It's about the doctrine, it always was and remains so!

It's about doctrine.

The Social Kingship of Christ.

Collegiality.

Ecumenism.

There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. 

The Church of Christ IS, the Catholic Church, Christ does not "subsist" in any other. 

Those who may be saved outside of the Church, are saved through Her and cannot ever be known to us and can only be known to God. God is not bound by His sacraments, we are. God can work through anyone, clearly, He works in non-Catholics converts or they would not convert, but no other church is the true Church.

There is no other way. Jesus is the "Way, the Truth and the Life," and "No one comes to the Father," except through Him. Period!

One group at the table is Catholic. One is not.

Communiqué from the General House of the Society of Saint Pius X concerning the Nov. 22, 2018 meeting between Cardinal Ladaria and Fr. Pagliarani

On Thursday, November 22, 2018, Fr. David Pagliarani, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, travelled to Rome at the invitation of Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He was accompanied by Fr. Emmanuel du Chalard. Cardinal Ladaria was assisted by Archbishop Guido Pozzo, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.

The meeting took place in the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Its purpose was to allow Cardinal Ladaria and Fr. Pagliarani to meet for the first time and together to take stock of the relations between the Holy See and the Society of Saint Pius X since the election of its new Superior General last July.

During the meeting with the Roman authorities, it was recalled that the fundamental problem is actually doctrinal, and neither the Society nor Rome can escape this fact. Because of this irreducible doctrinal divergence, for the past seven years, no attempt to compose a draft of a doctrinal statement acceptable to both parties has succeeded. This is why the doctrinal question remains absolutely essential.

The Holy See says the same when it solemnly declares that no canonical status can be established for the Society until after the signing of a doctrinal document.

Therefore, everything impels the Society to resume theological discussions with the awareness that the Good Lord does not necessarily ask the Society to convince its interlocutors, but rather to bear unconditional witness to the faith in the sight of the Church.

The future of the Society is in the hands of Providence and the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, as is demonstrated by its whole history, from the Society's foundation to this day.

The members of the Society want nothing else but to serve the Church and to cooperate effectively in her regeneration, to the point of giving their lives for her triumph if necessary. But they can choose neither the manner, nor the terms, nor the moment of what belongs to God alone.

Menzingen, November 23, 2018

The words of Paul himself condemn today's Shepherds

If the Apostle Paul were alive today and preaching in the Catholic Church, he would be called out as an anti-Semite, as a Pharisee and as rigid, pre-Vatican II fundamentalist devoid of memory, dialogue and encounter.


In the Office of Matins for the Second Sunday after Easter, we read a goodly amount from the Book of Acts.


If Judaism is still alive, if there is a dual covenant, where are their Prophets today? Where are the Jewish sages and mystics calling for the imminent arrival of the real Messiah, as opposed to some old rabbi on a billboard? Where is their temple?

Paul, was asked to give "exhortations" by the leading Jews of Antioch. He did not fail.

Judaism is dead and some day the Lord will hold to account those hirelings who allowed his original Chosen People to die in the darkness devoid of the True Light which enlighteneth the world.

Woe to those who are no more than hirelings.

Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles

Acts 13:13-33

13 Now when Paul and they that were with him had sailed from Paphos, they came to Perge in Pamphylia. And John departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

14 But they passing through Perge, came to Antioch in Pisidia: and entering into the synagogue on the sabbath day, they sat down.

15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying: Ye men, brethren, if you have any word of exhortation to make to the people, speak.

16 Then Paul rising up, and with his hand bespeaking silence, said: Ye men of Israel, and you that fear God, give ear.

17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they were sojourners in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought them out from thence,

18 And for the space of forty years endured their manners in the desert.

19 And destroying seven nations in the land of Chanaan, divided their land among them, by lot,

20 As it were, after four hundred and fifty years: and after these things, he gave unto them judges, until Samuel the prophet.

21 And after that they desired a king: and God gave them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, forty years.

22 And when he had removed him, he raised them up David to be king: to whom giving testimony, he said: I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills.

23 Of this man's seed God according to his promise, hath raised up to Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

24 John first preaching, before his coming, the baptism of penance to all the people of Israel.

25 And when John was fulfilling his course, he said: I am not he, whom you think me to be: but behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.

