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Dear Friends,
I was grateful to J for giving me permission to post his letter. I thought it was better to turn off the comments so that his honest voice would not be debated but would be heard more clearly and respected. J is a youth struggling with the crisis in the Church, striving to be faithful, hoping to persevere. At 15 years of age it isn't easy.
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J was born in the 1990’s. “Immediately after the Second Vatican Council it was presumed that requests for the use of the 1962 Missal would be limited to the older generation which had grown up with it, but in the meantime it has clearly been demonstrated that young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them.” [Benedict XVI, Letter to Bishops, about the Motu proprio 7.7.7]
J was born in the 1990’s. “Immediately after the Second Vatican Council it was presumed that requests for the use of the 1962 Missal would be limited to the older generation which had grown up with it, but in the meantime it has clearly been demonstrated that young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them.” [Benedict XVI, Letter to Bishops, about the Motu proprio 7.7.7]
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It is a statement of personal integrity and attachment to Our Lord that a youth, rather than abandoning the Faith as many do, rather than going along with the crowds of the mute or of the Liturgical abusers, rather keeps aloof, and holds fast to Christ by praying his missal at home because there is no safe church to go to near his town. This could only be a desperate stop-gap measure and we do not encourage it for others.
It is a statement of personal integrity and attachment to Our Lord that a youth, rather than abandoning the Faith as many do, rather than going along with the crowds of the mute or of the Liturgical abusers, rather keeps aloof, and holds fast to Christ by praying his missal at home because there is no safe church to go to near his town. This could only be a desperate stop-gap measure and we do not encourage it for others.
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What J sought was a respectful offering of the Mass. He went. He waited. He wanted to be fed. But driven away by irreverence, that always shocks the souls that truly seek God, this youth, like so many others, led by God's light found the old Mass, the holy hill, the tabernacle. (... ipsa me deduxerunt, et adduxerunt in montem sanctum tuum et in tabernacla tua...) There, like the deer that longs for running streams, he slaked somewhat his thirst for God, and there, too, he found the atmosphere and space to raise his heart and mind unto the God who giveth joy to his youth.
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J also raises the subject of the Holy Father. “ I was thinking like a sedevacantist while trying to believe I professed the Pope to be the real Pope.” His words here are accurate for many.
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J has come to the right conclusion: He can be loyal to the Church and be in the Church while staying true to the Latin Mass and the traditional theology and traditions. He can’t be expected to learn everything by himself. He needs a priest and has asked for one. Please pray three Hail Mary's for J.
J has come to the right conclusion: He can be loyal to the Church and be in the Church while staying true to the Latin Mass and the traditional theology and traditions. He can’t be expected to learn everything by himself. He needs a priest and has asked for one. Please pray three Hail Mary's for J.
Devotedly,
Fr. Michael Mary, F.SS.R.
6 comments:
I empathize with young "J", more than he can imagine. He is not alone as an exile in the Novus Ordo wasteland.
I would like to correct one point in "J"'s letter. Fr. Michael Mary did not "break from the SSPX". Fr. Michael Mary began a process of reconciliation with Rome, in response to which the SSPX broke with Fr. Michael Mary. Happily, the SSPX is now on its own journey of reconciliation with Rome, a journey, it must be admitted, that is fraught with peril because of enemies -- dare we say demonic influences -- within the Church.
Although I detest the treatment that Fr. Michael Mary has received at the hands of embittered SSPX people (some of whom send nasty comments to this blog), I still consider myself an SSPX supporter.
Keep the Faith, young "J", and remember that you are not alone. You will be well served by the spiritual direction of Fr. Michael Mary. God bless!
In the hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Confiteor
This letter struck a chord because I battled the to-be-or-not-to-be-a-sedevacantist for years. And even today I get flack for my "traditionalist" leanings. But what is "traditionalist"?? What was before the Second Vatican Council should still be! It's not meant to be "in the past."
I'd say that one of the most difficult things about remaining in line with Rome and not becoming a sedevacantist is coming under attack from **fellow Catholics.** It takes major guts to remain here in "Spirit of Vatican II" land. It's not for wimps.
