Will the Real Pope Francis Stand Up?

Pope Francis' Pontificate is not even two weeks old at the time of this posting, and he has already come under intense scrutiny as to how he will conduct himself as pope and whose interests he will serve.  Liberals are tending to claim him as one of their own, convinced he will loosen up the teachings of the Catholic Church to bring it more into line with the modern world.

From American Spectator:

“I was overwhelmed by joy,” said Hans Kung, the dissenting European theologian, in a radio interview after the elevation of Pope Francis. “There is hope in this man,” gushed Kung, who predicted that Pope Francis will conform to the progressive interpretation of Vatican II and not follow the “line of the two popes from Poland and Germany.”

Leonardo Boff, one of the fathers of liberation theology, was quoted in the German press as saying that Francis is “more liberal” than commonly supposed.

Cardinal Roger Mahony took to Twitter to proclaim that the Church would move from high church to “low” church under Francis: “So long Papal ermine and fancy lace!”

The National Catholic Reporter approvingly quoted an unnamed Vatican diplomat as saying that “the Traditional Latin Mass brigade is finished.”

Esteban Paulon, president of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals, told the Washington Post that Pope Francis is “known for being moderate” and when “he came out strongly against gay marriage, he did it under pressure from the conservatives.” According to Sergio Rubin, whom the Post calls his authorized biographer, Pope Francis initially “urged his bishops to lobby for gay civil unions” as an alternative to gay marriage.

Many Traditionalists are afraid Pope Francis will undo everything Pope Benedict XVI did and take away the Traditional Mass. 

From The American Conservative:

The Rorate Caeli blog, written by Traditionalist Catholics, is deeply apprehensive about Cardinal Bergoglio’s elevation to the papacy, in particular because they say he was hostile to the traditional Latin mass in his archdiocese. But that’s not the whole thing. Here’s an excerpt they posted sympathetically from an analysis by an Argentine Catholic journalist:

Of all the unthinkable candidates, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is perhaps the worst. Not because he openly professes doctrines against the faith and morals, but because, judging from his work as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, faith and moral seem to have been irrelevant to him.

A sworn enemy of the Traditional Mass, he has only allowed imitations of it in the hands of declared enemies of the ancient liturgy. He has persecuted every single priest who made an effort to wear a cassock, preach with firmness, or that was simply interested in Summorum Pontificum.

We reject all false optimism, and this is the spirit we will keep here, and it does not matter if many do not like it. In the web, it is quite easy to avoid things one does not like.

The article quotes from another traditional Catholic blog:

UPDATE: My trad Catholic TAC colleague Michael Brendan Dougherty is grim:

There are reasons to believe that Pope Francis is a transitional figure, unlikely to affect major reform at the top of the church. He is not known as a champion of any theological vision, traditional or modern. He is just two years younger than Pope Benedict was upon his election eight years ago. He has deep connections to Italy, but little experience with the workings of the Vatican offices. A contentious reading of Pope Francis’ rise is that Benedict’s enemies have triumphed completely.

It is unusual for a one-time rival in a previous election to triumph in a future one. And there is almost no path to Bergoglio’s election without support from curial Italians, combined with a Latin American bloc. Low-level conspiracy theories already flourish in Italy that Benedict’s resignation was the result of a curia determined to undermine his reforms. This election will only intensify that speculation. An older pope who does not know which curial offices and officers need the ax, will be even easier to ignore than Benedict.

Many seem to be viewing this pope in terms of what they want from him, as in the case of liberals, or in what Pope Francis might take away, as in the case of Traditionalists.  All, of course, are judging him on what they perceive to be his action and the rumors - true or false - that are flying around about what he has allegedly done in the past.

Peter Denies Jesus

I thought of this today at Mass when the long Gospel of Matthew 26:3-75 and 27:1-60 was read.  Part of this Gospel involves the scandalous behavior of our first Pope -  St. Peter - and how he reacted at the Crucifixion of our Lord.  We are told that he actually denied Jesus Christ, saying he didn't even know the Man:

69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Can you imagine how the media and others would treat the election of St. Peter to the Papacy: "And this man is going to lead the Church? He is weak and selfish, breaking down in the face of adversity. How can we ever trust him? Do you know that our Lord actually called him Satan at one point? He constantly puts his foot in his mouth, and you can't trust anything he says. He pledged his undying loyalty to the Lord, and only a few hours later he was denying he even knew him! We're all doomed."

Did you ever wonder why a Pope must take a new name when he is elected? It is because he no longer belongs to himself. One he accepts election to the Chair of Peter, he is Peter: "Tu es Petrus." The pope is no longer Karol Wojtyla, Joseph Ratzinger or Jorge Mario Bergoglio. All of those men, in effect, ceased to exist when they became pope. Everything a pope says and does in his official acts as Pope from the time of his election and acceptance is guided and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

I'm certainly not saying that a pope cannot sin and rebel in his personal life against God. We, unfortunately, have seen many examples of this in the 2000 year history of the Church. But not one of those sinful popes ever misled the church in faith or morals. "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." That was said to St. Peter and all of his successors. The Pope is the rock of the Church on earth.

All of those liberals who are salivating at the thought that major dogmas of the Catholic Church will be changed or those Traditionalists who fear that everything they love and believe in will be taken away are showing that they place no trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit or the promises of Jesus Christ.

The Pope is not just a political figure. He is not just some guy who happened to be at the right place at the right time (or wrong place and wrong time, depending on your point of view). And he is no longer the same person he was before he became pope. Of course he still has his own personality and style. But he is not free to take the church in any direction he chooses. He still has freedom of will in his personal life, but he does not have freedom of will as Pope. That is why no one is ever allowed to judge a pope's actions.

It is for this reason that no sane man would ever desire to be pope. Although it is the most powerful office in the world because the Pope is the divinely chosen head of the one true Church of Jesus Christ, in actual fact the Pope has no personal power at all. He is a puppet of the Holy Spirit.

Before resigning, Pope Benedict pledged his complete obedience and loyalty to his successor, even though he had no idea who that would be. How could he do that? Didn't he want to make sure first that his successor would be the kind of pope that he, Benedict, thought he should be? Pope Benedict XVI was telling us with this statement that it does not matter who, individually, occupies the Chair of Peter. The real One occupying the Chair of Peter is the real Head of the Church - Jesus Christ. When we pledge our obedience and loyalty to the Vicar of Christ, we are making this pledge to Jesus Christ Himself.

