The interior life, conformist LibTrads, and technology today

by T. Stanfill Benns | Jan 31, 2024 | New Blog

+St. John Bosco+

Prayer Society Intention for the Month of February, Month of the Holy Trinity and the Holy Family 

“Most Holy Trinity we adore Thee, and through Mary we entreat Thee: Make all men one in faith and give them the courage to profess it faithfully.” (Raccolta)

Catholic Conformism

The first person to create a name for those praying at home was the late “Fr.” Anthony Cekada, who described us as “home alone.” I think the true psychological implications of this term, however, have been lost on those to whom it was applied. Cekada intended the term to be derogatory and to suggest that few held this position. But he also intended to appeal to the fear harbored by most LibTrads that they would more or less be outcasts or rejects, not members of any Catholic religious group or body. This fear of being isolated is a result of the herd mentality instilled into children in public schools and even private schools. They are taught that to be accepted by their peers and teachers one’s thinking and believing must coincide with the mainstream. Most LibTrads today are second and third generations issuing from the initial Vatican 2 breakaways, some of whom, at least, had attended Catholic schools, so they knew that their salvation could not be assured by conformity.

But Cekada’s characterization of those praying at home resonated with those not as well educated. They didn’t want to be excluded especially from “mass and sacraments,” to be seen as different, and so they went along to get along. But even before Vatican 2, the tendency to conformity had been chronicled by at least one Catholic theologian, Rev. Paul Furfey, who wrote: “[Certain] things are so perfectly plain and clear and obvious that no Catholic can logically hesitate for an instant to accept them. Yet some Catholics do hesitate. In defiance of all logic, they betray their hesitation not by positively denying any supernatural doctrine but by talking as though such doctrines did not exist. They can discuss the sociology of the family by the hour without ever once mentioning marriage as a sacrament They can discourse learnedly about the evils of modern war but not from the standpoint of the doctrine of the Mystical Body. They remain consistently silent about all these social doctrines which are peculiar to the Catholic Church.

“Thus they convey the impression they do not differ basically from materialists in their social thought. No one would gather from their language that there is sharp antithesis between the viewpoints of Catholics and unbelievers on social questions. Such persons may be appropriately dubbed Catholic conformists, for they are Catholics in the sense that they deny no doctrine of the Church outright and they are conformists in that they conform as closely as they dare to the viewpoint of unbelievers… This phenomenon cannot be explained by logic. It can be explained only in terms of cowardice. It requires unusual courage to break sharply with current opinion and this courage the conformist lacks. So he tries to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. He attempts to retain the respect of both Catholics and unbelievers. Of course in the long run the attempt is bound to fail but to the timid soul of the Catholic conformist it seems the easiest course.”

“…Many Catholics have lost their sense of horror and disgust at dogmatic error. Had they not done so they would not be so easily inclined to seek a common ground with heretics and infidels… A Catholic must love all heretics and infidels with the strong love of charity but he should have only an overwhelming disgust for the loathsome errors to which these heretics and infidels are a prey. The Catholic in the modern world must constantly rub shoulders with unbelievers. He should not love these men tepidly because of their errors neither should he abominate the errors the less because they are the errors of his friends… Catholics can never make their rightful contribution to social reform until they set a very high price on the dogmatic truths that are theirs. These are the truths which Christ himself brought to the world. They are the truths which countless martyrs loved so well that they died rather than abandon the smallest part of them. To overlook them, to abandon them — even in part — or to under emphasize them is to render ourselves ineffective against the mystery of iniquity. To hold them uncompromisingly without conforming to the spirit of the world to the slightest degree is they sure road to success” (The Mystery of Iniquity, 1945). And until these truths are held 100 percent in their entirety, the Mystery of Iniquity triumphs and Catholics remain divided.

The Mystery of Iniquity

How can we possibly reconcile the above with the most shining examples of our faith? Without the sacrifices of the heroic Christian martyrs of the early centuries who attended house churches and definitely were defying the religious norm, none of us would be here today! Those praying at home in these times who are constantly seeking out others of their same age group are missing the point. While it is true that in the past Catholic communities existed that functioned as such that is not the reality we face today. Rev Furfey calls his book The Mystery of Iniquity for a reason. He explains that such conformists are the very ones who will not see that that “mystery” was at work even in St. Paul’s day and was already well advanced in the 1940s. He comments further:

“The mystery of iniquity is mysterious because it is secret  — the forces of evil operate in devious and hidden ways. But it is mysterious also by its very nature for it represents a degree of evil which surpasses our comprehension…He explains how the passages in Apocalypse Ch. 13 concerning the land and sea beasts “typify the use of deception. Thus the symbolism of these apocalyptic beasts makes it clear that force and deceit, all power and all wicked deception, are the characteristic weapons of the mystery of iniquity… It is aided in its machinations by an organized society called the world or synonymously the Kingdom of this world, that is the Kingdom of Satan…” Therefore, he concludes, “The mystery of iniquity [is] …the Satanic plan to bring to naught the saving work of Jesus Christ… The use of force, violence and deception [accomplish] this end.” He goes on to name Communism and fascism as examples of this system, but he clearly refers to the forces of Freemasonry when he paraphrases Pope Leo XIII, describing this Mysteryas “a group of forces which at first glance appears separate and independent but which on closer examination prove to be interlocking so that in spite of their seeming separateness they actually cooperate surprisingly well against the Kingdom of God.”

Furfey then goes on to describe Catholic conformists as inclined to materialism and not truly appreciative of the dangers posed by the existence of this evil and the eventual arrival of Antichrist. And this is what we are seeing today, only to a much greater degree, because today it is clear that the “saving work of Jesus Christ” has effectively been brought to an end. And yet this does not seem to faze those living in these times in the least. They seem not to understand that a high degree of sanctity is now required of us. Dom Chautard said over 125 years ago: “In former centuries, ordinary piety was enough to preserve souls from the contagion of evil. Nowadays, for the poison of violence multiplied a hundredfold inoculated by the allurements of the world, a much more energetic, vigorous serum is required. For want of laboratories capable of producing efficacious antidotes, our workers have been satisfied with producing sentimental fervour, tremendous outbursts no sooner ablaze than extinguished; or else they have been able to reach only a small minority.”

True meaning of sanctity

Such sanctity cannot be measured by exterior conformity to standards set by LibTrads, exterior acts of piety that extend only to the appearance of true holiness — whited sepulchres filled with dead men’s bones, outwardly beautiful but filthy inside. (Matt. 23: 27-28). One cannot be truly holy unless they are actually members of Christ’s Mystical Body, obeying the Commandments, all the popes have taught and obeying Canon Law. And sadly those who are calling themselves sedevacantists who pray at home have not only adopted LibTrad standards of exterior piety, but have also adopted their attitude toward papal teaching, refusing to obey binding decrees and daring to pick and choose for themselves what to believe. They present as holy. They believe themselves to be holy and wish others to see them as holy. They fill the Internet with lengthy and raucous outbursts that are anything but holy, because they are not faithful to the laws and teachings of the Roman Pontiffs in presenting them.  And they do all this because they know nothing of true holiness as the Church has always taught it.

The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us concerning holiness: “Sanctity, says the Angelic Doctor, is the term used for all that is dedicated to the Divine service, whether persons or things. Such must be pure or separated from the world, for the mind needs to be withdrawn from the contemplation of inferior things if it is to be set upon the Supreme Truth— and this, too, with firmness or stability, since it is a question of attachment to that which is our ultimate end and primary principle, viz., God Himself — “I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels. . . nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38-39)… In the moral order sanctity is the assertion of the paramount rights of God; its concrete manifestation is the keeping of the Commandments… Thus to keep the Commandments faithfully involves a very real though hidden separation from this world, as it also demands a great strength of character or stability in the service of God…”

Worldliness and living with oneself

But many today do not embrace this separation. They live in the world and pretend that they are not of it, because their participation in worldly things bears a religious flavor, or so they delude themselves. Those saints and theologians writing on the interior life warn that without a close personal relationship with our Lord that can be gained only in solitude — by prayer and contemplation — we cannot hope to engage in any kind of meaningful action. Dom Chautard, in his Soul of the Apostolate (one of Pope St. Pius X’s bedside books) wrote:

“Saint Gregory the Great said of Saint Benedict: “He lived with himself.” To live with oneself, in oneself; to wish to govern oneself and not be governed by the exterior; to reduce one’s imagination, feeling even ones intelligence and memory to the part of servants of the will and continually to conform this will to the will of God, is a program that is less and less accepted in this century of feverish agitation which has seen a new ideal spring up: love of action for action’s sake. To escape from this discipline of the faculties any pretext is held to be good: business, family cares, health, good reputation, love of country, the honor of one’s congregation the pretended glory of God — all these vie with one another to prevent us from living in ourselves. This sort of frenzy for exterior life even succeeds in gaining over us an irresistible attraction…” And here we must pause for a moment to note what St. Francis de Sales taught: “Obedience to the Commandments, both divine and ecclesiastical, is of obligation for all, because there is question here of THE ABSOLUTE WILL OF GOD WHO HAS MADE SUBMISSION TO THESE ORDINANCES A CONDITION OF SALVATION” (Holy Abandonment, Rt. Rev. Dom Vital Lehody O.C.R., page 9).

