In addition to the clear delimitation of his concept of kingdom (no fighting, earthly powerlessness), Jesus had introduced a positive idea, in order to explain the nature and particular character of the power of this kingship: namely, truth. Pilate brought another idea into play as the dialogue proceeded, one that came from his own world and was normally connected with "kingdom": namely, power—authority (exousia). Dominion demands power; it even defines it. Jesus, however, defines as the essence of his kingship witness to the truth. Is truth a political category? Or has Jesus’ "kingdom" nothing to do with politics? To which order does it belong? If Jesus bases his concept of kingship and kingdom on truth as the fundamental category, then it is entirely understandable that the pragmatic Pilate asks him: "What is truth?" (18:38).
It is the question that is also asked by modern political theory: Can politics accept truth as a structural category? Or must truth, as something unattainable, be relegated to the subjective sphere, its place taken by an attempt to build peace and justice using whatever instruments are available to power? By relying on truth, does not politics, in view of the impossibility of attaining consensus on truth, make itself a tool of particular traditions that in reality are merely forms of holding on to power? And yet, on the other hand, what happens when truth counts for nothing? What kind of justice is then possible? Must there not be common criteria that guarantee real justice for all—criteria that are independent of the arbitrariness of changing opinions and powerful lobbies? Is it not true that the great dictatorships were fed by the power of the ideological lie and that only truth was capable of bringing freedom?
What is truth? The pragmatist’s question, tossed off with a degree of scepticism, is a very serious question, bound up with the fate of mankind. What, then, is truth? Are we able to recognize it? Can it serve as a criterion for our intellect and will, both in individual choices and in the life of the community?
The classic definition from scholastic philosophy designates truth as "adaequatio intellectus et rei" (conformity between the intellect and reality; Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, q. 21, a. 2c). If a man’s intellect reflects a thing as it is in itself, then he has found truth: but only a small fragment of reality—not truth in its grandeur and integrity. We come closer to what Jesus meant with another of Saint Thomas’ teachings: "Truth is in God’s intellect properly and firstly (proprie et primo); in human intellect it is present properly and derivatively (proprie quidem et secundario)" (De Verit., q. 1, a. 4c). And in conclusion we arrive at the succinct formula: God is "ipsa summa et prima veritas" (truth itself, the sovereign and first truth; Summa Theologiae I, q. 16, a. 5c).
This formula brings us close to what Jesus means when he speaks of the truth, when he says that his purpose in coming into the world was to "bear witness to the truth". Again and again in the world, truth and error, truth and untruth, are almost inseparably mixed together. The truth in all its grandeur and purity does not appear. The world is "true" to the extent that it reflects God: the creative logic, the eternal reason that brought it to birth. And it becomes more and more true the closer it draws to God. Man becomes true, he becomes himself, when he grows in God’s likeness. Then he attains to his proper nature. God is the reality that gives being and
intelligibility.
"Bearing witness to the truth" means giving priority to God and to his will over against the interests of the world and its powers. God is the criterion of being. In this sense, truth is the real "king" that confers light and greatness upon all things. We may also say that bearing witness to the truth means making creation intelligible and its truth accessible from God’s perspective—the perspective of creative reason—in such a way that it can serve as a criterion and a signpost in this world of ours, in such a way that the great and the mighty are exposed to the power of truth, the common law, the law of truth.
Let us say plainly: the unredeemed state of the world consists precisely in the failure to understand the meaning of creation, in the failure to recognize truth; as a result, the rule of pragmatism is imposed, by which the strong arm of the powerful becomes the god of this world. At this point, modern man is tempted to say: Creation has become intelligible to us through science. Indeed, Francis S. Collins, for example, who led the Human Genome Project, says with joyful astonishment: "The language of God was revealed" (The Language of God, p. 122). Indeed, in the magnificent mathematics of creation, which today we can read in the human genetic code, we recognize the language of God. But unfortunately not the whole language. The functional truth about man has been discovered. But the truth about man himself—who he is, where he comes from, what he should do, what is right, what is wrong—this unfortunately cannot be read in the same way. Hand in hand with growing knowledge of functional truth there seems to be an increasing blindness toward "truth" itself—toward the question of our real identity and purpose.
