We Resist You to the Face - Part I

by Atila Sinke Guimarães, Michael J. Matt, John Vennari, Marian Therese Horvat, Ph.D

Chapter 1 - Status Quaestionis
- Since Vatican Council II, the Holy, Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church has been passing through a radical change.
- Cardinal Leo Jòzef Suenens described it as the French Revolution in the Church; Cardinal Yves Congar compared it to the Communist Revolution of 1917; Fr Hans Küng affirmed that with the Council, by means of "a revolution within the order," the Church had "changed her course in an extraordinary way."
(citations available from the book)

A few notes on these men who helped shape the Council:
- Cardinal Suenens: Proponent of the so-called 'Charismatic Renewal,' opponent of Humanae Vitae (and believer that conjugal love takes precedence over procreation), at the forefront of ecumenism, proponent of collegiality, religious liberty, increased role of the laity, and relaxation of religious life rules. If there was ever a singular "poster boy" for the post-conciliar changes, it is Cardinal Suenens. He controversially wrote that the God known historically to the Catholic faith should die. (Here) He also published the following: "The Second Vatican Council marked the end of an epoch, or even several epochs, depending on one's historical perspective. It brought to a close the Constantinian era, the era of "Christendom" and the era of the "Counter-Reformation" and the era of Vatican I. In reference to that past, it marks a turning point in the history of the Church." (Co-Responsability: Dominating Idea of the Council and its Pastoral Consequences," in Theology of Renewal, Montreal: Palm Publishers, 1968, vol. II, p. 7)

- Yves Congar: Active in the ecumenical movement, Congar was once removed from teaching or publishing for a time by the Holy See, during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. At least one of his books was placed on the Index of Banned Books by the Vatican. However, his reputation was rehabilitated, as he was made a cardinal, in 1994, by Pope John Paul II. Congar encouraged openness to ideas stemming from Protestant Christianity and has been described as the single most formative influence on Vatican II. He rejected the idea of the monarchical structure of the Church under the sovereign rule of the papacy and the notion of the "Vicar of Christ" advocating instead for collegiality and a democratic Church (Here in the book "Jean Puyo Interviews Fr. Congar"). He was one of the leading influences in the post-conciliar "humanocentric" (man focused) theology instead of theocentric (God focused); the abused terminology "human dignity" could have potentially stemmed from his ideas about turning all of the focus onto humanism versus love of neighbor for love of God.

- Hans Küng: In the late 1960s, he became the first major Roman Catholic theologian since the late 19th century Old Catholic Church schism to publicly reject the doctrine of papal infallibility. Consequently, on December 18, 1979, he was stripped of his missio canonica, his licence to teach as a Roman Catholic theologian, but carried on teaching as a tenured professor of ecumenical theology at the University of Tübingen until his retirement (Emeritierung) in 1996. To this day he remains a persistent critic of papal infallibility, which he claims is man-made (and thus reversible) rather than instituted by God. He was not excommunicated...and is considered "a Catholic priest in good standing." He appeared on the Phil Donahue Show. In October 1986, he participated in the Third Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter held at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. In the early 1990s, Küng initiated a project called Weltethos (Global Ethic), which is an attempt at describing what the world's religions have in common (rather than what separates them) and at drawing up a minimal code of rules of behaviour everyone can accept. He visited the nearby Beth El synagogue and spoke there on modern German-Jewish relations. In 1998, he published Dying with Dignity, co-written with Walter Jens, in which he affirms acceptance of euthanasia from a Christian viewpoint. On September 26, 2005, he had a friendly discussion about Catholic theology over dinner with Pope Benedict XVI, surprising some observers. In a 2009 interview with Le Monde, Küng deeply criticised the lifting of the excommunications on the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X. His latest publication, Der Anfang aller Dinge (The beginning of all things), discusses the relationship between science and religion. In an analysis spanning from quantum physics to neuroscience, he comments on the current debate about evolution in the United States, dismissing those opposed to the teaching of evolution as "naive [and] un-enlightened." 