Dom Chautard continues: “We should ask ourselves [if] we have not an excessive confidence not only in certain noisy amusements but even in various means (pilgrimages, ostentatious festivals, congresses, speeches, publications, syndicates, political action etcetera,) lavished so abundantly in our day and very useful, without doubt, but which would be lamentable to put in the first place. Preaching by example will always be the chief lever. Lectures, good books, the Catholic press and even excellent sermons ought to revolve around this fundamental principle: to organize the apostolate for the people by the example of fervent Christians who make Christ live again by sending forth the sweet odor of His virtues… Since holiness is nothing else than the interior life developed up to the closest union of the will with that of God, the soul as a rule, unless by a miracle of grace, does not reach this end until it has gone through all the stages of the purgative and illuminative life by means of continuous and laborious efforts…”

Helps to holiness

Who today, without a spiritual director, could even come close to this? And yet we must try our best. How, though, could Catholics ever hope to achieve such union and act as an example to others where there is no obedience to Christ’s Vicar on earth, no regard for the laws of the Church and only contempt for fellow Catholics who insist on upholding these laws and teachings? In this there can be no likeness of Christ or imitation of His virtues whatsoever. In past blogs we have recommended a simple work by Rev. Robert Eiten, A Layman’s Way to Perfection, that helps Catholics begin their journey to the interior life. It is available for free download on the Internet. Some excerpts are listed below:

““For one reason or another it may at times be difficult to find a suitable spiritual director. In this case good spiritual reading will be the best substitute since in reality spiritual reading is in a certain sense written direction for achieving sanctity. It is as it were written spiritual direction. In the matter of books, we ought to aim to read only the best since there is not enough time for reading even the best. Our first aim should be to read the great modern authors since besides giving what the older authors give, they will give us the latest results of modern scholarship. This is especially true of the lives of Christ. A list of such authors will include such names as Prat, Lagrange, Goodier, Boylan, Plus, Marmion, Tanquerey, Lehodey and Leen. In an appendix of Boylan’s This Tremendous Lover, a fine selective bibliography of great modern authors on various spiritual topics is given.

“After we have finished reading most of the great modern authors, we can turn to the great spiritual writers of the last few centuries. Such names as St. Francis de Sales, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Paul of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross will be included here. We will also find selections from such earlier authors as St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas very helpful. After this field of spiritual reading has been covered, we will have rather definite ideas on what we need and like. Good solid spiritual books such as the Imitation of Christ should be read slowly, thoughtfully, and prayerfully. Other lighter books as biographies may be read more rapidly. We might even scan or skip certain parts of them. It is sometimes very helpful to re-read — even several times — certain passages which have particularly struck us.

“Finally let us never forget that the greatest of all books is the Bible, especially the New Testament. Let us make this our constant companion, be able to quote freely from it, and enjoy reading passages of it again and again.” After reading this list offered by Rev. Eiten, it is hard to see how there could be any real development of the spiritual life in watching rambling, lengthy videos or hearing DVD’s. The interior life involves communion with God in mental prayer, a development of self-realization regarding one’s own shortcomings; it is not focused on the voice and images of a facilitator. Visual or audio means of communications cannot produce the necessary reverence, devotion and union with God sought in mental prayer. And if many Catholics made excuses, they were not able to find time for mental prayer in the 1940s when Rev. Eiten wrote his work, as he notes, how could they make time for it now if they spend hourswatching videos and listening to DVD’s without neglecting their daily duties?!

A saintly author on solitude

To learn the value of such meditation, listen to the holy advice of one of the author’s Rev. Eiten recommends above:

“1. Seek a suitable time for thy meditation and think frequently of the mercies of God to thee. Leave curious questions. Study such matters as bring thee sorrow for sin rather than amusement. If thou withdraw thyself from trifling conversation and idle goings about, as well as from novelties and gossip, thou shalt find thy time sufficient and apt for good meditation. The greatest saints used to avoid as far as they could the company of men, and chose to live in secret with God.

“2. One hath said, “As oft as I have gone among men, so oft have I returned less a man.” This is what we often experience when we have been long time in conversation. For it is easier to be altogether silent than it is not to exceed in word. It is easier to remain hidden at home than to keep sufficient guard upon thyself out of doors. He, therefore, that seeketh to reach that which is hidden and spiritual, must go with Jesus “apart from the multitude.” No man safely goeth abroad who loveth not to rest at home. No man safely talketh but he who loveth to hold his peace. No man safely ruleth but he who loveth to be subject. No man safely commandeth but he who loveth to obey.

“4. …O how good a conscience should that man keep, who never sought a joy that passeth away, who never became entangled with the world! O how great peace and quiet should he possess, who would cast off all vain care, and think only of healthful and divine things, and build his whole hope upon God!

“5. No man is worthy of heavenly consolation but he who hath diligently exercised himself in holy compunction. If thou wilt feel compunction within thy heart, enter into thy chamber and shut out the tumults of the world, as it is written, ‘Commune with your own heart in your own chamber and be still’ (Psalm 4:4). In retirement thou shalt find what often thou wilt lose abroad. Retirement, if thou continue therein, groweth sweet, but if thou keep not in it, begetteth weariness…

“6. In silence and quiet the devout soul goeth forward and learneth the hidden things of the Scriptures. Therein findeth she a fountain of tears, wherein to wash and cleanse herself each night, that she may grow the more dear to her Maker as she dwelleth the further from all worldly distraction. To him who withdraweth himself from his acquaintance and friends, God with his holy angels will draw nigh. It is better to be unknown and take heed to oneself than to neglect oneself and work wonders. It is praiseworthy for a religious man to go seldom abroad, to fly from being seen, to have no desire to see men.

“7. Why wouldest thou see what thou mayest not have? The world passeth away and the lust thereof. The desires of sensuality draw thee abroad, but when an hour is past, what dost thou bring home, but a weight upon thy conscience and distraction of heart? A merry going forth bringeth often a sorrowful return, and a merry evening maketh a sad morning? So doth all carnal joy begin pleasantly, but in the end it gnaweth away and destroyeth. What canst thou see abroad which thou seest not at home? Behold the heaven and the earth and the elements, for out of these are all things made.

“8. What canst thou see anywhere which can continue long under the sun? Thou believest perchance that thou shalt be satisfied, but thou wilt never be able to attain unto this. If thou shouldest see all things before thee at once, what would it be but a vain vision? Lift up thine eyes to God on high, and pray that thy sins and negligences may be forgiven. Leave vain things to vain men, and mind thou the things which God hath commanded thee. Shut thy door upon thee, and call unto thyself Jesus thy beloved. Remain with Him in thy chamber, for thou shalt not elsewhere find so great peace. If thou hadst not gone forth nor listened to vain talk, thou hadst better kept thyself in good peace. But because it sometimes delighteth thee to hear new things, thou must therefore suffer trouble of heart“ (Thomas a’ Kempis’ Imitation of Christ, Ch. 20).

Conclusion

Modernism is a heresy with many faces. It was a system devised by men secretly selected to reform the Church and first weaken, then destroy, Her authority. This in preparation for what we later saw happen at Vatican 2. One of the errors they taught is that all things must somehow become modern to be acceptable and to attract others, especially the young — to be truly effective tools of conveying information — when this is not the case. Yet how is it that for 1900 years the Church managed to exist without radio, without television, without computers without cell phones and Her information and her teachings were nevertheless conveyed succinctly by the bishops and the priests and most especially by the Roman Pontiffs? If even the home-schooled young of a Traditional bent truly do better understand things if they are preached to them in audio and video form as they claim, then it would seem the aims of the neo-Modernists have been achieved.  Because all this amounts to is the fascination with the new and how things must evolve in order to be relevant; how we must adapt ourselves to these methods and abandon the old ways.

