by T. Stanfill Benns | May 23, 2021 | New Blog
Introduction
Holy Scripture tells us there is nothing new under the sun, and Catholics would do well to ponder the wisdom of this passage:
“What is it that hath been? the same thing that shall be. What is it that hath been done? the same that shall be done. Nothing under the sun is new, neither is any man able to say: Behold this is new: for it hath already gone before in the ages that were before us. There is no remembrance of former things: nor indeed of those things which hereafter are to come, shall there be any remembrance with them that shall be in the latter end” (Ecclesiastes I: 9-11).
This is a stunning condemnation of “Progressivism” and a pointed reminder to us in these times that regardless of all the knowledge we think we have accumulated, we have not perceived the instruments of our own destruction being wielded against us, nor have we formulated any clear idea of the origin of such instruments or a truly workable plan to escape these evils that have plagued mankind from the beginning. That the very same blueprint for the seduction of God’s people goes back to the beginning of time would be an idea scoffed at even by those considering themselves spiritually minded and yet given the above, and the many warnings of Our Lord, His Vicars, the Saints and holy people, it cannot be denied. Of course all know that the devil roams the earth, seeking whom he may devour, but exactly what agents and means he employs and the cloaks these agents and their minions garb themselves in is largely unknown and unappreciated. What is even more frightening is that the destruction continues before our eyes and we cannot quite comprehend its source in order to marshal our defenses against it.
Ever since Lucifer fell from his place of honor in heaven, the demons at work among us have been busy trying to regain what their master lost. It is their sole mission on earth. What they cannot successfully destroy they set out to imitate in such a cunning way that the majority of men will be deceived and will take their diabolical fabrication for the genuine article. Their greatest asset in accomplishing this work is the lack of piety and ignorance of those they prey upon, making them unable to successfully connect the dots in order to detect their deceits. What follows below is an attempt to at least give a bare outline of their plan and to alert the faithful to Satan’s many triumphs in the 20th century and today. This content first appeared in the book Imposter Popes and Idol Altars © 2004; revised 2007 by T. Stanfill-Benns; some text has been added to the original. This series will be presented in three parts for the next several weeks. It seems to be a necessary follow-up to the discussion regarding Antichrist, since many are not convinced that Paul 6 fulfilled that scriptural role. That is because so many fail to fully absorb the extent of the evil he perpetrated and its true source, explained below.
False Gods Spell Destruction
Ba-al proper was the storm god of heaven; his father’s name was El, or Al, the Phoenician nature god. Man’s Religion, by John B. Noss, defined El as a “superhuman being or divinity” used to address “major and minor divinities alike. It also was applied to demons,” or fallen angels. The Mason Pike falsely claimed that the el-al endings were used in the names of the archangels to commemorate the Al god, (the Gnostics name seven archangels, but the Church officially recognizes only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.) In Muslim belief, Al refers to the three daughters of Allah — Al-Lat, Al-Manah and Al-Uzzah. The Catholic Bible Dictionary, by Rev. Bernard O’Reilly, ranked Baal as “identical to the sun” and synonymous with Bel. Other works identify the god with the symbol of a bull, and connect him to Bel, Belial, Baal-Zebub, Baal-Amun, Baal-Tsaphun, Baal-Peor, Moloch, the Persian Mithra and other gods. In Greek and Roman mythology, numerous gods can be linked to “parent” gods, primarily Baal, who also can be linked to Jupiter. In Scripture this is demonstrated by the use of the plural ‘baalim,’ referring to the multitude of gods Baal can represent.
In Canaan, where the cult first gained popularity, baals were farm gods unique to each region; the pagans believed these idols lent fertility to the land, their animals and themselves. The Bible confirms this, describing the unfaithful Israelites’ false belief that Baal, not the true God, gave them their “bread, water, wool, flax and drink,” (Osee 2:5). They worshipped these gods on hills, in groves of trees and ideally near bodies of water. In his Idol Worship of the World, Frank S. Dobbins explained that temples to Baal were referred to as high places, strongholds, “fortresses,” where the money left by the god’s devotees was worshipped along with the god. This can be referred to the prophet Daniel’s description of the priests of Bel and their coffers. Baal worship has the dubious distinction of being the first crude form of secular humanism — its devotees were said to kiss their own hands to worship their god, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. This same article stated that anything and anyone could be worshipped as a Baal. In Semitic etymology the word Baal means “to possess sexually,” giving some idea of the depravity involved in the god’s cult. Scripture relates the self-abuse, self-mutilation and homosexuality that accompanied Moloch and Baal worship, reminding the Israelites of the punishments associated with these crimes.
Rev. Martin Scott, S.J., in his Credentials of Christianity related that the pagans in Christ’s time evidenced secular humanism in the worship of their idols, dating this heresy to pre-Christian times. “Paganism flattered man and gratified the passions,” Scott wrote. “Generations of self-indulgence, living only for self, for pleasure, for every gratification within reach had made man a god unto himself.” Scott credited the degradation occasioned by idolatry as the source of pagan cruelty to women and children, noting that children were “offered as victims to Baal…and many other idols like the frightful idol Moloch, who had a man’s body and a bull’s head.” Both Plato and Aristotle advocated laws to compel women past their prime to practice birth control in order to prevent the birth of defective children. Today the depravity of those times is considered an inalienable right!
The first reference to the actual worship of Baal is made in Leviticus 18:21, where he is referred to as Moloch, one of his many names: for as we shall see, they are legion. The first reference to Baal by name is found in Judges 3:7, where the Israelites are described as engaging in forbidden marriages with pagans and worshipping their gods, “Baalim and Ashteroth.” (Ashtereth, Asherah, Ashtorah, Ishtar, Astarte all refer to the goddess-mother of Baal, often symbolized by a tree trunk.) Another reference to Baal is found in 3 Kings 14:24, where King Solomon is chastised for offering worship to Moloch and Astarte, often identified with Anath, Baal’s wife. This infidelity God the Father attributes to Solomon’s intermarriage with pagan wives, who demanded their gods be worshipped after the same fashion as the true God was worshipped in Solomon’s Temple. Solomon’s sins, so grievous in the eyes of God, hastened his death. His son, Rehoboam, installed an Asherah in the Jerusalem Temple, despite the warnings given to his father. Later King Ahab and his infamous wife Jezebel established Baal and the tree-trunk symbol of Asherah in a temple in Samaria. For this sacrilege Elias the prophet confronted the king, inviting Baal’s priests to the contest on Mt. Carmel. Elias condemned and confounded the Baal priests, (3 Kings 18:30-40), ordering their death. In restoring the purity of worship in his day, King Josias destroyed all these same idols in Jerusalem, but their worship was later reintroduced after his death. Dobbins stated that idolatry continued in Israel until the time of Samuel.
