TradNews Roundup

*Making nice in Nice with the SSPX.

*American exorcist gives new Anthony Hopkin's movie about exorcism, The Rite, a big thumb's up.

*This has to get the "Oh, brother" award of the year. You have to ask yourself, what is wrong with these people?

*Solemn Traditional Latin Mass for the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cleveland, Ohio.

*Vatican directives for Catholic bloggers and internet talking heads? Look out Voris; the Vatican head hunters have you in their sites. At any rate, I'm far more discreet on this blog as the pope has been on the subject of condoms!

*The Traditional Latin Mass is starting to make a come back in the most unlikely of places. Times are changing.

*Interview with an exorcist.

My Thoughts about Bishop Schneider's "Proposals"

Our good friends at the The Remnant were kind enough to publish my thoughts concerning Bishop Schneider's Proposals for a Correct Reading of the Second Vatican Council, which has made quite a splash among internet Catholics lately.

Here's a little bit:

...It is here that we approach the crux of the crisis, and we begin to see the internal contradiction in Bishop Schneider’s address. Even though the authentic teaching of the Church is frequently mentioned in the course of the Council’s documents, the unique nature of the Second Vatican Council, a Council with no definitions or condemnations, lacking technical and scholastic terminology, and intentionally geared toward non-Catholics, has hampered the advancement of those same authentic teachings. What Bishop Schneider seems to be struggling with is: how can this ambiguity be explained, and how can it be explained in such a way that protects the integrity of the Council’s documents?

Bishop Schneider proposes two means by which to formulate an interpretation that explains this imprecision and protects the integrity of the texts: the documents read as a whole and the judgment of the Magisterium.

Bishop Schneider agrees that there are ambiguous statements in the council documents that were, and continue to be, interpreted in ways contrary to the faith, but a complete reading of all the documents dispels these interpretations. However, that simply is not the case. Bishop Schneider goes to extreme lengths to provide quotations from the Council documents that counter the notion of “anonymous Christianity”. He presents quotes from Lumen Gentium and Dignitatis humanae, as well as addresses given by Pope John Paul VI. However, he seems to ignore the fact that those who argue for anonymous Christianity turn to the same documents of Vatican II to support their own position, such as Ad Gentes, paragraph 115, Nostra Aetate, paragraph 2, and Lumen Gentium paragraph 8 (though subsequently clarified by the CDF). All of these texts have been used as proof texts to promote the very same anonymous Christianity and other forms of indifferentism.

What Bishop Schneider demonstrates in his address is that much in the Vatican II documents can be interpreted in an orthodox and traditional manner. While this is very true, it does not, however, remove the fact that the other portions of the documents can be interpreted with equal ease in a heterodox and Modernist manner. Indeed, in order to explain a sound pastoral theology, Bishop Schneider had to preface a passage from Sacrosanctum Consilium with a truth of the faith not mentioned in the same document. That rendered an orthodox interpretation. However, if one were to preface the same text with an error, such as, say for example, “the foundational principle of pastoral theology is that all religions are more or less the same“, the resulting interpretation of the exact same text turns out very differently. Why should the faithful be left to preface the texts? Why should the faithful have to exhaustively cross-reference the texts of Vatican II to come to a proper interpretation of any given part? It seems to me, that if this is the case, then we have been handed both a stone and a snake...

Be sure to read the whole article, here at The Remnant.

Obama's remarks on the Anniversary of Roe vs Wade

President Barack Obama (the words of a madman):

"Today marks the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that protects women's health and reproductive freedom...




"and affirms a fundamental principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters...




"I am committed to protecting this constitutional right...





"I also remain committed to policies, initiatives, and programs that help prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption...




"And on this anniversary, I hope that we will recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights...




"the same freedoms...





"and the same opportunities...




"as our sons to fulfill their dreams."

Fifty million dead babies, Mr. President. Fifty million dead babies.

You are insane, Mr. President.

Pray for an end to legalized abortion.

Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hated thee: and pine away because of thy enemies? I have hated them with a perfect hatred: and they are become enemies to me.
(Ps. 138. 21-22)

Full English Text of Bishop Athanasius Schneider's recent address

Can be found here, supplied by EWTN.

