Strong words from Rome to the Revolutionary Church of the Zapatistas

In the post-Conciliar age, there were few experiments as wild as that of the Iglesia Autóctona ("Autochthonous" or "Native Church"), in the state of Chiapas, in southern Mexico (the old Diocese of Chiapas, since 1964 named Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas).

Bishop Samuel Ruiz García was appointed by Pope John XXIII in 1959, a 35-year-old priest at the time, and shaped the Church in that part of the world for more than 40 years (including 22 years during the pontificate of John Paul II), aided by his own view of the Council, which he attended, as a complete rupture with the past.

Ruiz was one of those radical "Nativist" bishops, who inspired the spirit of Medellín (the meeting of Latin American bishops in the troubled year of 1968 in the city of Medellín, Colombia, which established the episcopal bases for Liberation Theology) and took "inculturation" to its ultimate consequences. One of the most crucial aspects of his Iglesia Autóctona was the establishment of permanent deacons, elected by each native tribe, and ordained by him to minister to the community -- with the expectation of, perhaps, being ordained to the priesthood.

The other major aspect of his time as bishop was to link the Church in Chiapas to the several local Marxist-inspired guerrillas, especially the EZLN, the well-known Zapatistas.

Ruiz resigned when he turned 75 and was replaced by Felipe Arizmendi. Soon afterwards, the Vatican received an interesting report: during Ruiz's tenure, 8 (eight) priests had been ordained, compared to 400 permanent deacons, chosen by their tribes. After this, the Vatican suspended, for an indefinite time, the ordination of permanent deacons in the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas.

Last Wednesday, the left-wing Mexican daily La Jornada published a report mentioning that Arizmendi had asked the Vatican to lift the suspension. The Holy See responded:

In a document dated October 26, 2005, signed by its prefect, Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments presents four reasons to [keep the suspension] of the ordination of native permanent deacons.

First: "It cannot be ignored -- says the text -- that even five years after the departure of His Excellency, Bishop Samuel Ruiz, from San Cristóbal de las Casas, the ideology which promotes the implementation of an Iglesia Autóctona is still latent in the diocese." Second: there is a "basic ideological problem" and no ordinations shall take place until it is solved. Third: "to nurture among the faithful expectations which are contrary to the Magisterium and to Tradition, as is the case of a permanent diaconate directed towards the married priesthood, places the Holy See in a position of being forced to reject the various petitions and pressures, by this way looking intolerant". Fourth: there should not be deacons "by community designation, but by official call by the Church" and they require "a solid intellectual formation, guided by the Holy See".

Arizmendi, named by John Paul II in 2000, seemed disappointed with this Roman response, which he received "with pain and sadness".

One year

There have been many articles regarding the first anniversary of the election of Benedict XVI, most of which filled with wild assessments (which are just as inaccurate now as they were one year ago). The truth is: there is nothing much to say. One will be able to judge this first year of the Ratzinger pontificate only in a few years or, probably, only when the next conclave meets. This first year will then be seen as either an emblematic year for the whole of the pontificate or as a serene prelude to more vigorous years.

For now, the best summary I could find was what Fr. Philippe Baud, a Swiss priest in the Diocese of Lausanne, said in this report: "Many of my interlocutors acknowledge that they do not really know what he [is doing]." Now, that is a common feeling among all sincere observers! And to think that there are already books being published about the first year... A first year whose true meaning is lost to all but Pope Ratzinger himself, the only man who knows what he has in mind.

Benedicto, Summo Pontifici et universali Papæ
pax, vita et salus perpetua.

Liturgical Creed - The Principles of the Anti-Liturgical Heresy

LITURGICAL CREED

I believe that the Traditional Rites of East and West contain within themselves so many elements of Apostolic origin that it is impossible to separate these from the elements added by post-Apostolic ecclesiastical tradition.

I believe no man here on earth (Pastor Aeternus, IV, 6) can rightfully determine the complete abrogation, full substitution, or substantial derogation of any received Traditional Rite, of East and West, which contains inextricable Apostolic elements.

I believe Ecclesiastical History continuously proves that the rights of the liturgical rites "established by long and immemorial prescription" have always been respected by the Holy Roman Church, even in ages of great liturgical crises and heresies (Quo Primum; Quod a Nobis).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

______________________________________________

Please, also read the Principles of the Anti-Liturgical Heresy, an excerpt of Dom Prosper Guéranger's Institutions Liturgiques, one of the most shocking texts I read in my life. I still remember reading it for the first time, quoted in a book by Louis Salleron, and my horror was undescribable: any careless reader is able to see in this mid-19th-century text the unfolding events which led to the collapse of Catholic liturgy in the post-Conciliar age.

Its French original (L'Hérésie Antiliturgiste) is available at Salve Regina. You may find an abridged English translation here, from which we transcribe the essential words:


First Principle:

The first characteristic of the anti-liturgical heresy is hatred of Tradition as found in the formulas used in Divine Worship. One cannot fail to note this special characteristic in all heretics, from Vigilantus to Calvin, and the reason for it is easy to explain.

Every sectarian who wishes to introduce a new doctrine finds himself, unfailingly, face to face with the Liturgy, which is Tradition at its strongest and best, and he cannot rest until he has silenced this voice, until he has torn up these pages which recall the faith of past centuries.

Second Principle:

This, as matter of fact, is the second principle of the anti-liturgical sect: to replace the formulas of the Ecclesiastical teachings [with] readings from the Holy Scripture.

This involves two advantages: first, to silence the voice of Tradition of which sectarians are always afraid. Then, there is the advantage of propagating and supporting their dogmas by means of affirmation and negation. By way of negation, in passing over in silence, through cunning, the texts which express doctrine opposed to errors they wish to propagate; by way of affirmation, by emphasizing truncated passages which show only one side of the truth, hide the other the eyes of the unlearned.

Third Principle:

...having eliminated the ecclesiastical formulas and proclaimed the absolute necessity of making use only of the words of Scripture in divine worship and having seen that Holy Scripture does not always yield itself to all their purposes as they would like, their third principle, we say, is to fabricate and introduce various formulas...

Fourth Principle:

...all the sectarians without exceptions begin with the vindication of the rights of Antiquity. They want to cut Christianity off from all that the errors and passions of man have mixed in; from whatever is “false” and “unworthy of God”. All they want is the primitive, and they pretend to go back to the cradle of Christian institutions.

To this end, they prune, they efface, they cut away; everything falls under their blows, and while one is waiting to see the original purity of the divine cult reappear, one finds himself encumbered with new formulas dating only from the night before, and which are incontestably human, since the one who created them is still alive.

... Their preference for preaching antiquity led only to cutting them off from the entire past.

Fifth Principle:

Since the liturgical reform is being undertaken by the sectarians with the same goal as the reform of dogma, of which it is the consequence, it follows that as Protestants separated from unity in order to believe less, they found themselves led to cut away in the Liturgy all the ceremonies, all the formulas which express mysteries.

They called it superstition, idolatry, everything that did not seem to be merely rational, thus, limiting the expression of faith, obscuring by doubt and even negation all the views, which open on the supernatural world.

