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| Abp. Viganò: Francis signals his intention to ‘ordain’ women |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-08-2024, 08:23 PM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
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Abp. Viganò: Pope Francis’ invitation of Anglican ‘bishopess’ signals his intention to ‘ordain’ women
‘Bergoglio intends to fundamentally change the concept of Holy Orders, placing alongside the Priesthood (reserved for men) forms of ‘non-ordained’ ministry for women, with a view to their sacramental ordination,’ Archbishop Viganó said.
![[Image: Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_9.28.23_AM.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_9.28.23_AM.jpg)
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò
don Elvir Tabaković, Can.Reg
Feb 8, 2024
(LifeSiteNews) — Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has declared that Pope Francis’ invitation to a female Anglican prelate to speak to the Council of Cardinals about “gender equality and the role of women in the Church” signals his intention to eventually “ordain” women.
In a message posted to X on Tuesday, Archbishop Viganò wrote, “Bergoglio intends to fundamentally change the concept of Holy Orders, placing alongside the Priesthood (reserved for men) forms of ‘non-ordained’ ministry for women, with a view to their sacramental ordination.”
The Vatican whistleblower anticipated the objection that Francis “does not want to make women deacons or women priests, much less women bishops, and that these are speculations put out by those who sow division among the faithful.”
“If that is the case, why did Bergoglio invite an Anglican ‘bishopess,’ i.e., a heretical, schismatic, invalidly ordained woman, to the Council of Cardinals meeting to speak about ‘gender equality and the role of women in the Church’?” he questioned.
The archbishop’s assessment is shared by Deacon Nick Donnelly, who wrote regarding Rev. Jo Bailey Wells’ presence before the pope and the C9 that Catholics “couldn’t have a stronger signal that Bergoglio is planning the faux ordination of women deacons, with a trajectory towards the faux ordination of women priests and bishops.”
Wells, a “bishop” of the Church of England who has been described as “a pioneer in the spread of equality between the sexes,” gave a speech to Pope Francis and his Council of Cardinals on Monday.
The C9 – as the group is known – is continuing the examination of the “role of women in the Church,” a subject it began discussing in December 2023. The timing of such discussions is significant, given that the 2023 Synod on Synodality interim report highlighted an “urgent” call for canon law to be changed in order to allow more female governance roles.
A Synod on Synodality voting lay member shared last year that “a large number of bishops” are now “ready to take clear steps” to women’s “ordination” via a discussion on “women deacons.”
Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler, a member of the Swiss delegation to the Synod’s European Assembly, clarified that while she doesn’t think “women priests” are now possible, she sees that the possibility of women’s “ordination” to the diaconate is on the table.
“There are now a large number of bishops who are ready to take clear steps,” said Jeppesen. “The priesthood of women will not be introduced immediately, but the diaconate of women should be seriously discussed at the assembly in Rome.”
Regarding the “role of women” in the Catholic Church in general, Jeppesen said “it became clear in practically all country reports that the church must finally move forward.”
Both clerical and lay Catholics have raised concerns that the Synod on Synodality’s call for increased female governance may signal the Church hierarchy’s intention to “ordain” women. Indeed, the campaign for female “deacons” continues to receive vocal support from leading members of the synod, as evidenced by Cardinal Blase Cupich advocating for recognition of women “pastors” who are already “serving as the head of communities because they don’t have enough priests.”
Pope Francis established a 12-member commission to study the issue of “women deacons” in August 2016, and the commission included a leading advocate of “ordaining” women to the diaconate. With another commission then drawn up in 2020, the 2023 Synod report called for the results of both studies to be presented at the October 2024 Synod meetings.
Theologian and liturgical scholar Dr. Peter Kwasniewski has explained in his book Ministers of Christ that not only “women priests” but “women deacons” are impossible because “all liturgical services within the sanctuary of the church represent Christ, the supreme ‘deacon.’”
Kwasniewski pointed out that minor orders, including the diaconate, cannot be compartmentalized from the priesthood, but “order the soul of the minor cleric gradually toward the eventual reception of the sacred priesthood itself, preparing him not merely at a natural level through the discharging of sacred duties but supernaturally through the spiritual conferral of priestly powers.”
