Tradicat

 + JMJ  CMTV continuous what can only be described as a self-righteous crusade against anyone who does automatically agree with them.  They have now twitter attacked Fr. Raymond Blake for not agreeing with them and criticizing them methods. CMTV seems to have become quite rabid in its defence of its self-appointed mission.  I'm just not certain what that mission is anymore. This is very similar to what seems to be happening with John Salza. One example is his criticism of decisions of the Church that Catholics can attend the masses of the SSPX.   I know that Mr. Voris et al didn't do their homework and dig into the stories around alleged abuse the SSPX.  Let's be clear, I'm not saying that abuse hasn't happened. What I am saying is that there is nothing to suspect that there is an orchestrated conspiracy to hide those that actually happened.  This seems to be what Voris et al are keen on proving. Maybe I'm wrong. But the self-righteous outrage pre...

+ JMJ A simple answer to the mad trads - read this ... and then try to live up to these principles. CHAPTER III OF THE GOOD, PEACEABLE MAN First keep thyself in peace, and then shalt thou be able to be a peacemaker towards others....a good, peaceable man converteth all things into good.  ...He who dwelleth in peace is suspicious of none A passionate man turneth even good into evil and easily believeth evil ... but he who is discontented and restless is tossed with many suspicions, and is neither quiet himself nor suffereth others to be quiet. ...He often saith what he ought not to say, and omitteth what it were more expedient for him to do. He considereth to what duties others are bound, and neglecteth those to which he is bound himself.  Therefore be zealous first over thyself, and then mayest thou righteously be zealous concerning thy neighbour. 2. Thou knowest well how to excuse and to colour thine own deeds, but thou wilt not accept the excuses ...

+ JMJ It occurred to me that sometimes people go and make things really complicated - that should be kept simple. For example: Dogma. You can't be Catholic if you deny Catholic Dogma. It is that simple. Next example: Doctrine If you deviate from Catholic Doctrine, then you are almost certainly on the wrong path. Also simple. Next example: Is the SSPX is in schism? Well technically the opinion is that they are " not in full communion "  This however is not a simple situation as you have to look at a number of elements ... such as: What does 'not in full communion' mean.  Since V2 the Church has used this term to describe the protestants and I believe even the orthodox ... and now the SSPX. However when asked specifically if they were in a formal state of schism we get "not in full communion".  Meaning that there is a sliding scale of membership in the Catholic Church ... which is as wrong as the thought that there is a grey area...

+JMJ+ In my last post I focused on the importance of a strong spiritual life in order to pull out of the MadTrad Death Spiral.  I want to make something clear, I don't advocate putting down your favorite traditional Catholic periodical so you can be indifferent to the machinations of the crisis. If anything it should upset you and if you are not upset by all aspects of the crisis, then you are in danger falling in a different way. It is just that being in a constant state of frustration and anger does not help you to understand the foundations of why you are angered.  This leads me to the next point.  Study the Catholic Faith.  Obviously I am not going to recommend you study the Catechism of the Catholic Church, because it's audience is bishops and we know how messed up are the majority of bishops these days. I am not even going to mention the issues in that tome written by a modern bishop if not a Modernist. I am going to recommend a course of s...

+ JMJ In the first article on this topic I promised to try and provide some advice on staying the course and not falling off the knife edge.  In the second article, I provided some insights from the Imitation of Christ. In this third article, I want to focus on some wisdom that I received at a key point in my in-person and online discussions. You have to keep your 'cup full' and give only away from the excess.  The contents of the cup is Grace. If you give it away faster than you replenish it, you will eventually fall, probably infected by the same disease you are attempting to cure. In medical terms they call it 'self-care' and 'respite'. So to pull out of the death-spiral, you need to regularly put down the various Trad magazines (even the Remnant) and do some spiritual reading. My favorite is the Imitation of Christ - but you need to find the right source that fits your soul. P^3

+ JMJ + Yesterday I came across this chapter in the Imitation of Christ : "First keep thyself in peace, and then shalt thou be able to be a peacemaker towards others. A peaceable man doth more good than a well-learned. A passionate man turneth even good into evil and easily believeth evil; a good, peaceable man converteth all things into good. He who dwelleth in peace is suspicious of none, but he who is discontented and restless is tossed with many suspicions, and is neither quiet himself nor suffereth others to be quiet. He often saith what he ought not to say, and omitteth what it were more expedient for him to do. He considereth to what duties others are bound, and neglecteth those to which he is bound himself. Therefore be zealous first over thyself, and then mayest thou righteously be zealous concerning thy neighbour." Source: Imitation of Christ There is much to unpack I'm this passage. First look at the damage done by a MadTrad who is n...

+ JMJ I know that RadTrad is being used for some 'good' purposes - but there is a point. Can you be a violent, foaming at the mouth MadTrad who flies off the handles at anything that he THINKS smells like protestantism in a Catholic setting? The answer is no. If you can't control yourself and examine the situation in a rational manner using Catholic Teaching as a guide (as opposed to a whip) then ... you will fall.  If you have influence or authority on others, you will drag them down with you and ... you will be responsible. So, as time allows (vacation ends tomorrow) I will try to pull together some thoughts on how to break out of the MadTrad death spiral. P^3