Time to Say Good-Bye

Well, my friends, it's time to say good-bye. I am no longer writing for this blog. I am preparing for my profession into the Third Order of St. Francis, which will be, God willing, on Saturday November 24. Along with me, there will be six other souls. Please pray for us.

The Franciscan life is calling me to spend less time on the Internet and more time in prayer, reflection, and spiritual reading. And of course more time with my wife and children whom I love dearly. I will continue to write once in a while, though, for The Traditional Third Order of St. Francis blog.

To all who have visited this blog and supported it, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And please remember to never give up the good fight!

In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Oct. 28, 2007 - Feast Day of Christ the King

Today is the feast day of Christ the King! This day and every day let us all acknowledge Our Lord Jesus Christ as King of our hearts, King of our homes, and King of our countries.

For those who have enthroned the Sacred Heart of Jesus as King of their homes, today is a perfect day to renew the consecration (using the same formula as the day of enthronement) of your homes to Our Lord. For those who have not yet enthroned the Sacred Heart as King of their homes, please do so as soon as possible. Here is a post I wrote on this subject.

May it be a blessed feast day for all!

Fr. Peter Scott Answers Again

Question: Can the faithful assist at the traditional Masses celebrated in virtue of the Motu proprio of Pope Benedict XVI of July 7, 2007?

Answer: This Motu proprio has taken the place of the Indult of 1984, renewed in 1988, permitting the traditional Mass under certain conditions. Neither the Society of Saint Pius X nor traditional Catholics in general profited by Rome’s Indult, first because of the conditions attached to it, and, in particular, that of acknowledging the “doctrinal and juridical” value of the Novus Ordo Missae, which is impossible; and secondly because such acceptance of the Indult would amount to saying that the Church had lawfully suppressed the traditional Latin Mass.

But other priests did profit by it, some jumping at the chance to say the traditional Latin Mass under the umbrella of legality, others only because requested by their Bishop, but without any love of the traditional Mass or conviction about the doctrinal reasons that make it truly Catholic and obligatory. There were just a few who would have said the traditional Latin Mass anyway but who accepted to do so under the auspices of the Indult for “pastoral reasons.”

These are the priests who were particularly happy at the publication of the Motu proprio that declared that the traditional Mass had never been abrogated, and that every priest has the right to celebrate it in private, and under certain conditions in public, namely when a group of the faithful request it, and this without the permission of the bishop. They are also happy that the explicit conditions formerly attached to the Indult Mass no longer apply.

The question then arises as to whether traditional Catholics can assist at the Masses of such priests, presuming that their preaching is traditional, and does not include any of the errors of Vatican II (a big “if” and a condition not usually fulfilled). Clearly if one has to agree with the doctrinal and juridical value of the Novus Ordo, even implicitly, then it is not permissible, for we cannot do evil that good may ensue. That this is still the case with Motu proprio Masses is clear from the requirement of Pope Benedict XVI, stating that traditional priests “cannot, as a matter of principle, exclude celebrating according to the new books. The total exclusion of the new rite would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness”, and that they must accept that the ordinary form of the Mass is the new rite. This we can never do.

This condition of acceptance of the New Mass may not be presented explicitly as in the past, but it certainly is by implication, as is evidenced by some of the following practices, that are current with Masses celebrated under the Motu proprio:

- by a priest who celebrates the Novus Ordo on other days of the week or at other times;
- by a priest who sees no doctrinal problem with the Novus Ordo Missae, nor actively opposes its destruction of the Faith;
- by using Hosts consecrated at a Novus Ordo Missae;
- by priests who mix the two rites as if they were one;
- by communion in the hand;
- by new lectionaries, Mass facing the people, etc.;
- by a priest who was ordained in the New Rite and not conditionally ordained, for the certitude of the validity of priestly ordination needs to be obtained, for we have the obligation of following the safest path, “pars tutior” when it concerns the sacraments and of not taking any chances;
- by sermons that are modernist in inspiration (much to be feared if the celebrant habitually says the Novus Ordo Missae); or
- by offering only the modernist rites of the other sacraments, e.g., penance.

