Take a Breath, Reflect, and don't React...

Sometimes it can become easier to throw in the towel and just give up.  The gains that ‘we’ the more Traditional minded acquired over the last two Pontificates, (Opus Dei prelature, Motu Propio Ecclesia Dei and Motu Propio Summorum Pontificum) it would seem are now in danger especially according to some current trends of thought(paranoia) freely whirling about in different Sacristies throughout the world.  Gentle Pope Francis is gonna undo everything, turn back the clock to 1975 and resurrect the clown ‘Mass.’  To be fair, I sincerely believe that not to be the case, still I sincerely believe that this is an excellent opportunity to undergo Sanctification.  What can we do to further the Universal Call to Holiness (Vatican II)? 

Well for one, we can stop acting like the most arrogant and hardened ‘I know better than the Pope crowd’ that sometimes we can all fall into.  We can pray for our Holy Father, obey and use that to unite our sufferings to the Cross of Christ.  We can, as the Holy Father requested, ‘Go out and make a mess!’  So here is a battle plan!  When news (usually a slanted editorial) disturbs you, take it to prayer!  The enemy uses occasions like this to make us fall into sin. For some it can be booze, women, drugs, etc… Gentlemen, you know what I’m talking about, high level stress = Pornography/masturbation.  Then when it’s over (the act), we are angrier than ever at the latest Liturgical abuse, seek to blast the hierarchy and claim that we, and others who think like us know better.  We fall into depression and despair, and forget that the Holy Spirit is still in charge, and Pope Michael, Pope Gregory the 17^th, the brothers Dimond, Pope Pius 13^th, the sedevacante, the sedeimpede, the SSPX, even the Stay Puffed Marshmellow Man, all look like like a salvific end for our own sanity. The end result?  We are deep in mortal sin and cut off… The cure?  The Sacrament of Reconciliation and a great Spiritual Director.  To use a personal anecdote, I too questioned an awful lot of stuff, (especially recently) and without hesitation my Spiritual Director asked when my prayer life was cut off.

Prayer.

The oxygen of the soul!  No doubt about it.  A prayer life is constantly bookending your day (as St Paul says, To pray constantly…) with Laudes and Vespers.  Daily Mass if you can, Adoration (even prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament) and of course the Rosary!  A trick that I use, is to meditate before the Blessed Sacrament upon the Gospel of the day.  My day is then given its orientation in God and thus when a ‘down’or a disturbance in my soul interferes, I can tell the thought is not from God.  (Think of St John of the Cross, and discern.)  In prayer is where we praise and thank God for our very being, and whereby we can ask for the Grace to understand.  I am reminded of the prayer attached to Our Lady of Perpetual Help,..’If it be your Will that we should suffer longer,..’ 

Work

In my case, academics and Pastoral works.  Sometimes listening to a person tell us their problems can shed a light on our inadequacies.  People are hurting, and an absence of Faith sees the confessional empty, but long line ups at the made for profit ‘self help psychological guru of the day.’  What’s most perplexing is that even practicing Catholics who claim a relationship with Jesus, will justify seeing a ‘shrink’ but not confession, even though they will still spill their souls to these people.  The sad part is that the guru can’t offer Absolution.  Back to the work dynamic, sometimes keeping busy, can be therapeutic, yet again, we can’t go too far.  If the devil can’t tempt you, he’ll keep you busy. (and thus, too busy for prayer.) 

I truly believe that the Pope when critiquing pelagianism, did so after critiquing the other extreme, about making the Church an NGO.  He went after extremes, a point that Benedict also went after!  A great strategy for the more Traditional minded, (myself included) is to show the Holy Father that despite our love of Liturgy, that we do have a heart for social issues.  If we love through the eyes of Jesus, then we need to show it!  Sure, we are mobilized on Life and Family issues, but what can we do to show the ‘social justice’ crowd, that we too care for the poor?  We pray Rosaries, but can we not set up a soup kitchen?  Give a little or our time?  The question is not ‘Either ‘or’ but rather a ‘Both’ /And!’…

Exercise

Well, in my opinion, this is crucial!  In a day and age when we take better care of our cars than we do our bodies.  Training is good for you, it makes you stronger and can train the Will as well.  How many times are you tired and your psychology takes over, you gotta get it in!  That is training!  Resistance, weights, heavy bag, kettle bells, battle ropes, sled dragging, bench pressing and squatting!  If you can take care of your body, your discipline will grow along with your will power!  Those days when you live a down, are frustrated?  Take it out in the gym!  Leave it all there, hit the irons and hit them hard!

