Living in the midst of a spineless world whose polluted air numbs the soul, we have the duty and the honor to go on the offensive. Having received a sacred deposit from Christ on the Cross, we are under the obligation of making our inheritance bear fruit. The baptismal grace we have received does not allow us any prevarication, because it has deeply marked our soul with the indelible seal of the Cross. It has inscribed it in blood, in that Precious Blood that demands our personal response and our indefectible engagement. Any evasion is nothing more than cowardice.
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
Living in the midst of a spineless world whose polluted air numbs the soul, we have the duty and the honor to go on the offensive. Having received a sacred deposit from Christ on the Cross, we are under the obligation of making our inheritance bear fruit. The baptismal grace we have received does not allow us any prevarication, because it has deeply marked our soul with the indelible seal of the Cross. It has inscribed it in blood, in that Precious Blood that demands our personal response and our indefectible engagement. Any evasion is nothing more than cowardice.
The men of our times, deceived by vain illusions, run towards the vilest pleasures, seemingly oblivious of their own human nature, content with being thus reduced to the level of animals. Oblivious of their divine vocation, they sadly submit to a world that is each day more appalling. Man has not been made only for pleasure and spending! But today it seems so...
What a pitiable destiny for our fellow men! Can we remain indifferent, disillusioned and critical, seeing the spectacle, not only of the waste of the Blood shed, but also of our brothers' misery? Can we refuse to fulfill our double duty as men and Christians? Truly, these questions are idle, because we already know the path we must follow: the grace in our hearts cannot but spread out and lead us to serve Christ and our brothers, of whom we are the guardians - unless we choose, as Cain, to refuse this duty with the same feeble excuse.
For he who is faithful, to take the offensive is certainly a duty and an honor. It is a duty not reserved only to consecrated souls, that is, priests and religious. It is an honor because God invites us to participate in His redemptive work. Why? Why are we called to collaborate in our own redemption and in that of our brothers? Is it due to any merit on our part? Is it our own value that has merited for us such a privilege?
Only God's love can explain what is otherwise inexplicable. Christ has become one of us in order to offer Himself as innocent victim and thus realize the divine union between God and man. But His love cannot stop there - it pushes us to work for the establishment of His kingdom. Such a calling is an honor, and it is our honor to answer it.
Obviously, our fidelity demands from us a determined will to jump into the fray, taking up the weapons of penance and prayer. The battlefield today is our own soul, imprisoned by its passions. Our lack of knowledge leads us to death, as errors infiltrate our thus defenseless souls. The clarion call resounds to awaken us from our sleep - it is high time to open our souls to the eternal truths that are the only ones capable of nourishing and adorning them.
The children of darkness work without respite in the shadows, and disfigure souls with their pernicious doctrines. Where does their strength come from? It cannot be from the veracity of their words. Is it from their zeal, then? One thing is certain, and the observation is not new: the children of darkness do extremely well, and the children of light hide away. Why do they succeed? We must forcefully answer that the insolent success of wicked men is due in great measure to the ignorance and the apathy of good men.
Supported by God's grace, we want to take back our place and spread again the Good News, we want to go on the offensive and become missionaries. We cannot do it, we cannot rise to the heights of our vocation as Catholics, unless we pay the price - our doctrinal formation.
The formation of our intelligence by Catholic doctrine is essential. It will give to our soul that indispensable framework that will allow us to remain standing amidst the decay and contempt of our times. If we do not acquire this formation, either by following a course of Catechism for adults, or by reading good books, if we neglect to pursue such formation in our daily life, very soon error will contaminate us, and it will keep us captive in its merciless grasp. We must not deceive ourselves: the modern world imparts, in an imperceptible manner, an insidious and deadly formation. Only a truly Catholic formation will protect us from the gangrene that threatens us all.
Truth is not negotiable, but must be received with respect. Let us be seized by it, and it will shine forth from us, for the honor of our Father and our own.
In Christo Sacerdote et Maria,
Fr. Yves le Roux
NEWS FROM THE SEMINARY
• After a summer marked by the Ignatian 30-days retreat for some seminarians, and a 10-days retreat for the remainder, we have received 20 new seminarians for our courses of Humanities and Spirituality. Our community now numbers 61 Seminarians (including 4 Benedictine monks), 4 Society Brothers and 7 Priests. We recommend the seminarians and their perseverance to your prayers, as well as the priests who have charge of them.
• Over the Christmas break there will be an Ignatian Retreat for Men here at the Seminary, from December 27 to January 1st .
• The Archive of the SSPX Seminary at Econe (Switzerland) is trying to collect all the extant tape recordings of Archbishop Lefebvre's sermons, conferences, interviews, etc. If you have any, please contact us.