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Mancipia March/April 2014
Mancipia March/April 2014
MANcIPIA
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March/April 2014
CrUSADE
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So far we have established that the most fundamental of the three offices is the teaching office, and that the laity participate, albeit to a limited degree, in this office. Enter the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center . Our mission is educational in the broad sense, by which I mean that it is not limited to schools or formal programs of instruction although we have both of these in our IHM School and the Saint Augustine Institute, by which anyone, anywhere, can advance their formation in the Faith. The apostolate is not something reserved to clergy and religious. It never was. Long before Vatican II which, according to a strange mythology, was the first to assert
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
In this way, particularly in conducting secular business and exercising secular functions, they are to give witness to Christ. Note this sentence: This obligation is all the more insistent in circumstances in which only through them are people able to hear the Gospel and to know Christ. The Code does not specify the circumstances that render the laity the only ones capable of making the divine message of salvation known and accepted. It is possible, nay plausible, that a respectable number of priests dwell in a given place, but that their own internal circumstances make them incapable of helping people to know Christ or the Gospel. Modernism has done its damage. Whether or not the clergy in a given place are up to the task, the general obligation of all the faithful to strive so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all people throughout the world remains. But as Brother Francis said countless times, one has to be a reservoir before he can become an aqueduct. Our formation in the Faith must continue; our knowledge of it must grow if we are to educate others. These days, when the Faith is so heavily attacked by enemies both without and within the Church, we have an especial duty to learn the Faith and witness it to others. We want not only to pass on a remedial knowledge of the Faith to our fellow man, but to form those closest to us into a genuine Christian civilization an integral
Catholic society that will be a seed for tomorrows Christendom. Since the lay faithful have a special obligation to permeate and perfect the temporal order of things with the spirit of the Gospel, as the Church tells us in her Canon Law, then they ought to be formed in those aspects of Christian civilization that it is their duty to revive, whether it be in the areas of business, law, politics, art, architecture, music, literature, poetry, science, etc. and yes, education. Each must do this according to his means, the gifts God has given him, and his opportunities to perfect those gifts. All for the glory of God and the salvation of souls! And this is why we at Saint Benedict Center do what we do. Whether it is meeting people on the street in our book-selling apostolate, teaching in our school or SAI program, publishing on Catholicism.org, giving presentations or lectures, we want to imitate Saint Paul, who said, I count all things to be but loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord (Phil. 3:8), and Saint Peter, who commands us to sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you (I Peter 3:15). Keep the Faith! the Irish are wont to say. And share it! Brother Francis used to add. This is Catholic education in the broad sense. Email Brother Br. Andr Marie at bam@catholicism.org
Br. Francis teaching on Philosophy and Scripture defies all expectations. Graduates of the St. Augustine Institute have discovered that the genius of Brother Francis was most manifested in his ability to reduce with ease complex philosophical and theological concepts to simple ones. The time to start is now. Full audio courses are waiting for you at Store.Catholicism.org. Start your journey into a greater world of Catholic Thought with Br. Francis as your guide.
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
CONVENt COrNEr
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
FOUNDErS COLUmN
to become unbearable. Someone might be expected to shriek, to rebel, to leap from his bed and be overpowered by the attendants. This does not happen. They suffer, one and all, soundlessly, with scarcely any movement, and no complaint. As the time for the ceremony drew near the crowd became more and more quiet until, within five minutes of procession time, it was very nearly in a complete hush. There was a tightness in the air, as though masses of spirits were assembling to watch the spectacle. A few pigeons fluttered out of the steeple of the Basilica and circled about in the sky, as if on the lookout for the Dove whose arrival was expected any moment. Promptly, on the stroke of the hour, two acolytes emerged from the church door, followed by candlebearers, censer-bearers, a group of priests and monsignori, a bishop, and finally, under a canopy carried by four stalwart peasants, a priest carrying the Blessed Sacrament. We all settled on our knees, bowed our heads, and watched and waited. The first person to be blessed was an old man with a stick, sitting in a chair. To those of us who were having our first Lourdes, this first blessing was a high-water mark in devotional excitement. Benedictio Dei Omnipotentes Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti Descendat super te et maneat semper , spoke the priest as he elevated the Monstrance in the form of a cross. The poor old sick man blessed himselfHe gripped tightly on his stickWas he cured?Was he going to get up and walk?Yes!No, it seemed not!Yet how did we know?Maybe he was going to waitMaybe he did not want to shout out at onceIn order not to interrupt the processionAre you Did you know... cured, old man?Are you all well again? Fr. Feeney is available from our bookstore? In the meantime I had paid no attention 15% off if you order now. to the fact that the priest had advanced The greatest theologian we have in the United States, by far. down the line and Rev. John J. McEleny, S.J., had already finished (Fathers Jesuit Provincial) blessing a half a dozen Order at: more sufferers when I Store.Catholicism.org turned to follow him or call: again with my eyes. (603)239-6485 The priest was a tall thin man and looked very ill himself. Monstrances are heavy, and the physical hardship entailed in raising and lowering one several hundred times in the course of an afternoon is very great. I pitied the poor priest. There were lines of suffering and fatigue already in his face.
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
By this time the procession had passed all the semiinvalids and had arrived at the beds of the desperate cases. Men and women in skeleton form, wrapped in sheets and blankets heard the sound of footsteps, saw the glare of candles, smelled the odor of incense, and knew in some sad, delirious way that the Blessed Sacrament was passing. Inch by inch the procession advanced. Hopeless cases became such a common sight that one soon failed to be surprised at beholding humanity in any state whatsoever of degradation or misery. Occasionally some poor suppliant in the line of march stood out conspicuously: a young man with his head swathed in bandages through which his nose alone protruded; or a pretty little German girl of eight or nine years with an ulcerated leg, wearing her First Communion dress, a white veil, and a wreath of roses. There was no hurry and not the slightest sign of uneasiness on the part of the Benediction officials, despite the fact that the prayers for a cure were being defeated. The Blessed Sacrament moved on and on in its persistent, snail-like journey, and over and over again the priest chanted his monotonous incantation. Little by little our minds began to surrender all expectation of a miracle. We stopped thinking of these pilgrims as petitioners wanting to be made well, and began to contemplate them as holocausts being offered, as victims brought here to be immolated. (our italic) At last after more than an hour of continuous inter-
cession, the ultimate bed was reached. The benediction prayer was recited for the last time. The priest retired to the steps of the Basilica for the singing of the Tantum Ergo and the final blessing. He then marched with his attendants into the church; the door closed after him; and the festival of faith was over. Not a single cure had been obtained, as far as we could see. Not one. Slowly and patiently the sick were wheeled back again to the hospitals. The crowd dispersed, the villagers to their homes, the tourists to their hotels. And the Grand Esplanade was left deserted. The pigeons might now return from the steeple and flutter again on the ground unmolested Are your feet any better? I said to Cousin Willie as I took him by the arm and proceeded to lead him home to supper, though I could see from the way he walked that they were not. My feet! he replied with amazement as though he had never owned such appendages. Why of course not! He hesitated for a moment and then added: But what a travesty of mercy it would have been for Our Lady to have cured my feet and have let those real sufferers go unanswered! Surely it would have been caddish of me to kneel and watch that spectacle and think of my own private infirmities. Dont you think so? I did not answer.
Considering the robust theology that I learned at IHM School, my fellow college students are at level 1 and Im at level 100.
IHM School offers a curriculum far superior to the secular education system. It includes literature, history, religion and philosophy all surrounded by the sacraments and the Brothers and Sisters of Saint Benedict Center.