While in Heaven, there is a hierarchy purely of “sanctity,” on earth, “we must walk by the sight of signs of [God] that form and direct our faith,” and “it would be not only misleading but false to set up, in the Church on earth, signs of ecclesial governance…that lacked explicit reference to the God-man,” Kwasniewski explained.
Pope John Paul II affirmed this truth when he condemned attempts at female “ordination” in his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, writing: “I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”
This letter, former CDF prefect Cardinal Gerhard Müller explained, refers to the diaconate as well, and expresses a “dogma” of the Catholic Faith.
He further noted that “the impossibility that a woman validly receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders in each of the three degrees [deacon, priest, bishop] is a truth contained in Revelation and it is thus infallibly confirmed by the Church’s Magisterium and presented as to be believed.”
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| Edmonton [Canada] planning to roll out WEF-style ’15-minute city’ policy this fall |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-08-2024, 08:16 PM - Forum: Global News
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Edmonton planning to roll out WEF-style ’15-minute city’ policy this fall
The 15-minute city model was conceived by professor Carlos Moreno and scientists from Chaire ETI at the Sorbonne Business School. It is now being promoted by globalist groups such as the World Economic Forum and the United Nations
![[Image: Screenshot-2024-02-08-at-2.48.25-PM.png]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-08-at-2.48.25-PM.png)
Edmonton mayor Amarjeet Sohi
City of Edmonton / YouTube
Feb 8, 2024
EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — The City of Edmonton, Alberta, is seeking to unveil a World Economic Forum-styled “15-minute city” policy this fall as part of its “district planning” initiative.
“District plans are key in bringing The City Plan’s ‘Community of Communities’ vision to life by laying the foundation for 15-minute communities,” reads a city email blast obtained by Rebel News.
“This vision is for new and current residents to enjoy more housing, recreation, education and employment opportunities in all of Edmonton’s districts and to have more travel options within and across districts,” the email continued.
Plans for 15-minute communities in Edmonton were first announced last February, but it looks like coming this fall concrete action will begin.
Under the new plan, Edmonton will divide its 400 neighborhoods into 15-minute “districts.” According to the city, the plan is a “necessary tool” given the growing number of residents.
The city says it is currently considering feedback from residents and that the final “district” policy is scheduled to be published in April.
By May, city officials hope to host “meaningful discussions” with residents, and then, after further review by the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board over the summer, Edmonton will likely approve the new policy in the fall.
The plan comes despite backlash from Albertans who say they don’t want 15-minutes cities in their province.
During the United Conservative Party (UCP) annual meeting in October, members proposed policies opposed to the World Economic Forum’s 15-minute cities and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s energy regulations set to compromise Alberta’s power grid.
However, Edmonton mayor Amarjeet Sohi is a former Liberal MP, a party known for desiring the implementation of WEF plans and regulations.
According to the city’s District Planning, the plan aims to “move Edmonton towards a city where everyone enjoys access to amenities and services within a 15-minute walk, roll or transit ride from their home. Though, districts are not meant to be self-contained. For some households, 15-minute access could mean visiting nearby districts.”
“District Planning is not about restricting movement, monitoring people or tracking an individual’s carbon emissions, and nothing will be put in place to do so,” it assured residents.
The 15-minute city model was conceived by Professor Carlos Moreno and scientists from Chaire ETI at the Sorbonne Business School. It is now being promoted by both the WEF and the United Nations (UN).
On its website, the UN claims the model “has been adopted by several cities around the world as a blueprint for post-COVID-19 recovery.”
While the plan is proposed as a way for residents to shop local, reduce carbon emissions, and live in community, experts have warned that it could restrict the freedom of movement of those who live in the cities.
Analyzing the 15-minute cities concept, LifeSiteNews contributor Kennedy Hall warned the idea is an inversion of the Christian social order, by centering the focus of society not around God, but around man.
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| Moderna Scientists Warn mRNA Vaccines Carry Toxicity Risks |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-07-2024, 05:48 AM - Forum: COVID Vaccines
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Moderna Scientists Warn mRNA Vaccines Carry Toxicity Risks
![[Image: image%281528%29.jpg?itok=0ImlJyp3]](https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/image%281528%29.jpg?itok=0ImlJyp3)
The Moderna campus in Norwood, Mass. on Dec. 2, 2020. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
ZH | FEB 06, 2024
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The technology used in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine carries toxicity risks, scientists with the company said in a new paper.
