January 26, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Our Lord called the devil a “liar” because “he speaks from himself” (Jn 8:44). He tries to pull out of his own finite mind a word that is sufficient—or, we could say, self-sufficient—and he always fails.
In contrast, the Son of God says: “I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught me, these things I speak” (Jn 8:28). Our Lord emphasizes this point in patiently varied language: “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father who sent me, he gave me commandment what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting. The things therefore that I speak, even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak” (Jn 12:49–50). “The words that I speak to you, I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, he doth the works” (Jn 14:10). Our Lord goes so far as to say, in the fifth chapter of John: “I cannot do anything of myself,” or, as another translation has it, “I am able to do nothing from myself” (Jn 5:30).
The exact instructions given under the old covenant for the priests and their worship, occupying a large part of the Pentateuch, are given for a permanent reason. They are not superseded in the New Covenant but fulfilled perfectly in Christ, in whom the infinite and eternal Word of God, sovereignly free, is bound permanently and singularly to this human flesh, this face, hands, heart, and voice, and who communicates His singularity to us in the form of liturgical traditions developed under the guidance of His Holy Spirit. This is why Our Lord tells us: “He that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:19). The Church’s liturgy applies this verse to her saints, who are still doing and teaching the least of the commandments in their Christian transposition and meaning.
The Son of God prayed the psalms of David as He grew up in the home of Mary and Joseph. What a spectacle! The New Adam, father of the world to come, prayed the old psalms of a child of Adam. The Word who enlightens all men and inspirits the prophets is the very author of these psalms; no less than the heavens and the earth and all the host of them (Gen 2:1), the psalms are His own creation. Yet the Word-made-flesh submits to these words as prayers already there, which He planted in history for the formation of His own sacred Heart, for giving His lips and lungs and vocal chords their best exercise, for joining Him as fully as possible with the people of Israel and the human condition He assumed. Since we are little images of the Image of the Father, the psalms are given to us, too, as the vehicle of our innermost thoughts and feelings, so that shaped by them we may express what is deepest and truest in us, in our divinized human nature.
One of the great antiphons for Pentecost cries out: Repleti sunt omnes Spiritu Sancto, et coeperunt loqui, alleluia, alleluia: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak, alleluia, alleluia.” We must first be filled with the Spirit of God before we have anything worthwhile to say—and our first word as newborn infants will be Alleluia, that is, “praise the Lord.” This will be the newborn Church’s first word: a word of pure praise offered to God like sweet incense.
The Psalmist exclaims: Ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem… “Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes Thou hast perfected praise, because of Thy enemies, that Thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger” (Ps 8:3). Etymologically, the word infans means “the one who cannot speak,” who must learn how to speak by constantly listening to his mother, receiving language from her mouth as he receives milk from her breast. This life of dependency thwarts the advance of the enemy, Lucifer, who, unlike the child, grasps at an impossible independence and will not praise the Lord (cf. Is 14:12–17).
As for the Christian, so for the Church: wherever she wishes to live in the prime of her youth (cf. Ps 42:4 Vul.), she will give first place to offering up the sacrifice of praise. When we are animated by the Spirit, we speak the sacrifice of praise, we become a sacrifice. Conversely, when we speak “of ourselves”—this means, both from ourselves and about ourselves—we speak nothing but a lie.
There is a direct line connecting Babel to Canaan to Babylon to Gehenna.
First, there is Babel: when we abandon sacred tradition, which unifies us to one another, to the host of saints, and to the transcendent God, our penalty is a babble of vernacular tongues, a smorgasbord of options, an incoherent pluralism in the ars celebrandi or style of celebrating. Second, there is Canaan: our bad liturgical mentality and habits are a breeding ground for open and hidden forms of adultery, idolatry, atheism, and apostasy. Third, there is Babylon: we enter into captivity to our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil; we enter into exile, far from the fatherland, far from our own identity. We are dwelling in the furthest regio dissimilitudinis, in a condition of existential alienation accompanied by an utter lack of will-power to regain our home, to live up to sacrificial demands, or to bring our fellow men to the good. Fourth and lastly, there is Gehenna, the valley of burning garbage, image of hell.
