The Ascension and Living by Faith
Summary of Headings
- The Apostles' Consolation and Mission
- Faith in the Absence of Christ
- Challenges to the Faith
- Declaration of Faith
- The Sole Mediator and the Church
- The Holy Mass and Moral Law
- Secularism and the Church's Authority
The Apostles' Consolation and Mission
A very blessed feast day to everybody. The feast of the Ascension. One of the most important, most beautiful feasts of the Church, but in a certain way also very sad. For the Apostles, they were so glad to have our Lord Jesus Christ back after the Resurrection. resurrection, He chastised them, He castigated them for the fact that they did not believe in His resurrection, and He encouraged their faith and He gave them a mission, that they are supposed to go out and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. It was a tremendous consolation for them to have the glorious body of our Lord Jesus Christ with them at all times during those 40 days.
It was a tremendous consolation to their faith, and it was easy for them to believe in His divinity when they saw clearly the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, that by His own power He raised Himself from the dead. But then He leaves. We have this beautiful, sad ceremony of extinguishing the Paschal candle after reading the Gospel. He's ascended into heaven, He is gone. Now He is here only through mystery, through the mystery of the Blessed Sacrament. Through the mystery of the Mass, through the mystery of grace, through the mystery of the Church. He is still present, but we do not see Him as the Apostles saw Him.
Faith in the Absence of Christ
Therefore we live by faith. The faith is essential for our salvation. Period. There is no other way to put it. The faith is what nourishes us, it is what guides us, it is what gives us grace. It is what encourages us when we are having doubts. It is what strengthens us when we feel weak and scared, and when we are going through difficulties. The faith gives us everything. This is all the more crucial in a world that is living in darkness, and even more so when that darkness is encouraged and animated by the very people who are supposed to be giving
Challenges to the Faith
light themselves. People who stand in the place of our Lord Jesus Christ, who are given His office to teach and to spread. The Word of God. And instead are distracted by other things and teach other things. For those who don't know, I'm sure everyone does, but it's kind of old hat. The other day, I think two days ago, Cardinal Fernandez, our dear friend, has issued another warning saying that consecrations would be constituted as a schismatic act and anybody who formally adheres to the schism will be excommunicated. Now, that doesn't include you, so you're fine. But this, of course, is bluster.
There is nothing behind it. There is no way for us to answer back in the same way. So rather, Fr. Pagliarani, our superior, answered back with a declaration of faith.
Declaration of Faith
Since we have tried to reach out to the Pope to have conversations directly with him, and he has flatly ignored us, we reach out to him through an open letter. And a declaration of faith. I'd like to read to everybody. It is available. It's online, as well as in the vestibule. Please take a copy, share a copy, and also hold it very close. Because this faith that we are talking about, that we are supposed to live by, is so very necessary in our day and age. It is the only light and the only hope for this world. Most Holy Father, for more than 50 years, the Society of St.
Pius X has endeavored to set before the Holy See a matter of conscience in the face of the errors that are destroying the Catholic faith and morals. Regrettably, all the discussions entered into have remained without result, and none of the concerns expressed have received any truly satisfactory response. For more than 50 years, the only solution truly considered by the Holy See has appeared to be that of canonical sanctions. To our great regret, it seems that to us, the Holy See is the only solution to the Catholic faith. It seems to us that canon law is thus being used not to confirm in the faith, but to lead away from it.
In the text that follows, the Society of St. Pius X is glad to express to you filially and sincerely its devotion to the Catholic faith, concealing nothing either from your holiness or from the universal Church. The Society places this simple declaration of faith in your hands. It seems to us to correspond to the minimum indispensable to be in communion with the Church and to truly call ourselves Catholics and, consequently, your sons. We have no other desire than that of living and being confirmed in the Roman Catholic faith. Declaration of the Catholic Faith. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Divine Wisdom, the Word Incarnate, who willed one sole religion, who rendered the Old Covenant definitively null and void, which is to be the foundation of the Church, who founded one sole Church, who triumphed over Satan, who conquered the world, who remains with us until the end of time, and who shall come again to judge the living and the dead.
The Sole Mediator and the Church
He the perfect image of the Father, the Son of God made man, was appointed the sole Redeemer and Savior of the world through the Incarnation and the voluntary offering of the sacrifice of the Cross. Our Lord satisfied divine justice by shedding his most precious blood, and it is in that blood that he established the new and eternal covenant. He is, therefore, the sole mediator between God and men, and the sole way to come to the Father. Only he who knows him knows the Father. By divine decree, the Most Holy Virgin Mary has been directly and intimately associated with the entire work of redemption.
