A little while ago I read this magnificent plan of action penned by Anthony Esolen entitled 'Reform and Renewal starts with us'.
Please read it:
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2015/reform-and-renewal-starts-with-us and re-read it on a regular basis.
And just in case at some time in the future that article isn't available online, here is a short summary:
"We are no longer living in a pagan world, but in a sub-pagan world. To reclaim our world for God and peace, there is a lot of work to be done and we must begin and do what we can.
* Build new schools, reform old schools, and abandon irreformable ones. Get your children out of sub-pagan schools.
* Restore your parish church and bring reverence back to the liturgy. Get great timeless art, bring back music that can truly be called sacred in both melody and lyrics.
* Acquaint yourself with the proper use of the zipper. Live truly chaste lives according to your vocation in life. Bring back healthy courtship customs.
* Be social. Get some wholesome activities going in the parish that provide fun, prayer and opportunities to serve others.
* Read good books. Be armed with the thoughts of Chesterton, Benedict XVI, Dante and the Catechism.
* Recover the human things. Take time to be with each other as friends, on walks, making music and dancing. Slow down the pace of life and enjoy it.
* Pray like the pilgrim you are. Increase your time in prayer, and keep the certainty of death and your eternal destination in mind.
* Whatever you do, do it as though everything depends on just that. Everyone can do something, and no matter how little that something is, that something is vitally important."
Let us begin. Indeed. But what shall we do?
Here's an idea for the 'Be Social' quest: Have a Friday night supper club.
Most parishes have a hall or somewhere they regularly have functions. Every parish has closet musicians, poets, comedians, singer-songwriters, playwrights, and actors. Bring them together once a month, on the proviso that nothing, absolutely nothing, lewd, suggestive or offensive will be tolerated. Uplifting, wholesome and family friendly is what you want.
Don't charge an entry fee. Even a gold coin donation ($1 or $2) means that a poor or homeless person would feel excluded.
Make it super simple and spiritually beneficial. Yes folks, bread and water only. Bring bread to share. See if a local bakery wants to offload day old bread it can no longer sell. Fast together as a community for this one meal, and make it fun.
Then settle in for an evening of sing-a-longs, recitals, skits, jokes and even a testimony or two. Begin with a prayer and grace before meals. End with a sung Our Father or Salve Regina, and if a priest is present ask him to invoke a blessing upon everyone as they return home.
Begin!
May the patron saints and angels of our parishes intercede for us. Amen.
Please read it:
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2015/reform-and-renewal-starts-with-us and re-read it on a regular basis.
And just in case at some time in the future that article isn't available online, here is a short summary:
"We are no longer living in a pagan world, but in a sub-pagan world. To reclaim our world for God and peace, there is a lot of work to be done and we must begin and do what we can.
* Build new schools, reform old schools, and abandon irreformable ones. Get your children out of sub-pagan schools.
* Restore your parish church and bring reverence back to the liturgy. Get great timeless art, bring back music that can truly be called sacred in both melody and lyrics.
* Acquaint yourself with the proper use of the zipper. Live truly chaste lives according to your vocation in life. Bring back healthy courtship customs.
* Be social. Get some wholesome activities going in the parish that provide fun, prayer and opportunities to serve others.
* Read good books. Be armed with the thoughts of Chesterton, Benedict XVI, Dante and the Catechism.
* Recover the human things. Take time to be with each other as friends, on walks, making music and dancing. Slow down the pace of life and enjoy it.
* Pray like the pilgrim you are. Increase your time in prayer, and keep the certainty of death and your eternal destination in mind.
* Whatever you do, do it as though everything depends on just that. Everyone can do something, and no matter how little that something is, that something is vitally important."
Let us begin. Indeed. But what shall we do?
Here's an idea for the 'Be Social' quest: Have a Friday night supper club.
Most parishes have a hall or somewhere they regularly have functions. Every parish has closet musicians, poets, comedians, singer-songwriters, playwrights, and actors. Bring them together once a month, on the proviso that nothing, absolutely nothing, lewd, suggestive or offensive will be tolerated. Uplifting, wholesome and family friendly is what you want.
Don't charge an entry fee. Even a gold coin donation ($1 or $2) means that a poor or homeless person would feel excluded.
Make it super simple and spiritually beneficial. Yes folks, bread and water only. Bring bread to share. See if a local bakery wants to offload day old bread it can no longer sell. Fast together as a community for this one meal, and make it fun.
Then settle in for an evening of sing-a-longs, recitals, skits, jokes and even a testimony or two. Begin with a prayer and grace before meals. End with a sung Our Father or Salve Regina, and if a priest is present ask him to invoke a blessing upon everyone as they return home.
Begin!
May the patron saints and angels of our parishes intercede for us. Amen.