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
SPEcIAL FEAtUrE
s I write to you for the first time as the director of the Saint Augustine Institute of Catholic Studies (S.A.I.), I have some exciting news! S.A.I. the brainchild of our beloved Brother Francis as a means of sharing Sister Maria the studies at the Center (studies Philomena, M.I.C.M. that go back over seventy years) with those of you who can not be at Saint Benedict Center in person is the educational arm of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center, one of the primary means by which we are working to convert America. America can be converted; but someone has to labor for the achievement of this great objective. And, indeed, it is an objective so great that no one individual can reasonably undertake it alone, and no group can do it without order, patience, sacrifice, discipline, and education for the job. This is, in brief, the purpose of the Saint Augustine Institute of Catholic Studies. (Brother Francis, SAI Circular Letter #1, December 21, 1977) This past October, I gave a talk at our conference on the Liberal Arts and how they play a part in the studies at Saint Benedict Center. The point of my talk was that Brother has educated us in the mind of the Church, as have Father Feeney and Sister Catherine, in a way that only an exemplary teacher could. With his and their guidance, we too, can perfect our intellects in the same. The vineyard of Our Lord, and especially that part of it which is our own country, is in need of laborers men and women in every walk of life lay apostles, who are willing to work for the spread and growth of the Holy Faith, first in their own selves, and then in others. It would be a sin against faith not to admit the necessity of this effort; it would be a sin against hope not to know that by the grace of God it is attainable; and it would be a sin against the theological virtue of charity, to refuse to answer the call. Men once faced with this challenge will be haunted the rest of their lives, unless they respond generously by joining the common effort and persevering loyally to the very end. (Brother Francis, SAI Circular #4, June 1979) As technology develops, we have more and more ways of presenting to you the impressive amount of material accumulated over the years. My role is to organize all this material and be your guide. Part of the organizational work I am doing (with the input of many colleagues) is to take S.A.I. and give it the structure Brother Francis had envisioned: this consists of books, videos, audio lectures, and articles from our studies and beyond. We are also outlining different diplomas and certificates so that
credits will be obtained by book reports and apostolate work (one hour every trimester devoted to sharing the fruits of your studies with others lots of opportunities here!). My team and I are working on an affordable online curriculum for you. We plan to give you the opportunity to follow a structured program complete with audio and video lectures, memory items, supplemental text documents, progress tracking, study helps, assessments, and book report submissions, all capped off with contact from me to help answer your questions and keep you on track. I have often had adults tell me Oh, I wish I could go back to school and be in your class! Well, soon you can! Tying together earlier lectures by Brother Francis (and various other speakers), I will be your personal guide through the S.A.I. so that you do not have to go through it alone. If you are interested in starting or continuing your studies at S.A.I., or if you are interested in helping (by writing interviews, doing audio transcription, writing quizzes and tests, etc), please let me know. Look for upcoming announcements as this project of re-organizing the Saint Augustine Institute of Catholic Studies unfolds. And, most importantly, please pray for our success!
If you are interested in the St. Augustine Institute, you can download, for free, Sisters MP3 talk: Conserving The Liberal Arts For Salvation.
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
The Mother of God has a school hidden in the wooded hills of New Hampshire.
Can you imagine the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart... without children?
We are pro life. We love families, We love the Faith. But, the Catholic Faith is not passed on through the genes. Without careful education, children in Catholic families are select targets of jealous demons. Here, vowed Religious offer their lives to educate children of God. We know you love the Faith!
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
KELLY FOrUm
he Four Gifts that Make on the corporal the body, blood, soul, and divinity of the the Holy Eucharist the God-man. Then he consecrates the wine, This is the chalice of Magnum Donum. My Blood, the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant, and, The Sacrifice of the Mass is in continuity with these words, he utters the holy symbol of the greatest thing that the Holy Faith, Mysterium Fidei. The eternal sacrifice is consummated in Eucharist, the great Gift of this unbloody manner, Calvary is re-presented on the altar, the God, can do. Why? Because, as same, one sacrifice that took place on Golgotha, but offered Father Feeney stresses in Bread now in a different manner. Mr. Brian Kelly of Life, it is more important Father Feeney taught that the priest has the power of an that God honor God than I do, or that even God does in loving executioner on the altar; he has such power in his words. And me. That God loves God is the greatest thing that can happen the Word of God is the most powerful thing in the world, so and, through the Holy Eucharist, the Son of God can be offered when the priest is speaking in the name of Christ, what prevents at Mass to His Father for all of us and to give God glory. The a bloody sacrifice from happening is the fact that Our Lord is now infinite One, as man, is given to His Father in thanksgiving and in glory. Jesus can never die again; His Body is impassible; His praise and as a propitiation for sin. Fallen man needs a divine Body is immortal; His body is glorified, as it was when He arose victim, a God-man, in order to atone for sin and to give God from the dead. That is the reason that, under the appearances of proper glory. The act itself of the sacrifice is part of the great bread and wine, we do not have a bloody sacrifice at the Mass. mystery that the Church celebrates. This mystery that occurs at Where the Body goes, so does the Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the consecration at Mass is what the Church (using a concept Jesus; where the Blood goes, so does the Body, Soul, and Divinity from Aristotelian philosophy) calls transubstantiation. of Jesus. It is a real sacrifice to be sure, but it is unbloody. The Imagine the power of the priest. As he finishes the Offertory words, however, are still sacrificial; we have to insist on that; that and approaches the moment of consecration, the priest speaks is why we call the Mass a real sacrifice. There is a Victim, there and acts with a lot more confidence because, shortly, he is going is an immolation, but the separation of Body and Blood is only to speak as Christ, in persona Christi. He begins the canon in appearance under the species of bread and wine, not in the with prayers for the unity and protection of the Church and reality that is the Mysterium Fidei. The Mass is the one sacrifice for the pope and for the local bishop and for all the orthodox of Christ multilocated (not multiplied); it is the daily sacrifice defenders of the Faith. He then prays to and calls to memory of the priest, and it is our sacrifice together with the priest, who Our Lady and the saints, next he blesses the gifts praying that alone, in the Person of Christ, acts as both sacrificer and victim. they may become right, acceptable and approved before God. The second aspect of the Holy Eucharist is the Real Presence He does not hesitate, for he is now Gods instrument. He moves and this is Gods great gift to us. We can now have a locatable from supplication into the God, a God who is not only narration of the Last Supper, here, but a God who is but the narration stops as this, a living flesh and blood soon as he comes to the Emmanuel. That is why we words of consecration. In call the presence of God in the traditional Mass there is the Blessed Sacrament, the at this point a halt; the priest Real Presence. Father Feeney bends over the bread and used to say, in paraphrasing whispers the greatest words the Cur of Ars: I can take that could ever be uttered, Him and put Him on my words only he can effectively left; I can put Him down utter, in the name of Christ, on my right side, and there indeed as Christ. For a certain He stays and, God forbid, moment, Father Feeney used if I should drop Him on to say, eternity enters time; the floor, there is God on the priest acts as the eternal the floor. This is the great Person now in Heaven, the mystery of the Real Presence. Benediction in our new chapel Son of God, and says not This is why we can have this is the body of Christ but rather, This is My Body and, Benediction and swing our censors with their incense; this is why instantly, the greatest thing that could happen happens the we genuflect before the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. living body of Jesus Christ, under the appearances of bread, is Good men, like Saint Peter in his boat, fell forward prostrate lifted up for all to adore. He then places the body of Jesus down in the presence of God, but the evil men in the Garden of
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MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
Gethsemane fell backward. Jesus has made Himself a prisoner of love for us to do with what we will. He lives in our tabernacles even when no one is there, commanding from His humble throne the celestial spirits who adore Him and await His orders. Our Emmanuel reigns in heaven and on earth. He asks for our company, our fire, our hearts. The third aspect of the Holy Eucharist is the Blessed Sacrament. A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. Father Feeney taught that the Blessed Sacrament would not be a sacrament if Our Lord appeared in His visible manifestation on the altar. What makes the Holy Eucharist a Blessed Sacrament is the fact that we have God under the appearances, under the species of bread and wine. That is the sign aspect. However, this sign is unlike any other sign. This Sign is what it signifies. We must have an edible God, if you will, a visible God who can be swallowed in order for the Holy Eucharist to be a Sacrament. The word Sacrament is capitalized when it refers to the Holy Eucharist. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood you shall not have life in you (John 6:54). This living Bread that came down from Heaven is Food indeed, so it must be received under the appearances of food; that is what makes it sacramental. If these species are not there, you do not have bread, you do not have wine, you do not have the matter to have a Blessed Sacrament. But there is more. The other part of the definition of a sacrament is that it is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace, and this is the Author of grace Himself Who is given. What is the unspeakable purpose of this Sacramental grace? To divinize us; that is the purpose of the Blessed Sacrament. God became man, Saint Augustine boldly said, so that man could become God. In this Sacrament it is God Himself whom we take in. Father Feeney used to say that this little gulp of the communicant as he swallows the Sacrament is a little gulp of God. Father taught that this sacramental act is why God designed the stomach the way He did and the throat the way He did. He knew He was going to be swallowed by a Saint Thrse and all the millions of saints throughout the centuries and all those weak and hungry souls who cooperate with grace. He wants to enter into their bodies for a higher purpose, but for this higher purpose to take place we must first be divinized by sanctifying grace, and grow holier in it, by the act of swallowing the Blessed Sacrament. There is more grace in the Blessed Sacrament than all the other created graces that we have through the other sacraments because this Grace is the Author Himself of grace. So when the Sacrament is swallowed, the species of bread and wine remain for a certain brief amount of time. For about fifteen minutes, that is before our digestive system attacks the Sacramental Species like it would ordinary food, we have our Emmanuel not only with us but in us. We are not only temples of the Holy Ghost but we are temples of Jesus the Incarnate God-man who is physically within us. There is an infinite difference in what happens to us when our body takes in this divine Food and what happens when we take in any other food. The Bread of Life is infinitely greater than the eater; so it is the eater who is assimilated into the
Food, not the Food into the eater. Father took this teaching directly from Saint Augustine and he expounded upon it with his own gift of eloquence. When the digestive juices attack the species of sacramental bread and wine and destroy them, we must remember that the Substance (the existing thing) of the consecrated Bread or the consecrated Wine is the same Substance. It is no longer ordinary bread and wine, it is the Body of Christ. Therefore, this Bread and this Wine do not become part of our human substance. Rather, what happens is that we become It. The Food, being greater than the eater, the eater then is assimilated by Jesus in His human nature, through His Flesh and Blood. What else could happen? Would the Body and Blood of Christ be assimilated into us? God forbid. This is the purpose for the Mystery of our Faith; it is the ultimate reason why God becomes digestible; He becomes digestible so that He can digest us into Himself. I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me (Gal. 2:20). That is the fourth mystery of the Holy Eucharist, Holy Communion. Holy Communion effects our concorporeal membership in the Mystical Body of Christ. Saint Paul teaches in Ephesians, we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones (5:20). I will end this meditation with a quote from Saint John Eudes who verifies the truth that Father Feeney delivered so sublimely in his lectures on The Holy Eucharist in Four Simple Mysteries and The Great Gift of God as we have it in the third and fourth chapters of Bread of Life. Saint John Eudes: Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, King of Angels and of Men, is not only your God, your Savior and your Sovereign Lord but is also your Head and you are members of His Body as Saint Paul says of His Flesh and of His Bones. You are consequently united with Him in the most intimate union possible, that is the union of members with their Head. You are united with Him spiritually by faith and, by the grace you have in your holy baptism, you are united with Him corporeally in the union of His most sacred Body with yours in the Blessed Eucharist. It necessarily follows that just as the members are animated by the spirit of the Head and live the same life so you must also be animated by the spirit of Jesus, live His life, walk His ways, be clothed with His sentiments and inclinations and perform all your actions in the dispositions and intentions that actuated His. In a word you must carry on and perpetuate the life, religion, and devotion which He exercised upon earth. That is the Mystical Body of Christ. We are, Father Feeney said, almost literally images of the hypostatic union and we can say that without fear of exaggeration. Our person is not absorbed; our person is not annihilated, but everything else about our human existence becomes assimilated into Christ. Everything. The only thing that remains mine, if I am truly assimilatable, is my person. If my sins are wiped out, they are of course excluded in the divine assimilation, but everything that God has made, that He wishes to remake in me, He assimilates into Himself through Holy Communion. In Him there is no male or female, Jew or Gentile, slave or free, He gives Himself for all men, that they may be potentially one in Him. Email Brian Kelly at bdk@catholicism.org
