And no, I am not talking about the events leading up to February 11, 2013.
The Plot
I am speak about the plan moving through sections of the Roman Curia right now to “solve” the problem of a “Pope emeritus”. I have this on the word of a very highly respected member of the Roman Curia who told me of it.
The enemies of Christ realize that this title proves that the resignation was never complete and therefore that Pope Benedict never renounced the Papal Office at all, and is still the pope. That means Bergoglio’s entire reign of terror was uncanonical, a fraud, of no value, not legally binding on the Church in anything.
They cannot tolerate that. So now they feel confident in removing “the evidence of the problem”.
I wonder whether there are different points of view here. Do some want Benedict to stop calling himself “pope”, signing as the “Pastor of Pastors, Pope Benedict XVI” (Benedictus XVI P.P.)*, wearing the white cassock and skull cap? Do others go so far as to want him out of the Vatican and no longer cared for by the Head of the Pontifical Household? Do still others want a “canonical” solution which pretends or keeps up the pretense of a valid resignation?
I believe dissent on this matter is visceral, right now, in the Vatican. The Head of the Vatican Police seems to have been a partisan of the group which holds that Bergoglio has no valid claim, since, when he tendered his resignation this fall, Bergoglio demanded of him that he mention, in his letter of resignation, that he recognizes “Pope Francis as the Successor of Saint Peter”, a textual statement which has nothing to do with a letter of resignation per se, but which proves that Bergoglio is on the war path to punish anyone who thinks otherwise. (Did Sodano’s sacking have anything to do with this? — I do not know, but he certainly does know of the controversy since there is nothing going on in the Vatican that he does not know through his many clients there).
And do not doubt it. The whole Roman Curia knows that Benedict is still the pope and that in their haste they were wrong in presuming that he resigned the office of St. Peter in February 2013. I make this claim on the basis of the human reactions I get when discussing this with learned partisans of the Bergoglian regime. It’s a topic with which they are very familiar and know precisely what to say and not to say to pretend otherwise. They also employ their most forceful anger against those facts and points-of-law-in-application which directly address the problem. It’s such a hot potato, that few are even willing to speak about it. And some even run away when they see you coming, if you have requested to speak with them on this topic.
Their hope is that most of the laity are dopes and will keep eating up the propaganda that their handlers in the press and social media keep putting out: Shut up! Do not think about it! It does not matter! You are seeing things! You are a heretic and a schismatic if you say otherwise!** The Revolution, in the minds of the Bergoglian party, must go forward. They have to have approbation of all that is evil and the utter destruction of the Church which claims to be founded by the true Jewish Messiah. That is the end game.
The Battle of 2020
Pope Benedict XVI for his part has made it quite clear that his “yes” to accept the Papal Office is a “forever” yes. There is thus going to be a battle, and it will break out in 2020. Catholics who love and remain in communion with Pope Benedict need to go on the war path.
We need to identify and contact the 40 to 70 Cardinals, whom the Vaticanista, Edward Pentin, said in 2017,*** were inclined to call an imperfect council to remove Bergoglio on the grounds that his claim to the papacy is vitiated by some canonical problem, whether heresy, schism or invalidity.
We need to mobilize Catholics to financially support any effort which is necessary to defend the person of the Roman Pontiff, Pope Benedict.
We need to keep up the heat on the partisans of error: those devilishly bold individuals who lie in public and are willing to say anything to keep you from realizing
that in Canon Law the Latin word munus HAS NEVER meant MINISTERIUM,
that Pope Benedict NEVER SAID HE RESIGNED the petrine munus
that Pope Benedict NEVER AFFIRMED THAT HE INTENDED to resign the petrine munus.
that the Cardinals and journalists are not infallible, when they say the contrary of nn. 1, 2, or 3.
that the Cardinals, journalists, and Bishops have NO AUTHORITY WHATSOEVER to interpret the act of renunciation of Feb. 11, 2013 as an act of renunciation of anything other than ministerium.
Those who are telling these lies are all getting hefty salaries from someone. Those who are calling out the liars get salaries from no one. That should tell you which side is from God and which is from Mammon. As public liars and frauds, they have no right to be seen for what they are not: honest men who are intellectually respectable or reliable. For more than 6.5 years they have marshaled no arguments against the canonical invalidity. And yet they insist that they should be listened to!
Operation Portugal
We need to organize Catholics in Portugal to prepare a place or places of refuge for the Pope, if He should chose to flee Rome, since, as Our Lady hinted in BOLD LETTERS during the apparitions there, “In Portugal the dogma of the Faith will be preserved.” And all who know their Catholic theology well, know that that implies that Portugal will at the very least remain in communion with the true Pope, if not be a place of refuge for him and His valid successors, if needed.
May the Holy Saints of the Knights Templar**** in Portugal and their devotees in our own time MOBILIZE.
May we all do our duty now in the most important battle, in the Church, to come in 2000 years.
_________
* Which clearly indicates he has in his own mind never resigned or intended to resign the Papal dignity, despite what some Cardinals are conjecturing.
** This plot to dethrone Benedict is thus evidence that their propaganda has been just that. It has served to hide the evidence from public view, it never was an honest denial.
**** I mention this Order because it took refuge from an unjust suppression in Portugal and was refounded there in the 14th century. There are thus many faithful Catholics devoted to their memory, in Portugal, and I pray they become the network for helping Pope Benedict.
Saint Jerome, patron of hermits, in his hermitage at Bethlehem
An Open Letter to the Scottish Hermits
“excommunicated” on Christmas Day
I have eaten lunch with one of the signers of your letter, if you remember, in the Piazza Navona, back in 2016. So I consider myself obligated in Christ to say something to you, as a fellow hermit.
Your recent letter denouncing Bergoglio was correct in everything but the most important point. You have presumed that Pope Benedict’s renunciation of Feb. 11, 2013 was in accord with canon 332 §2, when I informed you in my last email, before I lost your email when my old computer fried up, that you should read the information about ppbxvi.org.
I cannot find it easy to understand your position, which basically holds that what a single tweet by the ANSA reporter, Giovanna Chirri, said on that fateful day, is more certain than what Christ promised Saint Peter and what the Church taught infallibly at Vatican I on the infallibility of the Roman Pontiff, or even than the certitude of God’s will in adhering to the LETTER of Canon Law, which no one has the right to interpret in any other sense than the letter.
You have instead preferred to break from the See of Rome on account of a man who was never the Roman Pontiff, is a usurper and is rightfully called an Antipope.
Ann Barnhardt does a line by line critique of your letter, and this mind boggling stubbornness of yours, to hold political correctness or human opinion above divine faith. I personally would never have written so strongly as she has, but having read what she has said, I must say I agree 100% because it is entirely rational, entirely based on the Divine Faith, and entirely in harmony with both Vatican I and the Code of Canon Law.
Because outside of the communion and submission to the Apostolic See there is no salvation.
I understand that you may hold fast to the rumor put out by Chirri and all the evil lies of the Revolutionaries who want that tweet to be true, but if you consider men friends who insist Bergoglio is the pope or that a heretic can be the pope, then you need to separate yourselves from their counsel, because it is evil counsel.
In fact, when you take as your truth, not the Gospel nor the laws of the Church, but the statements and assertions of journalists and political correctness, then what you are is not a Catholic, but a modernist, who believes truth changes with the times, and who refuses to apply unchanging principles to judge all things, even alleged papal renunciations.
Sincerely in Saint Francis, a fellow hermit:
Br. Alexis Bugnolo
Rome, Italy
Feast of Saint John the Apostle
P.S. If any reader can send this letter to the HERMITS please do so. They know I have good will for them, from my past attempts to help them in other affairs.
POSTSCRIPT: Subsequently, the Hermits published statements on radio which so discord with the Catholic Faith, that I have to say that I honestly think they are professing heresy, because they seem to exalt the rights of conscience so much as they deny without shame the indefectibility of the Church and the papacy from which that grace comes, simply because they willfully and without cause refuse to accept the terms of Canon 332 §2 according to the norm of canon 17. They actually want Bergoglio to be a legitimate pope so they can justify separation. I get the impression that they want to be Greek Orthodox Schismatics, which is very fashionable in the United Kingdom, but at the same time pretend they are Catholics. Let us pray for their souls, because in their present state I cannot see how they can save their souls. The greatest danger of the eremitical life has always been pride, thinking that you are the source of grace apart from the institutional Church. This is a prime example, sadly.
As you can see from this blog, From Rome, I make it a point to write about topics about which I see no one talking, but which need to be spoken about. In this post I will speak to those men who are slaves to the sins of impurity and how to be liberated in Christ. This is the “you” to whom I speak.*
Some of you have been enslaved since your youth, because no one told you in time what was a mortal sin of impurity and so you developed an addiction to sins of this kind. Some of you had such an addiction and broke it. And some of you fell into such an addition later in life.
The first advice I can give you, is not to take advice from someone who is addicted to the same sin. The internet is full of individuals, with or without degrees in pertinent fields, who are obviously addicted to impurity since they openly say there is nothing bad about such an addiction.
The best advice, of all, is to take the counsel of God and His Saints. This matter is very serious, for as Our Lady says at Fatima, the sins of impurity take the most souls to hell. And Saint Alphonsus says that no soul goes to Hell without the sin of impurity, just like no soul gets to heaven without the virtue of humility.
The second advice I can give you is, that you need to recognize that without Jesus Christ you cannot be saved. There is no self help which can save you, or which you can practice, without Jesus. That is because, the addiction to the sins of impurity is not just a physical or chemical addiction, but a spiritual addiction.
Why?
Because, the power of procreation which God has given to men and women, is not merely a biological power. In virtue of the fact that this power cooperates immediately and intimately with God’s creative power, in creating new human souls, at the moment of conception, the power of procreation is the one biological power which touches upon the supernatural and is inextricable from the spiritual.
To understand at the most basic level this power, consider that in 80 days each and every individual adult man in the world (even the most chaste) produces enough zygotes to repopulate nearly the entire planet with its present population. God made the man this way to show us how the power of procreation touches upon the Infinite power of the God of Life.
The misuse of such a power, then, is a very spiritual sin, it is not just a carnal sin.
Now many have spoken about what to do to break such a horrible slavery, from the point of view that these sins are carnal. The first things are fasting and abstinence, which in modern times must be said to include reducing the intake of proteins, vitamins and all nutritional sources, liquor and eliminating all stimulants, whether taken internally or used upon the body. The total destruction and removal of all pornography which you keep at home, in your office, in your car, or under your control (if you have the habit of hiding it elsewhere). The mortification of the eyes and imagination. The firm resolution never to commit such sins again. The removal of your person from occasions of these sins. Ending all evil friendships. Corporal mortifications, such as cold showers. — And in this one must recognize that there is no little sin of impurity. That is, there is no venial sin of impurity. Impurity is always a mortal sin. Because impurity as a sin consists in the use of the procreative power in a way in which it is not ordered to the conception of new souls in the womb of your wife. For that is the only reason and purpose God gave you to use this power.**
These are some of the necessary means to break addiction to carnal sins. Almost every man who has ever asked me counsel about such matters is one which I find, upon interrogation, is NOT practicing the above, or is addicted to self indulgence, as for example, eating too much red meat or using pornography.
But today I want to speak about the spiritual side of this sin. And not simply that a man falls into this sin because he does not have the habit of praying, such as praying the daily rosary. This is true, but why is it true?
Men commit sins of impurity because they are trying to prove something to themselves. This seems at first somewhat of an absurd and abstract statement, but it is not.
This is because, at the human level, we are not pure spirits, nor pure bodies, we are the union of an immortal soul and a mortal body. And often an individual who neglects to recognize this union of extremes in himself, takes action on one level, when action is required on the other level.
Thus, men who consider themselves a failure in anything visible try to compensate by proving that in something else they are a success in something else which is visible. This is why sins of impurity are so common among young men who are in a crisis about who they are to be and whether anyone really loves them in this world, and why they are so common among men who are in a crisis in their marriage or career or job, because they either do not find that they are loved by their wives, or because they think that failure in some other matter, requires them to attempt to succeed by being impure.
I will leave it to psychologists to enumerate all the occasions in which the sense of failure leads immediately to sins of impurity, especially the sin of self abuse, but I will enumerate some.
Failure to win a spot on the team or in the club.
Failure to succeed in a project or mission.
Failure to convince others of your point of view.
Failure to win at some contest.
Failure to distinguish yourself in come accomplishment or talent or in good looks.
Failure to be accepted by someone or group in which you put your hopes for self affirmation.
From the sense of failure most men react by seeking to affirm themselves by some act of impurity. By this they attempt to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to be a man and/or have it more than or better than those men whom they perceive to be their rivals or role models, whether as fathers or as peers.
And this is why only Jesus Christ and the identity He offers you in His Kingdom can save you.
Because only that kind of salvation which is interior and which satisfies that which we need most fundamentally, can rescue us from the real spiritual problem in which we fall, which consists in this, that we recognize that we have failed to be what we were never made to be WITHOUT RECOGNIZING what we are called and made to be.
This is verified in sins of impurity. Because the onset of such sins is nearly always at a time in life in which the individual has in his own eyes failed, because he is seeking to be that which he is not.
And the most common error here, is that a man seeks to be a man who is perfect according to the body, when in truth, we are made to be men who are perfect according to the soul. When we try to satisfy that which Saint Augustine calls, the most intimate desire of our heart, in something else, we find it does not fit, we then consider ourselves a failure, and then we try to make up for the dent or damage to our innermost conception of our own dignity. That is why, as St Augustine says, Thou has made our hearts for Thee, and they are restless until they rest in Thee.
And to be precise, I am not talking here about merely psychological depression. I am talking about ontological depression.
That is why we cannot be saved except by the Most Holy Trinity. Because when you turn back to the Most Holy Trinity, you turn back to the Source of all Order and Identity. And repentance will be just that: the decision made possible by God’s grace and YOUR collaboration with it, to seek again that which you were made to be and to stop wandering down ever-narrowing dark alleys of existence, in which there is no lasting consolation, but only worsening deprivation and worsening emptiness.
We are called to be the adopted sons of the Eternal Father. We are called to be the adopted brothers of the Eternal Son. We are called to be the adopted temples and soldiers of the Eternal Lord and Vivifier, the Holy Spirit. And I will add, we are called to be the beloved sons and knights of the Blessed Virgin, Our Mother in Heaven.
We are called by a Love which has contemplated our own personal individual existence from Eternity. We are called by this Eternal Love to be loved eternally. We are called by this Love which is God to be loved by everyone in Heaven, perfectly and forever. There, where God will wipe away every tear and sorrow and all shall be gladness and rejoicing. A Beatitude which we will posses in soul, but which also will pour over out of our souls into our bodies.
This is why, the most powerful prayer to break from the slavery to the sins of impurity is the Our Father. Because in this one prayer we can come to understand that our eternal destiny our ultimate and perfect affirmation, consolation, encouragement comes from the Eternal Father and finds its fulfillment only In Him.
This is also why repeated meditations or confessions which focus ONLY upon the eternity of hell and how horrible and terribly we have failed God by sins of impurity, is NOT going to solve the problem. It may even make it worse, because it increases the sense of failure and gives no hope or direction where to find true success.***
So my final advice is to contemplate that throne next to Himself to which God has called you, and for which He has made you and in this way you will find a stable ground upon of grace upon which to step forth from this slavery. For if you want that throne in which is found all goodness, you must understand that you must give up all impurity. Because just as the power of procreation touches upon the Infinite, so the virtue of purity is the root of immortality.
Because in the task of being something, where it really matters, that is, in getting to Heaven, God Himself with His Eternal Love and with His Omnipotence, has both made you in Christ and empowers you with His Holy Spirit — if you accept the challenge — to succeed eternally and achieve perfection in being eternally loved by everyone in Heaven, and not according to the flesh, but according to who you are, which is that according to which you are unique in all the cosmos, in all time and eternity.
May Our Immaculate and Ever Virgin Mother, who is so saddened when She sees us sin in any way, especially against purity, be your refuge and path back to God. For She who never was in any way impure was rewarded with the greatest joy in Heaven and She wants you, as Her adopted child, to enjoy that with Her, for as a Mother, Her heart can not rest until She sees you with Her in Her home and at Her table.****
________
* And I speak to men, for no other reason, that being a man, I know something about being a man. I will readily confess, that as a hermit and consecrated virgin, I know nothing about women.
** And yes, that means, if you do not have a wife, you should never use this power. To understand this, let me use an example from an entirely different matter. At a gun range, when you practice shooting, you shoot at a target. If you shoot at anything else, you will never be allowed to return and may also be arrested and sent to prison. These are the rules of a gun range. And God has His own rules, because all Creation is His Range, and God Has an eternal prison, it’s called Hell. And Arresting Angels (not nice people at all), who are the angels of destruction and damnation (a.k.a devils) which take those in mortal sin to Hell.
