What Really Matters - The Truth!

JMJ

What is true matters, everything is untrue is a lie.

Pretty simple eh?

Getting to the truth and helping others to see it is the hard part.

For example, I was at a talk where a theologian provided an overview of the crisis of the Church from a rational / logical point of view. His assumptions seemed correct and so he seemed to be right.

The only problem is that being right doesn't automatically mean people will agree and change their beliefs.

I've encountered this a few times and concluded that the cognitive dissonance theory is, if not bang-on, a good model of human behaviour.

I've seen the pain suffered by ntCatholic's when they are confronted with the kissing the koran picture and Pope Francis' antics.

For ntCatholics, if the SSPX is right, then practically everything that they have believed about the Catholic Church crumbles. That is a huge wall and the pain is incredible.

So, being right isn't enough.

No matter how crystal clear the exposition of the crisis. No matter how damning the logic. It still isn't enough.

tCatholics need to be able to help ntCatholics through two pains.

Unlearning the false truths that they have been fed for the last 50+ years.
Learning the Catholic truths that they have been denied.

Just because we don't feel the pain of another, the pain is still real. Either we help them to overcome the pain and develop a better perspective ... or God will do it with a painful catastrophe.

That's why it is critical that the Pope (Francis or his successors) come to the same realisation and perspective of tCatholics. This will be a Catholic perspective afterall that is what a Traditional Catholic perspective is supposed to be eh!

If the Pope commits a good action (ie no-compromise SSPX regularization), then a number of ntCatholics will be able to overcome the first pain.

tCatholics need to be ready to help them with the second pain, learning the Catholic Faith.

This also includes some pain for Traditional Catholics.

We need to unlearn the bitterness that comes from being persecuted and ridiculed for 50+ years and we to learn true compassionate Catholic Charity. A charity that sees each non-Traditional Catholic as a soul that God Loves and holds precious.

Even Pope Francis.

The means do not justify the ends.

We cannot adopt non-Catholic means just because the enemies of the Church do so. That is the mistake of the sede-vacantists and 'resistors'. They have deviated from both Catholic Doctrine (dogmatic facts) as well as Catholic principles (obedience).

Pope Francis is a bad Pope, perhaps the worst in history. But, following the teaching of the Catholic Church, he is still the Pope until either he or the Church tells us. If he issues a legitimate command, either we obey or we sin.

Pray for Pope Francis and the non-Traditional Catholics. A lot of them are suffereing because of what Pope Francis is doing to their beliefs.

... and now a little humour:

P^3

Comments

A Look Back: A short history of the SSPX

+ JMJ I started a timeline a while back but never finished it. Fortunately, here's one that brings us up to 1994!!! P^3 http://archives.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/a_short_history_of_the_sspx-part-1.htm A short history of the SSPX A presentation given by Fr. Ramon Angles in Kansas City, MO, on the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the SSPX and reprinted from the January 1996 issue of The Angelus . Part 1 The history of the Society of St. Pius X begins, of course, in the mind of God. But do not believe that its temporal origin is to be found solely at the time of the post-conciliar crisis. The Society of St. Pius X was made possible ...

Hermeneutic of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - sspx.org

+ JMJ Since I'm looking at the 'four things', I thought this article would be good. Unfortunately, with the new SSPX.org website, I've been unable to locate the original article. This is a copy the I emailed to myself. This is an article that, I believe, was written in response to a conference given by Msgr. Pozzo. P^3

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

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...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

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

+ 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 ...

Tradicat

Search This Blog