What is truth? Pilate was not alone in dismissing this question as unanswerable and irrelevant for his purposes. Today too, in political argument and in discussion of the foundations of law, it is generally experienced as disturbing. Yet if man lives without truth, life passes him by; ultimately he surrenders the field to whoever is the stronger. "Redemption" in the fullest sense can only consist in the truth becoming recognizable. And it becomes recognizable when God becomes recognizable. He becomes recognizable in Jesus Christ. In Christ, God entered the world and set up the criterion of truth in the midst of history.
Truth is outwardly powerless in the world, just as Christ is powerless by the world’s standards: he has no legions; he is crucified. Yet in his very powerlessness, he is powerful: only thus, again and again, does truth become power. In the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate, the subject matter is Jesus’ kingship and, hence, the kingship, the "kingdom", of God. In the course of this same conversation it becomes abundantly clear that there is no discontinuity between Jesus’ Galilean teaching—the proclamation of the kingdom of God—and his Jerusalem teaching. The center of the message, all the way to the Cross—all the way to the inscription above the Cross—is the kingdom of God, the new kingship represented by Jesus. And this kingship is centered on truth. The kingship proclaimed by Jesus, at first in parables and then at the end quite openly before the earthly judge, is none other than the kingship of truth. The inauguration of this kingship is man’s true liberation.
For information on the Blessing of Palms, the Procession of Palms, or the historical importance of this Second Sunday of Passiontide, please see my post on Palm Sunday
For the chant for Palm Sunday using the Pre-1955 Holy Week, please see this PDF by the Institute of Christ the King. Notice in pre-1955 the vestments are violet throughout. In 1955, red was introduced for the beginning of the Mass.
The following Propers are of the Mass itself on Palm Sunday. Before the start of the Mass there is the blessing of the Palms and a number of prayers and readings unique to Palm Sunday. The Pre-1955 readings and prayers can be found in PDF by clicking here. Included on that document are all of the readings for the entirety of the Mass, including the readings mentioned below along with the blessings of the palms, the Gospel account of Palm Sunday, the Preface for Palms, and more.
Vestments: Violet
INTROIT Psalm 21: 20, 22
O Lord, keep not Thy help far from me; look to my defense; deliver me from the lion's mouth, and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns. -- (Ps. 21. 2) O God, my God, look upon me; why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. -- O Lord, keep not Thy help far from me . . .
COLLECT - O Almighty and everlasting God, who didst cause our Savior to take upon Him our flesh, and to undergo the cross, for an example of humility to be imitated by mankind: mercifully grant that we may deserve to possess not only the lessons of His patience, but also the fellowship of His Resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son . . .
EPISTLE Philippians 2: 5-11
Brethren: let this mind be in you which was also in Jesus Christ: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a Name which is above all names: (here genuflect) that in the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
GRADUAL Psalm 72: 24, 1-3
Thou hast held me by my right hand; and by Thy will Thou hast conducted me, and with Thy glory Thou hast received me. V.: How good is God to Israel, to those of an upright heart! but my feet were almost moved, my steps had well-nigh slipped, because I was jealous of sinners, seeing the prosperity of sinners.
TRACT Psalm 21: 2-9, 18, 19, 22, 24 & 32
O God, my God, look upon me; why hast Thou forsaken me? V.: Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. V.: O my God, I shall cry by day, and Thou wilt not hear; and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me. V.: But Thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. V.: In Thee have our fathers hoped; they have hoped, and Thou hast delivered them. V.: They cried to Thee, and they were saved; they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded. V.: But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men and the outcast of the people. V.: All they that saw Me have laughed Me to scorn; they have spoken with the lips and wagged the head. V.: He hoped in the Lord, let Him deliver Him; let Him save Him, seeing He delighteth in Him. V.: But they have looked and stared upon Me; they parted My garments amongst them, and upon My vesture they cast lots. V.: Deliver me from the lion's mouth, and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns. V.: Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him. V.: There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come; and the heavens shall show forth His justice. V.: To a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.