This entire downward spiral is a spiral of increasing self-indulgence and decreasing discipline. One is dispersed, wasted, spread out, thinned out, until one is a caricature of one’s former substantial self. Such is what we have seen not only with the liturgy, but also with the priesthood, religious life, the missions, catechesis, the fine arts. When one gives up the supersubstantial bread of tradition with the Most Holy Eucharist at its heart, one makes a descent from gourmet food to fast food to starvation.
PETITION UPDATE (3/15/21) -
Reports suggest that the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference (USCCB) is preparing a vote on what to do about pro-abortion Joe Biden (and, presumably, other abortion-promoting politicians) who continues to present himself (themselves) for Holy Communion.
Public excommunication would be a suitable response for Biden's obstinate, public and grave sin of scandalously promoting abortion.
Please continue to SIGN and SHARE this important petition.
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PETITION UPDATE (2/4/20)
Since Joe Biden was sworn-in on the 20th of January, he has wasted no time in signing Executive Orders to destroy the protections which former President Trump offered to the unborn and to the innocence and modesty of children of the United States.
In one executive order, Biden rescinded the Mexico City Policy prohibiting the federal government from spending taxpayer monies on abortion and the promotion of abortion.
And, in another executive order, Biden seeks to force girls' athletic programs, restrooms, and locker rooms to accept gender-confused males.
Since the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was shamefully silent throughout the presidential campaign on the pre-eminent issues of abortion and gender ideology, and what Biden vowed he would do as president, it is cold comfort that their pro-life office is now speaking up about this Administration's wilful disregard for human life and for God's design of human nature (i.e., two biological sexes).
Stated plainly, Joe Biden is as bad as he said he would be, and the bishop, acting in unison (as the USCCB) have an obligation to the Lord (first) and to the faithful (second) to refuse Holy Communion to this grave public sinner.
With all due respect to these bishops, they diminish the Holy Eucharist and their high office, as well as cause grave scandal to the faithful, by dialoguing with a man who is promoting mass murder of the unborn against the constant teaching of the Church.
A man who continues to use the church as a backdrop for statements about how "Catholic/religious" he is, but, at the same time, is now doing everything in his power to protect the murder of the innocent, needs to publicly repent before dialogue can begin.
The bishops should not dialogue with or congratulate someone who has publicly betrayed the Church's teaching and who is leading others astray.
It's an embarrassment and a scandal for the bishops to continue to allow him to receive Holy Communion.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition today!
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PETITION UPDATE (12/10/20)
Prior to the election on November 3, the U.S. bishops did not address Joe Biden’s anti-Catholic position regarding faith and morals as a unified body.
The USCCB, the organization to which every U.S. bishop belongs and which is staffed and led by bishops, remained disgracefully silent in the run-up to the election.
What were the bishops afraid of, losing their charitable tax status with the IRS, or being deprived of fat checks from the HHS (immigration programs) and USAID (foreign aid programs)?
Or, were they just too cowardly to clearly declare Christ's law to be above man's law and risk the ire of a Joe Biden as president?
Either way, the bishops’ lack of clarity in this regard is a terrible scandal in itself and probably greatly contributed to the possible election of a pro-abortion, anti-Catholic Catholic to the presidency.
Given the fact that exit polling shows Catholics split their vote 50-50 for Trump and Biden, even a slight deviation in the heavily-Catholic swing-states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania could have produced different results.
The bishops could have spoken out against Biden’s pro-abortion stance collectively, but, again, they were overwhelmingly and shamefully silent.
Because of this, they will be at least partly responsible for the policies advanced by a Biden administration, in the event that Biden is sworn into office.
However, the bishops can, even now, mitigate the damage done by their inaction by taking the following steps: 1) Speak with one voice, as the USCCB, and plainly condemn Biden's pro-abortion stance; 2) Publicly advise Biden not to present himself for Holy Communion because of his scandalous position on abortion and homosexual "marriage;" and, 3) Tell Biden to publicly repent of publicly promoting the wilfull murder of the preborn, sins against nature, and diminishing the natural family.
Thankfully, some individual bishops have spoken out forcefully on Biden's scandalous behavior, and his standing in the Church.
On November 9, Archbishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas tweeted: “A dark cloud has descended on this nation when the USCCB and Planned Parenthood speak in unison in support of a Biden-Harris administration that supports the slaughter of innocents by abortion for all 9 months of pregnancy.”
