Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:01 Today is the great feast of Christ. The king was established in 1925 by Pope Pius the 11th when describing the true Krishna ideal stated quote, if to Christ our Lord has given all power in heaven and on earth. If all man purchased by his precious blood or by a new right subjected to his dominion. If this power embraces all men, then it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds which should have sent with perfect submission and from belief to reveal truths and of doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things and cleaved to him alone. He must reign in our bodies which should sure of as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls. Once men recognize both in private and public life that Christ is king, society will let last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony. Close quotes, the vicar of Christ. Christ is king and he must reign in our minds, in our wills and our hearts in our bodies. Once men recognize both in private and public life, that Christ is king. Society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony.
Speaker 0 01:48 Highest 11th makes it clear that the chief difficulties facing mankind consistent turning away from Christ in both public and private life. Here, just a few specific objections made by pilots. 11 to the situation is day. Keep in mind, this is 40 years before the council. Notice how current these problems seem, even though these words were written some 90 years ago,
Speaker 0 02:16 the Po number one we cannot button lament the general spirit of insubordination and refusal to live up to one's obligations which has become so widespread as to almost appear the customary mode of living. Number two, we lament to the destruction of purity among women and young girls as evidence by the increasing in modesty of their dress and conversation and by that participation and shameful dances. Number three legislation was passed which should not recognize it. God or Jesus Christ had any rights over marriage and erroneous view, which DBAs matrimony to the level of Amir civil contract number four, God and Jesus Christ, as well as his doctrines were banished from the school as an inevitable consequence. The school became not only secular nonreligious but openly atheist decal and anti-religious. In such circumstances, it was easy to persuade poor, ignorant children that neither God nor religion are of any importance as far as their daily lives are concerned.
Speaker 0 03:33 God's name moreover was scarcely ever mentioned at such schools, and that's where to be to to be, to blast feed him or to ridicule his church. Number five, the sense of man's personal dignity and of the value of human life has been lost. And number six, this is for anyone that thinks that the Catholic in name only, politicians, professors, authors and so forth or recent development. Listen to this many believe in or claim they believe in and hold fast to Catholic doctrine. But in STI, spite of these Prato stations, they write speak and what is more act as if it were not necessary any longer to follow the teachings. And Som pronouncements of the Holy See, close quotes, the vicar of Christ. Now we could go on and on and on. Simply multiplying paypal warnings from Pius the 11th alone warnings that were for the most part ignored.
Speaker 0 04:36 Let's hold those thoughts for a while and turned to the current crisis in the church. Try to come to a deeper understanding, a spiritually fruitful understanding of what is going on and why. With that in mind, I'll read and comment on eps excerpts from a very thoughtful work. I must apologize, as the author has very, very tightly constructed arguments and does not wish his work to be edited. But in a sermon, I just take out a chainsaw and chop away. So out of deference to him, I'm not going to identify him, but, uh, since I've rearranged, edited, cut and paste and inserted things in. So it's not really fair to him, but I want to make it clear. Anything good here isn't to be credited to me. I'll take credit for errors. Okay. So we'll start with a thumbnail sketch of what might be called the standard traditionalist explanation for the current crisis.
Speaker 0 05:30 And as we'll see whether or not someone actually subscribes, this particular explanation doesn't really matter because our response should still be the same. Okay. So the standard explanation offered by many traditional Catholics to explain the present crisis is somehow a group of liberal theologians and bishops gain control of the proceedings of the second Vatican council. They wrote the document in such a way as so that they contained ambiguous phrases, verbal time bombs, which can then be exploited after the council to implement all these disasters changes. Then after the console, they gained access to virtually all the key positions, possibly even including the paper seat in order to implement these changes. And since God respects man's free will and the choices that men make, we are now in the position of being ruled by a bunch of modernists who are in control of the Vatican bureaucracy.