26 Men, brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you fear God, to you the word of this salvation is sent.

27 For they that inhabited Jerusalem, and the rulers thereof, not knowing him, nor the voices of the prophets, which are read every sabbath, judging him have fulfilled them.

28 And finding no cause of death in him, they desired of Pilate, that they might kill him.

29 And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, taking him down from the tree, they laid him in a sepulchre.

30 But God raised him up from the dead the third day:

31 Who was seen for many days, by them who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who to this present are his witnesses to the people.

32 And we declare unto you, that the promise which was made to our fathers,

33 This same God hath fulfilled to our children, raising up Jesus, as in the second psalm also is written: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

V. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.

R. Thanks be to God.

R. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the Book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

* Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

V. Worthy is the Lamb That was slain to receive power, and riches, in wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.

R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Congratulations Vatican II

Rorate has a table of statistics for the United States. As a Canadian, if anyone out there has anything similar for Canada, please advise.

The originals can be found here:

http://cara.georgetown.edu/frequently-requested-church-statistics/

Father Hunwicke writes today about Newman, Liberalism and the Antichrist. Newman prophetically saw our time. 

http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.ca/2016/10/newman-and-liberalism-and-spirit-of.html

Ponder these.

The next time Tom Rosica praises Vatican II, throw these facts up to him. 

The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I have asked other rhetorically, "what good has come from Vatican II?" 

Please, if anything good has come from that rotten Council and the men behind it, do advise. 

We are being punished. Vatican II IS the problem. Do not lose your Faith!

From Mundabor.

"If Francis were to die tomorrow, and were to be replaced by a “safe V II” Pope, what would be the consequence? What would a hypothetical JP III do that would prevent, one day, the election of a Francis II? Nothing, absolutely nothing! We would have more V II rubbish; which, in time, would unavoidably lead to the appointment of a faithless, lewd old man like Francis. A new, “moderate” V II Pope would mean more World Youth Day, more Assisi gatherings, more ecumenism, more pacifism, more search for easy popularity, more Korans thankfully accepted as gift, more pope concerts and mega-masses, more watering down of truth, more of all we have seen from John XXIII until 2013. The slippery slope that begins with a John XXIII must perforce end with a Francis, or worse. 

No, I don't think the Lord will save us from the worst. It seems to me that this is not God's plan. It seems to me that the savage arrogance of V II must now be paid in full. It seems to me, in other words, that the absolutely lunatic times the Evil Clown is preparing for us are allowed by God to show us the utter lunacy of the rebellion of V II. Unless we are made to eat all the excrements that Francis and, very probably, his successors will dish us we will never understand the monstrosity of Vatican II in the first place."

Read it all.

https://mundabor.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/faith-in-the-time-of-cardinal-cupich/

The Popes have been wrong and so was the Council

Originally published on February 15, 2015

Has the Church's pastoral advice since Vatican II been wrong on Islam? That is a provocative question for a faithful Catholic to ask.  

All revelation ended with the death of the last apostle, Saint John the Evangelist. To say otherwise is heresy. Muslims believe the Gospels were corrupted and that Jesus was a Muslim, himself.

We can't both be right. 

There is no convergence, there is certainly no "Chrislam," as some deceived "Christians" and one-world religion globalists would like to see. This is not only heresy, but real and true blasphemy.

The Second Vatican Council and the Popes since, have confused the faithful in the message that they have sent in the desire for what is dialogue and a false oecumenism. They have allowed millions of souls to perish into Hell -- souls of our Muslim brothers and sisters lost forever to the father of lies who spawned their founder. He was no prophet but a scheming, lecherous, murderous, thief, rapist and child-molester. 

Our last three popes have prayed in a mosque or invited prayer with their religious leaders. The current Bishop of Rome even invited an Imam to pray in the Vatican. It is a blasphemy and a sin against the First Commandment.   

According to current Church thinking, Muslims "profess" the God of Abraham. They have at best a warped and severely distorted view of God. They deny the Blessed Trinity and vehemently so, it is one of the fundamental issues between us and they are explicit about this. They deny the divinity of Christ and His Sonship. They deny his crucifixion and his resurrection and the apostles and their followers were all liars. It has its roots in Arianism.