- [Questions began to surface about the "purpose of the Catholic Church."] From this perspective the omnifarious glorification of God per omnia saecula saeculorum [forever and ever], we understand the salvific mission of the Catholic Church. The Glory of God and the exaltation of Holy Mother Church are her principal ends, along with the distribution of grace for the salvation of the elect.
- Innumerable times Catholics who have expressed the voice of the two-thousand-year-old tradition of the Church have directed themselves to the Chair of Peter...humbly they have begged Pope John Paul II and Paul VI to clarify the confusion that those reforms have caused and to show them how these conciliar reforms could harmonize with Catholic doctrine. However, their pleas have not been heard by the Pope or other representatives of the Church. Pope John Paul II has listened to and honored persons from the most varied of backgrounds, has been open to some of the most audacious initiatives, and has nourished certain dreams of the vanguard of progressivism. At the same time, he seems to regard with suspicion and turn his back on those who represent the Catholic tradition.
For example, while apologizing to the world for the "sins" of Catholics throughout history, he seems to have forgotten about an apology to the concerned faithful of the Church who have experienced unprecedented confusion and discouragement as a result of the Conciliar Revolution.
   Unfortunately, it is not only silence that greets the voice of traditionalists. There is also a process of trying to extinguish their voice.
- Some laymen who remain faithful to the perennial teaching of the Catholic Church see themselves forced, as a question of conscience, to take a stand.

Chapter II - The Principal Initiatives That Advance the Conciliar Revolution: Secularization and Ecumenism
- Two great initiatives: secularization (ad intra), or the adaption of the Church to the modern world; and ecumenism (ad extra), or the adaptation of the Church to false religions.

1. The Revolution ad intra, or SECULARIZATION
- With his aggiornamento, John XXIII initiated the work of the adaptation of the Church to the modern world...The alleged pretext was to "bring Christ to the world," but instead what took place was the opposite: the world entered inside the Church.
- In Gaudium et Spes, we can note the euphoria and enthusiasm about the Church's union with the world that prevailed at that time.
- The modern world is the fruit of three revolutions that have aimed to destroy Christendom: The Protestant Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Communist Revolution.
- Almost everything in the modern world is different from the society inspired by the principles of the Gospel. Thus, by adapting to the modern world, the conciliar Church in truth adapted herself to the Revolution. It is not surprising that this decision has inagurated, as Paul VI termed it, the process of the autodemolition of the Church.

A. Desacralization
- Liturgical reforms have brought about the following:
1. The destruction of the altars versus Deum (turned toward God)
2. The abolition of the communion rail and discontinuing the separation etween the presbytery and the nave of the faithful
3. Doing away with the Latin and replacing it with the vernacular
4. The introduction of "dialogue" between the celebratn and the faithful which disturbs recollection, prayer, and the act of adoration
5. The continuous impoverishment of liturgical vestments, altar cloths, and linens
6. The gradual abandonment of sacred chant and music and the introduction of popular music

- In addition, Churches themselves have been despoiled:
1. The end of side altars
2. The elimination of pulpits
3. The removal of the confessionals and statues
4. The selling of the rich objects
5. The silencing of church bells and hand bells (note, he means the bells rung during the Consecration, not choir hand bells like during Novus Ordo Christmas mass)
6. The adoption of the modern architecture in the building of new edifices.

[Further damage to the ecclesial hierarchy is as follows:]
1. The bishops rejected their position as the Princes of the Church, symbolized by the abandonment of their episcopal palaces, mantles, and amethyst rings
2. Many priests put aside their cassocks, discontinued praying the Breviary, and generally mitigated the life of piety. Their promises of obedience and chastity were strongly relativized.
3. In the seminaries, the serious study of History of the Church was replaced by social studies and keeping up with teh secular daily news
4. The study of Morals was substituted in part with sex education
5. reading from the lives of the Saints was left aside to watch the latest films and television programs
6. Religious formation ceded way to a political formation
7. Spiritual direction was supplanted by psychiatric orientation
8. Recollection and asceticism were abolished
9. The study of Latin was abandoned altogether in most seminaries
10. Religious rules were either relaxed or set aside
11. Centuries-old Catholic spirituality saw itself replaced with Buddhist asceticism and the practice of yoga
*An important consequence (aka [rotten] fruit) of this desacralization has been the crisis of vocations.

B. Egalitarianism

We Resist You to the Face by Catholic Journalists (TIA Inc. 2000)

This book can be purchased here.

As with all the books I summarize, I take no credit for anything written in them.
With this particular book, I do not necessarily espouse everything these authors suggest, but overall - at least a few chapters in - it does a pretty good job giving a cursory glance at the problems facing the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.

Right from the inside cover the reference is to Galatians 2:11:
"But when Cephas was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed."