GOSPEL The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Matthew 26: 1-75 and 27: 1-60
1962 Rubrics in Use in This Video
In the Pre-1955 rubrics, the Passion starts with the 1st verse of the 26th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Starting with the Missal in 1955, and preserved in the 1962 Missal, is the omission of the first 35 verses:
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples: You know that after two days shall be the pasch, and the son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified: Then were gathered together the chief priests and ancients of the people into the court of the high priest, who was called Caiphas: And they consulted together, that by subtilty they might apprehend Jesus, and put him to death. But they said: Not on the festival day, lest perhaps there should be a tumult among the people.
And when Jesus was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper, There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment, and poured it on his head as he was at table. And the disciples seeing it, had indignation, saying: To what purpose is this waste? For this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. And Jesus knowing it, said to them: Why do you trouble this woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always. For she in pouring this ointment upon my body, hath done it for my burial. Amen I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done, shall be told for a memory of her. Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests, And said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of silver.
And from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray him. And on the first day of the Azymes, the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the pasch? But Jesus said: Go ye into the city to a certain man, and say to him: the master saith, My time is near at hand, with thee I make the pasch with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus appointed to them, and they prepared the pasch. But when it was evening, he sat down with his twelve disciples.
And whilst they were eating, he said: Amen I say to you, that one of you is about to betray me. And they being very much troubled, began every one to say: Is it I, Lord? But he answering, said: He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, he shall betray me. The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed: it were better for him, if that man had not been born. And Judas that betrayed him, answering, said: Is it I, Rabbi? He saith to him: Thou hast said it.
And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father. And a hymn being said, they went out unto mount Olivet.
Then Jesus said to them: All you shall be scandalized in me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed. But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. And Peter answering, said to him: Although all shall be scandalized in thee, I will never be scandalized. Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, that in this night before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. Peter saith to him: Yea, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner said all the disciples.
Continuing on with Matthew 26:35 and on:
Then Jesus came with them into a country place which is called Gethsemani. And he said to his disciples: "Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray." And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. Then he saith to them: "My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Stay you here and watch with me." And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying and saying: "My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt."
And he cometh to his disciples and findeth them asleep. And he saith to Peter: "What? Could you not watch one hour with me? Watch ye: and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Again the second time, he went and prayed, saying: "My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done." And he cometh again and findeth them sleeping: for their eyes were heavy. And leaving them, he went again: and he prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word. Then he cometh to his disciples and said to them: "Sleep ye now and take your rest. Behold the hour is at hand: and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise: let us go. Behold he is at hand that will betray me."
As he yet spoke, behold Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the ancients of the people. And he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying: "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he. Hold him fast." And forthwith coming to Jesus, he said: "Hail, Rabbi." And he kissed him. And Jesus said to him: "Friend, whereto art thou come?" Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and held him. And behold one of them that were with Jesus, stretching forth his hand, drew out his sword: and striking the servant of the high priest, cut off his ear. Then Jesus saith to him: "Put up again thy sword into its place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels? How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done?"
In that same hour, Jesus said to the multitudes: "You are come out, as it were to a robber, with swords and clubs to apprehend me. I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple: and you laid not hands on me." Now all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then the disciples, all leaving him, fled. But they holding Jesus led him to Caiphas the high priest, where the scribes and the ancients were assembled.
