The REAL reason we lost the Mass and why it matters

by T. Stanfill Benns | May 31, 2025 | New Blog

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+Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary+

(The following article is in response to readers who have requested a brief and concise summary of what happened to the Church for those among the younger set just now realizing the errors of the Novus Ordo or Traditionalism. While it is difficult to try and distill almost 67 years of heartbreak down to a few pages, I feel I have done my best.)

Introduction

Especially with the election of Leo 14^t, the Novus Ordo church and so-called “Traditionalist” sect members alike are beginning to wonder what lies ahead. This is especially true considering a recent influx of young converts among the Novus Ordo church — converts with a longing for the Latin Mass and a return to more traditional ways. But will such a return really remedy what has happened to the Church? A return to the Latin Mass certainly has not been any solution for Traditionalists. Rocked by repeated scandals and continuing schisms, they almost seem to have become an anachronism. What remains is an increasing level of unease among all the various sects, and a persistent sense of impending doom.

To help navigate this diabolical maze of uncertainty, some perspective is desperately needed. While it is true that the demise of the Church was largely facilitated by Zionist Jews, the secret societies, the Protestants and Modernist infiltrators, these groups were not the primary cause of the  Church’s destruction; they were only the means used to completely gain control of an already greatly weakened Catholic laity. Those just now waking up to the true state of affairs in the Church who are investigating Traditionalist sects may be resorting to online videos explaining how we lost the Mass and the Church, the errors of Vatican 2 and the need to return to the Latin Mass. Those producing and narrating these videos will attempt to educate them on the errors of the false Vatican 2 council, the heresies found in the new “mass,” etc.

This information may be interesting and to some extent helpful but at best these videos provide only partial answers. Except as they touch on the Mass, doctrinal matters  are generally not addressed, and failure to understand  Catholic teaching as an integral whole is why we find ourselves in this predicament today. Sincere enquirers should be listening to the popes, (St. Peter to Pope Pius XII), the teachings of the ecumenical councils and the 1917 Code of Canon Law, not those promoting these videos, who have little or no training in doctrinal matters. At their conclusion, these videos usually direct viewers to one or more conservative Novus Ordo groups or Traditionalist organizatIons. But this denies a basic premise of the Catholic faith, one which every Catholic must believe to be saved. And that is the primacy of jurisdiction enjoyed by the Roman Pontiff.

One video falsely states that a validly ordained priest is all that is necessary to offer a valid Latin Mass. The Mass is dependent for its efficacy on the one offering it. It cannot be offered by just anyone who presents as a member of the clergy. Pretending that the Mass is the most precious possession we lost is presuming there yet exists valid and licit clergy to provide valid and licit sacraments and effect the consecration of the Eucharist. But for any of this to exist, the Church has always taught that such clergy first must be in communion with a canonically elected Pope. Both Orders AND jurisdiction, not just Orders, are necessary to be a valid successor of the Apostles.  Jurisdiction is entirely dependent on the existence of a canonically elected Roman Pontiff who alone can provide the permission necessary for the consecration of those nominated as bishops. This was first written into law by the Council of Trent. And without such permission no one nominated as bishop who is not approved by the Pope can be validly consecrated or ordain or consecrate other bishops.

 Pre-election heresy in a papal candidate

Many have doubted for decades that the popes after Pius XII were true popes and some openly maintain that the papal see has been vacant for 67 years. Many doubted Francis was a true Pope as well. And until these doubts are resolved, as Bd. Pope Innocent XI infallibly teaches (DZ 1151), all must remain in limbo and no one may receive Sacraments, attend liturgical functions or yield obedience to a doubtful pope (St. Robert Bellarmine). An infallible papal bull, Pope Paul IV’s Cum ex Apostolatus Officio, clearly shows how a man could appear to become pope for the very purpose of destroying the Church. That man would have to be a heretic before his election, although this might not be known at the time, (and no man who is not a Catholic could ever become pope). But the fact that such a man would later promote heresy during his supposed pontificate would alert the faithful to the fact that he was a heretic pre-election and never became pope in the first place. For Christ has guaranteed, and the Vatican Council teaches, that no true pope could ever speak or promote heresy from the Chair of Peter.

For nearly 1400 years, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass stood untouched. That alone speaks volumes. Holy Scripture tells us that the Continual Sacrifice will disappear one day when Antichrist, the abomination of desolation, stands in the Holy Place. It is the unanimous opinion of the Early Fathers that this indeed will occur in the last days and both the Council of Trent and the (only) Vatican Council infallibly teach that we must believe this on faith. What exactly is the abomination of desolation? Pope Paul IV’s bull teaches that it is either a heretic or one suspected of heresy. St. Bernard of Clairvaux stated that antipope Anacletus was an antichrist owing to his invalid election. The Council of Florence also called antipope Felix V an antichrist.

No man can become pope unless he is elected according to the papal laws and canons prevailing at the time of election. This has been the constant teaching of the Church, as testified to by Pope Clement VI (Super quibusdam, 1351), Pope Martin V (Inter Cunctas, Errors of Wycliffe and Huss, Council of Constance, 1418), Pope Paul IV, (Cum ex Apostolatus Officio, 1559), Pope St. Pius X (Vacante Sede Apostolica, 1904) and Pope Pius XII (Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis, 1945). These laws are not limited to papal elections but are also mirrored in the laws of nations. Those countries electing their leaders by popular vote necessarily determine who may be elected and what invalidates an election. This has been openly discussed at length in this country and should come as no surprise: American law, as that of the Catholic Church, is based on Roman law. And certainly as a Divine institution, it applies far more stringently to the Church than to any nation.

The abrogation of the Latin Mass was the canary in the coal mine warning the faithful that the abomination of desolation, the Man of Sin, was standing in the Holy Place.

Had the bishops insisted, as Pope St. Pius X ordered in Acerbo nimis, that Catholics truly study and know their faith, they would have understood this. Had encyclicals been read from the pulpit at the order of the bishops and explained to the faithful, at least some of them would have understood from the beginning. But this was not the case, because the cardinals along with the bishops led them into heresy and schism. They followed the path of Judas, one of the apostles, who betrayed Christ; once-Catholic bishops of the East who embraced schism; and the priest Luther and Catholic King Henry VIII, fathers of the Reformation. And those priests who did not go along with the changes after Pope Pius XII’s death were no better. For they did nothing to educate the laity and investigate the true status quo of the Church, uncovering the root cause for Her destruction, or discover whether the pope had provided for such a crisis.

These early “traditional” priests pretended that in an emergency all could be swept aside to accommodate the wants of those believing themselves to be Catholic. They did not remember that Christ said first to go and TEACH all nations, then baptize — that His doctrine was to go before the ministration of the Sacraments — especially given the ignorance of the faithful and their clerical obligation to them. One of the videos mentioned above, treating of the new “mass” and the Vatican 2 changes, suggests that the faithful had no right to correct the Novus Ordo hierarchy for their faithlessness in signing Vatican 2 documents, implementing changes to the Sacraments and celebrating the Novus Ordo Missae. This in direct contradiction to Can. 1325, that unless the faithful publicly speak out against such heresies, they will be branded as heretics themselves. These ignorant priests had every opportunity to discover and translate from the Latin the infallible papal document that would have resolved and explained everything.

John 23 never eligible for election

But that translation was not rendered until 2012, by a layperson, and by then it would be too late to prevent the idiolatry that already had been committed and continues today.

This was no accident, because that papal document contained many things that neither the Novus Ordo nor Traditional pseudo-clergy wished to hear. Pope Pius XII’s 1945 papal election constitution, Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis (VAS), was that document. It was a careful restatement  of the original constitution promulgated in 1904, Pope St. Pius X’s Vacante Sede Apostolica, with only a few additions. Pope St. Pius X’s constitution was a thorough codification of all papal election law throughout the centuries as Pope Pius XII explains in his preface to VAS. It infallibly declared, as had papal election law for centuries, that no one who is guilty of heresy, apostasy or schism can be validly elected; that no one can usurp papal jurisdiction during the interregnum (such as lifting censures reserved to the pope alone, or approving men nominated for consecration as bishops, which can be done only by the pope); and that no one can change the papal election law or any of the Sacred Canons even in part, or dispense from them.

It is a matter of public record that Angelo Roncalli, John 23, was a suspected heretic at the time of his election. He also was disqualified as a papal candidate for violating other prohibitions in Pope Pius XII’s constitution. Roncalli himself later publicly confirmed he was a suspected heretic and even joked about it. It is also a matter of public record that a massive campaign was conducted to prepare Catholics for the acceptance of ecumenism in the 1950s by no less than the CIA. Proof also exists that lay interference by the CIA took place before and during the conclave that “elected” Roncalli, something that Pope Pius XII, in VAS, cites as invalidating the election. All of these facts have been documented. Pope Pius XII infallibly declares that if anyone even attempts to usurp papal jurisdiction, interfere in anyway with the election or change or dispense from the election law or Canon Law in any way that such an attempt is null, void and invalid. All was to be left to the future pope.

Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis teaches, (paras 1-3):

1. During the vacancy of the Apostolic See, regarding those things that pertained to the Sovereign Roman Pontiff while he lived, the Sacred College of Cardinals shall have absolutely no power or jurisdiction of rendering neither a favor nor justice or of carrying out a favor or justice rendered by the deceased Pontiff; rather, let the College be obliged to reserve all these things to the future Pontiff. Therefore, We declare invalid and void any power or jurisdiction pertaining to the Roman Pontiff in his lifetime, which the assembly of Cardinals might decide to exercise (while the Church is without a Pope), except to the extent to which it be expressly permitted in this Our Constitution.
2. Likewise we command that the Sacred College of Cardinals shall not have the power to make a determination in any way it pleases concerning the laws of the Apostolic See and of the Roman Church,nor attempt in any way to subtract directly or indirectly from the rights of the same on the pretext of a relaxation of attention or by the concealment of actions perpetrated against these same rights even after the death of the Pontiff or in the period of the vacancy. On the contrary, We desire that the College ought to watch over and defend these rights during the contention of all influential forces.
3. The laws issued by Roman Pontiffs in no way can be corrected or changed by the assembly of Cardinals of the Roman Church while it is without a Pope, nor can anything be subtracted from them or added or dispensed in any way whatsoever with respect to said laws or any part of them. This prohibition is especially applicable in the case of Pontifical Constitutions issued to regulate the business of the election of the Roman Pontiff. In truth, if anything adverse to this command should by chance happen to come about or be attempted, WE DECLARE IT, BY OUR SUPREME AUTHORITY, TO BE NULL AND VOID.

The consequences of all this are that John 23 never became pope; he was disqualified for election. Nothing he or any of his successors did ever really happened — it was all null and void. Canon Law teaches that a college that elects an unworthy candidate cannot proceed to another election, invalidating the election also of Paul 6 (Can. 2391 §1, 1917 Code). There was no John 23 missal (1962), no second Vatican Council (1963-65), there were no changes in the rites of the Sacraments (1968), the Latin Mass remained intact (1969), Canon Law was never changed (1983) — everything remained just as it was when Pope Pius XII died. It reminds one a little bit of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty where once Sleeping Beauty falls asleep, the hedges grow around the castle and hide it. She remains asleep until her Prince (and we can interpret the Prince here as Christ Himself) beats down the hedge and kisses her awake again.

Most importantly, those who ordained priests and consecrated bishops following Pope Pius XII’s death such as Marcel Lefebvre and Peter Martin ngo dinh Thuc, also all those they ordained or consecrated, never became clerics because the interregnum never ended. Lefebvre’s and Thuc’s valid pre-1958 consecrations could not be removed, (although they ipso facto lost their offices as bishops for recognizing the false popes, signing Vatican 2 documents and offering the New “mass” — see Can. 2314 §3). But their right to VALIDLY EXERCISE THEIR ORDERS was stripped from them by Pius XII in VAS. The Traditionalist movement was just another non-Catholic, schismatic hiccup in the Church’s history. They did not “save” the Latin Tridentine Mass because they were not clerics and could not offer it or administer the Sacraments validly,

It was the papacy, not just the Mass that mattered

Logic is a collection of rules based on the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas which guide the mind to think correctly in its attainment of truth. There is an error in logic known as Non causa pro causa (Latin meaning “non-cause for cause,” or false cause). “It is a catch-all term that describes any type of fallacy in which we mistake a false cause of an event for the real cause… Reverse causation fallacy occurs when the direction of cause and effect is reversed. In other words, we assume that A causes B, without realizing that B actually causes A.” St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that there must be a cause for every effect but that cause must be rightly identified. Unbelievably, the cause of the crisis in the Church was wrongly identified as the loss of the Latin Mass, as though the entire Catholic faith was founded on the Mass itself, and not St. Peter, the rock, and his successors. And this even though those condemning the Novus Ordo Missae, Patrick Henry Omlor included, publicly stated that this new liturgy was heretical.

And yet that liturgy and all that went before and after it was engineered and made law by men who Catholics were bound to believe could never err, as the Church infallibly teaches. Nearly half the faithful left the Novus Ordo in the late 1960sw and 1970s. This was an act of schism, unless that departure was based on the firm knowledge that the church they left was not the true Church. They at least implicitly acknowledged the heresy existed but failed to identify and condemn its actual cause: the Great Apostasy, consisting of false popes and apostate cardinals and bishops. VAS demanded a true pope be elected, but there was no one left to canonically elect a true pope — the shepherd had been struck and the flock successfully dispersed into the hands of the enemy. No one seemed able to decipher the fact that it was the papacy that had perpetually cemented the Mass into its Latin form and protected it for nearly 1400 years. But once he who withholdeth — the pope — was taken out of the way, it was fair game.

We live in that time foretold by St. Thomas Aquinas that would exist between the death of Antichrist and Christ’s second coming. This may be a frightening revelation, a hard saying, but it is one that must be accepted and dealt with because it is the only one that is consistent with the entirety of Catholic truth. God long ago determined some would have to live through these times, although few would retain their faith. We cannot run and hide as Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden. We know how deplorable the times we live in truly are and how offensive they are to God and worthy of damnation. They are deplorable precisely because we have lost the papacy and with it the Mass. We were long ago warned by the saints and theologians that when the Holy Sacrifice ceased, Satan would be loosed upon the earth. Is this not what we are seeing today? Antichrist alone could have accomplished this, as Holy Scripture and infallible papal teaching tell us, so we cannot deny it and remain Catholic.

An alternative reality

Holy Scripture predicts Antichrist will come in all signs and lying wonders, show himself in the temple as though he were God and deceive, if possible, even the elect. St. Paul describes the operation of error to believe lies that will afflict all but a few believers in that time (2 Thess. 2). What greater delusion could exist than the reign of seven usurpers pretending to be true popes to all the world and representing the Catholic Church while systematically destroying it? What greater deception could be imaginable? Both Novus Ordo and Traditional sect members believing or at least partially accepting this imposture live in an alternative reality, defined as: A state of things that does not really exist,  (Cambridge Dictionary); or any[thing] that deviates from the [Catholic-Ed.] perception of reality” (VocabDictionary). Their own vulnerability to brainwashing can be chalked up to their ignorance of the faith. Only immediate departure from these sects and constant prayer to the Holy Ghost can bestow on those so deceived the grace necessary to learn the truth.

There is still time but time is running out, for no one knows the day nor the hour. May God grant you the light to see and the miracle of grace necessary to save your souls. “Go out from her, my people; that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and the Lord hath remembered her iniquities” (Apoc. 18: 4-5).

(See the homepage and current articles page HERE for the proofs mentioned above.)

The sixth age of the Church: Signs of Antichrist’s reign

by T. Stanfill Benns | May 20, 2025 | New Blog

+St. Bernardine of Siena+

Introduction

A faithful supporter has blessed us with the discovery of the documents below concerning the end times, which we have excerpted for the convenience of our readers. The importance of these documents cannot be underestimated, because they give a clearer estimation of our present circumstances. Written in earlier ages, they are not contaminated by the expectation of a grand restoration of the Church, predicted in many Catholic prophecies and even promoted by some biblical commentators. Pope Pius XII later laid these expectations to rest when he condemned mitigated millenarianism. But biblical scholars, many of them already infected with Modernism, did not see fit to bring the writings of those promoting such a restoration into line with Pius XII’s teaching. And so those turning to the duly imprimatured works of the past on these matters following the takeover of the Church felt justified in expecting a restoration of the Church, the papacy and the Mass.

But this was not God’s will for us. The Catholic Church Restoration occurred in the 19^th century  following the upheaval of the French Revolution and the subsequent rise of both religious and political Liberalism. During this period, the Church strove to re-establish Her political power and religious influence in society. She also worked diligently to oppose the erosion of traditional religious authority caused by the Enlightenment. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 was held to help stabilize Europe following the Napoleonic Wars and re-establish Catholic monarchies. This period was marked by a renewal of religious fervor and a greater push for doctrinally based Catholic education. Religious orders repressed during revolutionary times were restored and  the Church regained significant amounts of land in France and Italy, confiscated during the revolutions there.

This era seems to have more or less culminated with the convening of the Vatican Council in 1869-70. Wars, sparked by increasing Masonic influence, once more swept across Europe. Modernism, preceded by Liberalism and Americanism, began its deadly campaign against the Church. But already in 1878, there were those who warned that the time of Antichrist was very near. And in in 1903, Pope St. Pius X warned in E Supremi Apostolatus: “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.” (When St. Pius X wrote these ominous lines in 1903, Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Paul VI, was six years old.) One of these warning is listed as follows:

“All the efforts of Satan are directed and intended to prevent men from ever thinking about the coming of Antichrist, and more especially about the approach of the General Judgment and the end of this world, which affords to him such abundant harvest of souls for Hell. The end of humanity will extinguish the dominion of Satan over men upon Earth and will confine him with his companions and followers in the fiery prison of Hell, during a never-ending eternity of woe. The Devil dreads this increase of misery even more than the reprobates themselves.

“Let us be serious; let us think and reason and speak like men and like Christians. Let us be persuaded that the end of the world cannot be very far away. Scripture, tradition, the Fathers of the Church, most learned, grave and pious authors, older and more modern saints, and innumerable servants of God of every age, class, and condition in life, belonging to almost every country upon Earth, announce its approach. Famine and pestilence, seditions, revolutions, rebellions, wars, schisms, heresies, the frightful increase of vice and crime in society, charity cooling, iniquity abounding upon Earth, earthquakes, destructive conflagrations, terrible accidents on land, shipwrecks on the ocean, sudden deaths, increasing mortality, visions in the sky, disorder in the seasons, spots on the sun, — all nature, in short, announce the pangs of dissolution. But the majority of men affect to be incredulous. This, as we saw above, is an additional sign of the end of the world foretold by our Divine Savior.

“Let us then believe and act like sincere and devout Christians. Let us place our treasure in Heaven and our heart with our treasure. If we are poor in earthly goods, let us rejoice, for we shall leave behind fewer materials as fuel for the universal conflagration.” (The Christian Trumpet, Gaudentius Rossi, C.P., 1873, 1878). Below are excerpts which confirm what is said by Rev. Rossi.