A huge mistake made today is that those of us Catholics that were born after the "Latin Mass" was replaced somehow won't care about it. That somehow we won't desire it or yearn for it because for us it never was.
The thing is, no matter our age, if we understand that to be Catholic is to live our lives to love and to serve God then the mass becomes a place of reverent worship of God. Not a place where we can engage in gratifying ourselves with emotional highs.
Because this is exactly what "The Spirit of Vatican II" is all about: the selfish, self-centered using of the holy mass in order to effect an emotional high. This is achieved by all of the liturgical abuses that we see taking place all over the place. The sappy "God is my boyfriend" music, the idea that the mass should be "community oriented" rather then focused on the Eucharistic, the inclusing of women into male-only ministries, and so forth and so on.
You don't have to have gone to Latin mass before the Second Vatican Counsel to see all of that nonsense for what it is. I've never once been to a Tridentine mass and yet that's exactly what I yearn for on a daily basis. I want reality. I want a **grown up mass** and I want to mature and grow as a Catholic ~ I don't want to remain in childish happy-clappy land where nothing is ever expected of me.
Think about it: For the most part we Catholics have had all of the pressure to grow up removed from our spiritual lives. We're not even expected to fast, not eat meat on Fridays, cover our heads at mass (women) or properly observe Advent and Lent. We're never made to think about hell and we don't even have to sing grown-up hymns that make us think about the Faith. "The Spirit of Vatican II" is a cop-out for growing in the faith and becoming spiritually mature adult Catholics.
I have a feeling that a lot of sedevacantists and those that think of becoming sedevacantists probably feel the same way. Maybe they don't put it like that but I'm sure they feel something like adults that are trying to sit at those tiny desks in the kindergarten classroom without feeling stupid... We're accused of trying to "drag the Church back into the dark days of authority" yet isn't that exactly what the "Spirit of Vatican II" is trying to escape? Authority? Authority makes us GROW UP. Without authority we get to run around like little kids having a warm-fuzzy good time. Such a thing is shallow, unchallenging, boring, and superficial. Pardon me if I want *all* of what God offers rather then just a few of the crumbs.
I'm a convert to the Faith. I came into the Church when I was 23 years old, back in 1998. I was baptised on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I gave up the freedom of secular living and came to the Faith because I wanted to be a CATHOLIC. Not a luke-warm immature brat.
I did not want to be Catholic! The Catholic Faith is not for spineless ninnies! I made huge sacrifices, including losing all but TWO of my friends and enduring the scathing ire of my family, so that I could be a Catholic. To this day I live a life of near isolation because of my Faith. Being Catholic is not an easy thing and it is rarely rewarding in *this* life.
I've been to parishes all over this world. What I see all around me are wimpy Catholics that can't handle the difficulties that come with "being in the world but not of it." They've done everything they can to try and stand with one foot on either side of the fence and they use the liturgy as their main weapon of capitulation. Dumb down the liturgy, remove the sacred, turn it into a happy-clappy "community" event and hey, we Catholics start blending in with everyone else. We no longer feel any guilt for watching the same TV shows, listening to the same music, shacking up with lovers, getting abortions... we are no longer a THREAT to anyone, least of all ourselves.
This is exactly what I've been fighting against since becoming a Catholic. Folk tend to think that it's all about the Latin thing, as if people like us think that Latin is magic.
In the end, the reason that I did not jump ship was because I realized that Holy Mother Church NEEDS SOLDIERS IN THE TRENCHES. And over the past ten years I have watched some amazing changes taking place within the Church ~ such as Golgotha Monastery returning to Rome.
The cure to the problem is for those of us that take our faith 100% seriously (and still make mistakes of course! We're human!) and stop waiting around for "someone else" to take care of the problems. It is time to light the fire of the Holy Spirit under the rumps of our fellow Catholics and get cracking ~ our ship has a lot of leaks that need to be shored up in a hurry so enough slacking off! (I'm ex-Navy hehehe)
I've come to discover something: Most parishes that are caught up in "The Spirit of Vatican II" are being held hostage by a very, very small minority of mostly Feminists. These women (and some men!!) bully the rest of the parish. And they get away with it because 90% of the parishioners, although wonderful and kind and happy people, are inert. They take no action, no reaction, and don't DO anything. They show up for mass and that's it. Life is good. So they are easy to push around ~ no one wants to "rock the boat" or stick their heads above the fox hole.