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
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y Dear Readers, this is my last article to you as the Director of the Saint Augustine Institute of Catholic Studies (SAI). I will continue with articles as the Prefect of the Third Order, Brother John Marie Vianney, but I have a nice surprise for M.I.C.M., Tert., Prefect you at the end of this article. In October, 2013, we awarded diplomas to three more adult students at the SBC Annual Conference! All three graduates happened to be tertiaries, although that is not a requirement to be in the SAI program. Mr. Wilfrid Villarrubia, Mrs. Louise Rufo, and Mrs. Claudette Heiring completed their studies and each were awarded the Diploma of General Catholic Education. Will Villarrubia, the father of our prior, Brother Andr Marie, is in the Circle that I run in Richmond, the Queen of Apostles Circle,which is the longest active and continually running Circle (thirteen years). You should know we have had several graduates of SAI who have not been in Circles, but worked the program of studies on their own. Mr.Villarrubia (Br. Louis Marie, M.I.C.M., Tert.) is from New Orleans. He and his wife, Eleonore, moved to Richmond eight years ago to be close to SBC. They live on a little street in Richmond called Fatima Way. He spent about two years working and enjoying the necessary reading and doing book reports. Mr. Villarrubia said the work strengthened his Catholic Faith and taught him more about it, especially Catholic history. He wrote: Participating in an active Circle for eight years and attending the night classes for adults here at the Center
PrEFEct COLUmN
Claudette Heiring Sister Marie Therese of the Holy Face of Jesus, M.I.C.M., Tert.
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MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
It inspired me to move over from [teaching with] The Baltimore Catechismto [an] Aquinas Catechismfor my daughter and [the] Trent Catechismfor my son. I have also found a book with a short Aquinas reading for every day of the year. So, my studies are not over by any means. Louise calls Saint Benedict Center her oasis, where I turn when I am feeling confused, and I am grateful for it. Thank you for all you have done for me. I am sure these are the very sentiments Brother Francis, our late and beloved superior who founded the Saint Augustine Institute of Catholic Studies, would have been pleased to hear. Claudette Heiring, Sister Marie Thrse of the Holy Face of Jesus, M.I.C.M., Tert., found that SAI offered her a new challenge. Although a continually practicing Catholic since birth, she never experienced such a challenge. Claudette wrote: After seeing Mrs. Villarrubia receive her diploma, I was driven by the Holy Ghost to work at my diploma. The first book report [I did] was the hardest. My husband Richard (who is also a tertiary) gave me . . . Wonder Worker [a book about Saint Philomena, which] gave me the true courage to take the first leap! Richard, a gentle man, was very encouraging and highly influential in keeping Claudette on track. Claudette persevered despite employment, volunteer work, and family needs. I made time to study and read. Its good for my soul! This is sage advice. We have to make
time for our own spiritual development, and reading good Catholic literature is essential to our sanctification. It was not so much the actual diploma that drove her as the advancement of my own soul [and] to bring others to the truth. Mrs. Heiring told me she now has a love for my Faith that can inspire others, too. She learned much from the Circle meetings (The Saint Thomas Aquinas Circle), conferences and knowledgeable members at SBC, especially Brother Francis. Claudette wrote, May I, like a medical doctor, never stop learning from the proper sources, about the truth . . . There is a peace of soul in living and loving the true Holy Catholic Church achieved in no other way. Start with the first book report. I could not have put it better. Now, a wonderful announcement. By the time you read this, Second Order Sister Maria Philomena will have been appointed by our Prior Br. Andr Marie as the Director of the Saint Augustine Institute of Catholic Studies. Sister has much to offer the program and we have already discussed some plans she has for changes so that more of you can participate in SAI. My parting words to you on the subject are: Start with the first book report! God bless you all. Email Brother John Marie Vianney, BrotherJohnMarieVianney@gmail.com
The St. Augustine Institute allows a student to develop that balance that is so essential in a world out of balance.
Larry Koralewski St. Augustine Institute Graduate
For information on getting your diploma from the St. Augustine Institute, contact: Sister Maria Philomena at: (603)239-6485 or smph@catholicism.org.
Sister Maria Philomena and Larry Koralewski receive their diplomas from Br. Francis.
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
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RUSSELL LAPLUmE
t was my intent in presenting this series of articles to review majority of these men, and consider the Constitution something the entirety of Theodore Maynards book, but realizing that I written on sacred tablets and delivered to the Assembly by angel had only covered half of the first volume, it became clear that express. The fact is that the Constitution was opposed by several completion would require many more articles stretching so far states, and that George Washington had to intervene by assuring into the future that remembering the many them that it was not free from imperfections opinions rendered would be difficult. It is and as a constitutional door is opened for like having a conversation with a woman; future amendments and alterations, I think you had better remember the first point it would be wise for the people to accept stated because after the details, correlations what is offered them. In other words, from previous incidents, and similarities the fathers of the nation know best. It is a concerning Aunt Martha, while wondering historical fact that these very men persecuted what started the conversation in the first Catholics harshly, proscribed all Roman place, a blank stare usually ensues (men rituals, and if not for the rebellion and its cry usually develop this blank stare five seconds of freedom from tyranny and liberty for all, into the conversation). I will spare my would have continued the oppression. readers this difficulty by way of summing So the question arises, why did the up, in my opinion, the whole history of majority of Catholics throw in with the American Catholicism with what transpired rebellion? It is estimated that up to 30% of just before and during the rebellion. the Continental Army were of Irish descent, It may be picky, but the title of the book and you would assume Catholic a statistic says much in itself. Should it not properly I did not know was the majority of these had Archbishop John Caroll read The Story of Catholics in America? lost their Faith. There were only a handful The title reeks of Americanism, much like of priests in the colonies at the time who the Gallicanism of Cardinal Richelieu who put country before covertly instructed the faithful, and, because of the constant the Faith. I am not saying that our author shared these heresies, oppression they received from the Protestant authorities, it was for indeed, in later correspondence, he complained about only a matter of time before they traded peaceful existence for Catholics being too nationalistically American. (Nationalism is active evangelization. Our author refutes the opinion put forward a vice, whereas patriotism is a virtue.) The point, and it should that the Irish, being born fighters, had old scores to settle with be obvious concerning current actions of our Churchmen, is the English. Well, these Anglo-Americans were English, and the that traditional Catholic doctrines in faith and morals are set Catholics were still under the heavy hand of the Anglos. Our aside in order not to ruffle the politically correct depravities of authors guess is that the Irish could see that if the conflict was the day. Thus we have bishops who fail to condemn Catholic won then the principles of equality and liberty would be applied politicians who support abortion, who invite or allow antito all and that they would be accepted as true patriots, thus good Catholic speakers at our Catholic schools, who allow dissident Americans. The bigger question is why did the Catholic leaders priests to spread their errors unopposed, and moreover, who support the rebellion? remain completely aloof from those who want to restore It was Charles Carroll whose wealth and social position had the Church to its former glory, namely, traditionalists. Such much to do with securing the general adhesion of the Catholic Churchmen leave in their comfortable complacency the many cause to the rebellion. He was the wealthiest man in the colonies, lukewarm Catholics who believe in the probity of birth control, owning sixty thousand acres in Maryland, and, because of this homosexuality, women priests, and one religion being as good as wealth, he had escaped persecution for the Faith, being able to another. Because of Americanism, this is what we have become, send his children abroad to private Catholic schools, a luxury and indeed, making allowance for the progress of heresys decay not afforded the peasants. He had a private chapel where Mass this is exactly how we began. was offered for his household, and discoursed regularly with the I have had conversations with fellow Catholics who consider political thinkers of the time. Lewis Leonard, his biographer, said the founding fathers as demigods. They completely brush of him, He was the richest man who signed the Declaration aside the Freemasonry, deism, atheism, and agnosticism of the of Independence, the first man that signed it, the only Roman
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MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