The General History of the Christian Church, from Her Birth to Her Final Triumphant State in Heaven: Deduced from the Apocalypse of St. John

By Charles Walmesley, Bishop of Rama, Great Britain. (Made available by Google Books. Written in 1771 and published in 1834.)

The sixth Age is the last of the Christian Church militant on earth. The time of its commencement cannot be ascertained, much less its final period, that is, the day of judgment, which, as our Saviour says, “no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13: 32). Among various sentiments touching the duration of this world, that seems to have prevailed most, which fixes its period at about six thousand years: but as all is uncertain with respect to this point, we shall not trouble the reader with any discussion about it.

The Apocalyptical description of the sixth age paints it in colours that leave no doubt it will be the most turbulent, the most calamitous, and most persecuting of all other ages. How alarming and how terrible will appear those extraordinary and unnatural signs in the sun, moon, and stars, the earthquakes, the enormous swellings and roarings of the sea, the bloody wars and battles, etc.! Both our Saviour in the Gospel and St. John, in the Apocalypse, express sufficiently the impression these calamities will make on mankind, by saying, “That men will sink away for fear, and call upon the mountains to fall upon them and cover them.” How dreadful will be the destruction made by the terrible army of Antichrist ! How cruel and bloody his persecution, which will last three years and a half! These  shocking events, which throw confusion in the whole system of nature, will be certain presages of the approaching dissolution of the whole structure of the world. Happy those men, who shall take due warning from them, and shall consider them in a true light.

And here we ought to acknowledge the particular favour the Almighty God is pleased to grant us, in giving us previous notice of the disasters attending the sixth age, that we may prepare for them. And this duty is the more incumbent on this, since we touch so near that period, that the next generation or next but one, will probably see some part of it. For after the fifth vial is poured out, which we have shown will be done about fifty years hence, we do not know how soon the commencement of the sixth age may follow. There even seem to appear already some indications of the approach of that period. For the Almighty, in his, wisdom and mercy, before he pours down heavy disasters, generally sends lesser calamities by the way of admonition: and thus we see in these present times greater irregularities in the seasons of the year than used to be, more dearth and distress, earthquakes more frequent, etc., all which may be esteemed a prelude to those much more dreadful disasters of the next age.

Who would not then judge it highly necessary that parents should prevent their children of such unparalleled calamities that are to happen, and which it may be their lot to share in. They should be made acquainted with the principal transactions of the next age, as they are recorded in the Apocalypse. For disasters, when foreseen, generally make less impression. The pastors of the Church will probably think it expedient to inculcate the same to their flocks, because those who shall exist in the next age, ought to be prepared and fortified in a peculiar manner with a lively faith, with the love of God, and an “ardent desire of their own salvation. Since many of them may be destined, by divine appointment, to pass through a most severe trial in the persecution of Antichrist, they cannot be too well grounded in the above-mentioned principles. The account we have from St. John and the prophet Daniel of that persecution, indicates, it will surpass in violence and cruelty all the persecutions of the first age of Christianity: what degree of fortitude therefore must be requisite to support the faithful on so trying an occasion? “The Church now admonishes you,” says St. Cyril, “and announces to you the things that relate to Antichrist before they come to pass. Whether they will happen in our time or later, we know not: but, as you are prevented of them, it is fit you should prepare yourself” (Catech. 15).

Let the history of former persecutions be assiduously read, in order to acquire some idea of them, with which when the mind is familiarized, they will appear less terrible. Prepared by these means, and animated by the influx of divine grace, the faithful servants of God will hope to be able to undergo the same hardships and sufferings, which the primitive Christians sustained, and of which we read in St. Paul the following description: “Some were racked,” says he. “Others had trials of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bonds and prisons. They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheep-skins, in goat-skins, being in want, distressed, afflicted: of whom the world was not worthy: wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth” (St. Paul to the Hebr. 11: 35, &c).

Let especially a diligent and repeated perusal be made of the trials of the martyrs: that by viewing their invincible fortitude and constancy, the faithful may be inspired with the same spirit. They will see with what courage the primitive Christians appeared before the tribunals of the pagan judges, with what noble fortitude they answered to the questions put to them, with what unconcern they viewed the racks and other instruments prepared for their torture, with what inflexibility they continued to profess their faith in the midst of torments, and with what resolution they bowed down their heads under the hand of the executioner. “We say we are Christians,” says Tertullian, “and proclaim it to the whole world; and under the hands of the executioner, and in the midst of all the torments you inflict upon us, to compel us to unsay it. Torn and mangled, and weltering in our blood, we cry out as loud as we are able: that we are worshippers of God through Christ” (on Apoc. 21).

Those invincible heroes of antiquity who thus sealed their faith with their blood, are the models we must set before our eyes, and which we must copy after. They had always in view that heavenly recompense which waited for them after their combat, and which infinitely surpassed whatever they could suffer in this world. They said to themselves, “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8: 18). They recollected what our Saviour had said: “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer — Be faithful unto death: and I will give thee the crown of life” (Apoc. 2: 10). And again:  “Blessed are ye when they shall revile you and persecute you. — Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven” (Matt. 5: 11-12).

This heavenly prospect animated their courage and sweetened their torments. They had likewise before their eyes the divine pattern of their Lord and Saviour, who had trodden the same path before them for their encouragement. And what homage can be more acceptable to him, than to offer our lives to him who laid down his for our sake? How beautiful a spectacle in the sight of God is a Christian entering the lists with affliction, and with a noble constancy combating menaces, racks and tortures ! When like a conqueror he triumphs over the judge that condemns him. For he is certainly victorious who obtains what he fights for (Min. Fel. in Octav). Full of such thoughts and sentiments, and inspired with interior joy, those champions congratulated one another on the view of their approaching triumph, saying: the persecutor wrests from us our lands, but heaven is open to us: the enemy of Christ threatens, but Christ protects us. They put us to death, but we are crowned with immortality; by killing us they deprive us of this world, but paradise is offered us in its stead: our temporal life is extinguished, but is changed into eternal (Cyprian de exhort, mart. c. 12).

Such ought to be the reflections of those who shall exist in the next age. The complexion of that period will be similar to that of the first age under the persecuting Roman emperors and will exceed it in violence and cruelty. The consideration therefore of the behaviour of the primitive Christians is the best preparation that can be recommended to their successors in the last age. Let them add to it another reflection, which should never be absent from their mind, namely, the immortal glory and happiness, which Christ expressly promises and describes as the portion of all those who shall sacrifice to him their lives in the persecution of Antichrist. “These are they who are come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell over them. They shall no more hunger or thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them or any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Apoc. 7:14, &c).

Besides the reasons we have given above, the necessity of beginning to inculcate the preceding lessons to the present rising generation appears the more, when we consider the general decay of religion which now prevails. So little is the practice of morality attended to, so little even is religion thought of that we see already no small progress made toward that apostacy, as St. Paul calls it, or towards that general defection from faith, and that degeneracy of morals, which will take place before the great minister oi Satan, Antichrist, appears. How swift indeed must be the decline of true faith, while free-thinking grows at such a pace?

While everyone seems to fix it as a principle, to believe nothing more than his reason comprehends, or that coincides with his own private humour? What practice of morality can we expect from people, who are immersed in worldly pleasures, or in pursuits of private interest, who never spend a moment of thought about eternity, nor scarce ever address their God and Creator in a short prayer? And is not this the general course of life of the present generation of mankind? Certainly then, due care should be taken to prevent as many of the new rising race as possible from being infected by this pestiferous corruption, and to prepare them to be enrolled in the list of the few elect of the approaching time.

When a tide of irreligion and infidelity has broken in, and is seen to swell every day, what wonder if the period approach, when God will bring all to the test, and try them as metal in a fiery furnace, in order to discriminate between the good and the bad, and to separate the sound from the unsound grain? The few that will remain firm and stanch under all temptations and persecution, will shine with great lustre in those days, when the bulk of mankind will suffer themselves to be seduced so far, as to go over to Antichrist, adore him as a God, and renounce their Creator their religion, and their own conviction. Notwithstanding the great power of Antichrist, and his faculty of performing surprising wonders, the small body of the faithful will bear away the palm of victory, by their constancy in maintaining the Cause of God at the expense of their lives, and by their fortitude in not yielding to promises, threats, or torments. And thus the fruit of their perseverance will be, to see their victory completed, and the cause of religion fully vindicated, by the just judgments of God upon the impious, when he will exterminate in the most public and terrible manner that satanic man Antichrist, with his associates, will extirpate idolatry from the earth, and restore peace to his Church.

To these reflections we shall add one remark, that of the six vials of the wrath of God, hitherto considered, three, namely, the first, third, and sixth, are poured out for the punishment of idolaters, and the other three, viz. the second, fourth, and fifth, for the punishment of heretics.

The seventh age is the last and longest of all. It is the age of eternity. We see it ushered in by the tremendous scene of the general judgment of mankind; of whom a part are admitted into the heavenly Jerusalem or everlasting bliss, and the other or greater part are doomed to suffer inexpressible torments for all eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone. Whoever will take the pains to meditate a little on the great disparity of these two states, will certainly be moved, if he has not lost all sensibility, to use his utmost endeavours to gain the one and prevent his falling into the other. Both the happiness of the saved, and the torments of the damned, far surpass indeed our conception; but if they be even considered only in a general view, who would not shudder at the thought of being condemned to an eternal prison, in devouring flames that will never be extinguished?

“Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? Which of you can dwell with everlasting burnings?” (Isaiah 23:14). And on the other hand, if we reflect on the possession of God, the source of all delight, joy, and felicity; with which we shall be filled according to the whole capacity of our being, and this without even the least interruption or allay, are we not transported with the most vehement desire of attaining such a happy state? “They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure” (Psalm 25: 9). To this all-happy state let us then “by our good works make our election secure.” Let us spare no pains for it during the short period of our existence here. The recompense will infinitely exceed our labour, and the time of our labour bears no proportion to eternity.