Yet at the same time, they believe that Jesus is the Messiah who will come again, not to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords but to usher in the "Mahdi" and then be subservient to him, destroy crosses (churches), wipe-out swine, end the jizya (murder Christians) and tell all Christians that he himself, Jesus, is a Muslim and then command us to follow the Mahdi and those that refuse to submit (which is what Islam means) will be killed. This is Islamic eschatology friends. 

Does this not sound like the Antichrist himself spoken of in the Apocalypse of St. John with worship directed to him by another? Does he not come on the scene amidst strife and unify to rule over the whole earth? Is worship of him not directed by another? Islam is from Hell friends, notwithstanding Vatican II and the non-doctrinal, non-dogmatic and non-magisterial actions of our recent popes.  This is the religion of Islam that the Catholic Church's popes pray with and dialogue with. Am I crazy to think this or are they for doing what they do?

Have you wondered about the coming together of the radical left, Islamo-fascist and lately? 

Even though they hate each other, they hate the Church more and they think that after they wipe out the Church and the Jews, then one will prevail and wipe the other out.

The world is burning with rage and it is going to get worse. The Catholic Church, the creation of Our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world has lost its way. Until we return to "preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified" no matter what the price, the world will not find its way and people will die and souls will be lost. 

All Muslim need to come to Jesus and His Church.

Are all Muslims evil or terrorists? Of course not; but they are deceived. There are 1.5 billion in the world, about the same number as Catholics. How many need to believe in violence and murder and jihad and the Mahdi to cause mayhem? Give me a percentage? Ten, twenty, fifty per-cent? How many are "moderate" whatever that means. Look, if 1% of Muslims are radical and believe in sharia and jihad that is 15,000,000 people. One per cent!

Think about that number for a second.

Let us bombard the Most Blessed Trinity to grant us Our Blessed Mother's protection and the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. The errors of Russia have spread to the Church and the West, they have infiltrated the highest offices in both, the smoke is thick with sulphur and the prowling is underway. We cannot evangelise our lost brothers and sister in Islam because we have been weakened by heresy and apostasy. Only by heavenly grace poured out on a united Christianity renewed and reborn in both East and West can we shine the Light of Christ upon them.

Can Our Blessed Mother who appeared at Fatima (a name loved by our Muslim brethren) who love her own name of Maryam spoken of eloquently in their book, the Koran, want them lost forever? She has appeared not only at Fatima but in Zeitoun n Egypt approved by the Church there; and some think she is now appearing in Mosul. Make no mistake, all of these things are intricately connected. Fatima and Russia, Russia and Islam, Putin and Ukraine and these butchers in black. It is all connected and there is only one answer and the answer is Jesus Christ. 

The Consecration of Russia has not happened. The action of it by the Pope in unity with all the bishops of the world will bring forth from heaven grace and power unseen in all history and there will be peace and a renewed Church. Remember, Our Lady said it will be done, but unlike the failure to consecrate France to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, it will not be "too late" but only "late." When it happens, the Church will mourn for what it did not do. For the millions of lives lost on earth and souls lost to heaven. It will do penance for it and we will look back and see what could have been prevented.

It is time for the bishops and cardinals and the pope himself to wake up from this error which has been spread through the Bride of Christ.

The time is short.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Vox.

* * * 

William Kilpatrick taught for many years at Boston College. He is the author of several books about cultural and religious issues, including Psychological Seduction; Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right From Wrong; and Christianity, Islam and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West. He is also the author of a new book entitled Insecurity. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Catholic World Report, National Catholic Register, Aleteia, Saint Austin Review, Investor’s Business Daily, and FrontPage Magazine. His work is supported in part by the Shillman Foundation.

He has written three essay for Crisis Magazine and they deserve to be read, absorbed and distributed widely.


NEEDED: A NEW CHURCH POLICY TOWARDS ISLAM
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3

Another article to read and writer to follow is Raymond Ibrahim. Here I recommend, The True History of Christianity and Islam.

Raymond Ibrahim is a Middle East and Islam specialist and author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians (2013) and The Al Qaeda Reader (2007). His writings have appeared in a variety of media, including the Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst, Middle East Quarterly, World Almanac of Islamism, and Chronicle of Higher Education; he has appeared on MSNBC, Fox News, C-SPAN, PBS, Reuters, Al-Jazeera, NPR, Blaze TV, and CBN. Ibrahim regularly speaks publicly, briefs governmental agencies, provides expert testimony for Islam-related lawsuits, and testifies before Congress. He is a Shillman Fellow, David Horowitz Freedom Center; a CBN News contributor; a Media Fellow, Hoover Institution (2013); and a Judith Friedman Rosen Writing Fellow, Middle East Forum . Ibrahim’s dual-background -- born and raised in the U.S. by Coptic Egyptian parents born and raised in the Middle East -- has provided him with unique advantages, from equal fluency in English and Arabic, to an equal understanding of the Western and Middle Eastern mindsets, positioning him to explain the latter to the former.

