Why Aren't You a Regular Catholic? (i.e. "why aren't you a catholic like me?")

That was a question posed to me by a dear Catholic friend one day. She was not saying it with disdain; not at all. She was genuinely curious as to what the reason was that I am not a priest in the local diocese, but am instead incardinated (i.e. enrolled in, and under the authority of) the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. I quickly pointed out to her how there are many priests serving in local dioceses that are members of religious orders, and that mine is a similar situation. That satisfied her curiosity (at least for the time being), but it got me to thinking. "Why am I not a 'regular' Catholic" (to use her terminology)?

Back before I was assigned here to the St. George community in southern Missouri, when I was still serving in the diocese of Des Moines, the subject came up about me transferring to the Diocese and leaving the Ordinariate. I was pastor of two good parishes; we got along fine, and my family was happy to be there. I was offered the chance to transfer out of the Ordinariate and stay in Iowa, but respectfully turned it down. So why did I decide to remain with the Ordinariate, instead of becoming a "regular Catholic"? I cannot point to any one thing that I would say shows the specifics of my choice. It is more the "culture" and traditions of the Ordinariate as a whole, which seeks to maintain all that is best of ancient English spirituality (and, hopefully, none of the worst!).

It was within that "Anglican" type of culture that I had my most formative development of the Catholic faith during my years as a protestant (including, and especially, while I was a baptist and a presbyterian--I know that is confusing, but it is a long story). I was steadily moving away from Anglicanism and towards a Catholic expression of ancient "Anglican" practice. Thus, I greatly appreciate what the Ordinariate is, and what it has become over the last number of years. Her question, however, revealed a fundamental lack of knowledge in an area of Church practice (not her fault; few Catholics have been taught about this subject).

What does it mean to be a "regular" Catholic? There are currently 23 "Eastern Churches" that are a part of the Catholic Church, and they are all distinct from one another, as well as very distinct from the "Western Church" that most of us are used to here in these USA. They all have similar, but differing, practices. Most "diocesan" Catholics do not know that there is a much bigger world of the Catholic Church than they have experienced.

Regarding Masses there are currently 9 "forms" for the Mass (at least if we simplify those forms). What most Catholics are used to is called the Roman Missal (also known as the Ordinary Form, or the "Novus Ordo"); there is also the Traditional Latin Mass of 1962 (otherwise known as the Extraordinary Form). These are the two most well known forms. There are also some local forms which most Catholics never encounter; these are, the Mozarabic, the Ambrosian, the Bragan, the Dominican, the Carmelite, and the Carthusian forms. Of course, I need to add in the "newest form" of the Latin Rite, and that is the Divine Worship Mass (i.e. the form of the Ordinariates) which flows directly from the Sarum Mass of a thousand years ago.

Acknowledging the fact that the numerous forms of the Mass in the Eastern Churches are not seen much in these USA and the lesser-known forms of the Western Church are extremely small and localized (and some rarely used), there is a whole lot more going on in Catholicism than what the average Catholic in a diocese experiences. The point is that the Catholic Church does not have anything that we would strictly call "regular" when it comes to the Mass! Just because something is more common does not make it "regular" and everything else "irregular". The Church has, by virtue of permitting this many rites and forms, stated that there is not just one way to perform the Mass. There are traditions that the Holy Ghost has inspired in His people throughout the world, and down through history, and though some are used in only a small portion of the Church, they are still valid and completely Catholic.

For anyone to say that their own experience of the Catholic faith is "regular" and everyone else is "irregular" is a misunderstanding. We really are one big Catholic family, and though our squabbles here in these USA seem to be the only ones around, the very point of being called "Catholic" (which means "universal") is that the Church is spread throughout the world and is much larger than any one of us! Praise God for that.