The Mission of the Third Order in the Society of St. Pius X
Summary of Headings
- Introduction to Third Orders
- Goals of the Society of St. Pius X
- Living Faith and Hidden Mission
- The Mass and Sanctity of the Home
- Community and Devotion
Introduction to Third Orders
My dear faithful, I would like to take this opportunity, when I can speak at the 9 o 'clock and the 11 o 'clock Mass, to speak about the Society of St. Pius X. In particular, I would like to address this to all those who are Third Order members, given that I am the Third Order chaplain assigned by Fr. Vignois for Florida, and to also be perhaps a promotion for those who perhaps may be interested. And so the first question arises, what is a Third Order? It's not something invented by the Society of St. Pius X. There were Third Orders before, and the Catechism defines it saying, they are secular Third Orders, are societies of lay people affiliated to organized religious orders and founded for some devotional or active work for God's greater glory.
Goals of the Society of St. Pius X
And it has the object of the Third Order is to have the religious life of the religious orders penetrate into the homes, so that in imitation of their brethren of the First and Second Orders, which are the priests, brothers and sisters, lay people in the world may strive after greater perfection, although not bound by any vows under pain of sin. And so for that, there's going to be three goals that these lay people, will have whenever they join any Third Order society. And that is personal sanctification for the soul, the works of charity that are to be accomplished, and then thirdly, any other particular goals or aims that this particular Order may have in mind.
There are such things as Third Order Carmelites, and Carmelites focus on penance, so likewise the Third Order members. There are Third Order Dominicans, Third Order Franciscans, Third Order of many different orders. And so what is of the Society of St. Pius X, what would be the goal that we have before us? And Archbishop Lefebvre is very clear, it is the priesthood and all that pertains to it. The Church will be holy insofar as her priests are holy. That is the particular goal. And Archbishop Lefebvre will in fact admit that this is nothing new. This is nothing more than the mission of the Church is to continue what our Lord Jesus Christ has left us and what has sanctified souls for 2 ,000 years.
And if we want to put it in perhaps a more summarized version, we could take the quote of our holy patron, St. Pius X, which is merely, Instaurare omniare in Christo. To restore all things in Christ. Why did Christ come? So that he may be all in all, says St. Paul. And for that, there must be a restoration because something was lost, the life of God in souls. And so Archbishop Lefebvre, continuing speaking about this spirit of the Church, he admits that the Society of St. Pius X, in and of itself, would probably have gone unnoticed if it had started before the Council, the Second Vatican Council.
Because there is nothing particular. And yet, he says, in the midst of the barren fruits of religious orders today that have adopted these modernist principles, that have adopted the new Mass, the new liturgy, the fruits of tradition are much more vibrant. And much more noticeable. And for that, our position becomes much more relevant today. So Archbishop Lefebvre quotes, says, The Society of St. Pius X was grafted onto the trunk of the Church, and she draws her sap of sanctification from the most authentic sources of sanctification, which is tradition. The vibrant fruits, which have sanctified souls, for the last two thousand years.
This is the goal. This is the vision of the Society of St. Pius X. And the difficulty may then arise, because how are the faithful meant to participate in this? By the very fact that you are third -order members, it means you are not becoming a priest. You are not becoming a religious. You are going to remain lay people. And so, in order to explain this better, I would like to take the quote of our Holy Founder Himself, Archbishop Lefebvre, which is, Et nos crederimus caritatim. We have believed in charity. If we want to restore all things in Christ, we must believe in this charity.
In fact, in that declaration of faith, that Father Pagliarani sent, to the Holy Father, he claims, this is the living faith.
Living Faith and Hidden Mission
This is the faith upon which we act accordingly. And we would rather die than give it up. We would rather die than give it up. With the hope of one day seeing that one immutable truth, which is the vision of God Himself. We cannot change this faith. And for that, Archbishop Lefebvre says that we must all, the members must have this living faith. And I would say for the Third Order members, it is their hidden mission to restore all things in silence. To restore all things in silence by your support of the priest, by giving what you can to the liturgy whilst remaining a lay person.
There is only one Savior, and yet there are countless people, countless partakers, in this mystery of redemption. Countless partakers, and the grace passes through members, and is given to the rest of the body. And so for that, if I was to sort of sum up some of the teachings that Archbishop Lefebvre wanted for all of us, but also for the Third Order members, is that one, the Mass should be our primary devotion. Once again, this is nothing new. The Church has always valued the priesthood, and has always valued the holy sacrifice of the Mass. But he wants to re -emphasize that, and to not look for the sanctity of our souls outside of the Mass.
