How Humble Are Traditionalists?
For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures: And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures: And that He was seen by Cephas; and after that by the eleven.—1 Cor 15:3-5 DRB. The Apostle Paul is writing here that what he delivered over to the early Christians is exactly what he first received (tradidi enim vobis in primis quod et accepi.) And this tradition was not just "small-t tradition," but "Big-T Tradition." In other words, St. Paul delivered over Divine Revelation to others just as it [...]
“Always is Also a Forever”—Pope Benedict XVI
It is a good thing that both Ann Barnhardt and Estefanía Acosta frequently remind us of this decisive clue in unlocking the second greatest crisis in Catholic Church history second only—and linked—to what started in the 1960s: “The ‘always’ is also a ‘forever‘ – there can no longer be a return to the private sphere. My decision to resign the active exercise of the ministry does not revoke this. I do not return to private life, to a life of travel, meetings, receptions, conferences, and so on. I am not abandoning the cross, but remaining in a new way at the side of the crucified Lord. I no longer bear [...]
Pope St. Pius X and Joe Biden
The current contention on the pro-abortion unelected-President Joe Biden receiving Holy Communion is a late outgrowth in the debate between traditionalists and modernists on issues of dogma vs. conscience and Church vs. State. Pope St. Pius X saw all of this mayhem coming when he warned against those modernist political Catholics in Pascendi Dominici Gregis over 100 years ago. Pascendi, as it is now known, was an encyclical released by Pope St. Pius X on the 8th of September 1907. It is also known as "The Doctrines of the Modernists." The following is the saintly Pope's description of how bad Catholic Politicians were justifying themselves even when he wrote it: [...]
St. Ignatius of Antioch on the Eucharist and Unity with Rome
St. Ignatius of Antioch was the disciple and close friend of St. John the Evangelist who wrote five books of the New Testament. What would St. Ignatius of Antioch say today to a Protestant or Eastern Orthodox asking him questions about salvation? I composed the following questions, but all of the answers come verbatim from the saint and martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, around the year 100 AD. How is Jesus with us after His Resurrection? "I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; [...]
Religious Indifferentism is Arianism
If Pope St. Pius X was correct that "modernism is the synthesis of all heresies" then wouldn't we see all heresies of the past fulfilled in it? Yes we would see that. And yes we do see that If Jesus is merely the "privileged route to salvation," then all religions can be a vehicle to salvation. However, this notion is no different from Arianism. Here's why: Jesus claims to be God. Jesus claims to be the only way, truth and life. If this is not true, then He is not God. And this is Arianism. Thus, religious indifferentism encapsulates a thousand heresies, including Arianism. Notice that belief in the Trinity is [...]
Excommunicated After Abortion?
This blog is a reference to this video and this podcast released the same day. Since Apostolic days (1 Jn 5:17) the Catholic Church has delineated between venial sin and mortal sin. In the category of mortal sin, there are four sins that cry to heaven for vengeance. A small percentage of mortal sins also carry the weight of ex-communication (being cut off from the Church.) Canonically speaking, latae sententiae (automatic) excommunications are divided into “reserved” and “unreserved.” The former are reserved to the Apostolic Penitentiary, while the unreserved (e.g. elective abortion) are under the jurisdiction of the local ordinary. Some canonists say a person must know he is doing an ex-communicable [...]
Ex Substántia Matris
On Holy Trinity Sunday, every traditional priest reads the Athanasian Creed during Prime. Prime is the third canonical hour of his Divine Office (Roman Breviary) of the day. What struck me while reading this in Latin was this line: Deus est ex substántia Patris ante sǽcula génitus: et homo est ex substántia matris in sǽculo natus. This is translated as: God, of the Substance of the Father, Begotten before the worlds: and Man, of the substance of His mother, born in the world. St. Athanasius in his 4th century Creed of Trinity (against the Arians) is asserting that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity who is consubstantial [...]
Even the Left Criticizes Modernist Clergy
Notice this tweet from the Catholic Charities of the diocese of Oakland, California and how it had one "like" in 22 hours. Perhaps nobody in the bay area pays attention to the Catholic Church anymore. Or perhaps most Bay Area LGBT folks who are ex-Catholic have no interest in "liking" a group that can't even stand for its own values. In other words, most people (straight or "gay") have no interest in "liking" a liberal branch of a conservative organization such as the Catholic Church. Everybody knows we Catholics traditionally stood for chastity and purity for those who are "straight" and those who struggle with other issues. However, twenty [...]
Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
This Act of Reparation was prescribed to be recited on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor (8 May 1928). A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful, who piously recite the above act of reparation. A plenary indulgence is granted if it is publicly recited on the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Most sweet Jesus, whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence, and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thee, eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and [...]
Propaganda Reveals A Nation’s Personality
The above picture is a 1931 Russian propaganda poster that reads We Smite the Lazy Workers and can still be found in a collection in the Russian State Library in Moscow. Westerners might laugh at the notion of hard-work being a snare to any political system, but Russians always saw life (including manual labor) as communal, not individual, even before communism. Archbishop Fulton Sheen warned hundreds of times that Russia's communism might come to the United States. But what many American Catholics may forget is that Sheen was a Russophile, a great lover of Russia. AB. Fulton Sheen frequently pointed out that Russia's ancient desire for community and Holy Russia's [...]