Reader Questions #1

Shawn writes:

"you cofuse me. your blog supposed to be a intj so im guessing that personality stuff or something? but i see a lot of posts on here about being catholic. So k i got 2 questions, and sorry if i sound like a idiot to you cause your blogs go like way over my head most of the time. Are you engish.? why you all fan boy for the pope stuff? you know pope Francis talks about latin and all that holier than thou stuff is rigid and not the way to bring your jesus  homeboy to people?"

Hey Shawn, I'll start with the easiest question to answer: No, I'm not English.  Also, I'm sorry that I'm not always clear in the way I present things.  Sometimes I'm in a rush writing an entry and just assemble according to the order in my mind.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it's a complete disaster.   On the contrary there have been times where I have started writing a blog entry--only to throw it away.  (These of course are the thoughts that do not survive long enough become immortalized in digital format.)

On to your question about what this blog is supposed to be about.  Your comprehension of my blog isn't very far off from the intended point.  In brief, I took a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment years ago in school and according to that assessment I just happen to score as the personality type of INTJ (Introversion, iNtuition, Thinking, Judging).  While my personality is not the complete 100% of who I am, it is part of the substance of my humanity.

On the topic of MBTI I suppose you are correct that I don't approach the topic very often in writing.  Related to that I am currently thinking about doing a series of how each of the cognitive functions for the INTJ personality type are experienced by me.  So thank you for bringing that to my attention.

To answer your final question, I encourage you to visit my On the Issues page where I address this question.

An Open Letter to Our Bishops

"The Denial of Peter"
Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1873

Dear Your Holiness, Eminences, and Excellencies,

My name is Kevin, and I have been a Roman Catholic for 35 years since my birth.  I was born to a mother and father who handed down the Faith to me and even sent me to Catholic school when I was a child.  I have questioned and even for a time doubted the Faith I have inherited.  I have recovered from my doubts, discerned the Priesthood for a time, and in God's time have found myself happily married with a beautiful daughter who will be two-years-old in the next year.  I am also a lay member of a Society of Apostolic Life recognized by the Holy See as well as a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.  I mention my background not to flaunt my Catholic experience and continued service to Holy Mother Church, but to offer an accurate perspective of who I am.

I write all of you out of a sincere spirit of respect for your offices and full recognition of Pope Francis as Vicar of Christ and Sovereign Pontiff of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  I write as one who is devoted to the Catholic religion and practices his Faith and rightly wishes that his children be raised to practice the same Faith that was given to their earthly father.  However, I write with grave concern and much urgency.

Your Holiness, Eminences, and Excellencies, it does not take much effort to realize that the Catholic Church is in crisis.  No doubt in your Sees you have seen crisis manifest in different ways.  However, it needs to be said for clarity that the Church is in crisis.  The Bride of Christ is weeping.  The Bride of Christ hemorrhaging from a wound inflicted by an assailant.  The Bride of Christ has been afflicted by a malaise which has weakened her immune system, and so is vulnerable to the spread of disease.

Every day.  Every headline.  Every piece of "click bait."  Every personal take on social media.  Every celebrity "theologian" and "academic."  Everywhere you go, no matter if it is at the newspapers, social media, or nightly news it is there, and it is presenting itself as a bully waiting for you after class behind the corner.  There is no escaping it.  Every day it is another scandal, another Priest or Bishop, another victim, another tale of oversight, another exposure of a Seminary program turned frat house in the 1970s.  Another hit piece from a Jesuit publication slamming, ostracizing devoted Catholics for requesting their local Pastor to use the Latin text of the Agnus Dei at Mass, or using Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum to request from their Pastor or local Ordinary that use of the 1962 Missale Romanum (otherwise known as the Latin Mass, Usus Antiquior, Traditional Latin Mass, or Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite).

The mess, the malaise, the swamp.  I am confident that you are aware, for all of this is going on under your watchful, pastoral gazes.  I am confident that you are also becoming exhausted if not are growing weary of the tremendous Cross that seems to have come upon the shoulders of the Church.  It is a great Cross indeed.  At times this is cause for anxiety and fear.

Your Holiness, Eminences, and Excellencies, I pray every day as a son of the Church that you do not let the anxiety of the present crisis afflicting the Church weigh you down into apathy.  Rather, I hope that you are running into the arms of our Blessed Mother Mary, and throwing yourselves upon the Sacred Heart of our blessed Lord.  I hope too that my prayers and the prayers of the many Catholics praying for all of you are also an encouragement and comfort in this time.

As I may hope I am yet disappointed.  You see, I find myself in agreement of a particular point of view.  That point of view is that we the lay faithful who depend upon our Shepherds to lead us to Jesus Christ have been given over to lies, cover ups, and the type of childish gimmicks and antics one might expect from a children's television show.  Because many other more eloquent bloggers have shared specific examples I will refrain from adding to the litany ad nauseum.  But you also know what I am speaking of.  Or at very least you should.

So let us set aside the hyperbole and superfluous and allow me to answer what may be a question among you:  So, what do we expect the Bishops to do?

Simple.  Be our Shepherds.  Be a man after God's own Heart!  Love us lay faithful enough to sacrifice your own personal ambitions and take on the ambitions of the Sacred Heart--that is daily remind yourselves of salus animarum suprema lex.  As I, a husband, was taught on my wedding day by the words of St. Paul, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it."  If I am so charged with loving my wife to the point of giving up my life for her, how much more are the Pope, Bishops, and Priests called to do the same for the Church Christ founded and gave to their care?

