Fifty years ago today the liberal Cardinal Achille Lienart humiliated the good and holy Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani by turning Cardinal Ottaviani's microphone off during his plea to the bishops to remain faithful to the preparatory documents for the Council. It was on this day, the third day of that Council, that the liberals staged the most devastating Leftist take-over in history.
Fifty years later empty churches, closed parishes and parochial schools, the complete failure of the Church to be a sign of contradiction to a culture, which, as a result, is sunk in materialism, hedonism and depravity, are all signs of the rotten fruits of this Leftist take-over. This crisis in faith has had devastating moral implications. Children have been sexually molested by priests who were protected by their "open minded" Vatican II bishops. Artificial contraception is commonly used by Catholics. Over half of all people who call themselves Catholic support legal protection for abortion. The litany of ills that afflict the modern Church Militant as a result of the liberal changes of the 20th century could go on and on. The Church Militant is marred in a deep and scandalous crisis of faith sparked by the acceptance and ascendancy of Modernism in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. The Mass has been turned in a farcical caricature of Catholic worship, that is little more than a Protestant service. The validity of the Sacrament only serves to make the situation worse, as thousands of unbelievers in practice, who never go to Confession, who deny outright a plethora of de fide teachings, make one sacrilegious Communion after another.
Tradition, though, is on the rise, because God will not abandon His Church forever, and he is calling us, the Remnant of Catholic traditionalists, to be the agents of the Holy Ghost. Begin today to rise from the destruction wrought that day fifty years ago, by heeding the urging of the Holy Ghost to greater holiness, austerity and devotion. By our prayers, virtue and sacrifice, give bold witness to the authentically traditional Catholic alternative to the empty promises of that sad and pathetic generation of Cardinal Lienart, who left the Church Militant in such dire straights.
Criticism of those things that caused the crisis will have its proper place in the battle as this year of faith progresses. However, it is prayer, sacrifice and growth in virtue, with Our Lady's scapular as our shield and her Rosary as our sword, that will make this year of faith the year in which Tradition rises more splendid than ever from the ashes of the post-Vatican II ruin.
For the Lord will not cast off his people: neither will he forsake his own inheritance. (Ps 93. 14)
I believe this event is what Sister Lucia was referring to in her 1957 interview with Father Fuentes, "God is about to chastise the world in a terrible manner. The punishment from Heaven is imminent."
ReplyDeleteYou have painted a bleak but accurate picture of the mainstream post-conciliar Church - I wish I could contradict you in some way but this is the description of the Church parishes in my area, barring a few relatively safe havens. It's a mish -mash all over - and people are now "set in their post-concliar ways" with no sign of waking-up from the Vatican II enchantment. It's all about the people and community, social justice and wishy washy morality. Hardly any reference to the perennial magisterium and Papal teachings. It will take a miracle in leadership to restore our true Catholic identity. At least we have the comfort of kindred souls in the Traditional blog network - one feels less alone and alien - so thank you for this Mr. Werling.
ReplyDeletePrayers to Our Lady
Barbara
And to underscore the opacity of Mysterium Iniquitatis, it was Leinart who ordianed Lefebvre a Priest and who consecrated him a Bishop and it was during V2 that the Bishops and Priests were daily offering the Mass of all times.
ReplyDeleteThose oddities aside, I am with you 100% Mr. Werling
Oh, I forgot to add that it was not, in and of itself, wrong to refuse to accept the Schemas as that is what happened at V1 also; and were I a Bishop, I'd look askance at being told I had to adhere to schemas prepared by Curial "experts," but I am not writing in defense of what V2 produced.
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