Have I missed something?

I read on the SSPX site for the USA that SSPX Bp. Fellay has asked the Society’s members to

“renew the Consecration of the Society of St. Pius X to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, June 15, the Feast of the Sacred Heart. This will be done in all our houses during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.  His Excellency asks that this renewal be preceded by a novena, to start immediately this Wednesday, June 6. The novena is to consist simply in the daily recitation of the Litany of the Sacred Heart in all our houses for the intention indicated.”

I didn’t see any call for any such thing from the leadership of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Did you? Have I missed something?

Did you see any news that the LCWR wants all its members to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart and renew a Consecration to the Sacred Heart? I didn’t. Maybe it is on their website. Lemme check. Nope. Nuthin’

The sad and ironic thing is that the LCWR (a subsidiary of the Magisterium of Nuns) does still have – for now – an official stamp of approval of the Holy See, which the SSPX does not – for now.

Compare and contrast!

In the meantime, Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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28 Comments

  1. jdscotus says:

    Hilarious! And, sadly, so very right.

  2. lh says:

    Speaks volumes about the LCWR’s priorities.

  3. ContraMundum says:

    Yet somehow, I think that if I were to say, “The sad and ironic thing is that Cardinal Schönborn does still have – for now – an official stamp of approval of the Holy See, which Patriarch Kirill does not – for now,” you would be shocked that I could say something in such bad taste, and ask who I think I am to grab for myself the Keys of St. Peter.

  4. ContraMundum says:

    Specifically: Why should the LCWR be treated differently than the Jesuits?

    Hidden One says:
    5 June 2012 at 11:51 am

    I am an orthodox Catholic with a ‘traditionalist’ liturgical outlook.Were I also a Jesuit, some of these comments would be tarring and feathering me, too, by association.

    Some of my fellow commenters may wish to rethink some of their words even if only because there are faithful Jesuits, both in and done formation. Perhaps some of them even read this blog. [True! Good point.]

  5. a2jimenez says:

    This is very funny but also bizarre. In any case, I have very high hopes that orthodoxy will prevale and big news can come soon.

  6. acardnal says:

    Praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart during this month in which we honor Him is a good idea for many, if not all, of the commentators of this blog. The Litany of of Humility is also advisable.

  7. kallman says:

    It is now the month of June after all, for those who remember what that means.

  8. BaedaBenedictus says:

    I long for the days when lay Catholics could simply rely on their shepherds’ stamps of approval. But in the derelictions of pastoral duty and resultant chaos, layfolk have no choice but to use their wits to figure out what is Catholic and what is heretical poison, even to the point of parish shopping. My cathedral proudly displays the Fishwrap and the latest books by McBrien, Chittister, Farley, Spong, et al. What does a Catholic do?

    Alas most Catholics don’t have the knowledge, motivation or wits to sift the wheat from the chaff in the Church around them. Shepherds are supposed to do that, but too many of them are chaff and too many of the others are afraid to get truly pastoral and clean house. Is it any wonder that there is a great apostasy among the laity? Is it any wonder that even practicing Catholics have an extremely poor understanding of essential elements of our Faith?

    Is it any wonder that some of the survivors among the laity see the SSPX as a retreat from the chaos? I don’t go to their churches, but as virtually the only Catholic left among my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and first cousins, I find it difficult to begrudge a second cousin of mine (who has 54 grandchildren) taking his family to the local thriving SSPX chapel. Official “stamps of approval” lose their meaning when you have children to raise and the officially “approved” local church is a mess of heresy.

  9. AnnAsher says:

    The two are diametrically opposed. One defends doctrine and tradition, the other seeks to upturn them.

  10. Parasum says:

    “Did you see any news that the LCWR wants all its members to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart and renew a Consecration to the Sacred Heart? I didn’t. Maybe it is on their website. Lemme check. Nope. Nuthin’.”

    ## If that is to be a standard by which to judge sites, that would mean that a great many Catholic sites are inferior to the SSPX. SSPX sites seem to be alone including the traditional prayers for the Pope – which the Vatican sites does not have. I don’t recall Catholic Answers or the USCCB sites including such things either.

    If the LCWR is to be criticised, something more convincing than that kind of argument, which cuts both ways, is needed. If that is all that can be said against the LCWR (is it ?), there seems little to criticise it for. But that argument against it is pretty weak (& that is putting it nicely). (I have no idea of the weight of the Vatican’s objections to it; there are too many other controversies to follow in today’s dysfunctional Church.)

  11. Hidden One says:

    I was pleased when I first read about this novena.

    ContraMundum,

    As an example relevant to your argument, I provide (as was done for me concerning the Jesuits) Mother Mary Clare Millea, A.S.C.J., who headed the Apostolic Visitation and whose community is (or was when it began) a member of the LCWR.