Blessed is he, that readeth and heareth the words of this prophecy: and keepeth those things which are written in it” (Apoc.1: 3). And again: “Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book” (Apoc. 22: 7). That this advice may be attended to is our sincere wish, and here we close the present work with the blessing delivered in the last verse of this admirable prophecy: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (End of Walmesly text)

Commentary by T. Benns

The two authors above highlight the importance of recognizing the age of Antichrist and educating others to recognize it, that they may prepare for it spiritually. They speak of the terrible torments that will distinguish this age but they identify these namely with physical torments, not mental agonies. While some have and no doubt will be subjected to both, it is mainly the mental tortures that we suffer from today on so many different levels. Of course no one in the 18^th century could have foreseen the many forms of mental misery that would proliferate in the coming centuries. In fact we ourselves are not even fully aware of all the many assaults via chemicals in the foods we eat, in the water, in the air, in various waves sent into the atmosphere and other attacks adversely affecting our physical and mental health. And this is not even to mention the many lies we have been told about these things, the deceits practiced by Novus Ordo and Traditional pseudo-clergy, or the propaganda spread by these groups and the media.

Already in the 18^th and 19^th century, they could see then what was fast approaching. And here we are, caught in the whirlwind. But at least we know where we stand in time. Those who expect a restoration of the Church and a time of peace have been sadly misled. The end of the fifth age and the advent of Antichrist marked the end of the Church’s time on earth, as St. Thomas Aquinas also wrote. The Church will survive unto the consummation in the small band of faithful left, as Rossi and Walmesley note. They will triumph over their enemies with the coming of Christ, the only King of Zion. And if they persevere until the very end, they will reign forever with Him in Heaven.

We have no pope, but Christ’s Church will last forever

by T. Stanfill Benns | May 11, 2025 | New Blog

+Third Sunday after Easter+

Happy Mother’s Day, Blessed Mother, and a blessed day to all Catholic mothers everywhere!

The seventh king of Rome, a Francis fan, has taken the name of Leo XIV. As a reader astutely observed last week, “Prevost took the name of Leo on the great feast of St. Michael, aping the Catholic Church’s Leo XIII and his great devotion to the Archangel Michael.” The name he chose suggests he intends to focus on social issues and since assuming his role as usurper, he singles out the regulation of AI as one of his primary goals. Committed to the Vatican 2 changes, he seems anxious to implement a larger “tent” for those identifying as Catholic, and this could possibly include Latin Mass devotees. But given his predecessor’s stand on Traditionalism, this seems unlikely. Time will tell. It will be an empty gesture anyway, if and when it does occur.

With the invalid election of Angelo Roncalli, the Church entered into the age of Antichrist, the end of the age of the Church that culminates in the consummation. As St. John of Damascus wrote in his An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV : “ It should be known that the Antichrist is bound to come. Every one, therefore, who confesses not that the Son of God came in the flesh and is perfect God and became perfect man, after being God, is Antichrist (1 John 2:22). But in a peculiar and special sense he who comes at the consummation of the age is called Antichrist.” And many other Fathers and Doctors of the Church have taught the same. As we have explained at length in previous blogs, the mantle of preserving the Church has fallen to those who recognize the signs of the times and keep the faith at home.

Leo 14 may reign from Rome as king of the Vatican 2 sect, but we continue to march to the fulfillment of prophesy outlined in the Apocalypse. A review of why this is the case seems appropriate and is presented below.

Christ’s promises to be with us till the end of time

The promises Christ made to His Church — that it would last until the end of time — have not been made void by the reign of the usurpers. But we must understand the word Church as the Church Herself understands it. Initially the one and only Vatican Council, held from 1869-1870, was scheduled to supply a definition of the Church, for as Henry Cardinal Manning explains, “In all theological treatises, it had been usual to treat of the Body of the Church before treating of its Head… But the Church in council when, for the first time it began to treat of its own constitution and authority, changed the method; and like the Divine Architect of the Church began in the historical order with the foundation and Head of the Church… The doctrine of the Church does not determine the doctrine of the primacy but the doctrine of the primacy does precisely determine the doctrine of the Church. In beginning therefore with the head, the council has followed our Lord’s example both in teaching and in fact.” (The Vatican Council Decrees in Their Bearing on Civil Allegiance, 1875).

The council ended early owing to threats of war in Italy, so while a preliminary draft of the Church’s definition had been drawn up, it was never voted on by the Council Fathers and therefore cannot be counted as the official teaching of the Church. This preliminary draft stated:

“Christ’s Church… the only Society of salvation, will last until the end of the world, ever unchangeable and unchanged in its constitution…It evolves in a variety of ways according to the changing times and circumstances in which it is constantly displaying activity. Nevertheless, it remains unchangeable in itself and in the constitution it received from Christ. Therefore Christ’s Church can never lose its properties and its qualities, its sacred teaching authority, priestly office, its governing body, so that through His visible Body Christ may always be the way, the truth and the life for all men.” (The Church Teaches, The Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary’s, Kansas, 1955). This unofficial draft version of the constitution on the Church, however, must be rightly reconciled with the infallible dogmatic constitutions which comprise the Vatican Council decrees. In the Council’s dogmatic constitution on the Church of Christ, we read, regarding the constitution and foundation of the Church:

“As [Christ] sent the apostles whom He had selected from the world for Himself, as He, Himself had been sent by the Father, so in His Church He WISHED the pastors and the doctors to be even to the “consummation of the world” (Matt. 28: 20)… And since the gates of hell to overthrow the Church, if this were possible, arise from all sides with ever greater hatred against its divinely established foundation, we judge it to be necessary for the protection, safety and increase of the Catholic flock to set forth the doctrine on the institution in perpetuity and nature of the sacred Apostolic primacy in which the strength and solidarity of the whole Church consist, to be believed and held by all the faithful according to the ancient and continual faith of the universal Church…” Later Pope Leo XIII would also teach:

 “…Christ the Lord WISHED that by the strength and solidity of the foundation the gates of hell SHOULD BE PREVENTED from prevailing against the Church. All are agreed that the divine promise must be understood of the Church as a whole, and not of any certain portions of it. These can indeed be overcome by the assaults of the powers of hell, as in point of fact has befallen some of them.” (Satis cognitum, 1896). And from Henry Cardinal Manning’s translation of the Vatican Council documents found in the appendix to his work The Vatican Council Definitions: “If then, any should deny that it is by the institution of Christ the Lord, or by divine right, that Blessed Peter SHOULD have a perpetual line of successors in the Primacy over the Universal Church, or that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of Blessed Peter in this primacy; let him be anathema” (DZ 1821).

Free will and heresy

“Wished” and “should” certainly are not the equivalent of  “promised,” “will” and “would.” Man’s free will enters in here and it is men, evil bishops and cardinals, who betrayed Christ by electing Angelo Roncalli, an unworthy candidate on several counts as the first usurper in a long line of papal pretenders. God never deprives man of free will, and they freely conspired to betray the faithful just as Judas betrayed Our Lord. By so doing they became heretics incapable of electing anyone — for heresy means “to choose.” LibTrad pseudo-clergy accuse those praying at home of denying the Church can never fail because they maintain valid and licit bishops no longer exist and canonical election of a true pope is now impossible. But we have never said the Church has failed or no longer exists.

They, on the other hand, by operating without a canonically elected pope at their head, themselves deny that the Church will last as Christ constituted it. They also deny that the Mass has ceased and Antichrist has already come and gone, although his system remains. This they assert by their actions, pretending that invalidly consecrated bishops, without Peter’s canonically elected successor as head bishop, is the Church Christ founded on earth. To believe that Trad pseudo-clergy are valid is to deny the teaching of Pope Pius XII in Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis, an infallible papal constitution, and this results in exclusion from the Church, the Mystical Body.

There must be allowance made for that dreadful time when Antichrist will finally come, wielding power “to make war with the saints and overcome them” (Apoc. 13:7). Antichrist is identified as the abomination of desolation, for not only does he usurp the Holy See — as anticipated by Pope Paul IV in Cum ex Apostolatus Officio — but as prophesied in the book of Daniel and unanimously taught by the early Fathers, he will cause the Continual Sacrifice to cease. The Vatican Council and the Council of Trent both teach that this is a truth of faith all Catholics are bound to believe. It is not the Mass that Catholics should have rushed to save, but apostolicity of doctrine. For as Henry Cardinal Manning states above, “the doctrine of the primacy does precisely determine the doctrine of the Church.”

The Four Gospels, Francis Patrick Kenrick, Archbishop of Philadelphia, 1849

“The perpetuity of the commission [to teach all nations] without any interruption is most fully expressed. The AUTHORITY  to teach and baptize with all the functions consequent thereon remains forever. The Apostolic ministry continues to the end of the Christian dispensation which is to last till time shall merge in eternity.”

Christ’s Church, Msgr. G. Van Noort, 1959

“’I am with you at all times as long as the world will last.’ The phrase “as long as the world will last “is a clear reference to the end of the world (Matt. 13: 40; 24:3). And so until that day comes, Christ will be at the side of the apostles as they teach, sanctify and rule. He will be at the side not only of the apostles personally for they were soon to die but at the side of those who will take up the work of the apostles throughout the centuries and will thus form with them one moral person… Therefore the VISIBLE CHURCH will last forever and in an incorrupt state. It will go on forever safeguarding the doctrine of Christ, administering His sacraments and instructing all peoples in His precepts.”

