Posted on 06/11/2014 4:15:23 AM PDT by NYer
Father Justin Wylie |
Holy Innocents, Manhattan |
Dear friends – and mark well that I speak to you now from the prophetic heart of my sacerdotal paternity – Dom Prosper Gueranger has something important to say also about threes. Hear it well:
“[T]he sacraments, being visible signs, are an additional bond of unity between the members of the Church: we say additional, because these members have the two other strong links of union – submission to Peter and to the pastors sent by him and profession of the same faith. The Holy Ghost tells us, in the sacred Volume, that a threefold chord is not easily broken [Eccles. Iv 12]. Now we have such a one, and it keeps us in the glorious unity of the Church: hierarchy, dogma, and sacraments, all contribute to make us one Body. Everywhere, from north to south, and from east to west, the sacraments testify to the fraternity that exists amongst us; by them we know each other, no matter in what part of the globe we may be, and by the same we are known by heretics and infidels. These divine sacraments are the same in every country, how much soever the liturgical formulae of their administration may differ; they are the same in the graces they produce, they are the same in the signs whereby grace is produced – in a word, they are the same in all the essentials” (pp. 228-9).
...This, of course, is excellent advice from Father Wylie. Strong negative emotions are never the work of the Holy Spirit. Whenever we start acting out of a feeling of victimization, we are not under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. No matter what persecution we may face, no matter how dire the circumstances may appear, we must remember that we are already victors because Christ has won the battle for us. This was the message of St. Paul in Romans 8:
Dom Gueranger writes these words for us under his entry for precisely this Fourth Sunday after Easter, when in this parish, as I understand, you will meet to discuss a path forward for the precarious existence of your own worshipping community. Will this be the path Christ charts or will we make of ourselves instruments of the evil one for division and derision? The test of this, as in all things, is charity. Deus caritas est; et ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est. Where there is a breakdown of charity, there also is the spirit of the antichrist. I urge you, therefore, to be obedient and to be charitable with your legitimate superiors in all this, as well as with each other. Be firm and clear, also, and just; however, let charity always be the litmus test of whom it is you serve.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?Unfortunately, Father Wylie's sermon then began to deviate from this positive message. He talked about his experience when he first came to New York and how freely the Latin Mass was celebrated here. However, he has since changed his opinion:
As I said: during the dark days of prohibition, New York seemed to be a happy place to be for you because of the indult-masses at places like St. Agnes, but in the fresh juridical freedom Summorum Pontificum brings, New York has become, in my view, a less felicitous place for traditional Catholics: because nothing is structured, nothing acknowledged. Who takes responsibility for you pastorally?Father Wylie then took swipes at the Administration of the New York Archdiocese:
Pastores dabo vobis, the Lord promises Jeremiah: I will give you shepherds! Fundamentally – and this is something about which I urge you to think well and pray much about – as a priest, I have to say: I worry about the situation of traditional Catholics in the Archdiocese. Yes, the archdiocese 'permits' a traditional mass here or there -- but responsibility for the matter continues to rest upon the initiative and resourcefulness of the laity, who with enormous difficulty have to source priests hither and thither as though we were seemingly still living in Reformation England or Cromwellian Ireland. Isn't it high time for the Church to take pastoral responsibility also for these sheep? Do they not deserve a shepherd? a parish? or at least some sense of juridical security? What happens to you when the parish you are harbouring in closes its doors?As you can see, Father Wylie is comparing the situation of traditional Catholics in New York City to those in "Reformation England" when the Catholic Church was outlawed and priests had to be literally smuggled into the country. Father Wylie is, in effect, accusing the Archdiocese of waging war on traditional Catholics, and I know many who are in complete agreement with that. And it probably is true to one extent or another. But would our Lord want us to, in turn, do battle with those in Church hierarchy?
Then Jesus spoke to the people and to his followers. Jesus said, "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority (power) to tell you what the law of Moses says. So you should obey the things they say. You should do all the things they tell you to do. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don't do those things themselves."
