DOUBLE, SECOND CLASS / WHITE
It was in order to strengthen the faith of Peter, James, and John for the approaching ordeal of the Passion that Jesus led them up Mount Tabor and was transfigured before them. Beholding Christ as the brightness of the Father and the figure of God’s substance, Peter cried out, “Lord, it is good for us to be here!” Yet only a short while later, the same Peter would deny his master during the agonizing darkness of the Passion. “Jesus has now many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few that are willing to bear His cross,” says the author of The Imitation of Christ. “But they that love Jesus for Jesus’ sake and not for any comfort of their own, bless Him no less in tribulation and anguish of heart than in the greatest consolation.”
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“Ten Years That Shook the Church”: Archbishop Dwyer’s 1973 Critique of the Reform and the Post-Council Peter Kwasniewski
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| Dwyer as a boy and as a bishop |
Archbishop Robert Joseph Dwyer (1908-76), amidst his copious writings, penned not a few scathing critiques of the liturgical reform, at least two of which had not yet been made available online—a problem I sought and seek to remedy between last week and this. Last week, we published a newspaper column of his from July 1971 that pronounced a failing grade on the Bugnini Rite and, in particular, on the horrendously bad translations, music, and parochial balkanization that accompanied the roll-out of the Novus Ordo. Today, I publish the transcription of an article from the Twin Circle, which appears to have been launched in 1967, was sold to the Legionaries of Christ in 1995 (they bought the National Catholic Register at the same time), and was renamed Faith & Family in 2000, before folding in 2011.
Once again, it is nearly impossible to imagine a bishop writing this openly and bluntly in a Catholic newspaper today. To my mind, this suggests that the much-vaunted parrhesia is quite lacking, probably because knowledge of the traditional liturgy, of the Council, and of the details of the reform is quite lacking among those who did not personally experience all of it as Dwyer had done.
Ten Years That Shook the Church
Archbishop Robert Dwyer
Twin Circle
October 26, 1973
Archbishop Robert Dwyer
Twin Circle
October 26, 1973
What happens when an institution, be it a religious body or a nation state or what you will, deliberately cuts itself off from its historical and cultural roots? Rarely according to the record have such institutions been able to survive, the shock being too great, the trauma too devastating.
They may seek in desperation to renew those roots, by some legerdemain to recover them, or to substitute some seeming equivalent, but unless any such an institution has some sort of divine guarantee, the chances of its success are, as the airline stewardesses never fail to assure us in soothing tones, exceedingly remote.
Toward the end of the Second Session of the Vatican Council, late in November 1963, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy was triumphantly voted in by an overwhelming majority of the assembled Fathers. As we trooped out of St. Peter’s basilica that day, spreading our amaranthine stain over the great parvis, a palpable euphoria thrilled through the entire body. Something at last had been accomplished, one item of the business which had called us to Rome had been nailed down.
The members of the Commission which had hammered out the Constitution and guided it through the grueling tests of debate and modification, were obviously elated, and the most prominent American member, the late Archbishop Paul Hallinan of Atlanta, was the glowing recipient of hearty and even gleeful congratulations.
Good Fun
It was all in good fun and no one, least of all perhaps the drafters and proponents of the Constitution in question had the slightest notion, not to say intent, of tampering with the cultural life-lines of the Roman Catholic Church.
Nor was there, on candid reading, anything in the text or in the spirit of the document which would suggest the least deviation from the historic past of the liturgy, its sacred traditions, its venerable usages.
There was, of course, a loosening of certain restrictions. The vernacular was to share with the Latin the role of liturgical communication, not by any means to replace it. Greater simplicity in ritual was to be introduced.
Though the term had not yet swung so prominently into orbit as it was to do a year or so later, the liturgy was to be made more “relevant” to contemporary man, with his increasingly secular preoccupations.
Who dreamed on that day that within a few years, far less than a decade, the Latin past of the Church would be all but expunged, that it would be reduced to a memory fading in the middle distance? The thought would have horrified us, but it seemed so far beyond the realm of the possible as to be ridiculous.
So we laughed it off.
As a personal footnote, we had been visited by some misgivings in regard to the vernacular, by way of certain apprehensions that it could lead to invidious comparisons between those prelates and priests who read well and have all the arts of elocution, who have the gift of acting their part with dignity and conviction, the Suenenses and the Sheens, and those not so happily endowed, all the way down to the poor fellows who can only mumble as unintelligible in English or Swahili as in the ancient language of the Church.
With the difference that nobody expected to understand them in Latin, whereas the whole point of the vernacular was to make the liturgy, once again, relevant. But having voiced this unworthy fear, and told to go to the corner and hide our head for very shame for entertaining such an antidemocratic notion, we lapsed into chastened silence.
And when the vote came round, like wise Sir Joseph Porter, KCB, “We always voted at our party’s call; W never thought of thinking for ourself at all.” That way you can save yourself a world of trouble.
Cultural Cut-off
Well, here we are 10 years later, and what results do we see? The result, plainly and bluntly, is that the Western Church has just about completely cut herself off from her cultural roots, the Latin tradition of the West.
Latin is practically banned from the liturgy and banned as well from the courses of study required of candidates for the priesthood.
Fewer and fewer Masses in Latin are sanctioned or approved by local ordinaries, and fewer and fewer seminarians and young priests have now more than a nodding acquaintance with the language which nourished the devotion of countless generations of Christians and gave to theology and the other sacred sciences a common tongue, so that, even though imperfectly, communication was possible.
The Church which so long had preserved Latin consciously as a bond of unity, had quite suddenly decided to discard it as a useless encumbrance.
New Tune
With this rejection, and as an almost inevitable consequence, went out the window also the whole magnificent musical heritage of the Church. For when you change your language you also change your song.
The Jewish exiles hanging their harps beside the waters of Babylon, so long ago, made that discovery.
Pope Paul VI, the other day, made an earnest plea for the revival of some parts of the Mass in Latin, the Kyrie, the Gloria, etc., with the obvious hope of salvaging something of our immense musical treasure, one of the glories of the Christian accomplishment; but whether his words will carry weight, whether his “cri de coeur” will be heard, is anyone’s guess.