A few years back, I lambasted an arch liberal who disrespectfully used to refer to Pope Benedict XVI as ‘Papa Ratzinger’ or ‘Pope Ratzinger.’  It was one of the most disgusting and harsh treatments of an office, (a Divinely instituted one at that! St Matt 16:18) that I had ever heard.  Now ‘we’ the most Liturgically minded find within our ranks people criticizing Pope Francis, even calling him ‘Papa’ Bergoglio?  C’mon!  The Holy Spirit chose him and regardless of what happens, we can offer it all to God in reparation for our own sinfulness!  The battle plan of prayer, penance, and exercise is a no brainer and has been offered to us down through the ages. 

To borrow a line from ‘Big’ John McCarthy; ‘LET’s GET it ONNN!!!

Sacred Heart of Jesus,……………………….Have Mercy on us!

Lumen Gentium(A walk through), Mary and Francis

                              

I guess this blog will be more of a walk through the recesses of my own thoughts, trying to speculate and piece together what is my opinion.  To be sure, it is just that, my opinion. 

I think I’ve resisted writing a full post about Vatican II as it was intended, however I fully believe that the time has come in order to shed some light and a ‘How to’ so that it reads in continuity with the previous Councils of the Church.  While everyone remembers Pope Emeritus Benedict, in his final address to the priests in Rome, distinguished between the actual Council and the Council of the media, people forget that a major point of contention dear to many Catholics is the hermeneutic of continuity and the role of Mary in the Church.  ‘Lumen Gentium,’ The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, is the first written text to address specifically Mary.  Before we begin, let’s set the stage.  First off, there are no dogmatic definitions and it is written in what is a ‘pastoral’ language.  Secondly, the sexual revolution is in full swing, women going to work in the wake of the second world war, and thirdly, especially in the west, the Communist threat is building.  (Cuban missile crisis).  As well the teachings of Vatican II do not use ‘ex’ cathedra language because that was not its intent.  Vatican II is meant to reach the world, and presupposes that the Truths do not change.  See the opening address by Pope John XXIII.  The reality that this hasn’t happened yet is not because of Vatican II, ‘ambiguities’ or ‘Spirit of VII’ or whatever, it is because of sinful people with an agenda, demolishing the Church from the inside.  It took 300 years for Trent to be implemented fully in Quebec, it shouldn’t shock anyone that Vatican II is only just beginning.  The issue today is one of Mass media, and many more ‘freemasons.’ (Even Pope Francis acknowledged that,..)  Did Vatican II cause a priest shortage and demolish the Church?  No, but an argument can be made that it served as a cataclyst launchpad for an agenda ridden ideology to hijack the Church.

Let us begin with a base schema of the Textual Corpus of Vatican II, basically how we can read it.  We begin with God who reveals Himself in Jesus Christ through Revelation.  This comes to us by transmission in a Document called Dei Verbum.  It affirms both Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture as having both the same font of Truth as its source.  For our protestant friends, this means that Vatican II affirms and explains the Catholic position that the Bible didn’t and couldn’t fall out of the sky, all wrapped up with a leather bound ‘Divine’ Table of contents. 

From this document, we can now understand, our two Constitutions on the Church, namely Lumen Gentium and Sancrosanctum Concilium.  The first is composed of eight chapters, each with a specific point to address;  ‘Lumen Gentium’ means ‘Light of the World!  Already the Church in Her Divine Constitution presupposes a Christocentric approach.  Let’s go through them, shall we? 

1.      Church as Mystery

2.      Church as ‘People of God.’ (All the baptized)

3.      Church as Hierarchical.  (The favorite of the heterodox crowd)

4.      Church as Laity

5.      Church ‘Universal Call to Holiness’

6.      The Religious

7.      The Eschatological dimension

8.      Mary

I think it is important to highlight the Marian dimension.  If there was a ‘hot button’ topic at the Council, this topic was akin to speaking about the benefits of Marxism while attending a Bible tent revival in the deep south of the USA.  Mary was formally given the title ‘Mater Ecclesia’ as a compromise.  One school of thought was that ‘Co-redemptrix’ and ‘mediatrix’ as titles (5^th Marian dogma?) were not ready to be accepted at that time.  This is where this walkthough becomes a little personal, not as Optimusmastro but as Marco, a seminarian. 

