SSPX PENTECOST BALM FOR SNICKERED-UP SOULS

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For NZ Catholics bruised and bleeding internally from international exposure on Twitter of Bishop Steve Lowe, President of the NZ Bishops' Conference, tricked out in a pallium of Snickers bars, and the consequent ridicule (not to say snickers and sniggers), the Mass for Pentecost offered at St Anthony's SSPX today would have been balm and refreshment for the soul.

The priest spoke with authority. The Gregorian chant was - well, Gregorian, which means sublime, and the choir very nearly so. The organ was discreet and precise. The eight altar boys genuflected, crossed themselves and prayed in lockstep. The tabernacle was where it should be and veiled as it should be. Fresh flowers adorned the altar and all the many saints' statues. The church was full for the 9 a m sung High Mass with standing room only for the 11 a m. How it was at the 7.30 a m we must leave to conjecture. 

A reader of this blog was corrected, in no uncertain terms - in a pronounced French accent - in the confessional when she, thinking she was giving useful context, mentioned another party. Father wasn't interested in his sins, he said, only in hers. St Anthony's Massgoers obviously take kindly to being told off, as Father was still hearing confessions at 12.15 p m.

Father based his sermon on the papal tiara which was oh-so-kindly sold and the considerable profit given to charity by Pope Paul VI who set the precedent thereby for Pope Francis' gift to King Charles of the priceless relics of the True Cross. Father cited the tiara as symbolising the three gifts of the Holy Ghost (to use SSPX pre-Vat2 terminology): sacred orders, jurisdiction and magisterium which give the Church the right to teach the Faith. 

Originating as a sort of Phrygian cap, a crown was added in 1130, representing the Church’s sovereignty over the states.

In 1301, Pope Boniface VIII added a second crown to affirm his spiritual authority over civic authority during a conflict with the king of France, Philip the Fair.

A third crown was added by Benedict XII in 1342, as he reaffirmed the possession of Avignon, to depict the moral authority of the pope over secular monarchs.

In modern times, the three tiers came to represent the pope’s sacred orders, jurisdiction and magisterium. https://www.nationalshrine.org/blog/a-moment-in-history-the-papal-tiara-at-the-basilica/p/

Paul VI receives the tiara which he then gave away to 'the poor of the world'

The congregation was told that knowing the Catechism is not enough: Catholics must nourish the Faith by reading good books and websites on the net. Having sung the 9 a m Mass Father repeated his sermon for the 11 a m, leaving the confessional to do it and returning afterwards to the penitents still waiting in the confessional pew, asking for punishment.

Father warned against that spirit of criticism which constantly denigrates the modernists in the Church (ouch!). He spoke strongly in favour of the virtue of obedience to the Church which leads nicely into the explanation below, of the contretemps caused by a good orthodox bishop - one who'd say a Snickers bar was for eating, not wearing at any time, let alone for the Eucharist - Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas.

Bishop Strickland was good and humble enough to apologise and resile from his tweet calling the Society of St Pius X "schismatic". 

It is fitting that just in time for ‘pride’ month – or pride season – if you live in Canada, that a good bishop demonstrated humility in the public forum.

A couple of weeks ago Bishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas tweeted the following: “Schismatic movements like SSPX or Sedevacantists however well-intended are an injury to the body of Christ.”

 J. Strickland

@Bishopoftyler

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In these troubling times with so much confusion even from Rome it is critical to remain IN THE CHURCH. Schismatic movements like SSPX or Sedevacantists however well-intended are an injury to the body of Christ. We must fight for total unity, not just aspects of Catholicism

 

It was May 13, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima, and I was on my way to a wedding at an SSPX Chapel when I was sent the tweet. My first reaction was essentially, “Well this sucks.”

Bishop Strickland in many ways has been quite the champion of conservative and traditional Catholic viewpoints and opinions in recent years. He has been strong on dogma in the public forum and was very good when it came to defending the conscience rights of Catholics who did not want to inject themselves with an abortion-tainted substance that they were not comfortable with.

Furthermore, in 2020 he celebrated his first Traditional Latin Mass. About the experience he said:

I have to say, I could hardly say the words of consecration because I became so filled with emotion, so deeply struck by those words. Thank God we only must whisper them in this rite, because I am not sure I would have been able to speak above that whisper, so struck I was at the profundity. It was the first time in my life that I had ever said those words in Latin, and I could hardly get them out. It’s indescribable, really.

