Palm Sunday: the beginning and the Resurrection

We are already in Passiontide and Palm Sunday marches us towards the Holy Triduum. It is an especially important time of year. Holy Week is a first priority as it focuses on the events leading to our Salvation by Jesus Christ. As Plain Catholics we try to especially avoid distractions during this week and focus more on the mysteries of our Redemption through Christ.

Plain Catholics get questions from time to time and one question is how do we detach from the distractions of the world? It will be easier to make a list of the things we do to keep worldly temptations and distractions to a minimum.

1. No live broadcast television or radio. We carefully select the programs that are healthy for us spiritually and provide practical education on topics such as farming or ranching. We do this with books and dvds; no broadcast programming.
2. We limit our time on the computer to essential communications related to our businesses; family contacts; and ministries.
3. We do have a weather alert radio, something that is an important tool in rural living and homesteading.
4. Our phones are limited to call and text only unless there is a medical app that needs to be monitored as well: in such cases a smart phone is a necessary medical tool.

We also get questions about community from time to time. As we have mentioned, Plain Catholics do not live in intentional communities. We are individual families with our own land. 

We encourage everyone to put down their phones, computers and take up their Bibles and prayers more frequently. Do not forget to attend Mass each week and become more involved in worship and fellowship and less involved in social media. Amen.

History and Identity

Since the site that once carried our web pages no longer exists it's been suggested we recreate some of that content here on the blog. We'll do our best over the next several posts to do just that.

Plain Catholics are a branch of the original Catholic Land Movement that reached its peak around 1935. While the CLM faded, Plain Catholics maintained the charism of faith-focused living, simplicity and separation from secularism. We moved out of the cities and never returned though some men may commute to a job. We prefer to embrace a quiet life of self-sufficiency and focus upon discipleship to Jesus. The original families in the British Isles decided that the name "Plain Catholics" was a straight-forward description of how we live: plainly. We have no fancy cars, no expensive clothing, and no expensive houses or lifestyles. Plain and simple is our way we choose to live.

We are often asked where we get our clothing which is chosen for its modesty as well as its tradition. We sew our own based on patterns that closely resemble the Victorian servants and farm clothing that was widely used from 1895 - 1930s. As the Plain Catholic charism originated in the United Kingdom at that time, we've kept the clothing styles that are traditional to our history. 

The men still prefer long pants and sleeved shirts. The women still wear head coverings in the form of veils or caps. Both wear broad brimmed hats outdoors for sun protection.

Do people still mistake us for Amish, or nuns, or Mennonites? I suppose they always will because they have their own ideas about styles. Plain Catholics are not a large group in Catholic circles. Because of that and the fact we live in rural areas and not the cities, there are Catholics who have no idea that we exist. If we go into town for any reason the folks that know us leave us be and treat us as they do all of their friends.

One source for the patterns we use is Candle on the Hill. They carry patterns for both male and female. The King's Daughters also carry similar sewing patterns and offer to custom-make the clothing if sewing isn't in your skill set. 

While we encourage families to focus on Jesus more and less on secular culture we also realize that not every family can afford land to work as a ranch or farm. Yet every Catholic family can divest from secular activities. Instead replace those secular activities with useful skills for self-sufficient living. Spend more time involved with the parish and volunteer to help. Read more books and dream large. If you feel attracted to the Plain Catholic charism I recommend starting with the book The Church and the Land by Fr. Vincent McNabb, OP. 

Lent begins this coming Wednesday, February 14. It would be a good time to give up a secular activity permanently such as television or too much social media. Just a thought.

 SPECIAL NOTICE

PLAIN CATHOLICS DO NOT SOLICIT DONATIONS. 

AS FAMILIES WHO SEEK TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT, WE BELIEVE THAT SUPPORT OF THE PARISH AND COMMUNITIES OF RELIGIOUS IS PARAMOUNT.

SHOULD SOMEONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE A PLAIN CATHOLIC ASKS YOU FOR DONATIONS, BE ADVISED THAT IT IS A SCAM AND REPORT IT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.