*** This why I believe it is necessary for Confessors, during confession, not simply to hear the sins of impurity enumerated by the penitent, or simply talk about the eternity of hell which they merit, but to remind the sinner that he is called to a true destiny where he can succeed in arriving, because God is at his back every step of the way.
**** And She has many graces which no one ever asks Her for. One of which, is the grace to be worthy of Her love through a life of purity. For only the pure shall merit to kiss Her hand in Heaven.
Here is the Video by Brian Murphy, which explains why Pope Benedict XVI never ceased being the only true pope. Now with German Subtitles. Please share this with your German friends, and if you can get a copy to Pope Benedict or Archbishop Ganswein or Cardinal Brandmuller, please do so! For the salvation f the Church in Germany and throughout the worldQ
Questo è il Video di Brian Murphy, adesso con il testo tradotto in Italiano su schermo. Spargi la voce dappertutto e condividerlo su Social Media per salvare la Chiesa in Italia
The purpose of human language is to communicate truth.
This is saying which is agreed upon by nearly every member of humanity. But we often forget how profound its implications are.
Saint Thomas says, that the truth of which we speak here, is the right relation between the human mind and reality as it is. The discovery of truth, then, is the discovery of the right way to understand the reality which is around us or inside us.
But we often forget the other word in this universal definition of human language: communicate. “Communicate” is word which comes from the Latin verb meaning “to build up together” or to “to share gifts with one another”. In the definition of human language we see the profound social aspect of speaking and its goals on the level of society: sharing and the promotion of the perfection of one another. The communication of truth therefore is the fulfillment of the inherent goals both of communication and of truth.
What I have just written could be called the philosophical or anthropological principles of human language. Not just of any one particular human language, but of all human language.
The other tongue
An individual human language is also called a “tongue” from the fact that each language requires for its proper enunciation a way of enunciation which is habitual and requires the tongue which speaks it to adapt accordingly.
But there is another sense of the word, “tongue”, which I want to employ here: this is the sense in which the word means not one kind of human speech, but an entire different philosophy or definition of human language.
Because just as human language according to its natural or proper definition is a set of spoken sounds, which can be recorded in written forms, for the sake of communicating truth, so, if one changes the final purpose of human language, one, as it were, gives birth to an entirely different tongue, on account its altered purpose.
And such a tongue exists. And it has a name, not from its human author, but analogously from the first being which used communication for another purpose: Satan.
Satanic language is a system of communication for the purpose of sharing falsehood, and not for building up or the sharing of gifts, but for tearing down and theft and robbery, and ultimately for murder. As Christ said of its author: “Who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning” (cf. John chapter 8: read this whole chapter to see both Tongues at work)
This other tongue, since it is not creative except of deception — as it has no other reason for being — uses the words of human language and creates new words which serve to hide the lie under the appearance of truth. We can easily recognize these lying words, because of their novelty, and not just any novelty, but a novelty used to overthrow the words which have been used from the beginning.
Every tongue gives birth to its own Culture
Now it is a fact of reality and a truth of anthropology that every unique tongue gives rise to unique culture. This is because the language according to which we speak is the default form for our way of thinking and perceiving. And hence every language gives birth to its own culture: every language, not only in the sense of modes of human speech, but also in the sense of which I speak here, of the two purposes of speech.
The summit and perfection, the culmination and fulfillment of every language finds itself and its salvation in Christ, and in particular, in the preaching of the Gospel, the good news, which is the greatest gift we can share verbally and the greatest truth we can communicate.
The characteristic of a human language which is thus baptized is that it means what it says and says what it means, and both in the most profound way. We see this in Sacred Scripture, where though the Hebrew Language was chosen by God to prepare the world for the coming of the Messiah, it speaks in vagaries and in a dark and obscure manner, quite unlike the Koine Greek which the Apostles sanctified for the preaching of the Gospel, which reveals clearly and openly the Salvation which comes from the Incarnation of the Eternal Word of the Father. Shadow passes to light, figure and prophecy to reality and fulfillment.
This is true even on the historical level. Because in very many such cultures, it was the preaching of the Gospel which gave rise to the historical forms of their human languages or at least fixed them in written form as a monument to the ages, and provided a millennial bridge from one generation to the next for the preservation of meaning and signification. We can see this especially in the Latin language, which once understood can grasp the meaning of what writers from the 5th century before Christ to the 19th century after the birth of Christ are saying. We see this especially in languages which had their birth or genesis after the preaching of the Gospel, as for example, English, a language which in its present form knew not disbelief until disbelief was introduced from another land.
The tongue of Satan also gives rise to its own culture. We can see this in the way those who oppose the Gospel have ever acted: denying the plain meaning of words, denying that words have meaning, denying that words mean things different than other words. This attack on human language is a necessary technique of that Tongue which serves to break down the other by the employment of deception.
This technique gave rise to a false and misleading way of reading the Old Testament, so as to convince all who read it to deny that Christ was its fulfillment. It created an entire commentary on the Old Testament filled with vain and false tales and strange and novel doctrines which aimed all with that same purpose. This way of denying Scripture gave birth to a sect in which attacking the good and attacking Christianity was a practiced habit of mind and speech.
All peoples, however, who abandon Jesus Christ and all groups who reject Him, must follow in the same path, because you cannot reject Incarnate Truth without attacking the truth incarnate in every word and speech or thought of mind.
Thus we see this Other Tongue in action in the errors of Nominalism (the philosophical position which says that words do not name anything real), Modernism (the theological heresy which holds that everything in religion comes from sentiment, not God) and the global push for a new form of humanity, divorced from reality and wantonly joined to unnatural falsehoods.
This war of two tongues is most evident in the fight to defend the life of children in the womb and at birth. The entire maniacal and diabolic industry of death and genocide makes its every move on the turn of the meaning of an old word or the invention of a new word to conceal their murderous intent.
Another recent example of this war is the recent study by the Pontifical Biblical Commission, in which the destruction of Sodom is insisted to be a punishment for a lack of hospitality not for a lack of chastity. Still another, is seen in the verbal gymnastics used to insist that Benedict resignation were valid or conformable to the Code of Canon Law also gives rise to entirely new words (Bennyvacantism) used to conceal lies and entirely new ways of reading Canon Law (munus = ministerium), Catholic Doctrine (infallibility does not prevent a heretical pope), or the Bible (the Gates will not prevail means they can succeed some times), which are invented solely for one purpose, to deny the truth.
The war between Satan and Saint Michael the Archangel began with a war of communication with entirely two different tongues. The war of cultures among men also has its source in a war of Two Tongues. I hope, therefore, that this post enables you to discern these Two Tongues and these Two Cultures better. Of them Saint Augustine wrote eloquently in his Book on the City of God, in which he spoke of Two cities: one founded on the love of God unto the contempt of all other things, and the other founded upon the love of self unto the contempt of God.
Como San José, los obispos están llamados a defender la Iglesia con sus propias vidas.
Por el hno. Alexis Bugnolo
Vivimos en una era extraña cuando chismosos profesionales (conocidos como periodistas) son titiriteros de las masas porque el 95% de la gente permite que ellos dicten los límites de la realidad, historia, moralidad y religión. Y hasta que algún periodista destacado utilice la palabra “Herejía”, “Cismático”, o “Apóstata” en referencia a alguien que amerita el termino/s, entonces nadie con uso de razón acusaría a un compañero católico de tan horrible ofensa por juicio propio porque como como ellos dicen: “Todo mundo sabe que es cismático rechazar la comunión a un compañero católico de buen estado. ¡Y buen estado significa que aún no ha sido condenado oficialmente por la Iglesia!”
Esto es “gaslighting” (en inglés), por supuesto. Gas-lighting es un término con el cual todos deberían de familiarizarse. Es la táctica de aquellos practicados en la manipulación psicológica utilizada para ganar clientes, sujetos, inferiores, a negar la realidad que conocen y ven, y aceptar que la realidad es lo que el manipulador dice ser.
En cuanto fue elegido Bergoglio (como supuesto papa), comenzó el “gaslighting”. Estas viendo cosas, Él es el papa, no puedes hablar así del papa. Disentir es pecado mortal. Si no lo aceptas como papa estas fuera de la Iglesia.¡No eres católico!
Últimamente, a medida que las herejías y la malevolencia de Bergoglio explotan fuera de todas las proporciones que las de cualquier hereje anterior en la historia de la Iglesia, algunos católicos que anteriormente eran famosos por su ortodoxia doctrinal y moral experimentan ataques apopléticos en sus intentos de sofocar el reconocimiento de la realidad. “Reconocer y resistir” es su mantra. Están empeñados, literalmente, en permanecer en comunión con Bergoglio, luego, no se atrevan a llover sobre sus fantasías mostrándoles hechos de Ley Canónica (cánones números 1364, 1329, etc.) que demuestran que, por derecho divino, los herejes están fuera de la Iglesia, apenas profieren herejía.
Éstos apologetas de la revolución están tan empeñados en negar la realidad de la renuncia fallida del Papa Benedicto (cf ppbxvi.org para información completa). Se descomponen y arremeten. Muestran que su apego al “Papa Francisco” no es ni racional ni razonable, es visceral. Cuán visceral depende, supongo, de si observan los mandamientos sexto o noveno. Este completo colapso psicológico, intelectual y espiritual es el resultado de lo que yo llamo el acertijo de Iscariote. Uso “Iscariote” aquí en el sentido de la palabra aramea para un hombre del mismo pueblo que el falso apóstol, Judas Iscariote. Desde entonces como él, han vendido al verdadero Cristo por las 30 piezas de plata que es reconocimiento público por parte de los Cardenales como “católico fiel”.* Y como lo hicieron por razones puramente egoístas, sentimentales, no racionales y no legales o no dogmáticas, explotan de emoción cuanto más les señalas que han construido su casa sobre una premisa falsa. Entonces, arremeten cada vez más y pierden todos los rastros de aquel excelente personaje que alguna vez exhibieron, convirtiéndose en el proceso, irónicamente, la misma semejanza del diálogo que Bergoglio es, un Troll repugnante y que avienta adjetivos.
Un Estado de Emergencia
Nadie menos que él obispo Gänswein, el secretario personal del Papa Benedicto XVI y cabeza de la Casa Pontificia (que solo tiene un huésped CLAVE CLAVE) dijo que lo que Benedicto hizo en Febrero de 2013 fue a cuenta de un estado de emergencia.
Sus palabras y opiniones se debaten en cuanto a lo que significan, pero sería absurdo negar la realidad que es visible para todo el mundo, a saber, que LA SEDE APOSTÓLICA ESTÁ IMPEDIDA.
Decir que la Sede Apostólica está impedida, significa que el Papa no puede actuar como Papa por alguna razón, ya sea por coacción externa, o porque no hay Papa, o el Papa se niega a actuar por alguna convicción irracional o racional. Éste “ser impedido” provoca un estado de necesidad, porque la cabeza visible de la Iglesia visible, para todos los efectos prácticos, no está en función. El estado de necesidad es una necesidad del tipo que se requiere para el funcionamiento continuo de la Iglesia. Dado que el orden normal de gobierno está obstruido, la observancia de leyes meramente positivas en las que se basa, por necesidad, debe omitirse.
Nuestro Señor nos enseña este principio general a pequeña escala, cuando, en una ocasión, Él y Sus Apóstoles cruzaron un campo de trigo durante un tiempo en el que no habían comido nada, y algunos de ellos comieron los granos de trigo que estaban cerca. Al ser cosechados, algunos fariseos se quejaron de que estaban violando las Leyes del Sábado en contra de trabajar durante el sábado. Nuestro Señor señaló que la necesidad de su hambre les permitió no observar la ley sobre la cosecha. Él respondió con una forma semítica contundente, diciendo: “¡El sábado se hizo para el hombre, no el hombre para el sábado!”
La ley contra la cosecha fue instituida no menos que por Moisés, quien tenía mucha más autoridad en la Antigua Alianza (Moisés básicamente escribió todo, bajo la inspiración y dirección de Dios) que el Papa tiene en la Nueva Alianza (el Papa no puede cambiar el Biblia, ni siquiera el Padre Nuestro, aunque muchos clérigos están confundidos sobre este punto).
Además, está claro, según los principios de la lógica (ex minore),** que si Nuestro Señor dice que es lícito apelar a un estado de necesidad, suspender las leyes del Antiguo Pacto, porque los hombres tienen hambre un sábado por la tarde , entonces, obviamente, es lícito actuar en consecuencia CUANDO LA SALVACIÓN DE TODAS LAS ALMAS EN LA TIERRA HASTA EL FINAL DE LOS TIEMPOS se ponga en peligro grave e inminente. Negar esto sería pura locura.
Este principio de la suspensión del derecho positivo durante un estado de necesidad es sancionado por nada menos que el Papa Pío VI, en su Bula, Cum nos superiori anno, del 13 de noviembre de 1798, donde concede a los Cardenales el derecho a derogar Todos los aspectos no esenciales de las leyes papales sobre los cónclaves, a causa de la supresión de facto de la Iglesia de Roma por la República romana, dirigida por los revolucionarios franceses. ***
Extendiendo esta lección a los asuntos de la Iglesia, se deduce que, como buenos cristianos, estamos obligados por la fe divina a regresar al principio general que Jesús estableció, a saber, LA SALVACIÓN DE LAS ALMAS ES LA LEY MÁS ALTA. Para la Salvación de las Almas, el Padre Eterno sacrificó a Su propio Hijo, y Su propio Hijo aceptó Su muerte ignominiosa en una Cruz. PARA LA SALVACIÓN DE LAS ALMAS.
Si hay alguien, por lo tanto, en la Iglesia, que sostiene que debemos esperar a que el Papa (Benedicto) haga algo, o algún papa futuro que haga algo, ESTÁN FUERA DE SUS MENTES y más correctamente, SON FARISEOS que elevan las leyes positivas establecidas por la Iglesia (que indican lo que no se puede hacer sin el permiso de los superiores) al nivel de reglas que requerirían que la Iglesia se suicidara esperando algún tipo de intervención divina sin colaboración humana. Una intervención divina sin colaboración humana, en el presente caso de la Sede impedida, NUNCA SE HA PROMETIDO explícitamente. (Entiendo que hay algunas grandes promesas de Nuestro Señor y Nuestra Señora, pero ninguna de ellas se refiere explícitamente a una promesa de resolver este problema).
Derecho Apostólico (ius apostolicum)
El concepto de Derecho Divino (ius divinum) es un concepto de la escolástica tardía clásica, muy popular en la época del Concilio de Trento y posteriormente. Se refiere a cosas que han sido decretadas por Dios. El oficio de Pedro existe por derecho divino, por ejemplo.
El derecho apostólico (ius apostolicum) no está tan reconocido. Se refiere a las decisiones de los Apóstoles para el gobierno de la Iglesia. Es de derecho apostólico que la iglesia en una ciudad pueda ser gobernada por varios sacerdotes, por ejemplo.
Tanto el derecho divino como el derecho apostólico son superiores a la ley canónica. Por otro lado, lo que la mayoría de los católicos no saben es que, durante más de 1000 años, a excepción de los cánones decretados en los Concilios, la Iglesia no tuvo derecho canónico. El derecho canónico no es de institución divina o apostólica, aunque el Primer Concilio de Jerusalén c. El año 45 d. C. transmitió decisiones y es el ejemplo de todos los Concilios y Sínodos en la Iglesia.
El derecho apostólico también incluye algunas cosas que no se observan en el curso normal de los asuntos, porque desde la época de los Apóstoles, la Jerarquía Sagrada, para el buen orden de la Iglesia en circunstancias normales se han establecido cánones o leyes establecidas para conducir los asuntos de La Iglesia de otra manera.
Tomemos, por ejemplo, la elección de los obispos. Los apóstoles nombraron obispos antes de morir. Pero cuando pasaron a la gloria eterna, lo dejaron a cada diócesis por derecho apostólico para elegir su propio obispo. Y por “a cada diócesis”, me refiero a los católicos de cada diócesis, laicos, religiosos y clérigos. Así es como la Iglesia sobrevivió a 10 persecuciones romanas. Nadie estaba escribiendo a Roma para pedir una cita, cuando murió su obispo.
Además, es de derecho apostólico que cada obispo sirva como ordinario de su diócesis hasta la muerte. No había retiro (jubilación). Esa es una novedad creada por Pablo VI para eliminar a católicos del Colegio de Obispos y reemplazarlos por revolucionarios sodomitas. El derecho canónico reconoce implícitamente que este concepto de jubilación obligatoria es contrario al Derecho Apostólico, ya que no requiere que los Obispos renuncien, solo dice que deben presentar una carta de renuncia al cumplir los 75 años.
También es de derecho apostólico que los obispos puedan reunirse en sínodos y concilios. Hasta donde yo sé, no hay evidencia de que cada sínodo en la Historia de la Iglesia, que se considere un verdadero acto jerárquico, haya sido aprobado por el Papa. Las leyes positivas actuales requieren que el Papa consienta, pero el derecho apostólico no requiere eso. El derecho apostólico es más racional, porque cuando no hay papa o cuando el papa está preso, ¿cómo pueden obtener los permisos los obispos?
