Mark Docherty has the story. Check it out here.
Seems Doctor Taylor was not correct in his speculation that the whole thing was a ruse of some kind. Sorry, Doctor, we can’t all be right all the time.
Chicago Faithful Catholics, get over to the SSPX or seek greener pastures.
God Bless Us and the Virgin Protect Us!
So, friends, here we are. I don’t pretend that I have the world’s largest audience nor do I really care. When I began the re-worked iteration of my now 15 year-old blog I said a prayer asking God for one favor. I asked Him that He would use me to convert at least one person to the authentic Catholic faith and to help establish devotion to the Latin Mass. He, of course, will know when and if that has happened. In the meantime, I happily share my musings on the state of the Church in the world today and my most informed guesses as to where She will be tomorrow. I truly appreciate all of the kind notes I have been receiving and even more when a reader shares my writing with others. Thank you.
And yesterday, we saw the Arlington (VA) Diocese walk itself to the edge of a cliff, place one foot over the edge, and as if on cue, wait to make the final leap until a major Marian feast some five and a half weeks hence.
Others have spoken at length by now of the gyst of Bishop Burbidge’s directives and I invite you to read and watch what they have to say. Bring yourself up to speed. This is the place to dive more in-depth and analyze it from the perspective of a Catholic, a man, a husband, and a father. I will say, though, that one theory floating around the vastness of the internet is that the letter was actually penned by Arthur Roache, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and then simply forced upon Bishop Burbidge under penalty of removal from office. Truth? I know not. It seems plausible as does anything these days. About the only thing I do know is that, if you believe Traditiones Custodes was written in response to a bishops’ survey or that any bishops actually wrote Dubia in reference to it, there’s a lovely bridge I’d like to sell you over the East River. Gothic arches and all.
What I can further say is that there are two words I will be delving into in tomorrow’s post:
Corporation Sole
That legal entity aside, let’s look at some finer points of Burbidge’s Letter of Doom (BLD).
I spend a good amount of time in the counties of Northern Virginia. I lived there for three years early in my marriage. My daughter was born and baptized there. I still travel there frequently. Arlington is, in many ways, a victim of itself. In the wake of Summorum Pontificum, many of the priests there learned the TLM and began offering it in their parishes. As you see from the BLD, there are currently 21 out of 70 parishes offering TLM Masses. Partially as a result, the FSSP and ICKSP never set up shop here. One group who did establish a presence is the SSPX during the Coof-o-rama. They came and offered masses at the Warren County Fairgrounds north of Front Royal in compliance with the ridiculous Coof Diktats and Bishop B scolded them for it. He even told his people in a letter not to attend anything with the SSPX as they were “schismatic”.
Sorry, Bishop, they aren’t; and you calling them names doesn’t help. But guess what? They’re moving full-steam ahead on a permanent church in FroRo so there’s hope.
In the Directive at point #2 we learn that, as per Traditiones Custodes (TC), a priest will be appointed to oversee all of this garbage. If I am correct in my guess, than I personally know this priest. He is a friend and I will pray for him. To be sure, he is a good man but this is not a path he needs to be on, overseeing the sunsetting of the venerable Mass and I hope he realizes that. Fr., I still love you as a friend.
At point #3, in another example of no one having read anything prior to 1962 we have the patently false notion that because Fwancis says so, a valid Roman priest may not celebrate the TLM without permission. See Quo Primum, friends. “In perpetuity…” I have also been informed (though this needs further sourcing) that new priests may not even learn the TLM. Next, they’ll be telling us we can’t even think about it! How the hell do you stop someone from learning something?
At point #4 we see the list of parishes “allowed” to continue using the TLM. They include 3 parish churches and five other locations within the bounds of parishes. One of these locations is a Montesorri school. You can’t say the Mass in a church building so here are some colored blocks, an ironing board, and some number chains. Have at it! Also in this point comes the now-standard directive that, if I’m reading this right, says there won’t be any TLM’s during Holy Week or the Triduum, even at these eight locations.
My personal favorite is point #5. I’m going to quote it so you can’t mistake the lunacy of what we’re both encountering.
“Per the Responsa ad Dubia and as directed by the Dicastery, the parish may not publish the times of the Mass in the Usus Antiquior in the bulletin or on the parish website or social media sites.”
