“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, 'You are mad; you are not like us.” ― St. Antony the Great
As this post appears at 7:00 P.M EST. our Schola has begun the singing of this Introit.
If we do not glory in Christ and His cross, then in what do we glory? In what do we put our faith and trust? Do we put it in global organisations who promote the opposite of Catholic belief, from population control, abortion and environmental-fascism? Do we glory in the powerful and rich celebrities who use their money to gain access, even in the Church? Do we glory in prelates and popes who have failed to hold fast to tradition and who dismiss doctrine for some pastoral expediency that is not of Christ but is of the world? Do we glory in putting "our trust in princes" when the Psalmist tells us no to? Do we go dare contradict the Apostle of Rome, Paul, who challenges us to put away the things of a child and to glory only in the "cross of our Lord Jesus Christ?" When will the Catholic faithful rise up and stand for Christ rather than go along with those men who seek the praise of the world? At the end of the Holy Thursday Sacrifice of the Mass and procession, the Altar is stripped. The priests dressed in albs strip the altar as Christ was stripped, the Schola chants Deus, Deus meus. And I dare say that most people tonight, even Catholics, are in bars celebrating an early long weekend while Christ is stripped and longs for us to visit him. Una hora.
The Office of Matins and Lauds this morning, according to the Divine Office prior to the debased modernist Liturgy of the Hours, is what is known as "Tenebrae." While it is now (since 1955), read or sung at the normal times of early morning, it was prior anticipated. Therefore, Matins and Lauds of Holy Thursday occurred on Wednesday night, after Vespers, and so on. The word "tenebrae" is from the Latin for shadows. A hearse, a candelabra, was placed in the centre of the sanctuary, The candles were extinguished one by one after each psalm and reading until only one remained, the Christ Candle which was then removed to a place behind the altar where only shadows were cast, from it. The choir would then bang their feet or pound their stalls in a great noise signifying the chaos of the universe at the betrayal and death of the Lord. At the top right is a tab link to the "Divine Office," where I encourage you to go and and explore. The Readings today are profound. They are indeed also prophetic. Not only for the days of evil which came upon Our Blessed Lord, but as one reads and prays them, one realizes that they are speaking to us, today. The very conditions of the Church today echo the Prophet Jeremias' Lamentations, St. Augustine's Treatise defines the traitors of then and now and St. Paul's Letter makes clear the condemnations that are now dismissed as meaningless.
Reading 1
Lesson from the book of Lamentations
Lam 1:1-5
1 Aleph. How doth the city sit solitary that was full of
people! how is the mistress of the Gentiles become as a widow: the princes of
provinces made tributary!
2 Beth. Weeping she hath wept in the night, and her tears
are on her cheeks: there is none to comfort her among all them that were dear
to her: all her friends have despised her, and are become her enemies.
3 Ghimel. Juda hath removed her dwelling place because of
her affliction, and the greatness of her bondage: she hath dwelt among the
nations, and she hath found no rest: all her persecutors have taken her in the
midst of straits.
4 Daleth. The ways of Sion mourn, because there are none
that come to the solemn feast: all her gates are broken down: her priests sigh:
her virgins are in affliction, and she is oppressed with bitterness.
5 He. Her adversaries are become her lords, her enemies are
enriched: because the Lord hath spoken against her for the multitude of her
iniquities: her children are led into captivity: before the face of the
oppressor.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord thy God.
R. At the Mount of Olives He prayed unto the Father: O My
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me!
* The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
V. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.
R. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Reading 2
Lam 1:6-9
6 Vau. And from the daughter of Sion all her beauty is
departed: her princes are become like rams that find no pastures: and they are
gone away without strength before the face of the pursuer.
7 Zain. Jerusalem hath remembered the days of her
affliction, and prevarication of all her desirable things which she had from
the days of old, when her people fell in the enemy's hand, and there was no
helper: the enemies have seen her, and have mocked at her sabbaths.
8 Heth. Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore is she
become unstable: all that honoured her have despised her, because they have
seen her shame: but she sighed and turned backward.
9 Teth. Her filthiness is on her feet, and she hath not
remembered her end: she is wonderfully cast down, not having a comforter:
behold, O Lord, my affliction, because the enemy is lifted up.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord thy God.
R. My Soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye
here and watch with me
* Yet a little while, and ye shall see the multitude close
Me in. Ye shall flee; and I will go to be offered a sacrifice for you.
V. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed
into the hands of sinners.
R. Ye shall flee; and I will go to be offered a sacrifice
for you.
Reading 3
Lam 1:10-14
10 Jod. The enemy hath put out his hand to all her desirable
things: for she hath seen the Gentiles enter into her sanctuary, of whom thou
gavest commandment that they should not enter into thy church.
11 Caph. All her people sigh, they seek bread: they have
given all their precious things for food to relieve the soul: see, O Lord, and
consider, for I am become vile.
12 Lamed. O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if
there be any sorrow like to my sorrow: for he hath made a vintage of me, as the
Lord spoke in the day of his fierce anger.
13 Mem. From above he hath sent fire into my bones, and hath
chastised me: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath
made me desolate, wasted with sorrow all the day long.
14 Nun. The yoke of my iniquities hath watched: they are
folded together in his hand, and put upon my neck: my strength is weakened: the
Lord hath delivered me into a hand out of which I am not able to rise.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord thy God.
R. Behold, when we shall see Him, He hath no form nor
comeliness: there is no beauty in Him: this is He Which hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows; but He was wounded for our transgressions
* And with His stripes we are healed.
V. Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
R. And with His stripes we are healed.
R. Behold, when we shall see Him, He hath no form nor
comeliness: there is no beauty in Him; this is He Which hath borne our sins and
carried our sorrows: but He was wounded for our transgressions, and with His
stripes we are healed.
Reading 4
From the Treatise of St. Augustine, Bishop (of Hippo) Upon
the Psalms
On Psalm liv. 1.
Give ear to my prayer, O God, and despise not my
supplication: attend unto me and hear me. These are the words of a man
travailing, anxious, and troubled. He prayeth in the midst of much suffering,
longing to be rid of his affliction. Our part is to see what that his
affliction was, and when he hath told us, to acknowledge that we also suffer
therefrom; that so, partaking in his trouble, we may take part also in his
exercise, and am troubled. Wherein mourned he? Wherein was he troubled? He
saith: In my exercise. In the next words he giveth us to know that his
affliction was the oppression of the wicked, because of the voice of the enemy,
and because of the oppression of the wicked, and this suffering which came upon
him at the hands of wicked men, he hath called his exercise. Think not that
wicked men are in this world for nothing, or that God doth no good with them.
Every wicked man liveth, either to repent, or to exercise the righteous.
R. Mine own friend hath betrayed Me by the sign of a kiss:
Whomsoever I shall kiss, That Same is He; hold Him fast. This was the
traitorous sign which he gave, even he who murdered with a kiss.
* Woe unto that man! He cast down the price of blood, and
went, and hanged himself.
V. It had been good for that man if he had not been born.
R. Woe unto that man! He cast down the price of blood, and
went, and hanged himself.
Reading 5
Would to God that they which now exercise us were converted
and exercised with us! Yet, while they are as they are, and exercise us, we
will not hate them: for we know not of any one of them whether he will endure
to the end in his sin. Yea, oftentimes, when thou deemest that thou hatest
thine enemy, he whom thou hatest is thy brother, and thou knowest it not. The
Holy Scriptures show us that the devil and his angels are already damned unto
everlasting fire, and therefore of their repentance it behoveth us to despair;
but of theirs only. These are they against whom we wrestle within; to the which
wrestling the Apostle stirreth us up where he saith: We wrestle not against
flesh and blood, (that is, not against men whom we see,) but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world. Eph. vi. 12. He saith not the rulers of this world, lest perchance thou
shouldest deem that devils are the lords of heaven and earth; what he doth say
is, rulers of the darkness of this world, of that world which they love who
love the world, of that world wherein the ungodly and unrighteous do prosper,
of that world, in fine, of which the Gospel saith: And the world knew Him not.
R. The vile trader Judas came to the Lord to kiss Him, and
He, as a guileless Lamb, refused not a kiss to Judas,
* Who, for a certain number of pence, betrayed Christ to the
Jews.
V. It had been good for that man if he had not been born.
R. Who, for a certain number of pence, betrayed Christ to
the Jews.
Reading 6
We have seen iniquity and strife in the city. v. 10. Behold,
the glory of the Cross. That Cross which was the object of the insults of God's
enemies, is established now above the brows of kings. The end hath shown the
measure of its power: it hath conquered the world, not by the sword, but by its
wood. The enemies of God thought the Cross a meet object of insult and
ridicule, yea, they stood before it, wagging their heads and saying: If He be
the Son of God, let Him come down from the Cross! Matth. xxvii. 39, 40. And He
stretched forth His Hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. Rom. x. 21.