The secular media is going to do what it is going to do. They see the pope as just another political figure. But we, as Catholics, must realize that the Pope is unlike any other man on earth. There is no politician or head of state who can compare to him. He is going to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It may or may not be what we think is right, but like the Pope, we need to get our own pride and ego out of the way and realize that as smart as we are, the Holy Spirit knows better than we do.  

The Israelites were ready to throw Moses over when he led them out of the land of Egypt to the Red Sea. They were being pursued by Pharaoh's army with no escape. Moses' command to them was "Be still and see the salvation of the Lord." I think that is some of the best advice that has ever been given in the history of mankind.

In other words, when it comes to the Pope - SHUT UP!!!  Or as they say here in Brooklyn - "SHADDUP!"

Thank you.

The Seventh Station of the Cross: Jesus Falls the Second Time

Our Lord continues on the Way of the Cross. After experiencing unspeakable cruelties and humiliations, we have just seen an act of loving compassion in the kindness of Veronica, who ran out with no regard for her physical safety to wipe the blood, sweat and spittle from Jesus' face. But this act of kindness has no effect on the Roman soldiers, who continue to force Jesus beyond his human ability. He is suffering from severe blood loss and dehydration. There is no part of his body that has not been wounded or bruised in some way. Although Veronica has wiped his face, the blood from his head wounds continues to pour into his eyes, and he can barely see.  Notwithstanding the help of Simon of Cyrene who was taking the major load of carrying the Cross, Jesus' physical strength gives out and once more Our Precious Lord falls to the ground.

The Roman soldiers show no mercy and continue to beat him and yell for him to get up. Once again, in their cruelty the Roman soldiers are actually helping our Lord continue on to Calvary where He will save the world.

We know that Jesus was walking this cruel road to Calvary completely on his own human strength, or lack thereof.  Yet He is the same one who cured the lame, blind and deaf and even brought the dead back to life.  How could one who had the power of the universe and more at his fingertips be in such a powerless position and subject to such unspeakable cruelty?

As Jesus said in the Garden of Gethesame when he was arrested, (Matthew 26:53-54):

Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?  How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

The soldiers  like Pontius Pilate, may have thought they were in charge.  Here was a man so weak that a tiny child could have overpowered him.  He had no physical strength left and was very close to death.

But the soldiers were wrong.  Jesus was in complete control of everything that was happening to him.  At one point Pontius Pilate said to Jesus, "Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"  Jesus answered him:

You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.

Likewise, the soldiers had power to inflict cruelty on Jesus only because this power was given to them from above.

Why would the great Creator God allow himself to be so humiliated and apparently powerless in the face of his enemies?  One very strong message that our Lord was sending us is that without the Grace of God, we have less strength and means to resist our Adversary than Jesus had physical strength to carry His Cross at this point.  And we will surely fall if we try to use our own strength to resist sin just as we see our Lord physically fall.

St. Francis said in the Way of the Cross that it was not the weight of the cross or even the cruelty of the soldiers that caused Jesus' fall, but our sins:

The suffering Jesus, under the weight of His cross, again falls to the ground; but the cruel executioners do not permit Him to rest a moment. Pushing and striking Him, they urge Him onward. It is the frequent repetition of our sins which oppress Jesus. Witnessing this, how can I continue to sin?

The physical torture did not cause Jesus any where near the pain he felt as when he took on our sins. The weight of the Cross - far more than his weakened body could handle - was as light as air when compared to the weight of our sins. The actual cause of Jesus' fall, as St. Francis tells us, was our sins. When we see Jesus laying on the ground and physically spent, we must realize that it was our sins which put him there.

When we look at the physically torn and weakened body of Jesus, we are looking at the result of our sins.

St. Francis offers this prayer:

O Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Offer me Thy helping hand, and aid me, that I may not fall again into my former sins. From this very moment, I will earnestly strive to reform: nevermore will I sin! Thou, O sole support of the weak, by Thy grace, without which I can do nothing, strengthen me to carry out faithfully this my resolution.

Lord Jesus, crucified, have mercy on us!

Meditation on the Sixth Station of the Cross: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

Up to this point in the Way of the Cross, we have seen the unjust sentence of death pronounced upon Christ by Pontius Pilate who knew he was sentencing an innocent man to death. We have seen our Lord in an extremely weakened state attempt to carry his cross and then fall under the heavy weight. We have seen the meeting between our Lord and the Blessed Mother on the road to Calvary and the almost unbearable sorrow between them. And we have seen the Roman soldiers' drafting of Simon the Cyrenian to carry Jesus' cross.

St. Veronica

In the Sixth Station, we see the brave woman Veronica, forcing her way through the crowd and the Roman soldiers to wipe the bloody face of our Lord. According to the meditations of the 17th and 18th Century Mystic, Anne Catherine Emmerich, Veronica was originally known by the name Seraphia. According to Anne Catherine Emmerich:

Seraphia was the name of the brave woman who thus dared to confront the enraged multitude; she was the wife of Sirach, one of the councillors belonging to the Temple, and was afterwards known by the name of Veronica, which name was given from the words vera icon (true portrait), to commemorate her brave conduct on this day.

I am struck by the contrast between Veronica and Simon the Cyrenian. Simon had to be conscripted into helping our Lord. He did not want to be associated with a common criminal who had been sentenced to death. He was not affected in any way by the suffering of our Lord, thinking only of himself and how this would affect him.  His fear caused him to be so concentrated on himself that he was hardly aware of the suffering of our Lord.

Then there is Veronica, as described in St. Francis' Way of the Cross:

Veronica, impelled by devotion and compassion, presents her veil to Jesus to wipe His disfigured face.

What did Jesus do in return for this great show of love by Veronica?

And Jesus imprints on [Veronica's veil] His holy countenance: a great recompense for so small a service.  What return do you make to your Savior for His great and manifold benefits?

It should be noted that there is no mention in the New Testament of the incident of Veronica wiping the face of Jesus. Is this story true? The actual veil of Veronica is purported to be in Manoppello, Italy.  On September 1, 2006, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, made a pilgrimage to see the veil, the first time any pontiff had done this.  From a USA Today article on the Pope's visit to see the Veil of Veronica:

The pontiff entered the sanctuary and prayed before the altar for about five minutes, then went behind it and prayed before the relic, which is known as the "Holy Face" and the "Veil of Veronica."

The veil is not as famous as the Holy Shroud of Turin, held to be Christ's burial cloth, but some experts say the images on the two cloths can be perfectly superimposed and that they were formed at the same time. Skeptics say it appears to have been painted.

According to Christian tradition, Veronica was one of the holy women who accompanied Jesus to Calvary. She offered him a veil or cloth to wipe his face, and the image of Christ's face was imprinted on it.

Although the story is not in the Bible, it became one of the most popular in Christian lore.

The name "Veronica" also is a colloquial version of the Latin word "vera," meaning true, and Greek word Icon meaning "image." The "Veil of Veronica" was therefore largely regarded in medieval times as "the true image" of Jesus, preceding the Shroud of Turin.

Benedict did not address the veil's origins, as is usual with the Vatican, which is generally very cautious. But his visit has drawn interest to the image some believe to show the real face of Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI viewing Veronica's Veil

"This is the meaning of my visit. So that together we can try to better know the face of our Lord, so that from it we can find strength in love and peace that can show us the path," Benedict said.

The image, measures 6.7 by 9.4 inches, is that of a man with long hair, a sparse beard and a half-open mouth. The face is oval and asymmetric, the color is a light brown.

The veil, kept under glass, is believed to have been in Manoppello since 1506, and the pope's visit was the highlight of yearlong celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of the relic's arrival in this mountainous town about 125 miles east of Rome.

The veil was donated to the sanctuary in 1638, said the rector, the Rev. Carmine Cucinelli. The sanctuary is visited every year by some 250,000 pilgrims, he said. But officials hope that the pope's visit will increase that number.

To many in Manoppello, the visit by Benedict reinforced their beliefs about the veil.

The Image on Veronica's Veil

"We've been worshipping the Holy Face for five centuries," said resident Gina Virgilio, a retiree. "The pope's visit has confirmed the veil is authentic."

"This has been a special day. It's been a wonderful, touching, emotional encounter," she said.

Whether we accept the veil as authentic or not, the story of Veronica wiping the face of Jesus is a beautiful lesson in perfect charity. Veronica's brave act shows the power of compassion, of truly caring about others. Veronica is the personification of I John 4:18:

No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn't have perfect love.

Perfect love means to be totally concentrated on the other, to have no thought of yourself. There is no fear in perfect love because fear in many ways is the antithesis of love. Love means complete giving of yourself. Fear involves concern about yourself, about what will happen to you and protecting yourself from harm. We know of stories where parents will throw themselves into harm's way to protect their children, of soldiers sacrificing their own lives to save other soldiers. As Our Lord said, "No greater love is this, than a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13).

Veronica's actions in running through the crowd and circumventing the Roman soldiers guarding Jesus showed that her thoughts and concern were totally on our Lord.  She showed no concern for herself at all. This is what our attitude towards our Lord should also be. When we have reached this point, we will know that we too have attained perfect love.

Fear is our greatest inhibitor and one of the greatest destroyers of love. Fear is not confined to being concerned only about our physical safety. That may be the least dangerous fear of all. The most dangerous, deadly fear is that having to do with our ego, i.e., our pride. It is fear of being despised or looked down upon by others, fear of allowing others to see us as we really are, fear of not "fitting in", fear of being ostracized. Fear that others may think negatively and/or reject us will concentrate our thoughts on ourselves and keep us from truly loving others and even keep us from loving God. This fear fueled by our pride could separate us from God for all eternity.

No one can be faulted for feeling fear. We cannot control our feelings any more than we can control our breathing. But we are the ones who make the decision of whether we or our feelings are in charge. To feel fear tells us that we have not attained to perfect love. We must pray to overcome our feelings of fear and lack of love, especially that which can be traced to our human pride. We must look to our Lord and ask Him to change our heart and fill us with His Perfect Charity. This is not something we can work up by ourselves. Perfect charity is a gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Chaplet of St. Michael, we ask for different gifts, and the first gift we ask for is Perfect Charity:

Through St. Michael the Archangel and the celestial power of Seraphim, may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity.

When I pray this prayer, I am very mindful that we are asking to be made worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity. This gift will not be given to everyone. We must die to ourselves first, and then God will be able to fill us with His Perfect Love.

The Prayer for the Sixth Station of the Cross from St. Francis' Way of the Cross:

Most merciful Jesus! What return shall I make for all the benefits Thou hast bestowed upon me? Behold I consecrate myself entirely to Thy service. I offer and consecrate to Thee my heart: imprint on it Thy sacred image, never again to be effaced by sin.

If we offer our heart to Jesus as Veronica offered her veil, then as He did with Veronica's veil, Jesus will imprint His Image on our hearts and we will be filled with the fire of Perfect Charity.

The Secret of Joy is Sorrow

Yesterday, March 22, was the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a devotion that I try to do everyday. Angelfire.com has this devotion here. It is a meditation on the great sorrows that Our Blessed Mother experienced as the Mother of Jesus Christ. The Seven Sorrows of Mary are as follows:

1. The Prophecy of Simeon that a sword would pierce her soul
2. The Flight Into Egypt to escape the destructive wrath of Herod who threatened to kill Jesus
3. The Loss of Jesus at the Temple
4. Mary Meets Jesus Carrying His Cross
5. Jesus Dies on the Cross
6. Jesus is Pierced With a Sword
7. Jesus Is Laid In the Tomb

A very good friend of mine, Veronica, who died last year in the first week of Lent, was very devoted to our Sorrowful Mother. She prayed the Seven Sorrows devotion every day and also said a rosary every day for each of her children who had been born alive, and this was not easy. She was the mother of 11 children. Four of the babies died in miscarriages, but two died shortly after birth, and two more died as adults. Three of her children were still alive at the time Veronica died. So that made 7 rosaries that Veronica said every day. She had also lived through breast cancer, with which she was diagnosed right after the birth of her last child. This was in the early 70's, and the routine treatment then was a radical mastectomy. At one point she had gone completely blind, but through a literal miracle, had regained most of her sight. Her hearing was also impaired.

Despite all of this, she was probably the happiest, most well-adjusted person I have ever known. Her house was open to everyone. She was a loyal member of the Legion of Mary. She told me her secret was her devotion to the Sorrowful Mother. She said no one had ever experienced pain as Mary had and yet Mary never complained, never struck out at others. She just trusted in our Lord and never gave into despair. Mary's example gave Veronica the strength she needed to face the heavy trials in her life.

The purer a soul is, the freer from sin, the more a soul will suffer in this world. That is why our Lord said blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Those who have immersed themselves in the evil and sin of this world do not mourn. They reject the sorrow in their lives. They drown out any sadness or pain by running away from it and refusing to even acknowledge it, turning to whatever painkiller they can find, be it money, sex, drugs, alcohol, work - anything but the pain in their lives.

