Traditionalism, Pride and Elitism?
From what I understand, many who are afraid of the rise of traditionalism or restoration believe that these things build elitism and pride.
Whenever anything becomes an ideology or idol and becomes more important than God in a persons life it leads to this. This is true for both orthodoxy or modernism.
I can only speak for myself and many people I know when I say that the beauty and truth of the traditions of the ancient Church; whether that be fidelity to the teachings of Sacred Scripture, the ancient liturgy that fashioned saints or the rich devotions and Holy days, have helped me walk the narrow path that leads to life. They haven’t led me to pride but rather to humility.
I can’t walk this path in my own strength. I need Christ through all the sacraments and the fullness of His Holy Church. I need the Grace they bestow or I stumble.
Rather than leading to pride, the traditional examins humble me and lead me to real contrition. Contrition leads me to repentance and compassion. The Ad Orientum of the Mass leads me to reverence. The devotions, prayers, saints and Holy Days help me walk daily with Our Lord, especially when life circumstances and the pull of culture make me feel confused and alone.
We are saved by Jesus but sanctification is a process and Jesus gave us His Church to shepherd us through it.
We can’t hope for world peace, selfless love and the kingdom on earth without the inner conversion of individual hearts to Christ. The Church should be a catalyst for continual, lifelong inner conversion of souls just as it always has been.
The soul is nourished and polished by both edification and conviction. We are given both in Sacred Scripture. The Church in its fullness is a reflection of this. It also tells us clearly what is and isn’t pure in God’s sight. Impurity offends Gods because it harms the dignity and beauty of the human soul which is beloved of God. He made the human soul with such great Love and has planted the Church as a citadel to guard it.
To be saved is to believe in Jesus to the point where we follow Him. To believe in Him is to Love Him because He Loved us first. To Love Him more than our own lives is to walk in the path of salvation.
The Church represents Christ to God’s people, as Saint Paul says it has to be faithful and true to its own traditions, and the spirit of The Gospel. (2 Thessalonians 2:15) (2 Corinthians 11:4)
The Church must deepen this Love in our souls ever more profoundly. The ancient Mass and the ancient Church bear the precision, simplicity and complexity of these truths. They also communicate these truths, often without words, to the innermost soul.
I want to be a child in my Father’s arms. I want to simply believe the Bible in its fullness and walk after my Saviour in His likeness. The ancient Church doesn’t drive me to elitism, rather the fullest communion, with God, and other souls.
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