Eager to win the souls of those Israelites not subjected to idol worship, the Devil first removed them from their own land to other nations. He then preyed upon their carnal appetites to make the daughters of their Gentile captors more appealing as wives than the limited choices available among those of their own faith. With wives who did not accept or understand the ways of Israel, the faith then became easy enough to water down. During the Babylonian Captivity, the Jews feasted on the democratic doctrines of Hellenism and reveled in the pleasure principal. Shortly thereafter, the sacrifice ceased during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. This Jewish version of the Antichrist was opposed by one family, that of Judas Machabeus. The descendants of this family waged many battles against Antiochus, eventually defeating him. But one battle was lost because certain soldiers had concealed miniature Baals beneath their cloaks. The cult of the stones was yet alive.
Rev. Bernard Kelly, in his work God, Man and Satan, acknowledged the relationship between Jewish mixed marriages and idolatry prior to Israel’s downfall. “The temptation to idolatry (and) impurity…were often linked by Satan in view of their common purpose, for he found in impure love a powerful incentive to the abandoning of the austere religion of the true God.” Before the death of the saintly little Fatima seer, Jacinta Marto, Our Lady revealed to her that more souls go to hell for sins of impurity than any other sin. Mixed marriage, licentiousness and the hatred of women promoted in advertising, pornography, birth control — all spelled the Church’s doom long before the fateful 1960s. Always Satan has known that the seduction of women guarantees the ruin of mankind. This may be why he approached Eve, not Adam. Paraphrasing Ven. Mary of Agreda, Kelly remarked: “The Old Testament is the story of Satan’s attempt to pervert the Chosen People that the woman and her seed would never come into existence.” Satan lives in daily fear of the Genesis promise that the Woman will crush his head. Forever inspired to a hatred of all women by this fear, he projects his hatred on those who might also bring forth Christ mystically — devout women raising God-fearing children. His plan, however, did not succeed with the Chosen People who accepted Christianity, and it will not succeed now. But Baal and Ashtorah are yet with us in ways we cannot fully comprehend.
The “evil and adulterous generation” we are forced to view each day was systematically paganized and perverted by Kabbalistic, Masonic propaganda for decades. We agonize over the death of innocence, not realizing that our philosophy and thinking, our community and family life are but reflections of an anti-God system still celebrating the rites of Moloch. As a goddess, Ashtorah may be relatively unknown. But in principal, she rules from more hearths today than at any time in the past. In reality, we as a society have been impenetrated by pagan beliefs to such an extent that we are blind to our own seduction, thanks to the film and music industry, television and the secular media. Our ignorance of the serpent’s perverse ways fulfills the words of Scripture, “For the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light,” (Luke 16:8). The Devil has succeeded in destroying belief in the Holy Trinity while establishing acceptance of an accursed false “quatrinity” fashioned after his own evil likeness, just as Wisdom prophesied. The Fathers taught that this denial of the Trinity would be the primary predicator of Antichrist’s reign. What has never, to our knowledge, been addressed before are the terrible blasphemies that would likewise be leveled against the Most Holy Mother of God, destined to crush the serpent’s head. St. John Eudes has revealed that because Our Lady’s own heartbeat for Her Son’s in the womb, the Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary constitute ONE Heart. How, then, can this cruel denial of the Trinity not affect Our Blessed Lord and His holy Mother profoundly?
To finalize their triumph, the neo-pagans must not only pervert and defile womanhood — they must destroy the model on which it was created. Our Lady’s demotion to one of the many “mother goddesses” must be revived and appreciated anew, that today’s moderns may be worshipped as their own gods and goddesses without feeling the slightest discomfort. A new paganism more virulent, even, than that known in Roman times plagues us today, and we must learn to identify the resurgence of this ancient heresy in our own environment. It is the “current of black paganism,” which Pope Pius XII defined as hedonism, immodesty, individualism and rationalism. Another author, Msgr. L. Cristiani, pointed out that this “black” paganism is really quite different than the type of paganism practiced by those living before the time of Christ. Then at least, pagans recognized powers superior to themselves and assumed an inferior position to these powers, preparing the way for acceptance of Christianity after a fashion. Although all idol worship is defined by St. Paul as the worship of demons, an opinion unanimously held by the early Fathers, Cristiani makes the distinction between those who worship Satan unknowingly, such as the early pagans, and those who worship themselves as possessing magical powers attributed to Satan. And making such fine distinctions and identifying these themes and patterns is crucial to understanding the neo-paganism that reigns triumphant in society today.
In his June 26 radio address to the people of Minneapolis, Minn. Pope Pius XII wrote: “Early explorers record in their relations their utter amazement at the mighty current that sweeps down the Mississippi River. There is a stronger current of black paganism sweeping over peoples today, carrying along in its onward rush newspapers, magazines, moving pictures, breaking the barriers of self-respect and decency, undermining the foundations of Christian culture and education.” No less than the New York Times ran this headline on the front page that day, covering the Pope’s speech: “Pope Pius warns ‘black paganism’ is world menace; its flood engulfs newspapers, magazines, films, he tells eucharistic congress Christianity endangered [and] calls for self-sacrifice to combat evil.”
Earlier in Divini Redemptoris, 1937, Pope Pius XI taught: “At the same time the State must allow the Church full liberty to fulfill her divine and spiritual mission, and this in itself will be an effectual contribution to the rescue of nations from the dread torment of the present hour. Everywhere today there is an anxious appeal to moral and spiritual forces; and rightly so, for the evil we must combat is at its origin primarily an evil of the spiritual order. From this polluted source the monstrous emanations of the communistic system flow with satanic logic. Now, the Catholic Church is undoubtedly preeminent among the moral and religious forces of today. Therefore the very good of humanity demands that her work be allowed to proceed unhindered.
“Those who act otherwise, and at the same time fondly pretend to attain their objective with purely political or economic means, are in the grip of a dangerous error. When religion is banished from the school, from education and from public life, when the representatives of Christianity and its sacred rites are held up to ridicule, are we not really fostering the materialism which is the fertile soil of Communism.? Neither force, however well-organized it be, nor earthly ideals however lofty or noble, can control a movement whose roots lie in the excessive esteem for the goods of this world. With eyes lifted on high, our Faith sees the new heavens and the new earth described by Our first Predecessor, St. Peter. While the promises of the false prophets of this earth melt away in blood and tears, the great apocalyptic prophecy of the Redeemer shines forth in heavenly splendor: ‘Behold, I make all things new.‘ Venerable Brethren, nothing remains but to raise Our paternal hands to call down upon you, upon your clergy and people, upon the whole Catholic family, the Apostolic Benediction.”
God alone, not man, can truly make all things new. Next, we will examine how Baal worship was established in the very heart of what many believed to be the Catholic Church.
by T. Stanfill Benns | May 12, 2021 | New Blog
+St. Robert Bellarmine+
This post will examine why the commentaries on Antichrist in Daniel and the Apocalypse are not always as helpful as they could or should be. Most of the theologians who commented on the Apocalypse were forced to address issues owing to the Protestant heresy that the Popes individually and the papacy as a whole constitutes Antichrist and his system. Among the commentators most devoted to this fight, the refutation of the papal antichrist heresy bled over into practically all of their commentary, sometimes to the extent that it prevented them from considering many things that might have helped us today.
This is especially true in the case of St. Robert Bellarmine, who of course lived during the heighth of the Reformation and was most involved in combatting those heresies. Bellarmine could not have known what we know today or have learned over the course of the past nearly 500 years how the Church’s teaching on various subjects would develop. While Protestants eventually gave up the papal Antichrist theory for a time, it has resurfaced with renewed vigor over the past several decades since the usurpers in Rome have become increasingly more liberal. This is especially true given the sex scandals that have rocked the Novus Ordo church. Although statistics show Protestant churches are just as plagued by these scandals as the Novus Ordo; they simply are more successful in keeping it quiet, since these incidents happen in numerous Protestant sects and are not attributed to Protestantism as a whole.
What is perplexing to us today is why Bellarmine did not make use of Pope Paul IV’s bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio to quell the papal antichrist heresy, since this bull seems to have been especially written to refute it. True, he was only a teenager when the bull was written, but in his later career it seems that given his work on heresy, he might have had occasion to refer to it. If such a reference exists in his works, it is not known to us. But a consideration of the possible consequences of using this argument might explain why it was never put forth. To begin with, Paul IV, who was an avid reformer, was not a popular pope. As a cardinal he had advised Pope Paul III to call the Roman Inquisition and when it convened he was placed in charge of it. As a pope he set out to reform clerical and religious life and even the Roman Curia, something not appreciated by the cardinals, who he considered untrustworthy (Philip Hughes, A Popular History of the Catholic Church, p. 176). Hughes relates that he managed to reform clerical life in Rome to such an extent that even into the 20th century “Rome bears…something of the appearance of a monastery… [after] worldliness had dulled the achievement even of good popes.” Pope Paul IV “broke and broke forever… all the long tradition in which worldliness in the highly placed cleric was taken as rather in the nature of things” (Ibid., p. 173).
When Paul IV died, a Roman mob tore down the statute they had erected to him earlier and rioted for 12 days. But as Hughes notes, despite his rigidity and austerity — also his failings in not ridding himself soon enough of his nephews who damaged relations with the Papal States Paul IV had entrusted to them — his accomplishments in banishing worldliness stood. His campaign against heresy was no less ruthless as Cum ex… reveals. And it was one of his own cardinals, accused of promoting himself as a future pope and of sympathizing with Lutheran heretics, that prompted him to write Cum ex… But given the inroads already made by Luther and the other Reformers, it came too late. According to the bull, it was issued specifically to correct a false interpretation of Holy Scripture, which the papal antichrist heresy certainly was. It reads:
“The Apostle’s office entrusted, to Us by God, though beyond any merit of Ours, lays upon Us the general care of theLord’s flock. Hence We are bound, to watch over the flock assiduously, as a vigilant shepherd, with faithful protection and wholesome guidance. We must see attentively to driving away from Christ’s fold those who, in Our time more consciously and balefully than usual, driven by malice and trusting in their own wisdom, rebel against the rule of right Faith and strive to rend the Lord’s seamless robe by corrupting the sense of the Holy Scriptures with cunning inventions. We must not allow those to continue as teachers of error who disdain to be taught… And lest it befall Us to see in the holy place the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, We wish, as much as possible with God’s help, in line with our pastoral duty, to trap the foxes that are busily ravaging the Lord’s vineyard and to drivethe wolves from the sheepfolds.”
What better corrupts the sense of Holy Scripture than the heresy of Luther and other Protestant sects who pretend the popes are Antichrist? That was the prevailing heresy that consumed the commentators of that time and centuries afterward, even into the 1800s. And how could one more effectively explain the nuances of this outrageous claim than by simply pointing out the truth of how it could APPEAR to occur, and how it might be in danger of appearing to occur, if Paul IV’s bull was not issued? The Catholic Encyclopedia, in its article on Antichrist, makes the same distinction made by Pope Paul IV in the following:
“The defenders of the Papal-Antichrist theory have made several signal blunders in their arguments; they cite St. Bernard as identifying the Beast of the Apocalypse with the Pope, though St. Bernard speaks in the passage of the Antipope; they appeal to the Abbot Joachim as believing that Antichrist will be elevated to the Apostolic See, while the Abbot really believes that Antichrist will overthrow the Pope and usurp his See; finally, they appeal to Pope Gregory the Great as asserting that whoever claims to be Universal Bishop is Antichrist, whereas the great Doctor really speaks of the Forerunner of Antichrist who was, in the language of his day, nothing but a token of an impending great evil.”
In several councils the Church herself has called antipopes antichrists just as St. Bernard called the antipope Anacletus antichrist, so this is nothing new. Joachim of Fiore had the right idea because this is exactly what Pope Paul IV explained in defining a usurper pope as the abomination of desolation standing in the Holy Place. As for the universal bishop quote, that could be compared to the schismatic Coptic and Russian Orthodox sects who indeed have set their own popes and patriarchs up against the true popes as “universal bishops.” In any case, these are the answers to the “blunders” in the papal antichrist theory and it was Pope Paul IV who explained that the only way such a person could appear to be pope and actually teach heresy (when Protestants were saying a duly elected pope was guilty of teaching error ex cathedra) is if he were actually a heretic pre-election. But there seems to be little appreciation for what Pope Paul IV actually did.
Not only did he explain how a heretic could insinuate himself into the papacy, but he also outlined in great detail how such a person would be invalid from the start, would have no power whatsoever, would be incapable of effecting any valid or licit acts of any kind, spiritual or temporal, and need only be gotten rid of even if this required the aid of the temporal power. Such an abomination could ascend but could NEVER be a valid pope. Therefore no one could ever say that such a one was ever a true pope in any way, meaning no canonically elected pope could ever become Antichrist. Only if an invalidly elected individual succeeded in being accepted as legitimate and no attempt was made to cast him out could it only APPEAR that one teaching error from that seat was a true pope. The very dissemination of such error, Pope Paul IV teaches, either before or after any pretended assumption of office results in “ipso facto[excommunication]… Without need for any further declaration, [they shall] be deprived of any dignity, position, honor, title, authority, office and power.”
What might have happened if St. Bellarmine had invoked Cum ex… and had actually used it as a weapon to disprove the papal antichrist heresy? First it would have provided the Protestants with a new axe to wield for they would first claim Paul IV to be no authority in the matter and secondly, they would claim that he had admitted that what they were proposing could actually happen. The distinctions made above in the Catholic Encyclopedia article would be easily swept away, although we wish these distinctions had been addressed by St. Bellarmine in his works on Antichrist for our edification. But had he pushed the point that only a heretic invalidly elected and appearing to be pope could qualify as Antichrist then another argument would have erupted, since the papal election laws were issued by the popes themselves and the Protestants do not and will not recognize him. It was a no-win situation and trying to prove it would only have complicated matters.