It is based upon the true notion that one may, in very select circumstances and with all due patience, prudence and wisdom - resist lawful superiors, even the Pope, if he is found to be contradicting Catholic doctrine.

Without further explanation, I will get to Part I.

Continue to Part I...

Open Letter to Confused Catholics: Chapter III - What They Are Doing to the Mass

- I have before me some photos published in Catholic newspapers representing the mass as it is now often said (see “Examples” at the end of this chapter)…One common feature emerges from these scandalous pictures: the Eucharist is reduced to an everyday act, in commonplace surroundings, with commonplace utensils, attitudes and clothing. Now the so-called Catholic magazines which are sold on church bookstalls do not show these photos in order to criticize such ways, but on the contrary to recommend them…It says, “the Liturgical reform must go further…the unnecessary repetitions, the same form of words ever repeated, all this regulation holds back creativeness.”

- Certainly people come away from the Mass which strives to bring itself down to the level of mankind instead of raising them up to God…the encouragement given to go even further demonstrates a deliberate intention to destroy what is sacred.

Looks like a snack...

- Why make the hosts that are grey or brown by leaving in part of the bran? Are they trying to make us forget that phrase omitted from the new Offertory: hanc immaculatam hostiam, this immaculate and spotless Host?

Preparing the cakes?

- We frequently hear of the consecration of ordinary bread, levened with yeast, instead of the pure wheat flour prescribed…there has even been an American bishop who recommends little cakes containing milk, eggs, baking-powder,

honey and margarine.

- The desacralization extends to the persons vowed to the service of God, with the disappearance of ecclesiastical habit for priests and religious, the use of Christian names, familiarity and a secularized way of living, all in the name of a new principle and not, as they have tried to make us believe, for practical needs.

- It is not my intention here to establish a catalogue of the abuses that are to be met with (that can be found at www.traditioninaction.com , especially under the pictures ), but to give a few examples showing why Catholics today have so much at which to be perplexed and even scandalized.

- Places of worship are made available for rock events…Some churches and cathedrals have been given over to debauchery, drugs and filth of all kinds…How can the bishops and priests who have encouraged these things not fear to bring down divine punishment upon themselves and their people? It is already apparent in the fruitlessness of their work. It is all wasted because the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, desecrated as it is, no longer confers grace and no longer transmits it.

Photo from The Remnant

- The Council of Trent explained without any possible doubt that Our Lord is present in the smallest particles of the consecrated bread. What are we to think then of the Communion in the hand?...If people come to mass to break the bread of friendship, of the community meal, of the common faith, then it is quite natural that no excessive precautions should be taken. If the Eucharist is a symbol expressing simply the memory of a past event and the spiritual presence of Our Lord, it is quite logical

not to worry about a few crumbs which may fall on the floor.

- The faithful are obliged to communicate standing…Is it fitting that when we go to receive Christ before whom, says St. Paul, every knee shall bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, we should do so without the least sign of respect or allegiance?

- Am I just getting up a case against the so-called Conciliar Church? No, I am not inventing anything. [Even the Dean of Faculty of Theology of Strasbourg that the Eucharist is only a symbol, and that Christ is present in the people and the music]

Examples:

- Photos:

Modern Band...or priests ready for mass?

  (1) Behind an ordinary wooden table, which does not appear very clean and which has no cloth covering it, two persons wearing suits and ties elevate or present, one a chalice, the other a ciborium. The text informs me that they are priests, one of them the federal chaplain of Catholic Action. On the same side of the table, close to the first celebrant, are two girls wearing trousers, and near the second celebrant two boys in sweaters. A guitar is placed against a stool.

Youth Club Mass

(2) In another photo, the scene is the corner of a room which might be the main room of a youth club. The priest is standing, wearing a Taizé-like alb, before a milking stool which serves as an altar; there is a large earthenware bowl and a small mug of the same sort, together with two lighted candle-ends. Five young people are sitting cross-legged on the floor, one of them strumming a guitar.

Hopefully NOT saying mass..

(3) The third photo shows an event which occurred a few years ago…a priest who celebrated Mass on the deck of the sailing ship, in the company of two other men. All three were wearing shorts, one is even stripped to the waist. The priest is raising the Host, no doubt for the elevation. He is neither standing nor kneeling, but sitting or rather slumped against the boat’s

superstructure.

