Welcome, Guest
You have to register before you can post on our site.

Username
  

Password
  





Search Forums

(Advanced Search)

Forum Statistics
» Members: 305
» Latest member: rbcj8941
» Forum threads: 7,092
» Forum posts: 13,141

Full Statistics

Online Users
There are currently 459 online users.
» 0 Member(s) | 456 Guest(s)
Applebot, Bing, Google

Latest Threads
Retreat Conference: Disce...
Forum: Conferences
Last Post: Deus Vult
43 minutes ago
» Replies: 0
» Views: 1
Retreat Conference: The F...
Forum: Conferences
Last Post: Deus Vult
49 minutes ago
» Replies: 0
» Views: 2
Retreat Conference: From ...
Forum: Conferences
Last Post: Deus Vult
53 minutes ago
» Replies: 0
» Views: 1
UK Prays! - A Holy Rosary...
Forum: Appeals for Prayer
Last Post: Stone
Today, 07:55 AM
» Replies: 4
» Views: 10,427
Apologia pro Marcel Lefeb...
Forum: Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
Last Post: Stone
Today, 07:43 AM
» Replies: 23
» Views: 5,930
Louis Veuillot: The Liber...
Forum: Uncompromising Fighters for the Faith
Last Post: Stone
Today, 07:39 AM
» Replies: 30
» Views: 5,704
Livestream @ 11 a.m. EDST...
Forum: July 2025
Last Post: Deus Vult
Yesterday, 08:54 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 65
Fr. Hewko & Fr. Ruiz: Gla...
Forum: Conferences
Last Post: Deus Vult
Yesterday, 04:01 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 86
Fr. Hewko's Sermons: Firs...
Forum: July 2025
Last Post: Deus Vult
Yesterday, 12:08 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 106
Fr. Hewko's Sermons: Firs...
Forum: July 2025
Last Post: Deus Vult
Yesterday, 09:26 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 95

 
  The Flame They No Longer See
Posted by: Stone - 07-02-2025, 07:30 AM - Forum: Resources Online - No Replies

The Flame They No Longer See
Ordained beneath the dome of St. Peter’s, a new priesthood walks past the Sacred Heart without turning.

[Image: https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama...6x1024.png]

Chris Jackson via Hiraeth In Exile Substack | Jun 27, 2025

On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, a feast once throbbing with images of reparation, sacrifice, and mystical union, Leo delivered a warm, tear-tinged pep talk. The occasion was the ordination of priests during the Jubilee of Priests. And yet what should have been a moment of gravity, awe, and sacred distinction was flattened into the predictable horizontality of the postconciliar gospel: unity, fraternity, accompaniment, inclusion. Love as therapy. The priest as wounded life coach.

The homily opened with the familiar gesture: “Before being shepherds, we are sheep.” Of course. The post-Vatican II Church recoils from the notion that a priest acts in persona Christi Capitis. The minister is not primarily a sacred man set apart, but a fellow pilgrim stumbling alongside us on the way to “healing.” Leo’s version of the Sacred Heart is not the consuming fire of divine charity but a kind of divine group hug: warm, emotive, and nonjudgmental.


The Priesthood as Psychodrama

The hallmark of Leo’s theology is what might be called emotional priesthood. Priests are told to enter “the vast and deep inner chamber” of memory, to feel consumed by mercy, and to offer a “great exchange of love.” He quotes Pope Francis approvingly: “the wounded side of Christ continues to pour forth that stream… to all those who wish to love as he did.” What does this mean concretely? There is no mention of sin as an offense against God. No mention of Hell. No “zeal for souls.” Only a vague hope that people will “come to know Christ” through kindness, hospitality, and interpersonal warmth.

And what of the priest’s role? He is no longer a soldier in the Church Militant. He is a reconciler of inner tensions, a psychological mediator tasked with harmonizing diverse “fragments” of people’s lives. In Leo’s words, the priest is called to be a “builder of unity and peace” by helping others “rise above immediate emotions” (a strange instruction from someone whose theology is governed almost entirely by emotion).

But the climax of absurdity is reached in the closing instruction to ordinands: “Give freely of your time… without reserve and without partiality, as the pierced side of the crucified Jesus teaches us to do.” The Sacred Heart is not treated as a symbol of divine justice and mercy, of sin redeemed through sacrifice, but as a vaguely inspirational metaphor for radical availability. A therapist-on-call with holy orders.


A Priesthood Without the Cross

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is, historically, a devotion rooted in expiation. Pius XI declared that it “demands from us a return of love, including acts of reparation for our ingratitude and infidelity.” But Leo XIV has inverted this. In his message to priests, he speaks of the Sacred Heart not as a font of justice or a call to reparation, but as a mystical couch for emotional healing. “In him,” he claims, “we learn to relate to one another in wholesome and happy ways.” This is a humanistic gospel, not the Catholic one.

Gone are the stern reminders of judgment. Gone is the need to suffer with Christ. Gone is the priest’s sacred duty to “offer the Holy Sacrifice for the living and the dead.” The Mass becomes a communal celebration of mutual care, where no one is left out; except, of course, the traditions of the Church.

We are being sentimentalized rather than sanctified.


Vatican II, Always Vatican II

In case anyone forgot which Council governs this pontificate, Leo XIV cites Lumen Gentium and Presbyterorum Ordinis multiple times, always selectively. There’s a passing nod to the Eucharist as the “source and summit” of the Christian life, but it serves only to reinforce the priest’s horizontal mission of social harmony. Even Augustine is weaponized for this end. “With you I am a Christian,” Leo quotes, without explaining that Augustine preached the necessity of discipline, doctrinal clarity, and spiritual warfare against heresy. He was not interested in therapeutic ministry. He was interested in truth and salvation.

But truth is not the currency of this pontificate. Sentiment is.


The Sacred Heart or the Synodal Heart?

This priestly Jubilee homily is the latest proof that Leo XIV, like his predecessor, is not offering Christ crucified. He is offering Christ synodal. A heart not pierced for sin but opened for feelings. A ministry not ordered toward Calvary but toward consensus. A sacrament not offered as sacrifice but as symbol of community.

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Novus Ordo priesthood is being repurposed into a global workforce of synodal facilitators; pastoral brokers of a gospel without dogma and a Church without combat. There is no call to confront error. No warning of judgment. No demand for sanctity. Just a soft, constant cooing: “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.


Closing Benediction

Leo XIV exhorted his new priests not to be seduced by “models of success and prestige.” But the postconciliar Church is itself addicted to success, measured in applause, not sanctity. It trades the glorious wounds of Christ for the glowing reviews of modern man. It offers a priesthood without enemies, without martyrdom, without mission, because it no longer believes the world needs saving from sin.