Why are we throwing away the best parts of our faith to bow down to technology? Because that is what this is really about. Yes, it’s true that this website is taking advantage of technology to spread the truth. I dare say that Pope St. Pius X who encouraged use of the press to spread the truth would not disagree that it should be employed to spread the teachings of the popes and the saints, approved theologians and canonists. But that is the right use of things — the videos on this site are only there because people requested them and claimed that they could not understand the faith in written form as well as they could  understand it through these mediums. But that does not mean that reading, study and meditation — which we have encouraged for decades — should ever be slighted or abandoned. Novelties and innovations are most dangerous when used in a manner that appears to promote the truth when instead they are actually teaching error and leading the faithful away from true spirituality. And sadly, this is what we are dealing with today.

It seems that everyone has forgotten why Vatican 2 happened and what went before it that brought about the changes in the first place. Certain left-leaning lay people calling themselves Catholic effectively lobbied for a more people friendly liturgy, greater participation in the liturgy and other Church functions, the removal of Latin because they couldn’t understand it, a more modern approach to education, a Catholic version of “fellowship,” and various other (basically Protestant) innovations. THEY WEREN’T INTERESTED IN MAKING THEMSELVES MORE PLEASING TO GOD, BUT IN MAKING GOD AND HIS CHURCH MORE PLEASING TO THEM. They welcomed John 23^rd’s aggiornamento, because it made them look good to their Protestant friends. They wanted a church more in tune with the times and that is exactly what they got. And it isn’t any different with those who want an up-to-date Church today, one Traditionalist enough to suit the LibTrads and conservative enough to hopefully draw in those who pray at home: true conformism. And here we see the good old Hegelian principles at work: thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

The paragraphs above only echo what St. Paul taught in 1 Cor. 2: 12-16: “Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God. Which things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom; but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined. But the spiritual man judgeth all things; and he himself is judged of no man. For whom hath known the mind of the Lord, that we may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

May God’s peace be with you; never cease to pray and watch.

Angels of light, novelties, and perversions of truth for sale

by T. Stanfill Benns | Jan 22, 2024 | New Blog

+St. Raymond of Penafort+

Introduction

“The Church is infallible in selecting terms suitable to convey the truths which she defines. Truths can be set forth in words only, i. e., by means of creeds and dogmatic decrees. Therefore, to be infallible in teaching, the Church must also be infallible in choosing words that accurately express her meaning without ambiguity” (The Church of Christ, Rev. E. S. Berry, p. 504-505). For as Msgr. Joseph C. Fenton commented: “It is, I believe, to be presumed that the Vicar of Christ speaks to the faithful in a way they are able to understand.” And we must always remember, “It makes no difference whether a person who breaks the bonds of Catholic communion does so in good faith or in bad. In either case, he ceases to be a member of the Church. The innocence or guilt of the parties involved is purely an internal matter, purely a matter of conscience; it has no direct bearing on the question of one of the external and social bonds requisite for membership” (Msgr. G. Van Noort, S.T.D., Christ’s Church, Vol. II, no. 154).

All of us who are refugees of the Novus Ordo and LibTrad sects have communicated in false religious rites (communicatio in sacris, Canons 2314 and 1258). Even though we may have been in good faith, we thus placed ourselves outside the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, and must work diligently to regain that membership (see HERE).

We know that the devil constantly roams about seeking whom he may devour, and that his time is short. He works in darkness — what he does is often hidden from view. He is crafty and  deceitful, a liar from the beginning, yet he comes as an angel of light. “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. As we said before, so now I say again: If anyone preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have received, let him be anathema. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. For I give you to understand, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For neither did I receive it of man, nor did I learn it; but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” Gal. 1: 8-11). So likewise it is with the teachings of His vicars on faith and morals which He has guaranteed free from any error.

Truth is one for God is one; Christ is the truth, the way, the life. As demonstrated on this website since its inception, the teaching of Christ’s Vicars in these faithless and evil times are our only sure guide: “He who hears you hears me,” as Christ told St. Peter and His apostles. But no one speaks in His name without being in communion with Peter’s successors. And if they are not in communion with him, they are angels of darkness sent to deceive us. As noted above, the popes need no interpretation; their words are clear. And if we need any explanation of their teachings, we must strive to find it only from the most reliable, approved pre-1959 sources we can find. No one has the right to presume to interpret, far less flatly ignore, papal teaching regardless of any supposed secular credentials they may claim to possess, for these mean nothing in the eyes of God (see HERE). As Saint Paul teaches, we are not servants of God if we follow mere men who, who then and today seduce their hearers with novelties and honeyed words. And if we prefer their allurements to the teachings of the popes, we are outside the Church — and this whether we are in good faith or not.

Although we have covered the ground below many times before, renewed attacks made known to us by readers seems to indicate that this shorter and easier explanation may better assist those still of good will in answering questions on this topic.

Pope Pius XII declaresTraditionalist orders invalid

1. Bps. Ngo dinh Thuc and Marcel Lefebvre could not validly create priests and bishops during an interregnum because a papal mandate and confirmation of episcopal appointment could not be obtained. The appointment of bishops and issuance of the papal mandate has been reserved exclusively to the Roman Pontiffs for centuries. To presume the possession of the papal mandate and confirmation of any appointment to the episcopacy is therefore a usurpation of papal jurisdiction according to Pope Pius XII’s infallible 1945 election constitution, Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis (VAS) that invalidates any attempt at consecration. (See the full analysis of this bull HERE). In addition, men who never became bishops could scarcely establish seminaries or validly ordain priests, acts which can be executed only by a validly consecrated bishop in communion with the Roman Pontiff.
2. Some claim that the supposed orders conveyed by Thuc and Lefebvre cannot be considered invalid because these men were approved and appointed under Pope Pius XII. But the validity of Lefebvre and Thuc’s ordinations/consecrations in the 1970s-80s and the subsequent ordinations conferred by their “bishops” has been questioned even by Traditionalists for decades. Therefore they are already doubtful and to be avoided. But this is not all.
3. For in presuming the validity of these ordinations and consecrations without a decision by the Holy See, Traditionalists usurp papal jurisdiction BECAUSE ONLY THE POPE MAY DETERMINE SUCH VALIDITY. Therefore said presumption is null, void and invalid.
4. VAS also invalidates THE EXERCISE of any orders received after 1958, even by bishops approved under Pope Pius XII, just as Pope Pius VI’s Charitas and other papal decrees have done. Because of their adherence to the Novus Ordo (and later, Traditionalist sects), the men conveying these orders, even if they used the old rite, were at least suspect of communicatio in sacris and therefore presumed to have incurred this censure under Can. 2200 (and undoubtedly other censures as well). Can. 2200 holds them guilty until the pope determines otherwise. To presume the lifting of these censures and vindicative penalties, which is clearly an act of papal jurisdiction, is to usurp said jurisdiction. Therefore any EXERCISE of these orders, even if otherwise valid, constitutes a presumption of absolution and dispensation from these censures, a usurpation of papal jurisdiction rendering them null, void and invalid.
5. It is a proven and indisputable fact that the only source ever cited for supplying jurisdiction throughout the history of the Church is the Roman Pontiff, who holds supreme jurisdiction in the Church. To claim that such jurisdiction is supplied in his absence by the law itself is an absurdity, (since Canon Law itself is predicated on papal law and the perpetual existence of the Roman Pontiff); and to say that it is supplied by Christ is a Protestant heresy, condemned at the Council of Trent (DZ 960, 967). VAS forbids appeal to the supplying principle and invalidates any such appeal as a usurpation of papal jurisdiction during an interregnum.
6. Any attempt to change or dismiss canon law also is nullified. This would include the violation of Can. 6 n. 4, which requires Traditionalists to adhere to the old law regarding heresy, meaning no declaratory sentence is needed for its existence; Can. 104, reflected in VAS, which invalidates anything done based on error; Can. 147, which requires that in order to possess jurisdiction, certainly validly ordained or consecrated clergy must first receive an office from competent authority; Can. 200, which requires proof of jurisdiction be presented; Can. 804, which requires presentation of the celebret in order to celebrate Mass in a place other than the priest’s proper diocese and Can. 2265 §1 which forbids those excommunicated from advancing to orders. And these are only a few among many.

