SS. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission

P.O. Box 7352, York, PA, 17404

717-792-2789

SaintsPeterandPaulRCM.com

SaintsPeterandPaulRCM@comcast.net

To Restore and Defend Our Ecclesiastical Traditions of the Latin Rite to the Diocese of Harrisburg

 

SS. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Chapel

129 South Beaver Street, York PA 17401


 

 

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..... this missal is hereafter to be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment or censure, and may freely and lawfully be used .....  Nor are superiors, administrators, canons, chaplains, and other secular priests, or religious, of whatever title designated, obliged to celebrate the Mass otherwise than as enjoined by Us.  .....  Accordingly, no one whatsoever is permitted to infringe or rashly contravene this notice of Our permission, statute, ordinance, command, precept, grant, direction, will, decree and prohibition. Should any person venture to do so, let him understand he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.

Pope St. Pius V, Papal Bull, QUO PRIMUM,

Tridentine Codification of the “received and approved” traditional Roman Rite of the Mass.

 

 

 

 

 

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

St. Remigius, Bishop & Confessor

October 1, 2023

    The breviary lessons are taken from the book of Judith, whose story St. Ambrose, in the second nocturn, connects with this season of penance, since to the fasting and abstinence of this heroic woman he attributes the wonderful victory that she obtained.

    To persevere with our plan of working out the connection between the missal and breviary, we too may study the Mass of Ember Saturday, formerly of this Sunday, in the light of Judith’s history.

    While Manasses, king of Juda, was in captivity in Babylon, the Assyrian monarch, Nabuchodonosor, sent his general Holofernes to complete the conquest of Chanaan.  This officer besieged Bethulia, whose inhabitants, reduced to the last extremity, decided to surrender the city, unless help came in five days.

    But just then Judith, a widow in Israel of great influence, was living in the place.  “Let us be penitent,” was her advice to the ancients of Israel, “and with many tears let us beg God’s pardon: let us humble our souls before Him and ask that He would show His mercy to us…Let us believe that these scourges of the Lord, with which like servants we are chastised, have happened for our amendment and not for our destruction.”

    Then this holy woman “went into her oratory, and putting on haircloth, laid ashes on her head and falling down prostrated before the Lord, she cried to the Lord.”

    Having finished her prayer, Judith put on her best apparel and left the town with her servant, reaching at daybreak the advanced Chaldean outposts and announced that she had come to surrender herself and her people to Holofernes.  The soldiers took her before the general who was dazzled by her great beauty, which almighty God had been pleased to increase, since she made use of it, not from motives of sensuality but of virtue.

     Holofernes believed everything that Judith told him and made a great feast in her honor, at which, carried away by enjoyment, he drank to greater excess than usual and overcome by intoxication, lay down on his bed and sank into a drunken sleep.  Upon this everyone withdrew, Judith alone remaining with him.  Then, praying that God would strengthen her arm for the deliverance of Israel, she took down the sword which hung over the bed, and with the great courage cut off Holofernes’ head, which she gave to the maid-servant with instructions to hide it in her wallet.  Then they returned the same night to Bethulia.

    When the ancients of the city heard of Judith’s action they cried: “Blessed be the Lord who hath made heaven and earth.”  And the next day the bloodstained head of Holofernes was joisted on the walls of the fortress.  The Chaldeans complained loudly of Judith’s treachery, but being pursued by the Israelites, all fled or were put to the sword.  Meanwhile the High Priest came with the Ancients from Jerusalem, to celebrate the deliverance of the nation and saluted Judith with cries of: “Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people.”

    In the second nocturn for the fourth Sunday in September, St. Ambrose comments as follows on this portion of the Scriptures: “It was through the strength given by sobriety that Judith cut off Holofernes’ head.  Fortified by fasting, she went boldly into the enemy’s camp.  The fasting of a single woman vanquished the countless hordes of Assyrians.”

    The Mass for Ember Saturday is full of similar expressions.  The prayers implore the divine mercy, while relying on fasting and abstinence which make us stronger than our enemies.  “forgive us our sins, O Lord,” says the first Gradual.  “Help us, O God, our Savior, and for the glory of Thy name, O Lord, deliver us.”  And the second Gradual: “Behold, O Lord, our protector; and look on Thy servants.”  While the third adds: “Return, O Lord, a little, and be entreated in favor of Thy servants.”

    The lessons all allude to the mercy of God towards His penitent people.  “As I purposed to afflict you, when your fathers had provoked Me to wrath, saith the Lord, and I had no mercy: so turning again I have thought in these days to do good to the house of Juda and Jerusalem.”

    The story of the deliverance of the people from Assyrian bondage by Judith (whose name is the feminine of Juda) by prayer and fasting, is a type of the freeing of God’s people by Jesus, of the race of Juda, at Easter after the penances of Lent.

    Since the Book of Esther is read in the breviary of the following Sunday, we can easily understand why St. Ambrose would also find there an illustration well suited to his subject, and in fact he points out that “it was to the fast of three days, thanks to which almighty God increased the grace which adorned her mortified soul, that Esther owed her victory over the wicked Aman and rescued the Jewish people from a cruel persecution.”

    When later on the custom of waiting until the evening to celebrate the Holy sacrifice of Ember Saturday had ceased, the Mass composed in the sixth century for the Dedication of the Church of St. Michael at Rome, and said on the September 29th, was borrowed for the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost.  Consequently all the “Proper” of this Mass refers to the consecration of a church.  “I was rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of Lord” (Verse of the Introit and Gradual).  “Moses consecrated an altar to the Lord” (Offertory).  “Bring up sacrifices and come into his courts: adore ye the Lord in His holy court” (Communion).

    We have here a symbol of heaven whither all nations shall flow at the end of time, referred to on this Sunday and on those which follow at the end of the cycle.  The Alleluia is the same as that of the Sundays after Epiphany which foretell the entry of the Gentiles into the kingdom of heaven.  The Epistle speaks of those who await the revelation of our Lord at His second coming.  They will rejoice forever in the Lord’s presence in the peace which, according to the prophets, He will give to those who await Him (Introit, Gradual); a peace assured to us by our Lord through His death on the cross, which is the true evening sacrifice of which that of Moses is only a type.

     After he had offered a holocaust, the odor of which was pleasing to the Lord, the holy Lawgiver obtained the pardon of his people’s sins, and rejoiced in the vision of God.  In the same way men reconciled to God, by Him who has power to remit sins (Gospel), by their faith in Christ, will share in the unique and sovereign divinity, by beholding it face to face, a privilege granted by God Himself, and will thus be made rich in Christ in all utterance and all knowledge (Epistle).

    Already in the Church all enjoy this pardon and peace, thanks to the power which our Lord has entrusted to His priests, and indeed in this Mass, coming after Ember Saturday, allusion is made to the Priesthood.  Like our divine Redeemer, who went about exercising His ministry, curing the soul of the paralytic at the same time that he healed his body, those who have just been ordained preach the Word of Christ (Epistle), celebrate the Holy Sacrifice (Offertory), and remit sins (Gospel).

    Thus they prepare men to receive their divine Judge in a manner beyond reproach.

 

INTROIT:

Ecclus. 36.  Give peace, O Lord, to them that patiently wait for Thee, that Thy prophets may be found faithful:  hear the prayers of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel.  

Ps. 121.  I rejoice at the things that were said to me: we shall go into the house of the Lord.  Glory be, etc.  Give peace etc.

 

COLLECT:

Direct our hearts, we pray, O Lord, by the working of Thy mercy; because without Thee we are not able to please Thee. Through our Lord, etc.

 

Grant. we pray, almighty God, that the Holy Festival of blessed Remigius, Thy Confessor and Bishop, may both increase our devotion and promote our salvation.  Through our Lord, etc.

 

From all perils of soul and body defend us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of blessed Joseph, of Thy blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints, graciously grant us safety and peace, that all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom.  Through our Lord, etc.

 

EPISTLE:  I Cor. 1,4-8

Brethren, I give thanks to my God always for you, for the grace of God that is given you in Christ Jesus, that in all things you are made rich in him, in all utterance and in all knowledge: as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace, waiting for the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ who also will confirm you into the end without crime, in the day of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

EXPLANATION  St. Paul shows in this epistle that he possesses true love for his neighbor, because he rejoices and thanks God that he enriched the Corinthians with different graces and gifts, thus confirming the testimony of Christ in them, so that they could without fear expect His arrival for judgment.  Do thou also rejoice, with St. Paul, for the graces given to thy neighbor, for this is a mark of true charity.

 

GRADUAL:

Ps. 121.  I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: we shall go into the house of the Lord.  Let peace be within Thy walls, and abundance in Thy towers.  Alleluia, alleluia. 

Ps. 101.  The Gentiles shall fear Thy name, O Lord: and all the kings of the earth Thy glory.  Alleluia

 

GOSPEL:  Matt. 9, 1-8

At that time, Jesus entering into a boat, passed over the water, and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: Be of good heart, son; thy sins are forgiven thee. And behold, some of the Scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth. And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts? whether it is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then said he to the man sick of the palsy): Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house. And he arose, and went into his house. And the multitude seeing it feared, and glorified God who had given such power to men.

EXPLANATIONS

I. Those who brought this sick man to Christ, give us a touching example of how we should take care of the sick and help them according to our ability. Christ was so well pleased with their faith and charity, that He cured the man sick of the palsy, and forgave him his sins. Hence we learn how we might assist many who are diseased in their soul, if we would lead them to God by confiding prayer, by urgent admonitions, or by good example.

II. Christ did not heal the man sick of the palsy until He had forgiven him his sins, by this He wished to teach us, that sins are often the cause of sicknesses and other evils, by which we are visited, and which God would remove from us if we were truly repentant. This doctrine Jesus confirmed, when He said to the man, who had been sick for thirty-eight years: Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee (John 5, 14). Would that this were considered by those who so often impetuously demand of God to be freed from their evils, but do not intend to free themselves from their sins, which are the cause of these evils, by a sincere repentance.

III. "He blasphemeth." Thus thought the Jews, in their perverted hearts, of Christ, because they believed that He in remitting the sins of the sick man, usurped the rights of God and thus did Him a great injury; for it is blasphemy to think, say, or do any thing insulting to God or His saints. But these Jews did not consider that they by their rash judgment calumniated God, since they blasphemed Christ who by healing the sick man, and by numerous other works had clearly proved His God-head. If Christ so severely reprimanded the Jews, who would not recognize Him as God, for a blasphemous thought against Him, what will He do with those Christians who, though they wish to be adorers of God and His Son, nevertheless, utter blasphemies, curses, and profanations of the holy Sacraments?

IV. When Jesus saw their thoughts, He said: Why do you think evil in your hearts? This may be taken to heart by those who think that thoughts are free from scrutiny, and who never think to confess their evil and shameful thoughts. God; the most Holy and most just, will, nevertheless, not leave a voluntary unchaste, proud, angry, revengeful, envious thought unpunished, any more than an idle word (Matt. 12, 36). The best remedy against evil thoughts would be the recollection that God who searches the heart sees them, and will punish them.

PRAYER How great, O Jesus! is Thy love and mercy towards poor sinners, since Thou not only forgavest the sins of the man sick of palsy, but calling him son, didst console and heal him! This Thy love encourages me to beg of Thee the grace, that we may rise from our bed of sins by true penance, amend our life, and through the ways of Thy commandments enter the house of eternal happiness.

 

OFFERTORY:

Ex. 24.   Moses consecrated an altar to the Lord, offering upon it holocausts and sacrificing victims.  He made an evening sacrifice to the Lord God for an odor of sweetness, in the sight of the children of Israel.

 

SECRET:

O God, who by the august fellowship that we have with Thee in this sacrament dost make us partakers of the one supreme Godhead, grant, we pray, that as we know Thy truth, so we may live up to it by worthy behavior.  Through our Lord, etc.

 

May Thy saints, we pray, O Lord, in all places bring us joy, that while we recall their merits, we may experience their intercession.  Through our Lord, etc.

 

Hear us, O God, our salvation, that through the power of this sacrament Thou mayest defend us from all enemies of soul and body and bestow upon us grace here and glory hereafter.  Through our Lord, etc.

 

COMMUNION:

Ps. 95.  Bring up sacrifices, and come into His courts: adore ye the Lord in His holy court.

 

POSTCOMMUNION:

We render Thee thanks, O Lord, for the life put into us by this sacred gift, and beg Thee of Thy mercy to make us thorough and worthy partakers thereof.  Through our Lord, etc.

 

Grant, we pray Thee, almighty God, that we who offer thanks for the gifts which we have received, may, through the intercession of blessed Remigius, Thy Confessor and Bishop, receive yet greater blessings. Through our Lord, etc.

 

May the offering of this divine sacrament cleanse and protect us, O Lord, we beseech Thee; and by the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of blessed Joseph, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, may it purify us from all sin and free us from all adversity.  Through our Lord, etc.

 

 

Sir, you and I are not one in religion, wherefore I pray you content yourself.  I bar none of prayer; but I only desire them that are of the household of faith to pray with me, and in mine agony to say one creed.

St. Edmund Campion, on the scaffold to an Anglican clergyman attempting to direct his pray.

 

“My Saviour Jesus Christ, by the merits of your Sacred Passion and your most holy Death, give me the grace of perfect contrition for my sins, so that I may never offend or displease you again.”

St. Francis de Sales

 

 

 

 

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“But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then said he to the man sick of the palsy): Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROPER OF THE SAINTS FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 1st:

1

Sun

18th Sunday after Pentecost

St. Remigius, BpC

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G

 

Mass 9:00 AM, Confessions 8:00 AM, Rosary of Reparation 8:30 AM; Mass offered for the members of Ss. P & P

2

Mon

Holy Guardian Angels

dm

W

 

Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation before Mass

3

Tue

St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, V

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W

 

Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation before Mass

4

Wed

St. Francis of Assisi

dm

W

 

Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation before Mass

5

Thu

St. Placidius & Comp., Mm

sp 

R

 

Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation before Mass

6

Fri

St. Bruno, C

FIRST FRIDAY

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W

A

Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation before Mass; Holy Hour of Reparation with Benediction

7

Sat

The Most Holy Rosary

St. Mark, PC

St. Sergius & Comp., Mm

FIRST SATURDAY

d2cl

W

 

Mass 8:30 AM; Holy Hour of Reparatoin with Rosary of Reparation and Benediction

8

Sun

19th Sunday after Pentecost

St. Bridget of Sweden, W

sd

G

 

Mass 9:00 AM, Confessions 8:00 AM, Rosary of Reparation 8:30 AM; Mass offered for the members of Ss. P & P

 

 

 

If we are guilty of pride let us try and amend and not flatter ourselves that we possess the smallest degree of humility, until by our good resolutions carefully carried out we have mortified our evil tendency to speak ill of our neighbor. Let us hearken to the Holy Ghost: “Where pride is there also shall be reproach, but where humility is there also is wisdom” (Prov. 11, 2).

Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo, Humility of Heart

 

To hasten daily progress along the path of virtue, we wish the pious practice of frequent confession to be earnestly advocated.  Not without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was this practice introduced into the Church.  By it genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are countered, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained and grace is increased in virtue of the Sacrament itself. 

Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis

 

 

How one saint makes another:

“Henry Walpole, Cambridge wit, minor poet, satirist, flaneur, a young man of birth, popular, intelligent, slightly romantic…  He was a typical member of the easy-going majority, on whom the success of the Elizabethan settlement depended, who would have preferred to live under a Catholic regime but accepted the change without very serious regret…  He secured a front place at Tyburn; so close that when St. Edmund Campion’s entrails were torn out by the butcher and thrown into the cauldron of boiling water, a spot of blood splashed upon his coat.  In that moment he was caught into a new life; he crossed the sea, became a priest, and, thirteen years later, after very terrible sufferings, died the same death as Campion’s on the gallows at York.” 

Evelyn Waugh, Edmund Campion

 

 

“Look, you should change! Because it’s obvious! Isn’t it?”

The Church is not falling to pieces. It has never been better. This is a wonderful moment for the Church, you just need to look at its history. There are saints that are recognised by non-Catholics as well as Catholics – I’m thinking of Mother Theresa – but many men and women perform acts of holiness every day and this gives us hope... Sanctity is stronger than scandal. [.....]  I really do feel like a priest. I feel like a priest, really, a bishop….That’s what I feel like. And I thank the Lord for this. I would be scared to feel more important, you know? That I am scared of, because the devil’s cunning eh? He’s cunning and he makes you feel like you are in power, that you can do this and that …but like St. Peter says, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion. Thank God I haven’t lost that yet have I? And if you ever see that I have, please tell me; tell me; and if you can’t tell me in private, tell me in public, but tell me: “Look, you should change! Because it’s obvious! Isn’t it?”  

Pope Francis addressing the clergy of Rome, 9-16-13, articulating a first principle of Modernism

 

The Protestant Reformation in England

The chief persecutor of the Catholics was a certain Richard Topcliffe.  The evidence for his atrocities comes not from his enemies or victims but from his own boasts.  “Because the often exercise of the rack in the Tower was so odious and so much spoken of by the people, Topcliffe had authority to torment priests in his own house in such sort as he shall think good,” and he himself boasted that, in comparison with his private machine, the “official racks were mere child’s play.”  After his torturing of St. Robert Southwell, public opinion was so disgusted that Cecil had to pretend to arrest him for having exceeded his powers.  It was but a pretense and he was soon out and at work again.  In 1594 he brought against one Fitzherbert an action which throws a curious light upon the state of public morality among the governing class at that time.  Topcliffe sued Fitzherbert for five thousand pounds, on the ground that Firzherbert had promised to pay him that sum if he would get Fitzherbert’s father and uncle and a certain Mr. Bassett condemned for recusancy and then torture them to death.  Both sides admitted the contract.  Topcliffe maintained that he had fulfilled the conditions: Fitzherbert denied it.  Mr Bassett, he said, was still alive, and though the father and uncle had, it is true, been tortured and were now dead, yet it could not be proved that torture was the cause of death.  Fitzherbert maintained that they had died from goal-fever and not from the torture.

Christopher Hollis, The Monstrous Regiment

 

 

“When anyone perceives a dirty spot on his hand, he washes it away at once; after washing, however, not only has the spot disappeared, but the whole hand is clean.  Thus it happens that if a person commits a slight offence, but makes an act of contrition, he thus, by humility, becomes more pleasing to Me.  Greater humility, more interior attachment to God: this is the only conclusion you should draw from you failings.” 

Our Lord to St. Gertrude the Great

 

 

The means to become perfect is to mortify our predominant passion.  As a Captain in the time of battle, in order to gain the victory, endeavours to arrange the soldiers at that point where he sees the greatest dangers are to be overcome, so we should do the same. As long as we strive to overcome our little passions, we shall not be easily overcome by the strong ones.
What is the means to be used to overcome our passions?  It is to meditate on the Passion of our Lord.  A person who is proud, for instance: if he sees that Jesus Christ is derided, mocked, sent from one place to the other and keeping silence, he sees a great motive of humility in Our Lord.  Another is impatient: he may look to the Crucifix and he will find a model of patience.

St. Charles of Mt. Argus, C. P., Sermon

 

 

INSTRUCTION ON INDULGENCES

Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee (Matt. 9, 2).

The same that Christ says to the man sick of the palsy, the priest says to every contrite sinner in the confessional, and thus remits the crime or the guilt of his sins, and the eternal punishment, by virtue of the authority given him by God. But since sins not only bring with them guilt and eternal punishment, but also temporal and indeed spiritual or supernatural punishment, such as, painful conditions of the soul, as well in this world as in purgatory, and natural ones, as: poverty, disease, all sorts of adversities and accidents, we should endeavor to liberate ourselves from them by means of indulgences.

What is an indulgence?

It is a total or partial remission of the temporal punishment which man would have to suffer either in this or the next life, after the sins have been remitted.

How do we know that after the remission of the sins there still remains temporal punishment?

From holy Scripture; for our first parents after the forgiveness of their sin, were still afflicted with temporal punishment (Gen. 3). God likewise forgave the sins of the children of Israel, who murmured so often against Him in the desert, but not their punishment, for He excluded them from the Promised Land, and caused them to die in the desert (Num. 14). Moses and Aaron experienced the same, on account of a slight want of confidence in God (Num. 20, 12, Deut. 32, 51-52). David, indeed, received pardon from God through the Prophet Nathan for adultery and murder (II Kings 12), still he had to endure heavy temporal punishment. Finally, faith teaches us, that we are tortured in purgatory for our sins, until we have paid the last farthing (Matt. 5, 26).

Did the Church always agree with this doctrine of Scripture?

Yes; for she always taught, that by the Sacrament of Penance the guilt and eternal punishment, due to sin, are indeed forgiven for the sake of the infinite merits of Jesus, but that temporal punishment still remains, for which the sinner must do penance. Even in the earliest ages she imposed great penances upon sinners for their sins which were already forgiven. For instance, murder or adultery was punished by a penance of twenty years; perjury, eleven; fornication, denial of faith or fortune-telling, by seven years of severe penance with fasting, etc. During this time it was not allowed to travel, except on foot, to be present at the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or to receive the holy Eucharist. If the penitents showed a great zeal for penance and sincere amendment, or if distinguished members of the Church, particularly martyrs, interceded for them, the bishops granted them an indulgence, that is, they remitted the remaining punishment either totally or partially. In our days, on account of the weakness of the faithful, the Church is lenient. Besides the ecclesiastical, the spiritual punishments which would have to be suffered either here or in purgatory for the taking away of sins, are shortened and mitigated by indulgences through he treasure of the communion of saints.

Has the Church the power to remit temporal punishments, or to grant indulgences?

The Council of Trent expressly states, that the Church has power to grant indulgences (Sess. 25), and this statement it supports by the words of Christ. For as Christ protests: Amen, I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; so He also promised, that whatever the Church looses upon earth, is ratified and loosed in heaven. Whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven (Matt. 18, 18). Even an apostle granted an indulgence. In the person and by the power of Christ, that his spirit might be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Cor. 2, 10; I Cor. 5, 4-5), St. Paul forgave the incestuous Corinthian, upon whom he had imposed a heavy punishment.

What is meant by saying, indulgences are granted out of the treasury of the saints or of the Church?

By this is meant that God, by the Church, remits the temporal punishment due to sin for the sake of the merits of Christ and the saints, and supplies, as it were, by these merits what is still wanting in our satisfaction.

What kinds of indulgences are there?

Two; plenary and partial indulgences. A plenary indulgence, if rightly gained, remits all ecclesiastical and temporal punishment, which we would otherwise have to expiate by penance. A partial indulgence, however, remits only so many days or years of the temporal punishment, as, according to the penitential code of the primitive ages of the Church; the sinner would have been obliged to spend in severe penance. Hence the name forty day’s indulgence, etc.

What is a Jubilee?

It is a plenary indulgence, which the pope grants to the faithful of the entire world, whereby all the temporal punishments of sin, even in cases reserved to the pope or the bishops, are remitted, and forgiven in the name of God, if the sinner confesses contritely and receives the holy Eucharist and has a firm purpose of doing penance.

What is required to gain an indulgence?

First, that we should be in the state of grace, and have already obtained, by true repentance, forgiveness of those sins, the temporal punishment of which is to be remitted by the indulgence; and secondly, that we should exactly perform the good works prescribed for the gaining of the indulgence.

Do indulgences free us from performing works of penance?

By no means: for there are few in the proper state to receive a plenary indulgence in its fullness, since not only purity of soul is necessary but also the inclination to sin must be rooted out, it therefore cannot be the intention of the Church to free us from all works of penance by granting us indulgences. She cannot act contrary to the word of Jesus: Unless you do penance, you shall all likewise perish Luke 13, 3). She rather wishes to assist our weakness, to supply our inability to do the required penance, and to contribute what is wanting in our penance, by applying the satisfaction of Christ and the saints to us by indulgences. If we, therefore, do not wish to do penance for our own sins, we shall have no part in the merits of others by indulgences.

Can indulgences be gained for the souls of the faithful departed?

Yes, by way of suffrage, so far as we comply with the required conditions, and thus beg of God, for the merits of His Son and the saints, to release the souls in purgatory. Whether God receive this petition or not, remains with Him, He will act only according to the condition of the deceased. We must, therefore, not depend upon the indulgences and good works which may be performed for us after death, but rather endeavor, during our life-time, to secure our salvation by leading a pious life; by our own good works and by the gaining of indulgences.

What follows from the doctrine of the Church concerning indulgences?

That an indulgence is no grant or license to commit sin, as the enemies of the Church falsely assert; that an indulgence grants no forgiveness of sins past or future, much less is permission given to commit sin; that no Catholic can believe that by gaming indulgences he is released from penance, or other good works, free from the fight with his evil inclinations, passions and habits, from compensating for injuries, repairing scandals, from retrieving neglected good, and glorifying God by works and sufferings; but that indulgences give nothing else than partial or total remission of temporal punishment; that they remind us of our weakness and lukewarmness which is great when compared with the zeal and fervor of the early Christians; that they impel us to satisfy the justice of God according to our ability. Finally, they remind us to thank God continually that He gave the Church a means in the inexhaustible treasure of the merits of Christ and His saints, to help our weakness and to supply what is wanting in our penance.

 

 

Usury: Oppression of the poor; a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance!

In the first place, it is obvious that not only is wealth concentrated in our times but an immense power and despotic economic dictatorship is consolidated in the hands of a few… This dictatorship is being most forcibly exercised by those who, since they hold the money and completely control it, control credit also and rule the lending of money.  Hence they regulate the flow, so to speak, of the life-blood whereby the entire economic system lives, and have so firmly in their grasp the soul, as it were, of economic life that no one can breathe against their will. 

Pope Pius XI, Quadragessimo Anno, 1931

 

 

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST           THE POWER AND LOVE OF JESUS                 

PRESENCE OF GOD ‑ O Jesus, grant me the grace to correspond always with the gifts of Your love.

MEDITATION:

    I. A poor paralytic is presented to Our Lord; he probably had himself brought there to ask for bodily health, but in the presence of the purity and holiness which emanates from the Person of Jesus, he realizes that he is a sinner and remains confused and humiliated before Our Lord. Jesus has already read his heart, and seeing his faith and humility, He does not even wait for him to speak, but suddenly says to him with infinite kindness: “Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee” (Gosp : Mt 9, I‑8). The first and the greatest miracle has taken place: the man is no longer a slave of Satan; he is a child of God. Jesus, who came to save souls, rightfully healed the soul before the body.

    This miracle, however, does not please the scribes who, not believing in the divinity of Jesus, begin immediately in the secret of their hearts to accuse Him of blasphemy. But the Master, who had read the soul of the paralytic, also reads theirs. “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” If Jesus had seen there even a little humility and faith, He would have been as ready to heal them as He was to heal the heart of the paralytic; but unfortunately, He found nothing but pride and obstinacy. However, He wishes to use every means to soften them, so He gives them the strongest proof of His divinity. “But that you may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins then He said to the man sick of the palsy –’Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.’ And he arose and went into his house.” The miracle was striking and instantaneous. The word of Jesus effected immediately what it expressed. The words of God alone could have such power. But the scribes will not admit that they are defeated when the heart is proud and obstinate not even factual evidence is capable of moving it.

    Let us never say our faith is weak because we do not see or touch with our hand the truth which is proposed for our belief; let us rather admit that it is weak because our heart is not sufficiently docile to grace, nor entirely free from pride. If we want to have strong faith, let us be as humble and simple as children; if we wish to share in the grace of sanctification which was given to the paralytic, let us offer ourselves to Our Lord with contrite, humble hearts, thoroughly convinced that we need His help and forgiveness.

    2. The Gospel presents Jesus to us in all the splendor of His divine personality, possessing all the powers proper to God. The Epistle (I Cor 1, 4‑8) shows Him in the act of putting His divinity at our service, as it were, to sanctify us and make us divine. Jesus continues to do for our souls what He did for the soul of the paralytic, and today’s Epistle is a beautiful synthesis of His action in us, an action far reaching and complete, embracing our whole being. Contemplating this action, St. Paul bursts forth in a hymn of gratitude: “I give thanks to my God always for you, for the grace of God that is given you in Christ Jesus, that in all things you are made rich in Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge ...so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace.” Yes, every grace, every gift comes to us from Jesus, and through them our person and our life are sanctified. By means of sanctifying grace, He sanctifies our soul; through the infused virtues, He sanctifies our faculties; and by actual grace, He sanctifies our activity, enabling us to act supernaturally. Yet even this does not satisfy His liberality: He is not content with setting us on the road to God, supernaturalized by grace and the virtues, but He wishes to substitute His divine way of acting for our human way; therefore, He enriches us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which make us capable of being moved by God Himself. All this is the gift of Jesus to us, the fruit of His Passion. The Holy Spirit is also His gift, the Gift par excellence, which He merited for us by His death on the Cross, the Gift which He and the Father are continually sending to us from heaven to enlighten and direct our souls.

    It seems as if Jesus, the true Son of God, is not jealous of His divinity or His prerogatives, but seeks every possible means to make us share by grace what He possesses by nature.  How true it is that the characteristic of love is to give oneself and to place those one loves on a plane of equality with oneself!

    Let our hearts be filled with gratitude; let us correspond to the infinite love of Jesus and always keep ourselves under its influence, for He wills to “confirm us unto the end without crime, in the day of His coming” (cf. I Cor 1, 8).

COLLOQUY:

    “O Jesus, You have taken away my death by giving me Your life; You have taken my flesh to give me Your Spirit; You have charged Yourself with my sins to bestow grace on me.

    “Thus, O my Redeemer, all Your pains are my treasure, and my wealth. You clothe me with Your purple, You honor me with Your crown, Your sorrows are a gift to me, Your grief sustains me, Your wounds heal me, Your Blood enriches me, Your love inebriates me.

    “You are the repose, the fire, and the desire of my soul. You are the Shepherd, and the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. You are the eternal Pontiff, powerful to appease the wrath of the supreme Father. Who would not praise You, O Lord? Who would not love You with all his heart? O benign Jesus, inflame my soul with this love, show me Your beautiful countenance, make my eyes happy because they see Yours, and refuse not the kiss of peace to one who loves You. You are the Spouse of my soul; it seeks You and calls You tearfully. You, O Holy One, have delivered it from death by Your death, and, wounding it with Your love, You have not despised it. Why does my misery not feel the sweetness of Your presence? Listen, my God and Savior, give me a heart that will love You, for there is nothing sweeter than to burn always with Your love.” (Ven. Louis of Granada).

 

 

It is from the lowest of the nine choirs, the nearest to ourselves, that the Guardian Angels are for the most part selected.  God reserves to the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones the honour of forming His own immediate court.  The Dominations, from the steps of His throne, preside over the government of the universe; the Virtues watch over the course of nature’s laws, the preservation of species, and the movements of the heavens; the Powers hold the spirits of wickedness in subjection.  The human race in its entirety, as also its great social bodies, the nations and the churches, are confided to the Principalities; while the Archangels, who preside over smaller communities, seem also to have the office of transmitting to the Angels the commands of God, together with the love and light which come down even to us from the first and highest hierarchy.  Thus, then, the admirable distribution of offices among the choirs of heavenly spirits terminates in the function committed to the lowest rank, the guardianship of man, for whom the universe subsists.  Such is the teaching of the School; and the apostle, in like manner, says: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?”

Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, Feast of the Guardian Angel

 

You do not have enough trust. You have too much fear before the good God. I can assure you that He is grieved over this. You should not fear Purgatory because of the suffering there, but should instead ask that you not deserve to go there in order to please God, Who so reluctantly imposes this punishment. As soon as you try to please Him in everything and have an unshakable trust He purifies you every moment in His love and He lets no sin remain. And then you can be sure that you will not have to go to Purgatory. 

St. Therese of Lisieux to a fellow sister on Purgatory    

 

 

If the shoe fits, wear it!

The Saint Prophesies great Schisms and Tribulations in the Church

A short time before the holy Father’s death, he called together his Children and warned them of the coming troubles, saying: ‘Act bravely, my Brethren; take courage, and trust in the Lord. The time is fast approaching in which there will be great trials and afflictions; perplexities and dissensions, both spiritual and temporal, will abound; the charity of many will grow cold, and the malice of the wicked will increase. The devils will have unusual power, the immaculate purity of our Order, and of others, will be so much obscured that there will be very few Christians who will obey the true Sovereign Pontiff and the Roman Church with loyal hearts and perfect charity. At the time of this tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate, who, by his cunning, will endeavour to draw many into error and death. Then scandals will be multiplied, our Order will be divided, and many others will be entirely destroyed, because they will consent to error instead of opposing it. There will be such diversity of opinions and schisms among the people, the religious and the clergy, that, except those days were shortened, according to the words of the Gospel, even the elect would be led into error, were they not specially guided, amid such great confusion, by the immense mercy of God. Then our Rule and manner of life will be violently opposed by some, and terrible trials will come upon us. Those who are found faithful will receive the crown of life; but woe to those who, trusting solely in their Order, shall fall into tepidity, for they will not be able to support the temptations permitted for the proving of the elect. Those who preserve their fervour and adhere to virtue with love and zeal for the truth, will suffer injuries and persecutions as rebels and schismatics; for their persecutors, urged on by the evil spirits, will say they are rendering a great service to God by destroying such pestilent men from the face of the earth. But the Lord will be the refuge of the afflicted, and will save all who trust in Him. And in order to be like their Head, these, the elect, will act with confidence, and by their death will purchase for themselves eternal life; choosing to obey God rather than man, they will fear nothing, and they will prefer to perish rather than consent to falsehood and perfidy. Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it under foot and deny it. Sanctity of life will be held in derision even by those who outwardly profess it, for in those days Our Lord Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor, but a destroyer.

