Exaltation of the Holy Cross & 5th Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum

Today we commemorate the great Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  Today is also the 5th Anniversary of the implementation of Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum.  For this day I wish to highlight some of my past posts.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, where we recall the triumph of the Cross against sin, satan, and death as well as fact that when we are baptised each one of us becomes part of Christ on His Cross so that through our daily crosses we may be brought to the Resurrection (Luke 9:23, 24).

"The Cross is more than something to be looked at. It’s something to join. The Cross is an invitation to the Christian to join Jesus on the Cross. Oftentimes, this is a part of the mystery of the cross we just don’t understand. There are many references in Sacred Scripture that tell us that we are invited to participate in the cross. Jesus said, "What I have done, so must you do also." He said that on Holy Thursday after He washed feet, but what He meant was, "If I have been a servant, then you too must be a servant. If I have washed feet, you must wash feet. And if I have suffered, so you must suffer." It says elsewhere in the scriptures, "Where I have gone, you must follow." In 1st Peter it is so clear – "Christ suffered for you, and left you an example to have you follow in His footsteps."

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The Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum

It is at this time that I wish to especially remember Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who resisted the Second Vatican Council's false propositions of ecumenism, religious liberty, and the altering of the Mass of All Times. It is through his witness and the formation of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (SSPX) that the Mass of All Times has spread. And, I will venture to say that without Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's role, the Traditional Latin Mass would have been at last forgotten and no organized resistance to the change would have existed.It is Archbishop Lefebvre who has been slandered in recent years. The cause of canonization of his saintly mother has long been forgotten. Instead, in the words of Bishop Bernard Fellay during a sermon in Paris following Archbishop Lefebvre's death said, "Archbishop Lefebvre has gone, but the Mass is saved, the Catholic priesthood is saved..." Because of his resistance to all of changes affecting all of the Sacraments, the Society of St. Pius X is largely responsible for Pope Benedict XVI's issuance of the motu proprio and then the clear declaration that the Bishops of the Society of St. Pius X consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre are not excommunicated.

In the words of Father Franz Schmidberger at the Requiem Mass of Archbishop Lefebvre, "The work of the Archbishop on this earth is accomplished. Now begins his ministry as intercessor in eternity. He has given everything he could give...the miracle of a new generation of priests."


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