The Fight for the Faith

Letter from the Dominicans of Avrillé June 27th, 2024: A new priest for the Friary! No. 39:

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Letter from the Dominicans of Avrillé

June 27th, 2024: A new priest for the Friary!

No. 39: September 2024

The War Against Religious (II)

This fictional dialogue between an angel and a pilgrim at Lourdes is taken from a book by Father Marie-Antoine de Lavaur, a Capuchin (1825-1907), one of the founders of the Lourdes pilgrimage, who died in the odor of sanctity. In this book, written in 1879, he describes the wounds from which society suffers. A few months later, on March 29, 1880, the decrees against religious orders were published, which led to the expulsion of religious throughout France (261 establishments, from October 14 to November 8). This text has not aged a bit in almost a century and a half. Here he exposes the greatness of the religious life, as the antidote to modern errors:

[THE ANGEL:] The world feeds on the smoke of pride; the religious soul is passionate about sublime humility, desirous of free, noble and holy obedience.

The world is devoured by the fever of gold, which the religious soul despises and tramples it underfoot.

The world rolls in the mire of its baseness; the religious soul has the wings of an angel to fly far away, and to blossom like a lily in the azure of the skies.

So the greatest wonder is not that there are religious on earth, but that there are still people living the secular life. How can the son of Christ, bearing the royal and priestly seal of Baptism on his forehead (Peter I, 2), still resign himself to being a slave, a slave to idols!

[THE PILGRIM:] What a delight!… and now I am trembling, as a man trembles who suddenly wakes up on the edge of a horrible abyss ready to swallow him, in front of a monster ready to devour him. I, who am not religious, am going to perish, and all those who, like me, live in the world, will perish like me?

[THE ANGEL:] Listen: What Jesus calls “the world” is not this material globe, nor the common life of Christians. This earth is God’s creature, so it is not cursed. In this common life there can be saints, so it is not cursed. Jesus calls “the world” the society of the wicked, and He calls those who make up this society, “men of the world.” You will recognize them by this: they think, speak, and act in a way diametrically opposed to that of Jesus. This “world”, in fact, is cursed.

Thus, there can be no agreement between this world and Jesus. And those who want to stand between the two, by the mere fact, are already lost. Jesus no longer recognizes them as His own: he who is not with me is against me! How many Christians are deluded in this respect and wake up in hell! Here is the terrible danger for those who are not religious: the monster is always there, he covers himself with flowers to better deceive them and, just when they do not think of it, he makes them his victims.

[PILGRIM:] So everyone must embrace the religious life?

[THE ANGEL:] At least everyone must have the spirit, since the religious life is nothing other than the Christian life in its sublime perfection. It is necessary that everyone show consideration for it, and it is necessary that all those who have not had the grace and courage to embrace it, regret it and come as close as possible to it by truly Christian morals. By their perfect obedience to the commandments of God, the Church and the duties of their state, they imitate the religious who obeys. By their detachment from the goods of this world and their horror of pomp and luxury, they imitate the poverty of religious. By their chastity and respect for the great Sacrament of Marriage, they imitate the angelic religious purity. It was to facilitate the practice of these great virtues that Jesus inspired the seraphic Francis to establish the Third Order, glorified by so many saints and recommended by so many pontiffs.

[THE PILGRIM:] So everyone can content himself with this means of sanctification, and remain in the world, without entering religion?

[THE ANGEL:] God forbid! This is only a concession of mercy, but not the triumph of love. The Third Order is only an anchor lent to the poor ship and thrown in the middle of the storm to prevent it from sinking. Religious life is the port!

The Third Order is the ray of sunshine that comes to console and rejoice the poor prisoner in his captivity. Religious life is the full sun of freedom in the pure sky amid blooming flowers!

These flowers, this freedom, this harbor, this sun, Jesus offers them to you, dear Pilgrim, if you are not chained in the bonds of marriage and therefore necessarily captive, necessarily tossed by the storm. You have only to will it, because Jesus calls to religious life all souls of generous good will, and He places no other condition on this sublime vocation. He offers it to all, as he says, pointing to His Heart, His Wounds, His Cross and heaven: if anyone wants to come, let him come.

The future priest and two future deacons prostrate during the Litany of the Saints.

Many hesitate for a long time, and they put themselves in inexpressible anguish to know if they are called. Likewise, those who advise them too often hesitate as well, like them. They believe that one can never reflect long enough! “Error! Illusion!” exclaims the great doctor St. Thomas after many other Saints and Doctors (II-II, q. 186). It is not their vocation that is in doubt; rather it is their good will! Do you want to save yourselves seriously, serve God generously and return love for love to Jesus? You are called. Moreover, “By the very fact,” adds St. Thomas, “that you are thinking of the religious life, and that this thought pursues you, know that it is God who calls you and that it is He who pursues you, because neither the world nor the devil will ever give you this thought. And if the devil, transforming himself into an angel of light, were to give it to you, you would have to listen to him, for it could only be by God that he would have done so” (Opuscule against those who prevent entry into religion, c. 10).

“There is no greater, more praiseworthy, more meritorious work,” concludes the illustrious Doctor, “than to defend the religious life, encourage vocations and assist religious.” (II-II, q. 186) All the great Doctors and masters of the spiritual life conclude that when a confessor is consulted about a vocation, he should always lean towards the religious life and, in case of doubt, decide in its favor.

[Excerpt from Social Plagues and the Mission of Bernadette, ch. 8: The War on Religious]

Pope Pius IX on voting

Pius IX on May 5, 1874: “I bless all those who cooperate in the resurrection of France. I bless them in the hope that they will take up a difficult but necessary task, that of eliminating or reducing a horrible plague afflicting contemporary society, known as universal suffrage. To leave the decision of the most serious questions to the necessarily unintelligent and passionate multitudes, is it not to surrender oneself to random chance and to run voluntarily into the abyss? Yes, universal suffrage would be more deserving of the name of ‘universal madness;’ and when secret societies get hold of it, as happens all too often, that of ‘universal lie.’ “

Chronicle:

April 7th, 2023: Fr. Angelico, at the request of H.E. Bishop Zendejas, departs for the U.S. to celebrate the Holy Week ceremonies in Houston Texas.

April 24th, 2023: Passing by the Friary, H.E. Bishop Thomas Aquinas gives a conference to the community, relating his memories of Archbishop Lefebvre.

May 7th, 2023: Fr. Marie-Laurent accompanies a group of the Knights of Our Lady on a pilgrimage to Pontmain.

June 24th, 2023: Ordination of Fr. Eymeric Blanchet, SAJM, who is now serving in the US, under the obedience of H.E. Bishop Zendejas.

