June 1990 Print

 

Speech Given by Fr. Rizzo at Building Fund Potluck, March 18, 1990 Honoring St. Joseph and St. Patrick Fr. John Rizzo is hoping to build a new church in Post Falls, Idaho, as the need is very great. The parishioners are standing on the steps during some of our current Holy Masses. The following text is a speech given by Fr. Rizzo in which he gives a little history of our parish, and at the same time, is asking help of all those who are able to contribute to his cause, which, at the present time, is not progressing sufficiently to provide the necessary funds to begin his very worthwhile endeavor. We are a poor parish, as is explained in his text, and he is in need of generous souls in the Society to help to build his church. May God bless you for whatever you can do for him: Fr. John Rizzo, PO Box 206, Post Falls, ID 83854.

One must look back to when this parish was founded, under the persevering hand of Fr. DeBuscherre eighteen years ago, and see the tremendous growth that has taken place, from offering Mass for a handful of people in a basement chapel in Spokane, then Coeur d'Alene, then obtaining the present church as numbers grew, and watching slowly but surely with each passing Sunday as the pews slowly filled to full capacity, and more Masses were offered, and mission territory expanded. Fr. DeBuscherre, whether he knew it or not, had spearheaded a Traditionalist boom town, as Novus Ordo churches are slowly but surely becoming ghost towns.

It was not too long ago, when the local pastor from Saint George's Church paid me a visit at the Rectory. He saw the children playing in the school ground and sadly said: "We don't have this many young people in our parish. Do all of them go to the Latin Mass?" he asked. I kindly told him that the Traditional Movement is not a nostalgic movement, that being a Traditional Catholic was something every Catholic was before Vatican II, since tradition is one of the organs of the Church's Magisterium. I told him of the young people who attend our Masses, that the 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. are like a nursery, with young families in attendance. I further told him that 90% of the priests in the Society of Saint Pius X are below the age of 30 and never remember the church before Vatican II, but when they discovered the old Mass and traditional doctrine, they quickly adhered to it. Fr. DeBuscherre, realizing his failing health, asked Archbishop Lefebvre to take over and to send Society priests. At first, Post Falls was part of what we call a flying circuit. A priest from Phoenix, Arizona would fly in. Eventually, Fr. Laudenschlager, came as a resident priest in 1983. Later he was joined by Fr. Couture in 1984. The congregation continued to grow. People spread the word. No need to advertise, the Mass would do that and the Sacraments with resulting peace of soul.

In 1987, I came on the scene (in spite of that the parish continued to grow). Families have uprooted from many long-distant regions and moved to Post Falls on account of the school and daily Mass and the Sacraments. Young families move in because of Catholic education. Older people move in to be near the sacraments and to prepare for a holy death. Our parish registers have shown a tremendous increase in Baptisms (I had one Baptism this a.m. and two yesterday). Our register shows that since 1985 there have been 201 Baptisms.

The Society priests are available twenty-four hours a day in an emergency when one requires the Last Rites. The hospitals are local and within easy driving distance. No matter how distant one is who needs a priest, we are on the road the instant a call comes in. Those not seriously ill or unable to get to Mass can call and have a priest come to their homes.

Confessions are heard frequently. Aside from daily Mass, there are other devotions: Benediction, Holy Hour, Rosary, Stations of the Cross, the St. Monica devotion, public blessings, blessings of articles, blessings for expectant mothers and for travelers.

The overall pleasant climate, the beautiful scenery and the general lack of noise uncommon to many areas, are making Post Falls a mecca for traditional Catholics. The uncertainty of the future of other traditional missions not linked to the Society, are bringing people to Post Falls. I received a call from someone living near Powers Lake, North Dakota, saying Father we're moving to Post Falls because Powers Lake is starting to go Novus Ordo. Society priests will not compromise the truth. We try to follow the spirituality of our founder, Archbishop Lefebvre. Part of the reason the Church is in its present crisis is because Religious Orders have strayed from the spirit of their founders:

St. Benedict's motto—"That God will be glorified in all things." St. Ignatius—"All for the greater glory of God." St. Dominic—"To bless, to preach, to praise God." Archbishop Lefebvre—"To restore all things in Christ."

We cannot afford to stray from the spirit of our founder, "We are here to restore all things in Christ," the Archbishop says. This can only be done through the Mass and Sacraments with greater love for the truth. Our Superior General Fr. Schmidberger sums it up, "Piety and doctrine, doctrine and piety."

