[Catholic Caucus] Faithful Catholics are suffering. Meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary can help

Despite constant pressure to adopt the opinion that an ever-growing number of Catholics attend the Latin Mass out of preference, one must acknowledge that the sacrifice these Catholics make to attend these parishes proves that the attachment is more than preferential. The traditional Mass is an expression of traditional morals and beliefs. It is not simply a liturgical preference. It would appear this opinion is the primary crime of the Missionary Fathers of St. John the Baptist. The cancelation of these two priests is yet another blow received by the laity. Such blows are steadily increasing in frequency and severity by both ecclesiastical and civil authorities. It is easy to feel frustrated, angry, and even scared during times of persecution, but if we keep our minds and hearts united to the sufferings of Christ we will persevere in charity and win a final victory.

A canceled priest is not a fired priest; a priest cannot be fired because his purpose is uniting God and man, and if this ministry is taken from him his purpose in life is taken from him. The cancellation of good priests is a persecution in its cruelest sense. Although this suffering is very much the priest’s to endure alone, as he gave up at his ordination the possibility of having a wife and children, his family, friends, and parishioners suffer as well. It is a scandal to all, especially the “little ones” in the Church as Bishop Athanasius Schneider calls us simple souls.

Resignation to God’s will is the fruit of the First Sorrowful Mystery, the Agony in the Garden. In this mystery Jesus experiences His agony in the Garden of Olives. He sweated drops of blood as He took upon Himself the sins of mankind—every sin of every person that came before Him, and would come until the consummation of the world. He took them all upon Himself and endured an agony as He prayed in the garden. He was completely resigned to the will of the Father. During times of persecution, being resigned to the reality of what is happening and accepting the accompanying suffering allows us to ask for and accept the graces we need to embrace the approaching cross knowing that God will always be at our side. It is often easier to get caught up in the news coverage and drama surrounding current events. Resigning ourselves to God’s will is the remedy. Acknowledging in our mind that our Church has been infiltrated and that the Bride of Christ is being attacked from within is a bit much for some people to resign themselves to, but it is our current agony. It is easiest to accept God’s will when we see our complete helplessness in a situation.

Mortification of self is the fruit of the Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging at the Pillar. Our Lord underwent the most horrible torment in reparation for our sins. He suffered so mankind could be reconciled with God. Through His passion, He opened the gates of Heaven that had been closed since Adam’s sin. We cooperate in His suffering when we mortify ourselves. Fasting and penance are often voluntary, and they prepare us for times of persecution. During persecution, mortification is often involuntary. When the mortification caused during these times is united with the sufferings of Christ, many graces are merited for the Mystical Body. It is mortifying when our source of holiness, the traditional Latin Mass is under attack. We know that by Christ’s stripes we are healed. Because of our sins, we deserve to suffer, and we can easily endure inconveniences and the pain of being misunderstood and marginalized for Christ. Let us rejoice that we are being persecuted for His sake.

Humility is the fruit of the Crowning with Thorns, the Third Sorrowful Mystery. This is a humility that is quite different from Our Lady’s humility that we contemplate in the Annunciation as hers is a fittingness of things and knowing our own lowliness before God. Our Lord’s crowning with thorns is a mortifying sort of humility. Christ the King was mocked by mankind during this mystery. At times, when we undergo persecution, it is frustrating that justice is being so thoroughly violated. Our Lord underwent this same injustice, and we too must undergo this form of humiliation. Some things in this world are so unjust, but it is fitting as followers of Christ to suffer meekly such outrages. From the perspective of Catholics seeing good priests get canceled, it is an outrage, but we are indeed helpless and have no choice but to humbly endure. The priests aren’t made for us; they are made for God. Their duty is to worship God and to reconcile us to God through the sacraments. That is the purpose of a priest. Respect your good priests. Pray for those who are weak. It really is an honor that these priests are suffering with Christ. And I suspect in the case of the Missionary Fathers of St. John the Baptist, they are happy to suffer for Christ as the choice of their name would suggest. We are faithful sons and daughters of the Church simply living our lives in like manner with the saints before us. We should be commended for our efforts, yet we are often mocked by off-the-cuff remarks about breeding like rabbits or the supposed scandal our good priests cause by shopping for traditional clerical garments. The motives of faithful Catholics are consistently slandered. We can suffer this humiliation with Christ because we, like Him, are being ridiculed despite our merits.

Patience in adversity is the fruit of the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery, namely the Carrying of the Cross. Our Lord carried His heavy cross after enduring a long night in agony, after being brutally scourged—a scourging that left Him with wounds that would have eventually caused death—and after having a cruel crown of piercing thorns placed upon His head. He not only carried His cross but He embraced it affectionately knowing that His passion was the reason He came into the world: to suffer and die so that we could have eternal life. He carried this cross as He suffered horribly from thirst due to loss of blood and after seeing His sorrowing mother. The wounds He endured were so great that He would not have lived long enough to suffer His execution had it not been for Simon of Cyrene being pressed into service to help Him. At times we are asked to patiently endure tremendously difficult circumstances. When we think of what Christians have suffered in other places and during earlier times, we will find that our current situation is really not that bad and that if it gets worse, we can endure because Our Lord led the way. There is nothing left to do but patiently endure in the knowledge that we are completely helpless to do anything else.

The fruit of the final Sorrowful Mystery, the Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord is forgiveness of enemies. Imitating this virtue of our Lord is what makes Christians different from every other religion in the world. We forgive those who persecute us. Our Lord forgave those who executed Him and those who cried for His blood. During persecution we too must forgive those who are causing us so much misery. This is where the bar is set for the followers of Christ. He forgave the cruelest of persecutors, His own race, the rulers of the time, and His followers who abandoned Him. After our opponents have heaped all this suffering on us, we must forgive them. We pray for the Pope, we pray for the bishops, and we pray for the priests. It is our duty, and we are good, so we do our duty. We also pray for our civil leaders. This is what we are called to do. We forgive our enemies. This doesn’t mean we are incapable of pointing out who our enemies are. No, we know who they are for they persecute us, but we forgive them and pray especially that they have the grace of final repentance.

Part of the pain of this particular persecution is its scandalous nature. The abandonment of Cardinal Zen, the removal of Bishop Strickland and the Missionary Fathers of Saint John the Baptist and so many before them has shaken the souls of the little ones. Priests will find their own way through this persecution, but we little ones who are hurt by scandal should pray the Rosary and meditate on the sufferings of Christ. This habit will keep our hearts in Rome, and it will bolster us up if bloody persecutions come our way.

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[Catholic Caucus] Faithful Catholics are suffering. Meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary can help

As we continue to endure such persecutions, we should never be scandalized, but rather put our hope in the Most Holy Rosary. The Rosary has sustained other generations in times of persecution.

Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary