This is an old clip, dating back to 2005 and the election of Ratzinger as Benedict XVI. The hopefulness is so palatable! And yet now with the weight of his resignation and all that has followed weighing us down we have fallen into a threatening spirit of hopelessness. I have more to say: Safe in the Barque of Peter!
https://motheofgod.com/threads/fr-b...he-time-of-the-great-trial.16155/#post-321586 This is Ratzinger's homily to the assembled cardinals before the 2005 conclave: a true and incisive message. I too think it might have convinced some of the cardinals on the fence to vote for him. And there was such hope at the start of his Papacy! Not that Benedict was flawless, but we must admit that those that despised him were determined to thwart his goals. I was always struck by his mention of the "wolves" on the balcony the day he was elected. He knew who the enemy was; I'm am disappointed he resigned. So today, what is our plan of counterattack against the wolves of our day, besides pointing them out? O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
The mercy of Christ is not a cheap grace; it does not imply the trivialization of evil. Christ bore in his body and soul all the weight of evil, all its destructive force. The day of vengeance and the year of favor coincide in the paschal mystery, in Christ, dead and risen. This is the vengeance of God: He himself, in the person of the Son, suffered for us. The more we are touched by the mercy of the Lord, the more we are in solidarity with his suffering, the more disposed we are to complete in our flesh “what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24). In our lives, the vengeance of God upon our enemies is the solution: Join with Jesus, be united with Him in His suffering that we may complete in our flesh “what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. The only way this noble choice can be avoided in its extremity is if a significant number of us stand against the madness and with prayer and fasting, do as Rand Paul has asked: do not comply (in the mode of Martin Luther King, Jr). Do it now before the forces of Big Brother have normalized the predecessor of the Mark: the vaccine passport (the ticket to Hell). If we fail in this, then martyrdom is a much higher likelihood. And martyrdom is a much more frightening choice than non-compliance. We must embrace this reality now. Mary, pray for us!
Tradition. And everything that entails. The trajectory of every faithful Catholic movement in the Church - charismatic, pro life, JPII Catholics, Benedict Catholics, conservative or orthodox Catholics, homeschooling Catholics et al - all leads inevitably to Tradition. And all the robust moral theology and traditional social teaching and way of life that accompanies it. The future is the past. Only Tradition can save the Church.
when I have visited Latin Masses recently, the bulk of the congregation was young families....crying for tradition
Let them be convinced that the social question and social science did not arise only yesterday; that the Church and the State, at all times and in happy concert, have raised up fruitful organizations to this end; that the Church, which has never betrayed the happiness of the people by consenting to dubious alliances, does not have to free herself from the past; that all that is needed is to take up again, with the help of the true workers for a social restoration, the organisms which the Revolution shattered, and to adapt them, in the same Christian spirit that inspired them, to the new environment arising from the material development of today’s society. Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists. St. Pope Pius X - 1910 Well worth the read! It expresses so well the attacks against the true Catholic faith. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius10/p10notre.htm
My question is how does this truth influence the manner in which we face the persecution? In the early Church, the organs of government were diametrically opposed to Christianity and the average member of the Empire had no participation in government. Following the Protestant Revolt, the government and church were allies, and dissenters ( whether Catholic or Protestant) were persecuted accordingly. Today, we are somewhere in the middle, but quickly heading back to the situation found in the early centuries. In 2013, after the EU banks cut off the Vatican ATM machines along with other punitive measures, it appears that Benedict took off his boxing gloves and said, "No more", and resigned. Will we allow the organs of current government to simply re-create an early Church scenario without any pushback? Tradition may strengthen us to embrace martyrdom, but will Tradition first aid us in making a stand, even if it resembles the Alamo? In the quote you shared from Pius XI, sunburst, he states, "...all that is needed is to take up again, with the help of the true workers for a social restoration, the organisms which the Revolution shattered, and to adapt them, in the same Christian spirit that inspired them." Too late? Do we just stand by and cave in to the Socialists? I prefer to get in a few licks and not yet offer my neck to the blade. .
The real revolutionaries are within the church now and Pius the tenth was warning the French Bishops of that time, the Sillon was a precursor of liberation theology. The encyclical is quite the read but it is very enlightening as to where we find ourselves now. Why is the church so easily influenced by the government? I think this encyclical explains it well. I don't want to go down without a fight either!
Psalm 131 1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul 3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
Are we being torn limb from limb? Are we being tortured? Are we being fed to the lions? I think perhaps there is a shared persecution mentality fostered on this forum. I for one do not buy into it. My life is filled with gratitude, hope and joy. God's presence is all around us! Trust His divine providence, He is so good. Have faith.
When his own butler was found to be leaking documents it really hit home that when he spoke about "the wolves" in his very first sermon as pope that the powers within the Vatican arrayed against him were formidable indeed. Then when the vatican bank shut down I was amazed that not only did nothing come of this blatant punishment of the pope but it all just seemed to dissolve away after he announced his resignation. And people wonder why there are those who question and resist what is happening at the hands of Pope Francis. One would have to be blind not to see that there is a war within the church.
I agree fully with the bold above, non sum dignus! You remind me of my beautiful wife; she approaches each day with the sentiments of Matthew 6:24, So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. She is grateful for the rising of the sun, for the veggies in the garden, of a love message from the kids on WhatsApp, of our trip to Bolt Castle on Monday.. Geralyn smiles at my big-picture-angst and asks, "So what can you do about it?" She'll encourage the kids on the phone, visit a anxious friend, surprise me with a treat at supper, join me in our daily Rosary, worship the Lord at Holy Mass. Geralyn is a saint more in your mold, I think. Insert: I mentioned this post to Geralyn a moment ago as my response to you, non sum dignus; she confirmed my assessment of her by saying, "That's right; the world's going to pot, but Jesus is coming!" Perhaps most here on MOG are more like me, but I'm glad you pop in once in awhile to remind us to pay attention to those things we can change and the joys of daily life. Safe in Mary's Arms!
Great words, non sum dignus. Our Plan? To pray the rosary. God is in control, and we must remember that everything that happens in His Church, he has it covered, it is part of His plan.
I'm currently engaged in part of my plan...praying the 54-day rosary novena for the coming of the prelate promised by Our Lady of Good Success to restore the Church. The rest of the plan is more prayer, sacrifice, and relying on God for guidance and direction. He has always cared for our family down to the tiniest detail, so I know He will provide all we need for whatever lies ahead.
I have read reports of poor Pope Benedict being assaulted and threatened by a Senior Cardinal who said to the poor man, 'It is we, not you, who are in charge here! Remember that!' I have no idea if this is true or not, but if it is it would explain much, including his resignation. There is so much wickedness going on that we can only guess at.
