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I hope there will be enough light. Let us say a short prayer to the Holy Ghost. In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, Amen. Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth. And let us rejoice in His divine consolation through Jesus Christ our Lord. In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, Amen. Right then. Good day to everyone. I hope you are all well on this Thursday, April 23rd. And in fact, today is the feast of Saint George. Right then. So, I am outside because the weather is fine, but I hope there will be enough light. That night won't fall too quickly. And you can hear the birds — those are parakeets. Obviously they are quiet now, but they chatter when there are people around. Right then. So, a few items of news today. Current events. And then I will speak to you, of course, about our return to God. How we go about returning to God. In particular, through the gifts of the Holy Ghost. So, first of all, current events. You have the volume... Now wait, if I'm not mistaken. Volume 3 — actually 4, because there is 0, 1, 2, 3. Which is going to come out... It will soon be published: the works of Bishop Williamson. The commentaries and the hissones [Eleisons]. Right. And which will appear shortly. These are all the commentaries that Bishop Williamson made on current events. Now, what is truly admirable is that the 250... There were 250 printed each time. They all sold out. All the faithful snapped them up. And there you go. And so that is going very well. But what is truly sad about the matter, and I say it again, is that not a single priest of the Priestly Fraternity bought one. Not one. Yet I had said that he was the bishop par excellence after Bishop Williamson — the one who was the spiritual heir of Bishop Williamson. So it is quite frightening. I find it quite frightening. I would say that even out of curiosity, even if one disagrees, at least one ought to buy the works of Bishop Williamson. Then one knows what one is talking about. Whether one agrees or disagrees. Right. So I will put them up for sale online on eBay shortly. It's easier for shipping. So don't hesitate to get your copy as soon as they are on sale. Right.

So, regarding current events, I think you are — you are following the news, obviously — regarding what is happening in the Middle East, with the Strait of Hormuz. We hear about it perhaps thirty times a day. And we see it above all at the fuel pump. Every time you fill up the tank, as someone said, you can thank Mr. Netanyahu, because it is thanks to him and his conquering Zionism that we are paying a heavy price today. And perhaps very soon — it could happen — there will be oil shortages. Right. And the famous "energy lockdown" that the globalists, by the way, wanted to impose on us. So we shall be satisfied. We shall be stuck, I think, perhaps in a few months — I don't know — when it comes to... There will certainly be restrictions in that regard. So we must prepare. Prepare how? I think we need to prepare to be self-sufficient to some degree. Bishop Williamson spoke about this a great deal when he envisioned the Third World War. He insisted on the fact that we must seek self-sufficiency to a certain extent, but I would say above all local mutual aid. Right. Here in the Mayenne, what is good is that there are already networks of people who have understood this and who are ready to help one another mutually in order to, precisely, to survive. Well, simply to live. Right.

So, why — and I return to the metaphysical question — why this Jєωιѕн-Zionist boldness? Well, it is linked primarily to the weakness and nullity, the lack of strength, of Catholics. Of Catholic bishops — and the pope, obviously, leading the way. He says, "Yes, no war, no more war" — yes, that's kind, but when you are against something, you must employ means. So the problem is a bit like communicating vessels: Zionism will be all the more powerful, as will Judaism, the weaker Catholics are. Right. So I invite you to read a work by Fr. Chazal. I don't have it here, but I should have brought it. It's called "Neither Fear nor Hatred" — or something like that. "Neither Fear" — right, one must, on the one hand, not fear Judaism, but on the other hand, one must not have hatred either, because one must pray for their conversion to the truth, that they might come out of their тαℓмυdic madness and return to Catholic truth. That is the only thing that can save them and that can save the world. One knows that if one imagines that today the Jews converted, acknowledging that Christ is the true God and that the Catholic religion is the true religion, the face of the world would literally change. So that is where the problem lies.

Therefore, to seek political solutions today without seeking the conversion of this fallen people — who are no longer chosen. They were chosen in relation to Christ, but since they rejected Him, they are fallen now. And the Law, as Saint Thomas Aquinas said, the Jєωιѕн law, is no longer merely useless — it is even deadly. It brings death. If today they have themselves circuмcised, if they perform all these rituals, these Jєωιѕн rituals no longer have any reason to exist. Right.

So what can we say today also about the thought of Pope Leo XIV? It is absolutely catastrophic. The See of Peter today is occupied by heretics, there is no doubt about it. We saw it in his trip to Algeria. He clearly declared before everyone — before both Muslims and Catholics — that there was one single father. No, certainly not. The father of the Muslims is like the father of the Jews, as Our Lord said: "You have only one father — Satan." And our Father in heaven is the Holy Trinity. And Leo XIV should not have lied to them. He could perhaps have put it diplomatically by saying to the Muslims: "You must advance, journey toward the truth, in order to save yourselves." Right. But in any case, one must not have this kind of discourse, which is Masonic discourse.

Now, far be it from us to say that the pope is not pope — it is not because the pope utters heresies that he automatically falls from his throne [ipso facto]. But in any case, it is scandalous, and it continues in the same mold as his predecessors since John XXIII.

So, I read recently — someone sent me a short text that was published — a series of questions that were put to Fr. Pagliarani. For those who don't know him, he is the current superior of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X. There are about twenty questions. What he says is not without interest, but the problem is not what he says — it is what he does not say. What he does not say... There are two things he does not say which are fundamental and which truly reveal a very particular mindset: he never speaks — not once, not a single word, you can read the docuмent — he never speaks of the Conciliar Church. It simply does not exist for him. We are not asking him to speak of the "counter-Church" — already for him that might be a little difficult — but at least to say that the Church which is in Rome is no longer the Catholic Church. And that there exists another Church with another law, another catechism, another rite. One gets the impression that he treats the Catholic authorities — the pope, the bishops — as not too bad, as people one can discuss things with. And he admits it himself in question number 9: that he met with Francis. We are only discovering this now. It is doubtless a detail. But: "When I asked to meet him at the Vatican, I obtained an audience with him within 24 hours, and he showed himself to be particularly affable." But the problem is that we are dealing with a destroyer of the faith. So on the one hand, Bishop Williamson is expelled from the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X as if he were a troublemaker — because he tells the truth. And on the other hand, they hold discussions with heretics, saying he was "particularly affable." Well then.

So I think that for Catholics there is reason... But that is the problem today. Why, as I was saying, do Zionists and Jews have so much power? Because Catholics are weak. It is much the same at the level of tradition. Why today do the modernists continue to thrive while tradition — I would say — should have swept all of it away? Simply because Catholics — true Catholics — are weak, are consensual, want to be friendly with people who are fundamentally dangerous. They are madmen. They are dangerous madmen. So we are conscious enough to say that yes, those who govern us today — the globalists — are madmen. That is true. We all agree on that. I think there is unity on that point. And yet the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X never says so. But even where they are yet more insane is at Rome. They are mad, these Romans. Our Lady herself used very strong terms at La Salette: "Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist." Right. She does not say: "Yes, at Rome there will be an affable pope, a kind pope." No. They are heretics. I'm sorry. Right.

Well, for those who say: "Oh yes, we are all going to Écône on the 1st of July for the episcopal consecrations." Right. I would like to remind you nonetheless that the bishops who will consecrate — there will be two of them, and at least two, perhaps there will be others, I don't know — in any case there will be two: it will be Bishop Fellay and Bishop de Galarreta. Right. I would like to remind you nonetheless that these two bishops literally betrayed the legacy of Archbishop Lefebvre in 2012. The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X held its own Vatican II in 2012. They expelled priests, they expelled a bishop, because they now wanted to position themselves — you see, as one reads there — in a somewhat more consensual manner toward this Church which they never call "Conciliar." These two bishops — and especially Bishop Fellay — had drafted in April 2012 a doctrinal agreement which has never been retracted, by the way. Right. Bishop Williamson denounced it publicly. And afterward, Bishop de Galarreta asked forgiveness of Bishop Fellay — he was quick to say: "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." No — Bishop Fellay should have been expelled from the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, expelled literally, so that things could return to normal according to the legacy of Archbishop Lefebvre.

