Tradicat

 + JMJ Recently, the St. Gertrude prayer was recommended to me and given my devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I thought it a good inclusion in the morning prayers and post it here for as a reminder for November - the Month of the Holy Souls. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org “Forget not the dead and hasten to pray for them!” - such is the Church's recommendation, beautifully summarized by St. Augustine. In Purgatory until the End of the World Our Lady Herself referred to Purgatory when, at the first Fatima apparition in May 1917, she was asked by Lucia about the souls of two young village girls who had recently died. The Virgin answered that the first one, Maria das Nevas, who died when about 16 years of age, was in Heaven. But of Amelia, a young lady of 18 years at her death, "will be in purgatory until the end of the world.” The disclosure about Amelia’s prolonged period of expiation never fails to shock and trouble. We are so easily misled to believe that Heaven is our natura...

 + JMJ On this All Souls day, I'd like to remind all Traditional Catholics in Canada the debt that they owe to Fr. Yves Normandin (RIP). Fr. Normandin stepped into the breach in the 1970's offering the Tridentine Mass across Canada for close to a decade before returning to his diocese for a number years before returning to the SSPX. I had the grace to visit him in Quebec twice and each time left with a greater appreciation of the fruits of his efforts. All of us 'old-timers' probably remembers Masses in Chapels, Homes, Halls, Funeral Homes, and event convention centres. I make the assertion that this laid the ground for all the Traditional Mass Communities, SSPX, FSSP, Diocesan and others. Probably a pretty safe assertion! In addition to praying for the repose of the Soul of Fr. Normandin, I'd ask you also pray for the repose of the soul of his Mother.  I remember seeing her picture once and everyone has a Mom and she is worthy of our prayers for producing such a so...

 + JMJ In the 80's a friend recounted how, prior to conversion from the Baptist, his Father had an issue with the Rosary because of a scripture verse that forbade repetitive prayer (Matthew 6:7). Over the decades, I've wondered what was actually in scripture and its true meaning.  Below are the Douay Rheims, Know and Haydock references 7 And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. (Douay) Haydock :  Ver. 7.  Long prayer is not here forbidden; for Christ himself spent whole nights in prayer: and he sayeth, we must pray always; and the apostle, that we must pray without intermission, 1 Thess. v.; and the holy Church hath had from the beginning her canonical hours for prayer, but rhetorical and elaborate prayer, as if we thought to persuade God by our eloquence, is forbidden; the collects of the Church are most brief and most effectual. Aug. ep. 121. c. viii, ix, x. B. — Perseverance in prayer ...

 + JMJ Someone in the goodness of their heart(s) has launched a contra-sspx website at ' sspxstatus.org '.  It is chock full of stuff and since I've lived most of the events etc I'm actually looking forward to seeing if they are just repeating prior arguments or have something new to offer to the discussion. Looking forward to exploring this in my not so copious spare time. h/t: Less Femmes The Truth P^3

 + JMJ People seem to be mesmerised by train wrecks.   They just can't turn away as the disaster creeps forward along train tracks towards the crossing where a car, truck, bus, trailer awaits its destruction. Trads have been watching the train wreck that is this crisis of the Catholic Church for decades. The trade war between the Canada and the US has reminded me that the news is addictive.   The first time I was addicted what from 2009 to  2014 when I was closely following the Rome / SSPX discussions.  I was at work watching a live-stream as Bishop Fellay disappeared into the Vatican. The lead-up to this moment had been intense as the 'resistance' got freaked out and the cultural cracks between doctrine and conspiracy theory widened. In the decade since then other things have emerged, wars, rumours of wars, conspiracies, celebrity Catholics etc. Now we have a new addiction and its name is Trump. Lately, no matter how much I try, I find myself wonderin...

 + JMJ Immediately after the council (i.e. Second Vatican Council) things changed in Catholic Church around the world. Some of the Veteran Trads gave a good fight in those early years. In this story, three friends in Quebec agreed that what they were hearing from the pulpit reeked of heresy. After a while, they decided that it was time to take some action.  The following Sunday all three of them took up their position in the front pew, directly in front of the pulpit.  It wasn't difficult as the front pew was rarely occupied even in this era. They had a plan! As the sermon began the men sat there staring at the priest, waiting.   Then it happened. A statement that deviated from pre-conciliar teaching leapt from the priests lips. The reaction wasn't explosive ... it was passive-aggressive ... in a way. As if on cue, the three men shook their heads, left to right. The priest paused, studdered a little and continued. All was good for a few minutes before some other...