The Works of the Seraphic Father - St. Francis of Assisi

 

 

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

 

 

The following legend explains Bruno's decision (to leave his position as a canon at the Cathedral of Rheims and director of theological studies to found the Carthusian order).  In 1082 he was present at the mortuary services over Raymond Diocre, canon of Notre Dame, Paris.  When the words were said, “Quantas habes iniquitates et peccata?” “how many sins and iniquities hast thou?” the dead man rose up and replied, “justo dei judicio accusatus sum,” “I am accused by the just judgment of God.”  The next day at the repetition of the words, the dead rose again and exclaimed, “justo dei judicio judicatus sum,” “I am judged by the just judgment of God.”  The third day the dead man rose for the third time and cried out, “justo dei judicio condemnatus sum,” “I am condemned by the just judgment of God.”  This incident was in the Roman Breviary, but removed by order of Urban VIII, 1631.  Joseph Cardinal Hergenröther (an eminent Church historian and prefect of the Vatican archives) says the legend is still defended by the Carthusians. 

Philip Schaff, History of the Church inthe Middle Ages

 

In an age, when every effort to arrest the world in its headlong downward career seems vain, has not man greater need than ever to fall back upon God?  The enemy is aware of it; and therefore the first law he imposes upon his votaries is, to forbid all access to the way of the counsels, and to stifle all life of adoration, expiation, and prayer.  For he well knows that, though a nation may appear to be on the verge of its doom, there is yet hope for it as long as the best of its sons are prostrate before the Majesty of God. 

Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year on the Feast of St. Bruno, founder of the Carthusian Order

 

“Only Our Lady of the Rosary can help you.”

To save them [poor sinners who are on the road to hell], God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse war will break out during the reign of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions against the Church and against the Holy Father.

To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated.  In Portugal, the dogma of faith will always be persevered, etc. [then follows the third secret yet to be revealed]….  Only Our Lady of the Rosary can help you. 

Blessed Virgin Mary to the children at Fatima

 

Soliman II, the greatest of the Sultans, taking advantage of the confusion caused in the west by Luther, had filled the sixteenth century with terror by his exploits.  His son Seim II was left the prospect of being able at length to carry out the ambition of his race…The Turkish fleet had already mastered the greater part of the Mediterranean, and was threatening Italy, when, on October 7, 1571, it came into action, in the Gulf of Lepanto, with the pontifical galleys supported by the fleets of Spain and Venice.  It was Sunday; throughout the world the confraternities of the Rosary were engaged in their work of intercession.  Supernaturally enlightened, St. Pius V watched from the Vatican the battle undertaken by the leader he had chosen, Don John of Austria, against the three hundred vessels of Islam.  In honor of the great triumph, St. Pius perpetuated the memory by the annual commemoration of our Lady of Victory.  His successor, Gregory XIII, altered this title to our Lady of the Rosary. 

Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, Our Lady of the Rosary

 

Be of good cheer, Dominic, the remedy for the evils which you lament will be meditation on the life, death and glory of My Son, uniting all with the recitation of the angelic salutation (Hail Mary) by which the mystery of redemption was announced to the world. This devotion, which you are to inculcate by your preaching, is a practice most dear to My Son and Me. The faithful will obtain by it innumerable advantages and shall always find me ready to aid them in their wants. This is the precious gift which I leave to you and to your spiritual children. 

The Blessed Virgin to St. Dominic while giving him the Rosary

         

In its present form, the Rosary was made known to the world by St. Dominic at the time of the struggles against the Albigensian.  It was then of more avail than armed forces against the power of Satan; it is now the Church’s last resort.  It would seem that the ancient forms of social prayer being no longer relished by the people, the Holy Ghost has willed by this easy and ready summary of the liturgy to maintain, in the isolated devotion of these unhappy times, the essential of that life of prayer, faith, and Christian virtue, which the public celebration of the Divine Office formerly kept up among the nations. 

Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, Feast of the Holy Rosary

 
Fifteen Promises for Praying the Most Holy Rosary

1)     Whoever shall faithfully serve Me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2)     I promise My special protection and the greatest graces to all who shall recite the Rosary.

3)     The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell. It will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. (Actually, were that the only promise, we should pray it for that reason. Because what have we in our world today? We are surrounded by, wherever we are in the world, vice, sin and heresy.) 

4)     It will cause virtue and good works to flourish. It will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God. It will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means. 

5)     The soul which recommends itself to Me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 

6)     Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death. If he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God and become worthy of eternal life.

7)      Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

8)     Those who are faithful in reciting the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces. At the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise.

9)     I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10) The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven. 

11) You shall obtain all you ask of Me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12) All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by Me in their necessities. 

13) I have obtained from My Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.

14) All who recite the Rosary are My sons, and brothers of My only Son, Jesus Christ. 

15) Devotion to My Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

 

 

 

How to Pray the Rosary with True Devotion

    Before beginning a decade, pause for a moment or two----depending upon how much time you have----and contemplate the mystery that you are about to honor in that decade. Always be sure to ask of Almighty God, by this mystery and through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, one of the virtues that shines forth most in this mystery or one of which you stand in particular need.
    Take great care to avoid the two pitfalls that most people fall into during the Rosary. The first is the danger of not asking for any graces at all, so that if some people were asked their Rosary intention they would not know what to say. So, whenever you say your Rosary, be sure to ask for some special grace. Ask God's help in cultivating one of the great Christian virtues or in overcoming one of your sins.
    The second big fault a lot of people make when saying the Holy Rosary is to have no intention other than that of getting it over as quickly as possible! This is because so many of us look upon the Rosary as a burden which is always heavier when we have not said it----especially if it is weighing on our conscience because we have promised to say it regularly or have been told to say it as a penance more or less against our will.
    It is really pathetic to see how most people say the Holy Rosary----they say it astonishingly fast and mumble so that the words are not properly pronounced at all. We could not possibly expect anyone, even the most unimportant person, to think that a slipshod address of this kind was a compliment and yet we expect Jesus and Mary to be pleased with it! Small wonder then that the most sacred prayers of our holy religion seem to bear no fruit, and that, after saying thousands of Rosaries, we are still no better than we were before! Dear Confraternity members, I beg of you to temper the speed which comes all too easily to you and pause briefly several times as you say the Our Father and Hail Mary. I have placed a cross at each pause, as you will see:
    Our Father Who art in Heaven,
CROSShallowed be Thy name, CROSSThy kingdom come, CROSSThy will be done CROSSon earth as it is in Heaven. CROSSGive us this day CROSSour daily bread CROSSand forgive us our trespasses CROSSas we forgive those who trespass against us, CROSSand lead us not into temptation CROSSbut deliver us from evil. Amen.
    Hail Mary, full of grace,
CROSSthe Lord is with Thee, CROSSblessed art thou among women CROSSand blessed is the Fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. CROSS
    Holy Mary, Mother of God,
CROSSpray for us sinners, now CROSSand at the hour of our death. Amen.
    At first, you may find it difficult to make these pauses because of your bad habit of saying prayers in a hurry; but a decade that you say recollectedly in this way will be worth more than thousands of Rosaries said all in a rush----without any pauses or reflection.

Saint Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary

 

Latin liturgical language has always been a principal target of the liturgical heretics

Hatred for the Latin language is inborn in the heart of all the enemies of Rome. They recognize it as the bond of Catholics throughout the universe, as the arsenal of orthodoxy against all the subtleties of the sectarian spirit . . . We must admit it is a master blow of Protestantism to have declared war on the sacred language. If it should ever succeed in destroying it, it would be well on the way to victory. Exposed to profane gaze, like a virgin who has been violated, from that moment on the Liturgy has lost much of its sacred character, and very soon people find that it is not worthwhile putting aside one's work or pleasure in order to go and listen to what is being said in the way one speaks on the marketplace. . . .  

Dom Gueranger, Liturgical Institutions

 

 

“Remember, the Lord seeks not only flowers but fruits, that is, not only good desires and resolutions but also holy works.” 

St. Bernard

 

 

Hermeneutics of Continuity/Discontinuity

Pope Benedict XVI – The novelty of “Religious Liberty” is elevated to a “Church… Demand”

“The Catholic Church firmly advocates that due recognition be given to the public dimension of religious adherence. In an overwhelmingly pluralist society, this demand is not unimportant. Care must be taken to guarantee that others are always treated with respect. Mutual respect grows only on the basis of agreement on certain inalienable values that are proper to human nature, in particular the inviolable dignity of every single person. Such agreement does not limit the expression of individual religions; on the contrary, it allows each person to bear witness explicitly to what he believes, not avoiding comparison with others.”
Pope Benedict XVI to the Muslims

 

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre – Called for a “Wholesale” Revision of the Texts of Vatican II and said that the text on Religious Liberty is “Contrary to the Magisterium of the Church.”

The necessity of judging the Second Vatican Council in the light of Tradition and the unchanging Magisterium of the Church, so as to correct the texts that are either incompatible with Tradition or equivocal.

Archbishop Lefebvre to Cardinal Ratzinger, CDF, July 21, 1982

 

“Considering that the Declaration of Religious Liberty is contrary to the Magisterium of the Church, we ask for a wholesale revision of the text.”We consider likewise indispensable noteworthy revisions of documents like ‘The Church in the Modern World’, ‘Non-Christian Religions’, ‘Ecumenism’, and clarifications of numerous texts presently tending toward confusion.
“Similarly on several points of prime importance, the new Code of Canon Law is unacceptable by its opposition to the definitive Magisterium of the Church.”

Archbishop Lefebvre to Cardinal Ratzinger, CDF, April 17, 1985

 

 

Tropologically; by the sick man’s taking up, and carrying his bed is meant, that by the just judgment of God it cometh to pass that the sinner who aforetime willingly consented to temptation, after he has repented, feels temptation against his will. For repentance truly takes away sin, but not sinful habits and depraved inclinations, which the sinner of his own will contracted and put on. Thus S. Alary of Egypt, after her conversion, felt for seventeen years the sharp goads of lust, because for so many years she had shamefully lived in lust.

But when the multitudes saw it they marvelled, &c. Instead of marvelled, the Latin Vulgate has, they feared. S. Mark adds, that the multitude said, We never saw it after this fashion. S. Luke, We have seen strange things to-day. For this man’s whole body was paralyzed. S. Mark says that, he was borne of four, which shows that the palsy had affected every limb. He was a different paralytic from the one of whom S. John makes mention (5:2), who was healed in the Sheep-market at Jerusalem. That man had no one carrying him: neither did he believe, as this one did, to whom it was said, Son, be of good cheer.

Tropologically; paralysis is any disease of the soul whatsoever, but especially of fleshly lust, and the carelessness and indifference to spiritual things which it generates. For it so entirely prostrates the soul, that it is without power to lift itself up to virtue, to heaven, to God. Wherefore the man that labours under this disease must be carried by bearers, that is, by pastors, preachers, confessors, up upon the housetop, that is, to the desire of salvation and heavenly things; and then must be let down through the roof to the feet of Christ; and they must ask of Him by earnest prayer to heal him by His grace, and restore to him the power of motion, and the sense of spiritual things. Then when he is healed, let him give thanks to Christ his Saviour, and let him not be slothful, but let him go away to the house of his mind and conscience, and sweep it clean of vices, and adorn it with all virtuous actions. Thus ought the soul to trust in the Lord, because He alone is able to supply all her wants. She ought to arise from the sleep of sin, and the bed of depraved habits, by calling to mind into what a state she has fallen, which she doth by confession; for as he who arises, so also does he who confesses, come forth: she ought to take up her bed, which pertains to satisfaction, for when that is enjoined in confession, it is a sort of burden to be borne, for the flesh which, as a bed, gave pleasure, and as it were carried the dead soul, ought, after remission and satisfaction, to be a burden to a man, as it was to him who cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” So Salermon, Jansen, Toletus, and others, expound this passage.

Rev. Cornelius a Lapide, The Great Commentary, Matthew 9

 

 

Dogma - The Formal Object of Divine and Catholic Faith

In theology some want to reduce to a minimum the meaning of dogmas; and to free dogma itself from terminology long established in the Church and from philosophical concepts held by Catholic teachers, to bring about a return in the explanation of Catholic doctrine to the way of speaking used in Holy Scripture and by the Fathers of the Church. They cherish the hope that when dogma is stripped of the elements which they hold to be extrinsic to divine revelation, it will compare advantageously with the dogmatic opinions of those who are separated from the unity of the Church and that in this way they will gradually arrive at a mutual assimilation of Catholic dogma with the tenets of the dissidents. … Some say they are not bound by the doctrine, explained in Our Encyclical Letter of a few years ago, and based on the Sources of Revelation, which teaches that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same thing. Some reduce to a meaningless formula the necessity of belonging to the true Church in order to gain eternal salvation. Others finally belittle the reasonable character of the credibility of Christian faith.
These and like errors, it is clear, have crept in among certain of Our sons who are deceived by imprudent zeal for souls or by false science. To them We are compelled with grief to repeat once again truths already well known, and to point out with solicitude clear errors and dangers of error. 

Pope Pius XII, Humani Generis 

 

The Pew poll affirms that 95% of Jewish leaders support the crime of abortion. Similar numbers support same sex marriages. Just who is this “one god” that Pope Benedict, Pope Francis and the Jews, in “mutual esteem and friendship,” adore?

Jews and Christians, growing in mutual esteem and friendship will be able to witness in the world the values that spring from adoration of the One God. 

Pope Benedict XVI

 

It is God Who has created me and to Him only I must return.... Oh, dear Jesus, enable me to grow increasingly in Thy love, to advance in it with firm and steady steps: so that my heart may be inebriated and inundated by it.  Ah! far from fearing to be submerged in it, I long for it with all my might, and my one wish is to be engulfed in the depths of the abyss.

Blessed Osanna of Mantua, O. P.

 

Without a “just cause” there is no fortitude.  The decisive element is not the wound but the cause.  “A man does not expose his life to the danger of death except in order to secure justice.  Therefore praise for bravery is contingent upon justice,” says St. Thomas Aquinas.  And in his book On Duties, St. Ambrose says, “Courage without justice is a lever of evil.”

Josef Pieper

 

“Don’t proselytize; respect others’ beliefs. We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes: ‘I am talking with you in order to persuade you,’ No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction, not proselytizing.”

Pope Francis 

 

Pope Francis the Destroyer - The Nominalist attacks the created relationship between the Reality, the Concept (which is formed only in a spiritual soul), and the Language to symbolize - He denies that truth exists, that it can be known, and that it can be communicated to spiritual souls - He attacks the created order at its very foundation.

So often [people ask]: ‘But do you believe?’: ‘Yes! Yes!’; ‘What do you believe in?’; ‘In God!’; ‘But what is God for you?’; ‘God, God’. But God does not exist: Do not be shocked! So God does not exist! There is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, they are persons, they are not some vague idea in the clouds ... This God pray does not exist! The three persons exist!

Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 10-9-14

 

What was once “self-evident” now must be painstakingly explained!

“God has constituted an eternal and immutable law, which is indispensably obligatory upon all mankind, prior to any human institution whatever.  This is what is called the law of nature.” 

Alexander Hamilton

 

After 40 Years of Dialogue, Rabbi identifies papal “conundrum.”

The real conundrum that faces Benedict XVI on his visit to Israel… is should he be loyal to the Gospels which claim that only acceptance of Christ can bring the messianic age, or should he endorse Vatican II which acknowledges that Jews… can find the kingdom of God via a different route?  Should he look inwards, backwards or forwards?

Rabbi Jonathan Romain, The Pope’s Jewish Dilemma, The Guardian

 

The revealed truth of the Gospel are reduced to “opinions”, to “merely human calculations”.

So many past controversies between Christians can be overcome when we put aside all polemical or apologetic approaches, and seek instead to grasp more fully what unites us, namely, our call to share in the mystery of the Father’s love revealed to us by the Son through the Holy Spirit. Christian unity – we are convinced – will not be the fruit of subtle theoretical discussions in which each party tries to convince the other of the soundness of their opinions. […..…] In the call to be evangelizers, all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities discover a privileged setting for closer cooperation. For this to be effective, we need to stop being self-enclosed, exclusive, and bent on imposing a uniformity based on merely human calculations. Our shared commitment to proclaiming the Gospel enables us to overcome proselytism and competition in all their forms. 

Pope Francis

 

 

St. Joseph’s forgotten role in Fatima’s ‘Miracle of the Sun’

Voice of the Family | 10-5-2017 – The 13 October 2017 will be the centenary of the Miracle of Sun and the final apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. Despite being essential for understanding the period of history that we are now living through, the details of these remarkable events are far too little known, including amongst Catholics. In this article, we wish to draw attention to the much-neglected role of St Joseph during that momentous event.

Following the Miracle of Sun, and at the culmination of Our Lady’s final apparition, St Joseph also appeared to the three young seers. Father John de Marchi, in his book The True Story of Fatima, describes it as follows:

To the left of the sun, Saint Joseph appeared holding in his left arm the Child Jesus. Saint Joseph emerged from the bright clouds only to his chest, sufficient to allow him to raise his right hand and make, together with the Child Jesus, the Sign of the Cross three times over the world. As Saint Joseph did this, Our Lady stood in all Her brilliancy to the right of the sun, dressed in the blue and white robes of Our Lady of the Rosary. Meanwhile, Francisco and Jacinta were bathed in the marvelous colors and signs of the sun, and Lucia was privileged to gaze upon Our Lord dressed in red as the Divine Redeemer, blessing the world, as Our Lady had foretold. Like Saint Joseph, He was seen only from His chest up. Beside Him stood Our Lady, dressed now in the purple robes of Our Lady of Sorrows, but without the sword. Finally, the Blessed Virgin appeared again to Lucia in all Her ethereal brightness, clothed in the simple brown robes of Mount Carmel.

This final apparition at Fatima points us towards three particular forms of devotion towards Our Lady that we are called to practice during this “final battle” against Satan. These are devotion to:

·       her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart

·       the Holy Rosary

·       the Brown Scapular.

However, it is of the greatest importance to note that the final apparition of Fatima also directs us towards the intercession of St Joseph, whom Our Lord intimately associated with Himself in his blessing of the world.

Father de Marchi wrote:

Our Lord, already so much offended by the sins of mankind and particularly by the mistreatment of the children by the officials of the county, could easily have destroyed the world on that eventful day. However, Our Lord did not come to destroy, but to save. He saved the world that day through the blessing of good Saint Joseph and the love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for Her children on earth. Our Lord would have stopped the great World War then raging and given peace to the world through Saint Joseph, Jacinta later declared, if the children had not been arrested and taken to Ourem.

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December 1870, Blessed Pope Pius IX, following appeals received from bishops worldwide, had declared St Joseph to be Patron of the Universal Church, “in this most sorrowful time” when “the Church herself is beset by enemies on every side and oppressed by heavy calamities, so that impious men imagine that the gates of Hell are at length prevailing against her.”

Pope Leo XIII, to whom it was revealed in 1884 that Satan would be given, for a time, increased power to work for the destruction the Church, instituted a new devotion to St Joseph in his encyclical letter Quamquan pluries, promulgated on the Feast of the Assumption, 15 August 1889. The Supreme Pontiff wrote:

During periods of stress and trial – chiefly when every lawlessness of act seems permitted to the powers of darkness – it has been the custom in the Church to plead with special fervour and perseverance to God, her author and protector, by recourse to the intercession of the saints – and chiefly of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God – whose patronage has ever been the most efficacious.

He further explained:

We see faith, the root of all the Christian virtues, lessening in many souls; we see charity growing cold; the young generation daily growing in depravity of morals and views; the Church of Jesus Christ attacked on every side by open force or by craft; a relentless war waged against the Sovereign Pontiff; and the very foundations of religion undermined with a boldness which waxes daily in intensity. These things are, indeed, so much a matter of notoriety that it is needless for Us to expatiate on the depths to which society has sunk in these days, or on the designs which now agitate the minds of men. In circumstances so unhappy and troublous, human remedies are insufficient, and it becomes necessary, as a sole resource, to beg for assistance from the Divine power.

More than a century after the promulgation of this encyclical the evils identified by Pope Leo XIII have intensified to a degree that would have been inconceivable to most people in 1889. Thousands of innocent children are slaughtered every day with the approval of the governments that ought to be defending them, the sanctity of marriage is defiled by divorce, adultery and contraception, and the bonds between parents and their children are being deliberately targeted for destruction by the most powerful states and institutions in the world. Worst of all, the Pope himself is responsible for the spread of heresies which are leading the flock away from Christ and towards eternal damnation.

Pope Leo XIII urged the faithful, just as Our Lady would do twenty-eight years later at Fatima, to combat these evils through the prayer of the Holy Rosary:

At this proximity of the month of October, which We have already consecrated to the Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary, We earnestly exhort the faithful to perform the exercises of this month with, if possible, even more piety and constancy than heretofore. We know that there is sure help in the maternal goodness of the Virgin, and We are very certain that We shall never vainly place Our trust in her. If, on innumerable occasions, she has displayed her power in aid of the Christian world, why should We doubt that she will now renew the assistance of her power and favour, if humble and constant prayers are offered up on all sides to her? Nay, We rather believe that her intervention will be the more marvellous as she has permitted Us to pray to her, for so long a time, with special appeals.

But then, once more anticipating Fatima, he directed the faithful also towards St Joseph:

But We entertain another object, which, according to your wont, Venerable Brethren, you will advance with fervour. That God may be more favourable to Our prayers, and that He may come with bounty and promptitude to the aid of His Church, We judge it of deep utility for the Christian people, continually to invoke with great piety and trust, together with the Virgin-Mother of God, her chaste Spouse, the Blessed Joseph; and We regard it as most certain that this will be most pleasing to the Virgin herself.

He further explained:

The divine house which Joseph ruled with the authority of a father, contained within its limits the scarce-born Church. From the same fact that the most holy Virgin is the mother of Jesus Christ is she the mother of all Christians whom she bore on Mount Calvary amid the supreme throes of the Redemption; Jesus Christ is, in a manner, the first-born of Christians, who by the adoption and Redemption are his brothers. And for such reasons the Blessed Patriarch looks upon the multitude of Christians who make up the Church as confided specially to his trust – this limitless family spread over the earth, over which, because he is the spouse of Mary and the Father of Jesus Christ he holds, as it were, a paternal authority. It is, then, natural and worthy that as the Blessed Joseph ministered to all the needs of the family at Nazareth and girt it about with his protection, he should now cover with the cloak of his heavenly patronage and defend the Church of Jesus Christ.

Therefore the Holy Father instituted a new prayer to said after the Holy Rosary throughout the month of October. He intended this prayer to be said, not just in October 1889, but in October every year. As we prepare for the centenary of the Miracle of Sun, let us learn the lesson of St Joseph’s apparition at Fatima, and turn to him for help and protection.

St Joseph, terror of demons, pray for us!

 

 

It must be observed, however, that if the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly. Hence Paul, who was Peter’s subject, rebuked him in public, on account of the imminent danger of scandal concerning faith, and, as the gloss of Augustine says on Galatians 2:11, “Peter gave an example to superiors, that if at any time they should happen to stray from the straight path, they should not disdain to be reproved by their subjects.”

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 33, a. 4, ad 2

 

A lamentable spectacle is that presented by the aberrations of human reason when it yields to the spirit of novelty, when against the warning of the Apostle, it seeks to know beyond what it is meant to know, and when relying too much on itself it thinks it can find the truth outside the Catholic Church wherein truth is found without the slightest shadow of error. 

St. Pius X, Pascendi

 

 

“And what is most remarkable is that the enemies of the Church—the movements that rend and crucify her—are in a sense her own offspring and derive their dynamic force from her.” This includes her current enemies who attack from within the household. In the crucible of conflict, saints are forged and crowns won.

Actually, however, Christianity has never accepted these postulates, and the Christian ought to be the last person in the world to lose hope in the presence of the failure of the right and the apparent triumph of evil. For all this forms part of the Christian view of life, and the Christian discipline is expressly designed to prepare us to face such a situation.

Christianity, to a far greater degree than any other religion, is a historical religion and it is knit up inseparably with the living process of history. Christianity teaches the existence of a divine progress in history which will be realized through the Church in the Kingdom of God. But at the same time it recognizes the essential duality of the historical process—the co-existence of two opposing principles, each of which works and finds concrete social expression in history. Thus we have no right to expect that Christian principles will work in practice in the simple way that a political system may work. The Christian order is a supernatural order. It has its own principles and its own laws which are not those of the visible world and which may often seem to contradict them. Its victories may be found in apparent defeat and its defeats in material success.

We see the whole thing manifested clearly and perfectly once and once only, i.e. in the life of Jesus, which is the pattern of the Christian life and the model of Christian action. The life of Jesus is profoundly historical; it is the culminating point of thousands of years of living historical tradition. It is the fulfillment of a historical purpose, towards which priests and prophets and even politicians had worked, and in which the hope of a nation and a race was embodied. Yet, from the worldly point of view, from the standpoint of a contemporary secular historian, it was not only unimportant, but actually invisible. Here was a Galilean peasant who for thirty years lived a life so obscure as to be unknown even to the disciples who accepted his mission. Then there followed a brief period of public action, which did not lead to any kind of historical achievement but moved swiftly and irresistibly towards its catastrophic end, an end that was foreseen and deliberately accepted.

And out of the heart of this catastrophe there arose something completely new, which even in its success was a deception to the very people and the very race that had staked their hopes on it. For after Pentecost—after the outpouring of the Spirit and the birth of the infant Church—there was an event as unforeseen and inexplicable as the Incarnation itself, the conversion of a Cilician Jew, who turned away from his traditions and from his own people so that he seemed a traitor to his race and his religion. So that ultimately the fulfillment of the hope of Israel meant the rejection of Israel and the creation of a new community which was eventually to become the State religion of the Roman Empire which bad been the enemy of Jew and Christian alike.

If you look on all this without faith, from the rationalist point of view, it becomes no easier to understand. On the contrary it becomes even more inexplicable; credo quia incredibile.

Now the life of Christ is the life of the Christian and the life of the Church. It is absurd for a Christian who is a weak human vehicle of this world changing force to expect a quiet life. A Christian is like a red rag to a bull—to the force of evil that seeks to be master of the world and which, in a limited sense, but in a very real sense, is, as St. John says, the Lord of this world. And not only the individual but the Church as an historic community follows the same pattern and finds its success and failure not where the politician finds them, but where Christ found them.

The Church lives again the life of Christ. It has its period of obscurity and growth and its period of manifestation, and this is followed by the catastrophe of the Cross and the new birth that springs from failure. And what is most remarkable is that the enemies of the Church—the movements that rend and crucify her—are in a sense her own offspring and derive their dynamic force from her. Islam, the Protestant Reformation, the liberal Revolution, none of them would have existed apart from Christianity—they are abortive or partial manifestations of the spiritual power which Christianity has brought into history. “I have come to cast fire on the earth and what will I, but that it be kindled.”

Christopher Dawson, Dynamics of World History

 

 

Kindness is for fools. They want them to be treated with oil, soap, and caresses but they ought to be beaten with fists! In a duel you don’t count or measure the blows, you strike as you can. War is not made with charity, it is a struggle, a duel. If Our Lord were not terrible he would not have given an example in this too. See how he treated the Philistines, the sowers of error, the wolves in sheep’s clothing, the traitors in the temple. He scourged them with whips! 

St. Pius X, how Modernists should be treated

 

But the wicked shall be punished according to their own devices: who have neglected the just, and have revolted from the Lord. For he that rejecteth wisdom, and discipline, is unhappy: and their hope is vain, and their labors without fruit, and their works unprofitable. Their wives are foolish, and their children wicked. Their offspring is cursed…..  Give ear, you that rule the people, and that please yourselves in multitudes of nations: for power is given you by the Lord, and strength by the most High, who will examine your works, and search out your thoughts: because being ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged rightly, nor kept the law of justice, not walked according to the will of God. Horribly and speedily will he appear to you: for a most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule. For to him that is little, mercy is granted: but the mighty shall be mightily tormented. 

Wisdom 3:10-13; 6:3-7

 

Baptism – the gate to heaven

“This fountain is life; it flows of Christ, and purifies the world. Dive, O sinner, into this holy stream; it will wash away your sins and transform old into new. O! if thou seekest innocence thou shalt find it in this bath, even shouldest thou be burdened with Adam’s sin or thine own. No distance can afterwards separate those who have been regenerated; henceforth they become one through the action of one source, one spirit, one faith. Let not the number and character of thy crimes alarm thee. He who seeks life in this stream shall be made more holy.

Inscription on the marble architrave to the baptistery at St. John Lateran placed by Pope Sixtus III in 434 AD 

 

 

 

This is the argument made by every criminal to cover his crime.  It has been the modus operandi for the HomoLobby since Vatican II.  It is Satan who “counsels” and “commands” “silence” so that the homosexual perverts may continue “partaking” and “concealing” the sins of Sodomy to which they have given their “consent” by claiming, “Who am I to judge.” These are nine ways of being an accessory to another's sin and this is a sin that “cries to heaven for vengeance”:

 

·      Francis_Hell_4.jpgBy counsel.

·      By command.

·      By consent.

·      By provocation.

·      By praise or flattery.

·      By concealment.

·      By partaking.

·      By silence.

·      By defense of the ill done.

 

 

 

 

 

Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.” Isaias 5:20

In these times, it seems like the Great Accuser has been unchained and is attacking bishops. True, we are all sinners, we bishops. He tries to uncover the sins, so they are visible in order to scandalize the people. The Great Accuser, as he himself says to God in the first chapter of the book of Job, “Roams the earth looking for someone to accuse.”

A bishop’s strength against the Great Accuser is prayer, that of Jesus and His own, and the humility of being chosen and remaining close to the people of God, without seeking an aristocratic life that removes this unction. Let us pray, today, for our bishops: For me, for those who are here, and for all the bishops throughout the world.

Pope Francis, homily during recent Novus Ordo service, calling those who “uncover the sins” of homosexual bishops’ perversions of being ‘Satan’.

 

 

Explicit Supernatural Faith in God’s Revealed Truth is Necessary as a Necessity of Means for Salvation.

If you do not believe this, you do not possess Supernatural Faith!

Responses of the Holy Office under Pope Clement XI, 1703:
Q. Whether a minister is bound, before baptism is conferred on an adult, to explain to him all the mysteries of our faith, especially if he is at the point of death, because this might disturb his mind. Or, whether it is sufficient, if the one at the point of death will promise that when he recovers from the illness, he will take care to be instructed, so that he may put into practice what has been commanded him.
Resp. A promise is not sufficient, but a missionary is bound to explain to an adult, even a dying one who is not entirely incapacitated, the mysteries of faith which are necessary by a necessity of means, as are especially the mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation.
Q.  Whether it is possible for a crude and uneducated adult, as it might be with a barbarian, to be baptized, if there were given to him only an understanding of God and some of His attributes, especially His justice in rewarding and in punishing, according to this passage of the Apostle "He that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder' [Heb . 11:23], from which it is inferred that a barbarian adult, in a certain case of urgent necessity, can be baptized although he does not believe explicitly in Jesus Christ.
Resp. A missionary should not baptize one who does not believe explicitly in the Lord Jesus Christ, but is bound to instruct him about all those matters which are necessary, by a necessity of means, according to the capacity of the one to be baptized.”

 

 

There is yet a time of stillness and indifference. Liberalism is a twilight state in which all errors are softened, in which no persecution for religion will be countenanced. It is the stillness before the storm. There is a time coming when nothing will be persecuted but truth, and if you possess the truth, you will share the trial.

Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop of Westminster

 

It is proper to grace to strive against nature. Therefore, we must expect that it will frequently, or rather continually, demand of us such things as are contrary to our vicious or imperfect tendencies, and that consequently nature will offer a violent resistance, and will not yield until the last moment. The will, however, must always be on the side of grace. By the word 'will', I do not mean certain ineffective desires, certain repugnances or aversions which are not free, but a firm and determined resolution - not I would, but I will, triumphant equally over likes and dislikes. .... There is a great difference, said a holy man who spoke from experience, between sacrificing one's life to God in a transport of fervour, and doing the same thing at the foot of the gallows. the true disposition of the will is to be judged at the actual moment of the sacrifice, when the temporary effect of the heavenly warmth is withdrawn, and the soul has cooled down and returned to a state of ordinary grace. Therefore we ought not lightly to imagine that we have this good will: rather we should always fear that we have it not. We are not, indeed, to be pusillanimous, but we are bound to mistrust ourselves always and rely solely on help from heaven, confident that it will never fail us in time of need.

Rev. John Nicholas Gou, S.J., Spiritual Maxims

 

 

The Great Commentary on Matthew 1:1-8

And, behold, certain of the scribes, &c. Within themselves. Syr., in their soul; because He takes away God’s special prerogative of pardoning sin, and claims it for Himself, which would be a grave dishonour done to God, and therefore blasphemy. Thus they thought, supposing Christ was not God, but a mere man. This was their perpetual and obstinate error, which led them perpetually to persecute Him, even unto the death of the Cross. Wherefore S. Mark adds, that they said, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” For sin is an offence against God, a violation of the Divine Majesty, so that no one can pardon it, except God Himself.

