Lenten Edition 2012

    "The Greatest of these is Charity."

    It seems only natural to have a bunker mentality as a traditional Catholic. After all, one tends to lose many friends when one turns their back on the Novus Ordo and that establishment that claims Benedict XVI as its "pope." But as Jesus says in St. Matthew 10: 37-38 that's the only course we can take. In so doing, we can tend to get caught up in our own particular camps and flail out at other camps who basically believe the same things we do, but might go about it a bit differently. We must consider the traditional movement as one family united in the true faith and dedicated to charity. Unfortunately, like many families there is infighting and this only sows discord and pushes possible converts away. We must work toward unifying and strengthening the family of traditional Catholics for there is strength in numbers. However, those numbers are just so many clashing cymbals if we do not have charity.

    During this time of The Great Apostasy, when confusion reigns supreme, it is easy to fall into the snare of Satan by having an "us against them" mentality within sedevacantist circles. This sad but true reality can only be overcome by a supernatural charity which wills the good of the other for love of God.

    God allows Satan to have power in order to prove us as gold in the fire. I won't mention that if there is nothing pure in us when we die (as is the case when we die in a state of unrepentant mortal sin) there will be nothing in us to prove (purify) and so we will just burn without end. An example of God giving Satan power is given below:

    "There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job, and that man was simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil.

    And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

    And his possession was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a family exceedingly great: and this man was great among all the people of the east.

    And his sons went, and made a feast by houses, every one in his day. And sending, they called their three sisters, to eat and drink with them.

    And when the days of their feasting were gone about, Job sent to them, and sanctified them: and rising up early offered holocausts for every one of them. For he said: Lest perhaps my sons have sinned, and have blessed God in their hearts. So did Job all days.

    Now on a certain day, when the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, satan also was present among them.

    And the Lord said to him: Whence comest thou? And he answered and said: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it.

    And the Lord said to him: Hast thou considered My servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, and fearing God, and avoiding evil?

    And satan answering, said: Doth Job fear God in vain?

    Hast not Thou made a fence for him, and his house, and all his substance round about, blessed the works of his hands, and his possession hath increased on the earth?

    But stretch forth Thy hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and see if he bless Thee not to Thy face.

    Then the Lord said to satan: Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand: only put not forth thy hand upon his person. And satan went forth from the presence of the Lord." (Job 1: 1 - 12)

    If we see Job as a type of the Catholic Church we see the power God can give to Satan over that Church. Did God not made a "fence for her (protect her from erring), and all her substance round about (universal infallibility & indefectibility), blessed the works of her hands (give her the ordinary means of providing sanctifying grace through the Sacraments), and her possession hath increased on the earth?" In this light I would like to show that we are in a time of incomprehensible darkness where the Devil enjoys more power over "all that she hath" than he ever has had.

TURBULENCE IN THESE TUMULTUOUS TIMES HAS BEEN FORETOLD

    Pope Leo XIII had a vision at the end of Mass on October 13th, 1884 where he heard a terrifying conversation between Jesus and Satan. Satan boasted that he could destroy God's Church if he were given more time and more power. Our Lord asked how much time he would need. Satan replied that he needed 75 to 100 years and more power over those who would give themselves to his service. Jesus responded, "You have the power, you have the time." If you count 75 years starting with and including the year 1884 you will get 1958. Pope Pius XII died October 9th 1958.

    After Pope Leo gained consciousness he penned the following prayer:

    O glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.

    Fight this day the battle of our Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition, souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. That wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.

    The above and below should sound familiar to those in traditionalist circles. It should sound familiar to anyone anywhere.

    These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions.

    In the holy place itself, where has been set up the see of the most holy Peter and the chair of truth for the light of the world, THEY have raised the THRONE of THEIR abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered.

    Note, the agents of Satan put their man in the place of a true Pope. See 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 - 8. Read it again if you do not believe the words of Pope Leo in an official prayer of the Church. I put these words in bold cap, not to yell, but to make sure you do not miss it. I know when I am reading, and there are a lot of distractions around, I could completely miss what I'm reading. Additionally, by doing this I assure myself that if someone misses it; it will not be my fault. Now let us continue with the Prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII.

    Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.

    Verse (V): Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.

    Response (R): The Lion of the Tribe of Juda has conquered the root of David.

    (V): Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.

    (R): As we have hoped in Thee.

