheld] and I served with you in Mertarvik in 2013.
“If you recall, I attended Mass just about every day for the two weeks that you were there. This time stands out for me because I thoroughly felt at the time, and still do now, that I was participating in true worship of our Lord. I am a Christian, of that I have no doubt, but from a Southern Baptist tradition. So attending Mass was a new and unusual thing for me. That it was the Traditional Latin Mass made it even more foreign and intriguing for a guy from Texas Baptist roots. Out of my comfort zone, to be sure.
“But that time has continued to resonate in my heart. My evangelical upbringing and years of being ‘saved,’ as we call it, and being part of a local church and much involved in personal prayer and Bible study daily for 32 years has been, not shaken, but changed in course maybe. My prayer for clarity and discernment and increased and focused Bible study is steadily leading me, much to my chagrin at times, to Rome, as it were. It inspired a study of the Church Fathers and their writings. These just further convince me that there has been something lacking.
“That being said, there are still some hurdles that I have a tough time with, being a good Baptist boy, which you can imagine before I tell you: Mary, the Pope, Purgatory, praying to saints. These are things very counter to what I have known, and difficult things that make my head spin and my heart doubt. Nonetheless, I still have that persistent pull in my heart and soul toward something much more that I have been missing out on. Our church services at my home church that my wife and children and I have attended for over 20 years seem generic and missing of something deeper and richer. I am convinced that communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is something much more than a commemoration or remembrance.
“I now am convinced in my heart that, without a doubt, it is the true Body and Blood of our Lord. Sacrilege for a Southern Baptist! Why, that goes against everything. But it remains.
“So, all that to say: I ask for your prayers as I continue on this walk.”
Certainly worth offering in full, this man’s description of his inner journey is testimony to the power of the Church’s ancient tradition to make converts to the faith. Latin not only is not off-putting to those who are strangers to the Church and the faith, but rather serves to testify effectively to its divine origin in Christ 2,000 years ago.
In this challenging time for faith, and as our bishops are emphasizing the New Evangelization, should we not make use also of the power and beauty of the fullness of our Tradition to win new souls for Christ? When we struggle in parish life to find ways to convert our own Catholics to regular practice of the faith out of loving obedience to God, should we not learn from the experience that a Southern Baptist teaches us to know and make full use of our own Tradition, which in many cases was not faithfully handed down?
Encourage your parish priest to begin studying the Traditional Latin Mass in order to offer it regularly as part of a comprehensive program to reach a greater number of souls.
And now a note to parents this week about evangelization within the family:
Over the years I’ve noticed a trend of abusing options offered by the Church to get sacred things such as Mass and sacraments “out of the way.” Why go to Mass on Sunday when you can go on Saturday evening and “get it out of the way”? Why wait for your child’s Confirmation in ninth grade in your own parish when you can go to the parish next door and “get it out of the way” in eighth grade? The only problem with this attitude or habit is that your children may likely follow this logic to its natural conclusion and improve on your own example by discontinuing practice of their Catholic faith entirely in order to “get it out of the way.”
Give God the priority that He deserves as God. If you can go to Mass on Sunday, then do not abuse the Saturday vigil Mass option which is offered for the sake of those who are unable to go on Sunday because of work or travel. Also put faith in the pastoral program and leadership of your parish and trust in the spiritual fruits it will bring in the spiritual life of you and your family.
God love you and praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.
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(Follow me on Facebook at Reverendo Padre-Kevin Michael Cusick and on Twitter @MCITLFrAphorism. I blog occasionally at mcitl.blogspot.com@gmail.com and at APriestLife.blogspot.com. You can email me at mcitl.blogspot.com@gmail.com.)
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