Sermon for the 11th Sunday After Pentecost, 2016: Tradition is not Magic, the power of the Pope is very limited

by Fr. Richard G. Cipolla

Parish of Saint Mary

Norwalk, Connecticut

Brethren, I make known unto you 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. (I Cor. 15: 1-2)

To receive and to pass on. That is the essence of what the Catholic Church means by Tradition with a capital T. We are not a people of the Book, like Islam, the basis of which faith is entirely the Koran. And there are Protestant Christians who are also people of the Book, but their book is the Bible. And for them the whole faith is contained in the Bible and the purpose of study is to constantly read and examine and analyze the text of the Bible. That this foundation is shaky should be obvious: for the original languages of the Bible are Hebrew and Greek, and therefore every translation is subject to that fundamental dictum that translation always involves in a sense a betrayal, for every translation bears the marks and prejudices of particular people and of a particular culture. There is no total objectivity in translation and in a faith like Christianity that insists that the ultimate truth is found in the person of Jesus Christ whose words are recorded in the gospels this problem is acute. But we Catholics have always believed from the very beginning that what has been handed down, the Tradition, is not merely what is recorded faithfully in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, but also includes the oral tradition handed down from Jesus to the Apostles and to the Church.

But it goes deeper than this. For the Catholic, the Tradition is a living entity. It grows and develops under the power and protection of the Holy Spirit. If this were not true, then the Church could never confront in a real and faithful way the new challenges of every age. And it is the magisterium of the Church, the Pope and the bishops, who are entrusted with the authentic passing down of the Tradition. But this is not magic. It is not the case that the bishops and the Pope can be personally inspired apart from the authentic Tradition and declare things that claim to be true that are obviously in contradiction with what has been handed down organically for two thousand years. In accordance with the narrow definition of papal infallibility as defined by the First Vatican Council, the Pope can define only what has been believed and is believed by the Church. He can never define anything as true and to be believed that does not have its roots and basis in the Tradition of the Church that always precedes him.

Public Mass of reparation: If you can't be there, unite your prayers

Another SSPX public Mass of reparation in Oklahoma

From the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX):

Public Mass of reparation

August 15

Bicentennial Park

12:00 p.m.

In reparation for the blasphemies to be committed in the Civic Center later that day

Bethany, OK – St. Michael’s Chapel of Bethany, OK and the Society of St. Pius X announce a public Mass of Reparation at 12: p.m., noon, on August 15, 2016. As has been widely reported in public media, a group of Satanists will be permitted to perform a black mass and a blasphemous ritual they call the consumption of Mary in the public building of the Civic Center. 

“The Sacrifice of Praise and the Ecstatic Orientation of Man” — Dr. Kwasniewski's Lecture at Silverstream Priory

This conference was delivered to local clergy and religious at Silverstream Priory on Thursday, July 28, 2016. The text is reproduced below in full (for those who prefer it, here is an audio link). Among other topics, Dr. Kwasniewski addresses the importance and necessity of ad orientem worship.

The Sacrifice of Praise and the Ecstatic Orientation of Man

Peter Kwasniewski

Appeal to Cardinals: text revealed

In light of the appearance of the signatories and the text of the Appeal to the Cardinals online, the organisers of the appeal are issuing a press release, below.

The appeal and its covering letter can conveniently be seen here:

[Appeal full cover letter here] 

[Appeal full theological analysis here] 

[Source] 

I will be continuing to act as spokesman for the group, and will be happy to answer questions.

Dr Joseph Shaw

appealtothecardinals@gmail.com

Press release – Publication of theological critique and accompanying letter sent to the cardinals and patriarchs

The ‘National Catholic Reporter’ of Kansas City, Missouri, recently published, without authorisation, the names of the signatories of a letter to the College of Cardinals and Eastern Patriarchs; equally without authorisation, The Australian, an Australia-based newspaper, has recently published the full text of the letter and the accompanying document. The latter is a theological critique of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, and requested that the cardinals and patriarchs petition Pope Francis to definitively and finally condemn certain propositions. In order to protect the signatories and the critique from misrepresentation, the organisers of these documents wish to offer some further comment and explanation of them.

