Faith and the Papacy in the Traditional Catholic Context
Summary of Headings
- The Foundation of Faith
- The Nature of Faith
- Challenges to Faith
- The Role of the Papacy
- Faith Beyond Human Failings
- The Enduring Power of the Church
- Conclusion
The Foundation of Faith
Definitely the point of today's epistle and Gospel is faith. This just makes sense because the foundation, the cornerstone of our faith is the resurrection which we celebrated last week. If Christ had not risen from the dead, as pointed out St. Paul, then what do we believe in? But Christ of his own power proved beyond any doubt whatsoever that he is God by raising himself. By proving that the rules of mortality do not pertain to him. That sin does not pertain to him. Because he is God. He proved this absolutely and completely. More than that, he gave us testimony of it himself. And God the Father proved it for us as well. We have the evidence we need to believe.
The Nature of Faith
But the problem is, what is faith? That is the difficulty we run into. Faith is a virtue by which we subordinate our intellect, we subordinate ourselves to a knowledge of something, a definitive knowledge of something, without, that is beyond the capacity of our intelligence to comprehend. Something like the existence of God. We can prove the five great proofs of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas are magnificent for that purpose. We can prove the existence of God. Fantastic. But using only nature. But in order to prove that our Lord Jesus Christ is God, in order to prove that God is Trinity, in order to prove all of these things, we need the testimony of God himself. Which means we must subordinate our mind to him. We can see the logic behind these things. We can see how it just makes sense. But we have to take it on faith. And take it on faith knowing that Christ is the one who said it.
Challenges to Faith
Modernism and Its Impact
St. John points out that if we believe the word of men, how much more should we believe the word of God? If we actually accept the testimony of those around us and believe our own testimony as well, well then, we should believe in God because he cannot fail. He cannot fail. He cannot tell a lie. He cannot cheat. He cannot trap. He cannot do anything that is false. Because of his very nature. He is truth itself and the source of all truth. And so therefore we have to believe him. Whatever he says, the testimony he gives of the divinity of Jesus Christ is so. Because he has declared it.
This is the source and the center of what the faith is. And again, this is very much under attack. Of course by the world. The world doesn't have faith. The world is the enemy of faith and so it adores something else. What is referred to as the divine eminence. Where we create God. We bring him about through our emotions and our passions. And we just have these religious tempers that seem to just create God. And our God wouldn't do such a thing. And my God isn't so cruel and whatever else. All of these things are a disgusting attempt to replace the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to replace the intellectual subordination of what faith is supposed to be. By making it very personal. The other side is to deny that faith should even exist. Which is why science has been elevated to the status of almost divinity. Even Stephen Hawking in his attempt to prove the Big Bang Theory at the end had to admit. Well you just kind of have to accept it. You just have to accept on faith that the Big Bang happened. Because while he could draw mathematical proofs. At the end of the day there is no way to prove it. But that's the whole point. Science has become their religion and so they believe in it. That is what the world does. The world cannot comprehend faith and cannot accept faith.
The Papal Crisis
But unfortunately even within the Catholic Church faith has been tainted for so long. For more than a century now modernism has infected the church. And has touched the very core of what our faith must be. And the disputes and problems of modern years, of recent years. That have created the difficulties that we see around us. With the watering down of faith and principles and morals. The things that are supposed to help us to be completely united to God himself. Have been corrupted by the people who are supposed to be the ones teaching the faith. There has been obfuscation when there should be clarity. There has been muddling instead of clarification. Making things more obvious for us. There has been doubt sown where there should have been faith and certainty sown. And unfortunately we see the fruits. The apostasy in the last 70 years has been almost unheard of except for possibly the Aryan crisis.
The Role of the Papacy
Now inevitably we are going to have to talk about the elephant in the room. That is the Pope is dead. The priest recently wrote to me and said finally we are all set of a contest. For once we are in agreement. The sea of Saint Peter is vacant right now. And there will be a conclave and they will elect a new Pope. And even if we get the best it is still the best of a bad bunch. There is not a whole lot of great candidates in the group. Certainly no traditionalists. Certainly nobody who will preach Saint Thomas Aquinas first and foremost. Or the Bible itself. Not someone who will say the Latin Mass. Those aren't prerequisites. Wish they were. But they are not. This situation with the papacy tries our faith. But it shouldn't. Because we shouldn't be seeing the person who holds the seat. The person who holds the power or the office. We should see the office itself.
Our Lord Jesus Christ established Saint Peter as being the head of the Apostles. And that all of his followers, all of those who were to succeed him. Are to have the exact same power and authority as Saint Peter. No matter how corrupt and venal they may be. No matter how faithless and problematic they may be. Throughout the history of the church. You can see this. Down to this Gospel today. One week after the resurrection. Saint Peter had already received a visitation from our Lord. And yet where are the Apostles? Cowering in the upper room. Because they were terrified that the Jews would still come after them. They still were ruled and dominated by their fear. And then when Thomas was presented with the fact of Christ's resurrection. We have seen him. He responds with utter incredulity. I won't believe unless. So he takes the scientific route. I need concrete evidence for my faith. But that's not what faith is.