St. Padre Pio |
"God's will be done,"...then he covered his eyes with his hands, lowered his head, and murmured, "The will of the authorities is the will of God."Notice what he said: "The will of the authorities is the will of God." Do we believe that? It certainly wouldn't seem so from a reading of many Catholic blogs and websites.
What will become of the priestly vocations aplenty I see in these numerous young men of such quality as we have in abundance serving here at Holy Innocents, St. Agnes and elsewhere – remaining as they do at the mercy (and sometimes, caprice) of 'landlords' who, for one reason or another, 'permit' their presence in their parishes? Doors everywere seem closing to them. Our Saviour has closed its doors to them. St. Agnes, for its part, guards its doors vigilantly to make sure they don't enter the building 5 minutes too early or don't overstay their welcome by 5 minutes more. Now, it seems, the doors of Holy Innocents will be closed to them, too.
Taken together, this is, in my view, a clear instance of exclusion: an injustice which you should bring to the attention of your shepherd, I think. You are fully-fledged members of the baptised Faithful, for heaven's sake: why are you scurrying about like ecclesiastical scavengers, hoping for a scrap or two to fall from the table for your very existence? The precariousness of your community cannot hinge on a church building being available to you as though you were a mere sodality or guild. The days of renting space in hotels and the like must surely be over. You are not schismatics! Are you schismatics?I am not challenging the veracity of Father Wylie's statements. But he is presenting these facts in such a way as to agitate those who are listening almost to rebellion. He is telling the people to rise up in self-righteous anger against those in authority. This is not the example we see in the Bible or the saints.
Whatever happens to Holy Innocents – and this will be the decision of your chief-shepherd here, who will base his decision on more information than any of us has at his or her disposal – you need to assert that you belong to the Church as fully as any other community. You have found a home here, largely through your own hard work and perseverence: no good shepherd could dispossess you of your home without providing safety and good pasture elsewhere. Parishioners of a Novus ordo parish closure might easily find another 'home' nearby; but what of you?Where is God in this statement? Father Wylie says: "You have found a home here, largely through your own hard work and perseverence." Father Wylie gives no credit to God for the accomplishments of Holy Innocence, and as a result, he does not turn the people to God to work out the solution. Everything is centered on the people. This is a sure recipe for disaster. Wouldn't it have been much better to say, "The Holy Spirit working through you has created a vibrant community, and no matter what happens, He will not desert you. As we are told, God's ways are not our ways. We need to trust that He will work things out just as He has always done."
You have a right to find the Mass (and not only on Sundays); and not only the Mass, but the other sacraments and rites of the Church. Closing this parish is more akin to closing a linguistic parish or a Oriental rite parish. What becomes of you?
No longer, I say, should you think of yourselves as squatters in the mighty edifice of Holy Church, nor should you find yourselves turned out like squatters. Shepherds must needs make difficult decisions, such as the erection or suppression of parishes – that is their onerous duty and in this they must have our obedience, charity and prayer: but never should they throw open the sheep-fold and allow the uncertain dispersion of their sheep into a world full of wolves. Charity, of course, is a two-way street.
Return Crucifix at Holy Innocents |
Will this be the path Christ charts or will we make of ourselves instruments of the evil one for division and derision? The test of this, as in all things, is charity. Deus caritas est; et ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est. Where there is a breakdown of charity, there also is the spirit of the antichrist.
Ping!
I agree with the writer and believe this article is helpful and insightful in a world heading for disaster
Nothing wrong with what Fr. Wylie said.
The difference between going to a Latin Mass on Sunday, and having a dedicated Latin Mass parish is huge. It really is more like an Eastern Rite parish than just a run of the mill parish.
New York’s hierarchy should be ashamed of itself.
That's because they faithfully taught what the Law said (even if they themselves didn't follow it). What we have these days are leaders that do not faithfully teach the Traditional Catholic Faith.
It seems, across the board, that the institutions that preach faith and values are much more afraid of those who actually believe in those things than those who do not.
Human nature is a funny thing.
