Friday, March 29, AD 2024 2:58am

Father Dwyer and Saint Athanasius

[1] I charge thee, before God and Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead, by his coming, and his kingdom: [2] Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine. [3] For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: [4] And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. [5] But be thou vigilant, labor in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill thy ministry. Be sober.

2 Timothy: 4: 1-5

 

This is why many of us these day feel like the red headed step children of Mother Church.  I wrote a post lauding Father Edwin Dwyer in December of last year.  Go here to read it.  The sequel should come as no surprise to veterans of the squalid war against traditional Catholicism waged by all too many clerics in our Church.

 

The bishop of Saginaw, Michigan is removing a priest from his parish for his promotion of traditional liturgy and sound teaching.

Bishop Walter Hurley, appointed apostolic administrator of Saginaw after the sudden death of Bp. Joseph Cistone in October, published a letter Friday explaining his actions towards Fr. Edwin Dwyer, parochial administrator at Our Lady of Peace Parish.

“For some time now I have been aware of a number of issues, particularly with the Liturgy, that have divided the parish community at Our Lady of Peace Parish, Bay City,” Hurley wrote. “This is a serious concern in that our worship should draw us together, rather than divide.”

*********************************

 

Dwyer proposed that the way to bring Catholics back to the pews was to promote tradition.

Believe it or not, tradition works. So-called “old ways” are quite popular among younger Catholics. Smells, bells, classic hymns, chant, prolonged silence, and, hold on for this one, LATIN are all largely embraced by the younger generations of the Church. Furthermore, when younger non-Catholics experience these traditions they are struck by how different they are from everything else they experience in a noisy, secular culture. These “old ways” are beautiful to them, and beauty is a great place to introduce young folks to Jesus Christ.

He continued, “Thus, we are going to make Sunday beautiful at Our Lady of Peace.”

Since then, Dwyer has corrected liturgical abuses at the parish, reducing the number of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, as mandated by Church law, which only allows such ministers when the number of communicants is so large that the priest needs assistance. He also slowly introduced more traditional practices, including, among other things, using Latin for the Agnus Dei and Sanctus, placing two candlesticks on the altar, ringing bells during the consecration and using incense. These changes took place primarily at one Sunday morning Mass; the other Masses remained largely as they had before he arrived.

Even so, a handful of parishioners complained to the diocese about the changes. Dwyer’s homilies were also a cause for complaint by some older Catholics, unaccustomed to the orthodoxy and sound teaching that marked his preaching. The younger parishioners and families, however, welcomed the changes.

The growing discontent from a vocal minority led Dwyer to hold a parish meeting on Jan. 21, where he explained the minor changes and allowed parishioners to air concerns. The meeting was marked by rancor, with outbursts from a handful of angry parishioners.

Go here to read the rest.  Catholics are used to persecution.  What is new in our time is the persecution that comes from those who are purportedly our shepherds, may Christ forgive them.  Keep your chin up Father Dwyer.  We are praying for you.  Remember the words of Saint Athanasius:

It is a fact that they have the premises – but you have the Apostolic Faith. They can occupy our churches, but they are outside the true Faith.

 

0 0 votes
Article Rating
10 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Philip Nachazel
Philip Nachazel
Sunday, February 3, AD 2019 7:47pm

He is in my prayers this evening.
I’m asking Fr.John Hardon SJ and St. Kolbe to go before our Savior on behalf of this courageous man. Keep your chin up indeeed.

CAM
CAM
Sunday, February 3, AD 2019 9:37pm

Our mission worships in a cinder block activities center that became the church after the 1890 wooden church was raised. About 10 years ago the first resident priest was assigned to the mission; we’ve been very lucky, make that blessed, with the three traditional priests assigned so far. Thanks to our current priest’s fortitude (plus generous donors in and out of our parish) construction should begin in March on a new church. The exterior and interior drawings are simple, but beautiful, very traditional with an altar rail and open brass gates topped with archangels before the altar.
On Sundays and most weekdays we have a server who rings the bells; lit candles are on the altar and to the sides of the tabernacle. We sing the Sanctus and Agnus Dei on Sundays and at daily Mass. The prayer to St. Michael is prayed after Mass and Holy Hour with rosary is three times per week. During Holy Week statues and crucifixes are covered with purple shrouds. As today was the Feast of St. Blaise Father blessed our throats with the crossed candles. Yesterday morning we celebrated Candlemass, the Feast of the Presentation, with a procession of attendees carrying lighted, blessed candles as part of the Mass. A light lunch was served afterwards to break the fast for those answering Bishop Burbidge’s call for all Catholics in the Diocese to attend Delegate Tran’s Town Hall; she sponsored the abortion/infanticide bill. Because of “safety concerns” -snow or her cold feet- the Town Hall was cancelled. After lunch the beautiful Christmas decorations were taken down on what was the traditional last day of Christmas. There have been letters to the bishop, but he is supportive of tradition and is a true shepherd of his flock.
Why is the Michigan bishop so weak? Let me guess – the whiners think the Church should be more flexible on abortion, same sex marriage, women priests, etc. Let them find a home in the Episcopal church down the street. Prayers for Fr. Dwyer and the true believers at Our Lady of Peace..

Art Deco
Art Deco
Sunday, February 3, AD 2019 10:30pm

I was associated with a parish where the administrator was sanctioned due to parishioner complaints. There was one parishioner visibly dissatisfied with him.

