"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." Gustav Mahler
The pilgrimage by the French mothers (and grandmothers) of priests. They walked 800 miles to beg the pope for the continuation of the Traditional Latin Mass for the sake of their sons. His answer? The crushing and uncharitable Traditionis Custodes.
Journalist Obtains Exclusive Access to World Report on Summorum Pontificum: Francis' Restrictions Based on Lies
Pope Francis lied to the world about the bishops' responses to the survey about implementing the TLM in their dioceses. The survey responses almost universally showed a positive impact with recommendations to leave Summorum Pontificum alone. Parishes using both forms, the TLM and the Novus Ordo, had little or no division among parishioners and the TLM tended to increase reverence at the Novus Ordo. That didn't stop lying Francis from issuing Traditiones Custodes with its draconian repressions.
The mainstream media has been gushing over Pope Francis making him their latest secular saint along with Margaret Sanger, George Floyd, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and a host of other folks with, let's say, questionable histories. It doesn't take much to merit sainthood from that quarter.
If you're pro-abortion, LGBTQ, black and killed by a white man, or fit into any other woke categories, the halo goes on immediately after death. Some get the halo earlier though, Barack Obama for example.
The Arlington Catholic Herald's front page article on Pope Francis in the current issue (April 24 - May7) made me shake my head. Ridiculously one-sided and it totally ignored anything that might upset the instant canonization applecart. From headline to last sentence it turned the Francis papacy into the equivalent of a snake oil salesman's pitch for his magic elixir. It is typical since Vatican II to turn every funeral into an instant canonization process, so why shouldn't we expect that for the death of a pope? After all, every pope since Vatican II except Benedict was rushed through to instant sainthood. One is tempted to say it is all about canonizing the council.
Pope Francis is dead. He died this morning. I've been doing my Monday chores praying for him. I threw in the wash remembering that he was once a newly baptized innocent babe clothed in the pure white garment. Did he wear the papal white in innocence and love for our Savior? Actions speak louder than words and so many of his actions were scandalous and ugly. Only God knows his eternal destiny.
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| illustration painting of the Death as know as Grim Reaper holding the scythe against the eclipse on the background, digital art style, Generate Ai Free Photo |
I was praying for the pope this morning after reading the section in The Spiritual Combat on the temptations that precede death. What a frightening time that must be as we all will learn unless we die suddenly.
You should be.
The Italians call him "Il Papa." He is our spiritual father. Does a child have the right to disrespect his natural father? Does the 4th Commandment say, "Honor your mother and father unless they offend you, sin against you, or make mistakes that hurt you?"
We have an obligation to pray for the pope just as we have an obligation to pray for our natural fathers, especially as they approach death.
That thought struck me today as I read about Pope St. Gregory the Great who's feast is today in the traditional calendar. I read this in Butler's Lives of the Saints:
A wise philosopher once said, "Stupid is as stupid does." Read this article and take heart. When things seem dark, they are often closest to the light. You can only eclipse the sun for so long! Pray, hope, and don't worry. Deus Vult! God wills it!
Remember when everybody was sure that there was a new Latin Mass suppression coming down the pike from The Dictator Pope and his mercy for the margins?
That came from a credible rumour published by our friends at Rorate back on June 17th. While that was brewing, Viganò got the axe from the Vatican, and a different report denied any existence of a new TLM suppression.
Meanwhile, the “Agatha Christie Petition 2.0” was released, along with a second petition by the same authors for the faithful to sign. A third petition was also put out (“An Open Letter from the Americas to Pope Francis”), signed by people like Trad critic Larry Chapp and endorsed by Archbishop Cordileone. [Continue....]