And Jesus knowing their thoughts, &c. S. Mark adds that Jesus knew in His Spirit. This was not because another revealed to Him the thoughts and blasphemies of the Scribes, as the prophets knew such things, but by Himself and His own Spirit, pervading and penetrating all things. From this the Fathers rightly prove the Divinity of Christ against the Arians. For He searches the hearts, a thing which God alone can do. Thus S. Jerome, who adds, “Even when keeping silence, He speaks. As though He said, ‘By the same power and majesty by which I behold your thoughts, I am able also to forgive men their sins.’” So too S. Chrysostom and others. Whence Chrysologus says, “Receive the tokens of Christ’s Divinity: behold Him come to the secret hiding-places of thy thoughts.”

You may say, the Scribes might have raised the following objection:—“Thou, O Jesus, indeed knowest and revealest our secret thoughts, but not by Thine own Spirit, for that Thou in no way makest plain to us, but by the Spirit of God. Therefore Thou art a prophet and not God, that thou shouldst remit sins.” I reply, if the Scribes acknowledged Jesus to be a prophet, then surely they ought to have believed that He was speaking the truth when He said that He had, of Himself, power to forgive sins, and therefore that He was God. Again, in the Old Testament, the power of remitting sins was given to none of the prophets, but it was promised to Messiah alone by the prophets. Therefore, they ought to have acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah, and consequently God, as is plain from many passages of Scripture.

Lastly, Christ by His command alone, and proper authority, both healed the paralytic, and forgave him his sins, and so in this, as in all His other miracles, He had this end in view, that He might convince them He was the Messiah—that is, the Son of God, who had come in the flesh, the Saviour of the world, the Redeemer of sinners, who had been foretold by Moses and the prophets.

Whether is easier, &c. You may ask, whether of these two is absolutely the more difficult? I answer—

1. It is, per se, more difficult to forgive sins than to heal a paralytic person, yea, than to create heaven and earth. And there is à priori reason for this: first, because sin, as an enemy of God, is far further away from God than a paralytic, yea, than any created thing, forasmuch as these are in themselves good: yea, further than nothingness, out of which all things were made, itself, for nothingness is only negatively and privatively opposed to entity and God; but sin is diametrically opposed and repugnant to God. For there are no contraries which are so mutually opposed as supreme goodness and supreme badness—that is to say, God and sin.

2. Because remission of sins is something of a higher order than the natural order. It has to do with the supernatural order of grace. Grace is the highest communion with the Divine Nature: for by grace “we are made partakers of the divine nature,” as S. Peter says (2 Pet. i. 4).

I observe, however, secondly: on the contrary, Christ here seems to speak of remission of sins as being easier than the healing of the paralytic. This was so, because the latter was more difficult in respect of the Jews, and it was a more perilous thing besides. For he who saith, I forgive thee thy sins, cannot be convicted of falsehood, whether he remits them or not. For neither sin, nor its remission, are things that can be seen. But he who saith to a paralytic, Arise and walk, exposes both himself and his good name to great peril, if the sick man does not arise. Such a one will be convicted by all of imposture and falsehood. Just as we are accustomed to say, It is easier to write a history of Tartary than a history of Italy: because here a man might be convicted of falsehood by multitudes; but there by no one.

Lastly, the healing of paralysis is a physical operation, and, physically speaking, more difficult than the remission of sins, which is, per se, a moral act, of like nature with sin itself.

Jansen adds, With respect to God, both are equally easy and divine, for both are miraculous, and both require exercise of omnipotent power.

Moreover, although of itself the healing of the paralytic was a less work than the remission of sins, yet Christ conclusively proves by it that He had the power of forgiving sins.

Ver. 6.—But that ye may know, &c. Observe the expression, Son of Man, for Christ forgave sins, not only as He was God, but in that He was man, authoritatively and meritoriously. Because His Humanity was hypostatically united to His Divinity, and subsisted in the Divine Person of the Son of God, therefore He was able to make full satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.

Rev. Cornelius a Lapide, The Great Commentary, Matthew 9:1-8

 

 

Remember , O man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.

"An excessive desire for liberty at the expense of everything else is what undermines democracy and leads to the demand for tyranny." Plato

In a 2022 lecture at Notre Dame, Alasdair MacIntyre argued that the claims and conceptions of universal and inalienable human dignity as reflected in documents such as the 1948 United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in various post-war European constitutions are puzzling, since this dignity requires a duty of respect to everyone just for being human, no matter their behavior or character, so Stalin the mass murderer has as much dignity and deserves as much respect as Mother Teresa. Aquinas’ view of dignitas as interpreted by Charles De Koninick is a challenge to this view, for it assigns human dignity, not to the mere fact of being human, but to the end to which we are called, which is supernatural, union with God, which might not be attained due to one’s choices on earth against those common goods which enable our attainment of the supernatural end, and so human dignitas could be lost. According to this view, the 20th-century concept of human dignity is much too individualistic, and because it is not based in justice and the common good, can only provide negative prescriptions against the undignified treatment of humans. It is unable to provide positive prescriptions that enable persons to obtain the common goods and the virtues they need to attain their supernatural end. For MacIntyre, we need to speak of human dignity in terms of justice, what we owe to each other for the sake of enabling persons to attain their personal and common goods and final end, which is the knowledge and love of God in this life and the next.

Thaddeus Kozinski, PhD, Introduction to Article entitled, From Liberal Democracy to Global Totalitarianism, September 26, 2023

 

 

Remember in your charity:  

Remember the welfare of our expectant mothers: Flavia McDonald, Erika Zepeda, Cecelia Zapeda, and Victoria Dimmel,

Warren Hoffman, a long time member of our Mission who is in failing health,

Patrick Boyle, for the recovery of his health and his spiritual welfare,

For the spiritual welfare of the Drew children,

Lamonte White, requests our prayers for his spiritual and temporal welfare,

Monica Bandlow request our prayers for the welfare of Ray who is recovering from a MVA, and his daughter, Sonia, and Tera Jean Kopczynski, who is in failing health, and for a good death for Mr. Howald, Kathy Simons, Regina Quinn, James Mulgrew, Ruth Beaucheane, John Kopczynski, Roger & Mandy Owen

The health and spiritual welfare of Nate Schaeffer is the petition of Gene Peters,

Peg Berry requests our prayers for her brother, William Habekost,

Louise McCarthy, who has recently suffered a stroke,

For the health and welfare of Katherine Wedel,

For the recently widowed, Maike Hickson, and her children,

For the spiritual welfare of the Carmelite nuns in Fairfield, PA,

Geralyn Zagorski, recovery of her health and spiritual welfare and the conversion of Randal Pace is the petition of Philip Thees,

For the grandson of Joe & Liz Agusta,

The health of Joseph Cox,

Fr. Waters requests our prayers for the health and spiritual welfare of Elvira Donaghy,

For the health and conversion of Stephen Henderson,

Fr. Paul DaDamio requests our prayers for the welfare of Rob Ward, and his sister, Debra Wagaman,

For the health and spiritual welfare of Peggy Cummings, the neice of Camila Meiser, who is gravely ill,

Kaitlyn McDonald, for the recovery of her health and spiritual welfare,

Roco Sbardella, for his health and spiritual welfare,

Mufide Rende requests our prayers for the spiritual and physical welfare of the Rende Family,

The welfare of the Sal Massinio family is the petition of the Drew’s,

The Vargas’ request our prayers for the spiritual welfare of their son, Nicholas,

Family, for the welfare of Lazarus Handley, his mother, Julia, and his brother, Raphael, with Down’s Syndrome,

Fr. Waters requests prayers for the spiritual and physical welfare of Frank McKee,

Nancy Bennett, for the recovery of her health,

Julia McDonald, who is gravely ill,

For the spiritual welfare of Mark Roberts, a Catholic faithful to tradition,

Philip Thees asks our prayers for the recovery of Bridget McGuigan, recent hand injury,

Joe Sentmanet request prayers for Scott Nettles (who is in need of conversion) and his father-in-law, Charles Harmon, who are gravely ill,

Michael Brigg requests our prayers for the health of John Romeo,

The health and welfare of Gene Peters,

Conversion of Anton Schwartzmueller, is the paryer request of his children,

Stacy Fernandez requests are prayers for the heath of Terry Patterson, Steven Becerra, and Roberto Valez,

Christine Kozin, for her health and spiritual welfare,

Teresa Gonyea, for her conversion and health, is the petition of her grandmother, Patricia McLaughlin,

Nolan Moran, a three year old diagnosed with brain tumor, and his family,

For the health of Sonia Kolinsky,

Jackie Dougherty asks our prayers for her brother who is gravely ill, John Lee,

Rose Bradley asks our prayers for the health and spiritual welfare of her granddaughter, Meg Bradley,

Timothy & Crisara, a couple from Maryland have requested our prayers for their spiritual welfare,

Celine Pilegaard, the seven year old daughter of Cynthia Pilegaard, for her recovery from burn injuries,

Rafaela de Saravia, for her health and welfare,

Mary Mufide,  requests our prayers for her family,

Abbe Damien Dutertre, traditional Catholic priest arrested by Montreal police while offering Mass,

Francis (Frank) X.  McLaughlin, for the recovery of his health,

Nicholas Pell, for his health and spiritual welfare is the petition of Camilla Meizer,

Mary Kaye Petr, her health and welfare is petitioned by Camilla Meizer,

The welfare of Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò,

The welfare of Rev. Fr. Martin Skierka, who produces the traditional Ordo in the U.S.,

For the health and welfare of Katie Wess, John Gentry, Vincent Bands, Todd Chairs, Susan Healy and James O’Gentry is the petition of Camilia,

Marieann Reuter, recovery of her health, Kathy Kepner, for her health, Shane Cox, for his health, requests of Philip Thees,

Thomas A. Nelson, long time faithful traditional Catholic the founder and former owner of TAN Books & Publishing, suffered a recent stroke,

The Joseph Cox Family, their spiritual welfare,

The Thomas Dube Family, for their conversion and spiritual welfare,

Luis Rafael Zelaya, the brother of Claudia Drew, spiritual welfare,          

For the health of Kim Cochran, the daughter-in-law of Joseph and Brenda Cochran, the wife of their son Joshua,

Louie Verrecchio, Catholic apologist, who has a health problem,

John Minidis, Jr. family, for help in their spiritual trial,

Joann DeMarco, for her health and spiritual welfare,

Regina (Manidis) Miller, her spiritual welfare and health,   

Melissa Elena Levitt, her conversion, and welfare of her children,

For the grace of a holy death, Nancy Marie Claycomb,

The health and spiritual welfare of Tom Grow, Amanda Gardner, and Alex Estrada,

Conversion of Annette Murowski, and her son Jimmy,

Brent Keith from Indiana has petitioned our prayers for the Keith Family,

The welfare of the Schmedes Family, and the Mike and Mariana Donohue Family,

The spiritual welfare Robert Holmes Family,

For the spiritual and temporal welfare of Irwin Kwiat,

Fr. Waters asks our prayers for Elvira Donaghy,

Kimberly Ann, the daughter of John and Joann DeMarco, for her health and spiritual welfare,

Mufide Rende, a traditional Catholic from India has asked our prayers for her welfare and he family members, living and deceased,

Mary and Bill Glatz, their health and the welfare of their family,

Barbara Harmon, who is ill, and still cares for her ailing parents,

Jason Green, a father of ten children, recovery of his health,

For the health and welfare of Sorace family,

Fr. Waters asks our prayers for the health and spiritual welfare of Brian Abramowitz,

Thomas Schiltz family, in grateful appreciation for their contribution to the beauty of our chapel,

Welfare of Bishop Richard Williamson, for strength and courage in the greater battles to come,

John Rhoad, for his health and spiritual welfare,

Kathy Boyle, requests our prayers for her welfare,

Joyce Laughman and Robert Twist, for their conversions,

Michael J. Brigg & his family, who have helped with the needs of the Mission,

Nancy Deegan, her welfare and conversion to the Catholic Church,

Francis Paul Diaz, who was baptized at Ss. Peter & Paul, asks our prayers for his spiritual welfare,

The conversion of Rene McFarland, Lori Kerr, Cary Shipman and family, David Bash, Crystal and family, Larry Reinhart, Costanzo Family, Kathy Scullen, Marilyn Bryant, Vicki Trahern and Time Roe are the petitions of Gene Peters,

For the conversion of Ben & Tina Boettcher family, Karin Fraessdorf, Eckhard Ebert, and Fahnauer family,

Fr. Waters requests our prayers for Br. Rene, SSPX who has been ill, and for Fr. Thomas Blute, 

For the health and conversion of Kathryn Lederhos, the aunt of David Drew,

For the welfare of Fr. Paul DaDamio and Fr. William T. Welsh,

The Drew’s ask our prayers for the welfare of Joe & Tracy Sentmanat family, Keith & Robert Drew, Christy Koziol & her children, Fred Nesbit and Michael Nesbit families, and Gene Peters Family, the John Manidis Family, the Sal Messinio Family, Michael Proctor Family,

Ryan Boyle grandmother, Jane Boyle, who is failing health,

Mel Gibson and his family, please remember in our prayers,

Rev. Timothy A. Hopkins requested our prayers for the welfare of  his Fr Jean-Luc Lafitte,

Ebert’s request our prayers for the Andreas & Jenna Ortner Family,

Joyce Paglia has asked prayers for George Richard Moore Sr. & his children, and her brother, George Panell,

Philip Thees asks our prayers for his family, for McLaughlin Family, the welfare of Dan & Polly Weand, the conversion of Sophia Herman, Tony Rosky, the welfare Nancy Erdeck, the wife of the late Deacon Erdeck, John Calasanctis, Tony Rosky, James Parvenski and  Kathleen Gorry.

 

Pray for the Repose of the Souls:

Fr. Waters requests prayers for Elvira Donaghy, his friend and former secretary a for Bishop Gerado Zendejas, died September 9,

Robert Hickson, a faithful Catholic apologist who died Septembber 2,

Monica Bandlow requests prayers for her brother, Richard Bandlow, died August 22, Fr. Christopher Darby, SSPX,  who died March 17, Robert Byrne, Michelle Donofrio McDowell, her cousin, died March 5, and Patricia Fabyanic, the Prefect of Our Lady’s Sodality, March 8, John Kinney, died December 21, Willaim Price, Jr., and Robert Arch Ward, died January 10, and Myra, killed in a MVA June 6,

John Sharpe, Sr., died July 20,

Maria Paulette Salazar, died June 6,

Dale Kinsey requests prayers for his wife, Katherine Kinsey, died May 17,

Richard Giles, who died April 29, the father of Traci Sentmanat who converted to the Catholic faith last All Saints' Day,

Joseph Sparks, a devout and faithful Catholic to tradition died February 25, 

Joyce Paglia, died January 21, and Anthony Paglia, died January 28, who were responsible for the beautiful statuary in our chapel,

Joe Sentmanet request prayers for Richard Giles and Claude Harmon who converted to the Catholic faith shortly before their deaths, 

Rodolfo Zelaya, the brother of Claudia Drew, died January 9,

Elizabeth Agosta petitions our prayers for Joseph Napolitano, her brother, who died January 2,

Michael Dulisse, died on December 26,

Michael Proctor, a close friend of the Drews, died November 9,

Richard Anthony Giles, the father-in-law of Joe Sentmanat converted to the Catholic faith on All Saints Day, died November 5,

Robert Kolinsky, the husband of Sonja, died September 18,

Gabriel Schiltz, the daughter of Thomas & Gay Schiltz, died August 21,

Mary Dimmel, the mother –in-law of Victoria Drew Dimmel, died July 18,

Michael Nesbit, the brother-in-law and dear friend of the Drew's, died July 14,

Thomas Thees, the brother of Philip, died June 19,

Carmen Ragonese, died June 22,

Juanita Mohler, a friend of Camella Meiser, died June 14,

Kathleen Elias, died February 14,

Hernan Ortiz, the brother of Fr. Juan Carlos Ortiz, died February 3,

Mary Ann Boyle, the mother of a second order Dominican nun, a first order Dominican priest, and a SSPX priest, died January 24, 

John DeMarco, who attended this Mission in the past, died January23,

Charles O’Brien, the father of Marlene Cox, died December 30,

Mufide Rende requests our prayers for the repose of the souls of her parents, Mehmet & Nedime,

Kathleen Donelly, died December 29 at 91 years of age, ran the CorMariae website,

Matthew O'Hare, most faithful Catholic, died at age 40 on November 30,

Rev. Patrick J. Perez, a Catholic priest faithful to tradition, pastor Our Lady Help of Christians, Garden Grove, CA, November 19,

Elizabeth Benedek, died December 14, requested by her niece, Agnes Vollkommer,

Dolores Smith and Richard Costello, faithful Catholics, died November,

Frank D’Agustino, a friend of Philp Thees, died November 8,

Fr. Dominique Bourmaud, of the SSPX, Prior of St. Vincent in Kansas City, died September 4,

Pablo Daniel Silva, the brother of Elizabeth Vargas, died August 18,

Rose Bradley, a member of Ss. Peter & Paul, died July 14,

Patricia Ellias, died June 1, recently returned to the Church died with the sacraments and wearing the brown scapular,

Joan Devlin, the sister-in-law of Rose Bradley, died May 18,

William Muligan, died April 29, two days after receiving the last sacraments,

Robert Petti, died March 19, the day after receiving the last sacraments,

Mark McDonald, the father of Kyle, who died December 26,

Perla Otero, died December 2020, Leyla Otero, January 2021, cousins of Claudia Drew,

Mehmet Rende, died December 12, who was the father of Mary Mufide,

Joseph Gravish, died November 26, 100 year old WWII veteran and daily communicant,

Jerome McAdams, the father of, died November 30,

Rev. James O’Hara, died November 8, requested by Alex Estrada,

Elizabeth Batko, the sacristan at St. John the Baptist in Pottstown for over 40 years, died on First Saturday November 7 wearing the brown scapular,

Fr. Anthony Cekada, a traditional Catholic priest, died September 11,

William Cox, the father of Joseph Cox, who died September 3,

James Larson, Catholic apologists, author of War Against Being publication, died July 6, 2020, 

Hutton Gibson, died May 12,

Sr. Regina Cordis, Immaculate Heart of Mary religious for sixty-five years, died May 12,

Leslie Joan Matatics, devoted Catholic wife and mother of nine children, died March 24,

Victoria Zelaya, the sister-in-law of Claudia Drew, died March 20,

Ricardo DeSilva, died November 16, our prayers requested by his brother, Henry DeSilva,

Roland H. Allard, a friend of the Drew’s, died September 28,

Stephen Cagorski and John Bogda, who both died wearing the brown scapular,

Cecilia LeBow, a most faithful Catholic,

Rose Cuono, died Oct 23,

Patrick Rowen, died March 25, and his brother, Daniel Rowen, died May 15,

Sandra Peters, the wife of Gene Peters, who died June 10 receiving the sacraments and wearing our Lady’s scapular,

Rev. Francis Slupski, a priest who kept the Catholic faith and its immemorial traditions, died May 14,

Martha Mochan, the sister of Philip Thees, died April 8,

George Kirsch, our good friend and supporter of this Mission, died February 15,

For Fr. Paul J. Theisz, died October 17, is the petition of Fr. Waters,

Fr. Mecurio Fregapane, died Jan 12, was not a traditional priest but always charitable,

Fr. Casimir Peterson, a priest who often offered the Mass in our chapel and provided us with sound advice, died December 4,

Fr. Constantine Bellasarius, a faithful and always charitable Eastern Rite Catholic Melkite priest, who left the Roman rite, died November 27,

Christian Villegas, a motor vehicle accident, his brother, Michael, requests our prayers,

John Vennari, the former editor of Catholic Family News, and for his family’s welfare, April 4,

Mary Butler, the aunt of Fr. Samuel Waters, died October 17,

Joseph DeMarco, the nephew of John DeMarco, died October 3,

John Fergale, died September 25 after receiving the traditional sacramental rites of the Church wearing the brown scapular,

John Gabor, the brother of Donna Marbach, died September 9,

Fr. Eugene Dougherty, a faithful priest, fittingly died on the Nativity of the BVM after receiving the traditional Catholic sacraments,

Phyllis Schlafly, died September 5,

Helen Mackewicz, died August 14,

Mark A. Wonderlin, who died August 2,

Fr. Carl Cebollero, a faithful priest to tradition who was a friend of Fr. Waters and Fr. DeMaio,

Jessica Cortes, a young mother of ten who died June 12,

Frances Toriello, a life-long Catholic faithful to tradition, died June3, the feast of the Sacred Heart, and her husband Dan, died in 1985, 

John McLaughlin, a friend of the Drew’s, died May 22,

Angela Montesano, who died April 30, and her husband, Salvatore, who died in July 3, 2013,

Charles Schultz, died April 5, left behind nine children and many grandchildren, all traditional Catholics,

Esperanza Lopez de Callejas, the aunt of Claudia Drew, died March 15,

Fr. Edgardo Suelo, a faithful priest defending our traditions who was working with Fr. Francois Chazal in the Philippines, died February 19,

Conde McGinley, a long time laborer for the traditional faith, died February 12, at 96 years,

The Drew family requests your prayers for Ida Fernandez and Rita Kelley, parishioners at St. Jude,

Fr. Stephen Somerville, a traditional priest who repented from his work with the Novus Ordo English translation, died December 12,

Fr. Arturo DeMaio, a priest that helped this Mission with the sacraments and his invaluable advice, died December 2,

J. Paul Carswell, died October 15, 2015,

Solange Hertz, a great defender of our Catholic faith, died October 3, the First Saturday of the month,

Paula P. Haigh, died October 22, a great defender of our Catholic faith in philosophy and natural science,

Gabriella Whalin, the mother of Gabriella Schiltz, who died August 25,

Mary Catherine Sick, 14 year old from a large traditional Catholic family, died August 25,

Fr. Paul Trinchard, a traditional Catholic priest, died August 25,

Stephen J. Melnick, Jr., died on August 21, a long-time faithful traditional Catholic husband and father, from Philadelphia,

Patricia Estrada, died July 29, her son Alex petitions our prayers for her soul,

Fr. Nicholas Gruner, a devoted priest & faithful defender of Blessed Virgin Mary and her Fatima message, died April 29,

Sarah E. Shindle, the grandmother of Richard Shindle, died April 26,

Madeline Vennari, the mother of John Vennari, died December 19,

Salvador Baca Callejas, the uncle of Claudia Drew, died December 13,

Robert Gomez, who died in a motor vehicle accident November 29,

Catherine Dunn, died September 15,

Anthony Fraser, the son of Hamish Fraser, died August 28,

Jeannette Rhoad, the grandmother of Devin Rhoad, who died August 24,

John Thees, the uncle of Philip Thees, died August 9,

Sarah Harkins, 32 year-old mother of four children, died July 28,

Msgr. Donald Adams, who offered the Indult Mass, died April 1996,

Anita Lopez, the aunt of Claudia Drew,

Fr. Kenneth Walker, a young traditional priest of the FSSP who was murdered in Phoenix June 11,

Fr. Waters petitions our prayers for Gilberte Violette, the mother of Fr. Violette, who died May 6,

Pete Hays petitions our prayers for his brothers, Michael, died May 9, and James, died October 20, his sister, Rebecca,  died March17, and his mother, Lorraine Hayes who died May 4,

Philip Marbach, the father of Paul Marbach who was the coordinator at St. Jude in Philadelphia, died April 21,

Richard Slaughtery, the elderly sacristan for the SSPX chapel in Kansas City, died April 13,

Bernedette Marie Evans nee Toriello, the daughter of Daniel Toriello , died March 31, a faithful Catholic who suffered many years with MS, 

Natalie Cagorski, died march 23,

Anita Lopez de Lacayo, the aunt of Claudia Drew, who died March 21,

Mario Palmaro, Catholic lawyer, bioethicist and professor, apologist, died March 9, welfare of his widow and children,

Daniel Boyle, the uncle of Ryan Boyle, died March 4,

Jeanne DeRuyscher, who died on January 25,

Arthur Harmon, died January 18,

Fr. Waters petitions our prayers for the soul of Jeanne DeRuyscher, who died January 17,

Joseph Proctor, died January 10,

Susan Scott, a devote traditional Catholic who made the vestments for our Infant of Prague statue, died January 8,

Brother Leonard Mary, M.I.C.M., (Fred Farrell), an early supporter and friend of Fr. Leonard Feeney, died November 23,

John Fergale, requests our prayers for his sister Connie, who died December 19,

Jim Capaldi, died December 15,

Brinton Creager, the son of Elizabeth Carpenter, died December 10, 

Christopher Lussos, age 27, the father of one child with an expecting wife, died November 15,

Jarett Ebeyer, 16 year old who died in his sleep, November 17, at the request of the Kolinsky’s,

Catherine Nienaber, the mother of nine children, the youngest three years of age, killed in MVA after Mass, 10-29,

Nancy Aldera, the sister of Frances Toriello, died October 11, 2013 at 105 years of age,

Mary Rita Schiltz, the mother of Thomas Schiltz, who died August 27,

William H. (Teddy) Kennedy, Catholic author of Lucifer’s Lodge, died August 14, age 49, cause of death unknown,

Alfred Mercier, the father of David Mercier, who died August 12,

The Robert Kolinsky asks our prayers for his friend, George Curilla, who died August 23,

John Cuono, who had attended Mass at our Mission in the past, died August 11,

Raymond Peterson, died July 28, and Paul Peterson, died February 19, the brothers of Fr. Casimir Peterson,

Margaret Brillhart, who died July 20,

Msgr. Joseph J. McDonnell, a priest from the diocese of Des Moines, who died June 8,

Patrick Henry Omlor, who wrote Questioning The Validity of the Masses using the New, All English Canon, and for a series of newsletters which were published as The Robber Church, died May 2, the feast of St Athanasius,  

Bishop Joseph McFadden, died unexpectedly May 2,

Timothy Foley, the brother-in-law of Michelle Marbach Folley, who died in April,

William Sanders, the uncle of Don Rhoad, who died April 2,

Gene Peters ask our prayers for the repose of the soul of Mark Polaschek, who died March 22,

Eduardo Gomez Lopez, the uncle of Claudia Drew, February 28,

Cecelia Thees, died February 24,

Elizabeth Marie Gerads, a nineteen year old, the oldest of twelve children, who died February 6, 

Michael Schwartz, the co-author with Fr. Enrique Rueda of “Gays, Aids, and You,” died February 3,

Stanley W. Moore, passed away in December 16, and Gerard (Jerry) R. Pitman, who died January 19, who attended this Mission in the past, 

Louis Fragale, who died December 25,

Fr. Luigi Villa, Th.D. author of Vatican II About Face! detailing the heresies of Vatican II, died November 18 at the age of 95,

Rev. Michael Jarecki, a faithful traditional Catholic priest who died October 22,and Rev. Hector Bolduc, who died September 10,

Jennie Salaneck, died September 19 at 95 years of age, a devout and faithful Catholic all her life,

Dorothy Sabo, who died September 26,

Cynthia (Cindy) Montesano Reinhert, the mother of nine children, four who are still at home, died August 19,

Stanley Spahalski, who died October 20, and his wife, Regina Spahalski, who died June 24, and for the soul of Francis Lester, her son,

Julia Atkinson, who died April 30,

Antonio P. Garcia, who died January 6, 2012 and the welfare of his teenage children, Andriana and Quentin,

Helen Crane, the aunt of David Drew who died February 27,

Fr. Timothy A. Hopkins, of the National Shrine of St. Philomena, in Miami, November 2,

Frank Smith, who died February 7, and the welfare of his wife, Delores,

Eduardo Cepeda, who died January 26,

Larry Young, the 47 year old father of twelve who died December 10 and the welfare of his wife Katherine and their family,

Sister Mary Bernadette, M.I.C.M., a founding member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died December 16,

Joeseph Elias, who died on September 28,

William, the brother of Fr. Waters, who died September 7,

Donald Tonelli, died August 1,

Rev. Fr. Gregory Hesse, of Austria, a great defender of Catholic Truth, died January 25, 2006,

Emma Colasanti, who died May 29,

Mary Dullesse, who died April 12, a Catholic convert who died wearing our Lady’s scapular,

Ruth Jantsch, the grandmother of Andre Ebert, who died April 7, Derrick and Denise Palengat, his godparents,

Philip D. Barr, died March 5, and the welfare of his family, 

Judith Irene Kenealy, the mother of Joyce Paglia, who died February 23, and her son, George Richard Moore, who died May 14, 

For Joe Sobran who died September 30,

Fr. Hector Bolduc, a great and faithful priest, died, September 10, 2012,

John Vennari asks our prayers for Dr. Raphael Waters who died August 26,

Stanley Bodalsky, the father of Mary Ann Boyle who died June 25,

Mary Isabel Kilfoyle Humphreys, a former York resident and friend of the Drew’s, who died June 6,

Rev. John Campion, who offered the traditional Mass for us every first Friday until forbidden to do so by Bishop Dattilo, died May 1,

Joseph Montagne, who died May 5,

For Margaret Vagedes, the aunt of Charles Zepeda, who died January 6,

Fr. Michael Shear, a Byzantine rite Catholic priest, died August 17, 2006,

Fr. James Francis Wathen, died November 7, 2006, author of The Great Sacrilege and Who Shall Ascend?, a great defender of dogma and liturgical purity,

Fr. Enrique Rueda, who died December 14, 2009, to whom our Mission is indebted,

Fr. Peterson asks to remember, Leonard Edward Peterson, his cousin, Wanda, Angelica Franquelli,  and the six priests ordained with him.

Philip Thees petitions our prayers for Beverly Romanick, Deacon Michael Erdeck, Henry J. Phillips, Grace Prestano, Connie DiMaggio, Elizabeth Thorhas, Elizabeth Thees, Theresa Feraker, Hellen Pestrock, and James & Rose Gomata, and Kathleen Heinbach,

Fr. Didier Bonneterre, the author of The Liturgical Movement, and Fr. John Peek, both were traditional priests,

Brother Francis, MICM, the superior of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Richmond, NH, who died September 5,

Rodolfo Zelaya Montealegre, the father of Claudia Drew, who died May 24,

Rev. Francis Clifford, a devout and humble traditional priest, who died on March 7,

Benjamin Sorace, the uncle of Sonja Kolinsky.

 


 

 

But a resounding explicit confirmation came from Benedict XVI himself, who, during an unexpected pilgrimage to Fatima on May 13, 2010, affirmed:  “He deceives himself who thinks that the prophetic mission of Fatima is concluded.” He added: “there are indicated future realities of the Church which little by little are manifesting themselves… and therefore it is the sufferings of the Church which are announced.”

But could such prophecies be found in that text [of the vision]?

These two phrases of the Pope in that discourse at Fatima prompt reflection:  “Man has the power to unleash a cycle of death and terror, but he is not able to stop it.” And then: “The faith in vast regions of the earth risks being extinguished, like a flame without fuel.”

From these words of Pope Benedict one discerns, therefore, that there is truly something else in the Third Secret and that it is dramatic for the world and the Church. Perhaps it is precisely due to that visit by the Pope that this book was released, from which another precious little piece of the truth filters out.

The volume in fact draws from the letters of Sister Lucia and from the unpublished diary “My Way.” Impressive, among things previously unpublished, is the account of how Sister Lucy overcame the terror that prevented her from writing down the Third Secret.

The Unpublished Account

At around 4 p.m. on January 3, 1944, in the chapel of the convent, before the Tabernacle, Lucia asked Jesus to make known His will: “I then felt a friendly hand, maternal and affectionate, touch my shoulder.”

And the Mother of God said to her: “be at peace, and write what I have commanded you, but not, however, that which has been given to you to understand its meaning,” intending to allude to the meaning of the vision which the Virgin herself had revealed.

Immediately afterward, said Sister Lucia, “I felt my spirit inundated by a mystery of light that is God and in Him I saw and heard: the point of a lance like a flame that is detached, touches the axis of the earth, and it trembles: mountains, cities, towns and villages with their inhabitants are buried. The sea, the rivers, the clouds, exceed their boundaries, inundating and dragging with them, in a vortex, houses and people in a number that cannot be counted. It is the purification of the world from the sin in which it is immersed.  Hatred, ambition, provoke the destructive war.  After I felt my racing heart, in my spirit a soft voice said: ‘In time, one faith, one baptism, one Church, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic. In eternity, Heaven!’  This word ‘Heaven’ filled my heart with peace and happiness in such a way that, almost without being aware of it, I kept repeating to myself for a long time: Heaven, Heaven.”

From this came the strength to write the Third Secret.

Antonio Socci, APOCALYPTIC NEWS FROM FATIMA (THE LATEST MYSTERY: THE SILENCE OF THE SISTERS, BUT WHO IS SILENCING THEM?, August 17, 2014

 

 

To this we are exhorted by the Holy Ghost, saying, by the mouth of David, the royal prophet: “commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it” (Psalm 36:5). And in another place, “Cast thy care upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee” (Psalm 54:23). And, speaking through St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, He advises us to cast all our cares and worries upon God, since He watches over us, “Casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you” (1 Peter 5:7). This is what Our Lord said to St. Catherine of Sienna: “Daughter, forget thyself and think of me, and I will ever think of thee.” Accept this teaching as if addressed to you personally and to no one else. Let your chief care be to avoid everything that displeases Our Lord, trying to serve and love Him perfectly, and He will turn everything, every your faults, to your advantage.