Those who mourn are those who have accepted and joined their cross and their suffering with Christ. They, like Christ, actually embrace their cross and their suffering. Our Blessed Mother is the model for all of us. She was told by Simeon that a sword would pierce her heart. She felt tremendous sorrow and pain in her life from that moment on, culminating in overwhelming sorrow at seeing her Precious and Beloved Son crucified on Mt. Calvary. Yet, she is referred to as the "Stabat Mater", the "Mother standing." Despite the great sorrow that she carried in her heart, she did not break down in despair and bitterness. Underneath all that sorrow was a great serenity and trust in God that never wavered.

Pope Francis

How is it that Mary so willingly carried the cross that was given to her? How is it that, despite her tremendous sorrow and pain, she never once felt despair, bitterness or loneliness? Mary never once ran from her cross, she never complained, she never tried to give back her cross. Those who run from their suffering, which is most of us at one time or another, are always defeated in the end by great despair and hopelessness. But those who willingly unite their cross with the Cross of Jesus as our Blessed Mother did, are never defeated and never abandoned. They carry within themselves true joy and peace.  Our Blessed Mother taught us by her example that the only way to endure the pain in our lives is to acknowledge it and even embrace it, realizing this is our road to salvation. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his first homily as Pope said this to the Cardinals assembled before him:

This Gospel continues with an important moment. The same Peter who had confessed Jesus Christ said to him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let’s not talk about the cross. This is not a part of it. I will follow you in other directions, but not to the cross. When we journey without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we confess a Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord: we are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.

I would like for us all, after these days of grace, to have courage, precisely the courage, to walk in the Lord’s presence, with the cross of the Lord; to build the Church upon the blood of the Lord, which was poured out on the cross; and to confess the only glory there is: Christ crucified. And in this way the Church will go forward.

It is my wish for all of us that the Holy Spirit – through the prayer of Our Lady, our Mother – bestow upon us the grace of journeying, building, confessing Jesus Christ crucified.

Our Blessed Mother - our Lady of Sorrows - gave us the perfect definition of what it means to be a Christian. It is to live a life of great sorrow. Even our Lord is described in this way in Isaiah 53:

He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.

But how do we reconcile this with Christ's statement in John 10:10 - "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."  Christ also told us as recorded in John 14:27 -  "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  How can we have great sorrow in our lives and at the same time live life abundantly and with the Peace of Jesus Christ?  The key is in the middle part of Christ's statement in John 14:27 - "not as the world giveth, give I unto you."  

We all have a fallen sinful nature and we live in a fallen, sinful world. Apart from God, the world has never experienced true life or true joy since the time of our parents' first sin when they were driven out of the Garden of Eden and from God's Presence. We in this world are surrounded by sin and death. Any happiness or joy in this world is fleeting and will eventually come to an end.

In many ways life in this world can be compared to living in a German death camp in WWII. Those camps were run by people with the ultimate objective of killing all who entered into the camps. Our world is run by Satan whose ultimate purpose is to destroy each and every one of us. But our Creator actually entered into this world of sin and death in order to rescue us from it. He brought true joy, peace and happiness that will never end. And every Christian carries this peace in his or her heart.

The great irony of being a Christian is that receiving the joy of Christ makes us acutely aware of the overwhelming sorrow of the world. That is the cross that we all bear. That is why we, along with our Blessed Mother and her Beloved Son, mourn in this world. Could anyone enter into a death camp and not mourn? Those who live in this world without mourning are those who refuse to admit the reality that surrounds them. The Father of Lies tells us that we can find joy and happiness in the world of sin and death that he has created for us. And each time we sin - each time we turn away from God - we are accepting the lie of the Adversary.

Our first Holy Father - St. Peter - said in I Peter 2:11 that we are "strangers and pilgrims" on this earth, or as the New Living Translation puts it, "temporary residents and foreigners." The more we attach ourselves to Christ, the more homesick we will feel and the more we will mourn and suffer. Most of the people on Calvary on that first Good Friday did not mourn the death of Jesus. Only our Blessed Mother and those with her mourned the suffering and death of Jesus.

Do not run away from your suffering. Look to the example of our Blessed Mother. As Pope Francis told us, we cannot journey without the cross or confess Christ without the cross. The cross means to mourn, to accept our suffering and to unite it with our Lord. Only then will we find peace and joy.

O Virgin most sorrowful, pray for us.

Pope Francis and the Passion of Christ

Cardinal Bergoglio kissing the feet of an AIDS patient

Pope Francis was elected less than a week ago, and it seems everyone already has opinions about him. The most critical seem to be coming from traditionalists in the Catholic Church, many of whom are having what Father Z calls a "spittle-flecked nutty" over our newly elected Pope Francis. The traditionalists point to Cardinal Bergoglio's record of not supporting the Latin Mass, and they are issuing statements of doom and gloom, saying this Pope will basically be a disaster.

Although many traditionalists say Cardinal Bergoglio has not supported the TLM, it has been pointed out in many places that within 48 hours after the issuance of Summorum Pontificum, Cardinal Bergoglio called for a Latin Mass in his diocese. The traditionalists do not take into account that Argentina is a Latino community. Latinos have their own way of celebrating Mass, which very much involves the entire community with much loud singing and clapping and Latino guitar music. Latino masses are basically the antithesis of the very personal Traditional Mass and its use of ancient Gregorian chant and the organ. Cardinal Bergoglio offered the TLM to the people, and they for all intents and purposes rejected it. He cannot be blamed for that.

I think Traditionalists are making a huge mistake in throwing hissy fits in regard to our new Holy Father. First and foremost, no Catholic ever has the right to make a judgment regarding any Supreme Pontiff. The Holy Father has only one judge to whom he must answer, and that is the actual Head of the Mystical Body: Jesus Christ. I have many times decried the disrespectful and outright scandalous statements that some so-called traditionalists have made against Pope Benedict XVI and other modern popes. The Pope is God's Anointed. He is the spiritual head of the Church on earth. To speak against him in his capacity as Pope is the same as attacking Jesus Christ Himself. The Pope, unlike any other person on earth, is referred to as "His Holiness." That is not a reference to him personally but to the office he holds. Our duty as the Mystical Body of Christ is to support the the Vicar of Christ without qualification. We expect liberals to speak out against the pope when he doesn't cater to their whims and desires, but Traditionalists are suppose to be the "grown ups." Unfortunately, that is not always true.

Our Lord gave us a promise that his Vicar can never mislead us. That doesn't mean that he will be a perfect human being and can never be wrong on secular issues. But the Holy Father can never mislead the church on spiritual issues. You either believe that or you don't, and if you don't believe that, you are on very shaky ground. As I quote on my sidebar from Sister Lucy, Fatima visionary, "He that is not with the Pope is not with God, and he that wants to be with God, has to be with the Pope." You can have all the outward trappings of Catholicism, but if you are not a papist, you are not Catholic.  Obedience and loyalty to the Pope are what separate us from Protestants.