    (V): O Lord hear my prayer.

    (R): And let my cry come unto Thee.

    (V): Let us pray. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls.

    (R): Amen.

    The following verses fit well with the prophecy of Pope Leo XIII:

    "Let no man deceive you by any means: for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,

    Who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God.

    Remember you not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

    And now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity already worketh: only that he [the Vicar of Christ] who now [at the time of this writing] holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way.

    And then [when there is no Pope] that wicked one shall be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: him,

    whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders." (2 Thessalonians 2: 3 - 9)

    It is interesting how obscure verses become clearer as time unfolds. This interpretation is not overlooked in the Haydock commentary: St. Augustine in one of his expositions, by this falling off, and apostasy, understand antichrist himself, apostatizing from the Catholic faith.

    As far as I know one cannot apostatize from the Faith unless one was first a holder, or at least claimed to be a holder of that faith, perhaps as an adolescent. Stephen Grieve has written extensively on these verses (2 Thess 2: 3 - 8) in these pages a few years ago:

    Read the above articles starting at the top and work your way down. Truly an eyeopener. Also, the following article by editor Michael Cain will also be of interest: The Eleventh Hour. Also, The Chair is Still Empty by Gregorius will also be of interest. What it comes down to, as many readers of this site know, is that the Chair of Peter is vacant and that an anti-Christ sits on the throne. All heretics are anti-Christs, though only one will be the Anti-Christ.

    To the Protestants we can acknowledge the possibility that the anti-Christ (or his prophet) will sit on the chair of Peter, but that the anti-Christ will be a valid Pope is something that must be denied as a valid Pope is what prevents the anti-Christ from coming into power. The "whore of Babylon" is the Church in Rome, but the Church in Rome is not the Catholic Church. That Church, as we know, has been taken over in much the same way as the Catholic Church in England was taken over by non-Catholics and those who apostatized from the Faith. It was not the Catholic Church in England that sent the loyal bishop Saint John Fisher, the chancellor Saint Thomas More, and countless faithful Catholics to their deaths. Nor is it the Catholic Church which spews its smoke from Rome, cloaking the world in the darkness of error, heresy and confusion. The "whore of Babylon" cheats on the One she claims is her spouse by adulterating with false religions. "Babylon" was a code word for Rome. (See Haydock Commentary)

    Tim Duff gives an excellent talk called "Church of Darkness, Leave Rome" where Saint Leo's prophecy and prayer is mentioned.

    The true Church, relegated to the catacombs in this our day, has been and will be persecuted and infiltrated by the Devil's agents (they can even be Priests or Bishops). Take a look around and what do we see? We have one group of sedevacantist clergy condemning another group of sedevacantist clergy. This group, the SSPV, would be worthy of much praise were it not for their erroneous or self-seeking blunder on a most important topic, the validity of the Thuc-line Consecrations (see Open Letter to Bishop Clarence Kelly on the Thuc Bishops).

    Additionally, we have sedevacantist clergy withholding the Eucharist from worthy recipients because they, in good conscience, sometimes attend una cum Benedicto Masses, binding their opinion on a confusing topic. They deny those who seek to nurture their souls with the sanctifying grace received from a worthy reception of the Eucharist, the very Eucharist they crave. How must Christ and His most holy Mother Mary cry for those souls and cry for the souls of the clergy who do the opposite of what they should do with the power that Christ has given them. Talk about burying your talents!

    We have clergy that ignore all legitimate complaints from the laity, who make possible their lavish lifestyles by their generous donations intended for the good of souls. We have clergy without proper or full theological training acting as popes and binding their faulty and malformed teachings on seminarians. It gets worse, but I will spare you the details.

    Then we have Father Markus Ramolla. Father Ramolla entered the seminary as many other well-intentioned young men do only to be confronted with the cultish bureaucracy that many of us lay-people are confronted with. I will not go into details here for too much water has flowed under that bridge in Southern Ohio. What should be said is that in this time when government wants to take over control of the children, parents must be vigilant and that means in parochial schools as well, even traditional parochial schools.

