Trad Godmother: How to Build a Latin Mass Community

As Francis and his Modernist Minions™ intensify their war on Tradition and the Mass of the Ages, we need to build "catacomb Churches".

From One Peter Five

By Jodi Lacroix

Denver, Colorado is blessed with Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, an FSSP Apostolate which had very humble beginnings, as did all the FSSP Apostolates and other TLM Communities. Many folks are now asking how a small army of Latin Mass lovers built our tiny early community from July of 1996 into a current thriving parish in the Diocese of Denver. While building the Latin Mass community in the 1990s looked significantly different than it does today, a plan based on truth, goodness and beauty will always be appropriate. And because of the unpredictable availability journey for Latin Masses we are currently experiencing, uniting the Latin Mass Clans when going forward is now most appropriate.

Following on the heels of the excellent OnePeterFive article “The International Campaign for the Total Freedom of the Traditional Liturgy” by Jean-Pierre Maugendre, now is the time to build up our TLM Communities. We can think long term, using the seven gifts of God the Holy Ghost as our guide, and prepare the field for surviving our present times, while also preparing our expansion strategies for when access to the Latin Mass will someday open up again throughout the world.

Wisdom

With wisdom, make a list of your assets. Include buildings, homes, land, money, supplies for the Latin Mass, as well as  your personal connections of skilled laborers, clergy, financial, legal, research, technology and tax experts. Set realistic goals and explore your dreams and visions for the future. Practice radical acceptance and surrender. Be extremely flexible and expect frequent situational changes. If you need to drive long distances for the Latin Mass, dedicate your entire Sunday to the Mass and to socializing with community members. Pray daily for wisdom in all decisions that will be made for your Latin Mass community. Pray together as often as possible. The Community that prays together, stays together.

Understanding

With understanding, consistently study your faith. Learn everything you can about the history of the Church, the Lives of the Saints and the Church Councils. Research how the faithful throughout the centuries built up their parishes and monasteries. Find books and articles on traditions, customs, persecutions, hardships and survivals, societies for the care of the Church and for the Altars, the building of the Cathedrals, the Crusades and the formation of the Orders. Generously share Catholic resources with one another. Realize that there will always be more to learn about the Faith. Be at peace: we cannot fully understand most current situations.

Counsel

With counsel, always be ready to tell others about the Latin Mass. Share links to the “Mass of the Ages” movies on YouTube, and to podcasts and articles.  Offer to give tours of your Chapel or Church. Always welcome visitors. Reach out and socialize with each other as much as possible. Form interest groups within your community, such as movie nights, group activities, book clubs, prayer groups, skilled clubs, Catholic centered scouts and educational classes for all ages. Be a witness through your example of the Catholic Faith to family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, strangers, Church visitors and to everyone you encounter.

Fortitude

With fortitude, remember that if you build it for many years, and someone destroys it in a day, build anyway. Avoid discouragement from setbacks and be quick to pick up the pieces and to try another way. Live the questions now, until you can someday live the answer. Accept obstacles and changes of plans with grace and charity. Search for the silver lining in every part of the journey. Look for hope at the first opportunity and meditate on the collateral beauty that will occur because of the disappointments that have happened. Never give up the fight.

Knowledge

With knowledge, build up your network of contacts, and frequently back up your contact lists. Learn who your enemies are and pray for them daily. Keep track of controversial Church issues on social media and through acquaintances, family and friends, while always striving to maintain your state of grace and your peace of soul. Become skilled at using communication channels, such as Signal, emails and various apps. Try to see the relationship to God of all created things and use those things accordingly.

Piety

With piety, attend every Latin Mass and every Latin Mass function that you can. Get to know Traditional Catholics from all over the world. Network at TLM communities, seminaries, conferences, pilgrimages, workshops and tetreats. Stay in a state of grace, frequent the Sacraments and stay clean of heart. Be generous with visiting travelers, seminarians and priests. Stay closely connected to the traditional calendar of the Church in your daily life. Fill your home with Catholic art and sacramentals. Open your home, your heart and your wallet. We can never be more generous than God.

Fear of the Lord

With Fear of the Lord, always work within the channels of the hierarchy of the Church. Practice obedience with charity. Realize that we can’t right away see God’s providence in obstacles and trials. Try not to criticize the Novus Ordo Mass, priests or each other. Attend Adoration frequently. Unite with everyone as best as you can, and set reminders for yourself to guard your tongue, your pen and your writings. Never return evil for evil.

Our present plight for building Latin Mass communities reminds me of a scene from the third movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, “The Return of the King.” Upon hearing about the last battle to save Middle Earth, Gimli the Dwarf proclaims, “Certain death, small chance of success… what are we waiting for?”

As we should always be preparing our souls for our own certain death, and as success can seem at times to be only a faraway dream, there really is no reason for us to wait.

For those of you who have already built Latin Mass communities throughout the years, God bless you for your work. And for those of you who now wish to build a TLM Community, you don’t have to start at ground zero. To pool resources or to seek advice, reach out to me at restorefortheages@gmail.com. Old or new to the journey, let’s band together and continue building our TLM communities for the future of Holy Mother Church and for the greater glory of God.

Godspeed!