The salvation of our souls is the primary work that you are called to do as our Shepherds appointed by Christ.  This work is accomplished by offering the Sacrifice (not a communal meal) of the Mass.  We, the lay faithful, need the Sacrifice of Christ in the Mass offered for our souls and in propitiation for our sins.  We also need to be reminded daily of that Sacrifice.  We need our confessions heard and then to be given penance for our sins, and not because we scrupulously are recklessly aiming for spiritual ruin, but because we have offended God, and we need to be told that without all the sugarcoating.  St. Paul even says that "all have fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)  So how is it that we have turned the Sacrifice of the Mass in many areas into a festival celebrating banal human achievements that cannot measure to the Mercy and Justice of Almighty God?  How is it that depending on the personal style of the Pastor some of the lay faithful grow well in the faith and others do not?  Yes, I understand that original sin affects us all, but are not we supposed to grow in faith and not away from it?

The second work is to confirm the Faith.  This coincides with the first work as being the salvation of our souls.  Confirming the Faith does not mean giving us a puppet show in place of a well thought out, well prepared sermon/homily that brings the Gospel to us, but also raises our minds to contemplate Heaven and the good things that only God can give us.  Only God can give us a Pope, a Church, a Priesthood, the Eucharist.  We need to know this and be reminded of this weekly.  We need our minds and souls inspired to "seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness" (Matthew 6:33) by prayer and sacrifice.  How can we do this when Father processes into Mass dressed as a clown and tells us to avoid being like those "rigid" Catholics with their Latin hymns?  I must insist with honesty that once I discovered the heritage of my Faith in the traditional Liturgy I did not become "rigid" as many have accused.  On the contrary I found a treasure, the pearl of great prize, and a "stone rejected by the builders" that quickly became a formative part of my Faith.  It is because of the rich traditions of the Church that I have come to truly love the Church and defend her against attacks from without and unfortunately within.

Your Holiness, Eminences, and Excellencies I will refrain from further asking you to restore the traditional liturgy according to the 1962 Missale Romanum, in part because I know that not a few requests are perhaps received by you daily.  However, I encourage you to make the traditional liturgy available, per Summorum Pontificum, to the lay faithful who desire in faithfulness to the Church and to the Holy Father, to use the formula of the Sacraments as passed down through the centuries by your predecessors of happy memory.

I will conclude by pleading with not only yourselves, but also your Priests serving in parishes, schools, visiting the sick and dying, and even in the missions.  Enough is enough!  The flock of our blessed Lord needs fed.  We are starving and suffering spiritual undernourishment!  The flock needs fed not with the ice cream and candy of a faith that is little different from a Hallmark greeting card or nostalgia of a teenage slumber party, but with the Faith of our Fathers.  A Faith founded upon the faith of St. Peter of whom Christ said, "Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church." (Matthew 16:18)  This is an unwavering Faith.  It is time that we hear of the Faith that gives us our spiritual meat, potatoes, and vegetables.  Dessert can wait.  The faithful who have not yet deserted Christ are waiting.  We are waiting like sheep for our Shepherds to wake up and defend us from the wolf prowling around us waiting to strike.  Unfortunately, the wolf has been striking and has a voracious appetite.  Please, dear Fathers, Bishops, Cardinals, and Holy Father step up, defend your flock, defend the faith, and feed the lambs of Christ!  Otherwise, to whom shall we go?

Prayerfully in the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
A faithful Catholic concerned to see his Holy Mother Church weep

Contra Sede Vacante

There is an unfortunate phenomenon on social media.  A movement full of vitriol, relentless trolling, antisemitic and other racial slurs, and just plain ignorance of actual Catholic teaching.  I am speaking here of sedevacantism.  What exactly is sedevacantism?

Sedevacantism is the belief that, at very least since 1958--upon the death of Pope Pius XII--that every Pontiff of the Catholic Church has been, and is, an "antipope."  However this is the tip of the iceberg.  There are as many different versions of sedevacantism as there are sedevacantists!  There are some I have encountered who claim that Pope Pius XII was a heretic and therefore an anti-pope.  Still there are even those whom claim that we may not have had a valid Pontiff since Pope Pius IX.  As mentioned prior, there are as many versions of sedevacantism as there are sedevacantists.  In a word, adherents to sedevacantes position are divided over what constitutes a valid Pontiff, and with most of them claiming to be laypersons of the Catholic Church it is very easy to see that they have read a handful of erroneous propaganda and have developed a disordered point of view of the Church.

Similar to them, and just as problematic, are the conclavists, however I will not address them at this juncture.  I should now address a brief history of sedevacantism as far as it relates to our modern history.  I will show the brief history vis a vis the crazed time frame that occurred after the Second Vatican Council (hereafter Vatican II).

It all began when nine Priests, now formerly of the Society of St. Pius X, brought up objections to the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre during the late 1970s.  The controversial Archbishop was having difficulty among many prelates within the Church, however was still allowed to teach and form those Seminarians who desired to be taught by him.  The nine Priests objected to Abp. Lefebvre maintaining not only ties with the Vatican but also fidelity to Pope Paul VI who was the Supreme Pontiff (e.g. the Pope) until 1977.  Abp. Lefebvre maintained that as he was a Bishop of the Catholic Church, as he had sworn fidelity to the Holy Father when we was consecrated a Bishop, and would continue to do so.  This did not sit very well with these nine Priests and so they began teaching those under them to resist the instructions of Abp. Lefebvre.  Circa 1983 the late Archbishop expelled those nine Priests, who in turn took with them their own students, some of whom waited to be ordained by Abp. Lefebvre prior to leaving the SSPX.  Those who left, or were expelled, formed together to found the schismatic Society of St. Pius V (SSPV).  Thus sedevacantism is a split from the Church.

