Americanism

I began a huge study on the heresy of Americanism in 2007, when I started this blog. My first book to read of many was a Notre Dame publication, by Thomas J. McAvoy, The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism 1895-1900.

I also read some excellent "conservative", and, therefore, critical biographies of Gibbons, Keane, Ireland and other bishops who began the rot in the Church regarding compromising Catholic identity, education, liturgy, culture and even, the Faith.

Part of my reparation this weekend hearkens back to the evil these men let into the Church, including false ecumenism. Those who blame Vatican II for the ills of the American Church do not know the history of compromise, called "progressivism" which undermined the authority of Rome and caused the political playing footsy with anti-Catholic groups, even those associated with the Masons, which have led this country to the recent decision.

The rotten roots of the Americanist heresy brought us to this state of paganism enshrined by law.

I highly suggest reader consider this heresy, as I did in 2007, as worthy of study. Basically, these bishops pushed Catholics into being Americans first, and Catholics second.

I am on a mini-retreat this weekend because of the evil which these men wrought a long time ago.

More on Sunday...bye for now.

Heretical Sermon and The Feast of St. Mark

"Leone marciano andante - Vittore Carpaccio - Google Cultural Institute" by Vittore Carpaccio - Google Art Project. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

St. Jerome writes, "To be ignorant of the Scripture is not to know Christ."

A few weeks ago, I heard a heretical sermon, and since I was not a member of that parish, only a visitor, unknown to the pastor, I felt I had no right to speak to him about his error. I am more bold with those I know, as I feel as a visitor I have no right to say anything about a priest or a parish.

Remember, the Catholic Church has stated irrevocably that the authors which are named as the Gospel writers are indeed the writers, and not others unknown, and not groups of people. Those are Protestant interpretations. For clarity see this Vatican document on this fact. 

http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13provi.htm 

PROVIDENTISSIMUS DEUS ON THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII NOVEMBER 18, 1893 To Our Venerable Brethren, All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World, in Grace and Communion with the Apostolic See. Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction. The God of all Providence, Who in the adorable designs of His love at first elevated the human race to the participation of the Divine nature, and afterwards delivered it from universal guilt and ruin, restoring it to its primitive dignity, has in consequence bestowed upon man a splendid gift and safeguard -- making known to him, by supernatural means, the hidden mysteries of His Divinity, His wisdom and His mercy. For although in Divine revelation there are contained some things which are not beyond the reach of unassisted reason, and which are made the objects of such revelation in order "that all may come to know them with facility, certainty, and safety from error, yet not on this account can supernatural Revelation be said to be absolutely necessary; it is only necessary because God has ordinated man to a supernatural end."1 This supernatural revelation, according to the belief of the universal Church, is contained both in unwritten Tradition, and in written Books, which are therefore called sacred and canonical because, "being written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author and as such have been delivered to the Church."2 This belief has been perpetually held and professed by the Church in regard to the Books of both Testaments; and there are well-known documents of the gravest kind, coming down to us from the earliest times, which proclaim that God, Who spoke first by the Prophets, then by His own mouth, and lastly by the Apostles, composed also the Canonical Scriptures,3 and that these are His own oracles and words4 -- a Letter, written by our heavenly Father, and transmitted by the sacred writers to the human race in its pilgrimage so far from its heavenly country.5 If, then, such and so great is the excellence and the dignity of the Scriptures, that God Himself has composed them, and that they treat of God's marvelous mysteries, counsels and works, it follows that the branch of sacred Theology which is concerned with the defense and elucidation of these divine Books must be excellent and useful in the highest degree.

and later in the encyclical:

But first it must be clearly understood whom we have to oppose and contend against, and what are their tactics and their arms. In earlier times the contest was chiefly with those who, relying on private judgment and repudiating the divine traditions and teaching office of the Church, held the Scriptures to be the one source of revelation and the final appeal in matters of Faith. Now, we have to meet the Rationalists, true children and inheritors of the older heretics, who, trusting in their turn to their own way of thinking, have rejected even the scraps and remnants of Christian belief which had been handed down to them. They deny that there is any such thing as revelation or inspiration, or Holy Scripture at all; they see, instead, only the forgeries and the falsehoods of men; they set down the Scripture narratives as stupid fables and Iying stories: the prophecies and the oracles of God are to them either predictions made up after the event or forecasts formed by the light of nature; the miracles and the wonders of God's power are not what they are said to be, but the startling effects of natural law, or else mere tricks and myths; and the Apostolic Gospels and writings are not the work of the Apostles at all. These detestable errors, whereby they think they destroy the truth of the divine Books, are obtruded on the world as the peremptory pronouncements of a certain newly-invented "free science;" a science, however, which is so far from final that they are perpetually modifying and supplementing it. And there are some of them who, notwithstanding their impious opinions and utterances about God, and Christ, the Gospels and the rest of Holy Scripture, would fain be considered both theologians and Christians and men of the Gospel, and who attempt to disguise by such honorable names their rashness and their pride. To them we must add not a few professors of other sciences who approve their views and give them assistance, and are urged to attack the Bible by a similar intolerance of revelation. And it is deplorable to see these attacks growing every day more numerous and more severe. It is sometimes men of learning and judgment who are assailed; but these have little difficulty in defending themselves from evil consequences. The efforts and the arts of the enemy are chiefly directed against the more ignorant masses of the people. They diffuse their deadly poison by means of books, pamphlets, and newspapers; they spread it by addresses and by conversation; they are found everywhere; and they are in possession of numerous schools, taken by violence from the Church, in which, by ridicule and scurrilous jesting, they pervert the credulous and unformed minds of the young to the contempt of Holy Scripture. Should not these things, Venerable Brethren, stir up and set on fire the heart of every Pastor, so that to this "knowledge, falsely so called,"²⁸ may be opposed the ancient and true science which the Church, through the Apostles, has received from Christ, and that Holy Scripture may find the champions that are needed in so momentous a battle?