Well, guess what? Bullies are amazingly easy to knock off of their high horses. The ONLY weapon that they have is to run and whine to the parish priest about their feeeeEEEeeeelings being hurt. And think of that poor priest constantly having the Feminists jumping down his throat for every little thing! So they tend to give in just to keep peace.
Other then the above, the parish bullies really have nothing else under their belts with which they can use to stop everyone else from standing up to them. So instead of becoming a sedevacantist become a bully-stander-upper. (Ok, I just made that up but I'm tired. It's lambing season haha)
MEN ~ take back your rightful place in the Church as our leaders and guides. Become deacons, altar boys, start up men's societies and don't let the Feminist/Liberal culture make you feel guitly for being a man. Get off of your hind ends and DO THE READINGS AT MASS instead of sitting there making the women do all of the work ~ work that the Feminist forced onto us that WE DONT WANT TO DO. Ever notice it's like the same 3 women and maybe one guy that does the readings?? Take the hint!
WOMEN ~ Take back your rightful place in the Church. We have enough on our plate as wives, mothers, and maidens. We do not need to be over-exerting ourselves at mass as well! Holy Mother Church knows what she is doing when she keeps us out of the spotlight at mass. Sunday is a day of rest ~ not a day to compete with the men! We are given the blessing of being noble and dignified, not pushy quasi-men competing for a spot at the altar. We were given nurturing hearts for a reason: use them! Create women's societies that function outside of the mass and revel in your femininity. Let the men be the men. We have enough to do!
It's really very simple. Instead of jumping ship and becoming sedevacantists all that we have to do is quit being inert and take our Church back from the very small minority of bullies that have been holding her hostage for 40+ years. Nothing gets done by sitting around griping. We need to DO, not complain or run away.
Some of us will DO in small, quiet ways. Others of us will DO in large, overt ways. Every small drop adds up to a very big ocean so, my dear fellow Catholics, what are we waiting for? Maybe if we actually try and save ourselves then more sedevacantists will come back into the fray and help us out. God knows, we need them ~ because they know how it's all supposed to be done!
God bless!
~Michelle Therese
Err... correction:
"The Spirit of Vatican II" is a cop-out for **NOT** growing in the faith and becoming spiritually mature adult Catholics.
Dear Reverend Father
Michael Mary, F.SS.R.
What I feel to say to the young "J" is to internalize as well as he can his connection with God at first.
Then, as at 15 years of age a young surely needs the guide of an extremely expert Spiritual Father, he should ask for some help and advice directly to you.
Anyway, in this case it seems the young "J" is already quite ripe for a serious meditative and spiritual walking which I think it is what he is looking for.
My prayers are with you, young "J"
Michelle Therese's comments struck a chord with me. Jesus warned that one's enemies will be of one's own household, and though he was speaking first of all to Jewish converts to the True Faith, Our Lord surely also foresaw the persecution of Traditionalist Catholics by their own Catholic family members who have surrendered to Modernism. One does not have to attend a Traditionalist chapel to feel the sting of persecution by those "outside Tradition". Arguably the sting is felt more keenly by Traditionalists who remain exiled in Novus Ordo land for the sake of family unity.
Michelle Therese said:"WOMEN ~ Take back your rightful place in the Church. We have enough on our plate as wives, mothers, and maidens. We do not need to be over-exerting ourselves at mass as well! Holy Mother Church knows what she is doing when she keeps us out of the spotlight at mass. Sunday is a day of rest ~ not a day to compete with the men! We are given the blessing of being noble and dignified, not pushy quasi-men competing for a spot at the altar. We were given nurturing hearts for a reason: use them! Create women's societies that function outside of the mass and revel in your femininity. Let the men be the men. We have enough to do!"
You took the words right out of my mouth!
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