A midwit, mid-level manager in Rome is now directing what can and cannot be in our bulletins and on our websites? I’m going to find out the times and publish them here. Are you literally kidding me with this Northern Virginia Horseshit?
Point #6 mandates use of the vernacular for the Epistle and Gospel. They’ve already been doing this on their own in Arlington since last summer. It’s crap.
Point #8 says “no new groups” of faithful who are attached to the Latin Mass are to be established”. I may have to move back to Virginia just to establish a lay-run totally unofficial group.
But it is Point #9 that tells you all you need to know. They are absolutely shutting you down and they’re doing it swiftly. Take a look.
“Pastors… must develop a pastoral plan ‘to lead the faithful who are attached to the antecedent liturgy’ towards the celebration of the liturgy according to the liturgical books reformed by decree of the Second Vatican Council…”
Friends in Arlington, can you feel it? Are you superjazzed and oh-so-excited to be lead back into the sole expression of the Roman Rite? It won’t be long now before you conform. Before you know it, you too will be liturgical dancing and stripping down to your boxers to jump in a lake for Mass on a raft.
They are coming for all of us. They want you to think it’s for your own good. They cannot stand up to a madman antipope because they fear ramifications. They fear they’ll be Lefebrve’d. Lord God, help these men find their balls soon.
Also, do you have your underground plan yet?
Our Lady of LaSalette, pray for us!
I am so angry this morning. I stayed up late reading and reading-reading the news out of the Arlington Diocese. What I did not read are any social media posts about it. I’m sure I’d just be filled with a blind rage at that point.
Arlington (the diocese) used to be my home for a few years. In many ways, it is still a secondary home for me as I travel there frequently. Sometimes, when one is so close to a situation, it’s best to let someone else comment. And so in the spirit of fraternity, I’m going to direct anyone who’s read this far to check out Anthony Stine’s video from this morning (if you haven’t already). Disregard his pronunciation of “Burbidge”. I’m just giving him a hard time. I’d insert a laughing emoji but I try to avoid those.
Hopefully I will post my own commentary in the next day or two.
Remember this, though… The end goal is bringing you and me “back into the mass of Paul VI”. Unfortunately for them, my end goal is heaven.
The “fall” of the Latin Mass continues.
News tonight out of the Arlington, VA Diocese and it’s not ideal.
More in the morning… stay tuned.
Jorge Porgie went to Canada. He waved at the peoples. I hear he even visited an Indian casino. That’s what I would have done. Let it roll on black, baby! Papa needs a new pair of red shoes! They say he followed the lead of that country’s leader and wore “native garb”. He blessed the dirt and painted with alllll the colors of the wind. There was a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer on his pants. He told the peoples mercy and that they should follow their grandparents’ lead. Except in that damn Latin Mass! I’d like him to apologize to me for calling my mom a rabbit.
I’m reading things about how the NuChurch higher-ups are pushing a nu marriage formation program or some other such nonsense. The reason marriages fail, they argue, is that young couples don’t delay getting married for several years – long enough to, I don’t know, get to know each other better? I’m a say it right now. That idea is fake and gay.
Here’s how it should be. Get rid of school. Just scrap it. School is fake and hypergay. And I say this as a man with Masters Degrees in systematic theology and educational administration. Those two pieces of paper and ten bucks (*Bidenflation) will get me a cup of coffee. Most people don’t need three-quarters of what’s being foisted upon them. Make the end goal an eighth grade diploma. Reading, writing, and all that jazz. Can you do basic math enough to balance a checkbook? Good. Can you write well enough to communicate? Excellent. Do you know the basics of civics and history? Fantastic. You, my friend, are already way ahead of most college grads. Forget high school. Do we really need AP Calculus? No. Algebra? Sure, I guess. I use it to measure the area of a room for carpeting. Is there a value to learning? Of course there is but it’s lost on most people. Rather than teaching Susie about trannies and dykes, start teaching the beautiful and edifying art of penmanship and then teach kids the classics. No reason you have to be in high school to read at that level. Instead, when you turn 14, get a job. Work on a farm. Apprentice with a silver smith, Johnny Tremain! Do you know what else is going on around these years of development? Ah, you’re smart… Boys are becoming men and girls are, well, they’re more advanced anyway. Hormonal thoughts are raging because this is time God is preparing you to master virtues and then get rollin’ on that beautiful family. The average age of marriage should be skewed back to the late teens.