“If I did not believe God, I would be convinced that the Catholic Church was about to end.” —Mgr. Joseph C. Fenton on Vatican II, Nov. 23, 1962

Until yesterday, I had not heard of Msgr. Joseph Fenton. You may not have either. 

Some day, the truth about what happened in 1958 will come out, just as it will of 2013. We must admit, something dark descended upon Holy Mother Church at the time following Pius XII. Fatima was not followed, chaos and manipulations occurred before, during and after the Second Vatican Council continuing to this very day. The Church is in crisis, the faith is in collapse in many places of the world. Can it all be just a coincidence?

These diaries, by Msgr. Fenton, give an insider's view as to the first impressions of a man who was there. One of America's, periti.

They are only one man's opinion, but when viewed now, a half century later, they are a severe indictment of that whole period. 

The web page below has the entire diary available on PDF. Suffice to say, I do not agree with the general notion of sedevacantism, however; these are our Catholic brothers and sisters.

http://www.novusordowatch.org/wire/diaries-msgr-joseph-fenton.htm

1960 

“Our Maltese friend (who was born in Alexandria) told us that he saw Spelly [Cardinal Francis Spellman] coming out of the [1958] conclave looking white and shaken.” (Nov. 2, 1960) 

1962

“These are four propositions handed to me under the SHO by the then Laodicea in Phrygia 11/28/54. They were also delivered to [Fr.] Frank Connell… There has never been anything less effective in the Church than a secret condemnation of an error.” (Mar. 16, 1962)

“He [Cardinal Ottaviani] remarked that we were on the eve of the Council, and that no one knew who the Council’s theologians were to be.” (Sept. 28, 1962)

“It is a crime that we did not take the Anti-Modernist Oath. Poor O[ttaviani] must have failed to have our own profession passed by the central commission. It contained his condemnation of [Fr. John Courtney] Murray.” (Oct. 9, 1962)

“I had always thought that this council was dangerous. It was started for no sufficient reason. There was too much talk about what it was supposed to accomplish. Now I am afraid that real trouble is on the way.” (Oct. 13, 1962)

“I started to read the material on the Liturgy, and I was shocked at the bad theology. They actually have been stupid enough [to say] that the Church is ‘simul humanam et divininam, visibilem et invisibilem’ [at the same time human and divine, visible and invisible]. And they speak of the Church working ‘quousque unum ovile fiat et unus pastor’ [until there be one fold and one shepherd], as if that condition were not already achieved.” (Oct. 19, 1962)

“I do not think that any little work on our part is going to bring good to the Church. We should, I believe, face the facts. Since the death of [Pope] St. Pius X the Church has been directed by weak and liberal popes, who have flooded the hierarchy with unworthy and stupid men. This present conciliar set-up makes this all the more apparent. [Fr.] Ed Hanahoe, the only intelligent and faithful member of [Cardinal] Bea’s secretariat has been left off the list of the periti. Such idiots as [Mgr. John S.] Quinn and the sneak [Fr. Frederick] McManus have been put on. [Fr. George] Tavard is there as an American, God help us. From surface appearance it would seem that the Lord Christ is abandoning His Church. The thoughts of many are being revealed. As one priest used to say, to excuse his own liberalism, which, in the bottom of his heart he knew was wrong, ‘for the last few decades the tendency in Rome has been to favor the liberals.’ That is the policy now. We can only do what we can to overt an ever more complete disloyalty to Christ.” (Oct. 19, 1962)

“As far as I can see the Church is going to be very badly hurt by this council. The opposition between the liberals and the loyal Catholics has been brought out into the open. Yesterday a Dutch (Holland) bishop gave a nasty talk in which he claimed to be speaking for all of his countrymen. He charged that the claims (really statements of fact) about theological imperfection in the schema were ‘exaggerated.’ The poor fellow seemed to imagine that a little lack of precision is all right in a conciliar document. I am disgusted with talk of this kind.” (Oct. 27, 1962)

