Shortly after publishing Cornelia Ferreira’s article, Fatima Through the Lens of Vatican II: As Illustrated by Raymond Cardinal Burke, I received an email from a longtime supporter voicing his sincere opinion that doing so was a mistake.
It occurs to me that expounding upon our exchange here may prove helpful as the substance of his opinion appears to be shared by any number of others; including some persons well-known.
The centerpiece of his argument is as follows:
You and I might recognize the Council, the New Mass, and the New Evangelization as dangerous, but we both know that this is a very difficult reality for most conservative Catholics to accept. They’ve been lied to for so long that they have no idea what to believe. So rather than alienating them from Fatima even further, wouldn’t it make more sense to set those arguments aside for now and to treat Cardinal Burke, a man admired by many, as an ally in calling for the Consecration? I mean, this is what all of us want, isn’t it?
Obviously, the argument has some appeal as both the Remnant and the Fatima Center seem to be on board with it (as my interlocutor was pleased to point out).
In a nutshell, one of the problems with the approach outlined above is that Our Lady’s message at Fatima was much broader than just a request for Russia’s consecration.
In addition to being a call to prayer, sacrifice, penance and reparation (i.e., that which has been exhorted by the Church in all ages), Our Lady’s message also contains certain elements that are uniquely suited to the specific dangers facing the Church and the world in our time.
This includes certain warnings and requests, the Consecration of Russia being but one of them; albeit one of great importance.
Speaking of the request for the Consecration (formally presented in 1929 as the will of God), Our Lord said to Sr. Lucia in August of 1931:
“They [an unnamed future pope in union with the bishops of the world] will do it, but it will be late. Russia will already have spread her errors throughout the world.”
At this, let’s take a brief timeout for a word from Captain Obvious:
We are living in the “late!”
And what are the errors of Russia?
Though they are manifold, one immediately thinks of atheistic Communism and all of its inglorious components. In short, we are speaking of an overthrow of the Christian social order; a form of messiansim that proposes to create a utopian ideal apart from God who, in the Person of Christ the King, reigns over all things.
[NOTE: We must also consider as a component of the “errors of Russia” the schism of 1054 whereby religious autonomy was asserted over and against the authority that rightly belongs to the Vicar of Christ alone.]
Indeed, it can be said that the errors of Russia have overtaken not only the world, but humanly speaking, the Church herself – in particular as made evident during the present Bergoglian occupation.
I would encourage anyone who may doubt the degree to which this is the case to carefully examine “the principles of atheistic Communism” as described by Pope Pius XI in the 1937 Encyclical, Divini Redemptoris, wherein the Holy Father went on to expound upon the Church’s role in combatting this evil.
He writes:
“We wish also to indicate its [Communism’s] method of action and to contrast with its false principles the clear doctrine of the Church, in order to inculcate anew and with greater insistence the means by which the Christian civilization, the true civitas humana, can be saved from the satanic scourge, and not merely saved, but better developed for the well-being of human society.”
Indeed, it is the very mission of the Church to preach her doctrine concerning the Christian social order, in season and out, as she goes about “baptizing” the nations; that they may reflect in their very ordering everything whatsoever that Jesus taught.
As such, we might say that the Church’s response to the “errors of Russia” is well summed up in her doctrine concerning the Social Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ; the same having been articulated very beautifully by this same Holy Father in the 1925 Encyclical Quas Primas.
As I’ve written in the past, it only stands to reason that a Church that no longer takes the Kingship of Christ very seriously (as has been the case since Vatican Council II), also has little or no time for the requests issued by the Queen Mother at Fatima.
I digress…
NB: The Holy Catholic Church, as Divini Redemptoris indicates, has ever been endowed with the means necessary to confront “the satanic scourge” known as Communism; with all of its constituent parts and rotten fruits so aptly described as the “errors of Russia.”
Be that as it most certainly is, God in His benevolence and wisdom, in order to promote devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, has provided His Church with an “extraordinary” response to this evil, if you will; namely, the Consecration of Russia – the same, if only it had been done as requested, would have prevented the spread of her errors in the first place.
Again, we are living in the “late,” and the question we must ask, therefore, is simply this:
How is the Church called to respond to “the satanic scourge” now that it has most certainly spread?
Take a moment, dear reader, to answer this question for yourself before proceeding…
I would venture to say that many of you, in particular those who have a particular devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, answered almost immediately and very sincerely:
The only answer now is the Consecration of Russia!
