Carrie Gress on Nourishing Our Faith Lives

"One of the patterns I have noticed among combox chatter when Latin, litanies and rich liturgy are discussed is the ever-present individual who chimes in with, 'You just want to take the Church back to the 1950s.' This prevalent sentiment in the blogosphere and beyond (I assume it isn't just one person repeating it over and over) seems to imply that Catholicism in the 1950s was bad and anything that came after it is good.

"This 'old is bad, new is good' idea is an odd response given the age of the Catholic Church - it's pretty much older than dirt. The Church is the only organization still standing that witnessed the Roman Empire, the historic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In fact, the five decades from 1960 to the present are not much more than a flash on the timeline of 2000 years of Church history. Much of what exists within the Church, from the Mass to prayer to defining doctrine, happened before 1960.

"But even if we ignore all of these facts, there is still another compelling reason to consider looking back to what the Church offered before the 1960s: simply the reality that the Church knows how to help people become holy. Those of us accused of wanting to dredge up the 1950s (personally, I prefer the 1350s - the Dawn of the Renaissance) aren't simply looking for traditional trappings but to slake the very real thirst for true holiness and union with God."

In a recent commentary, writer Carrie Gress reflected on the importance of nourishing our faith lives in the same spirit with which we take in good food to nourishing our bodies.

To access Ms. Gress' complete post, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Blogs: Carrie Gress: Have You Developed a Fast Food Faith? (17 DEC 15)