Speaker 0 06:25 And to a large extent, the papacy and the episcopacy. Okay. Now for the, this may be the first time that a recent conference have heard that explanation, but for many of us, if we heard it once, we've heard it a thousand times, you know, liberals hijacked everything or nearly everything at the council and now they hold all the lovers of power. So let's just grant all that for the sake of the argument. In fact, you can paint it as dark and dismal z like so if we're going to grant all that, are we supposed to believe that a few puny men, if somehow CIF seized control of the Church, I guess maybe when God wasn't looking
Speaker 2 07:07 okay,
Speaker 0 07:08 are we supposed to believe that a few puny man have wrestled control of the church out of the hands of the Almighty God? Are we supposed to believe that when Christ said, I will be with you always. What he really meant to say was, I'll be with you always until the second Vatican council, because every one of those things is implicit in that explanation and every one of it is blasphemy.
Speaker 2 07:37 The,
Speaker 0 07:41 if that's what we're supposed to believe, do, we might as well hang it up cause either God's in charge of the church or he isn't. It's that simple. We need to think like Catholics. Whose church is this?
Speaker 2 07:58 Okay.
Speaker 0 07:59 We're compelled by scripture to believe in God's extraordinary love for his church. In Ephesians chapter five Saint Paul writes, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and delivered himself up for it, that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the Labor of water in the word of life that he might present. It might present to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that should be holy and without blemish. Now, that does not mean that God is trickily obliged to everything you could conceivably do in order to bring every man to heaven, but such love surely does mean that his relationship with his mystical body, the church is of such a nature as to not allow a situation in which he has virtually abandoned his flock to the wolves. But insofar it's any subscribes, that explanation, that's precisely what they believe. God's relationship to his mystical body. The church is, if such a nature is to not allow a situation which is virtually abandoned his flock to the wolves, given Christ's love
Speaker 0 09:18 as described by Saint Paul and given the following three points and each one of these is explicitly taught by the first Vatican council. First that Christ established in Peter and his successors. All that is necessary to secure the perpetual welfare and lasting go to the church. Second, if Peter through Christ lived presides and judges to this day, always in his ancestors, including Pope Francis and third Christ is not abandoned the direction the church, those three points are all taught by Vatican one. Given all that, then the standard explanation for the crisis represents an extraordinarily shallow view of what is happening within Christ. We love it at the church. God certainly does respect man's free will, but is it easy? It's easy for him. He's totally capable at the same time of so ordering things according to his divine providence that the church will have shepherds according to his will.
Speaker 1 10:22 Yeah.
Speaker 0 10:23 As Saint Gregory. The great said quote, divine justice provides shepherds according to the just desserts of the faithful close quote. That is a frightening thought. Divine justice provides shepherds according to the just desserts of the faithful. Now, besides all this, there's also something called efficient grace. Without getting to all the details, without tampering at all with man's freedom, efficient grace exercise is such a power off full effect on a man's heart and mind is to make it virtually certain that he would comply with God's holy will and this compliance with God's holy will would certainly include the pulps.
Speaker 0 11:14 We're therefore confronted with a great mystery. We are faced with the absolutely necessary conclusion that the present crisis in the church is not just due to the permissive will of God, but two is positive will. It's an absolutely necessary conclusion that the present crisis in the church is not just due to the permissive will of God. In other words, it's not just because God is permitting this crisis, but it's due to his positive will. In other words, God is also willing this crisis that is essential to understand. Let's pause for a minute, walk back to it to make sure everyone gets it. If you want to understand what's going on right now, you need to burn this into your mind. If Christ's love for the Church as described by Saint Paul be true edit it is. And if the following three points all taught by Vatican one are true and they are number one, Christ established in Peter and his successors, all that is necessary to secure the perpetual welfare and lasting you go to the church and he did two Peter Lives presides and judges to this day, always in his successors including Pope Francis Eddie does.