Pero la razón general para la reactivación del derecho apostólico tiene que ver con el principio inherente de subsidiariedad en una sociedad perfecta. Este principio fue reconocido por el papa León XIII. Sostiene que cuando la autoridad superior en una sociedad perfecta falla, entonces la autoridad inferior tiene el derecho de asumir el deber de la autoridad superior y actuar en la medida en que sea necesario actuar para preservar o defender esa sociedad. Dado que el Colegio de Obispos en su conjunto sucede a los Apóstoles, cuando la Sede de Pedro se ve obstaculizada, cada Obispo tiene el derecho moral y apostólico de ejercer en cierto sentido la autoridad de los Apóstoles para volver a poner a la Iglesia en buen estado de funcionamiento. Esta es una responsabilidad asombrosa reservada a casos extremos de necesidad, como está sucediendo hoy, con un gobierno hereje público del Vaticano y un Papa (Benedicto) que piensa que ya no es su deber gobernar la Iglesia o reivindicar sus propios derechos como Vicario de Cristo
En un estado de emergencia, el derecho apostólico y divino revive en puntos que ahora, en el curso regular de los asuntos de la Iglesia, regulados por la ley canónica, presuponen una Sede Apostólica que no está impedida. Estas leyes positivas de la Iglesia, que, si se observan, conducirían a la destrucción de la Iglesia o la pérdida de almas están suspendidas en vigor. Es decir, ya no es un delito canónico o una falta moral NO observarlos con la debida razón.
Si hay obispos o cardenales católicos en la tierra, deben reconocer esto antes de que sea demasiado tarde, o la desafortunada advertencia de Nuestra Señora de Akita sucederá, que los fieles se vean privados de los sacramentos de la Penitencia y la Eucaristía y Órdenes, porque ningún obispo tuvo la sensatez de ver que tenía el derecho apostólico o divino de actuar para preservar la Sagrada Jerarquía durante un papado impedido.
Esto se debe a que, con los Apóstoles ya no en la Tierra, y la Sede de Pedro en silencio, todos y cada uno de los miembros del Colegio de Obispos que permanecen católicos pueden asumir lícitamente los deberes de los Apóstoles para la propagación y preservación de la Fe.
Algunas de las cosas que cualquier obispo, con o sin jurisdicción, puede hacer, por derecho divino o apostólico, durante un papado impedido son las siguientes:
Llamar y convocar un Sínodo o Concilio para condenar las causas de la Sede impedida, o condenar a quienes la están perpetrando. (El Papa Julio II sanciona esto en principio) ****
Llamar y convocar un Sínodo o Concilio para deponer a los demandantes al papado que no tengan títulos canónicos válidos. (Esto se hizo en Sutri en 1046 y fue sancionado por San Pedro Damián, el Papa San Gregorio VII y el Bl. Papa Víctor III)
Reprobar a un papa por renunciar parcialmente y descuidar sus deberes apostólicos del ministerio. (Esto podría decirse que no es tan extremo como los nn. 1 o 2, por lo tanto, también se aprueba ex maiore)
Condenar a los herejes por su nombre, condenar las herejías. (Todos los obispos tienen este deber y derecho por derecho divino y apostólico)
Llamar y convocar un Sínodo o Concilio para condenar las herejías y perversidades que se están propagando por los Enemigos de la Iglesia, ya sea dentro o fuera de la Iglesia.
Ordenar obispos católicos para las diócesis que hayan sido asumidas por un obispo hereje donde el obispo católico haya declarado herejía o apostasía. (San Atanasio de Alejandría hizo esto en muchas ocasiones durante la crisis arriana)
Ordenar sacerdotes y diáconos católicos para los fieles de cada diócesis que se ven privados de los sacramentos debido al clero herético o cismático en su área. (San Atanasio de Alejandría hizo esto en muchas ocasiones durante la crisis arriana)
De hecho, durante los primeros 1500 años de la Iglesia, vemos a obispos regularmente haciendo muchas, si no todas, estas cosas. Tenían el beneficio de no estar plagados de conciencia por la ley positiva de la Iglesia, pero el sistema funcionó. Ahora que la Sede Apostólica, más aún el Vaticano, está completamente impedida y tomada por los herejes, ¡los obispos deben actuar!
Este no es el caso imaginario de los sedevacantistas a los que no les gusta un Papa ni el caso más sólido de los tradicionalistas que no quieren abandonar las tradiciones litúrgicas de su Rito: este es el caso de un ataque frontal directo a la Nueva Alianza: el Depósito de la Fe, las Escrituras y la Tradición, a través de la negación abierta de dogmas y doctrinas y disciplinas clave que provienen de Jesucristo y sus apóstoles.
Oraciones y Peticiones
Por favor oren por los obispos de la Iglesia, porque si no actúan, toda la riqueza, el poder y el prestigio de la Iglesia serán robados por una secta de sodomitas marxistas y cientos de millones de almas perecerán sin la doctrina y los sacramentos debidos.
Por favor, hable también con su obispo, si parece ser algo católico. Esto es crucial Conozco a católicos que tienen contactos y que están haciendo esto ahora. Pero aún queda mucho por hacer.
Los laicos católicos, debido a la inacción de los obispos, se ven obligados a aceptar sacramentos de los herejes y cismáticos y sodomitas perversos. Tienen el derecho divino de ser atendidos pastoralmente por el clero católico que está en comunión con el verdadero Papa. Y este derecho está siendo TRASGRESIDO DE MANERA DEMONÍACA Y UNIVERSALMENTE en todas las diócesis del mundo católico en la crisis actual.
Tenemos el derecho divino y apostólico de actuar con insistencia y con plena aprobación de la enseñanza y el ejemplo de Cristo.
* Utilizo citas aquí, para señalar lo absurdo que es este enfoque, sin ninguna evaluación razonable de los acontecimientos históricos, porque los Cardenales aceptaron una renuncia inválida y luego eligieron inválidamente a un psicópata arco-hereje, por lo que no es exagerado dudar de que los Cardenales están dispuestos o son capaces de reconocer lo que es un fiel católico
** Ex minore es un término técnico de lógica medieval que se refiere a declaraciones (argumentos) que se basan en apelar a algo que es verdadero en un caso menor, y argumenta a partir de eso, que debe ser cierto en un caso mayor. Nuestro Señor hace esto todo el tiempo, por ejemplo, en Sus parábolas del Rey preparándose para la guerra, el arquitecto preparándose para construir una torre, etc., como ejemplos de cómo si la prudencia es necesaria en las cosas terrenales, es aún más necesaria en cuestiones de salvación eterna.
*** Agostino Paravincii Bagliani & Maria Antonietta Visceglia’s, Il Conclave: continutità e mutamenti dal Medioevo a oggi, Viella Editrice, Roma, 2018, pp. 60-61 and p. 62 in fn. 75.
****Este Derecho Apostólico se incorporó en la Si summus rerum Opifex del Papa Julio II, en el Quinto Concilio de Letrán del 16 de febrero de 1513, que disponía que, si se violaba esta ley sobre los cónclaves papales con respecto a una elección simoniaca, los Cardenales que no participaban en la simonía podrían recurrir a un Sínodo o Consejo para destronar al antipapa elegido de forma no canónica. Bagliani y Visceglia, op. cit, p. 40. Esta ley papal se publicó anteriormente como La Bula, Cum tam divino quam humano iure, 14 de enero de 1505 (ibid., P. 39). Este principio, reconocido por el Papa Julio II y el Quinto Concilio de Letrán, es el que autoriza el llamado de los Sínodos “imperfectos” en tiempos de necesidad, como el nuestro.
The Christmas Creche at the Vatican, December 2019, awaiting the Birth of the Child Jesus.
By Br. Alexis Bugnolo
In this Article I will collect all the pertinent evidence. As I am trained in Cultural Anthropology, I will proceed by a forensic method.
Universal Christian Tradition
… holds that Christ Jesus, the Eternal Son of God, was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a grotto of Bethlehem, in the early hours of December 25, in the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus, while Saturinus was governor of the Roman Province of Syria (which held jurisdiction over Iudaea), and Herod the Great, King, at Jerusalem.
The forensic requirement to disprove the universal tradition, therefore, must be of the highest level. Namely, those who claim that Christ was NOT born on December 25th have to prove their claim. The presumption of right is with tradition.
For this reason, I am not going to presume the tradition is false or wrong. I aim to cite the evidence which is known that corroborates it. I am not a Cartesian who thinks that an a priori doubt makes an investigation scientific, because it actually obstructs an impartial consideration of the evidence, wherein there should neither be doubt nor prejudice to either side of the outcome. Nevertheless, I am an anthropologist, so I know that the universal Christian testimony of the ages is EVIDENCE which cannot be discounted.
In such an investigation, we look for evidence which requires that the birth of Jesus be no later than an no earlier than. These two limits or time points, are called the non postquam and the non antequam, or the point not after which, and the point not before which, respectively.
The Life of King Herod sheds light on the Non Postquam
The narrative in the Gospel of Saint Matthew cites some important historical facts. Let’s begin with the visit of the Magi to the court of Herod. The presupposition of this testimony of Saint Matthew is that Herod was holding court at Jerusalem.
Herod, at the end of his life had very poor health and knew his end was near. At the same time he grew arrogant and insisted on imposing his religious views upon the Jews of Jerusalem. Herod was half jew and mixed-in pagan practices. He went so far as to set up an image of the imperial Roman Eagle above the gate of the Temple, at the entrance to the Court of the Gentiles. This was outside the Temple precinct, but it outraged the zealots. Their rabbis convinced their young men to tear it down. This caused a riot and Herod had the rabbis and the young men who participated in stealing the image sent to Jericho to be executed. They were executed, by being burnt alive, on the night of a Full Moon. We know of these events from Josephus Flavius’ history of the era, entitled the Antiquities, Book XVII, chapter VI, n. 5.
We can deduce several things from Josephus’ account: Herod was still in Jerusalem when the zealots were executed. He was capable of great brutality just as Saint Matthew says. And that the execution took place on January 10, 1 B.C.. (Note that after 1 BC comes 1 AD, there is no year 0), because that is the only Full Moon visible at Jerusalem in this period.
According to historians, Herod left for Jericho, to partake of its curative waters some time no later than the mid of February of the same year. This means that the Magi had to have found Herod at Jerusalem no later than Mid February, 1 B.C. This is the non postquam, since the Magi could not have visited both the Child Jesus and Herod after mid February, 1 B.C..
Tradition holds that the Magi visited Christ on the Epiphany, which is on January 6th.
This non postquam is confirmed by the Roman Historian, Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, Book II, n. 11, where he says that Herod ordered the slaughter of newborns under 2 years of age, at the time of the death of his own son, Antipater. Antipater died 5 days before Herod, who himself perished on April 8, 1 B.C.. So the slaughter of innocents had to have been ordered after April 2nd and executed before Herod’s death. The loss of his heir, Antipater, would have given Herod strong reasons to seek the slaughter of any rival King of the line of the House of David, thus confirming Saint Matthew’s account.
The non postquam enables us to make a first guess at a non antequam when we add the requirements of the Gospel of Luke who says that after 40 days, Our Lady presented the Child Jesus in the Temple, and then the Holy Family returned to Nazareth. Therefore, the Magi had to visit before the 40th day after the birth of Jesus. This means, that the birth of Jesus had to have been before January 6th, 1 B.C..
The Baptism of Jesus sheds light on the Non Antequam
According to the Gospel of Luke 3:23, we know that Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His public ministry, and that this ministry began with His Baptism by John. John himself began preaching a baptism of repentance in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, according to Saint Luke 3:1. Roman Emperors counted their regnal years from January 1 to December 31, even if they assumed power before January 1. This means that the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar began on January 1, 29 A. D.. This corresponds to the Prophet Daniel 9:25 who said that in 483 years after the issuing of the Decree to Rebuild Jerusalem (issued in 454 B.C.), the Messiah would be revealed.
Hence, counting back 30 years, Jesus was born sometime in the Fall to Winter of 2 B.C.. This means that Christ could not have been born before Sept 21th, 2 B.C..
The prophet Daniel also foretold that the Messiah would be “cut off” after a 3.5 year public ministry (Danial 9:27). This is confirmed by Saint John in His Gospel who records 4 Passovers celebrated by Our Lord (John 2:13, 5:1, 6:4, and 11:55). This means that Christ’s Baptism occurred sometime after Nov. 8, 29 B. C., and that therefore, His birth has to be after Nov. 8th, 2 B.C..
It was Jewish custom of the time that Rabbi’s did not begin their public ministry until they were 30 years of age. We also know from the Gospel of Saint Luke, that Our Lord fasted for 40 days in the desert before He began His public ministry. Therefore, since Jewish fasts were preparatory, the fast would have had to ended before His 30th birthday. Hence, the non antequem must be no earlier than December 18th, which is the 40th day from Nov. 8th.
The Temple Service of Zechariah sheds light on the non antequam
We know from the testimony of Saint Luke that the Archangel Gabriel appears to Zechariah while his turn was up for service in the Temple. From the study of Temple practices and the order of the Levites who served there, we know that Zechariah had to have been in the Temple from September 5 to September 11th of the year he served. That means, with travel and other normal delays, that John the Baptist could have been conceived no earlier than the 15th of September, and probably later, since Elizabeth would only be capable of conceiving naturally one out of every four weeks. We also know that Saint John was 6 months older than Our Lord, according to the same testimony of Saint Luke, when he refers to the time the same Archangel was sent to Our Lady. This means that Our Lord was conceived not earlier than March 15th, and thus born no earlier than Dec. 15th. This corroborates the calculation derived from Christ’s Fast and Baptism.
Epiphanius’ testimony on Epiphany sheds light on the non postquam
The ecclesiastical writer of the 3rd century after Christ, Epiphanius says that the Feast of Epiphany was established to commemorate the date of the Wedding Feast of Cana, as the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. If we combine this with the 7 days of Saint John’s Gospel, reckoning that these days were after Christ’s birthday, not before it, then we have a non postquam date of Dec. 31st.. This interpretation is more sound, because it can be expected that after 40 days of Fasting, Our Lord would have returned to Nazareth to meet with His Mother, and from Her learn of the Wedding Feast. It also makes sense, in that Our Lady was giving Him the push to reveal Himself, that He would not have done so before his 30 day birthday, lest He violate established custom.
Conclusion
From the historical record, the Gospel Narratives themselves require that we accept that the Birth of Jesus as occurring after Dec. 18th and before Dec. 31st..
Now, the mid-point between the non antequam and the non post quam, in such studies of this kind is the one with the highest mathematical probability of being the correct date. So what is the mid point of December 18th and December 31st ?…… Calculate it for yourself…
FULL OF THE GRACES AND MERCIES WHICH
THE ETERNAL SON BROUGHT DOWN FROM HEAVEN
AT THE “FIAT MIHI” OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY!
+ + +
POSTSCRIPT
If you have noticed, the evidences point to Christ being born in 2 B.C.. You might ask, “Was not Christ born in the year 0 or 1 A.D.?” — Answer: No, because there is no year 0, the year which follows 1 B. C. is 1 A.D.. — But 1 A.D. begins 1 year and 1 week after the birth of Christ. Why is that? — Answer: Because the regnal year of Emperors begins on January 1st, and only once Christ attains the age of 1, can the regnal year be 1. So the First Year of the Christian era is the first full calendar year in which the Child Jesus is 1 year old. Another way to look at it, is this: the year Zero in which many Christians think Christ would have to be born is really the year 1 B.C., because until the day Christ was born, it was Before Christ’s birth. So, in 2020 A.D., we will celebrate the 2020th year of age, according to His Blessed Humanity, of the Incarnate Word of God.
Saint Athanasius, the first Bishop non-martyr venerated as a Saint, during the Arian Crisis, when neigh but 5 Bishops remained Catholic, employed Apostolic Right to defend the Church against Apostasy.
by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
We live in a very bizarre age, when professional gossipers (aka journalists) are the puppet masters of the masses, because 95% of everyone allows them to dictate the boundaries of reality, history, morality and religion. And until some noted journalist uses the word, “Heresy”, “Schismatic” or “Apostate” in reference to someone who merits the term(s), then no rational person would ever accuse a fellow Catholic of such a horrible offense on his own judgement, because as they say, “everyone knows that it is schismatic to refuse communion with a fellow Catholic in good standing. And good standing means, he has not yet been officially condemned by the Church!”
This is gaslighting, of course. Gas-lighting is a term which everyone should familiarize themselves with. It is the tactic of those practiced in psychological manipulation used to get clients, subjects, inferiors to deny the reality they see and know and accept that the reality is what the manipulator claims it to be.