If you answered thus, congratulations! This is the correct answer; unfortunately, however, to the wrong question…
Russia has been chosen by God in the manner well described by Fr. Nicholas Gruner who wrote:
“Russia, out of all the nations in the world, has been chosen to be specially blessed and set aside for the service of Our Lady. Russia is a vessel of election chosen by Heaven for our time, whether for mercy or for justice.”
At present, having ignored Heaven’s request, we are living through a chastisement brought about by God’s justice in a very real way. The fruits of Russia’s errors span the entire globe and are even embraced within the halls of power in the Church herself!
Again, we turn to Fr. Gruner:
“The sins of the world carry a great debt of punishment, which God’s justice will not overlook. This debt will either be exacted at the hands of Russia, the nation chosen by God to scourge the whole world for its sins, or it will be satisfied by the superabundant merits of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, again through the instrumentality of Russia. But in this latter case, Our Lord will ensure that His Mother’s Immaculate Heart gets the credit for making that satisfaction. The conversion of Russia will be accomplished only through its Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary…”
With this having been said, one might recognize that the answer, “Only the Consecration of Russia,” properly corresponds to such questions as:
How will the conversion of Russia take place? How is it that Russia will come to be an instrument of mercy? How will the Church and the world be spared the rotten fruits of her errors so prevalent in the world today? How will the period of peace promised by Our Lady come to be realized, etc.?
These questions are quite different than the one that I had asked previously; a question that we may rephrase as follows:
What are we to do as we await the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?
Please, stick with me here… I realize that this exercise is a bit laborious, but we are zeroing in on a matter about which many sincere persons seem genuinely confused.
We know that the Consecration “will happen.” Our Lord said so. What we do not know, however, is when it will happen.
We also know that until such time as the Consecration is done, many souls will be lost due to the “great apostasy in the Church [that] will begin at the top as predicted,” according to Cardinal Mario Luigi Ciappi, “in the Third Secret of Fatima” – the text of which was to be read in 1960 in order to preempt “a bad council and a bad Mass.”
Among so-called “Fatimists,” there is no disagreement: We are living through a manifestation of that “great apostasy” at this very moment.
Let us be equally as certain that those who do not recognize as much; i.e., the “conservative Catholics” (both lay and ordained) that my interlocutor hopes not to alienate any further, are the very souls most at risk as a result – not, properly speaking, because they aren’t invested in the message of Fatima, but because having accepted the conciliar imposter, its new rite and its new “saints,” they do not know the Faith.
My friends, we must ever remain focused on our duty to labor for the salvation of souls. This is the very mission of the Church to which each of us is obligated to contribute according to our station in life.
As such, our primary Christian duty (beyond our own sanctification) is not to recruit as many persons as possible to the message of Fatima; even less so is it to garner signatures on a petition seeking the Consecration of Russia.
Sure, there is a place for these things, and those who know the message of Fatima have a duty to promote it.
And yet, we must not lose sight of that which takes precedence even over this – the number one priority of the Church and her children in every age – namely, to borrow from the words of Pope Pius XI:
To contrast the satanic scourge – the false principles that lead souls to perdition – with the clear doctrine of the Church; denouncing the former while insisting upon and defending the latter regardless of personal cost.
This is the answer to the question:
What are we to do as we await the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?
As I’ve stated before in this space, doing so is rather simple; we need only applaud that which is good and true, while at one and the same time condemning that which is dangerous and false. We can and we must do both.
This means that we can never justify ceasing – even if only for a time – to warn against the danger posed by those who might seduce others into embracing the Second Vatican Council, the New Mass, the New Evangelization, the pontificate of “Saint” John Paul II, etc. – no matter who they may be.
It is especially foolish to believe that doing so in some way honors Our Lady as these are the very evils that she came to preempt at Fatima; that her children not be deprived of any of the graces that her Son wishes to provide unto salvation.
In conclusion, while I wrote this article for the benefit of all readers, I especially hope that those who have been generously blessed by God with a voice in so-called “traditional Catholic” media will likewise take heed and carry out their duties accordingly.
Bishop de Castro Mayer:
“May the Most Holy Virgin, our Mother, who at Fatima maternally forewarned us of the gravity of the present situation, may she give us the grace to be able, by our attitude, to help and to enlighten the faithful in such a manner that they will distance themselves from these pernicious errors, of which they are the victims, deceived as they are by many of those who have received the fullness of the Holy Ghost.”
Louie, I totally agree with everything that you said. You’re spot on. What a great mystery that since 1929, the popes have not heeded Our Lady’s call. Could she have made a request any easier to fulfill? The real tragedy is that souls have been lost because the consecration hasn’t been done.