    The spiritual formation of our children is something that will be a primary focus of the Judgment we receive at the end of our lives. Parents who leave their children in the hands of one they know to be abusive or negligent will be held accountable. The spiritual formation of children from birth to adolescence, generally speaking, is ultimately what makes them who they will be in life and puts them on the path which will either lead to the Beatific Vision or will lead to eternal damnation. This statement is not a stretch. The book, "THE CHRISTIAN FATHER, What he should be AND What he should do", from Rev. W. Cramer, copyright 1883, by Holy Cross Publications, is firm Catholic testimony to that fact. (Emphasis in the original)

    For example, parents have the right and duty to make legitimate complaints to the pastor of a parish church about the spiritual well-being of their children in the hands of a principal or any questionable teachers of that parishes' school, and they best be heard. For it would be better for the clergy who would foster anything questionable or scandalous or even to be "neutral" about the spiritual well-being of the children under their care, to have a millstone put about their necks and to be cast into the sea than to ignore such complaints.

    Unfortunately, too many [warranted complaints due to the neglect of the clergy and unwarranted complaints due to the boredom (?) of the laity] complaints have been made over the years and caused dissension and bitterness on all sides. Let us all put the Catholic Faith into practice and see the good that will result. Let us not have vengeance in our hearts (trying to hurt those who hurt us), but rather seek unity of purpose and faith for that is, after all, what true Catholics are all about. After all, as the editor of this publication has said often, "United we pray, divided we are prey!" In this light I would like to apologize to the editor of The Four Marks for any pain I have caused you. I still have such a long way to go before I consistently put my Catholic faith into action as I preach to others to do. Apologizing is good but becoming holy to the point where you never need to apologize is what the Saints are made of.

    Let us remember the epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians for Quinquagesima Sunday for the only way to unite is through charity as the Apostle states, "And now there remain faith, hope and charity, but the greatest of these is charity." Charity can be defined in many ways, but the greatest charity is to want with all your heart the salvation of one's neighbor, whether friend or enemy. One priest who, in my mind, would seem to exhibit this is Fr. Ramolla, who in the face of stiff opposition has remained as charitable as possible. His parish is where my wife and I ache to belong and we plan on moving there as soon as I retire. For now we have to content ourselves with his sermons found on Fr. Ramolla's Sermons. I recommend that everyone systematically go through each and every one of his sermons and benefit from these solid orthodox teachings which focus on such "novel" (I'm being facetious) things as death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell, the Saints and how to live a virtuous life.

    My question to one and all now is why anyone would not promote such a worthy advocate as Father Ramolla? And worse, why would someone print something that would indirectly and falsely put him in a bad light? An advocate that will provide more clergy for the faithful scattered throughout the country, a seminary that faithfully teaches the truth on all things, including what the Catholic Church has always taught on periodic continence, the harvesting of organs from those deemed brain "dead", what not to do when in charge of a Catholic grade school, and why worthy recipients should not be denied the Eucharist. Common sense and basic knowledge back in better times.

    Perhaps it could be said that one who forbids him from being mentioned in a periodical does him no harm. Has anyone watched "Veggie Tales"? I have recently been given some videos of that series. It is Protestant in origin but it is does not have any anti-Catholic poison in it, that I have noticed yet, even covertly. It mainly teaches children to love God, listen to their parents and eat their veggies. The characters in the videos are vegetables themselves so the only danger could be that the children will like vegetables so much that they won't want to "hurt" them by eating them. In one episode it made the claim that "sometimes you can hurt a person by not helping them". It showed the example of someone dropping his lucky fishing pole from an edifice and being unable to retrieve it. Someone happened to walk by and was asked if he could retrieve the fishing pole for the person who dropped it. The person replied by saying he did not have to help. Shortly thereafter the fishing pole was run over and broken.

    Suppose the fishing pole was a walking cane and the person who dropped it was an elderly lady. Do you suppose just leaving it on the ground so the handicapped lady could no longer safely walk would be causing no harm? I would suppose not giving a plug to a heroic traditional clergyman could harm him by depriving him of potential needed donations in which he is most worthy; especially if it is a true priest who provided the sacraments for at least a hundred or so souls and allows them to read trraditional publications of their choice, and will not use the soul-saving Sacraments as a weapon. I could be wrong though I'm not sure how. It is charity to help those who strive to do God's will, just as it is charity to rebuke those who do not show charity, but never personal. Only God is allowed to get personal, and you know He will.