As soon as Bergoglio was “elected” the gaslighting began. You are seeing things, He is the pope, you cannot talk that way about the pope. Dissent is a mortal sin. If you do not accept him you are outside the Church. You are not Catholic!
Lately, as the heresies and malevolence of Bergoglio explode out of all proportions to any previous heretic in the history of the Church, some Catholics who were formerly famous for their doctrinal and moral orthodoxy are going into apoplectic fits in their attempts to stifle recognition of the reality. ‘Recognize and Resist’, is their mantra. They are hell bent, literally, on remaining in communion with Bergoglio and don’t you dare rain on their fantasies by showing them facts of Canon Law (canon 1364, 1329 etc.) which show that by Divine right, heretics are outside of the Church as soon as they profess heresy.
These apologists of the revolution are just as hell bent on denying the reality of the failed renunciation of Pope Benedict (cf. ppbxvi.org for complete information). They become discombobulated and lash out. They show that their attachment to “Pope Francis” is neither rational or reasonable, it is visceral. How visceral depends, I suppose, on whether they observe the 6th or 9th Commandments.
This complete psychological and intellectual and spiritual breakdown is a result of what I call the Iscariot Conundrum. I use “Iscariot” here in the sense of the Aramaic word for a man from the same town as the false Apostle, Judas Iscariot. Since like him, they have sold the true Christ for the 30 pieces of silver of public recognition by the Cardinals as a “faithful Catholic”* and since they did it for purely selfish, sentimental, non-rational and non-legal or non-dogmatic reasons, they explode with emotion the more you point out to them that they have built their house upon a false premise. So they lash out more and more and lose all traces of the fine Character they once exhibited, becoming in the process, ironically, the very likeness of dialogue which Bergoglio is, a nasty, name-calling Troll.
A State of Emergency
No less that Archbishop Gänswein, the personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI and the Head of the Pontifical Household (which has only one guest, HINT HINT) said that what Benedict did in February 2013 was on account of a state of emergency.
His words and opinions are debated as to what they mean, but it would be ludicrous to deny the reality which is visible to all the world, namely, that THE APOSTOLIC SEE IS IMPEDED.
To say the Apostolic See is impeded, means that the Pope cannot act as Pope for some reason, either external coercion, or there is no pope, or the pope refuses to act out of some irrational or rational conviction. This ‘being impeded’ causes a state of necessity, because the visible head of the visible Church is for all practical purposes non-functioning. The state of necessity is necessity of the kind which is required for continued functioning of the Church. Since the normal order of governance is obstructed, the observance of merely positive laws upon which it are based, by necessity, must be omitted.
Our Lord teaches us this general principle on the small scale, when, on one occasion He and His Apostles crossed a wheat-field during a time in which they had had nothing to eat (Mark 2:23), and some of them ate the grains of wheat which were near to being harvested, some Pharasees complained they were violating the Sabbath Laws against doing work on the Sabbath. Our Lord pointed out that the necessity of their hunger allowed them to not observe the law on harvesting. He replied with a forceful Semitic way of speaking, saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:27)
The law against harvesting was instituted no less than by Moses (Exodus 23:12, Deuteronomy 5:12,14), who had a lot more authority in the Old Covenant (Moses basically wrote the entire thing, under God’s inspiration and direction) than the Pope has in the New Covenant (the pope cannot change the Bible, not even the Our Father — though a lot of clergy are confused on this point).
Also, it is clear, by the principles of logic (ex minore),** that if Our Lord says it is licit to appeal to a state of necessity, to suspend laws of the Old Covenant given by Moses, because men are hungry on a Saturday afternoon, then obviously it is licit to suspend laws of the Pope, in the New Covenant, WHEN THE SALVATION OF ALL SOULS ON EARTH UNTIL THE END OF TIME is put in grave and imminent danger. To deny this would be sheer insanity. This is poignantly true, when one faction in the Church wants to suspend the New Covenant and found a new religion, and the other faction must chose between observing certain man made laws and allowing the Covenant to be transgressed, or not observing them so as to prevent the transgression of the Covenant.
This principle of the abeyance of positive law in a state of necessity is sanctioned by no less than Pope Pius VI, in his Bull, Cum nos superiori anno, of Nov. 13, 1798, where he grants to the Cardinals the right to derogate from all non essential aspects of the papal laws on Conclaves, on account of the de facto suppression of the Church of Rome by the Roman Republic, led by French Revolutionaries.***
Extending this lesson to the affairs of the Church, it follows then, as good Christians, we ARE OBLIGED by divine faith to return to the general principle which Jesus laid down, namely, THE SALVATION OF SOULS IS THE HIGHEST LAW. For the Salvation of Souls the Eternal Father sacrificed His own Son, and His own Son accepted His ignominious death on a Cross. FOR THE SALVATION OF SOULS.
If there is anyone, therefore, in the Church, that holds that we must wait for the Pope (Benedict) to do something, or some future pope to do something, THEY ARE OUT OF THEIR MINDS and more correctly, THEY ARE PHARASEES who are raising up the positive laws established by the Church (which indicate what cannot be done without permission of superiors) to the level of rules which would require the Church to commit suicide waiting for some sort of divine intervention without human collaboration. A divine intervention without human collaboration, in the present case of the impeded See, HAS NEVER BEEN explicitly PROMISED. (I understand that there are some great promises from Our Lord and our Lady, but none of them refer explicitly to a promise to solve this problem.)
Apostolic Right (ius apostolicum)
The concept of Divine Right (ius divinum) is a concept of classical late scholasticism, very popular in the time of the Council of Trent and thereafter. It refers to things which have been decreed by God. The office of Peter exists by divine right, for example.
Apostolic Right (ius apostolicum) is not as well recognized. It refers to the decisions of the Apostles for the governance of the Church. It is of Apostolic right that the church in one city can be governed by several priests, for example.
Both Divine Right and Apostolic Right are superior to Canon Law. As an aside, what most Catholics do not know, is that for more than 1000 years, except for canons decreed in Councils, the Church had no canon law. Canon Law is not of Divine or Apostolic institution, though the First Council of Jerusalem c. 45 A.D. did hand down decisions and is the exemplar for all Councils and Synods in the Church.
Apostolic right also includes some things which are not observed in the normal course of affairs, because since the time of the Apostles the Sacred Hierarchy, for the good ordering of the Church in normal circumstances has laid down canons or established laws to conduct the affairs of the Church differently.
Take for example the election of Bishops. The Apostles appointed Bishops before they died. But when they had passed to eternal Glory, they left it to each diocese by Apostolic Right to chose their own bishop. And by “to each diocese”, I mean to the Catholics of each diocese, laity, religious and clergy. This is how the Church survived 10 Roman persecutions. No one was writing Rome to ask for an appointment, when their Bishop died.
Also, it is of Apostolic Right that every Bishop serves as ordinary of his diocese until death. There was no retirement. That is a novelty created by Paul VI to eliminate Catholics from the College of Bishops and replace them with sodomite revolutionaries. Canon Law implicitly recognizes that this concept of mandatory retirement is contrary to Apostolic Right, in that it does not require Bishops to resign, it says only that they should submit a letter of resignation upon reaching the age of 75.
It is also of Apostolic Right that the Bishops can convene in Synods and Councils. There is, to my knowledge, no evidence that every Synod in Church History, which is regarded as a true hierarchical act, was approved of by the Pope. The current positive laws require that the Pope consent, but Apostolic Right does not require that. Apostolic Right is more rational, because when there is no pope or when the pope is a prisoner, how can the Bishops get permission?
But the general reason for the revival of Apostolic Right has to do with the inherent principle of subsidiarity in a perfect society. This principle was recognized by Pope Leo XIII. It holds that when the higher authority in a perfect society fails, then the lower authority has the right to take up the duty of the higher authority and act inasmuch it is necessary to act to preserve or defend that society. Since the College of Bishops as a whole succeeds the Apostles, when the See of Peter is impeded, each and every Bishop has the moral and Apostolic Right to exercise in a certain sense the authority of the Apostles to put the Church back in proper working order. This is an awesome responsibility reserved to extreme cases of necessity, such as is happening today, with both a public heretic ruling the Vatican and a Pope (Benedict) who thinks it is no longer his duty to govern the Church or vindicate his own rights as Christ’s Vicar.
In a State of Emergency, Apostolic and Divine Right revive on points which are now, in the regular course of Church affairs, regulated by canon law, presupposing an Apostolic See which is not impeded. These positive laws of the Church, which if observed, would lead to the destruction of the Church or the loss of souls are suspended in force. That is, it is no longer a canonical crime or moral fault NOT to observe them with due reason.
If there are any Catholic Bishops or Cardinals on earth, then they need to recognize this before it is too late, or the woeful warning of Our Lady of Akita will come to pass, that the faithful become deprived of the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist and Orders, because no Bishop had the sense to see that he had the Apostolic or Divine right to act to preserve the Sacred Hierarchy during an impeded Papacy.
This is because, with the Apostles no longer on Earth, and the See of Peter silent, each and every member of College of Bishops who remains Catholic can licitly assume the duties of the Apostles for the propagation and preservation of the Faith.
Some of the things any Bishop, with or without jurisdiction, can do, by Divine or Apostolic right, during an impeded Papacy are as follows:
Call for and Convene a Synod or Council to condemn the causes of the impeded See, and or condemn those who are perpetrating it. (Pope Julius II sanctions this in principle)****
Call for and Convene a Synod or Council, to depose claimants to the papacy who do not hold valid canonical titles. (This was done at Sutri in 1046 and sanctioned by St. Peter Damian, Pope St. Gregory VII and Bl. Pope Victor III)
Reprove a pope for resigning partially and neglecting his Apostolic Duties of Ministry. (This arguably is not as extreme as nn. 1 or 2, an thus ex maiore is also approved)
Condemn heretics by name, condemn heresies. (All bishops have this duty and right by Divine and Apostolic right)
Call for and Convene a Synod or Council to condemn the heresies and perversities being spread by the Enemies of the Church, whether inside or outside the Church.
Ordain Catholic Bishops for Dioceses which have been taken over by a heretical bishop or where the Catholic Bishop has declared for heresy or apostasy. (Saint Athanasius of Alexandria did this on many occasions during the Arian Crisis)
Ordain Catholic priests and deacons for the faithful of each Diocese who are deprived of the Sacraments due to heretical or schismatic clergy in their area. (Saint Athanasius of Alexandria did this on many occasions during the Arian Crisis)
In fact, during the first 1500 years of the Church, we see Bishops regularly doing many if not all of these things. They had the benefit of not being plagued in conscience by positive Church law, but the system worked. Now that the Apostolic See, nay the Vatican, is completely impeded and taken over by heretics, the Bishops must act!
This is not the imaginary case of Sedevacantists who don’t like a pope nor the sounder case of Traditionalists don’t want to abandon liturgical traditions of their Rite: this is the case of a direct frontal attack on the the New Covenant: the Deposit of the Faith, Scripture and Tradition, through open denials of key dogmas and doctrines and disciplines which come from Jesus Christ and His Apostles.
Prayer and Petitions
Please pray for the Bishops of the Church, for if they do not act, the entire wealth, power, prestige of the Church will be robbed by a sect of marxist sodomites and 100s of millions of souls will perish without right doctrine and sacraments.
Please also talk to your Bishop, if he appears to be somewhat Catholic. This is crucial. I know Catholics who have contacts and who are doing this right now. But more needs to be done.
The Catholic laity, on account of the inaction of the Bishops, are being forced to accept Sacraments from heretics and schismatics and perverse sodomites. They have the Divine right to be cared for pastorally by Catholic clergy who are in communion with the true Pope. And this right is being DEMONICALLY AND UNIVERSALLY TRANSGRESSED in all dioceses throughout the Catholic world in the present Crisis.
We have the Divine and Apostolic right to act with insistence and with full approval of Christ’s teaching and example.
* I use quotes here, to point out how nonsensical this approach is, devoid of any reasonable assessment of historical events, because the Cardinals accepted an invalid resignation and then invalidly elected an Arch-Heretic Psychopath, so it is no exaggeration to doubt that the Cardinals are willing or able to recognize what a Faithful Catholic is!
** Ex minore is a technical term of medieval logic which refers to illations (arguments) which are based on appealing to something which is true in a lesser case, and argues from that, that it must be true in a greater case. Our Lord is doing this all the time, as for example in His parables of the King preparing for war, the architect preparing to build a tower etc., as examples of how if prudence is necessary in earthly things, it is all the more necessary in questions of eternal salvation.
*** Agostino Paravincii Bagliani & Maria Antonietta Visceglia’s, Il Conclave: continutità e mutamenti dal Medioevo a oggi, Viella Editrice, Rome, 2018, pp. 60-61 and p. 62 in fn. 75.
**** This Apostolic Right was incorporated into Pope Julius II’s, Si summus rerum Opifex of Feb. 16, 1513, Fifth Lateran Council, which provided that if this law on Papal Conclaves were violated as regards a simoniacal election, the Cardinals not involved in the simony could have recourse to a Synod or Council to dethrone the uncanonically elected antipope. Bagliani & Visceglia, op. cit, p. 40. This papal law was published previously as the Bull, Cum tam divino quam humano iure, January 14, 1505 (ibid., p. 39). This principle, acknowledged by Pope Julius II and the Fifth Lateran Council, is that which authorizes the calling of “imperfect” Synods in the time of necessity, such as ours.
This video is in Spanish, but has English subtitles, and the entire transcript in English can be found at the Wild Voice, which has been a prophetic leader on the web, warning the Church about the St Gallen Mafia from the beginning. — Father Martin seems to be a former worker at the Vatican during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. Says he knows Joseph Ratzinger personally.
In this homily, Father Santiago reveals how widespread the hatred and opposition for Pope Benedict was among the clergy and how there was exuberant rejoicing at this resignation. All signs which point to the real motivations for refusing to recognize the Renunciation was invalid. (See, How Benedict has defeated ‘Francis’ and, How Cardinal Sodano robbed the papacy from Pope Benedict). This also explains why its no exaggeration to suppose that Benedict has been imprisoned, not in a jail, but by an entire faction which wants him forever silenced.
Father Santiago, just as importantly, explains that he knew of the goals of the St. Gallen Mafia to attack Church teaching and overthrow the faith, and he warns against them. A warning, alas, which went unheeded, because the revolutionaries were already in charge at the Vatican.
Saint Paul brandishes the sword of the word of God, clothed in the attire of a Jew of the First Century.
The blessed and glorious Apostle Saint Paul wrote to the Church of Philippi, these inspired and eternally valid words, nearly two thousand years ago:
Citizenship in Heaven
17 Be ye followers of me, brethren: and observe them who walk so as you have our model. 18For many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell you weeping) that they are enemies of the cross of Christ:19Whose end is destruction: whose God is their belly: and whose glory is in their shame: who mind earthly things. 20 But our conversation is in heaven: from whence also we look for the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 Who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory, according to the operation whereby also he is able to subdue all things unto himself.
(Douay Rheims Translation)
The Apostle, who as such, enjoyed the personal charism of infallibility, was modest in his speech. Many have interpreted this passage as referring to gluttony but it refers principally to lust, and that of men.
Some men, losing all sense of reason or faith (if they ever had it), however, are so stupid and foolish and so ignorant of their own corporal endowments, that they hold that as soon as blood enters some part of their body, that they are inspired. For fools of this kind, the contemporary mass-media lie of gender theory is for them a divine revelation, directly from their god.
To that end they want all things to bend to this new revelation from below: laws, religion, and above all morals.
This is what is behind the outrageous modernism and sacrilege of scripture which was recently published by the Pontifical Biblical Commission, entitled, “Che cosa è l’uomo? Un itinerario di antropologia biblica,” (“What is man? A journey into biblical anthropology”), which in its Fourth Chapter concludes thus (source):
L’esame esegetico condotto sui testi dell’Antico e del Nuovo Testamento ha fatto apparire elementi che vanno considerati per una valutazione dell’omosessualità, nei suoi risvolti etici. Certe formulazioni degli autori biblici, come le direttive disciplinari del Levitico, richiedono un’intelligente interpretazione che salvaguardi i valori che il testo sacro intende promuovere evitando, dunque, di ripetere alla lettera ciò che porta con sé anche tratti culturali di quel tempo. Sarà richiesta un’attenzione pastorale, in particolare nei confronti delle singole persone, per attuare quel servizio di bene che la Chiesa ha da assumere nella sua missione per gli uomini
From Rome translation:
The exegetical study conducted on the texts of the Old and New Testament has made evident elements which are to be considered for an evaluation of homosexuality, in its ethical implications. Certain formulations of the biblical authors, like the disciplinary directives of Leviticus, require an intelligent interpretation to safeguard the values which the sacred text intends to promote by avoiding, therefore, to repeat according to the letter, what it also carries along with it as the cultural traits (i.e. baggage)* of that age. Pastoral attention will be required, in particular in respect of individual persons, to activate that service of the good which the Church has to assume in Her mission for men.
Admittedly this is complex double speak. So I will translate it into common English:
In other words, WE ARE INSTRUCTING YOU TO WHITEWASH GOD’S WORD AND HIDE THE SAVING TRUTH OF THE IMMORALITY OF SODOMY FROM those addicted to this sin, lest they repent and no longer serve as agents of the Globalist Marxist revolution for the destruction of all humanity. With Papa Francis’s Blessing. Wink. Wink. Hint. Hint.
That admittedly that is not a literal translation, but rather one in the style of Vatican II, that is of dynamic equivalence! (satirical comment)
Oh, and to those who say, “But this isn’t magisterial!”: “We say: well we agree, since Bergoglio was never the pope (see ppbxvi.org for the Catholic reason), but you really need to get a new line, because people can see through that kind of gaslighting.”
As a matter of fact, Bergoglio has announced that from now on, all Dicasteries of the Roman Curia are equal (see report here). That means, whatever the Pontifical Biblical Commission puts out, is just as authoritative as the Congregation for Divine Worship. — So get set for the next Liturgical Aggiornamento, folks!, on the lines of dumping the “cultural baggage” of the past.
_________
* This parenthesis and its content are a translator’s note, added by the From Rome Blog.
Interview of President Marcello Pera, by Bruno Volpe (Full Text, Italian, here)
President Pera, it seems that the Catholic Church is no longer raising Her voice to protest blasphemies against God…
Catholicism for some time now has degraded, it is losing the cultural and religious war. Catholic leaders are afraid and offer a sad spectacle of behavior. And the most faithful example of this is the one at the top.
You mean pope Bergoglio?
Certainly. He is openly going against Tradition, Doctrine and is introducing innovations, disciplines and inexplicable acts. This pontificate is a scandal in the biblical sense of the word: it leads souls astray and make the faithful stumble, it does not bear good fruits, nay it makes them diminish. Vocations and mass attendance have collapsed, fundraising too, at the Wednesday Angelus attendance has thinned and we can see it in the online photos even if the politically correct MSM wont speak of it. As much as regards the fundaments of the Catholic Faith, this pontificate is an outrage to reason. Nevertheless no one here in Italy, faithful or bishop, says anything, no one has the courage to rebel, even though many are filled with doubts. The problem is that the Church has been reduced to a kind of NGO, which attends mostly to social works, which has made Greta into an idol, which runs after the dreams of socialism, both politically and economically, after the dreams of being-nice-to-everybody, while the shepherds often forget that the salvation of souls is their principal duty.
(President Pera is a devout atheist)
Pera does not exaggerate!
No need to mention that Bergoglio has effectively sanctioned adultery, by allowing adulterers, even public ones, to receive Communion, sacrilegiously, nor that he calls God a liar by claiming capital punishment is always morally inadmissible, nor that his appointees are saying Greta is a Saint nor that you can attend a person committing suicide through euthanasia, But just today, the Pontifical Biblical Commission has published a study insisting that the truth of Scripture according to the literal sense, in passages which condemn sodomy, should not be presented, but that what Scripture intends without its historical conditioning (read prejudices of homophobia) is what should be pastorally employed to evangelize modern man ! (see report here)
At this point, I think it is neither an exaggeration to call into question the sexuality of anyone who still thinks this man is the Pope.
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, THAT IT WILL APPEAR BEFORE ALL NEW POSTS
(Scroll down below this Call to Prayer, to see new posts)
There are a lot of prayer initiatives around, which are merely human in origin. But when we pray, we should do so out of supernatural motivation and especially when requested by Heaven.
One of the most important prayer initiatives in Catholic History, is the Request that we pray much for the Holy Father. This request comes from no less than the saintly Children at Fatima, who urged us not only to pray very much for sinners, but that we should pray very much for the Holy Father.
This prayer request for the Holy Father comes from Sr. Lucia and from Jacinta, who being shown the grave difficulties in the Church spoke of the need to pray for the Holy Father for 2 reasons: That he might perform the Consecration to Russia requested by Our Lord; and that he might endure the persecution that he would one day suffer from those all around him.
Regarding the first reason, Sr. Lucia makes this statement in her Memoirs, p. 414:
“‘The Holy Father! Pray very much for the Holy Father! He will do it, but it will be late. Nevertheless, the Immaculate Heart of Mary will save Russia, which has been entrusted to it.'”
Jacinta’s Two visions
Regarding the second reason, Jacinta calls for prayers for the Holy Father, after seeing TWO of the events which are now taking place in the Church (Source): which Sr Lucia relates her third Memoir:
Also, in her third memoir, she tells us about two incidents in which Jacinta saw visions of a future Pope, and these also relate to the secret.
One day, while they were near the well at Lucia’s home, Jacinta asked her if she had seen the Holy Father. When Lucia replied, “No,” Jacinta said: “I don’t know how it was, but I saw the Holy Father in a very big house, kneeling by a table, with his head buried in his hands, and he was weeping. Outside the house, there were many people. Some of them were throwing stones; others were cursing him and using bad language. Poor Holy Father, we must pray very much for him.”
Sr Lucia then tells us: “At another time, we went to the cave called Lapa do Cabeço. As soon as we got there, we prostrated on the ground, saying the prayers the Angel had taught us. After some time, Jacinta stood up and called to me: ‘Can’t you see all those highways and roads and fields full of people, who are crying with hunger and have nothing to eat? And the Holy Father in a church praying before the Immaculate Heart of Mary? And so many people praying with him?’ Some days later, she asked me: ‘Can I say that I saw the Holy Father and all those people?’ ‘No. Don’t you see that that’s part of the secret? If you do, they’ll find out right away.’ ”
Let us respond!
Many authors believe that this FIRST vision of Jacinta is a prophetic revelation of what Pope Benedict is suffering since February 2013, because at no time in the history of the modern Papacy has a Pope resided in a small house, and been nearly universally derided by those in the Church. The image of a house being pelted with stones by those around it, also seems to imply that the worst enemies of the Holy Father are those in the Vatican which surrounds where he presently lives: in the Monastery of Our Lady Mother of the Church, at the heart of the Vatican Gardens.
The second vision of Jacinta appears to be Heaven’s indication of how to respond to the First vision: namely by JOINING WITH THE HOLY FATHER in prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Let us be that “so many people” praying with the Holy Father “before the Immaculate Heart of Mary”!
Chose whatever prayers you wish, but PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!
THIS IS THE LEAGUE OF PRAYER for the Holy Father. Spread the word and recruit others to offer:
Daily prayers.
Worthy communions and confessions.
Acts of penance and sacrifices.
Fasting and abstinence.
Alms for the poor.
Recitation of THE MOST HOLY ROSARY.
Acts of Consecration to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart, whether personal or in groups, parishes, Dioceses etc.
The most humble of the Seven Basilicas of Rome, which were the traditional places of pilgrimage during the Holy Years, is the Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls. The Basilica is named after the famous Saint Martyr of the Early Church, who was the Arch Deacon of the Church of Rome entrusted with the funds for all the poor and widows in the City who received aide from the Church.
Saint Lawrence is the principal Patron Saint of all Deacons.
Saint Lawrence was martyred in 258 A. D., when he in response to the Roman Official who wanted to seize the treasures of the Church, being demanded to produce them for confiscation, Saint Lawrence called together the poor whom he cared for and said, “Behold the treasures of the Church!”
Saint Lawrence was put to death on a griddle, and when his flesh was roasted on one side, he said to his executioners, “I am done on this side, you can turn me over now!”
The Emperor Constantine build the first Basilica over the small Oratory which enclosed the tomb of the Saint in 258 A. D.. And YES indeed, this Basilica still holds its treasure! The tomb of the Saint!
The Nave of St. Lawrence’s Basilica preserves the traditional form an structure of a late Classical basilica, which was a Roman Law court. As these buildings became places for official imperial business, they were modified to have a raised dias at the end, where the official or Emperor would sit when holding court. Since it was cheaper to simply take an unused basilica and turn it into a Church, the form of the Roman basilica became the standard form of the Catholic Basilica for the next 1000 years, giving rise to the Romanesque Style of Architecture in Churches.
The Basilica therefore has a central large section flanked by columns, and at the apex of the Nave, a raised Sanctuary. Here you can see that beneath the Sanctuary, the lamps burning in the tomb of the Saint.
The floors of the Basilica preserve the mosaic like patters which were commonly used in the early Middle Ages. Large parts of the walls were rebuilt after World War II, because in their sloppiness, the Allies let a few bombs fall in the Verano Cemetery to the rear of the Church, which destroyed parts of this Church.
There are 2 great treasures in this Basilica, after Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament: The first is this magnificent Statue in white marble of Saint Lawrence, holding the griddle upon which he was burnt alive for the love of Jesus Christ. In this left hand, is a treasury box representing his duty to care for the funds of the Church of Rome.
In my judgement, this is one of the finest works of art in all of Christendom, because it succeeds in capturing both the nobility and the innocence of the Saint, without any of the exaggerations which came to be common in the Renaissance or Early Counter-Reformation. This is Christian Art the way it might have looked at the end of the Classical Period, when artists were mortified and men of prayer and spirituality.
Here is a close up. The Saint is wearing the traditional dalmatic of a Deacon, as they were made in the late Classical period. The Latin inscription on the box is from the Office of Saint Lawrence: Dispersit, dedit pauperibus. “He gave away, He gave to the poor”.
Notice the Cross on the Dalmatic, indicating that the Saint was consecrated to Christ heart and soul. The haircut is in the style of the Latin classical period, and the Saint is beardless because the tradition of the Roman Church has ever been for the clergy to shave the face.
The Sanctuary is formed by a raised platform which is accessed on each side by a stair Case. At the center is the High Altar, covered by a Baldichino. This one has plenty of holes in the roof, because in the late classical period, oil lamps were used to light the altar, and they required ventilation. Directly beneath the High Altar is the Tomb of the Saint.
One can see from the structure of the Altar, that the Priest or Bishop who celebrated here, has a tight space. But this Altar has a step of wood placed on the side used to celebrate, to keep the feet of the priest warm in the winter.
At the Apex of the Nave and Sanctuary is the Papal Throne, in Classical Imperial Style, with plenty of space for the Papal Court to stand and approach. This Throne is a good 50 feet from the High Altar, which means it was probably set there to accommodate a good number of the Clergy of the City during liturgies.
Here is a close up:
So you can see, having the “presider’s chair” on the central axis is quite an aberration. Only the Pope should sit in that place, because He is the Vicar of the Living God. The parish priest or Bishop should have a little humility and remember this.
Let’s now make our way to the Crypt, which is the goal of every pilgrim!
The Crypt consists of a huge marble sarcophagus enclosed in Iron Bars. This is the very tomb of the Saint, who has lain here for 18 centuries. The Bars were to keep pilgrims from stealing parts of the tomb.
The Tomb is covered in a Red Tapestry depicting Saint Lawrence. Red is because he shed his blood for Christ!
And if you stick your hand through the bars, you can take a photo of the Icon of the Saint, which sits at the head of his resting place.
This icon is modern and in the Greek Style.
Here is a prayer for Deacons, who come here on Pilgrimage:
O GLORIOUS SAINT LAWRENCE,
who in your duties as a Deacon kept ever in mind,
first and foremost,
that love of Christ’s poor was the principal and essential duty of every Deacon:
deign we beg you, to obtain for us the grace
to open our hearts to those who are truly poor,
and the prudence to distribute the alms of the faithful,
wisely and mercifully to those in need. Amen.
______
CREDITS: These photos are by Br. Bugnolo who releases them to the public domain so that Catholics everywhere can see the glories of their Faith, even if they cannot come to the Eternal City to see them in person.
Aquí está el famoso video del Sr. Brian Murphy (Why Benedict is still Pope), ahora doblado en español. Por favor compártelo con todos tus amigos en el mundo de habla hispana!
Esto es muy importante, porque una vez que el mundo de habla hispana conozca la verdad, será más fácil convencer al resto de la Iglesia del error.
Todavía estamos buscando voluntarios de voz que sean hablantes nativos de alemán e italiano. Y pido también polaco, portugués y francés.
I recently shared an article on the importance of turning to Our Lady in the times of darkness, because Her example of Faith and Charity are a light for all the faithful when all other lights go out.
But today, I want to point out another great truth, that cannot be left unsaid, but which has been left unsaid for much too long.
That Our Lady is our most powerful example of Hope.
You see, those addicted to sin and all the workers of evil cannot preach about Hope in the world to come, because they have already despaired. For as the Saints teach, one cannot turn irrevocably over to evil, to the dark side, without the terrible sin of despair, which is always mortal.
The danger of despair is more prevalent than we think. It is one of the chief errors spread by both Islam and Marxism. Both systems of thought are fatalistic, because neither knows the path to God.
For Christians, Hope began long before the salvation of each of us, and we hope precisely because God created a Path to Heaven, When He descended to Heaven. That path is Mary. This is the teaching of Saints Louis Marie Montfort and St Maximilian Mary and all the great devotees of Our Lady who are saints.
Yes, Jesus is our Hope, because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. But because sin separates us from God and the experience of this separation is what the Devil uses to inspire souls to spiritual sloth, which is the mother of despair, the crucial medicine against Despair is Our Blessed Mother, whom on account of being our Spiritual Mother in Heaven is a path back to God in a way God can never be, because God the Son, as God, was never alienated from God the Father or God the Holy Ghost.
OUR BLESSED MOTHER is also a great example of Hope against despair, because She never lost hope even when it appeared that evil had completely triumphed over Her Son and His work. Even when Her own people persecuted the Church She prayed more fervently for the conversion of sinners, and, as the Saint say, obtained the conversion of Saint Paul, the Great Apostle to the Gentiles.
Without such hope, man tastes a bitter alienation, because his sins separate him from God and the life in God.
And man from the beginning has known this alienation. Yet, as the Fathers teach, just as man became alienated from God in the beginning THROUGH A WOMAN, so did God in the end times provide that man, who is alienated, come back to Him THROUGH A WOMAN.
This is why,
All the Devil needs to purchase your soul, is Despair
Despair is the price of souls, who are damned, just as Hope is the price of souls to be redeemed.
This is because no sin paralyses a soul completely but despair. Without despair, a soul knows there is a possibility of salvation for it IF IT JUST collaborate with grace enough to be moved CLOSE ENOUGH TO GOD to be saved.
Despair prevents the following good works which are necessary for salvation of the individual soul:
Prayer for the grace to repent.
Works of penance for sin.
Avoidance of sin, for souls in the state of mortal sin.
Asking God, Saints and fellow men for help to over come sin and bad habits.
Confessing one’s sins.
Encouraging others in the life of virtue.
Worthy reception of the Sacraments.
Good works necessary to save sinners.
For this reason, the agents of darkness know well that the worst thing they can do is to preach against Despair. They work to spread despair by announcing all their evil triumphs. They promote despair by doing nothing against them. This is the sign of every false Apostle. Sound familiar?
But the worse despair is that which despairs even of seeking the help of Mary, who is our great example in every virtue and who is especially quick to heed the cries of Her children in every need!
Despair, thus, by its very nature cuts the soul off from all hope for redemption, salvation, improvement. This is why…
Despair is like a snake, it does not jump upon you, it slithers into your soul
by means of spiritual neglect. This neglect is called sloath. First you omit one good work, then another, then this or that prayer, then another. Then you stop frequenting Church, you leave off reading Catholic books, or the writings of the Saints. Or if you do you read only prophecies of doom and destruction.
And the next thing you know, you are preaching despair to those around you, because it is the best excuse for doing nothing and allowing the world to go to Hell.
And without realizing it, you have just become an Apostle of Damnation and a card-holding member of the underworld on Earth.
The Danger of Despair is too great
Unfortunately, on Social Media there are an abundance of such false Apostles. That is the chief reason I refuse to publish comments, when they are laced with despair. There is nothing more against the virtues of Faith and Charity and Hope than to preach that nothing can be done, evil cannot be opposed, the conquest of the wicked is inevitable.
And the really wicked trolls attempt to attack Catholics on social media precisely on this point.
Despair has a more wicked Twin Sister
Despair, I like to say, has an evil Twin Sister: Presumption. Presumption is the habit of thinking God will give something when you do not merit it. Satan attempted to introduce Presumption twice into the Church. The first time he was crushed by the disciples of Saint Augustine, when he tried to get men to believe that salvation was in their power, they did not need Christ. That was the heresy of Pelagian.
The second time, he succeeded in damning hundreds of millions of souls, through his servant, Luther, who taught that a man is holy, the more he presumes the grace of God. Luther called his vice of presumption, “Faith” to conceal its poison. But those who bought the lies of Luther quickly fell to despair because the system of Presumption, in not having recourse to all the Sacraments, to the Communion of Saints, to Penitence for Sin, most importantly, quickly leads one to realize it cannot achieve holiness except through pretense. This is why protestant churches are always splitting. It is their last attempt for hope. Except they never get rid of Despair’s Evil Twin Sister, and so Despair soon returns to their house.