Hello Mr. Vecchio, I am a “fatimist” trapped in the Novus Ordo, living in the archdiocese of New York. I live where there is no TLM, Society of SPiusX, ect. you get the idea. I cannot afford to travel not do I have the stamina to do so. I have listened to Fr. Hesse talks on the new mass and the requirement of Sunday sanctification. My dilemma is that I am trying to obey Our Lady and have been going to the new mass in order to fulfill the First Five Saturday Devotion. Now if I would listen to Fr. Hesse, I would not be able to carry out this devotion. Does anyone have the answer to this question. Wouldn’t Our Lady foresee this situation within the Church and why would She ask for something that would virtually be impossible to accomplish? I think we have to be practical here. I’d be interested to hear of any suggestions.
“Concerning Russia’s errors: What are we to do now?” – In my opinion, for what it’s worth, the diabolic errors of Russia literally are incarnate in Pope Bergolio.
Nice job, Louie, stick to your guns. Our Lady must really love you. Your one of the very few that stands by Her and takes Her message seriously and to heart. You’re a tough guy. I am sure you have sacrificed a lot for Her sake. And I bet you’d have it no other way. What a good son you are, standing by your Mother like that. I pray you are greatly rewarded in Heaven for eternity after this brief time here on earth. Thank you for fairly treating us, your readers, with uncompromising Truth. I for one surely appreciate it. I love Our Mother too. And it fills my heart with emotion to hear you defend Her and Her word. What good would you be if you didn’t? Inspiring!
Hi Ron G,
I feel your pain. I live part time in a metropolis without FFSP, SSPX. One Latin Mass is held weekly at a peculiar time at a distant parish. The priest is well meaning but has a thick accent rendering his sermons indecipherable. He is primarily Novus Ordo oriented and strikes me as engaging in papolatry oftentimes.
I feel I must give God His due. Novus Ordo masses everywhere in the diocese are invariably filled with novelty, sentimentalism, heterodoxy, abominable music, etc.–very disheartening. I have watched the Latin Mass live from Mexico but I don’t think that fulfills the Sunday obligation.
I pray for a solution pleasing to God.
Dear Ron G. Tragically, your dilemma is shared by many. Speaking only for myself, I feel that attending the N.O. establishment “mass” cannot, in any way, fulfill any obligation because it is the work of the enemies of Christ. If memory serves me right, I believe Our Lady said that “in the end”, we will only have Her Rosary and Her Scapular. Therefore, praying the rosary, mediating on the Mass Liturgy and readings if the day from a pre-V2 missal and other solidly (aka)”Catholic” devotions give more graces than attending the N.O. “mass” which gives no graces. Presence at the N.O. pseudo church for any reason validates and confirms their existence as if it was truly Catholic.
Hope this helps. God bless you.
The title of this article asks a question.
“Concerning Russia’s errors: What are we to do now?”
Only one paragraph in the article is devoted to what Our Lady asked of us laypersons to do; which is: We are to pray and sacrifice for sinners. It’s not that we cannot work to get the Fatima message out to Catholics who don’t know about it, but this is not the main thing that we were asked to do. We cannot be saved by works, even if those works are noble. The liberals believe that we can be saved by works – such as caring for the poor and downtrodden.
Jacinta offered many prayers, and, at times, severe sacrifices for sinners. That’s what saints do. Good works cannot replace prayer and sacrifice. However, praying and sacrifice isn’t nearly as much fun as complaining about bad Catholics.
In response to a question from Jacinta, Our Lady of Fatima said that sacrifices for sinners can be anything that you do. So that would include the corporal as well as the spiritual works of mercy, which, of course, Catholics have always been encouraged to do.
“Many persons,” Sr. Lucia explained, “feeling that the word penance implies great austerities, and not feeling that they have the strength for great sacrifices, become discouraged and continue a life of lukewarmness and sin.” Then she said Our Lord explained to her: “The sacrifice required of every person is the fulfillment of his duties in life and the observance of My law. This is the penance that I now seek and require.”
The warning of Fatima were primarily about OUR errors. It begins there….
Caimbeul, most of the complaints I read in the comments section are not about “bad” Catholics, they are complaints about heretics pretending to be Catholic. The distinction must be made. We are all sinners, but to be Catholic, one must profess the Catholic faith. Bergolio, Rarzinger, Burke, Kasper, etc simply do not profess the Catholic faith.
Dear Bosco. That is the truth. We must offer up our suffering as we try to survive in this apostate world. God bless you.
