Thank you for this terrific post. Rod. It will make my day. I've long been an admirer of Fr Dwight. What a story and what a parish! Gives us hope in dark times. Kind regards from Canada.
I seriously thought this was gonna be about a city catching fire. Last week, there was a forest fire near Fredericksburg, 80 miles away from ATX—and all the cars over here in the city got covered with a fine layer of ash, because I guess that was how large the fire and strong the wind. At first I thought it was pollen, but then went "Wait a second . . ."
The sky also briefly took on a gorgeous apocalyptic tint, somewhat reminiscent of an eclipse.
Anyway, I always think of the Burning Bush event as capturing the core triad of enchanted perception: there's the perceiver, the object, and the light shining forth; there's Moses, the Bush, and the Burning.
I'm in Western North Carolina, not far from Greenville, SC, and we are having wildfires here. So you you aren't too far off! Greenville is safe, though, thankfully.
Table Rock State Park also has an uncontained fire right now, much closer to Greenville. Friends of mine are being evacuated. Prayers for both areas, their people, and all the firefighters!
There are wildfires down in South Florida too right now. Over the weekend the highway from the Keys was closed down because of a huge fire, stranding everyone there.
In West Virginia, we are on alert for fires. It's been very dry and very windy for about a week. I'm surprised we are yet to have been put on burning restrictions. Fortunately, the wind has died down but we are faced with another week without rain.
God identifying himself as "I am" is worthy of meditation...a mystery. One of the significant Biblical passages in my life is Isaiah 6...also full of mystery and enchantment.
Oh that I will say "Here I am, Lord, send me" and have my lips purified by burning coal..what an image!
First time posting here. Hi Rod, I was visiting family on a weekend two years ago in Greenville and I went to the Saturday evening Vigil Mass at Our Lady of The Rosary. I was in awe of this amazing structure and felt very lucky to be there. The choir was incredible, it was Saturday in early February , not a whole lot of parishioners , nor were there any altar servers. The Priest celebrating Mass injected a little humor from the pulpit saying "they were all on strike". Little did I know (until now) that this was the home of Father Dwight Longenecker of whom I've been reading for many years. Thank You for sharing and safe travels.
Beautiful church and seems like Greenville is becoming a sort of new south hipster town. I was there in the 90s it was meth-hole and not so great.
This Sunday, our small church was packed, people were standing in the narthex and sitting on temporary seats in the vestibule. It's a small church and we also do a modified Novus Ordo. Our priest faces Ad Orientem and we sing the Agnus in Latin. Oh, it's so small we do not have an organ or piano, so we all sing simply the responses. Nearly every week it's packed to overflowing. I wonder why more parishes do not try to do the modified version of the mass, with more emphasis on being reverent in the mass?
To me this is sort of the idea of Vatican II properly understood. It's nice to hear the prayers in a tongue you can understand and having laity involved, to do the readings etc makes us participants not just witnesses as in the Latin Mass. The mix of Latin, even Greek at certain points helps form a uniqueness and community. Too bad so much of the celebration and ritual are still stained with that 70s yellow modernism with all the malaise of the era and often delivered with a perfect NPR voiced priest who despite all the changes Vatican II was intent on achieving, still seems far removed from the flock.
I've been a Vetus Ordo man for years, but I applaud what Fr Dwight is doing in Greenville at his church---or rather, *their* church...at the Novus Ordo mass Fr Dwight faces the East in the same direction as the worshippers behind him---and together they are doing the same under his lead in building up the Church in Greenville as a light visibile from afar in the increasing gloom.
Yes, revitalization is possible; people respond to substance.
A well-known (in Latin Mass circles anyway) case is St John Cantius, just west of downtown Chicago. Fr Frank was sent to shut it down in the late 1980s, but thought "God willing, this could be something wonderful".
The late, wise Cardinal George, of happy memory, created a new religious order based out of the parish so that the work wouldn't end when Fr Frank was no longer there. Successful Benedict Options must have continuity planning. I've seen some revitalized parishes go downhill when the next pastor decided to reverse course.
