“New archbishop of Paris: enemy of Catholic heritage”
Announcing the Release of Mass of the Ages Episode II —plus Screenings at Theatres in Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Front Royal, Washington DC
Sacred Heart Traditional Walking Pilgrimage in Ireland, June 22-24, 2022
Experiences That Make One a Traditionalist . . .
Roberto de Mattei interviewed by La Verità - A Sharp Analysis of the End of the Francis Pontificate: "What is not conditional, and is irreversible, is the promise of Mary."
Roberto de Mattei, historian and former vice president of the National Research Council, directs the Fondazione Lepanto, the monthly Radici Cristiane, and the press agency CorrispondenzaRomana.
After recalling that no one can sing victory over a pile of rubble, Pope Francis reiterated that war destroys both winners and losers. These are the positions of the realist school of international relations: war may be legitimate, but it is “a form of moral failure,” as for example George Kennan wrote.
“The pope has never been a Tolstoyan pacifist. Over Leo Tolstoy he has always preferred Fyodor Dostoevsky, an author who shows the tragic aspect of reality. My impression, however, is that the war has definitively dissolved the utopia of human brotherhood set out in the encyclical Fratellli tutti.”
Do you see a change of perspective?
“War is like death. It is an indelible part of man’s destiny. The idea of a universal brotherhood is absent from the Gospel and is not a Christian value.”
But Christ asked us to love one another.
Fontgombault Sermon for Low Sunday: "Together with Thomas, exclaim: My Lord and my God!"
(and Profession of Simple Vows of Brother P. Bochenski)
May the Lord clothe you with the new man, who from day to day renews himself in the image of Him Who created him. (Profession Ritual)
Lecture on Modernism by Dr. Kwasniewski, Friday, April 29, near Sacramento CA
This Friday, April 29th, I’ll be in Shingle Springs, California, to give a lecture on the topic: “Church Meltdown Under Pope Francis: How Did We Get Here?” (alternative title, “Pius X to Francis: From Modernism Expelled to Modernism Enthroned”).
I realize the notice is short and distances are far, but hopefully some who are in the area can make it out. The organizers ask for a quick RSVP to give them a head-count (send to ainferrera@g.ucla.edu).
Paschal Pastoral Letter of the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church: “For us, Good Friday has become our daily bread!”
[Festive Paschal Greetings from this humble page to all Eastern Catholics celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord this Sunday! May all of you, especially those in Ukraine, know that Latin Catholics are praying for you, and that we love you dearly as our most faithful brethren!]
Most Reverend Archbishops and Bishops, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, Venerable Brothers and Sisters in Monastic and Religious Life, Dearly Beloved Laity in Christ of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church:
Christ is Risen!
You have descended into the depths of the earth, O Christ,
And have broken the eternal bonds which held the captive,
And like Jonah from the whale on the third day,
You arose from the tomb!
Ode 6, Paschal Canon
Beloved in Christ!
This year we approach the Pascha of Christ in the midst of particular challenges, suffering, cruelty, indignities, and ruin. For our people, in Ukraine and abroad, it would seem that the cross of our Lord was abruptly thrust upon our shoulders from the very beginning of Great Lent, and we have already been carrying it not for a day or two, a week or two, but continuously, day and night. For us, Holy Friday has become our daily bread, our everyday reality, and we do not know when the glorious day of victory over evil, hate, and violence will come. However, precisely today our Lord calls on us to have no doubt in the victory of light over darkness, life over death, truth over falsehood, and He assures us of His love and grace. From Him, our Risen Saviour, we draw strength in the midst of our suffering today. He is the source of our hope. Therefore, together with the apostle Paul, we say today: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair… For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:8,11). In that spirit with confidence, we greet one another with the victorious salutation: Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
You have descended into the depths of the earth, O Christ…
Hong Kong Catholic priest speaks out publicly for the first time about the persecution of the Church in China
(The following was published in The Wanderer Catholic Newspaper on March 10 and marks the first time Father Woo chose to speak out publicly about the persecution of the Church in his native country.)
By Rev Vincent Woo, JCD (Cand.)
In 1917, Our Lady appeared in Fatima and warned us that if we do not repent from our sins, the errors of Russia will spread. How true it is, given what has been going on in the past few days in Ukraine. Yet, the errors of Russia are present in other parts of the world like China as well. The Chinese Communist Party is notorious for its complete lack of respect for human dignity. One example is the restriction of religious freedom. Instead of killing early Christians like the Romans did, the CCP took a different strategy by avoiding to create martyrs. It established a state-run church independent from Rome—called the Patriotic Association—and it desired to corrupt the faith from within. The CCP really wanted Cardinal Kung—then bishop of Shanghai—to lead this national church that pledged allegiance to the state. Cardinal Kung was adamant that he would never betray his faith. The CCP arrested him in 1955, together with hundreds of Shanghai priests, religious, and lay Catholics. Cardinal Kung, together with many of these heroes of the faith, was jailed for 33 years.
