Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Reintroducing Logic and Reason to the Age of Sentimentalism

Bishop Boyea Puts His Flock In Danger

Earlier this week, Fr. Ed Fride, pastor of Christ the King parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan made news when he hosted a concealed pistol license class. Fr. Fride gave two reasons in a seven-page message to his parish about the decision. One reason explained how difficult it is to fit these classes into busy schedules. The second was “doing it here at the parish, co-sponsored by the parish, was an attempt to get people to to realize the reality of the threat and take it seriously”.

Bishop Boyea

Unfortunately, Bishop Earl Boyea, Bishop of the Diocese of Lansing released a statement addressing the concerns of guns on church property and the classes being held at Christ the King (emphasis mine):

Bishop Boyea has never given permission for anyone to carry a concealed weapon in a church or school of the Diocese of Lansing.

You don’t need permission to carry a concealed weapon in Michigan. You only need to have a permit issued by the State. It only becomes a concern if there is a visible sign outside the entrance.

This ban on weapons has now been extended to “open carry” in our churches and our schools, thus making them gun-free zones.

Gun-free zones in schools have worked well for Columbine and Sandy Hook. You would think people would learn; banning guns only hinders law abiding citizens. Those who are looking to inflict violence on the innocent in a church or school will still bring in their guns.

Additionally, Bishop Boyea further states that Concealed Pistol License classes are inappropriate activities to be held on Church property.

I’m unsure how properly learning how to use a fire arm in a safe and reasonable manner in order to protect yourself, your family and your neighbor is considered “inappropriate”. Self-defense is a God-given right and is outlined in the Catechism paragraphs 2263-2264.

As always we rely on the public or professional security forces to provide for public safety on Church property.”

In other words, no matter how much training you have, you aren’t allowed to carry. You aren’t trained enough to defend others unless it is your paid job. Using the Bishop’s own logic, we can ignore his comments on guns because he isn’t a professional in this area. Since his job is to teach Catholicism, he should stick to that. Additionally, if a shooter enters a Church and begins murdering those in attendance, the response time for a “professional security force” is going to be at least 5 minutes, as opposed to the trained parishioner’s response time of 5 seconds. But, if we wait for the professionals, we can assume more blood will be spilled.

noguns

Bishop Boyea has effectively made his flock easy targets by any individual who wishes to inflict bodily harm on a parish. You would think in a day when we have militant atheists and ISIS as threats on our doorsteps, the Bishop would be more than willing to protect his flock.

Some would argue that if you respect the Bishop’s wishes and if a shooting was to occur, those caught in the cross-fire would be martyrs. I would argue that this is incorrect. Catholic teaching tells us that we have the right to protect ourselves and our neighbors (CCC 2263-2264), using physical force if need be. If a gunman or gunmen were to enter a church and begin shooting, I would have the God-given right to use physical force to stop the threat. Seeing as they have a long ranged weapon, I would need a long ranged weapon to stop the threat. I certainly won’t have the time to run up and stop them using hand-to-hand combat.

Additionally, being killed while present at Mass does not automatically make one a martyr. There is an interior disposition that is required which necessitates the martyr to desire and want martyrdom (CCC 2473-2474).

If anyone dies because of his decision, Bishop Boyea will be responsible. It is irresponsible and negligent for him to make his flock sitting ducks. Let’s just hope ISIS is respectful of his request to leave their guns at home.

Jeff April 21, 2015 5 Comments Permalink

The Hail Mary is a Scriptural Prayer

Many Protestants and Catholics falsely believe the Hail Mary is a prayer written by men. On the contrary, it is a prayer which has it’s roots in Sacred Scripture. In order to demonstrate this, let’s compare the Hail Mary with it’s biblical counterparts.

Mary Annunciation

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women…”

And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:28 Douay Rheims

“…Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Luke 1:42 Douay Rheims

Holy Mary, Mother of God…

And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Luke 1:43 Douay Rheims

Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The majority of the prayer is taken from the Bible. While the second half is not taken verbatim from the Bible, it represents core theology that must be recognized by anyone who identifies as Christian. Mary was immaculately conceived. Thus, we can call her holy due to her sinless nature. God is three persons in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She is the Mother of God because Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

Since Mary is in Heaven, she can intercede for us by presenting our prayer requests to Jesus. We read in John 2:3-5, Mary informs Jesus that the wedding hosts have run out of wine. Jesus, at His mother’s request, transforms water into wine, and not just any wine, but wine that was far superior than what they had been drinking.

Cana-01

Likewise, in John 19:26-27 we read how Jesus gives Mary to the entire world as mother of all. Thus, Mary is our mother. We are baptized into Jesus Christ, and through this baptism into His body, Mary is our mother. And like any good mother who loves her children, she prays unceasingly for her children to abandon their sin, and return to the Lord, her Lord, her Son.

We ask Mary to pray for us now, because we go through temptations, trials and tribulations on a daily basis. When we are dying in our last hour, we are bombarded by Satan and his minions because he knows this time is crucial. If he can get us to fall during this last hour, he will have our soul with him in Hell for all eternity. We beg Mary to ask God to pour forth His graces upon us. that we may not fall into the trap the enemy has set, so that we may instead be granted access to our inheritance in Heaven. For those of us fortunate to know when the hour of our death is near, we would be wise to have a priest near to hear our confession before we die.

