Will the SSPX talk to Rome before February 28th? Why or Why not?

[Dee_S]

Dee, wonderful post!

Actually I think it speaks volumes, don’t you?

:curtsey:thanks Lormar.

I suppose hindsight does help too. Just hope others here understand that we’ve “been there and done that” and believed whatever we were told - never stopping to think that the Holy Father and Rome were perhaps in the right - they are also fighting against the abuses etc.so it’s really no use to stay ‘out-side’ criticizing and making accusations that are most times just not true. e.g. Pope Paul VI let the smoke of S enter the Church…and suchlike nonsense.

Think we are all looking for a reverent, no-nonsense Mass (not necessarily Latin) that is unquestionably Catholic, in the sense that we all know Catholic to be. I can see why laypeople respect a traditional priest more than one who allows all sorts of odd things to go on without comment. That still disillusions me, and is possibly the main reason why there is such a yearning for things traditional. Deep down we recognize that something spiritual, some mystery above the norm of day to day life, has been lost in many of the clergy at ground level. Not sure if they know it themselves.

Taking a read of Pope St Pius X’s words on priestly sanctity, these words struck me as significant in these days and times:
.
“Anyone who exercises the priestly ministry exercises it not for himself alone, but for others”

**“There is, indeed, only one thing that unites man to God, one thing that makes him pleasing to God and a not unworthy dispenser of his mercy; and that one thing is holiness of life and conduct.” **

“If this holiness, which is the true supereminent knowledge of Jesus Christ, is wanting in the priest, then everything is wanting. Without this, even the resources of profound learning (which we strive to promote among the clergy), or exceptional competence in practical affairs, though they may bring some benefit to the Church or to individuals, are not infrequently the cause of deplorable damage to them.”

“Sanctity alone makes us what our divine vocation demands, men crucified to the world and to whom the world has been crucified, men walking in newness of life who, in the words of St. Paul, show themselves as ministers of God in labors, in vigils, in fasting, in chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere charity, in the word of truth;[38] men who seek only heavenly things and strive by every means to lead others to them.”
papalencyclicals.net/Pius10/p10haer.htm

 

[Lormar]

Why should anyone take Bishop Fellay’s (or Joe Soap or who-ever’s) word against that of the Holy Father and the Church The SSPX as an organization have been trying for 40 years to prove the Church and Pope’s to be in the wrong, and have as yet failed to do so. All they have achieved to date is to test the patience of the Popes, Church & catholics in general.

Reminds me that we were discussing this very thing on Sunday afternoon at my home and how we (specifically me} used to do it all the time.

 

[Lormar]

Think we are all looking for a reverent, no-nonsense Mass (not necessarily Latin) that is unquestionably Catholic, in the sense that we all know Catholic to be. I can see why laypeople respect a traditional priest more than one who allows all sorts of odd things to go on without comment. That still disillusions me, and is possibly the main reason why there is such a yearning for things traditional. Deep down we recognize that something spiritual, some mystery above the norm of day to day life, has been lost in many of the clergy at ground level. Not sure if they know it themselves.

Not a week goes by when I am not tempted to just throw up my hands and return to them.

 

[Dee_S]

Not a week goes by when I am not tempted to just throw up my hands and return to them.

I can believe it. I’m sure I would be tempted too…if they were in my city.

Have an idea that I am on to something in that ‘sanctity’ of priests thought in my earlier post. e.g. a traditional priest can have his faults, but they are very rarely faults that involve anything to do with his priestly functions/duties and would usually fall into the personal category. Whereas, the priest (no matter how piously he is saying the Mass) who allows the choir to croon the Beatles hit “Let it be” during the communion - is sending out a ‘mixed message’.

Like you, I sit there and wonder why these performances are encouraged by him. Yet last week he criticized the Pope for resigning saying that it should never be done just because he is old and lacks strength, and that the papacy has become “showmanship” and politics. Coming from him…I was speechless.

I’m sure no priest deliberately sets out to allow “abuses” to the liturgy and acts in what he feels the best interests of his flock. But perhaps that is where the trouble starts. The turning away from pious devotions (I can’t remember when I last saw a priest with a Rosary, never mind actually saying one) and replacing them with what he feels is people friendly participation is at the root of the problem. Do they feel people need to be entertained as Mass?

Needless to say, once more I am looking for a parish that does not jar the nerves

 

[Lormar]

I hope you have better luck than me in finding one. To be fair, they do exist in my diocese, but the parishes are too far away.

I, too, have a hard time dealing with the abuses in general and lack of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament in particular. Also, I don’t know where they are getting their songs from, but singing Cat Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken” isn’t my idea of a “hymn” to stir up my fervor and devotion.

In short, the spirit of Vatican II is alive and well in my parish.

 

[Moore11]

I hope you have better luck than me in finding one. To be fair, they do exist in my diocese, but the parishes are too far away.

I, too, have a hard time dealing with the abuses in general and lack of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament in particular. Also, I don’t know where they are getting their songs from, but singing Cat Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken” isn’t my idea of a “hymn” to stir up my fervor and devotion.

In short, the spirit of Vatican II is alive and well in my parish.

You and me both brother…

 

[numealinesimpet]

Breaking News…

From VIS, the Vatican Information Service
visnews-en.blogspot.ie/2013/02/popes-final-activities-possibility-of.html

Regarding the issue of the Society of St. Pius X, [Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office] reaffirmed that the date of 22 February to decide the issue is pure hypothesis and that Benedict XVI has decided to entrust the matter to the next Pope, therefore, a definition of relations with that society should not be expected by the end of this pontificate.

 

[Julia_Mae]

Well, I guess after tomorrow, the thread topic will be irrelevant.