Faith Beyond Human Failings
And these men. Scared, faithless, cowardly men. Are the foundation stones. The twelve columns upon which the church is built. These are the ones who give us the deposit of the faith. Starting from them. All the way to current day. All of them. My point is. Our Lord Jesus Christ works wonders with very weak tools. We are his instruments. The priests, the clergy, the bishops, the cardinals, the pope. All just his instruments. And if ever we have doubted. That our Lord Jesus Christ. Is still the one in charge of the church. We should take a glimpse at what is going on. Even in the disastrous pontificate of Pope Francis. Because while he was with one hand supplanting. So many of the doctrines and morals of the church. And softening so much of the declarations of the church in the past. And seemingly to brush off so much of what the church's tradition teaches. At the same time. People were turning to tradition in droves. Tradition has never been more in vogue as it were. It's never been more popular. People have not come to these churches in more numbers since 1970. Baptisms are on the rise. Conversions are on the rise. For the first time since the 1950s. And that's the first time. How is all this possible? Considering what was going on. The person of Pope Francis. Is not the power of Saint Peter. It is not the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ worked through him despite everything else. As he does with all of us. It's easy to point fingers and condemn. He's a very public figure. And now that he's dead. It's just a whole lot easier to kick him while he's down. But we should pray for him. We should say masses for him. We should pray that he goes into heaven. Just as we all want to go to heaven ourselves. We should never wish for the condemnation of a single person. But we should also wish for the justice of God to reign true. Because salvation only comes with our cooperation. With grace. And just like we need mercy. And we are bound by justice. We should also hope for him the same.
The Enduring Power of the Church
But we should also believe that despite the fact. That yes, he was a bad Pope. That does not mean that Christ's power was nullified. By what he said or did. On the contrary. Somehow. Christ's grace leaked out and flooded so many people. Hopefully ourselves included. Because this is the power of the church. This is the power of the papacy. Archbishop Lefebvre insisted. That the only end to the crisis in the church that we have now. Is going to come from the sea of Saint Peter itself. Nowhere else. We may be the ones holding the line. We may be the ones carrying the flag. But we are not the ones who are going to save the church. It is going to come through the normal channels. That Christ himself established. And that is through the hierarchy of the church. Specifically through the papacy. That is the only way this is going to have a resolution. Because all grace comes from there. From our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the church. Specifically through the papacy. Through to the church. To each and every soul. That is why we are missionaries. Because the grace is given to Christ. Which he commands to be sent forth. To all nations. Through the members of the church.
Conclusion
It is easy for us to lose sight. And lose faith in the church. Because we get so wrapped up. In all the noise around the personalities. There have been failures in the church from day one. There has been a crisis of faith in the church from day one. There have been problems. Promulgated by people from day one. St. Paul had to correct St. Peter himself. For permitting an error to continue within the church. During the council of Jerusalem. All the way up to St. Pius X. Condemning modernism. Which had already infiltrated the church. And at some very high positions within the church. Throughout all of history. There have been difficulties with the church. And there have been problems specifically with the papacy. For centuries the papacy was nothing more. Than the plaything. Of a mafia-esque type. Roman families. Or Italian families situation. Where each of them were trying to gain the papacy. So they could use it to their own benefit. To attack their rivals. The Orsini's. The Della Rovere's. The Borgia's. The Domenici's. Everyone. All those names that everyone should know something about. All very bad people in general. All did horrible things with the papacy. And yet. Grace could still flow.
There's an excellent example of that. I believe it was Leo X. Who was a Domenici pope. Lorenzo Domenici. When he was elected. Instead of going to the Chamber of Tears. Where the Pope's usually going. Where they're supposed to weep. For the burdens that they have taken upon themselves. He said instead famously. God's given us the papacy. Let's enjoy it. Not the right attitude whatsoever. And yet. He was the one who excommunicated Martin Luther. When he would not repent his declarations. So somehow. This venal horrible person. Who was holding the throne of Saint Peter. Hostage to his personal benefit. Somehow. Did the right thing. And stood for the faith. At a moment of true crisis. Pius the ninth was popularly known as a liberal. Before he was elected. And actually the hope of liberals. That he would introduce liberalism. And the fruits and the seeds of modernism. Into the church. From the papacy down. And yet somehow. When he got elected as Pope. Something changed. People who were his associates and friends before. Did not recognize him. Anymore. He was a tremendous Pope. And he became the one. Who codified the condemnations of liberalism. In the church. And in the world.