Mischevious nonsense from The Pillar
Cross-posted from LMSChairman blog.
April 14th this year was Maundy Thursday. It is an interesting day for The Pillar to choose to publish a shoddy attack on two Catholic intellectuals, Prof Thomas Pink and Fr Edward Waldstein, for their alleged 'integralist' views, in an interview by Charlie Camosy with Joseph Capizzi.
“Episcopal Conference? Freedom for the Bishops!” — Article by Archbishop Aguer — strong words on Bishop Daniel Fernandez Torres
Supporting Traditional Contemplative Religious Life for Women: A Call for Help
“For a Catholic freedom... in the Catholic Church”: Fr Claude Barthe on the prospects of a different era to come
Small town Maryland parish unveils new apse mural at Easter
Many readers will be already familiar with our parish, Saint Francis de Sales, in southern Maryland on the Patuxent River, the traditional Latin Mass having been offered here for nearly two generations, after a hiatus of about 20 years, and now a daily source of spiritual nourishment for the majority of our faithful.
The church, located in the village of Benedict, Maryland, unveiled the work of a parishioner-artist at the Easter vigil this year. The apse wall mural is in part inspired by the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of the church of Santa Agata in Brescia.
Lenin's Back
The greatest hater of Christianity in the 20th century, whose pernicious anti-Christian influence is strong to this day worldwide; the man solely responsible for the first law liberating abortion in the modern era (Russia, 1920), unleashing the massacre of over one billion babies in the intervening century; the monster who spawned death, destruction and hell for billions: this man is now being celebrated once again in the southern Ukrainian city of Henichesk (Kherson), occupied by Russian forces.
In the Kherson region of Ukraine, Russian soldiers have installed the Lenin monument. pic.twitter.com/o1GAPLpTN7
— Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) April 18, 2022
Whatever this horrible invasion is, it isn't a promotion of Christian values... Don't let yourself be fooled by the same Cheka/NKVD/KGB/FSB that has worked incessantly since 1917 to destroy Christian civilization, also through infiltration of all our institutions. This same KGB whose agents now promote the heresy of "Moscow Third Rome" as some kind of "conservative idea" in the highest echelons of our College of Bishops.
Traditional Holy Week Sights from Around the World
Happy Easter! Our favorite images of Holy Week from those sent to us, from different continents and latitudes.
Sincere thanks to all who contributed! (If you have images from your community that you wish others to see, just send them to us for a second post.)
FONTGOMBAULT EASTER SERMONS 2022 (Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday): “Christ is Alive! He Reigns!”
Easter Vigil
Concede nobis... cælestibus desideriis inflammari. Grant us... to be inflamed with heavenly desires. (Mk 16:6)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
My dearly beloved Sons,
In a most unusual and abrupt way, whereas the celebrant is still wearing a purple cope, a penance-coloured vestment, the great and holy Easter Vigil opens with a prayer pronounced on the new fire:
EX ORIENTE LUX
- Dominica Paschæ in Resurrectione Domini
- A Meditation of Saint Alphonsus on Paradise
superillustrans claritate tua
felices ignes horum malacoth!
lo raggio e il moto delle luci sante;
ma vostra vita sanza mezzo spira
la Somma Beninanza, e la innamora
di sé sì che poi sempre la disira.
E quinci puoi argomentare ancora
vostra resurrezion, se tu ripensi
come l'umana carne fessi allora
che li primi parenti intrambo fensi.*
Salve, Festa Dies: Hail, O Festive Day!
Consummatum est: "The chalice which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?"
Chalice - Lily. The chalice is the lily, stylized and adapted to our use, and which, born from water, is proper for us to take to our lips.
A Light in the Darkness - A NEW ITALIAN SITE - Fede Viva
For future reference, I’d
like to present to our readers a new
Italian site which exclusively addresses matters directly related to the reason
for our existence – our eternal
salvation i.e. complete happiness with Our Lord in Heaven.
By way
of introduction, I translated the short presentation on the site.