Not, surely, until realization dawns on many minds how drastically we have robbed ourselves of our cultural wealth.
Less immediately cognate to the Latin past, yet in strict relationship, is the whole violent artistic rejection of the past. It is not a question of contemporary art being good or bad; it is a matter of its repudiating, often with contempt, those principles and traditions which gave art, visual or tactual, substance and meaning.
The creation of an anti-art, the sole pitiable boast of the contemporary schools, is mighty thin provender for souls hungering and thirsting for something greater than themselves, something of beauty and nobility. But we go along with the crowd, because we too have lost our way.
And the same rejection, not merely of our cultural and esthetic roots, but of our philosophical and theological foundations, is the reaction and reality of the moment. Who would be caught dead today citing a theologian older than Karl Rahner or a philosopher more antique than Bernard Lonergan?
The substitution of Teilhardism for Thomism, if not complete in our schools, our seminaries and universities, is within an ace of carrying the day. But only too insistently is it borne in on us that we are a cracked record, flawed by a fixation.
Is anything of this important? Does it matter that the Church has been led down the path of rejection, slowly at first and by imperceptible stages, then ever more rapidly and finally at breakneck speed?
Does it matter that we as Catholics have succeeded in cutting ourselves off from those cultural sources which nourished our fathers and gave support and assurance to their faith? Is it inevitable that in this last third of the 20th century the Catholic mind should seek a new milieu, new associations, new roots?
Doubtless Dr. Leslie Dewart [1] and his disciples would return a resounding yes to this.
But before we commit ourselves farther, and if there is still time for reflection, might we not do well to catch the echo of a great and now almost forgotten Father of the Council, the late Cardinal Michael Browne, who, at a decisive moment in the debate on the Constitution on the Church, raised his voice in warning with all the richness of the Irish brogue in Latin: Caveamus, Patres, caveamus! Let us take heed, Fathers, let us beware!
We thought it amusing then; we might take it a little more seriously now.
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| Illustration in the original newspaper article |
September 24, 2024 No Comments
Ascension of our Lord
| INSTRUCTION ON THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD
Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine’s At the Introit the Church sings the words which were spoken by the angels to the apostles and disciples, after the Ascension of our Lord: INTROIT Ye men of Galilee, why wonder you, looking up to heaven? allel.: He shall so come as you have seen him going up into heaven. Allel., allel., allel. (Acts I. 11.), Oh, clap your hands, all ye nations; shout unto God with the voice of joy. (Ps. XLVI. 2.) Glory be to the Father, etc. COLLECT Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that we who believe Thy only begotten Son, our Redeemer, to have this day ascended into the heavens, may ourselves also in, mind dwell amid heavenly things. Through the same etc. LESSON (Acts I. 1-11.) The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach , until the day on which, giving commandments by the Holy Ghost to the apostles ,whom he had chosen, he was taken up: to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And eating together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (saith he) by my mouth: for John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. They, therefore, who were come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? But he said to diem: It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father hath put in his own power; but you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold, two men stood by them in white garments, who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand yon looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven. EXPLANATION This gospel of St. Luke addressed to Theophilus, a Christian of note in Antioch, contains an account of the life, sufferings, and death of Jesus up to the time of His ascension into heaven. The Evangelist continues his account in the Acts of the apostles, in which he describes in simple words that which Jesus did during the forty days following His Resurrection, and the manner in which He ascended into heaven in the presence of His apostles. Rejoice that Christ today has entered into the glory gained by His sufferings and death, and pray: I rejoice, O King of heaven and earth, in the glory Thou bast this day attained in heaven. Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth: sing ye to the Lord: sing ye to God, who mounteth above the heaven of heavens to the east. Give ye glory to God for Israel, his magnificence and his power is in the clouds. God is wonderful in his saints, the God of Israel is he who will give power and strength to his people, blessed be God. (Ps.LXVII. 33‑36.) GOSPEL (Mark. XVI. 14-20.) At that time, Jesus appeared to the eleven as they were at table: and he upbraided them with their incredulity and hardness of heart, because they did not believe them who had seen him after he was risen again. (And he said to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned: And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents: and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick; and they shall recover.) And the Lord Jesus after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God. But they going forth preached everywhere, the Lord working withal, and confirming the word with signs that followed. The part of this gospel which is within the marks of parenthesis, is the gospel for the feast of St. Francis Xavier. Why did Christ say to His apostles: Go ye into the whale world and preach the gospel to all creatures? To show that no one is to assume the office of preaching, but must look for his mission from the lawful pastors of the Church. And when Christ sends His apostles into the whole worlds to all nations without exception, He shows His willingness to save all men. If the designs of God are not fulfilled, the blame is not to be attributed to God, but to man, who either does not accept the doctrine of the gospel, or accepting, does not live in accordance with it, or else renders himself by his obduracy in vice, unworthy of the gospel. Is faith without good works sufficient for salvation? No, faith that is not active in love, not fruitful in good works, and therefore not meritorious, (Gal. V. 6.) is not sufficient for salvation. “Such faith,” says St. Anselm, “is not the faith of a Christian, but the faith of the devil.” Only he who truly believes in Christ and His doctrine, and lives in accordance with it, will be saved. Is ours then the true faith since all the faithful do not work miracles; as Christ has predicted? St. Gregory very beautifully replies to this question: “Because the Redeemer said that true faith would be accompanied by miracles, you must not think that you have not the faith, because these signs do not follow; these miracles had to be wrought in the beginning of the Church, because faith in her had to be increased by these visible signs of divine power.” And even now when such signs are necessary for the propagation of the faith, and victory over unbelief, God gives His faithful power to work them. Are miracles wrought now in the Catholic Church? Yes, for there have been at all times saints in the Church, who, as seen from their lives, have wrought miracles, on account of their faith, which even the heretics cannot deny; for instance St. Francis Xavier, who in the sight of the heathens, raised several dead persons to life. In a spiritual manner all pious Catholics still work such miracles; for, as St. Chrysostom says, “they expel devils when they banish sin, which is worse than the devil; they