It is possible that the early Christians knew quite well that Antichrist would be a false pope, and this can be surmised from 2 Thess. 2: 5-8. After reminding his flock that a revolt would come first before the Man of Sin was revealed, St. Paul added: “Remember you not that when I was with you, I told you these things? And now you know what withholdeth that he may be revealed in his time. For the Mystery of Iniquity already worketh; only now that he who now holdeth do hold until he be taken out of the way. And then the wicked one shall be revealed…” Henry Cardinal Manning interprets this what withholdeth as the papacy and the who withholdeth as the pope, and other commentators have considered it a possibility. It may be that what St. Paul refers to was an oral Tradition not written down because of the possibility of scandal to the weak and to catechumens. By the Mystery of Iniquity he may have been referring to Simon Magus who already had attempted to purchase the papacy and to the Gnostics and Judaizers who then threatened the early Church. Protestants may have somehow divined that he who withholdeth was the papacy and deliberately distorted it to suit their own purposes. Pope Paul IV tried to set the record straight but by that time the heresies of the Reformation were too far advanced to allow a correction by theologians, even doctors like St. Bellarmine.
Although the prophetic nature of the bull was not appreciated nor remembered, Cum ex Apostolatus Officio became the basis for nearly all the laws written into the 1917 Code of Canon Law on heresy. As such it retained its status as a law under the new code (see the Archives section of the site for these articles). Try as they might to pretend it was abrogated by the Code and no longer is applicable to us today, those eager to dismiss its significance for us in these times have failed to produce one scintilla of evidence that Cum ex… is not an infallible bull that continues to bind us all. In his The Question Box, Rev. Bertrand Conway differentiates as follows between a disciplinary decree and an infallible one. “A disciplinary decree prescribes what one must DO, and not what one must BELIEVE…” Conway notes that in infallible decrees, there is clearly “an intention to propose a doctrine to be held by the universal Church,” adding from another source that the pope must “speak in person” for a definition to be considered infallible. Clearly Pope Paul IV speaks in person in his bull, and there can be no doubt that he is speaking infallibly, given the quote from Cum ex… below:
“Upon advice and consent concerning such as these, through this Our Constitution, which is to remainforever effective, in hatred of such a crime the greatest and deadliest that can exist in God’s Church, Wesanction, establish, decree and DEFINE, THROUGH THE FULLNESS OF OUR APOSTOLIC POWER [that those] who in the past have, as mentioned above, strayed or fallen into heresy or have been apprehended, have confessed or been convicted of incurring, inciting or committing schism …or who, in the future, shall stray or fall into heresy or shall incur, incite or commit schism or shall be apprehended, confess or be convicted of straying or falling into heresy or of incurring, inciting or committing schism, …[are] also automatically and without any recourse to law or action, completely and entirely, forever deprived of, and furthermore disqualified from and incapacitated, for their rank …” Clearly Pope Paul IV is teaching what one must believe in such matters in a solemn bull issued in his own name. This appears in paragraph three of the bull, having been preceded by the statement in paragraph one regarding Pope Paul IV’s definition of the abomination of desolation in Holy Scripture as capable of penetrating the “Holy Place.” This he later defines as meaning even the Holy See, by stating that the Roman Pontiff also could become a heretic pre-election. So by not believing that two men who clearly intended to create an entirely new church were incapacitated for office and therefore could never be what they appeared to be, the hierarchy and educated laity disobeyed an infallible papal bull and failed to provide the Church with a true pontiff. It is as simple as that.
We have been over this same ground many times before, but not necessarily in relation to the coming of Antichrist. Although it is assumed above that Cum ex… was not a disciplinary decree, even had it been entirely disciplinary, to deny that it binds Catholics would be heretical, according to Pope Pius IX. The argument against Cum ex… revived in the 1800s when one bishop proclaimed in a celebrated work, refuting the contentions of the Old Catholics, that disciplinary decrees are not infallible, (Bishop Fessler against the Old Catholic Dr. Schulte). The case against the bull hinged on the Old Catholic claim that the anathemas issued by Paul IV against heads of state were an attempt to assert power over civil officials and excommunicate them. Of course in the 1500s, the majority of the monarchies in the world were Catholic so this is something the Church could legitimately claim to do, Both Bp. Fessler and Henry Cardinal Manning, answering accusations by British Prime Minister Gladstone, refuted this argument, explaining that today, since there are no Catholic monarchs subject to the Church, all jurisdiction to excommunicate them and seize their possessions no longer exists. So this was a black eye given the bull to further discredit it, following the definition of infallibility and revived claims that Rome intended to take over the world. This made it even more unlikely to gain any credence in the future or shed its reputation as a mere disciplinary decree.
But Pope Pius IX, in a seeming response to the general dismissal of disciplinary decrees, wrote the following in Quartus Supra after Fessler’s book was published: “Discipline is often closely related to doctrine and has a great influence in preserving its purity. In fact, in many instances, the holy Councils have unhesitatingly cut off from the Church by their anathema those who have infringed its discipline… Nor can the Eastern Churches preserve communion and unity of faith with Us without being subject to the Apostolic power in matters of discipline. Teaching of this kind is heretical, and not just since the definition of the power and nature of the papal primacy was determined by the ecumenical Vatican Council: the Catholic Church has always considered it such and abhorred it.” (On the Church in Armenia,1873).
And in Quae in patriarchatu: “In fact, Venerable Brothers and beloved Sons, it is a question of recognizing the power (of this See), even over your churches, not merely in what pertains to faith, but also in what concerns discipline. He who would deny this is a heretic; he who recognizes this and obstinately refuses to obey is worthy of anathema” (Pope Pius IX, September 1, 1876, to the clergy and faithful of the Chaldean Rite). Both of these documents were written after Fessler died in 1872; Fessler was not saying that anyone should deny that the bull had its effect; he merely said it was not a teaching on faith or morals, but this was even then debated by others. Since that time a greater development of the doctrine of infallibility has clarified much — all documents issued by the Roman Pontiff now are considered binding if recorded in the Acta Apostolica Sedis. Certainly a bull as solemn as Cum ex…would merit inclusion in the Acta. Especially given the subject matter and its undeniable application to our own situation, it seems the bull deserves a more elevated rank than ever before. Manning, in his work The Vatican Decrees and their Bearing on Civil Allegiance wrote on much the same topic as Fessler, but five years after Fessler’s work. He fully holds, with Pope Pius IX, that the Vatican Council included disciplinary decrees within the scope of infallibility. He also defends certain bulls as infallible as well, even though Cum ex… is not named among them.
So what is the point of this blog? The point is that had more thought been given by the commentators to the actual mission and character of Antichrist rather than the claims of the Protestants; if Catholics in the 1800s had followed the teachings of the Roman Pontiffs and actually comprehended what Paul IV was trying to explain to the people — instead of going on the defensive and worrying about what the general population thought about the rights of the nobility — faithful cardinals and/or bishops might have been able to reverse this situation and elect a true pope in the 1960s. But the theologians valued their own opinions and arguments as superior to the popes’ and minimized papal authority. They also let prejudice regarding Pope Paul IV blind them to the true value of Cum ex Apostolatus Officio. When that bull is taken in its full context, given the circumstances that prompted its publication and in light of what we have encountered in our lifetime, no other conclusion could be drawn. We were given a great grace and we squandered it. And this is why now we have no idea what the future holds for the Church. Obviously it was God’s will that all this should happen, but it was never His will that we ignore the commands of His Vicar. We know only that wherever all this is going, either the Church will triumph briefly on earth, or Christ will reign with the Saints as king in Heaven following the Final Judgment. His will be done.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Apr 7, 2021 | New Blog
He is Risen. Alleluia.