Therefore Traditionalists are only laymen simulating the Sacraments, and this we know infallibly from the mouth of Pope Pius XII. Christ warned us that in these times we would be inundated by false shepherds, hirelings and false Christs. In a binding decision approved by Pope Pius XII regarding Can. 147, which declares invalid anyone who claims to possess jurisdiction without first being assigned an office in the Church by “competent ecclesiastical authority,” the Holy Office describes such men “as thieves and robbers who have not entered by the door (AAS 42-601). Flee then while you can, lest such men rob you of that pearl of great price — your eternal salvation.

The “bishops must always exist” error

The proponents of this error falsely teach that valid episcopal orders were conveyed up till the end of the false Vatican 2 council in 1965 or the institution by Paul 6 of the false episcopal and ordination rites in 1968. Those promoting this error generally agree that John 23 and Paul 6 are antipopes or were invalidly elected. They imply that those men consecrated during the reign of these two usurpers could then have proceeded to ordain and consecrate others validly, so true bishops could and even must still exist. To presume to believe and teach this they necessarily deny the following truths of faith:

1. They hold that Pope Pius XII was the last true pope, yet they deny that he had the right to exercise the fullness of his jurisdictional power of binding and loosing, granted him by Christ as proclaimed at the Vatican Council, in invalidating all acts usurping papal jurisdiction and violating canon law during an interregnum (DZ 1831). This constitution does not nullify Orders already received; it nullifies the act of proceeding to said consecration without the necessary papal mandate or letter of appointment.
2. By teaching the body of bishops — the Apostolic College — must always exist, yet implying it can exist independently of its head, the Supreme Pontiff, those teaching this error deny the perpetuation of the Divine constitution of the Church as Christ established it, (Gallicanism, errors of the Hussites).
3. While condemning Traditionalist “bishops” for teaching that their jurisdiction comes directly from Christ, they insinuate it in their own teaching, for they deny that Pope Pius XII definitively settled the question of episcopal jurisdiction — whether it comes directly from Christ or through the Roman Pontiff. In his infallible encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi, Pope Pius XII taught that: “The bishops are not entirely independent but are placed under the due authority of the Roman Pontiff, although they enjoy the ordinary power of jurisdiction obtained directly from the same Highest Pontiff” (DZ 2287; AAS 35, 1943, 211f). This teaching then is binding on all the faithful, despite what some claim to be taught by Ludwig Ott in his Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. (See HERE where Ott’s work is described as containing “serious defects.”) As the theologians Pohle and Preuss write: (The Sacraments, Vol. IV): “It matters not what the private opinions of…theologians [are]. It is not the private opinions of theologians but the official decisions of the Church by which we must be guided.”
4. They dare to spurn the teaching of Pope Paul IV’s infallible bull, Cum ex Apostolatus Officio, (para. 6), that those who are heretics cannot be validly elected to any office, a bull confirmed by Pope St. Pius V. They teach then that a man never elected as true pope, a bishop this bull calls a heresiarch who is to be avoided as the heathen and the publican, can approve a bishop for consecration when this bull forbids it and nullifies it, as does VAS.
5. In ordinary times, a consecration by a heretic bishop, which Roncalli was even before his election, is considered valid, but the one receiving the orders, also the one consecrating, is automatically excommunicated and forbidden to exercise these orders (Can. 2370). Rev. Charles Augustine comments: “This suspension ipso iurelasts until the Apostolic See expressly dispenses therefrom.” He then lists the following in his footnotes: “For the right of ordaining bishops belongs only to the Apostolic See, as the Council of Trent declares; it cannot be assumed by any bishop or metropolitan without obliging Us to declare as both schismatic both those who ordain and those who are ordained thus INVALIDATING their future actions.” This quote is taken from Pope Pius VI’s Charitas, 1791, issued against three bishops who consecrated another bishop without the papal mandate. Augustine notes it is listed as the Fontes, or old law, for Can. 2370, commenting that this is “…an example of its effective application.”

During an interregnum, the exercise of these orders is a usurpation of papal jurisdiction (presuming the cessation of the censure, which can only be lifted by the pope) and a violation of Canon Law. Therefore, any acts attempted by these men while under this censure during an interregnum are null and void.

Don’t fall for false shepherds, lay or otherwise

All the above is directly from the infallible teachings of the Roman Pontiffs or Canon Law, which itself is based on papal and conciliar teachings as well as divine law; this is why they call them the Sacred Canons. The Church has always taught that these laws are negatively infallible — that is, nothing they command or forbid can be contrary to faith or morals. Pope Pius XII infallibly teaches in Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis that anything done contrary to these canons during an interregnum is null and void. And only approved pre-1959 theologians can analyze and explain these canons. Some of you may have recently been invited to join various groups praying at home by individuals who may present as praying at home, but do not hold or practice the truths of faith. To determine if such groups are truly Catholic, potential members should first determine whether or not their leaders:

• Insist on obedience to the teachings of the Roman Pontiffs and ecumenical councils primarily as the source for what they propose or do.
• Place emphasis on the popularity, “holiness” and personal appeal of certain persons claiming to be knowledgeable, thereby promoting a personality cult
• Provide references from papal pronouncements and the councils, Denzinger’s Sources of Catholic Dogma or Canon Law for the whole of their work
• Condemn the works of others on the basis of their opponents’ alleged unworthiness, lack of credibility or past sins, when they themselves have been guilty of equally grave or even graver offenses
• Restrict their followers’ access to other sources by means of such condemnation. Cult expert Steven Hassan tells us that personality cults often exert undue influence on members, not due influence: “Due influence involves informed consent, your choice, right to question, listening to your inner voice, freedom to interact with anyone, free will, and the freedom to leave.”
• Show the necessary respect for and obedience owed to Canon Law as Pope Pius XII commands
• Explain to their readers that, as Canon Law teaches, that because everyone has previously participated in the rites of the Novus Ordo or Traditionalists, all are excommunicates, themselves included
• And if all are excommunicates (and some of them many times over), why is it that they have such a penchant for pointing to others as guiltier than themselves when Rev. Van Noort, quoted above, writes: “The innocence or guilt of the parties involved is purely an internal matter, purely a matter of conscience; it has no direct bearing on the question of one of the external and social bonds requisite for membership.” So why are these self-proclaimed teachers of truth preaching leniency and charity towards Traditionalists but not others?

How many times have readers seen their friends and relatives leave the Novus Ordo or some LibTrad sect, only to then join an even more destructive sect, often with disastrous consequences? This is the perfect example of inviting in seven devils worse than the first! (Matt. 12: 43-45). But there is one devil that has not yet been addressed that is especially loathsome and needs to be exorcised, as we will see below.

For Sale: perversions of the Truth

We said in an earlier blog that some professing praying at home offer the truth for a price, but that is not really what they are doing. For just as all heretics do, they mix truth with error and present it as truth, in ways that the faithful cannot easily detect or assess. They then request and even demand allegiance and financial support necessary to promote these perversions. This is a form of simony, which the moral theologians McHugh and Callan define as: “…the studied will to buy or sell for a temporal price or consideration something that is spiritual, either intrinsically or extrinsically” (2318). The spiritual is that which proceeds from God or tends to Him as the Author or End of eternal salvation (viz., the destiny, law, means, works, etc., proposed to us in Christian revelation and religion). Among these things those are intrinsically spiritual that pertain to the supernatural order on account of some inherent character of their own (e.g., grace, Sacraments, Mass, miracles) or some intimate union with things spiritual (2317e). The temporal price in simony is some temporal good or advantage.

“St. Gregory the Great distinguishes three kinds of simoniacal prices as follows: (a) the price from the hand…is either money or things that have a money value, such as movable or immovable property, corporeal or incorporeal rights. It would be simony to give a benefice

in exchange for a sum of money, for a loan, for real estate; (b) the price from the tongue… is any kind of patronage, such as praise, recommendation, protection, defense, opposition to competitors, etc. (c) the price in service… is any kind of temporal labor or assistance given for another’s benefit, such as the management of his business or the instruction of his children” (2319). (End of McHugh and Callan quotes) So if someone offers others membership in a group with fringe benefits, such as the purchase of goods, property, special instruction or so on — based on the specific acceptance and profession of certain spiritual beliefs, at least some of them Catholic — then this seems to fit the definition of simony.  And certainly if one benefits from the sale of things purportedly Catholic, and repeatedly requisitions those s/he is “serving” for funds to continue this service, this fits the definition of simony above.