speak new tongues when they converse no longer on vain and sinful things, but on those which are spiritual and heavenly.” “They take up serpents,” says St. Gregory, “when by zealous exhortations they lift others from the shame of vice, without being themselves poisoned; they drink deadly things without being hurt by them, when they hear improper conversation without being corrupted or led to evil; they lay their hands upon the sick and heal them, when they teach the ignorant, strengthen by their good example those who are wavering in virtue, keep the sinner from evil, and similar things.” Strive to do this upon all occasions, O Christian, for God willingly gives you His grace and you will thus be of more use to yourself and others, and honor God more than by working the greatest miracles. Where and how did Christ ascend into heaven? From Mount Olivet where His sufferings began, by which we learn, that where our crosses and afflictions begin which we endure with patience and resignation, there begins our reward. Christ ascended into heaven by His own power, because He is God, and now in His glorified humanity He sits at the right hand of His Father, as our continual Mediator. In whose presence did Christ ascend into heaven? In the presence of His apostles, and many of His disciples, whom He had previously blessed, (Luke XXIV. 51.) and who, as St. Leo says, derived consoling joy from His ascension. Rejoice, also, O Christian foul, for Christ has today opened heaven for you, and you may enter it, if you believe in Christ, and live in accordance with that faith. St. Augustine says: “Let us ascend in spirit with Christ, that when His day comes, we may follow with our body. Yet you must know, beloved brethren, that not pride, nor avarice, nor impurity, nor any other vice ascends with Christ; for with the teacher of humility pride ascends not, nor with the author of goodness, malice, nor with the Son of the Virgin, impurity. Let us then ascend with Him by trampling upon our vices and evil inclinations, thus building a ladder by which we can ascend; for we make a ladder of our sins to heaven when we tread them down in combating them:” ASPIRATION O King of glory! O powerful Lord! who hast this day ascended victoriously, above all heaven, leave us not as poor orphans; but send us, from the Father, the Spirit of truth whom Thou hast promised. Alleluia. Why is the paschal candle extinguished after the gospel on this day? To signify that Christ, of whom the candle is a figure, has gone from His disciples.
INSTRUCTION ON MIRACLESAnd these signs shall follow them that believe. (Mark XVI. 17.) What is a miracle? A miracle, as defined by St. Thomas of Aquin, is anything beyond the ordinary, fixed state of things that is done through God. Thus when the sun stands still in his course, when thousands are fed with five loaves and two small fishes, when by a word or simple touch the dead are raised to life, the blind see, and the deaf hear, these are things contrary to nature, and are miracles which can only be performed by God or those persons to whom God has given the power. That God can work miracles, cannot be denied. God has made the laws of nature, and at any time it pleases Him, He can suddenly suspend them, and that God has at times done so, we have more solid and undeniable proofs, than we have for the most renowned and best authenticated facts of history, far more witnesses testify to miracles, the whole world has believed them, and been converted by them; more than eleven millions of martyrs have died to confirm and maintain their truth; no one gives up his life for lies and deceptions; the Jews and pagans have admitted them, but ascribed them to witchcraft and the power of demons rather than to God; by this they proved and acknowledged the truth of miracles, because in order to deny them, they were driven to false and absurd explanation of them. Can men work miracles? No; only God works miracles through man to whom He gives the power. The history of the Christian Church in all ages bears testimony, that men have wrought miracles in the name of Jesus, as, for example, the apostles and the saints. Can miracles be worked by the relics of saints, pictures, &e.? The Church, in the Council of Trent, solemnly declares, that we are never to believe that there is in any picture or relic any hidden power by which a miracle can, be worked, and that we are not to honor or ask any such thing of them. Therefore no miracle can ever be worked by them, but God can perform miracles through them, and He has done so, as the holy Scriptures and the history of the Church of Christ both prove. But when through certain pictures (usually called miraculous pictures) miracles do take place, that no deception may occur, the Church commands that such a picture shall not be exposed for the veneration of the faithful, until the truth of the miracles performed is by a rigorous examination established beyond doubt; she then causes such pictures to be respectfully preserved as monuments of the goodness and omnipotence of God. Why are there not so many miracles in our ties as there were in the first days of the Church? Because the Church is no longer in need of such extraordinary testimony to the truth of her teachings. Thus St. Augustine writes: “He who in the face of the conversion of the world to Christianity demands miracles, and strives to doubt those which have been wrought in favor of this most wonderful change, is himself an astonishing miracle of irrationality and stupidity;” and St. Chrysostom says: “The question is sometimes asked: How happens it there are not so many miracles now a days? The answer is, because the knowledge of Christ is propagated all over the earth, and the Church is like a tree which, having once taken deep root and grown to a certain height, no longer needs to be carefully watered and supported.” |
May 9, 2024 No Comments
First Sunday of Advent
The Church’s Year, by Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine (Angelus Press)
INSTRUCTIONS ON ADVENT
What is the meaning of Advent, and what do we understand by the term?
The word Advent signifies coming, and by it is understood the visible coming of the Son of God into this world, at two different times.
It was when the Son of God, conceived of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the immaculate Virgin Mary, was born, according to the flesh, in the fullness of time, and sanctified the world by His coming, for which the patriarchs and prophets had so longed (Gen. 49:10; Is. G4:1; Lk. 10:24).
Since Christ had not yet come, how could the Just of the Old Law be saved?
Immediately after their sin, God revealed to our first parents that His only-begotten Son would become man and redeem the world (Gen. 3:15). In the hope of this Redeemer and through His merits, all in the old covenant who participated in His merits by innocence or by penance, and who died in the grace of God, were saved, although they were excluded from heaven until the Ascension of Christ.
When will the second coming of Christ take place?
At the end of the world when Christ will come, with great power and majesty, to judge both the living and the dead.
What is Advent, and why has the Church instituted it?
Advent is that solemn time, immediately preceding Christmas, instituted by the Church in order that we should, in the first place, meditate on the Incarnation of Christ, the love, patience and humility which He has shown us, and prove our gratitude to Him, because He came from the bosom of His heavenly Father into this valley of tears, to redeem us; secondly, that we may prepare ourselves by sincere repentance, fasting, prayer, alms-deeds, and other works pleasing to God, for the coming of Christ and His birth in our hearts, and thus participate in the graces which He has obtained for us; finally, that He may be merciful to us, when He shall come again as judge of the world. “Watch ye, for ye know not at what hour your Lord will come” (Mt. 5:42). “Wherefore be you also ready; because at what hour you know not, the Son of man will come” (Mt. 24:44).