Speaker 0 12:39 And third Christ is not abandoned the direction the church and he hasn't then is an absolute salute, absolutely necessary conclusion that the present crisis in the church is not due just to the permissive will of God. It's not just because God is allowing this to happen, but it's also to his positive will. He's also willing to crisis. And of course this also means that the standard traditionalist so-called explanation is completely inadequate. Spiritually speaking, the standard traditionalist, so called explanation actually misses the whole point. The present crisis in the church is not just because God is permitting it. God is also positively willing. When the crisis, what are we seeing? Are we seeing that God is not just preventing this disaster to happen? He's actually willing to happen. Yes, we are seeing that.
Speaker 0 13:37 In other words, just as there was something in the positive will of God involved in sending in the Assyrians, the Babylonians to smash the Jews in the old covenant as a means of chastisement and eventual renewal. So also we must conclude that the change is raw in the past 50 years are also due in some way to the positive will of God. We may be faced with confusion when we try to relate the present chaos in the church to the promises was Christ made to his church and also to the promises and guarantees laid out for us and the teaching of the first Vatican Council. But such confusion is really a result of our lack of understanding of the relationship between good evil and punishment.
Speaker 0 14:31 Saint Thomas asks the question whether God is the cause of evil. Without getting into the entire answer, he points out what God is not the cause of moral evils. That is to say sin that since justice is one of the goods of the universe, since justice is part and parcel of the divine order in the universe that isn't, therefore it is necessary for penalties, for the violation of justice to be imposed upon sinners. Justice requires that penalties be dealt out to sinners and so God does cause the evils which are imposed on centers as a penalties for the violation of justice, but it is not cause sin itself. He only permits it again. God does cause the evils which are penalties for sinners, but he does not cause sin itself. He only permits it.
Speaker 1 15:27 Okay,
Speaker 0 15:29 let's start drawing this together. First point, the chaos and the real evil in the church today are a mixture of a God's penalty for sin and man's fault all next year, which is very difficult to sort out in most circumstances. Second Point, God does not cause any moral evil claim that will be blessed me and God truly does not desire the death or ruin of any man. Third Point, according to the teaching of Vatican one, God in some way positively wills the orientations in policies of the pontificates and this would extend during, through after, right on <inaudible>, it'll extend till the end of the world. Vatican council didn't cut that off. Fourth Point, if these policies seem in any way evil to us, then we need to consider the probability that this orientation is a chastisement designed to draw us out of deep sin sin, which would only gotten deeper if God would have continued to bless us with what we had and loved before the chest dies.
Speaker 0 16:37 Man, that bears repeating the chaos and evil in the church today as a mixture of gods and lt and man's fault, a mixture which is very difficult to sort out in most circumstances. God is not the author of any moral evil and he truly does not desire the death or ruin of any man according to the teaching of Vatican one God in some way, positively wills. The orientations and policies that pontificates including the ones sense of can too. And if these policies seem in any way evil to us, then we need to consider the probability. This orientation is a chastisement designed to draw us out of deep sin sin, which would only gone deeper if God would've continued to bless us with what we had in love before. The chest ties, man, what are we saying? We're saying the crisis and the church is a penalty. It's a chastisement which is not simply being permitted, but positively willed by God. It's a chastisement designed to draw us at a deep sin. Okay, so what deep sin could we possibly be talking about?
Speaker 1 17:45 Okay,
Speaker 0 17:47 well, it's simple reading the paper in cyclicals ranging from the middle of 19th century right up to Vatican too, and I read excerpts just from Pius the 11th to get you an idea, but, but a simple reading those in cyclicals makes it clear that the pre-Vatican to Catholic world was well outwardly appearing, healthly profoundly diseased within here in America, for example, we possess supposedly the best Catholic school system in the world. Our comments were full vocations of priesthood are abundant. We believe, for the most part, what was written in the Baltimore Catechism. At the same time, however, we also believed in unlimited economic, scientific, and technological progress. We're up to our necks in usury and the pursuit of unlimited financial gain. We began to tolerate the teaching of evolution to our children and then came to believe in it in ever increasing numbers. The priest and religious began to disbelieve the teaching of the fathers and then believe the blasphemous claims of the modern so-called scripture scholars.
