Highlight: Commentator "Grumpy Beggar" on Fr. Z's Post for Burke's "Demotion" or Transfer to Malta

Hello Everyone.

I ask that in light of some of the other calamities abound in our Church, read my posts the recent SSPX bans in two dioceses in parts one and two, with my take on it (which is in essence, against Radical Traditionalism, and not necessarily in favour of the bishops' motivations themselves.)

No sooner does one crisis hit the fan for the Radical Traditionalists, than they get all in a tizzy over a new (yet not unknown) problem. It's official: Pontifical Latin Mass-saying (in full cappa magna and gloves) Cardinal Burke, is not holding any more key positions in the Curia and will be the Patron of the Order of the Knights of Malta. See here for Fr. Z's posting on the matter. Some other bishop is replacing him as the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, though we do not know his track record. Fr Z at that link gives his most charitable assessment of the transfer as he can ... which doesn't say much.

What do I gotta say about it? The writing was on the wall, and it was just awaiting an official notice. Generally speaking to the Radical Catholic Reactionaries: yeah, one of your precious "Trad Heroes" (My Term! Get my permission before using it!), got booted due to 'big bad mean ol' liberal Francis' papacy'. Wah Wah Wah. Go cry me a river and stop creating lies about His Holiness.

Now, does it affect me at the ground level in the Archdiocese of Toronto with regard to carrying out the Latin Mass, or my spiritual salvation? No. Worldwide, it might give weaker-minded bishops a non-official "permission" as it will to hate on Trads and the Latin Mass more. I know that His Eminence, Cardinal Collins is not that kind of bishop! On the contrary, he's respectful to the Latin Mass, as long as the foolish Trads Behaving Badly and the laity don't screw things up!

More importantly, what we need is to have a proper perspective, thinking with the mind of the Church and in a spirit of benefit of the doubt. We need to keep hope alive! So allow me to share some excellent commentary from the comment box of the Fr. Z post above from a "Grumpy Beggar" who shows us how to take ++Burke's re-arrangement in stride:

Grumpy Beggar says:
8 November 2014 at 12:11 pm

C’mon guys , Father Z just did requiems.

” The language is at best confused, and I’m afraid that some of the Synod Fathers may not have reflected sufficiently on the implications of that, or maybe because the language is confused, didn’t understand completely what was being said.”

Would it help, even if we could find out the origin and particularly the identity of every single person who had a hand in formulating the actual text of the documents/reports – all of them : initial, interim and final ? Or, would we then just have an object that we could hate ?

“The language is at best confused,” indeed. And I would personally need to do an enormous amount of mental gymnastics before I could ever begin to believe that the wording – or at least critical parts of it, had not been engineered with the intention of rendering such results ; namely, confusion.

If , in fact , as Cardinal Burke suggests, ” some of the Synod Fathers may not have reflected sufficiently on the implications of that, or maybe because the language is confused. . . “ then who better to “un-confuse” them than a straight-shooter who clearly sees where the confusion lies (double entendre) ? Especially , a straight shooter who has just been unleashed.

Fr Z said:
“. . . now that Card. Burke is no longer the Prefect of a Dicastery, he is far freer to act and to speak than he was before.”

So, perhaps he is being positioned at this time so that in speaking more freely he may wake up the general comatose Catholic public, and more importantly some of those sleepy-head brothers of his . . . What a revolutionary idea: Re-evangelizing (some of) the Curia. Just think . . . Cardinal Burke just might be able to jump both Cardinal Kasper and his mentor-Hans Kung at their own game.

And we need to take solace – be reminded that Cardinal Pell , Cardinal Ouellette , and some others are also true sons of the Holy Catholic Church who don’t get fooled by any amount or style of sophistry.

It’s still premature IMO to hit the panic button . Didn’t our Lord say there would be “ravenous wolves” coming into the flock. And St. Peter forewarned us quite matter-of-factly in his second Letter :

” There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them . . . ” [2 Peter 2:1]

. . . Anybody audaciously dim enough to believe that what Cardinal Burke has been doing recently is tantamount to denying the Master who ransomed him . . . ? Of course not – he’s defending the truth with clarity. That in itself , doesn’t really reflect so well on anyone who is condemning him , or who would wish to stifle him. Perhaps there is some plausibility in proposing that the Bishop of Rome feels he would have less use for Cardinal Burke in his plans ? Whatever the case, it’s evident to us that our Blessed Lord also has His plan(s) ; and didn’t He say, “My ways are not your ways” ? (I know, I know . . . some of us are thinking, “Well then maybe God could send that same sentiment to Pope Francis in the form of a registered letter.”)

It happened.

So , don’t worry – be grumpy ! And most of all, we mustn’t stop praying !

Think about it . . . look at all the umm, wonderful (oww – it hurt my fingers to type that word) things Cardinal Kasper has accomplished recently – and he’s officially retired . . . I think a good Cardinal – unleashed and armed with the truth might easily be able to dwarf those accomplishments with a few more of his own.

Let’s watch and see. . . Remember what happened when they put St. Peter in prison ? Remember what happened leading up to the event of his release ? .

“Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.”
[Acts 12:5]

We need to see this as our call to prayer (persevering prayer) once the lament is over.

Doesn't sound so grumpy, no? I'd say this is a good perspective to listen to, unlike the sour sack diatribes of the angry Radical Catholic Reactionaries, a.k.a. Trads Behaving Badly. 

Pax, Julian. 

Highlight: Abbey Roads' Terry Nelson With Great Reflection on Radical Catholic Reactionary Blogosphere

Hello Everyone,

Don't have much to report on Latin Mass stuff right now. However, I will leave you with a little nugget for your reading pleasure.

A few days ago, I caught something from one of the blogs that I've now followed, Abbey Roads by Terry Nelson. He's a young Catholic male buck like myself on the right side of Catholic orthodoxy. I don't have anything yet to indicate he's a Latin Mass attendee or not, but what he writes is a breath of fresh air in a poisoned blogosphere with Trads Behaving Badly.

Recently, he commented quite excellently on the situation I had sunk into spiritual despair about a few weeks ago, in a general manner. You should take a good hard read at this, and even quotes from a favourite Redemptorist saint of mine, St. Alphonsus (the Redemptorist's founding father.). The whole text of the post is worth reading, and so will be displayed in full, in courier font which I use on S.U.D. for quotes and citations of text not my own:

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Abbey Roads contra blogdum ...

Go forth and proselytize the living hell out of them!

The spiritual desolation generated in blogdum does not come from the good spirit.

I almost got sucked down that vortex of negative speculation and gossip and the sky-is-falling.  I strongly urge readers to go to confession, talk to your spiritual director, or a good, solid, holy priest.  Don't go to strangers online.  Don't listen to me or any self-guided apologist/evangelist/mystical twit online.  A few days ago a good priest with a blog said to take the miraculous stories associated with a certain saint 'with a grain of salt'.  I say take his blog with a grain of salt.  Take my blog with a grain of salt.  Take those who cajole and condemn the bishops and even the pope with a grain of salt.  If you have a simple, ordinary pure faith and deep piety - avoid reading blogs written by the disgruntled and the rude rad-trad-gic alienated grumblers - be they ordained or un-ordained disorderly.

"Discernment of spirits is a challenging task. It requires maturity, inner quiet, and an ability to reflect on one’s interior life."

Spiritual desolation, in contrast, is an experience of the soul in heavy darkness or turmoil. We are assaulted by all sorts of doubts, bombarded by temptations, and mired in self-preoccupations. We are excessively restless and anxious and feel cut off from others. Such feelings, in Ignatius’s words, “move one toward lack of faith and leave one without hope and without love.”

The key question in interpreting consolation and desolation is: where is the movement coming from and where is it leading me? Spiritual consolation does not always mean happiness. Spiritual desolation does not always mean sadness. Sometimes an experience of sadness is a moment of conversion and intimacy with God. Times of human suffering can be moments of great grace. Similarly, peace or happiness can be illusory if these feelings are helping us avoid changes we need to make.

For people who are trying to live a life pleasing to God, the good spirit strengthens, encourages, consoles, removes obstacles, and gives peace. The evil spirit tries to derail them by stirring up anxiety, false sadness, needless confusion, frustration, and other obstacles. - Discernment of spirits.

Now about those bishops.

St. Alphonsus Liguori had some things to say that may be helpful to consider in our time.  There have always been problems in the Church, bishops and pastors have been exiled, founders of religious communities kicked out of their own orders, and so on.  Christ promised us everything - 'and persecutions besides'.  We need the perspective of God - we judge as humans judge and fail to see the divine purpose behind his providential designs.

As regards my opinions concerning the present state of the church with relation to the election of the new Pope, what opinion of any weight could a miserable, ignorant, and unspiritual person like myself possibly give? There is need for prayer and much prayer. All the human science and prudence that there is cannot extricate the church from the present state of relaxation and confusion in which every section finds itself; the all-powerful arm of God is necessary.

As regards the bishops, very few of them possess genuine zeal for souls. Almost all religious communities – and one could omit the “almost”– are relaxed. As a result of the present state of general confusion, observance has collapsed and obedience is a thing of the past. The state of the secular clergy is still worse: so, in a word, there is a need for a general reform of all clerics and ecclesiastics if there is to be any improvement in the present great corruption of morals among the laity.

I assure you, my friends, that I desire, like yourself, to see remedies for so many and such unfortunate situations. In all this matter a thousand ideas circulate in my head which I feel like telling everybody about.But, mindful of my own unworthiness, I have not the effrontery to publicize them lest I should appear to wish to reform the whole world. So I share these ideas with you not from any arrogance but for my own peace of mind. - St. Alphonsus

So knock it off.

Have a blessed and holy Sunday, whatever rite you choose. Pax, Julian.