Thursday, September 15, 2022

My latest column: “Persevere to the End”

 By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK

“But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13).

Together with my little parish, years ago, I took the freedom offered the Church by Pope Benedict XVI to re-embrace our entire tradition, to include the most important part of it, the Traditional Latin Mass.

Wide attention has been drawn to our small community by an EWTN segment of “News in Depth” that was first aired on Friday, September 2. YouTube views of the show at https://youtu.be/CFs-BGxeVXE now total 83,068. The comments have been disabled after climbing to over a thousand. I would guess they weren’t entirely complimentary to those responsible for the oppression.

Today, as I write, on September 8, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the neighboring Diocese of Arlington “celebrates” by canceling the Latin Mass, which was once offered in over 20 parishes, in all but a handful of locations.

Over a twelve-year period we built up a beautiful parish life, complete with Rogation Day processions and Ember Days. Our church was restored from the plaster walls and ceilings inward to the hand-painted apse mural, chandeliers, lamps, pine floor, and more. Parishioners did all the work, exclusive of the plaster restoration and painting and the repositioning of the altar rail to incorporate restored gates, both projects requiring professionals.

The side altars were built by a Mennonite cabinet-maker. They were marbleized by a parishioner together with our main altar gradine, constructed and installed by parishioners.

The tradition truly took on a new life in our small, southern Maryland riverfront town. Large families flocked together upon discovering this refuge. But such flourishing must be not be allowed in the Church of our present leadership. We are praying incorrectly, they say, and must therefore be punished by being banned from our own church. The message is that we are obviously meant to take away from this is we can stay if we pray according to the postconciliar regulations.

In just two weeks we will be required, if we wish to remain in the good graces of our ecclesiastical superiors, to drive ten minutes away for the Sunday Traditional Mass to a small mission chapel that does not serve our needs, and to leave our own church entirely empty. This is the new symbol of the success of the “pastoral” Church.

Read the rest: https://thewandererpress.com/catholic/news/our-catholic-faith/a-leaven-in-the-world-persevere-to-the-end/

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