Tradicat

 + JMJ  So it has been a few weeks since TC was unleashed upon a suspecting Church and a few observations can now be made. First, there is to confusion between the Teaching Authority of the Church (Magisterium) and the Legislative Authority.  I point this out because of this phrase from the Canadian Military Ordinariate: We must also understand that this is not a passing occurrence. This motu proprio already carries with it the full weight of the Magisterium , being a canonically binding edict. However, it is also stated in the document that it “be published in the official Commentary of the Holy See, Acta Apostolicae Sedis [AAS; Acts of the Apostolic See].” The AAS is irreformable and binding and is an expression of the constant and universal Magisterium. (W. Wright) Source Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate  So let's get some clarity on this: Catholic Dictionary MAGISTERIUM Definition The Church's teaching authority, vest...

+ JMJ In part I (link) , Murrax asked a couple of questions - the original can be seen at the link -but I have also mapped it out below. Murrax, please chime in if I didn't catch the gist of the question.  So, my first thought is this seems to breakdown into a core question: Must Catholics obey civil laws? This is something that I have wanted to dig into for sometime, but alas I don't have time to do a lot of research at this time - so I'll be going on my own reasoning and previous research. Starting off with St. Thomas we have the following high level principles: Is the order within their sphere of authority? Yes  / No Does the order involve immediate or proximate sin? Yes / No  This is pretty simple and the question that is usually asked is what defines the sphere of authority?  I have been told that for Catholic religious leaders the sphere of authority is largely defined by the rule of the organization. Here's what I found: So the basic conditions are: Was it ma...

+ JMJ So ... what will be the outcome of the Pandemic? Right now I'm thinking about the 'anti-mask' demonstrations and general attitude towards government authority.   The obedience due to government authority is no less than that to religious superiors.   At this point, I expect a number of people are screaming "Social Kingship of Christ".      As I've mentioned before, you can't work for the Social Kingship of Christ by disobeying legitimate orders from secular and religious leaders.   If you do, then you are building on sand.   What is scariest is that the 'anti-maskers' don't realise that they are protesting in vain because they are doing just what the left were doing. Now that the 'right' is learning from the 'left', I wonder what will happen when the next emergency is worse than COVID-19. P^3

+ JMJ After a few months, I finally found my copy of the Imitation of Christ and read a passage after my morning prayers . This is the passage that I read on flipping open the tome: And because being under authority thou darest not resist the higher power, therefore thou art apt to think it hard to walk at the beck of another, and wholly to give up thy own sentiments. (Confraternity 1982 version quoted. Online version The Imitation of Christ , by Thomas a Kempis, tr. by William Benham [1886], at sacred-texts.com Bk3 Ch49 ) ... But consider, son, the fruit of these labors, how quickly they will end, and their exceeding great reward, and thou wilt not be troubled at them, but strongly comforted in thy suffering. ( Heb VI. 18 ) For Reference: Heb VI 18: That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have the strongest comfort, who have fled for refuge to hold fast the hope set before us. ( source ) I've known and know priests...

+ JMJ I believe that the root of the crisis of the Catholic Church is disobedience to some form of authority. The Protestants revolted against the Pope and the Church - denying Dogmas and casting aside much of the 'artefacts' of the Catholic Faith.  All they have left are vestiges. The modernists revolted against the Teaching Authority of the Catholic Church, undermining Divine Revelation and as a result denied core Dogmas of the Catholic Faith.  This revolt emerged in full light at the Second Vatican Council and we've been suffering its effects every since! The Popes, starting even under Pius XII gave way to innovations that, as a pebble starts an avalanche, ended in a revolt against the authority of Tradition in the Catholic Church. With the erosion of the authority of the Church, anarchy soon followed and the bastions against heresy were razed to the ground. This is the phase in which we now strive to save our souls. Re-establishing Catholic Obedience in t...

+ JMJ Questions: Is Trust Subjective? Is being Trustworthy objective? Does a Superior have to be trustworthy? I previously discussed whether I trust someone is subjective or objective in this article .  The answer is simply yes because 'subjective' refers to a personal perspective, feeling or opinion. My personal perspective on whether I decide to trust (place confidence in ...) another person. Now whether a person is trustworthy is another question altogether: Trustworthy: worthy of confidence, able to be relied on as honest or truthful. Synonyms: reliable , dependable , honest , honorable , upright , principled , true , truthful , as good as one's word, ethical , virtuous , incorruptible , unimpeachable , above suspicion; responsible , sensible , levelheaded ; loyal , faithful , staunch , steadfast , trusty ; safe , sound , reputable , discreet . Whether a person is trustworthy is another question altogether and this could be based in facts ...

+ JMJ While the title words are true of me, they were actually spoken to me a few years ago by the father of a family. The difference is the principles we use as a guide for our actions. At that time we had already agreed to abide by Catholic principles (see further reading section below), but his distrust of Pope Francis and by extension the SSPX leadership was too great an obstacle to overcome.  Shortly after he spoke these words he stopped seeking the Sacraments from the SSPX. In later forum discussions, I reached the conclusion that to make obedience contingent upon trust in the leader is actually an manifestation of liberalism. So here's an attempt at tying it all together ... Key Principles and Definitions The Ends don't justify the means or better put as : Catholics don't sin in order to obtain an end.  No matter what we are trying to achieve, if we have to sin in order obtain something, even the salvation of the world, then it isn't wort...

+ JMJ The history of the SSPX is an example of obedience. Some would say disobedience.  The question is obedience or disobedience to what? The SSPX is obedient to: Pre-conciliar magisterium Pre-conciliar liturgy Conciliar magisterium following three classes What is repeating previous magisterium: Accept What is ambiguous: Accept inline with traditional interpretation What is contrary: Reject and request correction by the authority Post-conciliar magisterium that is inline with pre-conciliar magisterium Consequently, the SSPX is disobedient to: Post-conciliar magisterium that deviates from the pre-conciliar magisterium. The post-conciliar liturgy Orders that would constitute a compromise to that which (see above) the SSPX is obedient. Obedience in this time requires a great deal of prudence as well as fortitude. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org

+ JMJ There is, believe it or not, a root to this crisis of the Church. In order to find it, you have to dig past the documents of Vatican II ... as well as basically all the post-V2 fluff that tries to pass for doctrine and dig a little deeper. Ultimately, we will arrive at ... wait for it ... pride. You see, the problems of Vatican II etc didn't happen over night, it started with Luther and simply erupted at V2. The liberals, modernists, et al simply thought (and think) that they have such a deep knowledge of Theology etc that they see where the Church made a mistake in dealing with the World.  They prefer to make up their own perspective instead of accept reality, instead of submitting to the Church. How was this pride manifested? Disobedience. They disobeyed Pope Pius X by (amongst other things) disobeying the interdicts against teaching modernism, by reading modernist books that were on the index etc. This continues today. Archbishop Lefebvre said it -...