... No more sacramentals, blessings, images, relics of Saints, processions, pilgrimages, etc. No more altar, only a table, no more sacrifice as in every religion, but only a meal.

Sixth Principle:

The suppression of the mystical element in the Protestant liturgy was bound to produce, infallibly, the total extinction of that spirit of prayer, which in Catholicism, we call unction.

A heart in revolt can no longer love...

Seventh Principle:

Pretending to treat nobly with God, Protestant liturgy has no need of intermediaries. To invoke the help of the Blessed Virgin, or the protection of Saints, would be, for them, a lack of respect due to the Supreme Being.

Eighth Principle:

Since the liturgical reform had for one of its principal aims the abolition of actions and formulas of mystical signification, it is a logical consequence that its authors had to vindicate the use of the vernacular in divine worship.

This is in the eyes of sectarians a most important item. Worship is not a secret matter, they say. The people, they say, must understand what they sing. Hatred for the Latin language is inborn in the hearts of all the enemies of Rome. They recognize it as the bond among Catholics throughout the universe, as the arsenal of orthodoxy against all the subtleties of the sectarian spirit.

Ninth Principle:

In taking away from the Liturgy the mystery which humbles reason, Protestantism took care not to forget the practical consequence, that is to say, liberation from the fatigue and the burden of the body imposed by the rules of the papist Liturgy.

First of all, no more fasting, no more abstinence, no more genuflections in prayer. For the ministers of the temple, no more daily functions to carry out, no more canonical prayers to recite in the name of the Church.

Such is one of the principal forms of the great Protestant emancipation: to diminish the sum of public and private prayers.

Tenth Principle:

Since Protestantism had to establish a rule in order to distinguish among the papist institutions those which could be the most hostile to its principle, it had to rummage around in the foundations of the Catholic structure to find the corner stone on which everything rests. Its instinct caused it to discover first of all that dogma which is irreconcilable with every innovation: Papal authority. ...The Latin language, the Divine Office, the calendar, the breviary: all were abominations of the great Harlot of Babylon. The Roman Pontiff weighs down reason by his dogmas and the sense by his ritual practices.

Eleventh Principle:

The anti-liturgical heresy needed, in order to establish its reign for good, the destruction in fact and in principle of all priesthood in Christianity. For it felt that where there is a Pontiff, there is an Altar, and where there is an Altar there is a sacrifice and the carrying on of a mysterious ceremonial.

Happy Birthday

Excerpt of the birthday message sent to the Pope by his brother, Canon Georg Ratzinger, published this Sunday in the semi-official Italian Catholic daily, Avvenire:

"May the Lord give you spiritual and intellectual inspiration, and also physical strength, to thus be able to take the right decisions and to find the proper words, and to remain brave and steady on the waves which, according to a secret Divine will, surround the Church, and you with her."

"Oremus pro invicem."

The waves are mighty, indeed...

Allen and the "Consensus" Myth - A Chronology of Events

"Quid est veritas?" ("What is truth?"), we heard Pilate ask Our Lord in the Passion according to Saint John, read last Friday. Maybe I cannot provide an answer to this question (an answer you will find in your Catechism), but it is usually not difficult to see that which is NOT true. Let us examine, for instance, the central account of the conversation John Allen reports he had with two "Vatican Officials" (a term which could cover thousands of people around the world) regarding the supposed "liberalization" of the Traditional Mass:

"Whenever there have been meetings about this among the cardinals, it's not just that there's division," he said. "The overwhelming majority is against it [universal permission to celebrate the old rite]. It's not like it's fifty-fifty." ... "But Benedict is trying to operate on the basis of consensus, and there's just no consensus," he said. Another senior Vatican official said simply, "It is not a theme that is yet mature."

Anyone who has ever been in charge of any operation with two or more subordinates knows it is great to work in consensus -- if possible, with no dissension at all. We can be absolutely sure that Benedict would like nothing better than to have no opposition whatsoever to whatever he wishes to do. However, Benedict knows that this perfect operation does not exist, and it certainly cannot be found at the Vatican. No Vatican official truly knows what Benedict will do, for he will do whatever he is willing to do (and Allen admits this by writing a disclaimer), with no need for consensus -- even though very few are able to know what are his plans.

His many meetings regarding the same issues are not to find consensus, which he does not need to enact any measure, but to guide the Vatican machinery to whatever he has planned to do, particularly in the cases where there is no consensus at all: the need for meetings is greatly reduced when the issue involved is the object of majoritarian consensus among the members of an organization, and that is true in any organization of any size.

So allow me to dismantle this consensus myth by remembering the chronology of some verifiable events regarding the Traditional Mass and reconciliation with the SSPX in the past 12 months. I know some consider the SSPX-reconciliation process and the recognition of the Traditional Roman Liturgy (or Traditional Latin Mass, TLM for lack of a better abbreviation) as separate issues, but that is true only in a "structural" sense: both issues are very much related to each other in a logical level.

Behold the chronology:

May-July 2005: sometime during this period, by provocation of the Pope, certain dicasteries were asked to present their opinions on matters related to "the Traditionalist question", including the current status of the TLM.

August 29, 2005: Papal meeting with Bishop Fellay and Father Schmidberger; also present were Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos and the Papal secretary. Both sides vowed to proceed "gradually and in reasonable time".

September-October 2005: sometime during this period, an internal memo prepared by the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship (CDW), Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino, was signed by him and by the Prefect, Cardinal Arinze, and forwarded to some dicasteries. It is not known if the Pope had knowledge of this memo (the "Sorrentino Memo") immediately thereafter.

October 2005: 11th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The theme of the Synod was the Eucharist, which made it the first major worldwide meeting of Bishops to discuss the Holy Mass since the Second Session of Vatican II which approved Sacrosanctum Concilium.

-October 13: In an interview to several journalists, the Prefect of CDW, Cardinal Arinze, affirms that the "Tridentine" Missal "is not a priority, as no one has spoken about it".

-October 15: Cardinal Castrillón speaks on the floor of the Synod on the possibility for the universal usage of the TLM. Almost complete silence meets his intervention (NCR report).

-October 20: The propositions made by the Synod Fathers are made public, in a first leak to the press, with no mention of the TLM.

___________________

And with this I interrupt this first part of the chronology of events. Let me emphasize: THERE WAS NO CONSENSUS WHATSOEVER for the Traditional Missal. Actually, there was a clear consensus, by representatives of all episcopal conferences, seconded by the silence of most Curial Synod Fathers, AGAINST ANY concession to Traditionalists.

So, if Benedict wished to solve "the Traditionalist question" through some kind of "consensus", the whole matter would obviously have been dead and buried in October 2005. The "Vatican official" interviewed by Allen is certainly correct: it is not a "fifty-fifty" matter; it is not even a 95-5 matter (against Traditionalists)... It is worse than that.

Let us now see Benedict work against the overwhelming consensus in the second part of this chronology of events.

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-October 22: On the eve of the closing of the Synod, the secret "Sorrentino Memo", with the conclusion that the Traditional Liturgy "was abolished", is made public by Vaticanist Andrea Tornielli in Il Giornale.