In the Religion forum, on a thread titled Father Justin Wylie and Holy Innocents, NYer wrote:
Posted to balance out another thread, Traditional Priest Kicked Out Of New York
Thanks; Read that post which left the impression he was being booted back to S.A. for some nefarious reason. But really was for taking a swipe at the local bishop because of his pointy cap insistance on the using the observance of caual catholic rituals. But left that unexplained.
At the mass I attended. The pastor complained post sermon before dismissal about the host being dropped falling to the floor then picked up by the “dispenser” and given to the next in line. Explaining it was supposed to be returned to the altar and placed on the corporal.
This parish priest (despite the fact he’s in his sixties) of course does the host in hand business with different hymns allways new to the congregation recomended in the diocease missalete many of protestant origin being used for the “entrance” processional),offertory,communion,and “closing” (recessional). Of couse the women show up in shorts and flip flops likewise the men and worst of the kids, all dressed like slobs.
No respect or recognition for the solemnity of the ocassion encouraged here.
AMEN.
There is a need for traditional Catholics who do the TLM to be a lot more loving to those Catholics who only attend the NO masses.
This priest, God Bless him is “spot on.”
**This parish priest (despite the fact hes in his sixties) of course does the host in hand business with different hymns allways new to the congregation recomended in the diocease missalete many of protestant origin being used for the entrance processional),offertory,communion,and closing (recessional).**
If they use the OCP series they are in for a great surprise with the new missalette for Ordinary Time. There are ABSOLUTELY NO haugen, haas, schutte, etc. songs. They are all traditional hymns. Rejoice!
I was so excited about it that I sent a positive note to Archbishop Sample (He’s been here one year.) telling him how wonderful all the traditional music was and hoping the new music issue that comes out in Advent will contain similar music (with the other haugen, haas, schutte, etc. omitted, of course.)
Since it is true that these people do have rights and are entitled to an understanding of their rights, why find fault with the priest for articulating them? Blind obedience to injustice is no virtue.
St. Padre Pio had a right to exercise his priestly duties, but when this was taken away from him by Church authorities, he humbly submitted.
Faulty comparison. In this case, it's not a matter of a priest personally submitting to a situation that affects him alone. This is about a priest, the spiritual father of his flock, articulating the rights of the souls God has placed in his direct care.
I am also deeply disturbed by Fr. Wylie's characterization of the New York Archdiocese throwing traditional Catholics "into a world full of wolves."
Substituting "a world full of wolves" with "Lavender Mafia" would perhaps be a tad more accurate.
Why doesn't Father Wylie remind the people that our Lord has promised never to abandon them? As the "Imitation of Christ" tells us, quoting from Proverbs 16:9, "Man proposes, God disposes." God is the one who makes the final decision. Are we willing to trust Him?
Ora et labora. Trusting God and speaking and fighting for Truth and justice have never been mutually exclusive.
He tells the people that they are victims, that they have rights which are being violated, that no one in the New York Archdiocese really cares about them and they better look out for themselves.
That could well be true. It's certainly been true in other dioceses in which I've lived.
If this sermon by Father Wylie is any indication, this great opportunity is being squandered.
How so? People have a right to know their canonical rights, and shepherds are morally required to respect those rights. Otherwise the existence of canon law would be pointless.
That is not accurate. There are at least two daily traditional Latin Mass venues in northern New Jersey; and there is a daily TLM in southern NJ. However, Holy Innocents has the only daily TLM in Manhattan.
Can't wait! We had always used the traditional hymns from the St. John "classic" missalette, but a new parish administrator switched us to OCP and she is pushing the hippy-dippy stuff. I tried with all charity and kindness to explain to her the problem with the things from a musical and theological standpoint, but she would not listen.
LOVE to see the legs cut out from under her. I'm going to write a nice letter to the Archbishop myself. He probably could use some positive reinforcement.
What gives? Which edition of the missalette do you use?
I can see why she said this. To date, she's had 32 responses, 11 of which are her own, trying to justify herself, to her blog article. She seems to be very insecure.
Um...yikes! Where did you get that information? People I know who have gone to Holy Innocents will be very interested to hear.
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