June 29th, 2023: H.E. Bishop Faure is present to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ordination of Fr. Pierre-Marie (Prior), and the 10th anniversary of the ordinations of Frs. Hyacinthe-Marie and Terence.

July 2023: Summer camps; 30th General Chapter of the Knights of Our Lady; Fr. Marie-Laurent and Br. Pie-Marie are in Prague for a recollection and pilgrimage for our tertiaries.

August 2023: Annual retreat preached by Fr. Picot; solemn vows of Br. Augustin-Marie; Fr. Marie-Dominique is at Holy Cross Benedictine Monastery in Brazil for the priestly ordination of Br. John of the Cross, who accomplished his theological studies at the Friary; on the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, first vows of Sr. Catherine-Marie (Kansas) as a teaching Dominican of Avrillé.

November 3rd, 2023: Inaugural reception in our newly constructed Parish Hall and school cafeteria.

December 24th, 2023: Fr. Marie-Laurent leaves for the U.S. for a two-week tour of retreats (New York, Kansas, Texas). He returns to the U.S. again in March.

January 10th, 2024: Gregorian chant session for the community.

March 2024: Fr. Emmanuel-Marie is down in Bartrès (Lourdes) to help Fr. Innocent-Marie for Holy Week.

April 8th, 2024: Our postulant Maxence Blanchet (brother of Fr. Blanchet) receives the habit, and the new name of Br. Michel-Marie.

June 27th, 2024: H.E. Bishop Faure ordains our Br. Augustin-Marie to the priesthood, whereas Br. Pie-Marie and Mr. Paul Renoult are ordained deacons for the Holy Church. DEO GRATIAS!

July 2024: Fr. Marie-Laurent is in Moscow for the final step of the Fatima-Moscow pilgrimage to obtain the Consecration of Russia through prayer and penance. The Russian people seem very receptive to the message of Our Lady, and many booklets and medals were distributed.

News from our worksites

The new Parish Hall is finished! We now have a school cafeteria in full conformity with regulations, and we’re able to organize large conferences and study sessions in a dignified setting. Thank you to all our benefactors who made this project come to fruition!

We still need to pave the parking lot, which for the moment resembles a warzone. We are also in the process of obtaining the necessary authorizations to restore the West wing of the Friary (severely damaged by rainwater), as well as two buildings of the Priory, necessary for study halls for the numerous boys.

Restoration work at St. Dominic’s Hostel, Bartrès (Lourdes)






For timely articles and spiritual reading, please go to our website:

www.dominicansavrille.us

To send a donation:

YOU MAY USE PAYPAL (ON OUR WEBSITE), OR SEND TO:

Dominicans of Avrillé, Inc.
P.O. Box 23, Newman Lake, WA 99025

Please take note that we no longer have our other bank accounts. Please specify when sending donations to the above address whether your donation is in American or Canadian dollars.

For more information :

Couvent de la Haye-aux-Bonshommes

49240 Avrillé, France

Letter from the Dominicans of Avrillé–No. 37: January 2022

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Letter from the Dominicans of Avrillé

Adoration by the Magi (Lorenzo Monaco, 1421-1422).

No. 37: January 2022

O Great Mystery

Joy is one of the most striking sentiments of the liturgy for the mystery of the Nativity. The Church invites us constantly to be joyful recalling the words of the Angel to the shepherds “To you I announce good news which will be for you the source of great joy: a Savior is bornâ€. (St. Luke 2: 10-11). The joy of Christmas is one of deliverance, of a conquered heritage, of peace, and especially of the vision of God given to men. “And he will be called Emmanuelâ€. (Isaiah 7: 14; St. Matthew 1: 23)

But this joy will only be assured if we remain faithful to the grace given to us by the Savior and which makes us His brothers. “O, Christian,†says St. Leo the Great in his sermon that the Church reads during the Holy night, “recognize your dignity. And participating in the Divinity, be careful not to fall from such a sublime state.â€

“If you knew the gift of God†(St. John 4, 10), said Our Lord. If you knew this Son who is given to you! Let us receive Him as we should. May it not be said of us: “He came into the world and His own received Him not.†(Christmas Gospel) By creation we are all in the domain of God, we belong to Him; but there are those who have not received Him on this Earth. How many Jews and pagans have rejected Our Lord because He appeared in humility and corruptible flesh! Souls drowned in the darkness of pride and sensuality: “The light shown in the darkness and the darkness received it not.†(Last Gospel)

And how must we receive it? By Faith – those who “believe in His Nameâ€. It is to those who believing in Him, in his words and works, have received this Child as God that it has been given in return to become themselves children of God.

Such is, indeed, the fundamental disposition that we must have in order that this great mystery (antiphon of the Octave of Christmas) produces in us all its fruits. Only by Faith may we know the terms and the manner in which it is realized. May we penetrate into the depths of this mystery and have a true knowledge worthy of God.

There are different modes and degrees of knowledge.

“The ox and ass knew their God,†(Isaiah 1: 3) was written by Isaiah speaking of this mystery. They saw the Child lying in the manger. But what did they see? That which an animal can see: the form, the size the color, the movement- rudimentary knowledge which does not leave the realm of sensation. Nothing more.

The passers-by, the curious who came to the stable saw the Child; but for them, He seemed to be like all others. They did not go further than this purely natural knowledge. Perhaps they were struck by the beauty of the Child? Perhaps they were saddened by His destitution? But this sentiment did not last, and indifference took over quickly.

The shepherds, simple souls, “enlightened by a ray of light from on high†(St. Luke 2: 9) certainly understood more; they recognized in this Child the promised Messiah, the expectation of the Gentiles. (Genesis 49: 10) they gave Him homage and their souls were for a long time filled with joy and peace.

The angels also contemplated the New – Born, the Word made flesh. They saw in Him their God. This knowledge cast these pure spirits into stupor and admiration at such a debasement, impossible to understand. It is not the Angelic nature that He wanted to take, but the human nature. “For nowhere doth He taketh hold of the angels: but of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold.†(Hebrews 2: 16)

What would we say of the Blessed Virgin Mary when she saw Jesus? To what depth of this mystery did this regard so pure, humble and tender, full of kindness penetrate! We would not be able to be express with what graces the soul of Our Lord filled His Mother and what sublime adorations, what perfect homages Mary gave to Her Child, to Her God, and to all that of which the Incarnation is the substance and root.

There is finally, and this is undeniable, the regard of the Father contemplating His Son, made flesh for men. The Heavenly Father saw that which never, neither man nor angel nor Mary herself, will ever understand: the infinite perfections of the Divinity which are hidden in a Child. And this contemplation was the source of unspeakable glory, “Thou art by beloved Son. In Thee I am well pleased.†(St. Matthew 1: 11; St. Luke 3: 22)

When we contemplate at Bethlehem the Word made flesh, let us lift ourselves above our senses, and only look with our eyes of Faith. The Faith allows us to participate here below in the knowledge that the divine Persons have of one another. There is no exaggeration in this. Sanctifying Grace makes us indeed, participants of the Divine Nature. And the activity of the Divine Nature consists in the knowledge and love that the Divine Persons have for one another. So, we participate in this knowledge. And even as sanctifying grace opening itself into glory will give us the right to contemplate God as He sees Himself; so on Earth, in the shadows of Faith, grace gives us the possibility to look into the depths of these mysteries through the eyes of God. “A new ray of your greatness has shown in the eyes of our souls†(Preface of Christmas)

Extract of Dom Marmion,

Christ in His Mysteries


Community Chronicle

September 26th: In the beginning of the new school year a parish pick-nick allows our faithful to deepen the bonds of charity among each other and have an afternoon to speak with different Fathers of the community.

October 2nd: As history has proved, during times of great distress it is necessary to pray fervently, especially the rosary. On our little scale, as the world wide situation continues to go downhill, we try and help others to invoke our Lady. During this month October we organize a public Rosary in front of the cathedral every Saturday afternoon.

Public Rosary in front of the cathedral.


November 14th: Better late than never! After about a two month’s delay we are at last able to start our different conferences for the formation of our faithful on such topics as catechism, philosophy and education.

November 16th: We sing a Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of Father Xavier Ignatius, Indian priest and Dominican tertiary. He passed away after 70 years of priesthood and shortly before his 100th birthday. During many years he travelled all around the South of India in order to spread the Rosary Confraternity and support our tertiaries. One of our priests was able to visit him in 2004.

November 21st: Thanks to the generous help of many faithful, the annual winter market is the occasion to help finance our grade school and gather our parishioners for a pleasant afternoon.

December 8th: Once again this year we cannot do the procession through the streets of Angers because of the governmental restrictions. But we organize the Rosary in front of the cathedral in honor of the Immaculate Conception.

The Nativity scene in our church.


December 22nd-January 5th: During Christmas vacation, with all the activities of our schools ceasing, our community gathers around the crib and the great mystery of the Word made flesh. These moments of greater calm and recollection remind us that Dominicans are contemplatives whose contemplation simply overflows into different forms of apostolate for the salvation of souls.

News from our worksites

We have begun enclosing the woods of our property with a real fence. During the past few months we have also finished up some smaller jobs such as the new school sacristy and a roof for our Lady’s statue in our woods. God willing, we shall shortly be able to start up the worksite of the future parish hall.

Thank you for all your help!

“Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.†(Mt. 25, 40)

Construction of the fence around our woods.


Remember, Oh Most Pious Virgin Mary!

In the face of a spiritual battle, spiritual weapons are needed. […] Human forces alone are unable to face the looming threat. For this we must understand how important and irreplaceable is the use of prayer and divine help, with the invincible weapon that the Blessed Virgin Mary has given us to fight the Enemy of mankind.

I invite everyone to a World Rosary Crusade, to obtain God’s intervention and victory over the unleashing of the forces of Evil through the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin.[…]

In all nations, in all cities of the world, may the cry of our prayer be raised confidently and loudly. As children gripped by tribulation we throw ourselves at the feet of our Mother, invoking her with the certainty of obtaining listening. Let us make our own the words of Saint Bernard: Remember, O most pious Virgin Mary, that it has never been heard in the world that some have resorted to your protection, begged for your help, asked for your help, and been forsaken.

Let us kneel to pray in our homes, churches, streets and squares of our cities. In recognizing that we are all in need of the help of the Virgin of the Holy Rosary, we honor the divine order against the infernal chaos, placing all our hope in her who at the foot of the Cross was given to us as Mother, and who as Mother loves and helps us, as it always has done throughout history.

May even the little ones accompany us in this Crusade, whose innocence moves Heaven. May the elderly and the sick also be spiritually united with us, offering their sufferings in union with the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The devil is terrified by the prayer of children and the penance of those who suffer, because in purity and sacrifice he sees the image of Christ, who has defeated him.

May our heartfelt prayer resound everywhere. We ask the Mediatrix of all Graces to put an end to this destruction of our world, of our freedom, of our identity, of our affections. We ask you to open our eyes, so as not to be pushed into the abyss of despair, hatred, social conflict, pandering to those who sow division in order to hit us in body and soul. […] We ask you to convert the Shepherds, to whom the Lord has entrusted his flock and to whom he will ask for an account of every soul. And for this to happen, we implore the forgiveness of our sins and the public sins of the Nations, since only with repentance and the resolve to no longer offend His divine Son can we hope to be heard.

Animated by this trust, I turn to you, O Mother, Virgin of virgins; I come to you, before you I bow down, repentant sinner. Do not, oh Mother of the Word, despise my prayers, but listen to me kindly and hear me.

+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop

January 6, 2022

The Epiphany of the Lord

For timely articles and spiritual reading, please go to our website:

www.dominicansavrille.us

To send a donation:

YOU MAY USE PAYPAL (ON OUR WEBSITE), OR SEND TO:

Dominicans of Avrillé, Inc.
P.O. Box 23, Newman Lake, WA. 99025

Please take note that we no longer have our other bank accounts. Please specify when sending donations to the above address whether your donation is in American or Canadian dollars.

For more information :

Couvent de la Haye-aux-Bonshommes

49240 Avrillé, France

The Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes

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The Motu Proprio

  Traditionis Custodes

From Pope Francis

July 16, 2021


Dogs, Wolves and Sheep Skin

Editorial from Le Sel de la terre 117

(Summer 2021)

Domini canes: was the pun likening the sons of St. Dominic (Domini-cani) to the dogs of the Lord (Domini canes) approved – even prompted – by Heaven itself?

The way in which the founder of the Preachers was announced to his mother in a dream, under the figure of a little dog, might suggest this.

In any case, this underlines the originality of a religious order that owed its birth to a heresy, that of the Albigensians, and was specifically founded to respond to it.

“Like a shepherd’s dog, Dominic preached: Bringing back to the path the lost sheep. And knowing how to bark when the wolf roamed.†(hymn to St. Dominic).

* Domini canes or Traditionis Custodes?