St. John Eudes, The Life and Kingdom of Jesus in Christian Souls

 

 

Tikkun olam (Hebrew תיקון עולם‎, literally, 'repair of the world') is a concept in Judaism, often interpreted as aspiration to behave and act constructively and beneficially. Documented use of the term dates back to the Mishnaic period (ca. 10-220 AD), (that is, the time when the oral traditions of the Jews were committed to the written form in the Mishna, also called the Oral Torah). Since medieval times, kabbalistic literature has broadened use of the term. In the modern era, among the post-Haskalah (Jewish enlightenment, 1770-1880) movements, tikkun olam is the idea that Jews bear responsibility not only for their own moral, spiritual, and material welfare, but also for the welfare of society at large. For many contemporary pluralistic rabbis, the term refers to "Jewish social justice" or "the establishment of Godly qualities throughout the world".  Wikipedia

COMMENT: Jews repeatedly since the time of Jesus Christ are the passionate creators and principle instigators of ideological movements conceived as necessary for the moral and material improvement of political and social order. When one after the other proves to be a political and social failure, it is simply dropped and they move on to another. They recognize a ‘fall from grace’ because they recognize the ‘world needs to be repaired.’ Since they have rejected Jesus Christ, the incarnate Logos, the eternal Wisdom of the Father, they have rejected His divine plan for the ‘repair of the world’ and in its place offer what Fr. Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. described as “Organized Naturalism” in opposition to the Supernatural Order of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that whoever is not working for God is working for the Devil. There is no middle ground. As Jesus said, “He that is not with me, is against me: and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth” (Matthew 12:30). 

 

Where Tikkun Olam can lead

OPINION: Stalin’s Jews

We mustn't forget that some of greatest murderers of modern times were Jewish

Israel News | ynetnews | Sever Plocker

image008.jpgHere's a particularly forlorn historical date: More than 100 years ago, between the 19th and 20th of December 1917, in the midst of the Bolshevik revolution and civil war, Lenin signed a decree calling for the establishment of The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage, also known as Cheka. 

Within a short period of time, Cheka became the largest and cruelest state security organization. Its organizational structure was changed every few years, as were its names: From Cheka to GPU, later to NKVD, and later to KGB. 

We cannot know with certainty the number of deaths Cheka was responsible for in its various manifestations, but the number is surely at least 20 million, including victims of the forced collectivization, the hunger, large purges, expulsions, banishments, executions, and mass death at Gulags. 

Whole population strata were eliminated: Independent farmers, ethnic minorities, members of the bourgeoisie, senior officers, intellectuals, artists, labor movement activists, "opposition members" who were defined completely randomly, and countless members of the Communist party itself.

In his new, highly praised book "The War of the World," Historian Niall Ferguson writes that no revolution in the history of mankind devoured its children with the same unrestrained appetite as did the Soviet revolution. In his book on the Stalinist purges, Tel Aviv University's Dr. Igal Halfin writes that Stalinist violence was unique in that it was directed internally. 

Lenin, Stalin, and their successors could not have carried out their deeds without wide-scale cooperation of disciplined "terror officials," cruel interrogators, snitches, executioners, guards, judges, perverts, and many bleeding hearts who were members of the progressive Western Left and were deceived by the Soviet regime of horror and even provided it with a kosher certificate. 

All these things are well-known to some extent or another, even though the former Soviet Union's archives have not yet been fully opened to the public. But who knows about this? Within Russia itself, very few people have been brought to justice for their crimes in the NKVD's and KGB's service. The Russian public discourse today completely ignores the question of "How could it have happened to us?" As opposed to Eastern European nations, the Russians did not settle the score with their Stalinist past.

And us, the Jews? An Israeli student finishes high school without ever hearing the name "Genrikh Yagoda," the greatest Jewish murderer of the 20th Century, the GPU's deputy commander and the founder and commander of the NKVD. Yagoda diligently implemented Stalin's collectivization orders and is responsible for the deaths of at least 10 million people. His Jewish deputies established and managed the Gulag system. After Stalin no longer viewed him favorably, Yagoda was demoted and executed, and was replaced as chief hangman in 1936 by Yezhov, the "bloodthirsty dwarf."

Yezhov was not Jewish but was blessed with an active Jewish wife. In his Book "Stalin: Court of the Red Star", Jewish historian Sebag Montefiore writes that during the darkest period of terror, when the Communist killing machine worked in full force, Stalin was surrounded by beautiful, young Jewish women.

Stalin's close associates and loyalists included member of the Central Committee and Politburo Lazar Kaganovich. Montefiore characterizes him as the "first Stalinist" and adds that those starving to death in Ukraine, an unparalleled tragedy in the history of human kind aside from the Nazi horrors and Mao's terror in China, did not move Kaganovich. 

Many Jews sold their soul to the devil of the Communist revolution and have blood on their hands for eternity. We'll mention just one more: Leonid Reichman, head of the NKVD's special department and the organization's chief interrogator, who was a particularly cruel sadist. 

In 1934, according to published statistics, 38.5 percent of those holding the most senior posts in the Soviet security apparatuses were of Jewish origin. They too, of course, were gradually eliminated in the next purges. In a fascinating lecture at a Tel Aviv University convention this week, Dr. Halfin described the waves of soviet terror as a "carnival of mass murder," "fantasy of purges", and "essianism of evil." Turns out that Jews too, when they become captivated by messianic ideology, can become great murderers, among the greatest known by modern history. 

The Jews active in official communist terror apparatuses (In the Soviet Union and abroad) and who at times led them, did not do this, obviously, as Jews, but rather, as Stalinists, communists, and "Soviet people." Therefore, we find it easy to ignore their origin and "play dumb": What do we have to do with them? But let's not forget them. My own view is different. I find it unacceptable that a person will be considered a member of the Jewish people when he does great things, but not considered part of our people when he does amazingly despicable things. 

Even if we deny it, we cannot escape the Jewishness of "our hangmen," who served the Red Terror with loyalty and dedication from its establishment. After all, others will always remind us of their origin.

 

 

“Don’t Jews still believe in a Messias to come?” asks the credulous Christian. “And don’t they believe in the same Biblical Heaven and Hell that we do?”

The answer to both these questions is — no. And it is an emphatic “No!” as the subsequent Jewish testimony will verify.

Concerning the Messias: The Jews of today reject the notion of a personal redeemer who will be born of them and lead them to the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. The Jews believe that the whole Jewish race is to be elevated to a position of prosperity and overlordship and that, when this happy day arrives (the Messianic Age), they will have achieved all that is coming to them by way of savior and salvation. In his recent book, The Messianic Idea in Israel, Jewish theologian Dr. Joseph Klausner explains: “Thus the whole people Israel in the form of the elect of the nations gradually became the Messiah of the world, the redeemer of mankind.”

Concerning Heaven and Hell: A succinct summary of Jewish teaching on “life after death” was given in the May, 1958 issue of B’nai B’rith’s National Jewish Monthly. Under the caption, “What Can A Modern Jew Believe?” there appeared: “Judaism insists that ‘heaven’ must be established on this earth. The reward of the pious is life and happiness in this world, while the punishment of the wicked is misery on earth and premature death … By hitching its star to the Messianic future on this earth, Israel became the eternal people.” The article goes on: “The best Jewish minds have always held that a physical hereafter is a detraction from mature belief.” And the conclusion: “There is neither hell nor paradise, God merely sends out the sun in its full strength; the wicked are consumed by its heat, while the pious find delight and healing in its rays.”

Fr. Leonard Feeney, MICM, The Point, October 1958

 

The study also found that on a variety of issues involving sexual morality that have roiled other religious groups, Jews are much more liberal than other Americans. Jews take a less critical view of homosexuality, abortion, birth control and pornography than do Gentiles,” the study found.  In each case, Jewish leaders are even more tolerant than the Jewish public.

For example, 48 percent of non-Jews say homosexuality is wrong, compared to 23 percent of Jews and 7 percent of Jewish leaders. And while 56 percent of non-Jews support abortion rights, 88 percent of Jews and 96 percent of Jewish leaders do.

Only 38 percent of Jews support allowing the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools, compared to 65 percent of non-Jews; 39 percent of Jews would allow the teaching of creationism, compared with 63 percent of non-Jews; and 22 percent of Jews would support vouchers that could be used at religious schools, compared with 43 percent of non-Jews.

Pew Charitable Trusts, examining the contemporary role of religious groups in the United States

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Only take heed to yourself and guard your soul diligently.” (Deut 4:9)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"Only take heed to yourself and guard your soul diligrntly." (Deut 4:9)

 

 

 

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"It is a sin to believe there is salvation outside the Catholic Church!"

Blessed Pope Pius IX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OLDER BULLETIN POSTINGS THAT REMAIN TIMELY CONTINIUE BELOW:

 

 

 

Pope Francis quotes St. Vincent of Lerins in Contradictions to the Vatican Council I, and for clarification, a "philosophic invention to the human mind" is the definition of an ideology!

“For, the doctrine of faith which God revealed has not been handed down as a philosophic invention to the human mind to be perfected, but has been entrusted as a divine deposit to the Spouse of Christ, to be faithfully guarded and infallibly interpreted. Hence, also, that understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be recession from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding ‘Therefore […] let the understanding, the knowledge, and wisdom of individuals as of all, of one man as of the whole Church, grow and progress strongly with the passage of the ages and the centuries; but let it be solely in its own genus, namely in the same dogma, with the same sense and the same understanding.’ (Vincent of Lérins, Commonitorium, 23, 3).”  

Vatican Council I, on doctrinal development quoting St. Vincent of Lerins

 

 

 

Although the article is old, its subject matter is timely. Cardinal George Pell died unexpectedly January 10, 2023 after undergoing hip surgery in Rome. What has become his final public statement was his condemnation of the Synod on Synodality which will conclude with two Synods in Rome beginning next month. The Synod on Synodality has produced far greater anxiety among conservative Catholics than those Catholics faithful to tradition because faithful Catholics who understood the rotten first principles adopted at Vatican II have been watching and describing the trajectory as this corruption for more than 50 years.

Cardinal George Pell: Synod on Synodality Has Become ‘Toxic Nightmare’

Breitbart News | Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. |  Jan 12, 2023

image010.pngROME — Australian Cardinal George Pell has blasted the Catholic Church’s synodal way as “hostile” to the apostolic tradition in a posthumous essay published Wednesday in the Spectator.

In what has become his final public statement, Cardinal Pell, who died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest Tuesday evening, offers a searing critique of the 45-page working document meant to guide the “Continental stage” of the Church’s ongoing “synod on synodality.”

The Catholic Synod of Bishops has produced “one of the most incoherent documents ever sent out from Rome,” Pell writes, and what was intended to express “God’s dream” of synodality “has developed into a toxic nightmare.”

The synodal document, titled “Enlarge the Space of Your Tent,” focuses primarily on radical inclusion, listening, participation, and co-responsibility with believers and nonbelievers, while ignoring central themes of Christian teaching and practice, Pell observes.

“The document does not urge even the Catholic participants to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16-20), much less to preach the Saviour in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2),” he notes, calling the text a “recent update of the good news.”

In the text, the Christian message of salvation has been gutted of all content and “the distinction between believers and unbelievers is rejected,” he writes.

Moreover, the synodal document proposes that no definitive positions on abortion, contraception, the ordination of women to the priesthood, homosexual activity, polygamy, and divorce and remarriage “can be established or proposed,” the cardinal notes.

Pell goes on to ask rhetorically what can be made of “this outpouring of New Age good will,” which far from being a summary of Catholic faith or New Testament teaching, is “hostile in significant ways to the apostolic tradition and nowhere acknowledges the New Testament as the Word of God, normative for all teaching on faith and morals.”

For its part, the Old Testament “is ignored, patriarchy rejected and the Mosaic Law, including the Ten Commandments, is not acknowledged,” he adds.

In his essay, Pell also addresses the thorny subject of the person chosen to manage the two final synods in Rome in 2023 and 2024, namely the heterodox Jesuit Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich.

Hollerich, Pell observes, “has publicly rejected the basic teachings of the Church on sexuality, on the grounds that they contradict modern science,” something that in ordinary times would have precluded him from continuing as “Relator” of the synod.

The synods will have to decide whether they are “servants and defenders of the apostolic tradition on faith and morals” or sovereign masters tasked with reinventing Catholic teaching, Pell proposes.

In a call to action to his brother bishops, Pell recalls that the bishop is “the guarantor of continuing fidelity to Christ’s teaching, the apostolic tradition,” which means they are “governors and sometimes judges, as well as teachers and sacramental celebrants, and are not just wall flowers or rubber stamps.”

Therefore, bishops have true authority and “are not there simply to validate due process and offer a ‘nihil obstat’ to what they have observed,” he states

“By an enormous margin, regularly worshipping Catholics everywhere do not endorse the present synod findings,” Pell declares. “Neither is there much enthusiasm at senior Church levels.”

Many Catholics are rightly concerned with “the deepening confusion, the attack on traditional morals and the insertion into the dialogue of neo-Marxist jargon about exclusion, alienation, identity, marginalisation, the voiceless, LGBTQ” in the synodal way, along with “the displacement of Christian notions of forgiveness, sin, sacrifice, healing, redemption,” he observes.

Additionally, the synodal way “has neglected, indeed downgraded the Transcendent, covered up the centrality of Christ with appeals to the Holy Spirit and encouraged resentment, especially among participants,” he writes.

This working document needs “radical changes,” Pell concludes, and much work is to be done, in God’s name, “sooner rather than later.”

 

 


 

 

Pope Francis to address pro-abortion Clinton Foundation conference on ‘climate change’

Pope Francis will kick off the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative two-day conference September 18, by holding a 'special conversation' with former President Clinton.

LifeSiteNews | Michael Haynes | Sep 14, 2023 Listen to this article

image013.jpgVATICAN CITY— Pope Francis is to address the Clinton Global Initiative conference via video link next week in a “special conversation” with President Bill Clinton, in a discussion including “climate change, the refugee crisis, the welfare of children.” 

Announced by the Vatican September 14, details of the pope’s involvement with the Clinton family endeavors were revealed. Pope Francis will kick off the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) two-day conference September 18, by holding what was described as a “special conversation” with former President Clinton.

The press bulletin read:

Today, President Bill Clinton, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton announced programming and participants for next week’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2023 Meeting, to be held September 18-19 in New York City. 

CGI 2023 will begin Monday at 9:15 AM ET with a special conversation between President Clinton and His Holiness Pope Francis via remote link, on what it takes to keep going on the most pressing global challenges of our time like climate change, the refugee crisis, the welfare of children, and the mission and projects of the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital. 

Pope Francis recently met with Clinton in an un-announced private visit at the Vatican on July 5, at which the two men reportedly spoke about “peace.”

The 75-year-old Clinton is famous for his adulterous sexual affair with a young White House intern and subsequent impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice, as well as his adamant support of abortion and same-sex “marriage.”

Greeting the former president warmly, Francis presented him with a statue made at the Vatican which “symbolizes the work for peace,” according to the Pontiff.

While the Pope is providing the opening keynote address at the CGI conference, other speakers and participants include notable left-wing or pro-abortion politicians and advocates. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer will be in attendance.

Former U.K. Prime Minister and staunch advocate of globalist policies Tony Blair will attend, as will the pro-abortion former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

But other participants previously announced as attending include:

Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, who Pope Francis secretly received twice in 2022

Actors Orlando Bloom and Matt Damon

Kathy Hochul: New York’s pro-abortion governor

“Qween Jean” a trans-“rights” activist, and founder and executive director of Black Trans Liberation

Among the many sponsors of the 2023 CGI conference are the Rockefeller Foundation and Pfizer Inc. [.....]

But the CGI conference includes – not unexpectedly, given its naming after the Clintons – strong support for abortion and contraception. Among its endeavors is the “Clinton Health Access Initiative” (CHAI). This works across the world, allowing some 125 countries to have access to specially reduced “medicines, diagnostics, vaccines, devices, or other life-saving health products and services.”

One of the CHAI’s programs is the “Women and Children’s Health,” which – employing oft-used contraceptive style language, ensures that “women have access to the tools they need to safely plan their families to improve health outcomes and economic well-being.”

CHAI boasts of its work to offer “simple and effective interventions…to prevent unintended pregnancies, treat pregnancy and labor complications and save the lives of newborns.” [.....]

 

 

Opinions opposed to reason inevitably produce actions opposed to nature.

Louis de Bonald, (1754-1840) French counter-revolutionary, statesman, philosopher

 

 

 

 

 

What every normal person already knows! Anyone supporting the novelty of Gender Ideology is de facto guilty of child abuse!

Gender Ideology Leads to Child Abuse: Pediatricians           

Susan Yoshihara, Ph.D. | NEW YORK, Center for Family & Human Rights

 “Facts – not ideology – determine reality,” the American College of Pediatricians (ACP) said in a warning to legislators and educators about the dangers of surgical and medical sex change operations to children.

“Conditioning children into believing that a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthful is child abuse,” the physicians said, “Rates of suicide are twenty times greater among adults who use cross-sex hormones and undergo sex reassignment surgery, even in Sweden which is among the most LGBTQ – affirming countries.”

The group, which aims at getting parents involved in their children’s health and education about health, said, “Gender (an awareness and sense of oneself as male or female) is a sociological and psychological concept; not an objective biological one,” and that, “A person’s belief that he or she is something they are not is, at best, a sign of confused thinking.”

To the contrary, the group maintained that human sexuality is a “binary trait” and said the XY and XX chromosomes that determine female or male sex are “genetic markers of health” not “genetic markers of a disorder.”

“No one is born with a gender. Everyone is born with a biological sex,” the statement said.

The American Academy of Pediatricians, the larger professional society from which the ACP broke away in 2002, has surgical and medical interventions in youth to suppress the hormones that naturally cause girls to grow into women and boys to men.

The ACP says this change in position has put American teens at higher risk for physical and mental illness.  ”Puberty is not a disease and puberty-blocking hormones can be dangerous…as many as 98% of gender confused boys and 88% of gender confused girls eventually accept their biological sex after naturally passing through puberty,” the ACP pointed out, and noted that children who use puberty blockers to “impersonate the opposite sex” will require cross-sex hormones in late adolescence that in turn can cause dangerous health risks such as high blood pressure, blood clots, stroke and cancer.

One of the statement’s authors is psychologist Paul McHugh. Drawing upon his clinical work with LGBTQ persons as chief psychologist at Johns Hopkins hospital and research as distinguished professor at the university’s medical school, McHugh has criticized what he sees as the American Psychological Association’s embracing of gender ideology at the expense of sound medical practice. McHugh authored an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned man-woman marriage laws in the U.S. last year.

Pro-LGBT groups criticized the ACP statement saying it would incite discrimination; one group called it an “attack on transgender children”. A public interest law firm labeled the ACP a “hate group” when it filed an amicus brief with the Alabama Supreme Court which favored exceptions to the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling knocking down U.S. laws protecting marriage as between a man and a woman.

Activists similarly criticized Pope Francis’ recent remarks to Polish bishops where he identified gender “ideology” as a form of “ideological colonization” and linked it to government corruption. He said, “Today children – children! – are taught in school that everyone can choose his or her sex. Why are they teaching this? Because the books are provided by the persons and institutions that give you money. These forms of ideological colonization are also supported by influential countries. And this is terrible!”

 

 

TO KNOW THE FAITH, YOU MUST KNOW THE RULE

The Rule of Faith was given to the Church in the very act of Revelation and its promulgation by the Apostles. But for this Rule to have an actual and permanently efficient character, it must be continually promulgated and enforced by the living Apostolate, which must exact from all members of the Church a docile Faith in the truths of Revelation authoritatively proposed, and thus unite the whole body of the Church, teachers and taught, in perfect unity of Faith. Hence the original promulgation is the remote Rule of Faith, and the continuous promulgation by the Teaching Body, (i.e.: DOGMA) is the proximate Rule.

Rev. Scheeben’s Manual of Catholic Theology

 

 

 

Hermeneutics of Continuity/Discontinuity  

Tradition: from an Objective Truth Received reduced to a Subjective Impression of Historical Events

Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; By which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received. 

St. Paul, 1 Cor. 15: 1-3

 

Concluding and summing up, we can therefore say that Tradition is not the transmission of things or words, a collection of dead things. Tradition is the living river that links us to the origins, the living river in which the origins are ever present, the great river that leads us to the gates of eternity. 

Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, April 26, 2006

 

Both the Catholic and Protestant interpretation of Christianity have meaning each in its own way; they are true in their historical moment... Truth becomes a function of time... fidelity to yesterday’s truth consists precisely in abandoning it, in assimilating it into today’s truth. [.....] The truth is whatever serves progress, that is, whatever serves the logic of history.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Principles of Catholic Theology: Building Stones for a Fundamental Theology

 

 

Rights Are Created from Duties –

In the conflict of Law - The “Ends” Determine the Law that Must be Followed

    Let us examine these words of Aquinas. First, he says that “since a precept of law is binding, it is about something to be done.” This is a truth to which we seldom if ever ad­vert, namely, that although right and duty are correlatives, duty is ultimately the basis of right - not vice versa. And this is so because right and duty are grounded upon law. Law, as we saw, is a directive norm of action which carries with it an obligation. It binds us to do or avoid something. The Eternal, Natural and Positive Laws are ordinations, commands of reason. The fundamental notion of law then is obligation - not the concept of right. We have rights because we have duties. Since a precept of law is binding it is about something to be done.

    Secondly, “that a thing must be done arises from the ne­cessity of some end.” Whenever a man does anything, i.e., whenever he acts as a reasonable being, he acts for an end - to obtain some good; and so the necessity of his doing anything as a man must come from the end. However, because man is a rational being he is free and consequently the necessity exercised by any particular end or good cannot be psychological; it must be moral. That is, man’s will re­mains free but he is obliged morally, he has a duty to seek the end - and that because a precept of law binds him to do so.

    Rights, therefore, are founded upon duties, duties are grounded upon Natural or Positive Law, and because these laws are themselves based upon the Eternal Law all rights and duties have their ultimate source in the same  Eternal Law.

Rev. John A. Driscoll, O.P., S.T.Lr., Ph.D., Rights and Duties - Their Foundation

 

 

Archbishop Viganò Calls for Abolition of the Novus Ordo
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò calls on his fellow bishops to celebrate in the Traditional Rite.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former Apostolic Nuncio in the USA and a prominent critic of the Pope, calls on the bishops to celebrate Holy Mass in the rite of St. Pius V in an interview he gave to Paix Liturgique.

COMMENT:

Although Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has not yet understood that the 1962 Bugnini transitional reform missal is not the "received and approved" immemorial Roman rite of Mass but the missal that cleared away what he considered "gross accretions and evident distortion" of the immemorial Roman rite of Mass, he does clearly see that Vatican II is heretical and its ultimate form of worship in the Bugnini missal of 1969 is a gross parody of true Catholic worship and corruption of the Catholic faith.

It will not take long before Archbishop Viganò understands this and as he does, more conservative Catholic commentators will become more critical and distance themselves from his sound guidance.

 

 

 

Pope says some ‘backward’ conservatives in US Catholic Church have replaced faith with ideology

August 28, 2023

image019.jpgROME (AP) — Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church, saying they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.

Francis’ comments were an acknowledgment of the divisions in the U.S. Catholic Church, which has been split between progressives and conservatives who long found support in the doctrinaire papacies of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, particularly on issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.

Many conservatives have blasted Francis’ emphasis instead on social justice issues such as the environment and the poor, while also branding as heretical his opening to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive the sacraments.

Francis made the comments in a private meeting with Portuguese members of his Jesuit religious order while visiting Lisbon on Aug. 5; the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, which is vetted by the Vatican secretariat of state, published a transcript of the encounter Monday.

During the meeting, a Portuguese Jesuit told Francis that he had suffered during a recent sabbatical year in the United States because he came across many Catholics, including some U.S. bishops, who criticized Francis’ 10-year papacy as well as today’s Jesuits.

The 86-year-old Argentine acknowledged his point, saying there was “a very strong, organized, reactionary attitude” in the U.S. church, which he called “backward.” He warned that such an attitude leads to a climate of closure, which was erroneous.

“Doing this, you lose the true tradition and you turn to ideologies to have support. In other words, ideologies replace faith,” he said.

“The vision of the doctrine of the church as a monolith is wrong,” he added. “When you go backward, you make something closed off, disconnected from the roots of the church,” which then has devastating effects on morality.

“I want to remind these people that backwardness is useless, and they must understand that there’s a correct evolution in the understanding of questions of faith and morals,” that allows for doctrine to progress and consolidate over time.

Francis has previously acknowledged the criticism directed at him from some U.S. conservatives, once quipping that it was an “honor” to be attacked by Americans.

COMMENT: Conservative Catholics are famous for conserving nothing. There is not a dime's worth of difference between Francis/Bergoglio and his conciliarists predecessors on matters of substance. Francis is just more offensive in his practical application of established heresies introduced from Vatican II. There is no defending of the faith by offering a less offensive flavor of dung soup.  But to set the record straight, the faith is believing what God has revealed on the authority of God the revealer, therefore, the faith is, contrary to Francis, a monolith. It is one thing what God has revealed, and if you reject any part of God's revelation you have rejected it all for those who reject a single revealed truth reject the authority of God the revealer. Faithful Catholics are not "backward" because they never went forward into error. When you go "forward" into error you are the branch cut off from the vine and can only look forward to being gathered and burned. Francis is correct in seeing the connection between doctrine and morality. All morality is derived from doctrine. Francis' morality is different from Catholic morality and that is the evidence of who is fact is the ideologue in this argument. Francis' morality is what Catholic moral theologians have in the past called sin. Francis wants doctrine to "progress and consolidate over time." That is, he wants the "progress" of the new doctrine-morality and then he wants his new doctrine-morality to be "consolidate" in habitual sin. The Catholic faith already has a consolidated morality. The principles of morality are fixed only the situations where they must be applied can and do change. From the beginning God has cursed those who call evil, good and good, evil. From a human perspective it is impossible that Francis can be saved, but with God anything is possible. But still, if it is better to have a millstone tied around your neck and thrown in the depths of the sea than to have scandalized an innocent soul, what about Francis who has been a festering scab of scandal before the entire world from the beginning of his papacy? As a general principle, it is a waste of time to argue doctrine with a heretic. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by simple finding what sin he habitually commits and refuses to repent. Any guesses what sin Francis/Bergoglio loves?

 

 

And we DO know them!

"BY THEIR FRUITS YOU WILL KNOW THEM ... A GOOD TREE CANNOT BEAR BAD FRUIT, NOR CAN A BAD TREE BEAR GOOD FRUIT."  JESUS CHRIST, MATTHEW 7:15-18

 

 

What “Religious Submission” to the ‘Ordinary Authentic Magisterium’ Actually Means

Nor must it be thought that what is expounded in Encyclical Letters does not of itself demand consent just because in writing such Letters the Popes do not exercise the supreme power [i.e., extra-ordinary magisterium] of their Teaching Authority. For these matters are taught with the ordinary Teaching Authority [ordinary and universal magisterium], of which it is true to say: “He that heareth you, heareth Me.” [Luke 10:16]. 

Pius XII, Humani Generis, par. 20. 

COMMENT: This quotation taken from Pope Pius XII is now referenced to support the Novus Ordo Church’s claim that every Catholic must give unconditional submission of his “mind and will to the authentic magisterium” of Pope Francis.   Pope Pius XII in his encyclical is referring to the “ordinary and universal magisterium” and this can be clearly seen for two reasons: The examples provided by Pope Pius XII that follow this statement in his encyclical refer specifically to modern theological novelties that reject, for example, the infallible teaching of the Church on the inerrancy of sacred scripture, the identity of the Church and the Mystical Body of Christ, and the nature of Original Sin.  These are all examples of the “ordinary and universal” magisterium that Vatican I dogmatically defined as “infallible.”

The other reason is God cannot bind the authority of His Truth to what can and have in the past contained errors.  Fr. Joseph Fenton, in an article published in the AER in 1949 entitled, On the Doctrinal Authority of Papal Encyclicals, documents specific historical errors published in those documents. Whenever the pope teaches by virtue of his grace of state from the ‘authentic ordinary magisterium’, his teaching must be accepted by a religious submission which is always and necessarily a prudent and conditional submission to the personal teaching authority of the pope.  Such conditional acceptance of the word of God is not possible when the pope teaches infallibly by engaging the “extra-ordinary magisterium” or the “ordinary and universal magisterium” of the Church from which alone it can be said without qualification whatsoever, “He that heareth you, heareth Me.” [Luke 10:16]. 

The modern encyclical by Pope Francis on global warming/earth worship, for example, is wholly conscribed within a very narrow and tenuous ideological framework that has little or nothing to do with Catholic doctrine or morality. This document has nothing to do with the “ordinary and universal” magisterium.  It is entirely a product of the personal authentic ordinary magisterium of Pope Francis teaching by his grace of state.  Anyone to whom the document is addressed is free to toss the document in the trash along with the junk mail if he, upon mature consideration, finds it to be a novelty and, in its overall tone, an ideological screed divorced from natural truth.

 

On the Necessity of Baptism

"By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death... so that in them there may be washed away by regeneration, what they have contracted by generation, ‘For unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’ (John 3:5)."

Council of Trent, Session 5, Canon 4 on Original Sin ....

"Particular texts (in sacred Scripture) where the Church has defined that such is the meaning are few. The following texts have been dogmatically defined:

·       Romans 5:12 on Original Sin

·       John 3:5 on Baptism

·       Words of institution on the Holy Eucharist

·       John 20:23 on the remission and retention of sin

·       James 5:14 on the establishment of the sacrament Extreme Unction

·       Matthew 16:16 & John 21:15 on the universal jurisdiction of the St. Peter and the papacy

....... From John 3:5 there is established the absolute necessity of baptism and that real and natural water is necessary for baptism (Council of Trent, Session V, Canon 4 Denz. 791, 858)

Fr. Sixtus Cartechini, De Valore notarum theologicarum et de criteriis ad eas dignoscendas, 1951, Chap. 7

 

 

 

Liturgical Reform: “Nothing new under the sun!”

If and when Francis can direct the Police State to crush Catholic worship do not expect any mercy from Francis the Merciful!

The following episode illustrates the bitter hatred that erupted among the people as a result of the (Josephism liturgical) reforms. In 1787, on the Feast Day of St. John, a great disturbance occurred in the church. The new hymnal was being introduced to replace the Latin choral singing, which heretofore had been the accepted norm. During High Mass, when the children present were to have responded to the Gloria in excelsis Deo, intoned by the celebrant, with a German song, the people started to hiss, and the choir responded with unusual force and vigor, ‘Et in terra pax hominibus....’ As the disturbance grew in intensity, the Elector dispatched two companies of infantry, the artillery and two squads of Hussars. Thirty ringleaders were sentenced to hard labor; and some among them were never to see their fatherland again.

image021.jpgW. Bamker, The Catholic German Church Hymn; cited by Msgr. Klaus Gamber who said:

“When the German state embraced the Enlightenment philosophical ideas (Josephism, after Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II), the traditional Latin coral Mass was suppressed and replaced by the so-called ‘German High Mass’ by force of government arms.  During the Age of Enlightenment, the purpose of worship was seen primarily as that of instilling moral behavior in the people – which helps to explain why Latin as the language of liturgy was rejected. The State told the Church to function as the extension of its own temporal authority – the ill-starred joining of ‘Throne and Altar’ – by making the people into obedient subjects of the state. That meant that the priest in the pulpit now had to exercise function s that had nothing to do with his office as a priest; for example, he had to explain and admonish people to obey civil laws and police ordinances.  There was no lack of liturgical experimentation then, especially when it came to the administration of the Sacraments. Yet these reforms did not survive very long. They are, however, disturbingly similar to today’s experiments, and they, too, were very much concerned with man and his social problems.”

 

 

 

 

 

Can the Blessed Sacrament be Consecrated Without the Mass? The answer is NO!

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The Offertory of the immemorial Roman rite of Mass offers the "spotless host" (hostiam=victim) and the "chalice of salvation" because the Mass anticipates in the Offertory prayers the end which is the sacrificial offering accomplished in the Canon, just as Jesus Christ anticipated His passion and death at the Last Supper. The Quam oblationem canonical prayer recited by the priest directly before the consecration at Mass is addressed to God the Father asking Him to "consecrate" the bread and wine so that "this offering" "may become for us the Body and Blood of Thy most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ." God is the formal and final cause of the consecration; the priest is the material and instrumental cause of the consecration; the Sacrifice of the Cross is the meritorious cause of the consecration. All causes must work in unison for the end to be accomplished. With the proper form and matter in the context of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the priest declares his intention to do "what the Church does." The Church "does" what Jesus Christ did on the evening before His passion and death on the Cross, for the honor and glory of the Father and for the redemption of mankind, when He offered the First Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Thomas teaches that the blood and water that issued forth from the pierced side of Jesus Christ represents the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Eucharist. The sacraments are the fruit of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Sacrifice then is the meritorious cause of the True Presence in the Holy Eucharist. The Mass is the representation of this same sacrifice, and without this sacrifice, there is no Holy Eucharist.

The Novus Ordo offertory offers the "fruit of the earth and the work of human hands" and the "fruit of the vine and work of human hands." In anticipation of what? and of worship to whom? "Cain offered, of the fruits of the earth, gifts to the Lord.... But to Cain and his offerings he (God) had no respect: and Cain was exceedingly angry, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said to him: Why art thou angry? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou do well, shalt thou not receive? but if ill, shall not sin forthwith be present at the door?" (Gen 4:7) God is the author of True Worship and it is God who required blood sacrifice which Abel offered as a type of the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ. Just as Able was killed by his brother Cain out of envy, do not be surprised when Novus Ordo Catholics hate faithful Catholics for the same reason, that is, because God has "no respect" for their offerings. By their fruit they are known!

 

 

 

 

"Pope Francis appears to reject the idea that homosexuals are called to chastity"

LifeSiteNews | August 29, 2023

image025.jpg"Pope Francis has again indicated an openness to homosexual activity, as he has refused to affirm the Catholic teaching on chastity and celibacy for homosexuals.

