Guest Post: Daniel Graham Gives a History Lesson on the Crisis in the Church

I'm delighted to post this article from Daniel Graham, author of Lex Orandi, a book that 
gives a side-by-side comparison of all the sacraments before and after the changes made in the spirit of Vatican II. Every concerned Catholic should know exactly what we've lost. I highly recommend Dan's book. Only when we understand what's been lost can we be like the woman in the parable who sweeps her house looking for her lost coin and rejoicing when she finds it. Those of us who defend the faith of our fathers are also like the man who sold everything to buy the pearl of great price. When one has a treasure, he protects it. And that is what Archbishop Lefebvre did. Those of us who go to SSPX chapels love the faith, love the Church, and love the papacy. Read the encyclicals of Pope St. Pius X and then read those of Pope Francis to see the conflict. Will the real defender of the faith please stand up. Don't get lost in the weeds. Be at peace and soldier on.

The Conflict between Modernism and Tradition

by Daniel Graham

Thought for the Day

Years ago I visited a college campus and stayed overnight in the girls' dorm. In those days, schools acted in loco parentis and actually protected the virtue of their students by keeping dorms separate and having strict visitation rules. One co-ed posted a "thought for the day" on her door. The one I remember was this:

Contrary to popular opinion, God's last name is not damn.

Sunday Meditation: Lent is Coming, Are You Ready?

Going to the traditional Latin Mass last Sunday got me thinking about Lent. In the old calendar, it was Septuagesima Sunday, 7 decades before Easter.

Yes, under the old (would progressive Catholics say "dismal"?) calendar, Ordinary Time was only a few weeks in and already the Church drew the eyes of the faithful toward the passion of Christ. The green changed to purple.

I was glad for the reminder that Lent is coming because it got me thinking about what I want to read for the season. And, since I happened to be doing a little organizing of my papal documents at the same time, I readily found just the thing. Pope Leo XIII's little book, The Practice of Humility. He was still known as Joachim Cardinal Pecci, Bishop of Perugia, when he wrote it. The work was directed to seminarians, but all of us are in training for the devout life, so how beneficial such a work can be for everyone! And it also turns my thoughts to Pope John Paul I, the "smiling pope" who served for only 33 years -- one day for every year in the life of Christ. His motto was a single world: humilitas. He left behind a humble collection of writings. Among his few general audiences he left these words:

Social Justice: What is it Anyway?

Is this the path to social justice?

Ah...so much to study, so little time. I've been wanting to research "social justice" for a long time. It's become the mantra of liberals who seem to define it as open borders, abortion on demand without apology as a civil right, and "free" everything from health care to college. Social justice is social-ism in their vocabulary, government-enforced redistribution of income to make everybody an equal comrade.

Liberals always talk about taxing the rich, but end up robbing the pockets of the middle class to achieve their goals. As my dad used to say, "There just aren't enough rich people!" The real target must be the massive middle. And, of course, capitalism in their book, by nature, is evil, which it certainly can be when it exploits workers making them wage slaves. But socialism does exactly the same thing by its nature! The worker is nothing but a mere creature of the state, a cog in the government machine.

But what is social justice...really?

The Ripples of Ecumenical Confusion Continue: Now It's about the Validity of Anglican Orders

Pope Leo XIII: Anglican Orders are "null
and utterly void." Apostolicae Curae

I recently watched a video that showed an under-ocean volcano that started with strange ripples and
then spewed up rock to make a new island. Fascinating creation in the physical world, eh? But what would such an event do in the spiritual world? And is that what we see happening today in the Church with the constant introduction of new theories about the Catholic faith and the headlong race to knock down all inconvenient obstacles to ecumenism? Are these ripples like an underground volcano that threatens to create a new Church...or turn the Church into one more Protestant sect?

The latest novelty on the ecumenical front (As if eulogizing Martin Luther weren't enough!) suggests that Anglican orders are valid. That's what Cdl. Francesco Coccopalmerio did recently when he made statements that appear to undermine Pope Leo XIII's 1896 papal bull, Apostolicae Curae, stating unequivocally that Anglican orders are “absolutely null and utterly void.”

Canon lawyer Ed Peters in his interesting and informative blog makes a strong case supporting Leo XIII's conclusion that Anglican orders are not valid, at the same time pointing out that they nevertheless can be a source of grace for the recipient.

