Loss

Our Parish has been experiencing the devastating consequences of poor financial decisions - decisions made over a decade ago, even longer. One consequence is that Parish property is being sold, including the house where our retired Canon Emeritus and his wife lived for many years.

Unfortunately, while trying to deal with the loss of property, the loss of the Mass the way it "used to be", and the loss of membership over an unrelated (at least, not directly related) matter, some long-time members are complaining that this Parish no longer practices the catholic faith.

What they have confused, in my opinion, is faith and practice with form and music. The Mass music and hymns are not what these parishioners are used to. Personally, I enjoyed the Gregorian chant used for much of the Mass, but it was very difficult for newcomers to learn. The hymn selection was generally identical from year to year - beautiful hymns, but the 1940 hymnal contains a great selection of music.

The basic catholic faith, and the practice of that faith in our Parish, has not changed. Some of the external adornments of that practice have changed. How does one convince a person that the faith is intact, even if the presentation is different from that which he remembers from his youth? I suspect that few can be swayed; especially if they have the mistaken conviction that they are defending the church from heresy.