November 15, 2005: 5-hour-long meeting between Cardinal Castrillón, Bishop Fellay, and Father Schmidberger (some reports mention that the meeting extended into November 16).

November 19, 2005: The Bollettino surprisingly published the dismissal of the only Dicastery secretary removed in the first year of the pontificate. Domenico Sorrentino, author of the "Sorrentino Memo" on the "abolition" of the Traditional Mass, is promoted to Assisi.

December 10, 2005: Archbishop Albert Ranjith P. Don, a known proposer of a "reform of the reform" and sympathetic to Traditionalist claims, is brought from the Nunciature in Jakarta to the Secretariat of CDW.

December 2005-January 2006: Dicasteries are informed that the studies and proposals regarding Traditionalist matters are to be discussed in an early February meeting of the heads of Dicasteries.

February 13, 2006: First meeting of the Pope with the heads of Dicasteries during the Pontificate. The only issue was the "Traditionalist question", both in terms of liturgical law and of possible canonical structures. The Pope guides the discussion, but mostly listens, and asks for specific proposals to be offered in a March 23 meeting (the consistory had not yet been announced) and also in an early April meeting. (More details on this meeting here and here).

March 23, 2006: Pre-consistory meeting with the College of Cardinals. The main issues of the day were "the Question of Abp. Lefebvre and of the liturgical reform willed by the Second Vatican Council". It is known that, as it had happened during the Synod, most cardinals who intervened were opposed to any openness to Traditionalists, though, in view of the obvious willingness of the Pope to discuss this issue, many yielded some aspects. In the end, the general feeling was that the Pope merely wanted a "via libera", the go-ahead, which he achieved at some level. (More details here and here).

March 30, 2006: ACI (Spanish version of the Catholic News Agency) is the first news outlet to mention a possible "liberalization" of the Traditional Missal.

April 6, 2006: Reporting from the assembly of the French Bishops, at Lourdes, the semi-official daily of the Catholic Church in France, La Croix, is the first respectable source to mention the words "Motu Proprio" regarding a document for the "liberalization" of the Missal.

April 7, 2006:
-In Rome: the second meeting of the heads of dicasteries with the Pope. It is important to mention that not a single word of this meeting has actually been made known. It was expected that the Pope would speak more and listen less. Whatever was discussed or decided then is unknown.

-In Lourdes: the General Assembly of the French Episcopal Conference (CEF) published its final conclusions. Regarding the "Traditionalist Question", the bishops recognize that the Pope "has a concern" and that "in the weeks or months ahead, [the pope] shall lay down the directives to facilitate the way to a possible return to full communion" [of the SSPX/FSSPX]. The bishops, with little subtlety, attack the apparent Papal willingness to grant some kind of canonical structure.

So much for a "blogosphere" fever... It is obvious that, whatever he wishes to do, Pope Benedict wishes to do so in a smooth way. But one cannot simply say he wants "consensus", and dismiss all that is related to the issue because a "Vatican Official" said "there is no consensus". The Pope already got his consensus: an almost unanimous consensus from representatives of all bishops of the world meeting in the Synod of Bishops that "the Traditionalist question" was irrelevant to them; and they were clearly AGAINST any concession. This "consensus" did not prevent the developments of the subsequent months.

The consensus myth makes even less sense when we remember who Pope Benedict is: he is not a Cardinal with little Curial experience, arriving from Krakow. He is the man who knows the Curia best; he KNOWS the opinions of all heads of dicasteries and of all cardinals on the matters he wished to discuss. If he had been looking for consensus, he would never have brought up for discussion this delicate matter in the first place.

It is obvious SOMETHING is going to happen, though we do not know what: the French bishops themselves wrote the first offifical document with the admission that something (or some things...) will happen "in the weeks or months ahead". One thing is certain: the Pope will do whatever he believes to be just, regardless of a lack of "consensus". The consensus he wishes to portray is to make known that whatever he does will have been done with his full knowledge of the positions taken by the bishops in the October Synod, by the heads of the Roman Dicasteries, and by the members of the College of Cardinals.
___________________
What about Allen? Allen is a fine fellow, but he is more a newsmaker than a news gatherer, in the best "tradition" of contemporary American Church reporters, such as Robert Blair Kaiser. He and his sources wish to influence events or to alter the way future decisions are perceived and interpreted, and that is how his words should be read.
___________________

Do not forget to read my general caveat here. (April 18, 1000 GMT): Just to make it clearer, as I have recently written to a curious reader: even though it appears "something" may come, this something may represent nothing. Do not lift your hopes too high. If something is to come, let us be pleasantly surprised.

EX ORIENTE LUX

Osanna, sanctus Deus sabaòth,
superillustrans claritate tua
felices ignes horum malacòth!

L'anima d'ogne bruto e de le piante
di complession potenziata tira
lo raggio e 'l moto de le 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.

Divina Commedia, Paradiso (c. VII)

________________________________________________

Hosanna holy God of Sabaoth,/ abundantly illumining with thy brightness/ the blessed fires of these kingdoms ... The soul of every brute and of each plant,/ The ray and motion of the sacred lights,/ Draw from complexion with meet power endued./ But this our life the Eternal Good inspires/ Immediate, and enamours of itself;/ So that our wishes rest forever here./ And hence thou mayst by inference conclude/ Our resurrection certain, if thy mind/ Consider how the human flesh was framed,/ When both our parents at the first were made. (Transl. H.F.Cary)

Exultet Note "Be ye wise as serpents and simple as doves"

Our skepticism was proven right.

In the days leading up to Holy Thursday, I had already made my skepticism regarding the date for the release of a possible document known when I published the words, "Ja nicht auf das Fest, auf daß nicht ein Aufruhr werde im Volk!" (i.e. "Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people," St. Matthew, xxvi, 5, famously set to music by Bach in his Matthäuspassion). That obviously was too cryptic for many, so I had to write down more intelligible reasons for my skepticism.

Around the world, pedophiles, sodomites, perverts of all kinds, and other abusers of the body are commended and promoted in the Church; and, only when their abuse is made public, they are hidden and quietly dismissed. Around the world, heretics, dissenters, liturgical wreckers, and other abusers of the soul are praised and elevated.

Meanwhile, Traditional Catholics, those who merely want to be catechized, to pray, and to worship as countless generations of Catholics did, are the lepers of Catholicism. They are despised, trampled upon, hated, persecuted, and, when tolerated, ghettoized. They receive hatred and ridicule from "liberal" bishops. They are seen with mistrust and disdain by "conservatives".

This reality is very clear to me and to most Traditionalists, who are keenly aware of the Catholic version of "Murphy's Law": "If a measure which favors Traditional Catholics is expected, then it will probably not happen." This law has been in force for 40 years and Catholics who follow this kind of news must never forget it -- I certainly never did and I had assumed most, if not all, Traditional Catholics were experienced enough to know it.

