January 2006 - Let Us Not Forget Benjamin!

Released from our sins by sacramental absolution and ready for new combats, we leave the confessional in peace. But, alas, very soon we fall again into our habitual faults. The devil, always lying in wait, tries to discourage us, so that we give up the practice of confession under the fallacious pretext that it is useless – aren't our relapses the evident proof ? However, we cannot doubt either the efficacy of the sacrament or our upright intention when, filled with contusion for having dared to oppose the Divine Majesty, we accused ourselves before the tribunal of God without making excuses, determined not to offend Him again in the future.

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

Released from our sins by sacramental absolution and ready for new combats, we leave the confessional in peace. But, alas, very soon we fall again into our habitual faults. The devil, always lying in wait, tries to discourage us, so that we give up the practice of confession under the fallacious pretext that it is useless – aren't our relapses the evident proof ? However, we cannot doubt either the efficacy of the sacrament or our upright intention when, filled with contusion for having dared to oppose the Divine Majesty, we accused ourselves before the tribunal of God without making excuses, determined not to offend Him again in the future.

How is it, then, that we fall down so easily?

Quite simply it is because, like the ten brothers of the Patriarch Joseph, we neglect to make sure of the presence of Benjamin!

Joseph, in spite of his heart-breaking entreaties which expressed the anguish of his soul, was sold by his brothers to slave traders. Thus, he heralds Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are brothers of Christ by grace, but we do not fear to deliver Him to the executioner to satisfy some fleeting passion, scorning the entreaties of His grace and the anguish of His heart in the Garden of Olives. But God does not abandon those who trust in Him: Joseph ruled Egypt and Our Lord the kingdom of His Father.

Constrained by famine to go to Egypt to find a means for their subsistence. Joseph's brothers were coldly received by him, the Viceroy of Egypt. Touched by grace, they saw in this apparently unjustified coldness the just punishment for their crime against their brother. We easily sneer at these poor men incapable of recognizing their own brother in the person of the viceroy. Let us not fall into such a mistake! We should rather admire their understanding of the test, which enabled them to examine themselves and acknowledge their fault. Rarely do we have such understanding – usually, we are far from recognizing Our Lord in times of trial, and hastily complain of the injustice done to us, thus increasing our evil and falling into a fatal blindness that leads us more deeply into sin.

Joseph submitted his brothers to a test. Not because he wanted to enjoy a long-awaited revenge, but because he wanted to help them to correct their fault and to find the means not to fall again in the future. His severe face was only feigned, because of the circumstances, and he had to fight against his emotion in seeing his brothers repentant. This is how Our Lord presents to our guilty consciences the eternal consequences of our faults, for the time being concealing the strength if His love for us and holding up only the scepter of His punishment. The justifiable fear of hell is, in fact, only an ingenious device of that divine Mercy that wants to lead our hearts to a profound repentance and recognize that, in truth, we are inveterate sinners.

Although now certain of his brothers' dispositions, Joseph did not yet consent to reveal himself to them. On the contrary, he imposed a new test on them. Aware of the frailty of the human soul, Joseph knew how weak it remains in spite of its vehement protestations of repentance and its promises of reform. He also wanted to give his brothers the opportunity to let their weakness rest on God’s strength. Keeping as hostage one of his brothers, he demanded that they return bringing their youngest brother, Benjamin.

Why did Joseph refuse to reveal himself to his brothers as long as Benjamin was not present in their midst? Joseph’s attitude prefigures that of Our Savior towards the repentant sinner. He seems hard as stone and, as Dom Jean de Monléon says, following the Fathers: “He will not reveal Himself, as long as He does not see in the soul, and very dearly, the only virtue that guarantees the sincerity of conversion and the fidelity for the future – humility. Benjamin, the last, youngest son, represents humility, because only to the humble and the small does God reveal the treasures of His Wisdom.”

We can understand now why, in spite of our many confessions, the sincerity of our repentance and the strength of our resolutions, we still fall down so easily: because we lack humility. When returning to the confessional, we forget to bring Benjamin with us, and thus we have to rely only on our own forces to preserve the Divine Friendship. Without Benjamin, we are too easily exposed to temptations and we do not see the grave danger we are in – he who plays with fire will be burnt...

The modern world, however, exerts a powerful tyranny on us, constantly exposing us to the danger of falling. If we do not entrust ourselves to Divine Providence to help us pass through the multiple and insidious traps lying in wait for us, if we do not acknowledge that our misery and the weight of our personal sins incline us towards evil, if we confront alone the dangers to which we are exposed at every moment, the world will soon bring us back under its tyranny.

But if, on the other hand, we embrace humility, we will acknowledge our guilt against Our Lord and we will understand that we are likely to fall, at every step, if we act only according to our poor lights. Embracing humility, we will turn resolutely towards Christ and, aware of our poverty – but not brought down by it – we will find in Our Lord and His grace the remedy for all our evils.

The humble acknowledgment of our misery carries in itself a grace of conversion. We are weak beings, ruled by our passions, at the mercy of our smallest pleasure, fascinated by our own excellence. We carry in ourselves the seeds of our own loss. The only remedy is humility. And there is no other.

Then, let us not forget Benjamin! Our eternal salvation is at stake.

That is what we desire for you at the beginning of this New Year, presenting you our best wishes and thanking you for your unfailing generosity towards us. Be assured of our prayers for all your intentions.

In Christo Sacerdote et Maria,

Fr. Yves le Roux

NEWS FROM THE SEMINARY

• On December 26, 2005, through the exploitation of a loophole in domain name security, a young Russian took control of the name of the Seminary website, www.stas.org. All seems to indicate that this action was not directed against the Seminary as such. It was simply a thief taking advantage of an opportunity to take what is not his. With the help of some knowledgeable friends, we are currently pursuing all available options – even considering legal action – in order to regain ownership of the domain name. We entrust this intention to your prayers.

• In the meantime, the Seminary website is available at www.sspxseminary.org