Mary, in the economy of Salvation already co-operates with Christ, by simply saying ‘Yes’ to God by her ‘Magnificat.’ (St Luke 1)  In this light, can now be read, not only her Immaculate Conception but all the way to Her Assumption and eventual crowning as Queen of Heaven.  Mary participates by suffering with her Son.  She stands at the foot of the Cross and was given to us by Jesus Himself. (St John’s Gospel.)  She intercedes at Cana, and She appears with a Crown in the Apocalypse of St John (Revelation.)  Regardless of these realities, our current ecumenical situation finds ourselves in dialog with protestants. That being said, defining as Co-redemptrix would have fundaMENTALists doing handstands frothing at the mouth, as they would hear ‘Co-equal’ instead.  Can you picture the CNN interviews with such ‘scholars’ as Bob Jones III and Benny Hinn?  It would be entertaining,..(I digress).  Since Biblical times, then there have been countless apparitions of Our Lady, from Our Lady of the Pillar, (To St James) all the way to Our Lady of Fatima, (1917).  One constant, is that throughout all of the CHURCH APPROVED apparitions, the message is always Christocentric, she points to Jesus! 

At Fatima, Our Lady gave three ‘secrets’ with which, depending upon who you listen to have either been completed, not fulfilled or somewhere in between.  A sticking point has been Russia.  Has Russia been consecrated?  Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart, subsequently, Pope John Paul II did the same.  One theory is that consecrating Russia by itself would cause an Ecumenical nightmare from the perspective of the Russian Orthodox Church.  Another theory is that this consecration must take place in communion with the world’s bishops, and in this light, it is safe to assume that back in the 1980s, not everyone was on the same page.  Now what does any of this have to do with Pope Francis?

Well,…since his election to the chair of Peter, his first visit was to the Church of St Mary Major in Rome, bringing flowers to the high Altar.  He has since asked that he be consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima, he will consecrate the world this coming October 13^th  to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Now knowing this, according to the media, he has approved gay actions (nope) thinks abortion is okay (nope) and believes atheists are going to Heaven. (nope.)  According to Catholic sources, he has since his Papacy began;

-Reaffirmed Church Teaching against women’s ordination.  (same airplane interview where he supposedly was open to homosexual marriages.  Sadly the media must of all went to the washroom at the same time when he cited Ordinatio Sacerdotalis?)

-Publically rebuked the LCWR in the USA, thereby backing the CDF findings.

-Has mentioned the presence of ‘masons’ and a homosexual lobby in the Vatican.

-Has mentioned satan more than any other Pope in recent memory.

-Consecrated the Vatican (invited Pope Emeritus Benedict) to St Michael the Archangel.

-Publically criticized Archbishop Mueller’s personal opinions of ‘Liberation Theology.’

-Publically endorsed and reconfirmed Msgr Guido Marini, against the wishes of the Italian bishops who wanted him gone.  Warned of extremism but nothing that Pope Benedict XVI didn’t already say either.

-Theologically endorsed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (‘Theologically we are in agreement.’) 

(To be fair, I doubt that Liturgically they are,…)

-Excommunicated a dissident priest in Australia who promoted women’s ordination, pro choice pro gay marriage, and gave Communion to a dog.  (Again, certain media outlets didn’t openly wonder how he is so fluffy, smiley and cuddly, yet did something like this.)

-Finally, Cardinal Raymond Burke still at the Apostolic Signatura.…nuff said!

Perhaps as some people on the extreme right are wondering, he is a Pope of contradictions, or maybe he is a crafty old school Jesuit? 

How do we tie in Lumen Gentium, Mary and Francis all together? Well, after some prayer, this is my OPINION, nothing more.  It stems from my Faith in the Church, that the Holy Spirit  guides Her and that ultimately, the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph.  I believe that Pope Benedict resigning means that the 2^nd Vatican Council has been given its proper orientation within the hermeneutic of continuity.  Pope John Paul II, gave us and reasserted the Catechism, when dogmas such as ‘Purgatory’ were called into question.  Pope Benedict XVI corrected and set into motion proper Liturgical understanding and reform.  Pope Francis will usher in the real Vatican II the way the Holy Spirit wants, not the way Fr McFruitloop and his merry band of lesbian universalists want it. 

Back to Lumen Gentium,.. I think I'll need a dozen more posts to develop it more!

I smell Co-Redemptrix…

Just sayin’

Our Lady of Fatima,…………………………….ora pro nobis!

Two Champions, the End of an Era.

**Networkedblogs will continue to autopublish on all my social networks despite my absense**

It is almost laughable, the media storm surrounding the Pope’s decision to step down.  Really it is almost coming off as an intellectual assault whereby the mass media, y’know ‘experts’ on everything, seemingly run the gammut of news programs and trot out on stage nearly every heretic and dissident priest and theologian for an interview.  What is truly most perplexing, is the amount of Facebook armchair/keyboard ‘theologiunnns’ weighing in on the subject.  You have the orthodox crowd with the most balanced opinions, but the truly ‘fun’ opinions come from the schismatics, sedevacantists and conclavists all the way to the crackpot ‘Call to Action’ aging hippie crowd trying desperately to propagate Pope ‘Sr’ Joan Chittister in the chair of St Peter along with a magisterium of the LCWR.  Let’s not forget,.yesterday, in light of Benedict’s announcement,  ‘Fr’ Hans Kung  was let out of his modernist asylum in order to contribute his two cents of subjectivist ridden ‘Spirit of VII’ sappy drivel and all out tired heterodoxy.  