How was Advent formerly observed?
Very differently from now. It then commenced with the Feast of St. Martin, and was observed by the faithful like the Forty Days’ Fast, with strict penance and devotional exercises, as even now most of the religious communities do to the present day. The Church has forbidden all turbulent amusements, weddings, dancing and concerts, during Advent. Pope Sylverius ordered that those who seldom receive Holy Communion should, at least, do so on every Sunday in Advent.
How should this solemn time be spent by Christians?
They should recall, during these four weeks, the four thousand years in which the just under the Old Law expected and desired the promised Redeemer, think of those days of darkness in which nearly all nations were blinded by saran and drawn into the most horrible crimes, then consider their own sins and evil deeds and purify their souls from them by a worthy reception of the Sacraments, so that our Lord may come with His grace to dwell in their hearts and be merciful to them in life and in death. Further, to awaken in the faithful the feelings of repentance so necessary for the reception of the Savior in their hearts, the Church orders that besides the observance of certain fast days, the altar shall be draped in violet, that Mass shall be celebrated in violet vestments, that the organ shall be silent and no Gloria sung. Unjust to themselves, disobedient to the Church and ungrateful, indeed, to God are those Christians who spend this solemn time of grace in sinful amusements without performing any good works, with no longing for Christ’s Advent into their hearts.
What are Rorate High Masses, and why are they celebrated?
They are the solemn high Masses celebrated in some countries in commemoration of the tidings brought to the Blessed Virgin by the Archangel Gabriel, announcing to her that she was to become the Mother of God; they derive their name from the words of the Introit in the Votive Mass, Rorate coeli desuper. They are celebrated very early in the morning because the Blessed Virgin preceded our Lord, as the aurora precedes the rising sun.
PRAYER IN ADVENT O God, who by Thy gracious Advent hast brought joy into this world, grant us, we beseech Thee, Thy grace to prepare ourselves by sincere penance for its celebration and for the Last Judgment. Amen.
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT
The first Sunday in Advent is the first day of the Church Year, and the beginning of the holy season of Advent. The Church commences on this day to contemplate the coming of the Redeemer, and with the
prophets to long for Him; during the entire season of Advent she unites her prayers with their sighs, in order to awaken in her children also the desire for the grace of the Redeemer; above all to move them to true penance for their sins, because these are the greatest obstacles in the path of that gracious Advent; therefore she prays at the Introit of the day’s Mass:
INTROIT To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed: neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded. Show me, O Lord, Thy ways, and teach me Thy paths (Ps. 24). Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT Raise up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy power, and come; that by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins, and to be saved by Thy deliverance. Through our Lord.
EPISTLE (Rom. 13:11‑14). Brethren, knowing the time, that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep: for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is past, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day: not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and strife; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does St. Paul teach us in this epistle?
After fully explaining the duties of a Christian life to the Romans who were converted mainly by St. Peter, he exhorts them to hesitate no longer to fulfil these duties, and he seeks to move their hearts by this time of grace, presented them by the Christian dispensation, and by the shortness of the time of grace.
What is here meant by sleep?
The stupidity and blindness of the soul that, forgetting her God, is sunk in a lukewarm, effeminate, slothful and lustful life, which, when it is gone, leaves nothing more than a dream.
Why does St. Paul say, “salvation is nearer”?
He wishes to impress upon the Romans that they now have far greater hope of salvation than when they first became Christians, and that they should secure it by a pious life, because death, and the moment on which depended their salvation, or eternal reward, was drawing near. “What is our life,” says St. Chrysostom, “other than a course, a dangerous course to death, through death to immortality?”
What is the signification of day and night?
The night signifies the time before Christ, a night of darkness, of infidelity and of injustice; the day represents the present time, in which by the gospel Christ enlightens the whole world with the teachings of the true faith.
What are “the works of darkness”?
All sins, and especially those which are committed in the dark, to shun the eye of God and man.
What is the “armor of light”?
That faith, virtue and grace, the spiritual armor, with which we battle against our three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and in which armor we should walk honestly before all men. A Christian who in baptism has renounced the devil and all his pomps, must not live in vice, but must put on Christ Jesus, that is, must by the imitation of Christ’s virtues adorn his soul, as it were, with a beautiful garment. This text (verse 13) moved St. Augustine to fly from all works of uncleanness in which he had been involved, and to lead a pure life which he had before thought difficult.
ASPIRATION Grant, O Lord, that we may rise by penance from the sleep of our sins, may walk in the light of Thy grace by the performance of good works, may put on Thee and adorn our souls with the imitation of Thy virtues. Amen.
GOSPEL (Lk. 21:25‑33). At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars: and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves, men withering away for fear and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved; and then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. And he spoke to them a similitude: See the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Amen I say to you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Why does the Church cause the gospel of the Last Judgment to be read on this day?
To move us to penance, and to induce us to prepare our souls for the coming of Christ, by placing the Last Judgment before our minds. Should not the thought of this terrible judgment, when all good and all evil will be revealed, and accordingly be rewarded or punished in the presence of the whole world‑should not this thought strengthen us in virtue!
What signs will precede the Last Judgment?
The sun will be obscured, the stars will lose their light and disappear in the firmament (Is. 13:10), lightning and flames will surround the earth, and wither up every thing; the powers of heaven will be moved, the elements brought to confusion; the roaring of the sea with the howling of the winds and the beating of the storms will fill man with terror and dread. Such evil and distress will come upon the world, that man will wither away for fear, not knowing whither to turn. Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, the holy cross, the terror of the sinners who have scorned it, the consolation of the just who have loved it (Mt. 24:30).
Why will all this come to pass?
