Low Sunday, April 13, 2015
His Mercy Endures Forever
(Ps.135:1)
No doubt most of
us “of a certain age” remember the era of the devout Catholic. Our churches
were filled several times over on Sunday mornings, and many returned in the
evening for Rosary and Benediction. There were devotions to our Mother of
Perpetual Help, or some other well-attended devotion during the week. Our
churches were open from dawn to dusk, and many passers-by dropped in for
morning Mass, or to pay a visit to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Nuns and
priests were identified by their religious garb and pious demeanor. Well, most
of them!
But a new spirit
swept through the Church with Vatican II, which threatened to destroy the true Church,
if that were possible. At the end of the 1800s, Canon Roca, an apostate priest,
was already predicting a new religion, with new dogma, a new ritual, and a new
priesthood, all of which would be instituted at an ecumenical council convoked
by a new Masonic pope (Bishop Rudolph Graber, Athanasius and the Church of Our Time, p. 35).
To implement the
“reforms” that had been contemplated at Vatican II, the unwanted rituals and
devotions of the Old Church would have to be cleared away. Statues were stored
in basements and attics, if not thrown on junk heaps. Altars were demolished
and replaced by tables. Catholic churches began to look like Protestant meeting
halls or Masonic temples. A few churches were spared through the heroic efforts
of traditional clergy and outraged parishioners. But the new “mass” would
likely include altar servers in high heels, Communion in the hand, and lay
persons offering a sip from the chalice.
Catholic devotional
life was in steep decline. The ancient Catholic devotions were cleared away to
make room for new ones. Many saints were removed from the Liturgical Calendar
and no longer celebrated. They said it was not good to be too focused on the
saints. But soon we would ALL be focusing on the new Vatican II saints –
“Saint” John Paul II, “Saint” John XXIII, soon-to-be “Saint” Paul VI, and
thousands of others “canonized” in the wake of Vatican II. The only thing
preventing Benedict XVI and Francis Bergoglio from being canonized is that they
are still alive.
Among the new
devotions to be trotted out was the Divine Mercy Devotion. I was very young
growing up in Nova Scotia when I heard that the writings of Sr. Faustina Kawalska
had been placed on the Index of Forbidden Books, and that the Divine Mercy
picture of Jesus with rays coming from the area of His Heart, was withdrawn
from public veneration. Faustina had grand illusions. Her absurd and ridiculous
claim that Our Lord had told her she was the holiest of all creatures, purer
than the angels, did not sit well with Pope Pius XII, or with the Holy Office
in the early years of John XXIII, nor did her claim that she would not have to
undergo either the Particular Judgment or the General Judgment, like the rest
of the human race. The holiest of all creatures? Wasn’t that supposed to be the
Blessed Virgin Mary?
But then came Karol
Wojtyla, known to the world as John Paul II. Under him Sr. Faustina was
rehabilitated, and set on the fast-track for canonization. The Divine Mercy
Devotion was revived, and it spread like wildfire throughout the Novus Ordo church.
John Paul wrote an encyclical on the Divine Mercy called Dives in Misericordia, which was long on mercy, but short on any
requirements, like repentance for sin.
The most absurd
result of John Paul’s Divine Mercy revival was the Divine Mercy Novena
beginning on Good Friday, and continuing through Easter Sunday and the Octave
of Easter to Low Sunday, which by John Paul’s decree has now become Divine
Mercy Sunday.
The Church
prepares us from the First Sunday of Advent, and especially through the six
weeks of Lent, for the culmination of the Liturgical Year, the observance of
the Paschal Mystery, the Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus
Christ. And are we now going to turn instead to a novena? The Divine Mercy
Novena is a clever ruse designed to distract us from the chief mysteries of our
Holy Religion. And to advance from absurdity to insanity, “Papa” Bergoglio has
just released a Papal Bull declaring a Jubilee Year dedicated to Divine Mercy,
based on the so-called “revelations” of “Saint” Faustina.
Distracting
attention from Holy Week and the Easter Octave with the Divine Mercy novena was
not by any means John Paul’s only liturgical atrocity. He changed the Holy
Rosary by adding the Luminous Mysteries, and allowing that the Rosary beads
could also be used – to recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
Where on earth did
these loose cannons, the Vatican II papal pretenders, come from? Are they
playing games with us? Well, yes! Someone sent me the following announcement
from The Jewish Press.com, by a Mr. Ben-Gedalyahu, with this comment: “The
Synagogue of Satan brazenly reveals Talmudic agenda against the Church &
Christian Civilization via new video game.” I quote from the announcement:
“The popular Crusader Kings II computer game has created
Jewish roots and has gone for monotheism with the new fifth expansion of the
game called ‘Sons of Abraham.’… The new version… allows the player to use
Christian lords to gain influence in the Catholic Church by using a loyal
bishop who can be appointed Cardinal. Once the time comes for white smoke, your
friend the Cardinal can elect your favorite as pope… Now the Jews can manipulate the Catholics for a change,
choose the pope, take control and make the world a better place” (Tzvi
Ben-Gedalyahu, thejewishpress.com,
Oct.25, 2013).
But there is only
One who can make the world a better place, Christ our King, the Merciful, but
Just Judge. Before His arrest and Crucifixion He gave this warning to His
Apostles:
“And then, if
anyone say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ; behold, there he is,’ do not
believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show
signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Be on
your guard, therefore; behold, I have told you all things beforehand” (Mk.13:21-23).