Additionally, Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, Colorado and Archbishop Charles Chaput have both declared publicly that Joe Biden “should not receive Holy Communion."
But, to add insult to injury, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. has said that he will give Holy Communion to Biden because “it’s a matter of the responsibility that I have as the archbishop to be engaged and to be in dialogue with him, even in those areas where we obviously have some differences.”
And, Bishop W. Francis Malooly of Wilmington, Delaware and Bishop McElroy of San Diego also congratulated Biden in statements, but they have not indicated whether or not they would administer Holy Communion to him.
With all due respect to these bishops, they diminish the Holy Eucharist and their high office, as well as cause grave scandal to the faithful, by dialoguing with a man who is promoting mass murder of the unborn against the constant teaching of the Church.
A man who uses the church as a backdrop to make sickening political advertisements about how "Catholic/religious" he is, but, at the same time, says that he will do everything in his power to protect the murder of the innocent, needs to publicly repent before dialogue can begin.
The bishops should not dialogue with or congratulate someone who has publicly betrayed the Church's teaching and who is leading others astray.
It's an embarrassment and a scandal for the bishops to continue to allow him to receive Holy Communion.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition today!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/us-catholics-weigh-mixed-reaction-biden-win
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PETITION UPDATE (9/29/20)
Cardinal Raymond Burke has stated that Democratic candidate Joe Biden should not receive Holy Communion because of his support for abortion.
In an interview for Thomas McKenna's Catholic Action for Faith and Family podcast, Cardinal Burke states the following (starting around 5:00):
First of all, I would tell him [Biden] not to approach to receive Holy Communion, out of charity toward him, because that would be a sacrilege and endanger the salvation of his own soul.
But, also, he should not approach to receive Holy Communion because he gives scandal to everyone, because if someone says, 'I'm a devout Catholic," and, at the same time is promoting abortion, it gives the impression to others that it's acceptable for a Catholic to be in favor of abortion.
Of course, it's absolutely not acceptable, and never has been, and never will be.
We give thanks for Cardinal Burke's frankness and clarity. And, we call on every U.S. Catholic bishop to follow Cardinal Burke's lead and call out Joe Biden for his bloody-minded hypocrisy on the issue of abortion.
To reiterate: You cannot be a Catholic and support abortion.
Thank you for continuing to sign this urgent petition.
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PETITION UPDATE (8/17/20)
The Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, keeps claiming to be Catholic but has said he will do everything in his power to support abortion.
And, with his pick of California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, Biden has just cemented abortion into the Democrats' 2020 presidential ticket.
Indeed, Harris is vehemently pro-abortion.
During her time as attorney general of California, Harris played a key role in defending Planned Parenthood over its sale of aborted baby parts (which violated multiple federal laws, according to undercover video of abortion industry personnel).
And, last year, Harris unveiled a plan to essentially force pro-life states to seek permission from the federal government before pro-life laws can take effect.
Additionally, Harris has dangerous views on religious liberty and freedom of speech.
Harris displayed anti-Catholic bigotry in the confirmation hearings of Judge Brian Buescher. Harris cited his membership in the “all-male society” the Knights of Columbus and its stances against abortion and same-sex “marriage” as grounds for rejecting Buescher for a federal district court in Nebraska.
And, David Daleiden, head of the pro-life investigative group Center for Medical Progress, wrote that from his firsthand experience, he considers Harris the “greatest threat to First Amendment civil rights our country has ever seen.”
Joe Biden has seriously erred by taking on Kamala Harris as his running mate, further distancing himself from the truths of the Catholic Faith, especially that every life is sacred from conception till natural death.
Please CLICK HERE to read an article which details one U.S. bishop's warning about the Biden-Harris ticket.
And, please continue to SIGN and SHARE this petition.
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Of course, these two things are incompatible: you cannot be Catholic and pro-abortion.
And, a "Catholic" politician's responsibility in this regard is absolute: On pain of serious sin, he or she can never promote abortion because abortion is the wilful murder of innocent preborn human beings, and also because doing so causes grave scandal to the Church and the faithful.
Please SIGN this urgent petition asking the bishops of the United States to refuse to give Holy Communion to Joe Biden until he publicly repents from his scandalous promotion of abortion.