Commentary on the New Testament, Rev. Leo Haydock, 1859

“Behold I am with you all days, even to the end of the world, embraces two points necessary for the Church; viz. integrity of doctrine, and sanctity of life; for, if either of these should be wanting to the Church, it might then be justly said, that she had been left and abandoned by Christ, her Spouse. (Estius) — Jesus Christ will make good his promise: 1. by always dwelling in the hearts of the faithful; 2. by His sacramental presence in the Holy Eucharist; 3. by his providential care, and constant protection to his holy Catholic Church. These last six lines of St. Matthew’s gospel, says the bright luminary of France, Bossuet, most clearly demonstrate the infallibility and indefectibility of the one, holy, Catholic Church, which all are commanded to hear and obey.”

Catholic Scripture Manuals, Book of Matthew (commentary, Madame Cecilia, 1906)

(Commenting on Matt. 28-20): “Until the end of the world there must exist an authorized teaching body to carry on the work of the apostles… Unity of doctrine must therefore be a mark of the true Church. The doctrines taught by the successors of the apostles must be the same as those which the apostles themselves taught; hence the true faith must be Apostolic.”

A priesthood chosen by Pope Pius XII

Christ has always been the Head of the Mystical Body and we are the visible members of that body.  As we read in the New Testament: “…You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people God has purchased.” (I Peter 2:9.) “He has …made us a royal race of priests, to serve God, his Father.” (Apoc. 1:5-6.) “…they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Apoc. 20:6.) St. Augustine comments on the above as follows: “Now this is not meant only of those whom the Church specifically calls bishops and priests, but as we are all called Christians because of our mystical chrism, our unction, so are we all priests in being the members of one priest.” (I St. Peter 2:9, City of God, Book 20, Chapter 10.)

We are visible members of the Mystical Body, the Church. Pope Pius XII infallibly designated the Church on earth as Christ’s Mystical Body in His encyclical Mystici Corpus Christi, teaching that: “The cooperation of all its members must also be externally manifest through their profession of the same faith and their sharing the same sacred rites, through participation in the same Sacrifice… the practical observance of the same laws” and their obedience to Christ’s vicar on earth. Pope Pius XII continues:

“Peter in view of his primacy is only Christ’s Vicar; so that there is only one chief Head of this Body, namely Christ, who never ceases Himself to guide the Church invisibly, though at the same time He rules it visibly, through him who is His representative on earth… That Christ and His Vicar constitute one only Head is the solemn teaching of Our predecessor of immortal memory Boniface VIII in the Apostolic Letter Unam Sanctam; and his successors have never ceased to repeat the same.”  It was Pope Pius XII who provided the infallible definition of the Church as Christ’s Mystical Body in Mystici Corporis. In this encyclical he taught that bishops do not receive their jurisdiction directly from Christ, but only through the Roman Pontiff. Christ is now our only Head, and He keeps forever in existence the papacy and the Deposit of Faith, preserved and interpreted by His Vicars. In later works,  Pope Pius XII extended jurisdiction to the laity in general, shortly before his death.

“The Apostolic See does not simply tolerate your action, it enjoins you to exercise the apostolate, to devote your efforts to fulfilling the Christian’s great missionary duty, that all the lost sheep may be assembled in one fold and under one shepherd…This initiative of the lay apostolate is perfectly justified even without a prior explicit ‘mission’ from the hierarchy… Personal initiative plays a great role in protecting the faith and Catholic life, especially in countries where contacts with the hierarchy are difficult or practically impossible. In such circumstances, THE CHRISTIANS UPON WHOM THIS TASK FALLS MUST, WITH GOD’S GRACE, ASSUME ALL THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES. It is clear however that, even so, nothing can be undertaken against the explicit or implicit will of the Church or contrary in any way to the rules of faith or morals, or to ecclesiastical discipline” (The Mission of the Catholic Woman, 1957; entered into the AAS and therefore binding on Catholics. See more HERE).

So we have been given an actual canonical mission by Pope Pius XII, declaring us successors of the hierarchy in their absence. This provided we obey all the laws of the Church and adhere to ALL Her teachings. Pope Pius XII had previously outlined this mission in the following address: “The faithful and more precisely the laity are stationed in the front ranks of the life of the Church and through them the Church is the living principle of human society. Consequently they must have an ever-clearer consciousness not only of belonging to the Church, but of being the Church; that is being the community of the faithful on earth under the guidance of their common leader the Pope and the bishops in communion with him. THEY ARE THE CHURCH and therefore, even from the beginning, the faithful, with the consent of their bishops, have united in associations directed to the most diverse types of human activity. And the Holy See has never ceased to approve and praise them” (Feb. 20, 1946 address to the newly made cardinals).

The true and only test of faith is NOT the continuation of the Mass and Sacraments, which cannot exist without valid bishops approved by the Roman Pontiff. The true test of faith is adherence to all Christ did and taught. He founded all on St. Peter and his successors, the core of the Church’s unity, and predicted that once the shepherd is struck, the flock will scatter. The lack of unity we witness today is the fulfillment of that prophesy.

Summary

We may no longer have the visible elements of the Church — the papacy, the hierarchy, Mass and all but two of the Sacraments. But they have not ceased to exist, either. They will always exist in Heaven because Christ instituted them — we simply no longer have access to them. We do have their spiritual substitutes — Spiritual Communion and the Perfect Act of Contrition. Baptism, the most necessary sacrament, is still available to us. And as long as we have repented of our sins, made amends and asked God to lift any excommunications we may have incurred by participating in Novus Ordo or Traditional services, we can count ourselves as visible members of Christ’s Mystical Body, at least by desire. The meaning of the term Mystical Body is explained below.

“First [Christ’s Mystical Body] will be an empirical, concrete, visible, tangible thing… for it is a human institution, a human society. And it is a society quite visibly and tangibly. Its sociology and Canon Law can be written down, it has its clearly defined members and its definite seat. Secondly the Church will be an invisible reality; a life of thought, love and grace that is infused into souls… THE EXPRESSION ‘MYSTICAL BODY’ DESIGNATES THE MYSTERIOUS AND INTERIOR ELEMENT OF THE CHURCH… it does not designate the external [juridical] aspect of body except so far as it is the outward manifestation of the interior soul which consists in such a mystery… It is a union… primarily internal and supernatural. It is the supernatural union of the sanctified soul with Christ and with all other sanctified souls in Christ… The bonds that unite Christians to Christ and to one another are organic, physical, sacramental, although supernatural and invisible…

“The communion of saints is an invisible society, a “Church” or “ecclesia” in the broad sense, a moral body. Its invisible, moral, or juridical head is the glorified or exalted Christ. Besides the many or multiple external visible elements, clergy and laity, hierarchical structure, sacraments, sacramentals, etc., the Church must possess an inner element which, intimately united to the visible elements, must be the formal cause of the unity and identity of the organism, formal cause, too, of its own peculiar life which is supernatural and divine… The invisible elements… form together with the visible elements, its body, one, undivided and indivisible whole, informed and vivified by the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Ghost. This living, visible organism, of which the Holy Ghost is the soul in the real but mystical sense, is the Mystical Body of Christ, or the mystical Christ…” (end of Gruden/Mersch quotes).

In the absence of the hierarchy, we are all that is left of the Church, and Pope Pius XII has commanded us to carry on Her existence on earth. Christ will be with us until the very end, whether that be the end of our life on this planet or the Second Coming. He has promised to never leave us orphans, and is ever true to His promises.

Anticipating the “Conclave” for Rome’s 7th king

by T. Stanfill Benns | Apr 29, 2025 | New Blog

+St. Catherine of Siena+

Prayer Society Intention for May, Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“Most loving Mother, consider the cruel warfare waged by the world the flesh and the devil against our souls and see how many are perishing in the strife… Deign to pray for us without ceasing to the Blessed Trinity that we may have the grace to be ever victorious over the devil.” (The Raccolta)

Introduction

In the blog HERE, we wrote the following on who might become the next Roman usurper once Francis met his Maker.  Readers may wish to review what we said, but the gist of it is repeated below.

It is likely Francis’ “successor” will make it appear that the Novus Ordo church is rejecting the changes and returning to its previous pre-Vatican 2 position, similar to what Pres. Trump says he is doing with this country. It will be a seduction so convincing, so diabolically clever that many LibTrads will “return” to this church, believing — as they have been falsely led to believe through private revelation and their pseudo-clergy — that this is the promised restoration of the true Church. Those who refuse to buy into it will be persecuted at some point. The Latin Mass of St. Pius V may appear to return, and all the sacramental rites could be “restored” to their previous forms. After all, isn’t it said that appearances are everything?

But the Mass, the Sacraments, the sacramentals — NONE OF THESE COULD EVER BE VALID AGAIN WITHOUT A CANONICALLY ELECTED POPE, impossible to obtain since the death of Pope Pius XII.  So it will cost the usurpers nothing to appear to make such concessions. This is the only way the enemies of the Church can make it appear the Mass and a falsified “return to Tradition” could cease when political antichrist comes. This cessation will convince the world he is the true antichrist, not Paul 6, for the worldly do not take the spiritual nature of Scripture into account. Political antichrist, long anticipated by the Protestants,  will then be seen as the one who abolishes the mass and destroys Rome, when it was long ago destroyed dogmatically and spiritually. And this will be the greatest and final deception. In fact, preparation for this event has been underway for some time now.

For the past two years, articles have been circulating on the internet that the Novus Ordo is already preparing for such a shift. A January 2025 report claims the return is prompted by “a perceived dilution of doctrine,” noting that new NO clergy are suddenly more orthodox and desire a return to the Church’s ancient roots (see HERE). In another essay on why “the Latin Mass is returning” (March 2023 article HERE), one can find two-years-worth of articles covering how one is to make this shift, why, dress at mass, conduct, history, etc., a rather remarkable effort to facilitate such a “return.” An April 2024 Associated Press article HERE announces “an immense shift” toward the old ways.