Please forgive the belated greetings; I have been away from my computer for a while. And although every Christian being must rejoice in Our Lord’s Resurrection and triumph over death, it can only provide us with a brief interlude in our continued struggle to maintain the faith, in this the ongoing Passion of His Church. That Passion was predicted by Christ himself who warned us that if they did this to Him, we would suffer the same fate. He told us we must fill up what is wanting to His Passion (Colossians 1:24). This is a theme I have touched on often. The crosses we are fastened to today are all different, unique to each person, and are reflected in this wonderful quote from St. Francis de Sales:
“The everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that he now presents to you as a gift from His inmost Heart. This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His Divine mind, tested with his wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not ne ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His Holy Name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God (The Love of God). Carry this cross, yes. But allow ourselves to be fastened to it? Yet can we really imitate Christ and not allow this to occur? 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).
Because the Holy Sacrifice has ceased, how else are we able to satisfy in any other way for its loss? If we recite the Mass of St. John, or say our Mass prayers in the absence of the True Mass; if we offer our very selves on this altar of sacrifice willingly and in a spirit of resignation to God’s will each day, isn’t the Sacrifice still renewed spiritually in a continual way? In his The Mystery of Faith, Vol. I, Rev. de la Taille writes concerning chapters 5-16 of Apocalypse: “It is declared plainly that in the New Jerusalem, which is to succeed the Church Militant, there would be neither Temple nor light, except God and the Lamb… Under these sacrificial symbols and metaphors we have an indication of some kind of heavenly and eternal worship,” consisting of Christ’s perpetual immolation eternally offered before the Throne of God. St Gregory Nazianzan wrote: “What then? Will they forbid us their altars? Even so, I know of another altar, and the altars we see now are but a figure of it…All the activities ’round about that altar are spiritual; one ascends to it by contemplation. At this altar I shall stand, upon it I will make immolations pleasing to God, sacrifices, oblations, holocausts, better than those that are offered now…”(Ibid). St. Thomas writes: “The state of the New Law is intermediate between the state of the Old Law…and the state of glory, in which all truth will be fully and perfectly manifested. Then there will be no more sacraments; but now, inasmuch as we see only through a glass darkly, we have to enter into spiritual things through sensible signs.” So either we are being offered a foretaste of life in our Eternal Home, and the Church will eventually be restored; or we are being prepared for the end of the world proper and the commencement of the life to come in a very intimate way. So given the abundance of important truths contained in this site and the alarming changes taking place throughout the world, how do we hold fast to the faith and persevere until the very end?
Your information is difficult to understand
Many have complained that the articles on this site are too hard to read and understand and that no one could be expected to know all these things in these times in order to save their souls. However, much more is expected from us study wise these days when our Church has been eclipsed and the truth has been so savagely attacked and misrepresented. This is especially true seeing that so many know so much about useless political issues and other trivialities, thanks to the Internet, yet cannot be bothered to learn what the Church teaches. Nevertheless, those complaining fail to understand the real purpose of this site and my intention in providing this information. Not everything is for everyone, and what is presented here is primarily intended to be a record of what the Church teaches as a defense against the many lies and heresies spread by both non-Catholics and those falsely presenting as Catholics. It is not something I choose to provide: as a Catholic with the means and the ability to present this information I have an OBLIGATION to do so, and not to do so would be a mortal sin. Rev. Dominic Prummer, in his Handbook of Moral Theology (1957) teaches that we are bound to help those in extreme spiritual necessity even if it poses risks to our own health (#223). I have been told time and again by readers that the information provided here is not available anywhere else, which make me doubly bound to provide it. I also am required by Canon Law to profess my faith whenever silence, subterfuge or manner of acting would indicate that I am accepting an error or heresy publicly taught. I only hope I have covered the majority of such heresies.
But those reading the material need not think they must assimilate it all or grasp it all entirely. It is there for those who have questions about what the Church taught prior to Pope Pius XII’s death, from the standpoint of the continual magisterium, versus what Traditionalists and others SAY She taught or teach themselves. It is intended as a ready reference for disputed points and a testimonial to the constant teaching of the Church. Many subjects relevant to our times are addressed here that have not been examined or explained elsewhere. Those who wish to study it at length privately are welcome to do so, but they are not required to do so. I have urged readers to undertake such study in order to better answer those who question the faith but that is dependent on their level of education, their circumstances and their ability to explain what they read. They can always simply refer people to the site and are encouraged to do this. Please use the search function to locate various topics. The book The Phantom Church in Rome was written to answer many of the more common arguments and explain the gravity of the situation in which we find ourselves. But like the site, it is intended to be more of a reference work than anything else.
That being said, Catholics should remember well what Pope Benedict XIV pronounced over 250 years ago: “We declare that the greater part of those who are damned have brought the calamity on themselves by ignorance of the mysteries of the faith, which they should have known and believed, in order to be united with the elect.” Here we understand the primary mysteries of the faith presented in the Catechism of the Council of Trent and the Baltimore Catechism # 3 or some other such work — those things all are bound to believe — for not everyone can know or is able to understand many of the finer details. It is enough to believe even that which they cannot understand and leave the rest to those who are more learned. What many today lack is a way of ordering their life that is not dependent on a more detailed understanding of these things, (provided they are well-grounded in basic Catholic belief). What is presented below provides a way they can follow today, in the absence of Mass, Sacraments and priestly directors, although this “way” may not be for everyone. Still, for those who care to adopt it, it offers an easy method for loving God and following Him in our daily lives, and is easily adapted to our current situation.
The Sacrament of the moment
In his Abandonment to Divine Providence, Rev. Jean-Pierre de Caussade instructs those unable to consult a director, a situation we are experiencing ourselves. He begins his work by observing that: “Today God still speaks to us as he used to speak to our ancestors at a time when there were neither spiritual directors nor any systems of spirituality.” This was the condition in which Our Lady and St. Joseph, members of “that little band of believers …kept safe from idolatry until the coming of the Messiah” found themselves. Caussade informs us that “The bread which nourished the faith of Mary and Joseph …was the sacrament of the moment.” He goes on to explain that this sacrament consists in accepting everything in our daily lives as God sends it, and at the time and in the manner in which He sends it. He says that God compelled him to write to help those “who seek to be holy and are discouraged by what you have read in the lives of the saints and some books dealing with spiritual matters.” How well this describes us today, who find so little of our own lives comparable to the lives of the saints.