Full details of the pontiff’s recent conversation with Portuguese Jesuits were released August 28. They include Pope Francis’s thoughts on homosexuality, condemnation of a 'reactionary' attitude amongst American Catholics, criticism of 'indietrists' and 'clericalism,' and praise of the Synod on Synodality,

As part of his customary activities while on foreign trips, Pope Francis met with Jesuits from the Portuguese province while in Lisbon for World Youth Day at the start of August. The full transcript has been released by Jesuit-run La Civilta Cattolica in Italian, English and Spanish.

As often is the case in such meetings, Pope Francis fielded questions on topics pertaining to Catholic morality and doctrine, refusing on this occasion to issue a clear answer on the topic of homosexuality. One Jesuit referenced his own work with university students, who are 'very committed to the Church, to the center, very friendly with the Jesuits, and who identify as homosexuals.'

The priest stated that such students 'feel that they are an active part of the Church, but they often do not see in doctrine their way of living affectivity, and they do not see the call to chastity as a personal call to celibacy, but rather as an imposition.' He queried whether the practice of homosexual activity in this instance would be wrong:

image027.jpgSince they are virtuous in other areas of their lives, and know the doctrine, can we say that they are all in error, because they do not feel, in conscience, that their relationships are sinful? And how can we act pastorally so that these people feel, in their way of life, called by God to a healthy affective life that produces fruit? Should we recognize that their relationships can open up and give seeds of true Christian love, such as the good they can accomplish, the response they can give to the Lord?

Pope Francis refused to directly answer that such activity would be sinful, instead stating that 'I believe there is no discussion about the call being addressed to everyone. Jesus is very clear about this: everyone.'

'In other words, the door is open to everyone, everyone has their own space in the Church,' he continued. 'How will each person live it out? We help people live so that they can occupy that place with maturity, and this applies to all kinds of people.'

The Argentinian pontiff criticized what he referred to as examining the 'sins below the waist,' or 'sin of the flesh' with a 'magnifying glass.'

Instead, he appeared to downplay the universal call to practice chastity, arguing that 'the most appropriate pastoral attitude for each person must be applied.'

We must not be superficial and naive, forcing people into things and behaviors for which they are not yet mature, or are not capable. It takes a lot of sensitivity and creativity to accompany people spiritually and pastorally. But everyone, everyone, everyone is called to live in the Church: never forget that.

The Pope also referenced his own regular meetings with so-called transgender individuals at his weekly audiences in the Vatican, revealing that he is in regular email contact with them. 'I realized that these people feel rejected, and it is really hard,' he stated."

 

 

 

Pope says some ‘backward’ conservatives in US Catholic Church have replaced faith with ideology

August 28, 2023

image029.gifROME (AP) — Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church, saying they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.

Francis’ comments were an acknowledgment of the divisions in the U.S. Catholic Church, which has been split between progressives and conservatives who long found support in the doctrinaire papacies of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, particularly on issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.

Many conservatives have blasted Francis’ emphasis instead on social justice issues such as the environment and the poor, while also branding as heretical his opening to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive the sacraments.

Francis made the comments in a private meeting with Portuguese members of his Jesuit religious order while visiting Lisbon on Aug. 5; the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, which is vetted by the Vatican secretariat of state, published a transcript of the encounter Monday.

During the meeting, a Portuguese Jesuit told Francis that he had suffered during a recent sabbatical year in the United States because he came across many Catholics, including some U.S. bishops, who criticized Francis’ 10-year papacy as well as today’s Jesuits.

The 86-year-old Argentine acknowledged his point, saying there was “a very strong, organized, reactionary attitude” in the U.S. church, which he called “backward.” He warned that such an attitude leads to a climate of closure, which was erroneous.

“Doing this, you lose the true tradition and you turn to ideologies to have support. In other words, ideologies replace faith,” he said.

“The vision of the doctrine of the church as a monolith is wrong,” he added. “When you go backward, you make something closed off, disconnected from the roots of the church,” which then has devastating effects on morality.

“I want to remind these people that backwardness is useless, and they must understand that there’s a correct evolution in the understanding of questions of faith and morals,” that allows for doctrine to progress and consolidate over time.

Francis has previously acknowledged the criticism directed at him from some U.S. conservatives, once quipping that it was an “honor” to be attacked by Americans.

COMMENT: Conservative Catholics are famous for conserving nothing. There is not a dime's worth of difference between Francis/Bergoglio and his conciliarists predecessors on matters of substance. Francis is just more offensive in his practical application of established heresies introduced from Vatican II. There is no defending of the faith by offering a less offensive flavor of dung soup.

But to set the record straight, the faith is believing what God has revealed on the authority of God the revealer, therefore, the faith is, contrary to Francis, a monolith. It is one thing what God has revealed, and if you reject any part of God's revelation you have rejected it all for those who reject a single revealed truth reject the authority of God the revealer. Faithful Catholics are not "backward" because they never went forward into error. When you go "forward" into error you are the branch cut off from the vine and can only look forward to being gathered and burned. Francis is correct in seeing the connection between doctrine and morality. All morality is derived from doctrine. Francis' morality is different from Catholic morality and that is the evidence of who is fact is the ideologue in this argument. Francis' morality is what Catholic moral theologians have in the past called sin. Francis wants doctrine to "progress and consolidate over time." That is, he wants the "progress" of the new doctrine-morality and then he wants his new doctrine-morality to be "consolidate" in habitual sin. The Catholic faith already has a consolidated morality. The principles of morality are fixed only the situations where they must be applied can and do change. From the beginning God has cursed those who call evil, good and good, evil. From a human perspective it is impossible that Francis can be saved, but with God anything is possible. But still, if it is better to have a millstone tied around your neck and thrown in the depths of the sea than to have scandalized an innocent soul, what about Francis who has been a festering scab of scandal before the entire world from the beginning of his papacy? As a general principle, it is a waste of time to argue doctrine with a heretic. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by simple finding what sin he habitually commits and refuses to repent. Any guesses what sin Francis/Bergoglio loves?

 

 

The proper understanding of this dogma from the Council of Trent:

Canon 4 on the sacraments in general: If anyone says that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation but are superfluous, and that without them or without the desire of them men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification, though all are not necessary for each one, let him be anathema.

The Dogma defines two revealed doctrinal truths:

1.     If anyone says: that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation but are superfluous, let him be anathema.

2.     If anyone says: that without the sacraments or (if anyone says) without the desire of the sacraments men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification, let him be anathema.

Both the Sacrament of Baptism and the will to receive the Sacrament are necessary for salvation!

“But God desired that his confession should avail for his salvation, since he preserved him in this life until the time of his holy regeneration.”

St. Fulgentius

 

 “If anyone is not baptized, not only in ignorance, but even knowingly, he can in no way be saved. For his path to salvation was through the confession, and salvation itself was in baptism. At his age, not only was confession without baptism of no avail: Baptism itself would be of no avail for salvation if he neither believed nor confessed.”

St. Fulgentius

 

Notice, both the CONFESSION AND THE BAPTISM are necessary for salvation, harkening back to Trent's teaching that both the laver AND the “votum” are required for justification, and harkening back to Our Lord's teaching that we must be born again of water AND the Holy Spirit.

 
In fact, you see the language of St. Fulgentius reflected in the Council of Trent.  Trent describes the votum (so-called “desire”) as the PATH TO SALVATION, the disposition to Baptism, and then says that “JUSTIFICATION ITSELF” (St. Fulgentius says “SALVATION ITSELF”) follows the dispositions in the Sacrament of Baptism.

 
Yet another solid argument for why Trent is teaching that BOTH the votum AND the Sacrament are required for justification.

“Hold most firmly and never doubt in the least that not only all pagans but also all Jews and all heretics and schismatics who end this present life outside the Catholic Church are about to go into the eternal fire that was prepared for the Devil and his angels.”

St. Fulgentius

 

 “The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the ‘eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels.’” 

St. Eugene IV, Cantate Domino

Ladislaus, CathInfo

 

 

 

 

 

Pope Francis praises nun for opening ‘trans home’ for men claiming to be women, calls them ‘girls’

Pope Francis told the 'nun of the trans' that 'God who did not go to the seminary or study theology will repay you abundantly. I pray for you and your girls.'

LifeSiteNews | NEUQUÉN, Argentina | August 18, 2020 – After a controversial nun opened in Argentina a residence for ‘trans women’ — men who choose to identify as women — Pope Francis praised her work, referring to the men as “girls.”

Sister Mónica Astorga Cremona, 53, known locally in Argentina as the “Nun of the Trans,” cut the ribbon on the new complex of twelve small apartments dedicated solely to housing men claiming to be women and their partners.

Upon hearing the news the Pope responded in a communication, according to the nun, “Dear Monica, God who did not go to the seminary or study theology will repay you abundantly. I pray for you and your girls.”

The Supreme Pontiff, according to the nun, referred to the males, reported to be between 40 and 70 years old, as “girls.”  

“Do not forget to pray for me. May Jesus blesses (sic) you and may the Holy Virgin take care of you,” he added, according to a report to Newsflare.

Last year, Cardinal Raymond Burke and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, joined by other prelates, issued a public declaration of truths of the faith where they called it a rebellion and “grave sin” for a man to “attempt to become a woman.”

“The male and female sexes, man and woman, are biological realities created by the wise will of God (see Gen. 1: 27; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 369). It is, therefore, a rebellion against natural and Divine law and a grave sin that a man may attempt to become a woman by mutilating himself, or even by simply declaring himself to be such, or that a woman may in like manner attempt to become a man, or to hold that the civil authority has the duty or the right to act as if such things were or may be possible and legitimate (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2297),” the document states. 

Pro-LGBT Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin was delighted with the Pope’s congratulatory words to Sister Monica Cremona, saying in a Tweet:  “Wow. Pope Francis sends his support for a Catholic sister in Argentina who ministers to transsexual women.” [.....]

 

 

How the SSPX Settled on the 1962 Bugnini Transitional Novus Ordo Missal

Question: Were you a strong supporter of the 1962 liturgy when Archbishop Lefebvre choose that Missal and if so, are you still a strong supporter of that Missal today?

Bishop Williamson:

There is no direct question between sedevacantism and the question of the liturgy.

The reason that Archbishop Lefebvre (ABL) settled on 1962 is because, there were reforms in 1962, 64, 67 and finally in 69. The Archbishop himself went along with the reforms on the grounds that the pope is the 'Master of the Liturgy' in the Latin Rite of the universal Church. That is, (the liturgy) depends upon the pope. And the pope apparently wanted all those reforms of 64, 67 and 69. When the ABL himself prayed the liturgy of 67 he realized that his faith was being diminished. He realized that omitting all those signs of the cross in the Mass for instance, was just one little instance, and praying all the changes that were all really pretty far gone in 67, he himself came back to 1964 (missal). He founded the seminary in 1970 and he began it with his personal experience on the 1964 (missal). The seminarians a few years later into the 70s made it clear, one of the seminarians hid one of the lecterns on which the 64 lessons used to be read. Now the Archbishop did not usually give way to rebels, he was not, believe it or not, he was not a rebel himself by any stretch of the imagination. He was obedient absolutely to what he thought was the will of God coming through the Church. But what was coming through the Church in the 1960s was not always coming from God. So he himself settled on 1964. The seminarians gave him to understand that the 1964 was going too far and he must have thought that the Holy Ghost was speaking to him through the seminarians and came back to 62. And that is where he settled.

His principle was if the 1962 is not essentially against the faith, or is not diminishing the faith, then that is the latest that had the approval from Rome, therefore (he reasoned) if I combine what I myself realize is against the faith, that which is unacceptable, with what the pope has approved and that is the latest is 1962, then combining those two principles, then 62 is where I will settle. He settled on 62.

But notice that for the Holy Week he never abandoned the knocking on the door of Palm Sunday which was eliminated by Bugnini in 55 and the second confession the Archbishop never eliminated, the confession just before communion. And so even he was not completely loyal to the 62. But in any case what he was doing balancing two principles which the Romans were making clash with one another. By departing from tradition, the Romans were setting up authority to go one way and truth to go a different way. And that is what essentially happened in 1969 in the revolution in the Church.

Catholic authority split from Catholic Truth. And ever since all Catholics are more or less schizophrenic because if truth and authority have separated from one another then either I follow authority and forget truth or I forget truth and follow authority or somewhere in between.

So I might mix it ten to ninety, I might mix it twenty to eighty, I might mix thirty to seventy, etc. etc. etc. So all Catholics who want to be Catholic  are somewhere in between zero and one-hundred and there is a great variety and great confusion in the Catholic Church because of that and it will only be settled when Almighty God, nobody else can do it, will bring these erring human beings in Rome back to tradition and when authority and truth are reunited then the crisis will be over.

Bishop Richard Williamson, interview with Restoring the Faith, August 11, 2022, Feast of St. Philomena, Virgin Martyr

COMMENT:

There are problems with the approach taken by Archbishop Lefebvre and still followed by the SSPX. Most importantly, the pope is NOT the 'Master of the Liturgy' but rather its first servant. If he were the "master," the liturgy would be a matter of mere discipline open to the free and independent will of the legislator but that is not the case. Even Pope Benedict/Ratzinger recognized this fact.

The Master of the Liturgy is God. God without exception throughout all history has been the author of acceptable divine worship. Divine worship constructed by man had its first expression with Cain who killed his brother Abel out of envy because God would not accept his offering that was the "fruit of the earth and the work of human hands." The Bugnini Novus Ordo reform which began by establishing its theoretical foundations in 1948 is just the most recent modern example of man-made worship.

Following from this first error, ABL places himself in an impossible position to defend true worship. He accepts that the pope can do anything he wants with the liturgy as long as it does not diminish the personal faith. ABL has made himself the judge of liturgical innovation based upon his personal subjective sense of his faith being diminished. Imagine if every Catholic did the same thing. In principle it holds that the pope can do as he likes with liturgy but every Catholic has the practical right to accept or reject it based upon his subjective sense of fidelity to the faith. This is a prescription for chaos.  

Lastly, Bishop Williamson proposal of Truth vs. Authority is a false dichotomy. It is God, Who is all Truth, and God Who is all Authority. Every creature is subject to the Truth of God and the Authority of God. The response to truth is conformity of the intellect and the response to authority is obedience of the will. Authority exercised by churchmen, even the pope, is a derived authority from God established to protect and propagate the revealed Truth of God. Every Catholic, including those in Authority, are subject to Truth. When Authority separates itself from Truth it separates itself from God. While every Catholic is morally required to "obey God rather than man" therefore every Catholic is obligated to oppose any authority that is opposed to truth. So every Catholic who becomes "schizophrenic" because he does not adhere 100% to Truth is in fact a confused Catholic. The remote rule of faith is Scripture and Tradition. The proximate rule of faith is Dogma. The 100% Catholic is the one who keeps the rule of faith against any human authority that falls from Truth.

 

 

 

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò: Satanic Freemasonary and the NWO Doomed to Fail

The consistency of evil
[.....] But as there is a consistency in good, so also there is a consistency in evil; and those actions that we apparently judge not particularly serious – if we do not contextualize them – turn out to be wheels of a gear, perhaps marginal and small, but which allow it to function, and without which something would jam.
That is why evil – which ontologically is a non‐being, an absence of Good – tries to creep into our souls in small steps, obtaining progressive failures, making sure that it does not arouse in us any concern or any remorse; and then grows and expands like a cancer. And where good brings more good, so evil calls forth more evil, getting us used to it, and to all that it attracts.
The infernal plans of the globalist elite – which we have seen to be inherently evil – are also consistent with each other, because they are moved by the adversary’s hatred of Christ. Bill Gates’ project to obscure the sun and vaccinate the world’s population; Soros’ plan to invade Western countries by hordes of Muslims and undermine the natural family by  financing  the woke and LGBT movements; Klaus Schwab’s plan to force us to eat insects or confine ourselves to 15‐minute “smart cities”; Harari’s plan to erase the idea of a transcendent God and compose a “politically correct” Bible;  the plan of the deep state to centralize control of citizens by means of digital ID, electronic money and  the manipulation  of  the vote; Bergoglio’s plan to transform the Church into an agency of the U.N. and the World Economic Forum – none of these are completely separate plans carried out autonomously and without any relationship between them.
In all that has happened in recent decades in a more underground form – and more recently in an obvious way – we can see a mens, an intelligence capable of organizing in a way that appears both infallible and unstoppable. Because we have to admit it: whoever  built  this infernal machine, in which all the gears seem to fit together perfectly, demonstrates a superior, angelic, and indeed, a satanic intelligence.
Our observation of the organizational efficiency of the wicked should not frighten us, nor  make us desist from fighting against their plans. Indeed, I believe that it is precisely this “perfection” in the enemy camp that will end up constituting its own condemnation: Simul stabunt, simul cadent, says the Latin adage – they will either stand or fall together. And it will be exactly so, because the triumph of evil is a fiction, a simulation, merely the staging of a scene, a scene that is based – like everything that comes from Satan – on appearance and lies. [.....], July 29, 2023, Pontmain, France


 

 

 

 

Hermeneutics of Continuity/Discontinuity

Catholic Faith:

Physical substances come into being through the union of substantial form and primary matter. The Soul is the Substantial Form of the Human Body; it is immortal and will be judged after the death of the person and directed to Heaven or Hell for all eternity awaiting to be joined again to its Body at the Resurrection of the Dead for the Last Judgment.

 

“In order that all may know the truth of the faith in its purity and all error may be excluded, we define that anyone who presumes henceforth to assert defend or hold stubbornly that the rational or intellectual soul is not the form of the human body of itself and essentially, is to be considered a heretic.” Council of Vienne

 

Neo-Modernists Ideology: [Ratzinger quotes provided by James Larson, War Against Being]

“The medieval concept of substance has long since become inaccessible to us.”

Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Faith and the Future

 

“The proper Christian thing, therefore, is to speak, not of the soul’s immortality, but of the resurrection of the complete human being [at the Final Judgment] and of that alone… The idea that to speak of the soul is unbiblical was accepted to such an extent that even the new Roman Missal (i.e.: the Novus Ordo) suppressed the term anima in its liturgy for the dead. It also disappeared from the ritual for burial.”  Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life

 

 “‘The soul’ is our term for that in us which offers a foothold for this relation [with the eternal]. Soul is nothing other than man’s capacity for relatedness with truth, with love eternal.”  Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life

 

“The challenge to traditional theology today lies in the negation of an autonomous, ‘substantial’ soul with a built-in immortality in favor of that positive view which regards God’s decision and activity as the real foundation of a continuing human existence.”

Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life

 

And those who have denied the reality of substantial being are those who are responsible for the “dictatorship of relativism.”

“Every day new sects are created and what Saint Paul says about human trickery comes true, with cunning which tries to draw those into error (Eph 4, 14). Having a clear faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often labelled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas, relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and ‘swept along by every wind of teaching,’ looks like the only attitude (acceptable) to today’s standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognise anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.”

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Homily of the Dean of the College of Cardinals, 2005

 

 

“The liturgical books promulgated by Saint (sic) Paul VI and Saint (sic) John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique only expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.”

Pope Francis, Traditionis Custodes

 

“Responding to your requests, I take the firm decision to abrogate all the norms, instructions, permissions and customs that precede the present Motu proprio, and declare that the liturgical books promulgated by the saintly (sic) Pontiffs Paul VI and John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, constitute the unique only expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite. I take comfort in this decision from the fact that, after the Council of Trent, St. Pius V also abrogated all the rites that could not claim a proven antiquity, establishing for the whole Latin Church a single Missale Romanum.”

Pope Francis, explanatory letter accompanying Traditionis Custodes

[Note: the English translation used the word "unique" to soften the blow. The actual accurate translation is "only." It was Cardinal Burke who provided this correction.]

COMMENT: It has not occurred to Conservative Catholics that Pope Francis is being brutally honest with them. They have accepted the false presuppositions of Summorum Pontificum: that is, the immemorial Roman rite is a simple matter of Church discipline subject to the arbitrary will of the legislator; that the 1962 Bugnini Transitional Missal (BTM) is the immemorial Roman rite; that the 1962 BTM has never been outlawed; that the 1962 BTM is the “right” of all Catholics because it has not been outlawed; that the BTM is the Extra-ordinary form and the Novus Ordo is the Ordinary form of the Roman rite expressing a single lex orandi/lex credendi; etc., etc.

Pope Francis is being honest but not entirely forthcoming. He “takes comfort in this decision” because St. Pius V suppressed all rites that had less than 200 years of “proven antiquity.” Pope Francis is doing the same thing. The BTM of 1962 has less traditional standing than the Novus Ordo! When are the Conservative Catholics going to wake up! How many times do they have to be told? The 1962 BTM is not the immemorial Roman rite and it is now legally suppressed. Therefore, turn to the “received and approved” immemorial Roman rite used before Bugnini ever touched it. This rite is established by immemorial custom and Catholic DOGMA. Whomsoever says that this “received and approved” rite may be changed or set aside for a new rite by any pastor of the churches whomsoever, is condemned, anathematized. Pope Francis is a “pastor” of the Church and this divine truth applies just as much to him and his predecessors as to every other Catholic.

It is also true that the Novus Ordo Missae is the “only unique expression of the “lex orandi” of the Novus Ordo Church because it determines the Novus Ordo’s “only unique lex credendi. This is public confession that the Novus Ordo and the Catholic Church do not have the same faith!

We recommend that all the faithful Catholics pray to God to quickly and thoroughly cleanse His Church.

 

Cardinal Burke offers the correction for two mistranslations in the English publication of the Motu proprio of Pope Francis, “TRADITIONIS CUSTODES”

Art. 1. The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI (sic) and Saint John Paul II (sic), in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique only expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.

Art. 4. Priests ordained after the publication of the present Motu Proprio, who wish to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962, should must submit a formal request to the diocesan Bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before granting this authorization.

 

 

Sacrament of Baptism: Significance of the Baptismal Character and why it is absolutely necessary for salvation. Explains why St. Ambrose said regarding catechumens who die before receiving the sacrament of Baptism, they are “forgiven but not crowned”.

To be baptized is to become one with the Church, and one with Christ. Thus the ritual can say: “enter into the temple of God, that you may have part with Christ, unto life everlasting.” The two ideas are correlative: to be baptized into the Church and to be baptized into Christ; they are the visible and invisible aspects of the same real effect. [….]

The effecting this incorporation into Christ, Baptism marks the soul as permanently His; it stamps upon the soul a spiritual “character”, or, as antiquity more commonly called it, a “seal”.  For this reason, and putting the cause for the effect, the rite of Baptism was itself called “the seal”, or “the seal of faith”, or “the seal of water”, or “the seal of the Trinity” (which last appellation endures still in the liturgical prayers for the dying, wherein God is asked to remember His promises to the soul that in its lifetime was “stamped with the seal of the Most Holy Trinity”).

The word “seal” derives from a group of texts in St. Paul, which suggest this stamping of the soul at Baptism: “And in Him (Christ), you too, when you had heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and believed in it, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise” (Eph. 1:13); “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). However, nowadays we are accustomed to speak rather of the baptismal “character”, a term that suggests the text wherein Christ is called “the brightness of His (the Father’s) glory and the image (in Greek, character) of His substance” (Hebr. 1:3).

Basically, two words give the same meaning: a seal imprints an image, and a “character”, in the original sense of the word, means image. Baptism, therefore, stamps the soul with the image of Christ, Who is Himself the image of the Father. And in the Scripture, this stamping is attributed to the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of Christ. The fact that we are stamped with such a character is clearly defined by the Council of Trent:

“If anyone says that by the three Sacraments, to wit, Baptism, Confirmation and Orders, there is not imprinted in the soul a Character, that is a certain spiritual and indelible sign on account of which they cannot be repeated; let him be anathem.” (Denz. 852).

The Council of Trent teaches that this seal, once stamped on the soul, is indelible. Just as Baptism irrevocable makes one a member of the Church, so also it irrevocably makes one a member of Christ. Not the gravest sin, nor even final impenitence and self-condemnation to eternal separation from Christ in Hell, can avail to erase this baptismal seal. And the indelibility of the seal is the immediate reason why Baptism can never be repeated, once it has been validly received. [….]

The sense in which Baptism stamps us with the image of Christ is suggested in the rite itself, by the anointing which follows the ablution. It is done with Sacred Chrism, a mixed unguent of oil and balm, specially consecrated by the bishop on Holy Thursday. Kings and priests in antiquity (and even today) were anointed with chrism in token of their royal and priestly dignity. And the baptism anointing signifies, therefore, that the new Christian has entered into the “royal priesthood” of the Christian people, and shares in the royal Priesthood of Christ Himself. He bears the image of Christ, inasmuch as Christ was the Priest of all humanity, Who offered Himself in sacrifice on the Cross.

The baptismal seal or character, therefore, endows the Christian with a priestly function, and a priestly power. It is not that special power and function given by the Sacrament of Holy Orders to certain selected members of the Church, who are made her official ministers, and authorized to offer her sacrifice and dispense her Sacraments. But it is the priestly function and power which is common to all the members of the Body of Christ. As He was born as Priest, His whole life orientated toward the Passion and Death which wad His priestly Sacrifice, so too, they are priests from their birth into the Christian life at Baptism; and their lives are essentially orientated toward sacrifice, in a double sense.

First of all, they receive a function and a power with respect to the ritual Sacrifice of the Church, which is the Mass. [….] They are empowered to assist actively in the offering of the Mass, as members of the Church, in whose name her specially qualified members, priests and bishops, offer the Mass, which is the sacrifice of the whole Church through her official ministers. In union with the Priest, the Christian offers up Christ as a Victim Who belongs to him and to Whom he belongs. An unbaptized person cannot do this….

Secondly, the baptismal character consecrates the Christian to sacrifice in a wider sense: it gives him the function, the duty, the power to lead a life of sacrifice, since He is in the image of Christ whose life was one long sacrifice – a life of complete obedience to the will of His Father: “I seek not My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me” (Jn. 3:50).The will of the Father is the supreme law of the Christian’s life; it is all embracing and all pervasive; and constant and total obedience to it necessarily gives a sacrificial quality to the whole of life, since it demands the renunciation of many ideas, and a steady refusal to be led by one’s own emotions or to seek one’s own pleasure and profit – in a word, it demands the sacrifice of selfishness in all its forms. St. Peter, therefore, was thinking of Baptism when he wrote: 

“Lay aside therefore all malice and all deceit, and pretense, and envy, and all slander…. Be you yourselves as living stones, built thereon (i.e., on Christ) into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:1,5).

Rev. John J. Fernan, S.J., Theology, Christ Our High Priest, Baptismal Seal

 

 

 

Baptism imprints in your soul a spiritual character, which no sin can efface. This character is a proof that from this time you do not belong to yourself, but that you are the property of Jesus Christ, who has purchased you by the infinite price of his blood and of his death. You are not of yourself, but you are of Christ; wherefore, St. Paul concludes, “that the Christian should no longer live for himself, but for Him who died and rose again for him;” that is to say, that the Christian should live a life of grace, and that he should consecrate to his Redeemer his spirit, his heart, and all his actions. […..]

First, is true penance; for, as the holy Council of Trent teaches, penance is no less necessary for those who have sinned after Baptism, than Baptism is necessary for those who have not received it. The Holy Scripture informs us, that there are two gates by which we are to enter into heaven—baptismal innocence, and penance. When a Christian has shut against himself the gate of innocence, in violating the holy promises of Baptism, it is necessary that he should strive to enter by that of penance; otherwise there is no salvation for him. On this account, Jesus Christ, speaking of persons who have lost innocence, says to them: “Unless you do penance, you shall all perish.”

But in order that penance may prevent us from perishing—it must be true Penance. Confessors may be deceived by the false appearance of conversion, and it is too often the case; but God is never deceived. If, therefore, those who receive absolution are not truly penitent and worthy of pardon, their sins are not forgiven before God. In order to do true penance, it is not sufficient to confess all our sins and to fulfill what is enjoined on us by the priest. There are two other things which are necessary: First; to renounce sin with all your heart, and for all your life… and second; to fly the occasions of sin, and to use the means to avoid it.

St. John Eudes, Man’s Contract with God in Baptism

 

 

 

 

Remember? The SSPX has been in “doctrinal” discussions with Rome since 1997. A faithful Catholic who keeps DOGMA as his proximate Rule of Faith will exhaust any “doctrinal discussions” with a Modernist in a few hours at most if he is patient. The SSPX like the Modernists in Rome both hold that DOGMA is just a human axiom that approximates the truth but must necessarily be continually purged of its human accretions and purified as deeper theological insights are discovered! 

The overheard plans are nearly identical to comments from an important Italian liturgist in an interview published by France’s LaCroix earlier. Andrea Grillo a lay professor at the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselmo in Rome, billed by La Croix as “close to the Pope,” is intimately familiar with Summorum Pontificum. Grillo in fact published a book against Summorum Pontificum before the papal document was even released.

Grillo told La Croix that Francis is considering abolishing (which he eventually did) Summorum Pontificum. According to Grillo, once the Vatican erects the Society of Saint Pius X as a Personal Prelature, the Roman Rite (sic) will be preserved only within this structure. “But [Francis] will not do this as long as Benedict XVI is alive (who is now dead and judged).”

The plan, as related to LifeSite, involved making an agreement with the Society of St. Pius X and, with that agreement in place, sequestering those Catholics wanting the TLM to the SSPX. For most, that would strip them of access to the TLM since there would not be nearly enough SSPX priests to service Catholics wanting the TLM worldwide.

LifeSiteNews, 2017

COMMENT: We have been warning the faithful since 2012 that the SSPX hierarchy has already been regularized within the Novus Ordo Church. They are committed to bringing the priests and laity associated with them along for the ride. Ultimately, the SSPX will be filled with Conservative Catholics who have not and cannot defend the Catholic faith and tradition because they uniformly reject DOGMA as the proximate Rule of Faith.  They will overwhelm the few faithful Catholics attending Mass at SSPX chapels. The SSPX will then introduce the reform measures to the 1962 Bugnini transitional Missal to bring about, in time, one expression of the “Roman rite.”

 

 

en.news

Francis Allowed Pius X To Ordain Whomever They Wish

The Society Pius X is “completely regular,” James Bogle, a former Una Voce President, told Gloria.tv at the Roman Forum in Gardone, Italy (video below).
en.news | July 29, 2023  Bogle is a barrister in London. He counseled in the cases of Archie Battersbee (2010-2022) and Alfie Evans (2016-2018), who were sentenced to death by British courts, the latter despite interventions by the Polish, Italian and Vatican governments.
Francis "recognised" all Pius X sacraments, including marriage and confession, Bogle notes. In March 2015, Bishop Fellay was appointed a Vatican judge for all annulments and clerical misdemeanours in Pius X.
Fellay told Bogle in May 2015 that Francis had written him a personal letter allowing him to ordain "whomever he wants", without having to consult the local bishops. Bogle calls this not just a recognition but a "special privilege".
A member of the Order of Malta, Bogle believes Francis has "saved" the order. At the 2014 Chapter General, a group of Germans were elected to the governing body and then tried to secularise the order by marginalising the professed members.
Francis stepped in and acted as a dictator, overriding all laws, codes and the Order's constitution. This led to the expulsion of the Germans. Francis’ authoritarian and “frankly not legal” style worked in the Order's favour “by accident”, says Bogle.
As for Francis' desire to close monasteries, Bogle recalls a  dissolved monastery in Amalfi, Italy. Its historic building was worth €80M. With Francis' knowledge, the nuns were told that they were being suppressed and had to leave the convent.
 For Bogle, Francis is reversing some fundamentals of the faith and thus “destroying the Church”. But given his treatment of Pius X he calls him "self-contradictory" and a “complex figure”.

#newsQqsvjgergl

https://gloria.tv/post/4EijeQ8zRX4S3BG9tVvSLuw3F

 

 

SOON TO BE THE EXCLUSIVE HOME FOR THE EVER FLUID BUGNINI TRANSITION MISSAL OF 1962

Maybe the common ground is “does not care for doctrine”?

“A pope (Francis) who does not care for doctrine, who looks at the people, and who has known us in Argentina. And he appreciated our work in Argentina. And that's why he sees us with a good disposition while in the same time he is against conservatism. This is like a contradiction. But I have been able to verify several times that he really does things personally for us.”

Bishop Bernard Fellay, SSPX, 2017

 

A Personal Prelature for SSPX: comment from 2017

Bishop Fellay then commented on a project of Personal Prelature which had been offered to the SSPX in the summer of 2015. As he already said on January 26, 2016, such a canonical structure fits the needs and the actual apostolate and presence of the Society all over the world. He revealed that the written proposal given to the SSPX foresees that prelate should be a bishop. How would the prelate be designated? The Pope would choose amongst the three names presented by the SSPX through its own elections. It is also foreseen, said Bishop Fellay, that other auxiliary bishops would be given to the Society.

Everything that exists now will be recognized all over the world. And the faithful also! They will be in this Prelature with the right to receive the sacraments and teachings from the Society’s priests. It will be also possible to receive religious congregations, as it is in a diocese: Capuchins, Benedictines, Carmelites, and others. This prelature is a Catholic structure which is not under the [authority of the local] bishops. It is autonomous.”