The power of the papacy. Is incomprehensible. Because it is the fountain. Of all graces on earth. And so while we look at the candidates. Of the future papacy. And we can kind of groan within ourselves. And look forward to. Who knows what. Let's stop looking at the papacy. Let's stop looking at the personalities. Let's stop looking at the politics. Let's stop listening to all the chatter. Specifically on the internet. All the lay experts. Who just prattle on. About all these people. And what to expect. And what the predictions are. Leave it in the hands of God. Because there is nothing. We can do. Except pray. And offer up our daily sacrifices. For the Holy Father. And for the papacy. Because the power is going to come from him. And because grace will come from him. Whether it be indirectly. As we have seen these last few pontificates. Or whether it be directly. There can be great things that come about. Whether it be through a conversion. Somebody just has this spontaneous conversion. Where they decide to change their lives. Or whether it be whatever else. Whether it be through the indirect. Through an indirect source. The fact that God is there. The fact that the matter is. We desperately need to have faith. In the papacy. In the pontificate.
This is the problem. Why so many people lose faith in the papacy. And end up believing that it doesn't exist anymore. It does. It must. Because Christ established a visible church. It is concrete. It is real. And yes. While sinful people. And unfortunately. Unbelievers to many extents. Actually are the ones holding positions of power. And whatever else. They are still parts of the visible church. That Christ himself established. And it must be so. And the only reason we cannot think so. It is because of a lack of faith on our part. It is because our faith is too human. We see the faith specifically. And only as the personalities involved. And we have to make judgments. And we have to make judgments. About intentions and personal faith. And things like that. Which is too far. But it also means that we humanize the faith. Where we actually make God. Subject to our vision. Very much like poor Saint Thomas. In the gospel today. It is unfortunate. Poor Saint Thomas. He is always going to be remembered for this one scene. Not the heroic and amazing things he did in India. After Pentecost. Not the extraordinary martyrdom that he had. But because of being a doubter. Because of being doubting Thomas. And unfortunately. We fall so often into the same thing. Unless I see. Unless I can verify. Unless I believe. It doesn't work that way. We believe because it is so. We believe because it must be so. The church must exist. The hierarchy must exist. There must be a papacy in order for that to happen. Therefore. We believe it. And so we believe it.
Not if our candidate gets in. It is like those. People running around. After the election. Yelling. Not my president. What are you going to do about it? He is. Whether you like it or not. There is a pope. Whether you like it or not. Or there will be. There may be corruption. There may be perversion. There may be serious problems. But our faith must be unwavering. Not because the people in it are worth it. Not because the people who have run the church. Are truly fantastic people all the time. But because Christ is the one who runs it. And he uses the worst tools. And if we ever doubt that. We should look upon our faith. And realize that there is no other reason. Why we are here. And able to receive the blessed sacrament. Our Lord Jesus Christ. Uses the worst. And we are proof of that. Each and every one of us. Saint Gemma Galgani. An extraordinary saint. Who according to her confessor. Never committed a single. Fully voluntary venial sin. In her entire life. And yet. With all the graces. And modus that she received. She asked Christ. Why did you give me all these graces? And his response was. I couldn't find anyone less worthy. He preserved her in an extraordinary way. From sin. He supported and gave her extraordinary graces. And sufferings. Because he couldn't find anyone less worthy.
If we have the faith. If we have the truth. If we have the ability. If we have the mass. And communion. And confession. It is because Christ can't find anyone less worthy. Than us. All that we have received. Is despite us. Not because of us. Our Lord Jesus Christ's grace. Is that powerful. And our faith in the church. And in the papacy. Is faith in him. Not in the people. And that is what we must cling to. Especially as things continue to spiral out of control. And especially with all the noise. Around these events. Just the chaos and pandemonium. Of everybody having an opinion. And screaming it. Constantly. Has nothing to do with anything. Let's get things back down to the most basic. Most fundamental aspects of our faith. Which is just a simple belief. That God is in command. And that is what we must cling to. And that he will not relinquish it. And we have nothing to fear. While he has everything in his hand. And he will never not. Everything is his. And we rely on him. And him alone. And that is all we need to know. And if we can maintain that faith. In the invisible. Because look. All we have. Of the presence of Christ. Symbolized by a simple flame. On a candle. Revealing his continued presence. On earth. For the next 40 days. He is present in the blessed sacrament. But hidden behind the. The appearances of bread and wine. He hides himself. He keeps himself invisible. But he is still there. We wouldn't go to communion. Just because. Well we really like this priest. But not that priest. Or because. I feel good about this consecration. But I feel good about this consecration. Because we have another one. So we can't pick and choose. With other aspects of the faith. It is or it isn't. Unless we have proof that it isn't. Then it is. That is how we must believe. And it must be that simple. And that absolute.
Because Christ keeps himself invisible. And hidden. So that we believe in him. Blessed are they who have not seen. And yet believed. And that is our homework. Each and every day. To believe despite the fact that we cannot see. To be as faithful. As Thomas. After the fact. To know. That these things are true. Because God has said them. And God has revealed them. And God has given them. And not because of the human instruments. That have taught it. And said it. And given it. And that is the way. And the truth. And the life. And he is the one being. To whom we will listen to. Regardless of everything else. And the one word that we will believe in. Regardless of every other word that we hear. He is the one and only true God. And therefore we follow him. All the way up Calvary. Through the resurrection. And into eternal life in heaven.