An Overview of Catholic Traditionalism

Traditionalism, as readers who were have read my first few posts know, is a word I was originally hesitant to use.  It seems to me to have many possible definitions, and that many definitions that are used for it do not match what I or any Traditionalist I know believe.  Thus, I avoided using the term.  However, it seems to me that it is difficult to avoid the term, and that I often have to go to great lengths to describe “the kind of person who thinks that the Traditional Mass is wonderful, that “the old days were better“, and that our society has gone the profoundly wrong way” without saying “Traditionalist”.  Because of this, I have decided to write a defense/explanation of what I believe Traditionalism is, and an explanation of what the real Catholic Traditionalist thinks about several issues.  I hope to leave some room for disagreement on particulars: one may be a Traditionalist and nonetheless be somewhat to the “left” or “right” of me (if I may use such imprecise terms).  I will thus attempt to avoid defining a “Traditionalist” as “myself and others who agree with me”.  Rather, I would like to leave the adjective “Traditionalist” open to as many people as it can legitimately be extended to.

Society

Catholic Traditionalism, I believe, is more a response to modern society than it is to liturgical matters, though liturgy is important and I do plan to address it.  Modern society is over-sexualized, and sexualized in all the wrong ways.  It is greedy and self-interested.  It is based upon a lifestyle which is not sustainable in any sense, whether social or physical.  Furthermore, it is a society which strictly controls its members through mostly invisible means.  Real differences, differences that matter, are crushed while immaterial differences, such as those between races, are “celebrated”.  A Traditionalist is quite simply one who says “no” to this society.  This is not to say that we do not engage with the society at large, or that we wish to separate ourselves from other people.  Rather, it means that we live our own lives with radically different ideals than those of the people around us.

A Catholic Traditionalist must see sexuality as the God-given gift that it is, and utterly reject the sleazy “glamour of evil” that is pornography and semi-pornography (a category which includes much of advertising and the media today).  The Traditionalist furthermore must be dedicated to the construction of a society which is more cooperative than competitive.  Competition has its place, and I am not by any means a Socialist.  However, if we are to have a society which follows Catholic teaching we must be our brothers’ keepers to some extent.  To a Traditionalist, this is best done on a local level: offering Mr. Edwards your help when he is struggling is a far better thing than telling Mr. Edwards how to sign up for a Federal welfare program.  Furthermore, we must break free from the subtle controls of the society around us.  Our society, for all it claims to “celebrate diversity” is quite intolerant of any attempt to differ from the norm in matters of dress, behavior, and way of life.  Parents with several children, young people who faithfully attend Mass, priests who wish to celebrate Traditional Masses, and the like can tell you how hard it often is to deviate from the accepted norms.  A Catholic Traditionalist must be ready to reject certain problematic elements of society.

Religion

All too often in the modern world, religion seems to exist in a vacuum.  Even some devout Christians who attend their church regularly and see themselves as very religious would shudder at the thought of discussing religion with their co-workers.  This is not without reason, as often our culture is hostile to religion.  However, from a Traditionalist standpoint an important change that must be made is that religion must be central to one’s life.  A Catholic Traditionalist, to a greater extent than even many non-Traditionalist-but-orthodox Catholics, will life life as a Catholic.  Catholicism is clearly not just a matter of Sunday mass and Friday abstinence.  To a Traditionalist, however, Catholicism must permeate life.  This does not mean being a “religious fanatic” who talks of nothing but God and the Church.  Rather, it means making certain choices “the way a Catholic would”.  Of course all Catholics should do this, but from my experience Traditionalists have a certain aptitude for this.  Once, my girlfriend and I were walking to Mass at Our Mother of Perpetual Help.  We were walking from a parking lot that was not associated with the Chapel, and thus could have been going to a store or business in the area.  However, we were both dressed for Mass and I suppose had a certain look, that led to several people we did not know who were leaving an earlier Mass greeted us warmly as if they were already our friends.  We somehow all knew why we were there.  This focus on the place of religion in life seems to me to permeate the lives of most Traditionalist Catholics.

Liturgy

Yes, this is the big one.  This is the point where the Traditionalist Catholic really begins to differ from others, where the label comes into play.  A Traditionalist, at least in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, believes that older liturgical practices and rites are good and should not be abandoned.  A Catholic Traditionalist usually is someone who attends or would prefer to attend the Traditional Latin, also called the Tridentine, Mass.  A Traditionalist also encourages the use in the Novus Ordo Mass of traditions such as chant, ad orientem celebration, and Latin.  Because of this focus on older forms of liturgy, we often are seen as quite different, even by orthodox Catholics.  Furthermore, liturgical matters have caused certain structural divisions and schisms, such as the situation of the SSPX.  Because of this and other schisms, Traditionalist are often viewed with suspicion.  However, more important than the fact that there have been schisms is the matter of why Traditionalists love and wish to preserve the old Mass.  It is not out of some sick devotion to our own perfection or our own glorification.  Rather, it is because the Traditional Latin Mass offers a true focus on the Eucharist, gives us real clarity about what is important, and provides us with a solid foundation for our lives.  Perhaps this can be found in some Novus Ordo parishes, and I have experienced wonderful Novus Ordo Masses at some parishes.  However, for the Traditionalist, the TLM is simply a good thing, and its complete survival and acceptance is a good goal.

Conclusion

I believe that by defining and defending such terms as “Traditionalist” we may be better able to argue for and understand our own positions.  Often, I find myself arguing against someone who thinks I believe something quite different from what I actually do believe.  Of course, my definition is far from authoritative, or even complete.  However, it does give my readers a clear view of what I mean when I say that I or somebody else is a Traditionalist.  I would very much welcome comments and suggestions about this entry, as I am attempting to define a movement which consists of many more people than just myself.  I also wish to point out, as a final thought, that to my mind “Traditionalist” is not a divisive term that seeks to make one group of Catholics feel superior to another.  Rather, it is a descriptive term, much like “charismatic” or “conservative” which describes the lifestyle and worldview of a particular group.  Thus, it is not an ideological label nor a slam at others who are not Traditionalists, rather a term that seeks to identify the existence of a real group of people with real views and opinions about the world that are similar in particular ways.

Finally, I would like to end with a request that all readers pray for the greater unity of all Christians throughout the world, and for their conversion to the Catholic faith.