St. Mark writes his Evangelium at the dictation of St. Peter "Pasquale Ottino San Marcos escribe sus Evangelios al dictado de San Pedro Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux" by Attributed to Pasquale Ottino - www.europeana.eu. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons 

And in Dei Verbum we read this:

The Church has always and everywhere held and continues to hold that the four Gospels are of apostolic origin. For what the Apostles preached in fulfillment of the commission of Christ, afterwards they themselves and apostolic men, under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, handed on to us in writing: the foundation of faith, namely, the fourfold Gospel, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

19. Holy Mother Church has firmly and with absolute constancy held, and continues to hold, that the four Gospels just named, whose historical character the Church unhesitatingly asserts, faithfully hand on what Jesus Christ, while living among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation until the day He was taken up into heaven (see Acts 1:1). Indeed, after the Ascension of the Lord the Apostles handed on to their hearers what He had said and done. This they did with that clearer understanding which they enjoyed (3) after they had been instructed by the glorious events of Christ's life and taught by the light of the Spirit of truth. (2) The sacred authors wrote the four Gospels, selecting some things from the many which had been handed on by word of mouth or in writing, reducing some of them to a synthesis, explaining some things in view of the situation of their churches and preserving the form of proclamation but always in such fashion that they told us the honest truth about Jesus.(4) For their intention in writing was that either from their own memory and recollections, or from the witness of those who "themselves from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word" we might know "the truth" concerning those matters about which we have been instructed (see Luke 1:2-4).https://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/v2revel.htm

This priest I heard is steeped in Protestant liberal interpretations of Scripture and shares these false ideas with his congregation.

He referred to the Gospel of Mark as ending without today's Gospel, a 19th century interpretation of Mark which is not held by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church determines and has always determined the Canon of Scriputre. The following pericopes are accepted as the true ending of Mark.


Mark 16:15-20

15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news[a] to the whole creation. 16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes in their hands,[b] and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Ascension of Jesus

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.[c]]]It is convenient for modernist priests to omit this last section of Mark as merely "an addition" when it is part of the Canon of Scripture as defined by the Church. Why it is convenient to omit this becomes obvious in an age when the command to preach Christ in the entire world has become unpopular. The heresies of false ecumenism and universal salvation erase this command of Christ to preach and baptize. Those who do not believe the Gospel are not saved. There are Christ's own words. Mark writes that the apostles took Christ seriously and "proclaimed the good news everywhere."

The call to evangelize comes with baptism. No Catholic is exempt from evangelizing. We do it all in the way to which God has called us. 

April 25th is the feast day of St. Mark, who gave us this Gospel passage. He was the follower and scribe of St. Peter. Much of his gospel would be from the eyes of Peter, the first pope. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis wrote: "When Mark became Peter's interpreter, he wrote down accurately, although not in order, all that he remembered of what the Lord had said or done."

Mark gave his life for the Gospel, as we must.  The Coptic Orthodox Church, which has seen many martyrs lately, claim Mark as a founder. St. Mark was martyred in 68, most likely in Alexandria, where he established a church.

"Folio 19v - The Martyrdom of Saint Mark". Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons 

He is represent in Scripture, in Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, as the Winged Lion.

Protestant Errors on Purgatory and the Last Judgment-an aside

The Protestant Error http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/everlasting_life/ev21.php

The doctrine of purgatory was denied by the Albigenses, the Hussites, and the Protestants. [339] Luther began, in 1517, by denying the value of indulgences, saying that they had no value before God for the remission of the punishment due to our sins. [340] Then he went on 
to maintain that purgatory cannot be proved by Holy Scripture; that the souls in purgatory are not sure of their salvation; that we cannot prove the impossibility of merit in purgatory; that the souls in purgatory may sin by attempting to escape the sufferings they are undergoing.

Later on, Luther reached the doctrinal root of all his negations, namely, justification by faith alone. Then he affirmed the uselessness of good works and hence the uselessness of purgatory. Supported by popular favor, he became more and more audacious. In 1524 he published his book on the abrogation of Mass. In this work he says that the denial of purgatory is not an error.

Finally, in 1530, he denied absolutely any necessity of satisfaction for our sins. To uphold this, he said, would be an injury to Christ, who has satisfied superabundantly for all sin. For the same reason he denied that the Mass is a true sacrifice, particularly a propitiatory sacrifice. We have here the radical denial of a life of reparation, as if the sufferings of the saints for the expiation of sin would be an injury to the Redeemer.

Now the first and universal cause does not exclude second causes, but grants them the dignity of causality, somewhat like a sculptor who should make statues which live. Thus the satisfactory merits of Christ do not exclude our own, but rather create them. Christ causes us to work with Him and in Him. St. Paul said: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ." [341] Again: "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for His body, which is the Church." Certainly nothing was lacking to the sufferings of Christ in themselves, but they lacked fulfillment in our own flesh.

