Felix Culpa

O felix culpa, quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem!

[Peter Kwasniewski @DrKwasniewski]

The tone of despair in this post is unwarranted, and seems to be informed by a poor grasp of church history and the amount of time reform can take.

Some examples:

The Arian controversy lasted for over a century, during which time some churches were in the hands of Arians and some in the hands of Catholics. The liturgical life must have been a mess, and we know from St. Basil the Great that the faithful in some places were reduced to worshiping outside of buildings, in the middle of the desert. If you were born near the start of this crisis and lived a very long life, you wouldn’t have seen the end of it. Regardless, you stayed faithful to the Nicene faith.

The iconoclasm controversy too lasted for over a century, in the course of which icons were smashed and Christians who venerated them were tortured and sometimes martyred. There was a partial restoration (comparable to Summorum), then a savage reversal (comparable to Traditionis), and then a final triumph of orthodoxy. Again, if you were born at the start of this crisis and lived a very long life, you would not have seen the end of it; but that was no reason to stop venerating icons and relics.

Moving forward, the abuses of pluralism (holding multiple sees), absenteeism (holding a see but never living there), investiture (receiving sees from a king or emperor), and commendatory appointments (a man receiving the revenues of multiple offices while never ruling as abbot) took centuries to overthrow, in spite of the fact that they greatly crippled the Church.

On the liturgical front: one pope (Clement VII) authorized the novel breviary of Cardinal Quiñones, another (Paul III) approved it in 1536, and yet a third (Pius V) suppressed it in 1568 as a rupture from tradition. Urban VIII’s meddling with the breviary in order to satisfy Baroque admirers of classical Latin, never accepted by the monastic orders, was partially undone by Paul VI when he restored some of the original texts in the Liturgia Horarum (even if that book has problems of its own). Gregorian chant existed in a state of corruption for centuries before its melodies were restored by the monks of Solesmes with the support of Pius X.

One could go on and on with examples of how major and minor problems took decades and sometimes centuries to resolve. Church history does not take place at the speed of tweets and podcasts; it is more like God himself: “But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet 3:8).

This may not be consoling for someone who suffers under a bad liturgical situation, but it helps to keep things in perspective, reminding us that our duty is, on the one hand, to pray, do penance, and beg the Lord for intervention, and on the other hand to work for real solutions and seek out better alternatives for ourselves (e.g., by moving from one place to another). In this way we recognize the God is the Lord of history and that He has given us intelligence and free will to navigate the crisis.

Lastly, it is very misleading, because far too vague, to talk about “6 popes who supported the Novus Ordo.” John Paul I hardly counts. That leaves us with Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV.

The first key difference is that Montini, Wojtyla, and Ratzinger were all deeply formed by the traditional Roman rite they celebrated for years, so even when they took up the new rite, they were celebrating it with eyes and a mind rooted in tradition. In a certain sense, they informed the Novus Ordo body with a Vetus Ordo soul. Ratzinger, of course, famously critiqued the liturgical reform in a hundred ways we need not go into here.

Bergoglio was the first pope to be ordained in the new rite and never to have celebrated the old rite—and it showed, in every way. Although Prevost suffers under the same liturgical deracination, he’s sufficiently younger to have dodged some of the worst absurdities of the Age of Aquarius, and brings to the liturgy a sense of decorum and respect for tradition that, frankly, is sorely lacking in many clergy of his generation.

My point is that none of this quite adds up to “6 popes who radically reject tradition and ideologically wish to impose the new rite at all costs.” The picture is rather more complex (as one would expect): Paul VI expressed regret for the loss of the old rite that he himself overthrew, and already began giving permissions for the old rite to continue (no doubt temporarily, in his mind); John Paul II opened that door wider with the worldwide indult; Benedict XVI threw the door wide open in 2007 and influenced a huge number of clergy who either celebrate or admire the Vetus Ordo, which now manifestly has a permanent place in the Church.

The saga of “liturgical renewal” in the Church is far from over, and if I were a betting man, I’d be placing a lot of bets on the old rite at this time.

[Felix Culpa @o_happy_fault]

@EricRSammons The devil doesn't care which side of the ship you jump off of (left or right) as long as you jump off the ship.

[FSSPX Actualités @FSSPXFR]

Le cardinal Radcliffe et deux évêques bénissent un couple homosexuel et célèbrent une messe d’action de grâce pour "l'anniversaire de leur relation".

La cérémonie, célébrée dans l’église des Saints Apôtres de Londres, a comporté une bénédiction formelle du couple à la fin de la Messe.