In my personal point of view these nine Priest committed an act of schism by refusing the guidance of their superior and therefore the Church.  Their schism de facto cut them off from communion with the Church, and therefore they cannot be considered Catholic.

Let us flash forward 36 years.  What began as nine Priests acting in disobedience has spiraled into several splinter groups.  It could be argued that SSPX did not seem traditional enough, and so the sedevacantists severed ties with Rome; similar to how Martin Luther did in 1517 when he thought that the Church could not meet his personal standards.  From SSPV there are others who split because SSPV was not traditional enough because they held that Pius XII was a valid Pontiff.  This spiral continues similar to how John Calvin thought that Luther was too Catholic and promulgated his own brand of bad theology that one is predestined to Heaven or Hell arbitrarily because somehow the mercy of God is void and favoritism is the name of the game.

Today there exists sedevacantists who claim to be from a Catholic monastery in New York state.  These effectively are taught that SSPX, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICRSS), and other communities that use exclusively the liturgical books of 1962 are not Catholic and say invalid Masses.  This of course is not true!  One can observe from their style of ad hominem attacks, quoting of obscure situations from the recesses of Church history, and at times even antisemitic stances that they are only interested in one thing: showing how their version of Jesus is better than the next person's, and so on.  I have seen this before in the vitriol preached from the pulpits of some protestant sects who claim wrongly the usual objections of the Catholic faith (i.e. the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints, the Pope, the Eucharist, etc.).  So one can ask themselves, "How are sedevacantists different from mainstream Protestants?"  The short answer is that they are no different, and in some ways just as extremist as the Westboro Baptist Church.

But cannot their arguments be verified?  This is where it can be easy to get wrapped up in their arguments and be fooled into thinking that they're correct in their position.  Recently, in a discussion I was having with a sedevacantist I proposed that Christ promised that "the gates of the Hell shall not prevail" (Matthew 16:18) against the Church.  In response I was given the counter argument, citing Pope St. Leo IX as the source, "The holy Church built upon a rock, that is Christ, and upon Peter... because by the gates of Hell, that is, by the disputations of heretics which lead the vain to destruction, it would never be overcome." Taken at face value this would seem to indicate that when a Pontiff states something that is contrary to what the Church has always taught that it immediately invalidates the Papacy and the one who is Pope fails to be the Pope.

In the same conversation it was claimed that I am "rejecting Christ's words that the gates of hell will never prevail because [I am] effectively saying that the 'gates of hell' are sitting at the VERY TOP of His Church." This is an absurd take, because it essentially states that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has no power to protect His Church against Her very Bishops and Pontiff! That is as the first Pope, St. Peter, defines in his second epistle (letter) as a "personal interpretation." (2 Peter 1:16-20) I could give more examples, but we would be here all day.

What is contained in the very eloquently stated arguments and talking points is something nefarious. Hiding beneath the facade of appearances of zealous devotion to the Church and Her teaching are superfluous arguments, circular logic, and a twisting of what the Church teaches to satisfy a hidden desire to deceive all who are unprepared into believing that they are correct. For any who do not know their faith well enough they will be easily taken into the charm of their claims. Simply put their claims address the overwhelming crisis in the Church by manipulating the emotions of those who at the moment, and for good reason, feel that the Church is falling apart. And what an opportunity the sedevacantists have chosen. That they have chosen to capitalize on the crisis in the Church by taking to social media to promote their deception is the only thing I can say is a point in their favor.

What makes sedevacantism so appealing is that it appears to solve a crisis in the Church. But at what cost? Accepting the sedevacantist position means falling into a similar error that unfortunately many who took and ran with the so-called "spirit of Vatican II" fell.

Ultramontanism is the error that everything that falls from the mouth of the Pope is infallible and therefore to be taken, believed, and acted upon with immediate effect. This is not true. The First Vatican Council discussed Papal infallibility in these words, "For the Holy Ghost was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by his revelation, make known some new doctrine, but that, by his assistance, they might religiously guard and faithfully expound the revelation of the deposit of faith transmitted by the Apostles." From this we know that the infallibility of the Pope is only when speaking of faith and morals. It is well worth it to research, in depth, the documents of Vatican I because in no way does it make out the Pope to be some sort of super king with a hyper infallibility. Yet this is what both sedevacantists and some who adhere to the craziness of the 1970s "spirit of Vatican II" conflate Papal infallibility to mean, which is contrary to Vatican I!

To conclude, the problem with sedevacantism goes much deeper than one can write about in brief. Sedevacantism is a misappropriation of Church teaching and is therefore a true poison to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Once you have backed them into a corner, and they run out of arguments, they return ad hominem attacks, and if you're Catholic claim that you are excommunicated. These "excommunications" are not valid, nor should they ever be treated with more than a good laugh, since only a Bishop (including the Pope) can excommunicate someone, so really it just takes on the appearance of an overzealous "citizen arrest" situation that just goes to further demonstrate that truly, no matter what they claim, they are just as knowledgeable about what the Catholic Church actually teaches as someone who listens to a protestant pastor drone on about the alleged heresies of the Roman Catholic Church.

A Clarification, Not An Apology

So, in my last post, Farewell, Catholic Blogosphere, I posited a critique and overview of some of the erroneous positions and stereotypes one may encounter on the Catholic blogosphere and even social media.  What I did not expect was some of the backlash and hurt feelings.  Perhaps my words were not well chosen.  However, I do not apologize in the sense of saying that "I'm sorry" as I'm sure some would do.  I will apologize by clarifying in three points what may have been a confusing post to some.

