$4.45 february 2007 “Instaurare omnia in Christo” A Journal of Roman Catholic Tradition Open Letter to Parents of Post-Modern Children p.2 Lenten Reading Cross and Crown Fr. Robert Mäder An excellent collection of meditations by the famous preaching priest and Catholic newspaper editor. His delivery of the traditional Catholic Faith was so much in the apostolic spirit of primitive Christianity that he was called “The Thunder of the Holy Ghost.” Three booklets in one: “Thoughts for Lent”, “Christ’s Sufferings” and “Christ the King”. Excellent Lenten meditation “material.” 166pp, softcover, STK# 6718Q $12.95 Friends of the Cross St. Louis De Montfort A priceless booklet. Each paragraph leads us to a greater understanding, appreciation, and love of the Cross that is our key to the gate of Heaven. Includes 14 practical rules to follow in carrying our crosses in order to accept them generously. Good for suffering souls. Used on retreats. 36pp, softcover, STK# 6988. $2.95 The Crucifixion of Jesus Dr. Frederick Zugibe (the world’s leading expert on crucifixion) takes 35 years of forensic pathology experience and uses them to shed light on the Passion. From the Garden, His crucifixion and burial (including the Shroud of Turin), Zugibe explains everything in FASCINATING detail: the species of thorn used in the crown of thorns, the location of the nails, the precise cause of death, etc. Zugibe provides the most in-depth analysis of the Shroud to date. God, a Woman, and the Way Rev. Fr. Raymond, OCSO Father weaves a tapestry of the Church’s teaching on the unity of the members of Christ’s Mystical Body using profound and picturesque meditations on the 7 sorrows of Mary:  The Prophecy of Simeon  The Flight into Egypt  The Loss of the Young Christ  Mary Meets Jesus on the Road to Calvary  The Crucifixion,  The Pieta  The Burial of Jesus. Ideal for Lent and Holy Week. Illustrated. 384pp, hardcover, index, 103 illustrations, STK# 8123Q $29.95 184pp, softcover, STK# 6723Q $12.95 Rules for Discerning the Spirits Retreat ­Manual and Family Prayer Book Fr. Ludovic-Marie Barrielle Since 1533, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius have been used by millions to deepen their Christian life. This booklet distills the wisdom of the 30-day retreat into 20 principles so you can discern the spiritual influences in your life that are from God from those that are from the devil. Father writes from 40 years of experience as a retreat master. 60pp, softcover, STK# 4092Q $5.95 Originally written to accompany the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, this prayer booklet is useful at any time. Contains prayers for use throughout the day, the Stations of the Cross, various meditations and hymns (Latin with English), Examination of Conscience. Excellent for those wishing to keep the spirit of their retreat alive. 54pp, embossed softcover, STK# 4063Q $5.95 The Mystery of the Crown of Thorns Did you know there was an Office and Mass of the Crown of Thorns celebrated the First Friday of Lent? Or that the most striking figures of the Crown of Thorns are pointed out in the Old Testament: concerning Adam and Eve, Moses, Abraham and Isaac, to name but a few? The history of the whereabouts of the crown are related. This book will help you to understand something of the true ugliness of sin and the price Our Lord paid in conquering it. Why Must I Suffer? Fr. E.J. Remler, CM Suffering–its cause, its value, and its ultimate effect (i.e., conformity to Christ)–will give us more strength to bear not only our own cross, but to willingly share in the suffering Jesus endured for all men by accepting, as joyful victims, crosses vicariously borne for sinners, for our wayward friends, for the crimes of our nation, and for those dear to us. 96pp, softcover, STK# 7082Q $9.95 302pp, sewn softcover, STK# 8204 $19.95� My Imitation of Christ The Mystery of Jesus Kempis needs no introduction. For five centuries it has been the most popular spiritual book second only to Sacred Scripture. Covers the fundamental principles of the spiritual life. Invites us to follow Christ Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Abundantly illustrated by the noted Armenian artist Ariel Agemian, Knight of Saint Gregory. In these 29 meditations inspired by Sacred Scripture, spiritual theology, and the fruit of his own years of contemplation and experience, Abp. Lefebvre speaks about the life of Christ, His mind and will, the love He had for His Father, and His thirst for souls. How can Christ be a pattern for us? Why is it good for us that Jesus Christ is both divine and human? How can His heart be our heart? Thomas á Kempis 474pp, leatherette cover, STK# 6437. $7.50 Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre 176pp, softcover, STK# 5046Q $12.95 “Instaurare omnia in Christo—To restore all things in Christ.” Motto of Pope St. Pius X The ngelus A Journal of Roman Catholic Tradition 2915 Forest Avenue “To publish Catholic journals and place them in the hands of honest men is not enough. It is necessary to spread them as far as possible that they may be read by all, and especially by those whom Christian charity demands we should tear away from the poisonous sources of evil literature.” —Pope St. Pius X February 2007 Volume XXX, Number 2 • Kansas City, Missouri 64109 English-language Editor and Publisher for the International Society of Saint Pius X PublisheR Fr. John Fullerton Editor Fr. Kenneth Novak Assistant Editor Mr. James Vogel business Manager Christendom NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Angelus Press Edition OPen letter to parents of post-modern children Fr. Jean-Pierre Boubée Fr. eugene heidt, r.i.p. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King Mr. Jason Greene Editorial assistant and proofreading Miss Anne Stinnett Design and Layout Mr. Simon Townshend MARKETING Mr. Christopher McCann Stopping at bethlehem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Fr. Yves le Roux “I shall one day repent.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Mrs. Linda Durbin Society of the transfiguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Merigny, Le Bois, France comptroller Miss Lisa Powell customer service Mrs. Mary Anne Hall Mr. John Rydholm Shipping and Handling Mr. Jon Rydholm st. thomas aquinas: how to live straight and fly right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Fr. Joseph Le Rohellec, C.S.Sp. the rights of christ in man’s existence . . . . . 32 Fr. Bernard-Marie de Chivré, O.P. Questions and answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Fr. Peter Scott The Angelus (ISSN 10735003) is published monthly under the patronage of St. Pius X and Mary, Queen of Angels. Publication offices are located at 2915 Forest Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, 64109, (816) 753-3150, FAX (816) 753-3557. Periodicals Postage Rates paid at Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright © 2007 by Angelus Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Manuscripts are welcome. They must be double-spaced and deal with the Roman Catholic Church, its history, doctrine, or present crisis. Unsolicited manuscripts will be used at the discretion of the Editorial Staff. Unused manuscripts cannot be returned unless sent with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Angelus, Angelus Press, 2915 Forest Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64109-1529. ON OUR COVER: The faculty and students of St. Vincent de Paul Academy (Kansas City, Missouri) photographed on the day of their successful 2006 Jog-a-thon. The Angelus Subscription Rates US Foreign Countries All payments must be in US funds only. 1 year 2 years 3 years $29.95 $52.95 $57.95 $99.95 $85.95 $146.95 2 Christendom NEWS Angelus Press Edition open leTT To parenTs o posT-modern In this letter to you, dear parent, I will not dwell so much on the general characteristics of adolescence, but rather on the parameters disturbing you in the upbringing of your children. The post-modern world is making unrelenting advances towards greater refinement of high-tech gadgetry, to which is associated increasingly insidious moral depravity as well as violent and unpredictable solicitations. All of it is having an effect on all of us, especially your children. The time of adolescence is a source of anxiety for you because there is the great unknown: “How will my children turn out?” Many parents fear only what would harm their personal reputations or risk the social and financial successes of their offspring. You, as a Catholic parent, however, wonder above all whether your children will remain faithful to God, fervent, and morally upright. The bottom line for you is whether they will go to heaven or hell. But nowadays your anxiety is intensified. On one hand, you know the world is in decay. On the other hand, you know that by God’s grace, you belong to a little, completely outnumbered group. You are what the Old Testament called “a small remnant.” In the THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org face of this, your strength is the Catholic Faith in its integrity and your indefectible attachment to the Church, to our Lord Jesus Christ. Who is your opponent?–The world, which is not only hardly Christian, but simply pagan, with its public apostasy, its pleasure-seeking materialism, its depraved morals, and its increasingly pernicious and clever enticements. You are aware that you are waging a spiritual combat with consequences across the board. It means you must be deeply and completely committed. Your youngsters, however, cannot understand the daunting scope of this combat. Do they understand the violence of the forces of evil? In spite of apparent “piety,” do they run the risk of giving in when they meet the first ambush? Sometimes they display a legitimate pride of belonging to the “small band of those who stand firm” and show it by certain concrete signs of behavior, choice, fashion, and tastes. But one day your children ask themselves if the combat they wage is justified, how will it pay off, what is the hope for victory. Is there a sufficient reason for living apart from the world? Their questions are serious, legitimate, and deeply justified. So we must 3 Ter of rn chIldren F r . J e a n - P i e r r e investigate. Whether you are anxious about your children, disappointed by them, proud of them, or surprised by them, it does not matter. Sometimes, the mere difference between your temperament and theirs gives rise to uneasy feelings. In any case, it is legitimate to take stock and to ask ourselves the following real questions: 1) Are your children different from–or even worse than–children of the past? 2) In what respects does the post-modern world present new difficulties? 3) What solutions are available to you in the world as it is today? are your chIldren dIfferenT from chIldren of The pasT? We often hear this reflection: “My children are different than I was!” Writing to the parents of his students, Fr. Pinaud1 completes the thought: They are not like we 1) were at their age, 2) wish they were now, 3) wish they would become by attending our schools and by benefiting from the formation we give them in the family. B o u b é e In the first instance, parents may only be recalling a memory of an embellished past. The human mind easily idealizes the past, particularly one’s childhood days. On the other hand, no period in time is identical to the previous period, and it would be vain to want to relive the years of your youth in a similar fashion. At times, however, such a reflection coming from other parents might be imbued with the evolutionary modernism that says human nature is no longer what it used to be. But we know that this is objectively false. Human nature as human nature is always the same. It’s what surrounds human nature that is changing, and that for the worse. However, successes of our families, churches, schools, and youth groups show that a serious investment on the part of the family, the Church, and society is sufficient to produce fruits of graces similar to those of our forefathers. Be careful not to surrender to discouragement on the pretext that you are dealing with a “different” generation (according to human nature). As for those who would like children to act as adults, impatience seems to make you forget how many years of repeated efforts are necessary for a www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007  child to reach maturity. The occasional misbehavior of children is not the standard by which to judge how others educate their children, nor is it the standard by which you should be fearful of being judged by others. To counteract our impatience for the “finished product” we must sharpen our memory and our spirit of analysis. That being said, you must not ignore the fact that there may be delays in the development of the child or of the young person, and, moreover, there are deficiencies and particular abuses which are due to the general conditions of family life in its current social context. I discreetly call this “the mood of the times,” which brings me closer to my topic. Fr. Pinaud’s last reason for parental bitterness comes under the second point which is also its basis. Complaints about the decline in generations is nothing new. What is new is the fashion in both the political and ecclesiastical worlds to rejoice over the “progress” achieved by the “enriching reforms” of a more “perfect world” while all the evidence points to the contrary. The qualities of your children What makes a “youth”? General Douglas MacArthur said it is “a quality of the imagination, an emotive intensity, a victory of courage over timidity, of the taste for adventure over the love of comfort.” This description is still fitting. Your children are prone to wonder, take risks, and display enthusiasm. They are a virgin terrain receptive to whoever is willing to cultivate it. They are young as we were and as our parents were before us. Under the loving guidance of you and their educators, they can achieve as much as anyone ever has. What they lack, however, is to be surrounded by adults who have faith in what makes man truly greater. Bereft of the authentic challenge of such adults, children are prone to instability, to becoming couch potatoes or amused critics, and to cleverly avoiding effort. These are the obstacles with which anyone involved in their formation has to contend. On the other hand, it is fascinating that some of these same negative aspects can become assets in the hands of experienced educators. From a child with little or no fear of authority (as a consequence of the loss of the sense of respect) may arise a spirit of simplicity and accessibility. Laziness, often a consequence of a rapid physical growth, may only hide an energy which some group sports will bring out. By both cases, we are shown that you must not exclude waking up these energies and directing them towards higher causes. THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org The peculiarities of your children Nevertheless, it is true that the alert minds of your children are easily open to the world around them: technical novelties, sophisticated and immediate leisure, pseudo-artistic aberrations, technologies for learning without toil, superficial culture. Do not be among those parents who resolve to want to appear more up to date than their children. In the name of a “broad-mindedness” these childish adults acquiesce without discernment to all the harmful novelties effecting the training of the faculties of intellect and will. Too frequently we have met other parents who, assured that they have sufficiently forewarned their children to avoid “moral dangers,” evade the issues of the surrounding technical culture as though they believed there were no dangers to be found in it. This irresponsibility of parents has left many of our teachers perplexed, if not downright angry. Their concern is not without basis. To follow the latest technical crazes inexorably implies a shrinkage of reasoning power,2 a degradation of the level of moral tolerance, an obvious artistic decadence; moreover, it accustoms you and your children to a new type of advanced liberal society. But I am also aware of better parents, struggling mightily to find solutions, who wonder what possible cultural wealth is available in this hodgepodge. It would take too long to open the debate now, but it will become urgent to do so. As a rule, parents and children are too often fearful of not being up to date on the technological progress of the world. I make the one exception to those who are simply confronted with the problem because of the demands connected to their studies or their profession. (The exception proves the rule.) But consider the moral price. Do not blind yourself to the truth that technology opens up occasions of immorality, and that immorality prepares an impious child. Social impiety induces impiety towards divine things (and this even among the children assisting at the Latin Mass and attending our traditional schools). Many young people evidence unexpected behavior towards authority or an ignorance and contempt of the past. Maybe a lack of firmness on the part of parents partially accounts for this. I frequently see parents themselves fear that their children have to exert too much effort. And just as frequently I observe parents’ laziness with regard to constancy in their demands, to being firm in their punishments. I have grown accustomed to parents giving exaggerated confidence to childish storytelling to the detriment of the support they should give to those in authority. It is common for parents to allow their child to  give up some activity because he or she shows the reticence so customary for their age. When to this you add constant criticism of the papacy, the episcopacy, the state, the priest for his Sunday sermon, the school rector, the camp counselor, and the well-deserved detention on Wednesday afternoon–you can imagine what your child’s brains are being turned into. The result is a generation of people hardly inured to the hardships of life, sure of their own rights, and looking down on authority. We are thus breeding in our very midst a rebellious mentality in perfect conformity with the revolutionary mentality. No wonder that when they are older they are unstable in marriage or in a religious congregation! In what respects does the post-modern world present new difficulties? We cannot avoid the fight nor renounce collaborating in the victory that must be gained on the battlefield that is each child’s soul. The Blood of our Savior was not shed in vain. Our topic must be raised to the level of the mystery of Redemption. We must study it in the light of the redeeming Sacrifice, exemplar of any success in the world, success at least in God’s own eyes. If you like to dream of a better world, of a return to Christendom, God, in His Providence, has placed you and your family in a concrete world at a precise moment in the history of mankind. History is written by God. Through ways which remain His own secret, He is achieving His immense plan of Love to fill up the number of the elect. You cannot forget this plan if you want to share in its wisdom. From the very beginning, God shows us that two lines of descendants were at strife: that of Abel, faithful to death in the offering of the first sacrifices; and Cain, attached to worldly success and goods, and persecuting Abel, the Just. This history continued with the choice and setting apart of Abraham (Gen. 12) in a completely impious world; with the free choice later of Isaac, the son of the free woman, to whom is opposed Ishmael, the son of the bond woman Agar (Gen. 21). St. Paul comments upon this episode. “He that was born according to the flesh persecuted him that was according the spirit; so also it is now” (Gal. 4:29). The history of all the Old Testament is that of the strife between two lines of descendants in this world, and even in the midst of the chosen people. When you read the Sacred Scriptures which describe the future, you see that the establishment of the Kingdom of God will come at the cost of warfare. Read the Gospels, the second Epistle to the Thessalonians, and the Apocalypse. The events, trials, and the turnaround are announced which will sift the elect like wheat, and they are the continuation of this immense fight between the two parties. You read predictions of times when the whole world hears about Christ, and of apostasy under various forms. In this light, understand your place and your vocation in the post-modern world. After Christianity managed to penetrate the Roman Empire, medieval society knew several attempts at a political Christianization. Let us mention Charlemagne, St. Henry of Germany, St. Edward in England, St. Gregory VII, and St. Louis of France, among others.3 This does not mean, however, that barbarians, sinners, adventurers, or Muslim hordes were absent from the scene. The high Middle Ages appear like a high point permitted by Divine Mercy, but you must not forget that the period was not free of real trials. A long decline has begun since then, and we seem to be going faster downhill. We have witnessed the unleashing of the powers of Satan in the midst of renewed pagan humanism, of Protestantism and its impious wars, the philosophies of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the inexorable conquests of secularism, and of the universal revolutionary spirit up to the time when the Church herself at Vatican II has bought into religious democracy. This sketch may look apocalyptic. However, you are men and women of faith. You know the Gospels, the New Testament. The “mystery of iniquity” is spelled out clearly. With the peaceful lucidity of the children of Light, you are able to discern the mark of the ancient enemy of the human race, the perpetual fight of the Synagogue against the Church. Though the state of things seems overwhelming, there never has been a lack of heroic and courageous men ready to react. History remembers many valiant attempts full of faith which should have enabled the Church and society to rise again under the standards of Christ. We name them pell-mell: the loss of the Latin kingdoms of the Crusaders, a lack of enthusiasm for the colonization of North America, the Vendée war, Saint Pius X, the Cristeros in Mexico, General Boulanger, Dr. Salazar in Portugal, Garcia Moreno, Dollfuss in Austria, and so on. What a mixture of wheat and cockle there is! We are witnessing the incomprehensible victory of the cockle. To give a reason for this, of course, we may invoke men’s lack of faith, God’s chastisements, our incompetence, or chance. But history is written by God’s mercy in the midst of the poverty of human virtues. St. Augustine said: “Evil exists either so that the sinner may convert or that by it the just www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007  may be tried.” And Jesus told us: “All these things must happen.” Let us beware; there is no fatalism of history, there is only a Christian sense of history. The cause of the grandeur of the Roman Empire was neither fortuitous, nor a fatality. And we understand these words with those who call fortuitous what happens without cause or whose causes do not belong to any reasonable order; and a fatality what happens without the will of God or of men, by virtue of a necessity inherent in the nature of things. Indeed, we cannot doubt that it is God’s providence which establishes earthly kingdoms. (St. Augustine, The City of God, Ch. 1) Within this concrete history, our own history, the history of our salvation and of the salvation of our children takes place. Our duty is to become saints, knowing that we have the means for this no matter the times in which we live: “God is faithful and will never tempt you above your strength.” In what respect is our time more difficult than before? At our own place in the history of the Church, you should merely want to cooperate with the coming of the kingdom of Christ. In the great battle waged all around you and your children, no one can hide. We are under an anti-religious and anti-natural Chernobyl cloud that burns and atrophies the organs of each one of us. When the wrath of God unleashes on a population this terrible scourge which is called the plague, some are contaminated and die; others without actually being contaminated nevertheless experience a more or less serious malaise because of it. (Fr. Emmanuel, op. cit.) The difficulties of your children when confronted with the Revolution In light of the unfolding of the history of mankind, your children are not like those of the past. Their combats are more violent because they live closer to the end of the world, because the Prince of Darkness has been allowed to acquire a greater dominion over things. Children today are different because apostasy now puts on an attractive face. Post-modern doctrines present themselves under the guise of honest reason. Your children no longer run the risk of being thrown into the arena, of being shackled or crucified, but what is more fearful is the apostasy which lies in wait for them: through a childish piety, unsupported by solid » doctrine; through criticism of what has always » constituted holiness; through the habit of demanding their rights » while ignoring their duties; THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org latent and universal rebellion; » through through the seeking of leisure prior to the love » of the good; through the seeking of comfort which flatters » sensuality; through an uncontrolled desire to possess new, » always more innovative technical gadgets; through exposed to situations against » nature inbeing the order of marriage and justice; through the sly familiarization with » immodesty; through easy and risk-free voyeurism » [observation of sexual activities–Ed.] on the » » » street and at any time on the Internet; through the permanent inversion of values [i.e., good is evil; evil is good–Ed.]; through emasculation of the male character, masculinization of the female character, confusion of the reciprocal roles of man and woman, out-of-control growth of the rights of the “king-child”; through universal indoctrination falsifying history and natural principles. The new Revolution seduces. It discourages those who oppose it and often deceives them. Sometimes princes of the Church, statesmen, fathers of families, and teachers diffuse it unawares. What specific remedies do we have against the world in its present reality? In this gigantic warfare, let us turn to the Gospel. We are witnessing the combat which will last until the end of time. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself stigmatized its artisans, the Pharisees. He accused them of having high-jacked the true religion for their own benefit, of having used man’s destiny to further their own advancement. This situation is to continue until the “man of iniquity,” the Anti-Christ, is revealed. To know this is already a grace. I could come up with some day-to-day rules of thumb to try to fix what is irreparable, but they would never be more than that. So it is just as well to go straight to the source of all truth Who in His love cannot have left the “sons of the last times”4 without adequate means. These evangelical means must be used long before adolescence, and you must not become remiss in their use during the crucial period of forming your children. In many ways, the generation of the “children of Tradition” can be consoled. Its harvest of vocations and the piety of the young constitute a reward for some parents. The habit of frequent confessions and  Communions often seems to be deeply rooted. But in spite of all this, the considerations we have just made invite us to take stock. In what way have you been contaminated by the world and its errors? Are the evangelical remedies given a sufficient place of honor in your life and that of your children? Preamble to the solutions revealed by God 1) Have your children live in contact with reality. Make sparing use of the virtual world, the world of video, of media avalanches of factual and artificial news (which is info-tainment). [Otherwise, the intelligence of our young] experience the temptation–which is the supreme illusion–of considering that truth is not what we tell them it is, i.e. something absolute, outside of time and which imposes itself on us. Truth, they say, does not exist; it is made, and it is made in me. I create it, giving it sometimes one face, and sometimes another. This is the origin of all the forms of skepticism, and naturally those who are intellectually more gifted are the first to give in to this temptation. (A. Charlier, The Formation of Character) Prefer simple leisure to virtual leisure; the reading of stories that take place in a normal universe; simple games to artificial games. Reality also means the realization that nothing is obtained without effort, difficulties to overcome, energy, and sometimes with a certain lack of material comfort. André Charlier wrote this to the parents of his high-school students in the years following the World War II5: What strikes me most is how little virile these young men are. And why? Simply because you have never demanded anything from them. You were only concerned about your sons’ happiness, and you anticipated all their desires. From their early childhood, you have gratified them in every way. How then, do you want them to have any idea, on the one hand that life is difficult and that only difficult things have any interest, and on the other hand that joys have to be paid for and that the greater they are, the higher the price? Everything has always been given to them, they even think it is due to them; and since education and science do not give themselves, they see in this a sort of injustice. And he adds concerning the formation of character: “What bothers, and even frightens, me is that they enjoy but no longer admire. Enjoyment without admiration is a great sin.” 2) Know the enemy. Your narrow world has its qualities and its defects in this respect. You have a schematic knowledge of some particularities which are the glory of your country or of Christendom. For instance, “Catholic kings bore more fruit than republican anarchy; the teaching of history is falsified and socialist; we want the reign of the Sacred Heart; authority comes from God, etc.” These are only examples. But you rarely take time to acquire a solid formation. You even more rarely take time to read, to insist that your children read, and to discuss things of substance with your children. At this period in their lives, it is true that they are not always docile to your ideals. They prefer to find them outside the home and with their friends. You have made the choice to allow these friends through the schools, scout groups, Catholic youth groups, and so on. The exercise of wisdom and intelligence is not yet ingrained in them. Slogans take the place of genuine education. Thus, you are sometimes surprised to meet young people who are very pretentious in their sloganeering, and yet are quite capable of falling for the first modern ideas which confront them. In this domain, we must consider it our duty to form in them substantial historical, political, philosophical, and religious thoughts. 3) Be adorers in spirit and in truth. In spite of a deeply Catholic upbringing, any of us knows we have a certain fragility when confronted with the post-modern spirit. Jesus Christ warned us, wondering whether He would still find faith when He returns at the end of time. This is an austere warning, but our Lord also proposed remedies. Let us reread the story of the Samaritan woman.6 “The hour cometh when my Father shall seek adorers in spirit and in truth.” There is too little devotion to the Holy » Mass and a lack of generosity to assist at it. » Attendance at Mass must be coupled with an understanding of the spirit of sacrifice inherent in it.7 It is at the foot of the Cross, at Mass, that the Catholic spirit is formed and understood. Avoid the practical naturalism denounced by Fr. Emmanuel, which too often permeates the way children are brought up: [N]aturalism is obliged here to acknowledge that all is not well, so it cries out to us: morality, morality! Morality is necessary! We need a code of morality! So let us listen to naturalism when it teaches morality. Be wary! This is an independent morality, subjectivized in the individual! It finds its end in itself and seeks some sort of coherence in human life. But basically, it’s about doing or not doing what the individual wants depending on circumstances. Fr. Emmanuel continues: Morality, indeed, prescribes duties, but what is a duty, if not a dependence? As a matter of fact, we depend upon God our Creator; upon our parents, who are, after God and with God, the authors of our existence; we depend upon all of mankind of which we are a part. Hence the www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 The Long Decline  ancient division between our duties toward God, toward our neighbor, and toward ourselves.... On this subject, let us listen to Bossuet: “We sanctify God’s Name, we desire the coming of His kingdom. We, on the contrary, come to pray when human needs are urging us. We so much recommend to God our petty affairs, that the effort we make to interest Him and all His Saints in them results in our getting even more attached to them. “Christians, forget yourselves! Is the God you pray to an idol with whom you have the pretension of doing what you want? Is He not the true God who must do with you as He pleases? I know it is written that God does the will of them that fear Him, but they must fear Him and submit wholeheartedly to Him.” This naturalism, this lack of deep and radical relationship with God, also very often affects our social, political, economic, and professional lives. 4) Practice the “Evangelical” counsels. I purposely conclude with this point because these virtues are taught by our Lord as being the specific remedies for the last times. We very often forget this when we set out to find remedies to the misfortunes of our time. Reread the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7). The summary of this spirit is given us by the whole tradition of the Church in the three vows of religion, which correspond to virtues necessary for every Catholic: Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. You have here the true remedies to the post-modern crisis. Chastity is for a Catholic a natural object of vigilance. This is because you have in yourself this deep wound which inclines you to evil, but also because you are afraid of this wound in your child. You are mortified to see that it is as violent in him as it is in you and would like to convince yourself of the contrary. Many parents fight as much as they can when they see obvious sins in their children in matters of clothing. But in other domains, you may be failing in your elementary duties of prudence because of a lack of realism about the use of the Internet, the keeping of magazines and catalogs in the home, THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org The specificity of what we call “post-modern times” is a slow, methodical, and progressive decay of the natural and the supernatural structures. A first analysis attributes this phenomenon to men or trends of thought. If real life is more nuanced and complex, the decline nevertheless seems to be uninterrupted. We outline it briefly. Nominalism (13th c.), which appeared as early as the Middle Ages, is a refusal of the essential order of things. Protestantism (16th c.) is a rebellion against God, against Revelation. For the first time, man sets himself up as lord of the religious order according to “his own” idea. It is called liberty of thought or free inquiry. Liberty (18th c.): with the liberalism of Rousseau, man sets himself up as lord of morality. What he calls his liberty becomes the norm of everything. French Revolution, the Rights of Man (18th c.) (the first version is American): it says “neither God nor master.” The origin of authority resides in man, in society. What was the illumination of some Masonic thinkers became the very concept of society. Economic revolution (18th c.): the use of the goods of the earth is disconnected from the realism of the needs of man and becomes the seeking of riches for their own sake. Socialist and later Marxist revolution (19th/20th c.): man himself becomes only a thing, a mere material link in the organization of a better world always in becoming. His heart is being attacked, because it is no longer made to love but to hate, to fight, to help and enrich the government. The School of Frankfurt1 (20th c.) gathered revolutionary intellectuals who abandoned mere political revolution–they were lucid on the vanity of a so-called Proletarian Revolution–and focused on a cultural revolution on a planetary scale. They established themselves in the US as early as 1932. Among them are found great names of the Revolution, of the artistic, cinematographic, media, and political worlds. Under their influence the social schema, the model for the family, the arts, fashions, children’s toys and public monuments “must” be innovative, anti-natural, and ugly... in conformity with a revolt against everything that could recall the natural order. Religious revolution (20th c.) goes deeper than Protestantism with Vatican II. Religion is no longer a relation to a true God but a construct of our psychological need. Hence ecumenism. Fr. Emmanuel had already answered in advance2 : “Religion is one, just like mankind, like truth, like God Himself. You cannot say ‘the religions’ any more than you can say ‘the mankinds,’ ‘the gods.’ But since truth is one and error can be many, we say ‘the false religions,’ just like we say ‘the false gods.’” Intellectual revolution: audiovisual explosion (20th c.) caused a profound modification of the thought process, its catastrophic impoverishment, and a whole retinue of incapacity for abstraction, and laziness in formation. Taking advantage of the pedagogic novelties which “bash out” man’s brain, media-slavery became universal and complete. Destruction of the social fabric (late 20th c.). If 1968 worked as a detonator, in fact it merely institutionalized the explosion of the social fabric in the capitalist countries. It was a kind of soft way of becoming Marxist. It became natural to inculpate anything that had to do with exercise of authority, love of work well done, family virtues, reciprocal roles of man and woman, respect for life, and so on. 1 2 At first, its name was: “Institute for Social Research.” Its present name dates back to 1960. In Liberalisme. g of s elf n to y he e d uel f on al  the presence of TV, videos and video-gaming, and the relationships between boys and girls which they consider too naively. Poverty. It is urgent for us to reflect on the consequences of the aberrant access of our young to money. They more and more avoid any charitable work done for free because they are always on the lookout for a thousand and one means of earning a few dollars. And that money they only spend on leisure and useless gadgets. What is worse, even when their parents experience financial difficulties, it never occurs to many children (nor do parents demand) that the money they earn might help the family buy necessities. Sometimes, parents give a bad example by credit spending and an exaggerated seeking of high-tech appliances. By your example, oblige your children to mature in the peace given by Wisdom, rather than allowing them to chase after leisure. Relaxation and happiness are not synonymous with the accumulation of sophisticated means. The spirit of poverty must lead you and your children to rediscover human nature in its diversity, its sufferings, and its struggles. You must increase the scope of your charity, pray for the unfortunates of all kinds, desire their conversion, and sacrifice yourselves to help others out. Obedience. This is not only a question of the obedience you must demand from your children from day one, but I mean something more profound. I mean the spirit of religious obedience which makes your child love the concept of authority and makes him acknowledge the will of God in events, in orders received, setbacks and reversals of health or of fortune, difficulties in his modern milieu, and so on. Children must respect all forms of authority and never analyze it too finely. For a child, it is absolutely not in the nature of authority to be consented to, accepted, discussed, or agreed upon by him. Again, reread the Gospel and the Epistles of St. Paul on the subject. You will discover there why so many young people run the risk of having no sense of God in the submission of their will. As you lead the battle against the spirit of independence, keep away egalitarianism, which no longer recognizes any hierarchical order and no longer admires it. Make your children appreciate the harmony of the common good. Teach them to love God’s eternal designs. These considerations may seem austere but they are also encouraging because they are not born of our human knowledge but of Revelation, which is entirely centered upon our salvation by Divine Love. Therefore, in your family circle, it is not so much a question of a radical conversion as of an evaluation of your performance. The end of the family is not merely to multiply men but “to make them good in order to make them happy,” wrote Bonald. Perhaps you will feel like making your own this observation of Lyautey in his diary, at SaintCyr8: I am suffering because my soul has ideals high enough to make me understand what I should be, but my character is not strong and resolute enough to put into practice the idea I have of the life I must lead. In answer to this, here is an excerpt from The Letters to Captains by André Charlier: Become aware of this secret void you have deep inside you: if you dare to cast a glance at it, you will never again be satisfied. All your artificial needs will fall from you like a cloak, and you will be free, unhampered, and ready for the highest tasks; maybe then you will realize that you possess the true riches. You are perfectly right to base the ideal of your children on a genuine spiritual life, a thirst for selfgiving in response to God’s infinite Love. Do not be depressed by your obvious limitations; expect prayerfully that God will make up the difference. But do not forget that there is a “duty to educate” according to the measure of what you are asking from God. Then, with firm hope, you will have every good reason to entrust your children to your Heavenly Mother. For more reading on this topic, see the inside back cover of this issue of the magazine. This article was taken from Christendom, No.8, and was originally titled “Monde moderne...adolescent moderne.” Christendom is a publication of DICI, the press bureau of the Society of Saint Pius X (www.dici.org). The talk was given to the Mouvement Catholique des Familles (Catholic Families Movement) during their September 2006 Annual Meeting. It was edited and adapted for clarity by Fr. Kenneth Novak. Fr. Boubée, ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1978, is currently professor at the International Seminary of Ecône after having served as headmaster of two SSPX boys’ schools. He is still in charge of the traditional Catholic Boy Scouts in Europe. Letter to the Parents, Saint-Michel Garicoïtz School, Domezain, France. Fr. Pinaud, a member of the SSPX, is headmaster of this primary and middle school. 