Verenaerin-
Sorry to chime in so late here but I thought I would share my family’s experience.
Our two children (7 and 9) attend a diocesan school. We go to Mass primarily at a diocesan TLM (not the same parish as the school) and occasionally attend an SSPX chapel as well.
Our position has always been that we send them to Catholic School, not so much for what they get out of it; but to protect them from what they may learn in public school- even with rampant liberalism and modernism, there are certainly still Catholic truths that are reflected in the Catholic educational system.
Religious instruction is obviously insufficient at school so we supplement this at home and make sure that we review the lessons that are being taught and correct them to our children where necessary.
We see ourselves as kind of working from within to be an example to others. Our children are well versed in their catechism and take every opportunity to share what they know with their friends and teachers. They have shared with their classes their use of scapulars, the Rosary, praying the Ave in Latin and other things that their classmates may not have been exposed to otherwise. My son receives Holy Communion kneeling on the tongue at school N.O. Masses and my daughter veils at school Masses.
We were able to arrange my son’s first Holy Communion to be given at the TLM (shameless plug for my friend’s blog with pics of the wonderful event:
http://phillytlm.blogspot.com/2012/04/fi...inary.html)- and though the our parish priest made us jump through a few hoops to accomplish it; when we approached about our daughter’s first Holy Communion this upcoming April, he kind of waived us off saying “whatever, whatever…”.
Currently our son’s class is doing a project on famous Philadelphians and my son chose St. John Neumann. They have to do a presentation, in the character of their subject before the entire school and my son’s contains a short explanation that the Mass which St. John Neumann celebrated was different than the Mass that most children know about today.
We have not seen the kind of blatant disrespect that you described at the Mass you attended but we have butted heads a few times with the school hierarchy- most recently when my daughter’s gym day coincided with Friday Mass and we wanted her to wear a dress rather than her gym uniform. I think that we are probably seen as the resident weirdos by some of the other parents, but we continue to view what we do there as a powerful witness to our traditional faith and values.
Not that our presence has anything to do with this, but this coming March 19th, St Joseph’s Day, one of the parishes that our school is attached to is hosting a sung TLM to be said by the priest of the diocesan Mass that we normally attend. We were shocked and overjoyed by this news. (St Madeline’s in Ridley Park- 7pm 3/19/13 for any Philadelphia area fishies) My children have invited all of their friends and my son will be serving the Mass. We hope that we can help plant some good seeds with this.
Yes, it’s sometimes very difficult to hang in there in the midst of problems and abuses, but we feel the fruit that our efforts may bear make in worthwhile.
Many prayers for you and yours,
Henry