A Council Was Not Necessary

The salient point of this Council is not, therefore, a discussion of one article or another of the fundamental doctrine of the Church which has repeatedly been taught by the Fathers and by ancient and modern theologians, and which is presumed to be well known and familiar to all. For this a Council was not necessary. But from the renewed, serene, and tranquil adherence to all the teaching of the Church in its entirety and preciseness, as it still shines forth in the Acts of the Council of Trent and First Vatican Council, the Christian, Catholic, and apostolic spirit of the whole world expects a step forward toward a doctrinal penetration and a formation of consciousness in faithful and perfect conformity to the authentic doctrine, which, however, should be studied and expounded through the methods of research and through the literary forms of modern thought. (Bl. John XXIII: Opening Speech of Second Vatican Council)

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Funeral of Bl. John XXIII

(French Video of Vatican II)

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Think Upon Every Generation

Remember the days of old, think upon every generation: ask thy father, and he will declare to thee: thy elders and they will tell thee. (Deut 32:7)

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As the Heathen and the Publican

And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. (Matt 18:17)

No believer will wish to deny that the teaching authority of the Church is competent to interpret even the natural moral law. It is, in fact, indisputable, as our predecessors have many times declared, that Jesus Christ, when communicating to Peter and to the Apostles His divine authority and sending them to teach all nations His commandments, constituted them as guardians and authentic interpreters of all the moral law, not only, that is, of the law of the Gospel, but also of the natural law, which is also an expression of the will of God, the faithful fulfillment of which is equally necessary for salvation…….

Christian married couples, then, docile to her voice, must remember that their Christian vocation, which began at baptism, is further specified and reinforced by the sacrament of matrimony. By it husband and wife are strengthened and as it were consecrated for the faithful accomplishment of their proper duties, for the carrying out of their proper vocation even to perfection, and the Christian witness which is proper to them before the whole world. To them the Lord entrusts the task of making visible to men the holiness and sweetness of the law which unites the mutual love of husband and wife with their cooperation with the love of God the author of human life… Given at Rome, 25th day of July, feast of St. James the Apostle, in the year 1968. (Paul VI: Humanae Vitae)

Protesting in front of St. Patricks right after the release of Humanae Vitae

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Continuity (Peter is Dead, Long Live Peter!)

             

He chose therefore His Apostles, and after infusing into their minds by the power of the Holy Ghost, the gifts in harmony with their high calling, “Go ye into the world,” He told them, “and preach the Gospel.” Their preaching renewed the face of the earth. For if the religion of Christ has withdrawn the minds of men from errors of every kind to the truth, and won their hearts from the degradation of vice to the excellence and beauty of every virtue, assuredly it has done so by means of that very preaching. (Benedict XV: On Preaching)

We read that Christ commanded not only Peter, whose chair We occupy, but all the Apostles whose successors you are: “Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” From the fact that the Roman Pontiff has entrusted to you and to your assistants the task of preaching the Christian religion to pagan nations, you ought not to conclude that the role of the native clergy is merely one of assisting the missionaries in minor matters, of merely following up and completing their work. What, We ask, is the true object of these holy missions if it be not this, that the Church of Christ be founded and established in these boundless regions? (Pius XI: On the Missions)

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Easterners moving East

Hello All, I just found out that a community of monks who are dedicated to  traditional Byzantine monasticism are going to be moving from California to New Jersey. For all those in the tri-state NY (come on all you Slavs in PA!) who are interested in having a monastery/retreat house somewhat local that provides a liturgical haven, take a look at their site. They are trying to buy an already established seminary/retreat property from the Sacred Heart brothers. Evidently the good brothers want to keep it in The Family. So if you have some loose change why not free up some pocket room for your Rosary.  Also, maybe if you have a blog in the NY/NJ/PA area you could perhaps give them some publicity? Small Pic from their current home:

Greek Rite Clergy in Italy:

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The Cardinal

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Until late in the Middle Ages the title of cardinal was given to prominent priests of important churches, e.g., at Constantinople, Milan, Ravenna, Naples, Sens, Trier, Magdeburg, and Cologne. In keeping with this custom we find the term Cardinalis applied at Rome from the end of the fifth century to priests permanently attached to the (twenty-five to twenty-eight) Roman tituli, or quasi-parishes (quasi diæceses), belonging to the church of the Bishop of Rome, the pope;therefore to the Cardo ecclesia par excellence in which tituli the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance were administered, and which were also often called tituli cardinales. In the course of time and according as the papal headship of the Church manifested itself more and more, the volume of ecclesiastical and temporal business increased greatly at Rome, in consequence of which the popes called in neighbouring bishops to represent them at episcopal functions and to aid them with their counsel. They also followed the custom, widespread in the early medieval period, of dealing with the important questions in synodal meetings. (New Advent Article on the history of Cardinals)

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Cardinal Pacelli in the U.S.

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When Pope Pius VI gave you your first Bishop in the person of the American John Carroll and set him over the See of Baltimore, small and of slight importance was the Catholic population of your land. At that time, too, the condition of the United States was so perilous that its structure and its very political unity were threatened by grave crisis. Because of the long and exhausting war the public treasury was burdened with debt, industry languished and the citizenry wearied by misfortunes was split into contending parties. This ruinous and critical state of affairs was put aright by the celebrated George Washington, famed for his courage and keen intelligence. He was a close friend of the Bishop of Baltimore. Thus the Father of His Country and the pioneer pastor of the Church in that land so dear to Us, bound together by the ties of friendship and clasping, so to speak, each the other’s hand, form a picture for their descendants, a lesson to all future generations, and a proof that reverence for the Faith of Christ is a holy and established principle of the American people, seeing that it is the foundation of morality and decency, consequently the source of prosperity and progress. (Pius XII: 150 years since the Establishment of the Hierarchy In the U.S.)

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