First of all, I have a profound love of my Faith and fellow lay faithful.  This does not mean that I will accept or allow errors to go unchallenged.  Where there is a disagreement on the fundamentals or teachings of the Catholic faith, there needs to be affirmation, confirmation, and clarification.  Unfortunately, it is very apparent that many lay faithful, and even a handful of clerics and prelates of diverse notoriety fail to affirm, confirm, and clarify the Faith to those who lack understanding and knowledge of what the Catholic Church actually teaches.  This, no matter what position someone might adopt on matters of faith, is no doubt problematic and a symptom of the malaise affecting the Church since the mid 20th century.

Second, I possess a great respect to any Priest or Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church who upholds and defends what the Church has taught for 2,000 years with authenticity and care.  This no doubt excludes those Priests and Bishops who have knowingly taught contrary to Church teaching or have knowingly been directly involved with the McCarrick cover up that blew up this past summer.  I renew my resolve to pray for all Priests and Bishops of the Catholic Church that they may lead the Church out of this crisis.  It is a terrible crime and scandal that has befallen the Church and the blame lies with the negligence of some who decided to place honor and position over humility and a heart after our Lord's own.

Third and finally, it has been an embarrassment to me when the efforts of those who pride themselves as "theologians" or "canonists" spread misunderstanding of what the Church really teaches and tolerates.  It makes it difficult when a lay person, Priest, or Bishop teach contrary to what I was taught and have come to believe, on my own.  Equally as problematic when some of the lay faithful (and even an infamous Jesuit) use their personality and notoriety to spread error and heretical positions, because it shows a Church that appears superficially to be divided, when in actuality the Church is not divided and will continue to perennially teach what Her Savior taught - even if those in charge do not.  The consistent Church that affirms, confirms, and clarify the Faith to Her lay faithful is the same Church that I received Sacraments from.  Any place that teaches contrary to the Catholic Church is not of her.

Farewell, Catholic Blogosphere

My Discernment

I had kept a blog regarding my analysis and outlook on matters of the Catholic faith from an unique perspective: as one who in many ways is a puzzle to many of the lay faithful.  For years I had a vicious cycle of posting in bursts, and then would fall silent only to delete all the posts and after a few years of nothing began again.  As much as I wanted to make great attempts at trying to explain my perspective of the Catholic faith, I realize over and over again that I just don't have the eloquence to do so.  So in a sense I'm announcing my retirement from the Catholic "blogosphere."  It's been fun, it really has.  But I'm not walking away without learning a few things about many of my fellow Catholics.  Allow me to break it down by talking about two very different wings of the Catholic Church and their subsets as I sit and watch the social media firestorms.

"Novus Ordo" (New Order Mass)

The "Liberal Left"/Social Justice Warrior (SJW)

So... yeah, this type absolutely has a very fanatic love affair with the Novus Ordo Missae (New Order of the Mass).  To say that they LOVE it when Mass is done with the most minimalist reverence to God would be an understatement.  If Pope Francis were suddenly to change the perennial teachings of the Church to reflect the flamboyant desires of this group of lay faithful, the organ and Latin would be universally abolished, and those who so much as think about suggesting or singing a more traditional hymn would be publicly denounced as a schismatic, or even "rigid," and promptly excommunicated.

These are the types who have a rather dim understanding of Catholic teaching and somehow thing that every thing that comes from the mouth of the Holy Father is infallible despite the fact that this is contrary to Vatican I.  Furthermore, these are the people will rush in to defend whatever flamboyantly erroneous thing that James Martin, SJ puts out on social media (while proceeding to callously insult even their own Bishops if they feel that their feelings are being "attacked").  Most of the time you can expect a "boomer" or child of the 1960s to be very deeply entrenched in this group.

Conservative Faction

These bunch are actually a mixed bag and by and large likely comprised of the vast majority of Catholic lay faithful.  These types are really trying to understand their faith, and are to be praised for it.  They've somehow made it past, or never dabbled with, the "chicken soup for the soul" type of thinking and have figured out that it actually takes a little effort to really navigate through the teachings of the Church as they apply to every day life.

These Catholics have sort of given in to this notion that those Catholics who go to Latin Mass are okay guys, but perhaps a little nutty.  They have a tendency to repeat and share things that in themselves seem well and good on the first glance (i.e. things Mark Shea writes), but haven't quite realized that prudence really is a good thing, and so really miss an opportunity to show someone the charity that is due them.  Many of these Catholics, despite the overwhelming crisis in the Church, go on about their lives as though some magical fairy is going to wave a wand and make everything better again.  Really, these Catholics are pretty mainstream and are trying their best, despite getting too "trigger happy" with the Catechism.  Again, I emphatically commend and praise them for their efforts and encourage them to keep striving to better their understanding and practice!

Neo-Conservative Caucus

Oh boy!  These are an interesting bunch.  Latin Mass goers?  Occasionally.  Do they, like most "traditional" Catholics support Cardinal Burke?  You bet.  However despite their agreements with most Latin Mass attendees they have a tendency to give in to the conspiracy theory that Abp. Lefebvre founded the Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to create a overly militant order of Priests hell bent on beating the faith into people.  In fact it would be an understatement to say that they would be immensely suspicious of the Holy Father if he granted the SSPX the ability to go unchallenged within the Church.  Guess it's better to make sure one group of traditional Priests takes the brunt of the anti-traditional rage that's been going on since the 1950s.