Kingly candidates 

So it certainly seems that a brainwashing-style build-up has taken place already to justify such a reintroduction of the “old ways,” even though this may result in a loss of progressives. As always, the focus is on the liturgy, not the papacy. As long as the ritual trappings are properly replicated and the appearances of what once was are in place, (if a “conservative” is elected as the next usurper), LibTrads will be properly mollified and will happily go on about their simulated existence. While it cannot be stated with any certainty that the next imposter elected will take the “old school” route, several conservative “cardinals” are in the running and a few of them are mentioned below.

Raymond Burke, 76, United States — A well-known conservative, Burke has criticized Francis repeatedly for his stance on divorce and remarriage. Appointed “cardinal” by Benedict 16,  he is popular among the recognize and resist faction.

Peter Erdo, 72, Hungary —This man has criticized Francis for his teaching on divorce and immigration. He comes from Josef Cardinal Mindszenty’s Hungary, always a more conservative-minded country.

Robert Sarah, 79, Guinea — Some call Sarah a “conservatives’ fantasy candidate,” an all-out champion of doctrinal and liturgical issues and an outspoken Francis critic. Media speculators note that the election of a black pope would make it more difficult for liberals to object to such a “return to Tradition.”

Of course the false election could also produce a moderate or yet another progressive such as Francis just as easily. If this occurs, especially in the case of a progressive, then it is likely that a split might take place. This given the trending “return to Tradition” and the adamant opponents of Francis, who have been agitating against his policies for the past decade. What all believe to be the Catholic Church could then appear to sport two or even three “popes,” (sedevacantists might join in), creating a chaotic situation that would serve the enemy just as well. Watch for dramatic twists and turns, as portrayed in the offensive movie-doc Conclave, since such productions also “prepare” audiences for unexpected outcomes contrary to Catholic doctrine and practice. A terrorist attack could occur, but more likely this event will be saved for later in the game, when Rome is physically destroyed.

Mass deception

We have gone into great detail HERE to explain why the Mass cannot be considered valid outside the guardianship and protection of a canonically elected Roman Pontiff. In Mediator Dei, Pope Pius XII taught: “The entire liturgy has the Catholic Faith for its content…it bears public witness to the faith of the Church. For this reason whenever there was a question of defining a truth revealed by God, the Sovereign Pontiff and the Councils, in their recourse to ‘theological sources,’ as they are called, have not seldom drawn many an argument from this sacred science of the Liturgy…The rule for prayer determines the rule for belief.’ [However] the Sacred Liturgy does not decide or determine independently and of itself what is of Catholic Faith… If one desires to differentiate and described the relationship between faith and the Sacred Liturgy in absolute and general terms, it is perfectly correct to say… ‘let the rule of belief determine the rule of prayer…

“The Sacred Liturgy does include Divine as well as human elements. The former, instituted as they have been by God, cannot be changed in any way by men… The Sovereign Pontiff alone enjoys the right to recognize and establish any practice touching the worship of God, to introduce and approve new rites, as also to modify those he judges to require modification… No private person has any authority to regulate external practices of this kind, which are intimately bound up with Church discipline and with the order, unity and concord of the Mystical Body, and frequently even with the integrity of Catholic faith itself.’”  Here we see that Pope Pius XII deliberately reversed the “Lex orandi, lex credendi” touted by the liturgists to prove a point: Catholic doctrine stands outside and above the liturgy. The changing of “for many” to “for all” certainly was invalid, for those usurpers reigning after Pope Pius XII’s death were mere men, having been ipso facto excommunicated, disqualified for any office and invalidly elected according to the Sacred Canons.

The inexcusable and criminal refusal to abide by Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis and declare the “election” of Angelo Roncalli invalid as well as all subsequent “elections” was deliberate and pre-arranged. It was carefully orchestrated under the guise of the liturgical renewal movement as explained in previous blogs. It was the culmination of centuries of planning by secret societies to overthrow Catholic monarchies and finally the papacy. It was the Reformers who first discovered the perfect distraction — abolish the authority of the papacy, then introduce the slogan “It is the Mass that matters.” In other words, reduce the faith to its liturgical expression. That slogan was the hue and cry of what became the Anglican Church once Henry VIII became its head. Those who failed to study papal encyclicals and Catholic history were then doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Pro-Tridentine Mass literature condemning the liturgical innovations flooded what passed for Traditional Catholic media from the mid-1960s on and continues to this day. Likewise the obsession with what goes on in the apostate halls of the Vatican, with the day-to-day rundown of new blasphemies and sacrileges introduced by the usurpers, accompanied by mock horror and a wringing of hands. We expect evil to be any less terrifying?? And the controversy continues over “teachings” of the false Vatican 2 council as well, with trusted “experts” pointing out and debating its various errors and heresies. What has worked for the enemy in the secular press works just as well in what is passed off as the Catholic press. Keep those trying to figure things out embroiled in controversy, constantly arguing with each other, battling over scandalous “clergy,” perpetually splitting off into dissident sects. That way no one will ever know that the answer all along was very simple, if very sad; one that would resolve all questions and end all divisions. The great deception must continue, to serve and fund the deceivers.

The truth that sets us free

Following only the teachings of the Roman Pontiffs, we can breathe a sigh of relief and escape the cacophony created by “the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil.” When we once accept the infallible truth that no man who is a heretic (or suspected heretic) pre-election could ever become pope (Cum ex Apostolatus Officio, Pope Paul IV), that no true pope could ever speak heresy on matters of faith, morals or discipline, (The Vatican Council, 1869-70), and that no one may usurp papal jurisdiction or change Canon Law in any way during an interregnum, then we have our answers.

1. Angelo Roncalli was a suspected heretic pre-election and a confirmed heretic post-election; he never became pope. None of his acts were valid or could ever become valid.
2. The 1958 college of cardinals was disqualified from ever electing another pope (Can. 2391§1).
3. Ergo:

• Vatican 2 never happened
• All following “popes” were usurpers
• No one ordained contrary to Canon Law or consecrated outside papal jurisdiction without the papal mandate ever became members of the clergy.
• We are forbidden to consider them validly ordained and consecrated under pain of excommunication (denying the authority of the Roman Pontiff to so declare them and assisting them in their crimes.)
• We cannot and must not attend their sacrilegious services.
• We must never allow ourselves to be contaminated with the false propaganda spread by those who, failing to consider the truths above, consistently attempt to draw us into debates and media hype; refuse to accept papal teaching; destroy our peace, obfuscate the facts and attempt to divide us or doubt our position.

We have stepped outside of the infernal Satanic circle surrounding the pentagram and they hate us for it. We have refused to join hands with them in their evil enterprises. We have aligned ourselves with Christ and His vicars alone, St. Peter to Pope Pius XII, and we will not be moved. We have fled to the desert of prayer and sacrifice, penance for our sins and any good works we can perform. We are not lonely or alone here, for Our Lord and His Blessed Mother, our Guardian Angels, are ever at our side. We await the coming of Our Lord, the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Christ has risen, but the Passion of the Church continues

That early father of the Church, St. Cyprian wrote: “Most of the bishops… set over the Lord’s churches throughout the world, hold to the method of evangelical truth and of the Lord’s tradition, and depart not by any human and novel institution, from that which Christ our master both taught and did…The Will of God is what Christ has done and taught,”(Faith of Catholics, Vol. 1, Msgr. Capel, editor). Likewise the Asiatic bishops, commenting on the approbation of the canonical books of Scripture, stated that: “As, on this principle of what Christ had done and taught, the writings of which we are speaking were admitted as sacred and divine…” (Ibid). So what aspects of Christ’s Passion and death on the Cross have the faithful today been asked to mirror, to “…fill up what is wanting to the Passion of Christ”?

On Palm Sunday, Christ wept over Jerusalem, prior to casting the money changers from the Temple (Luke 19:41). This just after His disciples declared him a king. Today we weep over the abomination of desolation standing in the Holy Place, the See of Rome desecrated in large part by the world’s money changers who became intimately involved in Vatican finances, thanks to Montini (Paul 6). This following an era where the dogma of Christ reigning as King had been widely proclaimed. And what Jesus predicted of Jerusalem in Luke Ch. 19 is a harbinger of what also will happen to Rome for this transgression:

“If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side,  And beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee: and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation” (Luke 19: 42-44). For the destruction of Rome likewise is foretold in Apoc. 18, v. 2, 21: “And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen; and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird:  Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her; and the merchants of the earth have been made rich by the power of her delicacies… And a mighty angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: With such violence as this shall Babylon, that great city, be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.”

Christ was betrayed by Judas, holder of the common purse and nephew of Caiphas, just as Montini betrayed Pope Pius XII by introducing his friend Michele Sindona into the management of the Church’s funds. This allowed the Sicilian Mafiosa Sindona to eventually use the Church’s monies from charitable donations for money laundering purposes. Francis Cardinal Spellman and the Knights of Malta (SMOM) were reportedly involved in this affair. This mingling of the sacred with the profane began when Montini was appointed Bishop of Milan, after losing his position as Pope Pius XII’s pro-secretary and forfeiting Pope Pius XII’s endorsement as cardinal. Later Sindona played a major role in the Church’s finances under Montini as “pope,” beginning in the spring of 1969. In exiting the Novus Ordo following the introduction of the “new mass” that same year, the faithful were, in a sense, casting the money changers from the Temple. The Sindona/P2 scandal would not erupt, however, until the 1970s, after Sindona’s manipulation of finances left the Church nearly bankrupt.

