I’m a cradle Catholic, a traditionalist; I only attended the Novus Ordo for like one year in the 90’s.
The other day I ran into an elderly lady at a Novus Ordo church non-mass function, I had not seen her in 35 years ago, when she was my neighbor. To cut to the chase, she said that she runs the church (a big church, holds 800 people) and that she was going to cut the heads off some priest who did not attend the function. She went on and on about how she runs the show. I knew her well, I know she is not exaggerating. She is truly an alpha female of the worst order.
This lady could be my mother, so I did not say anything and let her talk (I am a leader of men, and I marvel at how men can allow themselves to be domineered by the physically weaker sex). It was all very eye opening to one who is not accustomed to seeing women even lead a Rosary. Our conversation brought back the memory of my short stint in the Novus Ordo, which I attended for less than one year before I found tradition. I remember that the women ran everything, and during the weekday masses scarcely were any men seen other than the priests, which seemed to only have the function of performing the mass. I also remember how very few men even went to mass. I remembered how friends who traveled to Europe told me that they were the only man at mass during the week, that it was only old women. It dawned on me that this alpha female elderly lady was the icon of the New Catholic Church administrators on the ground. It dawned on me that it is these ladies that run the show on the ground, not the Bishops, not the pastors, not the priests.
I think it was on Rorate Coeli that I read that 98% of French Catholics do not go to mass. That is the same as saying that nobody goes to mass in France. In the USA, the statistics say that 25% of Catholics go to mass at least once a month. It appears to me though, that it is principally the men that have left the Church. From my own point of view, before I knew what I was doing, the first thing that kept me from going to mass was the effeminacy and irrelevancy of the whole affair. The priests were not the type of men that men respect and admire. First, their appearance, they were not masculine men, not good examples for young boys (and men) to look up to. Secondly, their sermons were about nothing, not wanting to offend anyone, they were left pretty much with talking about subjects like the weather.
Now, I ask, why would a man go to listen to basically an un-masculine waster of one’s time? The priests have nothing to offer the men and the place is run by feelings oriented alpha females. Why would a man want to go there? Imagine having to visit a house that is run by an alpha female and have to endure it every day or once a week? From my point of view, this is what has chased away all the men from going to mass, what has killed the Novus Ordo church (99+% of the Church)
Remembering my conversation with this alpha female elderly lady “who runs this church” and pondering upon I Corinthians 14:34, I wonder if this lady and all like her that run the show are punishment upon the clergy today, the Pope/Bishops/Priests? They did not do God’s work, and so they were given up to be run my women?