I am sharing with you all this piece by a Missionary Families of Christ brother in Canada. I can see that it was done with much prayer and a solid faith in Jesus. It is an authentic leading of the Holy Spirit. It is calm, judicious and charitable. It puts forth a way forward in resisting the Pope and his modernist ways. It gives much hope.
At the same time, I confess to being the angry and frustrated Catholic, at times perhaps lacking in restraint and charity. This is because the barque of Peter is capsizing, and many Catholics are complacent and seemingly uncaring. But I take solace in Jesus’ name-calling of the hypocritical Pharisees who were the religious leaders of his time (see Matthew 23), in John the Baptist’s rebuke of the crowds as a brood of vipers (Lk 3:7), and in Paul’s in-your-face opposition to Peter, the first Pope (Gal 2:11).
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Knowing the Pope well by now, the sophistry of the Fiducia Supplicans’ wordsmithing is meant to confuse and ultimately, deceive. It is therefore not surprising at all. In his desire to transform the church to conform with the world and for his corrupt and diabolical theology to gain wide acceptance, the Pope has taken the path of least resistance by resorting to obfuscation and confusion.
The document contradicts itself. It is a brilliant concoction of orthodoxy and errors. While it affirms the unchanging teachings of the church on sacramental marriage, it also wrongly confers authority to bishops and priests to bless same-sex and adulterous unions. The Pope’s pretentiously “compassionate and caring” pastoral stand, which is not grounded on any sound doctrine except on footnotes quoting or citing himself in previous pronouncements, is the linchpin of this document and has made it a tool to conceal and deceive people from seeing the apparent contradictions against Catholic teachings.
The tree is very well known for its fruit. And the sinister fruit of the document is the scandal and increasing widening and deepening of division it is causing within the Church. With its publication, the document has now formally declared the egregious intentions of the Pope, an inevitable shift in tack from his previous opaque but material heretical pronouncements.
Consequently, it is no longer an option for anyone to sit on the fence. To do so endangers the soul. One must either be with the Pope on this or against him.
As for us, we must continue to resist the Pope.
But concretely, what does this mean? I’ve pondered hard and long about this issue in the last 2-3 days. I realized there is much that we can do despite the seeming helplessness and impotence we may feel over the situation in the Church. And the answers to this question are right in front of us. These are not things that we don't already know. All that is needed is a renewed commitment and resolve on our part to apply ourselves with greater vigor and more constancy to the following:
· Temperance and restraint, but above all charity. Indignant voices erupted almost immediately in reaction to the document. However, riled up and indignant we are, we must guard ourselves from public outbursts denigrating the Pope. Somewhere in the CC, the Church teaches every faithful to remain calm and respectful and even continue to show reverence to Church authorities whom we oppose for legitimate reasons.
· Pray and intercede for the Pope’s conversion, individually daily and as a group through regular prayer vigils. However difficult it is or reluctant we may be, we are asked to do this out of charity. There is tremendous power behind our prayers that the Pope cannot resist. Prayers that are the fruit of charity and unassailable faith can change hearts and minds. It’s not too late and God is not governed by time. There is nothing impossible if God, in response to our intercession and pleas, will grant his conversion. The eternal sufferings of hell are so unimaginable that one would not wish it for anyone, even more so for one’s worst enemy.
· Pray and intercede daily for deceived Catholics, particularly members of our family, and brothers and sisters. Our moral outrage and indignance come from our deep sense of being betrayed by the Pope, who is supposed to be our spiritual father and shepherd. However, the foremost and worst victim of his betrayal is not us but those who have been deceived particularly those living in adulterous and same-sex unions. By this betrayal, they are led, without their realization, to the road of damnation. We have to pray for light and conversion for these brethren.
· Engage brothers and sisters in the community who are skeptics and even the die-hard papist who blindly defend the Pope with much vehemence despite his material heresy. We should not be dissuaded though it may be awkward and may even affect relationships badly, but out of charity, we must.
· Engage our parish priests and find out where our Bishop stands. Find opportunities to dialogue with them and ask them their stand on the matter. I’ll avoid attending masses officiated by priests who follow the Pope and find ones who stand for and defend the one true Catholic faith. If I can’t find any, I’ll attend traditional masses, which I have done on a few occasions in the past: two parishes in our diocese celebrate traditional masses in both Latin and English.
· Faithfully focus our life on prayer, fasting, and the sacraments. Strive to deepen our conversion and live a holier life, overcoming not only our sinful inclinations but also our flaws and imperfections. This includes intemperate complacency (the parable of the 10 virgins, 5 of whom were complacent) or inordinate inclinations to pleasure and a hedonistic lifestyle. This grave hour demands faithful believers to offer oblation and sacrifice for the Church and faithful clergy and believers, and reparation and conversion, particularly for heretical and apostate clergy, religious and lay people.
Satan wants us to despair and not hope, and to feel defeated and capitulate. The Pope may have the command, power, and authority over the clergy and religious, and control over the Church's apparatus and her edifices and real estate properties, but there is much hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. Christ has already won the battle for us on the cross and the Pope was already defeated even before he assumed the Petrine chair. But God, in His unfathomable and mysterious ways, has, according to His permissive will, allowed to take place what is happening now. All we need to do is to remain faithful and trust our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, especially at this time of great testing, and allow Him to use us as His instrument while constantly looking and fixing our eyes upon Him without letup.
Our peace comes from our obedience and faithfulness to God's will no matter the circumstances.
May our Lord continue to bless us, defend us, and protect us.
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