Catholic that signed, and the last man to die of those that signed it. It would seem plausible to assert that either he conjectured like our fighting Irish that if the war were won, then religious liberty would be granted to all, or he received secret assurances that with his co-operation the same result would be granted. He had a cousin, the Jesuit John Carroll, who would join him in the revolutionary cause, and together, they would be used badly, first as pawns needed to mollify the Canadians, and then as political instruments in obtaining support from Catholic France to the American cause, a support so vital that the war would not have been won without it. Congress had placed great value on the importance of Canada in their war plans. Accordingly, their first act was to send a military expedition under General Montgomery and Benedict Arnold to capture Quebec and drive the English out. At first, they tried to induce the French Canadians to join them, but due to the efforts of Bishop Briand who threatened excommunication to any who joined, the effort failed and Canada was saved for the English. The colonial diplomatic mission, known at the time as the Canadian Affair, which included Charles Carroll, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Father John Carroll (later Archbishop of Baltimore), was next employed to induce the Canadians into joining their cause. It was doomed from the start, due to the fact that some years earlier the colonial Congress had issued critical addresses to England and Canada in their sessions. The first, addressed to the people of England, expresses our astonishment that a British Parliament should ever consent to establish in Canada a religion [i.e., Catholicism] that has deluged your island in blood, and disbursed impiety, bigotry, persecution, murder and
rebellion through every part of the world. Five days later they addressed a letter to the Canadians: What is offered to you by the late Parliament? Liberty of conscience in your religion? No. God gave it to you We are all too well acquainted with the liberality of sentiment distinguishing your nation to imagine that difference of religion will prejudice you against a hearty amity with us. Hypocrisy defined!! These very same letters were circulated in Canada before the ambassadors attempted their diplomatic mission. The Carrolls knew the affront that had been given the Canadians and that the mission was futile, but, to appear good Americans, they swallowed their convictions and played the fools. Was the War for Independence a Just War? In my opinion, the application of the Catholic just war doctrine would render a negative reply. In recent years, many unjust wars have been perpetrated by the United States (with our willing European accomplices), and countless lives have been sacrificed to the false gods of democracy and freedom. War, which must only be resorted to as a last, terrible measure after the conscientious application of inflexible principles of ethics, is now a big business that lines the pockets of monied interests, who, in turn, line the pockets of the politicians that push for war. And because our Churchmen do not thunder from the housetops in protest, our children fight and die to spread our [liberal] way of life, even as that way of life becomes increasingly unnatural and depraved. This, just as too many of our Churchmen wink at the abominations of so-called Catholic politicians, and, as the two Carrolls slept with the anti-Catholic Franklin and Chase, it is of no consequence, as long as they are considered good Americans. Email Russell LaPlume at rlp@catholicism.org
Did you know that one of the U.S. Navy destroyers was named in honor of a Catholic priest? Yes, the USS Schmitt, which served our country from 1943-1967, was named for Navy chaplain, Lieutenant Aloysius Schmitt. In 1942, the chaplain received a medal from the Navy and Marine Corp for outstanding courage. He received the award posthumously because he had died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
QUIP tO EqUIP
Aloysius Schmitt was born in Iowa in 1909 on December 4. After completing his studies for the priesthood in Rome, he was ordained on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1935. He received permission to join the Navy and was commissioned to the USS Oklahoma as Lieutenant, junior grade, in 1939. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor that December morning in 1941 the Oklahoma was docked at the naval port. Almost as soon as the alarms went off she was hit hard by nine torpedoes and began to go down. Father Schmitt was in a section of the ship that was the last part to sink. There was a porthole there through which the survivors could climb through to safety. One by one Father Schmitt helped push the men through until no one was left but him. As he was being pulled through, however, he heard more men coming into the compartment. They were frantic as by this time the water was gushing in. Schmitt told the men who were already through to let go of him that he had to go back and help these others. They tried to talk him out of it, saying he would die, but he pulled rank as an officer and a priest and ordered them to let him go. Once back inside the chaplain began helping the others by pushing them through the porthole. He saved twelve men.
MANCIPIA The Report of the Crusade of Saint Benedict Center March/April 2014
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OUr CrUSADE:
The propagation and defense of Catholic dogma especially Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus and the conversion of America to the one, true Church.
For more information, visit: catholicism.org and our bookstore website: store.catholicism.org Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Saint Benedict Center Post Office Box 627 Richmond, NH 03470 info@catholicism.org (603) 239-6485 Online Donations: Catholicism.org/donations