I think we need to realize that we are living in extraordinary historical times. I stated in a recent post that I believe the papal conclave which just concluded was likely the most important papal conclave in the history of the Church. It was preceded by the startling resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Yes, other popes have resigned, but there were obvious outside extenuating circumstances that surrounded those resignations. Pope Benedict XVI's resignation seemingly came out of the blue. The Holy Father seemed to be going along just fine when all of a sudden he tells us that he is leaving, which struck the church and the world like a thunderbolt, much like the actual lightning strike on St. Peter's on the day of the announcement.

Lightning strikes St. Peter's Basilica on the day of
Pope Benedict's resignation announcement

Pope Benedict XVI then revealed in his last Angelus message on February 24 that God had called him to walk a different path, that he had been called to " 'scale the mountain,' to dedicate myself still more to prayer and to meditation." The Vicar of Christ was telling us that the decision to resign did not come from him but from God. As I previously posted, our Lord could have easily just taken the pope's life as He has done in the past, but I believe our Lord proceeded in this way to get our attention that this was no ordinary succession of popes, but that something extraordinary was happening.

When Pope Francis stepped onto the balcony, the world was again stunned. No one was expecting his election. He was not on any one's list to become pope. His election constituted many firsts: he is the first non-European pope in 1200 years.  He is the first Jesuit pope. He is the first pope from the Americas. He is the first Latino pope. although he is technically of Italian heritage, having been born to Italian immigrants in Argentina. He chose a name that has never been used by any pope in our 2000 year history. As Philip Lawler writes in Catholicculture.org:

To grasp the full significance of this new Pope’s chosen name, consider this: For 1,100 years, every newly elected Pontiff had chosen a name that had been used by some other Pope before him. Since Pope Lando, who ruled from 913 to 914, every Pontiff on the historical records has a Roman numeral after his name, and the only Pontiff who chose a new name, John Paul I, explicitly said that he was taking the names of the two Popes before him, John XXIII and Paul VI. So when he chose an entirely new name, Pope Francis showed that he was prepared to strike out in a new direction.

Mr. Lawler further points out in his article:

Evoking the memory of St. Francis of Assisi, the name indicates a commitment to simplicity, humility, and wholehearted love for all of God’s creation. At the same [time] the name conjures up memories of the message that the great saint received from God at San Damiano: “Francis, go, rebuild my house, which as you see is in ruins.”

Pope Francis stepped out onto the balcony as our newly elected Pontiff wearing only the simple white cassock of the pope without the red velvet mozzetta with ermine, another precedent setting moment. He wore the stoll only when he gave the blessing and took it off immediately after the blessing. And of course, there was the extraordinary moment before giving his blessing when he requested the people to pray over him and ask God to bless him. He then humbly bowed down while a complete silence came over the vast crowd in St. Peter's Square. Some of the media immediately began checking their audio because they thought something had gone wrong. It was a truly amazing moment.

Pope Francis also seems to have a deep, deep devotion to our Blessed Mother.  It has been reported that Pope Francis says 15 decades of the Rosary every day.  Quoting once again from catholicculture.org, His Holiness has said that he was inspired to this practice by the example of Pope John Paul II.

I felt that this man, chosen to lead the Church, was following a path up to his Mother in the sky, a path set out on from his childhood. And I became aware of the density of the words of the Mother of Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego: “Don’t be afraid, am I not perhaps your mother?” I understood the presence of Mary in the life of the Pope.

That testimony did not get forgotten in an instant. From that time on I recite the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary every day.

Anyone who prays the Rosary on a regular basis knows the powerful effect it has on our lives.  Praying the rosary is all about experiencing the life of Christ through the eyes of His Blessed Mother.  The Rosary is a fully Christo-centric prayer, completely focusing us on our Lord and His Message because that is where our Blessed Mother was focused.  To pray the Rosary is to walk with Christ and His Mother on the road of salvation.  As St. Louis de Montfort said, "Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood."

In a previous post before the election of Pope Francis, I mentioned that while every pope is called to carry the cross with our Lord, I believe that this time the Church will be called to carry that cross with him.  We must all do this individually, but I believe that this time the Church will be doing this as a whole.  In his first homily as Pope, Our Holy Father emphasized the importance of the Cross and of participating in the suffering of our Lord upon the Cross:

The same Peter who had confessed Jesus Christ said to him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let’s not talk about the cross. This is not a part of it. I will follow you in other directions, but not to the cross. When we journey without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we confess a Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord: we are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.

I would like for us all, after these days of grace, to have courage, precisely the courage, to walk in the Lord’s presence, with the cross of the Lord; to build the Church upon the blood of the Lord, which was poured out on the cross; and to confess the only glory there is: Christ crucified. And in this way the Church will go forward.

I am struck by the phrase: "to confess the only glory there is:  Christ crucified."  The world does not see a man beaten so badly he is barely recognizable, nailed upon the cross unable to move and his body drained of every ounce of blood as "glory." This image is despised by the world, but as our Holy Father told us, the only glory is "Christ crucified." To move forward and share in that glory, we must be willing to take up that cross with our Lord and enter with Him into His Passion. A few days before the election of the pope, I heard a talk by a good and holy priest who said that he felt we as a Church are entering into our passion, just as Christ did on Calvary. In His Passion, our Lord was surrounded by those who wished to destroy Him and abandoned by all who professed to follow Him with the exception of a very small group of people including Mary, His Blessed Mother, John the beloved disciple and Mary Magdalene. As Bishop Sheen said, this represents innocence, the priesthood and the penitent.  We must stay close to the Cross and to our Blessed Mother who stands beneath the Cross if we are to survive in these evil times.

Pope Francis has also made it very clear that he is putting his papacy into the hands of our Blessed Mother. One of his very first actions as pope was to visit St. Mary Major. In his address to the Cardinals, Pope Francis stated plainly that he entrusts his ministry to the Blessed Mother:

To the powerful intercession of Mary, our Mother, Mother of the Church, I entrust my ministry and your ministry. Under her motherly gaze, may each of us walk joyfully, obedient to the voice of her divine Son, strengthening unity, persevering together in prayer and witnessing to genuine faith in the continuous presence of the Lord.