All Saints of God, Pray for Us! - Video of Litany of Saints during Priestly Ordination

Priestly Ordinations of five deacons of the Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP), in Bordeaux, on June 25, 2016.

First Priest-martyr of the 21st Century in France

During the 9 am Mass this morning in the parish church of Saint Stephen (Saint-Etienne), in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, in the outskirts of Rouen, Normandy, France, two assailants invaded the church, held most of those inside -- including the priest and two nuns -- hostage, and, before being killed by special operations forces, slit the throat of the priest.

Martyr! The martyred priest was Father Jacques Hamel, 84 years old -- may he pray for us in heaven!

So many Christians have been martyred in recent years outside Europe, also victims of Islam: It is fitting that the first priest-martyr of Western Europe in many years comes from the Eldest Daughter.

Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - "The contemporary world not only denies the Fall, but the very concept of Sin."

by Father Richard G. Cipolla

From the 7th chapter of St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate…So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me….I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.”

Modern science depends on experimentation to explain physical reality. The scientific method: observe, propose a theory to explain your observations, perform experiments that will test the theory. If the results of the experiments match what the theory predicts, then the theory has a grounding in the truth of the nature of physical reality. If not, then you propose a new theory, think up and perform experiments, match with theory and so forth. 

Radicati Editorial: ‘Mercyism’ is moralism

Editorial: Radicati nella fede, July 2016

Newsletter of the Catholic community of

Vocogno, Diocese of Novara, Italy

This ‘mercyism’ which is so much in fashion is nothing other than moralism.

We can all see that it’s very much the fashion today to present the Catholic Church as always forgiving, welcoming and not judging. Those wishing to stay inside the new course of the modernized Church have to be like that. There are many priests in the Church who don’t dare make even one condemnation on sin – unless this condemnation follows the dictates of the dominant secular culture.  They then reprogram themselves as the silent merciful types and so seem to be blessing the most horrendous sins that become civil liberties under this 'mercyism'.

This 'mercyism' is nothing other than gloomy moralism: That 'Catholic deviation' which makes the Church concerned only about morality, almost completely neglecting the truths of the faith.

Fifty years of the other "Ottaviani intervention", Cum oecumenicum concilium: a final appeal to the world's bishops to eradicate heresies

Ottaviani in 1966

Today marks the 50th anniversary of one of the first doctrinal documents to be released by the old Holy Office under the new appellation "Doctrine of the Faith", the circular letter Cum Oecumenicum Concilium. The Latin text can be found in Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58 (1966), pp. 659-661.

Signed only 7 months after the end of Vatican II by Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, the last Secretary of the Holy Office (1959 - 1965) and Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1965 until January 1968, it demonstrates the rapidity with which open heresy spread even more in the Church in the immediate aftermath of the Council. This is the last document from the Holy See to speak of heresies as "pernicious errors", and one of the last to bluntly call upon the bishops to "eradicate" these.  

Haec Sancta (1415): A conciliar document condemned by the Church

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

July 20, 2016

 

The Council of Constance (1414-1418) is numbered among the 21 Councils of the Church, but one of its decrees, Haec Sancta of April 6^th 1415 is considered heretical, as it asserts the supremacy of the Council over the Roman Pontiff.

At Constance, Haec Sancta was applied in the decree Frequens, (October 9th 1417,) which prescribed a Council for five years later, another after seven years and then one every ten years. With this, it attributed de facto to the Council the function of a permanent collegial body which collaborated with the Pope and de facto was superior.

Encouragement for homeschoolers

For those who homeschool, especially for those either just starting or with all fairly young children in their early educational years, we don't have to tell you -- it's hard. It's really hard. 

If you read some of the homeschooling blogs, while they mean well, they often leave you with the feeling that homeschooling should always be this wonderful, permanent joy. It should always feel like that painting of mother in her chair with the perfectly behaved little ones at her knees listening to each and every word emanating from her mouth.

Then there's reality. 

The reality is, for many, homeschooling isn't just an option, it's the only option. It's a spiritual life or death situation for your children. You know you can't send them to public school, where they'll lose their souls. You know you can't send them to the local "Catholic" school, where they'll lose their faith. Yet, that doesn't make your day to day any easier. 