If he is just which liveth by faith, Rom. i. 17; Hab. ii. 4, he is unjust that
hath not faith. Therefore where is written iniquity we may understand unbelief.
The Lord therefore saith that He saw iniquity and strife in the city, and that
He stretched forth His Hands unto that disobedient and gainsaying people, and,
disobedient and gainsaying as they were, He was hungry for their salvation, and
said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Luke xxiii. 34.
R. One of My disciples shall betray Me this night. Woe unto
that man by whom I am betrayed!
* It had been good for that man if he had not been born.
V. He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, the same
shall betray Me into the hands of sinners.
R. It had been good for that man if he had not been born.
R. One of My disciples shall betray Me this night. Woe unto
that man by whom I am betrayed. * It had been good for that man if he had not
been born.
Reading 7
From the first letter of blessed Apostle Paul to Corinthians
1 Cor 11:17-22
17 Now this I ordain: not praising you, that you come
together not for the better, but for the worse.
18 For first of all I hear that when you come together in
the church, there are schisms among you; and in part I believe it.
19 For there must be also heresies: that they also, who are
approved, may be made manifest among you.
20 When you come therefore together into one place, it is
not now to eat the Lord's supper.
21 For every one taketh before his own supper to eat. And
one indeed is hungry and another is drunk.
22 What, have you not houses to eat and to drink in? Or
despise ye the church of God; and put them to shame that have not? What shall I
say to you? Do I praise you? In this I praise you not.
R. I was like a gentle lamb that is brought to the
slaughter, and I knew not that mine enemies had devised devices against me,
saying:
* Come, let us put (poison of a deadly) tree into his bread,
and let us cut him off from the land of the living.
V. All they that hate me devised my hurt against me: they
plotted together to do me evil, saying:
R. Come, let us put (poison of a deadly) tree into his
bread, and let us cut him off from the land of the living.
Reading 8
1 Cor 11:23-26
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I
delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was
betrayed, took bread.
24 And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat:
this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the
commemoration of me.
25 In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped,
saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as
you shall drink, for the commemoration of me.
26 For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the
chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come.
R. Could ye not watch with Me one hour, ye that called one
on the other to die for Me?
* Or see ye not Judas, how that he sleepeth not, but maketh
haste to betray Me to the Jews?
V. Why sleep ye? Rise, and pray, lest ye enter into
temptation.
R. Or see ye not Judas, how that he sleepeth not, but maketh
haste to betray Me to the Jews?
Reading 9
1 Cor 11:27-34
27 Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the
chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of
the Lord.
28 But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that
bread, and drink of the chalice.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh judgement to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.
30 Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and
many sleep.
31 But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But whilst we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord,
that we be not condemned with this world.
33 Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat,
wait for one another.
34 If any man be hungry, let him eat at home; that you come
not together unto judgement. And the rest I will set in order, when I come.
R. The elders of the people consulted
* That they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill Him they
came out, as against a thief, with swords and staves.
V. The chief Priests and the Pharisees gathered a council.
R. That they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill Him:
they came out, as against a thief, with swords and staves.
R. The elders of the people consulted * That they might take
Jesus by subtilty, and kill Him: they came out, as against a thief, with swords
and staves.
When Our Lord was at table in the Upper Room with His disciples,
there, in the midst was the one who would betray him. That betrayal continues
to this very night. The suffering endured by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
is continued on these very days. Shadows have descended upon the disciples.
Tenebrae. Shadows and darkness have descended upon us, too. We know from scripture,
"strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered." We know from
scripture that "false prophets" will preach to the people and lead many
astray.
We have been told that Judas was misunderstood and that the
priests and bishops of his day, the High Priests, the Sanhedrin, treated him
harshly, they caused him to kill himself because they lacked mercy. Judas
committed his crime out of pride and the lust for power. He was a thief and a
criminal long before the betrayal in Gethsemane. Like Judas, there are those
today that "kiss" the Lord, only to betray him.