So many in the church now seem to be divided into their own camps and fighting with one another and even with the Holy Father. We face grave threats from outside the Church, but it seems that far too often, our worst enemies are ourselves and our own infighting. This could all be easily resolved by recognizing the universal authority of the Bishop of Rome instead of constantly questioning and criticizing that authority. I once again ask, do we believe that the Holy Father is the Divinely appointed head of the church on earth? If the answer to that question is yes, then there is no more room for criticism or questioning of that authority any more than we would question Jesus Christ if he actually sat in the Chair of Peter. The truth is that Christ does sit in the Chair of Peter through the person of the pope.

Let us follow His Holiness, Pope Francis, as he follows Christ.

HURRAH FOR FATHER Z!!!

A very tired Father Z at the end of the conclave

I was expecting Traditonalists to be upset at the election of the pope, no matter who he would be.  But many are really going over the top and making outright scandalous and heretical statements.  Father Z has a loyal Traditionalist following, and they are not holding back on his blog, either.  But Father Z has decided to put his foot down and is closing the window on these kind of posts.  From his blog, which you can read here:

Dear readers,

Over the years it has been part of my plan to provide a space in which – to put it bluntly – some of you of the more traditionalist flavor could vent a little. After decades of what can only be called oppression and heart-breaking disappointment, some of you were understandably angry. Some venting has been necessary now and then for the sake of healing the bruises.

In the last few years I have sensed that some of the more traditionalist flavor were finally beginning to unclench a bit. Thus, the time for a certain kind of venting is drawing to a close.

Since the announcement of a new Pope last night, I had to clean some really harsh things out of the combox and the comment queue. I lost sleep doing so, and I don’t appreciate that at all. I am grateful also for the work of a friend in the USA to whom I gave the blog’s keys for occasions when I couldn’t be online.

I won’t stand for bashing the new Pope here. It isn’t going to happen in my combox. You are NOT welcome to come into my living room and have a spittle-flecked nutty like whining liberals do whenever Catholic teaching and discipline is reaffirmed. I don’t expect “papolatry”. I ask for respect and decorum when concerns or disagreements are expressed.

I am absolutely thrilled to read this.  As I have pointed out in the past, I have been somewhat alarmed at harsh comments Father Z has allowed to stand on his blog.  Being someone who is very much looked up to in the Traditionalist world, it is very important that he not allow anti-papal statements to stand.

Father Z's next paragraph concerns me a bit, but as he says, we'll just wait and see what happens:

If it turns out that our new Pope starts us down a path you or I don’t like, then we will discuss those matters as they come along. But… how long has he been Pope?

I do have a very real apprehension about the direction the Traditionalists are going to be taking with Pope Francis.  As I posted previously, one Catholic friend of mine said on Saturday before the conclave even started, "I hope this next pope isn't the anti-pope."  It's like they are just waiting to pounce on the pope and rebel against him

Pray for our Church and pray for the Holy Father.  

Pope Francis, A Humble Man of God

Pope Francis bowing down after asking the people
to ask God to bless him

The 267th successor to St. Peter has been elected.  I wish to use this post to publicly pledge my complete support and obedience to His Holiness, Pope Francis.

I really know very little about our new Holy Father save for what I have learned since he was elected earlier today.  I was very impressed when he came out onto the balcony to greet the people.  His humility and gentleness were so evident, especially when he bowed after asking the people to pray that God bless him.  Here is the text of his remarks from Catholic News Service:

He starts out by humbly calling himself the bishop of Rome:

Brothers and sisters, good evening. You know that the task of the conclave was to give Rome a bishop. It seems my brother cardinals went almost to the ends of the earth to find one.

I thank you for your welcome.

The diocesan community of Rome has its bishop. Thank you.

He then shifted the attention to His Holiness, Benedict XVI, calling him "bishop emeritus" as opposed to  "pope emeritus".  He led the people in prayer for his predecessor.  I was especially impressed that He called on both our Lord and Our Lord's Mother:

First of all, I would like to offer a prayer for our bishop emeritus, Benedict XVI. Let us all pray together for him that the Lord bless him and that the Mother of God protect him. "Our Father who art in heaven. ... Hail Mary, full of grace. ... Glory be to the Father ... ."

Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio

He then made a statement about the "journey of the Church of Rome, which is the one that presides in charity over all the churches." I thought this was a beautiful way of saying that the Catholic Church is the one true Church of Christ, but we shouldn't use that fact to hit people over the head and tell them they are wrong. Instead, we should reach out to others in love. I believe Pope Francis is telling us that this will be a hallmark of his papacy: brotherhood, love and trust.

Now let's begin this journey, bishop and people, this journey of the church of Rome, which is the one that presides in charity over all the churches -- a journey of brotherhood, love and trust among us. Let us pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there be a great brotherhood. I hope this journey of the church that we begin today -- and I will be helped by my cardinal vicar, here present -- will be fruitful for the evangelization of this so beautiful city.

He then went on to give the traditional blessing, but first he did something very unusual. He asked the people to first pray that God would bless him. He bowed low while complete silence fell over that vast crowd of people as they prayed for him. It was an amazing moment.

Now I would like to give my blessing. But first, I will ask a favor. Before the bishop blesses his people, he asks that you pray to the Lord to bless me, the prayer of the people for the blessing of their bishop. Let's pray for me in silence."

(He gave his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world)).

Brothers and sisters, I'll leave you. Thank you so much for the welcome. Pray for me. We'll see each other soon. Tomorrow I want to go to pray to Mary so she would watch over all of Rome. Good night. Have a good rest.

There can be better way for Pope Francis to start his Pontificate than by spending his first day in prayer to our Blessed Mother. I think when he talks about asking her to "watch over all of Rome", he is speaking about much more than the City of Rome. I believe he is asking Mary to watch over the Church of Rome. He is telling us in a humble and simple way that he is putting the Church in the hands of our Blessed Mother, and there can be no better and no safer place for us to be.

Pope Francis would seem to be a man to whom faithful Catholics could easily pledge their allegiance. Catholic New Service gives us this background:

Pope Francis has had a growing reputation as a very spiritual man with a talent for pastoral leadership serving in a region with the largest number of the world's Catholics.

Since 1998, he has been archbishop of Buenos Aires, where his style is low-key and close to the people.

He rides the bus, visits the poor, lives in a simple apartment and cooks his own meals. To many in Buenos Aires, he is known simply as "Father Jorge."

He also has created new parishes, restructured the administrative offices, led pro-life initiatives and started new pastoral programs, such as a commission for divorcees. He co-presided over the 2001 Synod of Bishops and was elected to the synod council, so he is well-known to the world's bishops.

The pope has also written books on spirituality and meditation and has been outspoken against abortion and same-sex marriages.

In 2010, when Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage, Pope Francis encouraged clergy across the country to tell Catholics to protest against the legislation because, if enacted, it could "seriously injure the family."

