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Ever Ancient, Ever New: Why Younger Generations Are Embracing Traditional Catholicism
The Church is enduring one of the worst crises in her history. There has been a collapse in the number of laity, clergy, and religious participating in the Catholic faith. According to the Index of Leading Catholic The Church Since Vatican II , approximately 460 million Catholics have left the Faith since Vatican II. Not only is there a crisis in participation, there are a plethora of surveys which reveal the extent of heterodox teachings in the modern United States Church.
Despite this rapid decline in Catholic demographics, there is hope. A recent study conducted by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter found that while Novus Ordo (that is, the 1969 Mass of Pope Paul VI) parishes have been shrinking, parishes that offer the Latin Mass have been growing. Another study conducted by Dr. Joseph Shaw found that the average traditional parish has larger family sizes, younger attendees, and higher male attendance. What is the explanation for this?
In Ever Ancient, Ever New , millennials enthralled with the traditional devotions of our Faith which have been left largely abandoned since Vatican II explain this phenomenon. These authors include Alexander Tschugguel, Stephanie Nicholas, as well as Timothy, and Stephanie Gordon.
Ever Ancient, Ever New offers the path forward for the Church’s her past.
Despite this rapid decline in Catholic demographics, there is hope. A recent study conducted by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter found that while Novus Ordo (that is, the 1969 Mass of Pope Paul VI) parishes have been shrinking, parishes that offer the Latin Mass have been growing. Another study conducted by Dr. Joseph Shaw found that the average traditional parish has larger family sizes, younger attendees, and higher male attendance. What is the explanation for this?
In Ever Ancient, Ever New , millennials enthralled with the traditional devotions of our Faith which have been left largely abandoned since Vatican II explain this phenomenon. These authors include Alexander Tschugguel, Stephanie Nicholas, as well as Timothy, and Stephanie Gordon.
Ever Ancient, Ever New offers the path forward for the Church’s her past.
144 pages, Hardcover
Published January 25, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 4, 2022
3.5 stars.
Full disclosure: I have a chapter in this book, so I was gifted my copy from the publisher. My review is still as always my opinion.
I’m so thankful to the editors and to TAN books for allowing me to tell my story. It’s pretty amazing holding something I wrote in my hands, in book form!
Despite my bias, I really enjoyed reading the other stories as well.
I especially enjoyed Kenneth Alexander’s reversion tale, I relate to a lot of his past struggles with sin as well as the way he fell in love with the Church. It reminded me of my early conversion days.
Tim Gordon’s childhood experiences in regard to losing his faith was sad (of course) but interesting to read. He relates a story about his parents accidentally breaking his “faith” in Santa Claus and how it damaged his faith in God. It wasn’t so much a “this is why Santa is evil!” thing (he still does Santa stuff with his kids) but rather a warning that kids will pick up on it if we don’t treat our faith as deserving of seriousness and real depth.
Tim’s wife Stephanie’s story was also very interesting, I’d only heard parts of it before. I cracked up at her saying some trads act too much like Ned Flanders, LOL. Though in one anecdote, she says a priest called her stupid for getting her Italian wrong, and praised this as a good thing because priests need to be more bold and in afraid of the truth. While I agree with her broadly on that, I don’t think I’d be happy to be called stupid by a priest over a minor error, lol.
All of the stories were interesting to me, I love stories of conversion in general, but these stories really focus on younger Catholics. As an age group, we grew up in the world of “look! Get the kids involved! Use GUITARS!”.
I have less experience with that than most, I guess, seeing as I grew up in an Eastern Orthodox Church community, where (blessedly) no one cares what the ~*youth*~ think worship should be. I can’t even IMAGINE any of the priests I grew around zooming around on a skateboard or whatever.
Anyway, I’m rambling on. I think this book does a good job of showcasing the attractiveness of authentic Catholicism among the younger generation.
My only real gripe is the length! This book was very short and unfortunately short books still tend to be rather expensive for how quickly one can read it. I would have loved another 5 or so stories. As it stands, I read this entire thing in a couple of sittings in a single afternoon.
BUT I do still think it is well worth reading, and especially well worth reading for those who are curious about tradition but have had bad experiences, or have been sold the idea that trads are a bunch of mean poopheads.
Oh, and an update to my chapter: I married the fiancé I mentioned in the book. And we have a 10 month old now. ;)
Full disclosure: I have a chapter in this book, so I was gifted my copy from the publisher. My review is still as always my opinion.
I’m so thankful to the editors and to TAN books for allowing me to tell my story. It’s pretty amazing holding something I wrote in my hands, in book form!
Despite my bias, I really enjoyed reading the other stories as well.
I especially enjoyed Kenneth Alexander’s reversion tale, I relate to a lot of his past struggles with sin as well as the way he fell in love with the Church. It reminded me of my early conversion days.
Tim Gordon’s childhood experiences in regard to losing his faith was sad (of course) but interesting to read. He relates a story about his parents accidentally breaking his “faith” in Santa Claus and how it damaged his faith in God. It wasn’t so much a “this is why Santa is evil!” thing (he still does Santa stuff with his kids) but rather a warning that kids will pick up on it if we don’t treat our faith as deserving of seriousness and real depth.
Tim’s wife Stephanie’s story was also very interesting, I’d only heard parts of it before. I cracked up at her saying some trads act too much like Ned Flanders, LOL. Though in one anecdote, she says a priest called her stupid for getting her Italian wrong, and praised this as a good thing because priests need to be more bold and in afraid of the truth. While I agree with her broadly on that, I don’t think I’d be happy to be called stupid by a priest over a minor error, lol.
All of the stories were interesting to me, I love stories of conversion in general, but these stories really focus on younger Catholics. As an age group, we grew up in the world of “look! Get the kids involved! Use GUITARS!”.
I have less experience with that than most, I guess, seeing as I grew up in an Eastern Orthodox Church community, where (blessedly) no one cares what the ~*youth*~ think worship should be. I can’t even IMAGINE any of the priests I grew around zooming around on a skateboard or whatever.
Anyway, I’m rambling on. I think this book does a good job of showcasing the attractiveness of authentic Catholicism among the younger generation.
My only real gripe is the length! This book was very short and unfortunately short books still tend to be rather expensive for how quickly one can read it. I would have loved another 5 or so stories. As it stands, I read this entire thing in a couple of sittings in a single afternoon.
BUT I do still think it is well worth reading, and especially well worth reading for those who are curious about tradition but have had bad experiences, or have been sold the idea that trads are a bunch of mean poopheads.
Oh, and an update to my chapter: I married the fiancé I mentioned in the book. And we have a 10 month old now. ;)
January 3, 2025
Compelling arguments for the traditional Latin Mass in a relevant, relatable manner but the writing is lackluster and not entirely engaging
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews