LIVE: Pontifical High Mass on the Feast of the Assumption

 

Celebrated by His Excellency, Bishop Joseph Perry, for the 21st Assumption Mass celebration of Mater Ecclesiae Chapel. For more information on Mater Ecclesiae visit here. 

"....His Face did shine on the sun, and His Garments became white as snow."

For the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, celebrated annually by Holy Mother Church on August 6th, we offer this meditation by Bishop Challoner.

Consider first, how our Lord, taking with him Peter, James, and John, brought them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them; so that ‘his face did shine on the sun, and his garments became white as snow. And there appeared to them Moses and Elias, talking with him, (concerning his decease that he should accomplish in Jerusalem,’) Luke ix. 31. Now Peter being transported with the glory of this vision, cried out, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and lo! a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him,’ Matt. xviii. This transfiguration of our Lord, full of lessons and instructions for us, is honoured by the church in the festival of this day, with a particular view to the raising up the thoughts and hopes of her children, in the midst of the hardships and labours of their mortal pilgrimage, to the eternal repose and glory of their heavenly country, that blessed Jerusalem which the true Israelites must never forget; though constrained as yet by a miserable captivity to sit down and weep upon the banks of the rivers of Babylon, and lament their distance from the house of God in Sion.

Consider 2ndly, in this mystery of the transfiguration of our Lord, how wonderfully he was here pleased to confirm our faith, as well by the joint testimonies of the law and the prophets bearing witness to the gospel, represented by the glorious apparition of Moses and Elias with Christ; as by the testimony of God himself in all the three persons, by the voice of the father, by the glory of the Son, and by the manifestation of the Holy Ghost in the bright cloud. See how he was pleased by the same glory of this transfiguration to encourage all his followers to bear with patience the afflictions, labours, crosses, and persecutions of this life, in hopes of a share in that eternal glory of which he has given us as it were a sketch in this mystery, ever remembering that of the apostle, 2 Cor. iv. 17. ‘that our present tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.’ But O, let us take along with us that other lesson also, which we are taught by the voice of the heavenly father, in the transfiguration of our Lord, that the true way to a happy eternity, and to all good, is ever to hear and obey the Son of God.

Consider 3rdly, how St. Peter, being out of himself with the joy of this vision, was desirous to be always in the same happy situation, and always enjoying the like glory; and therefore he cried out, ‘Lord,it is good for us to be here;’ not knowing, saith St. Luke, what he said, ch. x. 33. Because though it was inconceivable delightful to see and enjoy (though for a short time) the least glimpse of heavenly light and glory, yet as this present life was not to be the time of enjoyment, but of labours and of sufferings; and the Son of God himself was to enter into his glory by labours and sufferings (Luke xxiv. 26,) it was inordinate to desire here for a continuance of that which was reserved for hereafter, and for such only as should be entitled to it by labours and sufferings. Learn from hence, O my soul, with regard to divine consolations, and such like favours, that though thou art to receive them, when given, with humility, gratitude, and love –admiring the goodness and bounty of God, who is pleased thus to look down upon thee the most unworthy of sinners – yet art thou not to set thy heart upon them, nor to be disturbed and discouraged when they are taken away; for merit and perfection consists not in them, but in working, suffering, and loving; and for the time of this mortal life, ordinarily speaking, it is far better for thee to be with the Lord upon Mount Calvary, than upon Mount Thabor.

Conclude, instead of being eager after these transitory consolations, which at the best are but as small drops of water that fall from the clouds of heaven to refresh us for a moment in this dry desert through which we are now travelling, to aspire continually after that great overflowing river above, which gives joy without end to the city of God; and which alone is capable of quenching thy thirst and satisfying thy soul.

More meditations may be found on the page dedicated to Bishop Challoner's meditations at Liturgica Latina.

Traditionis Custodes: Is False Ecumenism at the root of the hatred of the Mass?

This.....

