I am writing today about a topic that has been on the blogs lately (Thank you, Seattlite and others!): finding like minded traditional Catholics.  I do feel like I am on an island in my faith, as many of you probably feel in your respective places.  I think that, in order to find other traditional Catholics, the first step is to pray.  (As a side note, I haven't had the time for 15 decades of the rosary on virtually any day as I had hoped.  I am lucky to get my 5 decades in!)  Pray that God will guide you to like-minded Catholics.  But then, of course, we must act as if everything depends on us even as we pray as if everything depends on God.  So, in my case, I got in touch with the person who takes care of the SSPX chapel in my town.  He told me that he was looking to start a men's group, just a few guys getting together after mass to talk about traditional issues as well as spiritual issues in our lives.  So, one possibility is to talk with your local priest or curator at your local church or chapel.  Another is simply to go up to people after mass, if there are coffee and donuts after mass that is one great time to meet new people.  Try to get to know them, they may be in the same shoes as you are! (On that Traddie island)  Or ask the priest to make an announcement for you at mass, and invite people for a suitable activity - even just saying the rosary one evening together during the week, as a group.  It may be better not to limit yourself to meeting a certain kind of traditional Catholic for fellowship, of a certain age or gender.  Since we are sorta so few and far between, at least on the surface, it may better to be more inclusive in your search.  I feel like I'm doing a poor job in this blog, because I recognize how hard it is to find traditional Catholics.   I think of that story of Elijah in the bible where he tells God that he is the only true Israelite left, and God tells him something like "I have reserved 5000 men who have not knelt to Baal"  I know the analogy isn't perfect, but it bears a little resemblance.  In any case, I welcome anyone else's ideas to finding Traditional Catholics!  Peace and God bless!

October has arrived, and with it the Month of Mary and her rosary.  I don't know if you can relate to this, but I have started and stopped and been inconsistent in my rosary recitation for quite a long time.  Fortunately, Our Lord is a patient God, and Mary is a patient Mother!  I have decided, and I encourage you to join me, to rededicate myself to praying this wonderful prayer.  And something inspired me to try and pray 15 decades everyday, not just 5.  I figure anyone who prays 5 decades of the rosary everyday is doing a wonderful thing.  But if you can somehow manage, I have discovered how amazing it is to be reflecing on the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Mary's involvement throughout the day.  We only have one life to live, and I figure I can eliminate watching football for a large part of my Sunday, and get it in, and certainly Saturday too in between chores.  And even during the week, when I wake up I am going to try and say the joyful mysteries, the sorrowful when I get home with my duties for the day, and the glorious in the evening instead of watching news on TV.  I will continue writing on the rosary this month, but I leave you with my prayers for Our Lady's protection and support in all your temporal and spiritual needs.

I pray that this summer (for those in the Northern Hemisphere!) finds you happy and joyful.  I want to write today about the difficulty of separating oneself from what one has known, or thought they knew, all their life.  I am referring to someone raised in the Catholic Church, going to Novus Ordo masses from the time they just learned to walk, raised in Catholic schools perhaps but unexposed to Tradition.  I remember making friends with a Traditional Catholic for the first time just a few short years back, and I began learning all of these things about Modernism and Vatican II's loopholes and the Protestantation of the Church.  It has taken me awhile to get to the point where I decided to attend SSPX masses.  The difficulty for me is not in that I doubt Tradition or the SSPX preisthood;  I believe in it with my whole heart.  But to leave the mainstream and friends behind is, frankly, painful.  It is painful to leave what is comfortable and familiar.  The Latin mass is still a little strange to me, and most Catholics in my town are by no means traditional.  I had arranged to try and start a young adult group in my town, and was planning on being a part of a Diocesan beach mass and picnic, when I realized that I couldn't reconcile my beliefs with having a mass on the beach.  The Catholic mass is sacred, the most sacred form of worship there is this side of heaven, and I felt it wouldn't be right having a mass in that setting.  I am disappointed, because I wanted to make friends in my town with other Catholics, and the priest who offered to do the mass is a wonderful person.  But our highest calling is to God.  I realize you can't have it all, I can't have it all, I can't keep myself on the fence in good conscience.  I can imagine how hard it would be for a Protestant or person from some other faith to enter the Catholic church if his/her family and friends were not Catholic.  Yet when God calls, it our job just to trust and obey.    I don't know what the future holds for myself or the Church, but I believe in the words of Christ, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against (the Church)".  Our job is to follow where God leads us, and I personally believe that the SSPX priesthood is helping to preserve the true Catholic faith!  God bless!