The Angelus, SSPX publication for United States District, 201


 

 

 

 

Hermeneutics of Continuity/Discontinuity

Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium Smears Faithful Catholics as “Neo-pelagians”:

          Catholics faithful in keeping God’s moral law and believing His revealed truth are “self-absorbed promethean neopelagianism [who] observe certain rules or remain intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style [characterized by a] narcissistic and authoritarian elitism [which is a] manifestations of an anthropocentric immanentism. It is impossible to think that a genuine evangelizing thrust could emerge from these adulterated forms of Christianity.”

94. This worldliness can be fuelled in two deeply interrelated ways. One is the attraction of gnosticism, a purely subjective faith whose only interest is a certain experience or a set of ideas and bits of information which are meant to console and enlighten, but which ultimately keep one imprisoned in his or her own thoughts and feelings. The other is the self-absorbed promethean neopelagianism of those who ultimately trust only in their own powers and feel superior to others because they observe certain rules or remain intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style from the past. A supposed soundness of doctrine or discipline leads instead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism, whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others, and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts his or her energies in inspecting and verifying. In neither case is one really concerned about Jesus Christ or others. These are manifestations of an anthropocentric immanentism. It is impossible to think that a genuine evangelizing thrust could emerge from these adulterated forms of Christianity.

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

While in the same document he has this to say about the possibility of salvation for “Non-Christinas”:

254. Non-Christians, by God’s gracious initiative, when they are faithful to their own consciences, can live “justified by the grace of God”, and thus be “associated to the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ”.

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, this teaching of Pope Franics references the teaching of the International Theological Commission.

          “By God’s gracious initiative” is pure invention. God has never revealed this fable. This is Pelagianism by definition. This is what a Pelagian heretic affirms that salvation is possible through being “faithful to their own consciences.” Catholic dogmas, formal objects of divine and Catholic faith, affirm that supernatural faith, the sacraments, membership in the Church, and subjection to the Roman Pontiff are necessary as necessities of means to obtain eternal salvation. Pope Francis is a Pelagian heretic. So where is his source material for this error?  He cites as his authority the International Theological Commission which teaches:

10. Exclusivist ecclesiocentrism—the fruit of a specific theological system or of a mistaken understanding of the phrase extra ecclesiam nulla salus—is no longer defended by Catholic theologians after the clear statements of Pius XII (sic) and Vatican II the possibility of salvation for those who do not belong visibly to the Church (cf, e.g., Vatican II, LG 16; GS 22).

Christocentrism accepts that salvation may occur in religions, but it denies them any autonomy in salvation on account of the uniqueness and universality of the salvation that comes from Jesus Christ. This position is undoubtedly the one most commonly held by Catholic theologians, even though there are differences among them.

International Theological Commission, Christianity and the World Religions, 1997

          This is the fundamental doctrine of Neo-Modernism that holds that Dogmas need not be taken in a literal sense because they are always undergoing evolutionary development in an effort to achieve a closer approximation of truth. Catholics believe, as St. Pope Pius X said, dogmas are “truths fallen from heaven.” Pope Pius XII never denied the dogma that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church.  Those who claim he did are simply liars. Vatican II on the other hand did, and Vatican II cites as its authority for the denial of the dogma that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church, the heretical 1949 Holy Office Letter that teaches that the one and only thing necessary for salvation is the ‘desire to do the will of a god who rewards and punishes’. This can be known by natural philosophy and is simply a necessary presupposition to receiving the Gospel message. The 1949 Holy Office Letter and Vatican II are teaching Pelagianism.  The very error that Pope Francis attributes to faithful Catholics who believe the revealed truths of our faith and keep our immemorial traditions. Is it any wonder that Pope Francis who denies the necessity of faith, the sacraments, membership in the Church, and submission to the Roman Pontiff as necessary for salvation as necessities of means would then thoroughly corrupt the definition of “genuine evangelization”?

Catholics who “observe certain rules (like keeping the Ten Commandments or believing Catholic dogma) or remain intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style (the “received and approved rites customarily used in the solemn administration of the sacraments” Trent)” are guilty of “self-absorbed promethean neopelagianism... narcissistic and authoritarian elitism [that is a] manifestation of an anthropocentric immanentism...  [whereby, it is] impossible to think that a genuine evangelizing thrust could emerge from these adulterated forms of Christianity.

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

          What is “Genuine evangelization”? Pope Francis said: “Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us. ..... I believe I have already said that our goal is not to proselytize but to listen to needs, desires and disappointments, despair, hope” (Interview with Italian journalist and atheist Eugenio Scalfari). He also said in answer to a question from a Lutheran girl, “It is not licit that you convince them of your faith; proselytism is the strongest poison against the ecumenical path.” On another occasion he said, “Proselytism among Christians, therefore, in itself, is a grave sin.” 

          How is this possible? Proselytism means to seek converts. A “proselyte” is a convert. It was the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ to His Church: “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.” (Mark 16:15-16) The goal of “preaching” is to bring other to “believe” the revealed truth and become members of the Church through “baptism” so that they may become a “proselyte,” like one of the first deacons of the Church, Nicolas in Acts 6:5, and be “saved.”

          “Genuine evangelization” is the act of proselytism and the fruit of evangelization is proselytes. “By their fruit you shall know them.” In South America alone there have been more than 40 million Catholics lost to the faith since Vatican II. This is the fruit of the “new evangelization” of Pope Francis which does not seek converts at all because he sees no reason to convert. 

          So who in end is “self-absorbed promethean neo-pelagian”? Prometheus was eternally punished for his hubris of defying the gods while Pope Francis does the same thing by “intransigently” overturning God’s revealed truth.  His heresy is the fruit of his own “narcissistic and authoritarian elitism” to believe that he is better than God.  He proposes an “adulterated form of Christianity” which explains why he promotes Catholic divorce.  Heretics always permit divorce because marriage is the metaphor used by God to describe His relationship to His Church and to each of His faithful.  The heretic cannot stand the integrity of the metaphor and always permits divorce.  This is the unmistakable sign that Pope Francis is a heretic.

 

 

 

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano,

Interview with Aldo Maria Valli

July 14, 2023

Your Excellency, some say that among these latest cardinals could be Francis' successor. Do you agree?
I doubt that the College of Cardinals - once the Sacred College - will want to elect a conservative or even moderately progressive pope; rather, it is clear that the upcoming Conclave will be a provocation. Almost all the Cardinals were created "in the image and likeness" of Bergoglio and they will be the ones to choose his successor-perhaps him alive, given the new fashion for Renunciation. If the electors had even a modicuм of love for the Church, they should make themselves docile to the action of the Holy Spirit; but we know that this congerie of heretics and immoral people - with rare exceptions - has no intention of letting the Lord do that, for if they did it would mark their own condemnation. But the good Lord sometimes reserves unexpected surprises.

What is the logic followed by Bergoglio in his appointments?
Bergoglio's logic is most evident: he wants to create the premises for a schism, which in words he denies and deplores, but which he has been preparing for some time. Bergoglio wants to separate, in one way or another, the good part of the faithful and clerics from the official Church; and to achieve this, to get them to turn away from the modernist Sanhedrin, he has placed in the key posts of the Roman Curia those people who guarantee the worst management of the Dicasteries entrusted to them, with the worst possible result and the greatest damage to the ecclesial body.
The progressive restrictions on the celebration of the ancient Liturgy serve to confine conservatives to hunting grounds, only to channel them to the St. Pius X Fraternity, as soon as the Synod brings to their tragic consequences the doctrinal, moral and disciplinary changes that are in the pipeline and cause an exodus of Catholics to what, after the suppression or normalization of the Ecclesia Dei Institutes, will become the "monopolist" of Tradition. But at that point-when, that is, traditional Catholics have migrated into the Fraternity and its leaders believe they have achieved a victory over the competition of the suppressed Summorum Pontificuм-a new intolerable provocation will force at least a parade of the St. Pius X Fraternity to distance itself from Bergoglian Rome, sanctioning the "excommunication" of traditionalism, no longer represented within the official Church, assuming it ever was. That is why in my opinion it is important to preserve a certain parcelization, so as to make the malicious maneuver of ousting traditional Catholics from the ecclesial body more complex.
Diaconesses, abolition of ecclesiastical celibacy, blessing of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ couples, tolerance for polygamy, gender theory, LGBTQ ideology, ecological pantheism à la Teilhard de Chardin: these are the points of confrontation that Begoglio is deliberately opening between the conservative (but not traditional, already distant or out of touch) wing and the ultra-progressive wing. His aim is to create the clash, let it grow, encourage with appointments and promotions the proponents of the most extreme instances, and then witness the predictable reaction of condemnation of the few remaining good bishops, priests and religious, who before Bergoglio's pitfall will have two choices: return to suffer in silence or stand up, denounce the betrayal of Catholic Truth and be forced to leave their posts and exercise their ministry in hiding or at least in apparent canonical irregularity.
Once the inconvenient pastors are ostracized and the conservative faithful removed, the Bergoglian hierarchy will be able to exercise full control over clergy and people, certain of the obedience of those left behind. And this sect, which of Catholic will have only the name (and perhaps not even that anymore), will totally eclipse the Bride of the Lamb, in the paradox of a treacherous and corrupt Hierarchy abusing Christ's authority to destroy His Church.
This is what the principals of Bergoglio and his minions would like, but the sensus fidei of God's Holy People could lead many to reject this fraud and take part in an action of firm resistance and determined denunciation. The Lord will allow the Church to appear dead, for the forces of the underworld to believe they have defeated it, because He wants the Mystical Body to follow the way of the Cross and Burial, like His divine Head, if He wants to join Him in the glory of the Resurrection.
The College of Cardinals, as desired by Francis, is said to represent the universal Church: really?
image031.jpgIf we were to submit an anonymous questionnaire to the eminent members of the College of Cardinals, in which they have to answer "true" or "false" to a series of propositions on which the Magisterium has already infallibly expressed itself, we would discover to our horror that the absolute majority, if not almost all, of the Cardinals are not Catholics, tout court. And in the number of those I believe we would also find some conservatives. The notorious heresy of many Prelates is confirmed by their own statements, before which Bergoglio has been very careful not to open his mouth, as he knows how to do without too many scruples in regard to those few Prelates who have remained faithful. The current College of Cardinals is the quintessence of the Bergoglian Church: its members represent the capillary spread of modernism and conciliar progressivism in the world. Certainly, however, they are not an expression of the universal Church: first, because they are not part of it except only apparently, being precisely heretics; and second, because by God's grace the faithful and clergy are learning-after sixty years of horrors, for ten even more obvious ones-to not take for granted everything that comes out of the mouth of the pope, bishop or parish priest. Thus these, after preaching disobedience to the true Magisterium, find themselves suffering the consequences of a disobedience this time good and rightful, because in obedience to Christ.
We are witnessing the systematic erasure of a whole part of the Church-identifiable geographically, but also ideologically-still remaining Catholic: some American bishops, with their dioceses; many African bishops, faithful especially on moral issues; and an ever-growing number of parish priests, priests, religious men and women who are realizing that they are the next victims of the purges of Santa Marta - the case of the Monasteries of Pienza and Marradi have not gone unnoticed - and are preparing for alternative forms of ministry, uniting, confronting, organizing. This is the purpose of the Exsurge Domine association (
www.exsurgedomine.org) that was formed under my patronage and is dedicated to helping and organizing the resistance of clerics and religious persecuted by the Argentine junta.
Why does Francis continue to ignore locations like Milan, Turin, Venice, Genoa, Naples?
He does so because he wants to take away the moral prestige of certain Episcopal Sees, traditionally cardinals, for the benefit of a management of appointments to the Porpora marked by a blatant ideological nepotism. All of Bergoglio's friends, and friends of friends, have their careers paved, even at the cost of stubbornly denying their scandals, their doctrinal errors, their obvious unworthiness or incompetence. They like "shepherds who reek of the smell of sheep," even if they are mercenaries and if the sheep have no desire to be led by them. Which reveals a lack of human virtues even more disheartening than the total absence of theological virtues. I have to say that not naming the Archbishop of Milan a Cardinal ends up not being a disgrace after all; but it is regrettable that the Patriarch of Venice, precisely because of his very moderate conservatism, is not recognized with the Purple that was all his predecessors'. The message for aspirants to the Vatican cursus honorum is to pander to power with courteous servility, under penalty of commissioning, Apostolic Visitation, transfer or even dismissal without new appointments (see Burke and Gaenswein, among others).
Tucho Fernández will be a cardinal. Until recently it seemed like a joke.
It remains a joke, because what has been happening for ten years now pertains to farce rather than tragedy. All that the Santa Marta sect gives birth to is a fraud: the supposed "democratization" of the Synod on Synodality, in which the questions that are submitted to local communities are formulated in such a way as to obtain the desired answers, always according to a precise subversive design that starts from Bergoglio himself. The involvement of women in the governance of the Church is a lie: this is contrary to the will of Our Lord, and no power, however tyrannical and authoritarian it may be, can change the matter of the Sacrament of Orders. The scandalous winks of Prelates and clerics to the vices and lifestyles of the so-called "LGBTQ community" are a deception: they are using the weaknesses of lay people led astray by woke ideology to legitimize their personal sins, which sooner or later emerge in their embarrassing prosaicness. Fernández himself, who has been courting Bergoglio for years with public attestations of esteem, of confidence in his reforming capacity, of certainty of the inexorability of his "prophetic" (in the conciliar neo-language, a synonym for "heretical") action as the Church's supreme Pastor, is also a constructed character.
Fernández stands to Bergoglio as Zelenskyj stands to Biden: they are puppets in the hands of puppets. The strings are always pulled by that same subversive elite that links the White House to the Vatican, Podesta's emails to Ratzinger's abdication, the deep state to the deep church, Nancy Peℓσѕι to "Father" James Martin sj.
Surely Fernández was put in charge of the former Holy Office to do nothing of what the Prefect of this very important, now downgraded Dicastery should be doing. He will do exactly the opposite: he will encourage the heresies and moral deviations of the theologians in vogue today, of the bishops eager to move to the Santa Marta hotel, of the proponents of gender; and instead he will act with ruthless firmness for the priest who criticizes a heretical statement by Bergoglio or one of his protégés, for the bishop who denounces the deviations of the Synod, for the seminary professor who still teaches the magisterial acts prior to Vatican II. We shall see how far this Fernández's zeal will go in order to please his sponsor, and how far those who should be targeted by the Pachamama Taliban will endure these attacks without replying or even simply ignoring them.
Are the cardinals wanted by Francis really all yes-men or is there anyone capable of autonomy of judgment?
In order to be Cardinals today, it is necessary to have what our elders used to call "hair on the stomach": for sixty years the purges have continued relentlessly, and even some of the Most Eminent created by Benedict XVI have proven to fall completely short of the expectations of the conservative faithful, and not infrequently opportunists or cowards. Of the brave - shall we say - Dubia's there are not many survivors left, who witnessed things at the last Conclave that they do not publicly denounce, however. So, yes: they are all yesmen; which, for those who should defend the Holy Church usque ad effusionem sanguinis, is inconsistent to say the least.
The present crisis is the punishment with which the Lord punishes the Church and the world for the unfaithfulness of His ministers and the rulers of nations. We look upon this scourge as the stern gesture of a Father too long offended but who still wants to save us. Conversion is the only possible way: let us return to God, before Mercy yields to Justice.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano
, July 14, 2023; S. Bonaventuræ Episcopi Confessoris et Ecclesiæ Doctoris.

COMMENT: Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano recognizes that Rome is working to bring all Traditional and Conservative Catholics under the direct jurisdiction of the SSPX. This is something that Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission has been saying for years. We differ from Archbishop Vigano as to the ends for which Pope Francis/Bergoglio is doing this. Archbishop Vigano believes that Rome wants all faithful Catholics under one group so that he can produce a schism by "excommunicating" everyone associated with the SSPX. We disagree. We believe that Rome is doing this because they know the SSPX is hopelessly compromised and will be easily lead over time to modernist practices. The SSPX is Neo-modernist in its principles while traditional only in its sentiments. Rome wants to use the SSPX as the recognized spokesman for all the faithful Catholics because the SSPX cannot defend Catholic tradition. They cannot defend Catholic tradition because they do not hold Dogma as their proximate rule of faith. They cannot defend the immemorial "received and approved" rites because they hold these traditions as being merely matters of Church discipline under the pope. The SSPX will compromise with error because they have already erred. Although we disagree on the ends we both clearly see what Rome is doing and fortunately, we both agree on what should be done to counter this. Archbishop Vigano recommends a diffuse, decentralized loose confederation of traditional Catholics that are united by the profession of the true faith and in the practice of the same immemorial "received and approved" worship of God in the Roman rite of Mass. Such a decentralized group can only be opposed by directly rejecting Catholic Dogma and purity of worship.

 

 

 

Pope appoints longtime ally and ghostwriter of Amoris Laetitia as new Vatican doctrine chief

Pope Francis' appointment of Argentinian Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández to the Vatican's top doctrinal position has raised concerns over his support for Communion for the divorced and 'remarried,' promotion of erotic actions, and downplaying Church teaching opposing same-sex 'marriage.'

image033.jpgLifeSiteNews | Michael Haynes | Jul 1, 2023

VATICAN CITY  — Pope Francis has appointed the highly controversial Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández of La Plata as new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (now Dicastery), with the new prefect known for his roles as the Pope’s longtime friend and theologian and ghostwriter of numerous papal texts including Amoris Laetitia.

Issuing the news July 1, the Holy See Press Office stated that Pope Francis had called Archbishop Fernández to succeed the outgoing Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., who has come to the “conclusion of his mandate,” having held the position since 2017. 

The 60-year-old Fernández, like Francis, is a fellow native of Argentina and was raised to become archbishop on May 13, 2013, just two months into the new pontificate. Their close relationship dates back to Francis’ time as a prelate in Argentina, with then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio giving Fernandez advice on his clerical career choices. 

This resulted in Bergoglio bringing Fernández to the 2007 Fifth General Conference of the Latin American Bishops as a peritus, or expert.

He was then nominated by Bergoglio to serve as rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina in 2009, but only acceded to the post in 2011 after completing questioning and answering objections from the CDF. The CDF’s treatment of Fernández reportedly angered Bergoglio at the time. Much speculation emerged in December and January regarding the possible nomination of heterodox German Bishop Heiner Wilmer as the new CDF head. Pope Francis had in fact considered Wilmer’s nomination but was blocked by several cardinals who intervened with the Vatican not to make the appointment.

Fernández will now assume his new role as head of the Church’s doctrinal office in mid-September. With Fernández in position at the head of the CDF, his roster includes, as expanded upon in the article below:

·       Ardent promotion and defense of Amoris Laetitia opening the door to Communion for the divorced and “remarried.”

·       Public promotion of erotic kissing and actions.

·       Downplaying of need to oppose same-sex marriage.

·       Stating how he is more progressive than the Pope on certain issues.

Key papal ally and ghostwriter 

Fernández’s career has long been guided by Francis, both before and after Francis’ ascent to the papal throne. This intimate link has only grown since March 13, 2013, with Fernández now being widely acknowledged as Francis’ “primary ghostwriter” and “trusted theologian.”

This includes his ghostwriting of Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato Sí, and the highly controversial Amoris Laetitia.

His role in writing Amoris Laetitia should not be unexpected: indeed, Pope Francis had given Fernández key roles in the running of the 2014 and 2015 Vatican synods, which led to the controversial apostolic exhortation.

Amoris Laetitia’s now infamous Chapter 8 opened the door to allowing the divorced and “remarried” access to receive Holy Communion. Francis soon responded to questions by saying there is  “no other interpretation” of Amoris Laetitia except the one provided by the bishops of Buenos Aires allowing Communion for the divorced and remarried.

Francis was subsequently also asked if Amoris Laetitia contained a “change in discipline that governs access to the sacraments” for Catholics who are divorced and “remarried.” He replied, “I can say yes, period.” Within months, a group of Catholic scholars issued a letter to all the cardinals and patriarchs, warning that Amoris Laetitia contained “dangers to the faith.”

Fernández is believed to be chiefly responsible for the lines that have led to so much consternation among faithful Catholics. So much so that veteran Vatican journalist Sandro Magister highlighted how the most controversial passages of text were in fact very closely mirroring Fernández’s own writings from his years in Argentina. 

In his personal defense of the apostolic exhortation, Fernández argued that:

It is also licit to ask if acts of living together more uxorio [i.e. having sexual relations] should always fall, in its integral meaning, within the negative precept of ‘fornication’ … there can be a path of discernment open to the possibility of receiving the food of the Eucharist … I say, ‘in its integral meaning,’ because one cannot maintain those acts in each and every case are gravely dishonest in a subjective sense.

Francis’ “great innovation is to allow for a pastoral discernment in the realm of the internal forum to have practical consequences in the manner of applying the discipline,” Fernández wrote.

Papal welcome 

Issuing a letter of welcome to the incoming CDF prefect, Pope Francis hailed him as “brother,” writing the CDF’s “central purpose is to guard the teaching that flows from the faith in order to ‘give a reason for our hope, but not as enemies who point out and condemn.’”

 


 

Pope Francis receives Bill Clinton and George Soros’ son in private Vatican visit

Pope Francis' private meeting with Clinton was unannounced by the Holy See Press Office, and was reportedly about 'peace.'

LifeSiteNews | Michael Haynes | Jul 6, 2023

VATICAN CITY–– In an entirely unannounced visit, Pope Francis hosted former U.S. President Bill Clinton along with George Soros’ son and image035.jpgsuccessor Alexander Soros in a cordial visit at the Vatican. 

Late evening July 5, the Vatican News social media accounts posted a short video clip of Pope Francis receiving former President Clinton and his party at the Casa Santa Martha hotel.

According to a subsequent report by Vatican News – which appears to be the only official information released about the meeting – Clinton and Francis spoke about “peace.”

“At the end of the meeting, Francis looked out for a brief greeting to the security men and other friends accompanying the former president on his trip to Rome and Europe, who had meanwhile been taken on a tour of some of the Vatican sites.”

The 75-year-old Clinton is famous for his adulterous sexual affair with a young White House intern and subsequent impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice, as well as his adamant support of abortion and same-sex “marriage.”

Greeting the former president warmly, Francis presented him with a statue made at the Vatican which “symbolizes the work for peace,” according to the Pontiff. 

Though unacknowledged in the Vatican’s brief report, accompanying Clinton was 37-year-old Alexander Soros – son and successor to the notorious abortion and population control advocate George Soros.

Alexander has been accompanying Clinton on recent travels, with the party having come straight from Albania the day before, where Clinton had been awarded the Great Star of Gratitude for Public Achievements.

Alexander was recently announced to have taken over the reigns of his father’s Open Society Foundations group, after he was elected chairman of the $25 billion empire. As LifeSiteNews has reported, Alexander Soros has promised to be more political than his father, a statement which he has appeared to fulfill.

His Instagram account has pictures of him alongside U.S. President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among others. Alexander has reportedly visited the White House more than 17 times in the last several years, according to Breitbart.

With Soros widely noted as linked to, and having funded, a wide variety of anti-family, anti-life and anti-Catholic endeavors, Alexander looks set to now continue his father’s works. “We think alike,” Alexander told the Wall Street Journal while speaking about his father’s political views.

His social media accounts provide evidence of Alexander’s political activism, with regular international travels and meetings with leading politicians documented, along with his support for campaigns such as Black Lives Matter and attempts to have the U.K. rejoin the European Union. 

Speaking to the Journal, Alexander revealed that he would be investing more finances into promoting abortion.

The Soros family campaigns have thus not only caused concern for pro-family and Christian advocates, but have also drawn the ire of Twitter owner and billionaire Elon Musk, who has said that the elder Soros “hates humanity” and “wants to erode the very fabric of civilization.”

 “You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. [George] Soros hates humanity,” wrote Musk in May.

The meeting at the Vatican was not announced to journalists, nor was it included on the Pope’s calendar. Francis’ private and public meetings have ostensibly been cancelled for the month of July as part of the regular summer recess the Vatican traditionally observes, although Francis is known for not observing as much of a break as his predecessors did.

COMMENT: We are known by our friends and clearly Pope Francis looks positively giddy shaking the hand of Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton and the Soros Foundation have worked closely together to establish a satanic world empire. Pope Francis hopes someday to be spiritual head of this new one-world religion. We know from Catholic prophecy how this story is going to end and it will not end well for Clinton or Soros.

 

 

The apostasy of the city of Rome from the vicar of Christ and its destruction by Antichrist may be thoughts very new to many Catholics, that I think it well to recite the text of theologians of greatest repute. First Malvenda, who writes expressly on the subject, states as the opinion of Ribera, Gaspar Melus, Biegas, Suarrez, Bellarmine and Bosius that Rome shall apostatize from the Faith, drive away the Vicar of Christ and return to its ancient paganism. Then the Church shall be scattered, driven into the wilderness, and shall be for a time, as it was in the beginning, invisible; hidden in catacombs, in dens, in mountains, in lurking places; for a time it shall be swept, as it were from the face of the earth. Such is the universal testimony of the Fathers of the early Church. 

Henry Edward Cardinal Manning, The Present Crisis of the Holy See, 1861

 

 

Dogma - The Proximate Rule of Faith, the Formal Object of Divine & Catholic Faith

Now, first of all, let us see what is dogma. In the mouth of the world it means some positive, imperious, and overbearing assertion of a human authority, or of a self-confident mind. But what does it mean in the mouth of the Church? It means the precise enunciation of a divine truth, of a divine fact, or of a divine reality fully known, so far as it is the will of God to reveal it, adequately defined in words chosen and sanctioned by a divine authority.

It is the precise enunciation of a divine truth or of a divine reality; for instance, the nature and the personality of God, the Incarnation, the coming of the Holy Ghost, and suchlike truths and realities of the mind of God, precisely known, intellectually conceived, as God has revealed or accomplished them. Every divine truth or reality, so far as God has been pleased to reveal it to us, casts its perfect outline and image upon the human intelligence. His own mind, in which dwells all truth in all fulness and in all perfection, so far as He has revealed of His truth, is cast upon the surface of our mind, in the same way as the sun casts its own image upon the surface of the water, and the disc of the sun is perfectly reflected from its surface. So, in the intelligence of the Apostles, when, by the illumination of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost, the revelation of God was cast upon the surface of their intellect, every divine truth had its perfect outline and image, not confused, nor in a fragmentary shape, but with a perfect and complete impression. For instance, that God is One in nature; that in God there are Three Persons, and one only Person in Jesus Christ. Next, it is not enough that a truth should be definitely conceived; for if a teacher know the truth, and is not able to communicate it with accuracy, the learner will be but little the wiser. And therefore God, who gave His truth, has given also a perpetual assistance, whereby the Apostles first, and His Church from that day to this, precisely and without erring declare to mankind the truth which was revealed in the beginning; and in declaring that truth the Church clothes it in words, in what we call a terminology: and in the choice of those terms the Church is also guided. There is an assistance, by which the Church does not err in selecting the very language in which to express divine truth. For who does not see that, if the Church were to err in the selection of the words, the declaration of truth must be obscured? We are conscious every day that we know with perfect certainty what we desire to say, but, from the difficulty of finding or choosing our words, we cannot convey our meaning to another. The Church is not a stammerer as we are. The Church of God has a divine assistance perpetually guiding it, to clothe in language, that is, in adequate expression, the divine truth which God has committed to her trust. Therefore a dogma signifies a correct verbal expression of the truth correctly conceived and known. But, lastly, it is not sufficient that it be clearly understood in the intellect and accurately expressed in words, unless the authority by which it is declared shall be divine; because without a divine authority we cannot have a divine certainty; without a divine authority we can have no such assurance that the doctrine which we hear may not be erroneous. The Apostles were such a divine authority, for they spoke in the Name of their Master. Their successor to this day is the Church, which, taken as a whole, has been, by the assistance of the Holy Ghost, promised by our Divine Lord and never absent from it, perpetually sustained in the path of truth, and preserved from all error in the declaration of that truth. Therefore ‘He that heareth you heareth Me’ is true to this day. He that hears the voice of the Church hears the voice of its Divine Head, and its authority is therefore divine. This, then, is a dogma: a divine truth clearly understood in the intellect, precisely expressed in words and by a divine authority. There are many things which follow from this. First, it proves that the Church of God must be dogmatic: and that any body which is not dogmatic is not the Church of God. Any body or communion that disclaims a divine, and therefore infallible, authority cannot be dogmatic, because it is conscious that it may err. And therefore the- Catholic Church alone, the Church which is one and undivided throughout the world, united with its centre in the Holy See,—this, and this alone, is a dogmatic Church (as the world reproachfully reminds us), and on that I build my proof that it alone is the Church of God. A teaching authority which is dogmatic and not infallible is a tyranny and a nuisance: a tyranny, because it binds the consciences of men by human authority, liable to err; and a nuisance, because as it may err, in the long-run it certainly will, and ‘if the blind lead the blind, shall they not both fall into the ditch?’ We see, then, what dogma means. The Holy Catholic Church always has been and always must be dogmatic. In this, and in no other sense, is it dogmatic; for it delivers nothing to us to be believed except upon divine authority, and that which it so delivers was revealed by God.

Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, Glories of the Sacred Heart

 

 

“The problematic is primarily ecclesiological. I do not see how it is possible to say that one recognizes the validity of the Council — though it amazes me that a Catholic might presume not to do so — and at the same time not accept the liturgical reform born out of Sacrosanctum Concilium, a document that expresses the reality of the Liturgy intimately joined to the vision of Church so admirably described in Lumen gentium.” ……

 "Let us abandon our polemics to listen together to what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Let us safeguard our communion. Let us continue to be astonished at the beauty of the (Novus Ordo) Liturgy. The Paschal Mystery has been given to us. Let us allow ourselves to be embraced by the desire that the Lord continues to have to eat His Passover with us. All this under the gaze of Mary, Mother of the Church."

Pope Francis the Low and Vicious, Desiderio Desideravi, his apostolic letter on liturgical formation

COMMENT:  Nice to see Pope Francis getting to the meat of the matter: How can “one recognizes the validity of the Council….  and not accept the liturgical reform.” So let’s “amaze” the deaf and dumb and repeat again, the Vatican II Council was merely a pastoral council that has proven to be a pastoral failure by every objective criterion that measures pastoral success or failure. The Pope can babble all he wants about “Time is greater than space,” but after 60 years that psychological lollipop can only pacify the brain dead. Nothing, absolutely nothing, from Vatican II binds the conscience of the Catholic faithful regarding any matter of doctrine, morals or worship when that teaching contradicts or contravenes directly or indirectly the Catholic faith, morals or immemorial traditions. The Council is the work of churchmen teaching by their grace of state and has nothing to do with the Magisterium of the Church teaching by virtue of the Church’s attributes of Infallibility and Authority. If this were not the case, then God would have failed in His divine promise to preserve His Church from formal error, for as everyone knows but does not like to say, the Vatican II Council is clearly heretical in many of its direct pronouncements and their implications. The most important error of the Council was declared by the Novus Ordo Saint John XXIII in his opening address where he stated that the purpose of the Council was to reformulate Catholic truth with new words and new images. This is the heresy of Neo-modernism which postulates the heretical opinion that there exists a disjunction between the truth of dogma and the words to express that truth. The very purpose of Vatican II was heretical and its fruit has abundantly revealed this ugly fact. Pope Francis in his direct endorsement of sexual perversion by his active associations with homosexuals and abortion by his public praising of the likes of Nancy Pelosi, is evidence of this fact. He hates the immemorial Roman rite of Mass because he hates God and everything that pertains to His acceptable worship. The immemorial Roman rite of Mass is the Holy Sacrifice of the Cross. The Novus Ordo is a memorial meal, the offering of Cain, ‘the fruit of the earth and the work of human hands’.

 

 


 

Francis/Bergoglio Plan of Action

Catholics flock to SSPX after Corpus Christi bishop cancels diocesan Latin Mass

LifeSiteNews | Brian Mershon | Jun 27, 2023

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas— Eleven weeks after Bishop William Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi, Texas, eliminated the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at St. John the Baptist Church, the parish’s collections are down 29 percent as Catholics flock to the nearby Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) chapel.

“The homeschool co-op and children’s choir are currently in limbo,” said Libby Ibanez, a former parishioner who attended the TLM faithfully on Sundays and weekdays, integrated as part of her children’s daily homeschool routine.

 “Youth ministry is in limbo. We are waiting on the newly-assigned priest who starts July 5 to determine the fate of these programs due to the lack of funding,” she added.

The figures bear that out. According to bulletins on the parish website (with two missing in June), the average collection at St. John the Baptist has dropped 29 percent since the final TLM this Easter Sunday. The first 15 weeks of the calendar year showed an average weekly collection of $14,357, while the post-TLM weekly average has just been $10,152 for the nine bulletins showing since April 9.

The projected parish intake for the year – which was originally $746,564, based on the first 15 weeks of collections – is on pace to yield only $527,904 for 2023, a difference of $218,660.

The apparent beneficiary is the nearby SSPX chapel, which was averaging about 30 Catholics each month and now has swelled to more than 200, with plans for added weekly Masses beginning in July. “We did have to buy bigger collection baskets, so that has been very encouraging!” Ibanez said.

Andrew Greenwell, a former St. John the Baptist parishioner, offered his insights regarding the sudden growth of the SSPX chapel.

“Because of the influx of people that formerly attended the diocesan Latin Mass at St. John the Baptist, the Society of St. Pius X, starting next month, will be providing Mass every Sunday except for the first Sunday of the month, and that is where I will be attending with my family,” said Greenwell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.” 

G.K. Chesterton

 

 

Pope Francis the Semanticist- He has unthinkingly internalized the habit of DoubleSpeak.

Our (i.e.: Pope Francis personal) missionary proclamation is not proselytism — I emphasize this so much — but sharing a personal encounter that has changed our lives! Without this, we have nothing to announce, nor a destination to walk toward together.