“The sense or feeling of this gathering seems to be entirely liberal. I am anxious to get home. I am afraid that there is nothing at all that I can do here. Being in the council is, of course, the great experience of my life. But, at the same time, it has been a frightful disappointment. I never thought that the episcopate was so liberal. This is going to mark the end of the Catholic religion as we have known it. There will be vernacular Masses, and, worse still, there will be some wretched theology in the constitutions.” (Oct. 31, 1962)“[Fr. Sebastiaan] Tromp has just pointed out that a pastoral council should not be non-doctrinal. Tromp is being very good. He is defending the schemata. He definitely is not giving a break to the opposition. We are hearing history. What is the theological note of what is contained in the theological or doctrinal constitution? Absolutely certain — at least.” (Nov. 13, 1962)

“At the Pope’s own order the rules were changed and the schema was thrown out. A new commission was set up including Cardinal Meyer, Alfrink, and Lienart.” (Nov. 23, 1962)“They plan to leave off this television nonsense in a day or two, and then take up the Church Unity then. That will be a disaster. If I did not believe God, I would be convinced that the Catholic Church was about to end.” (Nov. 23, 1962)

“...some other people believe what I have thought for several months, namely, that John XXIII is definitely a lefty. This nonsense to the effect that he is ‘deceived’ or ‘mal servite’ is disgraceful. He is the boss.” (Nov. 25, 1962)

“The articles in the Milan Corriere della Sera tell of the Pope’s connection with [the excommunicated Modernist priest Fr. Ernesto] Buonaiuti, and they make him look like a real Modernist, at heart. He probably is.” (Nov. 26, 1962) 

1963

“I am afraid that they are going to foist a lot of nonsense on the poor Catholic people.” (Mar. 6, 1963)

“Liberal Catholicism as understood by these men was and is the system of thought by which the teaching of the Catholic Church were represented as compatible with the maxim that guided the French Revolution.” (May 11, 1963)

“The statement of the Council is not a theological text book. At the same time, however, a declaration by a council can cause confusion or finally can actually be harmful when even though there is no error about faith or morals in it, the statement passes over Truths which are, and which have long been generally been recognized as, assertions of Catholic doctrine.” (May 11, 1963)

“[Fr.] Ed Hanahoe gave me two books on Modernism. In one of them I found evidence that the teaching in the first chapter of the new schema on the Church [the one that became the Vatican II dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium] and the language are those of [the excommunicated Modernist Fr. George] Tyrrell. May God preserve His Church from that chapter. If it passes, it will be a great evil. I must pray and act.” (Sept. 24, 1963) 

1964

“There is nothing erroneous in the material [in the schema on divine revelation] we have passed. But there is a great deal that is incomplete and misleading.” (June 4, 1964)

“M [Fr. John Courtney Murray] has just come in to see the triumph of his false doctrine [of religious liberty].” (Sept. 21, 1964)

“[Cardinal] Lienart is speaking. He is insisting that all Christians have the Jews as a common source. He ignores the fact that the religion of Israel and Juda before the public life [of Christ] was one thing, and past. Christian Judaism is quite another. The center of Jewish religion after Christ is and has been the denial of Christ.” (Sept. 28, 1964)

“The more I hear of the speeches and of the progressiveness, the more I am aware of the fact that this council is one of the most important events in all the history of the Church.” (Oct. 9, 1964)

“[Mgr.] Joseph Quinn just told me that the H.O. [Holy Office] is being abolished and that Card. Ottaviani will not be the head of the new, non-supreme, congregation which will take its place. The old man is being humiliated. He is a saint.” (Nov. 21, 1964) 

1965

“The part on ecumenism [in the text of the commission] is a joke. It reads like a 19th century text, or a second-rate article in a leftist magazine.” (Oct. 28, 1965)

“The day before yesterday I had dinner with O [Cardinal Ottaviani]. On the way back I found that the Pope had written to O about [schema no.] 13. I saw the letter. It was a great mistake to let that one, the one on religious liberty [which became Dignitatis Humanae], and the one on non-Christian religions [which became Nostra Aetate] get by the council.” (Nov. 26, 1965) 