Conclusion

The above is why, other than my 2018 book (which I wrote specifically at the request of readers, in case the Internet failed), I have consistently refused to solicit donations or sell my articles — they were written for everyone. The research on this site has been open and available to all for nearly 20 years. It was taken up first and foremost to defend the faith and warn of error, as all are obliged to do. But it also was written to spare Catholics of good will seeking the truth the agonizingly painful spiritual, mental and emotional consequences of being entangled in the webs of those many deceivers — hirelings, false prophets, false christs. For their own perverse reasons, these deceivers wish to rob them of their spiritual innocence, their children, their self-respect, their ability to reason, not to mention their hard-earned cash. I know because I have been there. As a Catholic we have the obligation to assist our neighbor in extreme spiritual necessity. You may not realize the dangers you are in, because as one sage has explained, some learn by reading (and meditating), others by observation, but there are those who will learn only by seizing the electric fence for themselves; that is, they must learn the hard way, and they are in abundance today. No one can be dragged kicking and screaming into heaven. But all can pray that those who have been deceived may be granted the light to see before they leave this world.

Clarification on the points about Antichrist that are certain

by T. Stanfill Benns | Jan 15, 2024 | New Blog

+St. Paul the First Hermit+

(URGENT REQUEST: In light of the continuing attempts to infiltrate and divide those praying at home by various entities both known to us as well as others yet to be identified, we beg our readers to please join us in the Unity Octave novena beginning on January 18, Feast of St. Peter’s Chair in Rome. To recite these prayers, please scroll to the bottom of the blog HERE.)

The unanimous teachings of the Fathers on Antichrist

There has been much (unnecessary) confusion arising from the assertion on this site that Paul 6 was Antichrist. Some are suggesting that this belief is not in conformity with the unanimous opinion of the early Fathers and does not take into consideration Catholic prophecy regarding the reign of Antichrist. First, we will address the topic of the unanimous opinion of the Fathers.

The Council of Trent as well as the Vatican Council teach that whatever the early Fathers agree on unanimously regarding faith and morals must be accepted as coming from the Church Herself. Yet Pope Leo XIII wrote in Providentissimus Deus, (Nov. 1893): “Because the defense of Holy Scripture must be carried on vigorously, all the opinions which the individual Fathers or the recent interpreters have set forth in explaining it need not be maintained equally. For they, in interpreting passages where physical matters are concerned have made judgments according to the opinions of the age, and thus not always according to truth, so that they have made statements which today are not approved. Therefore, we must carefully discern what they hand down which really pertains to faith or is intimately connected with it, and what they hand down with unanimous consent; for ‘in those matters which are not under the obligation of faith, the saints were free to have different opinions, just as we are,’ according to the opinion of St. Thomas.”

In other words, only the Holy See may determine when the unanimous opinion of the Fathers has rightly been stated or understood, and the only exception to this general rule is when a highly esteemed Church official has declared that something contained in Holy Scripture is indeed the unanimous opinion of the Fathers. The one issue that so many of these so-called Catholic writers on Antichrist consistently fail to address is the cessation of the Holy Sacrifice as the very act that will allow the correct identification of the Man of Sin. So many refer to the institution of the Novus Ordo as the “abomination of desolation” but neglect to identify the one instituting it as Antichrist! Henry Cardinal Manning succinctly states in his The Present Crisis of the Holy See that: “The Holy Fathers who have written upon the subject of Antichrist and the prophecies of Daniel — all of them unanimously — say that in the latter end of the world, during the reign of Antichrist, the Holy Sacrifice of the altar will cease.” This statement we can trust, but not the statement of those attempting to prove the unanimous opinions of the Fathers support their claims without even demonstrating that such an opinion is truly a) unanimous, as demonstrated by approved authors and b) to be believed as a matter of faith.

And Pope Pius XII writes in his encyclical on Holy Scripture, Divini Afflante Spiritu: “There are but few texts whose sense has been defined by the authority of the Church, nor are those more numerous about which the teaching of the holy Fathers is unanimous.” We cannot take the word of lay people writing today that such texts are unanimous, for such writers often confuse the common opinion of the Fathers with their unanimous opinion. This is why we may only take the word of approved authors that a certain teaching is truly unanimous. But when a pope has himself taught infallibly on the subject of Antichrist the very fact he has thus taught demands our firm assent and obedience. Such is the case with Pope Paul IV’s 1559 Bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio, which defines who and what is to be considered the abomination of desolation and how the abomination could enter into the Holy Place through an invalid papal election. (For those who object that Antichrist and the abomination are not the same thing, please see the article HERE.)  We also have the testimony of Pope Leo XIII in his long St. Michael’s prayer that: “In the Holy Place itself… they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep will be scattered.”  Popes Pius XI and Pius XII also warned that Antichrist was already within the gates. The Holy Place also is designated as the Church in St. Jerome’s commentary in the Breviary for the 24^th and last Sunday after Pentecost.

The second objection, that Paul 6 as Antichrist does not reflect the predictions contained in private revelations is not a valid accusation. Those evaluating these revelations are nearly always of the LibTrad persuasion, including the Lefebvrist and Monarchist Yves Dupont, whose The Antichrist is provided on one site to “refute” the idea that Paul 6 was the Antichrist. While Dupont’s writings on other topics are not objectionable per se, his estimation of the prophecies cannot be said to amount to anything a Catholic is required or even advised to believe regarding the advent of Antichrist. The theologian Gerson, in his Treatise on the examination of doctrines, relates that Pope Gregory XI, when on the point of death, holding the sacred body of Christ in his hands, protested before all, and warned them to beware both of men and women, “who under the guise of religion, speak visions of their own head” for that he, seduced by such, had neglected the reasonable counsel of his friends, and had dragged himself and the Church to the hazard of imminent schism, if her merciful spouse Jesus had not provided against it.” Pope Benedict XIV said these revelations: “…ought not to, and cannot receive from us any assent of Catholic, but only of human faith, ACCORDING TO THE RULES OF PRUDENCE, according to which the aforesaid revelations ARE PROBABLE, and piously to be believed.” Today we cannot even be certain these prophecies are faithfully reproduced. 

Catholics must not consider such revelations equivalent to a papal pronouncement, or the unanimous consent of the Fathers and/or approved theologians. (See the article HERE.) As one theologian has remarked: “Many of these revelations are beyond the needs and the intelligence even of persons already far advanced in the spiritual life and are often clothed in language quite unintelligible. And herein precisely lies a new source of anxiety, BECAUSE A NEW DANGER, NAMELY, THE DANGER OF UNDERSTANDING THE REVELATION IN A WRONG SENSE, WHICH MAY EASILY LEAD TO POSITIVE ERROR AND SIN AGAINST THE “RULE OF FAITH.” And this is what has happened with many of these revelations regarding Antichrist. Also, some of these revelations contain errors later condemned by the Holy See, such as the teaching regarding the Great Monarch and an earthly millennium as taught by Joachim of Fiore, also others (see HERE).

Grades of certainty regarding Antichrist

Given the confusion created by these LibTrad writers, a reader has requested “a more detailed description and analysis” of the points offered on this site and attributed to the work of an approved theologian, Fr. A.  Lemman’s The Antichrist. These points and their commentary can be found in Rev. Denis Fahey’s The Kingship of Christ and the Conversion of the Jewish Nation, pgs. 175-190. We intended, in offering reference to this work, that readers study Fahey’s work itself for a better understanding of the topic.  But to avoid any confusion for those not able to access this work, quotes will be taken from it below to better explain the basis for Fr. Lemman’s evaluation of these points.

1. Things that are certain about Antichrist;
2. Things that are probable;
3. Things that are undecided;
4. Things that have not a solid foundation

1. Things that are CERTAIN (that is, those things which must be believed either from Holy Scripture or the unanimous opinion of the Fatherss. These include:

1. He will be a trial for the good (Apoc. XIII, 7), and a chastisement for the impious and the apostates (II Thess., II, 9-11). TSB: This is all that is provided, Holy Scripture being sufficient.
2. He will be a man, a human person. (Lemann: “Antichrist is not a myth or a fiction, as Renan, in his silly fashion, tried to show.1 Neither must he be confused with a sect, a collection of impious men, an atheistic environment, or a period of persecution, as certain pious persons have imagined. Antichrist will be a human person, appearing in an epoch of atheism and of wicked sectaries.”)
3. He will not be Satan in human form but only a man (Suarez, De Antichristo, Sect. 1, n. 4 and 5). (TSB: it could be said, however, that he might be possessed by the devil.)
4. He will have great powers of seduction, owing to certain personal qualities. (“Whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish,” II Thess., II, 9, 10).

