For all of you who think you need to lecture us here in St. Mary's on courage because we haven't had meltdowns due to the recent events within the SSPX, I would like to say that some of us have lived here a very long time, and most of us gave up everything that was of less importance to us than God, to be close to the chapel, school and fine priests that we have always been blessed with. But that included giving up things as important as family, friends and well-paying jobs. Most of us also have lots of kids that need to be educated and don't believe that public schools or novus ordo schools would do a decent job of it. So, before you go on with the accusations of not caring about our souls or our childrens' or just being bone lazy about the practice of our Faith, or of not having any convictions because we have it so comfortable here, I would like to tell you that you do not know what you are talking about.
How many of you experts in Catholic tradition have been through 30 years of living in a small hamlet filled with people who run the gamut from liberal Catholic to visionary fanatics and just plain stupid and hard-headed people that have to be dealt with every day in close proximity? My family came here many years ago, while Archbishop Lefebvre was still going strong. We have been through all of the SSPX splits and we have seen a lot of people come and go. Some folks move here for the wrong reasons and expect some kind of utopia. Well, it isn't and anyone with half a Catholic brain would know that there isn't any utopia on earth. But if we were all so lazy and compromising, we wouldn't have come here in the first place because to live in St. Mary's is to be in the thick of the fight and the heat of battle all the time. But we have a safe place to practice our Faith and raise our children. Our children don't get kidnapped, they can have friends that are good kids who are raised similarly, and they have numbers of young traditional Catholics to choose from when they are thinking of marriage. The only convenience stores in town agreed not to carry Playboy or Penthouse after some of our men paid them a cordial visit a long, long time ago. Now for the most important advantages; we can visit the Blessed Sacrament any time of the day or night, we have five days of the week to go to confession, and, of course, we have daily Mass several times of the day and one as late as 11:00. Most of us have relatives who are traditional and live in large cities still, mostly because they couldn't bring themselves to leave the big paying jobs or the convenience of hospitals and shops nearby. I even know a traditional family that didn't want to move here because they had just gotten new kitchen cabinets. But they don't have our advantages. Usually they can't attend daily Mass, they have a real problem getting into confession, their kids don't have good trad friends that they can visit nearby but usually have worldly kids to play with who attend the same public or NO schools as they do. To be sure, there are worldy people here and worldly kids among the good but it is possible for us to choose good friends and good friends for our children. We stay here for God. To be as close to Him as we possibly can. But never think life here is easy. It is not. But spiritually speaking, the rewards are too great to enumerate.
Even though there are those here who do not agree with pursuing a deal with Rome, I believe this is not the time to run around like a chicken without a head. No matter where we live, we who love tradition, need to keep cool heads and pray hard, harder than we have been. I love the Bishop and priests who have been forced out (I have known some well for a very long time)and I am completely at a loss to understand what Bishop Fellay is doing, but I know that the SSPX and St. Mary's are in Our Lady's hands and I have confidence that God's will will be done. So far, our Mass is the same as it has been for the entire life of the Society, we have not seen the unusual abuses that are reported in some places. Perhaps because here we have several priests to keep things more balanced. Outwardly, nothing has changed and until it does, we watch and wait. To separate a soul from its source of nourishment; the daily Mass and the sacraments, is a triumph of Satan. There are too many hotheads who are willing to shoot their mouths off and give no thought to what will happen to their souls and their children's after they separate themselves from these graces. There has been no deal and there may never be a deal. We are not going to lightly jeopardize our souls and the vocations of our children for the satisfaction of giving in to the temptation to be hotheaded in this very serious situation.
St. Thomas More knew the wisdom of keeping ones opinion on dangerous subjects to oneself. It may be that we will have to lose everything, but it should be avoided if it can be...while we wait for better times.
And one last thought, Our Lady appeared here a long time ago to a little Indian girl and promised that this place would never be destroyed by wind, which is no small thing in Tornado Alley, USA. And to date, the has not been a tornado within the city limits or even really close to it. Go ahead and check it out. There have even been tornadoes that split and went around St. Mary's, but never through it. In these times of crazy superstorms and manipulated weather, this promise takes on huge significance. But I believe that the significance is even greater. I believe that She will protect us from the spiritual storms that are coming as well. She knows how devoted we are to Her and to Her rosary and She won't abandon us.
Topic: A message to Saint Marys (Read 13885 times)