And so, what will people be doing when they attend the consecrations? First of all, what is the purpose of these bishops? They will be attending a consecration performed by two traitors. Two traitors. Right. People who have betrayed. I don't know how they will be able to say they are blessed by God. It's not possible. One cannot be blessed by God when one endorses or assists at things like that. It is scandalous. Scandalous. Right. Even if one were to have a discourse that appears traditionally oriented — be on your guard, be on your guard. All that glitters is not gold. Not everything in a cassock is necessarily traditional. Right. So be careful. I will be told: "You are severe, you are severe." Yes, it is severe. And precisely this week we celebrated a great saint: Saint Anselm of Canterbury. Truly, I invite you to read his life. We celebrated him on... it was Monday. It was last Monday. Saint Anselm. And so, read his life. You can find it on the internet — type "Saint Anselm of Canterbury." And there is an encyclical that Pope Saint Pius X wrote about him for the eight-hundredth anniversary of his death. It was called "Communium Rerum." And why do I mention this? Because in Saint Anselm of Canterbury we truly have the profile of a Catholic bishop such as the Church desires. So there we truly have a model. And Saint Pius X cites him as an example. He even makes him something of a guiding star for his pontificate.

And so, what did Saint Anselm of Canterbury do in particular? He was first... He was born in Italy in 1033. And then he came from a very noble and wealthy family. His father... His mother had raised him very well in a very Christian, very pious manner. His mother died when he was 15 years old. And then he allowed himself to get drawn somewhat into the world by his father, who was a little worldly. And in fact he recovered himself. He left his father's house. He entered the monastery — with help from [Lanfranc] — and entered the monastery of the Abbey of Bec in Normandy. He came from the abbot of the Abbey of Bec. And then, since the see was vacant at Canterbury, the pope appointed him Archbishop of Canterbury. Incidentally, in another connection — something amusing — that is where Bishop Williamson was buried. Right, just as a footnote. So that is amusing. And what will truly characterize his pontificate — his episcopate — is the fact that he proclaimed Catholic truths, he defended Catholic truth before princes. And indeed he was exiled twice by the King of England, William Rufus, and his predecessor. And never did he yield before their assertions. For example, when the king wished to be consecrated by bishops without his mandate — you see? He considered that no, it fell to the Church to perform that consecration with the mandate of the Primate of England. Right.

And then he had a motto. I think all of you can put it on the front of your house. In any case, I would like to put it here at the priory. And I would make it almost a priestly motto. Listen carefully: "Christ does not want a slave as His bride." And that is the Catholic mentality, you see, today. Catholics are often slaves who are unwilling to affirm the truth. He said that there was nothing he loved more in this world than the freedom of his Church. Freedom — meaning not doing whatever one likes, but the freedom to speak the truth. Right. And that is what is most difficult when one is a priest: to speak the truth, because one knows one will pay a high price for it, often. Right. Over these few years of priesthood, one pays the price for speaking the truth. And that is emotional. Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop Williamson paid the price for speaking the truth. They were sanctioned, therefore, from another angle, by Rome. Bishop Williamson by Bishop Fellay, and so it goes.

Right. I am going to read you a little of what Saint Anselm wrote to a prince. Let me find it. Excuse me. Right. Here: "See, my dearest Lord, how our Church — how our mother, the Church of God, whom God calls His tender friend and beloved bride — is trampled underfoot by wicked princes. How, to their eternal damnation, those very same men to whom God entrusted her with the mission of defending her, make themselves her executioners. With what boldness they have appropriated her goods." One thinks, you see, for example, of all those princes — the Republic in France — which appropriated the goods of the Church, the spiritual goods, even, not merely the church buildings. "With what cruelty they have turned her freedom into servitude. With what impiety they seek to dominate and undermine her laws and her doctrine." And: "For all those who refuse to submit to the law of God must without doubt be reckoned as enemies of God." Right. And we see that today. And why, you see, is evil so powerful today? One need not look for the answer in economic problems — Trump and all that is a waste of time, all of it. Nonsense. The problem today is the spiritual weakness of the spiritual authorities — that is, of the clergy: the clergy, the bishops, and the pope. Right. And even within the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X it is the same.