Every one of us must resist. Not one of us must submit the the
Judases, the Scribes and the Pharisees of today who twist truth into a lie and
turn upside down, two-thousand years of doctrine and faith. Those who have done
this and continue to do it will suffer the fate of Judas. Those, in the Church,
who have used intimidation, threats, coercion and deceit against faithful
Catholics for speaking the truth to power will suffer the fate of Judas, lest
they repent and amend their lives.
They will be confounded by the Lord for their actions against Him
and against His flock. They will not go forward justified, they will be held to
account for what they have done. Will they be like Judas who denied God the joy
of giving unto Judas his mercy? Had Judas gone to the tree on which Christ
died, rather than the tree on which he hung himself with a halter, he would be
a Saint today. He would be St. Judas the Penitent, instead of the one whom
"should never have been born." Those who have conspired to undermine
the faith should never have been born. Without their repentance they will
suffer the same fate as that betrayer in the Garden.
I give great thanks to all of you who read this blog, for your
prayers and your commentary. As we now embark on the Holy Triduum, there will
be no writing. Only commemorations of the days and words of scripture.
May the Lord bless you abundantly. May you be filled with silence, prayer,
contemplation and grace these Holy Days.
V. Let us pray for Raymond Cardinal BurkeR. May he stand firm and care for us in the
strength of the Lord, in the might of thy name, O Lord.
Dubia: What was the main reason you the four
cardinals made the dubia public?
Because there is so much confusion in the
Church about fundamental questions which are defined with regard to intrinsic
moral evil, with regard to Holy Communion and the right disposition to receive
Holy Communion and regarding the indissolubility of marriage.
There is so much confusion that we, first of
all, asked the Holy Father to clarify please these questions, these fundamental
questions. We limited our request to those four questions in the dubia. When
there was no response, because so many people were saying to us: “But why do
you cardinals not do you duty and teach clearly about this matters?”, we knew
that we had to let the people know about the dubia. Yes, we are trying our
best, we are trying to receive from the Holy Father the direction which the
Church needs right now. Because there is a very dangerous confusion and also,
with the confusion, come divisions.
Priests against priests, and disagreements
among fellow catholics about whether you are able to receive the Sacraments, if
you live in an unvalid marriage union. We even find disagreements among the
Bishops, and this should not be…This is not for the good of the Church.
Why only four cardinals signed the dubia?
I can tell you there are more than four
cardinals who support the dubia, but for various reasons they do not want to
say so publicly. The four cardinals who signed the dubia, simply knew that it
was our duty, not thinking that we needed to have a certain number of cardinals
with us. We four knew we had to do this, and so we did it.
So you have private support from other
cardinals?
Yes.
What would you say to those who said that you
were challenging the Pope?
There is no challenge whatsoever to the Pope.
In fact, the practice of bringing dubia or questions to the Pope is a very
ancient practice in the Church, and the document showed respect for the Pope
who is leading the Church in a critical moment or in a time of confusion or in
a time even of error. So if you read the dubia, we are very respectful. We
don’t accuse the Holy Father of anything. We simply ask him for the benefit of
the Church to make these matters clear.
You spoke about some precedents of formal
correction to the Pope in the history of the Church…
I think, for example, of Pope John XXII who was
teaching wrongly about the Beatific Vision.
Certain bishops and theologians pointed this out to him. At first he
resisted their correction, but then, before he died, he did retract what he had
said that was in error.
There are other cases that are similar in the
history of the Church. Some are about major practical matters, even the
administration of temporal goods. For example, the Cardinals have gone to the
Holy Father and said to him, “in our judgement you are not administering well
the goods of the Church”, and then the Pope corrected himself.
Do you think there will be a formal public
correction to Pope Francis?
That it is not clear yet. Normally speaking,
before taking that step, the Cardinals would approach once again the Holy
Father personally to say: Holy Father, the matter is so grave that we must
correct it, and I trust that the Holy Father will respond at that moment.
But you don’t think that the Cardinal Müller’s
interview in Il Timone was an answer to Dubia?
I believe so. It certainly pertains very much
to the whole discussion, and it makes very clear what the Church is teaching
regarding such matters. I believe, but I do not know, since I have not talked
to Cardinal Müller, that the interview, is a pastoral effort, on his part, to
present the Church’s teaching clearly.
But the Pope hasn’t answered yet…
To my knowledge, not to me and I don’t think to
the others three cardinals. I don’t think he has given any answer.
What about the date of the formal correction?
