Today at our SSPX chapel in Linden, VA we celebrated the Feast of St. Pius X from September 3rd in the traditional calendar. As patron saint of the Society, that was appropriate. St. Pius X certainly represents a man for our season in the Church when modernism has perverted so many Catholics and is bringing many to the brink of hell.Pirate in priest's clothing.
In his encyclical Pascendi, Pius X called modernism the "synthesis of all heresies." Compared to the numerous documents by Francis he was concise, describing modernism and its errors in only 57 paragraphs. Compare that to the long-winded documents by Francis filled with ambiguity, confusion, and error: Amoris Laetitia -- 325, Laudato si -- 246, Fratelli Tutti -- 287, Querida Amazonia -- 111, Christus Vivit -- 299, etc.
I consider the time I spent reading some of these documents a severe penance and useless for growing in the faith. Pascendi, on the other hand, is a life vest thrown to the faithful living in the stormy seas where pirates in clerical garb do their all to steal and bury the treasures of the Church. To fight the pirates, however, we need to recognize them underneath their disguises. Pope Pius X warned the faithful about these treacherous imposters:
We must now break silence in order to expose before the whole Church, in their true colors, those men who have assumed this bad disguise.
And that's why the pope wrote Pascendi against modernism. But how many Catholics have actually read the encyclical? How many will? Perhaps only a handful. Which is why a faithful priest, Fr. J.B. Lemius, O.M.I. put together A Catechism of Modernism published in 1908 the year following publication of Pascendi. Using a question and answer format, Fr. Lemius rendered the papal document easer to understand. Answers are mostly taken verbatim from the encyclical.
The catechism begins by acknowledging that the enemies of the cross have "increased exceedingly" and are often hidden:
Many belong to the Catholic laity; nay, and this is far more lamentable, many belong to the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, feigning a love for the Church...throughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines taught by the enemies of the Church, and lost to all sense of modesty, vaunt themselves as reformers of the Church.
I couldn't help thinking of Fr. James Martin, S.J. and some of his Jesuit brethren when I read that. Of all the dissenting priests in the United States, Martin has puffed himself up like a peacock flaunting his tail. Despite his clear deviation from the teachings of the Church, he has been promoted, honored, and encouraged in his errors by bishops and the Vatican itself. What a tragedy for him! Pope Pius X gave clear instructions to the bishops about men like Fr. Martin:
Q What is the duty of the Bishops in regard to proud priests?
A. Your first duty, says the Holy Father to the Bishops, will be to thwart such proud men, to employ them only in the lowest and obscurest offices; the higher they try to rise, the lower let them be placed so that their lowly position may deprive them of the power of causing damage.
But isn't that the opposite of what we are seeing? Good priest are cancelled; the very worst receive red hats. How many Catholic have left the Church over the scandal? That is an act of cowardice! Leaving is not the answer. That imitates the apostles in the Garden of Olives who abandoned Christ at the very hour He most needed their faithful support.
Being informed about the problem and staying to fight IS the answer! Get the little A Catechism of Modernism and study it. [If you don't want to buy it, read online.] St. Francis de Sales warns that those who scandalize commit spiritual murder; but those who let scandalizers rob them of their faith commit spiritual suicide. Our strategy must be to stay and fight, putting on the armor of Christ and exposing the imposters for what they are. Above all, we need to encourage faithful priests in their ministry of salvation.
Pray for priest; pray for the Lord to give us many holy priests. Encourage and support the good priests. Pray for conversion of the pirates masquerading as priests and protect the treasures of the Church, the authentic faith. The Lord will never let the pirates win no matter how successful their assaults seem to be.
May Jesus Christ be praised!
How long would I last as an employee of a company if I was always advocating for the competition?
ReplyDeleteThat's what this man is doing.