The Sacred Heart still burns with love for souls. But the new rites, and the new shepherds, seem increasingly content to offer a gospel of pacification. The fire has been dimmed to a flicker. But it has not gone out. Not yet.

Print this item

  The Feast of the Most Precious Blood
Posted by: Stone - 07-01-2025, 06:49 AM - Forum: Pentecost - No Replies

July 1 – Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
This text is taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

[Image: 1-precious-blood.jpg]


John the Baptist has pointed out the Lamb, Peter has firmly fixed His throne, Paul has prepared the Bride; this their joint work, admirable in its unity, at once suggests the reason for their feasts occurring almost simultaneously on the cycle. The alliance being now secured, all three fall into shade; while the Bride herself, raised up by them to such lofty heights, appears alone before us, holding in her hands the sacred cup of the nuptial-feast.

This gives the key of today’s solemnity; revealing how its illumining the heavens of the holy Liturgy, at this particular season, is replete with mystery. The Church, it is true, has already made known to the sons of the New Covenant, and in a much more solemn manner, the price of the Blood that redeemed them, its nutritive strength, and the adoring homage which is its due. Yes; on Good Friday, earth and heaven beheld all sin drowned in the saving stream, whose eternal flood-gates at last gave way, beneath the combined effort of man’s violence and of the love of the divine Heart. The festival of Corpus Christi witnessed our prostrate worship before the altars whereon is perpetuated the Sacrifice of Calvary, and where the outpouring of the Precious Blood affords drink to the humblest little ones, as well as to the mightiest potentates of earth, lowly bowed in adoration before it. How is it, then, that Holy Church is now inviting all Christians to hail, in a particular manner, the stream of life ever gushing from the sacred fount? What else can this mean, but that the preceding solemnities have by no means exhausted the mystery?

The peace which the Blood has made to reign in the high places as well as in the low; the impetus of its wave bearing back the sons of Adam from the yawning gulf, purified, renewed, and dazzling white in the radiance of their heavenly apparel; the Sacred Table outspread before them, on the waters’ brink, and the Chalice brimful of inebriation; all this preparation and display would be objectless, if man were not brought to see therein the wooings of a Love that could never endure its advances to be outdone by the pretensions of any other. Therefore, the Blood of Jesus is set before our eyes, at this moment, as the Blood of the Testament; the pledge of the alliance proposed to us by God; the dower stipulated upon by Eternal Wisdom for this divine union to which he is inviting all men, and whereof the consummation in our soul is being urged forward with such vehemence by the Holy Ghost. This is why the present festival, fixed as it is upon a day that must necessarily be one of the Sundays after Pentecost, does not interrupt, in any way, the teaching which these Sundays are particularly meant to convey, but tends rather to confirm it.

“Having therefore, Brethren, a confidence in the entering into the Holies by the Blood of Christ,” says the Apostle, “a new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, let us draw near with a pure heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he is faithful that hath promised. Let us consider one another to provoke unto charity and to good works. And may the God of peace who brought again from the dead the great pastor of the sheep, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Blood of the everlasting Testament, fit you in all goodness, that you may do his will: doing in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen!”

Nor must we omit to mention here, that this feast is a monument of one of the most brilliant victories of Holy Church, in our own age. Pius IX had been driven from Rome in 1848, by the triumphant revolution; but the following year, just about this very season, his power was re-established. Under the ægis of the Apostles on June 28th and the two following days, the eldest daughter of the Church, faithful to her past glories, swept the ramparts of the Eternal City; and on July 2nd, Mary’s festival, the victory was completed. Not long after this, a twofold decree notified to the City and to the world the Pontiff’s gratitude and the way in which he intended to perpetuate, in the sacred Liturgy, the memory of these events. On August 10th, from Gaëta itself, the place of his exile in the evil day, Pius IX, before returning to re-assume the government of his States, addressing himself to the invisible Head of the Church, confided her in a special manner to His divine care, by the institution of this day’s Festival; reminding him that it was for His Church that He vouchsafed to shed all His Precious Blood. Then, when the Pontiff re-entered his Capital, turning to Mary, just as Pius V and Pius VII had done under other circumstances, he, the Vicar of Christ, solemnly attributed the honor of the recent victory to Her who is ever the “Help of Christians,” for on the Feast of Her Visitation it had been gained; and he now decreed that this said Feast of July 2nd should be raised from the rite of double-major to that of second class throughout the whole world [Pius XI in 1934 subsequently raised it to the First Class]. This was but a prelude to the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which the immortal Pontiff had already in project, whereby the crushing of the serpent’s head would be completed.

[Image: 32856073_531966107199749_3081238499114876928_n.jpg]


Mass

The Church, gathered by the Apostles from the midst of all the nations under heaven, advances toward the Altar of the spouse who hath redeemed her in his Blood, and in the Introit hails his Merciful Love. She, henceforth, is the Kingdom of God, the depository of Truth.

Introit
Redimisti nos, Domine, in Sanguine tuo, ex omni tribu, et lingua, et populo, et natione, et fecisti nos Deo nostro regnum.
Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in thy Blood, out of every tribe and tongue, and people and nation, and hast made us to our God a kingdom.
Ps. Misericordias Domini in æternum cantabo: in generationem et generationem annuntiabo veritatem tuam in ore meo. ℣. Gloria Patri. Redemisti nos.
Ps. The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever: I will show forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation. ℣. Glory, &c. Thou hast.


The Blood of the Man-God being the pledge of peace between heaven and earth, the object of profoundest worship, yea, itself the very center of the whole Liturgy, and our assured protection against all the evils of this present life, deposits, even now, in the souls and bodies of those whom it has ransomed, the germ of eternal happiness. The Church, therefore, in her Collect, begs of the Father, who has given us His Only-Begotten Son, that this divine germ may not remain sterile within us, but may come to full development in heaven.

Collect
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui Unigenitum Filium tuum mundi Redemptorem constituisti, ac ejus Sanguine placari voluisti: concede quæsumus, salutis nostræ pretium solemni cultu ita venerari, atque a præsentis vitæ malis ejus virtute defendi in terris; ut fructu perpetuo lætemur in cœlis. Per eumdem Dominum.
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast appointed thy Only-Begotten Son to be the Redeemer of the world, and hast been pleased to be appeased by his Blood: grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate with solemn worship the price of our salvation, and to be on earth so defended by its power from the evils of this present life, that we may rejoice in its perpetual fruit in heaven. Through the same Lord, &c.