He also said adoption by same-sex couples would result in "depriving (children) of the human growth that God wanted them given by a father and a mother."

In 2006, he criticized an Argentine proposal to legalize abortion under certain circumstances as part of a wide-ranging legal reform. He accused the government of lacking respect for the values held by the majority of Argentines and of trying to convince the Catholic Church "to waver in our defense of the dignity of the person."

His role often forced him to speak publicly about the economic, social and political problems facing his country. His homilies and speeches are filled with references to the fact that all people are brothers and sisters and that the church and the country need to do what they can to make sure that everyone feels welcome, respected and cared for.

While not overtly political, Pope Francis has not tried to hide the political and social impact of the Gospel message, particularly in a country still recovering from a serious economic crisis.

After becoming archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, he created new parishes, restructured the administrative offices, taken personal care of the seminary and started new pastoral projects, such as the commission for divorcees. He mediated in almost all social or political conflicts in the city; recently ordained priests have been described as "the Bergoglio generation"; and no political or social figure missed requesting a private encounter with him.

Seems like a pretty good resume for the Vicar of Christ, don't you think? Well, there are some who would strongly disagree and sadly, it is those who identify themselves as Traditional Catholics. I quote from one of the most popular blogs among Traditionalists, Rorate Caeli. Their headline is: "The Horror! A Buenos Aires journalist describes Bergoglio."  Their opening paragraph is as follows:

Of all the unthinkable candidates, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is perhaps the worst. Not because he openly professes doctrines against the faith and morals, but because, judging from his work as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, faith and moral seem to have been irrelevant to him.

"Faith and moral seem to have been irrelevant to him"????? The following is from a secular website, mediaite.com:

On same-sex marriage: The new pope has called gay marraige “a scheme to destroy God’s plan” and “a real and dire anthropological throwback.” In 2010, he was a vocal opponent of the Argentinian government’s proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage.

On homosexuality: Bergoglio is reportedly “unwaveringly orthodox” on such moral issues.

On abortion: He has rallied his clergy against the “culture of death” that is the pro-abortion movement.

On contraceptives: The new pope strongly opposed Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner‘s efforts to distribute free contraceptives, likely seeing it as part of the aforementioned “culture of death.”

On same-sex adoption: Bergoglio has called it a form of discrimination against children

As I have stated many times here, I do consider myself a Traditional Catholic. I love the Latin Mass and all things traditionally Catholic. But I cannot hold with those who in any way judge and condemn the Holy Father, no matter who they are or what they say they believe. I believe and accept with all my heart that the Vicar of Christ is the divinely appointed head of the Mystical Body of Christ here on earth. We have no right to judge him in any way. We are bound as part of Christ's Mystical Body to be unerringly loyal and obedient to the Pope. If we don't have that, we don't have a church.

Rorate Caeli ended their post with these complete falsehoods about Pope Francis:

This election is incomprehensible: he is not a polyglot, he has no Curial experience, he does not shine for his sanctity, he is loose in doctrine and liturgy, he has not fought against abortion or homosexual "marriage"[approved with practically no opposition from the episcopate], he has no manners to honor the Pontifical Throne. He has never fought for anything else than to remain in positions of power.

It really cannot be what Benedict wanted for the Church. And he does not seem to have any of the conditions required to continue his work.

May God help His Church. One can never dismiss, as humanly hard as it may seem, the possibility of a conversion... and, nonetheless, the future terrifies us.

I would hope that all Catholics would completely denounce such false, defamatory statements as these. These statement are truly scandalous.

When a man becomes the Vicar of Christ, his life has in effect ended. That is why he takes a new name, a symbol that he has been transformed. He no longer belongs to himself. He now belongs totally to Jesus Christ and to the Church. He is the "servant of the servants." The Pope carries the Cross of Christ and walks the road of Calvary. It is a crushing burden that can only be lifted by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Even in the best of times, we must pray constantly for the Pope. In times such as we now experience where evil is found even in the Church, we must pray even more.

It is obvious that our new Holy Father will be the object of much persecution. Pope Francis asked us today to pray that God will bless him. Let us pray every day that God will bless him.

HABEMUS PAPEM!

Is Hell Just a Figment of God's Imagination?

Valerie Harper with Mary Tyler Moore
in the days of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show"

Valerie Harper, who in the 1970's played Rhoda Morgenstern on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" just announced that she has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and has been told she has three months to live. I've never met her, but I was a huge fan of the "Mary Tyler Moore" show and have never stopped watching it over the years. So even though I don't personally know Valerie Harper, it still sort of feels like losing a friend.

A true personal friend did die very suddenly a few weeks ago. She was a co-worker whom I had sat next to for several years. She wasn't feeling well and went to the doctor in January. He found an enlarged liver and immediately sent her to the hospital. She walked into the hospital for tests, and never walked out, dying less than 3 weeks later of a very aggressive cancer.

Psalm 90:10 says, "The length of our days is seventy years--or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.."  One of the best interpretations of this verse is from Woody Allen in the movie, "Annie Hall":

There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly.

Death is our enemy. It will eventually take from us everyone we love, and one day we too will succumb. And none of us knows when death will strike. None of us have a guarantee when we get up in the morning that we will be alive by the evening.

But what happens when we die?

Fr. Steven Scheier

There is a very interesting video on Youtube about a priest, Father Steven Scheier, who was involved in a near-deadly car accident in 1985 and had what we call an out-of-body experience. At that time he had been a priest for 11 years. You can watch the Youtube video here in which he describes his experience. He was also on Mother Angelica's show, which you can watch here.

National Catholic Register also had an article on Father Scheier's experience entitled "Wake Up Call Changes Priest":

Father Steven Scheier should have died on Oct. 18, 1985, in a collision while traveling back to his parish in the Diocese of Wichita, Kan. He suffered a major concussion and fractured vertebrae of the neck. Doctors gave him little chance to survive.

But he did.

Shortly after returning to his parish, as he read the Gospel of Luke about the unproductive fig tree, the page illuminated, enlarged and moved toward him from the Lectionary. Shaken after Mass, he remembered that after his accident he found himself before the judgment seat of Jesus.

Our Lord went through his whole life, showing him sins unconfessed and unforgiven since his last confession.

Father Scheier could only answer, “Yes, Lord.” Although a priest, he admittedly was not very spiritual and had practically no prayer life.

The judgment was hell, to which Father Scheier agreed. He said the Lord was merely “honoring his choice.” But then he heard a woman’s voice pleading to spare his soul. He knew it the Blessed Mother.