“A major challenge now is how to efficiently de-risk potential toxicities associated with mRNA technology,” the scientists wrote in the paper, which was published by Nature Reviews Drug Discovery on Jan. 23.
The Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 shots use modified messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology. The mRNA is delivered by lipid nanoparticles (LNP).
The toxicity risks include “lipid nanoparticle structural components, production methods, route of administration and proteins produced from complexed mRNAs,” the authors of the paper said.
Authors of the paper include Eric Jacquinet and Dimitrios Bitounis, Moderna employees, and Maximillian Rogers, who was working at Moderna when the paper was being done.
Moderna didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The mRNA vaccines have multiple known side effects, including heart inflammation and severe allergic shock. Those may stem from hypersensitivity reactions, which can be elicited by “any LNP-mRNA component” but are most likely triggered by PEGlyated lipid nanoparticles, which is “the most potentially reactogenic component,” the scientists said.
Polyethylene glycol, or PEG, an ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, is known to cause allergic reactions. Outside scientists are divided over the mechanism behind the heart inflammation, while Pfizer has posited that the LNPs are behind the issue.
The new paper drew from prior publications and other data. The authors didn’t carry out any new experiments.
Some of the papers cited included those that have found mRNA and the spike protein delivered by Moderna’s shot in various parts of human beings weeks or months after vaccination, despite health officials claiming when the vaccines were rolled out that such materials would exit the body within days.
The scientists said that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is “safe and effective” and hailed the development of an updated shot as “demonstrat[ing] the rapid timeline for modifications with mRNA technology in the clinic.” Due to the “transient nature of mRNA,” though, “repeat administration may be necessary,” they said.
The scientists added later that reducing risks of toxicities with mRNA-based vaccines and drugs is necessary but “complicated.” That can be accomplished through a multi-pronged approach that includes advanced testing in laboratories and adjusts preclinical, animal trials to better account for “differences in human and animal physiology.”
Moderna and other companies are currently testing a number of new mRNA products, including influenza vaccines and cancer treatments.
“Thanks to the mRNA platform we built, we have an exciting pipeline, with up to 15 launches in the next five years,” Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, told investors in the company’s most recent earnings call.
The paper’s corresponding author, Mansoor Amiji of Northeastern University’s Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemical Engineering, referred a request for comment to Mr. Bitounis, who didn’t provide any answers.
Dr. Malone Reacts
Dr. Robert Malone, who helped invent the mRNA technology, said the paper downplayed the range of risks that have been linked to the mRNA-based vaccines and may be part of a limited hangout, or a propaganda technique.
That technique, a form of misdirection, involves people offering some information to obscure or prevent the discovery of other information.
“My most generous interpretation of the overall intent of the article is that this article summarizes and represents information concerning risks and toxicities of this platform technology which Moderna wishes to have disclosed in a manner which puts the firm, its activities and the underlying platform technology in the best possible light,” Dr. Malone, who wasn’t involved with the paper, wrote in his review.
“A less generous interpretation of intent is that this article represents a subtle form of propaganda strategy commonly referred to as a limited hangout.”
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| Cardinal Fernández issues text on ‘validity’ of sacraments |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-05-2024, 06:24 AM - Forum: New Rite Sacraments
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A typical Conciliar mixture of truth and error...
Cardinal Fernández issues text on ‘validity’ of sacraments
Cardinal Fernández's text does not contain specifics regarding the individual sacraments, but warned that changing 'the form of a Sacrament or its subject matter is always a gravely illicit act.'
![[Image: DSC05468-scaled-e1702389584760.jpeg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/DSC05468-scaled-e1702389584760.jpeg)
Cardinal Fernández at his titular church in Rome, December 2023.
Feb 3, 2024
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Victor Manuel Cardinal Fernández has published a new document on “the validity of the sacraments,” which he says is a response to various unauthorized changes to the form of sacraments which render them invalid.