But if the eighth centenary of his entry into Heaven (August 6, 1221) provided a beautiful opportunity to evoke St. Dominic, a burning current event has caught up with this anniversary. This summer, in the Church, much more than Domini canes, there was talk of Traditionis Custodes: the sarcastic title of a Motu Proprio signed by Pope Francis on July 16, when the Latin text was still unknown – it still is – and was probably not even written. A minor detail, compared to the substance of the matter, but indicative of the ever-increasing cynicism of conciliar Rome.

There was a time when it tried to keep up appearances. Now it is displaying its Machiavellianism more and more openly.

When Francis sticks this fine Latin title on a text that despises Latin as much as it despises Tradition, when he invokes collegiality to impose his personal ideas, when he trumpets that he wants to restore the liturgical authority of the bishops, but in fact grants them only the right to forbid the traditional liturgy and denies them the right to authorize it more broadly, no one can be deceived. Such obvious lies do not even try to be believed. The situation at least gains clarity.

* The Wolf and the Sheep Skin

Since 2007, like a sheep’s skin, the distinction posed by Benedict XVI between the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the one Roman rite 1 masked the reality. Francis is tearing apart this pretense. An indissoluble link unites Vatican II, the new Mass of Paul VI, and the new morality of Francis (which only logically applies the principles of the Council). It is the new religion. The conciliar wolf is naked.

Archbishop Lefebvre had perceived its voice as early as 1965:

“This pastoral Constitution is neither pastoral nor emanates from the Catholic Church […] never has the Church spoken like this. […]. We know the voice of Christ, our Shepherd. This one we do not know. The garment is that of the sheep; the voice is not that of the Shepherd, but perhaps that of the wolf 2. “

* The Ecclesia Dei Institutes facing reality

When the shepherd turns into a wolf, resistance is a duty:

“When the shepherd turns into a wolf, it is up to the whole flock to defend itself. According to the rule, no doubt, doctrine descends from the bishops to the faithful; and the subjects must not judge their leaders in matters of faith. But in the treasure of Revelation there are essential points, of which every Christian, by the very fact of being a Christian, has the necessary knowledge and obligatory custody 3.â€

For fifty years, Archbishop Lefebvre, Bishop de Castro Mayer, Father Calmel O.P. and many others, have set an example of this resistance, clearly denouncing the errors of Vatican II (without, however, allowing themselves to judge and then recuse the leaders of the Church, as the sedevacantists want to do).

For thirty years, the Ecclesia Dei Institutes have tried to find a middle way, keeping the traditional liturgy without rejecting Vatican II. But the pope himself is dispelling their illusions, peeling off the sheep’s skin. Francis himself is destroying the famous hermeneutic of continuity, laboriously built up by Benedict XVI.

The Ecclesia Dei Institutes are up against the wall. Will they make the choice of consistency? Will they recuse Vatican II, like Archbishop Vigano or Bishop Schneider?

We need to pray for the future.

We must pray for this intention.

1 ‑ Benedict XVI, Motu proprio Summorum pontificum (July 7, 2007).

2 ‑ Excerpt from a text delivered by Archbishop Lefebvre to the Council Secretariat on September 9, 1965, concerning the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes.

3 ‑ Dom Guéranger, Liturgical Year, Time of the Septuagesima, Feast of St. Cyril of Alexandria.

Letter from the Dominicans of Avrillé – No. 36: September 2021

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Letter from the Dominicans of Avrillé

The Tavola, one of the first paintings of Saint Dominic, surrounded by his Brothers at table.


No. 36: September 2021

Motto of the Dominican Order

For the 800th anniversary of Saint Dominic’s birth into Heaven (August 6, 1221), let us give a few explanations on the motto of his Order: VERITAS. From the very beginning our Order has been faithful to the Truth and throughout the centuries the Dominicans have considered it as their first title of nobility. In 1266, Pope Clement IV, wanting to define the Dominican vocation officially proclaimed the Order of Saint Dominic “the keeper of Truth.†This means that above all we were founded to defend and spread the truth. The Dominican apostolate is essentially doctrinal and our first work is an intellectual one.

The intellect, handmaid of man, must establish our minds in truth and enable man to practice virtue. Without the base of truth, the will can lean on nothing solid to make resolutions. Whoever despises the intellect and truth removes from man his first force against the powers of disorder. It is a great misfortune that in Catholic preaching sentiment takes the place of the idea. The result is a piety without order which produces unbalanced souls, who only ask for the sensible in the mysteries of Faith. Joseph de Maistre wrote, “Man is only worth what he believes,†and Bonald “dogmas make people.â€

Thus the Dominican wants above all to be a sower of truth, and to spread light. Before stimulating men, he wants to enlighten them. Confident in the Divine sense which Baptism has planted in the Christian soul, he does not fear to expose the highest truths even to the crowds, which he endeavors to bring to the heights of Christianity. He is persuaded that he will only bring the hearts of men to Christ by revealing God as much as God has revealed Himself.

A necessary consequence is that the Dominican spirit is without mercy for error. The measure of one’s love for Truth is the measure of one’s hatred for error. History shows the Dominican Order detesting heresy and pursuing it tenaciously to the point that we could summarize these 800 years as a long combat with error. Today, however, a despicable doctrinal liberalism makes all ideas equal, giving the same rights to both truth and error. Nothing is more hateful than this false modern tolerance. Error has no rights, except to disappear.

Far from hurting the apostolate, this doctrinal intolerance fructifies it. What is the first need of modern souls, lost in the complexity of systems without harmony and unity? Doctrine! Is there such a thing as a “modern†soul? No, there are simply ruined intellects. The Dominican applies himself to restore order, bring back the exiled truth, generous and magnificent Queen. In her escort, she will bring back all our old lost Christian glories.

Saint Dominic’s Testament

“My very dear brothers, this is what I leave to you as a possession to be held by right of inheritance by you, my children. Have charity, preserve humility, and possess voluntary poverty.”

Such was the testament of Our Father St. Dominic on August 6, 1221. “Do not weep, I will be more useful after my death than I was during my life,†he added before giving his soul to God.

A little beforehand, after making his general confession to Brother Ventura, he told the Brothers around him, “The mercy of God has conserved until this day my flesh pure and stainless. If you want this same grace, avoid all suspicious occasions. The way in which this virtue is kept makes the servant agreeable to Our Lord and gives him glory and credit before people. Keep serving God in the fervor of the spirit, apply yourselves to uphold and spread this Order which has only started, be constant in holiness, in regular observance and grow in virtue.â€

After 800 years we can notice that this inheritance has been transmitted from generation to generation. The Order has had to be reformed many times because of human weakness, but has never ceased to produce Saints and to preach the Sacred Truth.