It is sad that there are criminals who seek the vulnerable for the sake of greed, yet history repeats itself in such behaviors.

Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."

It seems time has slipped away from us. Some have emailed for how we are doing so it is time for a new post. We simply have not been online as the life and charism fills our days.

We have 27 Highland cows presently and we are in the season of winter. The children are growing and two have graduated their homeschool curriculum and continue to help around the ranch. We continue living the charism as Plain Catholics, attending Mass and praying.

It is a life of routine with occasional emergencies. There are times of rest and times of heavy and hard work. We are blessed and praise God for these, our blessings. 

We continue and persevere. We have 14 Highland cattle going into autumn here in New Zealand. 

Plain Catholics have been on the internet (minimally) since 2007: 15 years. We still avoid social media as much as possible. We choose to focus on real life and real relationships with God and each other.

We continue to get queries from a number of places. All of them, politely and not-so-politely, insist we should form a community. As we have answered, Plain Catholics have never had a community. We are individual families with farms and ranches. This remains our charism and those Plain Catholics who have remained in contact all say that community is not a part of that charism. We are quite simply, not called to community. 

There are too many variables involved in forming such a community venture, variables that would take up too much time from family which is a focus for us. Re the logistics of forming and maintaining a Catholic community:

• Land is far too expensive to support a number of families. 
• Then there is the Rule of Life that would be necessary. Which one would be used to maintain harmony in a community of families? 
• Which model is suitable to Catholic living? The Hutterites (who arguably have one of the most successful communitarian models) have a common heritage of traditions and culture. Plain Catholic families come from many different cultures, many different traditions.
• Who would lead such a community? A priest? A lay leader? A deacon? An abbot?

Lay affiliation to a monastery is the closest that lay Catholics of any charism have come to having a lay community. These families such as Oblates of St. Benedict follow the rule of the monastery but own their own home and land. They do have a common lifestyle such as farming and ranching. They come from many different backgrounds with a variety of jobs in addition to farming and ranching. 

As has been noted, creating a communitarian type of charism does not fit the Plain Catholic charism. Plain Catholics can and do affiliate with monasteries but that is a parish type of relationship with the monastic community providing the sacraments.

If a single person is called to community we encourage that person to first explore the possibility of religious life in a monastic or convent type of community. There are many options from which to choose:

Active ministry

Active/contemplative ministry

Contemplative ministry

Missionary

We are still here

We are still Plain Catholic and we are still here. COVID sent everything pear-shaped but we survived well. We took our vitamins D and C. Our country (New Zealand) shut down everything and closed its borders. Drastic but necessary. God has been good to us. None of us were sick. We pray that continues.

Our small ranch is doing well enough. We have a three more Highland calves expected. We are coming up on Summer here in the Southern Hemisphere. 

We are keeping in prayer all those families with members who were or are in Afghanistan. Be strong and be faithful to Jesus.

Back from lunch ...

My apologies for not posting in awhile. We have been busy keeping the farm productive and getting everything sorted for winter. Like other nations we have a lockdown to stop the COVID-19. Ours is a stringent action but it is necessary to save lives. We celebrated the Holy Triduum like other Catholics around the world. All at home with prayers and listening to Mass on the radio or telly. It seemed strange to not be at the parish during our holiest of Feasts. Some days we would wake up to smoke from the wildfires in Oz about 2300 km away. This year has been interesting.

We have sent in some extra money to our parish knowing that the parish collections are down with no one allowed to attend. Father still has to keep the lights on and pay for that privilege. He will also need heat money with winter approaching. Our parish has been looking after the elderly and our priest. We all take turns cooking for someone each week. We call each other to see if there is anything in short supply or if there is a need for a trip to the doctor. Our family likes to say that everyone is a getting a wee taste of Plain Catholic living this year.

Praying for all and encouraging all to send a little extra money to the parish to help pay the bills. Take advantage of your parish's online giving setup if you have one. Call other parishioners and check on them. Be there for each other and you will receive the gift of experiencing the Early Church of the Apostles in the time of Jesus. What a gift it is!