TSB: Paul 6 undoubtedly charmed the Protestants, the Orthodox and the Jews, who he invited to the false Vatican 2 Council. He won the applause of world figures and the admiration of the “faithful” with his address to the UN. The theological world gloried in his Modernistic teachings, and nearly all accepted and taught them. He gave every appearance of being a true pope and reconciling all world religions, including  Communism and Freemasonry, to Catholicism, when this was a doctrinal impossibility.)

5. His career beginnings will be lowly (“The horn is called small, because it will grow little by little, and because it will arrive at domination, not by hereditary right, but by fraud” Cornelius a Lapide, in Ep. ad Thess., II, II.)

TSB: Montini was sickly and studied for the priesthood at home. He initially rose through the ranks as any other cleric. He did not receive the formal position of Secretary of Vatican State but acted only as a “pro-secretary.” Owing to the deceptions he perpetrated during Pope Pius XII’s reign, he was refused the cardinalate.)

6. He will increase in power and make conquests. (TSB: Over time, Paul 6, as a Vatican official, secretly became involved with the British intelligence agency the OSS during WWII, and after the war ended, the CIA, preparing to align himself later with world governments. As a cardinal under the false prophet Roncalli, he continued this campaign openly until his invalid election as “pope.” See Lemann on no. 7 below.)
7. His rule will be worldwide. (Lemman: “With the help which will be furnished him by the anti-Christian societies, this enemy of Our Lord Jesus Christ will be able to form a gigantic empire in a short time.” Pope Leo XIII warned: “What is aimed at and what is intended is the overthrow of Christian institutions and the reconstruction of States on the basis of Pagan Naturalism” (Letter to the Sacred College of Cardinals, 1901).

TSB: Paul 6 helped prepare the way for the democratization of all Christian states by the U. S. Because he pretended to be the head of what the world perceived as the Catholic Church, his reign was universal.

8.He will wage a terrible war against God and the Church. Fr. Fahey: “Father Lemann indicates some of the measures which, to judge by the experience of past persecutions, Antichrist will enforce more thoroughly and more cruelly than ever before. Two of them are: Proscription of Christian teaching and obligatory teaching of error. We can see them already in force in the countries behind the Iron Curtain. Father Lemann adds that ‘The schools without God or rather against God are a preparation for the second measure.’ In that he is perfectly correct, for the Declaration of the Rights of Man of the French Revolution, in the name of which these schools function in France, signified repudiation of membership of Christ, and was thus a declaration of war on the Divine Plan for Order.”

TSB: Christian teaching was removed from public schools in the U.S. during Paul 6’s reign. Following Vatican 2, the catechisms were all revised and error taught to previously Catholic school children worldwide. Error was officially taught by command of a pretended pope from the Holy Place with the adoption of “for all men,” first in the missalettes distributed to the faithful beginning in 1959, and later formally by the abrogation of the Latin Mass in 1969.)

9. He will claim to be God and will demand exclusive adoration. (Fr. Fahey: In 1903 Pope St. Pius X wrote: “So extreme is the general perversion that there is reason to fear that we are experiencing the foretaste and the beginnings of the evils which are to come at the end of time, and that the Son of Perdition, of whom the Apostle speaks, has already arrived upon the earth.” (Note: Leo Panakal later pointed out that when St. Pius X wrote these ominous lines in 1903, Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Paul VI, was six years old.) “So great are the fury and hatred with which religion is everywhere assailed, that it seems to be a determined effort to destroy every vestige of the relation between God and man. On the other hand — and this is, according to [St. Paul], the special characteristic of Antichrist— with frightful presumption man is attempting to usurp the place of his Creator and is lifting himself above all that is called God. Thus, powerless to extinguish completely in himself the notion of God, he is attempting to shake off the yoke of His Majesty and is dedicating the visible world to himself as a temple, in which he has the pretension to receive the adoration of his fellow men, ‘So that he sitteth in the temple of God showing himself as if he were God.” (II Thess., II, 4 ; Encyclical Letter, E Supremi Apostolatus Cathedra, Oct. 4, 1903).

TSB: Francis teaches: “A spark of the Divine is in each of us; therefore, Man is God.”  Both Paul 6 and John Paul 2 taught the same. Paul 6 taught: “Are you looking for God? You will find Him in man.” (John Clancy, Dialogues: Refelections on God and Man, 1965). Paul 6 placed himself above all that is called God by pretending to speak in His name as pope. As Pope Pius XI taught: “You know that I am the Holy Father, the representative of God on the earth, the Vicar of Christ, which means I am God on the earth” (April 22, 1930).

10. By means of diabolical prodigies, Antichrist will seek to prove that he is God. (Lemman: “The question is often asked,” writes St. Augustine, “whether these expressions ‘signs and lying wonders’ are to be understood in the sense that the prodigies wrought by Antichrist will be only apparent, not real; or as signifying that the really extraordinary feats performed by him will draw on to error and falsehood those who accept them as proofs of a divine mission ?’* The great Doctor replies: ‘This will be known later’ (City of God). This hesitation has given rise to two currents of opinion (Suarez, de Antichristo). Some think that the prodigies wrought by Antichrist will be real prodigies and that they will lead to the acceptance of falsehood, that is, to belief in the divinity of Antichrist. Others hold that all the miracles of Antichrist will be false and unreal and that they will be accepted as true thanks to the action of the demon on the senses of his followers. ‘”He will come, when he comes, with all Satan’s influence to aid him: there will be no lack of power, of counterfeit signs and wonders” (The New Testament, by Mgr. R. A. Knox; also agreeing with these works as entirely false prodigies is 1 Cornelius a Lapide., II Thess., II, 9; Bern, a Piconio, II Ep. ad Thess., c. 11, 9.; also St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis de Sales).
11. Antichrist will cause the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to cease.

TSB: This is not contained in Fr. Fahey’s coverage of Fr. Lemman’s points. Fr. Lemman admits in the introduction to his points that “Space will permit of only a brief outline of what is contained under A, B, and C.” Henry Cardinal Manning clearly states in his The Present Crisis of the Holy See that: “The Holy Fathers who have written upon the subject of Antichrist and the prophecies of Daniel — all of them unanimously — say that in the latter end of the world, during the reign of Antichrist, the Holy Sacrifice of the altar will cease.” I dare say that Card. Manning is a greater authority on this topic than Fr. Lemman. And not only is this a unanimous opinion of the Fathers; three notable Doctor of the Church — St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Francis de Sales — also teach this as well. St. Bellarmine is adamant on this matter, stating no one can claim Antichrist has come as long as the Mass of Pope St. Pius V is in place (De Contoversiis: on Antichrist, Ryan Grant translation, p. 67). For, having written his work in 1590, St. Bellarmine was undoubtedly referring to the Mass of Pope Pius V, since Pope St. Pius V promulgated his constitution Quo Primumin 1570.

12. The domination and persecution of Antichrist will be merely temporary. The Man of Sin will be destroyed (Dan., VII, 26; Apoc, XIX, 20; II Thess., II, 8).

TSB: Paul 6 died like any other man, although his system remains. Although he was a Traditionalist, Francis Panakal did support his work with solid proofs regarding Paul 6’s identification as the Man of Sin. In his 1983 work, The Man of Sin, Panakal noted that Montini died on the feast of the Transfiguration, Aug. 6, 1978, relating it to 2 Thess. 2: 9-10: “And then that wicked one shall be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth; and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, him, whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders, And in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish; because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

During the Transfiguration, Christ’s countenance and entire Body became dazzlingly bright, signifying his identity as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The spirit of his mouth Panakal associates with Christ actually addressing Paul 6 as he did St. Paul, asking, “Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecuteth me?” He opines that Paul 6 did not know he was the Antichrist until the moment of his death, and that after he learned his true identity he was destroyed by this revelation. Panakal points to one unconfirmed report in a Catholic publication which related that Paul 6 cried out and his face became contorted shortly before he breathed his last, and the putrefaction of his body began immediately after his death.

Things that are PROBABLE

First Probability: The Jews will acclaim Antichrist as the Messias and will help to set up his kingdom.

Lemman: “I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive ” (St. John, V, 43).” It is upon” this reproach addressed by Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Jews, his contemporaries and adversaries, that this belief is based, and it can be said that it is the common opinion of the Fathers of the Church, for example, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory the Great, St. Ephraim, St. John Chrysostom, etc., etc.. . . . When we see the enormous financial power of the Jews increasing daily, when we consider their intrigues, their successful occupancy of the chief places in the principal States, their mutual understanding from one end of the world to the other, then in presence of such a preponderance, we have no difficulty in realizing that they will be able to contribute to the establishment of the formidable empire of Antichrist.”