Dear Brother in Christ, Most true Catholics are in this terrible position. The suffering is great. I have a chronic illness that prevents me from leaving home except on odd occasion. We live in terrible times. Have you tried contacting SSPX to see if they have any priest who could come to you for, even Confession and Holy Communion from time to time. If you can’t attend Holy Mass on Synday and other Holy Days of Obligations you can as you know fulfill the obligation to make holy the Sabbath Day by extra prayers and reading the Missal for that day. God bless you and preserve you in the Holy Faith.
Archbishop Lefebvre:
“Ah! How we must pray and pray. We are witnessing an assault on the Church by the Devil, an attack such as the world has never yet seen. We must pray to Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to come to our aid, for we cannot indeed know what tomorrow may hold. It is not possible that God should suffer all these blasphemies, these sacrileges offered to His glory, to His majesty. Think of the abortion laws to be seen in so many countries, or divorce in Italy, all the ruin of the moral law, the ruin of truth. It is hard to imagine that all this can happen and that God will not one day speak and bring dire punishments upon the world!
That is why we must ask God to have mercy on us and our brothers, but we must strive, we must fight. Fight for the maintenance of Tradition and fight fearlessly. Above all, we must strive to preserve the rite of our holy Mass because it is the foundation of the Church and of Christian civilisation. If there were no longer a true Mass in the Church, the Church would disappear.”
Live the Holy Virgins Messages give for the world at Garabandal, Spain and await the fulfillment of the major prophecies: Worldwide Warning and Great Miracle. Concerning the purpose of the Miracle and its relevance to the conversion of Russia, note the following:
1963 locution between Our Blessed Lord and visionary Conchita Gonzalez.
“What is the purpose of the Miracle?” To convert many souls?
“To convert the whole world”
“Will Russia be converted?”
“She will be converted also, and then everyone will love Our Hearts”.
Implied is that a valid consecration will indeed take place but after the Great Miracle in which case it will be late.
The late Fr Malachi Martin SJ has confirmed The Messages from the Mother of God reveal the contents of the Third Secret of Fatima, in shorter form. Those Messages have full ecclesiastical approval, (1965 nota from Bishop Aldazabal refers ).
Full documentation was forwarded to Cardinal Ratzinger prior to his election to the papacy.
The Holy Virgins Messages:
October18, 1961: We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must lead good lives, If we do not, a chastisement will befall us. The cup is already filling up, and if we do not change, a very great chastisement will come upon us.
June 18, 1965: As my message of October 18 has not been complied with and has not been made known to the world, I am advising you that this is the last one. Before, the cup was filling up. Now it is flowing over. Many cardinals, many bishops 1) and many priests are on the road to perdition and are taking many souls with them. Less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist. You should turn the wrath of God away from yourselves by your efforts. If you ask His forgiveness with sincere hearts, He will pardon you. I, your mother, through the intercession of Saint Michael the Archangel, ask you to amend your lives. You are now receiving the last warnings. I love you very much and do not want your condemnation. Pray to us with sincerity and we will grant your requests. You should make more sacrifices. Think about the passion of Jesus.”
Thank you, once again, for posting the words of Archbishop Lefebvre. Isn’t it amazing how in just four years so many have come to realize he was a modern era St. Athanasius? He preserved the path to the True Church, in my estimation. Faithful Catholicism remains because he forced the issue, made people examine the post Vatican II errors and novelties. What they do about it will determine the fate of their souls. I wouldn’t worry about any danger in finding alternatives to the “new mass.” Staying faithful to the Church before Vatican II can never lead you astray.
God bless you too, Lynda!
“But, as it is written: That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
God bless you, Louie, for speaking the clear and precise truth!
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“This means that we can never justify ceasing – even if only for a time – to warn against the danger posed by those who might seduce others into embracing the Second Vatican Council, the New Mass, the New Evangelization, the pontificate of “Saint” John Paul II, etc. – no matter who they may be.”
–
It is clear that Our Lord gave the grace and the wisdom to that first battalion (the Remnant, etc) to combat the errors that began in 1962 and following. I am in admiration of those traditional Catholics who held the fort for us for so long! Truly they had wisdom far exceeding my own and my parents. But what now?
Why do some of them accept these novelties — the new “canonizations, the “divine mercy” devotion to replace the Sacred Heart and Rosary, etc?!?!
Those who have held onto tradition for so long, are they now to succumb to these novelties? I am, like you, “new to the old,” and I am filled with gratitude to those, like the Matt family, who fought the battle for so long —- ALONE!
I pray that God now gives you the grace to help lead the second battalion and rally the troops in the first. May you continue to be a comrade to your “brother-in-arms” and be the”back-up to the strong” who may be growing weary!
We are certainly indebted to them. May you help them stay the course with your words of truth and encouragement.
They deserve as much; they held a place for us for so many long, lonely years.