The writers and readers of Catholic Light have criticized the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia for its lackadaisical attitude toward doctrinal orthodoxy and liturgical fidelity. This criticism is hardly unfair: the now-retired Bishop Sullivan emphasized “social justice” above all else. He was also on the national board of Pax Christi USA, a wacky “Catholic” “peace” group formed to give a veneer of legitimacy to secular anti-war activism. Virginia has more active duty military members than any other state except California, and thus Bishop Sullivan’s occupation of the See of Richmond was quite discordant.
I was confirmed in our university’s Catholic ministry, which was part of the Richmond Diocese. In my two-and-a-half years of attending Mass there, I don’t remember any mention of spiritual formation, abortion, chastity, selecting a spouse, or any other topic that is vitally relevant to young adults. If it was controversial, Father wouldn’t touch it.
Actually, I’m sitting here trying to think of something, anything that Father taught us, and I’m drawing a blank. I can remember him delivering earnest homilies in the manner of a motivational speaker (large gestures while moving around in front of the altar.) I remember him being personable, and he was popular with students, but that was because he approached his ministry like a camp counselor: just keep the kids happy, supervise some fun activities, don’t challenge them too much. They’ll move on to other things soon enough.
My wife and I were in Williamsburg two weekends ago, the first time we have ever left our three kids with anyone overnight. We had planned to go to the Byzantine-rite parish near where we were staying, but we woke up too late (ah, blissful sleep!) So we went to St. Bede’s, a parish on the other side of town.
The church itself is less than a year old, although the parish has been around since the ’30s. Encouragingly, when we arrived there were dozens of families piling out of cars — so many that I had to drop off my wife at the door and drive about a quarter-mile to park. The people were generally dressed conservatively, and entered respectfully.
Still, because most of the Richmond churches I’ve attended or heard about are at least a little kooky, I was still skeptical. Then they read some parish announcements. They were having a holy hour for teens, which apparently had been quite successful in the past. This made me take notice.
Holy hours are one of those things that have no earthly purpose whatsoever, and thus they’re a good indicator of good, solid Catholicism. Nobody goes to holy hour to show off their moral goodness, or out of intellectual pride. The focus is on Christ in the Eucharist, and it’s good practice for when, we hope, we prostrate ourselves before the Lamb and adore him in the fulness of his presence. And to encourage teenagers to do such a self-negating thing — that takes true spiritual leadership.
The pastor, Monsignor William Carr, celebrated the Mass with dignity and without any special flourishes. His homily was exceptional, and we’re used to good homilies. His theme was the Enlightenment’s view of freedom, which, he said, was fine as far as it went, but it did not address the deepest needs of man, and often becomes perverted into freedom for its own sake. He included a short, pointed critique of Immanuel Kant’s philosophy, and showed how freedom-as-selfishness led inevitably to injustice toward others, including abortion. I’m not doing justice to the breadth of his homily: I have rarely heard so much good material covered so smoothly and so well.
Thank you, good monsignor, for giving us such a truly inspired opportunity to worship. If it was typical, then the people of St. Bede’s need to thank God every Sunday for their parish’s shepherd.