      

Yet sifting through the ‘experts’ in the media , it produced a fun conversation at lunch between Seminarians and Clergy.  We all agreed on this one, who was more conservative Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI?  For us, the answer was clear and simple, Pope John Paul II was way more ‘conservative’ than Pope Benedict XVI simply because he had to be!   These men inherited entirely different Churches!  In 1978, The Holy Spirit chose Pope John Paul II when the Church was ready to dislocate from the inside.  Heretic Bishops and Cardinals were the norm, and the post Council euphoria (stemming from commentaries, not from the Documents) took possession of an entire generation of pseudo Marxists dressed up as clergy.  So what did Pope John Paul II do?  Well, he didn’t stick around the Vatican,.much.. Instead, he travelled and put the Bishops on stages introducing them to their own flocks.  World Youth Day was created and Pope John Paul II was the catechist.  Next up, he took a young liberal theologian and rising VII ‘star’ (back then,..) and stuck him in as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith!  (Translation, your goofy nutty opinions from Tubingen will now have to be kept to yourself as you will be definding the Truth!)   This young guy though was a lover of liturgy, despite his sometimes questionable theology, (Karl Rahner esque).  So now we have Pope John Paul II and then Bishop Joseph Ratzinger as a tag team which in the eyes of the modernist crowd were akin to Hawk and Animal from the Road Warriors! (Gratuitous wrestling reference!).   Next up was ‘liberation theology’ a dressed up Marxist ideology which essentially reinterpreted the Gospel.  The tag-team went right after Leonardo Boff and his South American compatriots, reigning them in and finally publically disciplining them. 

As they say, new heretic, new paragraph!  This time, the dynamic duo turned their attention to Fr Hans Kung, the ‘Godfather’ of ultimate nuttiness!  He published a book critiquing the Infallibility of the Pope, called for women’s ordination and has been part and parcel of every dissident fest since the silly sixties.  Well, Pope John Paul II suspended him as a Catholic theologian, and sent him into the Bermuda Triangle of the Church.  Next up was appointing quiet Bishops,..guys who would work behind the scenes, cleaning up chancery offices.  In this regard, Michael Voris is right, they were quiet, but they had no choice, they could only operate in that manner!  The 1980s, had seminaries chalked full of heretic professors, however, an interesting phenomenon was happening, the seminarians themselves were more and more ‘orthodox!’  The 80s gave way to the 90 and by the end, the information age!  The information age gave way to a new generation of laymen (bloggers) discovering their Faith, through other avenues, social media, EWTN, Catholic Answers,..you name it!  So while the Bishops were being replaced by younger ones, younger priests were playing ‘the game’ in seminaries across the world, hiding from their formators and telling them what they wanted to hear    !  Get to ordination and then be Faithful!  The sacraments and people’s souls were at stake!  In 2005, Pope John Paul II taught us how to age and then finally die.  The athletic charismatic Pope was shown to the world as a frail old man, who needed to depend upon others. 

      

Enter Pope Benedict XVI.  A different man who inherited an entirely different Church!  Orthodoxy and the hermeneutics of continuity was settling in as Vatican II was only now being received.  Pope Benedict, now had some allies in the Vatican(for the most part, with the exception of a few powerful people), and could focus upon other things, namely Reform of the Reform regarding the Liturgy.  So while the chances of Pope John Paul II inviting Fr Hans Kung for coffee was in the same breath as the chances of a man giving birth, Pope Benedict had no problem inviting his former collegue over for a chat, which he did!  He also wanted to have a open discussion regarding divorced Catholics.  While Pope Benedict as Cardinal Ratzinger was known as the ‘panzer-kardinal,’ now he was given charge of the universal Church as its supreme Pastor!

     

  Following in the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict reasserted Catholic doctrine and dogma on all things.  With regards to the extreme right, the Priestly Fraternity of St Pius X, the Pope sought to reconcile them to the Church, lifting the excommunications and did everything possible except give them the keys to the Magisterium itself, (see my posts on the SSPX,..).  The Motu Propio regarding the Extraordinary Form of Mass and an invitation to commence doctrinal talks regarding ‘Religious Liberty’ which has nothing to do with doctrine at all.  Essentially an amplification for a prelature which was already offered them in the 1980s under Pope John Paul II, however, he left it and asked the Bishops to be generous, clearly this was ignored, with the exception of the Ecclesia Dei commission giving birth to the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP.)