This brings up the whole context of the Motu proprio Mass, which is really no different from the Indult Mass. It is:

- a ploy to keep people away from the Society of Saint Pius X (for many parish priests and bishops will encourage it only where there is a Society of Saint Pius X Mass center), and to force them to accept “the binding character of the Second Vatican Council”, as required by Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu proprio.
- intended only for those who feel attached to the traditional Latin Mass but nevertheless accept the doctrinal rectitude and juridical right of the Novus Ordo Missae, still considered the “ordinary form” of the Roman rite, as well as Vatican II, and all official orientations corresponding to these.
- an attempt to reconcile the new and old rites, Pope Benedict XVI himself recommending the mixing of both rites, for he stated “the two forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching”.

Therefore, attending it because of the priest’s words or fellow Mass-goers’ pressure, or because of the need to pander to the local Bishop just to have it, inevitably pushes one to keep quiet on “divisive issues” and, distance oneself from those who do not keep quiet i.e., it pushes one to join the ranks of those who are destroying the Church. This one cannot do.

The Motu proprio Mass, like the Indult Mass, is therefore not for traditional Catholics. This does not mean, however, that many other Catholics, who are not so familiar with Tradition, will not derive many graces and blessings from the additional Masses celebrated in virtue of the Motu proprio, nor that the priests who celebrate these Masses will not benefit greatly likewise. The Motu proprio is certainly a great blessing for the Church. However, it is not the end of the crisis, nor the answer for traditional Catholics.

However, the bottom line is that such priests, by the very fact that they are a part of a Novus Ordo diocese or community approved by the Novus Ordo, must acknowledge the licitness of the New Mass and of the changes wrought since Vatican II. By the very fact of their dependence on the modernist authorities, they cannot maintain that the New Mass is evil, nor can they deter others from assisting at it. Consequently, even if such priests refuse themselves to celebrate the New Mass, their principles can hardly be solid, but are rather a compromise. To recommend that the faithful attend such Masses would end up being an encouragement to attending the New Mass itself, regardless of the good intentions that many of these priests manifestly demonstrate.

All the more obvious is the case of those conservative or “traditionally minded” priests who celebrate both the traditional Mass and the New Mass. We certainly ought to encourage them to celebrate the traditional Mass as often as possible. However, for as long as they still celebrate the New Mass, and presumably attempt to please God in this way, they are living a contradiction, and we should avoid even their traditional Masses.

Fr. Peter Scott Answers

Fr. Peter Scott, SSPX

Fr. Peter Scott, current Rector of the SSPX's Holy Cross Seminary in Australia, answers questions that may be in the minds of many.

Question: Can there be two forms of the same liturgical rite?

Answer: In itself, there is no contradiction in their being two forms of the same rite, and this often existed in antiquity, when each city or province had its own variations. Thus the Gallican rite used throughout Gaul and Northern Italy until the 8th century was really a family of rites with many variations. Even after the Roman rite supplanted the Gallican rites throughout western Europe during the time of Charlemagne, over the middle ages many variations crept in, which became different forms of the same Roman rite. Thus the Sarum rite was a variant of the Roman rite, with essentially the same Canon, but different Offertory prayers and different Propers. Likewise the rites of the religious orders, such as the Dominicans and Carthusians. It is likewise the case in the East, where there are, for example, many different forms of the rite of St. John Chrysostom.

It was in fact on account of the confusion created by the immense variety of local prayers and customs in different forms of the Roman rite that, in 1570, St. Pius V published his Bull Quo Primum, which “restored the Missal itself to the original form and rite of the Holy Fathers”. Having done this, he determined to insist that this restored Missal be used everywhere, to put a stop to the different varieties and forms of the Roman rite, that had often become an occasion of abuse. “Now that this work has been gone over repeatedly and emended, we ordered, after serious study and reflection the work to be printed and published as soon as possible so that ll might derive the benefits of this work that was undertaken, namely that the priests would understand which prayers to use, which rites and ceremonies they were required to observe in the future celebration of Masses. Let all everywhere adopt and observe what has been handed down by the Holy Roman Church, the mother and mistress of the other Churches, and let not Masses be sung or read according to any rite other than that of the Missal.” By denying the use of any other Missal less than 200 years old, and by declaring this constitution “valid in perpetuity”, the Pope put an end, practically speaking to the different forms of the Roman rite.