2 This has been proven time and again by the recent research on the zones of the brain involved in the various image, language, reasoning, and reflex interplay activities. The results are easily found in any of the most renowned scientific magazines. 3 These are all examples of Catholic leaders in the temporal order. 4 The last times began with the preaching of the Gospel and will end with the coming of Christ in glory. 5 Letter to parents by the former rector of the School des Roches de Malascq, October 22, 1954. He was at that time rector of a high school in Normandy, France. (See the January 2006 issue of The Angelus—Ed.) 6 Jn. 4:23. 7 The fervor of many would gain much from the magnificent book Explanation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by Fr. Martin de Cochem, a 19th-century convert (available from TAN Books). See also The Heart of the Mass for young adults (available from Angelus Press) and Know The Mass, an illustrated Mass book for youngsters (available from Angelus Press). 8 A prestigious military academy, the French equivalent of West Point. 1 www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 1933-2006 Fr. Heidt at the time of his ordination in 1959. Fr. Eugene Nicholas Heidt “No one goes to hell alone, and no one goes to heaven alone” –a simple truth stated firmly but with a smile seems to epitomize Fr. Eugene Nicholas Heidt; heroism sometimes hides behind gentle humor and a quiet life. He lived according to the principles he preached, and those who knew him either wanted to hitch their wagons to his star and follow him to heaven, or they hated what he stood for. Few people remained indifferent to Fr. Heidt! Fr. Heidt was born in Dickinson, North Dakota, on August 31, 1933. His family moved briefly to Idaho and then to Oregon, where Father spent most of his childhood. The traditions of the German Catholic farm family deeply influenced Father’s values and way of life. As a boy he rose early to serve Mass, returning home to do chores, and only then went off to school. His Mass attendance was by choice, and although his piety ran deep, so did boyish mischief. The pastor recognized the makings of a priest, and the young Eugene began his 12 years of seminary training at the Benedictine Abbey in Mt. Angel, Oregon. The first book he checked out of the library was a life of St. Margaret Mary, which planted the seed of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the heart of the youth. His devotion did not dampen the Celebrating Mass at the home of THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org his niece, July, 2004. He supports his right hand with the other because of the effects of a stroke. 11 Bishop Kenneth Steiner, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, assisted at the Requiem Mass. Fr. Christopher Darby, SSPX, officiated at the Requiem Mass assisted by Matthew Heidt, Fr. Heidt’s own nephew. t escapades of junior seminary: climbing out an upper storey window at night to sit on the roof cracking walnuts, and avoiding detection while throwing the shells to the ground–Father could tell endless stories about such adventures. His love of outdoor work led him and a few other seminarians into various tasks on the seminary grounds, chores that most would not attempt. He completed the final years of seminary training at the Sulpician Seminary in Seattle, Washington, and was ordained May 23, 1959. One of his professors called him the “Last of the Giants.” What did that professor foresee? Fr. Heidt said that the seminaries set aside the textbooks of St. Thomas Aquinas the year after his ordination. The turbulent decade of the 1960’s was a challenging time in which to begin the priesthood. Father was an assistant priest with a variety of tasks, at different times working at the Newman Club at a university campus, conducting convert classes, working with the Chemewa Indians, chaplain to cloistered Carmelite nuns, and confessor for a community of teaching Sisters. He was eventually assigned as pastor to the coastal town of Toledo, Oregon. In 1977 he was assigned as pastor to Sacred Heart Parish in Gervais, Oregon, a post he retained until he began working with the Society of St. Pius X in 1988. The tumult of the times took their toll. Fr. Heidt was a man of principle, thoroughly grounded in the traditions of the priesthood, in solid Thomistic theology, principles of logical thought and judgment, family traditions of ingenuity and hard work. These values did not mesh with the new spirit of change in society and in the Church. Father found himself out of sync even with his brother priests. He demanded documentation when the New Mass was arbitrarily imposed, documentation that no one could seem to provide. He reluctantly went along with the changes only out of a sense of obedience to authority, but his uneasiness about the effect of these changes on the beliefs of his parishioners continued to grow. Finally, when the Indult for the traditional Mass was announced by Rome, Fr. Heidt petitioned his bishop for permission. He began to say the traditional Latin Mass on First Saturdays, drawing Catholics from miles around the area. His reverent celebration of the Novus Ordo Mass and his emphatic preaching of unchanging Catholic doctrine, particularly his insistence www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 12 on the Encyclical Humanae Vitae, had already drawn conservative Catholics to his parish. Fr. Heidt always made it clear that he was a recovering alcoholic. His drinking began at an early age, and quickly became a way of life. Because it did not seem to interfere with his duties as a priest, he did not realize that there was a problem until it affected his health. In 1977, shortly after his appointment to the Sacred Heart parish, he began to understand his own condition and made the decision to go to Guest House, a treatment center for priests. His struggle was intense; he did not know how to live a life of sobriety. As he later told another priest, Fr. Heidt went to the chapel one evening to ask Our Lord for help. While he prayed, the tabernacle doors opened, and Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Fr. Heidt, telling him that he would be well. At that moment, Father’s struggle was over, and from that day until his death he lived serenely in sobriety. His devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was greatly increased, and a new fervor took shape in his devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. This increased devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, taking place as it did while he was still working as a pastor in the Novus Ordo, made his sense of duty toward the entirety of the Catholic Faith even more acute. He continued to petition for the Indult, and in the meantime withheld “Stewardship” funds which his parish was required to give to the Archdiocese. Stewardship money often funded such things as the sponsorship of dissident theologians speaking at the seminary. Fr. Heidt refused to allow his parish to contribute to anything which would undermine the Faith. He did not stop at objections to problems, however. In his determination to uphold and strengthen the faith of his parishioners, he spent a year of preaching which emphasized the importance of Eucharistic Prayer. This year of preparation culminated in 1986 with the establishment of a successful program of Perpetual Adoration at Sacred Heart parish. Father opened the Adoration program with a visit of the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima. He considered devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, the reception of Holy Communion on First Fridays, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, First Saturday devotions, and the Holy Rosary as essential, not optional practices. He believed that the THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org Fr. Heidt with Bishop Richard Williamson after a confirmation ceremony in Portland, Oregon, in the early 1990’s. spiritual condition of a parish could be measured by the sacrifices parishioners were willing to make through attendance whenever possible at daily (not just Sunday) Mass, and particularly by attendance at the First Friday and First Saturday Masses. His fervent encouragement of the Catholic life bore fruit even in the Novus Ordo—the Perpetual Adoration program he began in 1986 at Sacred Heart parish continues to this day. In spite of the success of his Adoration Program and the thoroughly Catholic education he provided to parish children in the parochial school, the pressures of the Novus Ordo regime continued to frustrate his efforts. Firmly established as he was in pre-Vatican II theology, morality, and prayer life, Fr. Heidt found it increasingly difficult to continue to say the New Mass. He did not question the validity of a properly celebrated Novus Ordo Mass, but he agreed with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre that the New Mass would eventually lead to Protestantism. Father resisted pressures to incorporate ever more modernization, and he spoke out insistently concerning abuses within the diocese. His term of office at Sacred Heart parish was nearing its end, and he decided to bring his concerns, including the Ce ha of th 2, La 13 Ceremony of the reception of the habit and tonsure of new novices of the Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King in Oregon (February 2, 2001). He is assisted by Fr. Lawrence Novak (at right). ignored petitions for the Indult, to the attention of the newly-installed Archbishop William Levada. The letters which chronicle Fr. Heidt’s discussions with Archbishop (now Cardinal) Levada have been published in The Angelus. It must suffice here to say that Father’s valiant efforts to continue in the fullness of the Faith within the framework of the Novus Ordo regime had reached a conclusion. He began to work with the Society of St. Pius X in July of 1988, immediately after Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops for Tradition. The two SSPX mission parishes in Oregon were served at that time by priests from Post Falls, Idaho, twice a month. When Fr. Heidt began to help, he said Mass at both of these parishes every Sunday and holyday as well as offering daily Mass at his own private chapel in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains near Silverton. His private Fr. Heidt’s play on the old quotation, “It’s better to smoke here than hereafter.” Mass, which began with a handful of faithful in Father’s living room, increased to the point of building a “machine-shed chapel,” which in due time had to be doubled in size to hold the increasing numbers of faithful drawn to Tradition, all by word of mouth. Holy Week of 1989 was especially dear to Fr. Heidt, as the first Holy Week after his full return to the traditional liturgy. He always said that this return to the Mass of his ordination made him happier in his priesthood than he had ever been. The fervor of that particular Holy Week will always remain in the hearts of all who attended; Fr. Heidt’s joy was so contagious. Father was appointed to be pastor of the two SSPX parishes as well as managing his own chapel, providing wide scope for his pastoral zeal. His devotion to the needs of the three parishes was legendary—endless hours spent bringing the sacraments to the sick throughout the state, personal instruction of converts, hours spent in counsel and advice to any who sincerely asked—his devotion to the demands of the priesthood seemed to have no limit. His personal charity also was remarkable. Discretion his watchword; only those who benefited from his generosity knew that he practiced the corporal works as well as the spiritual works of mercy. With the chapel in Veneta came the supervision of a school. Fr. Heidt’s own Catholic school education influenced him greatly; his commitment to Catholic education was profound. He showed his support to the traditional Dominicans in Idaho with the donation of timber harvested from his 22-acre Christmas tree farm. As the principal of St. Thomas Becket Academy in Veneta, his work was necessarily long-distance, some of it conducted by telephone. However, whenever his presence at the school was required, he would make the drive to Veneta during the week. As his work in tradition continued, the demand for Catholic education became increasingly evident to Father, and the idea of forming a community of teaching Sisters for tradition began to germinate. A more immediate need was the care of the chapel buildings, providing a proper setting for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. After some years of consideration and collaboration www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 14 PRIEST, WHERE IS THY MASS?–MASS, WHERE IS THY PRIEST? Seventeen Roman Catholic priests (none of whom are members of the Society of Saint Pius X) explain why they celebrate the old rite of the Latin Mass instead of the New Mass. In question and answer format, these priests tell their trials and triumphs over the Novus Ordo establishment. Inspiring and often heroic examples of fidelity to their priestly vocation. Who ever would have thought that it would come to this? ● Fr. Ronald Conrad (Arizona) ● Fr. Christopher Danel (Georgia) ● Fr. Vincent Michael ● Fr. Francis Le Blanc, R.I.P., (Arizona) ● Fr. Paul Greuter (Canada) ● Fr. Brian Hawker (Florida) ● FR. EUGENE HEIDT, R.I.P., (Oregon) ● Fr. Harry Marchosky (Oregon) ● Fr. Vidko Podržaj (Slovenia) ● Fr. Clement Procopio (Arizona) ● Fr. Carl Pulvermacher, R.I.P., (Florida) ● Fr. Ronald Ringrose (Virgina) ● Rev. Raymond Ruscitto (California) ● Fr. Graham Walters 232pp, color softcover, (Oklahoma) ● Fr. Paul Wickens, R.I.P. (New Jersey) ● Fr. William Young (California) ● Fr. Stephen Zigrang (Texas) 15 photographs, STK# 8024✱ $12.95 with parishioners of St. Thomas Becket Church in Veneta, as well as their generous financial support, the construction of a new church, priory, and school became a reality, with the new school building in use by September of 1999. The Society of St. Pius X was then able to provide priests to staff the church and priory. Fr. Heidt continued as pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Portland as well as his own chapel on the Christmas tree farm near Silverton. Over the years, as his health deteriorated, the challenge of the many miles on the road became greater, and only his closest friends knew the physical pain he endured to keep on going. He did not complain. The chronicle of physical difficulties seems beyond belief. Even as a child, Father had ulcers. No one knew; as a child, he never mentioned it since he thought everyone experienced digestive pain. Only after he became a priest was the condition treated—the ulcers caused him to lose two-thirds of his stomach. Father had severe damage to his knees, and the cartilage had to be removed—for many years his knees were bone-onbone. He faced food poisoning that brought him to the brink of death, debilitating conditions of hips and back requiring complicated surgeries, strokes, and more than once, cancer. In the midst of his responsibilities, he made the decision to take on the task that had been in the back of his mind for years—the founding of a religious community. In decision-making, Fr. Heidt deliberated; he said he would not act until he was certain that the action was truly the will of God and not his own human will at work. It was in this spirit of submission to God’s will that he began to formulate the idea of traditional teaching Sisters. Having spent his first years in the seminary with Benedictines, having served as chaplain to Carmelite nuns and as confessor to a community of 150 Sisters early in his priesthood, then serving as pastor-principal of Sacred Heart School working with Franciscan Sisters, Father had enough experience with the religious life to know the enormity of the task. He prayed, studied, and gave great consideration to the project, all the while hoping that a younger priest would be inspired to take it on. He did not act alone when the time for action came—he discussed his plan with the district superior of the Society of St. Pius X at that time, Fr. Peter Scott. Fr. Scott not only encouraged him, but THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org asked him to proceed with the plan. As described in the The Angelus article of August 2006, Fr. Heidt collaborated with Sr. M. Herlinda McCarty to begin the Franciscan Sisters of Oregon in the year 2000, renamed later as Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King. Father nurtured the new community of Sisters by allowing them to use his home as a starting place, keeping for himself only a small separate apartment. As his health deteriorated, he realized that he could provide guidance only at the beginning of the foundation, and eventually determined that the community should move to Kansas City near the SSPX district house to receive continued guidance from the priests of the Society. In his last years, his bond with the Sisters was strengthened by the patient suffering he endured, as he prayed for the Sisters and as they prayed for him. In his final years, he was devotedly cared for by his niece, Georgianna Zwetzig, and her husband Terry. They opened their home to him and cared for him after surgery, subsequent stroke, and final battle with cancer. In spite of his pain, he never complained, and with docility and good-natured humor continued to offer his life of suffering for souls. He said Mass as his physical condition permitted, his final Mass celebrated on July 4, 2006. At the end of that month, Fr. Christopher Darby, SSPX, visited him from out of state and offered Mass for him at the Zwetzig home. A few months later, another priest visiting his family in Oregon, Fr. Brendan Dardis, OSB, friend of the Society and friend of Fr. Heidt, attended him a few hours before his death, providing him with the Apostolic Blessing and Extreme Unction. Fr. Heidt passed into eternity on October 20, 2006. His funeral Mass at St. Thomas Becket Church in Veneta on October 26th was celebrated by Fr. Christopher Darby, who was encouraged in his vocation by Fr. Heidt. Fr. Heidt left a legacy of uncompromising devotion to duty. He refused to consider himself, and only considered the will of God and the demands of his priesthood, and this with such cheerfulness and good humor that only very few appreciated or understood what his devotion cost him. In his sermons, he often referred to our “precious little souls”—may God have mercy on his precious great soul, and may he intercede for us as we attempt to follow in his path of duty toward our heavenly goal. 15 Stopping at Bethlehem F r . Although this letter from Fr. le Roux is from December and deals in part with Christmas, the sentiments expressed therein are worthy of consideration at any time. In this spirit, we have reproduced the text. Y v e s l e R o u x Peace is a sign of the action of God; its absence is evidence of satanic action. God acts with measure, calm, order, as the sovereign Master from whom nothing escapes. The devil, blinded by his rebellion and enslaved by his pride, breathes hatred and revenge, and in each one of his interventions intends only to spread his venom. All this becomes clear when we consider the psychological aspect of temptations. The devil draws us into his snare, exercising upon us such pressure that it is extremely difficult for us to back out of it. We are drawn into acting as quickly as possible, into possessing and enjoying. Taken up in the whirlwind of www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 16 our passions, we are unable to think; the only thing that we perceive is the call of our sensual appetites. Pleasure must come without delay to satisfy our desire for gratification. In our eyes, nothing else exists, only this sudden and intense frenzy that soon becomes an obsession. The devil insists, tirelessly repeating: now, now, now. He cannot let us have time to consider coldly the situation, thus goading us into the abandonment of