Letters to the Editor
for the monastery, which in my opinion already has too much. I urge faithful Remnant readers to support my father’s true legacy by sending donations to the Society of St. Pius X, and they should also buy his last book from The Remnant ( The Remnants: The Final Essays of John Senior). Sent on April 8, 2014 the 15th anniversary of his death.
Andrew Senior
The Remnant’s Impact
Editor, The Remnant: I just wanted to echo the sentiments of Remnant readers in thanking you for your wonderful and necessary work in defending our traditional Catholic faith. I know I consider the Remnant home base for both me and my website tridentinecatholic.com It wasn’t until after you published my first letter about 8 months ago that carried my website domain that I realized just how widely The Remnant newspaper truly is read. About a month after you published that letter I started to get hits literally from all over the world, even from Ho Chi Min city in North Vietnam—just to show you how widespread your publication is! The Remnant is definitely an excellent source in spreading the word of traditional Catholicism. I also need to mention your latest venture, Remnant TV on YouTube. You and Chris Ferrara make a fantastic team on The Remnant Forum, and, most importantly, it gives us all hope for a reunited and restored Catholic church. Through your videos we can feel the momentum moving.
Even with the current crises in the church I think we are still better off now than in the deep dark days following Vatican II. In the 60s and 70s we did not have the web, social media, email, etc.
We had no communication so we were all little remote islands essentially at the mercy of whatever lies and innovation the Vatican chose to shove down our throats. Information and a sense that we are not alone is the key. That’s what I tried to do with my site, gather all information I could on our traditional faith, such as Tridentine Mass locations, gift shops of traditional Catholic religious groups, even the traditional rules for fasting, way of the cross, etc in downloadable pdf files. I even added a social network to the site in an attempt to make an even stronger bond. I think you hit the nail on the head in one of your remnant videos making a plea that we all stick together through this and avoid as much infighting as we can.
Being a Tea Party member I know that the Internet was how we managed to grow and stand strong. I see the same movement growing here with Traditional Catholics. Fisheaters, Rorate Caeli, Angle Queen, etc, and of course The Remnant have blazed the trail. I only hope my little site can contribute in a small way as well.
Al Schroeder Jr. www.tridentinecatholic.com Modern Notions of Charity
Editor, The Remnant: While reading a book of counsels and reflections by Rev.
Lasance, I started thinking about the differences between Christian charity, Modernism, and some false concepts of charity. Part of the doctrine of Christian charity is that, as members of the Mystical body of Christ, by loving God above all things, each of us can be the best he can be for his own sake and for the sake of edifying the others. We need to remember that whatever each member does, it also affects the others.
On the other hand, the Modernists, some the very leaders of the Church, do the opposite of what is charitable.
They appear to be careless or doubtful, playing the dual role of unbelieving rationalist and faithful Catholic and presenting doctrines that contradict one another. Pope St. Pius X warns in Pascendi Dominici Gregis that those are the characteristics of the Modernists, and that their purpose is to confuse the faithful and subvert the Church of Christ. Then there are the well-meaning Catholics who have a different idea of what Christian charity should be.
Although Pope St. Pius X advised that it was necessary, for the good of the Church and for the love of souls, to judge the Modernists by their tenets, words and actions, the well-meaning Catholics believe it’s wiser to support the Modernist whenever he plays the part of Catholic and to excuse him for what they think are blunders.
Finally, there are the desperate Catholics who need a quick solution to the crisis in the Church; so they promote the superstitious notion that each conciliar pope is under some sort of curse, which makes him confused about the faith, and that the remedy is not the sacrament of penance and to renounce his errors, but to consecrate Russia. They put words in Our Lady’s mouth. Yes, the Consecration is needed badly, but it makes more Catholic sense to expect this grace from a converted papacy. St. Paul admonishes us against lying to one another or defrauding one another, because we are fellow members of one body. It would do the Church much good if we’d take his words to heart.
Maria Medeiros Mississauga, Ontario On St. Joseph’s Assumption
Editor, The Remnant: Thank you for making the writing of Edward Healy Thompson on The Assumption of St.