1966-69

“This afternoon John McCarthy called. He is a believer, and he has some confidence in Montini [Paul VI]. He told me that O[ttaviani] has written some articles entirely revising his old position. It must have been under pressure from Montini.” (Sept. 24, 1966)

“I have just about made up my mind to start a new book. I shall write on the notion of the Church. Nothing like this has appeared since the Council. Within the book I hope to have quite a bit to say about the Council. I must be very careful. If a sincere Catholic writes a book it’s either ignored or brutally attacked. I must make no mistakes. My main thesis will have to be that the Catholic theology on the Church has been improved but in no way changed by the Council. I must start with the basic notion of the Church, which is that of a people ‘transferred’ from the kingdom of darkness into the realm of light. The Council left out the background of the Church. It minimized or glossed over the fact that the Church faces opposition, not just from hostile individuals, but from the ‘world.’” (Nov. 23, 1968)

“Thoughts for writing: 1) The ‘for all men’ [as an English translation of pro multis in the canon of the Mass]; 2) Perjury & the Anti-Modernist Oath; 3) Only the historian can judge heresy – a statement by a pretender in the field of theology.” (Mar. 27, 1969)

Ember Saturday of Advent

A few years ago, I was to assist in Schola for a Rorate Mass scheduled for the Saturday after Gaudete. Both the pastor and myself totally forgot the rest of the calendar and after it was scheduled and promoted, we realised that it could not be done as it fell on the Ember Saturday, a day of higher rank with its own dedicated liturgy. We went ahead with the candle light Mass at 5:30AM but read and chanted the Ember Saturday liturgy. The chants for this Mass are little known but are some of the most beautiful in the Liber. The Graduals are all from Mode II, similar to the Absolve of the Requiem Mass as here. One can thank the composer of this Mass that he had mercy on the singers given the number of chants and the difficulty of different modes for each one. As beautiful as these are, the Hymn, or Canticle of the Three Children comes right out of the reading, similar to how the Sanctus flows from the "dicentes" of the Preface.

The Ember Days have been lost in the new calendar but interestingly, they are in the new Ordinariate Missal. The Embers occur four time per year. Perhaps, this is a recognition by the Church that the reform of Paul VI was in fact, a disaster that we can see corrected in the near future, as far as the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is concerned. When you read below the text of today's liturgy, it should bring home all the more the evil these men did in their destruction of the liturgy. When you sing it as I did a few years ago, you will realise it even more. 

Meanwhile, I shall shun the reformed as often as possible and attend the traditional Roman Rite where one does not have to live a life of liturgical regret for what these malefactors did to our liturgical life; and if you like the Japanese delicacy, tempura, thank the Church for Her ancient liturgy.

What are the Ember days?

The Ember days are true Catholic tradition dating actually dating back to the Apostles, (Pope Leo The Great claims it was instituted by the Apostles).  Pope Callistus (217-222) in the “Liber Pontificalis” has laws ordering all to observe a fast three times a year to counteract the hedonistic and pagan Roman rites praying for:

-a good harvest (June),

-a good vintage (September),

-a good seeding in December.

By the time of Pope Gelasius, (492-496), he already writes about there being four times a years, including Spring.  He also permitted the conferring of priesthood and deaconship on the Saturdays of Ember week.  This practice was mostly celebrated around Rome, from Pope Gelasius’ time, they began to spread throughout the Church.

St. Augustin brought them to England and the Carolingians into Gaul and Germany.  In the eleventh century, Spain adopted them.

It was not until Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085), that these Ember days were prescribed for the whole Catholic Church as days of fast and abstinence.  He placed these “four mini Lents” consisting of three days; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday:

-after St. Lucy’s Feast Dec. 13,

-after Ash Wednesday,

-following Whitsunday, (Pentecost),

-and after Sept. 14, the Exaltation of the Cross.

The purpose of these “mini Lents” were to pray, fast and to thank God for the gifts He gives us through nature.  They follow the four seasons of the year with the beauty and uniqueness of each particular season.   They are here for us to teach us to use, with moderation, what God gives us through nature, and to also share these gifts with the poor.

Traditionally, these are the days on which priests were ordained.

The Ember Saturday Liturgy

INTROIT ¤ Ps. 79. 4, 2

Come, O Lord, and show us Thy face, Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim: and we shall be saved. -- (Ps. 79. 2). Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. V.: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Come, O Lord, and show us Thy face, Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim: and we shall be saved.

