8.110. Why are traditional Catholics so focused on rules and rituals instead of just loving God?
To love God is to obey God—not to follow our own feelings or preferences. Christ Himself said,
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
Traditional Catholics aren’t obsessed with “rules”—we are faithful to the structure, worship, and commandments that God has revealed. The “rituals” of the Church are not man-made burdens—they are the God-given means by which He is properly adored, and by which souls receive grace, reverence, and truth.
The modern mindset, influenced by Vatican II, seeks a “relationship with God” detached from dogma and duty, which leads to disobedience, subjectivism, and eventually indifference. True love for God includes liturgy, discipline, doctrine, and devotion—not because we’re rigid, but because He is holy.
| Category | Traditional Catholic View | Modern / Vatican II Mentality | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Love of God | Expressed through obedience, sacrifice, and reverence | Measured by emotion, sincerity, or personal connection | “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them… he it is that loveth Me” (John 14:21) |
| Rules & Commandments | Guided by divine law and Church discipline | Seen as optional or outdated structures | Rules are not obstacles—they protect and nourish true devotion |
| Ritual & Liturgy | Prescribed by God through the Church; worthy worship | Seen as human formality or empty repetition | The Mass is **not a gathering—it’s a sacrifice** |
| Doctrine | Must be believed fully, even when difficult | Downplayed or reinterpreted to fit modern views | You can’t love God while rejecting what He teaches |
| External vs. Internal | Both matter—external forms express interior reality | Interior “faith” claimed to excuse disobedience | Interior faith without submission is a contradiction |
| Vatican II Influence | Rejected: truth and worship are objective and unchanging | Promoted: love over law, feelings over form | This false dichotomy leads to error and apostasy |
| Fruits | Holiness, vocations, conversions, reverent worship | Confusion, irreverence, declining belief in the Eucharist | “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16) |
Summary:
True love of God is not a feeling—it is faithful worship, obedient submission, and joyful sacrifice. Traditional Catholics follow “rules and rituals” not out of fear or pride, but because they are the way God Himself told us to love Him.
It is not “just about loving God”—unless we define love as doing what He says, believing what He taught, and worshiping Him as He commanded. The saints didn’t invent new ways to worship—they received, obeyed, and passed down what was handed to them.
The tragedy of Vatican II is that it made millions think form doesn’t matter—and as a result, faith, reverence, and belief in the Real Presence have collapsed.
To quote Pope St. Pius X:
“Far, far from the clergy be the love of novelty!”
Further reading:
Pascendi Dominici Gregis (On the Doctrine of the Modernists) by Pope St. Pius X (1907)