Caussade encourages his readers to faithfully follow inspirations of grace, a very important component of God’s will, but to follow these inspirations only as long as they also are in compliance with God’s will of signification (“Obedience to the Commandments, both divine and ecclesiastical, of obligation for all, because there is question here of THE ABSOLUTE WILL OF GOD WHO HAS MADE SUBMISSION TO THESE ORDINANCES A CONDITION OF SALVATION to advance further”— St. Francis de Sales) and His will of good pleasure (what happens in our daily lives) and our daily duties. He notes that the usual methods of spirituality are neither applicable nor helpful. In fact, he says, these methods actually place obstacles in the way of souls who wish to forge a straight path to God. He does not discourage anyone who wishes to follow other methods from doing so; he simply states that in certain cases and circumstances these methods are more a hindrance than a help. Caussade sympathizes with those “who have done all that is commanded by the strictest theologians…” but still fail to find peace. “[They] are expected to adopt tiresome practices which the Church does not require, and if they do not they are told they are wrong,” but this is not the case, he says.
Those who seek this way have tried many other methods of seeking holiness, he points out, but have failed to find one that can be suitably fitted to their busy and unpredictable lives. Caussade describes the souls he addresses as, “bits of broken pottery” God seems to have flung into some dark corner. He calls them “spiritually and mentally troubled and their everyday lives are full of disappointments.” They need much attention, he says, and are lacking in all those things that distinguished the saints. “They feel all the annihilating anguish of their wretched state…They find nothing but confusion within themselves…They are overwhelmed with shame… Whatever [they] do fills [them] with endless contempt for [them]selves, as if [their] whole lives were flawed and faulty.” To others these “strange sort of saints” appear to be “disobedient, troublesome, contemptuous and angry,” and they “feel this way about [them]selves too,” Caussade notes. But he cautions that we must not become “upset or worried by the humiliations which come from the aspect [we] present to the world.”
He sums up our manner of existence quite well when he writes that we must carry on “without thinking and concerned with no models or examples or any particular mode of spirituality. You must act when it is time for action and stop when it is time to stop. In this self-abandonment you read or put books aside, talk to people or keep silent, write or drop your pen, and never know what will follow.” How often we find it to be exactly as he says. We who are forced to proceed on nothing but faith alone can also understand his meaning in these words: “Let us acknowledge that we are incapable of becoming holy by our own efforts and put our trust in God, who would not have taken away our ability to walk unless He was to carry us in His arms…The light of reason can only deepen the darkness of faith…No matter what troubles, unhappiness, worries, upsets, doubts and needs harass souls who have lost all confidence in their own powers, they can all be overcome by the marvelous hidden and unknown power of the divine action. The more perplexing the situation, the more we can hope for a happy solution. The heart says, ‘All will be well. God has the matter in hand. We need fear nothing.’” These thoughts of Caussade’s are found expressed in the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who told Juan Diego: “Are you not in the folds of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms?”
Caussade uses passages from the Apocalypse to relay to us wisdom that no doubt was reserved especially for those living in the latter days. Thus we find the three keys mentioned in Apoc. 3:7, 9:1 and Luke 11:52; also the key to divine wisdom, (Wis. 8:14) extended to us in his work. Some commentators believe that the Church of Philadelphia related to these keys is the little Church of the remnant living in the end times. “The whole of the Old Testament is only a small diagram showing innumerable and mysterious tracks, and contains nothing but what is necessary to lead us to Jesus. The Holy Ghost has kept everything else hidden among the riches of His wisdom. From all the vast ocean of His activity, He allows only a trickle of water to escape which, after reaching Jesus, is lost in the Apostles and engulfed in the Apocalypse. Thus the rest of the story of the activity of Jesus in the souls of good people until the end of time can be known only by faith.” Caussade talks of the dream King Nebuchadnezzar revealed to Daniel and the interpretation Daniel gave him of his dream. This prophet says it represents the “the image of this world shown to us as a statue…the mystery of evil,” referring this evil to the activities of the “children of darkness, together with the beast coming out of the abyss to war against the interior and spiritual life of man. It is a war that has been going on since time began, and everything that happens in the contemporary world is the continuation of this war, (Apoc. 13:1).
“…Throughout the history of mankind we have been placed on earth as warriors to fight this great spiritual battle in successive ages. Always the enemy is the same. As St. Thomas Aquinas explains, they are beasts precisely because they are not spiritual beings, relying on their base instincts and animal passions rather than God-given reason. Always these monsters arise from the infernal pit and always we must fight them to the death. When we have finished our training here under the tutelage of the Holy Ghost, Caussade notes, then “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.”
Caussade’s book is short and to the point, perfectly suited to those who are unable to devote much time to study or other spiritual works. This little treatise, if followed faithfully, will help them make the most of the trials and troubles of their daily lives and turn all into a monument to God’s holy will. We need not worry about the future or the past, as St. Therese of Liseux taught — the “evil of the day,” the present moment — is sufficient for us. Let the political waves rage and wash over us, the dire predictions and portents of the end not terrorize us, but let us simply be going about our daily duties for God’s honor and glory when He comes. This is praying and watching at its best, and we can do nothing better than this. Yes, there are some things to consider about all this and we will consider them at length when the study is completed. But if it is not what some expect, simply heed wah Caussade says above: The Holy Ghost has kept everything else hidden among the riches of His wisdom. From all the vast ocean of His activity, He allows only a trickle of water to escape which, after reaching Jesus, is lost in the Apostles and engulfed in the Apocalypse. Thus the rest of the story of the activity of Jesus in the souls of good people until the end of time can be known only by faith.” We shall examine the trickle, but let it not affect our pursuit of the sacrament of the moment.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Mar 28, 2021 | New Blog
+Palm Sunday+
I have promised a reader I would provide the necessary resources on preparing for the care and eventual death of loved ones who are Catholic. Having experienced such deaths twice now in a 14-month span I am more conscious than ever of how essential this information is for the faithful. Thankfully I had all the prayers and devotions I needed when the time came, and the suddenness of my grandson’s death spurred me on to find additional resources to answer questions I could not find the answers for, even in my more-than-adequate library. The death of those we love opens a door to the future life that for us was previously closed, and if we are to follow our loved ones there to the best of our ability and maintain those precious relationships, we have no choice but to learn how to successfully make that journey.
When death is anticipated, the best thing we can do is to make our peace with our loved one who is seriously ill or in danger of dying. Praying with them of course is the most important thing we can do. Answering their spiritual questions, if they have any, and sensing and calming their fears is also a comfort to both the dying and their relatives. Praying for them is the best way to prepare them and ourselves for what is approaching and will give the assurance on their death that we have done all we can to help them reach Heaven.
To do this we need the right tools. Fortunately I found nearly everything I needed from one religious goods catalog, and to the best of my knowledge all but one of these resources are still available from that same source, found at https://www.traditionalcatholicpublishing.com (see Sick and Dying/Deceased). The other most important booklet to order is Instructions for the Sick, Dying and Deceased, available from https://canisiusbooks.com/pryrbk.htm. I recommend buying three of these at a time, one for home, one for every woman’s handbag and one for the glove compartment of the car(s). Death does not just happen in hospitals as everyone knows, and fortunately for me during this time of COVID madness I was able to be with my love one and say the beautiful official prayers of the Church found in this booklet.