To deny this association in the terms received from tradition is, therefore, to alter the very notion of redemption as willed by divine providence. There is only one faith and one Church by which we may be saved. Outside the Roman Catholic Church and without the profession of faith that she has always taught there is neither salvation nor remission of sins. Consequently, every man must be a member of the Catholic Church in order to save his soul, and there is but one baptism as the means of being incorporated into her. This necessity concerns the whole of humanity without exception and embraces without distinction, Christianity.
The mandate received by the apostles to preach the gospel to every man and convert every man to the Catholic faith remains binding until the end of time and responds to the most absolute and most pressing necessity of the world. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned. Therefore, to renounce the fulfillment of this mandate constitutes the gravest of crimes against humanity. The Roman Church alone, particularly the Catholic Church, is the only church that is able to be a member of the Catholic Church. It possesses simultaneously the four marks that characterize the Church founded by Jesus Christ—unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity.
Her unity flows essentially from the adherence of all her members to the one true faith, faithfully preserved, taught and handed down by the Catholic hierarchy throughout the centuries. The denial of even a single truth of faith destroys faith itself and renders radically impossible all communion with the Catholic Church. The only possible path to restoring unity among Christians of different confessions consists in the urgent and charitable appeal addressed to non -Catholics to profess the one true faith within the one true Church. The Catholic Church can in no way be regarded or treated on an equal footing with a false form of worship or a false Church.
The Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ, is the sole possessor of supreme authority over the whole Church.
The Holy Mass and Moral Law
He alone directly confers on the other members of the Catholic hierarchy jurisdiction over souls. The Holy Ghost was not promised to the successors of Peter that they might be known by his revelation a new doctrine, but that by his assistance they might inviolably keep and faithfully expound the revelation transmitted by the apostles, that is, the deposit of faith. From Pastor Aeternus. The Apostles' Prophecy and the Prophecy of the Holy Spirit To a unique faith there corresponds a unique form of worship, the supreme, authentic, and perfect expression of that same faith.
The Holy Mass is the perpetuation in time of the sacrifice of the Cross, offered for many and renewed upon the altar. Although offered in an unbloody manner, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is essentially expiatory and propitiatory. No other form of worship offers perfect adoration. No other form of worship that is not ordered to be offered. No other form of worship that is not offered to be offered is pleasing to God. No other means is sufficient for the sanctification of souls. Consequently, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass can in no way be reduced to a mere commemoration, to a spiritual meal, to a sacred assembly celebrated by the people, to the celebration of the Paschal Mystery without sacrifice, without satisfaction of divine justice, without expiation of sins, without propitiation, and without the Cross.
The help afforded to souls by the sacraments of the Catholic Church is the same as the Holy Mass. The Holy Mass is the only form of worship that is sufficient in every circumstance and in every age to enable the faithful to live in a state of grace. The moral law contained in the Decalogue and perfected in the Sermon on the Mount is the only one practicable for obtaining the salvation of souls. Every other moral code, founded, for example, on respect for creation or on the rights of the human person, is radically insufficient to sanctify and save souls. In no way can it be put into practice.
In no way can it replace the one true moral law. Following the example of St. John the Baptist, true charity obliges us to warn sinners and never renounce the means necessary to save their souls. He who eats the body of our Lord and drinks his blood whilst in a state of sin eats and drinks his own condemnation, and no authority can alter this law contained in the teaching of St. Paul and in tradition. Sins of impurity that are against the Church are the same. They are of such nature, or of such gravity, that they always and in every circumstance cry to God for vengeance and are radically incompatible with every form of authentic Christian love.
Such a lifestyle can therefore in no way be recognized as a gift from God. A couple practicing this vice must be helped to free themselves from it and can in no way be blessed, formally or informally, by ministers of the Church.
Secularism and the Church's Authority
The submission of institutions and nations as such to the authority of the Church is a great challenge in the world. A secularism of institutions and nations constitutes an implicit denial of the divinity and universal kingship of God. Christendom is not a mere historical phenomenon but the only order willed by God among men. It is not for the Church to conform herself to the world but for the world to be transformed by the Church. It is in this faith and in these principles that we ask to be instructed and conducted by the Church. We ask that the Church be informed and informed by Him who has received the charism to do so.
With the help of our Lord, we would rather die than renounce them. It is in this immutable faith that we desire to live and die in the hope that it may give way to the direct vision of the immutable, eternal truth. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Summary
The homily begins by reflecting on the Feast of the Ascension, a moment of both joy and sadness for the Apostles. They were consoled by the presence of Christ after His Resurrection, but His Ascension marked a new phase where they had to live by faith. The speaker emphasizes the necessity of faith in the absence of Christ's physical presence. Faith is portrayed as essential for salvation, guiding believers through the darkness of the world, especially when those in positions of authority fail to uphold the truth. A declaration of faith is presented as a response to recent challenges faced by the Society of St. Pius X. The homily reaffirms the commitment to Catholic doctrine, highlighting the role of the Holy Mass and the Church's moral teachings in guiding the faithful.