Skip to main content

Emerging from the crisis

Image
By
+
JMJ


What is a crisis????

  1. Simple Definition
    1. a difficult or dangerous situation that needs serious attention
  2. Full Definition A
    1. the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever
    2. a paroxysmal attack of pain, distress, or disordered function
    3. an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person's life <a midlifecrisis>
  3. Full Definition B
    1. the decisive moment (as in a literary plot)
  4. Full Definition C
    1. 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>
    2. 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


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

By
+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R...
Post a Comment
Read more

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

By
Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making.  It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX.  The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience.  The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members.  It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...
8 comments
Read more

If Pope Francis is bad - what about Pope St. John Paul II et al?

By
+ JMJ So here we are on the apparent cusp of yet another post conciliar Papal canonization. This time we have Pope's John-Paul I and Paul VI canonizations to 'look forward' to. This follows, obviously, on the heels of Pope St. John Paul II's canonization? So the first question that I usually encounter is: How is it possible, keeping in mind the doctrine on infallibility of canonizations (note doctrine not dogma), that Pope St. John Paul II is a Saint? First, what does it mean???  According to the doctrine of dogmatic facts - it is the universal opinion of Theologians that canonizations are infallible.  It means that they enjoy the beatific vision.  ... that's it.  That is the doctrine and it is at the level of universal opinion of theologians.  It is called a 'dogmatic fact'. That they made mistakes is obvious.  That the miracles seem to not be very miraculous is also a bit of an issue. Here's something to consider: The rush that surrou...
16 comments
Read more

Spiritual Journey Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre - Extracts

By
+ JMJ I have posted these two chapters to provide context for the quote of: It is, therefore, a strict duty for every priest wanting to remain Catholic to separate himself from this Conciliar Church for as long as it does not rediscover the Tradition of the Church and of the Catholic Faith. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.ca Chapter II The Perfections of God We ought to remember during this entire contemplation of God that we must apply all that is said of God to Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is God. We cannot separate Jesus Christ from God. We cannot separate the Christian religion from Jesus Christ, Who is God, and we must affirm and believe that only the Catholic religion is the Christian religion. These affirmations have, as a result, inescapable conclusions that no ecclesiastic authority can contest: outside of Jesus Christ and the Catholic religion, that is, outsi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader

By
 + JMJ  A reader asked the following question in the 2015 version of the article on the Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (link) : 117: "In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order." Where can you find this in the documents of the Church? ( Link to comment )  Here's the reference from Ott: The citation that Ott provided was Denzinger 1786 and the source document is Dogmatic Consitution Concerning the Faith from the First Vatican Council (Papal Encyclicals - link) : Chapter 2 On Revelation, Article 3: It is indeed thanks to this divine revelation , that those matters concerning God, which are not of themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state of the human race, be known by everyone, without difficulty, with firm certitude and with no intermingling of error. Here's ...
Post a Comment
Read more