I agree with St. Ignatius that many of us have grown too soft. We expect "push notifications" like on our smartphone. We expect THEM to come to US, carried in on a silver platter. We don't want to have to WORK FOR IT anymore.

I do want to underline my point about chapel publicity. The chapel I coordinate (St. Dominic's) has a website, Facebook page, CathInfo exposure, and very high Google search position for many important search terms. Stella Maris and other Bp. Zendejas chapels don't have a website at all. So, naturally, St. Dominic's should be bursting at the seams with parishioners, right?

Wrong.

I was thinking about it some more, and it occurred to me: the only thing St. Dominic's gets from all the publicity (that Stella Maris probably does not -- it is almost exclusively word-of-mouth) is that we get LOTS of in-and-out, revolving door visitors. One might call them "low quality" since they don't last. They easily found the chapel, and just as easily left it: Those new to Tradition, Home Aloners, Novus Ordo curiosity seekers, those who barely belong here, Grandmas who want their 8 year old grandchildren baptized (you can imagine how Catholic the parents are!), Hispanics from Seguin 15 min. away who think driving 45 min. to San Antonio for the SSPX is too much trouble, etc. (And yes, I include Home Aloners in this list. They find our chapel, and we assume they'll be coming regularly. NOPE! They're so used to being home alone on Sunday, they are happy to continue this habit. They come a few times, and then reduce their frequency to once a decade.)

Don't get me wrong: all these categories of people are welcome here. I'm not running a cult or a club. It's for any Catholics wanting true sacraments and to be taught the unchanging Catholic Faith. It's not my place OR intention to gatekeep.

Though they come from many different backgrounds, they all leave -- usually after one visit -- because essentially they don't belong.  Some even leave before coming once! They don't understand or fervently support +ABL's movement. Or they aren't used to going to church anymore, and have completely lost the habit. NOTE: We are extremely welcoming here. We are as polite and pleasant as can be to any newcomers. And I make it my mission as a coordinator to make things run as smoothly as possible. As it turns out, the music almost always turns out beautifully.

But they always leave on their own, for some reason. I can't think of any super controversial sermons being delivered, either (e.g., the h0Ɩ0cαųst, 9/11, women in pants). It's like they just figure out it's not for them.


That's probably who Bp. Z is "missing out on" by not advertising more broadly. I don't know what else to possibly conclude. And I certainly can't bring myself to criticize him, as if he's really missing out. I've seen what he's "missing out" on. It's not much; trust me!

So the reason for keeping US Resistance contact information secret is that hardly anyone will be interested anyway, and some of those who might be interested won't really understand the Resistance, so it's best to keep out the undesirables, if possible.

And the other reason is that, given that we have it too easy these days, it's okay to have to make someone work to find out the contact information. That is, if they REALLY want to know about the Resistance, they'll find a way. I don't really understand that, in the information age when computers offer easy access to information. Here on the forum, we have easy access to so much information. But not Resistance contact info.

It's like telling someone that wants to go to a faraway destination that they can't take their car, even though they have a perfectly good car, but that they must take the greyhound bus instead, if they really want to go to that destination badly enough; and that they must not really want to go there if they have to drive a car to do it. Not a great analogy, but it's all I can think of right now.

Maybe someone else can think of a better one.

That is a gigantic leap to make from "Any Catholic who wants information on Masses and events to be clearly and easily accessible". You're right in that they can get information off Cathinfo if they look hard enough, but you made this thread in response to another thread on Cathinfo. So you're simultaneously telling people they can find the information by asking here, while also giving out to people for asking here. All because simply finding a Mass and Sacraments for your family apparently has to be some investigation and struggle, for whatever reason.

You're making a leap or connection that wasn't there.

In the paragraph you quoted, I was talking about the "new SSPX Catholics" filling the pews in 2020 who weren't there in 2010. Where were they? Why didn't they go ahead and join in 2010, when the SSPX was still in the "before" stage? Then I listed some ways in which the SSPX changed. Any person who *requires* those changes as a prerequisite to get on board the SSPX is not a real Trad, and not to be treasured by any Trad organization.