Another blogger amusingly saw despair here... Not at all, I have always expected the worst, and I have never expected much, not even in the most optimistic days, for this is the state of our times -- even though I felt compelled to report and translate what I had read elsewhere. This is an unfortunate age, but it auspiciously allows Catholics to earn many merits which otherwise would have been impossible for them to earn: "...the Divine permission of the greatest evils is holy, for it aims at a superior good, a good which we will one day contemplate and which only God may judge." (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life). If we do not see the supernatural side of things, we will always be disappointed about ecclesiastical power struggles which are not for us to settle.
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And the document, will it come out? Well, why not? But the eventual signs for it will have to be clearer (see items (b) and (c) of my "increasingly skeptical" post here). A surprise, perhaps?... That would be very unlikely, but may God choose the time He sees fit.
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In Dr. Philip Blosser's parallel blog Scripture and Catholic Tradition, a wonderful interview, first printed in the Latin Mass Magazine, with Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, with very good insights on the worst pontificate in modern times (Which one? Check here.)

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A Happy Easter to all!

Triduum recess

This blog now enters in complete recess during the Triduum, a recess which will only be interrupted if the measure many have been anticipating is made public in these most sacred days.

We are increasingly skeptical regarding the release of a document dealing with the Traditional Mass tomorrow, for the following reasons, among others:

(a) Traditional Catholics have been deceived and kicked around for too long and this could well be another episode of the same old story;

(b) The complete silence of the first-rate Vaticanists, both conservative and progressive;

(c) The fact that most if not all well positioned Traditional Clergy seem to remain completely in the dark, the same men who, at this point, should have known whether something was going to happen tomorrow or not.

We hope the Traditional Rites of the Holy Roman Church have their rightful place once again duly recognized in the Latin Church, and we hope this happens as soon as possible, this very Maundy Thursday if Our Lord wills it! We earnestly hope our skepticism is proven wrong and that this ultimately proves to be a master stroke by the Holy Father.

May you and your families have a very holy Triduum and a happy Easter.

Sub tuum præsidium
confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix.
Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus,
sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper,
Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.
Amen.

Il Tempo: "Yes to the Mass..."

UPDATED ON APRIL 12- SEE END OF ARTICLE

At last, the matter has reached the Italian press. This Palm Sunday, the old Roman daily Il Tempo publishes the following article filled with the kind of information we have been witnessing for a couple of weeks. All information contained in the following article is provided by Il Tempo and we cannot vouch for its details of date or nature of the possible "gesture" (you will notice that the reporter himself is very careful). Parts of it are unrelated to the Mass and, naturally, we cannot translate all of it, for legal reasons:

Yes to the Mass "with the back to the people"

by PAOLO LUIGI RODARI

[THE GESTURE]

IN the next few days, maybe on Holy Thursday (the news is not still certain), Benedict XVI could decide to fulfill an official gesture in which he would grant the possibility, to whomever wishes to do so, to celebrate Holy Mass according to the ancient rite, that of Saint Pius V, and could do so by declaring that this rite (which was the one in force before the Second Vatican Council) is still in effect today simply because it has never been abolished.

[WHAT COULD HAPPEN]

The Pope's gesture, which, if accomplished, could determine an important development even towards the schismatic Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, founded by bishop Marcel Lefebvre. With this kind of indult, in fact, all Traditionalists of the Holy Roman Church could return to celebrate Mass with the ancient rite without asking for the permission of a diocesan bishop and, in the meantime, the Lefebvrists, in view of the openness to Tradition made by Rome, could arrive at a declaration of acceptance, without conditions, of the accomplishments made by the Church during and after the Second Vatican Council and, in this way, receive the revocation of the excommunication by the pope, they themselves also returning [and] celebrating freely the Mass with the old rite.

[The new members of P. C. Ecclesia Dei]

Yesterday, ... the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, ... received the nomination of three new members..., all cardinals created in the last consistory. They are William Levada,...Jean-Pierre Ricard, ... and Antonio Canizares [sic] Llovera..., three routine nominations, probably made on the suggestion of Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, who is the president of Ecclesia Dei.

It is a common practice, in fact, that, after every consistory, the new porporati be admitted as members of a few dicasteries of the Roman Curia and the choice of these three for the commission which cares for the relations with the Lefebvrists is justifiable, more than anything else, for technical reasons. ... Levada has been named as prefect of the former Holy Office (when he was a cardinal, Ratzinger occupied this position), because it is obvious that the president of Doctrine of the Faith be a member of a commission which deals with doctrinal questions. Ricard was already a member of Ecclesia Dei from the time he was a bishop (he has been nominated because it is in France that there is the highest number of practicing Lefebvrists [sic]) and, thus, his has been above all an ordinary reconfirmation. Perhaps the only unexpected nomination was that of Canizares, a great friend of Ratzinger, whose outstanding theological preparation can only add to the commission. ...

Some have said this blog has declared something will happen during Holy Week. Something may happen; we have only forwarded news from different sources, but we really cannot vouch for specific dates or for the content of a hypothetical document. All kinds of things may happen and we can only say that there is a clear crescendo (and also an enormous amount of rumors, some of which clearly wild and unfounded), though we do not know for sure what will come out of it. We have always recommended, since those early days of Septuagesima, prayer and penance, which are within our reach. Pray especially for the Pope -- and celebrate the most solemn days of the year.

Confidite, Ego vici mundum!

Laudetur Iesus Christus!

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Observation (1730 GMT): It is an often repeated quip that the Italian press is unreliable. In our experience, it is not more or less reliable than the English-language press (we would say it is probably more reliable than the average American newspaper -- just check the ridiculous propaganda piece in The New York Times Magazine on abortion in El Salvador this Sunday). What is definitely true is that some journalists are more reliable than others. This particular journalist, Paolo Luigi Rodari, has twice before just in the past month described well: what would be the main theme of the pre-consistory meeting (and even we considered unlikely that the question of Archbishop Lefebvre would be a main theme of the meeting of all cardinals -- link); as well as what would happen on the eve of the merger of the presidencies of four Roman dicasteries (link).

You may take it or leave it, but just to yell "Italian Press!" is not enough.
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Monday Update (April 10, 1700 GMT):

Yves Chiron's Aletheia bulletin (in French) and Alejandro Bermúdez's Catholic News Agency-CNA/ACIPrensa have joined the choir of those who have declared that the Pope has signed a document and will have it published in the next few days.

Following an excellent review of the steps taken during the past ten months, Aletheia declares: "• Holy Thursday, April 13: Benedict XVI should make public a motu proprio on the rite of the mass."

CNA publishes the information that "according to [its] source, the announcement could come 'between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday,' but the exact day has not yet been set. Nevertheless, the source said the decision has already been made by the Holy Father and that it’s ' only a matter of time' before it is publicly announced."

Caveat: It could be that all of these new sources are simply echoing Il Tempo and others; nevertheless, these news sources, particularly CNA, usually double-check their own sources, so we are inclined to believe that they are not merely copying Il Tempo. (If you have any difficulties linking to CNA, you can find a copy of the original release at Angelqueen).

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Tuesday Update (April 11, 2230 GMT):

Now even the very careful CWN admits that something is going on... (copy of the original release at Angelqueen), though unfortunately this news agency does not acknowledge the Il Tempo report, first translated here (CWN says: "My own prediction-- based on hints and inferences and hunches, nothing more-- is that the document will be at least as strong as a universal indult, but will not resolve the canonical status of the Society of St. Pius X. Again that is a prediction, not a report.").

