Feeling Disoriented? Embrace the Fullness of the Faith!

Most readers probably recognize the aviation event called spatial disorientation. It occurs when the pilot's senses don't agree with the physical reality of the plane's motion and its relation to the ground. The pilot can't tell up from down or whether the plane is flying level or in a turn. A number of airline fatalities are directly related to spatial disorientation. Certain things exacerbate the problem, for example alcohol and some drugs including anti-depressants, anti-histamines, and some pain relievers (not to mention illegal drugs). 

Why do I bring this up? Because I think this elucidates the term diabolical disorientation. Many people today are living in an upside down world that they insist is right side up. They are often flying blind like the pilate who enters a cloud losing all contact with visual cues. That's when instrument flying becomes crucial. And if you don't have and use the instruments, you're headed for a crash.

What's the parallel for us? We have all the instruments for fighting diabolical disorientation and getting back on track so we can fly safely.  We have the three pillars of the faith: 

Sad to say, Judases in the Church have spent decades undermining and gnawing at the pillars. Let's take a look at that.

First, Sacred Scripture

Numerous theologians and philosophers distort Sacred Scripture. I remember Fr. John Hardon exposing the errors of Karl Rahner and Edward Schillebeeckx, two men who heavily influenced Vatican II. He called Rahner a "very intelligent heretic." Schillebeecks was continually called to Rome over his radical writings. Among his many heresies was to deny the reality of Christ's resurrection and put a natural spin on His miracles. You know -- Jesus didn't really multiply the loaves and the fishes, He got all the folks to share the food they brought with them. And they brought enough to gather up 12 baskets of leftovers. St. Paul wasn't really condemning sodomy, but lack of hospitality. The word abortion isn't in the Bible and doesn't really fall under the fifth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." You get the drift. 

Many modernists clerics embraced the errors of these men (and others like Hans Kung and Yves Congar) and spread them. Risk contempt and ridicule if you dare to question the "experts." I remember attending a presentation by one of these modernists priests. When he was challenged he replied, "Where did you get your doctorate in theology?" The woman he disparaged with his insulting non-response was someone I knew well.  She happened to be my mother who was well educated in the faith. 

That same attitude exists today among arrogant modernist bishops and priests. They use their positions to ridicule those who embrace the fullness of the faith and rewrite Scripture to align with their distorted views. They are modern Martin Luthers. 

Second, Sacred Tradition

Sacred Tradition is the unwritten word of God. The Baltimore Catechism calls it:

...that body of truths revealed by God to the apostles, and not committed by them to writing but handed down by word of mouth. These truths, which were committed to writing, particularly by the Fathers of the Church have been preserved and handed down to the present day.

Not everything we believe is written in Scripture. The order of the Mass is not in Scripture. The rosary and Marian doctrines do not appear. While the power to bind and loose sin is scriptural, the form of Confession is not described in Scripture. None of these things contradict Sacred Scripture; some may be implicit in the writings, but there is nothing explicit about them. They developed naturally as the Church lived out the faith in practice. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes." "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer." [Quotes from Dei Verbum]

But one may not use tradition or misinterpretation of the principle of developing doctrine to introduce novelties that conflict with the faith -- like we saw in the Vatican garden when Pachamama the fertility goddess was honored and people actually knelt  and bowed to her statue. And yet that is what we see constantly, sad to say, in the new Mass. A priest invites a lesbian minister to participate in the Consecration, another blesses the congregation with a guitar, a showman sings a secular tune to the bride and groom at a nuptual Mass. The Novus Ordo can be orthodox and reverent or it can be the gong show. The form itself lacks gravitas. 

One of the saddest things to me about the modern Church is the loss of so many Sacred Traditions that enriched the liturgical year: the ember days, 40 hours devotion, prayers at the foot of the altar after Mass, etc. Some parishes still offer them and the faithful can certainly practice some of them on their own, but it's not the same. Community matters. 

The Magisterium                                                                                                                        The third pillar is the most worm eaten of all. The magisterium is tasked with teaching the faith to the people of God, the authentic faith. How many Judases substitute a cheap imitation preached with ear-tickling drivel about following your conscience no matter how ill formed? How many avoid the hard issues out of concern, not for souls but for the collection basket?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this about the responsibilities of the Magisterium:

The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium’s task to preserve God’s people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ endowed the Church’s shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals.

How many bishops take this duty seriously? How many actively preach error, e.g., that those in invalid marriages may receive Holy Communion? How many cancel orthodox priests for speaking the truth and allow those teaching heresy to remain in good standing? How many of our shepherds preach most eloquently by their silence? I remember the screaming silence after Humanae Vitae when nary a word from the pulpit was spoken about the sinfulness of contraception. Clergy promoted dissent even with a full page ad in the New York Times. And the silence endured while Catholics embraced even abortifacient methods of birth control often in total ignorance.

I remember the Sunday I went, with tears in my eyes, to thank a priest, the first I heard condemn contraception after years of silence! And yet the teaching on marital love and fidelity is beautiful and inspiring. 

Pray for our bishops. They are our spiritual fathers even when they abuse us. As the CCC says:

The Good Shepherd ought to be the model and “form” of

the bishop’s pastoral office. Conscious of his own weaknesses, “the

bishop . . . can have compassion for those who are ignorant and

erring. He should not refuse to listen to his subjects whose welfare

he promotes as of his very own children. . . . The faithful . . . should

be closely attached to the bishop as the Church is to Jesus Christ,

and as Jesus Christ is to the Father."

Yes, we are called to be "closely attached to the bishop." Perhaps that means we need not only to pray for him, but continually remind him of his duty to preach the truth in season and out. 

We live in hard times that fulfill the prophecies of many approved apparitions. Mary's warnings at Quito, Ecuador are particularly relevant today. Our Lady warned of the dire situation in the Church and among the clergy who would grow lax. She warned about the collapse of vocations to the priesthood and the attack on the family. Bishops would fight against bishops she predicted, a reality we are living. But she also preached hope. The world would never conquer the Church. Let us increase our devotion to Mary and pray unceasingly for her intercession for Holy Mother Church.

The cure for spatial disorientation is available and simple. Trust your instruments. The cure for diabolical disorientation is also simple. Trust the valid instruments given to us by God. Keep the Faith as taught by the apostles and the Fathers of the Church. Study the Scripture and interpret it according to faithful teachers and Church Fathers. Embrace Sacred Tradition and ditch the novelties of modernism. Above all -- never let the Judases, especially those in Roman collars and wearing pectoral crosses, drive you out.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!