So the Synod is over. Many are breathing a sigh of relief that no doctrine was changed. Why then did the faithful have a sense that this was a pivotal Synod? The answer lies in the fact that this was a synod ON SYNODALITY. With ongoing "synodality" the very process of synodality sets up a parallel Magisterium without formal institutional schism. This video explains the threat starting at 12:15... And no, they can not succeed. Christ guarantees it.
Well there it is then... The Holy Father wrote that the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality "does not end the synodal process.” Each level of the Church is invited to interpret and implement in thier own way. The prophecies: "Something like a schism" and "Shortly after a synod" are ringing in my ears. It is like we are living out a book that we have read repeatedly for years, only now we are coming to the climax. We can only trust in God. Pray, pray, pray!
Here is a message from the SSPX, published a few days ago. It discusses the current crisis, its roots, and it makes suggestions on how to react to it: https://fsspx.org/en/publications/1974-2024-semper-idem-48890 God bless all here!
I also feel like I belong to a priory of the SSPX, even if I can only rarely attend Holy Mass there. I can imagine that the tonality of the Superior General's formulation sounds a little too harsh or too ‘radical’ for some people. I would not be able or willing to contradict the content of what he has written and I understand that in his function as Superior General he has to formulate it in this way. In my view, there are legitimate points of criticism of the Council and the Novus Ordo Missae, which I think have already been sufficiently discussed here. In personal conversations with priests of the SSPX, you can talk about this topic in a more nuanced way, it no longer sounds so harsh. Here's what I'm getting at - talking to the priest of my SSPX priory, a young man in his early thirties, is incredibly rewarding. He is so holy, filled with the Holy Spirit and endowed with a wisdom that one cannot normally have at his age. This young priest wrote the following in the monthly newspaper: Dear believers As we enter the Advent season, we are invited to break the flow of everyday life and prepare ourselves in a contemplative setting for the arrival of the Saviour! 'Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind! ’ (Romans 12:2) Each of us was moulded by different things in our childhood. As we grow older, the responsibility has passed to us, how our lives are shaped and orientated by ideas, everyday habits and personal contacts. Let's reflect on these three elements for ourselves: Ideas: What kind of thoughts am I feeding my mind with? Is it more news from all over the world, stories and videos that characterise my thinking, or is it the ‘spirit’ of Christ, his wisdom and truth, with which I specifically seek to mould myself with? By taking 5 minutes every day for a contemplative reading the Holy Scriptures or a spiritual book, I could achieve a huge change over time. Actions shape my life: What are my habits in the mornings, after work and in the evening? What activities fill my free time, my time for relaxation? Do I let myself be guided by the needs of the moment or do I structure my actions specifically for the good? A good work, a work of charity: how capable they are, bring joy and satisfaction to everyday life. Contacts and relationships: To what extent do I organise my surroundings (where I am free) so that I am in contact with people who inspire me in virtue and goodness? In addition to fellow human beings, contact with the divine master should be mentioned here in particular. That I allow myself enough time to simply to be with Him, to thank Him for everything good, to honour Him for His glory, to rejoice in His perfections, to learn from Him, to be comforted, encouraged and filled more and more with His life and His love. Let us do our part. The rest will be done by the grace of God, which 'can do more more than we can ask or think ’ (Ephesians 3:20). I will try.
That is wonderful for a young priest. Can I clip it and use it personally for some in my family? We have a hugely theological young priest at our parish now. He's pretty awesome, celebrating every big event in the Church that he can with processions of the Blessed Sacrament, holding 'Catholic Wisdom' sessions where he teaches Aquinas, and many other things. But its Novus Ordo so we'll see what he does with this new thinking from the Vatican..
Of course you can It is good to know that the Lord is giving us good, holy, (young) priests even in these dark times. Can I then tell this young swiss man that his suggestions for the Advent season would even appeal to an American family?
The Seven Sins Against the Holy Spirit: A Synodal Tragedy by Gerhard Cardinal Müller A response to the synod from the Cardinal, well worth a read. See the link for full article. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (Rev. 2:11). This passage from Scripture is frequently quoted to justify a so-called “synodal Church,” a concept that at least partially, if not completely, contradicts the Catholic understanding of the Church. Factions with ulterior motives have hijacked the traditional principle of synodality, meaning the collaboration between bishops (collegiality) and between all believers and shepherds of the Church (based on the common priesthood of all those baptized into the faith), to further their progressive agenda. By executing a 180-degree turn, the doctrine, liturgy, and morality of the Catholic Church is to be made compatible with a neo-gnostic woke ideology. Their tactics are remarkably similar to those of the ancient Gnostics, of whom Irenaeus of Lyon, who was elevated to Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis, wrote: “By means of their craftily-constructed plausibilities [they] draw away the minds of the inexperienced and take them captive. . . . These men falsify the oracles of God, and prove themselves evil interpreters of the good word of revelation. By means of specious and plausible words, they cunningly allure the simple-minded to inquire [into a more contemporary understanding]” until they are unable “to distinguish falsehood from truth” (Against Heresies, Book I, Preface). Direct divine revelation is weaponized to make the self-relativization of the Church of Christ acceptable (“all religions are paths to God”). The direct communication between the Holy Spirit and Synod participants is invoked to justify arbitrary doctrinal concessions (“marriage for all”; lay officials at the helm of ecclesiastical “power”; the ordination of female deacons as a trophy in the fight for women’s rights) as the result of a higher insight, which can overcome any objections from established Catholic doctrine. But anyone who, by appealing to personal and collective inspiration from the Holy Spirit, seeks to reconcile the teaching of the Church with an ideology hostile to revelation and with the tyranny of relativism is guilty in various ways of a “sin against the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10). This is, as will be explained below in seven different aspects, nothing other than a “resistance to the known truth” when “a man resists the truth which he has acknowledged, in order to sin more freely” (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 14, a. 2). https://www.firstthings.com/web-exc...ins-against-the-holy-spirit-a-synodal-tragedy .
HA! Trump gets in and suddenly the synod is over with nothing really planned in the future. This is cope. I read this as they tried to implement changes which are currently going to fail given the trend worldwide, but they cannot admit it was ridiculous. Off to the dustbin it goes.
How much did all this cost? The Church is pretty well bankrupt and for what? Think of the time lost too. Also the massive boredom of it all. ..and for what? What was gained?
I worked for 36 years as a teacher - I must have attended hundreds of meetings - all of them so boring as most were echo chambers. Most concerned the latest new initiative which of course I just ignored and continued to teach in my own style, which was effective enough. I never learnt anything from any of those meetings, not a thing! With regard to the synod of synods - this will go down in history as the biggest waste of time in Church history. It must have been a complete bore-fest - words, words, words and more hot air. An initiative without a goal. For a start how can you have a synod on synodality when no one in the world can explain what synodality is!
I think that would be the very worst thing about being in hell. The utter mind numbing boredom. And those constant never ending Papal Trips, what do they cost? Do they accomplish anything? Many of them are to countries with few or almost no Catholics in them. But at least being in hell does not cost money. It is free board.
Many people think if they just talk long enough with their "convincing arguments" they can convince people of their delusions.