Calvin [342] and Zwingli [343] followed Luther in denying indulgences, in denying the sacrifice of the Mass, and purgatory.

Protestants of the present day have separated from their masters on this subject. Many of them admit an intermediate state between hell and heaven. They will not call it purgatory, but do say that the souls there can still merit and satisfy. Some hold that the sufferings of hell are not eternal. Now this temporary hell does not at all resemble the purgatory taught by the Catholic Church, according to which all souls in purgatory are in the state of grace and can no longer sin.

This is but one more example of the variations and contradictions to be found among Protestant Churches.

The chief Catholic theologians who wrote against this Protestant error are Cajetan, Sylvester Ferrariensis, St. John Fisher, John Eck, and St. Robert Bellarmine. St. John Fisher speaks thus to the Lutherans: "In suppressing the sacrifice of the Mass you have excluded the sun which illumines and warms each day of our life, and makes its influence felt even in purgatory."

The Church condemned this Protestant error. The Council of Trent declares: "If anyone says that the man who has repented and received the grace of justification is forgiven and released from obligation to eternal punishment, in such fashion that he no longer has any obligation to temporal punishment, whether in this world or in purgatory, before he can be given entrance into heaven: let him be anathema." [344] 

In the fourteenth chapter, which corresponds to this cannon, the Council affirms the necessity of satisfaction for sins committed after baptism: satisfaction in the form of fasting, of almsgiving, of prayer, and of other exercises of the spiritual life. These satisfactions are not meant for the eternal punishment, which was remitted by the sacrament of penance or by the desire of the sacrament, but for the remission of temporal punishment, which is not always remitted entirely, as it is in baptism. [345] The Council quotes these words of Scripture: "Be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen, and do penance and do the first works." [346] "For the sorrow that is according to God worketh penance." [347] "Do penance." [348] "Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance." [349] And if this reparation, this satisfaction, has not been paid in this world, the soul will have to undergo the satisfactorial punishment of purgatory.

And I add this on choosing to take one's purgatory on earth, rather than after the particular judgment.

Blessed are those who take their purgatory on earth, by generous acceptance of daily trials. The multiple sacrifices of daily life purify and perfect their love, and by this love they will be judged.

Love itself has many degrees. St. Peter seemed to make an act of perfect love when he protested to Jesus his readiness to die. But mingled with his act was presumption. To purify him from this presumption, Providence permitted the threefold denial, whence he came forth more humble, less trustful in himself, more trustful in God, until pure love led him to martyrdom and answered his prayer to be crucified head downward.

How do we attain pure love? Saudreau answers: "Love is not an effect of headwork, not a pushing forward of will to give to it greater force. It is the result of accepting generously all sacrifices, in accepting with a loving heart all trials." [130] 
The Lord augments the infused virtue of charity, the accepting soul prepares itself for the particular judgment, where it will find in Jesus rather a friend than a judge.

While the particular judgment, then, settles for each soul its place in eternity, the general judgment still remains necessary. Man is not a mere individual person, but also a member of human society, on which he has had an influence, good or bad, of longer or shorter duration. 

And although most Protestants believe in the Last Judgment, some have a wrong idea about it because some of their heroes are actually great evil men.

Here is G-L again:

The Fathers, both Latin and Greek, not only teach this dogma explicitly, but most vividly describe the last judgment. Let it suffice to cite St. Augustine: "No one denies, or puts in doubt, that Jesus Christ, as the Scriptures have announced, will pronounce the last judgment." [157] 

...

Reasons for the Last Judgment

St. Thomas [167] explains these reasons. First, dead men live in the memory of men on earth and are often judged contrary to truth. Spirits, strong and false, like Spinoza, Kant, and Hegel, are judged as if they were great philosophers. False prophets and heresiarchs, such as Luther and Calvin, are considered by many to be masters of religious thought, whereas great saints and doctors are profoundly ignored.

Judgment Day will show how much value is to be assigned to certain histories of philosophies, to many studies on the origins of Christianity, written in a spirit absolutely rationalistic. It will show how their perpetual variations and contradictions come from their fundamental error, the negation of the supernatural. It will manifest all lying propaganda. It will unmask hypocrites who enslaved religion instead of serving religion. Universal history will no longer be seen as a mere horizontal line of time, passing from the past to the future, but as a vertical line which attaches each event to the unique moment of an immovable eternity. The secrets of the hearts will be revealed. [168] The Pharisees, Caiphas, Pilate, will be judged definitively. Truth will conquer all these lies. It is clear that, if God exists, truth must be the absolutely last word.

Further, the dead have had imitators, in good or in evil. Evil is easier to imitate. Truth and justice must be vindicated. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill."

Lastly, the effects of men's actions last long after their death. Arius and other heresiarchs troubled souls for some centuries, whereas, on the contrary, the teaching of the apostles will exercise its influence to the end of the world. Only a final and infallible judgment of God is here sufficient, and this cannot take place until the end of time.

And against Calvin and the other prosperity Gospel preachers...

Blessed those who, like Bernadette of Lourdes, hear this word: "I promise you happiness, not in this life, but in the next." This was a special revelation. She was predestined, but she would have great crosses on earth. All genuine Christian lives are marked with the cross. Crosses well borne are a sign of predestination, says St. Thomas. A rain of afflictions is better than a rain of diamonds. This truth we shall see clearly after death. [173] Providence will then appear absolutely irreproachable in all its way

Blasphemy!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/28/yoga-stations-of-the-cross_n_6954992.html

All the yoga positions relate exactly to one of the 900 plus gods of the Hindus. Yoga is one of the things mentioned in....

 http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html

This is blasphemy.  Christ died to free us from superstition and false "religions". To join paganism with Catholicism is too horrible to contemplate.

Kyrie eleison...

1 Timothy 4 Douay-Rheims 

4 Now the Spirit manifestly saith, that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error, and doctrines of devils,

2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy, and having their conscience seared,

3 Forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful, and by them that have known the truth.

4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be rejected that is received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

6 These things proposing to the brethren, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished up in the words of faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast attained unto.

7 But avoid foolish and old wives' fables: and exercise thyself unto godliness.

8 For bodily exercise is profitable to little: but godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

9 A faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

10 For therefore we labor and are reviled, because we hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of the faithful.

11 These things command and teach.

12 Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the faithful in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in chastity.

13 Till I come, attend unto reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine.

14 Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophesy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood.

15 Meditate upon these things, be wholly in these things: that thy profiting may be manifest to all.

16 Take heed to thyself and to doctrine: be earnest in them. For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.

Knowledge of Divine Things 30 Caritas in Veritate 5

Moving back a little, I am referring to the section in the encyclical on Original Sin.

Many Catholics do not believe in Original Sin; see my series on heresies, Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism.

Sometimes modern man is wrongly convinced that he is the sole author of himself, his life and society. This is a presumption that follows from being selfishly closed in upon himself, and it is a consequence — to express it in faith terms — of original sin. The Church's wisdom has always pointed to the presence of original sin in social conditions and in the structure of society: “Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action and morals”[85]. In the list of areas where the pernicious effects of sin are evident, the economy has been included for some time now. We have a clear proof of this at the present time. The conviction that man is self-sufficient and can successfully eliminate the evil present in history by his own action alone has led him to confuse happiness and salvation with immanent forms of material prosperity and social action. Then, the conviction that the economy must be autonomous, that it must be shielded from “influences” of a moral character, has led man to abuse the economic process in a thoroughly destructive way. In the long term, these convictions have led to economic, social and political systems that trample upon personal and social freedom, and are therefore unable to deliver the justice that they promise. As I said in my Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi, history is thereby deprived of Christian hope[86], deprived of a powerful social resource at the service of integral human development, sought in freedom and in justice. Hope encourages reason and gives it the strength to direct the will[87]. It is already present in faith, indeed it is called forth by faith. Charity in truth feeds on hope and, at the same time, manifests it. As the absolutely gratuitous gift of God, hope bursts into our lives as something not due to us, something that transcends every law of justice. Gift by its nature goes beyond merit, its rule is that of superabundance. It takes first place in our souls as a sign of God's presence in us, a sign of what he expects from us. Truth — which is itself gift, in the same way as charity — is greater than we are, as Saint Augustine teaches[88]. Likewise the truth of ourselves, of our personal conscience, is first of all
given to us. In every cognitive process, truth is not something that we produce, it is always found, or better, received. Truth, like love, “is neither planned nor willed, but somehow imposes itself upon human beings”[89].

The truth is that many Catholics no longer believe in Original Sin, which, unless one is baptized, keeps on in darkness, and, simply, "not saved."

Do not think that children in Original Sin have grace to combat the evils of the world and the devil, as well as the flesh. They do not. Reason is in darkness. And, those unbaptized do not have the virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

to be continued...

Knowledge of Divine Things Part Two

Borrowing this graph from two other blogs, I want to show readers what is absolutely necessary in the training of Catholic minds.

The centuries of teaching children how to think ended abruptly in the 19th century with the purposeful destruction of the Trivium and Quadrivium. Pure technological knowledge replaced the liberal arts in education, creating entire nations of non-thinking technocrats. I have written many posts on this before.

But, another, more serious problem, in fact tragedy, occurred with the passing of teaching children how to think--we lost the battle to Satan in the Church, a creature who is brilliant beyond all our imaginations and who hates God, His Church, and us.

The result is the chaos we are seeing in the Synod, in our national governments, and in our homes.

Foundational truths, such as the definitions of justification, the reason for the Incarnation, grace, the nature of sin, the meaning of the sacraments, especially baptism and other key doctrines of the Church are being LOST in the minds of the vast majority of Catholics, including priests, bishops and cardinals.

Satan has forged a new battle-line while we were still in headquarters looking at maps of skirmishes.

We have been focusing on the wrong things.

Yes, it is extremely important that Cardinal Dolan scandalized the Church by being Grand Master of the St. Patrick's Day parade, but can Catholics really explain to others WHY this is so important?
Should the world care that a Prince of the Church walks with sinners who have no intention of repenting? And, why care, if one does not understand what it means to be a human being body and soul, whose goal is God, and so on?

To repeat that Christ taught this or that is not enough for the unbeliever...only those who love Christ listen to His words and believe them.

To get a person, or a parish, or a diocese to fall in love with Christ, and love in is the will, not the emotions, is to lead people to the basic questions of life and to understand the whys, not just the whats.

Can you explain why same-sex marriage is so evil to those who are outside the Church? Can you explain why receiving Communion when in an adulterous relationship is so evil? Can you explain what the Eucharist really is and how receiving Christ changes each one of us? Can you explain why men and women were created in the first place? Can you explain what a human being actually is?

Can you tell people caught up in passion that love is in the will, the most sanctified part of our beings, so holy that God does not interfere with our free will? Can you explain to someone how to overcome the passions, mortal sin, and avoid eternal damnation?

The Synod chaos is owing to the fact that many of these questions have either not been asked, or that no one really wants to ask these questions.

To keep reading about Church politics, factions, and sound bites does not help one come to learn how to battle the great war against the Church at this time.

Imagine ALL the heretics attacking the Church at the same time-Arius, Montanus, Pelagius, Nestorius,  Luther, Zwingli, Knox, Jansenius. , . Then, imagine a Church without an Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Bellarmine, Suarez, Garrigou-Lagrange, Pius X and so on.

This is the current state of the Church. While people write long essays, blogs and commentaries on trivia, Satan is winning the field for the lack of great minds who are willing to fight him.

The future of the Church is at stake. The war is not won through the emotions, but through reason.

Without leaders who can address the battle of the basics, the war will be lost, which means a very, very, very small remnant.

Before the Protestant Revolt, most people understood their own personhood with regard to nature and the supernatural. Basic questions had been discussed since the flowering of the Middle Ages, with the teaching of rational discourse and the deep mystical theology which grew up side-by-side in Europe.

There is no mysticism without Aquinas, and no thinking without the great mystics. Prayer and reason go together.

That is why I am starting over again with how we think, how we learn, how we know God. I cannot do much on this blog but highlight some writings which will jump-start the process of learning.

Faith and Reason are at stake....The Church is not facing schism. She is facing an enemy which wants to destroy her. And, to say, "Well, God promised the Church will be here until He comes again" ignores the enormous loss of souls which will occur unless we take our roles as thinking Catholics seriously.

Millions of people will go to hell simply because they have not been taught how to think, or refuse to think, and continually choose the passions over the intellect, confusing comfort for love and self for God.

The questions of being, existence and reality have been answered by the Church. It is our duty to revive the discussion in order to save the Church on earth.

Christ said this,

Luke 18:8Douay-Rheims 

8 ... But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?

Heresy from The Pulpit Part Four

Cardinal Wolsey: More! You should have been a cleric! 
Sir Thomas More: Like yourself, Your Grace? from A Man for All Seasons

Two other errors have crept into the Catholic Church and are heard even from the pulpit.

The first error in this category of "wishy thinking" came from the Protestants and the second may come from false seers.

The first is this, "Our faith is 2,000 years old. Our thinking is not." Now, this is actually a motto of a Protestant denomination which prides itself on re-working doctrine. The great error here is the separation of faith and doctrine. Our faith, as Catholics, is the same thinking as 2,000 years ago, which we call the "depost of faith". We learn to "think like Catholics", one of my tags.

Here is the CCC, with a rather long introduction for your benefit to undestand that definitions are important to our Faith. We do not believe, of course, in sola fide--see my posts on the solas.

ARTICLE 2

THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION
74 God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth":²⁹ that is, of Christ Jesus.³⁰ Christ must be proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth:

God graciously arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation of all peoples should remain in their entirety, throughout the ages, and be transmitted to all generations.³¹

I. THE APOSTOLIC TRADITION
75 "Christ the Lord, in whom the entire Revelation of the most high God is summed up, commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel, which had been promised beforehand by the prophets, and which he fulfilled in his own person and promulgated with his own lips. In preaching the Gospel, they were to communicate the gifts of God to all men. This Gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and moral discipline."³²
In the apostolic preaching. . .
76 In keeping with the Lord's command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways:
- orally "by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received - whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit";³³
- in writing "by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing".³⁴
. . . continued in apostolic succession
77 "In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority."³⁵ Indeed, "the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end of time."³⁶
78 This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes."³⁷ "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer."³⁸
79 The Father's self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit, remains present and active in the Church: "God, who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the Spouse of his beloved Son. And the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church - and through her in the world - leads believers to the full truth, and makes the Word of Christ dwell in them in all its richness."³⁹
II. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADITION AND SACRED SCRIPTURE
One common source. . .
80 "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal."⁴⁰ Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age".⁴¹
. . . two distinct modes of transmission
81 "Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit."⁴²
"And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching."⁴³
82 As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, "does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence."⁴⁴
Apostolic Tradition and ecclesial traditions
83 The Tradition here in question comes from the apostles and hands on what they received from Jesus' teaching and example and what they learned from the Holy Spirit. The first generation of Christians did not yet have a written New Testament, and the New Testament itself demonstrates the process of living Tradition.
Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church's Magisterium.

III. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE HERITAGE OF FAITH

The heritage of faith entrusted to the whole of the Church
84 The apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the depositum fidei),⁴⁵ contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining, practicing and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful."⁴⁶
The Magisterium of the Church
85 "The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ."⁴⁷ This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.
86 "Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith."⁴⁸
87 Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me",⁴⁹ the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

The second error is this: "God is revealing new things daily".  No, the teaching of the Catholic Church is that Revelation ended with the last word of the book of the Apocalypse. 

The Church alone may interpret Revelation but there is no new revelation. False seers are deemed false because they attempt to push "new revelation". Protestants also allow for new revelation because it suits their idea of sola fide.

If you hear priests from the pulpit, or at meetings, or in prayer groups bending the defintions of both Revelation and Tradition, please question them. And correct them if they are in error. That is a corporal work of mercy, by the way.

Heresy from The Pulpit Three

Another quotation from the Decree on Ecumenism helps all understand the real problem of "imprudent zeal.

I have written on this blog before what an old priest told me of his confreres and himself in the seminary in the 1950s. He admitted, and this is a quotation, "We wanted to protestantize the Church."

They went into the seminary wanting to make the Catholic Church look, act and believe in a more protestant fashion, as they honestly saw the waning of Christianity as only stopped by a pan-Christianity. Some of the German bishops still hold this idea, based on the destruction of the Catholic Church in many areas under Communism and Nazism. This is part of the problem with the Synod.

This false ideal of pan-Christianity is the false message of Vassula Ryden, also referred to here on this blog. Pan-Christianity denies the real differences of belief and worship. And, only the Holy Spirit, through the action and decrees of the Church, can bring about unity of any separated brethren, including the SSPX, the Old Catholics and the Orthodox, as well as the eccelsial communities of Protestants.

Again from the Decree:

This Sacred Council exhorts the faithful to refrain from superficiality and imprudent zeal, which can hinder real progress toward unity. Their ecumenical action must be fully and sincerely Catholic, that is to say, faithful to the truth which we have received from the apostles and Fathers of the Church, in harmony with the faith which the Catholic Church has always professed, and at the same time directed toward that fullness to which Our Lord wills His Body to grow in the course of time. It is the urgent wish of this Holy Council that the measures undertaken by the sons of the Catholic Church should develop in conjunction with those of our separated brethren so that no obstacle be put in the ways of divine Providence and no preconceived judgments impair the future inspirations of the Holy Spirit. The Council moreover professes its awareness that human powers and capacities cannot achieve this holy objective - the reconciling of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ. It is because of this that the Council rests all its hope on the prayer of Christ for the Church, on our Father's love for us, and on the power of the Holy Spirit." And hope does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us".(42)

Heresy from The Pulpit Two

On top of the misuse of the word "church, is the misuse of the word "traditions". Too many priests are stating that the Catholic Church is merely one of many "traditions" of worship and belief.

Not so, as the only one tradition back to Christ is the Catholic Church.  The Othodox Church derives "efficacy" "from the very fullness and grace entrusted to the Catholic Church."  There is a mistaken view that the word "traditions" can be applied to the Protestants, while is only applies to the Orthodox. See the last paragraph from the Decree on Ecumenism below. The Protestant communities are not different traditions, but dissenting groups. Only the Orthodox may be called one of the "traditions". The Protestants are called a strange title, "ecclesial Communities", but not Church or church. They are "sort-of" church communities, but not quite and absolutely not a "tradition".


Here is a key section from Dominus Iesus:

The Catholic faithful are required to profess that there is an historical continuity — rooted in the apostolic succession53 — between the Church founded by Christ and the Catholic Church: “This is the single Church of Christ... which our Saviour, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care (cf. Jn 21:17), commissioning him and the other Apostles to extend and rule her (cf. Mt 28:18ff.), erected for all ages as ‘the pillar and mainstay of the truth' (1 Tim3:15). This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in [subsistit in] the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him”.54  With the expression subsistit in, the Second Vatican Council sought to harmonize two doctrinal statements: on the one hand, that the Church of Christ, despite the divisions which exist among Christians, continues to exist fully only in the Catholic Church, and on the other hand, that “outside of her structure, many elements can be found of sanctification and truth”,55 that is, in those Churches and ecclesial communities which are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church.56 But with respect to these, it needs to be stated that “they derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church”.57 17.  Therefore, there exists a single Church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him.58 The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true particular Churches.59 Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion with the Catholic Church, since they do not accept the Catholic doctrine of the Primacy, which, according to the will of God, the Bishop of Rome objectively has and exercises over the entire Church.60  On the other hand, the ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery,61 are not Churches in the proper sense; however, those who are baptized in these communities are, by Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the Church.62 Baptism in fact tends per se toward the full development of life in Christ, through the integral profession of faith, the Eucharist, and full communion in the Church.63 “The Christian faithful are therefore not permitted to imagine that the Church of Christ is nothing more than a collection — divided, yet in some way one — of Churches and ecclesial communities; nor are they free to hold that today the Church of Christ nowhere really exists, and must be considered only as a goal which all Churches and ecclesial communities must strive to reach”.64 In fact, “the elements of this already-given Church exist, joined together in their fullness in the Catholic Church and, without this fullness, in the other communities”.65“Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as such, though we believe they suffer from defects, have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church”.66 And from Unitatis-Redintegratio: The Special Consideration of the Eastern Churches 14. For many centuries the Church of the East and that of the West each followed their separate ways though linked in a brotherly union of faith and sacramental life; the Roman See by common consent acted as guide when disagreements arose between them over matters of faith or discipline. Among other matters of great importance, it is a pleasure for this Council to remind everyone that there flourish in the East many particular or local Churches, among which the Patriarchal Churches hold first place, and of these not a few pride themselves in tracing their origins back to the apostles themselves. Hence a matter of primary concern and care among the Easterns, in their local churches, has been, and still is, to preserve the family ties of common faith and charity which ought to exist between sister Churches. Similarly it must not be forgotten that from the beginning the Churches of the East have had a treasury from which the Western Church has drawn extensively - in liturgical practice, spiritual tradition, and law. Nor must we undervalue the fact that it was the ecumenical councils held in the East that defined the basic dogmas of the Christian faith, on the Trinity, on the Word of God Who took flesh of the Virgin Mary. To preserve this faith these Churches have suffered and still suffer much. However, the heritage handed down by the apostles was received with differences of form and manner, so that from the earliest times of the Church it was explained variously in different places, owing to diversities of genius and conditions of life. All this, quite apart from external causes, prepared the way for decisions arising also from a lack of charity and mutual understanding. For this reason the Holy Council urges all, but especially those who intend to devote themselves to the restoration of full communion hoped for between the Churches of the East and the Catholic Church, to give due consideration to this special feature of the origin and growth of the Eastern Churches, and to the character of the relations which obtained between them and the Roman See before separation. They must take full account of all these factors and, where this is done, it will greatly contribute to the dialogue that is looked for. And, All this heritage of spirituality and liturgy, of discipline and theology, in its various traditions, this holy synod declares to belong to the full Catholic and apostolic character of the Church. We thank God that many Eastern children of the Catholic Church, who preserve this heritage, and wish to express it more faithfully and completely in their lives, are already living in full communion with their brethren who follow the tradition of the West. Now, the problem in the United States is that some Orthodox communities have become protestantized, no longer believing in the True Presence, for example, or the Immaculate Conception. Some of these problems are the result of heretical Orthodox priests, who like some Catholic priests, bring their own brand of theology into the pulpit. Sadly, the term Orthodox in some parts of the world covers truly protestant communities.  to be continued...