COLLECT

Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.

O God, who seest that we are afflicted because of our iniquity, mercifully grant that we may be conforted by Thy visitation. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

LESSON ¤ Isaias 19. 20-22

Lesson from the Book of the Prophet Isaias.

[God will send a Redeemer and a Defender to deliver our souls.]

In those days they shall cry to the Lord because of the oppressor, and He shall send them a Savior and a defender to deliver them. And the Lord shall be known by Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall worship Him with sacrifices and offerings: and they shall make vows to the Lord and perform them. And the Lord shall stike Egypt with a scourge, and shall heal it: and they shall return to the Lord, and He shall be pacified towards them, and the Lord our God shall heal them.

GRADUAL ¤ Ps. 18. 7, 2

His going out is from the end of heaven: and His circuit even to the end thereof. V.: The heavens show forth the glory of God: and the firmament declareth the work of His hands.

COLLECT

Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who are bowed down by our old bondage under the yoke of sin, may be freed by the new Birth of Thine only begotten Son, for which we look. Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

LESSON ¤ Isaias 35. 1, 7

Lesson from the Book of the Prophet Isaias.

[God Himself will come and will save you.]

Thus saith the Lord: The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice and shall flourish like the lily. It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanius is given to it: the beauty of Carmel, and Saron, they shall see the glory of the Lord and the beauty of our God. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees. Say to the faint hearted: Take courage, and fear not. Behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: God Himself will come and will save you. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free: for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness. And that which was dry land shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: saith the Lord almighty.

GRADUAL ¤ Ps. 18. 6, 7

He hath set His tabernacle in the sun: and He is as a bridegroom coming out of His bridechamber. V.: His going out is from the end of heaven: and His circuit even to the end thereof.

COLLECT

Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.

We beseech Thee, O Lord, gladden by the coming of Thine only-begotten Son, us Thine unworthy servants, who are made sorrowful by the guilt of our own deeds. Who liveth and reigneth, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

LESSON ¤ Isaias 40. 9-11

Lesson from the Book of the Prophet Isaias.

[Behold your God. The Lord God shall come with strength, and His arm shall rule: behold His reward is with Him, and His work is before Him.]

Thus saith the Lord: Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God: behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and His arm shall rule: behold His reward is with Him, and His work is before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather together the lambs with His arm, and shall take them up in His bosom, the Lord our God.

GRADUAL ¤ Ps. 79. 20, 3

O Lord God of hosts, convert us: and show Thy face, and we shall be saved. V.: Stir up Thy might, O Lord, and come to save us.

COLLECT

Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the coming solemnity of Thy Son, may both bestow upon us healing in this present life and grant to us rewards in the life to come. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

LESSON ¤ Isaias 45. 1-8

Lesson from the Book of the Prophet Isaias.

["Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above and let the clouds rain the Just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior."]

Thus saith the Lord to my anointed Cyrus: whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue nations before his face, and to turn the backs of kings, and to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee: and will humble the great ones of the earth: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, adn will burst the bars of iron. And I will give thee hidden treasures and the concealed riches of secret places: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel. For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My elect, I have even called Thee by thy name: I have made a likeness of thee, and thou hast not known Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else: there is no God besides Me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known Me: that they may know who are from the rising of the sun, and they who are from the west, that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else: I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil: I, the Lord, that do all these things. Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior: and let justice spring up together: I the Lord have created Him.

GRADUAL ¤ Ps. 79. 3, 2

Stir up Thy might, O Lord, and come to save us. V.: Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep: Thou that sittest upon the Cherubims, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses.

COLLECT

Priest: Let us pray. Deacon: Let us kneel. Subdeacon: Arise.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the prayers of Thy people: that we who are justly afflicted for our sins may be conforted by the visitation of Thy loving kindness. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

LESSON ¤ Daniel 3. 47-51

Lesson from the Book of the Prophet Daniel.

[Azarias and his companions in the fiery furnace: the Angel of the Lord drove forth the flame of fire. With one mouth they praised, glorified and blessed God.]

In those days the Angel of the Lord went down with Azarias and his companions into the furnace: and he drove the flame of the fire out of the furnace, and made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind bringing dew. And the flame mounted up above the furnace nine and forty cubits: and it broke forth, and burnt such of the Chaldeans as it found near the furnace, the king's servants that heated it. And the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them nor did them any harm. Then these three as with one mouth praised and glorified and blessed God in the furnace, saying:

HYMN ¤ Daniel 3. 52-56

Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.           

