Continued...
Superior General of the SSPX Melbourne, Feb. 20, 1973.
Footnotes:
accept this spurious Ecumenism is to precipitate oneself sooner or later into new Protestant or Pentecostalist sects.
(6) Obedience is a virtue intended to direct us towards good, not towards evil. To pretend not to see evil in order not to appear to be disobedient, is a betrayal of truth and a betrayal of our own selves.
It is time that bishops and priests opened their eyes and denounced the danger; time for them to safeguard the former Latin Mass from the Offertory to the Communion inclusive, and to maintain the form and matter of the sacraments integrally as they were, so that none may doubt their validity. It is the greatest service they could render to the Pope, to the Church, to the Faithful, and to themselves.
The criterion of Truth in the Church is Tradition. In doubtful cases, it is there that we must look. To pass on to us faithfully the truths contained in Revelation, such is the role of the infallibility of the Pope and of the Church.
Not by breaking this necessary continuity, shall we serve the Church, but by holding on to it at all costs, especially so at a time when all the efforts of the devil are directed towards breaking it, using the most deceitful pretexts or ‘Updating’, ‘progress’, and ‘opening to the world’.
Virgo fidelis ora pro nobis, Marcel Lefebvre
(Translated from the French by Yves Dupont)
(1) Also published in No.20 and No.34 of "World Trends".
(2) The New Mass is now in use in some Protestant communities. (Ed.) (3) Article 7 of "Institution Generalis" (Editio Typica), reads as follows: "The Lord’s supper is the assembly or gathering together of the people of God, with a priest presiding, to celebrate the memorial of the Lord. For this reason, the promise of Christ, is particularly true of a local congregation of the Church: ‘Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I in their midst’ (Mt. 18:20)." –a) No mention is made of the Mass as a Sacrifice—its essential aspect ("Essential" in the etymological sense). b) The Supper and Memorial aspects are mentioned— which is in order. c) But the mass is further defined as a ‘gathering—which is need not be since a priest may celebrate it alone. d) The priest is described as a ‘President’— which may be acceptable in Latin but emphatically not in English. e) Finally, Holy Scripture is quoted out of context to foster the belief that Christ’s presence at Mass is solely spiritual, not physical—a rank heresy.
(4) Wherever the Archbishop used the word ‘Gene’ I have used the Latin ‘Caena’ rather than the common English rendering ‘Last Supper’. Indeed, it is hardly possible to say that the Last Supper was not a supper, a contradiction in terms, but not improper to suggest that the Caena was not quite the same as the Last Supper, that is did not consist of a supper only.
As a matter of fact, some revelations, and those of Venerable Anna-Katarina Emmerick is particular (Some of which were later archeologically verified in the Holy Land), say that the institution of the Eucharist took place after the Last Supper, and in a different room, all doors being closed. The immolation and eating of the lamb in the first room was done merely in observance of the Jewish precept, and as a prefiguration of the real sacrifice of the New Covenant. But, according to this holy Augustinians Nun, the first Consecration of the Bread and Wine took place during an entirely separate ceremony in the second room. If this is correct, it certainly brings to naught the current heresy that describes the Mass as a Meal only! (Ed.) (5) It is to be noted also that the so-called New Mass no longer has a separate Offertory and Canon proper; both have been merged, so to speak, to form the ‘Liturgy of the Eucharist’—a Protestant term. Likewise, the Foremass is now called ‘Liturgy of the Word’, with many readings added. This augmentation, with the suppression on the other hand of many prayers in the Mass proper, is making the ‘Liturgy of the Word’ appear more important than the ‘Eucharist’. In spite of the devilish cunning of the Reformers, their heretical intention is glaringly obvious. In fact, the so-called Eucharistic Prayer No. II, which is now used almost universally in preference to the other three, makes short shrift of the Mass once the so called ‘Liturgy of the Word’ is over. It is pointless to adduce that the New Mass was ratified by Pope Paul: a papal signature does not possess the magical power of turning heresy into orthodoxy, or a sin into a virtue. (Ed.) (6) As explained a little further down, Tradition is the criterion of Truth, and, therefore, it determines the attitude we are to take. In order to remain obedient to what the Church has traditionally taught, it is sometimes necessary to be disobedient to those who abuse their God—given authority and teach novelties in contempt of the mandate they have. That is what the Archbishop actually means when he says: "Obedience can only consist in a refusal to accept these reforms." ■
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