ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

When I was 5 years old I went to a Catholic School.  It was the same school my parents had attended and even my grandparents had attended.  Communities in any part of the city of Glasgow never changed much and even the teachers did not live far from the school.  The teachers were all practicing Catholics who were completely devoted to the Catholic Faith indeed one of the reasons Catholic schools in Scotland could admit only Catholic children was that the half hour given every day to religion was taken off the summer holidays so that teachers and children always went back earlier than Protestant schools.  There is an awful lot of rubbish talked by the reformers about the Latin Mass.   People said the Rosary or just sat lost as the priest mumbled on in Latin which nobody understood.   T1!he fact is that we sang hymns at Mass and we also sang the parts the Mass that the congregation sings today.  At the Sanctus we sang Benedictus Qui vent in nominee Domine, Hosanna in excelsis.  And we4 understood the words because  in school the teacher explained them to us.    We also had a teacher at the childrens' Mass every Sunday who helped us and explained what the priest was saying and doing.   But after the war in the late 40's things began to change    these communities were broken up as the people were sent to different housing schemes and the slums they lived in were knocked down.  That warm and cosy community was never replaced and the bond between childrenm parents, teachers and priests was never the same.   New Churches were built but they covered larger areas and whereas in the slums hyou could go five minutes in one direction and five minutes in another to find a Catholic church, Now the distance was greater and even Catholic neighbours could be scarce.   But along with this was the rise of secularism fuelled by people now having luxuries they could not afforded before and during the war.  There was also the growing attack on morals and the sexual revolution.  The Church was not prepared.  Yes, it could teach the commandments but it was unable to demonstrate or argue what effect sin had on the individual and society,  And when the Church itself became secular and accepted adultery and yes, even divorce, the fate of millions of young people was sealed.   They were to grow up to be single mothers, they were to start living together outside marriage, four out of five of such relationships failing after a short time, and the selfishness of using each other for sex outside marriage was to break marriage itself.   At no time in our history has there been such unhappiness among young people.

It was very mu8ch against this background that the Mass was changed from Latin into the vernacular.     Like many Catholics I believed that this was asked for in Vatican II and I had not difficulties at the beginning.  But as more and more Catholics fell away I asked myself why'and that is something still not common in he Church today.  There is almost a fear of asking questions.  It was at a school parents morning I learned that a new Religious Instruction programme contained no mention of the Blessed Sacrament.  Yet it was being highly praised.  I stood up and told those listening that this would destroy the faith of the young people.  When I asked about this Real Presence to catechists taking Holy Communion preparation I was told they were too young to understand it so they would not be taught it even when they were about to receive.    Some parishioners tried to get Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament going and although it was agreed they got no support whatsoever, little wonder in a parish run by reformers.    What had happened is that the meaning of the New Mass was now different from the Latin Mass.   We no longer came to Church to pray for the sins of the world, to offer Christ in Sacrifice, but to adore God and feel good about ourselves.   We had in fact adopted a Protestant service.    The sudden fall in numbers attending Mass almost bankrupted the Diocese.   But the Church was saved by immigration.    And let me say that just once more - THE CHURCH WAS SAVED BY IMMIGRATION.    The fear however is that if there is not a programme in place which teaches what the Mass is and what the Blessed Sacrament is then the children of the immigrants will go the same way as the children of the native population.  There has to be a study of the Latin Mass and why there is so much emphasis on contrition, on the Sacrifice  and on kneeling to receive on the tongue.   The attack on the Blessed Sacrament which led Jesus to be placed away from the people in a side altar or separate room must stop.   A document about Cathedrals and places of pilgrimage was misused here to lead the people astray.   We have to return to the truth again.