Nonetheless, it is particularly odd that many well-known Vaticanists seem to be ignoring what could be a turning point in the current pontificate. Some of our own favorites, including Sandro Magister, Andrea Tornielli (since immediately after the March 23 pre-consistory meeting), and Vittorio Messori have been completely silent on the matter. It is also curious that "progressives", as Marco Politi and Giancarlo Zizola, have not mentioned anything on this pivotal subject, to our knowledge.

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Wednesday Update (April 12, 1000 GMT):

1. Archivum, which first mentioned the news of the possible document on the Traditional Rites of the Latin Church, adds the following information today: "Several sources confirm that tomorrow, Holy Thursday, an important Papal document should be released, having as its subject the current validity of the Tridentine liturgy. This document --in the form of a Motu Proprio, it is said -- has already been signed and would simply be officially promulgated. Very recent Papal audiences with card. Arinze allow [us] to reasonably suppose that the date of publication shall be precisely tomorrow."

2. (1200 GMT) It still seems odd to us that not a word on this possible document has been uttered by other well-known sources, if only to deny its existence. In his latest web article, Sandro Magister once again deals with liturgical matters, but is completely silent on the possible document, as if it were a non-issue.

On the other hand, the almost complete silence of our own Vatican sources is of a kind unknown to us and is startling.

3. (1700 GMT) The website of the Latin Mass Community in Melbourne, Australia, administered by priests of the Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), has published the following news: "It now appears certain that the Holy Father has signed a significant document on the Sacred Liturgy, and on the classical Latin liturgy in particular. We will let you know as soon as further details are to hand." Anything is possible at this moment, but we truly believe an official website would be careful with its sources and that these would be internal sources. (Thanks to reader Jon for pointing this out).

It is already Maundy Thursday in Australia and we hope they are right...

4. (2000 GMT) Regarding the news mentioned in the previous item, unofficial contacts have not confirmed the information made public in the FSSP website, though they have not denied it, either.

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Miserere nobis + + + HEBDOMADA SANCTA + + + Miserere nobis

Dear friends,

During Holy Week, we will post only urgent news. The days whose solemnity we have expected since Septuagesima have arrived. Fast and prayers intensify as we approach the annual celebration of the glorious days of our Redemption.

Sanctus Deus! Sanctus fortis! Sanctus immortalis!
Miserere nobis!

Introit for Palm Sunday, 15th Century

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Holy Tuesday addition:
(moved from April 11, 1700 GMT, individual post)

Ja nicht auf das Fest,
auf daß nicht ein Aufruhr werde im Volk!

(One devotional image as a gift to the avid reader who mailed us...)

His time was coming!...

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Collect for Maundy Thursday (Missa Nos Autem), 1250

Introit for Maundy Thursday (Missa Nos Autem), 16th century

O CRUX, AVE, SPES UNICA!

"A document has been signed..."

Yesterday, we closed our third and last update on the April 7 meeting with a note, from Archivum: His Holiness "has signed a document regarding the Rite of the Mass".

One of our most trustworthy sources has finally broken the general silence and has confirmed that truly a document of great importance on the liturgy of the Latin Church "has been signed".

However, just as yesterday we mentioned "...the Rite of the Mass...", this source cannot or will not confirm if this document of great importance impacts (a) the Traditional Roman Rite (or, as it is usually called in more adequate terms, "the liturgical rite and discipline, according to the prescriptions of Saint Pius V, with the adaptations introduced by his successors up to Blessed John XXIII"); or (b) the New Roman rite (which, regarding the rite of the mass, was approved on Holy Thursday, 1969, by the Apostolic Constitution "Missale Romanum", of Paul VI); or (c) both rites.

PS 1: The Pope named today as members of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei": Cardinals Levada (as had happened with the previous head of the CDF...), Ricard (who had been first appointed to the Commission by Pope John Paul), and Cañizares Llovera. The nominations, of course, are not donec aliter provideatur, but for regular five-year terms (Pastor Bonus, 5). Does this mean the Commission still has a long life ahead of it in its current format?...

PS 2: We thank the dear commentator who was able to transcribe what would have been said at Radio Vaticana, though apparently later expunged from the official transcript. Amidst the report on the conclusions of the Assembly of the French Episcopal Conference regarding "the Traditionalist question" (see Update 1, item d), the reporter would have said: "...Ciò, soprattutto, in vista della pubblicazione del motu proprio del Papa sul rito della Messa..." (That is: "This [the measures towards Traditionalists] especially in view of the publication of the Motu Proprio of the Pope on the rite of the Mass.").

PS 3: We apologise for not linking to specific published news sources in different languages, as we usually do, but this time we depend mostly on unpublished sources. Almost all Italian newspapers have remained silent. The usual online news sources have also been silent, except for ACI (see our Update 2), which did mention a few aspects of yesterday's meeting. We refuse to link to the Zenit or CWN reports which have absolutely nothing new.

Great Orators of the Order of Friars Preachers

"A man who governs his passions is master of the world. We must either rule them, or be ruled by them."

Saint Dominic

"How ... strongly should we be drawn to Christ if we find our pleasure in truth, happiness, justice, eternal life: all of which Christ is!"

Saint Thomas Aquinas

"Regard yourself as more vile and miserable in the sight of God because of your faults than any sinner whatsoever, no matter what his sins."

Saint Vincent Ferrer

"The Glorious Virgin Mary...by the blessed fruit of her womb has saved a world condemned by the fall of our first parents."

Pope Saint Pius V

"God is the proper name of Truth, as Truth is the abstract name of God."

Lacordaire

"We must accompany [gay people] as they discern what this means, letting our images be stretched open... This means watching 'Brokeback Mountain,' reading gay novels, living with our gay friends and listening with them as they listen to the Lord."

Timothy Radcliffe

The April 7 meeting : what to expect

What will this Friday's meeting of the Pope with the heads of dicasteries look like?

In fact, nobody outside of the most exclusive papal circles knows for sure.

From what we gathered and published in the past, this is what the meeting could look like.

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First option: a meeting for the ratification of a Papal decision:

One of the possibilities is that His Holiness, with the results of the first consultative meeting (of February 13), and emboldened by the "free pass" (the "via libera") garnered at the pre-consistory meeting (of March 23), will announce some strong decisions regarding the Traditional Rites of the Latin Church.

If that is truly the case, then the result may either be announced in a short time or could be delayed until sometime in the near future. Could it be announced to the general public immediately? This possibility should not be entirely discarded.

Second option: the meeting will be of a merely consultative nature:

As the meeting of February 13, the meeting of April 7 could include only a convergence of opinions among the dicasteries, under the guidance of the Pope (considering the final opinions issued by the dicasteries involved in the process, as determined in the February meeting), before a more definitive move is decided by His Holiness. The meeting will nevertheless be guided by him -- unlike the February and pre-consistory meetings, in which he mostly listened.

Third option: the meeting will include only the discussion of matters unrelated to the Traditional Rites of the Latin Church. (This could well be the case; nothing is completely certain in the modus operandi of Pope Benedict, "the Serene"...)

