A good friend of mine, John Paul Sonnen, asked me to do an interview with him for REGINA Magazine, which he gave me permission to publish here at my Substack too.
This is really good. But Peter, I haven't been able to find Regina magazine for years. I clicked the link you provided and it was dead. Are they actually still publishing?
The eternal beauty of the one true Church is truly a prize worth seeking. Thank you, good Doctor, for your faithful work in preserving the treasure of the Church so that paupers and barbarians such as myself may access the great treasury that the modernists would rob us of. Seeing as my focus is more practical and tactical, as opposed to theological and liturgical, I do have a seemingly nonsensical question: If you had ten criteria by which to seek a community for a young family, a community in which beauty and faith could grow, what would those ten criteria be? For example, one could look at Ex-Ecclesia Dei communities, traditional>conservative dioceses, Newman guide schools, SSPX presence as a safety and counterbalance to the modernists, Eastern Catholic parishes, Ordinariate parishes, state laws, proximity to symphony/orchestra, etc. I ask for the arbitrary number of ten because the mapping software I am working with currently limits me to that number. You could provide ten, less, or none at your good pleasure. I have noticed that many of us in the wastelands seek a temporary home on this pilgrimage, without a map or guidance beyond “My cousin/friend/acquaintance lives there” or “I visited this place once, and it seemed nice.”
Regarding criteria, I went through a thought-process like this when I was determining where to live after leaving Wyoming Catholic College in 2018. For me, the #1 criterion was the presence of the FSSP or the ICKSP, because I believed (and still believe) that a fully traditional parish life is the most important "backbone" of Catholic life. I do think it's a good backup post-Traditionis Custodes to have the SSPX in the area. Diocesan TLMs are under serious attack and probably should not be considered reliable at this point, at least until the climate in Rome shifts.
The next criterion for me is the presence of good neighborhoods in reasonably close proximity to said parish. It's quite unnatural - though unavoidable for many - to drive 20, 30, 60 minutes to get to Mass, and this also makes daily Mass nearly impossible. My wife and I found a house less than 1 mile from our FSSP parish, so we walk to Mass nearly daily. This is a decades-long dream come true for us. Unfortunately, many TLM parishes are located in run-down, unsafe parts of cities, and this means they will be "drive-in-only."
The third criterion, I would say, is a place where you either already know people (family, friends) or where they are not far away, or where there is a robust homeschooling community, including, say, a co-op or at least communal activities and opportunities.
The other things you mention would be "cherries on top."
When I first sat down with a priest to begin conversion, he asked me “why Catholic”? I told him that besides being married to a cradle Catholic, it was hands down the art and music. Sadly, I don’t really get to experience it regularly, but, knowing it’s there and part of my heritage is unbelievably awesome!
Peter, have you read any of Fr Alexander Lucie Smith's Sicilian novels?
No, I haven't - I don't even know what they are.
https://amzn.asia/d/04F9yqfn
Catholics Priest with Sicilian background.
https://alexanderluciesmith.substack.com/
This is really good. But Peter, I haven't been able to find Regina magazine for years. I clicked the link you provided and it was dead. Are they actually still publishing?
Thanks, Roseanne. The link worked for me:
https://reginamagazine.org/
But there's not a whole lot on that website. Regina is just getting revved up again.
The eternal beauty of the one true Church is truly a prize worth seeking. Thank you, good Doctor, for your faithful work in preserving the treasure of the Church so that paupers and barbarians such as myself may access the great treasury that the modernists would rob us of. Seeing as my focus is more practical and tactical, as opposed to theological and liturgical, I do have a seemingly nonsensical question: If you had ten criteria by which to seek a community for a young family, a community in which beauty and faith could grow, what would those ten criteria be? For example, one could look at Ex-Ecclesia Dei communities, traditional>conservative dioceses, Newman guide schools, SSPX presence as a safety and counterbalance to the modernists, Eastern Catholic parishes, Ordinariate parishes, state laws, proximity to symphony/orchestra, etc. I ask for the arbitrary number of ten because the mapping software I am working with currently limits me to that number. You could provide ten, less, or none at your good pleasure. I have noticed that many of us in the wastelands seek a temporary home on this pilgrimage, without a map or guidance beyond “My cousin/friend/acquaintance lives there” or “I visited this place once, and it seemed nice.”
Thanks and God bless you for your kind words!
Regarding criteria, I went through a thought-process like this when I was determining where to live after leaving Wyoming Catholic College in 2018. For me, the #1 criterion was the presence of the FSSP or the ICKSP, because I believed (and still believe) that a fully traditional parish life is the most important "backbone" of Catholic life. I do think it's a good backup post-Traditionis Custodes to have the SSPX in the area. Diocesan TLMs are under serious attack and probably should not be considered reliable at this point, at least until the climate in Rome shifts.
The next criterion for me is the presence of good neighborhoods in reasonably close proximity to said parish. It's quite unnatural - though unavoidable for many - to drive 20, 30, 60 minutes to get to Mass, and this also makes daily Mass nearly impossible. My wife and I found a house less than 1 mile from our FSSP parish, so we walk to Mass nearly daily. This is a decades-long dream come true for us. Unfortunately, many TLM parishes are located in run-down, unsafe parts of cities, and this means they will be "drive-in-only."
The third criterion, I would say, is a place where you either already know people (family, friends) or where they are not far away, or where there is a robust homeschooling community, including, say, a co-op or at least communal activities and opportunities.
The other things you mention would be "cherries on top."
When I first sat down with a priest to begin conversion, he asked me “why Catholic”? I told him that besides being married to a cradle Catholic, it was hands down the art and music. Sadly, I don’t really get to experience it regularly, but, knowing it’s there and part of my heritage is unbelievably awesome!