More than ever the harvest is great and the laborers few. Hence to celebrate St. Dominic this year, we dare ask all our friends to storm Heaven with their prayers for Dominican vocations.

The Religion of Medicine and the credulity of skeptics

Medicine holds a high place in the society of skeptics. The more man distances himself from Christian virtues, the more he attaches himself to life. Whether he believes to return to nothing, or the thought of an afterlife comes to torment him, to live a long time is his principal affair, since his nature abhors nothing and his conscience fears eternity.

He fears sickness not only because it is the privation of pleasure, the only happiness to which he looks for, not only because it causes pain, of which he ignores the price and against which his soul is powerless, but because it is the announcement or threat of this death which will either destroy him completely like an animal or perhaps deliver him to perish in the hands of the Supreme Justice. As long as he is well, he is voluntarily skeptical, and irreverent towards the art of healing, at the first sign of sickness, medicine becomes his only hope. He delivers himself to medicine docile to the point of cowardice, gullible to the point of stupidity.

The Religion of medicine knows no atheist among those who deny the rest. How often do we not see these people, mocking religious practices and abstinence, who as soon as they have a real or imaginary disease become sober, chaste, flee the world and its seductions, make a retreat to the countryside, and pilgrimages far off […]. There is nothing that medicine cannot obtain from them. Their body which gives them so many worries is submitted to penances without number. They pay and swallow without complaining the worst drugs, they stay in prison, and they walk vigorously through the countryside, whip themselves, exile themselves, or even go into icy or putrid waters. What will they not do?

If the doctor told them to spend every day two hours kneeling on a kneeler before a lighted candle, certainly they would fill our churches and force the State to build new ones.

-Louis Veuillot (1813-1883)

Community Chronicle

February 14th: Our senior class leaves for their pilgrimage to Rome accompanied by Father Terence. Because of the present circumstances the churches are rather empty, which thus allows a greater recollection for prayer.

February 27th: His Excellency Bishop Faure confers the tonsure on our Brothers Pie-Marie and Marie-Thomas as well as the second minor orders upon Brother Augustine-Marie.

April 21st: All the brothers available are called on to help plant 2500 potato seedlings in our garden.

May 23rd: Several of our Fathers are absent to accompany pilgrimages for the feast of Pentecost, for example at Ile Bouchard or Vézelay.

June 3rd: Father Prior represents the community at Riddes in Switzerland for the 60th anniversary of Father Epiney’s priestly ordination. Father Epiney is the priest who “welcomed†Archbishop Lefebvre to Ecône when the seminary was founded because Ecône is geographically in the parish of Riddes. Father has remained faithful despite many persecutions and trials over these 60 years.

June 19th: Part of the community assists at the ordinations conferred by His Excellency Bishop Faure at Morannes (about 45 minutes from our friary). Rev. Fr. Chirico (from Italy) was ordained to the priesthood and Rev. Mr. Nass (from Brazil) was ordained to the diaconate. Both of them followed their studies at our friary.

July 4th: Fathers Innocent-Marie, Marie-Dominique and Emmanuel-Marie participate at the 50th anniversary celebration of the MJCF (a French Catholic youth movement for apostolate). Many conversions and vocations have come from this movement. The first members of our Dominican community also come from this youth group.

July: Among our summer apostolate there are two retreats (one men’s and one ladies’) and also several camps for young boys and young girls. It is an example of the Dominican life that preaches in all circumstances (from a Sunday sermon to classes in a school, from a spiritual retreat to two weeks in the mountains for a summer camp).

August 4th: This year it is the 800th anniversary of our Holy Father Saint Dominic’s entrance into Heaven (August 6th, 1221). His Excellency Bishop Faure honors us with his presence to help celebrate the occasion with a Pontifical High Mass and a conference on the present day crisis. In the evening our annual retreat begins preached by Father Dominique Rousseau on the mystery of the Transfiguration.

August 14th: For the Vigil of the Assumption our Brother Vincent makes his first vows while Brother Augustine-Marie renews his. As for Brother Jean, he makes his perpetual profession in the Third Order as an oblate brother.

August 15th: Procession in honor of Our Lady through the streets of the neighborhood.

August 18th: Father Marie-Laurent leaves for a few days of apostolate in Prague and its surroundings.

August 19th: Father Alain accompanies our tertiaries on a pilgrimage in the footsteps of Saint Dominic at Fanjeaux.

August 22nd: For the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Miss Juniper Figueroa (from St. Mary’s, Kansas) received the Dominican habit in the young community of teaching sisters just five minutes from our friary. Her name is now Sister Catherine-Marie (in honor of St. Catherine of Ricci).

September 7th: Father François-Marie celebrates the funeral of his two parents, who died three days apart shortly after their 70th wedding anniversary.

September 13th: The school year begins once again for both our grade school and our boarding school.

News from our worksites

The Covidian Crisis brings along with it many delays. Among others, the construction companies are taking much longer to respond to our bidding invitations.

Parish Hall Project

We are also considering enclosing the woods of our property with a real fence. Yet, it remains to be decided before God which worksites are the most important, taking into account our present means.

“Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.†(Mt. 25, 40)

Letter from the Dominicans of Avrillé

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Letter from the Dominicans of Avrillé

No. 34: August 2020

A Bishop Speaks Out

Bishop Carlo Vigano, former Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., has come into the forefront in recent months, speaking publically against the Second Vatican Council in itself (and not just the “abusesâ€). Here are a few excerpts that we hope will encourage you to pray for this courageous prelate.

What leaves one truly scandalized is seeing how the top levels of the Hierarchy are openly placing themselves at the service of the Prince of this world, adopting the demands made by the United Nations for the globalist agenda, Masonic brotherhood, Malthusian ecologism, immigrationism… What is being created is a single world religion without dogmas or morals; according to the wishes of Freemasonry…it is obvious that Bergoglio, along with those who are behind him and support him, aspires to preside over this infernal parody of the Church of Christ. (letter to a cloistered nun published 31 May)

It seems that even the post-conciliar church, modernist and Masonic, aspires to transform, to overcome the Church of Christ, replacing it with a “neo-churchâ€, deformed and monstrous creature that does not come from God.

The purpose of this neo-church is not to […] convert and save all people […], but to establish itself as the spiritual arm of the New World Order and advocate of Universal Religion. In this sense, the Council’s revolution first had to demolish the Church’s heritage, its millenary Tradition, from which it drew its vitality and authority as the Mystical Body of Christ, then get rid of the exponents of the old Hierarchy, and only recently has it begun to offer itself without pretense for what it intends to be.