  12. Phil_NL says:

    I think that we shouldn’t forget that the LCWR still hasn’t consacrated their own bishops – the crucial step in ‘setting up shop’ outside the Church. That the SSPX – as an organisation, it’s more complex involving the membership – didn’t want to descend into sedevacantism or schism is a very important thing, but there is and remains a difference between actions and intentions. Actions have consequences, and while we’re thankfully in the process of clearing up that mess, one cannot undo history.

    As I see it, the LCWR has just a much better understanding of gaming the system; they know exactly how much they can get away with without being formally thrown out. A bit of Machiavelli, a drop of Alinsky, and so on. Yes, it would have been better if the LCWR would be negotiating for reconcilliation and the SSPX wouldn’t need to, but the Church has to play by its own rules, even if they are gamed and used against it. What is unjust in this world will be righted in the next.

  13. Scott W. says:

    If that is all that can be said against the LCWR (is it ?)

    Hardly. I’m going to assume you are relatively new here, but Fr. Z has given an extensive catalog of reasons why the Vatican efforts are not only warranted, they are downright tame next to what is justifiable. The example here is simply one of those tell-tale ornaments on crumbling architecture.

  14. wmeyer says:

    And yet, we are to understand that the SSPX are bad guys (unreconstructed ossified manualists) and the LCWR are heroines.

    ……… uh huh

  15. acardnal says:

    Nice post BaedaBenedictus.

  16. irishgirl says:

    I second that, acardnal!
    Well done, BaedaBenedictus!
    And good comparison between the SSPX and LCWR, Father Z!
    Wheat vs. chaff, indeed….

  17. BaedaBenedictus: “Official ‘stamps of approval’ lose their meaning when you have children to raise and the officially ‘approved’ local church is a mess of heresy.”

    I saw a copy of a reply a woman received, who had written a letter to the Pope saying that she feared for the souls of her children if they attended the local approved Catholic parish, and therefore inquired if she could take them to an SSPX chapel where she felt their faith would be nurtured and preserved.

    The reply from a papal secretary said that her first obligation as a mother was the salvation of her children, and that therefore she could and should feel free make her own best decision on that basis.

  18. JKnott says:

    acardnal has good advice for all.

    Here it is. Written by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930), the secretary of state for Pope Saint Pius X.
    Litany of Humility

    O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, hear me.

    From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus.
    From the desire of being loved,
    From the desire of being extolled,
    From the desire of being honored,
    From the desire of being praised,
    From the desire of being preferred to others,
    From the desire of being consulted,
    From the desire of being approved,

    From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.
    From the fear of being despised,
    From the fear of suffering rebukes,
    From the fear of being calumniated,
    From the fear of being forgotten,
    From the fear of being ridiculed,
    From the fear of being wronged,
    From the fear of being suspected,

    That others may be loved more than I, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
    That others may be esteemed more than I,
    That, in the opinion of the world, others may, increase and I may decrease,
    That others may be chosen and I set aside,
    That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
    That others may be preferred to me in everything,
    That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

    The recitation of this litany at every Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a custom in the Congregation of the Legionaries and RC worldwide.

    [ALL: Keep in mind that this Litany is NOT approved for public use in churches. Special and specific permission would have to be obtained to use this publicly in church.]

  19. Joseph-Mary says:

    As one modernist “Benedictine sister” said to me when I asked if she would be interested in taking a Holy Hour of Adoration, “We do not do that sort of thing anymore.”

    So true. Our modernist sisters were never ever seen at any devotion. They did come to Sunday Mass although for a time they would hold a separate liturgy and come in for Communion. One ‘religious sister’ held tai chi classes across the hall from the chapel where daily Mass was held and at the same time.

    So many souls hungry for God and these sisters were of so help to them: what a terrrible opportunity has been wasted.

  20. EoinOBolguidhir says:

    He also said, “…Everyone may join in asking for the grace to become docile instruments in the restoration of all things in Jesus Christ.”.

    “docile instruments!”

  21. Johnno says:

    Sadly we can’t by default rely on our Shepherds… Even the ones we know are faithful theologically are also soft in the face of the assault of secularism… such as the results of the now enforced law that Catholic Schools in Ontario must institute Gay-Straight Alliances in their schools if a student requests it, and Cardinal Dolan throwing his hands in defeat telling the schools to obey the law rather than fight it… As a Catholic I’m easily able to withstand the assaults of the world. In fact I expect it and am more cynical than most. But when I see such actions like what the leadership of the Church in Ontario has done… I lose faith in them entirely… I can no longer fight, I can no longer believe there is anything that can be done, and that no prayer will help, safe to pray for miraculous intervention through the Consecration of Russia. Otherwise, I believe it’s God’s will that the Church be destroyed in Canada, and that it will be rebuilt by more capable men years later once the dust has settled. For now, it’s time to accept our exile and our penance.