The Hail Mary is a prayer which Satan hates as Mary is the remedy to the sin which Eve brought into the world. Mary, by giving her Magnificat, brought forth Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. c.f. Genesis 3:15.

Develop a habit of praying the Hail Mary whenever temptation occurs. Run to your mother when trouble is near. Pray the Rosary daily as Mary has given 15 promises to those who faithfully recite it. And remember; Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour.

Jeff April 14, 2015 Leave A Comment Permalink

The Traditional Latin Mass is Superior To the Novus Ordo

There exist stark differences between the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass. Both Masses are valid in the Church. The Concise Catholic Dictionary defines valid as:

“founded on the truth or fact; in Church law, that which conforms to conditions essential to the efficacy of a sacrament; that is, the proper rite in administration, the intention and jurisdiction of the minister, and the moral fitness and intention of the recipient.”

There is much discussion about what direction the Novus Ordo Mass needs to take in order to be more reverent and fitting for proper worship. I believe the Church should restore the sacred and ban the Novus Ordo, and only offer the Latin Mass. In order to illustrate my line of thinking, I would like to present the following analogy:

The Mass is absolutely necessary for the health of the soul. Likewise, water is absolutely necessary for the health of the body. The Traditional Latin Mass, or the Mass of All Ages, has been celebrated by the Church for the last 2000 years. The Latin Mass is like pure water, which is found at its original source. There are no additives, pollutants, toxins or anything that would ruin its purity. The Novus Ordo is like water from a river filled with dirty pollutants.

waterfall

I want to make it abundantly and absolutely clear that one can drink from either the pure water (the TLM) or the polluted river (the NO) and survive. It is not wise to drink from the polluted river for too long, lest you suffer unwanted side affects. Similarly, attending Novus Ordo Masses in which there is little to no reverence and that resembles a Protestant service has unwanted side affects in one’s spiritual formation.

One can filter the water to help remove the pollutants. With regards to the Novus Ordo this filter would be reverence. However, no matter how many times the water runs through a filter, there will still be some trace amounts of pollutants in the water. It is not pure. The less reverent the Novus Ordo Mass, the more pollutants there are in the water. Similarly, no matter how much reverence is added to the Novus Ordo, there will still be remnants of Modernism and Protestantism. Modernism is defined by Pope St. Pius X as the synthesis of all heresies and was rightly condemned in his encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis. For a great summary of Modernism, please check out The Old Evangelization’s Modernism Series.

Now, using this analogy, if one were to see a vast group of people drinking water from a polluted river, knowing full well there is a pure source of water to drink, you would have them stop drinking from the polluted river and drink from the pure spring. If there were not pure spring available, it would suffice to drink the polluted water after it has been repeatedly filtered. However, we know that there exists a pure spring that has enough water to hydrate the entire world.

River pollution

While it is admirable to want to slowly move people over from an irreverent Novus Ordo to a reverent Novus Ordo, so they can appreciate the Traditional Latin Mass, it makes little sense when the above analogy is applied. Unfiltered polluted water is bad for the body. It will allow the individual to continue to survive, but it will cause other negative effects to the body. An irreverent Novus Ordo, assuming the words of consecration are said properly, will feed the soul the necessary food required for it, but will cause ill formed consciences and catechesis. What’s best for a person who is drinking polluted water is to give him the fresh, pure water, no matter how much he fights it. Filtered water is far better for an individual than unfiltered water, but pure water is far superior and will provide lasting positive effects. Likewise, a reverent Novus Ordo Mass better for Catholics than an irreverent Novus Ordo, but a Traditional Latin Mass is most superior and provides ever-lasting effects which assist Catholics in their sanctification.

The argument that an individual who is attending an irreverent Novus Ordo, or even a reverent Novus Ordo will leave the Church if the Traditional Latin Mass is forced upon him seems silly. If he was to leave the Church because of his Mass preferences, than he wasn’t a faithful Catholic to begin with. It is not our job to keep every single Catholic within the Church, but to give those members of the Church who want to become Saints the tools to do so.

Using the water analogy, if a group of people stop drinking water and die of dehydration because they do not want to drink the purified water, than that is the problem of those who are too prideful to admit they are wrong.

Some argue that if the Church immediately moved over from the Novus Ordo, either irreverent or reverent, to the Traditional Latin Mass, it would cause many Catholics to leave the Church. While it is admirable to bring over as many Catholics as possible to the Traditional Latin Mass, it is imperative to realize we are dealing with souls. We aren’t dealing with hydration and the physical body, but rather, with spiritual food and the soul.

It may be better to drink from the polluted river than to die of dehydration, but to keep people from drinking out of the pure stream because they might die of dehydration if we move them over to pure water too soon is a cop out. If people want to stay alive, they will drink the water that is put in front of them. If Catholics truly believe in the Church and her authority, they will attend the Traditional Latin Mass. It might even be time to realize Pope Benedict XVI was correct when he said “From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge—a Church that has lost much. It will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning.” If the Eucharist is the source and summit of  the Christian Life, then perhaps the Novus Ordo Mass is the perfect place to start afresh.

Jeff April 9, 2015 2 Comments Permalink