When they aren't arguing about how much Latin would be too much at Mass, and sometimes sounding worse than the Republican National Convention, they're bludgeoning each other and those who argue with them about what virtues they're lacking.  Good luck talking to them if you're a Catholic who also happens to be a monarchist, because "you're just wrong, because the republican party will save America!"  If it were possible to create a democratic Catholic state just for them, they would no doubt flock to it.  If you've ever committed a sin at any point since you've been born you've probably been chewed out by a few of these types of Catholics.

"Traditional" Catholics

Before we delve into this I need to explain why I put traditional in quotes.  The reason is simple: adhering to what the Church has always taught and practiced does not make one a traditional Catholic, but just simply Roman Catholic.

"Rad Trads"

Oh my gosh!  I'm very happy when someone discovers the "Latin Mass" (henceforth Mass), however these are the type who will bludgeon folk and "non-trads" with every article they've ever read about how this Bishop or that Bishop is doing this or that thing.  Okay, I get it there's a crisis in the Church and this, this, and this Bishop has to go.  You know something?  I'm on your side on this, but moreover I'm hearing a lot more complaining and seeing a lot less action.  Let the good journalists and commentators at Rorate Caeli or One Peter Five do the talking and discussing.  As for "rad trads" (boy I really hate that label) they would do better to work with their Bishops, and if they can't do that, then pray for them.  Really, let others do the talking, because you're plaguing social media with a bit of fanaticism that's chasing people away, and that's not good.

Quasi Schismatics

These are the overly scrupulous about everything at the Mass.  Not only that, but talking about any of the Popes after Pius XII (John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, & Francis) in their presence causes them to writhe in pain a little.  While some may be okay with the fact that Francis is indeed the Holy Father, they practically refuse to pray for the Pope.  The faith, to them, is more or less approached in a similar way to the "neo-conservative caucus" discussed above.  The only reason they don't dare step near a sede vacantes prayer service that looks like Mass is because their scruples just won't let them, and that's their saving grace.

"The Fake Canon Lawyer"

Alright, these are the kind who have read enough Canon Law to make them dangerous to others faith.  Unbeknownst to them you can't just read Canon Law and assume that such and such a situation, crisis, marriage, community of Priests, etc. is somehow improperly or properly according to this or that Church teaching or practice.  Moreover there is a tendency to even start pointless arguments over whether or not assisting at Mass said by a Priest of the SSPX somehow fulfills the Sunday obligation, despite the fact that it does fulfill the Sunday obligation per the Holy See.

"The Groupie"

Oh man!  Ever hear anyone say anything insinuating that only their parish has the only valid Mass?  You've met a groupie!  Whether it's someone who assists at Masses said by a Priest of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICRSS), Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), or any other community of traditional Priests or Diocesan, you can be sure that this person thinks very highly of the Priest offering Mass.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you can't assume that any Mass said outside of your parish is somehow invalid or illicit.  You do have to admire the profound respect they do have towards their parish Priests though.

On A Final Note

As a Roman Catholic layperson I guess I really don't have a lot of positive or optimistic things to say about most of my fellow Catholic lay faithful.  I really don't.  That is not to say that I don't love and pray for them, though.  It's more that the faith that I received and was taught in grade school wasn't always the same faith I saw taught at other parishes while growing up.  In fact sometimes I wonder if we lay faithful of the Roman Catholic Church are somehow partially responsible for the crisis in the Church.  When we saw the Faith needlessly dumbed down in the 1970s, did we speak up to our Bishops?  When we saw the Mass of our parents and ancestors watered down to a mere replication of a late night talk show or a rock concert, what protest did we make?

I'm a little ashamed that often I think less of my fellow Catholics, but at the same time I don't apologize, because I see the Church truly at a tipping point.  Many of our Bishops have failed to protect and defend the Church against those who seek to harm her teachings and the most vulnerable and impressionable among us.  Many of the lay faithful are poorly taught their faith and are just getting by.  On social media there is more time spent arguing moot points and pointless topics (e.g. does going to Latin Mass make one schismatic?  Is it a sin to live in the suburbs?).

We need to stop.  I think this is where I'm different.  I don't fit in any of the stereotypes, and I really hope that you don't see yourself in the stereotypes either.  I'm just a Roman Catholic who assists at Mass (1962 Roman Missal), prays my Rosary, and day to day tries to prepare my soul for the inevitable day, that day of wrath, when my soul will finally be called forth to meet the very God who "created me to know, love, and serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in the next." (Baltimore Catechism)  On that day I will have to render an account for my actions.  And I think that it would be good if every Catholic, even the Bishops, and those who may have become disoriented and confused in recent times, were to reflect daily on that point.  One day we will all have to render an account.  If the goal is to be welcomed into Heaven with the words "well done, good and faithful servant," then maybe we need to stop the drama and start acting like we actually believe what we have been taught.

On The Abuse Crisis Afflicting The Church

My thoughts on the current crisis affecting the Roman Catholic Church in the United States:

It has taken a long while for me to accurately and charitably compile my thoughts in regards to the sex abuse crisis, so please bear with me.

First of all, this is just absolutely tragic. In fact, it is absolutely diabolical and completely inexcusable! What more as the weeks and days go on it seems more and more likely that some of the Bishops, and even those beyond the US borders, have completely forsaken the teachings of the Church; trading them in for depravity and savagery!

I too am greatly disturbed and at times ponder, in anger, how this could have happened. After all, I was once a seminarian (albeit for a brief time) and I never observed or witnessed any of this happening.  The idea of this happening is such a foreign concept to what I know to be true Catholic teaching that I'm left mesmerized. In fact, as part of my interview prior to being accepted it was made explicitly clear that if I was not in good standing with the teachings of the Church, and more so actively following well those teachings, then I would not be admitted to formation towards the Priesthood.