And Peter followed him afar off, even to the court of the high priest, And going in, he sat with the servants, that he might see the end. And the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put him to death. And they found not, whereas many false witnesses had come in. And last of all there came two false witnesses: And they said: "This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and after three days to rebuild it." And the high priest rising up, said to him: "Answerest thou nothing to the things which these witness against thee?" But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest said to him: "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us if thou be the Christ the Son of God." Jesus saith to him: "Thou hast said it. Nevertheless I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God and coming in the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest rent his garments, saying: "He hath blasphemed: What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. What think you?" But they answering, said: "He is guilty of death.
Then did they spit in his face and buffeted him. And others struck his face with the palms of their hands, Saying: "Prophesy unto us, O Christ. Who is he that struck thee?" But Peter sat without in the court. And there came to him a servant maid, saying: "Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied before them all, saying: "I know not what thou sayest." And as he went out of the gate, another maid saw him; and she saith to them that were there: "This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied with an oath: "I know not the man." And after a little while, they came that stood by and said to Peter: "Surely thou also art one of them. For even thy speech doth discover thee." Then he began to curse and to swear that he knew not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus which he had said: Before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. And going forth, he wept bitterly.
And when morning was come, all the chief priests and ancients of the people took counsel against Jesus, that they might put him to death. And they brought him bound and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Then Judas, who betrayed him, seeing that he was condemned, repenting himself, brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and ancients, Saying: "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." But they said: "What is that to us? Look thou to it." And casting down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed and went and hanged himself with an halter.
But the chief priests having taken the pieces of silver, said: "It is not lawful to put them into the corbona, because it is the price of blood." And after they had consulted together, they bought with them the potter's field, to be a burying place for strangers. For this cause that field was called Haceldama, that is, the field of blood, even to this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying: And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was prized, whom they prized of the children of Israel. And they gave them unto the potter's field, as the Lord appointed to me.
And Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying: "Art thou the king of the Jews?" Jesus saith to him: "Thou sayest it." And when he was accused by the chief priests and ancients, he answered nothing. Then Pilate saith to him: "Dost not thou hear how great testimonies they allege against thee?" And he answered him to never a word, so that the governor wondered exceedingly.
Now upon the solemn day the governor was accustomed to release to the people one prisoner, whom they would. And he had then a notorious prisoner that was called Barabbas. They therefore being gathered together, Pilate said: "Whom will you that I release to You: Barabbas, or Jesus that is called Christ?" For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. And as he was sitting in the place of judgment, his wife sent to him, saying: "Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." But the chief priests and ancients persuaded the people that they should ask Barabbas and make Jesus away.
And the governor answering, said to them: "Whether will you of the two to be released unto you?" But they said: "Barabbas." Pilate saith to them: "What shall I do then with Jesus that is called Christ?" They say all: "Let him be crucified." The governor said to them: "Why, what evil hath he done?" But they cried out the more, saying: "Let him be crucified."
And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: "I am innocent of the blood of this just man. Look you to it." And the whole people answering, said: "His blood be upon us and upon our children."
Then he released to them Barabbas: and having scourged Jesus, delivered him unto them to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor, taking Jesus into the hall, gathered together unto him the whole band. And stripping him, they put a scarlet cloak about him. And platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand. And bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying: "Hail, King of the Jews." And spitting upon him, they took the reed and struck his head. And after they had mocked him, they took off the cloak from him and put on him his own garments and led him away to crucify him.nAnd going out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon: him they forced to take up his cross.
And they came to the place that is called Golgotha, which is the place of Calvary. And they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall. And when he had tasted, he would not drink. And after they had crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: They divided my garments among them; and upon my vesture they cast lots. And they sat and watched him. And they put over his head his cause written: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Then were crucified with him two thieves: one on the right hand and one on the left. And they that passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, And saying: "Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God and in three days dost rebuild it: save thy own self. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." In like manner also the chief priests, with the scribes and ancients, mocking said: "He saved others: himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross: and we will believe him. He trusted in God: let him now deliver him if he will have him. For he said: I am the Son of God." And the selfsame thing the thieves also that were crucified with him reproached him with.