Today it's a very vibrant parish. The order has expanded to parishes in Volo, IL and Springfield, IL and has more young men in religious formation than some European dioceses. It's such a potent place that even Cardinal George's dismal heterodox successor, Cardinal Cupich, learned to mostly tolerate/ignore them after a rough start. https://www.cantius.org/
Take care, Rod. Hope you find someplace restful in Jacksonville after the podcast taping. Thanks for telling us about Greenville. And sympathies on your heinous affliction with Man-Cold.
Rod should be glad he didn't catch the stomach virus that's been making the rounds down here. I had it back in early January (my whole church got sick with it), and that in itself is very rare for me. The last time I had that sort of thing was in 2009. But it also lasted a week.
Our Lady of the Rosary Parish and School look wonderful. Seeing all the families is impressive. That's what I saw the two times I took my family to St. Mary's in Washington DC's Chinatown. Archbishop Wilton Gregory closed down St. Mary's about two years ago. It was too successful for the Vatican Two church of Mr. Bergoglio's.
Again, Derek, come visit the magnificently renovated Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Virginia! We're celebrating our 50th anniversary -- the parish is vibrant and our school is thriving.
Rod, If you want to see another beautiful church in America (a Baptist one, no less), then you need to look at the website for my church in Huntsville, AL. We have one of the largest outdoor mosaics in the nation (The Cosmic Christ) and (since Huntsville is known as "Rocket City") stained glass windows in our sanctuary that reflect creation.
It is very encouraging to hear about Greenville and OLR. I love that there is ornamentation in the church. Too many churches-- whether Catholic or otherwise-- built in the sixties and later have gymnasium qualities to them and for whatever reason tend to be brown or beige. I think of the richness, history and ornamentation of the Baroque churches in Hungary and the liturgical musical tradition of Central Europe, and it gives me hope that the younger generation is starting to discover them, which in turn will hopefully lead them to a deeper pursuit of Jesus and the Catholic faith.
There is also St. Mary’s RC Church in Greenville pastored by Jay Scott Newman. (who also is a convert, I think). George Weigel has often held up this growing parish as an example of “evangelical Catholicism.” In fact, when I went to that parish’s website, they billed themselves as an “evangelical Catholic” church. Did Longnecker mention that church? It seems amazing that a city I had long associated with fundamentalism (though moderate SBC Furman U is also based there) is home to two dynamic Catholic parishes. Maybe the influence of BJU has had a conservative a spillover effect, leading to other orthodox Christian expressions in Greenville. I wonder what old Bob Jones Sr. would say about all this.
I was wondering about that, too. I have had some contact with Fr. Newman (as well as Fr. Longenecker) in the past, and was just a tad surprised that Rod didn't mention the extreme good fortune of Greenville Catholics being so blessed as to have two so fine and so orthodox Catholic parishes. Cf.:
My favorite Bob Jones, Sr. anecdote is his judgment of C.S. Lewis: "That man smokes a pipe and drinks beer but I do believe he is a Christian!" ( I imagine he said it with a grimace. )
Thank you for this terrific post. Rod. It will make my day. I've long been an admirer of Fr Dwight. What a story and what a parish! Gives us hope in dark times. Kind regards from Canada.
Very encouraging. I've come across Fr. Longenecker online frequently, but I had no idea he led such a work!
I seriously thought this was gonna be about a city catching fire. Last week, there was a forest fire near Fredericksburg, 80 miles away from ATX—and all the cars over here in the city got covered with a fine layer of ash, because I guess that was how large the fire and strong the wind. At first I thought it was pollen, but then went "Wait a second . . ."
The sky also briefly took on a gorgeous apocalyptic tint, somewhat reminiscent of an eclipse.
Anyway, I always think of the Burning Bush event as capturing the core triad of enchanted perception: there's the perceiver, the object, and the light shining forth; there's Moses, the Bush, and the Burning.