Entitled Gestis Verbisque, the 12-page text was released February 3 by the new prefect of the Congregation (Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). (See LifeSite’s translation here)
Unanimously approved on January 25 at the plenary assembly of CDF members and then by Pope Francis on January 31, the text has been published because – according to Fernández – “it must be noted that the liturgical celebration, particularly that of the Sacraments, is not always carried out in full fidelity to the rites prescribed by the Church.”
“Several times this Dicastery has intervened to settle doubts about the validity of Sacraments celebrated, within the framework of the Roman Rite, in disregard of liturgical norms, sometimes having to conclude with a painful negative response, noting, in those cases, that the faithful have been robbed of what is due to them,” wrote Fernández.
Aimed chiefly at bishops, Gestis Verbisque (GV) presents itself as an aid, and looks to highlight “some elements of a doctrinal nature with regard to discernment on the validity of the celebration of the Sacraments, paying attention also to some disciplinary and pastoral implications.”
Fernández drew heavily from the writings of the Second Vatican Council, along with texts from the Council of Trent, St. Thomas Aquinas and Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.
“The interventions of the Magisterium in sacramental matters have always been motivated by the fundamental concern for fidelity to the mystery celebrated,” he noted. “Indeed, the Church has a duty to ensure the priority of God’s action and to safeguard the unity of the Body of Christ in those actions that have no equal because they are sacred ‘par excellence’ with an efficacy guaranteed by Christ’s priestly action.”
Highlighting the matter and form required for the validity of each sacrament, GV noted that “it cannot be ignored that when the Church intervenes in determining the constituent elements of the Sacrament, she always acts rooted in Tradition to better express the grace conferred by the Sacrament.”
Quoting directly from the Council of Trent to note that the minis of the sacrament must have the “intention to do at least what the Church does,” Fernández reiterated that Council’s teaching that “Matter, form and intention are intrinsically united: they are integrated into the sacramental action in such a way that intention becomes the unifying principle of matter and form, making them a sacred sign by which grace is conferred ex opere operato.”
Principally, Fernández presented the text of a 2020 CDF ruling on Baptism, noting that altering the form of a sacrament is not a private or small issue, but one which affects the Church:
Quote:to change on one’s own initiative the celebratory form of a Sacrament does not constitute a simple liturgical abuse, as a transgression of a positive norm, but a vulnus inflicted at the same time on ecclesial communion and on the recognizability of Christ’s action, which in the most serious cases renders the Sacrament itself invalid, because the nature of ministerial action demands that one faithfully transmit what one has received.
While Fernández noted early in GV that “changing, therefore, the form of a Sacrament or its subject matter is always a gravely illicit act and deserves exemplary punishment, precisely because such arbitrary gestures are capable of producing grave harm to God’s faithful People,” he did not delve into specifics of each sacrament, but kept his commentary to more general reflections on the necessity of the matter and form of a sacrament.
Mass presidency
However, he did devote the third section of the document to “Liturgical presidency and the art of celebration,” drawing heavily from themes found in the Vatican II documents. Dealing thus more specifically with the Mass, Fernández highlighted how the “priest re-presents Christ himself in the event of the celebration.”
The priest is not possessed of a “power to be exercised arbitrarily,” the cardinal wrote, since “the Head of the Church, and therefore the true president of the celebration, is Christ alone.”
Warning especially against priests assuming undue ideas of authority, Fernández gave notable weight to the theme of the “baptismal priesthood,” as espoused in the Second Vatican Council’s Lumen Gentium.
“For this very reason, the minister should understand that the authentic ars celebrandi is one that respects and exalts the primacy of Christ and the actuosa participatio of the entire liturgical assembly, including through humble obedience to liturgical norms,” he wrote, paraphrasing the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
Fernández closed his document by quoting from Pope Francis’ 2022 letter Desiderio Desideravi, which reaffirmed Francis’ restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass while promoting the reformed liturgy as “the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.”
Fernández did not deal with the traditional liturgy in his GV text, despite quoting from Desiderio Desideravi, writing instead that “The whole Church is called to guard the richness contained in them [sacraments], so that the primacy of God’s saving action in history may never be obscured, even in the fragile mediation of signs and gestures proper to human nature.”
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| The Great Ecumenism: Wolves and Sheep Are One Family |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-05-2024, 06:17 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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The Great Ecumenism: Wolves and Sheep Are One Family
![[Image: 9jj3asvww4f6y2ypq22cm2rbq0a3zgz1pfeppel....30&webp=on]](https://seedus3932.gloriatv.net/1z94gyaCTBei3D8MsGrYwjE6j/9jj3asvww4f6y2ypq22cm2rbq0a3zgz1pfeppel.webp?secure=kXjse8jTkjIrlYr5L0yNvg&expires=1707568630&webp=on)
gloria.tv | February 5, 2024
A flock of sheep was grazing in a meadow of lush grass. Then a wolf approached. The sheep drew closer together in fear. But the wolf was peaceful and began to eat the grass.
The next day it came back and grazed like the sheep. The sheep were no longer afraid of the wolf.
Now the wolf began a conversation: "You sheep think that we wolves eat sheep. This is a misconception that the shepherd has given you in order to exploit you. You can see with your own eyes that I, like you, eat only grass. I am not your enemy. You must see for yourself who your enemy is. I ask you: Who is shearing you and robbing you of the wool that protects you from the cold?"
"The shepherds," bleated the sheep.
The wolf continued, "Who milks you and takes all the milk for himself?"
"The shepherds," was the unanimous reply.
"Who takes away your lambs and sets the dogs on you to restrict the space of your freedom?" continued the wolf.
"The shepherds," cried the sheep.
"Who is really your enemy, the wolf or the shepherd?" the wolf demanded.
"The shepherds," cried the sheep.
Then the wolf said: "I will help you to shake off the slave yoke of the shepherds and to break through the iron curtain of their dogs. My proposal: Let's create a republic of sheep and wolves. Everyone should have the same rights and duties. In the new republic you will be free from the dictatorship of the shepherds and their vicious dogs. Do you agree with this?"
"Yes," the sheep cried enthusiastically. The young rams shouted the loudest. Some older sheep who expressed reservations were told to be quiet.
Then the wolf said, "This pasture is no place for a thriving republic of sheep and wolves. We are under constant threat here. Follow me into the forest and you will be free from the shepherd and his dogs.
Just as the sheep had followed the shepherd in the past, they now followed the wolf into the forest, into the promised land of freedom.
After a few days, the sheep noticed that some of them had disappeared overnight. They expressed their concern to the wolf.
The wolf replied: "We live in a republic of freedom. If you don't like it, you can leave. It is the rigid ones who have left us."
Then the sheep calmed down. Over the next few nights, some sheep disappeared again.
The wolf said, "We are not putting up an iron curtain. The die-hards who prefer to submit to the dictatorship of the shepherds can go".
Again and again, sheep disappeared overnight. Finally, only one sheep was left in the flock. It faithfully said: "Dear wolf, even though all the other sheep have left you, I remain faithful to you.
"That is good," said the wolf and ate the last sheep. And so the republic of sheep and wolves came to an inglorious end.
They come to you as harmless sheep, but in reality they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you will know them. (Jesus Christ, Mt 7:15).
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| Bl. Anna Maria Taigi: Sts. Peter & Paul will designate new Pope after the Three Days of Darkness |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-05-2024, 05:56 AM - Forum: Sedevacantism
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Taken from here:
Three Days of Darkness
Blessed Ana Maria Taigi also describes the “Three Days of Darkness” that she saw in her “mystical sun:”
"There shall come over the whole earth an intense darkness lasting three days and three nights. Nothing will be able to be seen, and the air will be laden with pestilence which will claim mainly, but not only, the enemies of Religion. It will be impossible to use any man-made light during this darkness, except blessed candles.
"He, who out of curiosity, opens his window to look out, or leaves his home, will fall dead on the spot. During these three days, people should remain in their homes, praying the Holy Rosary and begging God for mercy. All the enemies of the Church, known and unknown, will perish over the whole earth during that universal darkness, with the exception of a few whom God will soon convert. The air shall be infected by demons who will appear under all sorts of hideous forms."
She goes on to tell how the three days will end with a triumph of Heaven:
“After the three days of darkness, Saints Peter and Paul, having come down from Heaven, will preach throughout the world and designate a new Pope. A great light will flash from their bodies and will settle upon the future Pontiff. ... There shall be innumerable conversions of heretics, who will return to the bosom of the Church; all will note the edifying conduct of their lives, as well as that of all other Catholics. Russia, England and China will come to the Church."