A commemoration is here made of the Sunday, which cedes to the Feast of the Precious Blood the first honors of this day.

Epistle

Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Apostoli ad Hebræos. Cap. IX.
Fratres, Christus autem assistens pontifex futurorum bonorum, per amplius et perfectius tabernaculum, non manufactum, id est, non hujus creationis: neque per sanguinem hircorum aut vitulorum, sed per proprium sanguinem introivit semel in Sancta, æterna redemptione inventa. Si enim sanguis hircorum et taurorum, et cinis vitulae aspersus inquinatos sanctificat ad emundationem carnis: quanto magis sanguis Christi, qui per Spiritum Sanctum semetipsum obtulit immaculatum Deo, emundabit conscientiam nostram ab operibus mortuis, ad serviendum Deo viventi? Et ideo novi testamenti mediator est: ut morte intercedente, in redemptionem earum prævaricationum, quæ erant sub priori testamento, repromissionem accipiant qui vocati sunt æternæ hæreditatis: in Christo Jesu Domino nostro.

Lesson of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews. Ch. IX.
Brethren, Christ, being come an High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hand, that is, not of this creation: Neither by the blood of goats, or of calves, but by his own blood, entered once into the holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? And therefore he is the mediator of the new testament: that by means of his death, for the redemption of those transgressions, which were under the former testament, they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance; in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Quote:The Epistle that has just been read to us is the confirmation of what we were saying above, as regards the special character of this festival. It was by his own Blood that the Son of God entered into heaven; this divine Blood continues to be the means whereby we also may be introduced into the eternal alliance. Thus, the Old Covenant founded, as it was, on the observance of the precepts fo Sinai, had likewise by blood consecrated the people and the law, the tabernacle and the vessels it was to contain; but the whole was but a figure. “Now,” says Saint Ambrose, “it behooves us to tend to Truth. Here below, there is the shadow; here below, there is the image; up yonder, there is the Truth. In the law was but the shadow; the image is to be found in the Gospel; the Truth is in heaven. Formerly a lamb was immolated; now Christ is sacrificed, but he is so only under the signs of the mysteries, whereas in heaven it is without veil. There alone, consequently, is full perfection, unto which our thoughts should cleave, because all perfection is in Truth without image and without shadow.” Yea! there alone is rest: thither, even in this world, do the sons of God tend; without indeed attaining fully thereunto, they get nearer and nearer, day by day; for there alone is to be found that peace which forms saints.

“O Lord God,” cries out in his turn another illustrious Doctor, the great Saint Augustine, “give us this peace, the peace of repose, the peace of the seventh day, of that Sabbath whose sun never sets. Yea! verily the whole order of nature and of grace is very beautiful unto thy servitors, and goodly are the realities they cover; but these images, these successive forms, bide only awhile, and their evolution ended, they pass away. The days thou didst fill with thy creations are composed of morning and of evening, the seventh alone excepted, for it declineth not, because thou hast for ever sanctified it, in thine own Rest. Now what is this Rest, save that which thou takest in us, when we ourselves repose in thee, in the fruitful peace which crowns the series of thy graces in us? O sacred Rest, more productive than labor! the perfect alone know thee, they who suffer the divine Hand to accomplish within them the Work of the Six Days.”

And, therefore, our Apostle goes on to say, interpreting, by means of other parts of Scripture, his own words, just read to us by holy Church, and therefore today if ye shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts. The Blood Divine hath rendered us participators of Christ: it is our part not to squander, as though it were worthless, this immense treasure, this initial incorporation which unites us to Christ, the divine Head; but let us abandon ourselves, without fear and without reserve, to the energy of this precious leaven whose property it is to transform our whole being into him. Let us be afraid lest we fall short of the promise referred to in our today’s Epistle, that promise of our entering into God’s Rest, as Saint Paul himself tells us. It regards all believers, he says, and this divine Sabbath is for the whole people of the Lord. Therefore, to enter therein, let us make haste; let us not be like those Jews whose incredulity excluded them forever from the promised land.


The Gradual brings us back to the great testimony of the love of the Son of God, confided to the Holy Ghost, together with the Blood and Water of the Mysteries; a testimony which is closely linked here below with that which is rendered by the Holy Trinity in heaven. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, sings the Verse. What is this, but to say, once again, that we must absolutely yield to these reiterated invitations of love? None may excuse himself, by arguing either ignorance, or want of vocation to a way more elevated than that wherein tepidity is dragging him. Let us hearken to the Apostle addressing himself to all, in this same Epistle to the Hebrews: “Yea, verily; great and ineffable are these things. But if you have become little able to understand them, it is your own fault; for whereas for the time you ought to be masters; you have need to be taught again what are the first elements of the words of God: and you are become such as have need of milk, though your age would require the solid meat of the perfect. Wherefore, as far as concerns us in our instructions to you, leaving the word of the elementary teaching of Christ, let us go on to things more perfect, not laying again the foundation of penance from dead works, and of faith towards God. Have you not been illuminated? have you not tasted also the heavenly gift? have you not been made partakers of the Holy Ghost? What showers of graces, at every moment, water the earth of your soul! it is time that it bring in a return to God who tills it. Ye have delayed long enough: be now, at last, of the number of those who by patience and faith shall inherit the promises, casting your hope like an anchor sure and firm, and which entereth in within the veil, where the forerunner Jesus is entered for us, that is, to draw us in thither after Him.”

Gradual
Hic est qui venit per aquam et sanguinem, Jesus Christus: non in aqua solum, sed in aqua et sanguine.
This is He that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only, but by water and blood.

℣. Tres sunt qui testimonium dant in cœlo: Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus Sanctus; et hi tres unum sunt. Et tres sunt, qui testimonium dant in terra: Spiritus, aqua, et sanguis; et hi tres unum sunt. Alleluia, alleluia.
℣. There are three that give testimony in heaven; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth; the Spirit, the water, and the blood: and these three are one. Alleluia, alleluia.

℣. Si testimonium accipimus, testimonium Dei majus est. Alleluia.
℣. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. Alleluia.


Gospel

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Johannem. Cap. XIX.
In illo tempore: Cum accepisset Jesus acetum, dixit: Consummatum est. Et inclinato capite tradidit spiritum. Judæi ergo (quoniam parasceve erat) ut non remanerent in cruce corpora sabbato (erat enim magnus dies ille sabbati), rogaverunt Pilatum ut frangerentur eorum crura, et tollerentur. Venerunt ergo milites: et primi quidem fregerunt crura, et alterius, qui crucifixus est cum eo. Ad Jesum autem cum venissent, ut viderunt eum jam mortuum, non fregerunt ejus crura, sed unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua. Et qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit: et verum est testimonium ejus. Et ille scit quia vera dicit: ut et vos credatis.