A traditional priest has recorded a short but very inspirational reminder of why you homeschool and why you must keep at it. 

Click here to listen now.

Thank God for Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux

On this Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, Penitent, we thank God for her patronage of the great work accomplished by Dom Gérard Calvet and his followers in the Abbey of Saint Mary Magdalene, in Le Barroux, France, in the same Provence where it is believed that she spent the last years of her life and where her relics have been venerated since immemorial times.

If you wish to listen to the chants of the office on their great feastday, just visit their website (also available recorded at the wonderful Barrouxchant.com)

Event: TLM and pilgrimage in NYC

From the organizers:

The Church as communio: Revisiting Joseph Ratzinger's ecclesiology

By Veronica A. Arntz

In Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Mystici Corporis from 1943, we are given a beautiful description of the Church as Christ’s Mystical Body here on earth, born out of love from his sufferings on the Cross. Toward the end of the encyclical, the Pope offers a heartfelt exhortation to love the Church:

Let this be the supreme law of our love: to love the Spouse of Christ as Christ wished her to be and as He purchased her with His blood. Hence not only should we cherish the sacraments with which Holy Mother Church sustains our life, the solemn ceremonies she offers for our solace and our joy, the sacred chant and liturgy by which she lifts our souls up to heaven, but the sacramentals too and all those exercises of piety which she uses to console the hearts of the faithful and gently to imbue them with the Spirit of Christ (art. 102).

For Pius XII, the Church is deeply sacramental and liturgical, for, by her very being, she is turned toward the Lord, anticipating with hope Christ’s second coming. In loving the Church, we love her liturgies and her sacramental life, for these things are part of her very being and essence. How much these words are needed for the Church in our own time! In a time when the sacraments are frequented less and less, piety is disregarded as being “individualistic,” and, most especially, the liturgy is viewed as a theatrical act by the priest rather than the eternal sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, we are in desperate need of a reminder of the true nature of the Church. In our time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has helped us to understand the true nature of the Church as Eucharistic and liturgical, oriented toward communion with God. To understand Ratzinger’s ecclesiological vision, let us first understand what the Church is not. 

Does the USCCB letter on ad orientem establish a virtual "indult" regime?

Over the weekend, the liturgical website Corpus Christi Watershed posted the following letter from the USCCB's Committee on Divine Worship regarding the recent discussions on the celebration of the Novus Ordo ad orientem.

So far, there have been few posts and discussions online about this letter. (Perhaps this will change in the coming days.) Discussions touching on this letter have focused on 1) the continued misinterpretation of GIRM 299, based on the misleading official English translation; 2) the letter's acknowledgment of the rubrical status quo as far as the Novus Ordo is concerned, which means that ad orientem will not be mandated but definitely remains an option, many would even say the norm; and 3) Bishop Anthony Taylor's letter that de facto forbids the celebration of the Novus Ordo ad orientem, citing this same letter from the USCCB. 

We understand that many liturgy bloggers (many of whom we consider as friends, even if we sometimes vehemently disagree with them) are intent on presenting this letter in a way that can be spun positively. Nevertheless it seems strange to us that little to no direct reference seems to have been made so far to the biggest problem in this letter, contained in its last two sentences (with our emphases):

The Passion of Spain - 80th Anniversary

Exactly 80 years ago, the tensions within the Spanish Republic reached unbearable levels and the alzamiento of July 18 began. The greatest persecution of Catholics since late Antiquity was about to begin in the territory retained by the Communist-inspired forces, and would be particularly brutal in the first six months of the conflict - giving the Church thousands of martyrs (including 13 bishops), of which around 1,000 have already been beatified.

Ten years ago, we began a special series of posts on the story of this relentless persecution, reverted only after Catholics joined the struggle for the faith: read it all in The Passion of Spain series. We also ask our readers to please share on our Twitter feed their favorite books, videos, online sources on this event, in any language - for instance, the Collective Letter of the Spanish Bishops (July 1, 1937); the response of several national episcopates, including the Bishops of Ireland; or the chilling images in the first and second annex on religious persecution of the Causa General.