I also want to clarify because you are very confused: I wasn't criticizing anyone for asking for Mass location/time information on CathInfo. Don't be ridiculous. I'm not two-faced.

I get upset when people say un-called-for things about the good bishops of the Resistance, yes. That's a different matter altogether.

I'm sorry if there was some nuance involved in what I said today, but it does seem to be eternally true that "easy come, easy go". The easier it is to come by something (say, a Tridentine Mass in the 1950's) the more human beings take it for granted. What is the answer, to make everything difficult? Who knows. It's just one of those things to ponder.
Also, you don't get something for nothing. When you work for something, there's an appreciation there (and a commitment) that you simply can't get when something comes easy. That is also completely true, regardless of how much anyone likes it.

Easier is not always better. 

It is easier to watch "The Passion of the Christ" than to make a 20 minute meditation. It is easier to watch a bunch of video tutorials than to get out the equipment and practice/play around with it yourself (for ANY skill or hobby). When you spend 20 minutes trying to troubleshoot a problem, you always remember that solution for next time!

Kids have low test scores? "We must not be making learning easy enough. Throw a few more million dollars into computers and tablets!" Or just maybe there are other reasons for those low test scores... Making things easier or more accessible isn't always the answer.

Churchmen were even convinced in the 1960's that the Church wasn't accessible enough if it wanted to expand further and be even more successful. They were convinced that the Church needed to be brought down to man's level so it could blossom and expand its numbers in a "new springtime". We all know how that went! The Church asked for less and less -- and people tuned out more and more and many even left the Church altogether.

You're making a leap or connection that wasn't there.

In the paragraph you quoted, I was talking about the "new SSPX Catholics" filling the pews in 2020 who weren't there in 2010. Where were they? Why didn't they go ahead and join in 2010, when the SSPX was still in the "before" stage? Then I listed some ways in which the SSPX changed. Any person who *requires* those changes as a prerequisite to get on board the SSPX is not a real Trad, and not to be treasured by any Trad organization.

I also want to clarify because you are very confused: I wasn't criticizing anyone for asking for Mass location/time information on CathInfo. Don't be ridiculous. I'm not two-faced.

I get upset when people say un-called-for things about the good bishops of the Resistance, yes. That's a different matter altogether.

I'm sorry if there was some nuance involved in what I said today, but it does seem to be eternally true that "easy come, easy go". The easier it is to come by something (say, a Tridentine Mass in the 1950's) the more human beings take it for granted. What is the answer, to make everything difficult? Who knows. It's just one of those things to ponder.
Also, you don't get something for nothing. When you work for something, there's an appreciation there (and a commitment) that you simply can't get when something comes easy. That is also completely true, regardless of how much anyone likes it.

Easier is not always better.

It is easier to watch "The Passion of the Christ" than to make a 20 minute meditation. It is easier to watch a bunch of video tutorials than to get out the equipment and practice/play around with it yourself (for ANY skill or hobby). When you spend 20 minutes trying to troubleshoot a problem, you always remember that solution for next time!

Kids have low test scores? "We must not be making learning easy enough. Throw a few more million dollars into computers and tablets!" Or just maybe there are other reasons for those low test scores... Making things easier or more accessible isn't always the answer.

Churchmen were even convinced in the 1960's that the Church wasn't accessible enough if it wanted to expand further and be even more successful. They were convinced that the Church needed to be brought down to man's level so it could blossom and expand its numbers in a "new springtime". We all know how that went! The Church asked for less and less -- and people tuned out more and more and many even left the Church altogether.