Biden recently promised to “codify Roe v. Wade” as president, adding, "my Justice Department will do everything in its power to stop the rash of state laws that so blatantly violate a woman’s protected, constitutional right to choose."
And, since starting his latest run for the presidency, Biden also flip-flopped against the Hyde Amendment, saying that he would allow federal funds to be spent on abortion - a position he claimed to be against for more than 40 years.
In short, Joe Biden will do everything in his power to enable and defend the wilful murder of innocent preborn human beings.
So, this should not be a hard decision for our U.S. bishops. In fact, in another circumstance, it was already done by an Illinois bishop.
Indeed, Bishop Paprocki, of Springfield, Illinois, invoked Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law to withdraw Holy Communion from two Illinois state politicians who had worked to enact radical new abortion legislation in 2019.
Canon 915 states: "Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion."
Of course, no-one, least of all the bishops, wants anyone to be deprived of Holy Communion.
A politician who publicly and obstinately advocates for the murder of innocent preborn babies puts himself out-of-communion with the Church and her teaching.
Pro-abortion politicians should not think that they can advocate for the murder of the unborn and receive the Body of Christ at the same time. This would be to defile the Eucharist while giving scandal to the faithful.
Depriving politicians of Holy Communion is not just meant to prevent scandal; it is also designed to bring a grave public sinner to repentance. In this way, such an action is meant to be for the good of their souls, too.
Thank you for SIGNING this urgent petition which calls on the U.S. Catholic bishops to refuse to admit Joe Biden to Holy Communion until he publicly repents from his scandalous promotion of abortion.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Joe Biden: I support abortion ‘under any circumstance’ - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/joe-biden-i-support-abortion-under-any-circumstance
Catholic priest denies Joe Biden Holy Communion for pro-abortion stance - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/catholic-priest-denies-joe-biden-holy-communion-for-pro-abortion-stance
Cardinal McCarrick and the Concealing of Rome’s Position on Denying Communion - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-mccarrick-and-the-concealing-of-romes-position-on-denying-communio
**Photo Credit: Joshua Roberts / Getty Images
The path of ascent must therefore take the form of positive self-denial, in imitation of Christ, and for the sake of transformation in Him. This is why any movement away from asceticism, any lessening of customary Church-wide burdens of penance, is also ultimately from the Evil One. This would include the gradual reduction of the Eucharistic fast in the twentieth century, and the abolition of Septuagesima (pre-Lent) and the Lenten fast by Paul VI. If the smoke of Satan has emerged out of some fissure in the temple of God, as the same pope admitted, who permitted that fissure to open up in the first place? Whence came the weakness of the structure? More generally, who thought it could ever be a good idea to open the windows of the Church to let in the outside air? The devil normally stays away from holy places. He must have been given an invitation he couldn’t refuse. The laxity of the contemporary Church and the rise in Satanic phenomena are by no means unrelated.
Given that liturgy is hierarchical, otherworldly, ecstatic, and absolute in its demands over us, it is entirely in keeping with the devil’s strategy to destabilize, democratize, secularize, and relativize the liturgy here on earth. He seeks to loosen our bond with a fixed and efficacious tradition. Distinctions between sacred and profane, formal and informal, fitting and unfitting—these the devil tries to smudge and, eventually, obliterate. He seeks to darken or blot out the manifestation of the heavenly hierarchy in the earthly distinctions of sacred ministers and their complementary but non-interchangeable roles. He seeks to persuade us—particularly the clergy—that the liturgy is not the font and apex of the Christian life, but only one means among many for advancing a “Christian agenda.”
The devil knows he cannot prevent some advancement of the Christian faith, but he is well aware that nothing comes close to the liturgy’s power for hallowing the Name of God and establishing His kingdom in our midst, giving us our daily nourishment, and moving us to the forgiveness of sins and the avoidance of sins. In truth, liturgy is an end in itself because it is God’s peculiar possession and makes us His peculiar possession. If the devil can convince us that liturgy is not an end in itself, but rather, that it is a helpful tool we should manipulate for ulterior ends, then he has already won half the battle for souls. He has shaken our fundamental orientation to the heavenly Jerusalem and the kingdom that will have no end.