Around that time, the Diocese of Rochester commissioned a survey on preferences in liturgical music. I was resident in the Diocese of Syracuse at the time. The result of the survey was thus: 24% wanted traditional music; 18% wanted modern music; 29% wanted a mix; and 29% were indifferent or disliked all music. In a typical parish in the Diocese of Syracuse at that time, about 85% of the musical selections would be of tunes composed after 1965. One parish I know of retained a local music professor (a specialist in early music) to address deficiencies in the musical program. He gave up after a while because the music director simply would not co-operate and no one was going to sanction her for not co-operating. So, the parish had a music program designed to please one late-middle-aged woman who wanted to play treacle on her upright piano and who had proved unable to recruit a choir. Some peoples preferences are more equal than others.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Sunday, February 3, AD 2019 11:48pm

Some peoples preferences are more equal than others.

Busybodies gotta busy.

The Christian Teacher
The Christian Teacher
Monday, February 4, AD 2019 12:41am

Within the last month I have experienced the power of tradition on teenagers, myself, & one of my dear Protestant friends.

Before we had our annual March for Life that ends up on the AR State Capitol, a few blocks over our Bishop had the first ever Echaristic Procession. It was awesome. It was loaded with teenagers & other young people. There were stations of music & prayer in several locations along our route. We all kneeled as the Eucharist passed us being carried by priests dressed formally with leadership from the Knights of Columbus in full regalia. When the Eucharistic table passed me, chills ran over my body. We kneeled at length several times. The talking was kept at a minimum except for some praying the Rosary & the prayer to St. Michael, the archangel. The young people were insistent that a reverant science be kept. It was such public witness. People were in many locations watching us as we proceeded.

I was simply describing the passing of the Eucharist past us at the beginning of the procession to one of my Protestant friends. I explained to her the belief re: the Eucharist. I told her about the chills had that passed over me while I was kneeling as the Eucharist passed by. She said that just hearing the description of it was causing chills to pass over her body. Tradition is very powerful when people are truly seeking God & His kingdom on this earth.

Jeanne Bergeron
Jeanne Bergeron
Monday, February 4, AD 2019 1:58am

It’s sad that some people and Bishops are stuck in the 70’s

OrdinaryCatholic
OrdinaryCatholic
Monday, February 4, AD 2019 9:01am

I don’t think this is a ‘stuck in the 70’s’ moment. All of the things Fr. Dwyer has introduced to the liturgy such as consecration bells, incense, the Agnus Dei, and the use of alter candles were NOT thrown out and considered invalid with the new liturgy under Vat II but IGNORED by those who felt the Church was stagnant and who wanted to change the liturgy to meet their own belief. In other words they wanted to Protestantize the Catholic Mass and make it more inclusive to those who were not so ‘traditional’ in their faith. I’m not sure exactly all of the details of the conversations between the Fr. Dwyer and his Bishop but on the face of what we know, the Bishop seems adamant that his own way of liturgy is to be maintained and his argument for maintaining his stance is flimsy at best. As someone said, Fr. Dwyer is not guilty of sexual abuse, not guilty of promoting homosexuality, not guilty of promoting abortion and co-habitation but of trying to increase his parish’s millennials participation in Catholic Mass and spiritual life. The Bishop, it sounds to me, protest too much. Something is definitely amiss. And of course….as I said we do not know exactly what went on between the Bishop and Fr. Dwyer except what we were told.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Monday, February 4, AD 2019 2:34pm

“Forget it, Jake–it’s Saginaw.”

It is difficult to convey how bad a shape the Diocese of Saginaw is in. And, yes, JPII and Benedict bear their share of the blame by appointing and upholding Bishop Untener (God rest his soul), and not caring about continuity, respectively.
Untener was charismatic and undeniable gifts. But he also had an agenda to build a new church of Vatican II that he never deviated a whit from. It was collaborative in the sense that laity had great participation in the project–but only laity who fully shared this vision.
And it succeeded as well as can be imagined, with declining attendance and a dearth of vocations (it is less well-known that he shut down the diaconate program shortly after his installation). Not all of it can be laid at his feet, obviously–but for those who want to argue that Saginaw pointed the way for the fully-realized vision of Vatican II or some such–yikes.
After his death, the tenure of Bishop Carlson saw some green shoots develop–and then Benedict helicoptered him out after five years. Joseph Cistone (God rest his soul, too) was a baffling pick, a Rigali company man best known for shredding evidence of priestly abuse. And his untrustworthiness on this point led to a raid on his residence by the authorities to gather evidence on a priest who was arrested for sundry sex crimes involving males. Cistone died from cancer late last year.

Short divine intervention, Saginaw is a diocese with a bleak future.

CAM
CAM
Monday, February 4, AD 2019 2:57pm

What seems so nasty is that the whiners had the option of attending other Sunday Masses that had not been changed by Fr. Dwyer. Maybe the whiners are big donors. Or the bishop, only in place 4 months, is insecure or jealous and demands absolute obedience. There is always more to the story.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Monday, February 4, AD 2019 4:12pm

Bishop Hurley is just a temporary apostolic administrator. He retired years ago. It’s safe to say he shares the complainants’ outlook.

Discover more from The American Catholic

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Scroll to Top