      

Pope John Paul II was an athlete, Pope Benedict is an intellectual.  While John Paul II had to toe a more strict line, he possessed the media savvy to hide it all.  Young people loved their ‘Grandpa Pope’ and he felt close to them.  Nevertheless, under his Pontificate was published Evangelium Vitae, (abortion always wrong and intrinsically evil), Veritatis Splendor (lays the smackdown on modernism,..again..), Pastores Dabo Vobis (reiterated Thomas Aquinas and proper metaphysics for the training of priests, and includes a human dimension as well) and finally Dominus Iesus (Re-asserts the Catholic position with regards to other Faith communities and religions.)  Pope Benedict, marks his pontificate with a Reform of the Liturgy, something his predessessor didn’t get to, and of course being Polish, wasn’t exactly known as a Liturgist! (subtle humour!)  Pope John Paul showed us strength, and Pope Benedict has taught us humility.  That the Papacy is not his to grab, instead, it is to serve.  In resigning the Papacy, Pope Benedict showed the entire world, his frailty and most importantly, his humanity!

The modernists are heading into extinction, along with the 'Spirit' of VII poltergeist, and while they are sounding the death rattle, the true Council is about ready to begin.  Obviously the work of the Holy Spirit, but these two men were the instruments God used.

As for the sedevacante conclavists and overall whackjobs, depending upon where you live, they always seem to have one 'pope,'  and yes, Pope Michael is still my favorite! 

      

To conclude, I will link the text to the Pope’s resignation speech to the consistory of Cardinals. (See here )For many, it came out of left field.  We were all taken a back.  Now we place our trust squarely in the Holy Spirit as ultimately God will choose a successor for us.  These two giants are the last of a breed.  A breed of priest ordained before Vatican II and thus were charged with rescuing the Council from misapplication and error.  May God guide us as we the Church of Christ, enter into a new era.  An era where relativism should have swept us away, still though we may experience the Cross, we are ever confident in the Ressurection!  God bless you Pope Benedict XVI, keep us all in prayer!  We will pray for you and for your successor!

**On a sidenote, I've been off FB (though my account is open) for Lent, please keep me in prayer!  God bless!**

Veni Creator Spiritus!

Liturgy/Religious Freedom SSPX Part II

The idea or notion that the Liturgy is the central sticking issue between the Society of St Pius X and  Rome is a tired notion.  It is also a notion that has no weight.  While the liturgy during the time of the Council was called into question, (Ottavianni intervention) there still did remain some Theological barriers which prevented the SSPX from full reconciliation.  (Though the schism became formal in 1988, When Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated Bishops without Papal approval..) in reality, it had already occurred.)  For this particular blog post, we will look toward the Ecumenical movement and specifically the idea of Religious Freedom. 

As always, we will contextualize the situation.  The Second Vatican Council, in many ways the cataclyst that launched into question a whole generation with regards to hermeneutics.  The Council in many respects broke with a certain rational for even holding a Council, as there was never any doctrinal dispute which necessitated a Council for correction.  On the issue of Liturgical Reform, this was undertaken way before VII was even a thought, in order to correct the Tridentine Rite and purge it from its own abuses.  At the time of Trent, the Real Presence was called into question by protestants, so Altars were created with a Tabernacle glued onto it.  This turned into a ‘Jesus’ refrigerator, and Adoration was not seen as a continuation of the same Sacrifice, but in certain places, became its own animal.  In a Liturgical setting, the Altar is to remain the focal point of the Liturgy, yet with a Tabernacle on it, it can become secondary, to the Real Presence in reserve.   Pope John 23^rd in good faith, wanted an aggiornamento, an updating to present the Faith to a world that was changing.  The modern world, saw a sexual revolution, feminism and an all out assault on the establishment.  This of course produced breakaway groups, sedevacantists (No Pope, the CMRI, SSPV), Conclavists (A true Pope somewhere, usually elected by the person’s family), and of course, the SSPX, (Who believe that the Pope is valid, but may be a materiel heretic, but not a formal one…)

For Ecumenism, and inter-faith dialogue, the SSPX sees this as an invitation to Universalism, something that has been further clarified by both Bishop’s conferences, the 1994 Catechism and ‘Dominus Iesus’ (Document from the congregation for the doctrine of the Faith.)  The fact remains that we need to know the ideology of the other, before we can present the Gospel in its fullness.  So by hierchalizing different religions became necessary by asking how much Truth they possess?  The Orthodox are usually ranked first and seen as a ‘Sister Church.’  (On this issue alone, Ecumenism has worked, as in 1965, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athanagoras revoked the excommunications from 1054.  Both sides recognize valid orders, and the Orthodox understand the primacy of Rome.  There still remains a sticking point with regards as to how to exercise this ministry.)  Up next are the protestant traditions,..all ranked according to how much truth they contain.  (In this regard, ‘High’ Anglicanism is significantly closer than the United Church..).  Then we view the other monotheistic religions followed by the pantheistic ones. 