I had a bad experience in this, in a youth meeting a few years ago. I was coming out of the sacristy, and there was a lady, very elegant, you could also see that she was very rich, with a boy and a girl. And this lady, who spoke Spanish, says to me, 'Father, I'm happy because I converted these two. The boy here comes from such and such a place and the girl comes from another such place.' I got angry, you know, and I said, 'You didn't convert anything, you failed to respect these persons. You didn't accompany them, you proselytized, and that is not evangelizing.' She was proud of having converted them!

Be careful to make a clear distinction between apostolic action and proselytism. We do not do proselytism. The Lord never did proselytism.

Pope Francis the Apostate, Audience with the Clerics Regular of St. Paul, 5-29-2023

 

 

 

Vatican releases Synod document calling for discussion of women, LGBT Catholics, church authority and more

AMERICA, the Jesuit Review | Gerald O'Connell | June 20, 2023

The secretariat for the synod has published the working document, known by its Latin title instrumentum laboris, for the first session of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality that will be held in the Vatican, Oct. 4 to Oct. 29. The second session will be held in October 2024.

“A synodal church is founded on the recognition of a common dignity deriving from baptism, which makes all who receive it sons and daughters of God, members of the family of God, and therefore brothers and sisters in Christ, inhabited by the one Spirit and sent to fulfil a common mission,” said the document.

However, it said, many Catholics around the world report that too many baptized persons—particularly L.G.B.T. Catholics, the divorced and civilly remarried, the poor, women and people with disabilities—are excluded from active participation in the life of the church and, particularly, from its decision-making structures.

image037.gifThe 50-page text was presented at a press conference in the Vatican on June 20 by Cardinals Mario Grech and Jean Claude Hollerich S.J., secretary general and relator general of the upcoming synod, respectively, and Father Giacomo Costa, S.J., the consultor of the synod’s secretary general.

Cardinal Grech described the working document as “the fruit of a synodal process” that started on Oct. 10, 2021, and “involved the whole church” in an exercise of listening to the people of God.

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Cardinal Grech described the working document as “the fruit of a synodal process” that started on Oct. 10, 2021, and “involved the whole church” in an exercise of listening to the people of God. The first phase was articulated in three stages: at the local churches with consultation of the people of God (clergy and laity); at the bishops’ conferences, which engaged in a discernment process about the input from the local churches; and at the continental levels, where input from around the world was synthesized.

“Where the bishops started and accompanied the consultation, the contribution has been very alive and profound,” the cardinal said, and the bishops were enriched with “a fruitful ministry.”

The document brings together “the fruits” of the synodal journey since October 2021. Unlike the working documents for past synods, which were intended to be amended, improved and voted upon, this document is designed as “a practical aid for the conduct” of the October assembly at which there will be more than 350 participants (including laymen and around 45 women, both lay and consecrated), not a text to be amended.

The document states that it “is not a document of the Church’s Magisterium, nor is it the report of a sociological survey; it does not offer the formulation of operational indications, goals and objectives, nor a full elaboration of a theological vision.” It is “part of an unfinished process.” It draws on but also goes beyond the insights of the first phase and articulates “some of the priorities that emerged from listening to the People of God, but avoids presenting them as assertions or stances. Instead, it expresses them as questions addressed to the synodal assembly,” which “will have the task of discerning the concrete steps which enable the continued growth of a synodal church, steps that it will then submit to the Holy Father.”

Significantly, the working document does not offer a theoretical understanding of synodality but rather presents “a dynamic vision of the ways in which synodality has been experienced” in different church communities and cultures worldwide during the almost two-year synodal journey. It articulates “the insights and tensions that resonated most strongly with the experience of the church on each continent” and identifies “the priorities to be addressed in the first session of the synod.”

According to the working document, the synodal journey so far “has made it possible to identify and share the particular situations experienced by the church in different regions of the world.” These experiences include “too many wars,” “the threat represented by climate change,” “an economic system that produces exploitation, inequality and a throwaway culture” and “cultural colonialism that crushes minorities.”

It points to “situations of persecution to the point of martyrdom” and “emigration that progressively hollow out communities.” It mentions the situation of “Christian communities that represent scattered minorities within the countries in which they live” and “the aggressive secularization that seems to consider religious experience irrelevant, but where there remains a thirst for the Good News of the Gospel.”

In many regions, it says, “the churches are deeply affected by the crisis caused by various forms of abuse, including sexual abuse and the abuse of power, conscience and money.” It describes these as “open wounds, the consequences of which have yet to be fully addressed” and says the church must be “penitent” and intensify its commitment “to conversion and reform.”

It says the October synod takes place in a context that is “diverse but with common global features,” and participants will be asked “to listen deeply to the situations in which the church lives and carries out its mission.”

It says the synodal journey so far has revealed the existence of “shared questions” and “part of the challenge of synodality is to discern the level at which it is most appropriate to address each question.” That same journey also showed there are shared tensions in the church, but, the document says, “we should not be frightened of them, nor attempt at any cost to resolve them, but rather engage in ongoing synodal discernment” so that these tensions can “become sources of energy and not lapse into destructive polarizations.”

At the press conference, Cardinal Grech said “one of the discoveries” on the synodal journey that started on Oct. 10, 2021, was the method of “conversation in the Spirit,” which will now be used in the October synod.

Father Costa described this method as “shared prayer in view of a common discernment, by which participants prepare themselves through personal reflection and prayer” before the discussion. He said this method “opens ‘spaces’ in which to face together controversial subjects, around which in both society and in the church there are often clashes and confrontation, in person or through social media.”

The consultation phase has shown how this method offers “a practical alternative to polarization in the church,” Father Costa said.

To enable this method to be used at the October 2023 synod, where there will be hundreds of participants, Father Costa revealed that the assembly will be held in the Paul VI Audience Hall of the Vatican and its members will be divided into small groups of 12 people. They will work in these groups, then gather in plenary sessions and share their input.

Part A of the working document, called “For a synodal church, An Integral Experience,” highlights “the characteristic signs” of a synodal church and emphasizes that “conversation in the Spirit” is the way forward for this kind of church.

Cardinal Hollerich said the working document “leads us to a matter of discernment, a discernment about the concretization of communion, mission and participation,” which Part B of the document lists as the three priority issues for the synodal church.

Cardinal Hollerich explained that “each of these three priorities is linked to five worksheets. These [are] five approaches [that] take into consideration the diversity of persons as well as the diversity of the different social, cultural and religious contexts we have experienced during the synodal process.”

Each of the worksheets contains many questions for discernment that cannot all be listed here, but reveal the wide-ranging and even radical nature of what it means to be a synodal church, a church that includes and is not judgmental. The many questions raised around the world that are recognized in the document relate to the role of women in the church (including the women’s diaconate), the ways of exercising authority in the church at all levels including the papacy, ecumenical and interreligious relations, the need for a new language in church communication, the need for renewal of the formation in the seminary, the question of the ordination of mature married men in some regions, the approach to the divorced and remarried Catholics and to L.G.B.T. people, the preferential option for the poor, the preferential option for young people, the care of our common home and much more.

As the two cardinals and Father Costa made clear at the press conference, the synod on synodality cannot be reduced to single issues; its mandate is much broader than any one issue. Indeed, to reduce it to one or other issue would be to radically distort what the synod is really about. As the working document states clearly, the synod has three main priorities—communion, participation and mission—and these require bringing about a profound conversion and cultural change in the way of being church in the 21st century. It is not about making another church but a different church, as Pope Francis, quoting Yves Congar O.P., one of the great theologians of the Second Vatican Council, said in his speech to the synod in October 2021.

Below are the five main questions for discernment linked to each of the three priorities. The full list of questions can be found here.

Communion

1. How does the service of charity and commitment to justice and care for our common home nourish communion in a synodal Church?

2. How can a synodal Church make credible the promise that “love and truth will meet” (Ps 85:11)?

3. How can a dynamic relationship of gift exchange between the Churches grow?

4. How can a synodal Church fulfill its mission through a renewed ecumenical commitment?

5. How can we recognise and gather the richness of cultures and develop dialogue amongst religions in the light of the Gospel?

Mission

1. How can we walk together towards a shared awareness of the meaning and content of mission?

2. What should be done so a synodal Church is also an ‘all ministerial’ missionary Church?

3. How can the Church of our time better fulfill its mission through greater recognition and promotion of the baptismal dignity of women?

4. How can we properly value ordained Ministry in its relationship with baptismal Ministries in a missionary perspective?

5. How can we renew and promote the Bishop’s ministry from a missionary synodal perspective?

Participation

1. How can we renew the service of authority and the exercise of responsibility in a missionary synodal Church?

2. How can we develop discernment practices and decision-making processes in an authentically synodal manner that respects the protagonism of the Spirit?

3. What structures can be developed to strengthen a missionary synodal Church?

4. How can we give structure to instances of synodality and collegiality that involve groupings of local Churches?

5. How can the institution of the Synod be strengthened so that it is an expression of episcopal collegiality within an all-synodal Church?

 

COMMENT:

It's all in how you frame the question that directs the group to the "correct answer" the Synodal Church is looking. For example, "Communion" question #2 refers to Psalm 85:11. In a Catholic bible it is 84:11 and the actual verse is: "Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed." The Synodal Church, using a Protestant reference, changes the tense from past perfect to the future tense and translates the word justice as love. For what end can we guess this perversion is intended? And what do these questions about "missionary" church possible mean when proselytism is rejected as the proper end for which Jesus Christ instituted His Church? The use of the Encounter Group is entirely foreign to the Catholic spirit because it attacks the freedom of the human will. The American Psychological Association says:

"Encounter Group: a group of people who meet, usually with a trained leader, to increase self-awareness and social sensitivity, and to change behavior through interpersonal confrontation, self-disclosure, and strong emotional expression." It is a group of individuals in which constructive insight, sensitivity to others, and personal growth are promoted through direct interactions on an emotional and social level. The leader functions as a catalyst and facilitator rather than as a therapist and focuses on here-and-now feelings and interaction rather than on theory or individual motivation."

The entire Synod on Synodality is nothing more employing the experimental psychological techniques of encounter developed by Jewish psychologists on the modern Church of the New Advent. It was these same methods that were used on the Catholic religious orders in the 1960s that brought about their destruction. Carl Rogers used these same psychological methods on the Jesuits order at the time Pope Francis/Bergoglio began his novitiate. They are now being employed by Francis the Destroyer to corrupt what is left of the Catholic Church and form it in his own image. He claims to head a "listening church" while he cannot keep his own mouth shut. That is because Francis only wants to listen to himself. That last thing he wants to listen to is the voice of of anyone who contradicts his ideology, especially the voice of the dead, that is, the voice of tradition that constitutes, with sacred Scripture, the Remote Rule of Faith for all Catholics. It is Francis that is a committed anti-Catholic Ideologue and every faithful Catholic must recognize this fact. The proximate Rule of Faith is Dogma. If every faithful Catholic keeps this Truth as the guide of their faith and actions nothing Francis can do can bring them any personal harm.

 

 


 

 

An assessment of the danger of the Encounter Group published in the New York Times in 1974!

Encounter Movement, a Fad Last Decade Finds New Shape

New York Times | Jan 13, 1974 | Robert Reinhold

BERKELEY, CA—The encounter group movement, which became something of a national fad in the nineteen‐sixties, has evolved into a new, more mature and gentler form:

Having largely discarded its more extreme and coercive aspects, along with extravagant assertions of instant personal redemption, the encounter concept has quietly found an accepted place in such established institutions as schools, churches, industry and even the military and sports.

Meanwhile, persistent doubts about the effectiveness as well as possible hazards of encounter groups are being sorted out in the first rigorous appraisals of the groups and their consequences.

These studies, performed here in Berkeley and at Stanford University, are finding that, while many people benefit enormously from the openness and baring of emotions fostered by encounter, there are dangers to be guarded against.

Tried by Millions

By now millions of Americans have touched, walked and talked their way through some type of .encounter session. Encounter is loose term for a variety of group techniques, such as T‐groups, sensitivity training, sensory awareness, Synanon psychodrama, gestalt therapy and others, that are used as means of personal growth for ostensibly healthy persons

The encounter; or “human potential techniques are so routine today that the pioneers at the Eselen Institute and elsewhere have already departed for new psychological frontiers. Amid the dazzling succulents and eucalyptus trees on the broken California coast at Big Sur, the Esalen leaders are moving into the spiritual orbit of ‘transpersonal’ psychology—oriental meditation, mysticism, “psychosynthesis"’ and other techniques of achieving new heights of self‐awareness.

Others have been experimenting with such methods as “rolfing,” “feldenkrais,” “bioenergetics,” in which massage and physicals are used to increase awareness.

A Variety of Method

Encounter methods vary widely, but a group typically consists of eight to 18 persons led by a “facilitator.” The members are urged to express their emotions toward one another openly, both physically and verbally. Mutual trust, openness, honesty and naturalness, are the watchwords, and the assumption is that this stripping away of psychological defenses is healthy and will enhance both interpersonal relationships and self‐awareness.

“A lot of mistakes were made during the youthful period,” says John Levy, executive officer of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, the San Francisco‐based organization to which many of the practitioners of encounter belong.

“The movement suffered from excess enthusiasm—it made promises that could not hold up. There are still plenty of encounter groups, but you don't hear about them anymore. They are not the cutting edge."

Encounter may be passé in the compulsive California and New York milieus that nurtured it, says William C. Schutz of Esalen, author of “Joy” and other popular works on encounter, but in Athens, GA and Rock Island, IL, and for the overwhelming majority of Americans, encounter is just beginning.

Searing Experience

Whether or not its assumptions are valid, encounter evidently filled a real need in a depersonalized technological world. Millions flocked to “growth centers,”  like oases in a psychological desert, Where they could go through the searing but often uplifting experience of spilling out their doubts and fears.

But as in most fads, the phonies, fast‐huck artists, incompetents and predators soon moved in. illequipped and sometimes sadistic leaders started groups, the idea was exploited in the movies, and on stage. The Concord Hotel offered “encounter singles weekends,” and a “group therapy” restaurant was opened in New York.

Still, the potential value of encounter has attracted a growing number of conventionally trained psychologists and psychiatrists. Carl Rogers, the psychologist who is often called the father of the movement, has termed encounter “the most rapidly spreading social invention of the century, and probably the most potent.”

‘A Psychic Whorehouse’

Even such a harsh critic of encounter as Prof. Sigmund Koch of Boston University agrees that the movement is “the most visible manifestation of psychology on the American scene:” He has denounced it as providing “a convenient psychic whorehouse for the purchase of a gamut of well‐advertised existential ‘goodies’: authenticity, freedom, wholeness, flexibility, community, love, joy. One enters for such liberating consummations but settles for psychic strip tease.”

Such complaints notwithstanding, encounter has had a profound impact upon many facets of American life. In Louisville, for example, educators credit it with helping rescue the school system. Faced with, the second‐highest dropout rate in the country (after Philadelphia), a demoralized staff, and bitter racial division, the schools obtained a three‐year Federal grant ‘in 1969 to re-staff 14 schools with 1,000 teachers trained in encounter.

Called Project Transition, the program involved not only the teachers but also students, parents and community leaders. Robert Myers, a co‐director, says it was a “terrific impetus for change in a school system that was sinking.”

Reports of Suicide

Countless individuals, meanwhile, report that their lives have been improved by group experiences. But there have also been disturbing reports of breakdowns, divorces and even suicides precipitated by encounter groups.

What has been lacking until recently were objective, tightly controlled studies to determine if groups really change behavior. What do groups do? What are the dangers? What skills are needed for leaders? Are the effects lasting? Is it worth it?

Some preliminary answers to these questions are beginning to emerge from ‘a massive study here supported by $1.25‐million from the National Institute of Mental Health. Directed by Dr. Jim Bebout of the Wright Institute in Berkeley, the study is evaluating 1,500 persons who participated in 150 groups over a three‐year period at the University’s Young Men's Christian Association in Berkeley.

The groups, mostly low‐keyed sessions led by non‐professionals, were observed and analyzed, and each member was asked to evaluate his attitudes and feeling before, during and after the experience. The results are still undergoing computer analysis, but some preliminary findings:

Ø  Encounter groups do work in that they consistently improve self‐satisfaction, self-reliance and comfort with sexuality, and lessen loneliness, alienation and social inhibition.

Ø  Groups do little to improve productivity in work or school.

Ø  Professional therapists do not usually do well as leaders. “They could not drop their professional bag,” Dr. Bebout said.

Two Casualties Found

Of the 1,500 members, Dr. Bebout said, only two could be considered casualties: an obese woman who was rejected by the rest of the group and young man who fell in love with the leader, who rejected him.

Dr. Bebout offers the following advice to those considering joining a group:

“Pick a leader willing to share your experience with you and not work on you without telling you what he is doing. Make sure some proportion of your group is on your side. If the first two meetings are full of silences, attacks, tensions and obscure methods and general non-sharing, then pack up and go home.”

A smaller, different kind of study performed at Stanford University produced somewhat more ‘'negative” results. Unlike the Berkeley study, the Stanford study used well‐known professional group leaders who led 210 students in 18 groups designed to represent a broad range of techniques, including T‐groups, gestalt, transactional analysis, marathon, basic encounter and others.

Higher Casualty Rate

The results of the study, performed by Dr. Morton A. Lieberman, Dr. Irvin D. Yalom and Matthew. B. Miles, were recently published by Basic Books under the title “Encounter Groups: First Facts.” The study found that one‐third of the participants benefited from their experiences, while the rest either dropped out or had negative experiences. This proportion did not compare unfavorably with conventional psychotherapy.

The study turned up an alarming 10 per cent casualty rate, with a casualty defined as a person who was more psychologically distressed or maladapted eight months after the group than before. One girl, for example, dropped out and sought emergency psychiatric aid after the third meeting, at which she was called “a fat Italian mama with a big Shiny nose.”

Verdict Is Mixed

All in all, the Stanford study returned a mixed verdict. “When one strips away the excesses and the frills, the ability of such groups to provide a meaningful emotional setting in which individuals can overtly consider previously prohibited issues cannot be ruled out as an important means for facilitating human progress,” the study said. But it added, “Encounter groups present a clear and evident danger if they are used for radical surgery in which the product will be a new man.”

Those who improved, Dr. Yalom said in an interview, were those who got something intellectual out of the experience.

Partisans of the encounter concept have faulted the Stanford study on various grounds, saying that some distress is a prerequisite to enduring change, and that the attack oriented techniques used in some of the Stanford groups are no longer in vogue.

More Care Needed

Even so, many of the more responsible leaders agree that more care needs to be taken to screen out persons with histories of mental instability, and to train leaders better. Dr. Julian Silverman, a psychologist who heads Esalen's program at Big Sur, agrees that much damage has been done in groups and says, “We are very concerned about getting better training of leaders.”

Dr. Bernard Rappaport, a psychiatrist at Esalen who has written two survey papers on the movement for the National Institute of Mental Health, argues that “the benefits far out shadow the casualties,” but he agrees that reservations and cautions are good. ‘We need an ethic of responsibility,” he says.

“Now the approach is much gentler,” said Mr. Levy of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. “There is less encouragement of coercive approaches. Big wild breakthroughs are exciting to watch for a while, but not all that productive. People are respecting the dignity of others.”

 

 

 

 

 

“This is magisterium: the Council is the magisterium of the Church. Either you are with the Church and therefore you follow the Council, and if you do not follow the Council or you interpret it in your own way, as you wish, you are not with the Church. We must be demanding and strict on this point. The Council should not be negotiated in order to have more of these... No, the Council is as it is. And this problem that we are experiencing, of selectivity with respect to the Council, has been repeated throughout history with other Councils.”  Pope Francis, 1-30-2021

“I dare say that the Council has revolutionized to some extent the status of theology – the believer’s way of doing and thinking.”

Pope Francis, 9-2-2015

 

“With the Council, the Church entered a new phase of her history.”

Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, 4-11-2015

COMMENT: It is true that Councils in the past have been “experiencing selectivity.” Such as the Council of Trent and its dogmatic definitions regarding the doctrine of Justification which Pope Francis has repeatedly “selectively” rejected while professing his belief in the condemned propositions of the arch-heretic Luther. Those who are “selective” on any Catholic dogma are by definition, heretics. The word heresy means ‘to choose,’ in other words, to be “selective” of Catholic dogma. Vatican II was a “pastoral council” that defined no doctrine and remained purely on the level of the magisterium of churchmen grounded upon their grace of state. No Catholic is required to assent to any teaching whenever that ‘teachings’ in any way possibly contradicts revealed truth. The Magisterium of the Church is a different matter. It is the infallible teaching of the Church grounded upon its divine attributes of Authority and Infallibility which is incapable of error and to which every Catholic conscience is bound to assent on pain of heresy. Any Council that “revolutionized” a “believer’s way of doing and thinking” is not Catholic by definition for the task of the Church is to protect, defend and propagate God’s revealed truth and not to “revolutionize” it. A “believer” can only be “revolutionized” by revolting against the revealed truth. To claim that the “(Vatican II) Council is the magisterium of the Church” is an indirect profession of apostasy, for whatever “Church” that this is the “magisterium” for, is not the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ. Vatican II does represent a “new phase” in the history of the Church. Every “phase of (the Church’s) history” is defined by the current errors of that age propagated by her enemies and the Church’s response to those errors in the defense of truth with dogmatic councils. Vatican II is not a response to any error but is rather the error itself propagated by her enemies. Traditional Catholicism is the response to the modern errors! 

 

 

Modernism vs. Neo-Modernism: What is the Difference?

    The overarching principle of post-conciliar theology is not modernism, properly speaking. Let us get our terms straight.
Modernism is the idea that there are no eternal truths, that truth is the correspondence of the mind with one's lifestyle (adaequatio intellectus et vitae), and that, therefore, old dogmas must be abandoned and new beliefs must arise that meet 'the needs of modern man'. This is a radical denial of the traditional and common sense notion of truth: the correspondence of the mind with reality (adaequatio intellectus et rei), which is the basis of the immutability of Catholic dogma.
    No, the post-conciliar theological principle is neo-modernism, and the theology that is based on it is known as the nouvelle theologie.  It is the idea that old dogmas or beliefs must be retained, yet not the traditional 'formulas': dogmas must be expressed and interpreted in a new way in every age so as to meet the 'needs of modern man'.  This is still a denial of the traditional and common sense notion of truth as adaequatio intellectus et rei (insofar as it is still an attempt to make the terminology that expresses the faith correspond with our modern lifestyle) and consequently of the immutability of Catholic dogma, yet it is not as radical as modernism.  It is more subtle and much more deceptive than modernism because it claims that the faith must be retained; it is only the 'formulas' of faith that must be abandoned--they use the term 'formula' to distinguish the supposedly mutable words of our creeds, dogmas, etc. from their admittedly immutable meanings.  Therefore, neo-modernism can effectively slip under the radar of most pre-conciliar condemnations (except Humani Generis, which condemns it directly) insofar as its practitioners claim that their new and unintelligible theological terminology really expresses the same faith of all times.  In other words, neo-modernism is supposed to be 'dynamic orthodoxy': supposedly orthodox in meaning, yet always changing in expression to adapt to modern life (cf. Franciscan University of Steubenville's mission statement).  
    Take extra ecclesiam nulla salus as a clear example of a dogma that has received a brutal neo-modernist re-interpretation: they claim that the old 'formula' that ”there is no salvation outside the Church” must be abandoned; rather it is more meaningful to modern man to say that salvation is not in, but through, the Church;  people who are not in the Church may still be saved through the Church; thus, to them the dogma that “there is no salvation outside the Church” means that there is salvation outside the Church.  Hence see Ven. Pope Pius XII condemning those “reduce to a meaningless formula the necessity of belonging to the true Church in order to gain eternal salvation.” (Humani generis 27).

    Yet this mentality of reinterpreting everything anew in order to 'meet the needs of the times' is generally tends to be found in different degrees among different post-conciliar sources:  

    It tends to be  (1) rampant in men like De Lubac, Von Balthasar, Congar, etc.: it is the ultimate goal of their writings, teachings, and activities as churchmen.   To achieve this end, they employ the technique of 'resourcement', the neo-modernist strategy of fishing for the few dubious, questionable, or idiosyncratic teachings of some Fathers of the Church and other authoritative writers, and gather them into a massive, heterodox theological argument against the traditional understanding of the faith (which they like to relativize by giving it names such as “Counter-Reformation” Theology, “Tridentine” Theology, or “Scholastic” Theology, instead of just admitting that it is Catholic Theology plain and simple).  This technique accomplishes three things that go hand-in-hand: (a) offers a refutation of traditional Catholicism, (b) defends an interpretation that meets the needs of modern times, and (c) gives it a semblance of being traditional, because it appears to be based in the Fathers et al.  This type of argument is used, for example, by Von Balthasar in his nearly heretical book, Dare We Hope that All Men be Saved? to 'prove', not that Hell does not exist (that is a dogma), but that it is empty.  But this technique and its neo-modernistic underpinnings is not only practiced in almost all of these men's writings; it is also defended in theory by many of them, particularly in Von Balthasar's daring little book, Razing the Bastions, where he demonstrates that “Tridentine” theology must be rejected in our times because it is 'boring'.

    It also tends to be (2) present in a more moderate way in the non-binding statements by post-conciliar popes, since they themselves were deeply involved in the developing of the nouvelle theologie.  Just to give one of a million possible examples, see Pope Benedict's evolutionistic re-interpretation of the Resurrection of Our Lord.  Nothing here obviously contradicts  the dogma of the Resurrection (it may be interpreted as a simple analogy, even if a bad one, and nothing more), but it is a novelty that can be easily understood as claiming that the Resurrection is part of the natural development of nature (thus giving credence to some of the nouvelle theologie's pet doctrines, such as De Lubac's heterodox notion of the supernatural and De Chardin's pantheistic evolutionism).   This happens almost on a daily basis in what comes out of the Vatican, not to mention what comes from local bishops.

    And finally, neo-modernism tends to be present (3) mostly implicitly or behind-the-scenes in the Council, the Catechism, etc., even though it seldom comes out more explicitly.  Things are done at this level under the pretext of 'aggiornamento', a euphemism for neo-modernism.  That is usually all the justification provided since at this authoritative level, there is no need to justify things theologically.  Hence, Vatican II and the Catechism are not outright neo-modernistic.  Rather, they (like most of post-conciliar doctrine) tend in that direction and/or are inspired by that mentality.  In other words, most of the time these documents do not explicitly teach neo-modernist errors (the kind of errors you hear explicitly from neo-modernist theologians and priests). Rather, they are full of dangerous ambiguities: statements that in a technical sense could be interpreted as being in harmony with the traditional faith, but that, in their natural, non-forced, interpretation are heterodox.  One clear example of this is Dignitatis humanae, par. 2; entire monographs have been written in order to prove that, despite appearances, this document does not contradict previous teaching.  Maybe in fact it ultimately does not, but it is obvious that the prima facie meaning does; otherwise there would be no need to write so many volumes to prove it.
    It must be noted that these are general tendencies, and that in some documents (cf. Gaudium et Spes) and every now and then in papal and episcopal statements neo-modernist principles come out more explicitly.    

    For a more detailed philosophical and theological critique of neo-modernism, and how it is nothing but a re-hashing of modernism, see Garrigou-Lagrange's Where is the New Theology Leading Us? and his The Structure of the Encyclical Humani Generis.

Francisco J. Romero Carrasquillo, Ph.D., Professor of Theology and Philosophy

 

 

“Vatican II was a pastoral council by its teachings, that is, its doctrines.  In a word, Vatican II was pastoral by being doctrinal.”

Fr. John O’Malley, Jesuit “historian and theologian,” author of What Happened at Vatican II, speaking at Caritas International Conference, “Vatican II, Remembering the Future: Ecumenical, Interfaith and Secular Perspectives on the Council's Impact and Promise.” The event was co-hosted by Georgetown, Marymount University in Arlington, Va., and the Washington National Cathedral.

COMMENT: This is a remarkable admission of the necessary relationship between Catholic doctrine and Catholic practice.  It is a Truth of our Faith that has been constantly denied by the Modernists since Vatican II because, if this Truth had been admitted, no one would have accepted the Council’s novel teachings which were imposed by a corruption of practice.  Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission has affirmed that every Catholic possesses a right to the immemorial traditions of our Church because we have a duty imposed by God to profess our faith openly and publicly which these traditions perfectly signify.  And thus, these immemorial traditions constitute necessary attributes of the Faith because without them, the Faith cannot be known or communicated to others.  And now, those who have foolishly adopted the novel practices dictatorially imposed after Vatican II are to understand that they in fact do signify a new doctrine, that “Vatican II was pastoral by being doctrinal.” The Modernists want the new doctrines to be professed that the new practices signify.  No Catholic is bound by any novel doctrine, therefore, no Catholic is bound by any novel practice which signifies these new doctrines. The only reason that Fr. O’Malley is now admitting this Catholic truth is to impose formally the novel doctrines which the Novus Ordo practice signifies. 

 

“The pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings..... An insincere stance of openness to the other, as well as a corporatist attitude, which reserves salvation exclusively to one’s own creed, is destructive of the same creed. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus explained this to the inquiring lawyer. Love lived in any religion pleases God. ‘Through an exchange of gifts, the Spirit can lead us ever more fully into truth and goodness.’” 

Pope Francis approved Abu Dhabi document

COMMENT: For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils (Ps. 96:5).  Pope Francis is affirming that the worship of idols is willed by God in His wisdom. This is blasphemy but not a surprising blasphemy from Francis the Blasphemer.  What Pope Francis calls a corporatist attitude, which reserves salvation exclusively to one's own creed is the denial of a revealed truth of God that has been dogmatically defined by the Catholic Church on three separate occasions.  It is a dogma that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church.  The denial of this dogma is heresy by definition and anyone holding this heresy cannot be saved.  Furthermore, membership in the Catholic Church also dogmatically requires profession of the true faith and reception of the sacrament of Baptism. 

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus may very well have had in mind a specific Samaritan man who received him as the Messiah through the calling by the Samaritan Woman at the Well.  Be that as it may, are good works alone sufficient for salvation?  Those that affirm this are Pelagian heretics which is a favorite calumny that Francis mindlessly smears Catholics faithful to tradition.  But unlike Francis, who accuses traditional Catholics of Pelagianism without a shred of evidence, our accusations are supported with the bile that flows routinely from Francis' mouth.  The recognition of Logos, “which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world” (John 1:9), leads to the regulation of life according to the natural law and is an essential prerequisite to receiving the truth of the Gospel and the sacrament of Baptism, but of itself, it with all the good works in the world, insufficient for salvation.  Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan Woman itself destroys this heretical claim of Francis.  According to Francis, the Samaritan Woman could have been saved in her idolatrous and adulterous state.

What every faithful Catholic must know is that the faith is the necessary and sufficient cause of and the sign of unity in the Catholic Church.  The pope is only secondarily and accidentally the cause and sign of unity in the Catholic Church.  When the pope falls from the faith he is to be opposed to his face as St. Paul did to St. Peter (Galatians 2:11).  Those who make the pope their proximate rule of faith will follow Francis in his heresy and eventual apostasy.  Those who keep dogma as their proximate rule of faith will save their souls. 

 

 

“Certainly there is to be development and on the largest scale. Who can be so grudging to men, so full of hate for God, as to try to prevent it? But it must truly be development of the faith, not alteration of the faith. Development means that each thing expands to be itself, while alteration means that a thing is changed from one thing into another. The understanding, knowledge and wisdom of one and all, of individuals as well as of the whole Church, ought then to make great and vigorous progress with the passing of the ages and the centuries, but only along its own line of development, that is, with the same doctrine, the same meaning and the same import.” St. Vincent of Lèrins

COMMENT: Change can be either accidental (a “development” according to St. Vincent) or substantial (an “alteration” according to St. Vincent). A boy growing to manhood constitutes a series of accidental changes. A boy changing into a dog constitutes a substantial change and this only happens in Hollywood fantasy. A sinner becoming a saint is an accidental change and this is an accidental change that the Neo-modernist heretics refuse to make. They instead want the Church to substantially change into an institution that will accommodate their love and complacency in sin. Pope Francis, for example, says that the morality of capital punishment has evolved to the point that it is now known to be intrinsically evil in that it is ‘opposed to the dignity of man and contrary to the spirit of the gospel.’ Capital punishment changing from a morally permissible to intrinsically evil act constitutes a substantial change and therefore impossible as a legitimate development. There are many reasons why Neo-modernists, like Pope Francis and his conciliarists predecessors, deny the reality of substance but this is an important one. Trying to enroll St. Vincent of Lèrins in their defense is not a misunderstanding but just another lie.

 

 

My heart was utterly filled with pain, all the more because it was of a most fine and delicate nature; the pain went from my Heart into my nerves, from my nerves back to my Heart: it kept on increasing so that my death-agony was prolonged while I was thus immersed in suffering, I opened my eyes and saw my dearest Mother overcome by a sea of anguish and tears, which pained me more than my own sufferings; I also saw my friends overwhelmed with sorrow. With this torture my Heart was actually rent by the force and fury of the pain; and then it was that my soul went forth from my body…… There are few persons who can imagine with what pain I remained fastened to the wood of the Cross, my Heart being broken and shattered by its violence: quando Cor meum crepuit.

Jesus Christ addressing St. Bridget of Sweden, quoted by St. John Eudes, The Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

Thy divine Heart was rent and broken in Thy dying, by the excess of Thy love of me. This made Thee suffer such violent tortures for love of me that Thy adorable Heart was broken by the force of the pain; so that I may say that Thou didst die of pain and love for me. This can be repeated by each one of us with equal truth.

