Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Sspx. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Sspx. Sort by date Show all posts
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Turned Away from an SSPX Retreat for Observing Lent


Earlier this year I registered to attend a retreat with the SSPX retreat house in Los Gatos, CA. This would have been my third retreat with the SSPX as I've previously visited their Ridgefield, Connecticut and Phoenix, Arizona retreat houses. My experience was not pleasant and after thinking through this experience for several months I think it's important to share what happened to me.

On February 11th I registered for a retreat that was to take place this Lent and to my surprise shortly after sending in my deposit I received a refund along with this note from the St. Aloysius Retreat Center secretary:
We received a deposit for an upcoming retreat. Father Asher asked me to please refund your deposit. We are sorry, but the Retreat House is unable to accommodate your dietary requests. Your deposit will be refunded through PayPal, as it was the original payment method.
In my registration I had asked for shellfish free meals to be prepared (for an allergy) and for no meat to be served to me for the Monday - Thursday sessions since it is Lent and I follow the pre-1962 abstinence for all 40 days. In actuality, I maintain a vegan diet with an exception for fish but for the sake of ease on the retreat house, I only asked for them to not serve me shellfish or meat. 

I asked for clarification and received a terse reply from the same secretary:
We cannot accommodate either of your dietary restrictions -- it is impossible for the Retreat House to guarantee "no cross contamination" for the shellfish nor can the Retreat House accommodate the "no Meat during Lent" restriction.
A alleged traditional Catholic community can not accommodate no meat during Lent? This is absurd. No further replies or apologies were received. I did not ask for them to make me anything special - just to not serve me meat. So in June I sent in this note to the SSPX district office to see how they would react to this clear violation of Catholic Tradition. How can a retreat house turn someone away who did not want to eat the meat they prepared? I wrote:
I have thought and prayed about this over the past few months but I can no longer support the SSPX. I was planning this year to attend my 3rd Ignatian retreat and I was turn away.  My crime?  Asking that, since it was Lent, I be served meatless meals while there. I thought that was a simple request considering it is the traditional custom of the Lenten fast to abstain from meat for 40 days. Plus, it would be cheaper too for the retreat house. But I was refused. My deposit was returned. No questions asked.
I'm going to cease my donations to the SSPX, cease attending SSPX chapels (which I've done now for nearly 10 years), and as a Traditional Catholic author and writer for several publications, I think I'm going to have to make this situation aware to others. To turn away someone for asking to have a meatless meal is unconscionable. You have it clearly on your website that dietary restrictions are honored. Yet it seems they are not in Los Gatos if that dietary restriction is in keeping with a Lenten practice that, while not in place in 1962, was certainly in place in my grandparent's time.  Please update your website to state that you do NOT honor dietary requests for traditional Catholic practices.
On June 25th I received a response from the Executive Assistant to the District Superior - another lay person and not a priest. After commenting on my request for no shellfish, she wrote:
Your request for a non-meat diet during the retreat was a secondary issue, although, being a preference and not a medically-diagnosed diet, they do have the right to refuse to accommodate such a request. Retreatants, as with all of us who are seeking a deeper spiritual life, are encouraged to accept simply what is set before them at table. If you were to look into saints’ lives, particularly those who dwelt in community with others, they put their individual preferences after the needs or common life of the community. St. Therese of the Child Jesus, for example, would “eat anything” according to her religious sisters and they never knew what she liked or disliked when it came to food. Eating one’s meals in common with others during a retreat could be compared with that aspect of religious life. On a practical note, it would be impossible for the retreat house to cater to each individual retreatant’s preferences when it comes to meals in common. This is why they restrict consideration of diet accommodations to those that are “medically prescribed”, as indicated on the registration form. We were informed that the retreat house did reach out to you by phone after receiving your deposit in order to inform you that they could not accommodate your allergy restriction and that your deposit was refund immediately after that call.
On July 12th, after having through about their email for several weeks, I responded:
While I appreciate your attempt to address these issues via email, they only underscore the need to pull my support for the SSPX: 
1. I do swear that the retreat house never called me and spoke with me. They are either lying or mistaken. There was no discussion - just a refund and a terse email that said that I basically was not welcome 
2. I do not believe my food allergy was the cause. I have attended retreats in both retreat centers in Phoenix and in Connecticut before and they both happily honored my dietary request for no shellfish and to cook the dishes separately when shellfish were served.   
3. The real issue here is that the SSPX seems to think that modernism entered the Church in 1963 and that all practices in place in 1962 were good. They were not. Pope St. Pius X rightfully condemned modernism decades before. And part of that modernism was the New Church's allowing of meat to be eaten during the 40 days of Lent. To violate that abstinence is a sin regardless of what the SSPX thinks. I am not on a crusade to force SSPX priests or Mass-goers to abide by those laws, which are surely still valid, but your refusal to allow me to keep Catholic Tradition is the real reason I was not invited. The 1983 Code is not a valid Code. And I do not violate the traditional tenets of our Faith, including the Lenten abstinence rules. This is not my personal preference - this is true Church law. 
I have already pulled my financial support for the SSPX and will not be assisting at their chapels any further. It was made manifestly clear by the retreat house and by your response that I am not welcome.
No response was ever received. 

Why do I share this story? 

I share this because I know for many years, especially when I was newer to Traditional Catholicism, I viewed the SSPX has the epitome of pre-Vatican II Catholicism. However, after experiencing life in their chapels for many years I can say first-hand that I've met many priests who are extremely hard to talk to, dismissive, and lacking in charity. I still believe Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was a hero, but that does not mean the modern SSPX is perfect.