Other useful sources I have gathered are unfortunately out of print, but for those who need these works I will be happy to copy them for anyone who asks. One should be read before a loved one dies and this I hope to make available on the site soon. It is entitled, How to Grieve for One’s Dead, and warns of the wrong attitudes and pitfalls of grieving. Works on Purgatory and the joys of Heaven help those left behind learn how to best help their loved ones and prepare themselves for the long-awaited reunion in Heaven. One little work I discovered recently is entitled, My Child Lives, and for those who have lost children (or grandchildren) it is indispensable in helping heal the heartache of those early days when that sweet little face and voice is so noticeably absent.
One of the most consoling devotions, mentioned previously on this blog, is the one to the Poor Souls in Purgatory. As explained before, we the Church Militant live as members of the Mystical Body in close spiritual union with the Church Suffering and the Church Triumphant. Works on Purgatory explain that the greatest act of charity one can perform is to pray for the suffering souls, who have so few now to pray for them. This devotion comes most naturally following the death of a loved one who is probably suffering in Purgatory. Such souls so desperately need our prayers and good works to relieve that suffering and obtain their release, when and as soon as God wills. And if a soul prayed for is not in Purgatory, those prayers are used by Our Lady to help other souls in need. We know so much about how life on earth works, what is expected of us and what we must do to stay alive, and so little about what we must do now, while there is yet time, to save our own souls – if we wish to ever join those we love in Paradise. The Poor Souls can no longer ask pardon for their sins or make reparation. We must be their voices. And at the same time, we must do all we can to amend our own lives and do penance, as the world around us grows darker and darker.
Prayer, penance and sacrifice has been the constant refrain echoed by Our Lady in nearly every apparition to children and holy people on earth. I find it very disturbing that so much emphasis is placed on the triumph of the Church and the coming peace so many expect, when this world is so evil beyond all description and so few are making reparation for their own sins and the sins of the world. Such expectations are not only presumptuous but are totally without solid foundation unless such penance is done. It makes no sense to expect peace while sin prevails and there is no public outcry, far less public penance. In the next blog I will explain some of the confusion that exists regarding private revelations and commentaries on the Apocalypse, even regarding the more reliable commentaries and private prophecies. Until then, please pray for the souls of your dearly departed and the souls of Larry and Tristen Benns.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Mar 8, 2021 | New Blog
Larry Kent Benns
July 25, 1951-March 1, 2021
A quiet and unassuming man with countless talents and abilities left this life March 1 and will be sorely missed and cherished always by his loving wife and four children.
Larry Kent Benns was born July 25, 1951 in Denver, Colo., the second son of William H. and Maxine D. Benns. He won awards in leather crafting and industrial arts in his high school years at Abraham Lincoln High School in Denver and early on showed talent in the auto mechanics field, building racing engines as a hobby. After marrying his high school sweetheart Teresa Stanfill in Denver in 1969, he worked as a millwright at a local foundry and later worked for Monaghan/Hospal Corporation in Littleton, Colo., a manufacturer of medical respirators, as a precision machinist. During a brief stint as a modelmaker he also helped create the prototype for the first artificial kidney in a briefcase. He left the company to serve as a Machinery Repairman second class on the USS Coral Sea (1974 -1975), assisting in the evacuation of Vietnam and participating in the Mayaguez incident. He is a lifetime member of Disabled American Veterans.
Following his service in the Navy, he worked at Sterling Stainless Tube in Englewood, Colo., a hypodermic needle manufacturer, from 1977-1984. In 1984 he was hired as a preventive maintenance technician at Golden Aluminum Recycling (a division of Coors) in Ft. Lupton, Colo. supervising the repair of machinery used to manufacture and recycle aluminum cans. In 1991, he was transferred to the new Golden Aluminum rolling mill in San Antonio, Texas (ACX Technologies) as preventive maintenance supervisor. He later trained to serve as a vibration analyst for the company in the field of predictive maintenance and also was the department’s purchasing agent. He traveled nationally and internationally to keep abreast of the latest technology involving aluminum rolling mills and their furnace systems. He retired from the company in March, 1999.
During his working years, Larry dabbled in woodcarving and jewelry making. He also became a skilled blacksmith, studying under Al Morgan who replicated ironwork for the San Antonio missions and taught him the basics of creating Damascus knives. Following his retirement to La Garita, Colo. he built a solar-powered strawbale home, with the help of family and friends, from the ground up. He later added a garage/shop, undertaking amazing wood projects, handcrafting log furniture and creating Monet-style and other paintings, portraying the idyllic scenery of his native Colorado mountains. He also enjoyed collecting and building classic cars. He sold his Colorado property in 2020 to move to South Dakota to be close to his two sons during his final illness.
Larry is survived by his wife of 51 years, Teresa; sons Shane, Eathan, Josiah and daughter Aimee, also his brother Gary. He leaves behind 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren as well as several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and a beloved grandson, Tristen Kent Benns.
Larry was laid to rest at St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery in Hoven, S.D. Monday, March 8, 2021.
Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him; may he rest in peace, amen. may the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen. Please pray for the repose of Larry’s soul.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Feb 28, 2021 | New Blog
+St. David+
Sorry about my long absence from this blog. Just know that when I don’t post weekly, family obligations have intervened. I will try to post shorter pieces more frequently when I am able.
I am REALLY tired of all the CCP virus nonsense we keep being fed, including the supposed urgency of receiving a vaccine. I have never been a fan of vaccines from way back, when I received them as a child. They always made me ill and as an adult I stopped receiving them. My kids also would later show adverse reactions. Familial? Could be, but who will do the research to find out? They would rather waste our tax dollars studying how fast catsup drips.
Heard some interesting things on the virus this week. One, a pediatrician commented on Fox News that he hasn’t seen any flu cases at all this year, something he says he finds quite odd. Could it be that the CCP virus was our regular seasonal flu, just a slightly more deadly version? I say slightly because no one is able to positively document just how many people have died from this virus, and we see deaths from the flu every year among the elderly and immuno-compromised. CCP deaths are a mixed bag — reports are that hospitals are paid tax dollars for each death. Where money is concerned, are we going to trust human beings prone to error and often fraud — especially seeing that hospitals are struggling to survive — to accurately report these deaths? You can if you like, but please forgive me if I bow out.
The second curious fact, also reported on Fox News, is that even after grandparents and grandchildren both are vaccinated for the virus, the “experts” still advise them not to mix socially. So why bother with a vaccine at all? Methinks this is not about running any risk of infection, at least not of the medical kind. The “infection” they are worried about is one of ideas — grams and gramps might impart some religious or politically conservative wisdom on the state of affairs today these kiddos just might take to heart. This is social engineering at its most insidious.