Archbishop Lefebvre has made great sacrifices, and so have those Catholics who wish to follow him. Vocations are abounding in the society worldwide, but the calls for help far outnumber us. There is no proportion with supply and demand. The calls come into the Society headquarters—the same words, please send us a priest. The convents are expanding also. You will soon be blessed with the presence of the Carmelites in the Spokane Valley. Their chaplain will be a priest from Post Falls.

Worldwide the Society of St. Pius X has priories in 23 countries on all continents. This country has 28 priests working out of 80 chapels and 30 missions. Being one of seven priories, there are relatively few priests in an active parish setting like ours.

We should rejoice when a parish shows growth, when the pews are filled to overflowing. The Catholic Church is enlarging her place of habitation and stretching forth the curtains of her Tabernacle, even in the rural regions of Northern Idaho. One would tend to think that the Catholic churches are alive and well in the city. Don't bank on it. The materialism and immorality of the cities have destroyed Catholic spirit and vigor. The Post conciliar Church is going bankrupt. Chicago, the largest Catholic Archdiocese in the nation, is seven million dollars in debt. They are closing 40 churches. Detroit, largely Catholic, is closing 35 churches. The Novus Ordo cannot provide the spirituality needed to combat the demonic terrorism now taking place in our cities, and people are fed up and seeking refuge in our farming and lumbering towns.

Have you ever seen the picture known as the Angelus? It represents an old world landscape. In the distance is the spire of the village church, in the foreground are two peasants, a man and a woman. The man is standing besides his hoe and both are praying the Angelus. They interrupt their toilsome work to raise briefly their minds and hearts to God as the Angelus bell rings over the land its serene benediction. These poor peasants are remembering the Annunciation and Incarnation of our Lord. They break their backs in tending the land, but at the same time break open their hearts to God in praise and gratitude. In days past, entire villages were built around the church and many social activities were centered from there. In the fall of the year 1841, the saintly and zealous Jesuit, Father De Smet, and his companions saw the completion of the first church in the state of Montana, at a place now known as Stevensville. No sooner was the chapel finished than one of the Indians exclaimed, "Why, this is the very place where little Mary said the House of Prayer would be built."

Little Mary was a thirteen-year-old Indian girl who had taken seriously sick. When she felt ill, there was no priest near, so she asked one of Iroquois Indians to baptize her. She told him to pour water on her forehead and to say, "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." He did what she asked. In her joy she cried out, "There is no happiness on earth. Happiness is found only above."

She lifted her weak, trembling hands, and raised her eyes heavenward, "I see the heavens open and God's Mother calls me up there."

Then she turned to those around her, "Listen to the Blackrobes when they come; they have the true prayer. Do all they tell you. They are coming and will build the House of Prayer where I am dying." That is what the Indian meant when he reminded the others; "This is the very place where little Mary said the House of Prayer would be built." In Cataldo you see the representation of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Village built on the slope leading up to the church. Everything was done within the shadow of the church towers. This is now happening in Post Falls, and that is what this "Blackrobe" is asking you to do here. People are moving and establishing themselves within reach of the church. People see stability here. They realize that as long as the Society of St. Pius X exists, Post Falls will always have priests. One priest will leave, another simply comes to take his place. The faces will change, but the Faith will not.

In the rural setting of Northern Idaho, all eyes are on Post Falls, and we are a parish of peasants. It is not an easy life living here. We're not a wealthy parish. We work hard trying to make a living. Your families are growing and your incomes are not. Grocery bills increase as good healthy appetites increase. You toil the land and break your back, but still, you lean against your hoe, and you look heavenward, praise and thank God for what He has given you, that's beautiful. How can people who do not believe in God ever get up to go to work, what motivation do they have? They seek for true and everlasting happiness, and by the end of the day they are sullen and depressed, because no matter how hard they work and gain, they are still not happy, because they seek the benediction that the world has to offer, and those benedictions are nothing but curses. Fortunately, you seek out the benedictions of God, even though you find it a harder road to hoe. But God always asks something in return, He wants our sacrifices. We see the need to build because of the growth God has given us and yet as difficult a task as it may be, God showers upon us His blessing. We must build, but to do so requires sacrifice on the part of everybody. It's not easy. But it must be done. We have much to be thankful for. God has given us much, so much that we have outgrown His house and require a new one, a bigger one, one with a bell to ring out the joy of a parish at the Consecration, or its sorrows at the death of a member, or at noontime to remind us of the Angelus. Those of us sentimentally attached to this present church must lay aside these sentiments and attach them to a new temple to be built in its place. Let them thank God daily for a parish life with a school for its young and a vitality and spirituality that is shown externally by increasing numbers and internally by those devoted souls truly seeking the way to Heaven.

We must all sacrifice!