Being a Traditional Catholic is HARD

But it is worth it!

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

Inspired by Pope Francis’ recent out-of-touch statements on Traditional Catholicism and my own life events, I thought I would write a short piece expressing what I think a lot of you are thinking.

Before I continue, please understand that nothing I am going to write here is a “complaint” or a “gripe,” and what I say is not an expression of any personal unhappiness or dissatisfaction.

In any event, being a Traditional Catholic is HARD.

If you are trying to be a good Traditional Catholic (Trad), then you likely have experienced many of the things I have experienced.

You probably drive really far to go to Mass, or you have had to do that many times before. Maybe you don’t have to drive far, but you probably have to go to a TLM at 3:00 p.m. in some parish that permits Trads to hang around for a couple of hours, just as long as they don’t upset the New Springtime going on in the parish.

It is likely that you have had to pull your weight in a TLM community or mission chapel and procure flowers, perform maintenance, and find a way to raise money. Especially if you attend a mission chapel served by the SSPX, then you might know what it is like to volunteer your time to help with full-scale renovations done with a shoestring budget.

Trads of all stripes, not just SSPXers, have to undergo significant social-life transformations, which include ostracization, ridicule, and accusations of being a “pharisee” or being in schism. If I had a nickel for every time I was called a schismatic, well, I would probably have my house paid off.

If you are a lady-Trad, maybe you made the decision to throw out your wardrobe and start fresh with modest clothing. To do this, you likely spent a lot of time in thrift shops and at your sewing machine.

For the men reading this, it is likely that you have done everything in your power to afford your wife the opportunity to stay home with the kids, which has required immense monetary sacrifice. And, for the women who made the decision to go home and be with their children — which isn’t always possible, I know — you probably remember telling your friends and family that you were giving up your career, only to be met with flabbergasted stares and responses.

If you have kids, you have faced another set of difficulties and hurdles.

Let’s be honest about homeschooling for a moment; it is hard, and especially when you have little ones running around, it can seem next to impossible. Not to mention the fact that in many cases, when you told your family you were going to take the kids out of the “normal” schools or never put them in, you had to hear 10,000 times that they were worried your kids wouldn’t “socialize” well.

But, when you don’t have a solid school to send your kids to, then you are in a position where you have to homeschool and there is no other option. You can’t stomach putting your kids in the government school — for good reason — and there isn’t a solid Catholic school nearby. And, even if there is a solid school you can trust your kids with, it might be out of your price range.