In any case, it is certain, as we first reported here in March, that this second meeting will include (perhaps as its main topic) discussions on the new structure of the Roman Curia.

Finally, we call your attention to some of our February advices, which still hold true.

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Update 1 (April 7, 1100 GMT): (a) The Bollettino simply confirms that the meeting took place, with no information of the matters discussed (exactly as it happened in February -- though differently from what took place after the pre-consistory meeting with the College of Cardinals).

(b) The Thursday edition of La Croix (the semi-official "progressive" Catholic French daily) mentions that the moment for the publication of a Papal "Motu Proprio" on the "rite of the Mass" is close. This is the first time the nature of the hypothetical document is mentioned in a reliable source.

(c) Le Salon Beige reports that Radio Vaticana (in its Italian feed) also mentioned that a "Motu Proprio" for the "liberalization" of the Traditional Missal could be issued shortly (in days?... weeks?... ). We have not been able to verify if Radio Vaticana has actually broadcast this information.

(d) Le Forum Catholique links to the final conclusions of this week's Assembly of the French Episcopal Conference (PDF file) in which the bishops reject a structure which is separate from the Diocesan Churches (Well... Is it really their decision?...); but they recognize that, regarding the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX/SSPX), the Pope "has a concern" and that "in the weeks or months ahead, [the pope] shall lay down the directives to facilitate the way to a possible return to full communion".

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Update 2 (April 7, 1900 GMT): We have never witnessed this kind of silence before. Utter and complete silence. ACI Prensa (the Spanish original version of the Catholic News Agency), reports that "according to Vatican sources, the reform of the Roman Curia and a liberalization of the Missal of Saint Pius V would have been discussed".

As we suggested yesterday as our second option, ACI (i.e. Alejandro Bermúdez) reports that:

"In this second meeting with the Roman Curia, celebrated in the Bologna Hall of the Vatican, Benedict XVI would have collected the opinions of the heads of the dicasteries to take decisions regarding the liturgical reform in the line willed by John Paul II in his encyclical letter 'Ecclesia de Eucharistia'...

"According to the same cources, the most important announcement which would follow this meeting would be the liberalization of the Missal of 1962, a decision which is part of the liturgical reform set in motion by Pope Benedict XVI, but which could have a significant impact in the reconciliation process with the Lefebvrist schism."

Much of what is reported seems to be recycled news, though nonetheless encouraging.

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Update 3 (April 7, 2100 GMT): As we first published in our Update 1 of 1100 GMT, item (c), Archivum confirms that Radio Vaticana has announced that His Holiness "has signed a document regarding the Rite of the Mass, as previously announced". The document will, "with all probability be made public on Maundy Thursday". We still have not been able to hear this news directly from Radio Vaticana -- we are, understandably, skeptical (since announcing breaking news of this kind has never been the tradition of Radio Vaticana).

In any case and at all times, regardless of what may happen,

Laudetur Iesus Christus.

The Traditionalist strength in France

One of the topics discussed by the French bishops this week, in one of the two meetings they hold each year, was "the Traditionalist question".

Thanks to the link provided by Le Forum Catholique, the exclusive survey given to the bishops for their consideration (prepared by the Oremus group) is available here (PDF file).

General statistics:

1. The study estimates the number of Traditionalist Catholics in France as 80,000 (45,000 in Ecclesia Dei communities; 35,000 in FSSPX/SSPX communities).

2. This would mean that the percentage of practicing Catholics in France who are Traditionalists (both ED and SSPX*) is of 5%. (This estimate is based on what we believe to be an almost ridiculously inflated number of practicing Catholics: Oremus estimates that there are 2.5 million practicing French Catholics... based on a CSA/La Croix survey according to which 7% of all French Catholics are "practicing" Catholics.)

Specific examples:

1. Based on specific examples of Traditional communities in the Diocese of Versailles, Oremus estimates that 85-90% of Traditionalists (both ED and SSPX) are 55 years old or younger. That would mean that 8% of all practicing French Catholics below that age are Traditionalists (considering the aforesaid ridiculous number of 2.5 million practicing Catholics). Among ALL practicing Catholics in France, Oremus estimates that 66% are OLDER than 55 (and 50% are older than 65), which shows the great vitality and youth of Traditionalists.

2. In fact, based on actual samples, the study estimates that 59% of French Traditionalists are 24 or younger: an impressive number.

More interesting facts from the study in the next few days.
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*Throughout the survey, the estimates consider both the Ecclesia Dei and the SSPX communities as a single phenomenon; perhaps the French bishops may soon accept the fact that the whole Traditionalist movement could be brought back into the heart of the Church...

Communists eat children

Literally.

Thursday in Passion Week and First Thursday

Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et flevimus,
cum recordaremur Sion.
(Offertory of the Mass of the Feria)

There, above the garden, was the Holy Mountain of Sion (Zion), for which the Psalmist in exile had wept. Just a few days before his Passion, the Lord himself had wept again, pouring forth the unfathomable Love which fills His Most Sacred Heart: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not?"

[Regarding the Holy Hour, at every First Thursday of the month, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque said]: [The Lord] "told me at that time [1674] that, every night from Thursday to Friday, I should wake up, at the time which he appointed, to pray five Paters and five Aves prostrated on the ground, with five acts of adoration which he had taught me, to render him honor in the extreme agony which he suffered at the night of his Passion."[...]

Our Lord himself tells Saint Margaret Mary the spirit in which this exercise should be done [...]:

1. To appease Divine wrath;
2. To demand mercy for sinners;
3. To make reparation for the Apostles' abadonment of Christ.

From the French-Canadian edition of Father Crawley-Boevey's Holy Hour

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A wonderful source for devotions to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord is Catholic Tradition.

Xavier 500: The great Japanese sins

Saint Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the East, was a complete Hispanic (see Hispania): Navarran and Spanish, by birth; Portuguese, by loyalty; Catholic, above all, and a true glory of the Society of Jesus, of which he was one of the founders. The 500th anniversary of his birth will be marked by special celebrations in and around the Castle of Javier (Xavier), where he was born, on April 7, 1506.

It is a good time to remember important moments in his life. Father John Laures, SJ, remembered, right after the war which devastated Japan (including the sad destruction of its most Catholic city, Nagasaki), some special moments of Xavier's apostolate in the Far East:

On June 24, 1549, Xavier set out from Malacca, accompanied by two European companions, three Japanese who had been prepared for the work of catechists, and two Indian servants. They landed at Kagoshima, Yajiro's birthplace, on August 15 of the same year. His ambition was to obtain permission from the Emperor to preach the Gospel and convert the Japanese in any part of the country. Shimazu Takahisa, Daimyo of Satsuma, greatly rejoiced to receive the foreign preacher and was anxious to keep him in Kagoshima, for he secretly hoped to attract Portuguese ships to his harbors by the presence of foreign missionaries. Xavier waited more than a year but seeing Shimazu was not interested in his journey to the capital, he left Kagoshima to proceed to Hirado, a port frequented by Portuguese ships. Nor did he linger at Hirado long but set out for Kyoto, the capital arriving on the way at Yamaguchi in the middle of November, 1549.