Yet, somehow these Bishops and Priests were accepted into their respective formation programs and were ordained. But how??? It is as Pope Paul VI is quoted as saying, "It is as if from some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the Church." (emphasis mine) It fills me with anger and dismay that ANY man ordained to the Priesthood would knowingly permit or perpetrate this kind of nonsensical barbarism!

However, I realize something crucial. These men, regardless of everything, clearly had no intent on teaching according to Church teaching or even living according to Church teaching. These men are frauds and DO NOT represent what the Catholic Church actually teaches. These men, in living their grotesque, sinful life were very boldly sinning not just against their victims but also against God and His Church. I also realize that when someone acts AGAINST Church teaching in such a grave manner that they effectively are committing an act of apostasy against the faith. St. Francis de Sales suggests that such a lack of charity (love) prevents God from being able to work through the person, because they are not open to God, but rather only to themselves.

There is much more that can be commented on from every angle, however there is absolutely NOTHING that can possibly undo what has been done. There is nothing that anyone can say that can sooth the absolute and terrifying hurt and devastation clearly felt by those affected. All anyone can really do is pray. Pray for our Bishops and Priests that they have the courage to root out the rot present in the Church today.

From my own perspective I can say that I agree with the article I attached to this post (please read!). In some way, for many, many years, I have held to question many things that appeared after the Second Vatican Council. That is not the same as to say that Vatican II is the root cause, but a lot of things that happened in the Church starting in 1968 were heavily endorsed by people like McCarrick and others who permitted his actions to continue.

As much as McCarrick has attempted to pervert the teachings of the Church, he has failed. The teachings of the Church, independent of the personal opinion of individuals inside her walls, continues to condemn McCarricks actions and calls him and all of us poor sinners to conversion.

Article: The abuse crisis casts doubt on the whole post-Vatican II settlement | CatholicHerald.co.uk 

Of Traditionalist Backbiting

There is a problem my fellow lay faithful. It is a cancer, and it grows among us to stifle out all of our efforts to preserve, defend, and promulgate the Traditions of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. This problem is backbiting.

So what is backbiting?

St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa Theologica (IIa. IIae. Q. 73) tells us that "Just as one man injures another by deed in two ways,--openly, as by robbery or by doing him any kind of violence,--and secretly, as by theft, or by a crafty blow, so again one man injures another by words in two ways;--in one way, openly, and in this done by reviling him, as stated above (Q. 72, A. 1),--and in another secretly, and this is backbiting."  Backbiting is thus a sin against charity, because it seeks to speak ill of another in order to detract from the good name or reputation of that person. However, among traditional Catholics this is done on a more subtle and larger scale.

There are some who would say I am with SSPX!, and another that would say I am with the Institute!, others still would say I am with the Fraternity!, and still, those who would say that they are with whatever sort of Traditional Latin Mass that they go to.  Some, even so, go so far as to even say something along the lines of I am a _____ Catholic! and insert name of what religious community or Diocese is hosting their Latin Mass.

Is this madness not contrary to our very essence? Did not Jesus command us, "Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all the things whatsoever I have commanded you." In light of the mission of the Church and of the Traditional Catholic raison d'etre, it seems that much of the backbiting is over who is superior or who has a valid Mass. Why are we so divided?

"Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I indeed am of Paul; and I am of Apollo; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul then crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" These words from St. Paul (I Cor 1:12-13) should challenge us and give us something to reflect on. Said another way, was SSPX crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter? Nay! Christ suffered Crucifixion for you, and you were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost!

Furthermore, when we say things such as I'm in the SSPX, or I'm a Fraternity Catholic, or a hundred other things, are not we rending the seamless garment of Christ? Yes, we say also that we are Traditional Catholics, and indeed we are Traditional Catholics. This distinction in many areas is very important, but will not be discussed now. By these things also, which innocently enough associate ourselves with our particular parish, unintentionally claim ourselves as members of that Priestly Society or diocese. It is inappropriate to claim that we belong to the SSPX, ICRSS, FSSP, or any religious order and diocese unless we have received consecrations or admittance to their ranks! This of course means that unless you are a third order, lay associate, seminarian, religious brother/sister, or Priest, you may not claim to be a member.

To overcome some of the backbiting and what can be referred to as "infighting" there are only three criteria that Traditional Catholics should ever have when looking for a Traditional Latin Mass to assist at:

1. The use of the 1962 Roman Missal
2. Recognition of the current Pope as truly the Vicar of Christ and successor of St. Peter
3. Adherence to the Traditions and Teaching of Holy Mother Church

Let us all pray, uniting our prayers to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary for better unity among all traditionalists. May our work to promulgate the traditions and teachings of the Church which for 60 years have been under attack, and even forgotten in many places, be brought to fruition by God's grace and providence!

Book Review: Pascendi Gregis

Pascendi Dominici Gregis by Pope Pius X
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An absolutely a fantastic work! In Pascendi, Pope St. Pius X exposes many of the erroneous philosophies which continue to assail the Catholic Church and even the world today. Pope St. Pius X will challenge you to really examine and think objectively about some of the common thoughts and ideas in our modern world. However, the reader is not left with a list of problems and diagnosis of what is wrong with the world. A remedy and well reasoned solution is proposed by Pope St. Pius X that really made me think!