Now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over the whole earth, until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying: "Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani?" That is, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And some that stood there and heard said: "This man calleth Elias." And immediately one of them running took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink. And the others said: "Let be. Let us see whether Elias will come to deliver him." And Jesus again crying with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. [Here pause and kneel]
And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom: and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent. And the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, came into the holy city and appeared to many.
Now the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake and the things that were done, were sore afraid, saying: "Indeed this was the Son of God."
In the Pre-1955 Holy Week rubrics, the following is read distinctly. As the New Liturgical Movement writes, "The pause between the end of the Passion and the beginning of this Gospel dramatically represents the astonishment of all of Creation, including the Church Herself, at the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Christ, the Crucified God. With the great reform of Gregorian chant in the reign of Pope St. Pius X, a special tone for this Gospel was re-introduced into general use (ad libitum), one of the masterpieces of sacred chant. This tone, with a long descant at the beginning of each verse, and a long and solemn conclusion, represents the weeping of the Church over His death." Matthew 27:62-66
And the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees came together to Pilate, Saying: Sir, we have remembered, that that seducer said, while he was yet alive: After three days I will rise again. Command therefore the sepulchre to be guarded until the third day: lest perhaps his disciples come and steal him away, and say to the people: He is risen from the dead; and the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate saith to them: You have a guard; go, guard it as you know. And they departing, made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting guards.
OFFERTORY Psalm 68: 21, 22
My heart hath expected reproach and misery, and I looked for one that would grieve together with Me, but there was none: I sought for one that would confort Me, and I found none: and they gave Me gall for My food, and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink.
SECRET - Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that the gifts offered in the sight of Thy Majesty, may procure us the grace of devotion and obtain for us the fruit of a blessed eternity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost . . . . .
PREFACE (Preface of the Cross) - -It it truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who didst establish the salvation of mankind on the tree of the Cross; that whence death came, thence also life might arise again, and that he, who overcame by the tree, by the tree also might be overcome: Through Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with these we entreat Thee that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted while we say with lowly praise:
COMMUNION Matthew 26: 42
Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, Thy will be done.
POST COMMUNION - By the operation of this Mystery, O Lord, may our vices be cleansed, and our just desires fulfilled. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost . . .
I typically do not blog on the controversy and news surrounding the so-called "Doctrinal Discussions" that have taken place between the Society of St. Pius X and Roman Officials these past few years. However, in light of the request by the Society for fervent prayers over these intentions, I wish to offer a few brief comments.
The issue of "full communion" is nothing more than a trojan horse. Does the Society at this time still exercise valid Sacraments through supplied jurisdiction? Yes, they do. While full communion is ideal, at what cost? Does this mean the Society must abandon the Faith and begin teaching and preaching ecumenism, collegiality, or religious liberty? Does it mean that the Society must start offering the Novus Ordo or at least cease in calling it a neo-protestant Liturgy impregnated with the spirit of protestantism?
How is it that Bishops that support homosexuality (like Cardinal Martini) are in full Communion with the Bride of Christ but somehow the SSPX is not? How is it that priests that have "gay" Masses, bring dogs and circus animals into the sanctuary, or teach that Christ our Lord never rose again are in full Communion? But somehow these "priests" are not disciplined while the Society is treated as a disease.
"For there is no good tree that bringeth forth evil fruit; nor an evil tree that bringeth forth good fruit" (Lue 6:43)
There can be no compromise without a doctrinal agreement (and it is not possible at this time) - and it is on that topic which I offer recent comments by His Excellency Bishop Richard Williamson. May God bless and guard him!