I'm in Western North Carolina, not far from Greenville, SC, and we are having wildfires here. So you you aren't too far off! Greenville is safe, though, thankfully.
https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/western-north-carolina-wildfires-hurricane-helene
Table Rock State Park also has an uncontained fire right now, much closer to Greenville. Friends of mine are being evacuated. Prayers for both areas, their people, and all the firefighters!
There are wildfires down in South Florida too right now. Over the weekend the highway from the Keys was closed down because of a huge fire, stranding everyone there.
In West Virginia, we are on alert for fires. It's been very dry and very windy for about a week. I'm surprised we are yet to have been put on burning restrictions. Fortunately, the wind has died down but we are faced with another week without rain.
We had that lesson this past Sunday too.
God identifying himself as "I am" is worthy of meditation...a mystery. One of the significant Biblical passages in my life is Isaiah 6...also full of mystery and enchantment.
Oh that I will say "Here I am, Lord, send me" and have my lips purified by burning coal..what an image!
First time posting here. Hi Rod, I was visiting family on a weekend two years ago in Greenville and I went to the Saturday evening Vigil Mass at Our Lady of The Rosary. I was in awe of this amazing structure and felt very lucky to be there. The choir was incredible, it was Saturday in early February , not a whole lot of parishioners , nor were there any altar servers. The Priest celebrating Mass injected a little humor from the pulpit saying "they were all on strike". Little did I know (until now) that this was the home of Father Dwight Longenecker of whom I've been reading for many years. Thank You for sharing and safe travels.
Beautiful church and seems like Greenville is becoming a sort of new south hipster town. I was there in the 90s it was meth-hole and not so great.
This Sunday, our small church was packed, people were standing in the narthex and sitting on temporary seats in the vestibule. It's a small church and we also do a modified Novus Ordo. Our priest faces Ad Orientem and we sing the Agnus in Latin. Oh, it's so small we do not have an organ or piano, so we all sing simply the responses. Nearly every week it's packed to overflowing. I wonder why more parishes do not try to do the modified version of the mass, with more emphasis on being reverent in the mass?
To me this is sort of the idea of Vatican II properly understood. It's nice to hear the prayers in a tongue you can understand and having laity involved, to do the readings etc makes us participants not just witnesses as in the Latin Mass. The mix of Latin, even Greek at certain points helps form a uniqueness and community. Too bad so much of the celebration and ritual are still stained with that 70s yellow modernism with all the malaise of the era and often delivered with a perfect NPR voiced priest who despite all the changes Vatican II was intent on achieving, still seems far removed from the flock.
We have the same modified version of the Mass out here at our Parish in Northeastern NC.
I’m excited that there’s finally going to be Pints with Aquinas episode with Rod - I always thought he’d be a good guest for the show.
I've been a Vetus Ordo man for years, but I applaud what Fr Dwight is doing in Greenville at his church---or rather, *their* church...at the Novus Ordo mass Fr Dwight faces the East in the same direction as the worshippers behind him---and together they are doing the same under his lead in building up the Church in Greenville as a light visibile from afar in the increasing gloom.
Yes, revitalization is possible; people respond to substance.
A well-known (in Latin Mass circles anyway) case is St John Cantius, just west of downtown Chicago. Fr Frank was sent to shut it down in the late 1980s, but thought "God willing, this could be something wonderful".
The late, wise Cardinal George, of happy memory, created a new religious order based out of the parish so that the work wouldn't end when Fr Frank was no longer there. Successful Benedict Options must have continuity planning. I've seen some revitalized parishes go downhill when the next pastor decided to reverse course.
Today it's a very vibrant parish. The order has expanded to parishes in Volo, IL and Springfield, IL and has more young men in religious formation than some European dioceses. It's such a potent place that even Cardinal George's dismal heterodox successor, Cardinal Cupich, learned to mostly tolerate/ignore them after a rough start. https://www.cantius.org/
Take care, Rod. Hope you find someplace restful in Jacksonville after the podcast taping. Thanks for telling us about Greenville. And sympathies on your heinous affliction with Man-Cold.