And blessed is the name of Thy glory, which is holy: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.      

Blessed art Thou in the holy temple of Thy glory: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.            

Blessed art Thou on the holy throne of Thy kingdom: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.    

Blessed art Thou upon the sceptre of Thy divinity: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.          

Blessed art Thou that sittest upon the Cherubims, beholding the depths: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.               

Blessed art Thou that walkest upon the wings of the wind, and on the waves of the sea: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.            

Let all Thy Angels and Saints bless Thee: and praise Thee and glorify Thee for ever.         

Let the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the things that are in them, bless Thee: and praise Thee and glorify Thee for ever.    

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, who is worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.            

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.    

Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers: and worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.

COLLECT

O God, who didst deaden the flames of fire for the three children: mercifully grant that the flame of vice may not consume us Thy servants. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

EPISTLE ¤ II Thess. 2. 1-8

Lesson from the second Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians.

[Let us prepare for the near approach of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, and for the coming of our Judge.]

Brethren, We beseech you by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together unto Him: that you be not easily moved from your sense, nor be terrified, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand. 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 showing 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 who now holdeth do hold, until he be taken out of the way. And then 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.

TRACT ¤ Ps. 79. 2, 3

Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. V.: Thou that sittest upon the Cherubims, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses. V.: Stir up Thy might, O Lord, and come and save us.

GOSPEL ¤ Luke 3. 1-6

† Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Iturea and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina, under the high priests Annas and Caiphas: the word of the Lord was made unto John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins, as it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make straight His paths: every valley shall be filled; and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

OFFERTORY ¤ Zacharias 9. 9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King will come to thee, the holy and Savior.

SECRET

O Lord, we beseech Thee, look down favorably upon these present Sacrifices: that they may profit us both unto devotion and salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

PREFACE

The Common Preface

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God, through Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with them, we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted, while we say in lowly praise: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus…

COMMUNION ¤ Ps. 18. 6, 7

He hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way: His going out is from the end of heaven, and His circuit even to the end thereof.

POSTCOMMUNION

We beseech Thee, O Lord, our God, that the most holy Mysteries, which Thou hast given us for a safeguard of our renewal, may become our remedy both now and for time to come. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

Was Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre right?

Quaeritur: I don't publish all comments; but why does any defense of this man and result in such vehement insults?

Well, well, well. How is it possible that it has taken over 50 years to come discover this little ditty from Rorate Caeli blog.

Gaudium et Spes 24: 'Quapropter dilectio Dei et proximi primum et maximum mandatum est.'

For non-Latinists, this claim (it is a complete sentence in the conciliar document) can be translated as follows: 'For love of God and of neighbour is the first and greatest commandment'. No Latin is needed to realise that this is a flat contradiction of the teaching of Christ. There is a deliberate allusion in Gaudium et Spes 24 to the wording of the divine teaching it is contradicting, as can be seen from looking at the Vulgate text of that teaching:

Matthew 22:35-39: "Et interrogavit eum unus ex eis legis doctor, temptans eum; 'Magister, quod est mandatum magnum in lege? Ait illi Iesus: 'diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et in tota anima tua, et in tota mente tua. Hoc est maximum et primum mandatum. Secundum autem simile est huic: diliges proximum tuum, sicut teipsum.'"

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre said:

"All the dogmatic councils have given us the exact expression of Tradition, the exact expression of what the Apostles taught. Tradition is irreformable. One can never change the decrees of the Council of Trent, because they are infallible, written and published by an official act of the Church, unlike those of Vatican II, which pronouncements are not infallible because the popes did not wish to commit their infallibility.  Therefore nobody can say to you, "You are clinging to the past, you have stayed with the Council of Trent." For the Council of Trent is not the past. Tradition is clothed with a timeless character, adapted to all times and all places." 

He later made famous the phrase, "Timebombs" when referring to the Councils documents.

Perhaps the Archbishop was not so wrong in his assessment of the situation. That statement in Gaudium et Spes clearly and unequivocally contradicts Sacred Scripture.  I admit to missing it, clearly; millions of others with great degrees and letters after their names and much more qualified than I, missed it too.

Or did they?