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John. Ch. XIX.
At that time, when Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost. Then the Jews, (because it was the parasceve,) that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath day, (for that was a great sabbath day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came; and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it, hath given testimony, and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true; that you also may believe.

Quote:On that stupendous Day, Good Friday, we heard for the first time this passage from the Beloved Disciple. The Church, as she stood mourning at the foot of the Cross whereon her Lord had just died, was all tears and lamentation. Today, however, she is thrilling with other sentiments, and the very same narration that then provoked her bitter tears, now makes her burst out into anthems of gladness and songs of triumph. If we would know the reason of this, let us turn to those who are authorized by her to interpret to us the burden of her thoughts this day. They will tell us that the new Eve is celebrating her birth from out the side of her sleeping Spouse; that from the solemn moment when the new Adam permitted the soldier’s lance to open his Heart, we became, in very deed, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Be not then surprised, if holy Church sees naught but love and life in the Blood which is gushing forth.

And thou, O soul, long rebellious to the secret touches of choicest graces, be not disconsolate; say not: “Love is no more for me!” How far away soever the old enemy may, by wretched wiles, have dragged thee, is it not still true that to ever winding way, yea, alas! perhaps even to every pitfall, the streamlets of this Sacred Fount have followed thee? Thinkest thou, perhaps, that thy long and tortuous wanderings from the merciful course of these ever pursuant waters may have weakened their power? Do but try: do but, first of all, bathe in their cleansing wave; do but quaff long draughts from this stream of life; then, O weary soul, arming thee with faith, be strong, and mount once more the course of the divine torrent. For, as in order to reach thee, it never once was separated from its fountain head, so likewise be certain that by so doing, thou needs must reach the very Source Itself. Believe me, this is the whole secret of the Bride, namely, that whence soever she may come, she has no other course to pursur than this, if she would fain hear the answer to that yearning request expressed in the Sacred Canticle: Show me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou restest in the mid-day! So much so indeed, that by re-ascending the sacred Stream, not only is she sure of reaching the Divine Heart, but moreover she is ceaselessly renewing, in its waters, that pure beauty which makes her become, in the eyes of the Spouse, an object of delight and of glory to him. For thy part, carefully gather up today the testimony of the Disciple of love; and congratulating Jesus, with the Church, his Bride and thy Mother, on the brilliancy of her empurpled robe, take good heed likewise to conclude with St. John: Let us then love God, since he hath first loved us.


The Church, while presenting her gifts for the sacrifice, sings how that Chalice which she is offering to the benediction of her sons, the priests, becomes by virtue of the sacred words, the inexhaustible source whence the Blood of her Lord flows out upon the whole world.

Offertory
Calix benedictionis, cui benedicimus, nonne communicatio Sanguinis Christi est? Et panis quem frangimus, nonne participatio Corporis Domini est?
The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord?


The Secret begs for the full effect of the divine alliance, of which the Lord’s Blood is both the means and the pledge; since its effusion, continually renewed in the Sacred Mysteries, has hushed the cry of vengeance that the blood of Abel had sent up from earth to Heaven.

Secret
Per hæc divina mysteria, ad novi, quæsumus, Testamenti mediatorem Jesum accedamus; et super altaria tua, Domine virtutum, aspersionem Sanguinis melius loquentem quam Abel innovemus. Per eumdem.

By these divine mysteries, we beseech thee that we may approach to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Testament; and that upon thy Altars, O Lord of Hosts, we may renew the sprinkling of that Blood, speaking better than that of Abel. Through the same, &c.


A Commemoration of the Sunday is then made: and the Priest entones the triumphant Preface of the Cross, for thereon was the ineffable union concluded in the divine Blood.

Preface
Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus: Qui salutem humani generis in ligno Crucis constituisti: ut unde mors oriebatur, inde vita resurgeret: et qui in ligno vincebat, in Ligno quoquo vinceretur: per Christum Dominum nostrum. Per quem Majestatem tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates. Cœli, cœlorumque Virtutes, ac beata Seraphim, socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admitti jubeas deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes; Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, &c.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God. Who hast appointed that the salvation of mankind should be wrought on the wood of the Cross; that from whence death came, thence life might arise; and that he who overcame by the tree, might also by the Tree be overcome; through Christ our Lord; by whom the Angels praise thy Majesty, the Dominations adore it, the Powers tremble before it; the Heavens and the heavenly virtues, and the blessed Seraphim, with common jubilee glorify it. Together with whom, we beseech thee that we may be admitted to join our humble voices, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, &c.


The Communion Antiphon hails the merciful love of which our Lord gave proof by his coming, not suffering himself to be turned aside from his divine projects by the accumulation of crimes which he must destroy in his own Blood, in order to purify the Bride. Thanks to the adorable mystery of faith operating in the secret of hearts, when he shall come again visibly, nothing will remain of this sad past but a memory of victory.

Communion
Christus semel oblatus est ad multorum exhaurienda peccata; secundo sine peccato apparebit exspectantibus se, in salutem.

Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many; the second time he shall appear without sin to them that expect him, unto salvation.


Inebriated with gladness at the Savior’s fountains, his sacred Wounds, let us pray that the Precious Blood now empurpling our lips may remain unto eternity, the living Source whence we may ever draw beatitude and life.

Postcommunion
Ad sacram, Domine, mensam admissi, hausimus aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris: Sanguis ejus fiat nobis, quæsumus, fons aquæ in vitam æternam salientis. Qui tecum vivit et regnat.

Having been admitted to the holy Table, O Lord, we have drawn waters in joy from the fountains of our Savior: may his Blood, we beseech thee, become within us a fountain of water springing up to Eternal Life. Who liveth and reigneth, &c.


Then is made a Commemoration of the Sunday, the Gospel of which is likewise read instead of that of Saint John, at the end of Mass.



VESPERS

[Image: 5887551207_6a69648747.jpg]

Yesterday, at the opening of the feast, the Church sang ‘Who is this that cometh from Bosra, in Edom, with his robe so richly dyed? Comely is he in his vesture! It is I,’ replied he, ‘I whose word is full of justice, I who am a defender, to save.’ He that spoke thus was clad in a garment dyed with blood, and the name given unto him is the Word of God. ‘Wherefore, then,’ continued the Church, ‘is thy robe all bespotted, and thy garments like tot hose who tread in the wine-press? I have trodden the wine-press alone, and among men none was there to lend aid.’

