Where did everyone go?

[VeniteAdoremus]

1 hour ago, Starets said:

It has been a while since I posted. I think i started in 2006 or so. I was invited by another former member. I started in my current monastery in early 2013, only expecting to e here for 1 year. I fell in love with the place and its community. I made my solemn profession about 4 years ago now. We lost our two oldest members to Congestive Heart Failure last summer. 

Hi Venite; I remember you fondly. I hope your marriage works out well. I remember a few others as well. 

Starets! I remember you as well, of course! So glad to hear you’re happily professed. And sad to lose two community members so quickly after another, though they might have liked not having to do without each other for too long  

[Cherie]

Are you all on Facebook? I feel like there are so many huge Catholic Facebook groups and so many people know each other from those, that I really wonder if I’m FB friends (or at least FB familiar) with Phatmass people that I didn’t actually realize I knew from Phatmass ... 

[rachael]

who?

[Nihil Obstat]

3 hours ago, Cherie said:

Are you all on Facebook? I feel like there are so many huge Catholic Facebook groups and so many people know each other from those, that I really wonder if I’m FB friends (or at least FB familiar) with Phatmass people that I didn’t actually realize I knew from Phatmass ... 

Soldiers of the Church Militant - Traditional Catholic Group is pretty good. It is a little too American capitalist sometimes, but not as bad as many.

[Lilllabettt]

5 hours ago, VeniteAdoremus said:

Hi Lilllabettt,

You’re right, it can be pretty tough! Especially since he is definitely a better person than me. More loving, less judgmental. He does like being in church fortunately, so he comes with me every once in a while. It doesn’t seem to stick, but that’s not up to me  His family is pretty great, I go to chant courses with his sister etc. (She can’t join our schola because her husband has choir rehearsal on our rehearsal evening but I’m poaching her as soon as her youngest is old enough)

 

Ah but, you didn't answer ... did you fall away before or after marriage? Or did you never believe, holding nothing back?

I do not think your example to your husband will "work" as you are not really proposing Christianity to him, but something adulterated with the "social issue" politics of post Christian Europe. Do you not admit as much? You have exchanged the Catholic understanding and view of the world for the perspective on "social issues" of your milieu? 

Admittedly schola, Gregorian chant, the saints, the history and symbolism of the Church is attractive, but that is not true religion is it?  That is all surface level, window dressing. 

Be careful if you are acting as a music "minister" in the Church (it's not clear if you are or if it's a hobby choir)  As Pope Francis says, better to be an atheist than a hypocritical Catholic - one who mouths or chants the words - but who in their heart does not believe.  To be clear many people struggle with a core tenet of Catholic faith - esp. on marriage, myself included. But struggling to believe or wanting to believe - or even wishing one wanted to believe - is very different from sure, satisfied, proud, unbelief. When someone says "biology contradicts Church teaching" that suggests they are pretty far gone ... maybe you are more conflicted than you let on, in which case I wish you strength for the struggle, which I too share.

But if you are at peace with your unbelief I pray for you a crisis of conscience which will shake the foundations of your life and force you to choose between the true faith and the European way of looking at the world and "social issues". May God bless you with circumstances in which compromise is impossible! I pray also an African enters your life to witness radical Christianity to your husband (and you too!) 

On 11/2/2020 at 7:35 PM, Fr. Antony Maria OSB said:

It's good to see so many familiar names (even though I didn't engage in much conversation with many of you back in the day). My username was originally NazFarmer, and I was part of the small-ish contingent of high-school youth that moved over here back in the day when the LifeTeen forum shut down (I think back in 2006 or so?) I'm pretty sure deus_te_amat was the one who convinced me to join this forum....

I'll still check in here from time to time and make a post every couple of months or so, but I haven't been very active for years. I've since graduated college and joined the Benedictines. I'm now ordained, teaching in our high-school, and serve as the house Master of Ceremonies and Sacristan, along with other odd jobs here and there.

I remember you. Very cool.

[VeniteAdoremus]

This is, I think, the beauty and also the difficulty of being a world church. We all come from different cultures and different religious histories. 
 

I feel lucky that my archbishop has a double doctorate in theology and medical ethics and has written a lot about how we should relate to medical and scientific advances. (His name is Cardinal Eijk, I think you’ll like him.) Some things are eternal and some things change because our scientific vision changes. I’m thinking of stuff like organ donation, which some Christians are still hesitant about because of the resurrection of the body, but I would see as a net positive that has done much good. Regardless of the outcome, I think we should engage with, for example, the fact that some people are biologically intersex. I’m very interested to see how this will influence our view on other topics. I will adhere to whatever is the outcome, even if I disagree. But I’m very happy to live in a place where we can talk about it in the first place. 

[Lilllabettt]

5 hours ago, VeniteAdoremus said:

This is, I think, the beauty and also the difficulty of being a world church. We all come from different cultures and different religious histories. 
 