Because as the people love the creatures of God so inordinately, more than the Creator, and use them only to His dishonor, He will destroy them in this terrible manner, arming all creatures for vengeance against His enemies (Wis. 5:8‑24, and showing by the manner of their destruction the evils which will fall upon all sinners. The darkness of the sun will indicate the darkness of hell; the blood-red moon, the anger and wrath of God; the disappearance and falling of the stars, will represent the fall of sinners into the abyss of hell and their disappearance from earth; and the madness of the elements, will exhibit the rage of the beasts of hell. Sinners will then vainly, and too late, repent that they have attached their hearts to things which will end so horribly, and that only increase their torments.
Why does Christ nevertheless command: “Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand”?
These words are spoken to the just who as long as they live on earth are like prisoners and exiles, but who at the Last Judgment will be taken body and soul into their long desired fatherland, the kingdom of heaven: into the freedom of the children of God. These will have reason to raise their heads, now bowed in mourning, and to rejoice.
How will the Last Judgment commence?
By the command of God the angels will sound the trumpets, summoning all men from the four parts of the earth to come to judgment (I Thess. 4:15). Then the bodies of the dead will unite with their souls, and be brought to the valley of Josaphat, and there placed, the just on the right, the wicked on the left (Mt. 25:33). Then the devils as well as the angels will appear; Christ Himself will be seen coming in a cloud, in such power and majesty that the sinners will be filled with terror. They will not dare to look at Him, and will cry to the mountains to fall upon them, and to the hills to cover them (Lk. 23:30).
How will the judgment be held?
The book of conscience, upon which all men are to be judged, and which closed with this life, will be opened. All good and evil thoughts, words, deeds and motives, even the most secret, known only to God, will then be as plainly revealed to the whole world as if they were written on each one’s forehead; by these each one will be judged, and be eternally rewarded, or eternally punished.
O God! If we must then give an account of every idle word (Mt. 12:36), how can we stand in the face of so many sinful words and actions!
Why will God hold a universal public Judgment?
Although immediately after death, a special private judgment of each soul takes place, God has ordained a public and universal judgment for the following reasons: First, that it may be clearly shown to all how just has been His private judgment, and also that the body which has been the instrument of sin or of virtue may share in the soul’s punishment or reward; secondly, that the justice which they could by no means obtain in this life, may be rendered before the whole world to the oppressed poor, and to persecuted innocence, and that the wicked who have abused the righteous, and yet have been considered honest and good, may be put to shame before all; thirdly, that the graces and means of salvation bestowed upon each, may be made known; fourthly, that the blessed providence of God which often permitted the righteous to suffer evil while the wicked prospered, may be vindicated, and it be shown on that day that His acts are acts of the greatest wisdom; fifthly, that the wicked may learn the goodness of God, not for their comfort or benefit, but for their greater sorrow, that they may see how He rewards even the slightest work performed for His love and honor; finally, that Christ may be exalted before the wicked on earth as before the good in heaven, and that the truth of His words may solemnly be made manifest.
ASPIRATION Just art Thou O God, and just are Thy judgments. Ah, penetrate my soul with holy fear of them, that I may be kept always in awe, and avoid sin. Would that I could say with the penitent St. Jerome: “Whether I eat or drink, or whatever I do, I seem to hear the awful sound of the trumpet in my ears: `Arise ye dead, and come to judgment.”‘
November 29, 2023 No Comments
Feast of Christ the King
According to Cyril of Alexandria, Christ “has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature. His kingship is founded upon the hypostatic union. From this it follows not only that Christ is to be adored by angels and men, but that to him as man angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union Christ has power over all creatures.”[6]
The Feast of Christ the King has an eschatological dimension, pointing to the end of time when the kingdom of Jesus will be established in all its fullness to the ends of the earth. It leads into Advent, when the Church anticipates Christ’s second coming.[citation needed]
Observance
Roman Catholic Church
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his encyclical Quas primas[7] of 1925, in response to growing secularism and secular ultra-nationalism, and in the context of the unresolved Roman Question.[8]
In November 1926, Pope Pius XI gave his direct assent for the priest of a promising young parish in Mount Lookout, Cincinnati to establish the first church dedicated to Christ under the title of King. In May 1927, a purpose-built sanctuary was consecrated. 1956 saw the construction of the current church, led by the architect Edward J. Schulte.[9] The campus is an unapologetic love letter to its royal namesake, featuring a towering Byzantine mosaic of Christ, crowned and robed, above the high altar where Catholic practice usually expects a crucifix (most Protestant institutions simply employ symbolic crosses). This instance illustrates a marked change of tone that arose as a product of the Vatican’s endorsement of this feast and the associated devotional.