Thus did he appear, by the virtue of his divine Blood, to whom the psalmist exclaimed: ‘Arise in thy glory and beauty, march forward unto victory!’ (Psalm 44) After this first sublime dialogue concerning the Spouse, another, this morning, pointed out to us the bride drawing for herself from this precious Blood that superhuman loveliness which beseems the nuptial banquet of the Lamb. The Lauds antiphons brought upon the scene the members of holy Church, especially her martyrs in whom her radiant beauty glitters most of all: ‘These who are clad in white robes, who are they, and whence come they? These are they stand before the throne of God, ministering to him day and night. They have conquered the dragon by the Blood fo the Lamb and the word of the Testament. Blessed are they who have washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb!’

This evening the Church returns to her Lord, repeating at her Second Vespers the same antiphons as at her first.

ANT. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful one in his robe?

Ps. Dixit Dominus.

ANT. I that speak justice and am a defender to save.

Ps. Confitebor tibi Domine.

ANT He was clothed in a robe sprinkled with blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

Ps. Beatus vir.

ANT. Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments to them that tread the wine-press?

Ps. Laudate pueri.

ANT. I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me.


PSALM 147

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion.

Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within thee.

Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the fat of corn.

Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: his word runneth swiftly.

Who giveth snow like wool: scattereth mists like ashes.

He sendeth his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?

He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.

Who declareth his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgments to Israel.

He hath not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them.

ANT. I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me.


CAPITULUM
(Hebrews ix)

Brethren, Christ, being come to a High Priest of the good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, neither by the blood of goats nor of calves, but by his own Blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption.

HYMN

Let the streets re-echo with festive song, let the brow of every citizen beam gladsomeness; let young and old file along, in order due, bearing lighted torches.

Being mindful of that Blood which Christ, upon the cruel tree, did dying shed for many a thousand wounds, let us at least, the while, pour forth our mingling tears.

Grave loss befell the human race, by the old Adam’s sin. The new Adam’s sinlessness and tender love have life restored to all.

If the eternal Father heard on high the strong cry of his expiring Son, far more is he appeased by this dear Blood and is thereby enforced to grant us pardon.

Whosoever in this Blood his robe doth wash, is wholly freed from stain, and roseate beauty gains, whereby he is made like unto angels well-pleasing to the King.

Henceforth, let none inconstant from the straight path withdraw but let the furthest goal be fairly touched. May God, who aideth them that run the race, bestow the noble prize.

Be though propitious to us, O almighty Father, that those whom thou didst purchase by the Blood of thine only-begotten Son, and whom thou dost re-create in the Paraclete Spirit, thou mayest one day transfer unto the heavenly heights.

Amen.

℣. We beseech thee, therefore, help thy servants.

℟. Whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood.

Though this feast passes away like all else here below, the object it celebrates remains, and is the treasure of the world. Let, then, this feast be fore each one of us, as it indeed is for the Church herself, a monument of heaven’s sublimest favors. Each year, as it recurs in the cycle, may our hearts be found bearing new fruits of love, that have budded forth, watered by the fructifying dew of the precious Blood.


ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Ye shall observe this day for a memorial, and ye shall keep it holy unto the Lord, in your generations, with an everlasting worship.


COLLECT

Almighty and eternal God, who has appointed thy only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer of the world, and hast been pleased to be appeased by His Blood: grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerated with solemn worship the price of our salvation, and to be on earth so defended by its power from the evils of this present life, that we may rejoice in its perpetual fruit in heaven. Through the same Lord, etc.

We here add the Matins hymn of the feast, which is redolent of grace and tenderness.

HYMN

The just ire of the Creator did erst the guilty world submerge beneath the vengeful rain of waters, Noe, in the Ark sequestered safe the while. But yet more wondrous still the violence of love that hath the world in Blood now laved.

The happy world, watered by such salubrious rain, now buds forth fair flowers, where erst sprang naught but thorns: yea, now hath wormwood nectar’s savory sweetness e’en assumed.

The cruel serpent hath suddenly laid aside his poison dire, and vanished is the wild ferocity of beasts: such the victory of the wounded Lamb all meek!

O depth inscrutable of heavenly wisdom! O benignant tenderness of love Thus every heart aloud proclaims: The slave was worthy of death, and the King, in goodness infinite, did undergo the punishment.

When by his sin we provoke the wrath of the judge divine, then by the pleading of this eloquent Blood may we be protected.

Then may the throng of threatened evils pass from us away!

Let the ransomed world praise thee, bringing her grateful gifts, O thou, the leader and loving author of eternal salvation, who, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost, dost possess the blessed kingdom. Amen.

Print this item

  The Catholic Trumpet: With Mary Until the End?
Posted by: Stone - 06-30-2025, 09:03 AM - Forum: The Catholic Trumpet - No Replies

With Mary Until the End?

[Image: rs=w:1280]


The Catholic Trumpet | June 29, 2025


In 1712, St. Louis de Montfort foretold “apostles of the latter times,” humble Marian warriors who would rise to defend the Faith in an age of apostasy. In 1846, Our Lady at La Salette showed Melanie Calvat these same apostles, calling them to die for Jesus as true children of Mary (M.P.J., E.D.M.). In 1923, Church authorities suppressed her warnings.

Six years later, on February 11, 1929, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Lateran Treaty was signed, choosing earthly compromise over Heaven’s requests. Then on June 13, 1929, Our Lady explicitly asked for Russia’s consecration at Tuy, a command still ignored.

Today in 2025, the errors of Russia have infected even traditional circles.

In these times, are we not called to strive quietly and faithfully to remain Marian, with no deals, no silence, no compromise, like the apostles of the latter times, guarding the Faith and preparing for Christ the King’s triumph?

Print this item

  Vatican announces new votive Mass ‘for the care of creation’
Posted by: Stone - 06-30-2025, 08:24 AM - Forum: New Rite Sacraments - No Replies

Vatican announces new votive Mass ‘for the care of creation’
The new text of the Mass will be issued Thursday, and comes on the back of Pope Francis' special focus on climate change issues

[Image: Untitled-58.png]

FotoDax/Shutterstock

Jun 30, 202
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews [slightly adapted - not all hyperlinks included; emphasis mine]) — The Vatican is set to publish a new Mass text called the Mass “for the care of creation.”

In a press note issued June 30, the Holy See Press Office announced details of a press conference on Thursday which will be the launch pad for a new Mass.

