Catholic Land Movement -- why men are leaving the Church

[RachelKH]

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 2011
The Emasculation of the Catholic Man
I have been considering how modern events in our world and in the Church over the past century have stripped Catholic Man of much of his masculinity. When a person has clearly perceived duties then it is clear what that person is. However, for Catholic men much of what was once clear has become blurred. It was once said and is still true that man is to be the provider and protector of the family. After WWII we saw women enter the workforce in droves. Soon it was said that  the woman could just as well be the provider for the family. Woman had begun to encroach upon land previously inhabited only by the father. This was only the beginning of the encroachment on man's identity. The acceptance of contraception by our culture was even more destructive than the previous offense. Here was an attack on man's identity at its very core: Fatherhood. Man, made in God's image and likeness, was stripped of his fatherhood and told that he should not have children. Now he was effectively "freed" from the "burdens" of fatherhood. What a terrible offense to his masculinity. Here in our culture man's duties as provider and father were stripped from him, yet this was not the only damage done and it was not the culture alone that did the damage.

Possibly the greater offense was found in the Church with the emasculation of the Liturgy. One of the Cardinals told Paul VI that at that time he had many men, women, and children who assist at Holy Mass even on a daily basis, however, if the liturgical reforms of the Novus Ordo were put into place he was certain that it would be mostly women and children at daily Mass. The emphasis on the Unbloody Sacrifice at the Extraordinary Form  ( Latin Mass) is attractive to men who are called to "Lay down your lives..." The emphasis on the community in the Novus Ordo is not attractive to men as it seems like just another social function they don't really want to attend. Statistics show that the Cardinal was indeed prophetic. Also the emasculation of the priest has been devastating for the Church now riddled with abuse cases. When the duties of the priest that had always been reserved solely for the priest were encroached upon by the laity, the priests identity became fuzzy. Now men and women were welcomed into the Holy Sanctuary. They came up around the altar "Eucharistic Ministers." Women lost their veils and found roles in many parts of the liturgy including parts that were previously reserved for boys as was the case of the altar servers. It is not that these things are inherently evil, but rather when men lose something that had previously been exclusively theirs, they tend to abandon the thing all together rather than share it. Tis the case with altar servers. I remember as a boy when it happened that we boys no longer wanted to do it because girls could do it instead. Man is weak and needs clearly dellineated functions and duties. The priest and the priest alone should touch the holy Body of our Lord Jesus Christ. He and he alone should approach the tabernacle that is the new Holy of Holies. It should be left to the boys to be altar servers because they need to know that it is something manly. The Women in turn ought to veil not because they aren't fit for Church, but because man needs to see them as set apart and reverence them. This is not to mention it draws attention away from the women, which can be a serious problem for men. St. Paul instructed that women ought to be keep silent in Church. I don't know that he said this because women are weak, etc., but rather because men need to know that the Faith is masculine. They need to see that Christ is the image of what man ought to be. They need to observe the Snow White Host raised in silence as the bell tinkles telling them that Jesus their Savior is there before them. Now they should fall to their knees and worship Him. This is the Faith of their fathers not some Kumbaya get together. If man is to regain his masculinity he must seek to restore what has been lost in his own life and in his own family. Herein lies hope for the future of Catholic Man.

Kevin

[Shin]

Yes, in this time, which in many ways is a type of the time of the reign of the anti-Christ, a penultimate time of apostasy that displays in a smaller way what the time of the greatest apostasy will be like..

Men become like women, women become like men, as prophecized.  . their goals become to be like the other, than to be what they are and find fulfillment as men and as women.

In society today.. men who epitomize what good fatherhood is like.. well.. there's a reaction against them, throughout.. and so too, women who are all that good mothers should be.

Thanks be to God for good fathers and good mothers. 

[Brigid]

This is so interesting to me and something I hadn't thought about in a while - but it's so very true! Men's egos need to be the protector and providers and women seem to have stolen that (without realizing what they were doing).

[RachelKH]

and so often we women are wondering why men aren't 'stepping up to the plate' and being the strong protectors and providers they were meant to be and we yearn for and need them to be -- we are 'standing on the plate' in their way, denying them their 'chance to swing'.

[Patricia]

The article makes sense. Give back to the priest what is rightfully his, let him set the boundaries on what happens in the liturgy rather than have the laity all over the altar running the show. For this we need a return of the TLM. The triumph of Our Lady's Immaculate Heart will set everything right.

[Brigid]

The article makes sense. Give back to the priest what is rightfully his, let him set the boundaries on what happens in the liturgy rather than have the laity all over the altar running the show. For this we need a return of the TLM. The triumph of Our Lady's Immaculate Heart will set everything right.

[/b]

That wonderful confidence again!

[Shin]

This post has caused me to revisit the sermons on Sensus Traditionis on Men, Women, etc., the Memphis Conferences in particular.

Thank you Rachel!

I had forgotten a good deal.

Did you ever listen to those Martin?

[Brigid]

I want to listen to those as soon as my new speakers come. They sound good.

[Shin]

They have a lot of insights into why marriages succeed or fail, you know how men will grow cold and inattentive, or wives will feel unappreciated, etc. What makes for maturity, the virtues that are easier for men, or women, the vices, etc.

I took notes on several of them, though not very neatly. I feel if I can gather up some background material of saints' quotations, I might be able to make some pamphlets using them as guides.

I can think of a more than a few marriages if the advice were taken, it would help a good deal. And for singles too, just understanding the family dynamics more, and motivations.

[Brigid]

Singles, at least in my personal experience, feel so left out of so many parish activities (other than Bible study, of course). Could that be a contributing factor to such a poor marriage/divorce rate? How men are treated culturally by women has an effect also.

[Shin]

Singles, at least in my personal experience, feel so left out of so many parish activities (other than Bible study, of course). Could that be a contributing factor to such a poor marriage/divorce rate? How men are treated culturally by women has an effect also.

Well, I think most people have no idea of what the responsibilities of marriage are anymore, and what they really want because they are men and women.

Culturally, I agree completely.  Parish activities, ehhhh..

If we were back in the old days of soldarities, confraternities, rosary societies I'd feel happy as a clam. But most of these fluffy things nowadays just ehk, whether I was married or not.

[Brigid]

We have social activities (things that women like) but what is there for men? Before I converted from the Episcopal church the one I went to had a soft-ball team. The men loved it and so showed up for things they normally wouldn't. How 'bout the Catholic Church having various ball teams, hunting (shooting pictures   ), fishing, or ........ ?

[Shin]

We have social activities (things that women like) but what is there for men? Before I converted from the Episcopal church the one I went to had a soft-ball team. The men loved it and so showed up for things they normally wouldn't. How 'bout the Catholic Church having various ball teams, hunting (shooting pictures   ), fishing, or ........ ?

Ah, well, now you're talking my language.

[Brigid]

We have social activities (things that women like) but what is there for men? Before I converted from the Episcopal church the one I went to had a soft-ball team. The men loved it and so showed up for things they normally wouldn't. How 'bout the Catholic Church having various ball teams, hunting (shooting pictures   ), fishing, or ........ ?

Ah, well, now you're talking my language.

See! 

[martin]

The fishing I love, and don't make the time to do it often enough.
Sitting by a river in a sunny May morning is a little taste of heaven on earth. 

[Brigid]

Trouble with fishing is you have to be so quiet - and waiting for a bite is usually so boring. Now a dance - that's my