The betrayal of the faithful by their own pastors began with the Modernist clergy electing Angelo Roncalli, just as the apostles fled from the scene at the beginning of the Passion. And as the most recent blog on the infiltration of Traditionalist ranks in Mexico and the U.S. explained earlier this month, Masonic forces were working to set up the Traditionalist movement even before Roncalli’s election. Christ was betrayed by them just as we have been betrayed. Jesus was tried before the Sanhedrin and those running the Novus Ordo and other non-Catholic organizations have tried us in the court of public opinion, branding us as “radical Traditionalists.” The same charges have been laid against us as were laid against Our Lord: we are uneducated, insane, liars, and cult members, this for championing the never-changing Catholic truths we hold and present.

We follow all the popes, Christ’s own appointed vicars, and everything they taught, as the expression of God’s will. Christ frequently acknowledged He who sent Him, God the Father, announcing: “I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6: 38). This was the same Father whom the Jews professed to reverence and obey, the God of Israel. But in reality, the Jews answered only to the Sanhedrin, God being left out of the equation. They did their own will, not God’s. They had long ago murdered their own prophets. They willfully ignored all the prophecies pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, for they wanted an earthly king, and He did not suit their needs. Nor do we suit the needs of LibTrads who wish only to belong to a visible, earthly church, one of their own making, not God’s. We point out inconvenient truths and demand they obey the popes and Canon Law, something they have no intention of doing.

Conclusion

We are considered an embarrassment and are treated as fools and outcasts, just as Our Lord was treated. And so we march to Calvary willingly bearing our crosses, and one day, when persecution reaches its heighth, some of us, at least, expect to die there. The rest of us will die as white martyrs if, God willing, we can keep the faith in these pagan times. We accept the loss of the papacy and the Mass as God’s will, prophesied in Holy Scripture and taught by the popes, and offer it up as a penance for our many sins. The theologian John-Pierre de Caussade warns about advising others to follow certain forms of spirituality, maintaining that self-abandonment to God’s will, to the present moment alone is suitable for all souls wishing to find their proper spiritual state. He emphasizes that, “The great and firm foundation of the spiritual life is the offering of ourselves to God and being subject to His will in all things” (Abandonment to Divine Providence).

Pope Pius XII wrote in Mediator Dei: “The people must offer themselves as victims…This offering is not in fact confined merely to the liturgical Sacrifice. For the Prince of the Apostles wishes us, as Living Stones built upon Christ the cornerstone, to be able ‘as a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ,’” (I Peter 2: 5). And so we offer ourselves as victims of the Father’s will, who sent Christ to save us; and to the will of Our Lord, eternal victim and true head of His Church. We have no Mass but God will accept pir spiritual sacrifices. We may often call out, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” but we know the answer: only prayer and the sacrifice of our own will can move God’s heart to have mercy on such an evil generation. In the words of Rev. Caussade:

“Since the world began, its history is nothing but the account of the campaign waged by the powers of the world and the Princes of hell against the humble souls who love God… Monster follows monster and the abyss engulfs them and spews them forth again amidst the incessant clouds of smoke… All these monsters come into the world only to stimulate the courage of the children of God and when they have finished their training, God allows them to slay the monster. A new monster appears and God summons fresh warriors into the arena. Our life here is a spectacle which makes heaven rejoice, rears up saints and confounds hell. And so all that opposes the rule of God only succeeds in making it more worthy to be adored. All the enemies of justice become its slaves and God builds the heavenly Jerusalem with the fragments of Babylon the destroyed.”

The seventh king may come; Babylon the Great will eventually fall. But God has reserved a place in Heaven for those who love Him enough to suffer, fight and die for Him.

He is risen, Alleluia! A Catholic poem on the Resurrection

by T. Stanfill Benns | Apr 18, 2025 | New Blog

 A Blessed Easter to all!

HE MADE US FREE

By Maurice Francis Egan

As flame streams upward, so my longing thought

Flies up with Thee,

Thou God and Saviour who hast truly wrought

Life out of death, and to us, loving, brought

A fresh, new world; and in Thy sweet chains caught.

And made us free!

As hyacinths make way from out the dark,

My soul awakes,

At thought of Thee, like sap beneath the bark;

As little violets in field and park

Rise to the trilling thrush and meadow-lark,

New hope it takes.

As thou goest upward through the nameless space

We call the sky,

Like jonquil perfume softly falls Thy grace;

It seems to touch and brighten every place;

Fresh flowers crown our wan and weary race,

O Thou on high.

Hadst Thou not risen, there would be no more joy

Upon earth’s sod;

Life would still be with us a wound or toy,

A cloud without the sun, — O Babe, O Boy,

A Man of Mother pure, with no alloy,

O risen God!

Thou, God and King, didst “mingle in the game,”

(Cease, all fears; cease!)

For love of us, — not to give Virgil’s fame

Or Croesus’ wealth, not to make well the lame,

Or save the sinner from deserved shame,

But for sweet Peace!

For peace, for joy, — not that the slave might lie in luxury,

Not that all woe from us should always fly,

Or golden crops with Syrian roses vie

In every field; but in Thy peace to die

And rise, — be free!

+Good Friday+

We all will be keeping Jesus company at the foot of the Cross this day, and so we end our quotes from Fr. Doyle below. May this day be for us one of solemn mourning and expressions of the most profound love for a man-God whose sacrifice on the Cross we can never repay.

Fr. Doyle’s Reflections on the Passion, Part 5

Gesthemani (cont’d):

As Christ ended His third prayer in the Garden of Gethsemani, He lay prostrate on the ground horribly shaken by the whole ordeal. The one thing He prayed for was not granted Him, but Holy Scripture relates that, “there appeared to him an angel from heaven to strengthen him” (Lk 22:43). It was an angel from heaven who announced to His mother Mary that she had been chosen to fulfill a creature’s greatest service to her God. When men refused the Son of God recognition on this earth, angels filled the skies to announce Him and sing His glories. When cruel men sought His life in infancy, an angel directed the Holy Family to the safety of Egypt. When He was tempted in the desert: “Behold angels came and ministered to him” (Mt. 4:11). Little wonder that when He was in agony in the Garden of Olives an angel should succor Him.

It is well to note that Christ’s prayer was not answered in the way he desired. He had prayed the first time that the chalice might pass from Him. It did not pass but His strength was increased. He prayed the second time for relief from His burden, but while the burden was increased His strength was augmented to match it. Christ prayed the third time, saying the selfsame words He had spoken on the two previous occasions. His agony did not cease but He found the courage “to pray the more earnestly” (Lk. 22:43). Learn from this that when God seems most deaf to our pleadings in prayer, He may prefer to make heroes of us. Be assured that in times of temptation, and trial, God’s angels will ever be at our side to comfort, encourage, and succor us.

Seize this occasion to bolster your devotion to the angels, and in a special way, to St. Michael. St. Alphonsus Liguori says: “Devotion to St. Michael is a sign of predestination.” In the year 1751, St. Michael appeared to an illustrious servant of God, Antonia d’Astonae, a Carmelite in Portugal. He expressed the wish that she should publish for his honor nine salutations corresponding to the nine choirs of angels. It was to consist of a Pater and three Aves in honor of each of the angelic hierarchies and then four Paters, the first in his honor, the second for the honor of St. Gabriel, the third for St. Raphael, and the last for the Guardian Angel. As a reward the glorious prince of the celestial court promised:

“Whoever would practice this devotion in his honor would have when approaching the Holy Table, an escort of nine angels chosen from each one of the nine choirs.” In addition, for the daily recital of these nine salutations he promised his “continual assistance and that of all the holy angels during life, and after death deliverance from purgatory for themselves and their relations.” In time of temptation call upon the holy angels and archangels to defend and protect you. Never let a day go by without a special petition to the heavenly choirs – especially your guardian angel.

In the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, our Blessed Lord’s body was bathed in light and His divinity burst through the frail human bonds that were united to it. In the Garden of Gethsemani, the human body of the Son of God was bathed in bloody sweat that rushed from every pore. Once the angel had strengthened our Lord, the transformation was amazing. From that moment on to the end of the Passion, we shall never see Him falter, for even one moment. He had strength for Himself and strength for all of those who came to Him or crossed His path.

Sleep now

The moment the third prayer was ended, Holy Scripture notes that Christ went to His disciples and said: “Sleep on now, and take your rest! It is enough; the hour has come” (Mk. 14:41). The time for watching was past. Christ had passed through His agony, and on his adorable face was the radiance of peace and the fire of zeal. No longer did He need the help or the sympathy which in vain He had sought in the darkness. He looked toward the city gate, and there was the traitor coming. There was neither need or use now for the disciples’ waking and watching, and they might as well sleep on. The lesson is plain. Whatever we do for our friends, we must do when they are in need of help. If one is sick, the time to show sympathy is while the illness continues. If we allow him to pass through this illness without showing him any attention, there is little use, when he is well again, for us to offer kindness.

When one of our friends is passing through some sore struggle with temptation, then is the time for us to come close to him and put the strength of our love under his weakness. Of what use is our help when the battle has been fought through to the end and won without us? Or suppose the friend was not victorious; that he failed – failed because no one came to help him, is there any use in our hurrying up to him then to offer assistance?

It was Ruskin who once wrote these words: “Such help as we can give to each other in this world is a debt we owe to each other; and the man who perceives superiority or a capacity in a subordinate, and neither confesses nor assists it, is not merely the withholder of kindness, but the committer of evil. If we are inclined to criticize the weakness of the Apostles in sleeping rather then comforting their Lord and their God in His hour of agony, do we not do a simulate deed when we withhold help and consolation from our neighbor. “As long as you did not do it for one of these least ones, you did not do it for me.” (Mt. 25:44). Let us always see Christ in our neighbor and this very day make a real effort to be a support, comfort, and defense of someone who needs our help – spiritual or temporal. Never let the sun set any day without having done one charitable act for a neighbor. Remember always these words of Holy Scripture: “that one’s neighbor should be loved as oneself is a greater thing than all the holocausts and sacrifices.