Self-Serve Communion

- [There was a] Mass televised November 22, 1981, where the ciborium was replaced by baskets which the congregation passed from one to another to be finally placed on the floor with what remained of the Sacred Species!

- In Poiters on Holy Thursday the same year, a big spectacular celebration consisted of the indiscriminate consecration of loaves and jugs of wine upon the tables from which everyone came and helped himself.

More Troubling Images:

Disco Mass w/Bishop

Gaucho Mass 

Lake Mass

Youth Mass

?????

Open Letter to Confused Catholics: Chapter II - "They are Changing Our Religion!"

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre

- First I must dispel a misunderstanding…I am not the head of a movement, even less the head of a particular church. I am not, as they never stop writing, “the leader of the traditionalists.” They have come to describe certain persons as “Lefebvrists.” I have no personal doctrine in the matter of religion. All my life I have held to what I was taught at the French Seminary in Rome, namely Catholic doctrine according to the interpretation given it by the teaching authority of the Church from century to century, since the death of the last Apostle which marked the end of Revelation.

- [The bishops are no longer saying the same things]; how often, for example, have you heard them speak of the social reign [Kingship] of Our Lord Jesus Christ? My personal experience never ceases to amaze me. These bishops for the most part were fellow students with me in Rome, trained in the same manner. And then, all of the sudden, I found myself alone. But I have invented nothing new; I was carrying on.

Flood Gates Opened

- Vatican II only opened the gates which were holding back the devastating flood…it was catastrophic. Everything, almost, was to be swept away; prayer first. Learning prayers by heart, as we did, is now denigrated as “parrot-fashion.” Children are no longer taught the words…except the Our Father. And even that is in a new version…which makes the child address God as “tu.” (This is the informal version of “you” rather than the formal “vous” commonly used for authority figures and, above all, for God) The familiar style of speech has also invaded the whole body of  vernacular liturgy: the new Sunday missal makes it exclusive and obligatory, though one can see no reason for a change so contrary to French style and custom.

-Prayer must be “spontaneous,” we must speak to God out of the abundance of our hearts, so they tell us now; and they scorn the marvelous educational system of the Church which has produced and perfected all these prayers, which have been the support of the greatest saints (Not to mention that the Our Father and Hail Mary are directly from Our Lord and Sacred Scripture respectively)

- In many Catholic schools they no longer want the prayer at the start of the lesson, on the pretext that some of the pupils are unbelievers or belong to other religions…young Catholics, meanwhile, must conceal their faith: this on the pretext of respecting the opinions of their schoolmates.

Must now respect consciences...religious liberty

-The genuflection is now practiced by only a small number of the faithful; the furniture has been changed and the prie-dieus (kneelers) have been broken up for firewood….what we see here is a desire to modify the relationship of man to God in the direction of familiarity and casualness, as if we were dealing with Him as equals.
- Everything that contributed  to the beauty of the buildings and the splendor of the ceremonies is decried as “triumphalism.” The décor must now be nearer to that of everyday life. But in the ages of faith, they offered to God the most precious things they had…Christians made financial sacrifices to honor Almighty God in the best way they could…when the three Magi came to visit the poor crib at Bethlehem, they brought with them gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

- Those readers who remember the years before the war will recall the fervor of the Corpus Christi processions with their numerous stations, the chants, the thuribles, the monstrance gleaming in the sun, carried by the priest under the gold-embroidered canopy; the banners, the flowers, the bells. The sense of adoration was born into the children’s souls and ingrained there for life. This primordial aspect of prayer seems greatly neglected. Do I hear somebody still taking about the necessary evolution and new habits of life?

Corpus Christi Procession

- The almost total disappearance in France of processions is not caused by a lack of interest on the part of the faithful. It is proscribed by the new pastoral theory which, however, is ceaselessly urging the “active participation of the People of God.”

- Priests no longer offer the Holy Sacrifice each day; and when they do, they concelebrate, and the number of Masses has diminished accordingly. In country districts, it is practically impossible to attend Mass during the week; on Sundays, a car is needed to travel out the locality whose turn it is to receive the “sector priest.”…It is impossible to receive Communion on First Fridays and First Saturdays of the month…Sunday is split up between different language groups; a Portuguese Mass, a French Mass, a Spanish Mass…It is commonplace for Catholics to find themselves attending Masses where they do not understand a single word.

