Really? I'm sincerely grateful to Bishop Burbidge for a number of things, and I can even be grateful for this, since the only result can be to bring more people to recognize the glory of Sacred Tradition and the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). But I'm also a realist. This is the same bishop who severely reduced the availability of the TLM in accord with Traditionis Custodes. Except for the three parishes where it remains inside the church, the TLM was exiled to gyms and multi-purpose rooms where it continues. And in 2024, after renewing the indult, the three parish churches were ordered to substitute a Latin Novus Ordo (NO) for the TLM once a month. [Source] You see, it is all about "weaning" the laity away from the TLM (the Mass Pope Benedict said could not be abrogated.). We must conform to every jot and tittle of Vatican II and to the "new Mass" that grew out of it by the influence of probable Freemason, Annibale Bugnini.
But back to the battle of Front Royal which has been raging for several years! [a little history] Naming the chaplaincy Our Lady of Victory also makes me laugh ruefully. It focuses so aptly on the war against the SSPX which has been going on ever since COVID brought them here. The divisions and the sometimes vicious attitudes of the anti-SSPX crowd caused my husband and me to meet with a local pastor to discuss it. He assured us we were "out of the boat." We disagreed and pointed out that we are all on the same side, the salvation of souls and shouldn't be fighting. The SSPX and the laity who attend the chapel are down in the bowels of the boat bailing and trying to plug up the holes while the conciliar church rearranges the deck chairs. And the message from our priests about the battle was: be charitable, don't fight, don't recruit (an admonition to the congregation after someone left an SSPX brochure at a local parish), answer questions, and pray. We are continually reminded that everything is in the Providence of Almighty God.
It was the SSPX's obvious love of the flock and the desire for the salvation of souls that inspired my husband and me to continue at the chapel after the churches re-opened after COVID. We owe them a debt of gratitude we could never repay if we live to be a hundred. And gratitude is the parent of all the other virtues.
Was there any gratitude on the part of the diocese when the SSPX came to the aid of the spiritually starved flock during the COVID debacle? Of course not! The deacon at our church congratulated those who "obeyed the bishop" by staying away. But the bishop, as I pointed out on the parish website, never told anyone not to go. He simply said he hadn't authorized the Masses. He could have authorized and organized Masses at fairground sites around the diocese. He did not. The SSPX did. Sad fact in my opinion. There is nothing particularly edifying about a bishop bending the knee to Caesar and locking the doors of the churches and access to Jesus without offering an alternative. Why not defiance and a lawsuit against a secular authority allowing abortion businesses and liquor stores to remain open while churches were closed? Our Lord and Savior became a prisoner in our empty churches while we were shut out from His presence for months.
The SSPX stepped into the breach. It wasn't their idea to come to Front Royal, but the appeal of the laity that brought them 2 1/2 hours from the seminary in Dillwyn near Charlottesville to offer Masses at the Front Royal fairground. Thanks to their zeal for souls, my husband and I never missed a Sunday Mass during the spiritual drought. And what a witness to see the long lines of penitents waiting to kneel in the grass to confess to our shepherds. The experience united us with so many persecuted Catholics over the centuries. Meanwhile, back in the parish we received video instructions using goldfish on how to unmask and receive Communion and weekly zoom meetings criticizing those in the parish who did not mask. One parishioner urged Father to "give [the unmasked] goldfish" instead of the Eucharist. I kid you not! Father's response was he couldn't make people be charitable.
It seems disrespectful, dare I say blasphemous, for the bishop to call "Our Lady of Victory" into the fray which is all about deep sixing the SSPX chapel in Linden. Yes, it's been a battle with anti-SSPX clergy and laity doing all they could to make sure the chapel would sink under their disapproval and false accusations of schism. It hasn't worked out that way. Yes, they prevented the originally purchased site from civic approval, but we now have a property being cleared and prepared for building. Did Our Lady of Victory come to our aid? We honor her with our chapel name, Immaculate Heart of Mary. All during May before Sunday Mass we recited her litany after praying the rosary. She has been a powerful intercessor as well as St. Joseph. And during this month of June we pray the litany of the Sacred Heart every Sunday. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus we place all our trust in You.
The strategy is pretty clear these days. Wherever the SSPX is serving, open an FSSP parish nearby. Keep in mind that the FSSP allows priests to offer the NO and concelebrate particularly at the annual chrism Mass, a request by Pope Francis when he met with them. [Source] Do any of their priests do it? It's a concession that's really a conflict.
Was there any gratitude on the part of the diocese when the SSPX came to the aid of the spiritually starved flock during the COVID debacle? Of course not! The deacon at our church congratulated those who "obeyed the bishop" by staying away. But the bishop, as I pointed out on the parish website, never told anyone not to go. He simply said he hadn't authorized the Masses. He could have authorized and organized Masses at fairground sites around the diocese. He did not. The SSPX did. Sad fact in my opinion. There is nothing particularly edifying about a bishop bending the knee to Caesar and locking the doors of the churches and access to Jesus without offering an alternative. Why not defiance and a lawsuit against a secular authority allowing abortion businesses and liquor stores to remain open while churches were closed? Our Lord and Savior became a prisoner in our empty churches while we were shut out from His presence for months.
The SSPX stepped into the breach. It wasn't their idea to come to Front Royal, but the appeal of the laity that brought them 2 1/2 hours from the seminary in Dillwyn near Charlottesville to offer Masses at the Front Royal fairground. Thanks to their zeal for souls, my husband and I never missed a Sunday Mass during the spiritual drought. And what a witness to see the long lines of penitents waiting to kneel in the grass to confess to our shepherds. The experience united us with so many persecuted Catholics over the centuries. Meanwhile, back in the parish we received video instructions using goldfish on how to unmask and receive Communion and weekly zoom meetings criticizing those in the parish who did not mask. One parishioner urged Father to "give [the unmasked] goldfish" instead of the Eucharist. I kid you not! Father's response was he couldn't make people be charitable.
It seems disrespectful, dare I say blasphemous, for the bishop to call "Our Lady of Victory" into the fray which is all about deep sixing the SSPX chapel in Linden. Yes, it's been a battle with anti-SSPX clergy and laity doing all they could to make sure the chapel would sink under their disapproval and false accusations of schism. It hasn't worked out that way. Yes, they prevented the originally purchased site from civic approval, but we now have a property being cleared and prepared for building. Did Our Lady of Victory come to our aid? We honor her with our chapel name, Immaculate Heart of Mary. All during May before Sunday Mass we recited her litany after praying the rosary. She has been a powerful intercessor as well as St. Joseph. And during this month of June we pray the litany of the Sacred Heart every Sunday. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus we place all our trust in You.
The strategy is pretty clear these days. Wherever the SSPX is serving, open an FSSP parish nearby. Keep in mind that the FSSP allows priests to offer the NO and concelebrate particularly at the annual chrism Mass, a request by Pope Francis when he met with them. [Source] Do any of their priests do it? It's a concession that's really a conflict.
I'm convinced that bringing the FSSP to Arlington has nothing to do with wanting to make the TLM more available, but undermining the ministry of the SSPX. Why? Because if they can eliminate the SSPX, they can ultimately get rid of the TLM altogether. Does anyone really believe the FSSP and other traditional congregations are any more welcome than the SSPX? They are being used as a battering ram. Remember, the only reason the FSSP exists is Archbishop Lefebvre and the SSPX. The hatred of traditionalism welcomes them as fellow travelers until they accomplish their objective, the elimination of the TLM.
In view of everything going on around the world can there be any doubt that current strategies allowing the TLM are temporary? The recent action of Owensboro, KY bishop William Medley shows the recommended "cure" of the TLM disease by the conciliar church. No TLM, but a temporary approval of an ad orientem NO Latin Mass. Medley in his letter forbidding Fr. David Kennedy from continuing the TLM clearly identified the goal:
“to lead the faithful who are attached to the antecedent liturgy towards the celebration of the liturgy according to the liturgical books reformed by decree of the Second Vatican Council.”