    Also a charitable thing to do is share with others. With Lent upon us, I wanted to share the treasures you'll find in the many sermons by a plethora of sedevacantist priests on a multitude of topics and saints. Thank God for the internet or many of us would still be in the dark. I have grown up in tradition under the pedagogy of those I consider lay giants in the Church today within the sedevacantist movement. People such as John Lane, Michael Cain of the Daily Catholic, Tom Droleskey, Kathleen Plumb of The Four Marks, Griff Ruby of the-pope.com and Mario Derksen. I am a lover of Truth. I asked the above exemplary Catholics, numerous difficult questions and have played devil's advocate to the hilt, getting satisfactory answers to all my questions, on issues related to sedevacantism, and the changes that happened under Pope Pius XII in the later years of his Pontificate. I even learned from the Dimond Brothers, though the greatest learning experience was to know how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

    Rather than digging in and stubbornly holding to a position, I've tried to understand both sides and appreciate where each is coming from. Charity demands it. I would hope others would follow suit and if they must report on any controversy within the traditional movement, have the courtesy to show both sides, or at least to be fair and balanced, as it were. There are several traditional blogs that could improve on their charity, especially in slandering a person's good name. Rather than complaining, let's aprreciate what we do have. Think about where we would be without our traditional clergy. Look how the CMRI has grown under the direction of Bishop Mark Pivarunas, despite everything Satan has thrown at these men in the same vein as Job. Let us look at the countless unselfish priests throughout the traditional landscape who drive hours upon hours and rack up the mileage to bring the sacraments to many and to few in the far regions where Christ is nowhere else to be found in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. For the most part these men, at least the priests, live in poverty scraping what they can to afford the rising cost of fuel to drive long distances or the costs for flying to distant lands to bring the sacraments to those starving for the truth.

    Rather than taking sides, let us be thankful for the wisdom and intelligence of men like Bishop Donald Sanborn, Fr. Kevin Vaillancourt, Bishop Daniel Dolan, Fr. Paul Trinchard S.T.L., Fr. Anthony Cekada, Fr. Louis Campbell, the twin priests Frs. Dominic and Francisco Radecki, and other CMRI priests such as Fr. Benedict Hughes who flies coast to coast to bring the faithful the true sacraments. Mind you that only skims the surface, for there are many more I could mention but fear I might leave someone out. That is never the intention and limited to those who, though I may not know, I know of.

    Let us appreciate the legacy of those who came before us such as Fr. Gommar DePauw, Bishop Pierre Martin Thuc, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Fr. Vincent Micelli, Fr. Denis Chicoine, and Fr. Urban Snyder, again to name a few whom I can remember. Let us cherish our elder statesmen Bishop Robert McKenna. and Fr. Martin Stepanich, OFM, STD and treasure them while they are still here for age and poor health could claim both soon. Let us take advantage of the resources available to us at Traditional Catholic Sermons, which carry the dynamic words of many mentioned above. Let us realize the sacrifices that go into publishing either in print or the internet. Support these publications and organizations. They're not in it for the money. They truly care. I'm speaking of The Four Marks, Christ or Chaos, Catholic Voice, The Resurrection of the Roman Catholic Church, Sedevacantist.com, Reign of Mary and, of course, this publication the DailyCatholic. There are many other sites that are sedevacantist as well as several blogs, but the ones above are the main ones. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the above could all pool their resources into one dynamic medium to reach more souls? Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my, but then again...

    After all, who knows what the Society of St. Pius X will become if Bishop Bernard Fellay goes through with his Judas-like betrayal of the SSPX? Think of those who have left and finally realized the sedevacantists are right. In fact, the body of sedevacantist - though still splintered - could quite possibly represent the largest block of traditional Catholics in the world. No wonder Benedict XVI and his cronies are worried. They should be. Not only because of the defections in the newchurch formed at Vatican II, but because of the day growing closer when they will have to account for their stewardship before the eternal Judge. Not a pretty picture for their chances. Evil may have its day now, but good will triumph as Christ assured with the promise in St. Matthew 16: 18, "the gates of hell shall not prevail" and the words of His Blessed Mother, "in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph."

GOOD COMES OUT OF EVIL

    In this era when respect for authority is disregarded and being virtuous and having values - Christian values, no less, are is considered a weakness and politically incorrect, it's vital that all true Catholics pull together for the sake of saving not only other souls, but their own as well. That begins with charity. When we air dirty laundry, we only play into the devil's hand and open up the possibility of sinning. That in itself should be a deterrent to keep our mouths shut and if we disagree with someone, to express it as charitably as we can.