TradNews Roundup

*TLM finally comes to Croatia. Archdiocese of Zegreb to offer the Traditional Latin Mass.

*Buffalo's own "Padre of the Poor", Fr. Nelson Blake, was raised to Venerable Nelson Blake by Pope Benedict XVI. When will the Diocese of Buffalo allow the Mass that Fr. Blake loved so much to be offered again in his city?

*Pope John Paul II will be beatified on May 1st.

*Martin Mosebach to give two lectures in New York city at the end of January.

*Pontifical Solemn TLM to be offered by Archbishop André-Joseph Leonard. As Rorate Coeli points out, this will be the first TLM offered by a primate of (all places) Belgium in over 40 years. The times are changing, indeed!

*Fr. Z thinks clarification/instruction document pertaining to Summorum Pontificum is on its way.

Link to Institute of the Good Shepherd's new website

I've added a link in the sidebar to the Institute of the Good Shepherd's new website. Please check out their website, and keep them in your prayers.

They need our support at this time as they attempt to expand their apostolate into North America.

A must read post at the New Theological Movement

What happened to Epiphanytide?, or The hypocrisy of the Liturgical Renewal

The Insanity of the Modern, Enlightened and Democratic World

O Lord, how long?

In the United States (and too many other modern, enlightened, and democratic western nations) killing this child was perfectly legal, even praised as a virtue.

Pray to end the legalization of abortion, and pray for our western societies in this post-Christian world, a world in which the will of the people has become the will of Satan in so many regards.

Personal Ordinariate for former Anglicans Becomes a Reality Today

Today the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith officially erected the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. According to VIS news:

"In accordance with the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus' of Pope Benedict XVI (4 November 2009) and after careful consultation with the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has today erected a Personal Ordinariate within the territory of England and Wales for those groups of Anglican clergy and faithful who have expressed their desire to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church", reads an English-language communique released today. "The Decree of Erection specifies that the Ordinariate will be known as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and will be placed under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman."

Former Anglican bishop, Fr. Keith Newman has been appointed at the first ordinary of the Ordinariate.

TradNews Roundup

*As Democrats, the SPLC and liberal media pundits sickeningly scramble to find a Tea Party connection, they are ignoring the obvious about Jared Loughner who kept an occult shrine in his parent's backyard. The senseless violence takes the life of a 9/11 baby.

*Pope urges Muslim world to get rid of repressive laws. Meanwhile, Sudan is back in the boiling pot as vote on southern independence continues.

*Bishop Fellay of the SSPX is less than enthusiastic about the pope's Assisi announcement: "Yes, we are deeply indignant, we vehemently protest..."

*Should the pope invite these Muslims to Assisi?? Or perhaps this good police officer from Egypt would be interested in attending.

*Personal Ordinariate for Anglican Use Catholics to be erected in England and Wales.

*Diaconate ordination of former Anglican prelates. Priestly ordinations on Saturday, January 15th. Why was I thinking the digs for the Mass of ordination would be more "traditional"? It's just that it all looks so novus ordo to me.

*Secretary/Director of ICEL key note speaker in a conference about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and mutual enrichment... in Shreveport, Louisiana?? Yes, times are changing.

*Cardinal Burke visits an Institute of Christ the King Parish in St. Louis.

Will the Anglican Usage Ordinariate be "Traditional"?

I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong; I'm happy these men are now Catholic. However, we have heard for so long how "traditional" these former Anglicans are, but images like this make me think that the word "traditional" can have a different meaning for different folks.

Please forgive me for saying, but this looks very novus ordo to me (because, of course, it is).

Diaconate Ordination Mass for former Anglican Prelates, January 13, 2011

I'm all for giving this a chance, but at the same I think traditional Catholics ought to stay reasonably sober about all this.

The Pre-1962 Missal, Our Times, Sedevacantism and Other Things

Some people have noticed that I have been adding some notes at the top of the Collect of the Day entries for those who follow the pre-1962 Missal. Many traditional Catholics who visit this blog use the pre-1962 missal, so I accommodate them the best I can out of respect and love for these traditionalists. I do my best, but bear in mind I don't actually hear the Mass according to the pre-1962 missal. My exposure is solely from my daily use of Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, thus is it limited to a non-experiential treatment. While I am adding images and art that correspond to the pre-1962 calendar, the collect and other propers are still taken from the day according to the 1962 calendar.

Does this constitute promoting the pre-1962 Missal? Dom Prosper Guéranger included in his The Liturgical Year prayers, propers and sequences from the Gallican Rites and the Gregorian Missal which were not in use in his day. He was promoting the rich liturgical history of the Latin Rite. That's one of the goals of this blog, though I would never be able to rival the triumph of Guéranger in this regard.

Secondly, it is my hope that Holy Mother Church will eventually rid Herself of all the vile tinkering of the Modernists of the 20th Century Liturgical Movement. It is an unfortunate reality that the Church's Extraordinary Form (which will eventually become the ordinary form) is the 1962 missal. Much has been lost in not being able to experience the beauty and rich spiritual fecundity of the victims of Bugnini, especially the Octaves in Christmas season.

What good was served by suppressing these octaves, especially the privileged Octave of the Epiphany? NONE! (I suspect that the Octave of Epiphany was suppressed by the Liturgical Movement Modernists because the Epiphany expresses that the Gentiles have taken the place of Juda as the children of Abraham.)

It is my hope that as more Catholics are exposed to the whole history of the Latin Rite, they will see the grave injustice and violence that was done to that same august Rite beginning, not in 1970, but in the late 1950s. By the grace of God, what was lost will be restored more resplendent, and we will realize the vision of Guéranger, which was a call for enrichment, not a stripping down or the white-washed archeologism of the Liturgical Movement's Modernists.

Little is accomplished in the realization of Guéranger's vision, however, by a spirit of schism or anger or impatience. For this reason, I'm an incrementalist, and I think traditionalists have precedent for being so. It was the holy monks who quietly and patiently hid away the icons during the Iconoclast heresy of the eighth century. Theirs was a quite courage. Our humble reverence before the awesome gift of the Catholic Mass as it was known by the saints, our fostering of traditional Catholic spirituality, and our promotion of the Immortal Mass is our quiet courage in the midst of this modern Iconoclast heresy that has swept through the Latin Rite Church in the wake of the 20th Century Liturgical Movement.

Traditionalists need to take as their example St. Pio's joyful and quiet courage. When those devils tried to force him to offer the novus ordo, he offered the Immortal Mass instead. He was humbly defiant to those devils, but he was equally submissive to God, Holy Mother Church, and to the Magisterium. Like him, traditionalists are also called to make constant acts of reparation, acts of preparation specifically for the novus ordo and the sacrileges perpetuated before the Blessed Sacrament in the context of the novus ordo. Traditional Catholics must also speak the truth, whether it be convenient or not.

One of those inconvenient truths is that schism is an affront to love, and even the appearance of schism must be avoided. However, even here, there needs to be charity and patience with those who have adopted a schismatic spirit.

These are confusing times, dreadful times. Living in the midst of these times sometimes obscures just how severe and horrible is the crisis we are suffering through. There are saints who would have fainted, and even died from anguish, if they could see what is happening today in the Church militant. Are these saints so different in thought and sentiment from those who have spiritually fainted and fallen into the death of schism after having to endure these confusing, dreadful times?

Blessed John Henry Newman said this in one of his Advent Sermons:

Satan may adopt the more alarming weapons of deceit—he may hide himself—he may attempt to seduce us in little things, and so to move the Church, not all at once, but by little and little from her true position. I do believe he has done much in this way in the course of the last few centuries. I believe he has moved every part of the Church, this way or that way, but some way or other from the truth as it is in JESUS, from the old faith on which it was built "before the division of the east and west."

It's hard for me to believe that this hasn't been the case in the Church militant today. Blaming sedevacantists alone for sedevacantism in these confusing and dreadful times ignores the sad fact that many more people, especially the liturgists of the Liturgical Movement, and even many members of the modern Magisterium, are equally to blame because these people, these children of Satan, have disturbed the peace of Holy Mother Church. These devils in clerical collars have more in common with Emperor Leo III, the eighth century progenitor of Iconoclasm, than they have with the saints of the Church.