I feel lucky that my archbishop has a double doctorate in theology and medical ethics and has written a lot about how we should relate to medical and scientific advances. (His name is Cardinal Eijk, I think you’ll like him.) Some things are eternal and some things change because our scientific vision changes. I’m thinking of stuff like organ donation, which some Christians are still hesitant about because of the resurrection of the body, but I would see as a net positive that has done much good. Regardless of the outcome, I think we should engage with, for example, the fact that some people are biologically intersex. I’m very interested to see how this will influence our view on other topics. I will adhere to whatever is the outcome, even if I disagree. But I’m very happy to live in a place where we can talk about it in the first place. 

There are a lot of areas where the deposit of faith is undefined. There is very little teaching on trans or intersex or gender issues. However, some things are defined. Pope Benedict once said, the teaching that women can't be priests is infallibly defined, requires the definitive assent of the faithful, and anyone denying that doctrine "would no longer be in full Communion with the Catholic Church" ie shouldn't present themselves for the Eucharist.  The discussion on women priests, other than to aid those in the struggle to believe, is over. 

The teaching against supporting secular gay "unions" is a prudential judgment one can disagree with, even while assenting.  But when you said you think the sacrament of marriage should be open to gay couples, that is another matter. Do you hope or expect the Church's engagement with trans issues to alter the apostolic teaching on the nature of the Trinity I wonder?  Or the teaching re: physical Ressurection? They are in the same category of untouchable stuff. Discussion of that "stuff" to aid understanding is great, seeking discussion of that stuff to make a change is an indication of broken faith and communion. 

What does it mean, for a Christian to assent or "adhere," as you say, to Christianity? It does not mean saying or doing X "even though I disagree." No. Christianity is not a law based religion, it is a Credo.  Faithful Catholicism is not faithful practice of a law but faithful belief. Belief. We must "agree."

The culture issue comes into play because some cultures make it difficult to embrace Christianity.  I can't imagine what it is like in your country, with the reputation the Church has. No doubt many or even most bishops there, if they do not say so outloud, believe in their hearts that the sacrament of marriage should be opened to gay couples, women should be priests, contraception and abortion are ok. (That is why the Church is dying out in the West because Chistianity is not being proposed by actual Christians - true believers. ) 

I hope you stick around phatmass... pray for me please

 

[The Bus Station]

Hi. dUSt emailed me so I am here to say that I went to a Benedictine monastery and am still there (i.e. here), currently in formation. Thankful for the many good times I had here back in the day. Learned a lot. Laughed a lot. Avoided Winchester a lot.

If anyone knows what happened to T-Bone, I am listening.

[Jaime]

What is this email that people are talking about?  It makes me wonder if I should sign up someplace for an email account.

[AngelofJesus]

Fallen away phatmassers got an email (mine in particular, asking if I am still alive).  If you remained active you probably will not get one. *shrugs*

[PaxCordisJesu]

I also got an email from dUSt asking if I am still alive, and to join the conversation. I've only been on Phatmass for about 3 months, though. Was there another person with a similar name to PaxCordisJesu?

[dUSt]

I'm glad that the ones who replied to the email are still alive. Let us now pray that the thousands of souls who did not reply to the email may rest in peace in their eternal rest.

[ChildoftheCreator]

Wow, flashback from the past. Got the email and decided to drop in. Loved seeing the updates. Haven't posted since 2009, but have visited a few times to see what is going on. Didn't post too much even back then due to my social anxiety disorder (which is now very well managed, thank goodness). Spent a good chunk of my teen years immersed in the online Catholic community and converted in my early twenties. I was one of those transplants that migrated over here (thanks to Deus_te_amat) when the Lifeteen forum was taken down. I really thought that I was going to join a religious order, but the Lord had another plan for me. Now married with a daughter we adopted from a good friend who had been considering terminating the pregnancy. So happy she didn't because we now have our beautiful baby girl.  Mostly am a stay at home parent now, but do work once a week to be able to get out of the house and interact with some adults. I am much more liberal than I was during high school and college - after doing home visiting for the local health department. I still consider myself to be a Catholic - because of my initiation - but not in the same way I was in my early twenties. More one of those dreaded cafeteria/cultural Catholics. I've been enamored with the Church since the age of five and even with all of the drama caused by the scandals and the liberal vs the conservative Catholics, I just can't walk away. Glad to see updates from all of you and wish blessings on you and yours. Pax.

[beatitude]

I'm still around and I regularly read people's posts, especially in VS, but I rarely post myself now. I had an IRL friend who was also a regular here (faithcecelia, whom many people will remember) and I think her death was the point when I gradually started writing less and less here. It felt too sad. By the time my grief was less acute, my life had changed and I had new online avenues for discussion. But as I said, I'm a phaithful reader and I carry everyone here in my prayers.

[NonNovi]

Funny to see what one email can do I haven't been active here for a year now, and the last thing I posted was an update on me leaving the religious life. I might check more regularly now, there are worse ways to pass lockdown time.

Can somebody remove my "catholic religious" tag? I don't need it anymore, it will only cause confusion