Navigating Catholic Life - Part 7: Start Now, Tomorrow is a Wish, Not a Promise

JMJ

A decade ago, in the height of the 'will the SSPX be regularized' discussion, I was called many things by denizens of various forums (Cathinfo, Ignis Ardens and Angel Queen) this included Mezingite and Tragical. Periodically, I was thanked for being a voice of reason amongst all the screaming of the 'resistors' warning of dire consequences if the SSPX accepted a no-compromise regularization.

When that compromise failed to materialize at their magic words, they concocted examples of a compromise within the SSPX ranks. One resistor even wrote a 'book' of the 101 compromises - including a reference from this blog.

That all seemed so important back then. I'm a decade older and, while not regretting the combat and spiritual fatigue that it engendered, it was a great learning opportunity. This set the stage for in person argumentation - I got a lot of practice there and had led me to today's thought.

Start now, tomorrow is a wish, not a promise.

There are things that we need to do, especially those related to the salvation of our souls (see https://tradicat.blogspot.com/2022/10/navigating-catholic-life-part-3.html).

We need to start now, take the initiative because there are no guarantee's that we will live to see tomorrow, let along the next hour or minute.

I'm trying to put all my cares in this type of perspective - maybe because I crossed the 'mid-life' line some years ago - the salvation of 'resistors' and others is important, but it really isn't my responsibility. My duty to God, responsibility to my family, my employer. Those are really my top three because they are all linked together far more tightly than persons using the pseudonym 'Catholicam', 'hollingsworth', or 'Tradfly'. For those who are concerned, Top 3 does not preclude 4,5,6,7 ... priorities :-).

Last thought on this, my Dad used to say: Live as if you will live forever, pray as if you will die tomorrow. He didn't seem to let the thought of death impede his ability to live a moral life and in my minds eye, I can still remember see him, a few days before he died, kneeling, looking at the crucifix, praying by his bed.

When I have gone on to my eternal judgement, I hope my children remember me the same way.

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

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