In recent years, the resurgence of interest in the more traditional 1954 missal, with its octaves and untouched Holy Week ceremonies, has gained popularity in many Traditional Catholic groups but not in SSPX chapels. They continue to hold firm to the semi-modernized 1962 missal and 1961 breviary with the deletion or downgrading of dozens of feasts and octaves, not to mention the liberalizing 1962 Week reforms. To assert that the 1954 Missal is wrong, as I've heard in SSPX groups, is scandalous. But what is even more scandalous is the SSPX's views that the fasting and abstinence laws of 1962, which eliminated the Lenten fast and countless of other fasts on vigils, are to be observed. And even worse, if I were to observe the pre-1962 fasting periods I am refused admission to their retreat house.

The SSPX are not the embodiment of Catholic Tradition. I have met very committed Catholics who regularly attend SSPX chapels but I've found Catholic Traditions in other chapels and communities. I would advise great caution with accepting completely everything said by an SSPX priest, especially when their statements contradict pre-1962 Tradition or result in uncharitable actions towards others. We are all called to be missionaries of Traditional Catholicism and we do not do so by only preaching with fire and brimstone. We can save many by living a pre-Vatican II (that is pre-1960s lifestyle) and doing so in a way that shows others great love and charity and concern. 

My advice: do not attend an SSPX retreat and only attend an SSPX chapel if a Mass said according to the pre-1955 is not available.

Reject the 1962 Missal. Restore the 1954 Missal. Reject the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Observe the 1917 Code. Reject the modernistic fasting that was practiced in 1962, which Pope Benedict XIV surely would have condemned. Practice the traditional fasting done by our grandfathers and their grandfathers. 
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at October 27, 2019
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
13 Video Conference Series: Bishop Williamson on the SSPX and Rome


The following message was forwarded to me this morning.  I wish to make it available to all of my readers for your edification, if you are interested in hearing His Excellency Bishop Williamson speak on matters concerning Archbishop Lefebvre, Rome, Traditionalism, and similar themes. These are recently released videos. 
Dear all.

I can happily inform you that I have spoken directly with Bishop Williamson yesterday morning to get his consent to make the conferences public again. I apologise for the frustration you may have had trying to view them last time due to the unexpected request to disable them for public viewing. 

Below are the links to all the videos which are now uploaded:


That being said, I hope the videos help to crystallise the situation for you as clearly as actually being present at conferences did for me at the time.

Hugh
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at July 24, 2012 5 comment(s)
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Monday, March 16, 2020
Comprehensive List of Live Streaming Traditional Latin Masses


Updated 11/23/2020

With the current crisis in regards to the coronavirus, many Dioceses or governments have suspended all Masses and gatherings. This is unprecedented in the Church. As a result, in most places, the faithful have been dispensed from Sunday Mass. Yet, while it is possible to be dispensed from the precept of assisting at Mass, the divine law requires that Sundays are nevertheless honored. We must refrain from servile works on Sundays, pray, worship God as we can, and perform works of mercy, in addition to using the time for rest and leisure with family or friends. See: Top 5 Ways to Sanctify Sunday When Mass is Suspended

In order for the faithful to help sanctify Sunday, many parishes are now live streaming their Masses. In fact, many of the links here offer daily streaming - even the weekday Masses and the devotions.

During this Lent, we especially bear these crosses which the Lord has given us. When Lent started, we never planned to receive this Cross, but like our Lord, we must bear it with patience and resignation.

Some of these live streams are only during this period of crisis. Others are available all year round. If you know of any more, please list them in the comment section below. Some of these and more are listed on LatinMass.live as well.

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
Society of St. Pius V
Society of St. Pius X
Institute of Christ the King
Diocesan / Independent / Others in the USA
Churches in England & Wales
Eastern Catholic Rites
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at March 16, 2020 0 comment(s)
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Saturday, August 22, 2009
Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta: Named Chairman of the SSPX-Vatican Commission


The Argentinian Catholic website Panorama Católico Internacional published this week the news that the current Rector of the Seminary of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) in Argentina, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, has been named chairman of the SSPX side of the joint Vatican-SSPX commission in charge of the theological discussions.

Panorama adds that sources "close to the SSPX" inform that the Bishop will remain as rector in Argentina for the moment, but may change if his duties in Europe (that is, as part of the commission) deprive him from the time that is deemed necessary for the activities of the seminary.

Via Rorate Caeli
My only comment is that we must pray for that the Lord's will shall be done through these talks. May the Faith be defended and may the Truth prevail.

Related Posts:
Image Source: La Porte Latine
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at August 22, 2009 0 comment(s)
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
Book Review: The Good Pope by Greg Tobin

After reading a copy of "The Good Pope: The Making of a Saint and the Remaking of a Church" by Greg Tobin, I think that a new subtitle would be more appropriate.  Perhaps that new title should be "The Good Pope: A Shockingly Inaccurate and Biased Biography" or even "The Good Pope: A Liberal's Take on Vatican II"

Mr. Tobin's "biography", which initially showed promise, is nothing more than a liberal's slanted view of history and a poor biography from a historical point of view.  On the first page of the Preface, Tobin writes, "[John XXIII] was a megawatt celebity in the age of such secular saints as Elizabeth Taylor...Fidel Castor and Nikita Khrushchev."  To use the word "saint" to refer to atheistic, Communist leaders is appauling.

Just turn the page and read another glaring error when Tobin writes, "Thomas Aquinas, Edith Stein,...Mother Teresa of Calcutta are models of sanctity and service who have been canonized by the Catholic Church."  Last I checked, Mother Teresa was beatified and not yet canonized.  This is a common fact - a quite glaring factual error.

