My name is John V.
I was raised in San Francisco, born in 1969.
My mother and father were divorced when I was about 2. He had been an altar boy in the 50s and she had also been raised in catholic school, both in S.F. Both of my grandmothers were practicising Catholics, and took me to "mass", but didn't know the difference, apparently. They did not talk about it to me, anyway.
I remember in the 80s going to mass in Redding, CA, near where we moved, and QUITTING confirmation class because it was absurd! I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard! I somehow knew this at 16, even though I still "believed". They also had jazz mass, etc. there and I just saw it as a bunch of ugliness and nonsense after a while.
I didn;t think "Vatican II", because I had no idea. I just thought it was the 60s or the liberals or something.
Looking back, I believe I might have had a vocation, but I got involved in an international political movement at 17 instead, not knowing what I was doing. It was very conservative, pro-FDR, economic development, anti establishment, Federal Reserve, trilateral commission. etc., conspirophile stuff mixed in, but it was VERY ecuмenical and violently so
. i.e., --"Trent was evil, Florence was good, because it was somehow pro-Muslim! We need to cooperate with the "great religions" and find all the good in those religions for peace, cooperation, economic development, etc. "
This started my gradual ecuмenical loss of the true faith, though my mother kept me "in the know" through things like Traditio.com and I went to Fr. Morrison's mass in SF a number of times. She also heard mass at a few other places and I knew this to be the true mass, even though I was deep into the man-centered pro-JPII political mess.
I went to the Eastern Byzantine Rite, too, and thought it was "cool", because it was with the pope, but without all the touchy-feely stuff in the NO..
I have since moved to southern California, quit politics, became a union sheet metal worker, (though currently unemployed), went to Fr. Melito's mass, NO, left the church again, even though I was never a big attender, started attending the SSPX here,-- even though my mom said there was "politics" there that I should not pay attention to!!--, read some of LeFebvre's books and :boxer: BAM!! They have uncrowned him! I think this changed my life!
I found the CMRI mass through Traditio, which I checked now and then and it has been miraculous ever since. I started there after reading LeFebvre's books and did not yet know fully about sedevacantism, but it also hit me like a ton of bricks that sedevacantism is the true situation in the church. I have ZERO doubt. I have my children and wife in confirmation class and have been faithfully attending for about a year now.
I LOVE it there! I thank God for people like LeFebvre and the CMRI. I thank God for all of you Traditional Catholics and I have tremendous hope for the future of the Church knowing that there are so many Traditionals out there, even though there are also a few spreaders of slander and :argue: division!