Speaker 0 18:50 We increasingly believe that psychological analysis and materialistic explanations of human behavior had far more to offer were far deeper and more important than understanding the different effects upon human nature of things like virtue, vice and the grace of God. Many welcomed divorce and look forward to contraception. We polluted Sundays and holidays with our worldly activities and more and more, God became a one hour Sunday appendage to the real pursuit of our lives. Sat in front of our TVs, increasingly watch banality. Worldliness immodest and crudity sports became a religion in large part. As we heard right from the beginning of this sermon, we ignored the teaching prudential warnings or the pulps on questions of philosophy, dogma, morals, and the political and social realms. In short, Christ was only allowed to rule in a certain aspect of our lives. Christ was not the king across the board in both public and private life.
Speaker 0 19:52 In other words, we were attempting to serve both God and the world in a way completely unprecedented in human history, the most fundamental teaching of the Gospel concerning concern, our primary obligation towards loving you following Christ was being drowned beneath his duplicity. Christ, our Lord has specifically told us that no man can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other who will despise the one and to go to the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon for where the treasure is. There also is thy heart. Those are the psalm words of God, the son. You cannot serve God and Mammon for where they treasure is there also as die hard. We as a people, we're trying to serve two masters, but God only puts up with this kind of behavior for awhile. It's Saint Alphonsus explains quote, when at length God sees that we are willing to yield neither the benefits nor threats nor admonitions and that we will not amend. Then he is forced by our own selves to punish us. When he does chastise it is not to please himself, but because we drive him to it close quotes and what is the most effective chastisement which God can inflict upon man in such a situation to let him have what he wants.
Speaker 0 21:35 God simply hands man over to his own natural freedom. It's as if he said, okay, you don't want to do it my way. You do it your way. That's probably the most obvious feature of this chastisement. I'll get controversial. Take for example, the new mass which facilitates this approach. It can be said reverently in some places. It certainly is for the most part in so many parishes, a lot of what transpires before, during and after mass, both in a sanctuary and outside in the pews really falls in the category of do it your way. My brother priest just up there, they don't seem capable of so many of them are just reading what's written there. You know this, as they say, read the black, do the red. How hard is that? I guess it's pertinent. Impossible. You don't want to do it my way. Do it your way, and we see the chaos in so many that abuse.
Speaker 0 22:33 You don't know. People will dress up better for a country club on Sunday afternoon than they will for the holy sacrifice of the mass and on it goes. You don't need me to go down the list. We think of that turning man over to his own natural freedom is what a lot of the things, the new things in the churches about the relaxation of fasting loss. You don't want to fast, don't fast. The permission for girl altar boys, indiscriminate promotion of NFP and almonds for any reason, any reason, who knows, et Cetera, et cetera. Perhaps the worst, the chastisements is ecumenical movement by which the Church and all of the faithful are in effect, lower into the pool of the world's errors and sins. All these things have the effect or promoting natural freedom, okay? You don't want to do it my way and do it your way. These things are in real reality, spiritual democracy,
Speaker 1 23:30 okay?
Speaker 0 23:33 And if we have a cow as a Catholic, people had come to the point of living profoundly to plastic lives. If we had surrendered ourselves in serving the world and all the other aspects of our lives, political, economic, recreational, et Cetera, then why should we find it surprising that God should hand this over to own desires in our spiritual lives? So that being reduced to helplessness, we might eventually turn away from our diplomat city and return to him in poverty and in humility.
Speaker 2 24:03 Okay.
Speaker 0 24:04 It's clear that this idea that the poll, the councils and the bishop are solely responsible for the crisis and the church is unbelievably superficial. I considered absolutely pathetic and worse. This is the dominant view among so many of our people and it's this very focused. The worst part of it is it's very focused on blaming the pope's, the bishops, the council, et Cetera. The priest. It's very focus which prevents us from proceeding. The real roots of it. Fit Infidelity in our own lives, in her own attempts to serve both God and mammon and her own refuse to serve Christ as king across the board, both our public and private lives and this duplicity. This double mindedness is fair to seek first. The Kingdom of God is justice. This rejection of Christ the king is the very root of the chastisement and the chaos that we're suffering in the church today.