Catholics need to slap themselves in the Face…
If you accept the presumption of Protestants, or the fatalism of Muslims, then pretty soon you will no longer believe that it is necessary for your own salvation that you do anything to protect others from evil. And with that error embraced by more and more Catholics, the Church would fail.
That is why the truest sign of a true Catholic is that they are dedicated both to prayer and to good works to save others! Because prayer without works is a vain exercise, which God will not answer. And works with out pray is presumption, that God is not or does not have to be in the equation.
And the worse kind of despair and presumption is found among those who believe the Church will be overcome by the wicked. The second, is that “I” personally do not need to do anything to achieve the victory, I can wait and watch for it to happen, as if the Book of the Apocalypse were a TV program or something!
No, the truth is, all those who stand around watching, are already part of the Mystical Body of Satan, because sloth is a mortal sin! Presumption of victory is a mortal sin! And Despair that you can do anything to contribute to the victory is a mortal sin!
Remember, Victory is only attained by those who fight for it
Somehow, I do not know how, but somehow a good number of Catholics got the crazy notion, that the Church in the end will triumph over Satan and the wicked, and that “I” will share in that victory, even if I do not fight.
The problem with this CRAZY IDEA of making salvation history into a sort of soccer or football game which I can watch and still participate in the victory of the winning team is this:
IN MATTERS OF SALVATION, THERE ARE NO ONE IN THE BLEACHERS OR ON THE BENCH.
Everyone is one the field. So if you are watching, you are already on the wrong side of the field, because you are in the League of the Devil. And despair is for losers….
Thus, You can only participate in the final victory, if you are playing on — not cheering for — the right team, NOW, TOMORROW AND FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
The Church of Rome alone is guaranteed the Victory
And if you want to be on the winning side, then you need the Office of Saint Peter, because of all the graces God gave for victory, there is ONLY ONE, the office of St Peter which He promised would never be overcome by the forces of Darkness.
This is why asserting the renunciation of Pope Benedict is valid is SO PURELY AND HELLISHLY DIABOLICAL.
It is diabolical because it leads inevitably to despair through presumption, as if the Church can exist with a heretical pope, or prevail against the Darkness with an Office of Peter which does not produce victory.
But others err in another direction. Namely, they believe that somehow the Anti-Christ will conquer the Church of Rome and that the papacy will cease.
If you have not noticed, Christ promised that His Church would never be overcome. And He gave to His Church the office of St Peter. And that office the Apostle Saint Peter left as an inheritance to the Church of Rome. Hence, the Church of Rome will endure until the end of time and share in the victory. But not every other local Church, for many will be overcome by darkness.
This is why all the Saints had confidence when they fought on behalf of the Pope or the Church of Rome. They knew the means for Victory were there, if they could just put them to use or put them back in working order.
This is what we Catholics who know that Benedict is still the Pope are doing. This is the great merit of being on the winning side and knowing how to achieve the Victory. This is why it is not presumption or foolishness to fight for the Faith at Rome. And this is why I write this Blog.
This is also why winning here, at Rome, for and with the true Pope, Benedict, is so essential for winning everywhere else in the world.
O IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, OUR HEAVENLY MOTHER AND OUR GREAT SIGN OF HOPE
for when mankind was sunk in the depths of his sins,
God the Holy Spirit worked His greatest miracle of grace:
the creation of your soul!
O Mother of Our Redeemer and most beloved daughter of the Eternal Father,
look with all the tenderness of thy Maternal Love on me
a wretched sinner,
and vouchsafe to once again touch my soul with HOPE,
so that I might return to the zealous practice of the Faith
to which God imbued me in Baptism,
anointed me in Confirmation,
and wants to restore me in Holy Confession.
HELP ME TO REMEMBER ALWAYS
That this is not a battle in which I can remain on the bleachers. Because, you want me to be with you on the winning side, a victory I cannot share in unless I fight for it.
AMEN.
_________
CREDITS: My photo of the Sepulchral Monument to Pope Leo XIII at Saint John Lateran, at Rome. When, with the Papal States ended, all spoke of the imminent disappearance of the Church of Rome, Pope Leo guided the Church in the greatest expansion of faith the world had ever seen, by sending missionaries to all corners of the world and increasing the total Catholic population by several fold.
Many things in the Church are left unsaid, but should not be. Most of them which come to mind are evil things, horrendous sacrileges and scandals.
But there are many things which are left unsaid, out of neglect, or a lack of appreciation. And most of these are good things, wonderful things, treasures coming down from Heaven.
In this post, I want to talk about the most precious of these gifts: the tears of Our Lady. I speak here of the gifts with a little, “g”, not of the “Gifts” with the capital, which refer to the Eucharistic or Divine Miracles.
If you have not noticed, Our Lady has been crying a lot lately.
First of all, this is Scriptural: that Our Lady endured the most intense sorrow at seeing Her Son rejected by the High Priests and condemned to death by the Roman Authority and rejected by most of Her own people, crucified and executed as vile criminal. This is a matter of faith, “A sword of sorrow shall pierce your own soul” (Luke 2:35), as was prophesied to her by St. Simeon, the day Our Lord was presented in the Temple as a babe.
But whether Our Lady cried at Calvary, is debated among the saints, with some saying She did, others saying She did not, because of the immaculate perfection of Her humanity allowed her to hide her suffering out of humility. The Holy See weighed into this controversy around the time of the Council of Trent, I think, and outlawed images of Our Lady which showed Her overcome by sorrow, collapsing at the foot of the Cross or fainting away, as contrary to Scripture, which says clearly, “Standing at the foot of the Cross was Mary the Mother of Jesus….” (John 19:25-27)
But in the ages after Pentecost many an image of Our Lady has wept: tears of water or human tears, tears of oil of crisim and even of human blood. During the Reformation a sold white marble Statue of Our Lady wept tears of blood or water 5 times at Ficarra in Sicily. It is thought Our Lady worked this miracle to show Her profound sorrow at the loss of so many of Her children to the evil lies of the Reformers. I had the great honor to walk in the procession of Our Lady, at Ficarra, in 2011. The devout do it with bear feet on the hot pavements of August.
In 1846 on Sept 19, Our Lady cried at La Salette, France, in the French Alps, saying the sins of mankind were now so heavy She could not avert the wrath of God. This was the first of Her great modern Apparitions. It says a lot, that in the first one She show us Her tears. At La Salette She revealed the corruption of the clergy and the downfall of Rome and the rise of the Antichrist. La Salette is the most beautiful setting Our Lady has ever chosen. I can still vividly remember my visit there in 2004. Make sure to get some of the waters from the spring, which confer the grace on many a soul to repent of their worst sins.
Our Lady of Siracuse
Then, in 1953, from August 29 to September 1, there was the extraordinary weeping of a tiny image of the Immaculate Heart at Syracuse, Italy. A shrine stands there to commemorate the miracle.
I have visited this shrine several times in 2010 and 2011, and can assured you, though the Church is horribly ugly, that Our Lady grants tremendous graces of penitence in this Church and other special graces to guide one in the fidelity to their daily duties and vocation. — It is generally thought in Italy that this prodigy was a warning of the tremendous disaster which would occur at Vatican II. Indeed, in 1953 the Freemasons in the Church began their plan to overthrow the Church from within, because they could not endure the Dogmatic definition of the Assumption of Our Lady body and soul into Heaven, to take the seat of their lord, the cast-down Lucifer.
There have been many other occasions of such prodigies: Statues of Our Lady of Fatima, of the Mystical Rose, even of Our Lady of Guadalupe. One image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in New Mexico, USA, which began to weep tears of Chrism on the Solemnity of Pentecost in 2018: a sign I believe refers to Her sorrow that so many unworthy men are being ordained priests and consecrated Bishops.
Another image of Our Lady wept human tears for several years at Fresno, California, beginning about the time of the first Synod on the Family: I sign I think refers to Her tremendous sorrow at the bishops allowing divorce and giving the Most Blessed Sacrament of Her Son to public adulterers.
IF YOU KNOW OF OTHER WEEPINGS, please include a link to information about them in the comments below, so this post can become a treasury of such for Her children who love Her the most.
Why does Our Lady show us Her tears?
The reasons are many. First of all, there is nothing more evocative to a human being than to see their Mother cry. All faithful children want to do whatever they can to assuage the sorrow of their mother.
So we can be sure, since Our Lady is body and soul in Heaven, that She works these prodigies by the grace of God to send us the strongest message possible: that She is horrendously saddened by sin.
Sorrow for sin is not necessarily salvific. It can be if it leads to repentance. If it is just moved by remorse at suffering on account of our sins or not achieving the crimes we wanted to achieve, it is actually worthy of damnation.
But Our Lady’s Sorrow for sin is co-redemptive, because by it She united Herself perfectly to Jesus on the Cross and contributed Her sorrow and Her offering to that Salvific Sacrifice. This is why the Popes call Her, “Corredemptrix”, because by it all that Jesus Merited for us, She also merited for us. Christ merited much more, and in not all of that did She merit, but as far as we are concerned She is most worthy of the title of collaborater in the work of the Redeemer, which in Latin is, Corredemptrix.
By these tears, however, Our Lady’s purpose is to encourage us, too, to weep for sins.
First for our own sins. And with tears of penitence. With a deep and fiery sort of sorrow which plunges our thoughts to how we merited the horrendous eternal punishments of hell, and how we sinned with such disregard for God’s goodness, for the gratitude we own our Creator, Savior and Redeemer, and in utter disregard for all the good things God and the Saints have done us in our lives.
This kind of burning sorrow washes away the punishment of sins (if we are in the state of grace) and disposes us to make a good Sacramental Confession (whether we are in the state of grace or not). It is the kind of sorrow which makes Confession effective. Without this sorrow, our Confessions rarely are, though many presume they are. That is why so many keep confessing the same sins. They confess without the sorrow which goes down into the soul.
In Her tears the Church Herself can find Salvation from the present Apostasy
Everyone is wondering why no one is doing anything about the horrific pontificate of Bergoglio other than saying that we should shut up and endure it.
This is because so many souls have shut the doors of their hearts to sorrow for sin!
Making reparation for sins is good. But you should start with your own sins, and if you were sincere you would have little time left for others’ sins.
The perfection of sorrow of sins is the source of new life in the Church: it drives souls into religious life to do penance. It makes men realize how important it is that they become priests to save souls. It repairs broken marriages, broken vows, broken friendships. It makes reparation for all kinds of sins.
We need to cry at the horror of our own sins. We need to ask for this grace of tears. The great Saints had it. And if we pray to Our Lady to experience this sorrow, whether we cry tears or not, we are doing a good work, because we all could use a lot more sorrow for sin in the Church.
We need to pray in addition that this grace comes upon the Clergy, from Pope Benedict down to the last seminarian in the Church. The clergy have been pretty much doing their own will for 60 years and they have ruined the Church by it. Only if they begin to weep, will they find the way back to God.
For having tasted true sorrow for sin, the soul is made a warrior against sin. And only with such a rebaptism can we fight the Apostasy and the Apostles of Sin.
These tears are most powerful. For they are in a way a sharing in the tears of the Co-redemptrix, as powerful as the Blood of Christ for us, according to the efficacy of their power to bring us back to God when we have spurned the Blood of Christ. — That is why the Agents of Apostasy hate Her under this title, Corredemptrix, and fear Her tears so much. That is also why they so often deny that it is She who is crying.
O My God,
I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee,
and I DETEST my sins
not only because by them I have merited Thy just punishment in Hell,
but most of all because by them I have offended Thee,
Who art the infinite Good and worthy of all my love.
Therefore, trusting in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
I firmly resolve to sin no more,
to avoid the near occasions of my sins,
and to do penance for them. Amen.
CREDITS: Images of Our Lady are, in order of their appearance: Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Syracuse, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Hobbs, NM, USA.
Knowing how to achieve victory is the greatest morale booster for troops preparing for battle. For that reason I wish to focus here on
the FORMULA for victory: M + A = V
Here is the explanation:
“M” Stands for …
Our Lady does nothing in vain. Being the Queen of Heaven and Earth and the Queen of the Elect, as She worships God Her Son, She sees in Him the entire future and each one of us. So She knows well in advance what needs to be done and how to prepare for it.
Now, I am going to make an educated guess what Our Lady’s grand strategy for defeating the Anti-Church is, inasmuch as it involves our collaboration.
I get this idea from watching a film on the Apparitions at Montechiari, in the province of Bergamo, by Our Lady under the title of the “Mystical Rose”. In one of those apparitions at Fontenelle, a natural spring outside of Montechiari, among the fields of wheat, Our Lady said it was Her desire that the wheat of these fields be gathered together to make hosts which would be used in Communions of Reparation at Fatima and at Rome.
What Our Lady was exactly referring to, I cannot say. I am not an expert in the apparitions of Our Lady Mystical rose.
However, when hearing of this desire of Our Lady, the thought struck me, that Our Lady may have had a long term plan in all Her apparitions on Earth, and that She was not only appearing to Her children, but preparing places of devotion to Her Son and to Herself which would be FORTRESSES of spiritual power and places of the formation and salvation of souls in the End Times.
As I wrote the other day, Franciscan Saints were convinced that the 12th Chapter of the Apocalypse had to do with Our Lady’s triumph over the Anti-Church at the end of Time. Great Marian Saints such as St. Louis Marie de Montfort were convinced of the same thing.
It follows logically, therefore, that if Our Lady was coming down from Heaven to promote devotion to God through Herself, that She might have also been preparing PLACES which would be the HUBS of Her power-network among Her children in the Final Days.
The thought struck me then, that perhaps we Catholics can best fight the Anti-Church by building an international alliance of Marian Shrines and Marian Faithful. I think the Enemy realizes the great danger of these places too, because I just saw reports that Bergoglio not only attacked the title of Our Lady, “Corredemptrix”, but that he is preparing to dismantle Fatima!
This international alliance of Marian Shrines is what I call the INTERNATIONAL MANTLE OF OUR LADY. This is what the “M” in the formula of victory stands for.
At each Shrine the faithful would found a Seminary for the formation of priests. It might have to start in secret, to avoid open persecution. But what better places to learn to be an Ambassador of Jesus Christ? These seminaries should be places that the faithful enrich with donations of sound Catholic Books, religious artwork, and all that is necessary to train and outfit future priests. Then as men are trained, when faithful Bishops visit, they can ordain these men and send them out to the local dioceses. These can also be the places they consecrate new Catholic Bishops to replace the apostates who have seized local dioceses.
The “A” stands for …
Now, the “A” stands for the prudence of Saint Athanasius. Saint Athanasius was the first Bishop venerated as as Saint who was not a martyr. That is because of all the Saints of his age, and in a way of all the Saint in the entire history of the Church, this man had his head on straight! He understood that Divine Law trumps all positive law, even the laws of the Church, which if observed in a time of crisis would lead to the destruction of the Church at the hands of Antichrists.
We know from the historical record that Saint Athanasius regularly did the following, without hesitation or scruple:
He left his own diocese to travel the world so as to encourage the faithful in other dioceses.
He ordained Bishops and Priests in other dioceses, where the churches had been taken over by Heretics.
He wrote letters to the Bishops of the world with authority urging them to hold fast to the faith.
He disregarded any calls for him to stop any of the above, even when they came from the Pope or Emperor.
He recognized that the State had no authority to suppress the true Catholic Faith, and was eminently discrete with civil authorities who were allies of heretics.
He went so far, as some historians say, that he was excommunicated by Pope Liberius. But he did not care one wit. He knew that in the just cause of opposing Apostasy, he was in the right.
He remembered that Christ Jesus railed constantly against the religious authorities of His own day who observed man made laws to such an extent that they destroyed souls or deprived them of saving truth.
Saint Athanasius, of all the Saints, was the one who understood Our Lord best of all in these matters. THE SALVATION OF SOULS is the highest rule.
At the same time, Saint Athanasius was an eminently pro-Catholic Church man, that is, he did not consecrate bishops or ordain priests to form a private club, but always for the dioceses so that they might keep the faith and provide the sacraments for ALL CATHOLICS who refused the heresy of Arian.
There is just no Saint in the history of the Church who was so darn virile and chaste at the same time. Every member of the clergy today should read his life and then lower his head in shame for his lack of zeal in defending the truth as Saint Athanasius did: NO MATTER WHAT THE PERSONAL COSTS, NO MATTER WHAT THE RISK OF REPUTATION, FAME, WEALTH, HOME, COMFORTS!
We can see a kind of courage like this in the many priests who were and are viciously persecuted for the Faith since the time of the Council and who had to take refuge in a private chapel and being an apostolate on the periphery of the Church. They got very little support. And if they did not say the Old Mass they probably even got even less support.
We need Bishops like this to restore the Sacred Hierarchy by ordaining men devoted to Jesus and Mary.
