What is the most logical position for a sedevacantist to take?
6. Have the courage and strength to leave all pro-sede vacantist discussions, debates, and literature aside and just concentrate on prayer. One year of letting the issue alone and concentrating on spiritual advancement through proper traditional spiritual methods would do wonders.
But at this point of the game, bitterness has taken over and this would take great commitment and supernatural strength, right? only available through God's grace. One would have to leave one's passions aside and lose oneself through total abandonment to the will of God.
Do sedevacantists have what it takes to do this?
You somehow think that we haven't done that.
The only thing that abandoning this topic did for me in the past, was bring spiritual harm. I too in the past told myself I wont revisit this topic until a decade later. Well guess what during that time I confessed my sins to another layman. Don't put off things that are necessary to know in recognizing wolves.
It really doesn't take much thought, its all the gobbledygook theology that keeps people in sedeplenism. Without the super added complexity, people are so confused. I am talking about folks who understand latin, several years in philosophy, and in general have an above average IQ. If these individuals are stuck, then what do you think the rest of the populace will be?
It really is super simple, you don't need to waste any time.
1) A pope must be Catholic.
2) These men are not Catholic. As is evident from their words/deeds/acts.
3) Ergo they are not Popes.
After that all you need to do is go into your spiritual retreat that you so much recommend. Which I agree is good, but first solve the doctrinal issues.
No instead what I see from the sedeplenist world, is that they obsess over Rome and always want the latest stuff that is happening.
After I became a SV'ist I spend significantly almost no time looking over the issue. As can be seen with how I take long breaks from posting online, because I do have a life (not that those who post online don't have a life). But this is proof that I am busy taking care of everything else in my life. I eat right, exercise a lot, and just do general spiritual reading. Then once in a long while, I will read up on this sort of literature or catch up a bit as to the current events that happens.
Max it takes me less then 30 minutes to catch up after a month of not listening to any Conciliar garbage news.
While I was in the SSPX, I spent 100 times more time worrying about these things. There was a time where I wanted to just be "spiritual" and not read any controversial stuff. This is the time I was joining the monastery, and some previous years, also some years after I joined. All I did was read Desert Fathers, spiritual books, and doctrine. This was for several years, and none of that helped save me from making the worst mistake in my life. Which is going to the indult... So instead of being proud like I was, I should have simply spent a little time and taken care of my doubts I had. Instead of having to have possibly been deceived by the New Church. I was VERY close in joining an indult type of monastery, I was already accepted in several places. Who knows if I would still be there, and it is certainly much harder as a monastic to get out of that heretical institutions.
So no, what you advice simply doesn't work. I have been there and done that, the same goes with all the religious who were in the Novus Ordo that I have spoken to and gotten out. They also wanted to be pure spiritualist and not worry about stuff like that. But at the end of the day like THEY told me, over and over. The doctrine doesn't go away just because you wish for it not to be present. It always comes back, if not in one year, maybe 5 years if you are in ideal situation. Some people go join the local diocese and after 6 years they realize it was a waste of time. But ohh boy they sure were spiritualists, and they avoided all controversial issues. They just kept telling themselves that the Novus Ordo is Catholic, its catholic, its catholic. Despite their little head telling them its not Catholic, its not catholic. It is terrible to live in such a grave state of contradiction, it is mentally anguishing + a huge waste of time. Who is going to give that time back to those folks? All those invalid masses they attended, false confessions? All because they simply did not have the courage to face tough issues/questions when it was presented to them in the first place. All Catholics are faced with a choice, at some point you can't run away from it.
The monk that I know, it was after 15 years of being a hermit. He was in the most ideal setting within the Conciliar Church. At some point God will lead those who love him to the truth. BUT why would anyone in their right mind, postpone doctrinal issues just because it is a bit uncomfortable. The truth hurts, but it also frees you. Now I can spend my time, and in the foreseeable future not have to worry about being in an impossible situation under heretics. So many of my friends, have gone with the indult and in all those years they are not starting to realize how young and stupid they were. They idealize how they are going to be imaginary knights for the faith, and how they are "going to fight" from within. At the end of the day, talk to them 2 years later, and they accept the N.O. and Vatican II (without question). No different then any other Conciliar Catholic, and then you ask yourself where is this imaginary orthodoxy they dreamed themselves of?
They will brainwash you into heresy, that simple. St. Alphonsus says that it is mortally sinful to be in such a monastery... This is what SOUND and sane doctrine tells you, all those other spiritualists might be good willed, but their advice is insane. None of the folks I know, who have been there and tried that solution are currently in a good situation. No they are in a horrible situation, because they decided to be agnostic about doctrinal important issues.
If you have serious doubts about these claimants, research it until you get your questions answered. It doesn't take that long, it took me very little to reach these conclusions once I decided to do the reading myself.
Read Cajetan, John of St. Thomas, Suarez and all the famous defenders of the Pope being a heretic while keeping his office. Once you do that yourself, and simply read a few manuals to help guide you. You will see that the issue is settled, all of this controversy that people imagine. Is just that, pure fiction. The theology is solid, its on our side even our opponents agree with all the major premises of the SV'ist thesis. The only difference between them and us, is how do you get rid of an anti-Pope. That is what the real issue is, yet the SSPX will paint it differently.
Go straight to the source, and see for yourself. It will help you be able to quickly solve all those apparent difficult questions people always raise. There are answers to these questions, but the difference is that they are not insurmountable as it was when I was as a sedeplenist. Quite frankly, with most issues I had no answers, because there was no answers. As a sedevacantist, everything makes perfect sense. You have a sense of peace that sedeplenism can never bring, you are always uncertain. Who do I follow, who do I trust etc....
With sedevacantism its simple, is the priest Catholic and traditionally ordained? Look who he was ordained by, to make sure its not some crazy old Catholic. You go and receive the sacraments, if you have someone to receive them by. And read your spiritual books, and sanctify yourself.
You don't have to worry about sifting any difficult questions, because these men have no authority over us. We simply read this stuff, to be informed, but it really is not necessary. I could simply live my life, and not worry about any of that garbage. That is what 99% of the time I do, in reality. I just inform myself for the sake of others, not because I feel the personal need to scratch some sort of need.
We don't worry about "the local Bishop", and all his non-sensical heresies they spew every other day. Or what local St. JP II the Great Church is doing... None of those things we have to waste time, "fighting inside the Church."
Sure we can talk to Novus Ordites and educate them about Catholic tradition. Or when you bring a convert, you can be able to bring them to a safer position instead of having them go through decades of questioning how all of this madness is possible.
I talk to so many converts that honestly under sedeplenism they are simply so lost, they are so confused. They fear, they question, have no idea, and this is generally what happens when you are presented with the current insurmountable problem that you have, non-Catholics rule over you. Its impossible, but yet everyone else defends that such a thing is true and is happening.
This is why the sedeplenist has to always keep up with whatever +Fellay & Co. have to say on a monthly basis. I used to this faithfully, see what advice they have, see what new sifting we have to worry about.
Now, I can actually be at peace... Now I can go back to my spiritual books... Because now I have no doubts, no more serious epic questions... We just have to solve it once, and that is it.
Topic: Achilless Heel of Sedevacantism: Apostolicity (Read 1806 times)