What I am about to tell you, I have experienced firsthand, I’m sad to say.

We had some good friends in the early ’70s. Both families had a handful of young children. Both of us witnessed the small and insignificant changes in the Catholic Church and noted with alarm as they began to accelerate. However, we were determined not to falter as so many of our acquaintances did. We both joined the Traditional movement together, early in the 1970s.

Our friends recently died together in a terrible accident. They were laid to rest by their children with the Novus Ordo Christian Burial Service.

What happened over the years to bring our friends to such an unhappy spiritual ending?

I believe it was lack of discipline within the family regarding the following: knowledge of their Catholic Faith, “friendly” contact with the conciliar church, and the fact that the children were second-generation traditionalists (i.e., a generation that was handed tradition—didn’t have to fight for it). Unfortunately, the parents did not correct the children when they were making small or big compromises.

Standing up for Tradition is hard work and takes courage, as noted by St. Pius X:

In our time more than ever before, the chief strength of the wicked lies in the cowardice and weakness of good men. … All the strength of Satan’s reign is due to the easy-going weakness of Catholics.

Quoted from Pope St. Pius X’s December 13, 1908 discourse, at the Beatification of Joan of Arc.

Each time you run up against the conciliar church you have a chance to reinforce or weaken tradition within the family. A few of the most obvious situations for a family are:

• Your son’s Novus Ordo girlfriend wants each to attend the other’s Sunday Mass. To refuse is to reinforce tradition; to agree is to weaken it.
• You are asked to be a pallbearer at a Novus Ordo funeral. To refuse reinforces tradition; to agree weakens tradition.
• You’re invited to a wedding at a protestant church when the bride or groom is Catholic. To refuse to attend or even give a gift reinforces tradition; to accept weakens tradition.
• You’re invited to attend a Novus Ordo service, Baptism, First “Communion”, or Confirmation. To refuse to attend or give a gift reinforces tradition; to accept weakens tradition.

Parents who instruct and discipline their children without compromising will build a solid foundation so that when the children come in contact with the conciliar church later on, they will ask themselves, “What would our parents have done?” 

Compromise is just a matter of getting a little comfortable with the conciliar church in a situation such as one of those listed above—before you know it, the Novus Ordo is not so bad (i.e., “I’m still Catholic and besides, peace in the family is important.”)

If you start weakening tradition within the family or personally just once, it sets a soul-destroying precedent for the future.