"I do not fear," says Anselm, "I fear neither exile nor poverty nor torments nor death, for by the grace of God my heart is ready to suffer all of that for obedience to the Apostolic See and for the freedom of my mother, the Church of Christ." Right. He says again: "I would rather die, and if I live, suffer all poverty in exile" — and he was twice in exile — "than see the honor of the Church of God diminish in any way on my account or because of my example." Well, tell me — today, are there bishops who would say such things? Right.

And he will write to the king — King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, who was very courageous, having defeated Saladin, so he was not just... he was the leper king whom everyone knows. He writes to him — he was his contemporary: "I ask you, as a most faithful friend, I give you this counsel and pray to God with this intention: live under the law of God and submit your will in all things to His. It is when you reign according to the will of God that you truly reign for your own good. Do not fear, as many wicked kings do, that the Church was delivered to you as a slave to a master. She was entrusted to you as to her advocate and defender." And there again the phrase: "God has nothing more dear in the world than the freedom of His Church."

Right. So you see, that is what Saint Pius X says in this encyclical — read it, it is called "Communium Rerum," for the eighth centenary of Saint Anselm of Canterbury. It is extraordinary, and there we have the substance of what one would expect today from bishops, from priests, from Catholic bishops. Right. And then, to show you that a bishop has power, here we have the bishop of Laval — that is Bishop Matthieu Dupont. I don't know if you are aware of the matter of the Church of Saint-Gault — have you followed the news a little? I was taken into police custody. Bishop Dupont doesn't care in the least that a priest of the diocese spent time in police custody — he didn't even send me a brief note of condolence, nothing at all. Well, I don't really care about that. But what is scandalous in this affair — I don't know if you are aware — is that there are five people who have offered to buy this church, to restore it. The municipality says no, no, it will be demolished. Right — they want to demolish this chapel, this Church of Saint-Gault. Well. What could stop this demolition? I will tell you: overnight, it is not judicial procedures as some are doing — well, that can work, but it doesn't work very well. There is one thing and one thing only that can work, I tell you: Bishop Dupont writes or produces a letter saying that this church, which was recently declared deconsecrated, he now publicly re-consecrates it and forbids the municipality from laying a hand on this church. The mayor can do nothing more — he's stuck, he's stuck. So what I am going to do is call Bishop Dupont and say: "Your Excellency, if you are a bishop, you produce this docuмent, you write it and publicly declare that the church is no longer deconsecrated, that it is reconsecrated for worship, and the municipality can do nothing more — it's over." In my view, I fear that unfortunately this poor bishop, like the others, is subservient to power. He was chosen by [the system] and they say to him: "Above all, don't make waves. If you don't want any trouble — and you know, the finances, we can help you, or not." I don't know. Right. You see — freedom. If we had free, strong bishops, we would not be in this situation. People are disoriented today: the shepherd is struck down and the sheep are scattered. That is where we stand. Right.

So, one small piece of news to finish: this year I am celebrating my 25th anniversary of priesthood. Yes, it has been 25 years since I was ordained a priest. And so, so as not to leave anyone out, I am going to celebrate twice: once here in France, at Saint-Aignan, on Saturday the 4th of July — so if you wish to come, you are welcome, but please register so that we have a rough idea of the number of people coming. The address is: francefidele.org — at — gmail.com. I will repeat it. So it is Saturday the 4th of July, at Saint-Aignan. Don't hesitate to register. Right. Could you just close the door to prevent the others from responding? Right. So it is 25 years — we were ordained in 2001, and there were ten of us, including Fr. Riou whom you all know. We were ordained together in 2001, so he too will be celebrating his 25th anniversary. I don't know if we will do something together. Right. And then also in Belgium it will be a little later, also in July — I will give you the date later, for those who are more toward the north. It will be an opportunity to gather together on that occasion, in the company of people of the same conviction and the same struggle.