M + A = Victory
We need to pray that Bishops are infused with this prudence of Athanasius, and that the laity devoted to Our Lady are infused with the zeal to take what She had given and in gratitude now put it to work. In this way we can achieve victory, inasmuch as it is our duty to collaborate with Our Lady in the Victory which She has promised, but which will not exclude our collaboration.
We urgently need to make Marian Shrines the new seminaries of the clergy of the True Catholic Church and trained to fight the Anti-Church. We may have victory over the Anti-Church soon, but the world might be much more hostile for the rest of time. Having seminaries up and functioning, will greatly encourage faithful Bishops to act and ordain new clergy.
The Victory over the Anti-Church, however, may NOT include that we recover the great centers of Christianity from the Anti-Church. This maybe the warning contained in the message given to Melanie at La Salette, that “Rome will become the Seat of the Antichrist…. What falls at Rome will never arise again”.
But the Church will continue until the end of time, and what more spiritually sound example than Saint Athanasius can there be for the clergy? What more spiritually strong fortresses for formation, than the Marian Shrines of the World, where Our Lady appeared?
These are my thoughts. I may be wrong. I claim no authority for them, but common sense and guess work. I confide them, however, to Bishops and to the souls devoted to Our Blessed Mother in the End Times.
Nunc est “Ora et labora!”
And so, to this end, to not leave a suggestion without putting good works into practice, we need to recognize that, Now it is the time for “Prayer and work”.
First, a prayer. Prayer cannot hurt, because God answers good prayers and knows when not to answer improper ones. May He inspire us always to pray good prayers.
LET US PRAY:
ALMIGHTY AND ETERNAL WORD OF GOD, Who out of Thy infinite Mercy descended into the Virginal Womb of the Blessed Mary to save us wretched sinners and to establish Thy True Church upon Earth, for the salvation of all souls, LOOK PROPITIOUSLY upon Thy servants who cry unto Thee, that under the Mantle of Thy Immaculate Mother, Thou might deign now in this terrible battle in which we find ourselves, to Send forth Thy Holy Ghost TO STRIKE THE HEARTS of Bishops with repentance and tears and to open their minds with the gifts of heavenly grace, especially with a share in the prudence of Thy faithful Bishop, Saint Athanasius, that they might have the zeal to go throughout all the Earth like the Apostles of the last days, ordaining for Thee new ministers of God for the salvation of Thy Remnant; and deign to INSPIRE those souls devoted to thy Ever Faithful Mother to organize and found centers of formation for faithful priests, so that Thy Vineyard, which is Thy Mystical Body on Earth, might not be without workers for the harvest, before That Great and Terrible Day, which will soon be upon us! We ask this in Thy Blessed Name, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Second, Action:
Contact souls devoted to Our Lady, wherever you can find them and exercise an apostolate to inspire them to support the formation of priests who reject the Apostasy of Freemasonry, Idolatry, Sodomy, Marxism etc.. There are few souls today willing to do anything, and all of those who are for Pope Benedict XVI are devout servants of Our Lady. So it is prudent to look for more among Her children.
So, if you are able, found a non profit in your area, under the title of Our Lady and work to found a house of formation near a Marian Shrine in your nation. There are also many devout Catholics who have purchased properties near Marian Shrines who would love to help in such a holy project by donating their property or allowing its free use. Search them out.
Be confident that Our Lord will back your efforts: build and they will come! — If you are not able, encourage others to do the same. We cannot allow the Avalanche of Apostasy to overwhelm us without taking action! Prayer is NOT enough!
POST SCRIPT
While I have written about the Apocalyptic implications of remaining in communion with the Head of the Anti-Church, as regards what Saint John said in the Apocalypse, and what the laity need to do, and here suggesting a way forward, I was informed this morning that already a group of Priests in Spain 4 weeks ago began such an effort. The Holy Spirit is truly at work! Learn more via this video in Spanish. We all need the zeal to begin to do the same! And we need to stop heeding the voices that advocate “Recognize and Resist”, “Do nothing”, “Wait for God and Our Lady to intervene”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvhEGtlur5E
CREDITS: La Virgen de las Cuevas, by Zurbaran, 1645-55, in the public domain, retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bellas_Artes_Sevilla.jpg
The Statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, at the top of the Castello San Angelo, Rome (click for image credits).
by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
Today I want to confront and address the most urgent and crucial problem for the lay Catholic: the problem of apostasy among the clergy of one’s own local area.
This problem is crucial because without the Church we cannot be saved. And thus without Catholic Clergy we cannot have the sacraments and guidance we need to be saved.
I know of this problem first hand, since I am not a priest, nor do I have any particular talent at convincing priests of anything.
What I say here is for those of you who do not know your local priest well, or who are going to attempt to speak to a priest whom you do not know. For those of you who have a close friendship with a priest or your pastor, you might be able to undertake the core argument (see below) immediately after mass, because he knows you and trusts you already. So do not take my advice as some sort of scrupulous book of rules to follow. It all depends on the priest and your relationship to him AND whether he sincerely and ardently believes the Holy Faith.
Spiritual Warfare: Preparation & Armor
We live in dark times. And the workers of darkness have achieved already notable successes in deluding nearly everyone on earth in one or more error. This is especially true of the Clergy whom we know, nearly all of whom were ordained after Vatican II. Since the Council there has been an organized effort to turn priestly formation into a mind control process whereby, whatever priest who does survive, more likely serves the Club first and is willing to sacrifice God, Church, souls and you and your family for the Club.
Therefore, above all the first weapon we must use is spiritual discernment. And to have this we need first of all to put ourselves in the grace of God by a good confession and firm resolution to take the side of God and to collaborate with Saint Michael the Archangel in everything he may direct us..
This does not mean that he will start talking to us, but if we have confessed ourselves sincerely and show ourselves to be walking on the path of virtue and not of sin and hypocrisy, he will assist our guardian angel to give us little inspirations which lead to greater ones..
I recommend as essential spiritual-military preparations for the prospective spiritual soldier in the legion of Saint Michael, that, in addition to Confession, you do the following:
Consecrate yourself to Our Lady, especially under Her title as Corredemptrix, which She merits on account of her perfect collaboration with the Redeemer in meriting all the graces for us which He merited for us (cf. Fatima Prayer, “O Most Holy Trinity”), a title given to Her by Catholics for more than 800 years and which shows clearly that we have a way back to God when we spurn the graces of Christ; a way back, which He Himself established in His Infinite Mercy for sinners; a way back which was merited by Her surpassing humility and sorrow for sins, the two virtues which are key and essential to the personal conversion of every soul.
Make a pact with Saint Michael to never look upon what is impure and to ask him to protect you from near occasions of sin.
Ask forgiveness of your Guardian Angel for having ignored him throughout your entire life, for having disregarded so many of his good counsels, for having lived your life as if you were to live it on your own and not at God’s direction, for having claimed so many good ideas as your own, when it was he who inspired them, and for having disregarding so many good counsels to avoid sin and to practice virtue. As penance promise to obey his advice in every occasion from now on, and to mortify your mind of all idle thoughts by stop listening to music or the radio all day long, and by spending time each day in daily meditation in silence, keeping a spirit of prayer, by conversing with Jesus, Our Lady, the Saints and your guardian Angel throughout the day, in the silence and sanctuary of your mind.
Say 5 decades of the Most Holy Rosaryof the Blessed Virgin Mary daily.
Receive communion worthily when possible.
Offer alms to the truly poor in reparation for your sins. Do works of mercy to which you are invited or see the need as you see the need, but without neglecting your duties first to your family (parents, children, siblings etc.) and work (as contractually required, avoid the excess of making your job your life, as Christ is your real boss).
If your health can bear it, to fast on Fridays for your own sins, especially for following your emotions, passions and vices into sins. Fasting means eating less and less frequently in humble penance for sins. If you have had a bad habit of mortal sin, and are still tempted, make a clean break with your past life by a rigorous series of fasts, several days or every day of the week, for several weeks or months or years. This is especially needed for those who have given themselves up to gluttony, which is a very common vice in the developed countries of the world.
Spiritual Warfare: Ammunition
Now since the battle at hand requires that we achieve victories by delivering souls from the delusion of error, it is necessary that we prepare ourselves intellectually to explain how lies are lies and errors are errors.
The regular readers of my blog have a good head-start, because the whole purpose of my blog is to give this kind of information, which both orientates you, explains what is going on and gives some counsel on how to react to it.
But you need to also make a list of the biggest problems in the Church right now, because such a list is an excellent way to prepare talking points with priests. I will not suggest what you should put on the list, because it is best that you make up your own, because those issues you think most important are the ones you are apt to be able to speak about most sincerely and from the heart.
As for printed information, for priests I believe that not all information is needed or necessary or useful. But I do believe that the information at ppbxvi.org is the essential: The Canonical Argument, the Scholastic Question and the text of the Academic Conference. Having a copy printed out, with you, when you speak to priests is an easy way to leave something to continue the conversation, if he shows signs of openness to the truth. But to orientate yourself for any eventual discussion and to prepare yourself for any eventual objection, I recommend reading all the Article on the Index to Pope Benedict’s Renunciation.
This is because our Ammunition in this spiritual warfare is Truth about what really happened, what the Code of Canon Law really requires, and how the problem of the invalid resignation is not a complaint generated by faithful who dislike Bergoglio, but a real objective error of interpretation which puts those who accept the error in objective separation from the communion of the Church.
Spiritual Warfare: Strategy
In the science of War, there are two aspects which must be kept in mind and developed in a way that pertains to the realities on the ground: Strategy and Tactics. Strategy is the overall goal and plan for conquest. Tactics are the rules for conducing individual battles so that each can be won without dissipating or destroying allied forces, which are needed for other battles.
STRATEGY: The strategy in this battle is to save the local Church. This requires that we convert Catholics to the truth of what is going on. Now since every military force which is not adept at war is green and needs experience before tackling the most formidable opposition, the best way to start is to chose battles which are easy to win and which, if one fails, will not damage your own forces. Then having learned how to fight by trial and error in small and easy battles, the trained warrior can move on to the more difficult battles, assisted by experience gained and allies won in the first battles. Thus the most difficult battles, that of winning over your Bishop, for example, or getting your entire Diocese to reject the Apostasy, cannot be obtained initially without these preliminary battles. And the best way to practice this warfare, is not to start with priests, but with fellow laymen and laywomen.
INTELLIGENCE GATHERING: The local Church is a society. This society has a structure and way of operation. There are links between persons and persons, between institutions and institutions, of friends to friends and of work associates with work associates. This is the terrain of our warfare. Only Catholics who have lived their lives in the local Church can know of this. And to the extent that we do not know of it, we need to inform ourselves through our personal contacts with faithful Catholics who know better than ourselves. Essential to this initial battle preparation is intelligence gathering of such information. Try to find out who are the best and closest friends of the priest with whom you are going to speak, or which priests he admires most or were instrumental in his own vocation. There are some priests who on account of their learning, piety and sociability are respected by more priests than others are. Approaching a contact first, before approaching the priest, will help you understand whether he will be open to the truth, and will help you acquire, possibly, an ally in the approach, who might recommend to the priest that he speak with you, or recommend to you how to approach him.
The most influential priests in your diocese should be considered the most crucial and important battles to win. You do not want to start the spiritual battle with such a priest unless there is very sound grounds you are going to win it, because the results of a loss will be more devastating, as the enemy will be assisted greatly by recruiting such an ally.
Spiritual Warfare: Tactics
Tactics regards the rules of fighting individual battles of any kind. There are things to be done before initiating combat, things to be done at the start, middle and end of each battle and things to be done after the fight is won or lost.
BEFORE COMBAT
Prepare yourself spiritually and bring along plenty of ammunition, either in printed form or in memorized information. Essential intelligence gathered should have already indicated that the priest with whom you are about to speak is able to understand what you are going to say and willing to accept hearing it from you, at the time you ask, and in the manner you present it. Your intelligence gathering should already have assured you that this priest will not be afraid of you, or have heard calumny about you, so as to be on the defensive as soon as you approach him.
Pray to his guardian angel and to your guardian angels, to Saint Michael, the patron saints of you and the priest, and to the patron saints of the Parish and Diocese and Church, and those famous saints of your land our country. Explain to these Saints and Angels your intention and how important this fight will be and how you cannot succeed without their intercession and participation.
It makes a big difference, too, whether the priest is a pastor, or merely an assistant pastor: whether he be a diocesan or member of an institute. Some dioceses or institutes are mind-control societies and no free thought is allowed. Some priests are more independent and courageous and are willing to stand for the truth or for their own personal opinions. Do not try to win on a battle field which is unwinnable. If the priest is merely a robot, pray for him. If the priest is manipulative, avoid him. If he does not have a reputation for being faithful to the Church, go on to another priest, because the conversation you need to undertake would be too much for a weak or errant or non-thinker.
STARTING COMBAT
Never do what is done in real warfare: never use surprise. This is because in spiritual warfare, truth enters the soul when the person is relaxed and in the mood to accept information and use his reason. It is important therefore that the time of conversation be one in which the passions and emotions of the priest are lulled, that he has time to speak with you, and that your presentation does not seem to be too burdensome to him. So never sneak up on a priest for such a weighty conversation as this. Ask to speak with him at a time comfortable to him.
I would, therefore, recommend, that if you know the priest, to approach him at such a time. But if you do not know the priest, to arrange a meeting by asking for an appointment. Be sincere and say that all the scandals in the Church are causing many Catholics to think of leaving the Church and you would like to speak about some of these things to get some priestly advice. If a priest does not accept such a request, then do not nag him. Another way to approach, is if he is hearing confessions, then you can do this during your visit, though make sure not to start an actual confession, because if you do, you will bind him by his priestly duty not to speak or act upon whatever you may say.
When to start speaking to a priest about these things is, thus, more an art of knowing the individual priest, than a fixed rule. Due to the diverse dispositions and work of each priest, when to do this might be in entirely different situations, times of the day, days of the weeks, or locations, whether on parish grounds, or perhaps over a dinner at your house or a restaurant. Most priests are overworked and appreciate an invitation and friendly conversation.
CONDUCTING THE BATTLE: Opening salvos
At all times remain calm, friendly and polite. The objective is to spread truth and this only happens in a climate of trust and respect. If what you say or the way you say it cause the priest to be offended, apologize for upsetting him and explain you are only a layman who is not familiar with how one speaks of such things with priests. Also, make it clear that you are discussing this with him in private. Do not imitate me in my conversations with the Curia, because what I am doing at Rome is for the good of the whole Church to inform everyone. Your battles remember have the strategy of winning over your own diocese, and your tactics have to target individuals and secure victories. Keep your victories a secret and do no publish them. The objective, remember, is that the clergy of your own diocese publicly take a stand on their own initiative and as they think best.
As I suggested, have prepared a list of the major or most serious scandals in the Church today, as you see them. Gently move the conversation to one of these, and point out how damaging it is for the faithful who have increasingly more and more reasons to stop going to Church and stop trusting priests. Ask in a spirit of desiring to understand better and engage the priest in doing something to bridge this confidence gap.
If the priest expresses himself as a believer and as someone who is concerned about the truth and about the imminent destruction of the Church, then begin to point out that as Catholics our faith requires us to be consistent. We cannot believe in private and act as pagans in public. This is particularly true in Church. If we continue to pretend that the Church is communion with those who reject Jesus’s authority, then the faithful will just leave and seek Jesus elsewhere. If we continue to treat Jesus in the Sacrament as a candy to be given to everyone regardless of whether they are His friends, by being in the state of grace, or not, we teach in practice that Jesus does not exist and the the Faith is a joke and a farce.
At this point a priest will make it absolutely clear whether he cares or not. If he does not care, move the conversation on to something else or end it, and express your disappointment gently and with respect. For such priest, ending by saying something like, “I believe in Jesus, I want Jesus, and I do not know where to find priests who love Him as I do.” But chose words the way you speak. You want to make the most of every lost battle by leaving in a way that allows another encounter in the future. For priests such as this, who care not so much about truth, but sentiments, you need to show that he has failed in his conversation with you.
If the priest does make it clear he wants to save souls, then point out to him how important it is for him publicly and in his actions and words to take a stand. Explain that the laity only respect priests when they speak the truth, take a stand for truth, and encourage them to do the same. Many priests have forgotten, by the hum drum daily work they do, repetitious, that the laity want leaders in the path of God.
If he responds positively to this line of conversation, point out how in the past clergy have been heroic leaders in times of crisis. They did not fear to speak and they did not fear to pray publicly and preach publicly in accord with the truth. Point out how in today’s world, it is not infrequent that the battle for souls depends on truth and that journalists and a lot of others are habitually inclined to misrepresent the truth. The very ones who daily decry the Nazis are often the very ones who use his tactic of the Big Lie to deceive the masses. That is why priests who defend the truth are so needed today.
