Posted by popemichael on Dec 10, 2012 in Open Letter | 0 comments
What follows is taken from Saint John Eudes, The Kingdom of Jesus in Christian Souls:
What truth can there be in the claim that we are Christians and adore a crucified God, a God agonizing and dying upon a Cross, a God who for love of us gives up so noble and excellent life, a God Who sacrifices Himself for us every day, before our eyes upon our altars for our salvation, if we are not ready to sacrifice to Him all that we hold dearest in the world, and even life itself, which in any case belongs to Him by all rights? Surely we are not Christians if we are not in these dispositions. Therefore I say, and this will immediately be clear to anyone who gives a little thought to the truths I have outlined, that all Christians ought to be martyrs, if not in actual fact, at least in intention and in will. So true is this, that if they are not martyrs of Jesus Christ, they will be martyrs of Satan.
Choose whichever of the two you love more. If you live under the tyranny of sin, you will be a martyr to your self-love and your passions, and consequently a martyr to the devil. But if you desire to be a martyr of Jesus Christ, you must strive to live in the spirit of martyrdom.
What is the spirit of martyrdom? It is a spirit that has five excellent attributes:
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It is the spirit of strength and constancy, which fears only God and sin, and cannot be shaken or overthrown, either by promises or threats, by persuasion or violence.
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It is the spirit of deepest humility, which feels only horror for the vainglory and publicity of the world, and loves contempt and humiliations.
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It is the spirit of self-mistrust and of most firm confidence in Jesus Christ our Lord, our Strength, in whom all things can be done.
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It is the spirit of perfect detachment from the world and everything that is in the world. Those who are to sacrifice their lives to God must also sacrifice to Him all else besides.
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It is the spirit of most burning love for our Lord Jesus Christ, who leads those animated by this spirit to do all and suffer all for love of Him, who dies and suffered all for them. It so inflames them that, for love of Him, they consider mortification and suffering to be a paradise of joys, to be sought and desired while they avoid and detest the pleasures of this world as much as they would hell itself.
This is the spirit of martyrdom. Implore, O Lord, who is the King of Martyrs, to fill you with this spirit. Pray to the Queen of martyrs, and all the martyrs, too, that they may obtain this spirit for you from the Son of God, by their holy prayers. Cultivate a particular devotion to the saintly martyrs. Make a point, also, of praying for all those who will have to suffer martyrdom, in order that God may grant them the spirit and grace of martyrdom. Pray especially for those who will have to suffer the persecution of Antichrist at the end of the world, for it will be the most cruel and horrible of all persecutions.
Finally, strive to develop within yourself, by imitation, a perfect image of the lives of the holy martyrs and, what is more, the life of the King and the Queen of martyrs, Jesus and Mary, so that they may make you worthy to resemble them in death.
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I have placed a quote in bold above, because we are suffering under the persecution of Antichrist. And this persecution is unique, since it is not one of blood, but one of persuasion. We are being persuaded that we ought to live an easy life, that it is easy to obtain heaven so we should take it easy on our self and on everyone else. Vatican II taught this lax view in declaring religious liberty and implying that all religions are good and lead to Almighty God. Sacred Scripture is quite clear. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Matthew 11:12) Many more quotes would confirm this. Take some time to consider Saint John Eudes’ words above.
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Posted by popemichael on Nov 15, 2012 in Open Letter | 0 comments
Forty years ago my family quit the Novus Ordo, when I was 13 years old. I thank God to this day for this wonderful event, for if we had not left Novus Ordo then, I would have probably quit the Church as well and lost my faith. A priest who came through occasionally to say the Tridentine Mass at the time remarked to my mother: “Now you have peace of mind.”
Over the next few months I would like to take some time to comment on the Great Apostasy, but more importantly on how we must all come together in order to end the Great Apostasy. I will not waste your time and mine on comments on the evils of Vatican II. I believe we are all agreed that we want to roll the clock back to before Vatican II opened and have a Church that does not even know of Vatican II. And let us not waste our time on the evils of the Novus Ordo, which Archbishop Lefebvre called a bastard mass. Rather I would like to focus on how to become truly Catholic in a world that is worse than pagan. And I won’t waste your time discussing the multitude of evils in the world today, you know them as well as I do and wish they could be conquered and ended. We know that all will be conquered and that the whole world will convert and become Catholic. It is this glorious day we are praying and working for.
So how do we bring about an end to the Great Apostasy? First of all we must end the effects of the Great Apostasy in our own hearts and souls. Whether you are 22 or 82, you were brought up in a lax unsettled world that permitted things it should not have. And unfortunately the Church went right along for over a century allowing things it once fought and relaxing things it should not have. Let us remember that ’40’s and ’50’s lukewarmness in the Church brought apostasy in the ’60’and ’70’s. It is time to return to the constant discipline of the Church from the time of the Apostles to the century of Modernism, the 20th Century.
Saint Pius X put the following question to some of his Cardinals: “What is the one thing we most need, today, to save society?” After hearing their answers, he said: “The most necessary thing of all at this time is for every parish to possess a group of laymen who will be at the same time virtuous, enlightened, resolute, and truly apostolic.” Today we have no parishes, because these laymen were not found. It is time that each Catholic, lay and cleric to become fervent Catholics of the type Saint Pius X desires. At least one private prophecy says that the greatest saints will live in our times. We are called to be those great saints. Pope Pius XI reminded us in his Encyclical on Saint Francis de Sales that we are all called to Christian perfection. Anything less than striving for perfection will not bring an end to the Great Apostasy, but rather an unfortunate end to our soul. Jesus said: “Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
Saint Teresa of Liesieux said: “You cannot be half a saint, you must either be a whole saint or no saint at all.” The most important thing each and every one of us must do is become a saint and yes, a great saint. Half measures simply will not do. Saint John Eudes says: “Therefore I say, and this will immediately be clear to anyone who gives a little thought to the truths I have outlined, that all Christians ought to be martyrs, if not in actual fact, at least in intention and in will. So true is this, that if they are not martyrs of Jesus Christ, they will be martyrs of Satan.” There is no middle ground, so let us become martyrs for Jesus Christ in spirit. Let us learn the spirit of martyrdom.
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