 

False Ecumenism and Hatred of the Mass

The Mass has always been hated by Satan. It is also hated by those who adhere to false religion, to the degree that they understand the meaning of the Mass as the Sacrifice of Christ reenacted through time in a bloodless manner. For the Catholic, the Mass (the Divine Liturgy for of the eastern churches) is to be lived. Hence, the hatred of the Mass, for those who live it in its integrity seek to establish the reign of Christ the King. Thus, the holy Mass takes on a social dimension, in that all men - without exception - are called into unity in Christ's Mystical Body. Such a Catholic view of the world is at odds with the false ecumenism that has spread (tragically) from Rome since the 1960s. Logically, to conform to this false ecumenism (where, at best the Catholic Religion is just the best amongst other religions) the Mass had to be altered. And so it happened. 

Let us now jump to Friday, July 16, 2021. From whence came this hatred, this fear, this revulsion of the Mass of the Roman Rite? It is sufficient today to recall you, dear readers, to the decades long false ecumenism that the present Pope advocated and believed in. It was an ecumenism not of conversion, but of convergence (always with the false religions). 

 

...or this?

Bergoglio the Judaizer

In the New Testament, given that the vast majority of Christians were Jewish converts, there remained amongst some of them a hankering for the old ways. It was St. Paul who reminded the converted brethren that the old ways were now dead and useless ways without Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was their fulfillment.  All men were now grafted into Christ. "First the Jew, then the Greek..." (Romans 1:16). Further these Jewish converts were commanded by Our Lord to preach conversion into the one, true Church, now the completion, fulfillment, and the true Israel of God (where the old Israel is now "Egypt and Babylon" according to the Jewish convert St. John the Apostle (Revelation 11:8). 

For it is written in Sacred Scripture: 

"And that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem". Luke 24:47

Now, in Jerusalem were living Jews, meaning that the Great Commission of preaching the Gospels begins by being preached to the "lost House of Israel". (Matt 15:24; cf. Jeremiah 50:6).

Let us transport ourselves back to Argentina to encounter Cardinal Bergoglio engaging in blasphemous and evil Judaizing. Here there is no preaching of the Gospel, but leaving men in their darkness. Be it a naturalistic view of Our Lord as a mere man, good, but misguided. To others who have a pathological hatred of Jesus Christ as the Messiah as handed down in the blasphemous Talmud. 

 

Cardinal Bergoglio engaging in false worship services from the Babylonian Talmud

Rather than hearing the words of the Holy Spirit through the mouth of the Jewish convert, St. Paul, that Judaism was dead, empty, and quoting Isaiah, the Apostle to the Gentiles:"he says of Israel, I have stretched out my hands all day to a people that refuses obedience and cries out against me", Cardinal Bergoglio engaged in worthless, abrogated worship service that is practiced by men whose very religion explicitly and positively denies that Jesus Christ came in the Flesh. . Let us conclude with words inspired by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of the Apostle to the Gentiles.

It is not for us to use veiled language, as Moses veiled his face. He did it, so that the people of Israel might not go on gazing at the features of the old order, which was passing away. But in spite of that, dullness has crept over their senses, and to this day the reading of the old law is muffled with the same veil; no revelation tells them that it has been abrogated in Christ. To this day, I say, when the law of Moses is read out, a veil hangs over their hearts. There must be a turning to the Lord first, and then the veil will be taken away. The Spirit we have been speaking of is the Lord; and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. It is given to us, all alike, to catch the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, with faces unveiled; and so we become transfigured into the same likeness, borrowing glory from that glory, as the Spirit of the Lord enables us. (2 Cor 3:13-`18)

 One final question: what does it say about a man who has no qualms about engaging in false worship services, but wishes to suppress the ancient, apostolic Roman Rite of Mass?  

Friends, pray that the veil of blindness may be pulled from the eyes of the Jews, and that they may come to recognize that Jesus Christ, a member of their Nation, according to the flesh is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

An Open Letter to my dear Traditional Catholic friends - "Let us NOT answer schism with schism"

 

Dear friends, much could be said by myself on the recent attack on the ancient Roman Rite of Mass by the Pope. Much could be said as to how we deal with this "schismatic attitude" in the Pope breaking with his Predecessors. The KEY question is: how do we respond? 