I remember reading his words in 2020 and was moved by how honest he was about his experience with the Old Mass. He was ordained in 1985 and had never said the TLM, and I imagine it took a lot of humility to submit himself to the training and study needed to say the Mass of the Ages as a bishop so late in his career. What an amazing witness of openness to Tradition by such a strong defender of Catholicism in America.

In addition, when I saw his tweet against the SSPX and a seeming equivocation of the Society with the various sedevacantist groups, I couldn’t help but think that a storm of criticisms and attacks would be coming for people like myself. For the most part, the strong bishops in the public forum have been quite kind to the SSPX, or even promoters of Lefebvre’s spiritual sons, so this statement by Strickland offered a rare bit of blood in the water for the malcontents who live and die for reasons to yell “schismatic” at people like myself.

During the wedding Mass, which was exceptionally done thanks in large part to the magnificent sermon and the world-class choir directed by my dear friend, I prayed very hard for the good bishop, and also prepared for an onslaught of insults and “I told you so” from the usual suspects.

However, in dramatic fashion, Bishop Strickland tweeted a correction to his previously held opinion, stating: “A correction…as Bishop Schneider has stated, the SSPX is not in schism. The SSPX continues to hold Tradition out for the Universal Church.”

A correction…as Bishop Schneider has stated, the SSPX is not in schism. The SSPX continues to hold Tradition out for the Universal Church. The Eucharist of the SSPX is held as valid by the Catholic Church. We must turn to Jesus’ Eucharistic face.

What a whirlwind!

One minute I was preparing for the Catholic tabloids to excommunicate and anathematize every man woman and child who holds Archbishop Lefebvre dearly in their hearts, and the next minute the whole conversation turned 180 degrees.

We should add that we have Bishop Schneider to thank in many regards, as he has been a champion for the SSPX, which is fitting because he was an official visitator of the Society in 2015.

As an aside, it should tell us something that those bishops who have an intimate understanding of the SSPX always seem to come out swinging in favour of Lefebvre and his priests, whereas the harshest critiques tend to come from those who do not.

At any rate, what is most impressive about Bishop Strickland’s public change of opinion about the Society is not merely that he recognized the obvious truth that the SSPX is not, in fact, schismatic.

Respectfully, as it stands in 2023, to say that the SSPX is schismatic is essentially to deny reality. This is because it is impossible for priests that are suspended to receive faculties or have their faculties recognized by Rome, let alone for priests who aren’t even in the Church to have faculties. The SSPX clearly has faculties for confession and matrimony as stated explicitly by Rome, which is an obvious sign that they are in the Church.

Of course, some members of the unelected YouTube magisterium will tell you that contrary to the facts, the SSPX is still somehow schismatic because they somehow do not submit to the Pope, and that we should ignore the Pope and submit to their opinions. As the saying goes, “If they did not have double standards, they would have no standards at all.”

But as I said – what is most impressive is not that he recognized what some cannot, but rather that he admitted he was wrong.

During his weekly radio show with Virgin Most Powerful Radio, Strickland told co-host Terry Barber on Tuesday that even bishops must be “willing to learn” when they discussed the SSPX Twitter saga. In fairness, he also said that he did not know all that much about the situation, which he described as “complicated,” and that he wanted to know more.

Well, if His Excellency is willing to read a book that, I believe, presents a strong defence of the SSPX… I do happen to know a guy who could provide him with the requisite literature.

 

 

In all seriousness, we would do well to praise the good bishop for his humility in a world that celebrates the deadly sin of pride as if it were a virtue.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for demonstrating a true episcopal spirit in an age of hirelings.

Kennedy Hall is a contributing editor for OnePeterFive. He is the author Terror of Demons: Reclaiming Traditional Catholic Masculinity and Lockdown with the Devil, a novel published by Our Lady of Victory Press. He is a writer at Catholic Family News, LifeSiteNews and is the host of the Conservative talk-radio show, The Kennedy Report. He is married with four children and lives in Ontario, Canada.

 

Pentecost
Anthony van Dyck

Come Holy Ghost, Creator, come

From Thy bright heavenly throne;

Come take possession of our hearts

And make them all Thy own. 

 

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