“There will be a press conference to present the new form of the Mass ‘pro custodia creationis,’ which will be added to the Masses ‘pro variis necessitatibus vel ad diversa’ of the Roman Missal,” the note read.

The Mass is believed to be joining the list of votive Masses in the Roman Missal.

Presenting the new Mass text will be two notable Vatican officials from the relevant dicasteries:
  • Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., prefect of the Dicastery for Service of Integral Human Development.
  • Archbishop Vittorio Viola, OFM, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship.
At the moment, it is not yet known how long the Mass has been in preparation, though it is highly likely to have originated under the pontificate of Pope Francis.

It will be of key significance to examine the text upon its release, given another high-profile liturgical case that is currently underway – namely the three-year “experimental phase” of the Amazon rite, which seeks to draw from local Amazonian customs.

Alongside this is the pagan-linked, inculturated Mayan rite, which the Vatican is currently considering for the “indigenous” inculturation of people in Mexico.

Where the Mayan and Amazon “rite” differ to the expected Mass “for the care of creation” is that the former have been posited as inculturated rites, while the latter is understood to be more akin to a votive Mass.

Francis made the “care of creation” a prominent theme throughout his pontificate, dedicating numerous speeches and addresses to it.

His 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si’ became the reference text for a number of Vatican and papal initiatives focused on the so-called “green” agenda. In it, Francis spoke about a “true ecological approach” which listens to “both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” The document later gave rise to the Laudato Si’ Movement, which aims to “turn Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’ into action for climate and ecological justice,” as the mass divestment from “fossil fuels” finds inspiration in the late pontiff’s environmental writings.

In October 2023, Francis published a second part to Laudato Si’ in the form of an apostolic exhortation named Laudate Deum.

The late pope also made numerous calls to action for global leaders to implement the pro-abortion Paris Climate Agreement, citing the “negative effects of climate change” and an “ecological debt” which required “climate finance, decarbonization in the economic system and in people’s lives.”

Cardinal Czerny’s Dicastery for Service of Integral Human Development is the Roman office charged with the practical implications of Pope Francis’ ecological concerns, along with his focus on the topic of migrants.

Recently, the dicastery recalled the 10th anniversary of of Laudato Si’, calling it “a unique opportunity to relaunch the commitment to our common home, a mission in which we are all called to actively participate.”

Archbishop Viola of the Dicastery for Divine Worship is better known for his opposition to the traditional Mass – a campaign which has been in full swing with increased pace in recent years, following Pope Francis’ Traditionis Custodes. Expanding even on those restrictions, Viola was believed to be writing a new document last summer which would have seen Pope Francis attempt to implement a new sweeping ban on the traditional Mass. That document never emerged; it is believed the text made it to Francis’ desk but that he never signed it.

As LifeSiteNews’ Jeanne Smits documented, Viola is a known admirer of one of the main architects of the Novus Ordo in 1969: Archbishop Annibale Bugnigni. Viola has chosen to wear Bugnini’s episcopal ring.

No official meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Viola has been recorded in the Pope’s public diary. One meeting has been documented between Leo and Viola’s superior, Cardinal Arthur Roche, which took place on June 3.

Czerny has been received on two official occasions, although it is quite possible that Pope Leo met with Czerny and Viola privately to discuss the new Mass text.

The text will be released on Thursday morning.

Print this item

  Fr. Ruiz Sermons: Saints Peter & Paul [Sun. W/In Octave of S. Heart] June 29, 2025
Posted by: Deus Vult - 06-29-2025, 01:28 PM - Forum: Fr. Ruiz's Sermons June 2025 - No Replies

Feast of Saints Peter & Paul  [Sun. W/In Octave of S. Heart] 
June 29, 2025  (KS)




Audio

Print this item

  England’s First Martyr St. Alban Converts His Executioner
Posted by: Stone - 06-29-2025, 08:13 AM - Forum: The Saints - No Replies

England’s First Martyr St. Alban Converts His Executioner
Adapted from Bede's Ecclesiastical History, (London: George Bell and Sons, 1907)



Hugh O'Reilly, TIA | June 37, 2025

St. Alban was a Roman citizen living in Verulanium in Britain (today, in Hertfordshire, England). He converted to Christianity around 300 A.D. and became the first-recorded British Christian Martyr. St. Bede's Ecclesiastical History gives an account of Alban being beheaded on a hill outside the city, which has been adapted for our readers below.


Now then, this Alban, being yet a pagan at the time when all manner of cruelties was being practiced against the Christians, gave refuge in his house to a certain priest Amphibalus, who was fleeing from his persecutors. Alban observed this cleric to be engaged in continual prayer and watching day and night and became impressed with his faith and teaching.

[Image: H280_Bap.jpg]

The priest Amphibalus baptizing & teaching the people

Thus, following the inspirations of divine grace that was shining on him, he began to imitate the example of faith and piety that was set before him. Thus Alban determined to cast off the darkness of idolatry, and he became a Christian in all sincerity of heart.

After Amphibalus had been sheltered some days at that dwelling, it came to the ears of an impious prince that that a confessor of Christ was being concealed at Alban's house. Whereupon he sent some soldiers to make a strict search after him.

When they came to seize the priest, St. Alban himself, wearing the priest’s cloak and habit, came forth to the soldiers and presented himself to the soldiers in place of his guest. He was swiftly bound and led before the judge.

It happened that the judge, at the time when Alban was brought before him, was standing at the altar and offering sacrifice to devils. When the judge heard that Alban had offered himself up in place of the priest, he became enraged that Alban would shelter a person who despised and blasphemed the gods. Thus he ordered that Alban should endure all the punishments that were to be inflicted upon the priest unless he would comply with the pagan rites of their religion.

[Image: H280_crow.jpg]

Crowds of people witnessed the miracles & beheading of St. Alban

But St. Alban was not at all daunted by the judge's threats, but putting on the armor of spiritual warfare, publicly declared that he would not obey his command to sacrifice to idols because, he affirmed: "I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things."

Then the judge, filled with anger, said: “If you would enjoy the happiness of eternal life, do not delay to offer sacrifice to the great gods.”

Alban rejoined: “These sacrifices, which by you are offered to devils, neither can avail the worshippers nor fulfill the desires and petitions of the suppliants. Rather, whosoever shall offer sacrifice to these images shall receive the everlasting pains of Hell for his reward.”

The judge, hearing these words ordered that Alban be scourged by the executioners, believing that he might by stripes shake that constancy of heart, on which he could not prevail by words. But Alban, being most cruelly tortured, bore all with patience and even more, with joyful countenance for Our Lord's sake.