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| Archbishop Viganò: Homily on the Feast of the Purification of Mary Most Holy |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-03-2024, 05:07 AM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
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Tu es qui restitues hæreditatem meam mihi. Ps 15:5
My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of every people. With these words, the aged Simeon praises the Lord for having granted him the privilege of being able to witness the fulfillment of the Prophecies, being able to hold in his arms the Infant Messiah, brought to the Temple to be offered to the Lord according to the prescriptions of the Old Law. That short but profound canticle is repeated every night at Compline, because the prayer that the Church recites at the end of each day prepares us for the end of our earthly exile with our faces turned towards Our Lord.
Today’s feast was dedicated, up until the reform of 1962, to the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and it was therefore a Marian recurrence of a penitential nature, as evidenced by violet-colored vestments; just as the rite of Purification which all Jewish mothers had to undergo forty days after giving birth was penitential (Lev 12:2). Holy Church also preserves in the Rituale Romanum the special Blessing for Mothers who have given birth, which has now fallen into disuse but which it would be a pious practice to restore in its spiritual significance. Just as for the rite of the Baptism of Our Lord in the Jordan, so also the rite of Purification did not strictly have sense or utility for Mary Most Holy, since she is Most Pure and without sin in virtue of her Immaculate Conception. By her submission to the Law then in force, Our Lady gives us an example of obedience to religious precepts, so that we may not forget that we are children of wrath and that we merit Grace only because of the infinite merits that Our Savior acquired for us through His Passion and Death on the Cross.
The reform of Roncalli – which was worked on by many of the same experts who worked on the reform of Holy Week under Pius XII and then on the entire corpus liturgicum with the Montinian rite – changed the name of the feast from the Purification of the Blessed Virgin to the Presentation in the Temple of Our Lord. The motivation was to set the celebration in a Christocentric light – something in itself licit and which was therefore welcomed by parish priests. In reality, the purpose of the authors of the 1962 reform was to open the conciliar Overton window, inaugurated with the Ordo Hebdomadæ Sanctæ instauratus. The unmentionable purpose, which for this reason was to be kept strictly concealed so as not to compromise future developments, consisted in weakening the cult of the Virgin and the Saints – as can be seen, for example, from the reclassification of the feasts of the Sanctoral Cycle – in a pro-Protestant mode. We understand then how, under the guise of a harmless and doctrinally acceptable change, the desire was not so much to emphasize the centrality of Our Lord in the liturgical cycle as to use it as a pretext to exclude the Mother of God, who was considered an obstacle to ecumenical dialogue. Thus, by small steps, the innovators succeeded in making the doctrine of the Mediation and Co-redemption of Mary Most Holy be forgotten, without explicitly denying it.
Catholics know well that giving the veneration of hyperdulia to the Virgin does not detract from the worship of latria owed to the Divine Majesty, but rather favors the Son through His most august Mother, in whom He has worked wonders: quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est. Instead, heretics show their horror even at simply naming Our Lady, because Her humility and obedience constitute an intolerable affront to the pride and disobedience of Satan, their father. And if in His infinite wisdom the Lord wanted the Immaculate Virgin to trample on the head of the ancient Serpent, why should we pretend – as Protestants do – to deal directly with Him, despising the powerful Mediatrix that He gave us at the foot of the Cross as Mother and Advocate? Would we not offend the Lord by treating with little regard and distrust the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the honor of our people?
Let us leave aside these observations and meditate on the Mysteries of this feast, in which the true Religion triumphs over superstition, replacing the previous pagan feasts with the Rite of the Blessing of Candles. Pope Saint Gelasius wanted to institute this feast because at the end of the 5th century there were still people in Rome given over to the worship of idols, carrying torches through the city. Christ, Lux mundi, therefore reappropriates the symbol of light which the pagans had usurped from Him. In this sense, it is significant to recall the mystical interpretation of Saint Anselm: the wax, he says, the work of bees, is the flesh of Christ; the wick, which is within, is the soul; and the flame, which shines in the upper part, is the divinity. Flesh, soul, divinity: the union of these elements permitted Our Lord to redeem us as the Head of the human race, expiating the infinite offense of Adam thanks to the infinite value of His Sacrifice, the very Sacrifice of the Man-God, offered to the Majesty of the Father in reparation for Original Sin and for all the faults committed by men until the end of time.