[This] represents the concretization of Freemasonry’s plan and the preparation for the advent of the Antichrist. (interview, April 21, 2020)

Ordination of Br. Alain

Attempts to correct the conciliar excesses – invoking the hermeneutic of continuity – have proven unsuccessful […]. If the image of an infernal divinity was able to enter into Saint Peter’s, this is part of a crescendo which the other side foresaw from the beginning. […]

What the world wants, at the instigation of Masonry and its infernal tentacles, is to create a universal religion that is humanitarian and ecumenical, from which the jealous God whom we adore is banished. […]

It is surprising that people persist in not wanting to investigate the root causes of the present crisis, limiting themselves to deploring the present excesses as if they were not the logical and inevitable consequence of a plan orchestrated decades ago. […]

I was one of the many people who, despite many perplexities and fears which today have proven to be absolutely legitimate, trusted the authority of the Hierarchy with unconditional obedience. In reality, I think that many people, including myself, did not initially consider the possibility that there could be a conflict between obedience to an order of the Hierarchy and fidelity to the Church herself.

[…] It is undeniable that from Vatican II onwards a parallel church was built, superimposed over and diametrically opposed to the true Church of Christ. This parallel church progressively obscured the divine institution founded by Our Lord in order to replace it with a spurious entity, corresponding to the desired universal religion that was first theorized by Masonry. Expressions like new humanism, universal fraternity, dignity of man, are the watchwords of philanthropic humanitarianism which denies the true God.

[…]For decades we have been led into error, in good faith, by people who, established in authority, have not known how to watch over and guard the flock of Christ.

[…] Just as I honestly and serenely obeyed questionable orders sixty years ago, believing that they represented the loving voice of the Church, so today with equal serenity and honesty I recognize that I have been deceived. […]

And we know well that the purpose of these ecumenical and interreligious initiatives is not to convert those who are far from the one Church to Christ, but to divert and corrupt those who still hold the Catholic Faith, leading them to believe that it is desirable to have a great universal religion that brings together the three great Abrahamic religions “in a single houseâ€: this is the triumph of the Masonic plan in preparation for the kingdom of the Antichrist! (excursus on Vat II: June 9, 2020)

Enlargement of the garden

Bishop Vigano is equally lucid concerning the recent “Corona Virus†scare:

And it appears that the children of darkness – whom we may easily identify with the deep state which you wisely oppose and which is fiercely waging war against you in these days – have decided to show their cards, so to speak, by now revealing their plans. They seem to be so certain of already having everything under control that they have laid aside that circumspection that until now had at least partially concealed their true intentions. The investigations already under way will reveal the true responsibility of those who managed the Covid emergency not only in the area of health care but also in politics, the economy, and the media. (letter to Pres. Trump: June 7, 2020)

We have reason to believe, on the basis of official data on the incidence of the epidemic as related to the number of deaths, that there are powers interested in creating panic among the world’s population with the sole aim of permanently imposing unacceptable forms of restriction on freedoms, of controlling people and of tracking their movements. The imposition of these illiberal measures is a disturbing prelude to the realization of a world government beyond all control. (declaration of May 2020)

Getting the terrain ready for the garden: the boys lend a hand for the removal of some heavy material


Community Chronicle

December 12th: The children of Saint Philomena’s School, with Father Angelico, present their Christmas Pageant for the residents of a local retirement home.

January 24th: A Requiem Mass is sung for the soul of Mrs. Maria-Helena Pacheco dos Santos, the mother of our Br. Louis-Bertrand (Brazil).

February 17th-24th: Fr. Angelico accompanies the seniors from St. Thomas Aquinas on their pilgrimage to Rome. Providentially (considering the turn of events), it was decided to go in February instead of during Easter vacation, as usual.

February 21st – 23rd: Fr. Marie-Dominique and Br. Alain are in Brittany for the Third Order and a meeting of the Knights of Our Lady.

March 1st: Again in Brittany, this time it’s Fr. Hyacinthe-Marie and Br. Agostinho for a recollection with the Sisters of Mary Coredemptrix.

March 6th-8th: Fr. Marie-Laurent is in Ireland.

March 22nd: The schools are closed and public Masses are forbidden, but the Fathers are far from being on vacation. Not only do classes have to continue “by correspondence,†but the spiritual support of the faithful (especially the sick and isolated) becomes a top priority.

March 28th: Bishop Faure confers the first minor orders to our Br. Augustin-Marie.

Mai 1st: For his feast day, the installation of a new little oratory for St. Joseph (built by Brothers Bernard-Marie and Martin), in the garden behind the friary. The previous one was erected in 1995, at the start of the reconstruction of the fourth wing. After having watched over the construction, St. Joseph is now supervising the final stage of work: the covering of the bare cement wall with typical slate rocks of the region.

May 30th: Two postulants (both from France) receive the habit: Martin receives the clerical habit, with the name Br. Vincent; Christophe receives the habit of lay brother and the name Br. Betharram (after Our Lady of Betharram, honored in his native region close to Lourdes).

June 6th: 23 souls receive the sacrament of Confirmation at the hands of Bishop Faure.

June 26th: Br. Alain is ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Faure at the friary.

Month of July: Thanks to God, all our summer activities were able to proceed as planned: spiritual retreats (one for women/girls, one for couples), camps (The Cadets of the Sacred Heart do an itinerant camp in Brittany, the children of Our Lady of Fatima camp in Anjou), General Chapter of the Knights of Our Lady…

News from our worksites

The covering of the façade of the east wing is well under way, and the renovation of the west wing may be able to start this year. Red tape is still blocking the construction of the Parish Hall. Please keep this intention in your prayers! The need for more building space is all the more urgent considering the possible “social-distancing†measures that may be required soon…

Covering the Façade

Thanks to a friend of the friary, a specialist in organic farming, we were able to start a real, “monastic-sized†vegetable garden!

The New Garden


For timely articles and spiritual reading, please go to our website:

www.dominicansavrille.us

To send a donation:

YOU MAY USE PAYPAL (ON OUR WEBSITE), OR SEND TO:

— In the U.S.:

Dominicans of Avrillé, Inc.
P.O. Box 23, Newman Lake, WA. 99025

— In Canada:

Association of St. Dominic

CIBC, 201-21 Street East

Saskatoon (SK) S7K OB8 Canada

Please include a note, and specify:

acc. #40-91531

— In the U.K.:

Association of St. Dominic

R B S Edinburgh, 17 Comiston Road

Edinburgh EH10 6AA

Please specify: acc. # 00105564

For more information :

Couvent de la Haye-aux-Bonshommes

49240 Avrillé, France

In the Heart of the Message of Fatima

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In the Heart of the Message of Fatima

  The Offering of the Sacrifices of Our Daily Duties to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Conversion of Sinners

“Jesus wants to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. For those who accept it, I promise salvation, and these souls will be the beloved of God, like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.â€

(Our Lady of Fatima, June 13, 2017)

“The Blessed Virgin told me that God has given the last two remedies to the world: the Holy Rosary and the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Because these are the last two, there will be no others.â€

(Sister Lucy’s interview with Father Fuentes, in 1957)

What should we do?