These are confusing times, dreadful times. In such circumstances as these I can understand why people are sedevacantist, and why some traditional Catholics will stay at home and pray their missals instead of fulfilling their obligation by attending a novus ordo or "indult-Mass". This isn't agreement with them, for such a schismatic spirit is contrary to love. It is, however, understanding, and a call for charity and patience. We are all victims of the same injustice, after all. I can also understand why some good intentioned and devote Catholics do not hear the Traditional Latin Mass and attend only the novus ordo. They don't know any better, and are so conditioned by Modernism that they simply don't know the beauty and spiritual depth of the faith they profess. They participate in liturgical abuses in a material way, not a formal way. I can also understand why some traditional Catholics will occasionally attend a novus ordo for lack of having a daily or weekly Traditional Latin Mass where they live. In doing so, they expose themselves, at the very least, to kitsch and an incomplete explication of the Catholic faith. They at least can provide their Catholic faith when it is missing from the novus ordo, and filter out the heresy and nonsense.

Of course, I would never recommend any of the above to anyone. I, along with many thoughtful and holy traditionalists, think that if you are a devote Roman Catholic who desires to live fully the Catholic faith, the Traditional Latin Mass and its commensurate spirituality is the only option. Likewise, an unflinching reverence for the office of the Church's Magisterium, coupled with a realistic attitude concerning our times, is absolutely necessary for anyone who sincerely calls himself Catholic.

At the same time, the traditional Catholic has to realize that we are all predestined for the Heavenly Liturgy in the New Jerusalem, and ultimately it is that liturgy which will endure long after the liturgies of the Church militant have ceased. For this reason, Traditionalist must avoid quibbling, and practice charity and patience, and this especially goes for sedevacantists! Let your anger be righteous and your demeanor humble.

These are confusing times, dreadful times, but God brings good out of evil. Believing that God brings good out of evil can't be just another pious platitude on our lips that fails to be reflected in how we live our lives or interact with others. It is a reality that is an object of our hope, and a reality upon which we act. Because of the times in which we live, traditional Roman Catholics have more in common with each other, no matter which missal they hear at Mass, be they sedevacantist or otherwise, than they do with the novus ordo establishment. This is a strength. As long as traditional Catholics stand together with eyes firmly fixed on the Heavenly Liturgy, then God will use traditional Catholics in accomplishing the restoration of the Roman liturgy, a restoration that will render the Mass of the Church militant more resplendent than it was before the crisis.

Dear Father in Heaven, I trust Thee!

TradNews Roundup

*2011 starts off with the slaughter of Christians at the hands of the Muslim butchers. With the spread of the cancers of Islam and effeminacy in Western society, violence perpetuated by Mohammedans will only grow worse.

*Grand Imam in Egypt disagrees with the Pope that Christians should be allowed to live. Mohammedan notion of religious freedom: "you are free to die."

*Three former traditionalist Anglican "bishops", Andrew Burnham, Keith Newton, and John Broadhurst, were received into the Catholic Church on the Octave Day of the Nativity. They will be ordained to the deaconate on January 13th and ordained as priests on January 15th. Three nuns from Walshingham, Sr Jane, Sr Caroline, Sr Wendy, were also received into the Church.

*Traditional Latin Mass parish in Cincinnati being built from the bottom up by laymen interested in restoring historic church.

*Yeah, because the last one did so much good! (Sarcasm.) Hopefully they will have the imams pass through metal detectors before getting close to the pope.

*Traditional Benedictine nuns put the finishing touches on their new home in Kansas.

*Pope Benedict XVI appoints a radical leftist and supporter of abortion and homosexual marriage to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

*Pope appoints an enemy of the Traditional Latin Mass to head the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Is this "brick by brick"?

*L. A. attorney claims that half of all sex abuse allegations against Catholic priests are false. (Which still leaves us with half.)

