"I desire that priests be a living model of My image and that all propagate devotion to My Heart."
It's not a coincidence - nothing is 'coincidence'; everything is ruled by Divine Providence - that "a parishioner of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit", Palmerston North, today draws attention to these words of Our Lord, discovered in 1931, to Blessed Maria Rafols-Bruna of Zaragoza, Spain.
Because today Cardinal John Dew announced, in the hiatus created by the unseemly departure of Bishop Charles Drennan, the appointment of Monsignor Brian Walsh as Vicar-General with Diocesan responsibilities as Local Administrator, and Father Joseph Grayland as Parish Priest of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, as well as continuing in his current placement at Our Lady of Lourdes, Palmerston North.
That would seem a big ask, an onerous task, for Fr Grayland, but one glance at his CV would reassure those living on the natural plane that he will be up to it. Those more accustomed to surveying the local scene through the lens of the supernatural, however, will see these words of Our Lord as a timely reminder not just to Mons Walsh and Father Grayland, but to all the priests of the Diocese, sheep without a shepherd as they and all of us are.
In 1815 Mother Maria (now Blessed Maria Rafols-Bruna) wrote concerning her visions at the urgent insistence of Our Blessed Lord, in the hope that many, after reading what He told her, would turn from their evil ways, and have recourse to His Merciful Heart.
So forgotten would be the Word of God in the days to come, Jesus told her, that men would even scandalize and pervert innocent children, and endeavor to obliterate His Blessed Name from their memory.
Our Lord told Mother Rafols that there is one thing that hurts His Sacred Heart still more, and that is to be forgotten, offended and despised by souls consecrated to Him.
"Oh, how much do I love My priests and how meagre is their cooperation with My love. I have called each one of them and I want My priests to be the salt of the earth, to be holy, and to come to my tabernacle which is forgotten by so many of them.
"They forget that I love them with all My Heart, that I want to be present in all their actions. Tell them to visit my tabernacle where I am waiting to teach and inspire them and to communicate my Spirit to them, so that they may bring to life many souls.
"I want them to be very humble, poor and chaste."
Bob Gill says:
Perhaps an opportunity, then, for me to at last witness a Father Grayland Mass? But, for us oldies having to stand for one hour, would we be allowed to kneel sometimes just to ease the pain of standing? Just wondering.
Bob Gill says:
Perhaps an opportunity, then, for me to at last witness a Father Grayland Mass? But, for us oldies having to stand for one hour, would we be allowed to kneel sometimes just to ease the pain of standing? Just wondering.
Not for publication.
ReplyDeleteSorry about these notes, there is no 'contact' option on your blog.
I know that the question of the SSPX has come up, as an attractive option, as indeed they appear to be. I am attracted to them for the fidelity of the Latin Mass.
Notwithstanding that fact, I am giving you a link to a solid summary by Church Militant on their current status. In short, they are in material schism but not formal schism. They do not have juridical status, though they have valid sacramental powers.
However, the lack of juridical powers is no small matter. The importance of juridical powers bestowed by the Church are clearly displayed on the spiritual plane, when exorcists tell us the demons do not obey them without the priest (although he is a valid Catholic exorcist) not having express permission from his Bishop to conduct the exorcism. Until that permission is granted they usually mock him. Moreover, to frequent an SSPX Mass with intent to support the SSPX position Mass as Catholic is to confirm and support the SSPX priest in his material schism. I wish it was not that way, for they seem an oasis in the desert don't they, but these are the facts of the matter. It is also hard to take bearing in mind the horrible heresies and behaviours going on in the Church itself.
These are hard times in the Church. I am convinced we have to stay formally and materially within it, although it is a cause of suffering and spiritual discomfort. We just have to take on that Cross and fight in prayer, mortification and abstinence from within it. That is our place and where God has put us. An outpost on a windswept hill without a friend in sight so it seems.
Anyway, this is summary of the actual status of the SSPX and it is a sobering read.
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/cm-exclusive-a-canon-lawyer-speaks-on-the-sspx