  22. Dcn Scott says:

    Fr. Z:

    Perhaps we could have WDTPRS Novena, using the Litany of the Sacred Heart, for the intention of reunification.

    “Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.”

    He is, indeed.

    Viva il Papa!

  23. Hidden One says:

    Johnno,

    So, when it seems to you that your leaders will not do the work of opposing the Devil, neither will you? I do not think that a good way of living. I hope that I have misunderstood you and that you will keep fighting however the battlefield seems to you.

  24. Johnno says:

    Hidden One,

    To fight the way they expect us to fight, through voting and democracy and the system and putting legalism and constitutional and human rights and comforts above that of God’s moral law is a hopeless cause and will never work, not against this sort of enemy; and we will continue to lose and lose some more so long as the Bishops and lay administrators are willing to let evil have their way and continue to negotiate with the devil expecting him to be fair. They just never learn. The current ‘administrators’ in the Church and in the schools are content to lose for the sake of maintaining some status quo and are determined not to listen to us and do the hard things that need to be done. I can understand why they are doing it, but at this point to use the same tactic that’s never ever ever ever worked, is sheer madness and they’re as crazy as the enemy they’re fighting against. They are trying to keep some peace on Earth by endangering souls for eternity. They had plenty of options to fight and they never took them. It’s not that I’m unwilling to fight. It’s that they have ordered the Church militant not to fight! They have ordered the Church militant to throw down their weapons at the feet of the enemy! Promising the courts will come to our rescue! Yeah… that’s always worked out so well before! Maybe the courts will actually hear our case sometime this decade, until then let’s let the enemy run amuck within our borders hoping he won’t sabotage much, thanks to the double agents at work within our own ranks! This is sheer madness!

    I’m abandoing them to their fate and changing tactics to a more worthwhile cause. Converting those closest to and around me and trying to be a good example myself. If some ray of sunshine comes through where we see the Church leadership willing to put what it should at risk to fight for the sake of souls, I’ll be right there alongside them. Until then, they can count me out. They will remain in my prayers while my physical efforts are best spent elsewhere. I know my thinking is entirely cynical, and I would love to be wrong several times over… but at this time, there is no glimmer of that on the horizon.

  25. capebretoner says:

    @Johnno: don’t give up. I live in a diocese where the National catholic Reporter is promoted as a good tool for the new evangelization. ugh. That said, there is always hope. My grand aunt, who was a Sister of Charity, passed away recently at the age of 91. She went from full habit to polyester overnight. Once, when I was very ill, she didn’t send me Joan Chittister’s newest piece of whatever, she sent me a copy of the Imitation of Christ. I thanked her for this great gift, one month before she passed away. She told me at the time the older books were much more relevant and trustworthy than what we see today. I still wonder if, for all those years in the polyester, reiki baloney, she was just being obedient to her superiors, held hostage if you will. That thought alone was enough for me to stay in the fight.

  26. JayneK says:

    I was at Mass at an SSPX chapel today and heard a beautiful homily on the Eucharist. It is so satisfying to hear clear, sound doctrine preached. I continue to pray that their canonical situation will be resolved. It seems so wrong that they have this obstacle when others who seem far less worthy remain in good standing in the Church.

  27. irishgirl says:

    @ Johnno: I agree totally with what you said in both your long posts.
    I’m not the ‘organizing type’, nor am I much of an activist. I have become rather cynical regarding politics, whether of Church or of State.
    I am tired of our shepherds giving out mealy-mouthed ‘statements’ when they should be using the spiritual powers given to them at their consecrations (re: excommunicating PUBLICLY ‘catholic’ politicians who promote things like abortion and unnatural ‘marriage’). I am tired of seeing them back off, and then fold like a secret panel in a wall whenever some loudmouthed (and big-pocketed, big-bucks-funded) perverts scream about their ‘rights’ being violated. It’s at these times when I want to scream out, ‘Do your job, Your Excellencies! Don’t leave your flocks to the ravening wolves! BE SHEPHERDS, NOT HIRLINGS! A true father stands up, and defends and protects his children! BE MEN!’
    Luckily I never married and had children. If I had to send them to public school (or even most ‘catholic’ schools), I would have gone gray and worn out fighting against the evil agendas that these schools put out. Or else I would have died prematurely of a stroke or an aneurysm from all the stress.
    Instead, like Johnno, I’m living a more hidden life. I will pray, I will [try] to do penance.
    That’s all I can do for now. And I’m going to keep saying: ‘Lord, please come…come soon…’
    Only Our Lord, through the prayers of His Mother, can help us now.
    Man has certainly ‘screwed up’ things here on earth….only a miracle can save us, and straighten out the mess that we find ourselves in these days…..

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