*Just half is enough to do the damage. Archdiocese of Milwaukee files for bankruptcy protection in wake of civil lawsuits connected to the priest sex scandal. (I think they should tear out and sell all the picnic tables to raise cash.)

*Belgium implosion and witch hunt continues. Nuns of a now defunct order are now the target.

*Archbishop Leonard under attack by the pollsters.

Epiphany Announcement of the Resurrection: 2011

Know, dearly beloved Brethren, that by the mercy of God, as we have been rejoicing in the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, so also do we announce unto you the joy of the Resurrection of the same our Saviour.

Septuagesima Sunday will be on the 20th day of February.

Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the fast of most holy Lent will be on the 9th day of March.

On the 24th of April we shall celebrate with joy the holy Pasch of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ will be on the 2nd day of June.

The Feast of Pentecost on the 12th day of June.

The Feast of Corpus Christi on the 23rd day of June.

On the 27th of November will occur the first Sunday of the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom are honor and glory for ever and ever.

Amen.

Predictions for 2011

*Another scandal involving the University of Notre Dame football team will lead to Jack Swarbrick’s resignation as Athletic Director of the University.

*Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard will be implicated in a scandal by the media, but will later be vindicated. The vindication will not be covered by the media.

*Roger Cardinal Mahony will reveal that he is working on a tell-all book that promises to be as page turning as Archbishop Weakland’s, and much for the same reasons.

*Sr. Carol Keehan will seek to be “ordained” as a Catholic priest.

*President Obama will announce incentive checks, and his popularity will once again surge.

*The Transalpine Redemptorists will be canonically regularized and their constitutions will be approved by the Holy See.

*Hilary Clinton will be sacked as Secretary of State. She never liked the title anyway.

*Someone hacks the blog, Rorate Coeli, bringing the site down for weeks, which in turn will send the traditional Catholic internet community into a tailspin.

*A plot by Al-Qaeda linked terrorists to assassinate the pope will be exposed.

*The long awaited clarification document for Summorum Pontificum will be published, but will disappoint traditionalists.

*Bishop Fellay and Vatican spokesmen will announce a five year plan for the canonical regularization of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X that involves a personal prelature for traditionalists. The SSPX will be granted permission to ordain under a temporary arrangement in the interim. Bishop Williamson will leave the SSPX on the heels of the announcement.

*Mount St. Mary’s seminary in Cincinnati will offer, by order of Archbishop Schnurr, a practicum for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, much to the consternation of many on the faculty.

*Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, will at some point break down and cry… Hey, he could do it multiple times. People will like him anyway.

*Muslim violence against Christians will come to the United States.

*The New York Times will run a hit piece on the pope, another on the Church in general, and finally, during Holy Week, another hit piece on Our Blessed Lord. (Yeah, I know… but I’m entitled to at least one gimme.)

*Archbishop Vincent Nichols says or does something so egregiously liberal that even Damien Thompson criticizes him.

*Latin Mass Magazine will go out of print.

*Rahm Emmanuel will stab someone with a letter opener in a fit of anger.

*Michael Moore will make a movie about Julian Assange.

*The Vatican Bank will be implicated in yet another scandal, this one involving money laundering for Silvio Berlusconi.

*Archbishop Gomez spearheads new immigration legislation that will allow easier access for young Mexicans who want to attend colleges and universities in the United States.

*Net-neutrality legislation will cause, well… nothing, revealing what a colossal waste of time and tax payer money the whole thing was to begin with.

*Fr. Richard McBrien will be canned by the University of Notre Dame by order of Bishop Rhoades (who actually has the power to do this). McBrien will seek employment at Wisdom University (formerly the University of Creation Spirituality), but will be turned away for being too conservative. Poor, poor Dick.

*Traditional Latin Mass communities will continue to grow at an exponential rate.

Facebook highlights the challenge for traditional Catholics

Facebook is a funny thing. For me the jury is still out on this whole social networking thing. I think that there is far more to gain from personal, face-to-face, relationships. Spending more time fostering on-line relationships rather than these face-to-face relationships is most definitely a bad thing. That notwithstanding, I’ve had an over all positive experience with social networking, albeit somewhat limited. About a year ago I was told that I ought to start a Facebook page to promote this blog. Since starting the Facebook page I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response and the feedback, both good and bad, I’ve gotten from readers that come to this blog from the “Ars” Facebook page. I would like to thank those who come here from Facebook. I greatly appreciate your support, prayers and feedback.