_____________________________________

(In the first image, Republican militiamen fire at the Monument to the Sacred Heart, in the Cerro de los Ángeles, province of Madrid -- the monument would be completely destroyed in the first months of the persecution. It would be rebuilt following the war. In the image below, a Russian Orthodox chaplain of the White Russian volunteers assembled by General Evgeny Miller, exiled in France, who would be kidnapped in French soil during the war, tortured and killed in his homeland - source. And in a Mass celebrated  near the Sierra Nevada, in Andalusia, for the Tercio Isabel la Católica, of Granada, one of the many Catholic groups fighting against the attempted extermination of the Church - source.)

_____________________________________

As a final reminder of who represented what in that conflict, we once again recall the words of Pope Pius XII when victory was declared, in 1939:

RADIOMESSAGE
«CON INMENSO GOZO»
OF HIS HOLINESS

PIUS XII

TO THE SPANISH FAITHFUL

(April 14, 1939)

With great joy We address you, most dear children of Catholic Spain, to express to you our fatherly congratulations for the gift of peace and of victory, with which God has deemed worthy to crown the Christian heroism of your faith and charity, tried in so many and so generous sufferings. Our Predecessor, of venerable memory, expected, with longing and trust, this Providential peace, which is undoubtedly the fruit of that copious blessing which he sent, in the very beginning of the struggle, "to all those who had devoted themselves to the difficult and dangerous task of defending and restoring the rights and the honor of God and Religion" [1]; and We do not doubt that this peace shall be the one that he himself foretold since then, "the sign of a future of tranquility in order, and of honor in prosperity" [2].

The future of the Freedom of the Church in America

This blog has purposely stayed out of the 2016 political fray, especially during the Republican primary season (even on Twitter, where you really should be following us if you're not).

Also throughout this year, on Twitter, we have been warning bishops and priests that, after the Supreme Court ruling on fake "marriages," prudence would demand they begin to plan for the loss of their tax-exempt status once the state dictates they perform the fake "marriages" or pay taxes. 

Now, enter Donald J. Trump. To be clear, we are not, have not and will not support any candidacy, but it is important to explain where the freedom of the Catholic Church will be better protected.

"To the poorest daughter of Carmel,honor speaks louder than fear."

Mother Marie: Sister Blanche...

First Commissary: I forbid you to continue...

Mother Marie: You have the power to force me to silence, but none to command me to it. I represent here the Reverend Mother Prioress and I shall take no orders from you.

A Commissary: Confounded old hag! She cannot be made to hold her tongue, fellow Citizen, but remind her that the Republic has a machine at its disposal that will leave her somewhat short of breath!

First Commissary: Enough! I repeat that you must behave as a true representative of the people! [He turns to Sister Blanche:] Young citizen, you have nothing to fear from us, who are your liberators! Say but one word, and you will find yourself beyond the sway of those who, to better put you in their power, have not feared to offend nature in usurping even the sacred name of "mother". Henceforth, you are under the protection of the Law.

Mother Marie: But she is first under my protection. Do you think I shall permit you to take any further advantage of the terror of a child? I shall take great care to avoid a language that you cannot understand. You know nothing of that which holds us here and keeps us united unto death - or, if once you knew it, it is now certainly forgotten. But there are still perhaps words which are common to us, and which can touch your conscience. Well, sir, you must know that to the poorest daughter of Carmel, honor speaks louder than fear.

Georges Bernanos
Dialogues des Carmélites

On the day following her feast, the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel would receive her dear French daughters, martyred for their faith in her Son and for their loyalty to His Church.

O glorious Martyrs of Compiègne, pray for us!

[Our regular July 17 homage.]

The most extraordinary event in English history

The Mother of God and her Divine Son appear to Saint Simon Stock in Cambridge - 765 years ago today, in 1251: has there been any other moment in English history whose consequences have aided so many souls throughout the world achieve and keep holiness, reaching final perseverance? Men and women, made of flesh, need material reminders of the presence of God in their lives - and what could be more profitable than the blessed physical sign that Our Lady's Mantle covers us at all times, that Her Divine Son keeps watch over us day and night?