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum, quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum, says Simeon. Salvation is an event extended to all and, unlike the Chosen People, the Christian people are not distinguished by race, but by adoption. It is in fact by our Baptism that we are constituted children of God, His heirs and joint heirs with Christ, as Saint Paul says (Rom 8:14-19) and as the Psalmist sings: The Lord is my inheritance and my cup (Ps 15:5). This is why salvation has been prepared in the sight all peoples; this is why all peoples are called to know, worship and serve the true God. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes (Ps 116:1), et adorabunt eum omnes reges terrae; omnes gentes servient ei (Ps 71:11).
Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuæ Israël. The revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of the People of God – which is the Holy Church – are intimately linked: without preaching there is no revelation; and without revelation there is no glory for the heavenly Jerusalem, for the new Israel. But if the infidelities of the Synagogue in recognizing the light of Christ have caused its fall and the dispersion of its children, how much greater will be the dishonor for those who live under the New and Eternal Covenant, are reborn in Christ and resurrected with Him, but do not preach the salvation that God has accomplished through the Passion of His divine Son?
When Our Lord encountered the scribes in the Temple, explaining to them the meaning of the Scriptures and in particular showing them how the prophecies were fulfilled in Him, the Synagogue was still faithful to the Covenant with God. But when He was denounced by the Sanhedrin to Pontius Pilate with the accusation of blasphemy – having proclaimed Himself as God – so that he would be put to death, the High Priests had denied the Faith, blinded by the fear of losing their prestige with the coming of the Messiah, whom the Jews considered not only as a spiritual Savior, but also and above all a temporal and political one. Their apostasy led them to silence those truths contained in the Old Testament which disavowed their attempt to adapt religion to the convenience of time and circumstances, and which so many stern admonitions had merited from the last Prophets of Israel. The Jewish people, held in ignorance by the religious authority of the time, were certainly disoriented and scandalized, since their simple Faith taught them that the time had come for the birth of the Messiah in the city of Bethlehem. This is why an entire priestly caste – the tribe of Levi – was dispersed with the destruction of the Temple by Emperor Titus: even today the children of the Synagogue are scattered throughout the world without a place of worship, and also without being able to reconstruct the genealogy of the Levites to celebrate the sacrifices. A terrible destiny of a people, because of the betrayal of its priests!
And yet, faced with the evidence of the severity with which the Lord judges His Ministers, especially when they fail in their sacred duties and deceive the faithful, the clerics of the New Covenant seem to consider all too lightly their own shortcomings, their own infidelities, and their own silence before those who proclaim error and deny or remain silent about the Truth. In them we find the same hybris, the same foolish presumption to defy Heaven, which is irremissibly punished with nemesis, the fatal punisher of the abuse of authority and pride. May the tyrants of this world, invested with civil and ecclesiastical offices, and those who pay them servile homage for fear of appearing to go against the tide or of being pointed out as “rigid,” “fundamentalist,” not “inclusive” and “divisive” remember this well, and also those who, fraudulently using an authority for the opposite purpose to that which legitimizes it, believe they can lord it over their subjects: nil inultum remanebit.
Let us therefore approach the Holy Sacrifice with the holy Fear of God, purifying ourselves from sin through frequent recourse to Confession and reciting the Act of Contrition with repentant hearts as soon as we commit any fault. May our spiritual disposition to amend ourselves and make ourselves less unworthy of the Divine Mysteries help us to welcome the Blessed Sacrament with recollection and fervor in Eucharistic Communion: may the Light of Christ illumine our minds in these moments of trial and inflame our hearts with the love of Charity, so that we may in turn be a light to illuminate the peoples. May our lives be a daily testimony of being true children of God, so that we may be able to exclaim with the Psalmist: the Lord is my inheritance and my cup. And so may it be.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
February 2, 2023
In Purificatione Beatæ Mariæ Virginis
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