Chris Jackson on his substack Hiraeth in Exile aptly describes the situation saying, "Rome has pathologized attachment to tradition." He goes on:
The faithful attached to the old Roman Mass are not being protected, but processed. Their attachment is treated as a temporary condition to be managed until they can be led toward the Novus Ordo. Their Mass is not treated as a venerable inheritance of the Latin Church, but a concession with an exit strategy....Medley’s letter gives the game away. Rome can tolerate some traditional externals when they are safely housed inside the Pauline Missal. What it cannot tolerate is the old rite functioning as a living alternative to the postconciliar settlement....
The cruelty here is administrative, calm, and pious. There is no dramatic denunciation. There is no rant against lace, Latin, mantillas, or altar rails. There is only a letter, a deadline, and the soft machinery of managed extinction.
The old Mass is ended by a memo that speaks of gratitude.
That is the postconciliar way. Violence against tradition is conducted with pastoral manners. The faithful are thanked, accompanied, transitioned, and deprived. when they are safely housed inside the Pauline Missal. What it cannot tolerate is the old rite functioning as a living alternative to the postconciliar settlement.
The war against the TLM continues. The battle of Front Royal is just one front. The next attack will follow the consecrations of the bishops on July 1st. Will the entire Society and the laity who attend their Masses be excommunicated? We'll know soon. Will opening an FSSP parish in Front Royal eviscerate the chapel? Somehow I doubt it. It will be a tragic step, but one that simply magnifies the double standard at the Vatican where heretical bishops are treated with kid gloves and "dialogue" while those faithful to the apostles and doctors of the Church receive the mailed fist, excommunication, and accusations of schism. Can anyone these days take seriously the chaotic actions emanating from Rome?
I love the Church; I pray for the pope, but my conscience cannot accept many of the decisions illustrating the tower of babel that the Vatican has become. Save us, Lord Jesus Christ, from the wolves in sheep's clothing! Our Lady of Victory, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
The SSPX and the FSSP business models are very similar to McDonald's and Burger King. McDonald's scouts the area, make sure there's a demand, then builds and they come. Burger King just does whatever McDonald's does
ReplyDeleteThe Lord knows our hearts. We are only living the traditional Catholic faith in these confusing times. Would the Lord be angry with faithful Catholics at the SSPX, or the current Church hierarchy..
ReplyDeleteI have to feel the ultimate goal of the Bergoglian line of popes is to get rid of any semblance of the Catholic church prior to 1962 (or 70 once all the changes were fully implemented). They do have a strategy, choke the supply of TLMs. First to remove from the majority of diocese. That has been done. Second Eliminate the SSPX do this by telling anyone going to their masses they will be excommunicated, then herd them into the FSSP or ICKSP or any of the other orders cow towing to Rome. Then the final blow, force to Ecclesia Dei Groups to have a venue similar to the Canons of St. John Cantius. Currently they offer a Tridentine mass, two masses of Novus Ordo, one in Latin the other in English. The only twist will be you must eliminate the Tridentine and only a English Novus ordo in English as one possibly with some language. They do want Latin out of the picture eventually. I am sure that will be their attempt at the end. Yes I know many priests in the ICKSP have said they will never give up the TLM but time will tell. Sorry I not only always see the glass half empty but there is a hole on the bottom. Character flaw I guess. I returned to the TLM in 1980 to a small independent chapel. Old Fr Quinn used to say "Here at the shrine we are keeping the pilot light of the true faith lit until Rome comes to her senses". I have seen so many hopes for restoration of the mass and doctrine dashed against the rocks. I support the SSPX totally, they will become a solid anchor in restoring the faith. I think Rome might be shooting themselves in the foot with all this tom foolery of theirs. Their excommunications just might draw people to the SSPX. By the end of the year we will know where we stand. BTW Whitney had a GREAT analogy using McDonalds and Burger king. Working in the Restaurant design industry I can relate.
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