The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary - A Model for the Crisis of the Church

JMJ

One advantage of having a 50km+ commute to work is that I have time almost 2hrs to say my rosary and think.

This past week I started thinking about parallels between the Sorrowful Mysteries and this Crisis.

The parallels that I drew stem from the thought that the Mystical Body of Christ (i.e. the Catholic Church) emulates the path of Her Spouse - Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sorrowful Mystery - Parallels to the Crisis

Agony In the Garden

Our Lord foresaw the future of His Church, sweat blood and was betrayed by one of his own bishops.
The pre-conciliar Pope saw the crisis coming, suffered and were finally betrayed by their bishops.

Scourging at the Pillar

Our Lord underwent this suffering for the sins of impurity.
Post council indiscipline and sins of impurity became rampant. The extent of it is only recently percolating to the surface.

Crowning with Thorns

Our Lord underwent this humiliation to teach us humility.
The Church has been undergoing significant humiliations at the hands of its Popes (think Assisi). That self abasement wasn't enough for those who harbour a hatred for God and His Church. We are now starting to see the humiliation of the Church by Her enemies accelerating in too many ways to number.

Carrying of the Cross

Our Lord carried His cross (weighed down by our sins) to Calvary to show us the path to Heaven.
I believe that the parallel here will be some sort of persecution of the Church. It may have already started with various members of the Mystical Body of Christ undergoing physical persecution around the world. Perhaps in the Neo-Agnostic West a persecution will develop.

Crucifixion and Death

Our Lord completed the work of redemption by His crucifixion and death on the cross.
That the life-cycle of the Church is punctuated by one crisis after another is fairly obvious to see in a historical sense. So perhaps there will be a climax (ish) that parallels the Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This will of course be followed by a 'resurrection' of the Church.

It isn't a perfect model, but there is a strong correlation between the life-cycle of crises such as this.

P^3

Comments

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...

Tradicat

Search This Blog