This Article is taken from THAT THE BONES THAT YOU HAVE CRUSHED MAY THRILL
When, months ago, the Franciscans of the Immaculate received orders from Rome severely restricting their celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, I was gobsmacked. I have been praying recently especially for this Order of the Immaculate and for the Franciscans in general. I am even more disturbed by reports on The Eponymous Flower on the matter here and here.
At the time when news of this encroachment upon the Order took place, I recall vividly, fears immediately surfaced that under the Papacy of Pope Francis we would see the total over-riding of Summorum Pontificum. Thankfully, this has not come to pass and, please God, may it never come to pass. Yet, this has come to pass for some, those men and women, loyal followers of Our Lord Jesus Christ and lovers of the Immaculate who must be suffering from this most harrowing situation for them in Holy Mother Church. The Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate was thriving and growing under Fr Stefano Manelli and especially because of the Order's devotion to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.
Following last night's procession in honour of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, it suddenly dawned on me that there now exists no Franciscan order on the face of the Earth (correct me if I am wrong) in which the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated without severe restriction. The celebration of this Mass, where it is wanted and desired, is not, at the time of writing, a problem for other Orders such as the Dominicans or for Canonical Orders such as the Norbertines or for the Oratorians around the World. How much pain this situation, which Pope Emeritus Benedict is said to have called a 'wound' in the Church, must cause for those mostly young men and women who have been caught into the depths and riches of God to be discovered in the traditional form of the Mass.
What sorrow for them. What suffering they must be enduring interiorly to have been able to attend this form of the Mass for a good few years, and only then to have had their founder removed and sent away and the Mass of Agesremoved and sent away with him! Throughout the painful process of restriction and the changing of personnel imposed forcefully from above, the Franciscans of the Immaculate have remained obedient and gracious in what must for them have felt like unjust and undeserved persecution. Why is acceptance and love of holy doctrine and holy tradition, as well as the Mass in the Extraordinary Form deemed to be such a threat to the Church of Rome by those of high rank? In a time of 'diversity' within the Church lauded by the Successor of St Peter, why are some manifestations of diversity deemed to be scandalous or in some way damaging to the life of the Church?
I ask in all seriousness, how it can be in the light of Summorum Pontificum and Universae Ecclesiae, that the Holy Catholic Church can stand by and watch as a fine and thriving religious Order is emptied, or at least depleted, of its driving force - the Mass of Ages. How can this happen when it is this Mass which was the Divine Engine which drew men and women into devotion and love of God, to leave everything and plunge their lives, hearts, souls and minds into rendering the Most High Lord Jesus Christ reverence, praise and the offering of their very beings? Stand by and watch, and pray, is seemingly all we can do, for who can question the governmental decisions of the Supreme Pontiff of the Barque of Peter. We can implore in writing, but we must surely bombard Heaven for them with our prayers. The Church, through Peter, has spoken, so who can do anything but submit as the Franciscans of the Immaculate themselves have done.
And yet, while a great wound has opened up in the Order of the Franciscans, we are left perplexed. Where will those young men and women who were contemplating the only Franciscan Order with love for Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother and especially love for Jesus Christ and His most sublime condescension in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass go now? Since the throttling of this thriving Order has taken place in what appears to be a most ungracious and unmerciful manner that seems to contradict nearly everything for which this Papacy stands, where do young men and women who wish to dedicate their lives to Jesus and Mary Immaculate in holy poverty, chastity and obedience have to go?
There now exists a vacuum where before Summorum Pontificum there had been none. By all accounts, this is a vacuum that contradicts the law of the Church. There now exists a need in the Franciscan Orders that was created by the dedication and love for Jesus and Mary of the founders of this particular Order. There now exists a need for a new Franciscan Order which from its outset is dedicated to Mary Immaculate and to the praise, service and worship of the Most Holy Trinity in the Mass in the Extraordinary Form. If ever there was a need for a new St Francis and a new Order modelled on his, exemplified so well by the Franciscans of the Immaculate, that moment is now.