Right. And so we come at last to our subject. I was very talkative, but it was for entirely necessary reasons.

So... I return to the question of virtues. I told you — Saint Thomas Aquinas — the genius of Saint Thomas is to have considered men in their... man in his return to God in his totality. So he will take into account the whole... It's that door there in fact, that door. And so I had spoken to you about virtues. Virtues are — how to put it — these capacities that are within us to do good. Right. And we become virtuous progressively by repetition of good acts. That is the principle of education. Education in the family above all, not school. At school, one learns primarily to be instructed. It is not really the "national education" [l'Éducation nationale] — it should really be called "national instruction." It is at home, and also within family settings, that one learns to be educated in virtues. And precisely, the current tragedy is that society today — families — no longer educate. Children are made today simply to produce future consumers, future school graduates, people who have... who succeed in life, who have a sense for... who are cunning, who are all of that. It is the law of the strongest. It is the law of the jungle. And that is not... it is not human. It is inhuman in a certain way. Because the true... the human person... what it is that enables us to attain our perfection is not our purchasing power, but the quality of our soul. Right. And that is what holiness is. Holiness is... the saint is the one who dies in a state of grace — well, not only that, obviously in a state of grace — but who has practiced the virtues in a heroic manner.

A saint — what does one study? One studies all the virtues of the saint. Right. And one sees if, for example, he practiced patience — you see this man, for example, who was infinitely patient with his wife. He bore with his wife without ever flinching. Heroic. Conversely, it may also be the wife who bears with her husband, like Saint Monica, who had — I believe — a violent husband. And who was a saint, because — right — she never complained about her husband. Heroism in patience. That doesn't mean she accepted the evil, but... patience. Heroism in faith. I'll give an example: the one who practices an heroic degree of faith is, for example, someone who dies in defense of a truth of faith. That is the case of all the martyrs — defending the truth of Christ in the face of idols. Heroism in charity. For example... Saint... Saint... What is his name? Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, who cared for lepers. You see, who... What is he also called, the father? The one who was on an island of lepers — very well known. A saint... He was not canonized, but... He lived his entire life in the company of lepers. Well, he ended up... Father Damien — yes, that's it, Father Damien. Heroism in charity. Right, one can say that to practice... Or the nuns, you see, who all their lives sacrifice themselves for the sick, the dying, and so on, who accompany the dying at the cost of their own comfort, their well-being. Right. And think also of all those crusaders. All those who went on crusade — well, heroism: leaving the homeland, leaving one's possessions, leaving one's wife, leaving everything. Right. And I speak also, even, of those who founded — since it is the project of some — a monastic order of chivalry. Right, monastic life and so forth. Well, they practice the heroism of the religious virtues as well: poverty, chastity, obedience, and a spirit of combat. Right. And today, I think that heroism — and what does one expect of a Catholic today? It is to be, I would say, above all strong. Strong in the faith. "Fortis in fide." Faith today is what is under attack. All the truths. Well, right. So there you have it. So the virtues, you see, we must practice them, and the circuмstances in which we live must train us in virtue.

"No, the world in which we live is too difficult." No. It has always been difficult. Always, always. There has never been... Imagine the Christians in China today — Christians of the underground Church. They have no church, no seminary, they are persecuted by the hierarchy. It is very difficult. Or... or all those countries in the Soviet Union, back then. So one must not say that virtues are... you see... So what will help us to practice the virtues — and we shall get to this — are the gifts of the Holy Ghost.