The fact of the matter is that the question of Liturgy remains a smokescreen.  Pope John Paul II offered them a personal prelature back in the 1980s which they rejected, even after they had a signature.  Their real problem remains the problem of Religious Freedom and how to properly understand it.   ‘Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate attempted to show that God in His infinite Mercy desires all men to be saved.  In doing so, the Church does not promote universalism, but through dialogue and discourse attempts to show that the human person is called to freedom.  The freedom to accept or reject, the Gospel of Christ, being proposed and never imposed.  ‘Freedom’ is doing what you ought, not what you want!  That is license.  Has this position changed from the Church reaffirming Herself as the one True Church changed?  Absolutely not!  However in reaction to the Father Feeney issue from the 1940s, an amplification was needed.  This position is also closer to Aquinas thought.  The Church returning to its sources sought to recognize what is true and holy in other religions in order to advance and further engage people.  The Church must separate a contextual situation from its actuality.   The SSPX plain and simple, look to the Syllabus of Pius IX as ‘infallible’(which it is not, as to read it literalistically would not have me typing on a computer, as that would be an error... Syllabus ) while forgetting the context in which it was promulgated!  So there is an issue within their Theology whereby even Jesus would be called into question when He meets the Samaritain woman or still St Paul in Acts would be called into question by the SSPX as to how he evangelized in Athens.  I think the above video by Bishop Fellay of the SSPX shows that it has nothing to do with Vatican II.  

A few clarifications;  Archbishop Lefebvre never rejected Vatican II or the Reform of the Mass.  What he rejected was the Rite put in place in 1969 by Paul VI,.. (which it can be argued deviated from Sancrosanctum Concilium).  Secondly Pope John Paul II had them already set up as a prelature which Lefebvre rejected.  The next SSPX post will examine the Syllabus of Pope Pius IX, its context when it was written, (the end of Christian philosophy,) and staving off the birth of so-called enlightenment thought giving way to modernism. 

Pope Saint Pius X,………………ora pro nobis.

Vatican Dark Forces and Conspiracies...

The impending reconciliation between Rome and the SSPX has hit a standstill.  It would appear that according to Bishop Fellay, Rome is suffering from a leadership problem.  Who is really behind all of this,..I'll give you a hint,.Pope Paul VI acccused this entity's stench of infiltrating the Sanctuary.  The stage has been set, and sadly this is nothing new.  Bishop Fellay did issue a comment that Archbishop Gus Di Noia's appointement to the CDF is a 'good thing.'  See here .  In the give and take political world, it would seem that Holy Father's wishes are being blocked by something so artificial, to not see this one is insane.  Di Noia is in,.but the Pope's friend, Bishop Mueller, a bishop with ties to liberation theology is heading it....Smart move?  You be the judge, perhaps the Holy Father is taking a page out of the Sopranos playbook, as Tony elevated his 'Uncle Junior to 'Boss' right?  Wink, wink,..hint hint.. At least that's what I think,. (and for that matter, that's what I would have done...)

Let's face it, where the Catholic Church goes, so goes the entire world.  If the Bishops are not teaching the True Faith boldly, and playing politics,. there goes the moral fabric of our entire civilization.  There is another religion all too ready to replace it!  (Allahu Akbar!)  Vatican II hasn't even really begun as we are still in a mode of reception, yet forces are trying to steer the bark of St Peter into an all too unfamiliar course.  Consider, the weirdness that has been going on,..  The Vatican lifts the excommunications of the Four Bishops from the SSPX, and restores the Extraordinary Form as not needing the Bishop's permission.  The imaginary 'vocation' crisis, man made by the Spirit of VII feminazi crowd,..has been somewhat neutralized and vocations are seeing an upswing thanks in part to Blessed John Paul the Great and his generation.  Under Pope Benedict, the reform of the reform has been put in place, and the last desire on his heart has been the reconciliation with the SSPX.

