"The Vatican is a sovereign state. Pope Francis could have kept St Peter's open for the Triduum. Instead he chose to have a very private ceremony with literally only a handful present."
In the last of his weekday sermons streamed online from what he calls St Anthony's "catacomb" this morning, Fr Michael Johnson - afforded a heaven-sent opportunity with the texts for the Mass of St Peter Canisius - got fairly worked up on the theme of "the craven cowardice of the whole human race". (Methinks we would have to except Fr Johnson.)
The texts were as follows:
"Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine. For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables" (2 Tim 2; 2-4).
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men" (Mt 5:13).
You see what I mean by a heaven-sent opportunity, and the redoubtable Fr Johnson is not a man to despise such a thing. What follows is a paraphrase only, of a 10-minute sermon (at least).
He said he was speaking from his own heart, declaring that in a situation that is utterly unique, as "our overlords are ratchetting back from Level 4 to Level 3, these texts are absolutely for our time - which is not a time of Catholic faith."
He said he was speaking from his own heart, declaring that in a situation that is utterly unique, as "our overlords are ratchetting back from Level 4 to Level 3, these texts are absolutely for our time - which is not a time of Catholic faith."
"The entire world is under house arrest, allegedly to protect us from death: but no one escapes death. No one gets out of this world alive.The response to the 'pandemic' is extraordinarily cynical. "We have become pampered narcissists, and our overlords have perfectly judged us as ripe for the plucking.
"This is not about a virus, it's about slavery. Mandatory vaccines will be imposed on us. But what's more important is the loss of our Catholic faith, courage and heritage, all given by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to the apostles and their successors until the end of time; this legacy has been progressively leached from us since Vatican II, proceeding to the idolatry in the Vatican Gardens by Pope Francis, who stands for the faith to which all must adhere in order to possess eternal life.
"Priests, bishops, cardinals, and the Pope have been forbidden by our secular overlords to give the faithful the Sacraments which are essential for life.
"Did not Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ say, no fewer than six times, "Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you" (Mt 6:54)?
"But our overlords have ruled that these are not "essential". Their more urgent concern is for life here and now. They are fools. And how do priests, bishops, cardinals and the Pope respond?? We obey! That is not the response of Catholic priests, bishops, cardinals and popes."
At this point Father Johnson brought to our notice a photo displayed on the lectern.
"This is one of the four hundred "Mass Rocks" used in Ireland for nearly 200 years when it was illegal for the Irish to be Catholic (thank you, England, for that time!). Churches were closed and bishops banished. But priests continued at great peril to celebrate Mass for the faithful at these isolated localities.
"This is one of the four hundred "Mass Rocks" used in Ireland for nearly 200 years when it was illegal for the Irish to be Catholic (thank you, England, for that time!). Churches were closed and bishops banished. But priests continued at great peril to celebrate Mass for the faithful at these isolated localities.
"These Mass Rocks, where the faith was kept alive for nearly 200 years, are a symbol of the Catholic Irish heritage.
"They were counting on the Mass dying out. And that's what they want now!
"What would happen to priests today who would violate these strictures against adoring our God? Fines, and prison maybe. Where are our Mass Rocks of today? Would we go to them?
The SSPX (Society of Saint Pius X) are a tiny minority in the Church. If we stood up against this we'd be crushed. That is not our mission; our mission is the transmission and preservation of the Catholic heritage.
"Modernist churchmen hate that heritage with a passion! They have happily closed their churches in obedience to their globalist overlords.
"Modernist churchmen hate that heritage with a passion! They have happily closed their churches in obedience to their globalist overlords.
"The Vatican is a sovereign state. Pope Francis could have kept it open. Social distancing be damned! But instead he chose to have a very private ceremony with only a handful present.
"It shows you who priests bishops and the Pope obey. They all did this!
"And there followed Him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented Him. But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over Me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck" (because they have aborted their children).
"Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us; and to the hills: Cover us" (Lk 23:27-30)
Adelie Reid says:
ReplyDeleteAn interesting read.... National Emergencies are perfect opportunities to silence opposition to deal with the emergency. Is that good? Yeah.Nah? needs critical thought and analysis...
https://www.odt.co.nz/.../opinion-dangerous-political...
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Opinion: 'Dangerous' political vacuum forming
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Opinion: 'Dangerous' political vacuum forming
Perhaps the SSPX homilist, Fr Johnson, needs to calm down a little?
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to taint the New Zealand authorities, at this time, as overlords who think Catholics are ripe for the plucking. They aren't out to get us, they aren't the English trying to starve Catholics of the Mass by denying them access to their places of worship. To think that is a bit crazy and he is just throwing meat to rightfully disaffected Catholics who often find themselves disoriented by their experience of Mass today. Never a let a good crisis go to waste if it means there is an opportunity to beat up the Vatican II Church. Should he succeed an increase his flock it will mean faithful Catholics will be victimised twice, but I digress.
A more Catholic view of our quarantine plight is to understand that our Bishops are responding to the need for the common good. As Fr Thomas White OP writes, "The Catholic perspective on the common good and solidarity can and should naturally align with the act of public reason requiring temporary quarantine, not protest it in the name of a misbegotten exaggerated libertarianism." Am I calling our Fr Johnson as a potential modernist with his reaction? The argument could be made.
So perhaps instead of protesting too much at the Bishop's desire to assist the government in its temporary measures for the sake of the common good we can understand that the measure is not for persecution of faithful Catholics. Rather the Bishop's comply for the love of neighbour, expressing empathy for first and foremost at this time for the vulnerable: the elderly, those with pre-existing medical conditions, with disabilities and the poor, not to mention the young we hear also who have died of covid-19. Perhaps Fr Johnson SSPX should be pleased he is in NZ and not elsewhere at this time.