Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Recently more and more journalists are reporting that sometime around the middle of this month, Pope Francis will further restrict celebrations of the Mass using the Missal of Pope St. John XXIII. And while I’m loathe to accept rumors and gossip as fact, two previous similar situations have proven that, at times, rumors and gossip do have a ring of truth.
I cannot and will not go into detail now about speculating on what will happen after Rome releases this document, if there will be, in fact, a document as feared, because we don’t know what it will say. I have, through the Diocese of Lansing’s Office of Worship, asked Bishop Boyea to release a pastoral letter to the communities that celebrate using the Usus antiquior if further restrictions are levied against us. Certainly, in times of upheaval and strife, the words of the spiritual father of our Diocese are most important.
But what do we do until then? One temptation is to worry. But our Lord told us quite directly not to do that. “Do not worry about your life…” he said in Matthew, chapter 6. “Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?” Worry is what the enemy seeks to have us do, because when we worry we try to take the place of God where everything has to be in our own hands for an appropriate answer and resolution. No amount of worrying will change anything, but it will exhaust us and cause us to lack trust in God, who can do all things.
Obedience is also key. St. Augustine of Hippo once wrote, “If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.” Analogously, we could say that if we only obey what we like, and disobey when we don’t like something, then we are not truly obedient. Pope Francis, whatever we may think about the reasons for any upcoming decision, is the Pope. He was validly elected. If he weren’t, I’m sure Cardinal Burke, who was present for the election, would have said something by now. I don’t have to agree with all of Pope Francis’s decisions. I don’t have to find that his words or actions always to help foster faith. But I do owe him, as Supreme Pontiff, religious submission of will and intellect. And Popes have always retained the authority to adjust the form of the sacraments and the way the Mass is celebrated. Pope St. Pius V did so in eliminating rites that were less than 100 years old. Pope St. John XXIII did it when he added St. Joseph’s name to the Canon. Pope Benedict XVI (who should be canonized) did it when he gave all individual priests that authority to celebrate using the pre-Conciliar liturgy.
In my time here, I have observed almost none of the criticisms which Pope Francis has leveled against those who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass. Very few deny the dogmatic and doctrinal authority of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, even while some (quite rightly) do point out issues in its implementation. Very few do what Cardinal Burke has condemned: lacking respect and obedience to the Holy Father by simply referring to him as Bergoglio or using other words to describe him which are not fitting for Catholics when referring to the pontiff. Most, if not all, even while struggling with some of the things Pope Francis says (as do I, at times) pray for him and seek only to be good Catholics who appreciate the entire 2,000 year history of the Church, and prefer to worship using the older Mass. We have united well in our parish with those who worship using the Missal of Pope St. Paul VI, and I truly believe we are united as one parish, not a divisive group within a parish. So the attacks that some level against us are not true, and we suffer quietly those detractions, as St. Peter, our first pontiff, encouraged us to do.
We also remain true to our conscience. Conscience is a word that has been warped in the past decades. Right now, most consider conscience as simply what they want to do or what they feel in their gut is right. But conscience is the voice of God, and so God cannot contradict Himself, nor what He has revealed as true for the past 2,000 years. Conscience has to be aided by the study of Church teaching, both in the Scriptures and in the Magisterial pronouncements. Conscience is our practical application of those teachings in individual circumstances, not the changing of teachings to fit individual circumstances. And the Church is very clear: whoever knows the Catholic Church to be necessary for salvation, but purposely chooses to leave her, cannot be saved. We must follow our conscience, even if it errs. But we have the responsibility to make sure our conscience is formed so that we can hear God’s voice and not rely only on our gut or instinct.
When a recent parishioner who attends this Mass brought up to me the now-more-pervasive stories about further restrictions, his approach was an inspiring act of faith. He simply said that he would trust God and not worry about what was ahead, because God is in control. He said he chose not to worry because worrying wouldn’t accomplish anything productive, and could prove quite destructive. I applaud that man’s faith, and hope that we can all emulate it.
Be assured of this: as your local shepherd, your pastor, and your spiritual father, I will never lead you away from what I believe to be the truth and the best course of action. I will ardently yet gently encourage you to stay with the Church, even as waves sometimes seem to pummel the barque of Peter. I will never encourage anything which I believe will endanger your eternal salvation, and I will do whatever I can to make sure that the Mass is still celebrated reverently according to whatever legitimate laws we need to follow. I pray that you will not worry, but you will pray and entrust this present trial to God. I pray that we will all have the wisdom to know when to be obedient and how best to do that. And in this way, we can be assured that we are not simply those who say, “Lord, Lord,” but are truly those who do the will of our heavenly Father, and so prepare ourselves for heaven, where He lives and reigns with the Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