I get some excellent private messages concerning things that I’ve posted. Most are much appreciated “at-a-boys”, others are gentle corrections concerning grammar, spelling and content, and others are suggestions for future postings. I have to admit that I get a bunch of private messages on the Facebook page, and don’t get an opportunity to read them all with the attention they deserve. However, I do very much appreciate them all.

I even appreciate the occasional angry message, comment or response on Facebook. Whenever I post a criticism of the novus ordo Missae, or the mainstream novus ordo establishment, as I like to call it, I invariably get some colorful responses, both positive and negative, most reasonable, some not so reasonable. That’s to be expected. I didn’t start this blog to win a popularity contest.

This morning I received an interestingly angry private message concerning this recent post, which was a criticism of the banality that has resulted from the liturgical calendar of the novus ordo. Here’s the meat and potatoes of that message:

That’s enough for me. I’ve had it with your smug, holier-than-thou, attitude that’s so common among traditionalists of your ilk. What makes you the judge and jury of all of us “novus ordo Catholics”, as you call us, when it is us, and not you, who are following the will of the Magisterium? You have some gull!

Well, no, I do not have gull. I’m not trying to trick or cheat anyone, and I’m deeply sorry that this individual would think so. I’m just laying out the facts as I see them. I’m not going to pretend that the way I see things is perfectly correct, but it is studied and prayerfully approached. I’ve come to realize that the beauty and integrity of the Traditional Latin Mass is under attack from within the Church by a banality and mediocrity that has been perpetuated by the novus ordo Mass, now known as the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Thus the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite needs to be fairly, prayerfully and intelligently critiqued by the traditionalist if the traditionalist is interested in promoting the Traditional Latin Mass, now known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

The doctrinal and spiritual beauty of the Traditional Latin Mass is obscured by a cancerous banality that has spread throughout the modern Church. I'm not saying that the problem of bad liturgy is something unique in the history of the Church. However, we have to admit that never before in the history of the Church has bad liturgy been the "Ordinary" state of affairs. Our current situation is unique in that members of the Magisterium, right up to the popes, have promoted bad liturgy and practically forced it upon the faithful. Pope Benedict XVI has done much to rectify this situation. In fact, Summorum Pontificum makes it rather clear that bad liturgy is no longer a requirement for Catholics. That was huge. On the other hand, bad liturgy is still the "Ordinary" practice, at least for the time being.

But, aren't I being unfair in claiming that the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is bad liturgy? I don't think so. If the objective evidence demonstrates that it is, then how can the claim be unfair? If the Magisterium or a member of the Church's Magisterium promotes bad liturgy, that doesn't make it good liturgy. It just makes it licit. As we all know licit liturgy can be pretty bad.

It isn't the point of this posting to go into the objective evidence that makes the novus ordo as a whole bad liturgy, however it doesn't take a sincere person long to find the many shortcomings of the novus ordo liturgy. At the very least, what the previous post pointed out is that there is a definite aesthetic deficiency in the modern Church that is immediate to the novus ordo.

However, if the traditional Catholic attends the Traditional Latin Mass solely for aesthetic reasons, then that traditional Catholic is nothing more than an esthete. There has to be a deeper, spiritual reason for attending the Traditional Latin Mass, and that reason has to be that the Traditional Latin Mass better reflects our Catholic faith. The only way to demonstrate this is to first explicate the doctrinal and spiritual authenticity of the Traditional Latin Mass, and secondly by pointing out the doctrinal, spiritual and artistic short comings of the novus ordo.