Purchase Here

- No more Masses, or very few; no more processions, no more Benedictions of the Blessed Sacrament, no more Vespers….There is the intrusion of secular rhythms with all kinds of percussion instruments, guitars and saxophones. A musician [in France] wrote: “The music of these songs is not modern; this musical style is not new, but has been played in the most profane places and surroundings (cabarets, music halls, often for more or less lascivious dances with foreign names). The people are led on to rock or swing. They all feel an urge to dance about.” The more elaborate pieces, executed by choirs, show a secular influence, and excite the feelings rather than penetrate the soul as plainchant does.

"Gregorian Chant has always been regarded as the supreme model for sacred music...Special efforts are to be made to restore the use of the Gregorian Chant by the people, so that the faithful may again take a more active part in the ecclesiastical offices." - Tra le Sollecitudini

- A novelty appeared little while ago: posters placed in church porches reading “to praise God, clap your hands.” So during the celebration, at the sign of the leader, the congregation raised their hands above their heads and clapped rhythmically and loudly, producing an unfamiliar din within the sanctuary.

- The liturgy in French deafens the congregation with a flooding of words so that many complain that they can no longer pray during Mass. When, then, will they pray?

- [Finally], Yoga and Zen are the strangest, a disastrous orientalism which, claiming to lead to a “hygiene of the soul,”directs devotion in false ways. [This is leading many to say], “They are changing our religion.”

Trappist priest as instructor of Zen in Massachusetts

Examples:

- I have been told of the case of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in a big parish in Paris, which used to be visited by a number of people working nearby during their lunch hour. One day it was closed for work to be carried out. When the doors were opened again, the prie-dieus had disappeared. On a comfortable pile carpet were deep upholstered seats, evidently expensive and of the sort found in the reception foyers of big companies or airlines. The comportment of the faithful changed at once: some knelt on the carpet, but most made themselves comfortable and meditated before the tabernacle cross-legged.

No Kneelers...Common to see people cross-legged on floor

- They organize “domestic eucharists” in dining rooms or even in kitchens. I have been told of one of these, celebrated in the home of a deceased person in the presence of his family and friends. After the ceremony, the chalice was removed and then, on the same table covered with the same table cloth, they setup a buffet meal. At the same time, only a few hundred yards away, only the birds were singing to the Lord around the thirteenth-century church decorated with magnificent stained glass windows.

Mass Apperitif in Dining or Living Room

- In 1969, a parish priest in the Oise section of France was expelled by his bishop who had forbidden the organization of the traditional procession of Corpus Christi. The procession took place nevertheless and drew ten times more people than the village had inhabitants. Can anyone say that the new pastoral style is in accordance with the deep longings of those Christians who remain attached to such forms of piety?

- [A group called the pastorale d’ensemble was assembled in France to encourage échanges (exchanges) or sharing- of speech, of views, on the Gospel, and of handshakes too…but the results in Paris were as follows]:  From time to time during the last two years, the 9:30 mass has been in a rather special style, inasmuch as the proclaiming of the Gospel was followed by an échange for which those present formed groups of about ten persons. The first time the celebration was tried, only 69 people joined and 138 remained outside. One would have thought that with the help of time there would have been an improvement. This has not been the case. The parish team then organized a meeting to see whether or not to continue with the “Masses with Sharing.”



More Disturbing Images:

Mass in Buddhist Temple

Cardinal Dias burns incense to Hindu deity

Archbishop Anointed by Hindu Priest

Jesuit Priest performs Hindu dance

Continue to Chapter III...

Open Letter to Confused Catholics by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press 1986)

This book can be purchased here.
As with other books I post summaries of, I take no credit for them nor do I intend to make any p
rofit off of this. It is strictly for the spiritual nourishment of any readers and in fact encourage them to purchase the books for themselves.




I will be breaking down this book as I do with many others. This book is a combination of general assessments of "things gone wrong" since the Second Vatican Council coupled with actual examples of those things. I think it is more effective to keep the general together and to type out the examples at the end. Once I post the first chapter, it should be more clear what I am saying.

I will start with Chapter II because Chapter I has already been put into a beautiful video on YouTube which I have embedded below:

It is just the entire first chapter narrated verbatim.
I may decide later to narrate and record the other chapters, but for now the cliffnotes version will be what I post.

~ Pax Domini sit semper Vobiscum


Continue to Chapter II...