Sooo, last Septembre, the 'talks' began, to 'regularize' the 'irregular' condition that they were in, and BOY DID THAT CAUSE A S#&T STORM of epic proportions!!!  It seems that our ecumenism friendly crowd, let's call them the ecumentalists,.want to dialogue with everybody, except of course the schismatic catholics.  WOW, liberal priests acting like mini 'popes' declaring they will never follow a request for anything remotely orthodox, and we were entering the 'sin' of 'restorationism.  According to liberal priests, that one will send you to hell, (Even though they don't believe in hell,..a sin  like that makes God will hell into being instantly..)...So the doctrinal preamble needed clarification, and thus Bishop Fellay did that and according to sources there satisfyed the Pope.  So an offer was made for the SSPX to have the status of a personal prelature, as is the case of Opus Dei.  Next up,..Hans the Heretic, comes on the scene declaring that the Benedict would invalidate himself should he reconcile!!!!  WOW!!!  Hans Kung, the interfaith 'specialist' seeking his own religion,..Kungistianity..

So Bishop Fellay fights his own internal battle with the schismatics, and their pride, all the while neutralizing Bishop Williamson and his revisionist history, while Pope Benedict deals with crackpot 'theologians' putting their two cents in.  The day arrives and after a two hour meeting with Cardinal Levada,..Bishop Fellay informs him that he could not sign,..it seems that Fellay's preamble, the one which satisfyed the Pope, was re written by the CDF to conform to the original Septembre version!   WOW!!  Cardinal Levada retires,. (then again he turned 75...)  If this does not have the making of an awesome HBO movie,..well I don't know what does!

In all seriousness, this potential reconciliation scares people.  Why wouldn't it?  With the SSPX onboard, the so-called 'Traditionalists' (FSSP, ICK),  will pack one heck of a punch and end up sending the modernist crowd into oblivion.  Where do I stand?  I think that's pretty obvious,..I 'think with the mind of the Church.'  Regardless of what you, I or anyone else may want, we are ultimately on the Holy Spirit's time and God will be done! 

Our Mother of Perpetual Help,.................ora pro nobis.

 

Seminarian from Cybertron, fights Both Heretics and Decepticons!

With all the goings on happening inside the Universal Church, negotiations with the SSPX, discliplining of the Feminazi nuns and so forth, I figured that now is as good a time as any to give a little update regarding my situation, (as if I really matter...lol).  I have submitted my request to become a candidate to officially discern priesthood for the diocese of Montreal.  Last week, saw me meet with the admission committee of the Grand Seminary of Montreal, and from what I've been told, the meeting went extremely well.   The next step will see me going to Southdown in Ontario for a full psychological assessment, this is standard practise, as they want to make sure I'm sane.. Through various emails, I have been asked lots of questions, so I will do my best to answer them.  Once again I will pick a few and answer them online though 'Confessions' especially when some of them are kind of the same question just asked by different people.  Here goes!

Optimusmailbag Time!

1.  You seem to actively promote the Extraordinary Form of Mass over the Ordinary Form!  Why do you want to undo VII??  (This question was submitted to me by a parishioner at my home parish, who was made aware that I would be answering him through the blog.)

Ans:  I have answered this question before, but will do so again.  Your question is in fact two questions, not one.  First off, I grew up in the Ordinary Form and until a few years back had never been to an Extraordinary Form of Mass.  I don't promote one over the other, but what I do promote is orthodoxy and respect for Jesus truly present in the most Blessed Sacrament.  The Eucharist celebrated in the Ordinary Form never called for the priest to face the congregation.  For Christ to appear, the priest in a sense must disappear.  He is dead to himself, and acting as 'alter Christus' leads the people in worship with everybody facing east,..not the modernist feminazi drivel of 'he has his back to us..blah blah blah..)  The problem with most (not all) ordinary form Masses is sometimes the focus is people centered and not God centred.  The theology behind the new Mass, can murky the waters a little bit, emphasizing a more protestant understanding the Eucharist as meal, which while true, is the secondary aspect.  The Eucharist is first and formost a Sacrifice.  The priest acts as both 'priest' and 'victim.'  The silly sixties crowd hijacking the Council fear the Extraordinary Form because it is a much more disciplined form of worship which is totally God centered. 

The second part of the question is why I want to go backwards.  First off, VII is a pastoral council.  It defined no dogmas, but instead reaffirmed everything the Church has consistantly taught.  Saying that the true Church subsists in the Catholic Church is a more technical way of saying that the Church is the One True Faith.  Assigning degrees or potentials to other denominations or religions was the same way Aquinas looked at other Faiths,..(Summa Contra Gentiles).  An example of this is there is a significant degree of difference between Eastern Orthodoxy as opposed to Islam.  So in trying to figure out where they are, one has to see how much Truth (which is first and foremost Catholic) they possess.  While I do admit, some of the language can be interpreted as 'ambiguous' at best, and confusing at worst, the Church has reaffirmed Her position, that VII must be read it light of Tradition, not opposed to it.  Sorry to all the funky potheads from Woodstock, but your social justice marxism train fell off the tracks a long time ago.