Number CCXLVI (246)
31 March 2012
GRAVE DANGER
The desire of certain priests within the Society of St Pius X to seek a practical agreement with the Church authorities without a doctrinal agreement seems to be a recurring temptation. For years Bishop Fellay as the Society’s Superior General has refused the idea, but when he said in Winona on February 2 that Rome is willing to accept the Society as is, and that it is ready to satisfy “all the Society’s requirements...on the practical level”, it does look as though Rome is holding out the same temptation once more.
However, the latest news from Rome will be known to many of you: unless the Vatican is playing games with the SSPX, it announced last Friday, March 16, that it found Bishop Fellay’s January reply to its Doctrinal Preamble of September 14 of last year “not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems which lie at the foundation of the rift between the Holy See and the SSPX.” And the Vatican gave the SSPX one month in which to “clarify its position” and avoid “a rupture of painful and incalculable consequences.”
But what if Rome were suddenly to cease requiring acceptance of the Council and the New Mass ? What if Rome were suddenly to say, “Alright. We have thought about it. Come back into the Church as you ask. We will give you freedom to criticize the Council as much as you like, and freedom to celebrate the Tridentine Mass exclusively. But do come in !” It might be a very cunning move on the part of Rome, because how could the Society refuse such an offer without seeming inconsistent and downright ungrateful ? Yet on pain of survival it would have to refuse. On pain of survival ? Strong words. But here is a commentary of Archbishop Lefebvre on the matter.
On May 5, 1988, he signed with then Cardinal Ratzinger the protocol (provisional draft) of a practical Rome-Society agreement. On May 6 he took back his (provisional) signature. On June 13 he said, “With the May 5 Protocol we would soon have been dead. We would not have lasted a year. As of now the Society is united, but with that Protocol we would have had to make contacts with them, there would have been division within the Society,everything would have been a cause of division” (emphasis added). “New vocations might have flowed our way because we were united with Rome, but such vocations would have tolerated no disagreement with Rome which means division. As it is, vocations sift themselves before they reach us” (which is still true in Society seminaries).
And why such division ? (Warring vocations would be merely one example amongst countless others). Clearly, because the May 5 Protocol would have meant a practical agreement resting upon a radical doctrinal disagreement between the religion of God and the religion of man. The Archbishop went on to say, “They are pulling us over to the Council...whereas on our side we are saving theSociety and Tradition by carefully keeping our distance from them” (emphasis added). Then why did the Archbishop seek such an agreement in the first place ? He continued, “We made an honest effort to keep Tradition going within the official Church. It turned out to be impossible. They have not changed, except for the worse.”
And have they changed since 1988 ? Many would think, only for yet worse.
Kyrie eleison.
I do wish to share this piece by Damian Thompson of the Telegraph. His Excellency is an example of a true Catholic bishop, who seeks to uphold the laws of God in a God-less society.
Yes, you read that right. Summorum Pontificum has finally been fully implemented by a diocesan bishop – the Rt Rev Mark Davies, Bishop of Shrewsbury, who has entrusted the Shrine Church of Ss Peter and Paul and St Philomena in New Brighton, Wirral, to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. This much-loved building, once known as "the dome of home" to returning sailors, had previously been closed. Bishop Davies saw no reason why this dynamic apostolic institute should not revive it.
"Perhaps in this image we can recognise the new mission given to this church in a new and vibrant parish and amid the new needs of those who travel through the century before us,” said the bishop in his address. "Today we do not simply wish to open the doors of a closed building but to be open in our hearts to what Blessed John Paul II called ‘Eucharistic amazement’. I was asked in a radio interview whether I saw myself as part of an old, traditional church or a dynamic, evangelising community. My interviewer saw these as distinct alternatives but to the Catholic mind the answer must always be both."
Can you imagine any other bishop of England and Wales having the conviction and courage to implement the Motu Proprio so enthusiastically? No, me neither. Bishop Davies is a pastor of remarkable calibre; the question now is whether Rome will send us another bishop in his mould – or will simply allow the Magic Circle to shunt its candidates into soon-to-be-vacant diocesan sees.