Speaker 2 25:03 It's a nightmare.
Speaker 0 25:06 It's a nightmare. As a Catholic people, we have deserved the nightmare because we've had possessed the faith and trappings of Catholicism, but not the heart. We've deserved it and for the most part, we still do. After all, whose vote put that man into the White House.
Speaker 0 25:28 Even granting every more of a detail of the standard traditionalist explanation for the crisis at the council's hijack. Liberal clergy is virtually control of everything and all that. This explanation completely misses the forest for the trees. According to the teaching Nevada who one God is in some way positively willing the orientations and policies of the pontificates during and after Vatican too, I might add, we'd need to each need to stop and enter into ourselves and examine our consciences. Have I been guilty of spiritual duplicity? Have I really sought first the Kingdom of God and his justice, or if I had to try, I have it two ways. Been Catholic on Sunday and American the rest of the week.
Speaker 0 26:22 Have I been guilty of a sort of spiritual elitist attitude that I am the person that has a true religion? The true mass will, forgetting the traditional mass is only a means to an end. No, I love this mass and we've suffered for it and a lot of people here have suffered greatly for it, but the traditional and all this liturgy is only a means to an end. Have I been killed to confusing ends and means the traditional liturgy, the beautiful chant, the beauty of polyphony. These are only means the end is union with Christ. In other words, the end, His Holiness.
Speaker 2 27:06 Okay?
Speaker 0 27:06 Everything that's liturgy, it just is ordered towards that. The end is holiness. It's union with Christ and our holiness is directly proportional to our humility and to our charity. All this talk about how the console is hijacked to Hollyburn clergy's in charge of virtually everything, etc. Even if it were all true, every last Spec of it, it's still useless in terms of growing in humility or charity. It's just spiritually barren. It's the spiritual equivalent of contraception.
Speaker 2 27:43 Oh,
Speaker 0 27:45 and this isn't the time to eat mess in with spiritual contraceptives. We don't have much time. We don't have much time. Each one of us needs to ask himself, do I believe? Do I really believe that Christ is the king? If I believe that, is that obvious in my thoughts, in my words, in my deeds, God sees everything he's looking for undivided heart.
Speaker 2 28:21 <inaudible>.
Speaker 0 28:25 It's close with a few thoughts from the Carmike doctors
Speaker 2 28:28 <inaudible>
Speaker 0 28:30 from a commentary on the little way Saint Therese sets out a wonderful vision of the mystery of the church. Her conclusion is that in the mystical body, the church love lies at the basis of all vocations. The love that the Holy Spirit kindles in the hearts of Christians. If this burning love died out, there would be no more missionaries, no more preachers, no more martyrs. There'd be nothing at all left in the church. Love alone is the life of the whole body of the church. What the church needs most is genuine love. We attach too much importance to externals actions, invisible effectiveness, whereas all that counts, all that really bears fruit and the church is the truth and purity and sincerity of love. That is what we should ask God for most of all and put into practice Saint John of the cross.
Speaker 2 29:39 <inaudible>
Speaker 0 29:41 the smallest act of pure love is more precious in the sight of God and more profitable the church into the soul itself than all other works put together in the evening of life. We will be judged on love alone.
Speaker 0 30:04 Love alone is the life for the whole body, the church, what the church needs most is genuine love. The smallest act appear love is more precious than the sight of God and more profitable. The church in the salt cell than all other works put together. We attach too much importance to externals actions and visible effectiveness, whereas all that counts and all that really bears fruit and the church is the truth and purity and sincerity of love. That is what we should ask God for most of all, and put into practice in the evening of life. We should we judge by love alone Navien life. We will be judged on love alone. <inaudible>.