He writes, quote, the desire to rediscover the capital importance of the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and its mysteries, and to find there the meaning and source of Christian life, a life of sacrifice and redemption. That is the goal of the Society of St. Pius X. And so for all of us, whenever we act, whenever we support the Church, whenever we participate in the liturgy in whatever way we can, whether it be by singing, serving, the flowers, merely cleaning the Church, these are small things that we can do to restore all things in Christ, and we don't see the fruits. Certainly the fruits can go a very long way, and yet we cannot see them.
It is the hidden mission of the third order members, as they participate, as it were, in the priesthood of our Lord, by supporting that priesthood. The Mass should be our primary devotion, and the second thing though is, Archbishop Lefebvre says, the home should be a sanctuary, it should be a means of sanctity for the members, but also a good example for those who are outside the Church. One spiritual author says, we edify our neighbor most when we notice least. We edify most when we notice least. And it is probably the most important thing that we can do And it is precisely by just practicing our Catholic faith, putting a heroic effort forward, so that we go against the current of this world, it calls the attention of those who are outside the Church.
It is a beautiful thing. And they see that there is something at the center of this home, which is not of this world, it is of God. And it can be a means, a grace for them, even then to begin their conversion. The sanctuary must, the home must be a sanctuary. And the third thing, is that the Society of St. Pius X, is a blessing from God for us to live in a community, where we value everything that the Church has always valued. The traditional values, the Mass, the Sacraments, and how much good can be done, in this small body as it were. Whenever we act by ourselves, we can certainly do a lot of good, but we can always do much more if we are in an organized society, if we are in a group that has a common goal, such that we don't only merit, if we were to act by ourselves, but we aim for the mission of the entire body, of the Society.
We in a sense transcend ourselves, and we are not alone. And we aim for a mission which is much higher, which as I said at the beginning, is to restore all things in Christ. Man always works better in the Society.
The Mass and Sanctity of the Home
Archbishop Lefebvre knew that. And for that, he considers it a blessing that we have it today, and we thank God for it. And I would say something else, perhaps a fourth thing, would be that Archbishop Lefebvre, wanted us to have a particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin and to Saint Joseph. It is a very providential thing in this month that we begin this month with the Feast of Saint Joseph, precisely. And it ends this year, it will be on Trinity Sunday, but it will also be the overshadowed Feast of the Queenship of Our Lady. And with that we understand that the Society of Saint Pius, the Tenth, is between three hearts.
It is amongst three hearts. The Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Hearts, and the Heart of Saint Joseph. These are the authentic sources of sanctification. This is where we are going to get our strength so we can act accordingly and to restore all things in Christ. And so for that, I would like to end with the epistle that is read on the Feast of Saint Joseph, which I think is so applicable for us. And it is the epistle to the Colossians. And Saint Paul says, Brethren, have charity, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart, as to the Lord, and not to men. Do it from the heart. And it is a beautiful reflection to think that we have, as it were, a small chalice, and every small action we do from the heart is like we put a drop into that chalice and we take it into eternity with us. We bring all our good works with us. But only if it is done from the heart. Only if it is done to restore all things in Christ. Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart, knowing that you shall receive of the Lord the reward of inheritance. There are treasures in heaven laid up for us.
And he continues and concludes with this very short sentence, Serve ye the Lord Christ. And how do we serve the Lord Christ better than in the society of Saint Pius X, where we strive to restore the Lord. And how do we restore all things in Christ. Precisely with that, we have recourse to those three hearts today. That God may bless us as we do this work and that we continue to pray for these upcoming consecrations and be assured of our Lord's final promise. I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Community and Devotion
Amen.
Summary
The homily begins by introducing the concept of Third Orders, explaining their historical roots and purpose within the Church. The preacher emphasizes the role of laypeople in striving for greater perfection and engaging in works of charity. The focus then shifts to the specific goals of the Society of St. Pius X, as articulated by Archbishop Lefebvre. The importance of the priesthood and the Mass is highlighted, with a call for a living faith that supports the Church's mission to restore all things in Christ. The homily concludes by discussing the significance of community, the sanctity of the home, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph. It encourages Third Order members to support the priesthood and participate in the liturgy, emphasizing the hidden mission to restore all things in Christ.