Tobin praises John XXIII's (and the Vatican Council's) erroneous statements on Jews in Nostra aetate and Unitatis redintegratio. Have we forgotten the role of the Jews in the death of Christ?

On Page 174, Tobin again incorrectly writes "The conservative bloc [at the Council] included...Marcel-Francois Lefebvre...the most conservative of the lot, [who] would later lead a major schismatic movement in the 1970s and beyond."  So Tobin also believes the liberal lie that Archbishop Lefebvre was a schismatic for wishing to remain a Catholic when the leaders at the time departed from the True Faith.  Tobin has revealed his true colors with this statement (not counting all the other instances).

The book is full of liberal bias (e.g. promotion of the false principles of Vatican II, agreements with the liberal policies that led to a destruction of the Faith and lack of belief in the Real Presence).  When will the liberals realize that Vatican II did not succeed?  How often have these people forgotten that admonishment in 1 Peter 5:8 ?  The Second Vatican Council was in its essence a revolt against our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church and how pleased satan is with the result.  Kyrie eleison!

Have we forgotten the importance of doctrine?  Perhaps we need a reminder from Bishop Williamson:

Number CCLXVI (266)
18 August 2012
DOCTRINE AGAIN
The scorn of “doctrine” is an immense problem today. The “best” of Catholics in our 21st century pay lip-service to the importance of “doctrine”, but in their modern bones they feel instinctively that even Catholic doctrine is some kind of prison for their minds, and minds must not be imprisoned. In Washington, D.C., around the interior dome of the Jefferson Memorial, that quasi-religious temple of the United States’ champion of liberty, runs his quasi-religious quotation: I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. Surely he had Catholic doctrine in mind, amongst others. Modern man’s quasi-religion excludes having any fixed doctrine.

However, a sentence from the “Eleison Comments” of two weeks ago ( EC 263, July 28) gives a different angle on the nature and importance of “doctrine”. It ran: So long as Rome believes in its Conciliar doctrine, it is bound to use any such (“non-doctrinal”) agreement to pull the SSPX in the direction of the (Second Vatican) Council. In other words what drives Rome supposedly to discount “doctrine” and at all costs to conciliarize the SSPX is their own belief in their own Conciliar doctrine. As Traditional Catholic doctrine is - one hopes - the driving force of the SSPX, so Conciliar doctrine is the driving force of Rome. The two doctrines clash, but each of them is a driving force.

In other words, “doctrine” is not just a set of ideas in a man’s head, or a mental prison. Whatever ideas a man chooses to hold in his head, his real doctrine is that set of ideas that drives his life. Now a man may change that set of ideas, but he cannot not have one. Here is how Aristotle put it: “If you want to philosophize, then you have to philosophize. If you don’t want to philosophize, you still have to philosophize. In any case a man has to philosophize.” Similarly, liberals may scorn any set of ideas as a tyranny, but to hold any set of ideas to be a tyranny is still a major idea, and it is the one idea that drives the lives of zillions of liberals today, and of all too many Catholics. These should know better, but all of us moderns have the worship of liberty in our bloodstream.

Thus doctrine in its real sense is not just an imprisoning set of ideas, but that central notion of God, man and life that directs the life of every man alive. Even if a man is committing suicide, he is being driven by the idea that life is too miserable to be worth continuing. A notion of life centred on money may drive a man to become rich; on pleasure to become a rake; on recognition to become famous, and so on. But however a man centrally conceives life, that concept is his real doctrine.

Thus conciliar Romans are driven by Vatican II as being their central notion to undo the SSPX that rejects Vatican II, and until they either succeed or change that central notion, they will continue to be driven to dissolve Archbishop Lefebvre’s SSPX. On the contrary the central drive of clergy and laity of the SSPX should be to get to Heaven, the idea being that Heaven and Hell exist, and Jesus Christ and his true Church provide the one and only sure way of getting to Heaven. This driving doctrine they know to be no fanciful invention of their own, and that is why they do not want it to be undermined or subverted or corrupted by the wretched neo-modernists of the Newchurch, driven by their false conciliar notion of God, man and life. The clash is total.

Nor can it be avoided, as liberals dream it can. If falsehoods win, eventually even the stones of the street will cry out (Lk.XIX, 40). If Truth wins, still Satan will go on raising error after error, until the world ends. But “He that perseveres to the end will be saved”, says Our Lord (Mt.XXIV, 13).

Kyrie eleison.

But the liberals do not think logically. If something was wrong in the past and settled then by the authority of the Church, then we are not free to continue debating it. We are not free to change the Rite of Mass which was set in place by Pope St. Pius V for all times and peoples.

This book is a sad reminder of the foolishness of liberals and their agenda. I instead suggest you pick up a copy of I Accuse the Council or Rhine Flows into the Tiber [Accurate and Unbiased Vatican II Biography] or Trojan Horse in the City of God: How Godlessness Crept Into the Sanctuary--And How to Thrust It Out Again
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at September 27, 2012 4 comment(s)
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Sunday, February 7, 2016
45 Seminarians of the SSPX Receive the Cassock


Throughout the world in the SSPX's seminaries, a total of 45 seminarians have taken the cassock, or clerical habit, during the 2015-2016 academic year. We offer some news and images of this important event, a formative step towards the ultimate goal of the sacred priesthood.
St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, Winona, MN, USA

On February 2, Bishop Bernard Fellay (the SSPX's Superior General), blessed the cassocks for 10 seminarians and gave the clercical tonsure to 8 other young men during the Pontifical Mass of Candlemas. He was assisted by Fr. Yves le Roux (seminary rector), Fr. Jurgen Wegner (U.S. District Superior), and Fr. Patrick Abbet (seminary vice rector).