Yamaguchi was at that time a very important town, being the seat of the mighty Ouchi clan which ruled not only the Province of Suwo but also a number of neighboring provinces on the mainland of Honshu and the island of Kyushu. Having learned that Ouchi, the head of the clan was the slave of a most abominable vice, Xavier determined to stay in the city for some time to preach the Gospel. Every day, he and his companion, Brother Fernandez, took their stand at a crossroads, Brother Fernandez reading a passage from the handwritten catechism prepared by Xavier and Yajiro while they were at Kagoshima. After reading the account of the creation of the world, Fernandez would denounce in a loud voice what he believed to be the three cardinal sins of the Japanese people, viz. idolatry, sodomy, and infanticide. While he was inveighing against these vices, Xavier would stand by and pray fervently for the success of their mission. This was done twice every day and always in a different section of the city so that very soon there was no corner in Yamaguchi where the word of God was not heard.

What would Xavier have thought had he known that the barbaric sins of Japan would take over Christendom and be celebrated in his own Spanish motherland some hundreds of years later?

The One-Two-Three Strategy

The Superior for the District of France of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX/SSPX), Father Régis de Cacqueray, published a communiqué on the official website of the District (which is by far the largest district of the Fraternity), warning the faithful against the rumors and especially the malicious comments spread by two well-known websites, one French and the other American*.

Father de Cacqueray is considered a "hardliner" ("anti-reconciliation"), but this does not mean much: we Catholics of all people must be wary of such labels, which are used with malevolent intentions but do not possess any clear meaning. The most important passage of his communiqué is not particularly related to the condemned websites:

Whatever they [the websites] are interested in portraying [that is, that the Fraternity is dominated by a "cabal of conspirators" willing to "sell out"], the Fraternity of Saint Pius X remains faithful to a line [which has been] clearly expressed and regarding which it has not wavered:

- obtaining the two preconditions, which are the withdrawal of the decree of excommunications and the freedom of every priest to celebrate the Mass of Saint Pius V;

- the resolution of doctrinal questions;

- the search for the most adequate canonical solution.

Father de Cacqueray is right, of course: that has been the steady position of the Fraternity, expressed (as we have commented before), for instance, in the very illuminating letter of Bishop Fellay (the Superior-General of the Fraternity) to Cardinal Castrillón in 2004 (repeated in his latest interview). But this line of thought has rarely been so clearly and synthetically expressed, and for that we thank Father de Cacqueray. Will we see this strategy unfold in its clear steps in the near future?... Perhaps.

Some may also believe that "doctrinal discussions" are unacceptable -- but that is preposterous. The Holy See has been hopelessly dialoguing, since the Council, with the Anglican Communion, which lost any sign of faith sometime between 1860 and 1960... Honest and topical discussions with the Fraternity would be far more objective, since there is no dogmatic issue involved, and could set the basis for a very useful definition of the "hermeneutics of continuity" proposed by Pope Benedict. Such discussions could also happen after a clearer canonical framework is established, since they are not among the "preconditions".

Therefore, one could envision a situation whereby the creation of a "Doctrinal Commission" -- which would then be the institutional "locus" of the debates between the Fraternity and the Holy See -- serves as the fulfilment of this step ("the resolution of doctrinal questions"), allowing for the complete canonical regularization of the Society even though not every controversy is actually resolved before the establishment of the new canonical framework.

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*[It should be said, in fairness, that the French Sedevacantist website has one thing to be said in its favor: it ALWAYS mentions its sources, which is essential in the web; while the American website shamelessly copies commentaries, translations, and other texts without the minimal courtesy of crediting its sources.]

Miscellany

Today, Angelqueen published a very interesting interview with Dom Fernando, as the Traditional Catholics in Campos (Brazil) call their beloved Bishop Rifan. Very noteworthy is his straightforward answer to whether Catholics may attend Masses at a SSPX chapel. Guess what? He said it was OK.

Busy with Traditional Mass matters, we have chosen not to engage in the debate on whether we are ready to attach the epithet "The Great" to Pope Wojtyla's name. But we believe that those clever students over at The Cornell Society for a Good Time might have a point or two.

Iacta alea est

Some thoughts of Michael Davies (Requiescat in pace) recently crossed our mind. At first, we could not find the link to them -- but it was a sure bet that we would be able to find the piece through the archives of the greatest Catholic news source in English, Seattle Catholic.

Michael Matt, the editor of The Remnant, recalled some of Davies' most controversial convictions near the end of his life:

I make no secret of the fact, for example, that I questioned (and still question) Michael's dogged defense of Cardinal Ratzinger. Over the years and to Michael's dismay, I published criticisms of some of the Cardinal's more perplexing statements. But I can also assure the reader that there was much more to that story. As someone who took issue with him on this very point, I hasten to set the record straight—Michael Davies, through it all, had only the best interest of traditional Catholics at heart. And here's what I mean: He firmly believed (and had been assured on numerous occasions) that Cardinal Ratzinger is "on our side" and would do all in his power, short of touching off a schism in Rome, to gradually turn things in Tradition's favor. All His Eminence required of us was patience and time.

Some of us were (and are) skeptical. But, as Michael saw it, the Cardinal had demonstrated enough good will on our behalf to justify our giving him the benefit of the doubt, i.e., the Cardinal's foreword to Msgr. Gamber's book; the Cardinal's historic rehabilitation of Pat Morely and the Honolulu Six who had been placed under interdict for "formal adherence" to the SSPX; the Cardinal's public celebration of the Tridentine Mass on occasion; the Cardinal's willingness to meet personally with traditionalists, etc.

Whether we can bring ourselves to accept the Cardinal's assurances that he is "on our side" is not at issue. What is at issue is that Michael believed that the Cardinal believed he was our ally. His great "sin", then, was to take his friend, the Cardinal, at his word; but this was very much the British thing to do. There was no conspiracy or dark and dastardly plotting going on behind the scenes. Michael simply believed, based on private meetings with His Eminence (to which none of us was privy, by the way), that the Cardinal would prove an invaluable ally to us all. What of it? Wouldn't it be grand!

As we sit and wait, and see apparent signs, like Caesar across the Rubicon, we must wonder: was Michael Davies right? The die is cast, and there is nothing we can do but pray -- "patience and time" (and prayer) are all it takes.

No denial so far

As many of you know, we prefer to publish news already printed in regular media outlets. However, we thought it right to forward the rumor of the supposed signing of a document granting (or recognizing) the freedom of the Traditional Latin Mass because this rumor was bound to be spread throughout the web without a proper knowledge of its source -- the Archivum blog.

We have never seen such silence regarding any rumor... Our usual sources do not wish to comment and the only one who said anything remarked that "something has apparently occurred". On the other hand, there has been no denial. We will just have to wait and pray.

---

Update (2115 GMT): Regarding Bishop Fellay's interview, we had already commented upon it when in was released in French (last March 26 -- see here), and there is nothing else to add.