Heresy from The Pulpit

Most Catholics would not catch the "new" and dangerous misuse of the word "Church" among some Catholic priests.

The term "church" or ekklesia, specifically refers to the Catholic Church, and, as the Pope Emeritus pointed out, the Orthodox Church. The term "church" does not apply to Protestant denominations, nor does the term "Christian Church". This latter term applies to the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church only. One can read Dominus Iesus on this blog and on the Vatican site found here.

To refer to other denominations, of which there are at least 43,000, all split-offs from the Catholic Church and from each other, as "church" is not only an incorrect use of the term, but heretical.

To use the term "church" to mean only the local church, such as a parish or diocese, is also incorrect, as the Catholic Church is universal. This usage has been heard many times, incorrectly, by priests and lay people in authority. To keep saying, "We are church" implies that "we" are not connected to Rome, and the intent may be creeping Americanist ideas.

But, to actually say that the Christian Church includes Protestants is incorrect. Church indicates the liturgical assembly, the local Church, and the universal Church, but not the separated brethren.

To state further, like some Protestants do, that there is an "invisible" church denies the establishment of the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church by Christ through the apostles. There is no invisible church denying an institution.

When Catholics refer to the invisible Church we mean the Church Suffering in purgatory and the Church Triumphant in heaven, not some sort of vague unseen union.

The Bride of Christ is real and visible. The Church is an institution. The Church in the Catholic Church hoping for complete union of separated Christians, which does not mean some "pan-Christian church", but the conversion of our brothers and sisters in the Protestant denomnations to Catholicism, the only one, true way to God.

817 In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame."²⁶⁹ The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ's Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism²⁷⁰ - do not occur without human sin:

Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers.²⁷¹

Americanism Part Two

This heresy reveals itself most subtlely. Most people would not recognize the characteristics of Americanism as it is so common and yet so hard to "pin down" in conversation.

A few points which exemplify an attitude of Americanism may help.

• Priests who do not read the updates from Rome or follow the suggestions of the Popes regarding liturgy determine their own actions from an attitude that Rome does not understand Americans.
• Misunderstandings among Americans that Rome is somehow "rich" and that the American Church does not need to support the Church there.
• The ideal that the Church should be based on democracy and the voice of the people rather than on the hierarchical structure of the past.
• The idea that Church and State should be completely separate, not a teaching of the Catholic Church, which holds that States should not only listen to the true teachings of Christ through the Church, but that the States should protect the Catholic Church.
• That Latin is unnecessary and divisive, as not "American".
• Interdenominational relations are most important and should be encouraged even in conferences and congresses.
• Almost hatred for passive virtues and an over-emphasis on activity.
• Most, if not all, the bishops involved in the early days of Americanism were Irish, seeking the domination of Irish Catholics over more conservative and ethnic Catholics, such as the Germans, a problem which came to a head over parishes and Catholic European vs. Catholic American identity.
• The support of Progressive political ideas instead of conservatism, leading to the overwhelming support of the Irish immigrants for the Democratic Party.
• An affiliation with the ideals of the French Revolution and the American Revolution rather than an affiliation with "Christendom".
• The great influence of Americanism in the East Coast spread to Minnesota and Iowa through the appointment of bishops holding Americanist ideas created an attitude of rebellion which surfaced in the conflict over Humanae Vitae.
• The idea that Catholic schools should adopt curriculum of the public schools rather than classical Catholic education.
• That the "local" church is more important than the universal Church, a false dichotomy. 
• More later...

The Heresy of Americanism

Years ago, when I taught a class which involved looking at all the heresies, called the "isms" class by my students, one of the heresies we studied was that of Americanism.