He heard Jesus say: “Mother, he has been a priest for 12 years for himself and not for me; let him reap the punishment he deserves.” Our Lady responded, “But Son, what if we give him special graces and strengths and then see if he bears fruit? If not, your will be done.” Jesus replied, “Mother, he’s yours.”

Since then, he has been hers. That extreme wake-up call with its eternal consequences has made all the difference in Father Scheier’s life and priesthood. Moreover, he wants it to make a difference in the lives of others. In the 1990s, he appeared as a guest on Mother Angelica’s EWTN show to recount his experiences.

There are a lot of stories out there from people who have died, experienced heaven and then come back to their bodies to tell us all about it.  I dismiss most of these stories because they are not in agreement with Catholic doctrine.

Father Scheier's experience is the only one I know of where the person involved does not tell us about lights and angels, etc. but just about hearing two voices. Further, Father Scheier's story is the only one which speaks of hell. There is nothing flashy or overly dramatic in his story, and for that reason it rings 100% true. He also has not written any books, been on innumerable talk shows or tried to capitalize on his experience in any way. To this day, he is a working parish priest serving the people of God, delivering a very sobering message to anyone who will listen to him.

Three children of Fatima

We have had many accounts of hell from different saints. Hell is one of the secrets of Fatima, when Our Lady opened up the earth and showed hell to the three children. Sister Lucy wrote about this in her memoirs:

She opened Her hands once more, as She had done the two previous months. The rays [of light] appeared to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls [of the damned]. The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms. They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke.

Now they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fright (it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me). The demons were distinguished [from the souls of the damned] by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals.

That vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, Who at the first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that we would have died of terror and fear.

St. Faustina wrote of her experience with hell in her Diary:

"I, Sister Faustina Kowalska, by the order of God, have visited the Abysses of Hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence...the devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God, What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: That most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell." (Diary 741)

"Today, I was led by an angel to the Chasms of Hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw:

The First Torture that constitutes hell is: The loss of God.

The Second is: Perpetual remorse of conscience.

The Third is That one's condition will never change.

The Fourth is: The fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it. A terrible suffering since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger.

The Fifth Torture is: Continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own.

The Sixth Torture is: The constant company of Satan.

The Seventh Torture is:  Horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies.

The messages of Fatima and St. Faustina are just two of those given to us in the 20th Century regarding hell. St. Padre Pio, another saint of the 20th Century, gave a very succinct answer to the question of the existence of hell. As Fr. Longenecker posted on his blog:

Padre Pio was asked what he thought about modern people who didn’t believe in hell.

“They’ll believe in hell when they get there.” he replied.

Take particular note of the statement by St Faustina: "But I noticed one thing: That most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell."  I find it quite disconcerting that a good majority of Catholics no longer believe in hell. They feel that God is love and mercy and wants everyone with Him in heaven, which is all very true. But people seem to forget that when we are born, our default destination is not heaven but hell because we belong to the devil. We are redeemed, or bought back from the devil, through Christ's sacrifice which then gives us the ability to choose. But as our Lord Himself said, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt. 22:14).  Most Catholics these days either forget or ignore this verse.

Unfortunately, many of our priests today no longer preach or believe in hell. I recently was at a funeral in which the priest informed us that there are two main reasons for a Catholic funeral: 1) to give comfort to the living so that they may mourn their loss, and 2) to explain the teaching of the Catholic Church that the dead are with God. It never occurred to this priest that a funeral is a time to pray for the dead. I know that this particular priest believes in universal salvation, so it is only logical that he sees no need to pray for the dead.

Another very popular priest who comes perilously close to preaching universal salvation is Father Robert Barron, a celebrity priest out of Chicago who is a millionaire off the profits of his media company, Word on Fire. Below is a video in which Fr. Barron explains his views on hell and salvation:

I personally find this video extremely disturbing in its implications and the message it gives. In this video, Fr. Barron admits that the biblical figure who talks most of hell and warns of it is Jesus Christ. Yet, Fr. Barron spends the rest of the video assuring us that we can "reasonably hope" that no one has ever gone to hell or will ever go to hell. Father admits that we can't be 100% sure that all people are saved, but he admits that he is "pretty much" convinced that there is universal salvation. He bases this belief on "God's desire for all people to be saved" and that "God has gone to the limits of Godforsakeness to effect this salvation." Fr. Barron admits that we can resist the Divine Love of God and that is why "we must hold to the existence of hell, at least as a possibility."

Fr. Barron goes on to define hell as a "spacial and visual metaphor" of a "state of deep loneliness that comes from having rejected the Divine Love." This does not seem to match the description of hell given to us by the the children of Fatima or St. Faustina or Our Lord Himself. You can read here the visions of hell by St. Catherine of Siena, which are very similar to those reported by St. Faustina. These visions involve a lot more than "a state of deep loneliness."

Father Barron says in this video that we don't know if there are any human beings actually in hell. It is true that the Church has never declared any individual as condemned by God, but at the same time, we do know that hell is not empty. Father Barron does mention the parable of Matthew 25, but he gives us no specifics from this parable. It should be noted that in Matthew 25, Christ says that in the final judgment he will say to the condemned, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels." I find it interesting that in all of this talk of hell, Fr. Barron never once mentions Satan and his demonic spirits who are condemned to hell. They seem to play no part in Father Barron's theological beliefs.

Father Barron says that if there is any soul who might actually go to hell. such a soul is one who has "slunked into the corner and refused to join the party, and has locked himself into this dark and sad and lonely place, not so much sent there by an avenging God, but a self-imposed exile." "Self imposed exile" is partially true - hell is a choice we make - but as our Lord says, hell is also the sentence the wicked will receive from Him as quoted above.

The only person I can speak of with complete assurance is myself.  I spent 38 years away from the Church, and there is not one doubt in my mind that if I had not returned to the Church, I would have been condemned to hell.  I have not literally seen my place in hell as St. Teresa of Avila saw the place in hell reserved for her, but the more I look back on my life, the more I realize there could not have been any other judgment for me.  Even now, I still fight myself, just as St. Paul said he did, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."  (I Corinthians 9:27)

I find the theology of Fr. Robert Barron and others who think like him to be very dangerous to souls. Our God is a God of unlimited mercy and love, more than our finite human minds can take in. But He is also a God of justice, and if we persist in rebellion against Him, we will reap our just reward in hell, just as Fr. Steven Scheier was shown and as has been shown to many of the saints down through the ages.

Father Barron would do himself and all of his followers a great service if he would listen to the words of our Lady of Fatima:

You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If people do what I am going to tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.