So Saint Thomas treats of this in his small Summa, in question 68. We are still in the Prima Secundae. Question 68. He speaks of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. The question that arises is: are the gifts of the Holy Ghost different from the virtues? You spoke to me of virtues, so you see the virtues and the gifts. Well, it is true that many people say the gifts are the same as the virtues. Others say the gifts perfect freedom — we will do good better, they perfect reason, the power of the will, we will be stronger. Others say the gifts help us to resist temptations. Right. Others, to act well. Others say the gifts will produce in us a likeness to Christ. Well, all of that is somewhat true. But in fact, to understand the difference between gifts and virtues, one must look at what Sacred Scripture says. What does Sacred Scripture say about the gifts?

"The Spirit" — this is in Isaiah, chapter 11 — "The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding." And so there, the prophet Isaiah will speak to us of the seven gifts. And what is interesting here is that these gifts come from a movement that comes from outside. When something is given, you see, it comes from outside. We have two motive principles in our life: one that is within us — that is reason — and the other that is exterior to us — that is God. We have two motors. Reason is interesting, because Saint Thomas does not say it is the will. He says the motor within us is first of all reason. And the other motor is God.

And then Saint Thomas says, it is clear that... they will say... Excuse me, I have a slight health issue. So man will be moved by reason in his interior and exterior acts. And in this respect, he will be perfected by the human virtues. Right. So the interior motor that will perfect us is the virtues, guided by reason. "For man to correspond to the divine impulse," says Saint Thomas, "he has need of a higher perfection. Man has need of it." These perfections we call gifts. Not only because they come from on high, but also because they dispose us to follow inspirations. Right. The gift is something more exterior, in fact. It comes from above and will help us to follow inspirations. And so he cites Isaiah again: "He opened my ear, I did not resist and I did not turn back." Right. "The Lord opened my ear" — so it is interesting because we see that God will suddenly illuminate the soul. Right. And afterward, one accepts. Right. And even Aristotle — he cites Aristotle: Aristotle himself had observed that men who are moved by divine action must follow its impulse without taking counsel of human reason. One must be very careful. If, for example, you have a divine impulse and you are certain it is from God, you have a duty to obey. You see? Well, of course, you can speak of it with your spiritual director, with a priest, with a wise person — but you must speak of it. One must not remain... One must obey. When God speaks, one must obey. Right, so that is clear.

Distinction between gifts and virtues: the gifts are something through which God acts more directly. The virtues are more on our side. It is a bit — one has need, you see — and we see clearly today the necessity of the gifts, because, and at all times in fact, man, through the virtues, works somewhat by himself. And the gifts... God has a broader view than we do. He sees better the things of our life, our destiny, the crosses we must pass through. And so the gifts will give us an impulse to pass through certain problems.

Come in, come in. Or rather, go out. So, there is the importance of the gifts. One might say: then, are the gifts necessary for salvation? One might say that ultimately one has no need of gifts — what matters is to be virtuous and to practice the virtues. But no. It is necessary to have the gifts for salvation. For, here again, Scripture says this: "God loves only the one who dwells with wisdom." Now, wisdom is a gift. I tell you, it is very important not to let oneself be guided by reason alone. There are people who are naturally prudent, but as soon as they are told there are things that surpass nature and you must do certain things for God that go beyond the natural order, they will say: "Oh no, no, no — look, that is excessive." When it comes to performing a consecration in opposition to the pope, they will say: "But no, don't do that, it's not reasonable, you are mad." He said: "But no." And that is the gift — the gift of the Holy Ghost. So all the gifts are necessary for salvation. He cites yet another passage, on fear: "He who is without fear — which is a gift of God — cannot be justified." So you see, one can very well have the virtue of prudence, chastity, and all of that, but without the gifts one cannot be saved. Because one does not please God without the gifts.