This heresy was defined and condemned by Pope Leo XIII in Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae, which may be found here among other places.

Part of the heresy is accommodation to the world. Another part is that Rome does not understand America. In 2007, as a run up to the elections and the presidential election of 2008, I did a serious study on this heresy. One of the shocking things I discovered was how many bishops were actually involved, and how many dioceses, even those west of the Mississippi, were infected.

Here is a key paragraph from the encyclical.


The underlying principle of these new opinions is that, in order to more easily attract those who differ from her, the Church should shape her teachings more in accord with the spirit of the age and relax some of her ancient severity and make some concessions to new opinions. Many think that these concessions should be made not only in regard to ways of living, but even in regard to doctrines which belong to the deposit of the faith. They contend that it would be opportune, in order to gain those who differ from us, to omit certain points of her teaching which are of lesser importance, and to tone down the meaning which the Church has always attached to them. It does not need many words, beloved son, to prove the falsity of these ideas if the nature and origin of the doctrine which the Church proposes are recalled to mind. The Vatican Council says concerning this point: "For the doctrine of faith which God has revealed has not been proposed, like a philosophical invention to be perfected by human ingenuity, but has been delivered as a divine deposit to the Spouse of Christ to be faithfully kept and infallibly declared. Hence that meaning of the sacred dogmas is perpetually to be retained which our Holy Mother, the Church, has once declared, nor is that meaning ever to be departed from under the pretense or pretext of a deeper comprehension of them." -Constitutio de Fide Catholica, Chapter iv.

Clearly, the spirit of compromise is behind this heresy, which has take over many dioceses in the States. Another point in the heresy is that active participation in the Church is more important than passive. In other words, works over prayer and contemplation.

This pope reminds us in this encyclical that the call to perfection involves recognizing that there is a more perfect way--the life of the contemplative.  I have referred in the long perfection series that Garriou-Lagrange and others note that this lifestyle is more perfect. Sadly, this has not been taught consistently in the Catholic Church in America.

There have always been some bishops, some cardinals, some priests and religious, who have wanted the Church in America to be different than the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.

It is not. The glory of the Church is that it is universal, and not a national church like the Anglican one, for example. The Church of England lacks the universality, the oneness, and of course, the apostolic nature of the Catholic Church.

Americanism seeks to accommodate itself to the Protestant denominations by accepting false premises of ecumenism. How often one hears in America that all Christian churches "are the same" as they believe in Christ as God. But the sameness ends with the Trinitarian baptism.

I shall write more on this later...

Infidelity

Playmobile St. Nicholas given to a certain sem 

Two types of heresies have plagued the Church from the beginning. God gives men and women free will to choose good or evil, to be faithful or unfaithful. One thing the great heresies have caused, in spite of chaos and the loss of souls, is the clarification of all the major doctrines of the Church. God brings good out of evil.

For a Catholic to accept heretical ideas constitutes a serious sin against the virtue of faith, given in baptism. The office of teaching belongs to Holy Mother Church, ecclesia docens. To purposefully deviate from Her teachings indicates a rebellious, fractious spirit.

Canon 1325 indicates that a person must know he or she is a heretic. But, guilt depends on many things, and there are levels of culpability. These two types of heresy can be seen in and out of the Church today.

The first category is "material" heresy, under which most Protestants fall. This category assumes good will, good faith, but involves ignorance. If one, for example, has never heard or discovered that Christ is truly Present in the Eucharist, one is a material heretic. However, if one has heard this true teaching, and rejects it after being told this truth, one falls into "formal heresy".  Most likely, no Catholic can be a material heretic, as all Catholics have access to the true teaching of the Catholic Church and it is the adult responsibility of each Catholic to discover this teaching. One can have doubts, but these must be resolved as quickly as possible through study and prayer.

Formal heresy may be found in the Church today, most commonly in the forms of Pelagianism, Semi-Pelagianism, universal salvation, and Modernism (the Modernist heresies). I have many posts on all of these heresies. A formal heretic publicly states his or her erroneous opinions and is culpable, incurring great sin and consequences. Public announcement is the key here. A person may have private views, and struggle to find the truth without being a formal heretic. Once a person has made their views known publicly, that person, lay or cleric, is a formal heretic.

The punishment is excommunication, which is automatic. Sadly, some Church leaders are in this position and allowed to spew heretical ideas, as we all have seen of late.

Ignorance must not be accepted in a Christian who has been shown the truth of the Catholic Church. However, faith is a gift, and one might have to acknowledge that a particular person has refused this gift, which is given in baptism.

Infidelity to the one, true, Church constitutes a serious position, endangering a person's soul. If one holds to an erroneous idea even after being told of the errors, one is responsible for this position.

Another consideration is that of "bad will", or the sin of  "malice". Malice reveals an unrepentant heart, mind, soul. The great, condemned heretics exhibited malice: Arius, Luther, Calvin and so on. Hatred for Holy Mother Church underscores most heretical positions.

Some high profile clerics teach heresy publicly. Why they are not corrected publicly, and why their automatic excommunication is not revealed to the public for clarification for the confused faithful remains a mystery. One can only come to the conclusion that these priests have the support of their bishops in errors, or that the bishops, or even cardinals, enjoy some sort of protection because of their office, which creates a scandal in the Church.

Playmobile Luther, not given to a certain sem