Yet one thing is clear, this man will not be the Pope, since whether the Supreme Pontiff held the 'Vetus Ordo' in high esteem or not, only one of low rank within the Church can found a new Order of the Franciscans, living lives of holy poverty, chastity and obedience as Friars. Presumably - though it is wrong to take anything for granted in terms of the life of the Church - a new Order of the Franciscans, once it had recognition from the Church, under the Church's own law, could not be touched if they, without exception, wished to have preference for the Mass in the Extraordinary Form.
Oremus! Let us pray for this Order and their many friars, nuns and tertiaries who now exist in several countries, Heaven will send reconciliation, peace, concord and justice to those now separated from Mass in the Extraordinary Form - the Mass which so many of us have come to treasure fervently. Pray for the Supreme Pontiff and pray, pray, pray for the Franciscans of the Immaculate.
At the time when news of this encroachment upon the Order took place, I recall vividly, fears immediately surfaced that under the Papacy of Pope Francis we would see the total over-riding of Summorum Pontificum. Thankfully, this has not come to pass and, please God, may it never come to pass. Yet, this has come to pass for some, those men and women, loyal followers of Our Lord Jesus Christ and lovers of the Immaculate who must be suffering from this most harrowing situation for them in Holy Mother Church. The Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate was thriving and growing under Fr Stefano Manelli and especially because of the Order's devotion to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.
Following last night's procession in honour of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, it suddenly dawned on me that there now exists no Franciscan order on the face of the Earth (correct me if I am wrong) in which the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated without severe restriction. The celebration of this Mass, where it is wanted and desired, is not, at the time of writing, a problem for other Orders such as the Dominicans or for Canonical Orders such as the Norbertines or for the Oratorians around the World. How much pain this situation, which Pope Emeritus Benedict is said to have called a 'wound' in the Church, must cause for those mostly young men and women who have been caught into the depths and riches of God to be discovered in the traditional form of the Mass.
What sorrow for them. What suffering they must be enduring interiorly to have been able to attend this form of the Mass for a good few years, and only then to have had their founder removed and sent away and the Mass of Agesremoved and sent away with him! Throughout the painful process of restriction and the changing of personnel imposed forcefully from above, the Franciscans of the Immaculate have remained obedient and gracious in what must for them have felt like unjust and undeserved persecution. Why is acceptance and love of holy doctrine and holy tradition, as well as the Mass in the Extraordinary Form deemed to be such a threat to the Church of Rome by those of high rank? In a time of 'diversity' within the Church lauded by the Successor of St Peter, why are some manifestations of diversity deemed to be scandalous or in some way damaging to the life of the Church?
There now exists a vacuum where before Summorum Pontificum there had been none. By all accounts, this is a vacuum that contradicts the law of the Church. There now exists a need in the Franciscan Orders that was created by the dedication and love for Jesus and Mary of the founders of this particular Order. There now exists a need for a new Franciscan Order which from its outset is dedicated to Mary Immaculate and to the praise, service and worship of the Most Holy Trinity in the Mass in the Extraordinary Form. If ever there was a need for a new St Francis and a new Order modelled on his, exemplified so well by the Franciscans of the Immaculate, that moment is now.
Yet one thing is clear, this man will not be the Pope, since whether the Supreme Pontiff held the 'Vetus Ordo' in high esteem or not, only one of low rank within the Church can found a new Order of the Franciscans, living lives of holy poverty, chastity and obedience as Friars. Presumably - though it is wrong to take anything for granted in terms of the life of the Church - a new Order of the Franciscans, once it had recognition from the Church, under the Church's own law, could not be touched if they, without exception, wished to have preference for the Mass in the Extraordinary Form.
Oremus! Let us pray for this Order and their many friars, nuns and tertiaries who now exist in several countries, Heaven will send reconciliation, peace, concord and justice to those now separated from Mass in the Extraordinary Form - the Mass which so many of us have come to treasure fervently. Pray for the Supreme Pontiff and pray, pray, pray for the Franciscans of the Immaculate.
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