Despite the the snowfall of 10 inches—which made travelling difficult for various families—the sacred ministers and servers did make a short procession outside with the lighted candles, celebrating Our Lord as the Light of revelation for the Gentiles.

On February 2, Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais blessed the cassock for 9 seminarians and gave the clerical tonsure to 7 as announced by Fr. Franz Schmidberger (seminary rector). The day after the bishop gave the minor orders to 7 others, with 3 becoming porters and lectors, and the other 4 being ordained exorcists and acolytes.

In the absence of Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta—whose attendance was prevented by a last minute difficulty—Fr. Niklaus Pfluger, the SSPX's 1st Assistant, blessed the clerical habit for 12 seminarians of the first-year: 4 Swiss, 3 Frenchmen, 2 Italians, 1 Gabonese and 2 Nigerians. He was assisted by Fr. Patrick Troadec (seminary rector) and Fr. Prudent Balou Yalu (prior of the St. Pius X Mission in Libreville, Gabon).

Interesting statistics have been published by Fr. Troadec. Since 1996, 347 candidates have entered the seminary to become priests or brothers; i.e., an average of 20 per year. The average age is 21-years old. Candidates consistently come from large families (with an average of 5.8 children ) where 80% of the mothers are mothers at home. 73% of the French candidates come from SSPX schools.

More than 50% of the candidates have received a first calling to the priesthood or religious life before the age of 12 either when serving Mass, helping in the sacristy, or on the day of their First Communion. Many of these seminarians have said that the education received in the family prepared them to make this choice, or they remember being impacted by the good example of a priest or a brother in their surroundings.

After a period where the idea of being fully consecrated to God has faded during their teenage years, a second call comes around the age of 19, which eventually leads them to the seminary or brothers novitiate.

Source (Continue Reading...)
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at February 07, 2016 0 comment(s)
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Friday, June 13, 2014
SSPX 2014 Ordinations

Today, Friday, June 13, seven deacons of the SSPX will be ordained to the Priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bishop Bernard Fellay at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, Minnesota:

    Rev. Mr. Charles Deister (Kansas City, Missouri)
    Rev. Mr. Thomas Duncan (Tyrone, New Mexico)
    Rev. Mr. Peter Fortin (Spotsylvania, Virginia)
    Rev. Mr. Isaac Delmanowski (Glendale, Arizona)
    Rev. Mr. Andrew Ferrelli (Syracuse, New York)
    Rev. Mr. Joseph Haynos (Post Falls, Idaho)
    Rev. Mr. Matthew Stafki (Oak Grove, Minnesota)

A list of their first Masses can be found at the seminary's website [as a PDF flier].

In addition to these priests, five subdeacons will be ordained to the diaconate, the last stage of preparation before receiving priestly ordination.

We request that you keep these ordinands in your prayers (as indeed all of the SSPX's seminarians), that they may fulfill the Society's daily prayer during the recitation of the rosary: "O Lord, grant us holy priests. O Lord, grant us many holy priests." During this Octave of Pentecost, prayers to the Holy Ghost are especially commendable.

Want to help the SSPX petition Heaven for more priestly and religious vocations? You can recite this prayer at the end of your rosary as practiced in all of the Society's houses:

O Lord, grant us priests (repeated by others).
O Lord, grant us holy priests.
O Lord, grant us many holy priests.
O Lord, grant us many holy religious vocations.
V. St. Pius X.
R. Pray for us.





Source: SSPX
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at June 13, 2014 1 comment(s)
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Monday, February 13, 2012
Returned From SSPX Retreat

 Our Lady Immaculate Church (SSPX), Oak Park, IL

I have just returned from my week-long retreat at the SSPX Our Lady of Sorrows Retreat Center in Phoenix, Arizona.  The time was one of great consolation and some of the greatest graces that I have yet received. 

The retreat took place from February 6 - 11th although most of us arrived on Sunday evening prior.  Starting Monday morning we were fed three excellent meals a day and we lived in humble, though still very comfortable conditions.  The 80 degree weather certainly helped the experience (since I'm always a fan of escaping the 30 degree weather in Chicago).

Each day consisted of rising at 6:15 with optional Prime at 6:45.  Morning prayers followed at 7:00 AM and Mass was usually said at 7:30 (except for a special High Mass Wednesday evening said after each of us made our general Confessions in the morning).  The day consisted of approximately 5 - 6 conferences using the St. Ignatian model.  Each conference helped explain the mysteries of the Ignatian Spiritual exercises, and we then meditated on the mysteries for 20 minutes.  There was a daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament as well.  Compline was prayed together each evening at 8:30 PM and then all returned to their rooms.

The time was kept in prayerful silence and each of us maintained a contemplative and prayerful state of soul.  Yet even in the silence, one could feel the charity towards our neighbor.  Truly, this is how traditional communities like the Benedictines in Silver City live! With the Spiritual Exercises and frequent prayers - along with daily reception of the Most Holy Sacrament - it was one of the greatest sources of graces in my life.  In our general confessions, as we confessed all of the sins of our lives, I could not help but feel unbelievably sorrowful and humble in the presence of Almighty God.  Our Lord has given us through His Incarnation, Life, Passion, and Death an inexpressable and unrepayable model and source of grace.  I have updated my 2012 Catholic Resolutions in light of my retreat.

If you have never attended an Ignatian Retreat, you simply must attend one of these.  You can be certain that the Sacraments of the SSPX are licit and valid (unlike those in the Novus Ordo) and you can also be certain that they maintain true doctrine (unlike so-called "indult" Traditional Masses that still teach religious liberty, ecumenism, and other false doctrines).

And I must also mention that Bishop Fellay even joined us for lunch on Monday.  He was in town for Confirmations the previous day.  What an example of grace!  Just his very presence was a source of hope for the Church.  The Church is in Her passion.  She is suffering even to this day unlike anything She has ever suffered and few remain faithful to her.  Yet, just like our Lord in His Passion, those around us don't see the divinity in the suffering.  Few people on Calvary saw in the Dying Savior the Divinity of the Second Person of the Godhead.  And few today see through the modernist Church and her sins to the Catholic Church founded by Christ and still keeping the True Faith and the True Mass.

Deo Gratias for the SSPX!  Sign up for a retreat and/or please get a copy of "Christian Warfare."  This was the copy of the book that we used for all the prayers and Spiritual Exercises for the week.
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at February 13, 2012 1 comment(s)
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Monday, June 3, 2024
List of Traditional Catholic Third Orders

The Church is comprised of many members, such as the Mystical Body of Christ. It is composed of priests, nuns, religious or ordered men and women, and lay people. Each person has a unique vocation from God. Let’s learn about many of the positions and roles in the Catholic Church hierarchy.

There are four major religious Orders in the Church, as well as many other branches. One is the Benedictines, who follow the Benedictine Rule. Their mission is “ora et labora” or work and pray. They can be either contemplative or active. Another Order is the Carmelites. They refer to themselves as the “Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.” They wear the brown scapular given by Our Lady to St. Simon Stock. They have the spirit of hermits and prefer silence and solitude. Another major Order is the Franciscans. The women’s branch is called the Poor Clares. Both are dedicated to “living the Gospel” and emphasize poverty and simplicity. Then, there are the Dominicans. They are very committed to learning and study whose mission is to share the fruit of their contemplation.

A Third Order is connected to a major Order, such as Third Order Franciscans. These individuals remain members of the laity, but they live by a rule of life (e.g., the Franciscans, Dominicans, Benedictines, etc). They may marry and have a family. But they make special promises to live in a holy way but do not make vows. They do not wear any specific clothing and go about life looking externally like an average Catholic in the pews.

During this period of crisis in the Church, committed Catholics who wish to join a Third Order that is in conformity with the Traditional Catholic Faith and not with Modernism thankfully have options. Here are some of those options:

Traditional Dominicans

There are two traditional Dominican Third Orders (i.e., The Third Order of Penance). There is a group loosely affiliated with the SSPX under Fr. Albert, which is the one that I'm a member of.  Fr. Albert, even though he has left the now-dissolved community in Belgium, still leads the SSPX-affiliated Third Order. The Third Order is very much still active with tertiaries around the country and in other non-US locations. More information can be found online.

The Resistance (i.e., SSPX-SO) has its own Third Order out of France as well. It is still very much active and going strong with tertiaries in the United States and abroad. More information can be found online. More information can be found online.

Traditional Benedictines

Since Benedict of Nursia (AD 480-547) began his monastic quest for God, ordinary Christians have sought guidance from his spiritual teachings. This led to the formation of a communal life where laypeople and secular clergy became affiliated with his communities, a tradition that persists to this day. The term 'oblate' derives from the Latin "oblatus," meaning "one who is offered." Oblates are Christians who affiliate themselves with a Benedictine community, dedicating themselves to God by striving to apply the Rule of St. Benedict to their lives as much as their circumstances allow.

The Monks of Nursia have a very active number of Oblates spread throughout the world. More information can be found online.

Traditional Franciscans

The Franciscan Third Order was established by St. Francis in 1221 to accommodate many married men, women, and diocesan clergy who wished to adopt his way of life but could not join the first or second orders. Within the Third Order of St. Francis, there is a distinction between the Third Order Regular and the Third Order Secular.

Some of these tertiaries eventually began living in communities, which evolved into a religious order that professes vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. This order is now known as the Third Order Regular (TOR). Members of these communities, whether male or female, live together according to their gender. This branch of the Franciscan Family was officially founded in 1447 by a papal decree that united several groups.

The Third Order Secular (Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis, in Latin), known as the Secular Franciscans, includes devout men and women who do not live in a religious community but lead their everyday lives in the world. Nevertheless, they regularly gather in community and profess vows, committing to live the Gospel following the example of Francis.

The Marian Friars Minor Third Order offers a traditional Catholic Franciscan option. There is also a Franciscan Third Order affiliated with the SSPX.

Traditional Carmelites

The Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Lay Carmelites, is a third order of the Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance, established in 1476 by a bull from Pope Sixtus IV. It is a community of individuals who choose to live the Gospel in the spirit of the Carmelite Order and under its guidance.

The Traditional Lay Carmelites of Fatima are one option. 

Other Traditional Options

Besides the aforementioned religious orders, the SSPX has an active Third Order, as does the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which is known as the Confraternity of St. Peter, and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has its own Lay Society, which is not strictly the same as a Third Order.

Do you know of any others? Share the details below in the comments box!

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at June 03, 2024 4 comment(s)
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Saturday, March 31, 2012
An SSPX Reconciliation without a Doctrinal Preamble?