    Does that mean we shouldn't speak out when we see something that is wrong? No! We must judge a persons words and actions, but never their soul. That is for God alone. Yet, the offenders are quick to reply with the Gospel passage, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Yes, when we're judging their intention, but as I said, words and actions speak volumes and, to use the axiom, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck. You're pretty sure it's a duck and the proof is in the pudding to mix metaphors, so to speak.

    Therefore, we must continue to speak out against heresy and sinful actions while not condemning the person per se. It all comes down to hate the sin, love the sinner. Yes, loving the sinner can be hard, but Jesus never said we had to like them, just love them enough that you want them to be saved and share eternal life.

    So when we point out the terrible apostasy and crimes of men like Joseph Ratzinger or Barack Obama or anyone else in the public eye, it's fair game as long as we don't get personal. Don't attack the man, attack his ideology and prove your point. Without proof, any argument is worthless. With proof, you can prove your point. Even then, charity is a must and pray for that person even if that seems abominable to your own human nature. The greatest charity we can give is to as St. Paul advises in 2 Timothy 4: 2, "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke with all patience and doctrine."

    Of course, that goes for what the Apostle of the Gentiles says next in verse 3-4: "For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: and will turn away indeed their hearing from the truth but will be turned to fables." Does that not sound like Paul's words in 2 Thessalonians 2 above? I had mentioned 3-9, but read 10-11 and you'll see why God allows evil for good: "And in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish: because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe a lie. That all may be judged, who have not believed the truth, but have consented to iniquity."

    Did you get that which is underlined above? That is the answer to why we have The Great Apostasy today and why so many think the current church of Rome is "Catholic." That is the answer as to why virtue is considered vice today and vice is not only tolerated, but encouraged. That is why Marxism and Mohammedanism is fast taking over the world. Will you believe the lie, or will you stand with the few just men and do what is right? Remember the words of St. Augustine that "wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it and right is right even if no one is doing it."

    In the face of such evil, then what shall we do? First of all, take the advice of St. Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2: 14, "Therefore, brethren, stand firm; and hold the traditions which you have learned whether by word or by our epistle" and 2 Timothy 4: 5, "But be thou vigilant, labor in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry. Be sober."

    Excellent advice and something we all as true Catholics - who are called in these times "traditional Catholics" - must do in order to assure that we will fight the good fight and be victorious. That goes for a unity of purpose among the true bishops and a stop to the infighting among priests and organizations. There is no reason those who hold the theological opinion that the Chair is indeed empty (sede vacante) cannot be one in purpose and function. We must be. That means cooperation between the parties for we are one family and though brothers and sisters may fight, when outside forces threaten, there must be a unified front. That can only happen through men of good will who not only strive to remain in the state grace, but strive to be saints. God will have nothing else from those who have been given much and if you are a true Catholic, then you have been given the grace to truly see and should consider yourself among the blessed who have been given much. We all know what Christ said next in St. Luke 12: 48: "And unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required."

    You'll notice Our Lord didn't say 'it'd be nice if you would' but rather "required." As true traditional Catholics we are required to come together as one, we are required to put away our differences, we are required to work together in order to perpetuate the only faith the Son of God instituted. We know a true pope cannot come from the current ranks of "cardinals" because nary is there an eligible or valid candidate per Pope Paul IV's infallible decree Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio. Therefore it's up to us. What will we do with the stewardship entrusted to us in these times?

    We live in a world filled with people that grew up under the cloak of darkness that surrounds us all during this time when Satan has much power. They have not known the Catholic Church before 1958 when the Pope was "taken out of the way" (2 Thess 2: 3 - 8) and the floodgates of immorality opened. They have been given half-truths and lies throughout their lives when it comes to the Faith. Let's face it, those who grew up in better times and had a properly formed conscience made blunders. And we are surprised that those living today have made mistakes? Catholic charity gives those who repent a second chance.

    However, there are certain parameters where we must be firm. Charity is one thing, sexual deviancy is another. There is no room in the true Church for sexual deviants. If there are such, those legitimately thought to be sexual deviants however, must never be ordained, and if they were ordained against the wishes of God and His Church, never allowed to function, apart from hearing Confession in a life and death situation and or administering the Last Rites when no one else is available. Other clergy are not to be associated with them, apart from administering Sacraments to them.