There is of course the Communion of Reparation on the first Saturday of every month for at least five consecutive months.

But the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary doesn’t consist only in some prayers once a month. It must be a devotion of all life.

Let us read Sister Lucy:

“The most important thing is to perform our daily work, and to offer up the necessary sacrifices for the accomplishment of our work, for the poor sinners.

The secondary requests are the Rosary and the scapular, and perhaps especially what each of these two devotion requests respectively: attentive meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary, and consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.â€

(Sister Lucy, in the book of John Haffert, The brother and I, chapter 27)

“The sins (of the world) are numerous, but [the most painful] is the neglect of the souls for which Our Lord had such a ardent hope for his service. Only a very limited number of souls [serve Him as he wants]. The worst thing is that I [sister Lucy] am among the lukewarm, even after all the efforts He made to draw me into the circle of the fervent. I make easily promises, but I fall short more easily. Dust accumulates around our actions like it does on our clothing, and we don’t know how it came.â€

(Letter to Father Gonçalvès, April 24, 1940.)

“Our Lord bitterly and painfully laments the very limited number of souls in the state of grace, who are ready to renounce themselves according to what His Law requires. This is the penance that the Good Lord requires today: The sacrifice that each one must make on himself in order to lead a life of justice in the observation of His law.

He wants that we make this clearly known to the souls, for many think that the word “penance†means great mortifications. Since they feel neither the inner power, nor the generosity for that, they become discouraged and adopt a lukewarm and sinful life.

One Thursday, while I was in the chapel at midnight with the permission of my superiors, Our Lord told me:

The sacrifice of everybody to fulfil his own duty, and to observe my law: this is the penance that I want and that I require right now.

(Letter to the Bishop of Gurza, February 28, 1943.)

“It is so good to live totally dependent on the Will of God! It is this dependence that guides our each and every step. This is why peace and joy overflow our souls, even when we are making sacrifices, since our only inspiration is to please God by sacrificing ourselves for Him and for the souls that He wants to save. This sacrifice consists in the perfect accomplishment of our work each day and at every moment. You know, don’t you know, that he understands what it is we owe God, our neighbor, and ourselves. The true spirit of penance consists of the following: knowing how to sacrifice oneself so as not to sin; knowing how to sacrifice oneself rather than being imperfect; knowing how to sacrifice oneself in order to go further and further to the point of love’s generosity. This must be the ideal of each soul who aspires to arrive at the day on which he beholds God and exalts in His presence in Heaven.â€

(Letter to a friend, November 17, 1954.)

This is what Our Lady wants : the penance of the duty of state, fulfilled as perfectly as possible. There are some souls who think about great and extraordinary mortifications, going so far as to macerate themselves. They know they are not able of doing this, and so they lose courage. When Our Lady requires penance, she speaks about the perfect fulfilment of our duty of state: this is holiness!

(L’appel du Cœur Douloureux et Immaculé de Marie, n°78.)

Bishop Carlo-Maria Vigano

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Bishop Carlo-Maria Vigano

  A Bishop Who Tells the Truth on the Church of Vatican II

Msgr. Carlo Vigano, former apostolic nuncio to the USA from 2011 to 2016, has for a few weeks been publishing increasingly clearer texts showing his awareness of the errors of the Second Vatican Council and the reforms that followed.

He denounces the desire of Freemasonry to institute a “universal religion that is humanitarian and ecumenicalâ€, as well as “the responsibility of the highest levels of the Church in supporting these anti-Christian ideologiesâ€.

He also shows the failure of the Hermeneutic of Continuity.

What supporters of the current pope “affirm with impunity, scandalizing moderates, is what Catholics also believe, namely: that despite all the efforts of the Hermeneutic of Continuity which shipwrecked miserably at the first confrontation with the reality of the present crisis, it is undeniable that from Vatican II on wards a parallel church was built, superimposed over and diametrically opposed to the true Church of Christ. This parallel church progressively obscured the divine institution founded by Our Lord in order to replace it with a spurious entity, corresponding to the desired universal religion that was first theorized by Masonry.â€

Look at his declarations on:

— Chiesa et Postconcilio

— Trinity Communications, 2020

Order of the Knights of Our Lady – Observance of the Holy Hearts of Jesus & Mary

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Order of the Knights of Our Lady

  Observance of the Holy Hearts of Jesus & Mary

The Church and Christendom

In order to promote Christendom, i.e. the social and political reign of Our Lord, Holy Mother Church established two important institutions. First of all, the royal or imperial anointing and coronation, a sacramental which gives a participation in the Kingship of Christ, and graces in order to fulfil the corresponding mission. However, faced with the social chaos after Charlemagne’s death, the Church reminded even barons and knights that they had, at their own level, the same duties as the kings. Consequently, She Christianised the military dubbing, modelling it after the coronation rite and giving it an official mission along with the corresponding graces. This is how Christendom reached its apex.

However, in order to protect Christendom, the Church also founded another two institutions: the Crusades, with the temporary vow of the Cross, and Military Orders –Orders of Chivalry– of a permanent nature, with religious vows for religious knights and private vows for secular knights. So, how could the kingship of Christ be restored today? Probably using institutions established for that very purpose. By definition, they are the best way to reach the goals they were given: good for all times and everywhere.

The Knights of Our Lady

It is upon these institutions (the knight’s dubbing and orders of knighthood) that the Order of the Knights of Our Lady (Militia Sanctæ Mariæ) was founded in 1945 in France, where it was canonically erected in Chartres, as well as in Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, and Spain. The Order nevertheless suffered a break-up after Vatican II. Finally, some faithful members founded a traditional branch of the Order in 1970, whose first knights were all dubbed by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Of course, one does not enter the Order as one would join an association. The postulant is received as a squire after a minimum formation of 6 months. After another 2 years, he may take temporary vows as a donate for a 2-year period, which is indefinitely renewable. Then, at the call of the Master in Council, he may be admitted to his final profession, and to the knightly dubbing.