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 the Society 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.
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Friday, March 2, 2012
The Top Traditional Catholic Charities: Almsgiving for Traditional Catholics

"Let the charity of the brotherhood abide in you. And hospitality do not forget; for by this some, being not aware of it, have entertained angels" (Heb 13:1-2)

Our Lord Jesus commands us to give alms to the poor, but how are we in the current day able to give alms?  And while we should do so always, there is no better time than during Lent.

As one person writes to me, "In my city, dozens of people daily sit along the sidebar begging for money.  Yet, they likely are not poor.  Some of them are average people that don't want to work and would rather sit outside all day to collect others' pocket change.  Others are drug addicts and alcoholics who seek money to support their addictions.  Surely our Lord is not calling us to support these."

Then how can we give alms when even Catholic Charities and other organizations are no longer truly Catholic? After some investigation, I'm pleased to publish the following 13 Traditional Catholic Charities:

1. The Fatima Center

 Dedicated to spreading the Traditional Catholic Faith and the message of Fatima, The Fatima Center was founded by Fr. Gruner and continues his mission of spreading the Faith through its website, social media presence, conferences, and missions. They are a tax-deductible organization worth supporting. Make an online donation.

2. SSPX Asian Missions and Orphanage

In 2009 the Society began the creation of an orphanage in Palayamkottai, India.  All donations to this project and any others for the Asian Missions are tax-deductible on US returns.  In addition to the orphanage, there are several other very worthwhile projects to donate to. Addresses on where to send donations are available here.

3. FSSP Columbian Foundation

The FSSP has a foundation in Colombia with the goal of building a school (and, if possible, eventually a seminary), that needs support. Situated in the municipality of Anolaima in the department of Cundinamarca, 44 miles northwest from the capital of Colombia, Bogotá, the house of Saint Martin de Porres was approved by the bishop of Girardot on 13th May 2006 and canonically erected by Father Devillers on June 29th, 2006 as a house of vocational discernment for candidates to the priesthood in Latin America and constitute therefore the first house of the Fraternity on this continent.

In addition to the vocational discernment, so important for the development and the life of the Church and the Fraternity, this one develops an apostolic activity (celebration of blessings, preaching, catechism, visiting the sick and the old, scoutism) but also educational and social with a project of creating a center for further education for the young people of the village who do not have the possibility to study further than high school, the offer of various courses at technical school level, and finally the creation of an arts school (music, dance, theater and painting) and the organization of a monthly cultural event. You can donate to their Mission work online.

4. Friends of Campos

 Friends of Campos, Inc. is a US-based not-for-profit (501c3) that supports the social and educational projects of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, most of which are located around the diocese of Campos dos Goytacazes in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney also operates fifteen primary and secondary schools in eleven towns; eight monasteries and convents; three homes for the elderly; as well as centers for the care of needy young children and the mentally handicapped. It also regularly distributes baskets of staple foods to impoverished residents.

5. Traditional Catholic Schools

Let us not forget the many traditional Catholic schools operated by good Catholic priests and orders around the country.  All of these schools would certainly appreciate donations of any size. Besides donating dollars, some of these schools accept Box Tops for Education.  One school, in particular, is Queen of the Holy Rosary Academy in Missouri which accepts the box tops.

Look up traditional Catholic schools and if there is one in your area, see if they accept Box Tops. Box Tops in 2020 switched to an online app where you only need to scan your receipt. No clipping box tops anymore. It's never been easier to raise funds for Catholic schools now.

6. Institute of Christ the King African Missions

For some time now, the priests of the Institute have been present in Gabon and have worked with success under Bishop Obamba, and upon his retirement, under the apostolic administrator and current Archbishop of Libreville, the Most Reverend Mve Engone, as well as under the present bishop of the Diocese of Mouila, Bishop Dominique Bonnet.

Some of the Institute's missions are located in the middle of the jungle. They have, by Divine Providence, restored and constructed several churches, chapels, schools, kindergartens, and medical dispensaries. The native population is very attached to the missionaries, and they are deeply rooted in the beautiful tradition of the Classical Latin Mass.  You can make an online donation here to the African missions or any other apostolates.

7. Traditional Catholic Monasteries & Convents & Orders

If you have read "How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization" by Thomas Woods, you will recall in chapter 3 how Dr. Woods relates the varied, countless achievements from monasticism.  Among them, we have not only the preservation of literacy and the priceless books of Antiquity but countless works of charity, the creation of champagne, the first wide-scale use of water power, the cultivation of agriculture, the clearing of immense areas of previously uninhabitable land, the creation of complex astronomical clocks, and dozens of other significant accomplishments.  We owe a deep debt to the monks for their work in building our society.

In our modern world, many orders have fallen into oblivion as they have abandoned Traditional Catholicism for heretical practices.  Thankfully, there are a number of orders that still observe the Traditional Practices of the Church.  They certainly need our prayers and could use any support that we could send them. You may find some of these orders by clicking here.



8. SSPX Medical Mission in the Philippines

The Medical Mission of the SSPX in the Philippines is certainly a worthy traditional Catholic charity.  It has done great work by reaching out to the poor who have no money to pay for basic medical treatment and who often possess little more than the rudiments of the faith. Everything from catechism to scapular distribution to dental care and minor operations takes place during each mission over the course of two weeks. Visit the website of Rosa Mystica Medical Mission to learn more and make a donation online.

9. SSPX African Missions

A personal favorite charity of mine is the SSPX's African Missions.  There is much that could be said about this mission. Donation information is available on the SSPX African Mission page, along with relevant articles from the missions.

10. Traditional Catholic Radio Stations

While there are very few traditional Catholic media sources, there are a few that provide traditional Catholic programming, chants, and prayers. And they all need your donations to help stay on the air.