Armatura
fortis pugnantium
furunt bella
tende praesidium
Scapularis.

Saint Elias, pray for us!
Saint Simon Stock, pray for us!
Queen of Mount Carmel, pray for us!
Et fidelium animae per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace. Amen.

Statement of SSPX Superior-general Bp. Fellay -- To be read between the lines

Communiqué from the Superior General to All Members of the Society of Saint Pius X at the conclusion of the meeting of major superiors in Anzère (Valais), June 28 2016

[Made public on July 16]

For the glory of God,

for the honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of His Most Holy Mother,

for our salvation.

In the present grave state of necessity in the Church, which gives it the right to administer spiritual aid to the souls that turn to it, the Society of Saint Pius X does not seek above all a canonical recognition, to which it has a right because it is Catholic. The solution is not simply juridical. It depends on a doctrinal position that it is imperative to express.

When all of Europe was excommunicated - Papal confusion on a historic level

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

July 13, 2016

When all of Europe was excommunicated

There was a time when all of Christian Europe found itself excommunicated, without there being any heretic. It all began on March 27^th 1378, fourteen months after Pope Gregory XI  had returned to Rome from Avignon to die.  At the conclave, which took place in the Vatican for the first time in 75 years, sixteen cardinals participated, of the twenty three then present in Christendom. Of these, the great majority were French. This was a result of the long period in Avignon.

Good new Catholic news resource

For all the day's news -- most of which won't end up on Rorate -- check out the new Canon212.com

CLICK HERE NOW.

Contra Cardinal Sarah: The Bitter and Noxious Fruits of Ideology

By Father Richard G. Cipolla

It is quite remarkable to be living at a time when a Cardinal of the Roman Church and the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship is publicly contradicted and humiliated.  I do not know Cardinal Sarah personally, but from his writings, I suspect that he is using his humiliation in a spiritually profitable way.  But one has to wonder at the absence of any sense of fatherly concern and mercy in the Year of Mercy.

It seems that there is no limit to the nonsense that Father Lombardi allows himself to spew forth in defense of the indefensible.  We hope that once he lays aside this burden, as he will very soon, he can return to more spiritually profitable endeavors. The ideology that lies behind that repudiation of Cardinal Sarah’s exhortation to return to the Traditional posture of the priest at Mass rang out quite clearly in the Clarification.  It is an ideology that has for so many years prevented the Church from restoring the liturgical life of the Church that is necessary for the mission of the Church to the world.  It is an ideology that has no basis in Tradition and in fact is a break with Tradition.  Anyone who still believes that the Mass of Paul VI is continuous with the Roman Rite of Catholic Tradition needs to get out into the fresh air more. 

For the record: Video plea to the Pope for doctrinal clarity

ROME, July 13, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) -- In a spirit of love, humility, and faithfulness, 16 international life and family advocates are asking Pope Francis in a powerful new video to unambiguously speak the truth of the Catholic faith, to end doctrinal confusion, to restore clarity, and to be the Holy Father that Catholics need.  

Solemn Pontifical Mass in New Jersey

At the faldstool by the wonderful and holy Bishop Arthur Serratelli.

Pope Venerable Pius XII speaks to us

Discourse of His Holiness Pius XII to the Pilgrims in Rome for the Solemn Beatification 

of Teresa Eustochio Verzeri

From the Pontifical Palace at Castel Gandolfo

October 28th 1946

To be uniquely an instrument of Providence, an instrument of blind docility in the hands of God yet at the same time, of the most shrewd and personal impetus in the execution of His plans, such is how it seems to Us, Venerable Brothers, beloved sons and daughters, the figure of the newly Beatified, Teresa Eustochio Verzeri.

After [experiencing] the most disconcerting vicissitudes of life, she passed definitively from her silent and contemplative stay at Santa Grata to the buzzing, bustling beehive of Gromo, and the words that gushed from her heart were “Let us go! The words that Jesus used, when passing from the Cenacle to the Garden and then on to Calvary: “But that the world may know, that I love the Father: and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I: Arise, let us go hence.” (John 14, v.31).