The title of the feast was Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Regis ([of] Our Lord Jesus Christ the King), and the date was established as “the last Sunday of the month of October – the Sunday, that is, which immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints“.[10]
In the extraordinary form, as happens with all Sundays whose liturgies are replaced by those of important feasts,[note 1] the prayers of the Sunday on which the celebration of the feast of Christ the King occurs are used on the ferias (weekdays) of the following week. The Sunday liturgy is thus not totally omitted. In 2023, the Solemnity day falls on 29 October[14] for those using the former
October 23, 2023 No Comments
INSTRUCTION ON THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
| Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine’s
The Church’s Year
|
September 9, 2023 No Comments
INSTRUCTION ON THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine’s
The Church’s Year
| At the Introit of the Mass excite in your heart an ardent desire for heaven, with these words:
INTROIT Behold O God, our protector, and look on the face of thy Christ:, for better is one day, in thy courts above thousands. How lovely are thy tabenacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. (Ps. LXXXIII.) Glory etc. COLLECTÂ Keep, We beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy Church with Thy perpetual favor; and because without Thee the weakness of man is ready to fall, may it be withheld by Thy aid from all. things hurtful, and devoted to all things profitable to salvation. Thro’. EPISTLE (Gal. V. 16-24.) Brethren, Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh: for the flesh lusteth against , the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: for these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are, fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I foretell to you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified their flesh with the vices and concupiscences. What is it to walk in the spirit? It is to obey the inspirations of the Holy Ghost always, and in all things. He who does this, says St. Paul, will not do the evil works of the flesh, which are here enumerated, but he will rather suppress and mortify all sensual desires, in this manner crucify his flesh together with its vices and lusts, and make himself worthy of the fruits of the Holy Ghost, which are also mentioned; he will belong to Christ, and secure for himself eternal happiness. On the contrary, he who lives according to the flesh, that is, gives way to the desires of the flesh, has no hope of salvation. Is it not strange, that all Christians wish to belong to Christ and become heirs of His kingdom but are unwilling to crucify the flesh and its lusts, though Christ says to all; If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matt XVI. 24.) ASPIRATION Intercede for me, O St. Paul, that God may give me grace to crucify my flesh with its lusts, that I may have part with thee in Christ: GOSPEL (Matt. VI. 24-33.) At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will sustain the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat, and the body more than the raiment? Behold the birds of the air; for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you, by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? And for raiment, why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they labor not, neither do they spin; but I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. Now, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which is to-day, and to- morrow is cast into the oven, how much more you, O ye of little faith? Be not solicitous, therefore, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and his justice; and all these things shall be added unto you. What is meant by serving God? Doing the will of God, or performing faithfully and zealously all that God asks of us according to our age and condition, and for love of Him. Who are the two masters whom we cannot serve alike? God and Mammon or riches, whereby also, the other goods and pleasures of the world are understood. These we cannot serve at the same time, because they command things diametrically opposed to each other; for instance, God prohibits usury, theft, deceit, &c.; to which the desire for wealth impels us. God commands that we keep holy Sundays and holy days, and devote them to His service; the desire for riches tempts man to omit religious worship and to seek temporal gain; it disturbs him even in church, so that he is only present with his body, but absent in mind with his temporal goods and business. To whom can riches be useful? To those who, like the saints, perform works of mercy with them, and thus lay up treasures for themselves in heaven. Why does Christ call our attention to the birds of the air and the lakes of the field? To excite in us confidence in the providence of God, which preserves even the birds and the flowers. Surely, if God feeds the young ravens which cry to Him; (Ps. CXLVI. 9.) if He nourishes the birds which neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; if He vests the flowers of the field so beautifully, how much more will He care for man whom He has made to His own image and likeness, and adopted as His child, if he only acts as such, keeps His commandments, and always entertains a filial confidence in Him. Should we, therefore, lay aside all care and never work? This does not follow from what has been said. Christ condemns only the superfluous cares, which cause man to forget God and to neglect the salvation of his soul. Besides, God has Himself ordered (Gen. III. 17-19.) that man should obtain the fruits of the earth with much labor, that he should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. St. Paul says: If any man will not work, neither let him eat. (II Thess. III. 10.) What should preserve us from superfluous cares? A firm and lively faith, that God can and will help us. That He can is evident, because He is almighty; that His will is certain, because He promises it in so many passages of Holy Writ, and because He is infinitely faithful to all His promises. Christ encourages us to this lively confidence with these words: All things whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive and they shall come unto you. Mark XI. 24.) Therefore the apostle also commands us to throw all cares upon the Lord, who provides for us. (I Pet. V. 7.) And why should God not care for us, since He sent us His Son and with Him all; for which reason St. Augustine says: “How can you doubt that God will give you good things, since He vouchsafed to assume evil for you!” PRAYERÂ O Lord Jesus! give me a firm confidence in Thy Divine Providence, and daily increase it in me, that when in necessity I may confidently believe if I seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, the rest shall be added unto me.
CONSOLATION IN POVERTY If you were born in poverty, or accidentally, or through your own fault have become poor, be consoled, because God has sent you this poverty for your own good; for good things and evil, life arid death, poverty and riches are, from God. (Ecclus. XI-14.). Therefore receive it from the hand of God without impatience or murmuring, as a means by which He wishes to keep you from forgetting Him, which would, perhaps, happen if He were to bless you with temporal prosperity. Riches are a source of destruction for many. If you have brought poverty upon yourself by a licentious and sinful life, receive it in a spirit of penance as a just and salutary chastisement, and thank God that He gives you an opportunity to do penance for your sins. But if you have become poor through no fault of your own, be consoled by the example of the saints, of whom St. Paul says: they bear the unjust taking away of their goods with joy, because they know that a better and an unchangeable treasure is in store for them in heaven. (Hebr, X. 34.) But you should particularly take courage from the example of Christ who, being rich, became poor for us, (II Cor. VIII. 9.) and had not a place whereon to lay His head. (Matt. VIII. 20.) In your distress say with job: The Lord gave and the Lord bath taken away: as it pleased the Lord, so it is done: blessed be the name of the Lord. Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither. (Job. I. 21.) Fear not my son, says Tobias, we lead indeed a poor life, but we shall have many good things if we fear God, and depart from all sins, and do that which is good. (Tob. IV. 23.) To serve God and to be content with few things always brings rich reward, if not in this, at least in the next life. Therefore Christ promised the kingdom of heaven to the poor in spirit, that is, not only to the humble, busy also to the poor who imitate Christ in all patience and resignation. Follow, therefore, the poor Jesus, follow His poor mother, by imitating their example, and you will possess the kingdom of heaven.
INSTRUCTION CONCERNING USURY Usury is to demand more than legal interest from our neighbor, to whom we have lent something, or who is otherwise indebted to us. Those are also commonly called usurers, who, in times of want, hoard up necessary food, such as grain, flour, &c., and only sell it at an exorbitant price; or who buy up all such articles to sell them to the needy for enormous prices. This is a grievous sin, and usurers are threatened with eternal death, for Christ expressly prohibits lending with usury. (Luke VI. 34, 35.) Usurers are the real leeches of the poor, whom they rob of their sweat and blood, and since they transgress the natural law, but still more the divine, which commands us to love our neighbor, and be merciful to the needy, they will surely not possess the kingdom of heaven. Would to God, the hard-hearted sinner might consider this, and take to heart the words of Christ: What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul (Matt. XVI. 26.) |
September 2, 2023 No Comments
Sunday August 6th: Feast of The Transfiguration of Our Lord
INTROIT Ps. 76:19
Your lightning lighted the world; the earth quivered and trembled.
Ps. 83:2-3. How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns and faints for the courts of the Lord.
V. Glory be . . .
Your lightning lighted the world; the earth quivered and trembled.
Ps. 83:2-3. How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns and faints for the courts of the Lord.