TSB: To be accepted as the Messias, Antichrist would need to be of the Jewish race. That Paul 6 presented as a Jew and was of Jewish heritage was pointed out by Fr. Joaquin Saenz-Arriaga in the 1970s. (See the proofs HERE.) It is also a matter of established fact that both he and Angelo Roncalli, the false prophet, pandered to the Jews and absolved them of all guilt in Christ’s Passion and death on the Cross. In his de Controversiis on Antichrist, St. Robert Bellarmine teaches that it is a certainty that Antichrist will be of the Jewish race and will be received by them as the Messiah. P. Huchede teaches the same in his History of Antichrist,

Second Probability 

The persecution of Antichrist will last three years and a half.

Lemman: ”And they [the Saints] shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time” (Dan., VII, 25). “And power was given him to do two and forty months ” (Apoc. XIII, 5). It has been pointed out previously (eleventh point that is certain), that the power and the persecution of Antichrist will be only temporary. That is certain. Is it possible to determine their exact duration? One can give only a probable, not a certain, answer, according to the two texts quoted.” (See HERE for proofs showing that belief in the literal three years and a half are not a matter of faith and Catholics should adopt an opposite view whenever reason or obvious facts would dictate otherwise.)

What constitutes true probability? The scholastic theologian Rev. A.C. Cotter, S.J., in his work, The ABC of Scholastic Philosophy defines a probable opinion as follows: “Probability admits degrees; for one motive may be better and more solid than another. Thus if ten scientists testified to the truth of the atomic theory the layman has a stronger motive for assenting than if only one scientist proposed it. Hence:

1. a) One opinion may be more probable than another, as happens when better arguments are had for the one than for its opposite.
2. b) An opinion is said to be highly probable if there are excellent reasons for it and hardly any against it.
3. c) An opinion is most probable if there are excellent reasons for it, hardly any for contrary opinions on the same matter.
4. d) An opinion is the only probable one if there are solid though not infallible reasons for it and if all other opinions concerning the same matter are certainly wrong or devoid of any solid foundation.
5. e) Two contradictory propositions may be probable at the same time. This happens when the motives for them are disparate so that they do not destroy each other.

Things that are UNDECIDED

(These are four points that are not based upon the unanimous consent of the Fathers or upon precise texts of Holy Writ.)

1) His name; 2) his nationality; 3) the seat of his empire.

TSB: Given that Montini corresponds to all the points that are listed above as certain, and even settles those that are probable, it can then be deduced that he does fit the description of Antichrist. The final undecided point is 4)The temple in which he will present himself. Once it is proven that a) Montini b) was of Jewish heritage and c) pretended to reign in the Church itself, from d) Rome, all four undecided points are then settled.

Things that have not a solid foundation

— The date for Antichrist’s coming (The Church forbids anyone to set a future date for his coming, but neither can anyone deny clear signs he has come. All the commentators writing on Apocalypse and the end times assume that those living in these times will be able to “read the signs of the times.”)

Conclusion

This is not intended to be an exhaustive evaluation of the Antichrist question. This study of Antichrist’s appearance has been spread out over several decades and is presented in different articles on my website. It also is addressed at length in my 2018 work, The Phantom Church in Rome. What many fail to understand regarding Antichrist is that the prophecies contained in Apocalypse are intended primarily to be taken in a spiritual or mystical sense and only secondarily in a literal sense. As Rev. Huchede points out in his work, some passages are amphibological, that is, capable of more than one interpretation. What also is not appreciated here is that some teachings even of the early Fathers were later condemned, such as that of millenarianism. The Great Monarch prophecies first taught by Joachim of Fiore were an instrumental part of this false millenarianism, and the Church later condemned his teachings. Pope Pius XII then determined that millenarianism cannot be safely taught. (See HERE).

According to Holy Scripture, Antichrist’s coming will be preceded by the Great Revolt, most often referred to by Scripture commentators as a general falling away of both the Catholic hierarchy and faithful. Henry Cardinal Manning says this began with the Reformation. This Man of Sin will be revealed only after “he who witholdeth” is taken out of the way,” most likely meaning the Pope. Pope Paul IV tells us in his 1559 bull that the abomination will be revealed following an invalid papal election. The early Fathers teach unanimously he will cause the Holy Sacrifice to cease, and will pretend to speak for God, as if he were God. Please tell me this: If Antichrist has yet to come, WHO will revolt from the Church (hardly any Catholics left anywhere), WHAT sacrifice will cease (no valid sacrifices are now being offered), and HOW would anyone ever believe such a person could speak for God in wreaking all the havoc that was Vatican 2 (since this is a privilege reserved only to a validly elected Pope?!) I have explained in the work HERE that Antichrist’s system could possibly produce a final physical and literal manifestation of Antichrist who would attempt to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. But this person would not himself be the Man of Sin in a spiritual sense.

No one has all the answers on this topic, but if they attempt to address it, they must follow all the rules in place. I have tried to do this to the best of my ability. The saints and Scriptural scholars writing on Antichrist left his final identification to those living at the time of his appearance on the world stage. St. Bellarmine writes: “All prophecies when they are fulfilled are made evident” (Ibid). Rev. Huchede agrees, writing: “The events connected with the end of the world will alone remove the mystery in which the sacred text is at present enveloped… What is mysterious [can only] be explained by the event.” For a better understanding of the situation today, in light of what was already occurring in the 19^th century, please read the works of Henry Cardinal Manning, The Temporal Power of the Vicar of Jesus Christ and The Present Crisis of the Holy See. Both are available for free download at archive.org.

“Epiphanies” are quite often inspirations of the Holy Ghost

by T. Stanfill Benns | Jan 6, 2024 | New Blog

+Feast of the Epiphany+

According to Merriam-Webster, an epiphany, in its modern-day definition means: 1) a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something; (2) an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking;  (3) an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure. While we know that the feast of the Epiphany is celebrated to commemorate the Magi’s recognition of the Messiah, His first manifestation to the Gentiles, those among us have had our own epiphanies that have led us to where we are today. The three kings saw the star in the East and came to adore Him. They somehow knew as astronomers of sorts that the star’s appearance in the heavens was the portent of an exceptional event, even though they were pagans. What they experienced was an inspiration of the Holy Ghost on which they acted. These inspirations must not be ignored, for that amounts to a rejection of a gift sent directly by God for our spiritual benefit.

Eyes wide open

Of course most people today are unaware of this because they have no knowledge of the faith. But they do know what instinct and gut feelings mean and sometimes will heed these promptings. Without any real understanding of these inspirations of the Holy Ghost I also struggled to deal with the warnings I received as a young woman yet in my teens — and mind you I did not deserve to receive such a grace! It came one lonely night while I was watching something on television about the changes in the Church. A voice simply came to me and warned me I would live through times no one had ever seen before. From that time on I began looking over my shoulder but the chaos and immorality of the 1960s was enough proof for me that what I was hearing was true.

Three or four years later I read a book called None Dare Call it Conspiracy about the influence of the Illuminati in the various governments worldwide. In the 1980s I read Solange Hertz’s works on the Masonic origins of America’s government and this would further increase my understanding of how extensively Freemasonry had infiltrated not only governments but the Church Herself. I was beginning to see that I lived in very dangerous times. After returning briefly to the Novus Ordo to confirm my suspicions that they were no longer Catholic, I began exploring the Traditional movement and spent nearly five years with the ORCM, even writing for their publications. I also began reading books of Catholic prophecies and finally realized we were definitely living in the end times. All of this was the result of my initial inspiration but it would take many years of research to find my way out of the LibTrad and conclavist rabbit holes I fell into along the way.

The invalidity issue

When praying at home as a conclavist, I believed that LibTrad clergy were illicit and lacking jurisdiction but were not necessarily invalid. That was enough to avoid their operations as sacrilegious. But the validity question begged to be resolved because as Catholics we must not base how we act or believe on anything questionable if the question can be laid to rest; this is the teaching of the best moral theologians. After leaving conclavism, I began stating in articles that I wrote on my website that all LibTrad clergy were questionably valid on several counts. And finally I discovered that a proper understanding of Pope Pius XII’s Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis (VAS) rendered all LibTrad clergy invalid from 1958 on and also invalidated the acts of clergy validly ordained and consecrated under Pius XII who accepted the usurpers as true popes. This is because even validly consecrated bishops must act only in communion with a canonically elected Roman Pontiff and the priests which they supply jurisdiction to cannot receive it from them if these bishops no longer possess it.

