I would like to congratulate the 49 graduates (24 boys, 25 girls) who graduated from St. Mary's College & Academy on on May 26. These students receive a classical education steeped in traditional Catholicism. The following photo from the
SSPX website show the students taking the Oath Against Modernism.
Oath Against Modernism
To be sworn to by all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers,
religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological
seminaries.
I _____________________________firmly embrace and accept each and
every definition that has been set forth and declared by the unerring
teaching authority of the Church, especially those principal truths
which are directly opposed to the errors of this day. And first of all, I
profess that God, the origin and end of all things, can be known with
certainty by the natural light of reason from the created world (see
Rom. 1:90), that is, from the visible works of creation, as a cause from
its effects, and that, therefore, his existence can also be
demonstrated: Secondly, I accept and acknowledge the external proofs of
revelation, that is, divine acts and especially miracles and prophecies
as the surest signs of the divine origin of the Christian religion and I
hold that these same proofs are well adapted to the understanding of
all eras and all men, even of this time. Thirdly, I believe with equally
firm faith that the Church, the guardian and teacher of the revealed
word, was personally instituted by the real and historical Christ when
he lived among us, and that the Church was built upon Peter, the prince
of the apostolic hierarchy, and his successors for the duration of time.
Fourthly, I sincerely hold that the doctrine of faith was handed down
to us from the apostles through the orthodox Fathers in exactly the same
meaning and always in the same purport. Therefore, I entirely reject
the heretical' misrepresentation that dogmas evolve and change from one
meaning to another different from the one which the Church held
previously. I also condemn every error according to which, in place of
the divine deposit which has been given to the spouse of Christ to be
carefully guarded by her, there is put a philosophical figment or
product of a human conscience that has gradually been developed by human
effort and will continue to develop indefinitely. Fifthly, I hold with
certainty and sincerely confess that faith is not a blind sentiment of
religion welling up from the depths of the subconscious under the
impulse of the heart and the motion of a will trained to morality; but
faith is a genuine assent of the intellect to truth received by hearing
from an external source. By this assent, because of the authority of the
supremely truthful God, we believe to be true that which has been
revealed and attested to by a personal God, our creator and lord.
Furthermore, with due reverence, I submit and adhere with my whole
heart to the condemnations, declarations, and all the prescripts
contained in the encyclical Pascendi and in the decree Lamentabili,
especially those concerning what is known as the history of dogmas. I
also reject the error of those who say that the faith held by the Church
can contradict history, and that Catholic dogmas, in the sense in which
they are now understood, are irreconcilable with a more realistic view
of the origins of the Christian religion. I also condemn and reject the
opinion of those who say that a well-educated Christian assumes a dual
personality-that of a believer and at the same time of a historian, as
if it were permissible for a historian to hold things that contradict
the faith of the believer, or to establish premises which, provided
there be no direct denial of dogmas, would lead to the conclusion that
dogmas are either false or doubtful. Likewise, I reject that method of
judging and interpreting Sacred Scripture which, departing from the
tradition of the Church, the analogy of faith, and the norms of the
Apostolic See, embraces the misrepresentations of the rationalists and
with no prudence or restraint adopts textual criticism as the one and
supreme norm. Furthermore, I reject the opinion of those who hold that a
professor lecturing or writing on a historico-theological subject
should first put aside any preconceived opinion about the supernatural
origin of Catholic tradition or about the divine promise of help to
preserve all revealed truth forever; and that they should then interpret
the writings of each of the Fathers solely by scientific principles,
excluding all sacred authority, and with the same liberty of judgment
that is common in the investigation of all ordinary historical
documents.
Finally, I declare that I am completely opposed to the error of the
modernists who hold that there is nothing divine in sacred tradition; or
what is far worse, say that there is, but in a pantheistic sense, with
the result that there would remain nothing but this plain simple
fact-one to be put on a par with the ordinary facts of history-the fact,
namely, that a group of men by their own labor, skill, and talent have
continued through subsequent ages a school begun by Christ and his
apostles. I firmly hold, then, and shall hold to my dying breath the
belief of the Fathers in the charism of truth, which certainly is, was,
and always will be in the succession of the episcopacy from the
apostles. The purpose of this is, then, not that dogma may be tailored
according to what seems better and more suited to the culture of each
age; rather, that the absolute and immutable truth preached by the
apostles from the beginning may never be believed to be different, may
never be understood in any other way.
I promise that I shall keep all these articles faithfully, entirely,
and sincerely, and guard them inviolate, in no way deviating from them
in teaching or in any way in word or in writing. Thus I promise, this I
swear, so help me God. . .