V. Glory be . . .
COLLECT
O God, in the glorious transfiguration of Your only-begotten Son You confirmed the truths of faith by the testimony of the prophets, and you wondrously foreshadowed the fact of our adoption as Your sons by the voice speaking through the resplendent cloud. Grant us in Your mercy that we may be co-heirs with the King of glory and sharers in that very glory that is His. through our Lord . . .Commemoration of SAINTS SIXTUS AND HIS COMPANIONS
Pope Sixtus II and Felicissimus and Agapitus, his deacons, were martyred at Rome on the same day, in the year 258. Pope Sixtus’ archdeacon Lawrence met his death three days later, as he had prophesied to the younger man.O God, who has granted us the grace to celebrate the birthday of Your blessed martyrs Sixtus II, Felicissimus, and Agapitus, grant that we may also share their eternal happiness in heaven. Through our Lord . . .
O God, in the glorious transfiguration of Your only-begotten Son You confirmed the truths of faith by the testimony of the prophets, and you wondrously foreshadowed the fact of our adoption as Your sons by the voice speaking through the resplendent cloud. Grant us in Your mercy that we may be co-heirs with the King of glory and sharers in that very glory that is His. through our Lord . . .Commemoration of SAINTS SIXTUS AND HIS COMPANIONS
Pope Sixtus II and Felicissimus and Agapitus, his deacons, were martyred at Rome on the same day, in the year 258. Pope Sixtus’ archdeacon Lawrence met his death three days later, as he had prophesied to the younger man.O God, who has granted us the grace to celebrate the birthday of Your blessed martyrs Sixtus II, Felicissimus, and Agapitus, grant that we may also share their eternal happiness in heaven. Through our Lord . . .
EPISTLE II Peter 1:16-19
Beloved: For we have not by following artificial fables made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ: but we were eyewitnesses of his greatness. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, this voice coming down to him from the excellent glory: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him.” And this voice, we heard brought from heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts.
GRADUAL Ps. 44:3, 2
You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured out upon your lips.
V. My heart overflows with good tidings; I sing my song to the king.
Alleluia, alleluia! Sap. 7:26
He is the brightness of eternal light, the unspotted mirror, and the image of his goodness. Alleluia!
GOSPEL Matt. 17:1-9
At that time, And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. And Peter answering, said to Jesus: “Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo a voice out of the cloud, saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.” And the disciples hearing fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them: “Arise, and fear not.” And they lifting up their eyes, saw no one, but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: “Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.”
OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 111:3
Glory and wealth shall be in his house, and his righteousness shall endure forever, alleluia!
SECRET
Bless these gifts we offer You, O Lord, by the glorious Transfiguration of Your only-begotten Son. May they cleanse us from the stain of our sins by the brightness of His glory. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT SIXTUS AND HIS COMPANIONS
We offer these gifts to You in sacrifice, O Lord. may the honor we pay to Your saints please You, and may these offerings, through Your mercy, bring us closer to our salvation. Through our Lord . . .
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Matt. 17:9
Tell the vision thou hast seen to no one, till the Son of Man has risen from the dead.
POSTCOMMUNION
O Almighty God, grant that we with pure minds may understand the most sacred mystery of the Transfiguration of Your Son, which we here solemnly commemorate. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT SIXTUS AND HIS COMPANIONS
May the intercession of Your holy martyrs Sixtus, Felicissimus, and Agapitus help us to cherish with pure hearts the Sacrament we have received upon our lips. Through our Lord . . .
August 4, 2023 No Comments
2023 LLA NATIONAL CONVENTION
WHEN: Friday evening, July 14, 2023, through Sunday afternoon, July 16, 2023
WHERE: Best Western Plus Fairfield Executive Inn, Fairfield, New Jersey
GO TO: www.latinliturgy.com to register for the convention.
CALL: The hotel directly at 973-575-7700 to reserve your room.
Please tell them that you are with the Latin Liturgy Association Convention to get the special rate of $129.00 per night.
SPEAKERS INCLUDE
Raymond de Souza, KM, Sacred Heart Institute
David Carollo, Director World Apostolate of Fatima, US
Dr. Richard Haefer, KCHS, Arizona State University
Rev. Peter Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Michele Bowman, Restorations Plus
Mr. William Guelker, www.extraordinaryform.org
Rev. Anton Webb, Association of Latin Liturgy, UK
Mr. Marion F. Morris, LLA Facebook Facilitator
Go to www.latinliturgy.com to register.
April 10, 2023 No Comments
“Is it really time for hiding?” Why priests should openly refuse to stop offering the Latin Mass
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT is below the following two articles from Rorate Caeli Blog.
I publish the following translation as a stimulus to further reflection in these difficult times. I do not personally believe that clandestinity and open resistance are incompatible: in situations where prudential decisions must be made according to a variety of circumstances, either course of action may be defensible. Nevertheless, I agree with the author that there needs to be, in many places and from many lips, a firm “non possumus” and a public resolve to continue on, in the teeth of pseudo-sanctions. What is unacceptable is rolling over to play dead while the enemies of the Faith and of the faithful trample on intrinsic elements of the Church’s common good and of the “status ecclesiae.” To this end I highly recommend, as a parallel reading to the present post, a model letter published elsewhere, as from a priest to his bishop. ~ PAK
In a recent video Prof. Giovanni Zenone, director of the Fede&Cultura publishing house, spoke about the alleged further restrictions on the celebration of the Mass commonly called the Mass of St. Pius V, resulting from Bergoglio’s rescript following his audience with Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
In his speech, Prof. Zeno certainly describes very well and in a largely relatable way the situation in which we find ourselves: it is no mystery that the circumstances are increasingly serious, and it would be wrong to try to diminish the scandal by pretending to normalize, almost out of a sense of exhaustion, what is in fact not normal.
On the other hand, however, one cannot pretend to believe that the problems arose just yesterday: for the sake of intellectual honesty, we must all remember that the attack on the Mass of All Time by the hierarchy has been going on for over fifty years. There is no doubt that Prof. Zenone knows this, as a man of culture he is, and certainly not one of the latest arrivals within the milieu.