View all my reviews

The Scandal of Fr. Martin, SJ

Once again Fr. James Martin is taking to Twitter. This time in praise of another Priest who recently was arrested for protesting immigration reform. This other Priest did state publicly that his intent was to be arrested. And today Fr. Martin tweets: "Fr ThomasReeseSJ arrested in US Senate during protest on behalf of Dreamers. On the Mount of Beatitudes today in the Holy Land we read out Jesus's words: 'Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sale of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' So blessed is he!"

To clarify - before we continue - and may it be clear that the Church does not endorse illegal activity, and most certainly discourages against purposely breaking the law!

On the outside, this looks like a harmless tweet in support of a brother Priest defending the downtrodden. There is no need to bring up politics, so none will be discussed. However, underlying this tweet, with the accompanied verse from St. Matthews Gospel, is a Pandora's box of, as is the norm with Fr. Martin, pushing a political agenda. What's more is that this sort of grandstanding was done on social media to make a political, not catechetical point.

This grandstanding was actually what Christ warns us against shortly later in Matthew 6:1-5 wherein Jesus says, "Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven. Therefore when thou dost an almsdeed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth. That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward."

So what is the crux of the matter here?

What makes Fr. Martin's tweet problematic is that it is a tweet that reads much more like look at how great I am. Look at how great this Priest is. In no way is any credit given to our blessed Lord! Moreover, the use of scripture to back up a publicly premeditated intent to break the law essentially flies in the face of reason, and further abuses the words of Christ to exhalt, when on the contrary one should always be humble when doing God's service (even if somehow the law of the land enters the scene).

Just as with all of Fr. Martin's social network activity, it is beyond a reasonable doubt that, even with the best possible of intents, his activity is scandalous. In the Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas states, "Scandal is, therefore, fittingly defined as something less rightly done or said, that occasions another's spiritual downfall." (ST II-II Q.43 A.1) With such a definition it is hard to believe how the tweets associated with Fr. Martin can not be an occasion of scandal for souls. Repeatedly denouncing the faith of those who do not share his opinion, by the use of name calling and other such word play reserved for children who do not know better, has a great risk scandalizing souls by way of sowing confusion and mistrust of his fellow Priests and religious - who rightly should be trusted by the lay faithful.

The grandstanding, name calling, and scandalous activity evident on his Twitter feed is not becoming of one who claims to be an alter Christus, that is, another Christ, but becoming of one who enables a victim mentality among followers, some who, in a seeming chorus, repeat his slurs and perjuries against those who have honest questions, or who disagree. This bullying by his followers is scandalous too, because they claim to want an end to the apparent "bully pulpit" as also Fr. Martin claims. So why the appearance of hypocrisy? Possibly because once you establish your role as a victim, it is not difficult to find all sorts of justification - even scriptural - for all sorts of bad, reckless behavior. Such a mindset is harmful as it is often difficult to see how one could be harming others despite one's desire for help.

Some are not scandalized, which is very good. In this sense Fr. Martin may only be scandalous to those who are not fortified well in their understanding or practice of faith. It may be possible too, since once cannot truly know Fr. Martin's intents or motives, that it may be a case of what St. Thomas Aquinas calls passive scandal. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that "One man's word or deed is the accidental cause of another's sin, when he neither intends to lead him into sin, and yet this other one, though being ill-disposed, is led into sin, for instance, into envy of another's good, and then he who does this righteous act, does not, so far as he is concerned, afford an occasion of the other's downfall... Wherefore this is passive scandal, since he that acts rightly does not for his own part, afford the occasion of another's downfall." (ST II-II Q.43 A.1)

It is perfectly understandable at times that it is difficult not to perceive that despite all else that what appears to be is as St. Thomas Aquinas defines as active scandal. Active scandal of course is much more severe and is a great stumbling block to these little ones. As is universal, cases of scandal must be avoided to preserve all from sin and spiritual misfortune.

I've Left The Nest!

Ten days ago was arguably the best day of my life.  I married my best friend.  My lovely wife, whom I proposed to last August was escorted down the aisle and the Rite of Marriage began.  I'm unable to recall the last time I was more absorbed by the moment.  At the moment my wife Jessica and I spoke our vows to each other we became married.

From the Catholic perspective, the Rite of Marriage is performed by the couple being married.  The Priest acts as the legal witness in the name of the Church and our Maid of Honor and Best Man act as the legal witness to the state.  Both certify in no uncertain terms that, yes, these two are married and have chosen to do so freely and with full knowledge of the responsibility they are undertaking.

A couple moments that will always remain in my memory are the moment during which I made my vows to my wife.  The second moment which will always be cherished will be my first dance as a husband.  Such moments you can't just put into words.

A big thank you to the Priest who gave us Marriage Instruction, our wedding planner who helped us navigate and plan the big day, and our parents for supporting us.  A big thank you as well to our wedding party as you all have been with us through everything and live up to what it means to be true friends.

Of course, I'd like to thank also our guests.  Those friends and family who've known us through the years at various stages of our lives who eagerly came together on our wedding day to show us love and support.

To everyone, a huge thank you!

Joyeux Noel!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Blessed Feast of the Holy Family

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my family and friends a very Blessed Feast of the Holy Family, celebrated in the traditional Roman Calendar on the Sunday following the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord!

Discernment Update

Discernment is going really well. So well in fact that I'm discerning out. I'm sorry if this is a shock to any of you. Tomorrow (Sunday) I will be leaving the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest to return to life as a lay person. By the time many of you read this I will already be home. If any of you are in any way scandalized... I'm sorry. 