Rod should be glad he didn't catch the stomach virus that's been making the rounds down here. I had it back in early January (my whole church got sick with it), and that in itself is very rare for me. The last time I had that sort of thing was in 2009. But it also lasted a week.
My family and I had the stomach virus right after Christmas. It was the worst stomach virus I've ever had. Four days laid up. I lost twelve pounds.
two words: Povidone iodine ;)
Our Lady of the Rosary Parish and School look wonderful. Seeing all the families is impressive. That's what I saw the two times I took my family to St. Mary's in Washington DC's Chinatown. Archbishop Wilton Gregory closed down St. Mary's about two years ago. It was too successful for the Vatican Two church of Mr. Bergoglio's.
Again, Derek, come visit the magnificently renovated Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Virginia! We're celebrating our 50th anniversary -- the parish is vibrant and our school is thriving.
One of my daughters was married at St. Mary's by the wonderful then pastor Monsignor Pope.
A beautiful place is Our Lady of the Rosary.
Rod, If you want to see another beautiful church in America (a Baptist one, no less), then you need to look at the website for my church in Huntsville, AL. We have one of the largest outdoor mosaics in the nation (The Cosmic Christ) and (since Huntsville is known as "Rocket City") stained glass windows in our sanctuary that reflect creation.
Here's the link: https://www.fbchsv.org/?gclid=CjwKEAiA_9nFBRCsurz7y_Px8xoSJAAUqvKC9qQYL0HdjjNyIS63lkxJGqSzwDSNu4XTBO-wSlK8GBoCAyHw_wcB
It is very encouraging to hear about Greenville and OLR. I love that there is ornamentation in the church. Too many churches-- whether Catholic or otherwise-- built in the sixties and later have gymnasium qualities to them and for whatever reason tend to be brown or beige. I think of the richness, history and ornamentation of the Baroque churches in Hungary and the liturgical musical tradition of Central Europe, and it gives me hope that the younger generation is starting to discover them, which in turn will hopefully lead them to a deeper pursuit of Jesus and the Catholic faith.
Ours has that awful 1980's wood paneling. We do have some beautiful windows and sometimes I'm sad for them.
it appears that they Mass is said ad orientem which is a good thing. unfortunately the link to the city of Greenville does not work
Rod: Matthew Moffit has written a Substack article: Why Post-Liberalism Failed. You and Patrick Deneen are the focus of it. You may want to respond
There is also St. Mary’s RC Church in Greenville pastored by Jay Scott Newman. (who also is a convert, I think). George Weigel has often held up this growing parish as an example of “evangelical Catholicism.” In fact, when I went to that parish’s website, they billed themselves as an “evangelical Catholic” church. Did Longnecker mention that church? It seems amazing that a city I had long associated with fundamentalism (though moderate SBC Furman U is also based there) is home to two dynamic Catholic parishes. Maybe the influence of BJU has had a conservative a spillover effect, leading to other orthodox Christian expressions in Greenville. I wonder what old Bob Jones Sr. would say about all this.
I was wondering about that, too. I have had some contact with Fr. Newman (as well as Fr. Longenecker) in the past, and was just a tad surprised that Rod didn't mention the extreme good fortune of Greenville Catholics being so blessed as to have two so fine and so orthodox Catholic parishes. Cf.:
https://www.evangelizationstation.com/htm_html/Catholic%20Perspectives/Father%20I%20have%20to%20become%20a%20Catholic.htm
And, yes, do read Fr. Longenecker's book, as I did when it was first published:
https://ignatius.com/there-and-back-again-tbap/
My favorite Bob Jones, Sr. anecdote is his judgment of C.S. Lewis: "That man smokes a pipe and drinks beer but I do believe he is a Christian!" ( I imagine he said it with a grimace. )