The ordeal of Gethsemani now over, our Blessed Lord walks with sort of a triumph toward His sleeping Apostles. Three times He had counseled them to pray, three times He had asked them to watch with Him and three times the Apostles had failed Him. Just anger had surged through Christ when He took a rope and drove the money-changers from the temple, because they dishonored His Father’s house. His closest friends who, a few short hours earlier, had received their first Holy Communion, had failed Him, and failed Him badly in His hour of need – surly He would have been justified had He upbraided them. But no. The gentle Christ walked over to where they took their rest, and simply said: “Rise, let us go” (Mk. 14:42). Oh, the hope springs up from those words!

Arise from sin

The disciples had failed sadly in one great duty – they had slept when the Master wanted them to watch with Him. They slept at their post. He had just told them that they might as well sleep on, so far as that service was concerned, for the time to render it was gone forever. Yet there were other duties before them, and Jesus calls them to arise and meet these. Because they had failed in one hour’s responsibility they must not sink down in despair. They must arouse themselves to meet the responsibilities that lay ahead of them.

What a consoling lesson for all of us. Because we have failed in one duty, or many duties, we must not give up in despair. Because a young man or woman has wasted youth, he or she must not therefore lose heart and think the loss of youth is irreparable. The golden years can never be recalled – the innocence, the beauty, the power may have slipped through our fingers – but why should we squander all because we squandered some? Because the morning has been thrown away, why should all the day be lost?

The lesson Christ taught at the end of His agony in Gethsemani is for all who have failed in any way. Christ ever calls to hope. He bids us rise again from the worst defeats. With Christ there is always margin enough to start again and build a noble life. Right down to the doorway of death there is time. Paul persecuted the Church, but died for it. The door of opportunity opened to the penitent thief on the cross in his dying hour. So it is always. In this world, blessed by divine love and grace, there is never the need to despair. The call after every defeat or failure still is, and always will be, “Rise, let us go.” Strive every day to make acts of faith, hope, and charity. Today let us beg for an increase of the virtue of hope.

When our Lord was saying to His Apostles: “Rise, let us go,” He added these painful words: ”He who will betray me is at hand” (Mk. 14:43). St. John gives us a few more details for he writes: “Now Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place, since Jesus had often met there together with his disciples, Judas, then, taking his cohort, and the attendants from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, and torches, and weapons” (Jn. 18: 2-4).

Judas the betrayer

The story of Judas is perhaps the saddest in all of the Bible. The Evangelists seem fascinated with that name Judas and when they have occasion to pen it, they call him either “Judas, one of the twelve” or “the traitor” or as we have seen St. John do, in the quote above, “Judas, who betrayed Him.” The thought that one of their number could stoop to such a villainous act inflicts them with a personal shame. Any way you look at it, the story of the betrayal shows new evil each time you read it. Going out from the supper table, Judas had hastened to the priests and was quickly on his way with a band of soldiers. He probably hurried back to the upper room, where he had left Jesus: not finding Him there, he knew well with the Master had gone, and hastened to the sacred place of prayer – Gethsemani – where Jesus had often retired for prayer.

Then in the manner in which he left the officers know which of the company was Jesus shows the deepest blackness of all. Under the guise of close friendship – Judas kissed Christ – with feigned warmth and affection. It would be salutary for each of us to remember always how the treason in the heart of Judas grew. In the beginning, it was greed and money, then followed theft and falseness of life, ending at last, in the blackest crime this world has ever seen. The fact that such a fall as that of Judas began with small infidelities which grew and grew into a heinous crime should teach us the danger of committing venial sins. The Holy Ghost warns us that “he that contemneth little things, shall fall by little and little” (Eccles. 19:1).

Betrayal begins with venial sins

A picture in the royal gallery of Brussels represents Judas wandering about in the night after the betrayal. He comes by chance upon the workmen who have been making the cross upon which Christ shall be crucified the next day. A fire nearby throws its full light on the faces of the workmen, who are sleeping peacefully, while resting from their labors. Judas’ face is somewhat in the shade, but it is wonderfully expressive of awful remorse and agony as he catches sight of the cross and the tools used to make it – the cross which his treachery made possible. Judas did not fall into one great sin, he began with lesser sins, and they paved the way to his great disaster.

St. John Chrysostom said this of venial sins: ”I maintain that the small sins require to be avoided with more care then the more grievous ones, for the grievous ones of their very nature stir up our attention against them; whereas, the lesser sins from the fact of their being insignificant in comparison, are not noticed.” The devil is so cunning. He knows he could not induce a virtuous person to fall onto great sin because of the horror it inspires. What does he do? He proposes a venial offense: now one, now another until he gets the soul into an evil habit, for he knows the end result. Satan knows Scripture too, and can prove it from what he has been able to accomplish by making persons desire at first, venially sinful things. Scripture says: “He that is unjust in that which is little will be unjust in that which is great” (Eccles. 19:1).

Pray earnestly today for grace to avoid venial sins. Examine your conscience daily on your commission of venial sins and resolve to do your earnest to avoid them. The kiss of Judas will ever remain the ultimate in base treachery. The name Judas has such a special odium that no one in his right mind would give that name to an infant. It is reserved for the foulest deed one can perform against a friend, a family, a nation, or a society. The act of kissing performed by Judas on the greatest Friend mankind ever had, beggars man’s power of description. Oh, horrible perfidy!

It is related in Holy Scripture that one of the general in David’s army named Joab perpetrated a foul deed, in that upon meeting Anasa, who also commanded an army, he stooped forward to kiss him and at that very moment thrust a dagger into his side and killed him. Solomon, David’s famous son, when he succeeded to the throne, had Joab slain for his treachery. Note how much more evil was Judas’ act of treachery than was Joab’s. Joab with a treacherous kiss murdered a fellow man; Judas by his kiss paved the way for the death of the Son of God. Joab on the other hand dispatched his victim in one quick thrust; Judas by his awful deed set the stage for the torture and painful death of his Lord and God.

It is related that when the assassins of Julius Caesar fell upon him with their daggers, the great conqueror of men and nations stood motionless, displaying not the slightest sign of emotion or fear. When Brutus, whom Caesar loved with the affection of a father, also approached and drew his dagger to strike his great benefactor, that blow caused Caesar more pain then all the other wounds, and he could not refrain from uttering the now famous words: “Thou too, Brutus, my son!” If Caesar was pained by the baneful treachery of his friend Brutus, how must the Son of God felt when one of His own disciples betrayed Him to His enemies by a kiss. Might the Master not have said: “You too, Judas, My son! Is this what I have merited for My kindness to you? Did I not choose you to be My follower, disciple, and apostles? Did I not wash your feet? Did I not give you My Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity as a food? Oh thankless, heartless Judas!”

Look into your heart today and see if you have even betrayed your Master by mortal sin. Each time you prefer creatures to Christ you betray Him.. Each time you choose sin to Christ’s law, you betray Him. Spend some time today quietly thinking over the picture of Judas pressing his lips to those of the sinless Christ. If you identify yourself in Judas, throw yourself quickly into the arms of your God and beg His pardon.

We noted in our last consideration that daggers were used to murder Julius Caesar. The effect was just as tragic as if the murders had used swords. The smallness of the instrument did not lessen the effects. In like manner, it must be said of Judas that he did not lay violent hands on Christ when he met Him in the Garden of Olives. No, he did not seize or strike the Sacred Redeemer – he simply kissed Him, but that kiss was more tragic than if he had thrust a sword into the Sacred Heart of Christ.

Christ had been kissed before, but my, how different were the circumstances and results! First, there were the kisses of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. Who can number the fond caresses that Mary must have showered on the Infant Jesus as she nurtured and fondled Him in her pure maternal arms? How often must not St. Joseph have covered the Infant Countenance with tender paternal affection? Second, may we not conjecture that the Magi embraced the tiny Infant as Mary formally presented the Infant God to the first of the Gentiles who came to pay Him homage? Certainly, the act would be normal if not imperative.

Third, it can hardly be imagined that the Holy Simeon and Anna present at the presentation in the temple, could have held the adorable Child of promise in their arms and not pressed their holy lips to the pink little hands of the long-sought Messias. Fourth, we are certain from the text of Holy Scripture itself that the public sinner Mary Magdalen imprinted the kiss of contrite sorrow on the sacred feet of Christ, and arose from the encounter holier and greater then when she stooped to embrace her God.

Fifth, we are told that the great St. John the beloved disciple rested his youthful head on the breast of the Master at the Last Supper. There is a Persian fable of a piece clay made fragrant by lying on a rose: the perfume of the rose passed into the clay. So it was with John. He crept unto the bosom of the Master and his Master’s spirit of love and gentleness passed into his life and transformed it. Last, we have the awful picture of Judas pressing his lips to those of the Son of God, feigning friendship.

The lesson here is powerful. Those who approached Christ in love and veneration, in true penance and firm resolve, left His embrace renewed and strengthened. Those like Judas, whose hearts are turned toward evil, may be very near Christ and not be holy in character. Judas was three years with Christ, heard His words, lived in the atmosphere of His love and remained unchanged. An empty bottle, hermetically sealed, may lie long in the ocean and continue to be dry within. A heart sealed to Christ’s love may rest on His bosom for years and not be blessed. Only when pure or contrite heart is opened to receive His grace, does closeness to Him sanctify.