Mass for Monday in Passion Week

Comments on Today's Readings

A Note on the Epistle for Passion Sunday

The epistle for Passion Sunday is taken from the letter to the Hebrews:

A reading from the Epistle of the blessed Apostle Paul to the Hebrews

Brethren: Christ being come, a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats or of calves, but by His own blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Holy Ghost, offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? And therefore He is the Mediator of the New Testament; that by means of His death, for the redemption of those transgressions which were under the former Testament; they that who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance; in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Aside from the lector's introduction, so irritating to liberals today, which announces the epistle to the Hebrews as a writing "of the blessed Apostle Paul", what can we say about this reading?

It points us, of course, in the direction of Calvary by reminding us of the Passion - as it should, since this is Passion Sunday, and the Church's thoughts are from now until Easter occupied solely with the Passion of Her Bridegroom.

But not everyone immediately sees the second layer of meaning underneath the words of the epistle. On the surface, it speaks of Christ as having "entered ... into the Holies," where He "offered Himself without spot to God," and therefore became "the Mediator of the New Testament" in order that "that who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance."

In general, then, it speaks of the Passion and the Ascension of Our Lord, and of His redemptive work.

But look more closely.

What lies just under the shadow of Calvary? What lies just under the shadow of the crucifix on the sanctuary wall of your parish? The Eucharist. The Mass.

If we strip out some of the extra clauses in the opening sentence, we have this basic statement: "Christ being come ... entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption."

How did accomplish this? Again, stripping out the subordinate clauses, we have this: Christ, "by a greater and more perfect tabernacle ... by His own blood, entered once into the Holies."

His entrance into the Holy of Holies (which is where the High Priest would make the sacrifice for sins on the Day of Atonement), and the eternal redemption which follows, was effected by two things, according to the text:

1) A greater and more perfect tabernacle (Greek skene, "tent")

2) His own blood

What is this "greater and more perfect tent?"

For this, we may look to another epistle of this same St. Paul, to see in what other ways he uses the word.

In 2 Corinthians 5, we read:

For we know, if our earthly house of this habitation [skenos, "tent"] be dissolved, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For in this also we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our habitation that is from heaven. Yet so that we be found clothed, not naked. For we also, who are in this tabernacle [skenos, "tent"], do groan, being burthened; because we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that that which is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5:1-4)

In St. Paul's vocabulary, a "tabernacle" or "tent" can be a metaphor for the human body! Turning back to the epistle to the Hebrews, then, we have this:

1) Christ being come,
  1a) a High Priest of the good things to come,
2) by a greater and more perfect tabernacle [i.e., body],
  2a) not made with hands, that is,
  2b) not of this creation,
  2c) neither by the blood of goats or of calves,
3) but by His own blood,
4) entered once into the Holies,
5) having obtained eternal redemption.

See how the "tabernacle" is paired up with "His own blood," which is very remniscent of the usual pairing, "body and blood." The thought seems to be that Christ has "entered" into the Holy of Holies through the agency of His body and blood.

A complimentary thought is seen in the very next chapter:

Having therefore, brethren, a confidence in the entering into the holies by the blood of Christ: A new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh: and a high priest over the house of God: let us draw near with a true heart, in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with clean water. (Heb. 10:19-22)

We follow where Christ has led; He has gone on ahead into the Holy of Holies to obtain redemption, but in so doing He has "dedicated" - the Greek is egkainizo, or "consecrated," which is even more illuminating - a "new and living way" for us so that we may follow Him into the Holy of Holies.

He has, the text says, entered in by His blood, and consecrated a new and living way (or "road") by His flesh - so that we may "drawn near with a true heart."

That these words are all meant to be understood in a Eucharistic sense is demonstrated by showing the striking similarities between these texts (Hebrews 9 and 10) and the ancient liturgy of St. James. Just prior to the consecration of the bread and wine, the priest prays:

We thank Thee, O Lord our God, that Thou hast given us boldness for the entrance of Thy holy places, which Thou hast renewed [Greek, egkainizo] to us as a new and living way through the veil of the flesh of Thy Christ. We therefore, being counted worthy to enter into the place of the tabernacle of Thy glory, and to be within the veil, and to behold the Holy of Holies, cast ourselves down before Thy goodness ...

The liturgy expresses the thought of the early Church: the "Holy of Holies" was the presence of God, and to enter therein was accomplished by coming into contact with the Eucharistic body of Christ, by receiving Him sacramentally in Holy Communion.

And so it continues today, and the Epistle reading for Passion Sunday points us not only to the Passion of Christ, but also the renewal of that Passion through the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass.

EGO SUM

Iudica me, Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab homine iniquo et doloso eripe me: quia tu es Deus meus, et fortitudo mea. -- from the Introit for Passion Sunday

...antequam Abraham fieret, ego sum.

("Before Abraham was, I am") -- from the Gospel for Passion Sunday.

This name HE WHO IS is most properly applied to God, for three reasons:

First, because of its signification. For it does not signify form, but simply existence itself. Hence since the existence of God is His essence itself, which can be said of no other, it is clear that among other names this one specially denominates God, for everything is denominated by its form.

Secondly, on account of its universality. For all other names are either less universal, or, if convertible with it, add something above it at least in idea; hence in a certain way they inform and determine it. Now our intellect cannot know the essence of God itself in this life, as it is in itself, but whatever mode it applies in determining what it understands about God, it falls short of the mode of what God is in Himself.

Therefore the less determinate the names are, and the more universal and absolute they are, the more properly they are applied to God. Hence Damascene says that, "HE WHO IS is the principal of all names applied to God; for comprehending all in itself, it contains existence itself as an infinite and indeterminate sea of substance."

Now by any other name some mode of substance is determined, whereas this name HE WHO IS, determines no mode of being, but is indeterminate to all; and therefore it denominates the "infinite ocean of substance."

Thirdly, from its consignification, for it signifies present existence; and this above all properly applies to God, whose existence knows not past or future, as Augustine says.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Recognize the Creator -- distinguish the creature. He who spoke was made the seed of Abraham; and that Abraham might be made, He Himself was before Abraham.

Hence, as if by the most open of all insults thrown at Abraham, they were now excited to greater bitterness. Of a certainty it seemed to them that Christ the Lord had uttered blasphemy in saying, "Before Abraham was made, I am." "Therefore took they up stones to cast at Him."

To what could so great hardness have recourse, save to its like? "But Jesus" as man, as one in the form of a servant, as lowly, as about to suffer, about to die, about to redeem us with His blood; not as He who is -- not as the Word in the beginning, and the Word with God.

For when they took up stones to cast at Him, what great thing were it had they been instantly swallowed up in the gaping earth, and found the inhabitants of hell inplace of stones? It were not a great thing to God; but better was it that patience should be commended than power exerted.

Saint Augustine

The West: preliminary musings

One could consider Saint Augustine, Saint Benedict, and Saint Gregory the Great as Fathers of the Western Civilization. They, their deeds, their thoughts built Europe -- Latin and Catholic -- and, on and beyond Europe, Christendom and its civilization, the Western Civilization.

Which of the following people, our contemporaries, would any of these great saints most likely recognize as a member of his civilization?

(a) A feminist Dutch lesbian urbanite;

(b) A devout Kentuckian Protestant minister;

(c) A devoutly Catholic Mexican farmer.

I believe I know the answer...