When Pope Francis Threw Open the Closet Door We Could Guess Where this was Going!

Vatican appointee says gay sex can express Christ’s ‘self-gift’

Well, if there were any doubts about where this pope stands and where he is taking us his appointment last year of Timothy Radcliffe as a consultor for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace should have alerted us. The Synod on the Family, the bizarre interviews and telephone calls, the pope's favorites -- they all are signposts along the tracks.

We're on the express circus train to Sodom and Gomorrah with Francis as the engineer and a whole host of evil clowns taking the tickets and rummaging through the baggage.

The Triumph of Modernism: An Explanation of the Current Crisis in the Church

Pope St. Pius X

I think what we are seeing in the Church today is the triumph of modernism. Modernism, a declared heresy (in fact the "synthesis of all heresies"), is the "smoke of Satan" that entered the Church after Vatican II. In 1907, Pope St. Pius X who battled modernism throughout his pontificate, required all clergy, religious superiors, professors in Catholic institutions, etc. to take an oath against modernism.
The oath professed belief in revelation, divine acts, miracles and prophecies as the "surest signs of the divine origin of the Christian religion." It professed adherence to the papal encyclical Pascendi which condemned modernism and its tenets very specifically. The oath rejected the "error of those who say that the faith held by the Church can contradict history, and that Catholic dogmas, in the sense in which they are now understood, are irreconcilable with a more realistic view of the origins of the Christian religion."

The Demolition: How Did it Happen?

Anthony Esolen gives some insight in his article, There and Back Again.

I've been reflecting on this and on the collapse of the culture which is so far advanced and can only conclude that the underlying cause is the rejection of natural law.

Most people's eyes glaze over when you mention natural law. We've replaced it with "rights." We all have rights that not only allow free speech, free association, etc., but the right to create our own reality. The poster "girl" for the rejection of natural law is Bruce Jenner. Doesn't he have the right to decide he's really a she? Our culture says yes and those who disagree are gender-phobes.

Make 2009 the year you study St. Thomas Aquinas

I was a young adult during the turbulent sixties. I entered college in Washington, D.C. in 1964 and graduated in 1968. What a time: lunch counter sit-ins, , assassinations, the rebellion following Humanae Vitae, D.C. riots not far from campus, drugs, sex, rock and roll, bell bottom trousers, mini-skirts and tie-dyed T-shirts, the mantra: "If it feels good do it." Blowing your mind was a phrase that describes the decade well. Reason was thrown out the window, and feelings raged unchecked. What chaos! I don't remember the sixties with fondness, but relief that I survived despite the fact that almost every cultural anchor (including the hierarchy of the Church) failed us. Many self-destructed on the shoals and haven't recovered yet. How many today base their opinions on "personal truth" which is nothing more than feelings and rationalizations to do whatever they please? The culture endorses this irrational approach to life. Since the 60s, schools have focused more on promoting self-esteem than critical thinking skills.

But there's hope. St. Thomas Aquinas, that champion of wisdom, logic, and clear reasoning, is making a comeback. Thomas had a profound impact on the areas of ethics, philosophy and political theory. He is among the Doctors of the Church and one of the greatest thinkers of all times. If you want to know the truth about the big questions of life, you can hardly do better than to study St. Thomas and his method of examining life. Pope Leo XIII considered him an effective prescription against modernism and, during his pontificate, called for schools of higher education to teach Thomistic philosophy.

The Summa Theologica offers an excellent example in how to find the truth about any subject. St. Thomas states the question, then provides the objections; then he answers each objection and makes a declaration. His approach is open-minded and respectful of disagreement. It thoroughly and seriously evaluates all aspect of an issue. The desired end, for St. Thomas, as it should be for all of us, is to know the truth; and Thomas is methodical in his search. If he seems obscure at first, he becomes clearer and clearer the more you read him. As Peter Kreeft says, "St. Thomas aimed only for light, not heat." Aquinas' writings, he says, are filled with wisdom.

Make St. Thomas a guide in 2009. More and more our culture is returning to chaos, but St. Thomas can be a rock and an anchor against the current of confusion. He knew what philosophy truly was, "not the study of what men have opined, but of what is the truth." If you want to know the truth, study St. Thomas.