Why? He explains. "We have seen the perfections that dispose men to follow faithfully the divine inspirations." So a gift is both a disposition and an inspiration at the same time. "A gift is necessary for us every time the Holy Ghost must supply for the insufficiency of our reason, which receives two kinds of perfection. One natural, through the lights of understanding" — already, you see, even there, when we reflect, we already have difficulty even calmly, on weighty decisions to be made. Even on fairly easy decisions. When you have weighty decisions to take, well, you must be enlightened in your mind. "The other, supernatural, through the theological virtues. But in the supernatural order, our reason, possessing the theological virtues only imperfectly, reaches the ultimate end only with the help of the motion of the Holy Ghost." That is very interesting. Even when one has faith, hope, and charity, one says: "Yet I have faith, I believe in God, I hope in Him, I love Him." Well, that is not enough. Because our reason is too... it is not sufficiently steeped in faith. You see? It is still too naturalistic. And so God — it is as if... basically, it is as if there were this flame. And the Holy Ghost, it is as if a great flame were coming. Right. I use the image — you see what is beautiful. Right. "And the Spirit of God — these are His children and His heirs." This is very important, the Spirit of God. There are those who, you see, call themselves Catholics, but who do not have the Spirit of God. They have another spirit. You can see it clearly — they have the spirit of the world. Because they are not sufficiently steeped in the Spirit of God that comes from the Holy Ghost. They are lukewarm. They are a little worldly. They are a little in between. They have faith. They are Catholics. They go to Mass. They receive Communion. They don't even say the Rosary, maybe. But they do not have the Spirit of God. You see? They do not have the breath of the Holy Ghost. One sees the saints — precisely, when they went to make decisions, it was radical. You see? There one sees the breath of God. "It is your Spirit" — and it is the Psalm, you always have the Psalm — "It is your Spirit that will lead us into the land of the just." It is the Holy Ghost that will lead us to heaven. The Holy Ghost is charity.

And all these lukewarm Christians — if they are saved, they will still go through purgatory. But purgatory — what will it be? I hope the sound is good. Purgatory will be a purgation, precisely, of their lack of strength, of zeal. "You did not... you did not love me enough. You were not sufficiently docile to the Holy Ghost. You were in the spirit of the flesh — lukewarmness, the spirit of the world." And the Holy Ghost — purgatory will be a purgation. Oh, I was a bit startled there next time. Those are ring-necked parakeets. I would not recommend buying those birds. Buy small parakeets. Ring-necked parakeets are noisy and not very friendly. Moderately so. They are rather unpleasant.

So: "If, in order to reach heaven, man must be moved and led by the Spirit of God, it is clear that the gifts of the Holy Ghost are necessary for salvation." Right. Do you understand? The gifts of the Holy Ghost are necessary for salvation, because to go to heaven one must be led by the Spirit of God — because nature is not enough. Even nature guided by faith and charity. And this is what religious do. Why do religious enter a monastery? Well, to let themselves be guided by the Spirit of God rather than by the spirit of nature. Right. That is why they take vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity — so as not to... so as more easily to be apprehended by the Holy Ghost. Guided by the Holy Ghost.

[Note: There appears to be some repetition in the original transcript at this point, likely a Whisper artifact — the passage about religious vows is repeated several times in the French source.]

...but there were those who supported precisely the good fight of the faith. It is unimaginable — religious who have renounced the world — going about calculating afterward and saying: "Well actually, the bishops — Bishop Lefebvre's bishops, Bishop Williamson's bishops — they are too hard, too radical." But what kind of religious are these? Do they have the breath of God? When one sees the Capuchins of old, when Saint John Capistran — no, he wasn't a Capuchin — what is the name of that saint who departed? Saint Lawrence of Brindisi! He went off with the cross, with the crusaders, against the Muslims, and they won great victories. They had the breath of God.

Now, attention also — one must not confuse the gifts with the counsels. The way of the counsels, which is the religious life, you have the way of the precepts — don't kill, don't steal — and then the way of the counsels: poverty, obedience, chastity. That is the way of the counsels — that is, it is not obligatory. "If you wish to be perfect" — it is not obligatory — "sell your goods and give to the poor." Right. So the human virtues and the theological virtues do not give to man such a perfection that, in order to reach his ultimate end, he is able to do without the superior impulse of the Holy Ghost. You see?