However, within his talk — or, rather, at what was the heart of his talk — I was particularly struck by the passage in which, after reading a letter from a faithful woman expressing her concerns about the situation of a priest dear to her, the director of the Veronese publishing house proposes some advice for priests and laity.
On the lay issue, Zeno rightly says that it is our duty to try to protect priests. This, in a broad sense, is certainly a good and right thing. In reference to priests, however, he says apertis verbis that it is “the time of hiding” for them. It is precisely on this point that I would like to pause to make a few, brief remarks.
It is evident that Zeno’s reference to “clandestinity” for priests has as its purpose the defense and maintenance of that which is the celebration of the rite of all time, which he considers to be put to the test today by the will of the Holy See itself. Indeed, a certain fear echoes from his speeches regarding the possibility that from now on, its free celebration may be increasingly prohibited. For Zeno, the problem would seem to be related to the fact that anyone who wants to continue to celebrate it by openly opposing Rome’s decisions will certainly be the target of canonical sanctions, such as suspension a divinis or, even, reduction to the lay state.
Such concerns undoubtedly find reason to exist, because that is what, certainly, could happen. For that matter, it is evident that it would never be right, in a normal situation — that is, not this one — to act in such a way as to risk canonical sanctions.
I think, however, that it is precisely the starting point that is at least questionable. Can one really believe in the validity of these possible sanctions? Can one really think that such acts, penalizing something that God certainly desires, targeting the tradition of the Bride of Christ, can have any kind of validity? And, again, does the supposed authority that issues them have the right or the power to issue something that goes against God’s will and against the Church itself? It is evident that the answer is negative, which is why not only may it be assumed, but indeed it must be assumed that such acts find no objective right and no validity from the canonical point of view or in the supernatural sphere.
With this in view, does it become useful to invite priests to live their traditional ministry in hiding? Absolutely not, for at least three kinds of reasons:
1. The comparison cited by Prof. Zeno about the Christians of the early centuries is not, in my humble opinion, an adequate historical parallel. As serious as the situation today is in other respects, no one, at least for now, can be said to be in real danger of their lives for their Faith as the early Christians were — at least in Europe (very different is the example of the Chinese underground church, where the risk of losing one’s life is real). All this is closely related to one fact: the eventual “persecution” to which we are subjected does not come from the civil authority — as occurried with the early Christians or, closer to us in time, the Catholics who lived under the “Reign of Terror ” (think of the martyrs of Compiègne), but, as is well known, comes from the ecclesiastical authority itself, as Zeno himself rightly reports.
2. Because of what has just been said, as Catholics we have a duty to continue to affirm what the Church has always affirmed, continuing to do what the Church has always done and what, moreover, no one has ever totally succeeded or will ever succeed in abolishing. “Self-disclosure” does not involve any risk to one’s life, or at least not to date. If the only “risk” is the one related to the alleged canonical sanctions, which, as we have already seen, by simple logic cannot have any validity because the authority that claims to exercise itself against the deposit and practice of the Faith loses de facto the same authority with respect to that proceeding, and is thus to be considered therefore totally null and void — well, if the only danger were this, all the more reason, instead of inviting priests to clandestinity, would it be incumbent on them to understand that no possible canonical sanction should be considered in any way valid, for reasons already all too well expressed and I think also substantially simple to understand.
3. Less than ever is now the time for clandestinity. On the contrary, “You are the light of the world; a city placed on top of a mountain cannot remain hidden, nor is a lamp lit to put it under the bushel, but over the lampstand so that it may give light to all who are in the house” (Mt. 5:13-16). We need examples, we need courage, we need fortitude, all the more so at a time in history when — reiterating that at least for now, we will see about the future — it is not strictly the civil authority that has declared war on Catholicism, but much more those who should be the leadership of it. In front of these, there is no hiding and should be no hiding.
As Catholics we cannot forget that we are members of a Mystical Body: we are and must concretely be the militant Church. However much we may suppose that the situation is irreversible from a human point of view, we cannot resign ourselves helplessly in the face of the massacre of this Mystical Body of which we are members. Pius XII expresses this point very well in Mystici Corporis:
“That men should persevere constantly in works of holiness, that they should progress with alacrity in grace and virtue, that finally they should not only strenuously strive for the summit of Christian perfection, but also incite according to their own strength others to attain the same perfection, all this, the heavenly Spirit does not wish to accomplish, if men themselves do not cooperate every day with industrious diligence. For, as Ambrose observes, ‘divine benefits are not passed on to those who sleep, but to those who watch.'”
We have a duty to aspire to holiness. We must preserve the good seed, in domestic hearths, in communities, not in order to hide it, but to make it grow still further. We have the duty to make holiness shine in the Holy Church, as members of it. And, in order to do this, in addition to humble example in our daily lives, we must courageously oppose the modern and modernist drift, precisely through visible example, accompanied by prayer and encouragement — yes, toward priests too: let us help them to have courage to resist what is impossible for Catholics to accept. Let us pray for them so that they may not hide due to unfounded fears, but may draw strength from God to give back to Him what truly gives praise to Him: the Holy Mass of all times.
Cristiano Lugli
March 9, 2023 No Comments
Serious Catholics Refuse to Donate to Francis’ Vatikenstein — now it’s going broke.
They want to annihilate Traditional Catholics, they persecute conservative bishops, they alienate serious priests, nuns, and seminarians, they ridicule Catholic morality, they name abortionists and perverts to official positions —they shouldn’t be shocked the faithful are fed up.
No wonder Francis’ monstrous Vatikenstein is going broke.
The Secretariat for the Economy, which requested the new rental policy, has yet to release financial results for 2022, or a projection for 2023, but sources close to the department have privately suggested the Holy See’s 3.3 million euro deficit for 2021 has exploded, with some estimates suggesting it could be as much as 50 million for this year— almost entirely down to a drop in international donations.
Oops… And, as we all know so well, liberals don’t believe anyway, so they don’t donate — on the contrary, they increase the deficit with their contrived and expensive sinecures. It will only go downhill from here, until, perhaps, after the next conclave, if the voting cardinals are much wiser than they were in the catastrophic 2013 vote.
No wonder Francis’ monstrous Vatikenstein is going broke. From the Pillar:
March 9, 2023 No Comments