I had resolved the question of who these usurpers were early on in the game following others who already believed Paul 6 was Antichrist. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only one to point out however that John the 23rd acted as the false prophet predicted in chapter 13 of the Apocalypse. I went on to write articles and books that explained how this was so and how the role he played in creating Montini a cardinal and preparing him for his future “papacy.”

Once the invalidity issue was proven and resolved it became clear that after the death of all the bishops consecrated by Pius XII, there was no possibility of electing another Pope. The minute it became clear John 23rd was working with Paul 6 to destroy the Church these bishops were obligated to call a papal election, and because they failed in this duty, they lost the right to vote under Canon Law. They also  became heretics and were disqualified per VAS from voting in any election for recognizing both John 23rd and Paul 6 as true popes. So since 1978 when Paul 6 died,  we have been existing in a gray area mentioned by St. Thomas Aquinas, a time  that he said would exist following the death of Antichrist but before the destruction of his remaining system and Rome itself. None of this would ever have become clear to me, manifest, if I had not followed my initial inspiration and all its implications to the very end.

Our time is short

Christ tells us in Matthew 24: 21: “There then shall be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor shall there be.” And this was the gist of my initial inspiration — brought home in such a way, at such a time that I felt I could not ignore it. Certainly I erred many times after receiving that revelation before finally coming to the proper conclusions. But it never left me and proof that it was clear and true is now too frighteningly obvious to deny. We spoke last week of the dangers of video debates and discussions and how the Church forbids us to engage in these. None of these videos spend much time on the perils of the end times or urge prayer and penance. But given how short our time on this earth truly is, nothing is needed more today than prayer and penance which is the very remedy urged at Fatima and prescribed for end-time Jews by Christ in Luke 11: 29. We are where we are today because not enough Catholics prayed and performed works of penance and almsgiving.

In recent social media posts (if any of these can be trusted at all) numerous individuals have reported strange happenings such as seeing hosts of angels in the skies, hearing trumpet blasts and experiencing unexplained knockings late at night. Some of the alleged trumpet blasts, if that is what these really are, are even recorded and replayed in these posts. Similar happenings occurred before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD and certain historic battles during wartime. Are we being warned? I think it is possible but then weren’t we as Catholics already warned long ago to no avail by Our Lord, the popes and our Blessed Mother? So who will take any further warnings seriously?

Warnings come even from unlikely sources

The following is taken from a work published 18 years ago by a member of the Novus Ordo sect. While I reject its basic premise — that it is neo-cons that must be watched and feared as “fascists” (since the author fails to see that both right and left work together to achieve their end-of-days Masonic goal) — the author’s warning bears repeating here because it shows how even the right observations can lead to the wrong conclusions. This book, in the end, winds up advising a la Francis’ theology (well after all he is Novus Ordo) that Americans adopt a one-world religion in order to avoid endorsing a one-world government!!!  Yet it mentions what would happen once the Church and lawful governments were destroyed, even if how this was to come about or be resolved was wrongly interpreted by the author.

“The radical… cabal in the White House answers to a “world shadow government,” a private, international, rogue network that also controls most of the world’s financial and media institutions as well other governments/intelligence agencies, etc., most notably those of England, Israel, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia (Tarpley, 2006).  This “secret government” rules through fear, terror, torture, secrecy, propaganda and lies.  The goal of this criminal syndicate is to establish a global corporate dictatorship as well as to destroy nation states, democracies, and civil liberties.  Historian Webster Tarpley (2006) identifies this “rogue network,” concluding:

We are living in the twilight of the Anglo-American world order, a system of planetary domination by the Whig financier faction since just after 1700.  This system had certain positive features, but it has now become a barrier to human progress, and it is past time for it to exit the world scene.

“The corporate-controlled media provides mass propaganda that supports the official explanation, despite its inevitable absurdities, etc. This same organizational structure has been utilized again and again by governments to fabricate synthetic terrorist attacks all over the world^{2 (}Tarpley, 2006).  Any hope of dismantling the emerging global corporate dictatorship must begin by dismantling the myths and lies, such as the official 9/11 myth, that support it… This Machiavellian… cabal is part of the same “secret government” that orchestrated the Bay of Pigs, the Kennedy assassinations, the secret wars of the CIA, the Iran-Contra affair, the Vietnam War, World Wars I and II, and the Great Depression (Still, 2004, Schoenmann, 2004).

“I would speculate, along with Ruppert (2002), that immediate goal of the global “ruling elite” is to establish American domination over the entire world through the phony “war on terrorism.” However, this sequence of wars could easily lead us into an apocalyptic, and perhaps final, world war, accompanied by a total collapse of the world economy.  Then, they may decide to abolish most, if not all nation states, including the U.S., in order to usher their long-sought “one world government.”   They may or may not elect to utilize the structure of the U.N. as the organizational center.  This long-sought “New World Order”, if it comes to pass, would be the culmination of their centuries-old dream of creating a more or less permanent “oligarchy of the wealthy”.

“My hope and belief is that once these crimes are exposed to the light of day, this cabal will be brought to justice and humankind will be able to progress toward a more peaceful and equitable future.  Clearly, we are at a turning point in history… The only time that Jesus got angry in his entire  ministry was when he physically threw the “money-changers” out of the Temple for practicing extortion and “usury.”  Well, modern “money-changers” have now taken control not only of the Temple and the Church, but virtually all the other institutions as well (Still, 2004)…

In many ways, America has a spiritual heart, but we are now being deliberately misled by the propaganda of our religious as well as our political and cultural leaders.  Many of us are now waking up to the fact that our government has declared and is fighting a war upon “we, the people.”  This relentless class warfare pits the super-rich against everyone and everything else.  Middle class America has a distinct disadvantage in this war, because most of us do not understand that war is being waged against us…” (9/11 was an Inside Job and a “Psy-Op”, Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom, Department of Anthropology and Geography, California State University, 2006).

Conclusion

We have no time to waste on hours-long videos that cannot point us to sufficient written proofs to support their content. Nor are we permitted by the Church to participate even passively in debates posted by so-called Catholics interviewing non-Catholics. We all need to spend this time on our knees begging for the graces necessary to save our souls and the souls of those we love. We don’t know how long we may have or exactly what will happen once Antichrist’s system is defeated and Rome is destroyed. We do know what the older, more reliable scripture commentators tell us: that once these things occur, the Second Judgment is imminent. Having ignored so many warnings and inspirations already, can anyone identifying as Catholic today hope to escape all these evils unless they face their Almighty Judge with a mournful countenance, clothed in sackcloth and ashes?! 

A brief note on video gaming

Last week we warned of the dangers regarding unnecessarily lengthy videos claiming to promote praying at home which instead are devoted to rehashing Novus Ordo deviancies and challenging (only certain) LibTrad errors. We did not, however, venture into the realm of video games. The best argument offered on the use of video games for any age level, that video games should be classified under the category of what St. Francis de Sales says must be called “dangerous amusements” can be viewed here: https://thosecatholicmen.com/articles/avoid-video-games/ , but we must add an important caveat.

This apparently Novus Ordo site does not take into consideration the fact that we have no pope to decide such things. No one can render a truly educated or definitive decision on the dangers of video games in the absence of a true pope. If even Novus Ordo writers believe St. Francis de Sales would classify video games as dangerous amusements, why, as these authors advise, would we even want to limit their use to the “better” video games, with moderation, among teens? Is it logical to suggest that lesser dangers are not as harmful to older children when they could easily lead to greater ones, especially when it seems so many families today are predisposed to various addictions? Those advocating this moderation cite certain benefits to such usage, but couldn’t those benefits be better enjoyed some other way without recourse to video games?

What is puzzling here is that LibTrads, and here we include those advocating praying at home among them, will adamantly insist their women wear nothing but longer skirts to remain modest, when one pope has even stated that women wearing pants is not forbidden. Women are adults, if subject to their husbands wishes and preferences, but when it comes to those still under obedience to parents, that is something different. For the parent cannot allow or encourage the child to do something that could lead to mortal sin and would him/herself incur such sin if this was the case. Clear thinking must prevail on this matter so important to Catholic family life. Follow St. Francis de Sales then, not the opinion of some Novus Ordo or LibTrad layperson.