[XarokLasa]

I have been quiet of late for many reasons, not least of which is the fact that Scripture teaches that the superessential life, which draws us up into the realm of the uncreated, begins in stillness and silence:-

ISA. 55:7-9

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

The wisdom of holy Scripture could not be plainer in this regard, that the unrighteous man, which I consider myself to be, must forsake his thoughts; and what is this, if not a clear call to inward stillness and silence. This not only requires us to cut off the incessant stream or flow of images that we are daily in every way being bombarded with, but also requires our concentrating awareness in the heart; that we might wait patiently upon the Lord in all His motions, or mystical comings and goings; in accord with the holy mystery of the Canticles.

As many here may be aware, I am a Catholic on the path to Orthodoxy. As one not even in the first stage of theosis, I must beg forgiveness for speaking as though I have have already attained to the second stage. I wish not to give the impression that I am or have achieved anything. To the contrary, I often question whether I have taken the first step of repentance, which is to forsake our own thoughts. May God have mercy on my unrighteous soul!!

Nevertheless, let us not forget the words of Jesus: "Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" (Mt. 21:16) Many a time have I felt myself compelled, ( by the love of God, I pray, and not just sinful ego,) to speak a word or two, despite my humble place, on the basis of this scripture, that God often speaks through the mouth of babes. Such is the case now, but if some might object that I am not even a babe, being outside the Church, perhaps they will accept, at the very least, that the God who spoke through the mouth of a mule can equally speak through the mouth of a Catholic. And what is it to me, who am but a worm covered in the mire and filth of my own besetting sins, if I should been likened unto, or compared by many to Balaam's mule ? (Numbers 22:28) Let us attend unto the word of the Lord wherever we might encounter it, if even in the mouth of a beast (of burden)!!

First, I wish to thank the servant of God Randy for his Christ-like humility toward the Good Samaritans of the Catholic faith, whose hearts toward God and their neighbour, are not completely bad, though their dogmatics, like that of the Samaritans, may be subject to much harsh criticism. May God bless you always Randy on the path of salvation, and may the meekness and humility of our Lord Christ ever find your heart a place of fertile ground, in which they may grow lush and enduring roots!! And I would also like to thank Fr Raphael for his gracious and pastoral comments, which are well-taken.

As has been already observed, all is not well with Rome, despite outward appearances. Volumes of ink have been spilled over this, and I wish merely to hint at the problems, rather than participate in a deep and protracted exchange on the subject. I am the first to admit that numbers can be deceiving, not to mention 'fudged' to make a bad situation look better than it really is.

Having said that, though, I wish to reiterate a remark I posted elsewhere that, since the Second Vatican Council, Catholic Church attendance has dropped off by roughly 60%!! Many factors have contributed to this, but the bulk of the blame, in my humble estimation, must be heaped upon the backs of the Vatican II Council fathers and their destruction of the Catholic Liturgy. Here's a clip from a Catholic 'Traditionalist' that provides a succinct glimpse into the current crisis within the Catholic Church:-

Fruits of the New Mass

"By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit." (Matt. 7:15-17) Given the foregoing, it should be plain that the New Mass was conceived for an evil purpose and constructed by evil means. It only follows that such a tree would have disastrous effects on the Church. Let us look at its fruits as reported in Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: The Church Since Vatican II.