Also she goes on the mission the Father has given her; she goes in the joy of love, sacrifice and in total and absolute detachment, towards unabated tensions, towards the many travails and painful trials of the apostolate.  

Catholic academics and pastors appeal to the College of Cardinals over Amoris Laetitia

A group of Catholic academics and pastors has submitted an appeal to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals in Rome, requesting that the Cardinals and Eastern Catholic Patriarchs petition His Holiness, Pope Francis, to repudiate a list of erroneous propositions that can be drawn from a natural reading of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia. During the coming weeks this submission will be sent in various languages to every one of the Cardinals and Patriarchs, of whom there are 218 living at present.

Describing the exhortation as containing “a number of statements that can be understood in a sense that is contrary to Catholic faith and morals,” the signatories submitted, along with their appeal, a documented list of applicable theological censures specifying “the nature and degree of the errors that could be attributed to Amoris laetitia.”

Socci: It appears the Bergoglian Inquisition is winning (at the moment)

Antonio Socci

Facebook

July 10, 2016

I don’t know if you have noticed, but there is no longer one single counter-current voice in the [Italian]mass-media which reports truthfully what is happening under the Bergoglian regime in the Church. We are under an oppressive Argentine dictatorship. 

Those who disturb the Bergoglian Power would appear not to have any right to speak in the media. Even the most important Catholic intellectuals, who criticised Amoris laetitia severely (such as Spaemann, Grygiel and Seifert, close collaborators of John Paul II and Benedict XVI) have remained invisible in the [Italian] media. Their severe criticisms have been silenced. Even the explosive discourse of May 21st by Monsignor Gaenswein – Benedict XVI’s secretary and right-hand man –  is virtually unobtainable in the media. Just like the critical voices of some theologians, bishops and cardinals.

TOTAL CENSURESHIP.  SOMETHING NEVER SEEN BEFORE.  IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE HEAR  NO VOICE RAISED IN DENOUNCING THE DICTATORSHIP IMPOSED IN PRAISE AND GLORY OF THE “MERCIFUL” ARGENTINE? 

Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost: America, Suffering, and the Mystery of Evil

by Father Richard G. Cipolla 

From the second chapter of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinithians.

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified…that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of man but in the power of God”.

The contrast is quite stark.  There is the beautifully tanned news anchor with the most beautifully coiffed white hair to be seen anywhere, opening the mainstream news with his solemn face.  There are various faces:  the smiley face that introduces some heartwarming story, the knowing face that introduces a story that only a non-thinking person would believe, the serious yet knowing face that introduces a story that only he really understands and pity the poor slobs who do not understand what this is really about.  But Thursday evening there was the solemn face in Dallas. The solemnity is enhanced by the anchor’s being there at the scene, as if the first class flight to this place had anything to do with the reality of his being there at all.  But the alternative is no better.  The strident so called conservative who thinks that shouting is proof of the truth of what he or she is saying, the women in lacquered hair so stiff that a hurricane would not bend this cement. 

Book launch in London, 20th July - 'Vatican II: a Pastoral Council'

The Latin Mass Society is sponsoring a book launch in London for Fr Serafino Lanzetta's book: 20th July, from 6:30pm, in the basement of St Mary Moorfields, Eldon Street, London, concluding with Vespers at 8pm with the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge.

It is open to all and free, but since we are providing refreshments please let us know you are coming: emaile info@lms.org.uk with 'Book launch' in the subject line.

Fr Lanzetta's book is being published in English for the first time, by Gracewing. Its translation into Englishw was sponsored by the Latin Mass Society.

Below is a written interview with Fr Lanzetta about his book.

2016 Lake Garda Statement

The Lake Garda Statement

Regarding the “Catholic” Apotheosis of Luther

Final Session of the 24^th Annual Roman Forum Summer Symposium

Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

July 7^th, 2016

Our civilization is so sick that even the best efforts to prop up its few tottering remnants manifest the pathetic illness that has step by step brought the entire structure crumbling down. The disease in question is a willful, prideful, irrational, and ignorant obsession with “freedom”. But this is a malady that gained its initial effective entry into Christendom in union with the concept of the natural world as the realm of “total depravity”.