Le 13 juin dernier, l’église Holy Apostles, en plein centre de Londres, a accueilli une « Messe d’action de grâce pour 50 ans d’amitié, d’union et d’engagement dans la recherche de la justice » en l’honneur de Julian Filochowski et Martin Pendergast, deux militants catholiques homosexuels connus qui vivent ensemble depuis 1976 et ont officialisé leur union civile en 2006.
L’événement a été célébré avec enthousiasme par New Ways Ministry, l’organisation américaine d’activisme LGBT au sein de l’Église.

Plus de 150 personnes venues d’Espagne, d’Italie, des États-Unis, d’Afrique du Sud, du Guyana et de Taïwan ont assisté à la célébration. Le célébrant principal était le prêtre Jim O’Keefe, et ont concélébré Radcliffe, deux évêques émérites anglais : John Crowley, de Middlesbrough, et John Rawsthorne, de Hallam, ainsi que le chanoine Chris Vipers, de la paroisse.

L’homélie a été prononcée par le cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., figure marquante des récents Synodes sur la synodalité et connu depuis des décennies pour son soutien à la pastorale LGBT. Dans sa prédication, Radcliffe a présenté la relation des deux hommes comme « une participation à la vie de Dieu » : « Toute amitié véritable, fidèle et bien vécue est une participation à la vie de Dieu », a-t-il affirmé, sans aucune référence à l’enseignement de l’Église sur la chasteté ni sur la nature des relations homosexuelles.

Le moment le plus marquant est survenu à la fin de la célébration, lorsque tout le clergé présent à l’autel a donné au couple une bénédiction avec un texte fixe, adapté — selon les organisateurs eux-mêmes — d’un formulaire « récemment autorisé par les évêques belges » : « Nous demandons, ô Dieu d’amour, que ta grâce descende sur Julian et Martin à l’occasion du 50e anniversaire de leur relation ».

Dans la vidéo intégrale de la célébration diffusée par les organisateurs, on peut également constater qu’un des deux personnes honorées a distribué le Sang du Christ aux fidèles pendant la Communion, sous le regard du cardinal Radcliffe. https://t.co/SlAQvwl06Y

[Dr Taylor Marshall™️ @TaylorRMarshall]

🚨 The SSPX leaders should have told the truth when the liturgy asked for the papal mandate by saying:

“No, we don't have an apostolic mandate. We are doing this against the expressed will of Pope Leo because we are right and he is wrong.”

Instead, they read from a rolled parchment with a red ribbon, as if it were a papal ecclesial decree from
Rome.

There is now a massive wave of disapproval from Catholics who would otherwise be sympathetic to the SSPX, because this “pseudo-mandate” comes off as a dishonest stunt performed during the liturgy. This liturgical innovation is clearly “not traditional.”

[Felix Culpa @o_happy_fault]

@FredSimonTLM This looks pretty stupid. Whoever suggested this way of elevation made a dumb suggestion.

[Matt Gaspers @MattGaspers]

To my knowledge, this is the first time @Pontifex has publicly addressed the upcoming SSPX episcopal consecrations since Fr. Pagliarani made his announcement over four months ago.

Here is the question Pope Leo needs to answer (from Bishop Schneider):

“Why is the unconditional acceptance of the texts of Vatican II presented as a conditio sine qua non for full communion with the Holy See, while no comparable requirement exists with respect to the pastoral, disciplinary, or non-definitive teachings of the preceding twenty Ecumenical Councils?”

[Mass of the Ages @massoftheages]

The sign of peace changed way too much

Watch Tradition Explained: Everything Wrong with the Sign of Peace
https://t.co/GVqQhJr8mW

Mass of the Ages trilogy is being dubbed in Spanish! Help reach 2-3x more people! https://t.co/sQlYM9jQtF

#MassoftheAges #TraditionalLatinMass

[Felix Culpa @o_happy_fault]

@epiousios722 @IMPERATORAUS Old doesn't equal better. TLM is superior because its had centuries of organic development with the help of very holy people. New Mass was a new creation, a rupture from tradition, and is only the most common Mass now because it's been legislated that way.

[𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 🇮🇷 ✡︎ @NiohBerg]

🔴 BREAKING:

The regime in Iran has now confessed that the IRGC mistakenly bombed an Iranian school yesterday, killing many children.

To all the legacy media and pro regime influencers who peddled your fake news:

RETRACT and DELETE.

[Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh]

🚨 HOLY CRAP! It's just been confirmed that the California Democrat government is PAYING leftist protestors over $100 MILLION dollars, a jaw-dropping amount of funds that go to anti-American causes

CAM HIGBY: "CHIRLA has taken over $100M alone in tax-payer funds according to the state expenditure website."

"Based on their website, CHIRLA's primary function is protest-related activities and left-wing advocacy. They have been protesting and advocating since 1986 and take credit for some Newsom policies."

There it is.

IMAGINE THAT.

The people must be refunded, @GavinNewsom!

[Felix Culpa @o_happy_fault]

Let's go!!!

[Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest @ICKSP]

Canon Commins challenged Fr. Mike to offer a Traditional Latin Mass. Help him lift that spiritual heavy weight by sharing this post! @frmikeschmitz @AscensionPress, challenge accepted?

[Greg Price @greg_price11]

Swalwell: "Will you resign from ICE?"

Lyons: "No"

Swalwell: "Why not?"

Lyons: "Because that child that you're showing right there, the men and women of ICE took care of him when his father abandoned him and ran from law enforcement."

[Nancy Mace @NancyMace]

If Les Wexner is listed by the DOJ/FBI as a “co-conspirator” in the Epstein files, why isn’t he in jail?

[MAGA Voice @MAGAVoice]

BREAKING 🚨 It’s Official: Newly unsealed court documents show Donald Trump called the Palm Beach police chief about Jeffrey Epstein in 2006

Trump described Ghislaine Maxwell as “evil” and Jeffrey Epstein’s “operative”

LIBERALS CAN’T STAND THIS

[Felix Culpa @o_happy_fault]

@MDLatinMass @PappaSciarappa It's the "Y" in "YMCA"

[Nick Sortor @nicksortor]

There are only TWO THINGS the Republicans should be LASER FOCUSED on right now:

1. Mass deportations
2. Voter ID & Proof of Citizenship

EVERYTHING ELSE IS JUST NOISE.

FOCUS!

WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!

[SSPX News: Society of Saint Pius X @SSPXEN]

Don Davide Pagliarani: “Episcopal consecrations out of fidelity to the Church and to souls” https://t.co/tFcYmDCh4Z

[Felix Culpa @o_happy_fault]

Pope Leo XIV should offer to consecrate the new SSPX bishops using the old rite himself. 1) It would be unifying and 2) if the SSPX accepts, they would be admitting that the new rite is valid.

[Peter Kwasniewski @DrKwasniewski]

The news about the SSPX episcopal consecrations on July 1st is obviously massive. Not that anyone is really surprised; this has been coming for a long while now.

I have conflicting thoughts and I don't think that's inappropriate, given the confusing times in which we are living. Anyone who expects me either to condemn the SSPX or to valorize it unconditionally will be disappointed. I have always been moderately pro-SSPX, my position is well known on that score; but I have also always said that I think it is objectively better to be in regular institutional communion with the Catholic hierarchy, which is why I have always attended and would attend Mass with an Ecclesia Dei institute, given the choice.

Let me simply say: there is a great good at stake, as well as a great evil.

The great good is full and regular communion with the hierarchy of the Church. The Ecclesia Dei institutes have chosen this good as a first principle, and as a result they often do not speak out as loudly or clearly on the issues of the day. Still, they are manifestly doing the Lord's work; they are quietly, patiently restoring tradition all over the world. I have seen the immense fruits. They are rebuilding the Church from the ground up, one apostolate at a time.

On the other hand, the great evil is the modernism that has infected the Church at every level, to such an extent that it is now taken for granted; it has become like a pervasive noxious gas, invisible and odorless. Against this trend, Archbishop Lefebvre took a courageous stand for the traditional Catholic Faith (Yves Chiron's "Between Rome and Rebellion" is essential reading for those who wish to understand the depth of the crisis he confronted, one that we still confront), and his Society continues to hold aloft that bright torch. I admire them for their witness, which they have purchased at a bitter price.

I pray daily for all the Ecclesia Dei institutes, all diocesan priests who offer the traditional Mass, and the Society of St. Pius X. I wish them all well, in the charity of Christ. I would be deeply saddened by a world that lacked any of them. I pray in particular for the healing of the many ruptures with which modern Catholicism is wounded—not only any ruptures from canonical communion, which are regrettable, but, far worse, the ghastly rupture from Catholic Tradition that explains why the Church is in such a wretched state (and why the SSPX even exists).

[Sheriff Chad Bianco @ChadBianco]

California, let's do something different this year.

Elect me as Governor.

If after 4 years, safety and prosperity aren't your thing, you can always elect another Newsom type.