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| Are you on the panel to pick the "real" pope? Or is there no contestant at all? |
There used to be a couple of fun game shows on TV when I was a child. What's My Line? had a changing panel of celebrities who asked the guest of the night questions trying to determine what he did for a living. If it was someone famous, the panel was blindfolded. Another game show featuring a celebrity panel was To Tell the Truth. Three contestants, each claiming to be the "real" deal, answered questions. Two fabricated their answers and one "told the truth." Both of these game shows were fun and entertained viewers for years. The answers didn't make much of a difference to their lives.
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| Better not wait to get off the tracks until the train is five feet away! |
Perhaps discussing the rumoured nuke to be dropped on the TLM on the third anniversary of Traditionis Custodes (July 16th) is premature. Why not wait and see and just be silent and let the chips fall where they may? After all, isn't the best course to live in the present moment? That's certainly one approach, and I won't argue with those who choose it.
On the other hand, there is something to be said for taking measures when a disaster is likely to happen. You don't wait until the hurricane is upon you to board up the windows. You don't wait until the train is five feet away before you get off the tracks. An article at OnePeter5 recommends that Catholics get ready, especially considering the accuracy of previous "rumors" reported by Rorate Caeli. Their track record is excellent. So let's check out the article by Carina Benton:
I'll answer a question with a question, two questions in fact. Was it wrong for Catholics to disobey the pope when he said everyone should get the COVID jab? Were Catholics who refused to obey the pope challenging the authority of Holy Mother Church?
Simple answer to both questions: NO! NO! HELL NO!
At yesterday’s press conference on “Dignitas Infinita”, I asked DDF Prefect Cardinal Fernández: “If man has infinite dignity, how can he be condemned to the eternal suffering of Hell? And why are original sin and its effects never mentioned in the document?” His response below: pic.twitter.com/6odajldIq7
— Diane Montagna (@dianemontagna) April 9, 2024
(To see the statement enlarged click on it and it will open in a new window. Then click on the text.)
Years ago on a Cursillo weekend, I spent several hours in the stairwell late at night discussing hell with a young woman who didn't believe there was a hell or, if there was, that no one went there. At the end of the evening, she had changed her mind.
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| Does Francis respect the human dignity of all, or are some animals more equal than others? |
...the failure of Cardinal Fernandez to identify the worldwide promotion of the contraceptive mentality, as well as its logical extension, the homosexualist agenda, as a grave threat to human dignity leaves the words of his landmark Declaration ringing as hollow as a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
I agree! Contraception is the root of many of today's sexual sins, which threaten the dignity of everyone, especially our youth. The article goes on:
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| IMPOSTURE Definition: act or an instance of deceiving others, especially by assuming a false identity Similar: pretense, deceit, deception, hoax, trick, ruse, fraud, trickery, artifice, false |
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| Don't worry, your holiness, no one will notice the spoonful of poison in the document. I was careful. |
I'm moving on today to part three of T.S. Flanders five-part series on Pornocracy in the Church which is well worth reading and reflecting on. There is nothing new under the sun as Ecclesiastes tells us, and certainly that is true of papal corruption.
But what is even more true is that God is so good that, while He doesn't desire evil, He desires us to love Him freely. He could have made us little robots who could only choose good, but, in His goodness, with full knowledge of how we would abuse our freedom, He loved us enough to give us free will anyway.
So what does He do in His infinite goodness? He brings good out of every evil act and He wills the good He will accomplish. Think of the Easter Exsultet which rings out the joyful news of salvation: "O happy fault of Adam that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer."
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| Storm clouds over the Church are nothing new. Don't panic. Pray harder! |
Several sedevacantists like to haunt my blog and try to convince me that Francis cannot be the pope. No matter how many times I refuse to jump on their bandwagon, they pursue their single-minded message. I don't post their comments any more. They have nothing new to say.
Now, to be fair, maybe they're right, but I remain unconvinced due to the history of the Church and the papacy. If the Church and the papal throne had been occupied over the millennia by saints (and nothing but), perhaps I could agree. But evil popes are not a rarity and, even good popes often had bad men as advisors, some of whom waited in the wings hoping to "win" in the next conclave.