St. Gertrude the Great, her address to our Lord Jesus Christ, quoted by St. John Eudes, The Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

 

Hermeneutics of Continuity/Discontinuity

For as Pope Benedict taught us, “The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by ‘attraction’” This attractive and joyful witness is the goal to which Jesus leads us with His loving gaze and with the outgoing movement that His Spirit raises up in our hearts.

Pope Francis, weekly audience

 

Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized (i.e.: becomes a proselyte), shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned (Mark 16: 15-16). 

Jesus Christ

 

 

It is not only he who teaches heretically who is called a heretic, but also he who shows his support for heretics and heresy. For he is rightly reputed to be of the same doctrine who manifestly consents and cooperates with it through his support.

Fr. Alfonso Muzzarelli, S.J.

 

 

 

 

When Pope Francis teaches that Catholics living in a state of adultery can under certain circumstances receive Holy Communion without repenting of Sin, he overturns the First Principle of Catholic Moral Theology and thus destroys all Morality permitting any and every kind of sin.

St. Thomas lists the following as principles or sources of morality: 1) the moral object, that is, that to which the action tends of its very nature primarily and necessarily; 2) the circumstances of the act; 3) the purpose of the act.

FIRST PRINCIPLE: The primary and essential morality of a human act is derived from the object considered in its moral aspect.

The primary and essential morality of a human act is that which acts as the invariable basis of any additional morality. Now it is the moral object which provides such a foundation. This will be clear from an example. The moral object of adultery is the transgression of another’s marriage rights. This moral object remains the invariable basis of the moral character of the act, no matter what further circumstances or motives accompany the act. It cannot be objected that in human acts the first consideration should be given to the motive rather than to the object of the act. For this motive is either the objective purpose of the act itself which is identical with the moral object, or the subjective purpose (the end of the agent) which presupposes moral goodness or evil in the object.

Rev. Dominic Prummer, O.P., Handbook of Moral Theology

 

 

How Far Modern Judaism is identified with Freemasonry

Although the Jewish role in Freemasonry is for many reasons difficult to deal with, some acquaintance with that aspect of the subject is essential for an intelligent grasp of the whole. It is a common belief among Catholics and others that Freemasonry is somehow or other closely associated with modern Judaism. Our present purpose is to discuss how far such a belief is well-founded, and what is the nature of the relations between the two. We may say at once that the available evidence points at least to the following general conclusions: 1) That much of the external trappings of Freemasonry, such as its ritual, its terminology, its legends, etc., are of Jewish origin; 2) that the philosophy or religion of esoteric Freemasonry (that is of the inner circles and controlling power) is practically identical with the doctrines of the Jewish Cabala, which is the religion of philosophy of a certain section of the Jews; 3) that a certain group, probably very few in number, but of immense influence and power, are leading Freemasons; and 4) that a somewhat larger group of very influential Jews pursue the same ends as Freemasons, and use similar means, and are at least in close alliance with them. 

Rev. E. Cahill, S.J., Freemasonry and the anti-Christian Movement, 1930. 

 

Naturalism is more than a heresy: it is pure undiluted anti-christianism. Heresy denies one or more dogmas; Naturalism denies that there are any dogmas or that there can be any. Heresy alters more or less what God has revealed; Naturalism denies the very existence of revelation. It follows that the inevitable law and the obstinate passion of Naturalism is to dethrone Our Lord Jesus Christ and to drive Him from the world. This will be the task of Antichrist and it is Satan's supreme ambition.... The great obstacle to the salvation of the men of our day, as the Vatican I Council points out in the first Constitution of Doctrine, what hurls more people into hell nowadays than at any other epoch, is Rationalism or Naturalism... Naturalism strives with all its might to exclude Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our One Master and Saviour, from the minds of men as well as from the daily lives and habits of peoples, in order to set up the reign of reason or of nature. Now, wherever the breath of Naturalism has passed, the very source of Christian life is dried up. Naturalism means complete sterility in regard to salvation and eternal life. 

Cardinal Pie of Poitiers (1850-1880), considered as principle theologian of the social Kingship of Jesus Christ, his writing were on the night stand of St. Pius X.

COMMENT: Politics is concerned with the organization of life within a community. Liberalism is Naturalism in politics. It begins by denying Original Sin and presupposes natural goodness. It is then faced with the reality of fallen human nature and objective sin for which it is at a loss to comprehend. It consequently is constantly theorizing alternative causes for sin such as racism, sexism, feminism, etc. and proposing legal and social solutions such as communism which necessarily lead to ruin. Yet never to be dismayed, the Liberal always blames the failure of his programs on others who did not follow their plan of action with enough purity, with enough rigor, for sufficient time. Current articles from the Jesuit magazine, America, posted on their web site include: The Devastating Effect of Conversion Therapy on LGBT Catholics; Should Catholic Schools Teach Critical Race Theory?; Father James Martin (homosexual advocate) reviews a new little show called 'Friends.'; What Catholics can do to fight Islamophobia; Is it safe to bring my unvaccinated, unmasked 10-month-old to Mass? The Jesuits, who are responsible for the spiritual formation of Pope Francis, are Catholic apostates who have embraced Naturalism. Baptism should be considered an absolute impediment to joining the Order.

 

 

The Love of Money: The Deep State is directed by the Avaricious and supported by the Avaricious

The bourgeois lives for money, not merely as the peasant or the soldier or even the artist often does, but in a deeper sense, since money is to him what arms are to the soldier and land is to the peasant, the tools of his trade and the medium through which he expresses himself, so that he often takes an almost disinterested pleasure in his wealth because of the virtuosity he has displayed in his financial operations. In short the bourgeois is essentially a moneymaker, at once its servant and its master, and the development of his social ascendancy shows the degree to which civilization, and human life are dominated by the money power.

Christopher Dawson, Catholic Historian

 

 

 

“Be bold and break with half measures and compromises; with mixing and matching teachings and compromising principles. If you continue to believe that you can ‘come to an arrangement’ with Heaven, that the rights of God are not so pressing, that some words of the Gospel and of the Church can be chosen and others not; if you believe that the Faith is nothing but a cupboard in which certain ingredients are stored and occasionally used to appease the conscience, and that it should not enter into the particulars of everyday life; if you do not want to take the Faith in its truth and the Gospel in its bareness, if you are not willing to be a Christian in all places and situations, to be nothing other than a Christian, integral and absolute, without calculated interests, you will, in fact, not understand this book — put it down…..  Be one, walking on your only path toward your only destination, without wandering either to the left or to the right. Are you resolved to be a Christian? To be one completely? To be one exclusively? Come, I will tell you what it means to be a Christian and how to become one.”

Dom François de Sales Pollien, Carthusian prior and spiritual director, prologue to Lived Christianity

 

 

For the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation is not simply a theophany—a revelation of God to Man; it is a new creation—the introduction of a new spiritual principle which gradually leavens and transforms human nature into something new. The history of the human race hinges on this unique divine event which gives meaning to the whole historical process.

Christopher Dawson, The Christian View of History

 

 

“Why, I ask, O damnable sodomites, do you seek after the height of ecclesiastical dignity with such burning ambition?”

St. Peter Damian, Doctor of the Church

 

 

 

image039.jpg“Restorationism has come to gag the Council. The number of groups of ‘restorers’ – for example, in the United States there are many – is significant. An Argentine bishop told me that he had been asked to administer a diocese that had fallen into the hands of these ‘restorers.” They has never accepted the Council. There are ideas, behaviors that arise from a restorationism that basically did not accept the Council. The problem is precisely this: in some contexts, the Council has not yet been accepted. It is also true that it takes a century for a Council to take root. We still have 40 years to make it take root, then! [To doubt the Council is] in the final analysis, to doubt the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church.”

Pope Francis the Incredulous, interview from May 19, 2022 published in La Civiltà Cattolica on June 14

COMMENT: Gee, only 40 more years of mindless babble? That is hard to believe. Who would have thought that mindless babble could be sustained for 60 years? Yet there is no shortage of mindless clerical babblers. What is disturbing is this persistent effort to blame God for the destruction of the Church since the end of Vatican II. God, as every mindful person knows, was not invited to Vatican II. It was from the beginning to the end a purely human endeavor, a work of the personal non-infallible magisterium of clerics grounded upon their grace of state. To attribute this sinful, heretical Council of the DoubleSpeak to God may be one of those ‘sins that will not be forgiven in this world or the next.’ Making the accusation of “restorationism” is actually an open admission of corruption. Restore is derived from the Latin restaurare meaning to renew, to rebuild. Once the punishment promised at Fatima has cleared the traitors from Rome, the Restorationists will have their work cut out for them to do what Restorationists do, that is, to “renew, rebuild,” but fear not, ‘with God, all things are possible.’ 

 

 

 

On the evil of Gender Ideology – a twenty fold increase in the suicide rate!

However, there is long-term research on the mental health of adults who transitioned with Gender Dysphoria. This reveals that despite initial relief of the dysphoria, one or more decades after transition, they often present with worse mental health than that of the general population, including a suicide rate nearly twenty times greater. This observation raises more questions than it answers, and should, therefore, give pediatric health professionals great pause — at least those who value evidence-based medicine and are dedicated to ‘first do no harm’.

American Academy of Pediatricians, excerpt from public statement that opposes drug and surgical abuse of children in modern gender reassignment therapy.

 

 

 

 

Modernists and Neo-Modernists are willfully blind to Essence, that is, they are in the end the most heatless of all!

Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince

 

 

 

Pope Francis/Bergoglio receives award from the B'nai B'rith

In the photo, we see the CEO of B'nai B'rith International Daniel S. Mariaschin giving Pope Bergoglio a gold chalice with Jewish inscriptions and symbols. This was a symbolic award to thank Francis for his constant support for this Jewish Masonic organization.
This took place during a meeting in the Papal Library when Francis received a delegation of 27 members of that organization on May 30, 2022.
Commenting on the encounter, Mariachin told the Jerusalem Post: “From his years as Cardinal in Buenos Aires until today, Pope Francis has expressed a special interest in furthering Jewish-Catholic relations.” He continued, “Our audience with him gave us an opportunity to demonstrate our appreciation for this support, to confirm our shared aspirations for peace and mutual respect.”
In a formal speech, the president of the Jewish organization Seth Riklin asked for papal support for the Abraham Accords, which is a Jewish initiative to make Arabs recognize the State of Israel. This was an implicit request for the Holy See to exercise its influence over the Middle East Arab countries to accept Israel. This is what B'nai B'rith calls its work for fraternity and peace.
image041.jpgIn his speech, Francis praised B'nai B'rith for its “tireless commitment to humanitarian causes.” He added: “If the duty to care for others is incumbent upon every member of our human family, it applies even more to those of us who are Jews and Christians.”
We see that, after Vatican II and its Nostra aetate Declaration, the conciliar Popes have set aside any doctrinal discussion with the Jews about the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ and are conducting a policy based on a supposed love and common collaboration to solve social problems. On the other hand, the Jews did not change one comma of their false beliefs.
What could be the final end of this policy
except a Judaization of the entire Church?

Tradition In Action

 

 

 

Diocese of Harrisburg completed its plan for judicial resolution of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This publication regarding reorganization of the Diocese of Harrisburg by Bishop Ronald Gainer says nothing about the liquidation of Catholic assets to pay creditors! What is worse, this plan of reorganization does NOT identify that the cause of more than  90% of all sexual abuse cases are committed by homosexual clerics using the clerical collar as cover for predatory abuse of adolescent boys (the crime of pederasty) or offer any plan to eliminate these predators from the clergy and religious vocations!

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Today, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg (RCDH) announced that its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization has been approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. With this approval, the RCDH has emerged from bankruptcy, nearly three years from when this process started. The Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer, Bishop of Harrisburg, offered the following statement on the completion of this process:

“Three years ago, I announced that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections. That difficult decision was made as a means of stabilizing the Diocese’s financial situation, while at the same time allowing us to make restitution to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and continue our ministries.[....]

With the plan approved, the RCDH and related entities will establish a Survivor Compensation Trust and provide funding to the Trust in an amount equal to $7.5 million. The settling insurers will contribute an additional $10.75 million, bringing the total Trust amount to $18.25 million. This Trust will provide financial restitution for survivors of clergy sexual abuse. According to the plan, the Trust will be established by early March. More details related to the Trust are included in the Plan, which is on file with the Bankruptcy Court and on the Diocesan website. Once established, a Trust administrator, and not the Diocese, will determine compensation amounts and claim eligibility for abuse survivors.

The RCDH filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in February 2020. More than 60 timely filed proofs of claim from clergy abuse survivors were received during the reorganization process. The move to declare bankruptcy came after years of financial hardship, which was exacerbated by the Grand Jury investigation and subsequent lawsuits, and after every attempt to scale back operations, including reducing overhead, were unsuccessful.

The RCDH has a zero-tolerance policy regarding child abuse and has passed every audit related to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People since 2002. In 2019, the Diocese’s independent Survivor Compensation Program assisted 111 survivors, for a total financial commitment of $12,784,450.

 

 

 

The Same Standard applies to Conciliar Heretics!

Before answering the accusation (that Popes Liberius and Honorius were heretics and formally taught heresy), we must once more remind our opponents that, in order to overturn our thesis (of papal infallibility), they must prove not merely that Liberius or Honorius has spoken or written what is contrary to faith, or denied it, but that he did so as Pope, teaching in matters of faith or morals, and thereby binding the Universal Church.  If they cannot prove this, they prove nothing, for the fallibility would then be only personal and private, and would no more affect the infallibility of the Pope as Universal teacher, than the denial of Peter in the Court of the High Priest injured his infallibility as Prince of the Apostles.  They must, then, first produce good, historical evidence of the fact; secondly, they must prove that it was a definition or teaching contrary to truth in matters of faith; and, thirdly, that the Pope intended, by his teaching, to bind the Universal Church to believe it.

Rev. F. X. Weninger, S.J., D.D., On the Apostolical and Infallible Authority of the Pope, when teaching the faithful, and on his relation to a General Council

 

The Authority of the Pope, as it is with every one of the faithful, is subject to the Faith and not vice versa as the Neo-Modernists would have it!

v “Peter is called a rock, and the foundations of the Church are planted in his faith.” St. Gregory of Nazianzen

v “Faith is the groundwork of the Church, because of the faith, and not of the person of Peter, it was said, that the gates of death should never prevail against it.” St. Ambrose

v “He (Christ) called him Peter, that is, the rock, and praised the foundations of the Church which was built on the Apostle’s faith.  St. Augustine

v “Peter was made for us a living rock, on which, as on a foundation, the faith of the Lord rests, and on which the Church is erected.” St. Epiphanius

v “He (Christ) did not say Petrus, but Petra, because He did not build His Church upon the man, but upon the faith of Peter.” St. John Chrysostom

v “Peter so pleased the Lord by the sublimity of his faith, that, after being admitted to the fruition of bliss, he received the solidity of an immovable rock, on which the Church was so firmly built, as to bid defiance to the gates of hell and the laws of death.  St. Leo the Great

v “On this rock, namely, on the unshaken faith, to which thou owest thy name, I will built my Church.” Caesarius the Cistercian

Quotations taken from Fr. F. X. Weninger, D.D., On the Apostolical and Infallible Authority of the Pope when teaching the faithful and on his relation to a General Council

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Of all divine things, the most godlike is to co-operate with God in the conversion of sinners.”

St. Denis the Areopagite

 

 

 

God cannot be offered anything less than everything!

God is Sufficient to Himself and Does Not Need Any Creature:

Let us consider that the first reason why we are useless servants arises from the greatness, sufficiency and plenitude of God, Who calls Himself Sadai, that is, “sufficient to Himself,” because He is so sufficient to Himself and replete with good, that He has no need of us nor of any creature of heaven or earth. Even the God-Man, Jesus Christ our Lord, says: “I have said to the Lord: Thou art my God, for thou hast no need of my goods” (Ps 15, 2).

The fact that God has no need of our goods is an infallible mark of His divinity. That is why, when we offer or give anything to God, we sacrifice it to Him, that is, annihilate it before Him, to testify thereby that He has no need of anything. If anyone presented a valuable horse to a governor and were to kill the animal when offering it, the governor would not be pleased because the gift would be useless to him. But the greatest service we can render to God is to sacrifice and annihilate our offerings, to testify thereby that He has no need of them. This why Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself on the Cross. Now, if Jesus Christ is not necessary to God, and if all the angels and saints and the Blessed Virgin can say: “We are unprofitable servants,” with how much greater truth can we say it?

Let us rejoice that God is so replete with every conceivable good; let us be glad to be useless because He is quite sufficient to Himself.

St. John Eudes, Meditations on Various Subjects: 8th Meditation on Humility

 

External Profession of Faith

Both God and the Church command the external profession of faith.

The DIVINE PRECEPT to profess one’s faith externally is easily gathered from the words of St. Paul: “The heart has only to believe, we are to be justified; the lips have only to make confession, if we are to be saved” (Rom. x, 9-10), and it follows from the very nature man himself who must worship God not only with his mind but also with his body. This precept is both affirmative and negative in character. Its negative aspect forbids man to deny his faith externally, which he may do either directly—by formal infidelity—or indirectly, by some action which externally gives a clear indication of denial of faith even though the agent himself has no intention of denying his faith. Thus, for example, a person indirectly denies his faith by partaking of the Protestant communion even though in his own mind he does not believe that Christ is present in that communion. It is never permissible to deny one’s faith either directly or indirectly, because every denial of faith is a grave insult to God since it undermines the authority of God and the reverence due to Him. Hence Christ’s threat: “Whoever disowns me before men, before my Father in heaven I too will disown him” (Matt. X, 32). But although it is never lawful to deny one’s faith, occasions do arise when it is permissible to conceal or dissemble one’s faith, as will be explained later.

According to St. Thomas the divine precept obliges man to make an external profession of his faith when failure to do so would detract from the honour due to God or cause injury to the spiritual welfare of one’s neighbour.

1.     The honour due to God demands an external profession of faith: a) when a man is questioned by public authority (not by private persons) about his faith; b) when a person is provoked even by private individuals through hatred of religion to a denial of his faith in word or deed.

2.     The spiritual welfare of our neighbour requires an external profession of faith when grave scandal would ensue from its omission (v.g., Libellatici amongst the early Christians).

Dominic Prummer, Handbook Moral Theology

NOTE: Our immemorial ecclesiastical traditions are necessary attributes of the Faith because, without them, there can be no “external profession of the faith.” 

 

 

“If any one saith, that the received and approved rites of the Catholic Church, wont to be used in the solemn administration of the sacraments, may be contemned, or without sin be omitted at pleasure by the ministers, or be changed, by every pastor of the churches, into other new ones; let him be anathema.”

Council of Trent, Canon XIII, On the Sacraments

“The favorite comeback of progressives is that ‘the liturgy kept developing over time, so you can’t say that Catholics ‘always’ worshiped this or that way.’ But that is a superficial response. The deeper truth is that Catholics have always worshiped according to the liturgy they have received, and any development occurred within this fundamental assumption of the continuity of the rituals, chants, and texts. The work of the Consilium of the 1960s rejected (N.B. actually, rejected by Rev. Annibale Bugnini in 1948) this assumption in altering almost every aspect of the liturgy, adding and deleting material according to their own theories. Therefore what they produced is not and can never be an expression of Catholic tradition; it will always remain a foreign body.”

Peter Kwasniewski, Ph.D.

         

 

 

 

“With them that hated peace I was peaceable: when I spake unto them, they fought against me without cause.” (Ps. cxix) “Forty years long was I nigh unto that generation, and said: They do always err in their heart; and they have not known My ways to whom I swore in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest.” (Ps. xciv)

image042.jpg“In the later editions of the Talmud the allusions to Christianity are few and cautious compared with the earlier or unexpurgated copies. The last of these was published at Amsterdam in 1645. In them our Lord and Saviour is ‘that One,’ ‘such a One,’ ‘a fool,’ ‘the leper,’ ‘the deceiver or Israel,’ &c.; efforts are made to prove that He is the son of Joseph Pandira before his marriage with Mary. His miracles are attributed to sorcery, the secret of which He brought in a slit in his flesh out of Egypt. His teacher is said to have been Joshua, the son of Perachlah. This Joshua is said to have afterwards excommunicated Him to the sound of 800 rams’ horns, although he must have lived seventy years before His time. Forty days before the death of Jesus a witness was summoned by public proclamation to attest his innocence, but none appeared. He is said to have been first stoned and then hanged on the eve of the Passover. His disciples are called heretics, and opprobrious names. They are accused of immoral practices; and the New Testament is called a sinful book. The references to these subjects manifest the most bitter aversion and hate.”

Dr. Joseph Barclay, LL.D, Rector of Stapleford, Hertfordshire, London, The Talmud, 1878, from Introduction, p. 30

 

 

 

 

“Neither Jewish ethics nor Jewish tradition can disqualify terrorism as a means of combat. We are very far from having any moral qualms as far as our national war goes. We have before us the command of the Torah, whose morality surpasses that of any other body of laws in the world: ‘Ye shall blot them out to the last man.’”

Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli Prime Minister 1986-1992, 1943 Quote taken from “Document: Shamir on Terrorism (1943)” Middle East Report 152

 

You must understand. The leading Bolsheviks who took over Russia were not Russians. They hated Russians. They hated Christians. Driven by ethnic hatred they tortured and slaughtered millions of Russians without a shred of human remorse. The October Revolution was not what you call in America the “Russian Revolution.”  It was an invasion and conquest over the Russian people. More of my countrymen suffered horrific crimes at their bloodstained hands than any people or nation ever suffered in the entirety of human history. It cannot be understated.  Bolshevism was the greatest human slaughter of all time. The fact that most of the world is ignorant of this reality is proof that the global media itself is in the hands of the perpetrators.  We cannot state that all Jews are Bolsheviks.  But: without Jews there would have been no Bolshevism.  For a Jew nothing is more insulting than the truth. The blood maddened Jewish terrorists murdered sixty-six million in Russia from 1918 to 1957.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), Nobel-Prize winning novelist, historian and victim of Jewish Bolshevism

 

 

 

The “New Evangelization” and the “New Ecclesial Realities”

The “new evangelization” identifies “new ecclesial realities” as the “work of the Holy Spirit” and thus, regards them as the means by which God will bring about a rebirth of Christian faith since the collapse following Vatican II.  These “ecclesial realities” include such entities as the Neocatechumenal Way, Communion and Liberation, the Focolare Movement, and the Charismatic Renewal.  They all embody the novel teachings of Vatican II, which the hierarchy denies as having any causal relationship with the collapse of faith that the “new ecclesial realities” are expected to restore.  These “ecclesial realities” have developed more in Europe and Latin America than in the United States.  The most obvious reason for this is that the U. S. is already a religious pluralistic society that has similar entities as these “ecclesial realities” in every city.  The Masonic brotherhood religion for world peace has a lot in common with Focolare.  The Neocatechumenal Way is comparable to a Baptist Evangelical church and they have a Lutheran theological conception of the Holy Eucharist.  The common thread among all these “ecclesiastical realities” is that they seek an encounter with Christ without the burden of dogma or moral restrictions that dogma imposes.  Cardinal Ratzinger nevertheless at the World Congress of Ecclesial Movements, May 27, 1998, compared these “ecclesial realities” to St. Anthony of the Desert and the early monastic movement, to St. Francis and St. Dominic, St. Ignatius and the Jesuits, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Catherine of Siena.  JP II addressed them on the vigil of Pentecost in 1998 and said:

 

With the Second Vatican Council, the Comforter recently gave the Church, which according to the Fathers is the place “where the Spirit flourishes” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 749), a renewed Pentecost, instilling a new and unforeseen dynamism. Whenever the Spirit intervenes, he leaves people astonished. He brings about events of amazing newness; he radically changes persons and history. This was the unforgettable experience of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council during which, under the guidance of the same Spirit, the Church rediscovered the charismatic dimension as one of her constitutive elements: “It is not only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the people, leads them and enriches them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills (cf. 1 Cor 12:11), he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank.... He makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church” (Lumen gentium, n.12). […….] Today the Church rejoices at the renewed confirmation of the prophet Joel's words which we have just heard: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17). You, present here, are the tangible proof of this “outpouring” of the Spirit. Each movement is different from the others, but they are all united in the same communion and for the same mission. Some charisms given by the Spirit burst in like an impetuous wind, which seizes people and carries them to new ways of missionary commitment to the radical service of the Gospel, by ceaselessly proclaiming the truths of faith, accepting the living stream of tradition as a gift and instilling in each person an ardent desire for holiness.[….] In our world, often dominated by a secularized culture which encourages and promotes models of life without God, the faith of many is sorely tested, and is frequently stifled and dies. Thus we see an urgent need for powerful proclamation and solid, in-depth Christian formation. There is so much need today for mature Christian personalities, conscious of their baptismal identity, of their vocation and mission in the Church and in the world! There is great need for living Christian communities! And here are the movements and the new ecclesial communities: they are the response, given by the Holy Spirit, to this critical challenge at the end of the millennium. You are this providential response.

John Paul II, speech addressing “ecclesial movements and new communities.” May 30, 1998, Vigil of Pentecost

 

Now, Pope Francis, who took credit for introducing the Charismatic movement into Argentina, addressed these “new ecclesial realities” on the vigil of Pentecost and looks to them as the hope for the “new evangelization.”  Pope Francis, who has knelt before Protestant evangelical charismatics to receive their “blessing,” cannot possible have a clue regarding discernment of spirits.  St. Francis and Peter Waldo embraced radical poverty but they were of an entirely different spirit.  One was a saint, the other a heretic.  There is no encounter with Christ without believing His revealed truth, that is, all dogma as formal objects of Divine and Catholic faith, and keeping His commandments.  None of the saints identified by Cardinal Ratzinger ever held any of our ecclesiastical traditions in contempt as these “new ecclesial realities” clearly have done.  And every one of these saints gave evidence of personal holiness and performed the remarkable miracles as a testimony to the truth of their mission.  The winter of Vatican II will be getting a colder and darker.

 

 


 

 

St. John Eudes: “That there is a special contract made between God and man in Baptism.”

THE name of contract is given to any agreement entered into by two or more persons, in which the parties contracting incur mutual obligations. This clearly shows that a contract. has been entered into by the most Blessed Trinity and you in Baptism; since you have incurred many obligations towards the Blessed Trinity, and the Blessed Trinity has also obliged itself in regard to you. What is the nature of this contract? It is a reciprocal contract of gifts, the highest and most entire that can “enter into the heart of man to conceive;” for in making it you are obliged to give yourself entirely and forever to God; you have renounced all things to be united to Him, and for Him, and God on his part has given Himself entirely to you. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, come to you and take up their abode in your soul, in order to confer honors and benefits on you. They enrich you ‘with spiritual treasures to render you worthy of their three divine Persons.

It is a contract of adoption, since God the Father has taken you for his child, and has conferred on you the right of his inheritance with his only Son, and you have taken God for your Father, and have promised to entertain for him all the love and respect which a child owes to a so good a parent. “Consider,” writes St. John the Evangelist, “what love the Father has testified to you in wishing that you should be called, and that you should, really, be his children.”

Behold the admirable effect of the contract which you have made with God in Baptism, from being the child of wrath and an heir of hell, you have become the child of God and an heir to heaven! What you should not do to acknowledge the infinite goodness of God in your regard?

It is a contract of alliance with the Son of God, since in receiving Baptism you have united yourself to him as to your head, your master, and your sovereign, and since the Son has taken you for His servant and one of the members of his body, which is his Church. How great is the goodness of God, says St. Paul to the newly converted Christians of Corinth; “By whom you arc called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

What were you before Baptism but the unhappy slave of Satan, and subject like him to eternal punishment? But by Baptism you have been delivered from this unhappy subjection, through the divine alliance which you have contracted with Jesus Christ, which procures you the enjoyment of eternal happiness, if you observe all its conditions.

Finally, it is a contract of alliance with the Person of the Holy Ghost; for faith teaches us, that the Holy Ghost takes the Christian soul as his spouse, and that the Christian reciprocally takes the Holy Ghost for his spouse. In consequence of this sacred alliance, the Holy Ghost calls you “his sister and his spouse,” and as, of yourself, you are poor indeed, he adorns your soul with all the gifts necessary to render it worthy of him, and he comes to take up his abode in it, and to consecrate it as his temple and his sanctuary. […..]

When you had been presented to the church to receive Baptism, you were treated as a person in the possession of the devil, for the priest pronounced over you the exorcism of the church, commanding the wicked spirit to depart from you, and to give place to the Holy Ghost.

This ceremony teaches you that by original sin you were really in possession of the devil, and that he abided in you, but that, through Baptism, he has been cast out of you; that your soul has been purified from the horrible stain which disfigured it, and that the Holy Ghost, having sanctified and ornamented it with his grace, comes to take up his abode in it. […..]

That Baptism imprints in your soul a spiritual character, which no sin can efface. This character is a proof that from this time you do not belong to yourself, but that you are the property of Jesus Christ, who has purchased you by the infinite price of his blood and of his death. You are not of yourself, but you are of Christ’s therefore, St. Paul concludes, “that the Christian should no longer live for himself, but for Him who died and rose again for him;” that is to say, that the Christian should live a life of grace, and that he should consecrate to his Redeemer his spirit, his heart, and all his actions. […..]

The Priest introduced you into the Church, by saying, “Enter into the house of God, that you may have eternal life.” This ceremony teaches you that Baptism enables you to enter into the Society of Jesus Christ, and of all the faithful who compose the house or family of God. By this entry, you begin to partake of all the good works of the faithful and you acquire a right to the sacraments, to the prayers, and to all the other good works which are done in the Church. Moreover, in entering into the Church, you have become her child, and have been made a child of God, the heir of God, and co-heir of Jesus Christ; you entered into society and communion with the angels and all the blessed who are in Heaven. By this ceremony you are likewise taught that, in order to be united to Jesus Christ, and to have eternal life, it is necessary to be a member of the Church, and to persevere therein to the end, believing all she teaches, obeying all she commands.

St. John Eudes, excerpt from Man’s Contract with God in Baptism

COMMENT: St. John Eudes makes clear what every faithful Catholic should already know, that is, it is by virtue of the sacrament of Baptism received with Faith that makes a person a Child of God. The Neo-modernist popes since Vatican II heretically teach that everyone is a child of God by virtue of the Incarnation of the Logos, the Word becoming flesh, where the second Person of the Trinity, by personally uniting Himself with our human nature, thereby elevated all humanity to being children of God by virtue of this shared humanity. For them, Baptism is only an outward sign signifying what has already taken place. It reduces Baptism from a performative sign that is necessity of means for salvation to a simple necessity of precept which obligates only those who feel some inner compulsion to obey. It is this fundamental corruption of revealed truth that makes modern ecumenism with such events as the blasphemous “Prayer Meeting at Assisi” possible. For them the “spiritual character” imprinted on the soul at Baptism is meaningless. The “spiritual character” is both the sign of and cause of the adoption as Sons of God. The character is like a receptacle that makes the reception of the sacramental grace of adoption possible. Those who have the character of the sacrament without the sanctifying grace of adoption will suffer the greatest torments of all in hell.

It is an unfortunate fact that the many traditional Catholics and conservative Catholics believe this tripe and profess that any “good-willed” Protestant, Jew, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, etc., etc. can be a child of God, a member of the Church, a temple of the Holy Ghost and an heir to heaven by virtue of being a “good” Protestant, Jew, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, etc., etc.  This error is derived essentially from the more fundamental error of denying Dogma as Dogma, by overturning Dogma in its very nature. For these Neo-modernists, Dogma is not the revealed truth of God but only a human axiom open to unending refinement and new interpretations.   

But the truth is that Dogma is divine revelation formally and infallibly defined by the Magisterium of the Church.  It is irreformable in both the truth it declares and the words that it uses to define. It constitutes the formal object of divine and Catholic faith and is the proximate rule of faith for every faithful child of God. Not until every traditional Catholic recognizes and defends this truth will any effective resistance to Neo-modernist error be effectively mounted.

 

 


 

 

Pope to Italian Bishops: A synodal Church is open to everyone

As the Italian Bishops conclude their 77th General Assembly, Pope Francis urges the Italian Church to continue journeying together on the synodal path to promote the "co-responsibility" of laypeople and clergy and build a less clerical Church.

Vatican News | Lisa Zengarini | May 23, 2023

Pope Francis on Thursday encouraged the Italian Church to continue its synodal process “with courage and determination”, above all by “valuing the potential” present in its parishes and Christian communities.

The Pope was addressing the bishops and diocesan representatives of the synodal path in Italy in the Paul VI Audience Hall, as the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) concluded its 77th General Assembly focused on the synodal process in the lead up to the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality.

A unique spiritual experience of conversion and renewal

The Holy Father introduced his speech by noting that the process is a “unique spiritual experience of conversion and renewal” which can make ecclesial communities “more missionary and more prepared to evangelize today's world”.

As the Italian Church concludes the two-year listening phase and enters the discerning phase, he therefore offered four recommendations responding to some questions submitted by the CEI Permanent Committee regarding the pastoral priorities for the Italian Church, how to overcome objections and concerns, and the participation of clergy and lay people.  

Keep walking guided by the Holy Spirit

The first indication he gave was to “keep walking guided by the Holy Spirit”, always serving the Gospel and cultivating “the freedom and creativity” of those who bear witness to the good news of God's love by “staying grounded in what is essential”.