 11. Give Mass Stipends

Have Mass offered for reparation for your sins or those of your family or friends or have Mass said for the conversion of non-Catholics. You can also have a Mass offered in reparation for all sins and insults against the Blessed Sacrament; having Mass said for this intention gains one a plenary indulgence. To find Traditional Catholic priests or orders that accept online Mass requests, please click here.

12. Catholic Coffee Companies

Shop for your next coffee purchase from a Catholic organization, some of which are run by traditional Catholic monks, and help support them with your purchase. It's a very easy way to help them out. See 10 Catholic Coffee Alternatives to Starbucks.

13. Pro-life Catholic Causes

See my separate list of 12 Pro-life Catholic causes so that you help the work to defend life by Catholic organizations and not ones that are protestant and opposed to the Catholic Faith.

CONCLUSION

It is my hope that this compilation will aid you during this Lent and thereafter, in making donations to organizations that are truly Catholic and faithful to the enduring Traditions of the Church.  If you know of any more organizations, please leave them in the comments section.

Please share this post via Facebook and social media to help other Catholics this Lent in finding traditional organizations for almsgiving. Almsgiving is vitally important for Lent but it should be practiced all year.

Updated: August 17, 2024
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at March 02, 2012 1 comment(s)
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Saturday, August 18, 2007
Tridentine Latin Mass Resource List


Called the Mass of the Ages, the Most Beautiful Thing This Side of Heaven, the Tridentine Latin Mass, the Usus Antiquor, and most recently, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, this Mass truly is one of the most beautiful forms of worship for the Catholic Church.

This post is a means to provide links to some of my many posts on this topic.  Since the Traditional Mass is at the very heart of living a traditional Catholic life, nearly all of my posts will touch on this topic. Please browse by the tag of Traditional Latin Mass in addition to visiting these posts linked below.

What is the Tridentine (Traditional) Latin Mass?

It is all too common that Catholics unfamiliar with the Church’s Traditions may think that the Traditional Latin Mass is simply the same as the standard Novus Ordo Mass, albeit said in Latin and with the priest having his “back to the people.” It is, after all, simply called the “Latin Mass” by many traditionalists. This is completely false. The Tridentine Mass is about much more than Latin - it is about the very prayers themselves which are said. The Novus Ordo Mass vastly differences from the Tridentine Mass in dozens of ways. Read how here.

For an English explanation of the Latin Mass, click here.  For the English/Latin texts of the Mass, including the actual prayers and much more, please purchase a 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal.

Basic Information on the Mass:
Basic Information on the Tridentine Mass:
Latin Mass Locations:
Recommended Reading on the Mass and Liturgy and Liturgical Year:
Recommended Reading on the Crisis in the Modern Church:
Traditional Altar Server Resources:
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at August 18, 2007 5 comment(s)
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Monday, July 26, 2021
Pontifical High Mass by Bishop Vitus Huonder at the SSPX Seminary

Images were recently shared online of Bishop Huounder offering a Pontifical Mass at the SSPX Seminary. The video is available on YouTube.

In 2019, Pope Francis relieved Bishop Vitus Huonder of his duties as Bishop of the Diocese of Chur (Switzerland) for him to live at the house of the Society of St. Pius X. In a joint statement in 2019, Bishop Huounder and the Superior General of the SSPX, Father Pagliarani, stated:

On Monday, May 20, 2019, Pope Francis relieved Bishop Vitus Huonder of his duties as Bishop of the Diocese of Chur (Switzerland), while appointing an administrator with a view to the election of his successor. According to an intention that he stated long ago, Bishop Huonder is retiring to a house of the Society of Saint Pius X. The one sole purpose of this step is to dedicate himself to prayer and silence, to celebrate the traditional Mass exclusively, and to work for Tradition, the only way of renewing the Church. The Society of Saint Pius X appreciates Bishop Huonder’s courageous decision and rejoices to be able to provide him with the spiritual and priestly surroundings that he desires so deeply. May this example be followed by others, so as to “restore everything in Christ”.

May Bishop Huonder help to restore Tradition in his work, and may his presence at the SSPX help quash the slanders against the Society of St. Pius X.

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at July 26, 2021 1 comment(s)
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Talks Between SSPX and Rome Will Occur in Mid-October

In the second half of October, the talks will take place between the Holy See and the Fraternity of Saint Pius X founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, as confirmed director of the Vatican Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, answering questions of journalists.

Vatican spokesman has confirmed the names of three experts to the Vatican, which will participate in the talks... the Swiss Dominican Charles Morerod, the German Jesuit Karl Josef Becker and the Vicar General of Opus Dei, the Spanish priest Fernando Ocariz Brana.

Zenit

Unfortunately, the article goes on to state the ill opinion [not doctrine] of Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn, who has stated "what is not negotiable" in these talks, which includes the notion of "religious freedom as a fundamental right of humanity." This support for religious liberty is not only nontraditional and heterodox but profoundly against the Church.

Blessed Pope Pius IX: "It is to be held of faith that none can be saved outside the Apostolic Roman Church . . . but nevertheless it is equally certain that those who are ignorant of the true religion, if that ignorance is invincible, will not be held guilty in the matter in the eyes of the Lord" (Solemn Allocution Singulari Quadam, December 9, 1854). "We all know that those who are invincibly ignorant of our religion and who nevertheless lead an honest and upright life, can, under the influence of divine light and divine grace, attain to eternal life; for God who knows and sees the mind, the heart, the thoughts, and the dispositions of every man, cannot in His infinite bounty and clemency permit any one to suffer eternal punishment who is not guilty through his own fault" (QUANTO CONFICIAMUR, August 10, 1863).