2.  How do you deal with celibacy?

Ans:  From the standpoint of my conversion experience, and if you read my history..celibacy was not the problem, chastity was and is.  I led an active pagan lifestyle,..So it wasn't an overnight thing (Augustine's Confessions) and thus prayer, daily exercise, amending my diet, Sacrament of Reconciliation, Spiritual Direction, Eucharist, the Blessed Mother and simply put, trying to avoid occasions of sin.  If I fall,.then I get back up, basically Jesus slapping me saying I don't save myself, Christ does and this is God's reminder.  This issue will be with me forever.  I'm a man.  God did not take away my manhood.  If I see a hot girl, the first look is beauty, the second is lust.  As men we are wired that way.  Some dude tells you otherwise, don't tell him to see a priest, tell him to see a doctor! 

3.  Why the aggressive attitude?

Ans:  The priest is first and foremost a MAN!  So act like an f'n man!  Reading through the Gospels, I remember Jesus cleaning house when He needed to, (The Temple) St Peter cut a dude's ear off, and St Paul was well just a little different,..just a little..(kinda like 'Hawk' from the Legendary Road Warriors tag team).  The point is to intergrate all of our humanity and put it at the service of the Church.  Our Lord is pastoral, yet affirms Truth.  He meets people where they are, and then says to them 'Go and sin no more.'  Too often our male catholic experience of Fr Fruitcake colouring his little felt banners and adorning his sanctuary with butterflies and crap like that is an affrontery to his very office.  Why is the Extraordinnary Form attracting men?  The same reason the Martial Arts and the Army do,..  If you can't figure that one out,..then you need a lobotomy...

4.  If you become a priest, will Optimusmastro die?

Ans;  No, but he might become Rodimusmastro instead.  Optimus was always cool under pressure, the ideal leader.  Myself, though I'm a huge Optimus Prime 'mark' I have too many weaknesses,..tempermental, emotional, insecure..basically a Catholic hot head!,...  Maybe I'll be assigned a parish with a priest who will have the qualities of Ultra Magnus to guide me? ;) 

Off to book Southdown!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

St Augustine of Hippo,.........................ora pro nobis!

Bring Back the Heavenly Choir!

Since the second Vatican Council, our rich history of Liturgical chant, Gregorian has been neglected.  To begin a quote comes to mind from St Augustine,..- To sing once is to pray twice- (an excerpt taken from Confessions.)  Singing has always been part of the Church's Tradition and Latin was always given a place of prominance.  According to the 'spirit of VII' feminist/ecological/social justice/inclusive crowd however we are to 'exclude' Latin and gregorian chant from the Liturgy.  Soooo let's take a gander at what Vatican II says!  (this usually sends modernists running to hide under the nearest fair trade exhibition table as their worst nightmare is someone who actually read the Council documents!)  Here is a link (here!)


My friends, one of the most frustrating innovations of the Spirit of VII crowd is definetly the choice of proper music at Mass.  Let me clear, I love all kinds of music, rock, some metal, hip hop and classical, yet I can't help but believe that there must be a time and place for these types of music.  For instance, if I'm sitting at a 5 star restaurant eating a nice surf and turf, enjoying a glass of Chateau Neuf du Pape, I would probably not appreciate a full blown tribute to Van Halen playing in the backround!  The same standards should apply to the Holy Eucharist.  At Mass, my focus is on God and Redemption.  I'm about to experience Calvary, the one sacrifice made present for all eternity through the Eucharist, so that being said, if I find myself getting caught in 'fun' of singing these songs, then could it be argued that perhaps it is not appropriate?  With Gregorian chant, whether in french, english or latin, we can experience the full beauty of the Liturgy stimulating every sense!  The smell of the incense, the taste of the Body and Blood of Christ, the hearing of chanting, and proclaiming, the sight of a reverent sanctuary...It sends chivers down my spine!  I say this today because my parish priest chanted the Gospel last Sunday and I was in bliss!

Perhaps the next time the we attend Mass, we can poll the people who are there to pray.  When the entrance hymn is 'On Eagle's Wings' do we really feel a sense of the Sacred? (Houston we have a problem!)  It is fine for praise and worship services, but for the Eucharist?  I think collectively God deserves the best!

Frere Andre,...............priez pour nous!