Joseph available to your readers once again on www.RemnantNewspaper.com . It was a great pleasure for me to be able to bring this gold mine of traditional Catholic teaching to your attention a couple of years ago, and I hope that many of our fellow Catholics will be edified by this brief presentation of the holiness and prerogatives of this truly great Saint.
While it is difficult to know what Our Lord has in mind, it seems to me that St. Joseph may play a very important role in the re-establishment of Christendom throughout the world – not only because of his position as Patron of the Universal Church, but because of his great strength of character and masculinity. One of the great tragedies of the Modernist revolution has been the emasculation of the priesthood and of men in general. We live in an era where men of all stripes are shirking their responsibilities due in large part to a radical feminization of the male psyche and a drift toward what can only be described as a unisex culture.
This has produced a tremendous void of male leadership not only within the family, but within institutions such as the Catholic Church as well. It is contrary to the natural order established by our Heavenly Father and is, at least in my estimation, one of the greatest contributing factors to the rise of militant homosexuality within Western civilization. What is needed is a model of exemplary male virtue, strength, and holiness for modern man to emulate, and Glorious St. Joseph provides this in the highest possible degree. Once men, whether clerical or lay, begin to take St. Joseph as their model and patron and entrust themselves to his guidance, perhaps then they will begin to conduct themselves as God intended and find a level of holy wisdom and boldness that will begin to set things right. Such a circumstance will also allow women to once again assume the feminine nature that is their right, because they will not feel compelled to try to fill the void created by the detached effeminate male that has become all too pervasive in our time. When men and women properly integrate themselves in accordance with God’s plan, then Christian culture will have a genuine opportunity to flourish – and St. Joseph and Our Lady will be the driving force behind this reordering of society and the genuine establishment of the reign of Christ the King. With all good wishes I remain, Yours in the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, & Glorious St.
Joseph, Scott Montgomery Jehovah’s Catholics?
Editor, The Remnant: Why don’t Catholics go around knocking on doors like Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses to get converts? If it works for them, why can’t we try it? What do we have to lose by trying it? Even if we can’t get converts, maybe we could talk some fallen-aways into returning to Church. Thanks.
Vince in Eugene Oregon
Editor’s Response: Not a bad idea, Vince, although I sometimes wonder if actually doing something like this, which could lead to real conversion, might somehow violate the spirit of the New Evangelization. After all, didn't someone recently call such proselytization "solemn nonsense"?
Besides, with the New Evangelization we don’t have to actually do anything at all except, of course, agree that the Old Evangelization was terribly lacking!
MJM
Mrs. Gary Stadum, RIP
Editor, The Remnant: Please pray for the repose of the soul of Mrs. Gary Stadum (Terry), who was one of the first subscribers to The Remnant. Your longtime readers may remember some of her letters to the editor, written with wit and poignancy.
Proud of her role as a North Dakota farm wife and mother of nine, she was a true champion of devotion to Catholic tradition, particularly to the traditional Mass. A few years ago, Terry developed a rare form of dementia and on January 4, 2013, passed away from its effects, wearing the brown scapular, having received Extreme Unction from a traditional priest who visited her from time to time. All who knew her miss her joyful and enthusiastic spirit.
Please, I would prefer not to have my name printed. Thank You! God bless the Remnant staff and readership.
Her sister, a Franciscan
Editor’s Note: This letter from last year was recently discovered in our Remnant Speaks file. I don’t believe it was ever published and, even if it was, the fact that we "happened upon it" again could mean that prayers are being requested from beyond the grave. In your charity, please keep Mrs. Stadum in your prayers. MJM
Waiting for Sponsors
Young pilgrims will walk the pilgrimage in the name of their sponsors. As in years past, the names of sponsors and their special intentions will also be carried to Chartres and read aloud each day on the Pilgrimage.
Tax-exempt donations are much appreciated and can be sent to the addresss below. MJM Remnant Tours’ Youth Fund PO Box 1117 Forest Lake, MN 55025
Olivia Rao, New York (Sponsored) William Bischel, Ohio (Sponsored) Michael Rubin,(Sponsored) Alyssa Brandon, Indiana (Sponsored) Nicholas Rao, New York (Sponsored) Fatima Cruz, California ($400 thus far) Magdalena Alanis ($400 thus far) The Priest Fund: $1000 thus far.