Today, it is enough to quote the late Abbe de Nantes, who engaged with the Roman authorities even before the end of the Council on its dangers and departures from Catholic doctrine. Let me say that our first step must always be "ONE DOES NOT ANSWER SCHISM WITH SCHISM"

In October, 1969 the Abbe wrote the following. Given that we are "back in 1970" so to speak with the publication of Traditionis Custodes, the Abbe's words are even MORE IMPORTANT today, as the crisis is far worse. The temptation to schism and heresy even greater! I shall say it again: let us NOT play into the Modernists' and progressives' hands. They want us to leave the Church. I have said before: they can attempt to throw me "out", but I shall not leave. I refuse to abandon my Mother. She may be reeking with the stench of open wounds inflicted upon Her by the "reformist" hierarchy, but I shall not leave. Indeed, to abandon Her in Her hour of need is the greatest act of betrayal.

“May Catholic charity always triumph in our hearts ! One does not answer schism by schism. In the face of ill-feeling, partiality and hatred which raise barriers and trenches, our only answer must be that of love, that love which is founded on the infrangible community of the sacramental life. The Church is the charity of Christ spread and communicated amongst all the brothers. Whilst our brothers maintain albeit only the appearance of belonging to the Church, we must hold and retain them in Catholic charity without accepting their ostracism and their scission, and without adding our own thereto. If we quit the community, if we emancipate ourselves from hierarchical authority and reject its jurisdiction, we reinforce the schism, we provide it with the homogeneous consistency of a sect, and we give it a free hand in the Church ! We must stay put, resigned to being punished, to suffering and to obeying whatever is not forbidden or intolerable, as martyrs for Catholic Unity and Charity... We must reject everything that is commanded for the purpose of subversion and not let ourselves be penalised without protesting. But never, never ever, will we contest the unique inviolable power of jurisdiction that belongs to the Pope and to the bishops united to him. Even though they behave unjustly, it is they who are the Catholic hierarchy, not ourselves.

“ One cannot save the Church by building on other foundations. But some people wanted to persuade me to do just that. As someone unjustly (although legally) deprived of all power of jurisdiction over souls by a Pope and bishops suspected of schism and heresy, I was supposed to consider myself a victim of persecution and to attribute to myself some kind of extraordinary jurisdiction directly derived from God ! The determining factor was meant to be the pressing necessity of souls who were in danger of perishing in a Church that had completely lost her direction. Well, my answer to this was : never, not at any price. Such jurisdiction has never been recognised by the holy canons except in the case of bishops in countries where persecution has totally destroyed or paralysed the local hierarchy. Presuming on the assent of the Holy See, these bishops would exercise this kind of extraordinary jurisdiction to save these Churches from total ruin and to provide for the urgent necessities of souls (Dom Gréa, L'Église, p. 235-238). As none of this can be verified in my own case, the usurpation that is proposed to me would be invalid, criminal and strictly schismatic.

“ We are not the saviours of the Church. Rather it is she, both now and always, who is our salvation. I may not actually see this, but I believe it with an unwavering faith : the salvation of the Church today, as yesterday and for all times, is to be found in her Pastors. Although temporarily sunk in the error and sectarianism of their Reform, this grace still subsists in them, indefectibly. It may not be apparent, but it is ready on the day appointed by God to spring forth again for the salvation of all. The disorder may be great, the damage to souls mortal, but God does not wish to govern us except through the hierarchy. In such a sacred matter He cannot tolerate any fraudulent usurpation. If we were foolish enough to imagine that we could save the Church by carrying her off with us into the escapade of yet another schism, we who are nothing, it is we and we alone who would be irremediably lost. The only life we have within us is that which we have received. It is from the Roman Rock alone that this life springs forth.