It is crucially important that we recognize both the ultimate responsibility of this willful liberty for the destruction of our Christian and Classical culture as well as the role played by the idea that “incarnated” it historically in our midst. This is so for two reasons. The first is in order that we may attempt seriously to rid ourselves of their monstrous influence over our own minds, souls, and bodies. The second is because a massive attempt to masquerade the truth regarding their real character and practical alliance is being mounted in conjunction with the five hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther’s devastating appearance on the public scene in 1517—and this for the sake of maintaining their nefarious impact upon believers and delivering the Faith its coup de grace as a meaningful social force.

"An Act of Parliament, directly oppugnant to the laws of God and his holy Church..."

All which notwithstanding the jury found him guilty, and incontinent upon the verdict the Lord Chancellor [for that matter chief commissioner] beginning in judgment against him, Sir Thomas More said to him,

"My Lord, when I was towards the law, the manner in such case was to ask the prisoner before judgment, why judgment should not be given against him."

Whereupon the Lord Chancellor staying his judgment, wherein he had partly proceeded, demanded of him what he was able to say to the contrary. Who then in this sort mildly made answer:

"Forasmuch as, my Lord, this indictment is grounded upon an Act of Parliament, directly oppugnant to the laws of God and his holy Church, the supreme government of which, or of any part thereof, may no temporal prince presume by any law to take upon him as rightfully belonging to the See of Rome, a spiritual preeminence by the mouth of our Saviour himself, personally present upon the earth, to St. Peter and his successors, bishops of the same see, by special prerogative, granted, it is therefore in law amongst Christian men insufficient to charge any Christian."...

Fr. Carota, rest in peace

We are sad to learn the news that Father Peter Carota, a great lover and promoter of the Traditional Mass, has died following a long illness. We are sure he used his time of recollection and achieved a good death -- please pray for his soul, now in God's merciful hands under the grace of the Most Gracious Advocate. 

We recall with great fondness the numerous messages of encouragement and prayer he sent to us throughout the years.

(More on the history of Fr. Carota and the Latin Mass in this past post of ours.)

Pray for Police Officers

We take the opportunity of current events to pray for the souls of those who are always forgotten: our dear police forces.

Important Traditional Catholic news from France

1. On July 2, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta ordained Fr. Daniel Sabur to the priesthood in Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet. He will celebrate the ancient Chaldean Liturgy every Sunday for a Chaldean community that will meet in the Society's chapel in Saint Mathias de Pontoise. On the very next day he celebrated his first Mass (Chaldean Liturgy) in that chapel with 200 faithful (mostly Chaldeans) in attendance. It is the first-ever Chaldean Rite community under the SSPX. (Source: La Porte Latine,) 

Summorum Pontificum at 9

Pray for Benedict XVI, and for the preservation and increase of the Traditional Mass on this 9th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum. Its legacy is more under threat now than you might imagine.

MEMORARE...
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help, or sought your intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in your mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen.

(image source: St Hugh of Cluny)

Op-Ed - The Great Crisis of the Church: Between the Great Whore and the Woman Clothed with the Sun

THE LAST LIGHT

Juan Manuel de Prada

ABC (Madrid)

July 3, 2016

(John sees the Great Whore - Illumination, c. 1450)

Numerous are the readers who write me, troubled, some very shaken in their beliefs, others in a state of anguish nearing the loss of faith, begging me to speak up on this or that ecclesiastical insanity. For many years, I offered my naked face so that the enemies of the Faith could strike it; until a certain day on which its supposed guardians started to strike it as well (and with such ferocity!). Presently, I am going through a dark night of the soul of uncertain outcome; due to which, apologizing immensely, I cannot handle the requests of my anguished readers, but rather add myself to their own tribulation. However, I will remind them of a passage of the Scriptures that, in dark moments, one should have present, so that hope shall not die. And these lines shall be the last ones I will dedicate to this heartbreaking matter.

Novus Ordo Illusions: In Liturgy, Words without Law Mean Very Little -- or Nothing at All.

Cardinal Sarah in a speech to the Sacra Liturgia conference in London yesterday invited priests to start celebrating (the New Mass of Paul VI) facing the liturgical east (versus Deum), that is, facing the altar.

His words, by way of the Catholic Herald:

“It is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction – eastwards or at least towards the apse – to the Lord who comes.” ... “I ask you to implement this practice wherever possible.”

He said that “prudence” and catechesis would be necessary, but told pastors to have “confidence that this is something good for the Church, something good for our people”.

“Your own pastoral judgement will determine how and when this is possible, but perhaps beginning this on the first Sunday of Advent this year, when we attend ‘the Lord who will come’ and ‘who will not delay’.”

There have been enthusiastic reactions to these words...unseen since the Prefect of Divine Worship was Cardinal Arinze in the early 2000s...and Cardinal Cañizares!

Reminder: Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society

Requiem Mass by a Purgatorial Society priest in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota

This is our monthly reminder to please enroll Souls of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. We now stand at 74 priests saying weekly or monthly traditional Latin Masses for the Souls. 

NEW! Click here to download a "fillable" PDF Mass Card to give to the loved ones of the Souls you enroll. It's free. 

Priests: The Souls still need more of you saying Mass for them! Please email me to offer your services. There's nothing special involved -- all you need to do is offer a weekly or monthly TLM with the intention: "For the Souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society." And we will always keep you completely anonymous unless you request otherwise. 

How to enroll souls: please email me at athanasiuscatholic@yahoo.com and submit as follows: "Name, State, Country." If you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The Jones family, Ohio, USA". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy -- send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well.

Scholasticum Institute: advancing Scholastic Theology in the modern world

From the Scholasticum Institute:

In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI, a great student and admirer of St. Bonaventure, made a pastoral visit to Bagnoregio, the saint’s hometown. On that historic visit, the Pope gave a speech about St. Bonaventure in which he invited priests “to learn from this great Doctor of the Church, to deepen their knowledge of his teaching on wisdom rooted in Christ.” Since that time, there has been renewed interest in Bagnoregio as a tourist destination.

In the summer of 2016 the Scholasticum Institute, a graduate institution dedicated to the Scholastic Theology of St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio and St. Thomas Aquinas, opened its doors in the very town where Bonaventure was raised and where Benedict XVI urged further study of the Seraphic Doctor of the Church.

Pope Sixtus V explained the importance of Scholastic Theology: “[T]here has been discovered by Our ancestors, most wise men, Scholastic Theology, which two Doctors glorious above all, the angelic Saint Thomas, and the seraphic Saint Bonaventure, most brilliant professors in this capacity…with excellent genius, assiduous study, great labors and vigils have refined and decorated, and have passed on to those who would come after…” He went on to say that “a salutary understanding and practice of this science [Scholastic Theology]… could certainly always bring the greatest assistance to the Church.” (Triumphantis Hierusalem, § 10)

Event: Bishop Schneider in Chavagnes, France (Conference from August 1st-3rd)

From the Chavagnes Studium, in Chavagnes en Paillers, Gender, France:

Guest Op-Ed: Reflections on the Precious Blood of Christ

 By Veronica A. Arntz

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui unigenitum Filium tuum mundi Redemptorem constituisti, ac ejus Sanguine placari voluisti: concede, quaesumus, salutis nostrae pretium solemni cultu ita venerari, atque a praesentis vitae malis ejus virtute defendi in terris; ut fructu perpetuo laetemur in caelis. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum.

 

Almighty everlasting God, Who didst appoint Thine only-begotten Son to be Redeemer of the world, and didst vouchsafe to be appeased by His Blood: grant, we beseech Thee, that (by our solemn service), we may so venerate the Price of our redemption, and by its power be so defended from the evils of this present life on earth, that we may enjoy its fruits for evermore in heaven. Through the same our Lord.

Thus reads the Collect for the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we celebrate today in the traditional Roman Rite. Considering that, just a few short weeks ago, we celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi, why is it that the Church designates a special feast specifically for the Blood of Christ? What is it that, in her great wisdom, the Church wishes us to learn from this special feast day? Our focus shall be the words “Price of our redemption” from the Collect, and we shall investigate more closely how Christ’s blood buys our redemption.