This blog has previously described the doctrine of Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus before but it is again worth visiting: Our Lord created one Church and sacrificed His life for it. One priest whom I have heard went so far to stated that our Blessed Lord gave up His life for the Sacraments. To say that Our Lord does not desire us to be part of His Church but instead willingly allows us to pursue a freedom of religion is heretical.

"The Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom..." (Dignitatis Humanae, §2), yet the Church has officially condemned the following: "Liberty of conscience and of worship is the proper right of every man..." (Pius IX, Quanta Cura).

Pray for the success of these talks.

Related Posts:
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at September 15, 2009 2 comment(s)
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Sunday, January 26, 2014
Priests and deacons ordained at La Reja seminary for the SSPX: December 2013

An American priest from Miami was part of a bumper crop of priestly ordinations at the SSPX's seminary in Argentina in December.

In the image above, Fr. Baquerizo's maniturgium is bound around his hands by his mother after being were anointed with sacred chrism by the ordaining bishop. It is customary for a priestly son to honor his mother by giving her this linen maniturgium — and buried with upon her death.

Priests and deacons ordained at La Reja seminary for the SSPX

December 21st (2013) was a day of great rejoicing for the seminary of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix in La Reja, Argentina. For on that date, nine deacons (a number equaled only once in her history) were ordained priests by Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais:
  • Fr. Aureo Mendes (Brazil)
  • Fr. Fernando Rivero (Argentina)
  • Fr. Pedro Roldan (Argentina)
  • Fr. Jose Maria Jimenez, (Spain)
  • Fr. Luis Rodriguez (Mexico)
  • Fr. Jose Mota (Mexico)
  • Fr. Jesus Estevez (Dominican Republic)
  • Fr. Pius Nanthambwe (Zimbabwe)
  • Fr. David Baquerizo (United States)
Also, four subdeacons were also raised to the diaconate:
  • Rev. Mr. Santiago Villanueva (Argentina)
  • Rev. Mr. Timothee de Bonnafos (France)
  • Rev. Mr. Fernando Moenckeberg (Chile)
  • Rev. Mr. Felipe Echazu (Argentina)

Newly-ordained American, Fr. David Baquerizo (originally a parishioner at the Shrine of St. Philomena in Miami, Florida), returned home two weeks later to say a first Mass on Sunday, January 5. The prior of Sanford, Florida, Fr. Marc Vernoy, made the 5-hour trip south to be his assistant priest in the Mass, and Fr. Pierre Duverger flew in from Platte City, Missouri to preach the sermon.
Since the Mass coincided with Fr. Baquerizo's 25th birthday, the jubilant parishioners prepared a special party to honor the event.

Source: SSPX


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at January 26, 2014 3 comment(s)
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
Five New SSPX Brothers

The Feast of St. Michael, September 29th, is a special day for the brothers of the Society of St. Pius X as the Archangel is their particular patron. At St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, also SSPX’s USA Brothers’ Novitiate, the novices made their religious vows during the Solemn Mass.

After a 6-day retreat preached by Fr. Iscarra according to the spirituality of the Desert Fathers, 3 Brothers will make their First vows and 4 others will renew their vows. They are 18 attending the retreat. According to the Statutes written by Archbishop Lefebvre for the SSPX’s brothers, the brothers make their vows for one year, then twice for a three-year period, before being allowed to make their perpetual vows.

The first religious profession takes place after a year of novitiate. Adding to the brothers’ ranks, on the eve of the feast of St. Michael, 2 postulants received the habit (black cassock and plain sash) and became novices, Mr. Curtis became Br. Albert Mary and Mr. Goldade became Br. Philip. The Society St. Pius X number more than 110 Brothers and 15 are presently assigned in the US

Source: SSPX
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at September 28, 2013 1 comment(s)
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Friday, August 29, 2014
SSPX Offers Mass in St. Peter's Basilica


Taken from the SSPX Website:

Watch a video of a Society priest offering Mass at St. Pius X's altar in St. Peter's Basilica. 
In conjunction with the ongoing 100th anniversary of our patron, St. Pius X, it gives us immense joy to convey some recent news of an important event that occurred at his very tomb in St. Peter's Basilica. 
On August 9th, a pilgrimage group from the SSPX's chapel in Noisy-le-Grand, France, had the privilege of attending Mass offered by their chaplain, Fr. Michel Sivry, at the altar of St. Pius X. Not only has it been reported that this occurred with the prior knowledge and consent of the basilica's "highest authority", but a video team even filmed the event for the French District's website, LaPorteLatine.org, where it may be watched. 
This video of Low Mass is unique in that it was shot at up-close angles so the celebrant's actions could be clearly seen, whereas usually the faithful are unable to view these sacerdotal gestures. Thus one of the striking features of this recording is the great reverence accorded to the Sacred Species throughout the ceremonies. 
We hope that this video will help Latin Rite Catholics everywhere to better appreciate the beauty, reverence and sacredness integral to the traditional Roman Mass, aspects that are visible signs of the true and unmitigated doctrines of the Faith, thus fulfilling the liturgical axiom: lex orandi, lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of belief). 
Perhaps too, this example from certain authorities in Rome (as also occurred during the SSPX's Jubilee Pilgrimage in 2000) will influence those who have authority over certain pilgrimage shrines here in the States to modify their injunctions against our devout pilgrims and their chaplains.
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at August 29, 2014 0 comment(s)
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