If he does not want to be heroic, ask him about how he feels when he does and says one thing in public, and another in private. Does it not cause an interior conflict or depression at having to pretend to go along with lies against the Faith, but personally believe the truths of the Faith? You can talk about all the hot topics in your diocese, such as ecology, woman priests or deacons, support of persons who are enemies of the Church in their politics or personal life. You can ask him what the final result will be of a life of the priesthood spent saying one thing and believing another, publicly promoting or go along with falsehood but being personally opposed. Point out that the prudent thing is to be consistent and if he wants to save souls to be a leader and preach the truth, not just believe it. Act on it, not just say it.
Don’t sound preachy. Speak about your own life and how important God, Jesus, the Church, the Faith is to you and how it has saved you from so many troubles, how Eternal Life is the prize you are seeking and how you want to know which priests really want to save souls, so you can support them.
If the priest passes these thresholds of faith, continue, otherwise wind down the conversation, or move it to other topics. Leaving a conversation respectfully and politely is much much better than leaving it with open conflict. However if a priest begins to defend error, heresy, immorality or apostasy in your presence you need to respond with faith, truth and believe and point out that he is wrong.
For the priest who passes these thresholds, you might want to continue the conversation on another day, if you have already talked at length. Most priests cannot take too much in at a time, they have do many duties and you are just another faithful talking about problems in the Church which he has talked to in the last x years of his ministry.
But if he seems sincerely eager to speak, since many priests cannot speak about these things with priests, this is the time to open up the discussion of how controversial and scandalous the Renunciation of Pope Benedict was and how the Catholic Church seems to be transforming into another religion under the direction of “Pope Francis”. If the priest begins to defend or excuse Francis, move the conversation back to the resignation. If he does begin to criticize Francis, also move the conversation back to the resignation, and point out the discrepancies.
CONDUCTING THE BATTLE: The core fight
The chief things to speak about in the core fight are these, in regard to the Renunciation:
It took everyone by surprise, so it is understandable that the shock put everyone in a state of mind in which they were not paying attention to the details of what happened.
No pope had resigned in 7 centuries, so it is understandable if no one was prepared to react properly.
Pope Benedict is a theological genius, and it is not surprising if his way of speaking was not precisely understood for what it really meant.
Point out then that in this matter the opinion of no one binds the opinion of no one, that what is binding is the requirement of Canon Law, because when the man who is the pope resigns, it is the man who separates himself from the Papal office not the Office which separates him.
Explain that like every moral or legal act, there is that which is done and that which is the object of what is done: there is thus a verb and and object of the verb. Canon 332 says the verb is “to renounce” and the object of the verb is the Petrine “munus”, which is the canonical and theological term for the Papal Office.
Affirm that common sense holds that you cannot declare something about anything unless you name the anything about which you are making the declaration.
Thus, when Pope Benedict said he was renouncing the ministry which he had received rather than saying he was renouncing the petrine munus, there is a clear problem which many missed, namely, that no one in the Church has a right to interpret that renunciation as a renunciation of office. This is because, to interpret is to explain a verbal expression using OTHER words.
Thus, the principles of law require us to hold that the Pope renounced His ministry, but do not signify that he renounced the Papal munus or Office.
Our status in the Church, indeed the status of everyone in the Church, even of the man renouncing, does not grant us the right to impose upon what was said a meaning other than the plain meaning of the words. If it was the intention of Pope Benedict to do something else, he should have done that, he could have done that and the Church has the right to tell him so.
In nearly 7 years, Pope Benedict has never said it was his intention to resign the petrine munus, even though in the Act of Renunciation he mentions this munus twice in the Latin text.
There is no solution to this problem other than that Catholics recognize that the Act of Renunciation did not effect the loss of the office. Pope Benedict XVI cannot fix this unless he redoes the Renunciation properly.
Since the Office of Saint Peter is not merely useful but necessary for the salvation of souls, and since who is pope is the touchstone or core of the Communion of the Church, those who are not in communion with the man who holds the petrine munus are in formal schism from the Pope and from Christ and From the Church.
The sign of communion and the practice of communion reach their highest apex and summit at Mass when the priest names the man in communion with whom he is offering the Sacrifice. This is the greatest and most important duty of a priest.
A priest cannot avoid this controversy without putting himself and his entire flock in risk of eternal damnation, because those who knowingly remain in schism are in mortal sin and cannot be saved, because by being separated from the Mystical Body of Jesus, they are separated from the Only one Who can save them!
The sin of Schism does not consist in erroneously naming the wrong man as pope in the Canon of the Mass, because you were mislead, but it does consist in naming the wrong man as pope in the Canon of the Mass once you are informed who still holds the munus.
No canonical penalty can be imposed upon a priest who names Benedict in the Canon of the Mass, precisely because anyone who would move to do such would thereby formally and publicly manifest that he is in schism from the Christ, from the Catholic Church and from the man who has never renounced the petrine munus according to Canon 332 §2.
Salvation is not possible for anyone who rejects submission to the true pope (cf. Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam).
Be ready to answer all objections. And be ready to explain the practical consequences.
A faithful and courageous and prudent priest will not need advice on what to do next. And it would be impolite to offer any. A young priest might need some advice.
Basically, the best way a priest could react, would be to investigate everything you said, and study the facts and original documents and law. Then being convinced of the truth, preach about it one Sunday to everyone and explain how the Catholic thing to do in such a controversy is to keep naming Benedict as the Pope for now. Then the faithful will support him and he can name Benedict in the Canon without scandal.
But a priest who does not have the courage to preach the truth, might benefit from advising him merely to name the Pope, without a proper name, because no one will really notice. Especially if he says that part of the canon not directly in front of a microphone or in a subdued voice. If he asks what he will say to others about this, advise only one course, to say exactly what you said to him. The truth.
CONDUCTING THE BATTLE: Clean up operations in victory, retreat strategies in defeat
The best outcome is that a priest agree with all these points and agrees to stop naming Bergoglio as the Pope. But nearly all priests will consider these things in private and no immediately disclose their next course of action. Be thankful that the priest heard you out. And promise to pray for him and support him to do the right thing.
The worst outcome is that a priest will interrupt or allow you to arrive at n. 21 but then violently disagree, by pretending it is all meaningless or by revealing himself as an ally of darkness. How you respond here has more to do with your sense of honor and tact. I cannot advise you. As a hermit I am obliged to say certain things a layman is not obliged to say. And I am expected to say them bluntly, because that is my vocation. But for a layman you have the right to leave the conservation by making some polite excuses but always do so in away that does not make it appear that these 21 points were motivated out of politics or hatred. Make it clear that you believe that God exists, that Jesus is really God, that Canon Law is upheld by Jesus and that objective reality is the world in which we must live. Never concede that anything true is up for grabs or that logical conclusions draw from facts are only opinions.
If you win the priest over to Pope Benedict, know that you will merit your own eternal salvation, because this is the greatest act of charity for a priest as a priest. Offer up the merit of the victory or of the defeat born patiently to obtain the graces needed for the next battle.
The best possible outcome is that you convert the priest to join you in this spiritual warfare. The worst possible outcome is that you make of him an ardent enemy who will zealously oppose the truth and warn priests not to speak with you.
If you do not have the reputation to speak with priests on account of such an evil counter-attack, devote your battles to winning over laymen and laywomen with the objective of turning them into front line fighters in the next battles. Teach them to avoid doing the things that did not work for you, and to do the things that did work.
REMEMBER: If you have failed, do not write off the priest. Catholics tried for years to convince me, and only after 5 years did I pay enough attention to read the original texts in Latin, and thus I instantly saw the problem. If you have failed, try to employ another layman or priest whom you have recruited to the cause of Benedict to try again. Sometimes only in numbers does a priest realize that it is something he should pay attention to and think about. If a whole crowd of parishioners approached him at the same time, or over several days and weeks, that would obviously impress him more than someone he does not know asking for a one time appointment.
Finally, the GREATEST STRATEGY for victory is to devote yourself to forming a local group of warriors to do all of the above and meeting from time to time to improve moral, discipline, strategy and tactics.
May God grant you Victory in this His Cause, and may Saint Michael be with you!
_________
NOTES: The most common attack you will receive in this work is that the Devil will send you a soul whom he has convinced to despair to such an extent that they have become an apostle of despair working to destroy the Church. They will say that this will not work, you should stop. They will flip categories of truth and say that speaking the truth is hurting the Church, that truth is a lie and that lies are truth, and that preaching the truth is evil. Pity these souls and ignore them and walk with them no more, just as you would block a troll on social media. Despair is the worst of all sins, because it most effectively blocks the work of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Our Lady. Despair is a child of pride, because the person who despairs places himself over the entire order of mercy and providence and declares that God will not help those who do works of mercy.
A Medieval Illumination, showing the Adoration of the Beast by the false Catholics of the end times.
By Br. Alexis Bugnolo
The beloved disciple and faithful son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostle Saint John warned us a little less than 2000 years ago: In the end, a Great Apostasy would sweep away many Christians.
Saint John tells of the Great Apostasy in the Twelfth Chapter of his Book of the Apocalypse, also known as the Book of Revelations. I will put in red text the interpretation of this chapter given by Franciscan Saints* and I will use the English text of the Douay Reims Bible for the scriptural citation:
12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: (Heaven here refers to the Catholic Church, which is Heaven on Earth. The appearance of the woman refers to the Dogmatic Declarations of the Magisterium about Our Lady, as Ever Virgin, Immaculate Conception, Assumed into Heaven, Queen of Heaven and Earth. The twelve stars refer to the affirmations by the Church of Our Lady’s 12 privileges)
2 And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. (This refers to the struggles in the Church among theologians and believers against the faithful Catholics who are true children of Mary and know that the most authentic and certain path to God is through Mary to Jesus.)
3 And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his head seven diadems: (This refers to the Satanic plot of Freemasonry and other nefarious groups to establish the Mystical Body of the Antichrist in the Church and thus prepare the world for the coming of the AntiChrist)
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. (This refers to the Great Apostasy which will occur after Our Lady is declared Assumed body and soul into Heaven. It will entail the near total apostasy of all the Clergy, who are as the stars in the Heaven of the Church, and it indicates that they will submit to the Father of Lies and give themselves up to the most horrible vices and errors)
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne. (This refers to the Rise of the true Church in war against the Anti-Christ. This true Church will be faithful Catholics consecrated to Our Lady and embracing the whole doctrine of God, and who by their fidelity will be raised up to form a renewed Sacred Hierarchy to replace the old which has apostatized)
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, that there they should feed her a thousand two hundred sixty days. (This refers to the true Catholic Faith which in the end times will have to take refuge in lowly and humble places, because the wealthy and powerful will give up their souls to the rule and domination of demons)
7 And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: (This refers to the war between the sons of God vs the sons of the Devil, that is, the war between the true Church and the Anti-Church. The Leaders in this war will be led on each side by men inspired and devoted to Saint Michael and Lucifer, respectively)
8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. (This refers to the victory of the true Church over the false AntiChurch).
9 And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (This refers to the definitive excommunication of the AntiChurch and its members from the Catholic Church).
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night. (This refers to the future pope of great virtue who will preside over the renewed Church and condemn the AntiChurch)
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. (This shows that the victory will be obtained by faithful Catholics who risk everything to defend the true Faith, putting their trust in the Blood of Jesus, Who already overcame the world, flesh and the devil).
12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell therein. Woe to the earth, and to the sea, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time. (This refers to the joy Catholics will have in those days seeing the Church delivered from this monstrous cult of satanists, pedophiles and sodomites, but warns the world, since being cast out of the Catholic Church they will seek to rule over and weaponize the world against the Faithful).
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman, who brought forth the man child: (This refers to the ensuing attacks of the godless against the true Faith until the end of time, for the whole world led by the AntiChurch will attack Our Lady who defeated them)
Obviously, the teachings of the Franciscan Saints about these matters is not binding in faith, but so far their predictions have turned out to be very accurate. The hatred of the Catholic Faith and the plot to destroy the Church, while brewing for ages, broke out in the Church after the Dogmatic Definition of the Assumption of Our Lady, body and soul into heaven. The wicked clergy could not stomach this dogma which countered their lusts, impiety and fake religious pretensions. They engineered a Council which ushered into the Church the “smoke of Satan” (as Pope Paul VI said):
The pope, concerned, writes:
“… We would say that, through some mysterious crack—no, it’s not mysterious; through some crack, the smoke of Satan has entered the Church of God. There is doubt, uncertainty, problems, unrest, dissatisfaction, confrontation.
“The Church is no longer trusted. We trust the first pagan prophet we see who speaks to us in some newspaper, and we run behind him and ask him if he has the formula for true life. I repeat, doubt has entered our conscience. And it entered through the windows that should have been open to the light: science.”
Storm clouds
The post-conciliar wounds make themselves felt:
“… It was thought that, after the Council, sunny days would come for the history of the Church. Nevertheless, what came were days of clouds, of storms, of darkness, of searching, of uncertainty … We tried to dig abysses instead of covering them …”
This Satanic Smoke has progressively blinded the eyes of the Clergy and Sacred Hierarchy, and even of many of the religious orders, into inclining more and more away from the perennial columns of Faith and Devotion, Hope and true Charity which the Church established from of old in Her Sacred Liturgies, Canons and Disciplines. It was under this Smoke that the good were persecuted and driven out, the wicked and perverse introduced into the high places. This was a necessary preparation for the Great Apostasy, because to achieve their goal the servants of the Father of Lies needed to prepare a whole generation of clergy who either loved falsehood or who had not the manliness to fight it.
This was achieved by introducing the God of the Club, which was initially proposed as merely a form of extreme clericalism but transmogrified to be a true idolatry upon the altar of which 10s of thousands of young people were sacrificed to sexual predators and only those who kept it quiet were promoted to the status of Bishops.
However, without a doubt this “striking out of heaven of a third of the stars” refers to a moment when nearly all the Clergy are separated from the Church (heaven). This, in my opinion, is adequately and perfectly described by the apostasy of the clergy from Christ’s true Vicar by following the lie of the MSM and wicked clergy that Benedict had resigned the office of the papacy, when in truth he never did anything of the kind. By no longer naming Benedict in the Canon of the Mass they show and seal their schism from Christ, from Benedict, and from the Church. They become fallen stars and are swooped up into the work of the great Dragon who is Satan.
Because, in the Greek, the word Apostasy means a falling away. It does not have the technical meaning we attribute to it in Canon Law today as a complete intellectual denial of the Catholic Faith.
As we are now in the full swing of the Dragons tail, we have to stop denying what is going on. All those Bishops who teach heresy and promote sacrilege by giving the Sacraments to public sinners, by condoning wickedness and teaching it, plus all those Bishops who do not oppose this, are all part of the Apostasy. There are even a few very wicked men, who agree with the apostasy but want to raise money by pretending to criticize it even as they insist you remain in communion with the leader of the Apostasy.
In this battle, we cannot afford to pretend any longer, nor to compromise. As Our Lady lamented at Akita, the Church in this battle will be filled with those willing to compromise, especially among clergy and religious.
The Pachamama worship was no accident. The adoration of the Andean Dragon Demon of the underworld is not a coincidence. This was not a political decision, it was an intentional act to involve everyone in the worship of Satan.
We must join the battle (See, Saving souls in the time of Apostasy) and urge the bishops and clergy to condemn the heresies of the Anti-Church and to break off communion with Bergoglio. (See the Article: Every Priest has the Right etc.) So long as the False Prophet and AntiChurch is recognized as having authority they will use it to destroy the entire Church world wide. Those who insist on recognizing their authority therefore must be presumed to be deceived by some sort of devil, because they are giving power to the Beast, who hungers to damn all souls to Hell so he can reign over and torment them for all eternity.
The wicked know what they are doing. They might try to gaslight you into not seeing what they are doing or in not doing anything to oppose them, but they know what they are doing. — I see this on a daily basis at Rome. As soon as you put a value judgement on heresy, apostasy, immorality or show canonically that the Renunciation is invalid, they lose all composure and snap at you like mad devils, a torrent of lies and abuse coming from their mouths. Their faces warp with the most nasty and biting expressions. They cannot endure your presence and run off. — Though this is not new. When I was studying at Rome 7 years ago, I found the same spirit, though confined, to certain faculties of theology in the Pontifical Institutes. But now this spirit reigns, it has captured the Vatican by guile and treachery.
Finally, I want to emphasize that, when Saint John says a third of the stars, I believe he means nearly all of them in that age, because in the night sky you can only see about a third of the visible sky on any one night.
And we have entered the night…. and it is WAR!
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, o Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, thrust down into Hell Satan, and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world, seeking the ruin of souls!
Saint Michael the Archangel, First Defender of the Kingdom of Christ, pray for us!
,________
* I heard this explanation from an old Franciscan priest, when I became a Franciscan. I no longer remember the Saints he cited. And he has now passed from this life.
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There have been many other occasions of such prodigies: Statues of Our Lady of Fatima, of the Mystical Rose, even of Our Lady of Guadalupe. One image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in New Mexico, USA, 