The number of priests in the United States more than doubled from 1930 to 1965 to 58,000. Since then, however, the number has fallen to 45,000 and there will be only 31,000 priests left in 2020, with half of them being over 70. In 1965, only 1% of U.S. parishes were without a priest. Today, 3,000 or 15% of the parishes are priestless. The number of seminarians from 1965 to 2002 dropped over 90% from 49,000 to 4,700, while two-thirds of the seminaries have closed. There were 104,000 teaching nuns in 1965, while today there are a mere 8,200, a decline of 94% since the end of Vatican II. Religious orders are on the road to disappearance. Three and a half thousand were studying to be Jesuits in 1965. In 2000, the number was 389. The Christian Brothers have lost two-thirds of their members in that span of time, while the number of their seminarians has shrunk by 99%. In 2000, there were only seven. Almost half of all Catholic high schools have closed in the U.S. since 1965. Only one in four Catholics now attend Mass on Sundays. There were 338 annulments in 1968 and 50,000 in 2002. Only 10% of lay religious teachers now accept Church teaching on contraception. Fifty-three percent believe a Catholic can have an abortion and remain a good Catholic. Sixty-five percent say that Catholics may divorce and remarry. Seventy-seven percent hold that one can be a good Catholic without going to Mass on Sundays. Finally, 70% of Catholics between 18 and 44 believe that the Eucharist is merely a “symbolic reminder” of Jesus.

Who could possibly claim that there is not a terrible crisis of Faith in the Catholic Church!? It is no wonder that Cardinal Ratzinger affirmed: “I am convinced that the ecclesial crisis in which we find ourselves today depends in great part on the collapse of the liturgy.” It is clear how the New Mass could create such a disaster. Liturgy dictates belief. A Protestantized liturgy yields heretical belief, loss of the Faith, and devaluation of the priesthood. Satan has been able to accomplish more effective damage to the entire body of the Church in the past 35 years through the destruction of the Mass than ever before.

=>>(End of Clip)<<=

Many, if not most of the Monachos membership may be unaware of the "Traditionalist" movement within the Catholic Church, so I'll say a few words.

There are four types of 'Traditionalist' in Catholicism: first are those who believe that Vatican II, its New Mass, and her popes are all legitimate. These have succeeded in obtaining from JP II special permission to continue the pre-conciliar Tridentine Latin Mass, with the 'old-school' piety, in their homes and parishs, but such indults are exceedingly rare, and becoming harder to find all the time. The second class of Catholic 'Traditionalist' are those who recognize JP II as a legitimate pope, but one that has succumbed to many "informal" errors; and yet, has been preserved from declaring any of these "ex cathedra", from the throne of Peter. This second class rejects the Second Vatican Council as the work of satan; whereas the third class of 'Traditionalist' consists of those who believe the last four popes were all 'anti-popes', and that the papal throne has been vacant since the repose of Pius XII. The fourth class of 'Traditionalist' consists of those who have elected their own popes, such as Pius XIII, to name one example.

Not knowing much about the Old-Catholics, I cannot offer any relaible comment on where they might fit into this general scheme. I'm inclined to think, though, they are 'sedevacantists' who believe the papal throne has been vacant since the First Vatican Council, but I only speculate; as I've never really done any research on them, not even as far as the Catholic Encyclopedia goes. Perhaps one of the Old-Catholics on board here can offer a word or two on this.

Where I personally fit into this scheme is of little present importance. Suffice it to say, though, that, in my humble opinion, pre-conciliar Tridentine Catholicism survives only among a small remnant of Catholics. Thus, if Catholicism lives, it lives in the hearts, homes and parishes of the "chosen" few. And it is my great fear that these 150,000 new converts are converting to the new religion of Vatican II, and not the glorious way of the holy fathers, martyrs, and saints. (Please do not misconstrue this last statement as a claim, necessarily, that pre-Vatican II Tridentine Catholicism is of Patristic origin; though I believe a strong case may be made for it having preserved many Patristic elements.) I say this with fear and trembling, knowing that some day, I will have to explain myself before the Great White Throne.

As a closing remark, I cannot help but notice that many Orthodox believers have reacted in a similar manner to the encroachments of 'modernism' into their own Church. That is to say, I see a close parallel between the "Old-Calendarists" in the Orthodox Church and those Catholic 'Traditionalists' who have rejected all Vatican II reforms.

Please forgive the crudeness and offensiveness of my words. May the Blessed Theotokos and all the saints intercede on my behalf, that I and my family should find grace and favour in the eyes of God Almighty!! Lord have mercy.

In the Spirit of Christ,
Theophilus

(Message edited by theophilus on 29 March, 2005)