Think I’m joking? It’s how it worked for all of human history. And I speak from experience on the one front. I’m an educator by trade. I saw the BS first hand for years. What do you learn in high school that you cannot learn on your own? And college? We all know that’s just a joke. Hey, let’s go hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to party for four years and completely lose our faith! Obviously, there are exceptions. Some people can benefit from higher learning. Doctors, priests, etc. but I can guarantee you the breakdown in marriage isn’t because the couple isn’t perilously testing the limits of chastity for ten years after grad school. Who are we kidding? The Nu’s encourage them not to think about chastity.
Off track a bit?
I feel like I should develop that last section in a later post.
I finally got my Barnhardt Podcast fix today after six weeks without a post. Miss B., one word… If you’re going to make us wait that long, please go longer than an hour and twenty. We really do love the podcast and wish you’d do more. But we’re grateful. Thank you!
Our Lady of Knock, pray for us!
In the ongoing saga of the shutdown of the Latin Mass, I had occasion to hear from a few parishioners of a large Latin Mass community today. In the interest of anonymity, I will not identify the parish, parishioners, nor any of the other key people involved.
These parishioners had an opportunity to meet with their bishop recently. He came to them. This, I must say, is more than what the Holy Wilton of Washington did before shutting down the TLM in his see. Apparently he, Wilton, was too busy to accept the invitation of parishioners of Old St. Mary’s in DC to come and see their good parish and all their good works. No, this bishop deserves credit for at least coming to his flock.
All in all, I am told, it was a positive experience with both shepherd and sheep espousing mutual love and respect for each other.
This is a very good thing. One would hope that a bishop loves the people he is called to lead. And for as much garbage as we give them (and some of them, many even, deserve a lot worse than a few colorful words on a blog post), we remember that they are successors to the Apostles. But perhaps that’s why their foibles deserve greater scrutiny.
Back to the meeting in question… One parishioner informs me that the good bishop answered every question posed to him. Again, this is good. No one likes a coward and taking the time to face down questions like a man is a good sign.
But, my source tells me, the most telling thing is what this bishop did not say. His Excellency spoke about “pride in being Catholic”, “insuring that valid sacraments are offered in his diocese”, and “nurturing the spiritual needs of his people”.
He did not say in anything approaching unequivocal terms that he would preserve the celebration of the venerable and august rites of the Church in the Latin Mass.
To divulge more than this snapshot would possibly betray my source’s trust so I will not share more details.
Friends, pray for the bishops. Pray for virility and pray for humility – for them and for us.
One thing that did come out in the course of my conversation with one parishioner is that there is sometimes – and I have noticed this myself – a disconnect among members of trad parishes. Listen guys, if the unimaginable comes to pass, don’t you think you’re going to need to rely on a tight community to get through tough times? Wouldn’t it be better in your charity to reach out to fellow parishioners you don’t know rather than to let them languish with their families when you have access to an underground Mass and they don’t? I’ve been in my own TLM parish four years now and still don’t really know many people there. And I see the same group every day. How are we to survive if we don’t form these bonds now? And we will need to survive because, positive meetings with the bishops aside, the worst is yet to come. As my source put it, “How are we so sure this [meeting] wasn’t the PR stunt ‘pastoral visit’ before the hammer drops?” I have to say, there is merit to that question. For all the talk that we on the trad side of things are somehow disloyal to the Church because of our desire to worship as our ancestors did; there have been far too many betrayals from chanceries on the other end of things to count.
So my advice to those who contacted me is this. Pray. Pray always and pray often. Entrust your very lives to the Blessed Mother. She WILL take care of you. Fast. It cannot hurt. And finally, strengthen the bonds of communion with your fellow trads.
Our Lady of Akita, pray for us!
St. Francis de Sales, pray for us!
Tagged Latin mass, TLM, traditional catholic
Showtime folks.
Pray.
Our Lady Queen of Heaven, pray for us!
St. Joseph, pray for us!
St. Anne, pray for us!
Ss. Peter and Paul, pray for us!
Tagged TLM, traditional catholic
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 