I really cannot speak about that because it is
a matter which has to be approached with great respect and delicacy. And I do
not want to suggest a date that would in any way affect negatively the handling
of the matter or would show disrespect to anyone involved.
In the previous moments and after you published
the dubia, have you kept in contact wih the Emeritus Pope?
No, I have never spoken with him about the
dubia.
…
– Valileaks: The leaks spoke of 1.000 flats of
the Holy See throughout Rome. Do you believe that being the Church the biggest
landowner of the caput mundi takes away the credibility of its evangelical
message?
First of all, I don’t know the truth about
that. What I would say is this: I don’t think that, if Church owns the land, it
takes away credibility, but the way the land is administered will affect very
much the credibility of Church. In fact, having all these properties, the
Church could use them for many good purposes, but the administration has to be
strictly according to Church law. I am not saying it is not, but for my part,
the only scandal would be if that in some way these properties are not being
correctly managed.
Vatican diplomacy has changed so much in the
last years. How do you value that the Holy See treated as a “consort” the
homosexual lover of the President of Luxemburg?
I think something has to be done to address the
public image that is given by such acts. In the past, the Holy See simply, in a
very discreet and respectful way, refused to permit such a thing. We have to
return to that because by openly permitting this, the very strong impression is
given that now the Holy See approves such situations. So that has to be made
clear. I think too the terms for choosing those who are invited officially to
come and to speak to the conferences at the Holy See have to be clear. I don’t
understand how people who have openly opposed the Church and her teachings can
be invited to this kind of conference.
Like Paul Ehrlich…
Exactly, Paul Ehrlich…A prime example.
Yes but the one that was responsible for that
invitation was Cardinal Ravasi who wrote “Cari fratelli masoni” in Il Sole 24…
Yes, I haven’t read that book yet (Alberto
Bárcena: MasonerÃa, religión y polÃtica) but whoever is responsible, is also
responsible to give an answer for that.
The letter of Cardinal Ravasi?
I haven’t read that letter. I didn’t read it,
but I heard about it.
Islam: Cardinal Sarah warned of two threats,
Islam and gender: Do you believe that Islam is suitable with the coexistence in
the Western World?
I share Cardinal Sarah’s concern. These are the
two great threats of the present time. I am also very strong in my conviction
that one of the prime ways to address them is through education. We have to
make sure that in our schools and our universities the truth is been taught.
Both about human nature itself and the whole
question of gender which is a completely artificial creation of a certain
ideology. And also that the truth be taught about Islam. The nature of Islam is
a form of goverment. By its own beliefs or principles it intends to govern the
world. And also about Allah. The figure of Allah in the Coran and in other
Islamic writings is completely different from the God of the Judaeo-Christian
faith.
What reasons for hope does a Catholic family
have in today’s world, marked by a culture of death and where gender ideology
is considered as the only truth about the human being?
Of course, there is reason for hope because
Christ is always giving his grace to individuals and to families. And this
whole situation can be transformed through individuals and families. I travel a
great deal now to various parts of the world. In America and everywhere I go I
find good young people and good young families and other families who maybe are
not young but are very committed Catholic families. This gives me hope, because
the more that we can encourage one another to be faithful in Jesus Christ, then
the world can be transformed.
What advice would you give to these Catholic
families who want their children to grow in freedom?
My advice would be to make prayer, especially
the Holy Eucarist and regular confession, the center of family life, to pay
very careful attention to educate their children clearly in the teachings of
the Church and in the moral law, and thirdly to work together with other
families to encourage one another and to become a great force for good in the
world.
The Pope made a statement that from now on, the
weddings celebrated by the priests from the FSSPX are going to be recognised
I did not read that yet. That is a very
significant action of the Holy Father, and it also indicates that in someway
there must be a reconciliation of the FSSPX because basically what the Pope is
saying is that the priests in this society, when they witness marriages, are
exercising jurisdiction in the Roman Catholic Church. So that is very
interesting.
Do you think the personal prelature is a good
way for the reconciliation?
I believe it could be a very effective way for
the reconciliation.
Would it be great news?
Yes. I pray for it, and I hope that it will
come about. But the reconciliation of course has to be based on a common
understanding. We cannot just simply will it. In other words, if there is not a
common understanding, what we reconcile will result in all sort of conflicts
and difficulties. We have to make sure that there it is a common understanding
in regard to all the questions which, in the past, the FSPPX has had about the
Church, the Holy See and the direction of the Catholic Church.