The multiplicity of different forms re-emerged, but much more radically, with the post-conciliar introduction of the novelties and continual changes of the New Mass. The confusion, loss of unity, desacralization is far worse than that involved in the slight variants of the middle ages. Moreover, it cannot be said that these are forms of the same Roman rite as the traditional Mass. They are forms of the New Mass. However, to say that the New Mass and the traditional Mass are forms of the same Roman rite would mean to say that they are substantially identical, and that the differences are only accidental. To the contrary, some accidental aspects, such as appearances, are similar. The substance is entirely different, for the traditional Mass is a true, propitiatory sacrifice, the same sacrifice as the Cross offered in an unbloody way to expiate the crimes of sinners. The new Mass, to the contrary, is a banquet, a celebration of the community, a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, an acknowledgement of Christ’s love for humanity. The meaning of the gestures, symbols, ceremonies and prayers is radically different.

The only way to affirm that the New Mass is the ordinary form and the traditional Mass the extraordinary form is to pretend that there is no fundamental difference. It is to look at the exterior alone, to live in a fantasy world, and to pretend that the traditional Mass has none of the doctrinal depth and richness that distinguishes it from the New Mass. This is likewise the only way to come up with the preposterous claim that the rite of Mass that has been used constantly in the Roman rite for more than 1500 years has all of a sudden become in some way “extraordinary”. The fact remains that they are two different rites, and that if one claims, as did Benedict XVI, that they should “mutually enrich one another” is to transform the traditional Mass into an entirely new rite, the New Mass.

KING of Kings and LORD of Lords!

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is truly the King of kings and Lord of lords! He has the absolute right to reign over each and every individual, family, and state.

All of us must bow our heads and bend our knees in adoration of the One God of heaven and earth! And show forth love and devotion to His and our most pure and virtuous Mother and Queen of heaven and earth, the Blessed Virgin Mary!

In honour of Our Lord as King, today we begin the Novena to Christ the King to prepare our souls for the Feast of Christ the King on Sunday October 28.

In this most wicked world, invite Our Lord and Our Lady into our hearts and homes.

May God bless you all.

CHRISTUS VINCIT!

CHRISTUS REGNAT!

CHRISTUS IMPERAT!

Revamped SSPX Canada Website

The SSPX Canadian website has recently been revamped. Check it out here.

Sisters Mary Raphael and Mary John Vianney of the Toronto chapel

August 29, 2005 Meeting Between Pope Benedict XVI and Bishop Fellay

I got this picture from Angelqueen. Smiling is a good thing.

October 4 - Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi

Join us in celebrating this great feast day in honour of one of the greatest saints in the history of holy Mother Church. This saint is so great that Our Lord enthroned him in the place once reserved for that most wicked serpent, Lucifer, before he was thrown out of heaven. St. Francis is also known as the second Christ.

Check out this post written in honour of St. Francis by my brother in the Seraphic Father, Br. Pio Francis.

Holy Father, pray for us.

Words of Wisdom IV

....the errors of Vatican II are designed....to make the Catholic religion fit the New World Order.

Vatican II is the theory of the new religion, of the global religion, of the globalized Catholicism. The New Mass is the practice of globalized Catholicism.

The Society of St. Pius X attacks Vatican II and the New Mass in order to defend Catholicism. Attacking the New Mass and Vatican II is essential to true Catholicism. And that's why the churchmen who defend the New Mass and Vatican II are counterattacking. And there is going to be a war to the death between what these churchmen represent and what the Society of St. Pius X represents. There cannot be anything other than war.
(His Excellency Bishop Richard Williamson, Excerpt of an Interview called "The Age of Unbelief", Triumph Communications)

Pamphlet of the Ordinary of the Traditional Mass

Download it here.