What is at issue here is the raison de’etre of traditionalism, and ultimately, the raison de’etre of Tradition, itself. If the Church’s liturgical rites can be re-written at will without affecting the spiritual lives of the Church’s children, indeed, without affecting their very salvation, what is the point of Tradition at all? What is the point in handing on that which can be simply jettisoned? However, we are learning that the Church’s liturgical rites can NOT be re-written at will without affecting the life of the Church and the salvation of souls. The current crisis in the Church is one of faith. The faith has been confused by doctrinal errors spread throughout the Church by the rotten fruits of the liturgical movement. The price we are all paying is painfully felt almost everywhere in the Church today.

It is not an easy thing to realize that we have been led astray, even by many of those in the Magisterium, and have been tricked into drinking from a poisoned well. If the gull lies with anyone, it is with those wolves in sheep clothing who handed us stones when we asked for fish. All the evidence that this is so is abundantly clear by taking an honest look at the state of the Church 50 years after the cataclysmic changes to the Church’s liturgical rites. Pointing this out, however, is not going to win me any friends among those already firmly entrenched on the ground of the novus ordo.

I’m confident, though, that time will vindicate, not traditionalists so much, but Tradition, and the Traditional Latin Mass, and its commensurate spirituality. Why? Because the Traditional Latin Mass and its commensurate spirituality belongs naturally to the faith of Christ’s Church. It, and it alone in the Roman Catholic Church, is the liturgy and piety founded by Our Blessed Lord, and not the product of a committee of liturgists.

I'm reminded by comments and messages like the above that traditional Catholics will face, if not reasoned argument, vehement emotion in opposition to what we love and promote. In these confusing times, the Catholic faith has been obscured by a pedestrian counterfeit, not the novus ordo, per se, but the filth that has accompanied this bad liturgy for the last 50 years. While the traditional Catholic can often strain out the filth due to a well formed Catholic conscience, others are unable. They are well intentioned, often thoughtful and kind people, but people who aren't seeing things clearly.

These comments and messages come from a certain psychology. Most modern Catholics aren't really concerned about things religious, so deadened are they by the distractions of the world that the novus ordo is completely unfit to counteract. This isn't necessarily their fault, though. They do go to church for mostly sincere reasons. They think themselves authentically Catholic, but their lifestyle, opinions and habits couldn't be more foreign to what the Church and her saints have always taught. They think themselves Catholic without being "religious", which is pejorative term in their vocabulary. They fashion themselves Catholic without having to cling to what is actually Catholic! They are Catholic without fasting, abstinence, or reparation. They are Catholic without believing the central dogmas of the Catholic faith, such as the Divinity of Christ, His absolute Sovereignty, or the Real Presence in the Eucharist. They are Catholic without having to believe in evil, and without having to follow the Church's moral teachings. They are Catholics without the Catholic religion. Granted there are varying degrees of these Catholics without Catholicism. Some are far left liberals who are not just materially heretical. Others are neo-cons who intimate that something has gone wrong, but stubbornly cling to the root of the disease out of a misapplied utlramontanism. They all should be treated with charity and respect. However, what is true in nearly all cases is that when confronted by authentic, traditional Catholicism, the mainstream, novus ordo Catholic's very identity is challenged for what it is, a scandalous and filthy counterfeit, and they strike out with anger and indignation. I know... I'VE BEEN THERE!

For this reason, it will take courage for the traditional Catholic to speak the Truth, that is Christ Jesus, in season and out. For this courage, we look to Our Blessed Lord and beseech the outpouring of the Holy Ghost who will give us the words to say as we trod on.

TradNews Roundup: Bishop Burns special

*Bishop Burn's stupid remarks about what caused the HOMOSEXUAL pedophile priest scandal is called out for what it is: "the poor man sees an elephant in the porcelain shop making a mess of everything and says that the culprits are the porcelain makers." Richard Collins asks: "Is this a slick ploy to deflect any allegations of him waging a war of attrition against traditional belief Catholics?" Answer: Absolutely. "The sermon seems designed to create an air of suspicion and a culture of mediocrity."

A portrait of true clericalism: Bishop Burns and his novus ordo cronies.

This guy is accusing traditionalists of clericalism?? Please!
You won't find clericalism like you see in this picture at any Traditional Latin Mass!
At no time has the Church ever been so afflicted by clericalism than since the novus ordo establishment took over.