Father John Wotherspoon was and is glad he has a blogger from Canada.  While I may have said some things about myself, in my background information, I thought I would fill it out, with more information about my Church and God experience from my earliest recollection.

 My father’s father was Irish Catholic from Tattyreagh Glebe, Tyrone and so we, myself and brother and sister were raised Catholic.  I attended Catholic Schools which are funded publicly from Grades one thru twelve.  I started school in 1964 and by then the Vatican II Council was well underway and speeding toward completion.  My earliest days of going to St. Alphonsus Church were usually with my father, my sister, and father’s sister.  I vaguely remember the altar rail, vaguely remember the priests, and I have a somewhat clearer image of the Latin Mass Book.

I went to St. Alphonsus School from grades one thru nine. There were six religious sisters who taught at the school. Two sisters had been principles, Sister Anna Joseph and Sister Marion Murray and in grade two, my home room teacher was Sister Maria Martin .  In grade four I had a Sister Plant for a teacher and in grade five, I had a Sister for Math.  In grade six, Sister Tetrault was teaching homec and finally, Sister Marion Murray taught public speaking when I was in grade seven.

There were Redemptorist priests that would come to the school and play music and sing with the children when I was in grade five, which would have been about 1969.  By 1969, there was a new freedom in music and so we seemed to be so hip and cool, singing “Simon and Garfunkel’s Sounds of Silence” with Father Douziech and Father Persky.

The inside of the Church as well had a major facelift.  Gone was the altar rail and heavy purple drapes.  The altar was made modern and lovely with orange/brown carpet.  The huge crucifixion cross that hung in front of the rich, purple velvet drapes was taken away as well. We came to understand that the Lord’s resurrection ought to be front and center, as opposed to over-emphasizing the crucifixion.  Votive candles remained at the sides of the Church.  Confessionals were of course, still in good use! 

I mention the religious sisters in the schools, and the priests coming from the rectory to the school because I’m pointing to the former ‘visibility’ of the Church to the children then, which  has pretty much disappeared now.  Most of our religious sisters have sold their convents and most sisters are retired and have moved back to their original homes. Most of our religious orders of priests no longer exist and we have mainly diocesan priests. I was raised in a Redemptorist Parish in Edmonton , and we no longer have Redemptorists serving in Edmonton and very few in Canada . There is a Redemptorist Bishop in Northern Alberta .  It has been this way in the Edmonton Diocese for at least 15 years.  In a matter of about 40 years, the “religious complexion” of this diocese has changed dramatically.  

I will touch on what the spirituality of the day was about.  At school, we recited the Lord’s prayer and the Act of Contrition.  I recall when we were studying to play the recorder when I was in grade four and five, I would practice the songs from the Mass Book, and that is one of the ways I knew some of the traditional songs of the Church.  We didn’t say the rosary in our home, but I know that it must have been a permanent feature of the Church, even with the introduction of Vatican II.  There were enough statues in the school and even in the Church to remind us of our spiritual legacy.

My favorite statue was of St. Therese of Lisieux which I can speak of at another time. Now days, you won’t find too many statues in new churches.  

I have spoken about the structural changes that I witnessed in the Church in 40 years, and I have also spoken about the change in the “religious complexion” of the Church  that I have witnessed in 40 years.  There were of course changes in the Liturgy and a heightened participation and visibility of the congregation.   

I think there was an overall perception that things were progressing well, in terms of the changes that the Vatican II council either directly or indirectly precipitated.  I would say that for me that impression would have been from about 1969-1990.  In 1990, I would have been 32 years old.  It seems that there was a time of “fervor’ around the changes that sprouted from Vatican II and it is only now that we are at a “new juncture” where there needs to be another “infusion” of Vatican II?  

I haven’t spoken about my “personal” journey with Christ through all of this, so that will be reserved for another time.  My question is today:  Was this a universal experience for people of witnessing changes for about 30-40 years?  And…..Is it a universal experience that there appears to be a “new” juncture or another “infusion” of Vatican II needed?  

My point is there appeared to be a forward momentum in the Church after Vatican II and it seemed to move along fairly well, and now, it’s like we’ve hit a brick wall?  What is your reflection?