Things were really great here in formation. I was involved in everything the community did, attended all of the prayers, meals, etc that were required of me. I was doing rather well in my classes and was growing in my faith. But it is apparent that God is not calling me to be a religious. Instead I'm discerning the Institute's Lay Society, the Society of the Sacred Heart, and deciding to pursue academia studying Meteorology. 

Again, if this has scandalized any of you I am sorry and will most heartfully pray for you. If any of you wish to speak with me about this I am willing to talk about my discernment. Please, do pray for me that I may be able to take everything that I learned here and ponder it for years to come. This was not an easy decision. 

Thank you for all of your prayers during this time in my life. Know that I truly prayed for each and every one of you! 

A Day In The Life

So many of you have wondered what exactly goes on during formation. Do I just sit around and pray in the Church? Do I get up early? Do they feed me? What is there to do for fun? And so here I finally write what it is to live a "typical" day in the life of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

6:30 am: Rise (I'm usually up between 5:30/6:00)
7:00 am: Lauds (Morning Prayer)
7:30 am: Rosary and other Marian devotions/ Confession available
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:15 am: Breakfast
10:00 am: Spiritual Conference (Mondays), Gregorian Chant (Tuesdays), classes (other days)
--- --- ---
10:00 am Sunday: High Mass
--- --- ---
11:00 am: Chores (when classes or other things are not scheduled)
1:00 pm: Lunch!
1:30 pm: Free time
2:30 pm: Chores or study
4:00 pm: Free time
5:00 pm: Adoration and Benediction
6:15 pm: Vespers (Evening Prayer)
6:45 pm: Free time
7:45 pm: Dinner
10:00 pm: Silence
10:30 pm: Lights out

It's a pretty rigorous schedule. We learn from St. Benedict who advises us to bear in mind "ora et labora," or "pray and work." My main house chore is cleaning and maintaining the kitchen which involves running to the store every now and again for food.

Leaving For Seminary!

To my dearest friends,

A couple of you know already, but for those of you who don't know I have been ACCEPTED to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The Institute is a Society of Apostolic Life which specializes in the Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form (i.e. Tradtional Latin Mass) and living the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales. I am very happy to have come to this point in my life and can say with a certainty that God has indeed called me to enter the Candidacy phase of formation for the Institute. God willing in the year 2017 I and 10 of my brothers will be ordained a Priest. But that is yet 8 years away.

The primary reason for my departure is to go to a place where I can discern the will of God. What will happen during my year of Candidacy? In one year I will become more fluent in French and Latin and will study liturgy and will learn how to Altar serve a Traditional Latin Mass. I will also be residing at St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis, MO and have included my address at the bottom of the note.

This milestone of grace comes at a time when I am still discerning if God wants me to be a religious or married. Both vocations are holy and worthy of discernment, and now I get to discern deeper than before the religious life and if God wants me to be there.

To all of my friends I want to say thank you for your prayers. You don't know how much they mean to me. Please keep praying for me I will need those prayers over the course of the next year. Also, know my friends that I will be praying for your intentions this next year and that I love all of you more than you'll ever know.

Truth to be told I never thought I'd ever be writing this note since I began discerning the Institute some 4 months ago. And as some can attest... I kind of fought the idea at first. But in the end when I met with a Priest within the community and spent a weekend visiting them... I LOVED IT! I decided to go through with the application process and I am eternally grateful for it.

What a Way to Begin Blogging!

I've been very much inspired by a great friend of mine who has helped me to realize and to acknowledge some of the problems with the world and how they impact my life. Also, this friend has greatly encouraged me to get back into blogging, something I haven't done since I left Myspace a few years back. And so I bring you things I dislike about the world...

1. When people think that they are better than everyone else just because they think that they are better than everyone else.
2. When people judge the messenger and not the message. Think about it... if the most deranged, narcissistic, immoral person stated that he was converting to Christianity and that Jesus is Lord, would we believe him? Afterall, if he says that Jesus is Lord, isn't that the truth? Does it really matter WHO speaks the truth? Or do we put people into boxes and thus limit their capacities?
3. When we deliberately place people into boxes of social prejudice just because they don't align precisely with our personal world view.
4. The fact that most people will not want to read to the end based on the content of the next statements and the above stated.
5. People who will admit that a person is intelligent and gifted but will avoid them out of fear or feeling inferior without getting to know the person. Think about it... if a person is THAT intelligent or gifted wouldn't it seem logical to get to know the person and thus perhaps risk gaining knowledge making you smarter?
6. When people who know the truth, know what is logical and intelligent, and acknowledge what is real do not act in accordance to it. Think about it... if you know that jumping off the Grand Canyon will kill you and you still (for the thrill of it) jump off the Grand Canyon without a rope or another safety device, doesn't that seem a little dumb?
7. People who ask questions and will not wait to hear the response but rather assume that what you have to say is not important.
8. People who make assumptions about other people based upon their social status, mental capabilities, or world views without hearing them out and getting to know them. See also #3.
9. People who learn one thing about another person and thus assume that they are not worthy of love.
10. The superficial and people who are satisfied with it.
11. The cliche.
12. The fact that over the course of my life I have been guilty of ALL of the above statements.

Know this: I am a Christian, but the worst sinner. I know the Truth, but sometimes do not live it. I desire to be a Saint, but sometimes feel more comfortable being wretched. I desire to evangelize to people the Truth, but sometimes only if I feel like they deserve it. I talk about the importance of temperance and humility, but sometimes pridefully allow myself to eat and drink myself sick. I talk about how we should pray always, but often will make excuses why not to pray.

I sin EVERY day, but I try with every chance I get to say with emphatic conviction: I confess to Almighty God, and to you brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed.

So what's my problem with the world? Me.