Some other recent news further reveals the caliber of His Excellency:
Included below are the 1956 changes to the breviary and the missal. They are formatted for easier reading and printing. Please distribute these and use them as you need.
The changes are not complete, however as there is another document (Maxima Redemptoris) that changed the Holy Week and Vigil of Pentecost. Please search online to find this document.
Also, below is a list of main documents that address these changes. Usually they can be found in Canon law digests and tracts or if you read Latin the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
1951, Feb. Dominicae resurrectionis, De Solemni Vigilia Pashchali Linstauranda. (The restoration of the Solemn Paschal Vigil.)
1955, Mar. "Cum nostra haec aetate" "De rubricis ad simpliciorem formam redigendis." (On the simplification of the rubrics). This is the document that I have included above.
1955, Nov. 16: Maxima redemptionis nostrae mysteria, Liturgicu Hebdomadae Sanctae Ordo instauratur. (The restoration of the liturgy of Holy Week).
1960, July 25: Codex Rubricarum
General rubrics
General rubrics of the breviary
General rubrics of the missal
Additionally it addresses the changes to the martyrology, the new calendar of 1960, etc.
1961, "De calendariis particularibus et Officiorum ac Missarum Propriis ad norman et mentem CSR revisedis." "The particular calendars and Proper Offices and Masses revised according to the norm and mind (spirit) of the Code of Rubrics"
It will come to no surprise to someone familiar with history that the Roman Catholic Church truly built Western Civilization. Even if you are familiar with the Church's role in agriculture, industrial production of iron ore, translation of ancient Latin and Greek texts, formulation of international law, and astronomy, you may be unaware of the Church's role in economics.
The key in self-education and in the education of your children is to find an appropriate text that accurately addresses not only the Church's contributions but also refutes the errors of modern economics, including Communion and Socialism.
The Church's role in economics is not new - it goes back over 700 years! San Bernardino of Siena (1380–1444) was the first theologian after Olivi to write an entire work systematically devoted to scholastic economics. But, he was not even the first, illustrating that the Church's involvement in political and social life was (and is) necessary to sustain a culture with a proper ordering.
The Catholic Church can be credited to founding monetary economics and the value theory based on subjective utility. This theory stands in sharp contrast to the Labor Theory of Value, which has its roots in the Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx.
Under the Labor Theory of Value, an object's worth is said to not be based on subjective utility but rather on the labor added to the object. Yet, in a common refutation of this theory, let us consider the case of a painting. How can this theory be valid when a painting's value rises after the death of its creator, even after no additional labor has been expended? Marx could not explain this phenomena. Only the subjective value theory can explain value.
Simply put, the value of a good does not depend on the number of labor hours put into the good. To succumb to this error is to fall into Communism. And we have the Church to thank for supporting and defending through the centuries this theory.
In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.
May angels lead you into Paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.
"Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:20)
"In the spiritual reality of the church, neither Marcel Lefebvre, nor his bishops and priests, nor the people who frequent the SSPX chapels suffered or suffer excommunication. I believe history will record that the intent to impose such an excommunication was invalid and illicit." - Father Malachi Martin
Our friends over at Romanitas Press have again put together serving notes for those saying the Traditional Latin Mass for Holy Week. Pass these documents along to any sacristans, servers, or priests that you think may benefit from this. Do note however these are for the 1962 Missal and are not for the pre-1955 Holy Week that is the more traditional Holy Week Liturgy.
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Matthew is a Third Order Dominican from Chicago and an expert on Catholicism, with an emphasis on Traditional Fasting. He has written for "A Catholic Life" since 2005. Matthew is a Certified Catechist and is a speaker available to address your next parish or Catholic conference gathering. Matthew spends his leisure time traveling, teaching, writing, and enjoying Catholic culture. He is also a writer for "Catholic Family News" and "The Fatima Center." Please contact Matthew directly regarding advertising requests for A Catholic Life or in regard to speaking engagements.