the order established by God. Temptation is nothing more than the turmoil of our lower appetites anesthetizing our intelligence and leading our will to move in the direction pointed out by our unbridled passions. But intelligence, being the highest faculty of man, is not so easily overcome. That turmoil must be very intense to render the anesthesia effective, making us fall into the trap set for us. The devil has to create a favorable environment for this turmoil and make it appear as something normal, natural. If we analyze the present state of the world, we will understand the profound motive for its perpetual agitation, for its multiple and urgent appointments, its constant worries, its anxiety on account of the uncertainties of the future, for the amazing speed of the means of so-called “communication” that excite the imagination and slow down the intelligence, etc. In this constant agitation, the diabolic seed finds a favorable ground to bring forth its poisoned fruits. It seems to us that the frenzy for information, which is a very particular characteristic of our times, is a telling example that underlines the emptiness of our age. It points the way for us to denounce the programmed death of the intelligence and to expose the diabolic trap that it contains. Today, being up to date seems to be the only important thing–to know what is happening, to know even the smallest details of current events, and to be able to follow their course. Even more, thanks to this sudden and unrealistic power offered by the new drug that is the Internet, man feels himself invested with unrestricted power and confuses what he thinks with what is. Thanks to this new medium, he is even able to create an event! For that, it is enough for him to enter into any “forum” or to open any “blog,” and then to pour onto the “web” the furious bitterness of his pride–contradicted for too long a time for his liking–and to write in a peremptory tone, with that pretentious assurance that is characteristic of fools. The Internet having now acquired the authority of the Gospel, the fool’s gratuitous assertions, abusive and very often distorted, become the poisoned source of information. What is important is not the truth, but to be the center of attention and, thus, to be able to admire the image of ourselves that the screen mirrors back to us. The quantity of unverifiable information that circulates on the THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org Internet and is spread out in newspapers and conversations is an obvious and pitiful sign of the emptiness of our age. Because of this “overdose of information,” by an understandable reflex of survival, the intelligence prudently withdraws from this unhealthy game. It has become impossible for it to consider these industrial quantities of facts, assumptions, and lies, and to analyze them all. Thus, the intelligence leaves the place to the imagination, which, on the contrary, thrives in this world of fantasy! We should not be surprised by the hypertrophy of the imagination, nourished with the “informatic hormones,” and, on the other hand, by the atrophy of the intelligence, which cannot find any more an object upon which to be exercised. We are witnessing today the triumph of what the French revolutionaries of May 1968 wrote all over the walls of their universities: “Imagination in power!” And thus man has become an irrational animal. The conductor of this ghoulish opera gathers souls for an eternity in hell, with a diabolic pleasure that is not difficult to imagine. Indeed, where else can a man who no longer follows the rules of his intelligence go? “Imagination in power” is much more than a revolutionary slogan. It is a diabolic invitation to overturn the order created by God, with the aim of giving free rein to our passions, which quickly enslave us. If man has become an irrational animal, he is nothing else than a damned soul in potency. The agitation of this world is not neutral, and it does not come from God. Happily for us, the feast of Christmas shines forth as a divine invitation to collect ourselves, to silence the vain noises that continue to spread those lies which hurt us so much. It is time to stop and admire the divine goodness towards men. Let us ask for the grace to find, before the silent spectacle of the Manger, which speaks so loudly to our souls, this interior glance which will give us back the sense of God and of man. There is still time–it is time–to believe in the Merciful Love of God for us and to receive Him by adoring the Child-God already delivered to the wood of the manger and to the cold of the night as a divine Introit of His sacrifice, which will be consummated upon the wood of the Cross because of the cold indifference of men–men whose habitual agitation holds them back from God... It is sufficient to adore and to love: let us stop at Bethlehem. Fr. Yves le Roux was ordained for the Society of Saint Pius X in 1990 and is currently Rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, Minnesota, where he also teaches Introduction to Philosophy, Ethics, Acts of the Magisterium, and Liturgy. Reprinted with permission. 17 Sir Thomas More once again found himself in the midst of a group of young people. These young men and women were friends of his daughter, Margaret, and were often at his house, discussing topics of the day. As usual, Sir Thomas was enticed into the discussion, as he found he loved to banter ideas with these young people, and they, in turn, were amused and intrigued by Sir Thomas’s ready wit and vast knowledge of human character. Often, Sir Thomas would have a readied anecdote for nearly every topic. And on this occasion, Septuagesima Sunday, the young men and women were discussing the gospel of that day; the parable where the householder agreed to hire each man to work in his vineyard for a denarius [penny], and as the day wore on, hired more men for the same amount. At the end of the day, the owner paid each man what he agreed; all one denarius. The workers who worked the entire day murmured in dissatisfaction at receiving the same as those who had only worked an hour. Sir Thomas listened and commented on the discussion of “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” Then the discussion turned to that of repenting at the eleventh hour. Most thought that this is what the parable was most meant to show. on the shoulder. “What good fortune that you came my way.” “Sir William,” Sir Thomas replied in acknowledgment, and nodded his head to the man. But in his mind, Sir Thomas thought the same thing. For Sir Thomas had often wanted to warn this young man that the sinful life he was leading would most certainly lead him to hell. Now, he had found Sir William alone, and for the most part, sober. He would not waste this opportunity given to him by God. “Come, Sir Thomas, let me buy you a drink,” the young man offered. And the young gentleman began searching his pockets for any money he might have on him. “No, I think not,” Sir Thomas replied, almost curtly. “Well, that’s a good thing,” Sir William answered back, good-naturedly, “as I don’t seem to have any money.” And then he laughed at his own folly. “It is far too early in the day to be drinking, Sir William. You need to go home,” Sir Thomas advised. “Now, there’s a thought,” Sir William bantered in reply. “Why don’t you buy me a drink and we’ll discuss it.” “I Shall One Day Repent.” m r s . Sir Thomas disagreed, and as his rebuttal gave, as it were, a little parable of his own. Sir Thomas told them that it was a true story, but for the sake of avoiding detraction, would not use real names. He would call his character “William” as there were no Williams in the group. “William,” Sir Thomas began, “was a young gentleman with wealth and a title. His beautiful, young wife and small children lived on his estate in the country. But Sir William preferred to live in London, and led a life of debauchery. He often caused great scandal by being drunk at all hours of the day and night, and with women of ill repute. In fact, Sir William often bragged of his adulterous conquests.” “I met Sir William one early morning on an empty street in London,” Sir Thomas continued, “and it was obvious that Sir William had spent the night drinking.” Sir Thomas watched as the young man left the company of two slatternly-looking women and staggered toward him. Sir William was about to pass, when all at once he recognized Sir Thomas. “Sir Thomas, my good man,” Sir William bellowed out, and then gave Sir Thomas a hearty slap l i n d a d u r b i n “Sir William, you have to stop this sinful life.” Sir Thomas scolded the young man. “It will lead to your eternal damnation.” “Another interesting thought,” Sir William teased back. “Let’s go and have a drink and discuss that too.” Sir Thomas shook his head ruefully at Sir William’s good-natured persistence. Sir William was a cheerful, charming fellow; too charming when it came to the ladies. And then Sir Thomas studied the young man with a concerned frown. This man would damn his soul if he did not change his ways. “I tremble for your soul,” Sir Thomas then began. “For the love of God, Sir William, repent while you still have time. You are young, and yet you live a life seeped in mortal sin. I pray for you.” “Pray for me, do you?” Sir William returned. “You are a good fellow. Do not tremble for me, Sir Thomas. I shall one day repent. But I do mean to have my fun first. There is always time to repent.” “Death comes like a thief in the night,” Sir Thomas reminded him. “If you do not cease this evil life now, you will give no thought of repenting when God calls you.” www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 18 “Do not fret, Sir Thomas. I shall cheat the devil yet. I have the very words that will obtain for me God’s pardon, even at the last moments of my life,” Sir William assured him. “They will have to be many and well chosen,” Sir Thomas foreboded, “to pardon you from a life unrepentant of mortal sin.” “No. I only need but three,” Sir William informed him. Sir William was beginning to enjoy this verbal bantering with the known master of words, Sir Thomas More. “Three very powerful words,” Sir William pronounced importantly. “They would have to be very powerful indeed,” Sir Thomas countered, “for God to pardon such an audacious sinner. What are these awesome words?” he wanted to know. Sir William smiled his most charming smile. Sir William was fully confident that he had now got the better of the notorious wordsmith. “The words are these,” Sir William bragged, “Lord, pardon me.” “Well chosen words indeed,” admitted Sir Thomas. “But how do you know you will have time to say them if you are snatched from this world by surprise.” “Ah, Sir Thomas,” Sir William smirked in reply, “that’s where I know I am safe. For I say these words all day, everyday. I ejaculate them at every occasion so that they will always be the first words on my lips at any given moment.” And then Sir William chuckled inwardly to himself at his believed triumph. But Sir Thomas seemed undaunted, and studied the gentleman with a grave, steady gaze. It made Sir William feel uncomfortable. “Take care, Sir William,” Sir Thomas warned, “for you may still lose your soul. God does not pardon obstinate sinners.” A spark of indignation flashed in Sir William’s eyes. He instantly became bored with the conversation. And if Sir Thomas wasn’t going to buy him a drink, he couldn’t be bothered staying in his company any longer. “I mustn’t be keeping you from your business any longer,” Sir William said in a droll tone. “Good day, Sir Thomas,” he added with a gracious, but unsteady, bow. “I shall pray for you, Sir William,” Sir Thomas said in reply, and returned the bow. Sir William sauntered past Sir Thomas in a cocky manner, but just as got a few steps away, Sir William swayed and then staggered a little. “Lord, pardon me!” he ejaculated over his shoulder at Sir Thomas, and then added a laugh. Sir Thomas thought about that young man many times after that, especially as he heard of Sir William’s THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org many new exploits and scandals. And Sir Thomas prayed for him. It was not long after that Sir Thomas happened to overhear about the sudden death of a Sir William, and he inquired immediately if it were the same Sir William that he knew. Indeed, it was! Did the young man have enough time to say the three words that would save him from hell? Sir Thomas was concerned, and inquired from an acquaintance that was with him, as to the events of Sir William’s death. “Sir William was riding, and, as usual, was half drunk,” the man informed Sir Thomas. “We neared a bridge that was almost covered by flood-water,” he continued. “None of us dared cross it, as the raging river buffeted the bridge with such a great force that we could hear it creak and snap, as if it were about to give way.” “Sir William sneered at our trepidation,” the man said, “and rode to cross the bridge. But Sir William’s horse refused to cross.” “Then,” the man went on, “Sir William pulled up and rode a short way back up the trail. Turning his horse, he urged him with the whip at a great speed toward the bridge. Again, the horse shied, and this time lost its footing on the slick bridge. Both horse and rider fell at full force against the railing, which gave way. Then both were engulfed in the torrents, and were not seen again until they were washed up down river, both dead.” “Did you hear Sir William say anything before he went under the water?” Sir Thomas demanded in concern. “Well, Sir Thomas, yes, he did.” The man said, recollecting. “Was it three words?” Sir Thomas asked hopefully. “Well, yes it was,” replied the man, a little confused as to the reasoning of Sir Thomas’s question. “What were the three words?” Sir Thomas needed to know. “Just before Sir William went under the water,” the man told Sir Thomas, “I heard him exclaim ‘May the devil–’” And at those words, Sir Thomas finished his little anecdote to the group gathered around him. He paused and waited for the full meaning of what had been said to be clear to all the young people present. No one said a word for quite a while. Mrs. Durbin lives in Manasses, Virginia. Her family assists at the Latin Mass at St. Athansius Catholic Church in Vienna, Virginia, where her children also go to school. 1 This story embellishes the account given in The Catechism in Examples. F r . J o s e p h L e R o h e l l e c, C . S. s p . ST. THOMAS AQUINAS how to live straight and fly right To undertake the praise of a man can be very difficult for two very different reasons: either the subject is quickly covered and there is little else to speak of, or, on the contrary, the subject is so vast and rich that one does not know from which point of view to begin consideration. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 28 You can guess that the challenge of a panegyric on St. Thomas comes solely from the second reason. The Angelic Doctor can be shown as a model under so many aspects that the choice is perplexing. He can be set forth as an example of the man of science, of humility, of simplicity; as an example of purity, of kindness, etc. I have chosen an aspect which synthesizes the whole existence of the holy Doctor. I would like to present St. Thomas as a perfect model of unity of life. There would be much to say on this subject. I will content myself simply with expounding the doctrine of St. Thomas himself (I-II, Q.57, Art.2; II, Q.66, Art.5; II-II, Q.45, Art.1-3, 6). In a very general sense, all life in order to be fruitful (for good or evil) must be unified. To be convinced of this, simply look at history. Those who have accomplished marvelous things, remarkable victories, or who were great statesmen, writers, artists, saints, were those who, after having proposed an ideal, coordinated and directed all their efforts, disciplined and used their energy, to one end. This they did without allowing anything to distract them from their determined goal. It is not even necessary to seek such a lofty example. It suffices to look at our own experience to learn from the things of daily life. Take for example a young man at the point of choosing a career, at the point that he must direct all his activity to one encompassing end. He is full of life, and goals the most diverse attract him all at once. He would like to take them all up and leave nothing outside his scope of action. Every limitation or sacrifice seems to him to be a diminution or a mutilation. For profound and talented natures, this struggle is at times long and painful. If the adolescent makes his choice and fixes himself in its pursuit in a stable manner, his activity will become channeled, concentrated, and by this very fact will produce fruit. If, on the other hand, he does not set himself to making a decision in a determined direction, he will be continually tossed about between so many diverse ends. Each of these will absorb momentarily all the energies of his being, then he will pass on to some other plan, all the time awaiting some unforeseen event to set all into action once again. In this case life never rises above the mediocre; the most remarkable talents are wasted, and existence itself is botched. We have all known very intelligent men who have never succeeded in anything because they have never united their strengths. They have dissipated themselves over multiple paths; they have THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org fluttered about at random, and after having been all stirred up they find themselves empty-handed. These facts manifest a general law: Every fruitful life, in whatsoever order it be, is a unified life. Everything depends on this principle of unification. The richest life will be that in which one will know how to discipline all human activities, without missing one, and ordering them all to one common ideal. The noblest life will be that in which the principle of unification is the most pure and the most elevated. If the principle of unification is large enough to encompass all the soul’s activities, energetic enough to maintain them all in proper order and subordination, noble enough to elevate them and augment their value, then life will become eminently beautiful and fruitful; likewise the human person will be magnified. Everything thus depends on this principle. Its scope and strength will be the measure of our productivity, while its greatness will be the source of our nobility. The total unification of our life presupposes unity of the intelligence in truth. From these heights harmony will flow into all our other activity. For this reason we will first consider the unification of the intellectual life, then that of the moral and spiritual. St. Thomas is the perfect model of unity in the intellectual life. Doubtless, absolute unity, the unity of simplicity, belongs only to the Divine Intelligence. The human intellect, though, is capable of the unity of order and of harmony; here lies its perfection. Ordinarily there is a distinction made between analytic and synthetic minds. The first delights in minute examinations of details, in the dissection of ideas, and does not seek a view of the whole. The latter seeks, before all else, to bind together diverse knowledge, to coordinate these, and from them to draw general principles. Each of these two tendencies has its dangers. The analytic spirit risks being entangled in particular details, while missing the profound link that unites them all. The synthesizing mind is in danger of losing contact with reality and of simply building on air. The harmonious union of analysis and synthesis makes the great philosopher and the great theologian, and this union is magnificently realized in St. Thomas. He excels in analysis. Read his psychological studies on the passions, on the rapport between the intellect and the will, etc. There a marvelous talent for observation will be discovered. St. Thomas had at the same time, and above all else, a synthesizing mind. From details he soars to the first principles in order to illuminate the whole. He begins from observation and rests 29 continually on reality. This brings about the solidity of his arguments. But the work is completed only in one vast synthesis: thus, the unity of his doctrine. From this aspect, the Summa Theologica will never be equaled. What is necessary to imitate the Angelic Doctor so as to acquire this sense of synthesis, without which there is no unity in the intelligence? The intelligence is truly unified, truly one, when it judges things through first principles and first causes. This unification can be either total or partial. The savant is he who has acquired unity in the order of particular sciences, but it is the wise man alone who has established complete unity in both his knowledge and in his spirit. So as to understand this distinction, it is necessary to refer to St. Thomas in the Ia-IIae, Q.52, Art.2. He there distinguishes three intellectual virtues: understanding, science, and wisdom. Understanding is the habitus of first principles by which truth is immediately perceived. Science is the habitus from rigorously demonstrated conclusions from the principles of one or another order of knowledge. Wisdom is the habitus of judging synthetically all things, conclusions and principles, in relation to first causes, and especially in relation to the first cause par excellence, God. For the wise man, the principal knowledge, that which has a greater importance than all others and to which all others must converge, is that of God, First Source and Last End. This is why wisdom, by reason of its sublime object, is before both understanding and science. Wisdom judges even principles, not in the sense that it proves them, but that it scrutinizes them in order to discover their raison d’être and to defend them against those who deny them. There may be many different sciences according to the diverse orders of knowledge; but wisdom remains one and indivisible. It is easy to see, according to these definitions of St. Thomas, that there are many savants in the modern world, but very few wise men; for it is rare to find those who are concerned with judging different systems by reduction to the first principles of reason, or who esteem things relative to the Perfect Being. The savant possesses only a partial principle of unification (partial because it applies to only one order of knowledge), and there is the danger that he will set this up as a total principle. Mathematism is born from this dangerous tendency. It attempts to reduce all to the mathematical sciences. Also finding its origin in this error is positivism, which only accepts experimental verification and quantitative measure as a unique rule of truth and of reality. The wise man, on the contrary, is he who reduces all things to the true principles of reason and being. The true wise man is he who judges the worth of things according to their relation, and their conformity, to God, the First Cause. He has arrived at a perfect unity of mind, because he possesses the total principle of unification. There are two obstacles opposed to the unity of intelligence, and as consequence, to true wisdom: contradiction, which creeps into the heart of our thought, and the dissipation of our intellectual activity. It is necessary, first of all, that there be no opposition between our ideas and our judgments. There must be coherence and harmony of the mind with itself. But this is not sufficient; there must also be agreement and harmony between thought and the laws of being. Certain philosophers have constructed entire systems a priori such as Hegel and Spinoza. They have set up syntheses where the internal order seems perfect. It is difficult to discover even the smallest crack. Looking closely, however, it will be noticed that there is a lack of real unity. From the very beginning of the system there is a radical opposition to the principles of reason and being, and this fundamental disorder introduces into the mind an inmost contradiction that undermines the whole edifice from the very base. The mind is made for truth and for being; to impose on it at the beginning an opposition with the principles of being is to introduce into it a flagrant contradiction, which will have fatal repercussions on the later progress of the intelligence. The second obstacle to unity is the dissipation of effort. Erudition sought for itself, and not considered as simply a means, is contrary to the unification of the spirit. One who is content to amass materials without putting them in order, without informing the whole with a directing idea, will never be wise. In order to acquire wisdom, it is necessary to establish a consolidation of the mind with itself and this harmony with reality. Avoid scattering and dissipation, which diminish it. Above all, one must discover the principle and the true cause of all intelligibility of the whole of reality, and to judge everything in its light. In philosophy, wisdom will give the metaphysical sense; in theology, it will give the theological sense. It is this which inclines the faithful to judge everything according to the principles of Revelation, and which gives them the spirit of faith. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 30 LEXICON OF ST. THOMAS Dr. Roy Deferrari A lexicon is a book that lists the meanings of words or terms dealing with a particular subject. First published in 1948, in this Lexicon of St. Thomas, every word of the Summa Theologica, as well as terms from others of his works, is analyzed. As the author says in his Foreword: “Each word as it appears will be followed by the different English meanings with which it is used, followed in turn by some illustrations of its use in each meaning taken from the works of St. Thomas. If definitions of any usage can be found in St. Thomas himself, these will be presented before the actual examples of the use of the word, on the ground that there is no better source of information on a writer’s vocabulary than the statements of the writer himself.” The key to understanding the doctrine of St. Thomas is to understand his language; this lexicon, hailed as an “epoch making event in the world of American scholarship,” provides it. For serious students of Theology, Philosophy, medieval Latin, and the Roman Liturgy. 1186pp, 8½" x 11", sewn hardcover, STK# 8070✱ $99.00 My Way of Life Walter Farrell, O.P., & Martin J. Healy A pocket-sized summary of the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Perfect for spiritual reading, study, and meditation on the go. Written in the everyday language that made Fr. Farrell popular for giving St. Thomas to the man-in-the-pew. 630pp, pocket size, leatherette cover, STK# 6561. $7.50 Where will we find a model of wisdom more perfect than St. Thomas? Where will we find realized in a manner more complete the unity of understanding? Let us place ourselves at his school and study at this point the Summa Theologica. In that admirable work, St. Thomas ascends to God by reason, and then from this immutable center he considers creatures. God, creatures in relation to God insofar as they originate from Him and return to Him, such is the plan of the Summa. The disciples of St. Thomas participate in the spirit of wisdom which distinguished the Master. The more they follow him faithfully, the more they will acquire the ability to synthesize and to establish unity in their knowledge. To the degree that they leave the path he has set forth, their thought will break up and come apart. In viewing the theses independently one from another, as if there was no connection between them, they have lost wisdom. It does not suffice to unify the intellectual life; we must bring about unity in life as a whole. And this also is the work of wisdom. St. Thomas, to this end, tells us that natural wisdom is before all THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org Catechism of St. Thomas Aquinas Fr. R. P. Pegues Pope Benedict XV enthusiastically endorsed this book which aims to put the heart of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica into the hands of the laity. In the familiar Q&A catechism format, but the difference is that the answers are from the Angelic Doctor himself. Cross-referenced to the Summa for those wishing to study further. 315pp, hardcover, STK# 5906✱ $I7.95 else a speculative virtue, whereas infused wisdom is a virtue at the same time both speculative and practical. Seated in the intelligence, it exercises an influence on the will and the whole moral life. The wise man will easily become a saint (IIa-IIae, Q.45, Art.3). We can consider separately the unification of the will from the unification of the practical life. The Apostle describes in powerful terms the painful opposition which exists, all too often, between that which is seen and that which is willed, and between what one wills and does. In order to remain brief, I will speak only of the unity of the spiritual life. The spiritual life embraces all the activities of the soul and exercises all its faculties. The end of the spiritual life is union with God. Now, all union with God is impossible if the soul is not first established in unity. St. Paul wrote in his first epistle to the Corinthians: “Qui adhaeret Deo unus spiritus est” (I Cor. 5:6; 17). This signifies principally that he who adheres to God is one same spirit with God. This text also means that he who adheres to God must be one in himself. He must possess unity t- . 5 31 in his life. The soul’s unification is a necessary condition to union with God, and the intimate union with God, in its turn, increases and completes this unity of soul. The work of unification in the spiritual life comes up against the same obstacles as for the intellectual: division and dispersion. Every division within the soul impedes progress and produces nothing but ruin and desolation. “Omne regnum in seipsum divisum,” Our Lord stated in the Gospel, “desolabitur.” These words are to be applied to everyone in particular. Every soul which is divided against itself will be laid waste. If the inferior passions are not subordinated to the dominion of the will, and the will itself to the direction of reason and faith, there will be in the very depths of the soul a tearing duality, an intimate contradiction that will oppose divine friendship. There are few souls that are not the scene of such duplicity, of an interior lie! It is in fact a lie in the etymological sense of the word. “He who says that he loves God, and does not observe His commandments is a liar.” He says to God: “I love only Thee, I am entirely Thine. Reign as Sovereign Lord in my heart and in my will,” but at the same time he reserves a small corner of the soul where divine action will be excluded. The first struggle in the spiritual life is to fight this interior lie, division, and duplicity. So long as the soul is divided it will be remain imperfect. The second obstacle to unity in the interior life, and consequently to progress in the spiritual life, is the dissipation of activity, the scattering of efforts. We do not pay adequate attention to this. Without doubt it is useful, even necessary, to combat our particular fault. This must be done, however, on the condition that one enlarge his point of view and see the extension of this fault and its connection with all the other weaknesses of the will. There you have some ideas which would need to be developed at greater length. I am happy to simply present them to you. Remember for the moment that the unification of the spiritual life is the condition and the measure of perfection. The more one approaches God, the more the interior life is unified and simplified to the point that the soul receives a most intimate participation in the divine simplicity, in the unchanging act of the beatific vision. St. Thomas is a model of unity in the spiritual life. Thanks to the glorious victory that he had in his youth over the demon of impurity, the movements of the sense appetite remained submitted to the law of reason. Perfect harmony between knowledge and religion reigned in him: doctrine directed contemplation, and the intelligence, in its turn, was illuminated by new lights in prayer at the foot of the crucifix. St. Thomas is a model of unity in life because he possessed wisdom. Wisdom unified his intelligence, and from there shone over every activity, ordering and directing each. The fruits of wisdom, the fruits of the harmonious unification of life, according to St. Thomas, are humility and peace (IIa-IIae, Q.45, Art.6): Humility, because wisdom considers all things in relation to the first cause, and from this perspective judges their true worth. Now, when truth is recognized and accepted it is by humility. If one looks at himself in relation to God, if he compares himself to Infinite Majesty, he will not be tempted to be proud. He will be humble. Peace, because it is the tranquillity of order, and it is wisdom that brings about order. To unify life is, by that fact, to pacify it. On the other hand, it is division which causes rending and suffering. One of the greatest torments of the damned in hell derives from the inner contradiction which tears and rends them without ceasing. They are torn by the conflict between the natural inclination of their being to go toward God, in Whom alone is found true happiness, with their sin, which repulses them from Him forever. Such is the final fruit of disorder and division. Wisdom establishes peace in the intellect because it accomplishes both synthesis and unity. It establishes peace through the whole of life, for it produces a harmonious and lasting order. I finish by wishing for you a spark of the Angelic Doctor’s spirit of wisdom. Following the example of St. Thomas, be wise; have the concern to bring about unity in your understanding. Take care to bring order to your interior life. Doubtless, a perfect unification of the soul here below is not possible, nor is complete peace accessible, but we must strive toward these unrelentingly. The closer you come to this unity, the more you approach perfection. Be wise and you will possess peace. Fr. Joseph Le Rohellec, C.S.Sp., an accomplished Thomist, was assigned to the French Seminary while Archbishop Lefebvre was studying there. The young Marcel Lefebvre would often consult him on the finer points of Thomistic philosophy. This traditional St. Thomas’s Day conference was given on March 7, 1914. Originally titled “St. Thomas Aquinas: Model of Unity in Life.” www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 32 Thirty Minutes with Fr. de Chivré: The Rights of Christ in Man’s Existence The Thirst for an Absolute It is a fact: as soon as man’s reason is awakened, it aims to achieve. Achieve what? The most complete result possible: a life of conscience, a life of knowledge, an economic life, a social life, a material life. Our mind seeks to possess completion in everything: enjoyment or work, pleasure or effort, thought or action. There is always a rose more beautiful than this rose; There is always a heart more loving than this heart… Our superficialities, our inconstancies, our hatreds, our brutalities, arise from a need of our nature, bent on perfecting us and perfecting the life of society. There is a need for an absolute in the realm of justice, of brotherhood, of happiness, of peace. This explains work, politics, effort, and progress. We are driven by an absolute which is inside of us; we are drawn by an absolute which we seek outside of ourselves. We are aware that this world is full of things relative, that is to say, of things which are and which ought not to be: slums and war; of things which are and which could be better: health; of things which are and which ought to be general: happiness. These relative social THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org e 33 states leave us ill at ease, with our instinct for total truth. Hence our constant need to organize, our unhealthy need to criticize, our poisonous need to doubt. We are disgusted with the world and we are disgusted with our own selves. Our relativity (by that I mean: our deficient health, our limited intelligence, our uncertain heart) spends its time trying to become the absolute of its dreams. “I am well but I could be better. I have begun to exist, and if only I just could manage to exist even more by a perfect health and a life as long as possible…” These are intelligent symptoms, that prove we are capable of envisioning either a being who would begin and who would have no end or a being without any beginning but who would end; or a being without beginning and without end. The mason who sets about building something seeks to ensure the longevity of the house. The doctor who sets about healing seeks to ensure the longevity of health. We look for every opportunity for increasing our chances at life. Who Can Succeed and How? There are two alternatives: 1) Man esteems himself capable of organizing the earth absolutely, here and now, without the least reference to a future life. 2) Man decides to cultivate to the utmost his desire for an absolute, by attaching himself, by clinging to the utmost to the absolute of God, with a view to bringing down to earth the absolute good of everybody’s dreams. If the first alternative is chosen, man falls into an essential fallacy: he mistakes his desires for his means. He desires an absolute in the realm of justice, of virtue, of truth, which reveals the mark of God upon him, meaning—in his logic—that he also possesses the means he is dreaming of to become absolutely happy. However, he lacks these means and I will prove it: To organize an absolutely just world, man would have to know everything about all men; about their material needs, which vary from one to another; about their intellectual needs, which are infinitely varied; about their moral needs, which are different every day. What is more, man refuses thereby to recognize the spiritual and religious needs that torment a man: the need for the love of God, the need for eternity. Not only that, for all he may know by means of science, the police, medical research, and surveillance cameras, there are a great many questions to which the most well-intentioned cannot respond and in general these are the most important questions of all. Illness, suffering, death, trials, sacrifice, the origin of the world, the future, evil, virtue: things that never make their way onto campaign posters for social reform. You only approach man from the outside: his mouth, his wallet, his pleasure. In other words, all of those things of which true men have deprived themselves: the heroes, the saints, the great benefactors of humanity. And you say you have the means! You have the desires, but less than anyone do you have the means. The proof: your doctrines are so incomplete, so inhuman, that they have to make up for their absence of humanity—and hence of perfection—by the use of force and violence which impose upon man that towards which he feels no attraction the minute he learns how to distinguish between appearance of absolute and the absolute itself. An individual or social doctrine may be perfect or true on several points but if, as a whole, it has to be imposed by the dictatorship of force, of police, of the government, by that very fact it admits to a profound weakness, for it admits that there are a great many solutions which escape it, either by ignorance or by a willful misunderstanding of man’s nature such as he is: flesh, blood, and soul, and that the situation can only be saved by constraint (Nazism, Marxism). The characteristic of matter is its tendency to destruction as soon as an idea is not there to sustain it (the house in ruins as soon as the idea of conservation is absent). Men spend their time fending off destruction (in architecture, health, commerce) or accelerating it by voluntary destruction (war, plunder). In both cases, the idea dominates matter. “But ideas are themselves material!” as if they were some kind of electric or atomic force, some unknown energy, but material. If it is unknown, why do you class it with matter, which is known? Your affirmation is unscientific. If it is known to be material, where are your proofs and demonstrations of its materiality? If it is material, to cultivate matter would be to cultivate idea and virtue. Licentiousness and sensuality would give rise to intelligence and purity. If it is material, then in those cases most worthy of man, the idea proves itself the enemy of matter by calling for sacrifice in the effort of virtue, for suffering in expiation, for death in heroism. Finally, if the idea is material, why the disharmony of a material idea producing fruits that it disavows and that form man’s most noble arsenal: religion, purity, virtue, sanctity— all considered as enemies of that very materialism supposedly producing them? Where there is identity there is harmony. If thought, light and spirit are identical to cell, atom and reactions, why is there no harmony between them? Now, if the nature of spirit is so certain, why is God, the spirit par excellence, so contested? Precisely because He is spirit par excellence and we are only spirit by a stroke of divine whimsy, drowning in animality. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 34 We fall into the modern anthropomorphism: we want to confine God to the measures of our human science, which are steeped in material conditions. God is the absolute and because of that He cannot be seen. God is incomprehensible, fortunately, just as a mathematical formula is for a child. God is not something we meet, fortunately, otherwise He would be on the level of our humanity. Now if the second alternative is chosen, man clings to God, the only absolute, in order, by bringing Him to earth, to organize the earth absolutely. Contrary to the first alternative, the only value of a doctrine comes from the free consent which it proposes as its principal line of conduct. Instinctively, man responds to the absolute complement or completion that Christ brings to him by proposing himself freely to Christ and in turn freely yielding to His proposition. This free proposition on the part of Christ, without an army, without police, without a political party, without a country, is itself the sign that He is certain of its divine value and of the security which He brings to the world. He knows that it is enough simply to choose Him and the problem is solved. For He has exercised His power over all of creation: over the water of the waves and over the wine of Cana, over the vegetable world, the loaves and the cursed fig-tree, over the mineral world such as the coin found in the mouth of the fish, over the animal world with the miraculous catch, over the human body with the cures, over the human heart with the pardons, over the human soul with the resurrections, over the social question with the Beatitudes and over authority: “Render to Caesar….” He touched on every domain so marvelously and in so absolute a way that no one since has ever improved on His words. He foretold the future Himself, warning that it would have its share of counterfeits (false prophets) and that men would prefer their doctrines of error over the absolute of His truth. Why? Because the other doctrines, as handmaids of our own point of view, appear to us to be absolutely marvelous from that point of view, perhaps. But a point of view is not the absolute of all humanity. It is perhaps an imperious impetus, but not an absolute. We have to have the courage to implicate the whole of ourselves if we want to understand anything at all. Everything is confusion in the modern world because the whole of man has been compromised by philosophies and doctrines which have exalted certain material aspects of man. However, serving the cause of certain aspects of man, legitimate though they be, means working directly against the need of each one of us to take and organize man in his entirety. Once, during a conversation with a communist, I started to realize the misunderstanding. He began to THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org speak bits of truth, the kind we all put in the service of our own personal sectarianism. Pagan that he was, he said to me: “What we need is saints, and we don’t have the means to make any; but you...” (What a responsibility!) He said this as he gave his sack lunch to a poor woman (we, the spiritual bourgeoisie). He is a step away from God. We are all very close to one another and our divisions arise more from our eternal similarities of nature, than from our differences—similarities which our passions interpret differently. We, the believers, are people who have reached the goal and do nothing to help the others benefit from it, and the others wrongly attribute to God all the deficiencies that they notice in those who serve Him, which is for them a way of dispensing themselves from serving Him and loving Him. Yet, a man who refuses God does not escape the thirst for absolute which God put in him to draw him to Himself. That thirst is what he turns around and uses, without God, in favor of the very relative things that are in him. The absolute, put in the service of instinct brings brutality. The absolute, put in the service of interest procures lies. The absolute, put in the service of passion produces bestiality. The absolute, put in the service of society brings Marxism, which uses man for the destruction of his own personality, cultivating certain aspects of his personality in the service of the State, then, once it has served, snatching it away by drowning it in the collectivism of a commune. “Now that you have been useful to me in reaching my goals, you may disappear.” A man who refuses the liberating absolute of God will one day fall victim to the absolute of error which he has served. Not himself only, but his family, his friends, and all of society as well. Preliminary Conclusion We all have in us the same superior tendencies. Some have not yet found the goal adapted to these tendencies. God asks them to search for that goal with honesty. Others have given to these tendencies an inadequate goal, one which does not correspond to the totality or the truth of those tendencies, God asks them to rethink the problem without prejudice. “Amen I say to you, ask and you shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” Others have found the solution, but God reminds them of the parable of the talents: do not bury the solution under bourgeois comfort, inaction, or disdain for your fellow man. We are all brothers by our honorable and beautiful human tendencies. We must unite ourselves in the truth. We all have things to change about ourselves. All of us have something to renounce, something to admit. We all need to rethink the problem of God for the benefit of the world.... 35 Situate the Problem of Christ, for Better or for Worse For worse, He is a myth. So He never existed? So He was invented? By whom? We have yet to discover what writer constructed the idea of Jesus Christ in presenting us a mind running contrary to the dispositions of humanity, a writer seeing beyond his failure in constructing Christ, knowing in advance the coalition of scholars gathered to prove the problems in his construction, proposing the Son of man to the enemies of that Son. What could be more absurd than inventing what you know is contrary to the reason for being of an invention? Its success. If the idea of Jesus Christ persists in spite of the cries of protest met by the supposed inventor, it is because the inventor composed the historical presentation of Jesus Christ with super-human, super-scientific elements which, in point of fact, could not have been invented by a mere man. We are led to wonder if Jesus Christ is not His own inventor, whose elements of thought originate in a quality of existence which is inaccessible and inexplicable to our human quality of thinking. “Ecce venio”—I present Myself, inventor of Myself, “Ego sum”—I am He who is, acting only in reference to Myself. And from this “Myself” do I draw capacities of material power over illnesses and over corpses, the power of definitive perspectives on the future of the world, on the destiny of every man. The power of moral and virtuous explanation touching the spiritual possibilities of every man, powers of imperturbable dominion over death: truth, love, virtue, eternity. “My words will not pass away.” All of these forms of power harass the insecurity of philosophers, the curiosity of novelists, the rivalry of university professors, the ill-humor of pleasure-seekers, but to the wise they tell that the mind can only go as far as tangible facts the secrets of which are still a mystery to human science. Now here is a fact of significant proportions, beyond the weights and measures of your reasoning. It is a fact that throws a wrench into everyone’s works, precisely because it imposes upon our measures with an excess of precision and solidity. The fact “Jesus Christ” still remains, inspiring panic in your newspapers, your laboratories and your parliaments. His existence is an inexplicable fact. His teaching is an unexplained fact. His power is an inaccessible fact. His resurrection is an inadmissible fact, according to you, for the sole recourse of your powerless capacities is to oppose to Him the fact of your raging, sickly-sweet, cotton-wool, scholarly hostility, but hostility to a fact which it cannot make disappear only highlights the value and prestige of that fact, and for the twenty centuries that you have been raging against Him, He has so increased that you have run out of ammunition to criticize Him; He alone remains before you, so imposing by His silence that you repeat the scene of His silence before Pilate: “Take Him away and crucify Him” once again, and you all abandon Him. Yet, faced with the evidence of His indisputable fact, the better men still seek Him; the professionals of His love seek Him, or they depart from Him and turn toward another (Luther and his band), or they turn away from what wounds their pride ( Judas turned away from Him after the absolute absence of pride: the Eucharist); and yet, thousands maintain their attachment to Him in the most intact, the most courageous, and the most tender way possible. What do they possess that places them above the others, their adversaries, their torturers, or simply their friends of yesterday, become the “twisted” of today? You are going to understand the mystery of fidelity in these men who stand with Him by first understanding the mystery of infidelity in those who let go of Him. O nly a small number will remain Catholic: those who decide to be Catholic by recreating the atmosphere. The law hinders the Catholic from being free by education. The press hinders the Catholic from being free through an exclusively secular press. Instruction hinders the Catholic from being free by an overload of programs. Catholic society is hindered from being free in its Sundays and in its entertainment by the mass media. 36 Those who let go include those who no longer question Him, like Judas. He always responds when He am questioned. Judas was afraid of His explanations (the jar of ointment) so he interrogated the others: “What will you give me and I will deliver Him to you?” It also includes those attached to His Old Testament, who considered themselves dispensed from having to recognize Him as being the Omega drawing it to an end and the Alpha developing it far beyond their rabbinical science. They constantly seek to trap Him with the very texts that foretell Him. Discussion remains possible, but they refuse the facts that prove who He is without discussion. After His unprecedented, imperative sign which brought Lazarus out of his grave, which proved Him indisputably the Master of death, and therefore God, source of life, Judas ceased to question Him. He organized his vengeance and his spite to have Him questioned by the guardians of the Law and by the civil power. That allowed him to distance himself from Him, reassured by the competent authorities of the time. The others remain with Him, near Him, in Him: they never cease to question Him (by prayer), and thus He can continue to answer them through states of soul of certitude and confidence in His affirmations and His promises. They question Him about His grace (His own life) by their faith in His sacraments. He answers them by consolations, by new courage, by new hope, pardon, intimacy whose quality separates them from their animality, from their temporal cares. He establish them in His own thought. With Him their desire is filled by the word Always: always ready to respond at the least sign, given from the heart, always ready to respond to the plea for help, full of confidence. With Him remain those who believe in Him, not platonically but vitally: “To whom would we go, if not to You?” Go…Follow me—To whom could we take ourselves with our burden of wretchedness, our burden of carnal materialism, our burden of a heart tormented to love so little or to love so wrongly? The movement of faith, the movement of reflection, of decision, of consent. The movement of virtuous imitation: absence of sin. The movement of generous imitation: presence of sacrifice. Such are those who remain; the only ones who remain, without being swept away in the whirlwind of wicked eloquence believing itself so persuasive, or in the gyration of venomous consultations. For a faith that is lived holds a weight of persuasion which renders it immovable when blows the tempest. You can uproot a tree; you cannot uproot a rock: “O God, You are my rock.” You hold your fate in your own hands. Novelties or extravagance or falsifications are not what will decide your fate. It is solely your fidelity, lived, proven, reflected, and willed, which will preserve you from being the least bit shaken by modernist THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org arguments or by the sneers of the chattering class. Your fidelity will be the sole spiritual value incapable of compromising you, since it is made up of the unceasing proof that Jesus does not change. He is the only one who comes always identical to Himself, when fidelity hears Him, understands Him and follows Him as carefully as the Apostles who stayed always close around Him. For better, consider What His voice alone was able to do: draw a dead man from his death, instruct Nicodemus about his destiny, console a mother who was leading her son to the cemetery, pronounce a program of social life overwhelming in its peace and its truth, assuage for ever the conscience of the guilty. In a word, He constantly addressed Himself to what is destroyed, threatened, crushing, irremediable, and always managed to reconstruct, to heal, to redeem and to resurrect, achieving a recovered existence, in all its forms–such is the efficacy of Christ in a life of thought, of will, of conscience, of profession: the life of a man. For better, give Him back His place, before all other concerns. Like the Apostles, saddened at knowing Him about to leave, for once we have seen and understood Him, we can think of nothing else but seeing Him again and finding Him again. The beautiful, insistent evocation of St. John: “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have contemplated and what we have touched of the Word of Life, we announce to you, in order that you might be in communion with us.” “For Life was made manifest…and we announce to you eternal life.” What is best is also what is most immediate. For eternal life begins the moment there is love of Jesus Christ, imitation of Jesus Christ, and fidelity of mind and heart to Jesus Christ. Situate Your Personal Attitude to Christ The triumph of secularism is incontestable. It did not suppress Catholicism; the reaction would have been too decisive. It subtly hindered its existence. It wore it away. It rarefied its atmosphere. Only a small number will remain Catholic: those who decide to be Catholic by recreating the atmosphere. The law hinders the Catholic from being free by education. The press hinders the Catholic from being free through an exclusively secular press. Instruction hinders the Catholic from being free by an overload of programs. Catholic society is hindered from being free in its Sundays and in its entertainment by the mass media. No one disposes freely of his own thought. Everything is enslaved. When Catholicism is allowed to express itself, the answer is standing ready to 37 cancel it out. Reviews, stories and pictures are at the service of the discrediting of Catholicism. And when Catholicism is taught, it is carried out in strange contradiction to the Church of all time. From without, from within, by the elite or by the masses, Catholicism has permission to exist in a climate of powers and propaganda which hinder it from being. We are living through a euthanasia of the Faith. They have made it breathe deeply so it would sleep. They watch at its bedside so that it never wakes up, in order to assure to one and all their liberty to experience materialism. In the phantasmagoria of its constant solicitation, in the invasion of every minute, polarizing all our thoughts around money-making, stealing from Sunday its time for divine occupations of an order infinitely more grave, blaring out the noise of pleasures to capture our curiosity and awaken our sensuality, man has been admirably domesticated and secularized. He is free to walk as a Catholic like the Jews during the occupation: with a sign on his chest, singling him out for public distrust. He walks amid memories of Catholicism: churches, conferences, films, but he is de-Catholicized. He wears the uniform of his baptism, of his confirmation, of his marriage in the Church, but he is demobilized. He has disengaged himself from the intellectual and moral priorities of the Gospel. He has engaged himself otherwise in purely lucrative or worldly concerns. It follows that, no longer suffering from this anesthesia, the Catholic no longer chokes with indignation before the religious situation. No longer suffering from the rarefaction of the spiritual atmosphere, it does not even occur to him to suffer from the paganized situation of the family, of education or of society. The passivity of his faith in his own life maintains him ultra-passive toward those around him. St. Paul already sensed the danger coming and, to his young collaborator—nonetheless well-meaning—he wrote with urgency: “Sleeper, awake!” For which cause I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee...Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus... Be mindful that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, according to my Gospel, wherein I labour even unto bands, as an evildoer…Of these things put them in mind, charging them before the Lord. Contend not in words, for it is to no profit, but to the subversion of the hearers.But shun profane and vain babbling: for they grow much toward ungodliness, and their speech spreadeth like a canker. Flee thou youthful desires, and pursue justice, faith, charity, and peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Now as Jannes and Mambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. (II Tim. 1:6; 2:1,8,14,16-17,22; 3:1,8) This draws us to the edge of a deeper awareness. To believe is to let the grace of faith establish itself in our judgment, in our capacity for decision, before all other preferences, and, thus armor-plated with certitude, to engage in the combat in us and around us, of bearing witness by our conscience and our life in society that Jesus Christ is alive in us and through us. The duty which falls to us is to reorganize the atmosphere and wake up the slumbering, the sleepers. Reorganize ourselves, realizing that outside of Catholicism preserved as Catholic there exists no valid solution for the recovery of mankind. All you have to do is read the papers. This recovery demands an active choosing of the truths of Faith, whose unshakable character comes from their unshakable origin: the divinity of Jesus Christ. Truths which are not merely received but actualized by choices that are interior or exterior but always sincere, in a supernatural honesty with our natural life. Obsessed with bringing our share of active testimony as ammunition to the battle against the falsehood gnawing away at the doctrine of Christ like a canker, our share of courage and love, permitting the grace of faith to purify our human intentions of what is too natural and what prolongs the official anesthesia by the secret anesthesia of our human respect. To think and to will something other than rivalries, pleasure, success, and money, but to will uprightness, courage, and decision. Across enemy lines, they are only strong of our own indifference to the problem of our salvation and the salvation of others. Turn back into men who breathe an atmosphere of prayer, of voluntary dwelling of the intelligence with the Our Father– “Teach us to pray.”…“Hallowed be Thy name”: the place we guarantee to God in our profession and our action. “Thy kingdom come”: the gift of our activity in the service of His reign, at home, on vacation, everywhere. “Thy will be done”: active engagement in the secret battles within us and the defense of the faith around us. Rome has lately said that it is the laity who will save the Church. You bear on your shoulders something much heavier than a debt to pay or an expense to underwrite. You bear the weight of the Church, guardian of truth and eternity, and must lift it up, by your word, your example, your action, to the level of your neighbor, your subordinates, your family, and your town. To believe is to implicate your entire self, with your conscience and your very life, in deanesthetizing the atmosphere of a secularism which has made its way into the hearts even of Catholics. We have not examined the close connection between our secret indifference to giving sufficient audience to the voice of our conscience, and the effect of our insufficiency as Catholics on the official secularism whose advance we have strangely facilitated. Gentlemen, you are men, and men who are baptized. Without knowing it, you detain magnificent www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 38 possibilities capable of raising you above everyone else, would you only allow God to help you not to be like everyone else. The day you finally taste the reality, the realism of the Faith sought after with love, your judgment will be invaded by a blessed catastrophe of awareness. “I understand; now I understand!”–and the colonel left behind his snobbery and his pleasure to shake up his department by the organization of adult catechism. A devastating vision of what we thought we were and of what we realize we ought to be. Reorient men on their secret relation to God, and then set them in the modern whirlwind of wicked minds circling around them, watching to accuse their slightest movements of Catholicism. Strong of an irresistible awareness that they have what it takes to wield the sword of a lived truth in this modern clash of forces sending off the sparks that awaken the others and rally the sleepers round their examples and their decisions. That is your primary duty and your primary mission. Here is the oasis where you come from time to time to renew your strength. Out there is where God awaits you and sets you the task of proving yourselves men of a lived faith. F rom without, from within, by the elite or by the masses, Catholicism has permission to exist in a climate of powers and propaganda which hinder it from being. We are living through a euthanasia of the Faith. They have made it breathe deeply so it would sleep. They watch at its bedside so that it never wakes up, in order to assure to one and all their liberty to experience materialism. THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org Now I would like to give you some consolation by entering into the mystery of your lives as men, to show you how the exigencies I have been discussing with you for the last two days can only be fulfilled if you manage to stabilize yourselves in a very simple but very faithful understanding of a balanced spirituality. Understanding is everything; beyond that there is no spirituality. To help you discover the manner in which God molds your understanding is to help you enter into a universal, individual, irresistible spirituality. We are in the middle of Lent. We priests sing at Compline the following hymn full of melancholy: Behold, already we are in the middle of life and we are nearly in death. To whom can we turn for help if not to You, Lord, justly angered by our weakness, but who remains the God of Strength, the God of Mercy, the most kind Savior. Do not abandon us in the time of our old age, as our energy grows weak. Do not abandon us, because you are the Holy God, the God of Strength, the God of Mercy. You who save us out of Love. It brings us back to what I have already told you about Christ. It is time to stop talking, to keep silence before the agitation of theological ideas which are always the same, in order to love Him, by the continuity of a gaze nourished by these ideas as a river by its source, without even knowing it. The middle of our life has a melancholy all its own, made up of the gravity of the past and the gravity of the future, the one and the other inviting us toward a present of recollection and love. Why should we fear You, when You came on purpose to prove that we had nothing to fear? God is love as the wind is tempest. He constantly displaces us only to immobilize us in the sole certitude that His love is everywhere, as the atmosphere giving rise to the wind is universal. “Christ”: one syllable giving rise to a whole alphabet of love. A word uprooting whole lives from their most ingrained routine, to transplant them into solitudes more beloved than the closest-knit families. Christ: the respiration of the moral life, until the day He finally 39 becomes the reason for us to experience the reality that the more certain and precise our knowledge of God, the less do we have need of words, formulas, or even thoughts by which to express Him, so exquisitely simple does He appear at last to an understanding passed into a state of soul that is already a foretaste of vision. Eternity begins when we enter into Him. To every light of the spiritual life, God joins a descent into hell with Him, with Him as a companion, to discover there the heavenly reasons to rise toward God. In the spiritual life, there is no such thing as suicide by despair. There is always the admirable mystery of discovering in your wretchedness a sweetness that it does not contain by its nature: the sweetness of feeling it touched by another. Mary Magdalen is an exquisite example of this: from the moment she felt herself touched by Christ, all of her turpitudes became reasons to prove. Therein lies the mystery of evil. When it is illumined by grace, when it is accompanied by prayer, by calm, by abandon, by adoration, all of a sudden we discover what it does not seem to contain all alone: reasons to prove that we love. From that moment on, there is never a defeat; there are falls, there are times of discouragement—how normal; there are frailties– how human; but there remains throughout our existence an intelligent continuity to be maintained, a sincerity toward our first duties of fidelity and love. To achieve this state, we need to understand that we all have our descent into hell, in those moments when the light shines perhaps more cruelly on a given weakness, a given refusal, a given superficiality, a given mistake in judgment. At that moment, our state of soul is flooded with darkness and we understand that we are alone. When we do evil we are always alone. The great grace of the Faith, of the virtue of faith—“Lord, to whom would we go?”—is to determine a movement of ascension out of our descent into hell, to join Him who awaits us above and who indeed is the one that sent the Faith down to us to accompany our ascent. In simpler words, always have the faith to believe that your wretchedness exists in order to prove that you have better things than wretchedness for determining your life. You should never leave a man focused on the problem of his falls. You always have to show him that, in his falls, he tasted solitude and that, in his ascensions, he will taste the companionship of the Faith. Let us go all the way. There are two types of shame in evil actions: There is a shame that is discouraging, that is created by self-love: “You are wasting your time, you will just start all over again, it’s always the same story, you can try all you want, you won’t get anywhere. So sit down in the ditch and stop walking.” There is an affectionate shame: gazing at someone who is gazing at us, wretched as we are, and who draws out of our gaze the desire to be with Him: the good thief. You have to admit, it is amazing to think that the first of the elect to enter into heaven— Jesus is the one who said it—was a crook! But a good crook, a crook capable of loving. “This very day you will be with Me in Paradise.” The minute a man sees his wretchedness in the light of the Faith, this very day he is in Paradise. He enters into the movement of faith. He enters into the movement of love. Then what happens? What happens is a fabulous reversal, a reversal of the classic conceptions about life. We have a classic conception about life which I call a technical conception: the parts of an engine are all lined up, everything is in place, so let’s go turn the key and it will start to run. And we do not accept that there might be failures. We do not accept that there might be a part that is worn out or does not match or is too big. For us, life is only worthwhile when it runs like an engine, automatically humming along. Beware of that conception. There is no automatic perfection. There is no automatic progress, otherwise you would never get to heaven. Automation is an absence of responsibility. To get to heaven you need the utmost responsibility of love; it is sometimes conditioned by the utmost weakness, because your true, total, fabulously productive responsibility sometimes has to be drawn out by fabulous catastrophes. And if Mary Magdalene climbed so high, it is because she knew some fabulous catastrophes. Look at how much the problem of the spiritual life turns around the understanding. By that I mean that there is no dividing into categories between those who cannot and those who can, between those who are lost and those who are saved. All that is foolishness. To be saved, you have to live in the intelligent mystery of your capacities for love, even if you are a poor miserable wretch. To be lost, it suffices to live with a great deal of self-love, even if you are perfect in every way. For self love is the opposite of pure love. Having said all this, I would like to give you a few details. What I just told you shows you this: that in each one of you, everything occurs in a succession of movements of existence; movements of existence carrying us toward the earth, carrying us toward the Faith, carrying us toward ourselves, carrying us toward others. These are movements of existence. Where do they come from? That is how we are made; there is no escaping it. They come from two words in the liturgy which contain all of man’s plenitude and all of his abandon. Namely, on the one hand the liturgy speaks of a mystery of iniquity, on the other hand, the mystery of faith. We are trapped between the mystery of iniquity that is in us and the mystery of faith. That is what we need to explain. It is a mystery so there is no use trying to explain the origin of iniquity and the origin of faith. The mystery of iniquity is what arises from nature, from heredity, from acquired habits and www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 40 from inexplicable deficiencies. You will tell me that we have psychoanalysis now, that we have medical science. I answer that trying to relieve the illness is not the same thing as curing it. The psychiatrist cannot heal our nature; he can remedy certain things under certain rare conditions. But you will carry with you, because of your personal state, your own mystery of iniquity with its particular form of attraction to evil, with its form of tendency to a given failing, with its personal form of anger. In those moments, you feel a tornado within you in which everything you ever heard about the Faith no longer has any relation to anything. You have descended into the abyss of the interior hell. Why is this mystery of iniquity left to you? Obviously, there are always naïve people to tell you: “It would be so much simpler if God would just take away your mystery of iniquity.” The answer to give them is very beautiful: “That is all God ever does, but not the way you think.” Remember that God cannot, theologically speaking, suppress an evil which is a part of our nature, given that the evil in our nature was deliberately willed by the first man to whom God had given absolute liberty. As He said to St. Catherine of Siena, who asked Him why certain souls were damned even though she had pleaded with Him to save them: “Alas, I am forced to respect the liberty which I gave them.” As a result, we should not be insulting God for not suppressing an evil within us; we should be overwhelmed with admiration at seeing Him descend into the evil to help us freely leave it behind. To leave an evil behind is pure philosophy. You must not deny its existence, you must not judge it to be irremediable–nothing is ever irremediable! You must join it to its contrary by using your own liberty. We have to join our wretchedness, by using our liberty, to the contrary of wretchedness: to a call toward something higher, to a movement of ascent. Here we enter into the mysterium fidei. When I pronounce this phrase before the chalice, I am always invaded by a sort of interior trembling, to say to Him: “Yes, my God, it is indeed a mystery of faith, this bewildering movement of Yours toward total sacrifice, total generosity, absolute perseverance, boundless mercy.” What a mystery of faith, to see Christ inexhaustibly willing to enter into our mystery of iniquity and infuse the energy of an ascent. To love is to decide in company with Christ. Then you have nothing to fear. The only thing you have to fear is not to ask for help: that is the tragedy of evil. No longer daring, just waiting, letting yourself be intimidated, making matters worse. In other words (I will give you the characteristics of evil): inertia, absence of movement toward the Good, helplessness, and, sometimes, the beginnings of revolt. What is revolt? It is deciding to remain in the evil. It is the attitude of Satan. It is a refusal. It is pushing away the THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org One who comes into our wretchedness to ascend back up with us to heaven. As long as a man’s intelligence is not voluntarily stabilized in helplessness, inertia, and refusal, it has nothing to fear; it will always pull out of it. We need to take our reasoning even further. You might say to me: “But why do I sometimes fall so low?” Christ will answer you: “Do you know why I let you fall so low? So that you can finally make up your mind to give your preference to Me rather than giving it to your evil. I am trying to provoke in you a disgust for yourself, so that you will finally start to have a taste for God!” And we come to the word which describes the spiritual life in full activity. It is not to do your duty— far be it from me to discredit duty!—it is to do your duty with so much love that the duty produces more than just duty. It produces a need for a supplementary movement toward God: generosity. As long as a man nourishes in the secret of his heart this need for the generosity of a prolongation of love, that is to say, as long as he steps beyond the problem of pure duty, counting out what he owes to God, as long as he has understood that, by doing his duty with love, he makes it produce more than duty, then he is forever delivered from his wretchedness. Even if he returns to it, he is delivered from it in his intentions. He is delivered from it psychologically. And all he has to do now is to walk with the awareness that Our Lord has left him his wretchedness to maintain him in humility, that it is He who will come to find him and take him up to heaven. I am trying to show you that, ultimately, as long as a spiritual life is capable of preserving the need for movement, for the movement of ascent, your weaknesses do not matter. They are always a principle of resurrection. And you begin to ask what is going to come out of this hodgepodge—because, we have to admit, our personal life is a hodgepodge in which the most sublime of secrets rub shoulders with the basest of tendencies, in a mix of “for” and “against,” of options and refusals. What is going to come out of it? A heaven or a hell? It is the moment to call on Christ to intervene. We are always in the middle of our life, a little bit closer to death. “To whom would we go, if not to You, who lead us out of the abyss of death, toward the beauties of life?” You have to draw from all this some very stabilizing lessons. You will not escape from your wretchedness by voluntarism—do not fool yourself. You will use your will to resolve yourself to the struggle. You will struggle, but you will not rid yourself of the enemy. He will always be hiding behind the wall, waiting in ambush. The only reality before which the enemy runs away is when he realizes that you are intelligent to the point of meeting him with a personality become love. To become love… then the enemy will flee for a very simple reason: 41 he is hatred. Hatred cannot endure the steady gaze of love. That is what explains, in the lives of the saints, extraordinary feats of serenity—in the Curé of Ars, among others—in the face of atrocious temptations. They were so entirely love that the enemy was obliged to go away. Here is a story from the life of St. Catherine of Siena, that young girl who was all purity. She was harassed for a full month by the most horrible secret temptations. Nothing did any good. She inflicted on herself the most severe penances, she fasted, she deprived herself, she prayed; nothing did any good. But she did not suspect that she had remained in love. Our Lord appeared to her, and boldly St. Catherine said to Him: “Where were You, Lord, during those temptations?” And Jesus answered her very simply: “Catherine, did you consent?” “No.” “Well then, why are you complaining? Now, to reward you, you are going to be immunized.” It is not voluntarism, it is a supernaturalized understanding of the situation which determines us to adopt an attitude of love, and then Christ cannot resist our plea for help. You may have to weep, to cry out, what does it matter! That is when you are victorious; the enemy has no more hold over you. I am telling you this because the danger of wretchedness is that it creates, even in the best, an obsession which paralyzes their freedom of spirit to do anything else. It fixes them in fear, in anxiety, in an interior torture from which they cannot escape. They can no longer do anything. Form their conscience. It is a word that we can only pronounce once we have delivered them from themselves by delivering them from their wretchedness so that they might deliver it up to God. Then we give a man back his liberty of mind. God has need today of your liberty of mind. He needs it for you to understand the situation you are in. He also needs it for you to realize right away how to comport yourself positively, in the Christian sense of the word: lovably (the etymology is very beautiful: to be capable of love). And God is always waiting for us to be lovable with Him, whatever the circumstances. He is waiting for you to be in this state of soul: “Yes, I admit it, there are two currents in me: movements of wretchedness and movements of ascent.” What are the signs of generosity? People always say that man is selfish. It is certain that the tragedy of selfishness is to keep man centered around a love they call self-love, the love of self, and thereby to remain centered around an individualization of his existence to the point of not allowing love to use it for better than the self. That is self-love. You will recognize generosity at your need not to individualize yourself in your existence but to allow your attitudes, by your personality, to prolong the love of God by the intermediary of your own. To be generous is to authorize God to mobilize in us our initiatives, our desires, our sentiments, our intentions, to put them at the service of something that goes beyond us. In all generosity there is a going beyond. When you begin to go beyond yourself, you have entered the region of love. There is no more danger. When you have to start over again every morning, and you have to take up the same love along with the same duty, and you have to bring to it the same will and the same affection, do you think that is not generosity? You cannot let yourself waste away by focusing on your wretchedness. You do not have the right. There are more and better things to do, God knows. When they say that God would do better to deliver us from our evil, it is admirable to realize that our whole life He pursues us, asking us to deliver ourselves up to the good, which is deliverance; to deliver ourselves up to our graces, not just grace. Each one, in his own way, is drawn by God. The way of one will be more contemplation, of another more penance, for another more of an apostolate or more meditation W hen the Virgin Mary enters into a life, everything changes. It is the same existence but it is not the same vision of existence. There are the same struggles, but there is not the same way of struggling. The Blessed Virgin has a certain mission which she is responsible for fulfilling and she always fulfills it in detail when we ask for her help. 42 or more adoration. You have to give yourself over to your graces and know how to espouse them. Be faithful to them, allow them to become your grace. Then you will realize that life is worth living, that you are not alone. You will see that the supernatural life is made up of a whole series of continual movements. Enter into a movement of intelligence. You will then be feared by the enemy, for when Satan sees that he is faced with an intelligent soul, he is lost. He only “has” us to the extent that we have lost the knowledge of God. That is why I invite you always to put the accent on what revives the knowledge of God: recollection, prayer, interiority, intention. If you are willing to understand that, you will understand the expression of Jesus: “The kingdom of God is within you.” He did not say, “will be within you,” but “The kingdom of God is within you.” Do not destroy being–the being of your graces, the being of your higher dreams. I beg of you, never destroy anything that is. You would be destroying God who is in you. Believe in love. The Cross Crushes and Raises Up The cross crushes you in your movements of wretchedness, but in crushing you in your movements of wretchedness, it acts like the wine press that draws the juice from the fruit: it raises you up in movements of courage. The cross never ends in the negative. It is always a prelude to a resurrection, on the condition that you are willing to be raised up. That is why we cannot carry it alone: our shoulders are not shaped for that. We always need to carry it with Someone else. And I do not think I could do better, approaching the subject from this angle, than to advise you to ask for help from her who carried her cross in such an extraordinary way, from Christmas to the Ascension of the Lord: the Virgin Mary. Do not forget that the Ascension was for the Blessed Virgin a little recurrence of Calvary. The Ascension was the second separation, to such an extent that theologians claim the Virgin died—more exactly, fell asleep—under the pressure of a love which could no longer bear to be without her Son. We could say that the Ascension is what provoked the Assumption. Understand to what point the Virgin was consumed by an interior movement never to separate herself from Him, even if it was on Calvary and to what extent she lived her unbelievable adventure in the serenity of a soul which knew it was crushed by the Cross and raised up by Calvary. Always invite her into your life, if only by a decade of the rosary every day. When the Virgin Mary enters into a life, everything changes. It is the same existence but it is not the same vision of existence. There are the same struggles, but there is not the same way of struggling. The Blessed Virgin THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org has a certain mission which she is responsible for fulfilling and she always fulfills it in detail when we ask for her help. Do not be astonished by the fact that the kingdom of God is within you, and that the progressive deliverance from your evil will be carried out inside you. I mean to say that a time will come when your evil will be anesthetized in its first movements. You will carry it to your death. It is a part of your nature. But you will endure it with confidence, because God will be part of your battle. And because you have to maintain your liberty of mind with a maximum of acuity in all the social activity that you undertake, you have to approach that social activity with a liberty of mind which is the result of what I have described, in regards to the secret contradictions that exist in each one of you. Contradictions are a part of our existence. The solutions are a part of our love and our confidence. There is never any reason to be troubled. If you understand that, you will understand that your duty to combat is more and more obligatory. To combat within so you will have the courage to wage the combat without. You understand very well that your duty is not to accept yourself such as you are, but to allow your human alternation to produce a result worthy of the Faith. Never believe that there is such a thing as a sanctity that never had a mystery of iniquity. It is not a sanctity but a more or less unbalanced, sugar-coated piety. Sanctity is a state of fidelity which is woven out of just as many black threads as golden threads over the course of a life. And it is because the black threads cross over the golden threads and the golden threads break through into the black threads that they end up by producing a tapestry in which we discern that the black threads and the golden threads have traced out the face of Jesus Christ. That is sanctity; that is balance. Leave with these few notions and reflect on what I have told you, which ought to fill you with hope. If you knew how, in the spiritual life, years of waiting and helplessness can be recovered by a simple light that all of a sudden enters your soul like a headlight shining into a hole. We see the tree we can plant there. Keep your hope founded on the promises and the merits of Jesus Christ: I await from Your hands that life eternal which You are going to extract with the cooperation—the cooperation—of my freedom and my intelligence. Translated exclusively for Angelus Press from the Association du R. P. de Chivré’s Carnets Spirituels No.10, October 2006. Fr. Bernard-Marie de Chivré, O.P. (say: Sheave-ray´) was ordained in 1930. He was an ardent Thomist, student of Scripture, retreat master, and friend of Archbishop Lefebvre. He died in 1984. F R . Is it permissible to publish the sins of deceased persons? p e t e r It is certainly true that a man’s reputation is the most precious exterior possession that he can have, as the book of Proverbs states, “A good name is better than great riches” (Prov. 22:1), and that he has a strict right to it in justice. It is also true that despite the fact that the modern world considers that a reputation is of little consequence, it is a sign of honor and goodness that a man values the opinion that others have of his excellence. Finally, it is also true that reputation concerns principally a man’s practice of virtue, and only secondarily his other good qualities, and that this right is not extinguished by death, for a man, having an immortal soul, always has a right to his reputation. Consequently, the deliberate telling or publishing of the sins that a man committed during his life, without proportionate reason, is a mortal sin of detraction both against justice and against charity, even if the facts told are perfectly true. However, the right to one’s reputation is not absolute, and has limitations. Just as we can tell the sins of the living, if it is necessary for their own good (that they might be corrected), or for the good of a third person (to prevent him from being led into error or sin), or for the common good, so also do there exist reasons for relating the sins of deceased persons. In the case of the deceased it is usually the common good that is invoked, and rightly so. In fact, an historian of the Reformation who would not tell the sins of King Henry VIII or Luther could not be considered an historian. He would not tell the truth, and his history would serve no purpose. Likewise an historian of Pope John Paul II who would not tell of his public sin of religious indifferentism at Assisi in 1986 would not tell the truth. History is the master of life, as the saying goes, and to do so it must tell all that pertains to the truth, the evil as well as the good, the faults of Catholics as well as their virtues. Hence the moral theologians are in agreement that for the sake of history itself, there is always a sufficient reason, in virtue of the common good, for relating all certainly true events, and backing up with documents (cf. Prummer, II, §194). This applies to all persons who are public, who have a role in history, and notably writers, authors, artists and men of ideas, and even with respect to acts that were not publicly known while they were alive. It is only by the full picture of their lives that their impact on history can be evaluated. Thus it cannot be considered a sin against justice for persons to have made known the already published sins of Eric Gill, who as an activist in the Catholic Distributist movement was a public and historical figure. Nevertheless, a disorder can frequently arise in such matters, due to a certain curiosity about R . 43 s c o t t evil things that is common to fallen human nature. It is very easy for the mode of telling of sins to be excessive and scandalous, and to become a serious sin against charity. Such is the case of those who would concentrate on a man’s sins before his conversion, or who would describe his sins in a very graphic manner. This is particularly the case with sins against the sixth commandment, in which all detail is an occasion of sin, and very dangerous to relate or to read. Some people, however, wrongly take advantage of such sins to promote their own cause. The Internet is easily abused for gossip mongering, and those who went into the details of Gill’s moral life on the Internet were sinning against charity by the manner and publicity that they gave to this discussion, and also on account of the scandal that an unnecessary and excessively public discussion of sins against purity does cause. The key issue is the common good. Persons who have a particularly immoral life should only be discussed if the common good requires it, as it does with Luther or Henry VIII. However, the Catholic in charity ought to avoid so doing if it is not really necessary for history. It is for this reason that prudence dictates that it is preferable not to quote from or bring up the subject of such persons, particular if they are Catholic, on account of the scandal that the telling of historical facts could cause. Q Is it morally obligatory to vote? It is certainly true that the modernists consider democracy, and the right to vote, as sacrosanct, an immediate consequence of human dignity, directly connected with their humanistic religion. A www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • February 2007 44 Reacting against this, knowing as we do how much the electoral system is unjust, realizing how much modern democracy is based upon the false liberal principle of human freedom, escaping from all objective divine and moral law as it does, aware of how little real choice there is between the candidates, as also of how false is the impression that one man’s vote is really going to make a difference to such a secular, ungodly system–we might easily conclude that there is no obligation to vote at all. Yet the Church’s teaching on the subject is not anything new. Without approving the modern system of democracy and its false principle of the sovereignty of the people, the Church nevertheless binds us to contribute towards the common good of society, by an obligation of legal justice. This principle is expressed well by Pope Pius XII in his April 20, 1946, discourse to Italian Catholic Action: The people is called on to take an always larger part in the public life of the nation. This participation brings with it grave responsibilities. Hence the necessity for the faithful to have clear, solid, precise knowledge of their duties in the moral and religious domain with respect to their exercise of their civil rights, and in particular of the right to vote. In fact, Pope Pius XII had clearly explained that it is precisely on account of the anti-Catholic and secular spirit that surrounds Catholics that they have the duty to defend the Church by the correct exercise of their right to vote. It is to prevent a greater evil. He had stated on March 16, 1946, to the parish priests of Rome: The exercise of the right to vote is an act of grave moral responsibility, at least with respect to the electing of those who are called to give to a country its constitution and its laws, and in particular those that affect the sanctification of holy days of obligation, marriage, the family, schools and the just and equitable regulation of many social questions. It is the Church’s duty to explain to the faithful the moral duties that flow from this electoral right. Pope Pius XII was even more explicit two years later, again when speaking to the parish priests of Rome. He explained that in the precise circumstances of the time it was an obligation under pain of mortal sin for all the faithful to use their vote, and this even for women. Although it is certainly true that in the traditional conception of democracy it is only the heads of families who vote, it is perfectly permissible for women to use the right of vote when it is granted, and in fact it becomes an obligation to do so when the common good depends upon all Catholics using their vote correctly. Here is the text of March 10, 1948: In the present circumstances, it is a strict obligation for all those who have the right to vote, men and women, to take part in the elections. Whoever abstains from doing so, in particular by indolence or weakness, commits a sin grave in itself, a mortal fault. Each one must follow the THE ANGELUS • February 2007 www.angeluspress.org dictate of his own conscience. However, it is obvious that the voice of conscience imposes on every Catholic to give his vote to the candidates who offer truly sufficient guarantees for the protection of the rights of God and of souls, for the true good of individuals, families and of society, according to the love of God and Catholic moral teaching. This application of the Church’s social teaching to the particular situation of the time is in accord with the teaching of the moral theologians, who speak of the grave sin of omission for those who simply neglect to elect good, Catholic representatives, and of the duty of doing all in our power of encouraging suitable laymen to work towards using the electoral system to obtain worthy lawmakers. However, how far removed we are from this situation! Clearly, we are no longer in the circumstance of having to change between Catholic and non-Catholic, morally upright and liberal representatives. All the alternatives are liberal, the deception and the manipulation of the public by the media is rampant. In practice, it generally comes down to the question of whether or not it is permissible to vote for an unworthy candidate (e.g., a candidate who only approves abortion in cases of rape or incest), for he would at least (we suppose) be the lesser evil. In such a case, there can be no obligation to vote, for all the reasons that could oblige, mentioned by Pope Pius XII, no longer apply. Nevertheless, it is still permissible to vote in such a case, provided that one can be sure that there truly is a lesser evil, and that there is a grave reason to do so (e.g., to avoid abortion on demand, or promotion of unnatural methods of birth control), and one has the good intention of providing for the good of society as best one can. This is called material cooperation. However, it can never be obligatory. Consequently, in the rare case that there is a clearly, publicly Catholic candidate who supports the teaching of the Church, there is a strict moral obligation to vote, under pain of mortal sin. Where there is a clear gain possible from the correct use of a vote for some other candidate, it can be recommended or counseled. However, when there is no clear advantage it would be better to abstain, so as not to contribute even to a material participation. Fr. Peter Scott was ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988. After assignments as seminary professor and the U.S. District Superior, he is currently the rector of Holy Cross Seminary in Goulburn, Australia. “Open Letter to Parents of Post-Modern Children” (pp.2-9) Further Reading 00 0 , 8 4 old s Dear Newlyweds Pope Pius XII This is a book to be guided by all through married life. Newlywed, married, and engaged couples will be inspired by Pius XII’s explanation of Matrimony and his insight into the practical problems of everyday marriage. A book to turn to again and again. Ideal for marriage preparation classes, marriage counseling, and as an engagement, wedding, or anniversary gift. The Art of Catholic Mothering Edited by Maura Koulik How does a Catholic mother instill the Faith in her children? How does she deal with issues of education and discipline? How does she maintain her own faith in the face of life’s challenges? To answer these questions, editor Maura Koulik has gathered the stories of twelve Catholic mothers. With grace, honesty, and humor, these mothers tell of their struggles. Listen, Son (1940) 12 heart-to-heart talks to be given by Dad to his boys and young men about the mysterious processes of reproducing life. Presents timeless supernatural attitude in accord with Catholic principles. No crude language. Graduated structure in 3 parts: ages 9-13; 14-16; 16-19. Suggestions for preserving purity. 75pp, softcover, STK# 5104Q $4.95 Dressing with Dignity Mrs. Colleen Hammond Challenges today’s demeaning fashions and provides you with the information you need to protect yourself and your loved ones from the onslaught of immodest clothing. There is a difference between dressing attractively and dressing to attract. Reallife examples of how women can accentuate the grace and beauty of their femininity, and she shows that modest does not mean “frumpy.” 269pp, softcover, STK# 6730Q $14.95 112pp, softcover, STK# 8173. $12.95 Raising Your Children Fatherhood and Family Christ in the Home Confusion prevails about the job of bringing up children. Integrity Magazine, a postWWII journal by lay Catholics for living an integral Catholic life, has been sifted for insights on every aspect of raising children.  Teaching Children to Pray  Purity and the Young Child  Creative Activity  The Dating System  Crisis of Faith in Youth  The Vocation of Parents  Marriage for Keeps. Fathers are essential for a Catholic America.The question is, “What do fathers do?” Forward-thinking Integrity Magazine gives answers:  Men, Mary, and Manliness  The Family Has Lost Its Head  Economics of the Catholic Family  Afraid to Marry?  Glorifying the Daily Grind  The Heroism of the Big Family  Bringing the Church into Work  Forward to the Land. Ideal for the engaged, marMsgr. John Hagen riage instruction classes, and What you need to know for those married many years. in every facet of raising A guidebook to finding a happy children.  The real nature marriage, keeping a happy of the child and how to marriage, and raising happy deal with it  What not to children. His section on impart- do when disciplining your ing sex knowledge to children child  The “flip side” of the is helpful to parents faced with Fourth Commandment and this complex problem and the consequences  Pitfalls duty. Many Catholic couples to avoid when helping your today will never know true love child choose a career  because they are tainted with What you must be willing to worldly ideas on marriage. Fr. do for your child’s education Plus strikes back by presenting  Three things you must not Marriage as a sacrament. do with the family finances. Vol.2, The Integrity Series 256pp, softcover, STK# 6598Q $14.95 Vol.3, The Integrity Series 200pp, softcover, STK# 6721Q $12.95 How to Raise Good Catholic Children Mary Reed Newland A 50-year-old classic (formerly: We and Our Children). Shows how classic Christian principles of sanctity can be practiced by every family. Even the littlest ones can be introduced to the practice of virtue. 224pp, softcover, STK# 8041Q $16.95 138pp, color softcover, STK# 8069 $10.00 Rev. Fr. Raoul Plus, SJ 343pp, larger type, softcover, STK 8128 $18.95 The Absolute Essentials of Bringing Up Children 62pp, softcover, STK# 3106Q $5.95 Parents, Children and the Facts of Life Fr. Henry V. Sattler To parents, sex education means primarily the training of boys and girls to be pure and innocent, and eventually to enter marriage with a noble and holy purpose. This book helps parents fulfill this extremely important duty. Applying the traditional Catholic principles to very practical questions, he explains what parents should tell their children, when and how they should tell it. 271pp, softcover, index, STK 8138Q $12.50 W E N one Hundred Years of Modernism A GENEALOGY OF THE PRINCIPLES of the second vatican council Fr. Dominic Bourmaud “Change” was the buzzword of the 1960’s and ‘70’s. When it hit the Catholic Church, its faithful were told to expect a glorious springtime. Instead, doubt and instability have prevailed. Where has the destruction come from? All indicators point to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) as its epicenter. To prove it, the author reconstructed a family tree–a genealogy–of Vatican II to uncover the chain of causes that resulted in this Council and its novelties. The Vatican II “effect” is related to a heresy going back one hundred years: Modernism. The modernists, actively combatted by Pope Pius X (1903-14) and condemned by the encyclical Pascendi (1907), had been working ever since to align the Church with new ideas in philosophy. But their “new ideas” had an origin, too. Following back links in the chain, the author reached the first link: Martin Luther. One Hundred Years of Modernism is an Everyman’s survey of the history of philosophical ideas from Aristotle’s sane realism to the existentialists’ insanity. In chronological order, from its roots in Luther’s principle of private judgment through its subsequent developments, it shows that modernism, prematurely declared dead after St. Pius X’s reign, revived after World War II and reached the highest levels of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy. From causes to effects and from masters to disciples. The book is divided into five historical periods: Christian Truth, Protestant critical modernism in Germany, modernism in France, neomodernism in Europe, and triumphant modernism in Rome itself. 364pp, softcover, STK# 5242 $24.95 Saint Pius X: Restorer of the Church Yves Chiron Chiron breaks new ground by establishing an exact, fair portrait of St. Pius X, who is often portrayed as a pious pope of great Faith, but “retrograde, simplistic and close-minded to modern...ideas.” In fact, he was not a pietistic simpleton, but a powerful and brilliant defender of the True Faith in the face of the Modernism that was invading the Church even in those days–the beginnings of the Liberalism that resurfaced at Vatican II. Mr. Chiron demonstrates that he was a tireless defender of the rights of the Church against secularism, a great reforming pope; restoring Gregorian chant as the sacred music of the Church; reforming the Curia; initiating the codification of Canon Law, and devoting himself especially to reforming the seminaries in order to form pious, zealous young priests, on guard against the creeping infection of Modernism. Chiron draws from many sources, especially Italian, where this man rose from being a poor farm boy to being the Vicar of Christ. The author was also able to research the Vatican Archives. There is no better “rags-to–riches” story, for he came from a poor but hardworking family and rose to the heights of spiritual riches. 352pp, 6" x 9" softcover, 24pp. of illustrations, STK# 6768Q $19.95 PartisansMichael of Error Davies Explains why modernism is the most dangerous of all heresies and the steps taken by St. Pius X to suppress it. Rarely refers to the contemporary Church, yet the reader will want to say, “But this is just what is happening today!” Gives a basic understanding of modernism which will strengthen your resolve to fight against it and protect yourself and your family from its influence. 109pp, softcover, STK# 3011. $14.00 Pascendi Dominici Gregis On Doctrine of the ­Modernists (1907) Pope St. Pius X The prophetic encyclical of Pius X which defined Modernism, cut it up, and let it hang out to dry. Modernists can’t hide from this light. 77pp, STK# 5306Q $3.95 www.angeluspress.org l 1-8 00-9 6 6-73 37 Please visit our website to see our entire selection of books and music.