Introduction to the Order

He then exchanges the donate’s grey mantle for a white one, and makes the three private vows: Conversion of life (living according to the Rule), Fidelity to the Order (obedience within the limits of the Rule and brotherly mutual help) and Defence of the Church (similar to the vow of Crusade, to defend the Church and Christendom, even at the peril of one’s life). The next day, after the whole night vigil-at-arms and Mass, he is girded with the sword as a knight.

The Order today

The knights commit themselves to the recitation of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the entire Rosary every week, to set aside a certain time for daily mental prayer, to go on a yearly closed retreat, to pursue their doctrinal and spiritual formation, to train physically, to attend the monthly chapter meetings of their local commandery, and to participate in the combats of the Order for the reign of Christ the King.

The wives and daughters of members may also be admitted. There are also pages and cadets, who prepare for knighthood from a young age, and may remain in the Order all their lives, without having to change orientation or spirituality.

Today, the Order has members in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australasia. The knightly vocation certainly is the vocation par excellence for laymen. Archbishop Lefebvre solemnly called upon them during his priestly jubilee in 1979 saying: “We must make a Crusade […] in order to restore Christendom, as the Church desires it to be […]. with the same principles […]. You must act […]. You should get organised […].†The knights are also active in the fields of charitable action and help, the service to the sick during pilgrimages, doctrinal and physical formation, and the education of the youth. Their main thrust however is in the winning back of minds and hearts, as well as of the political and social institutions of society, to Christ the King.

Contact: [email protected]

A Solely Pastoral Rupture? Part 2

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A Solely Pastoral Rupture?

(Part 2)

A Commentary of the book Ecclesial dissensions, a challenge for the Church.

Written by Fr Pierre-Marie Berthe, SSPX

From La Simandre, January/February 2020

Bulletin of the Fraternity of the Transfiguration

Mérigny – France

In this period of the year during which the Church asks us to pray, from January 18 to 25, for the return to Catholic unity of separated Christians, we read in the aforementioned book, written recently, (p. 800) in Chapter I: How to prepare for future reconciliations (p. 794) and in paragraph C: Laws which manifest and arouse the desire for unity between Christians, the following words:

So that the desire for unity between Christians has a concrete form, it is up to the legislator to plan meetings, exchanges, prayers. When Catholics and non-Catholic Christians address prayers together, they must ask for the grace to strive to overcome their differences in order to be united in faith and charity around the successor of Peter. In addition, these common prayers of supplication must be done far from the altar to recall the distance that remains to be covered, before considering a formal reconciliation.

These lines are still surprising despite emanating from a priest of Tradition, because, until the conciliar revolution, Catholics were asked not to associate with non-Catholic Christians and, all the more so, not to pray with them.

The encyclical Mortalium Animos of Pius XI specifies the opposite of what is written above: So, Venerable Brethren, it is clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics: for the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ.

But then, since there is a contradiction between the words of our author and those of Pope Pius XI—which is nevertheless the expression of the perennial magisterium of the Church—we are entitled to ask the question: Where did our author find the inspiration for what he wrote? Would the answer not be found in two documents:

> In Unitatis Redintegratio of November 21, 1964 (text of Vatican Council II):

§ 8: In certain special circumstances, such as the prescribed prayers ‘for unity,’ and during ecumenical gatherings, it is allowable, indeed desirable that Catholics should join in prayer with their separated brethren. Such prayers in common are certainly an effective means of obtaining the grace of unity.

> In the encyclical of John Paul II Ut Unum Sint of May 25, 1995, in the section on the priority of prayer:

§ 21: This love finds its most complete expression in common prayer. When brothers and sisters who are not in perfect communion with one another come together to pray, the Second Vatican Council defines their prayer as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement.

Besides, our author also proposes dialogue as a means of resolving dissension (p. 781-782-783-784). Now this is precisely the same dialogue that Pope John Paul II proposed in Ut Unum Sint under the title Dialogue as a means of resolving disagreements. (§ 36 to 39).

Note that dissension, divergence, or other similar terms are expressions used so as not to offend non-Catholic Christians, our author specifies, contrary to schism or heresy (pp. 13-14, 25).

Let us remember that the current ecumenism, officially advocated since Vatican II until today, is a false ecumenism which breaks with the attitude that the Church has always held. It rejects the principle of returning to the Catholic Church.

It is therefore extremely surprising to discover from the pen of an author, who is supposed to refuse the last atypical Council and its innovative side, propositions which would seem to stem from Vatican II and its developments.

Translation by A.A.

A Solely Pastoral Rupture?

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A Solely Pastoral Rupture?

La Simandre, bimonthly bulletin of the Fraternity of the Transfiguration (Maison Saint-Joseph, Le Bois, F. 36220 Mérigny), in its November-December 2019 issue, published a very remarkable opinion on a recent book by the Rev. Fr. Pierre-Marie Berthe (SSPX).

Le Sel de la terre.

IS IT ACCURATE to write that “The rupture [between Archbishop Lefebvre and Cardinal Ratzinger in May-June 1988] occurred for pastoral reasons, but not for doctrinal and liturgical reasons†(Les dimensions ecclésiales, un défi pour l’Église catholique, Cerf, 2019, p. 711)?

This sentence, written by a priest, seems to reduce the conflict existing since Vatican II to a human side, to “a lack of mutual trustâ€.

It is true that this sentence introduces another: “It [the rupture] leaves the Protocol of Accord intact, which constitutes a solid basis for a future reconciliationâ€.

Father, if there was a rupture between Archbishop Lefebvre and the Roman authorities at the time, it was not for psychological reasons, but for doctrinal reasons. You go so far as to write that “Cardinal Ratzinger was unable to dispel the concerns of the Archbishopâ€.

— The fight for the Mass of all Ages and against the New Mass is doctrinal. I hope you are convinced of this. Archbishop Lefebvre declared this New Ordo “equivocal†and “dangerous for the faithâ€.

— The fight against the errors of Vatican II is doctrinal. Again, I hope you are convinced of this.

So please, if you do not see that, do not pretend to be the spiritual son of Archbishop Lefebvre. He is the one who ordained the first priests of our Fraternity, and as long as we have a clear head, we will not accept the soul of his fight being misrepresented.

Perhaps it would be better that you leave your community for a quick recognition, which you will easily obtain, given your ideas, in a diocese or in Rome.

Ah! These canonists who want an agreement at all costs and who are ready for all compromises, even if they are doctrinal. For them there is no crisis in the Church and, therefore, no state of necessity.

LE SEL DE LA TERRE N° 111, WINTER 2019-2020