FEDE VIVA
A light in the darkness
LIVE, from Paris: TENEBRAE of Maundy Thursday - LAMENTATIONS by François Couperin
Dominus flevit: the destruction of Jerusalem - by Roberto de Mattei
by Roberto de Mattei
It is Palm Sunday. Jesus weeps on the Mount of Olives, where stands today the church of Dominus flevit — the place where “the Lord wept” (Lk 19:41). Before Him opens up not only the panorama of a city in celebration, whose tragic fate He knows, but also the equally dramatic picture of future ages, until the end of the world. Quae utilitas in sanguine meo? — “What profit is there in my blood?” (Ps 29:10). The thought that it will cost Him His sweat of blood in the Garden of Olives comes to His mind. The mystery of evil is before His eyes. Jerusalem will be destroyed not for its sins, but for its impenitence. Jesus, after His death and Resurrection, will offer the grace of repentance to His people, but He knows that this grace will be refused. Venient dies in te: et circumdabunt te inimici tui — “For the days shall come upon thee, and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee: and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation” (Lk 19:43-44).
Remembering my Dear Mother
Those readers who have been following us for a long time know that, years ago, I made repeated posts asking for your prayers for a terrible, painful, and, as in the end it turned out to be, terminal illness suffered by my mother. I made reference to her death also in several posts, including I believe this first one several years ago:
I hear the familiar sound of a car rolling down the street, and I look out the window hoping that it will be her car, that she is coming by for a visit.It is hard to believe this will never be the case again.I miss you, Mother...
I wish to thank all readers who have prayed for her soul throughout these many years, especially the Monks who with extreme kindness offered a series of Gregorian Masses on her behalf. Please, pray for her soul.
NC
Perjury: Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above
MORE: In good faith, Rich, I am sorrier for your perjury than my peril.NORFOLK: Do you deny this?MORE Yes! My lords, if I were a man who heeded not the taking of an oath, you know well I need not to be here. Now I will take an oath! If what Master Rich has said is true, then I pray I may never see God in the face! Which I would not say were it otherwise for anything on earth.CROMWELL: That is not evidence.MORE: Is it probable - is it probable - that after so long a silence on this, the very point so urgently sought of me, I should open my mind to such a man as that?
Fr. John Hardon’s Commentary on a Draft of the CCC (Part 2)
Bucha and Veiled Crucifixes: A Meditation for Monday in Holy Week
Father Richard Gennaro Cipolla
The bodies of the men, women and children lying dead in the streets of the villages north of Kyiv are shown in the news footage, some with their hands tied behind their backs, some facing upward with bullet-ridden bodies. But in all these photos, the victims’ faces are blurred out. This is out of respect, for the face and the eyes of a person are the signs of the identity of a person, the sign of what it means to be a man or woman in the image of God, and the eyes are a window to the soul. Even in an age in which social violence is accepted as part of the contemporary scene, these images strike deeply the cords of human compassion.
Important study: “On Doctrinal and Moral Disorders Abiding in the Church” — Fr. John Hardon’s 1990 critique of the “revised draft” of the Catechism (Part 1)
Fontgombault Sermon for Palm Sunday 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
My dearly beloved Sons,
Thinking of starting up Compline? Check out these editions (English/Latin & Spanish/Latin) of the old Roman Compline
What is your favorite Hour of the Office?
— Rorate Caeli (@RorateCaeli) March 30, 2022
New Catholic recommended monastic Compline for its unchangeable structure, and as a Benedictine oblate, I agree that this feature is both highly practical and deeply consoling. But let's not forget that the old (pre-Pius X) Roman Compline was exactly the same way, showing the continuity that existed between the diocesan and monastic worlds. A beautiful new edition of the classic Tridentine Compline has been prepared by Gerhard Eger, as announced here back in December (see that post for more information):
Sophia launches “Benedictus Books” imprint with reprint of Nicholas Gihr’s 1927 classic meditations on the Dies Irae
Please, send us your Holy Week pictures - the year after Traditionis Custodes
It is more alive now than ever.
Some have tried to suffocate it with the cruelly named "Traditionis custodes"; and the dubia (questions that nobody asked) by Cardinal Roche tried to ban the Holy Triduum.
And yet... the upcoming Holy Week will prove this attempt has failed. So in order to check the vitality of the Traditional Roman Rite around the world at this moment in time, we ask all of you who attend ceremonies of Holy Week in this rite (1955, 1962, it doesn't matter) to send us your favorite image from your area. Please identify them in the subject as "HOLY WEEK PICTURE" - mail them to newcatholic@gmail.com.
We will post all of them together on Easter Monday, one for each place, as a display of mutual solidarity and strength. Thank you!
Announcing Fr. Charles Murr’s new book of memoirs, Murder in the 33rd Degree: The Gagnon Investigation into Vatican & Freemasonry
"In black and white": Archbishop Aguer on tradition versus relativism
German theologian H. Hoping: "The Synodal Way changes the architecture of the doctrine of knowledge"
German theologian H. Hoping: "The Synodal Way Changes the Architecture of the Doctrine of Knowledge"