Fair enough, I spoke a prematurely not fully understanding your position. So sorry for the misrepresentation. I'd also like to add it's not me doing the downvoting.
I agree with pretty much everything you've said in this post, but I still don't think inaccessibility is a virtue in and of itself. There's a difference in compromising accessibility, changing your ways to conform to the standards of the world, and simple accessibility in the form of just making yourself easy to find and learn more about. Having nice, flashy websites like the SSPX isn't a virtue. But does it help discerning and confused Catholics looking for Tridentine Masses find the information they want easily? I don't think anyone would disagree. Not all the new people lining up the SSPX pews in 2020 are there because of the compromises. Many of them are there because they didn't understand the Crisis in the Church a decade ago. Not every Catholic is so well educated and up-to-date, and that's not exactly ideal in the information age where research is easy, but can we really blame parishioners for making the assumption that the world hadn't turned upside down and the Church desecrated?

For the vast majority of Catholics, even the devout and active ones, the minutiae that make a rite valid or not are well beyond them. And while they can see the crazy things the Church preaches today, there are hordes of NewChurch Theologians rushing to equivocate and spread sophisms to trick Catholics into thinking these innovations are fine. So I wouldn't blame anyone for not knowing about the Crisis and the SSPX and all that in the past. Many people only realised/found out about all this stuff relatively recently and I think many of them would still be attending Novus Ordo masses today if it wasn't for the reams of information and, yes, the flashy SSPX websites. Perhaps these people should've and could've found out about the Crisis and all these issues sooner if they had paid more attention and searched harder, but does that mean we'd be better off if they just stayed in the NO? While of course it's not worth it to sacrifice and compromise on your beliefs to attract late-comers, website's don't really fit into that category.

Anyway, the Resistance is even much more niche again than the SSPX, and very few Catholics have ever heard of it. As it stands, it's hard enough to learn more about it, but even when you do learn about it and wish to start attending Masses and events, you have a very awkward time of it. It's true that having it take effort to find out means that it's more likely only dedicated and serious people will show up, but it's also important to "preach to all nations" so to speak. There are many Catholics and even Trads who aren't dedicated and serious enough. But then the mission should be to try and get more of them to be more serious in their faith and join the Resistance. Not just metaphorically hide out in the mountains with the people who already are and let only the hikers find it. If the the early Church did that then Christendom would've been very small indeed. People need to be converted. Many will ignore the sermons and go back to their daily lives. Some will stick around. As long as you don't compromise your beliefs in desperate attempt to keep those who'd otherwise walk, then there's no harm in any of that.

Personally I'm all for a public directory.

As I said above, the chapel I take care of is completely public. It's in Google Maps and everything.

The fact is, for most people, the answer is, "there is no Resistance chapel in your area." It's a truth I honestly hate to tell them. There are so few chapels in the USA you can count them on 2 hands and still have fingers to spare. I applaud the early efforts to start a directory, but honestly it's just too soon.

Oh, and the number of priests is even smaller. Currently just Bp. Zendejas, Fr. Reginald Brocard OP, Fr. Morel, Fr. Girouard, Fr. Voigt. For the whole United States.  Due to the small number of priests, the Mass times at the various chapels are in a state of flux. You couldn't have a normal Mass time published in a directory for most chapels. For most, you would need to join your closest chapel and get the bulletins, so you know what time the next Mass will be.

Matthew, how is Father Voigt doing, I haven’t heard anything about him for quite a while?

An American District website is the precise subject, and I will bet you $100 that, if I email Bishop Zendejas (with you CC'd in) right now and propose designing and maintaining a website for the American SAJM (which would include Mass locations, times, and contact information for all SAJM American District venues and events), he will have some reason (such as those you previously mentioned) for not wanting me to do it.

Why don't you just do it?
You don't need Bp. Zendejas's "approval" to make a website docuмenting American Resisitance Mass locations, confirmation dates, etc.
You're performing a public service. It's not "proprietary" information that he "owns."
Information is free. I think you should make a website. It should exist.

You could create the flashiest website out there but unless the higher-ups cooperate, the info will be outdated in less than 2 weeks.  An organization is only as successful as its leadership is involved.

The best bet for finding resistance masses is Traditio.com.  They have the most up-to-date info on any latin mass out there.