    Sexual deviants must never be given a post where they encounter children. We can and must forgive them and wish their eternal well-being, but the souls of others, apart from a life and death need for the forgiveness of sins before meeting your Maker, when no one else is available, must not be entrusted to their care. The promises of repentance and apparent change in this realm must not lead to the active ministry. This never has been and never can be the policy of the Catholic Church. No small reason for this policy is the addictive nature of these particular sins which can be a hindrance, even for those of good will, to completely conquer their vices when confronted with the near occasion of sin.

    This goes for bishop, priest, religious or laity. We must all strive to support each other and be on the same wave length. In order to do that, we must all remain in the state of sanctifying grace and, as said before, strive for holiness.

VIRTUE IS ITS OWN ETERNAL REWARD

    I tell my little daughters that a good Catholic always does the honorable thing. I have come to the defense of others in my small way, such as Kathleen Plumb, when she and her publication "The Four Marks" were unjustly attacked, though defending her cost me nothing and gained for me a valuable friendship. Defending those who are unjustly attacked, at great cost to ones financial support, as Tom Droleskey has repeatedly done, is the honorable thing. One goal I hope this article accomplishes, apart from singing any unsung heroes, is that it will encourage us to do the right thing in all circumstances as I believe Father Ramolla has done in the face of great resistance. Observing how Father Ramolla went from the possibility of not being able to function as a normal priest and being on the verge of being forced out of the country, to having thriving churches with a flock most loyal to God, show that we can be rewarded for virtue both in time and eternity.

    But as most in the traditional movement will attest, sometimes the reward has to wait until after this life. But what a reward it is! Every deserved good we were denied in this life will be multiplied 100-fold, so long as we die in a state of sanctifying grace. Every seemingly unrewarded good effort will not remain unrewarded. For it is better to be denied now and rewarded in eternity than the reverse. We must hold fast to the Truth no matter the resultant adversity we encounter.

    As I've emphasized, all sedevacantist clergy of good will should be advocates of one another rather than adversaries. At the very least they should be aloof, avoiding all negative public bantering, dragging their trusting flock into their mess. As alluded to earlier, this not alway the case. Since the vast majority of sedevacantist clergy acknowledge the validity of the Thuc-line Consecrations the SSPV has become an entity unto itself; a no salvation outside of us, if you will, at least in regards to being considered worthy for reception of the soul-saving Sacraments. Others consider themselves the only authority in their own domain and stubbornly dig in, dismissing any talk of unity. Still others will have nothing to do with any of the clergy and withdraw into their own caves as "home aloners" even when there is a true Traditional Latin Mass nearby. Quite possibly, without even realizing it, many are going against the grain of unity and this only serves to sow mistrust where each considers themself an expert and to protect their interests, they can tend to conjure up all kinds of excuses that hold no water when push comes to shove. Hearsay and rumor have no place in the traditional movement.

    I take my family life seriously but I welcome any of good will to give their comments, complaints, and especially legitimate corrections on anything I have written at sedevacantistpauliv@gmail.com. I will quickly delete anything that appears to be an emotional tirade but I will carefully read a dispassionate commentary. I do not want to misrepresent the facts. Hell or extra Purgatory ain't worth it. As the founder of this site knows, I am the first to admit when I realize I am wrong and will readily apologize for anything I become convinced deserves and apology. Things would be much smoother in the Church if all the clergy would do the same! I hope and pray that all involved in spreading the Truth have the supernatural gifts of charity and prudence, obtained only while in the state of sanctifying grace, to avoid the controversial issues they have not done their due diligence on or present a fair and balanced account of the truth based upon interviews with all party's involved.

    Souls are at stake here. The truth uncompromised must be spoken after due diligence and the interviewing of all concerned or there must be silence. We need to get along or be silent, at least in the public realm. I beg each and every one of you, in addition to praying the Saint Michael prayer daily, to pray daily for the restoration of the hierarchy and for an end to all division among clergy and among laypeople in the true Catholic Church! We have a common enemy and it is not each other. Let us look at how St. Thomas Aquinas carved up opposition so charitably but definitively. Let us strive to do the same and let us unite to fight the evil one. For it is a war we are in whether we like it or not.

John Gregory

        "Catholics who remain faithful to Tradition, even if they are reduced to but a handful, they are THE TRUE CHURCH"
        Saint Athanasius, "Apostle of Tradition" AD 373





John Gregory's FAITHFUL TO TRADITION Lenten Edition 2012