“ The Church does not lie within us. It subsists in those very men whom we see busying themselves in her ruin and whom we nevertheless believe, by virtue of their apostolic jurisdiction, to be the bearers of Christ's grace. We ourselves have no share in their powers of order and ministry except in the exact extent to which they delegate it to us. Thus, I am recognised as having the power to celebrate the Holy Mass, and this would be the case even if I were to be punished by an unjust excommunication (which God forbid !), provided that I then celebrate it in private and without the risk of scandal. I also retain the power to give absolution to those who are dying... I give thanks to the Church for these faculties which she allows me to keep. I make use of them and I will continue to do so. But to go beyond this would be to build a simulacrum of the Church outside the Church. Good heavens ! What would be the point ? To deceive myself into thinking that I could save everyone ? Ah, no ! When the schism of this Reform is over, I do not wish to be separated from the Church.

An Open Letter to Canada's Bishops regarding Traditionis Custodes ~ faithful, loyal Catholics attend the Latin Mass !

 

 

Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, 

Praised be Jesus Christ!

It has now been two weeks since the publication of the Pope's Moto Proprio, Traditionis Custodes. I understand that a number of you are assessing the document and will issue your complete response in the near future. 

I write as a regular communicant at Masses (in various dioceses across Canada - Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver - over many years)  in the ancient Rite of Rome,  I can categorically state that the papal claim: "A final reason for my decision is this: ever more plain in the words and attitudes of many is the close connection between the choice of celebrations according to the liturgical books prior to Vatican Council II and the rejection of the Church and her institutions in the name of what is called the “true Church.” is absolutely and categorically NOT true. 

Obviously there will always be exceptions. Crackpots exist in every group. But they are ABSOLUTELY NOT "many" as the Pope claims. In fact, a couple of years ago I engaged one such person who was attending a Mass in the ancient Roman Rite, yet expressed strange, unorthodox, and even protestant views. Rather than encourage this person in error, I strove to explain our Catholic Faith to this confused person. 

The path forward, in Christian charity, is to always take erring brothers and sisters aside to guide them, accompany them into a full understanding of our Catholic Faith, and not, as the Pope has done, by punishing innocent, faithful, loyal Catholics. It is the duty of the local bishops, the parish priest, and the faithful to challenge their fellow Catholics if they fall into error. The papal sledgehammer for a very small problem that requires a surgeon's scalpel is a grave mistake, that takes on the air of being bizarre when one when one considers the complete lack of papal action on the very many and most serious abuses of the Missal of Paul VI.

There is also a biblical principle that is at stake: one cannot do evil to achieve a good: "...it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it". (Romans 3:8). Suppressing the Mass of the ancient Roman Rite, a Mass that has been the centre of Latin Christendom's sacred worship for nearly 2000 years under the pretext of avoiding an "evil" is not a licit moral argument.

Though I take issue - strong issue - with the Pope's actions, never have I denied that he is the Pope. Indeed, as a Catholic, I also do not permit those who propagate the poison of breaking with the visible hierarchy on this blog. Why should I? Why should I mix Christ with Belial? I am aware of the horror of the early Fathers of schism, and the spirit of schism. It is true that only a bishop can engage in schism, but this does not preclude a member of the lay faithful for breaking with the Church in peccato. Those who wish to break with Holy Mother Church can - sadly - go elsewhere. I shall pray for them.

In conclusion, do not listen to those who wish to suppress the Mass. Likewise do not listen to those engaging in slander, detraction, and raising a cacophony of rage and hate. They too - like the Modernists and progressives - are doing the devil's work, who happily slices his "sausage" from both ends. Rather go out - to borrow a phrase from the Pope - to the peripheries and speak to the seriously normal men, women, and children who attend this ancient Mass every week. There you will not find hatred, rage, the spirit of schism. You will find faithful, loyal Catholics.

Be assured of my prayers, 

In Jesus and Mary

This may provide clarity as to how we should move forward.

UPDATE: 2021-08-02 4:35 PM.