When the judge perceived that he was not to be overcome by tortures to put aside the practice of the Christian Religion, he ordered him to be put to death.

[Image: H280al2.jpg]

The executioner is converted to see the river dry up on St. Alban’s request

On the way to the site of execution outside the town, he came to a fast flowing river that could not be crossed. There was a bridge but the multitude of persons who had been moved by divine inspiration to come witness the martyrdom of Alban made it impossible for him to pass over it.

St. Alban, therefore, urged by an ardent and devout wish to attain martyrdom sooner, drew near to the waters and lifted up his eyes to Heaven. Whereupon the river immediately dried up, thus making a way for him to pass.

The astonished executioner who was assigned to put him to death observed this, and moved doubtless by divine grace, cast down his sword which he had carried ready drawn. Falling at the feet of St. Alban, he prayed earnestly that he might rather be accounted worthy to suffer with the martyr whom he was ordered to execute or, if possible, in place of him.

The other executioners rightly hesitated to take up the sword lying on the ground. Meanwhile, the Holy Confessor, accompanied by the multitude, ascended a hill, which was adorned with flowers of many colors as a fittingly beautiful place to be consecrated by a martyr’s blood.

Reaching the summit of this hill, St. Alban began to thirst, and prayed that God would give him water. Immediately a spring sprang up at his feet. It was here that the head of the undaunted Martyr was struck off and here that he received the crown of life, which God has promised to them who love Him.

[Image: H280_Eye.jpg]

The eyes of the executioner pop out his head

But the second executioner who delivered the fatal stroke was not permitted to rejoice over Alban’s dead body, for his eyes popped out of his head and dropped to the ground at the same moment as the Blessed Martyr's head fell.

Immediately afterward, the first executioner who had refused to strike Alban and prayed to join him was also beheaded. Of whom it is apparent that though he was not purified by the waters of Baptism, yet he was cleansed by the washing of his own blood, and rendered worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Then the judge, astonished at the unwonted sight of so many heavenly miracles, ordered the persecution of the Christians to cease immediately, and began to honor the death of the saints.

The Blessed Alban suffered death on the 22nd day of June outside the city of Verulam, which is now by the English nation called Verulanium.

Print this item

  Please pray for Mr. Means
Posted by: Stone - 06-29-2025, 06:16 AM - Forum: Appeals for Prayer - No Replies

The following is taken from the Sunday Bulletin of the Oratory of the Sorrowful Heart of Mary - June 29, 2025:

Quote:
Reminder: Prayers Needed


[Image: b2ef76f6-b910-463a-37ae-0d52c233fabb.png]


Dear Friends, a reminder that our prayers are especially needed for Mr. David Means of PA, who remains hospitalized with a very serious heart condition that is worsening. Please, remember Mr. Means in all of your prayers and sacrifices, most especially in your daily Rosary. May God bless you for your kindness. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Print this item

  Retreat Conference: Passion of Christ: Gethsemane to Barrabas June 27, 2025
Posted by: Deus Vult - 06-28-2025, 11:06 PM - Forum: Conferences - No Replies

Passion of Christ: Gethsemane to Barrabas
June 27, 2025  (KS)


Print this item

  Retreat Conference: Prodigal Son Mass "Know the Heart of Christ in His Own Words" June 26, 2025 (KS)
Posted by: Deus Vult - 06-28-2025, 09:45 AM - Forum: Conferences - No Replies

Prodigal Son Mass - "Know the Heart of Christ in His Own Words" 
June 26, 2025  (KS
)

Print this item

  Retreat Conference: Fr. Hewko, Why God Permits Trials & Crosses June 26, 2025
Posted by: Deus Vult - 06-27-2025, 10:10 PM - Forum: Conferences - No Replies

 Why God Permits Trials & Crosses 
June 26, 2025  (KS)

Print this item

  Fr. Hewko & Fr. Ruiz: Open Discussion on the Present Crisis June 26, 2025
Posted by: Deus Vult - 06-27-2025, 10:04 PM - Forum: Conferences - No Replies

Fr. Hewko & Fr. Ruiz: An Open Discussion on the Present Crisis
June 26, 2025  (KS)

Print this item

  Retreat Conference: The Mystery of the Holy Incarnation June 26, 2025
Posted by: Deus Vult - 06-27-2025, 09:49 AM - Forum: Conferences - No Replies

The Mystery of the Holy Incarnation
June 26, 2025  (KS)


Print this item

  Retreat Conference: The Call of Christ the King June 25, 2025
Posted by: Deus Vult - 06-26-2025, 09:46 AM - Forum: Conferences - No Replies

The Call of Christ the King
June 25, 2025  (KS)


Print this item

  The Anselmianum Distances Itself From Its Own Professor, Andrea Grillo
Posted by: Stone - 06-26-2025, 03:59 AM - Forum: General Commentary - No Replies

The Anselmianum Distances Itself From Its Own Professor, Andrea Grillo

[Image: i777fdm5pvfmumra6q2d2xe8nkuwkwn1qv9cmb5....63&webp=on]


gloria.tv | June 25, 2025

The Pontifical University Atheneum of Saint Anselm in Rome has distanced itself from Andrea Grillo, a layman and professor of sacramental theology at the university.

Grillo is believed to have played a key role in drafting Francis' document Traditionis Custodes.

On June 17, Grillo wrote on CittaDellaEditrice.com an article mocking Carlo Acutis for his veneration of the Blessed Sacrament: "Should this form of grave Eucharistic miseducation perhaps become, through Carlo who was its first victim, a model to propose to all young people? Are we seriously joking?"

On 23 June, Pro-Rector Father Laurentius Eschlböck OSB wrote on Anselmianum.com:
Quote:"We resolutely distance ourselves from what is individually expressed by professors who, in their personal capacity and under their sole and full responsibility, publish on their sites or blogs, theses, opinions or personal positions."

These positions "do not represent what is taught in the various faculties of our Athenaeum, which welcomes and transmits, in full trust and obedience of faith - in the perspective of a healthy dialectic on which true theological research is based - the teaching of the Church and the Roman Pontiff."

Father Eschlböck did not mention Grillo by name. Thus, the ridiculing of the Eucharist at the institution will continue.


