Tradicat

+ JMJ SSPX Conflict with Rome (1974) The SSPX conflict with Rome has its roots in the events of 1974 with the visitation and the Declaration . The key phrase may be: It is impossible to modify profoundly the lex orandi without modifying the lex credendi. To the Novus Ordo Missae correspond a new catechism, a new priesthood, new seminaries, a charismatic Pentecostal Church—all things opposed to orthodoxy and the perennial teaching of the Church. This Reformation, born of Liberalism and Modernism, is poisoned through and through; it derives from heresy and ends in heresy, even if all its acts are not formally heretical. It is therefore impossible for any conscientious and faithful Catholic to espouse this Reformation or to submit to it in any way whatsoever. This seems to be the root of the mantra that the SSPX accept the council and the new mass. Now with 42 years of hindsight we can asked the key question: Was Archbishop Lefebvre correct? Has the change in le...

+ JMJ Amoris Laetitia The second example is more delicate as it deals with the recent manifestation of the Pope's desire in Amoris Laetitia to allow those Catholics to receive Holy Communion who have abandoned their spouses and are living in an objective state of cohabitation with another man or woman. Here are the objective teachings of the Catholic Church: A Catholic who obtains a civil divorce, is still considered married to their spouse in the eye of God and His Church. Until such time as the Church, after investigating the facts, concludes that the formation of the Catholic marriage was frustrated. To have marital relations outside of marriage is a mortal sin. To knowingly receive the Holy Eucharist in a state of mortal sin is the sin of sacrilege. To enable the sin of sacrilege is in itself sinful. Following Catholic Teaching, carrying out an order (tacit or explicit) to provide communion to Catholics who purport to be remarried civilly is obj...

+ JMJ Principles in Practice Unfortunately, many examples of sinful obedience and disobedience are readily available since the end of the Second World War. I've selected two recent events in the life of the Church as examples: Summorum Pontificum and Amoris Laetitia. Summorum Pontificum In 2007, Pope Benedict issued the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. In the Motu Proprio we find the following statement: Art. 5. § 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonizes with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favoring the unity of the whole Church. (Summorum Pontificum) For context we find that Canon 392 requires the bishop of a diocese ...

+ JMJ The Obedience of the Jesuits There is one religious order that is usually put forward as the paragon of obedience: The Jesuits. While according to Fr. Harvanek SJ, the Jesuit practice of obedience changed after the Second Vatican Council, we are primarily concerned with how St. Ignatius understood obedience and its ideal practice within the Jesuits. A letter to the Portuguese Jesuit, penned by St. Ignatius in 1553, describes in detail the ideal of perfect obedience. In this letter, St. Ignastius exhorts the Portuguese Jesuits to a very high degree of obedience and as the word cloud of the top 100 words shows how the words superior and obedience dominate the letter. This theme of obedience to the superior is reinforced throughout the letter, with little or no distinctions concerning the content of the command. The Jesuits are exhorted to humble themselves by obeying the least command of their superiors, to internalize this humilty and to desire inter...

+ JMJ Summa Theologica – St. Thomas Aquinas It should be of no surprise that the Catechism of the Council of Trent refers the reader to the Summa. After all, for hundreds of years it was the 'go-to' reference manual for understanding key areas of Catholic theology. St. Thomas establishes that observance (question 102), rendering honor and respect to those in a position of dignity, is exercised by "rendering him service, by obeying his commands, and by repaying him, according to one's faculty, for the benefits we received from him".  Further, this service is owed to the person in a position of authority, not because of themselves, but because of the position of dignity that they occupy. Disobedience to the superior is counted by St. Thomas as a mortal sin as it is "contrary to the love of God" and the "love of our neighbor". In article 5 of question 104, St. Thomas proceeds to define the framework for obedience due to  superiors – out...

+ JMJ True Obedience: The Mark of A Faithful Catholic Introduction In the liberal atmosphere that permeates Western culture, obedience has been greatly abused as an excuse for great evil. However, obedience is a virtue and Catholics are supposed to seek to continually increase in virtue. This leads to the question: How does a Catholic obey both their religious and civil superiors when they are obviously perpetrating evil laws and doctrines? The answer provided by the Catholic Church is surprisingly simple: God does not require blind obedience to all commands. In this article, we will review the Catholic teaching on obedience and its practice in the modern world. Obedience in the Church of Christ Because the Church has discussed obedience at length throughout the ages, forming an opinion aligned with the mind of the Church should not be difficult. In this age of immediate access to information, three authorities are readily available: Catechism of the Counci...

+ JMJ I have not been idle during 'retirement' and I've managed to eek out enough time to write an article on obedience.  Obviously this is a continuation of the original series on obedience (  For a summary - please see the original post here ). As the article is quite long, I will be publishing the article in a series of posts over the next few weeks. My intention was to deeply examine the thought of the Church and St. Thomas Aquinas on obedience. I began with the Catechism of the Council of Trent and moved to question 104 of the second part of the second part of the Summa Theologica. Short conclusions: Don't dis obedience (pun intended) Don't throw St. Thomas under the bus because of Pope Francis References Liber contra impugnantes Dei cultum et religionem Works of St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica - Obedience Summa Theologica - Disobedience