And so the sacraments, you see, this is very important — because people say: "Oh yes, but the sacraments, the sacraments." You see, all right. But the sacraments do not do everything. You see? The gifts of the Holy Ghost are necessary for impulse. We have people who receive the sacraments very rarely who have an impulse, who have a life under the action of the Holy Ghost much greater than those who receive the sacraments every day. You see? It doesn't mean much by itself. Careful — I am not saying what I have not said. But precisely, the habitual and frequent reception of the sacraments will help us, normally, to amplify in us this action — to be more docile to the Holy Ghost. It will make us more docile there.

So, enumeration of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Gifts of wisdom, understanding — in the higher order. Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear. So, at the top, wisdom. At the bottom, fear. Now, why this order, which is given by Sacred Scripture? Because in fact, the superior gifts will first perfect... So enumeration. First, we have the moral virtues. The moral virtues and the intellectual virtues. The superior virtues: wisdom. So there is reason. Wisdom, understanding — that is speculative reason. That is more contemplation. Counsel and knowledge — that is practical reason. And then the will. Gift of piety: in regard to God, in regard to our parents and our homeland. Gift of fortitude: for our duties in times of danger. And gift of fear: to help us combat evil pleasures. Right.

Now, interesting: the gifts of the Holy Ghost are united to one another. You cannot say: "I have the gift of wisdom but I do not have the gift of fear." Why? Because it is charity that unites everything. "The charity of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Ghost who has been given to us." So everything is united, as with the moral virtues. I told you: the moral virtues — you cannot say on the one hand: "I have the virtue of chastity." And then — well, there's no other virtue, no. You know, all the virtues are united in charity, through prudence.

And in heaven — do the gifts of the Holy Ghost remain? In their essence, yes, because since the gifts of the Holy Ghost perfect our understanding, they will help us to follow the Holy Ghost better in the state of glory. "God will be all in all." And we shall be... The gifts will operate in that direction. On the other hand, the gifts of the Holy Ghost as regards choices one had to make on earth — no, they no longer have a reason to exist. You see? Fortitude to endure — no, there will be no more danger. Etc. You see? Fear of offending God with regard to forbidden pleasures — no, there will be none. But there will be everything in relation to God.

So, what should one prefer — virtues or gifts? Now. Saint Thomas distinguishes three kinds of virtues. You have the theological virtues — do you remember? Faith, hope, charity. The intellectual virtues: wisdom, knowledge. And the moral virtues: fortitude, etc. Now, the theological virtues, through which man is united to the Holy Ghost, take precedence over the gifts. You see? And that is the whole problem: there are charismatic people who say: "Oh, the gifts of the Holy Ghost" — but they set faith to one side. Well no, that makes no sense. Protestants do not have the gifts of the Holy Ghost. They do not have the faith. Saint Gregory observes that the seven sons of Job — that is, the seven gifts — attain the perfection of the number ten only inasmuch as they all act within faith, hope, and charity. Right. So, afterward, the moral and intellectual virtues are obviously less important than the gifts. They will perfect... the reason. But the higher the motor — that is, the Holy Ghost, and not reason — because when it is reason that moves us, it is the moral virtues; when it is the Holy Ghost, it is the gifts. So the higher the motor, the more perfect it is. Right. So in that sense, the gifts are superior to the moral and intellectual virtues.

Right, I am going to stop there for this evening, because night is falling. I don't know if one can still see on screen. Is it all right? Good, very good. And can we hear? And next time we will speak rather about the relationship between the beatitudes — you know: blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor, blessed are those who suffer, etc. Because these are things that must be practiced. And the relationship that there is with virtues and gifts. How is it that there are people who manage to practice the beatitudes, or to live according to the beatitudes?


So, I remind you for all purposes that for the 25th anniversary, here — the celebration at Saint-Aignan — it will be Saturday the 4th of July. So if you wish to register: francefidele.org at gmail.com. And in Belgium it will be a little later, also in July — I will give you the date after. For those who are more in the north, it will be an occasion to come together on that occasion, in the company of people of the same conviction and the same struggle.

I wish you all a good evening. We will conclude with a short prayer. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saint Pius X, Saint Anselm, pray for us. Through the mercy of God, may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.