Double masks, topped off in some cases by a face shield, when this epidemic is waning anyway? Only a cognitively impaired head of state would be foolish enough to promote and model this behavior. Monkey see, monkey do, and what does that say about you?
Saw an alarming comment about the origins of social distancing. One person observed that in Satanic rituals, satanists wear masks and stand about six feet apart. This is the championing of the power and “godliness” of each individual apart from any group. It is a denial of the Mystical Body in favor of individualism. Sad thing is, the person making this comment was Protestant, and their idea of Christ’s Mystical Body encompasses all religions, the “invisible Church” heresy condemned by Pope Pius XII in Mystici Corporis Christi. The Body of Christ was divided long ago during the Protestant Reformation, and the dire consequences of this division are Liberalism and ultimately Progressivism. The history of this division and its culmination today is presented in the e-book Liberalism’s Shameful Legacy, available on this site.
Catholics are still struggling with the moral dilemma receiving any of the available vaccines entails — we said previously that some could receive it if they were convinced there are no risks that violate morals. However, it appears there are moral questions about all of the vaccines, so people had better be praying and doing their homework. DNA altering material, which reportedly has been used in the manufacture of nearly all the vaccines, is a major concern. When physical or spiritual harm could result, no one is bound to receive them. Here the old, tested rule holds: When in doubt, don’t.
I have often thought, since all this virus business began last year, how totally unChristian the entire approach to disease has become. When the Novus Ordo began de-emphasizing Christ’s Passion and death on the Cross, and overemphasizing his triumph over death with His Resurrection, suffering of any kind lost its value for Novus Ordo attendees. Of course this was entirely bound up in the destruction of the Latin Mass, the very re-enactment of the Passion, and the institution of the Novus Ordo Missae. It is pathetic to see the apprehension in the faces of young Novus Ordo adherents when devotion to the Passion of Christ is mentioned; they consider it macabre and psychologically unhealthy. And yet it is the greatest and most consoling devotion one could ever practice. They must not believe the Scriptures then, when Christ tells us that if we truly wish to follow Him, we must suffer as He suffered. In fact it is precisely those of us suffering in these times who must fill up what is wanting to His Passion.
In her vision of the Trinity at Tuy, Spain in 1929, when Our Lady came to ask for the Consecration of Russia, Lucia dos Santos stated that she was given the grace to understand the Trinity in a supernatural way. This vision, as represented by artists, disassociates the Holy Ghost from Our Lady in any way save that which is taught by the Church. The picture shows God the Father hovering over the head of His Son’s cross, with the Holy Ghost as a Dove emanating rays from the Father’s chest which descend on Christ’s head. From Our Lord’s side issues the Sacred Blood and the water which symbolizes His union with the Mystical Body, the Church. Beneath this stream reposes the Host, suspended above a Chalice, into which the Sacred stream flows.
Under the Chalice stands the Sorrowful Mother, her rosary in her hand. This is much like the vision of the Sacred Species the children saw when the Angel first appeared to them, and the significance is unmistakable. Again the Host and Chalice are suspended in mid-air, but in the later vision of Lucia dos Santos, Our Lady sadly stands beneath the suspended Body and Blood of her Son, as though extending the rosary to her children, while pointing to her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. This positioning and gesture are but further proof that the Holy Sacrifice will be suspended and the faithful will only have recourse to the rosary and the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. They must offer themselves as the sacrifice, something Fr. Demaris reminds us we must do in his little treatise written in the 1790s:
“The Holy Eucharist had for you many joys and advantages when you were able to participate in this Sacrament of love, but now you are deprived of it for being defenders of truth and justice. Your advantages are the same, for who would have dared approach this fearsome table if Jesus Christ had not given us a precept, and if the Church, which desires that we fortify ourselves with this Bread of Life, had not invited us to eat It by the voice of its ministers, who reclothed us with a nuptial dress. All was obedience, but if we compare obedience by that which we are deprived of with that which led us there, it will be easy to judge the merit.
“Abraham obeyed in immolating his son, and in not immolating him, but his obedience was greater when he took the sword in his hand than when he returned it to its scabbard. We are obedient in going to Communion, but in holding ourselves from the sacrifice we are immolating ourselves. Quenched of the thirst of justice and depriving ourselves of the Blood of the Lamb which alone can slake it, we sacrifice our own life as much as it is in us to do. The sacrifice of Abraham was for an instant, an angel stopped the knife; ours is daily, every time that we adore with submission the Hand of God that drives us away from His altars, and this sacrifice is voluntary. It is to be advantageously deprived of the Eucharist, to raise the standard of the Cross for the cause of Christ and the glory of His Church.
“Observe, my children, that Jesus, after having given His Body, found no difficulty in dying for us. There is the action of a Christian in the persecutions, the Cross follows on from the Eucharist. Let not the love of the Eucharist drive us away from the Cross. It is to arise and make glorious advance in the grace of the Gospel, to go out from the Cenacle, to go to Calvary. Yes, I have no fear in saying it. When the storm of the malice of men roars against truth and justice, it is more advantageous to the Faithful to suffer for Christ than to participate in His Body by Communion. I seem to hear the Savior saying to us: “Do not be afraid to be separated from My table for the confession of My Name: it is a grace I give you, which is very rare. Repair by this humiliating deprivation that glorifies Me, all the Communions which dishonor me.”
Even those styling themselves Christians these days are anxious to avoid any suffering whatsoever, and generally welcome a vaccine if it would relieve them of the possibility of what for most amounts to an unpleasant respiratory illness. Primarily, it is the aged and already medically vulnerable who experience complications, even death. But then eventually, death comes for us all. Until vaccines became commonplace, mankind suffered through the various maladies that afflicted those on earth, and Catholics offered those sufferings to God in expiation for their sins. Cures were not expected for things on a regular basis. Minor illnesses were considered a part of life. Today, man must be spared everything, even the discomfort of a hangnail. It is as though these so-called Christians are saying that being gods themselves, they are better than that — greater than Christ Himself. For they should not have to suffer anythingin order to gain heaven, when Christ gave His very life to open Heaven to souls. This includes foregoing Mass and Sacraments when, as Fr. Demaris says, they dishonor Our Lord.
This rejection of all suffering for Christ’s sake contradicts everything we read in Holy Scripture, which teaches that Our Lord:
— Suffered excruciating pains on the Cross to open the Gates of Heaven.
— Warned us we would suffer persecution if we followed Him
— Encouraged us to suffer with Him
— Promised us that those who suffered persecution for justice’s sake would enter Heaven.
During this Lenten season, those piously commemorating Christ’s Passion and death who truly love God must not hesitate to offer up all their worries and concerns to make reparation to Our Lord. This includes the “safety” of vaccines, the danger of contracting the virus itself, the destruction of this country and the inability of receiving the Sacraments and sacramentals. By embracing, rather than shunning, all those little everyday grievances and annoyances we can make some small reparation for the many wounds suffered by Jesus today from those savagely attacking Him. If we cannot even watch one hour with Him, then who?
