Emerging from the crisis

JMJ

What is a crisis????

Simple Definition

a difficult or dangerous situation that needs serious attention

Full Definition A

the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever
a paroxysmal attack of pain, distress, or disordered function
an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person's life <a midlifecrisis>

Full Definition B

the decisive moment (as in a literary plot)

Full Definition C

an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending;especially : one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome <a financialcrisis>
a situation that has reached a critical phase <the environmental crisis>

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

By all of these definitions the Catholic Church has been in crisis for well over a hundred years. I know most traditionalists trace what they see as a crisis to the Second Vatican Council.

However, by way of analogy, the body of the Church has been infected with the Virus of Liberalism / Modernism / etc for a long time. The Church's immune system put up a valiant fight dispatching white blood cells, but eventually as with an aggressive virus, they were overwhelmed and the blisters erupted at the Second Vatican Council.

... and the blisters have been exploding ever since (Eponymous Flower)

Many cry in anguish and look at the Mystical Body of Christ rent with the scourges and nailed to the cross of our sins and say: This cannot be the Church of Christ. Just as many disciples said that Our Lord was not God.

We must no lose Faith as did the Apostles at the passion of Christ.

A bit of wisdom aptly placed by Tolkien into the mouth of Gandalf:

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo."So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” The Lord of the Rings

What are we to do with the time given to us?

It is to save our souls and those for whom we are responsible.

In reality, for most Catholics, it doesn't matter what is the Pope's latest fantasy (see link to Eponymous Flower).

It suffices to say that, objectively speaking, for the latter part of the 20th Century the Catholic Church has been governed by ineffective Pope's who have made a long series of bad decisions (yes I am being charitable).

Prayer

Following St. Alphonsus de Ligouri we need to:

... always have our mouths open praying to God, and saying: Lord, assist me: give me light; give me strength; keep thy hand upon me, and do not abandon me. (sermon XXVI)

St. Alphonsus goes on to say that we must do violence to God with our prayers and continually and importune Him with our prayers for ourselves and for the Mystical Body of Christ which IS the Catholic Church (Mystici Corporis).

He ends the sermon saying:

Hence the holy doctor exhorts us, "to seek grace, and to seek it through Mary, because she is a mother, and her prayer cannot be fruitless" - de Aquoed. When we ask her to obtain any grace for us, she graciously hears our petitions and prays for us; and the prayers of Mary are never rejected.

So prayer and unceasing prayer is how the leaders of the Church will obtain the grace to cure the Mystical Body of Christ of the virus' that have infected her.

That is the first thing we need to do ... pray!

Penance

The second is penance - especially in a world inundated with worldly pleasure.

Face it, most of us in the west have it pretty easy. Elsewhere in the world, say Africa, it is something to be Catholic and survive. Hence the reason for more vocations in the poorer areas where they really mean it when they say they're Catholic.

The same goes for the Traditional Catholic orders, where they maintain the same level of ordinations as pre-council.

Perhaps the Church needs to be persecuted for her members to buck up and act like Catholics.

Well, in the west the persecution is coming so, like it or not the west is soon going to do penance.

Then the Church will plant her feet on doctrine and stand tall in the face of adversity.

Just don't expect to have a lot of people standing with you.

Patience

With all this, it is simple that the virtue of patience will be necessary for all Catholics who work to remain faithful.

Organizations don't 'turn on a dime', and the bigger the organization the longer it will take to turn.

Hence, we need to be patient and not make rash decisions.

After 30+ years as a Traditional Catholics, I can safely say I've seen Trads make as many rash decisions as non-Trads.

Hence another exposition of my 'sig' Prayer, Penance, Patience.

Being in the west, I still need to work on the second one ... but be patient I'm working on it!

P^3

The myth of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - Rorate Caeli

+ JMJ Interestingly the complete acceptance of the Second Vatican Council (without reservations) is required of the SSPX. Just when people are starting to wonder how it came to this! Courtesy of Rorate Caeli P^3

A Look Back: Archbishop Lefebvre’s Prophetic Address to The Remnant, 1976

+ JMJ Looking back is important to understand why we are where we are in this crisis. Courtesy of RemnantNewsPaper P^3 FOR THE FIRST TIME ONLINE: Archbishop Lefebvre’s Prophetic Address to The Remnant, 1976 Written by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre Introduction by Michael J. Matt More than forty years ago—during the disastrous reign of Pope Paul VI, the latest candidate for a Vatican-issued Halo Award, by the way—my father, Walter L. Matt, organized the first large scale public reception in the U.S. for the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. It was held at the Radisson South Hotel, Minneapolis, on Tuesday, May 12, 1976, and its stated purpose was to assist the Archbishop in gaining a stronger foothold for the Society of St. Pius X in the States during the unprecedented crisis Blessed Pope Paul had helped unleash on the Church. On that occasion Archbishop Lefebvre delivered ...

Of the Church and the Pope - Fr. Calmel O.P.

+ JMJ Once again, looking back to see if the 'Traditional Catholics' in the early days of this crisis of the Church had a sufficient view to realize the roots of the crisis. The root: The Pope Hence when the Pope is 'righted' the Church will be 'righted'. P^3 Courtesy of SSPXasia Fr. Roger Calmel, O.P. This essay by Fr. Roger Calmel, O.P. (1914-75) helps us in these difficult times to preserve our love of the Church. More than 30 years after its first publication, this article retains all its relevance, so much so that it even seems to have been written for our time, in which the crisis in the Church deepens at an unprecedented pace. This essay will help the reader to think clearly, keep the Faith, and maintain serenity in the troubled times we are navigating. “My country has hurt m e,”wrote a young poet in 1944 during the purge 1 when the head of state [Charles De Gaulle] implacably pursued the sinister job that had been in the wo...

Canonical Mission and State of Emergency - A Response to Mr. John Salza - Part B

+ JMJ I was trying to think of a way to map out the time course I discussed in Part A of this article. Early this morning it came to me that this is more about obedience and duty than canon law. As is my wont, I mapped out my thoughts (see image) to draw linkages between the core concepts. My conclusion is that, at least subjectively, Archbishop Lefebvre had sufficient information to make good decisions concerning whether or not he was obliged to obey. I know that the Jesuits, some Sedevacantists and the priests that left over the years will not agree with my thoughts. So be it. The core pieces of information include: Attacks against the SSPX were launched because they kept the Tridentine Mass and the pre-conciliar understanding of the Truths of the Faith. The authorities in the Church were willing to go against the laws of the Church. The same authorities encouraged the various dangers to the Faith embedded in popular interpretations of ambiguo...

Validity of new rite of episcopal consecrations - Courtesy of SSPX.org

+ JMJ In the blogosphere there are number of responses to this crisis in the Catholic Church that lead to conclusions that run counter to Catholic Doctrine and Dogmas - if taken to their logical conclusion. The validity of the New Rite of Episcopal consecrations is one such hotspot within more extreme sections of the 'traditionalist' culture. Validity of new rite of episcopal consecrations Courtesy of SSPX.org Why the new rite of episcopal consecration is valid Introduction This comprehensive study was compiled to settle a debate that has been circulating in traditional Catholic circles. Some writers have examined the new rite of episcopal consecration and concluded that it must be invalid. Since this would cause manifest problems if it were true and due to the heightened awareness of such a theory, we present a study of this question concluding that it is valid. Following the Council, in 1968 a new rite for the ordination of bishops was promulg...

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