See also the following from Rorate Caeli: His Own University is Now Against Him: Andrea Grillo, Francis' Liturgist and the Father of Traditionis Custodes, Hates the Eucharist and Must Have His Imprint Erased

Print this item

  Pope Leo appoints Cardinal Roche, same-sex ‘blessing’ supporters to Dicastery for Consecrated Life
Posted by: Stone - 06-25-2025, 07:48 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism - No Replies

Pope Leo appoints Cardinal Roche, same-sex ‘blessing’ supporters to Dicastery for Consecrated Life
The new members include 5 cardinals – including Cardinal Arthur Roche – 5 bishops, 4 priests, 4 religious women, and one lay woman.

[Image: spengler-roche.jpg]

Cardinals Spengler (L) and Roche ®
Michael Haynes/© Mazur/cbcew.org.uk

Jun 24, 2025
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews [slightly adapted, not all hyperlinks included from original article]) — Pope Leo XIV today appointed members to the Vatican office overseeing religious orders and the Latin Mass communities, including some cardinals who have opposed the traditional Mass and supported blessings for same-sex couples.

As outlined in the Holy See Press Office bulletin on June 24, Leo XIV appointed 19 new members to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DICLSAL).

The new members include five cardinals, five bishops, four priests, four religious woman and one lay woman.

Among the cardinals are certain notable figures, such as:
  • Cardinal Arthur Roche: prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship under Pope Francis who led the late pontiff’s charge against the traditional Mass and enforced restrictions on it.
  • Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero: Archbishop of Rabat who has supported blessings for same-sex couples in light of Fiducia Supplicans, adding that synodality is a “prophetic sign” for the world and that opponents of its decisions are “morally obligated to support” them.
  • Cardinal Giorgio Marengo: the second youngest cardinal and the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, the Catholic territory encompassing Mongolia numbering around 1,000 Catholics.
  • Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa: Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, famous for offering himself as a hostage exchange in 2023 and considered papabile in the May 2025 conclave.
  • Cardinal Jaime Spengler: Archbishop of Porto Alegre and president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil along with the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). Spengler has given mixed messages about his support for the highly controversial Amazon rite while also supporting Fiducia Supplicans’ blessings for same-sex couples.
  • Other non-cardinalatial appointments to the dicastery include male and female religious superiors, along with Luisa Muston, a lay woman who leads the secular institute called the Missionaries of the Infirm “Christ the Hope.”

It is quite normal for cardinals to be appointed to various offices of the Roman Curia, particularly so for those who are already working in the Curia or who have occasion to be in Rome more frequently.

On May 9, Pope Leo already requested all Curia leaders, members, and secretaries to remain temporarily in place until further notice, meaning that a notable number of cardinals are already members of the dicastery.

But the names nevertheless always contain significance and can highlight preferences identified by the reigning Pontiff for particular Roman offices.

Pizzaballa is perceived as a conservative member of the College of Cardinals, as is Marengo, while others named by the Pope today would align more with liberal or “moderate” sectors on varying issues.

Roche is already prominent and well known for his opposition to the traditional Mass.

But Spengler and Romero have gained less notoriety in the English-speaking world. Romero was raised to the episcopate by Pope Francis in 2018, made cardinal in 2019, and participated most recently in the Synod on Synodality.

After Fiducia Supplicans and the furor over blessing same-sex couples, Romero deviated from the Africa-wide rejection of the document led by Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, and later defended his position on the text when asked by this correspondent.

The document became one of the most hotly contested of Pope Francis’ pontificate, with many theologians and prelates calling on Pope Leo to issue a formal clarification of the text.

Spengler has also defended the text. In a 2023 interview, he commented that that Church “can’t deny” blessings on same-sex couples, adding that the Church must “meet every authentically human need.”

More uniquely, Spengler has been linked to the controversial “Amazon rite” of the liturgy. Created a cardinal in December, Spengler told LifeSiteNews in October that married deacons and priests may be a help for regions with few priests, adding that the Amazon rite and indigenous inculturation of the liturgy is taking place in Brazil.

He confirmed that the local Amazonian bishops were “speaking of the possibility of a specific rite for the Amazon region – this is a fact.” However he also sought to link back to the universal Church, noting that “on the other hand there is also something that says the following guidance: today in the Latin Church we have the Roman rite and the Roman rite must be inculturated in the different realities.”

Speaking to The Pillar around the consistory in December, Spengler downplayed the idea of an Amazon rite or of female deacons and married clergy. Such questions, he said, “require further study.”

Continuing, he stated:
Quote:I always like to say that there is a single rite in the [Latin] Church: The Roman rite and this rite needs to be and is called to be adapted to the different cultural realities. Creating the conditions for this adaptation requires, I believe, the best means for us to find the necessary means for inculturation to happen harmoniously. It’s not a question of bringing in a rite from outside to make reality adapt to it. Moreover, how many cultures are there in that reality?


Increasingly prominent Vatican office

For a long time, the DICLSAL has flown somewhat under the radar, apart for those keen to stay abreast of Vatican affairs. But under Pope Francis, it became increasingly prominent, especially due to the document Cor Orans and Vultum Dei Quaerere, which ushered in tighter Vatican control over religious life and has been widely – though often quietly – used against convents and religious orders noted for being too traditional for the liking of Roman officials.

In addition to restricting already existing groups, a 2022 Rescript via the dicastery prevented diocesan bishops from autonomously establishing any groups of the faithful looking to become religious institutes or societies in a move which was described as an attempt to prevent any new traditional communities from being formed.

Not least in the reasons for the dicastery’s newfound prominence is the highly controversial appointment by Pope Francis of a religious woman – Sister Simona Brambilla, M.C. – as the prefect, rather than a cardinal, earlier this year. In order to attempt to satisfy the canonical requirement necessary when signing documents or wielding authority, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime SDB was made the pro-prefect.

Since Pope Francis’ Latin Mass restrictions contained within Traditionis Custodes, Sr. Brambilla’s dicastery has key responsibility for overseeing the orders that celebrate the traditional Mass such as the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), Institute of Christ the King Soverign Priest (CKSP), and Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP).

The FSSP is currently undergoing an Apostolic Visitation from the dicastery after having a meeting in2022 with Pope Francis, who confirmed their constitutions and that they are exempt from the “general provisions” of Traditionis Custodes.

The arrival of a staunch anti-traditionalist figure such as Cardinal Roche to the dicastery will be key to observe what impact such an appointment has for the future of these traditional communities. It was only last year that Cardinal Gerhard Müller remarked that “a senior representative” from Roche’s office was dismayed to hear of the popularity of the Latin Mass Chartres pilgrimage, solely due to the traditional Mass being celebrated.

As of the past few weeks, the dicastery now has a female religious serving as secretary, a move welcomed by activists as a sign of continued female leadership in the Church under Leo.

Print this item