Author Topic: Life as a Seminarian was like movie Platoon (Read 50045 times)

BrJoseph · « **Reply #70 on:** August 14, 2014, 09:22:33 PM »

No, he is not pro-Resistance. He is teaching at the SSPX school in Wilmot to make "Catholic men". This is the battle that he has chosen for now. He doesn't agree with the Resistance.

Amazing how some people cannot see the reality of the situation, and yet can analyze some components precisely.

poche · « **Reply #71 on:** August 14, 2014, 11:58:23 PM »

Quote from: Matthew

Quote from: Viva Cristo Rey
And then there are our Missionary priests and Catholic laity in communist China who were beaten, tortured and some martyred.

Christians today are being persecuted and martyred.

So what?

You're right, he should stop his whining. :rolleyes:

Give me a break!

As if psychological torture isn't every bit as painful and real as physical torture.

You know what? You two are saying, "He doesn't know REAL suffering...let him try out the Vietnam war and he'd find out quickly what a wuss he was being..."

Well how about this: You don't know extreme physical suffering OR the psychological kind he describes, or you'd be more compassionate.

I must say -- there is nothing more compassionate than a woman on her good day, and there is nothing more cruel than a woman on her bad day. Along the lines of "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

And actually I think he could have dealt with the rigors and horrors of war easier than he dealt with what he went through at the Seminary. He was very athletic and had tons of energy, and had a good spiritual foundation. He is a tough man.

Jesus'agony in the garden was the worse of all the tortures he recieved during his Passion. Even though he was whipped, crowned with thorns, mocked, and hung on the cross. The agony was the worse. So it is many times with psychological torture.

Himagain · « **Reply #72 on:** August 15, 2014, 10:07:06 AM »

Quote from: Ladislaus

"Goodbye, good men."

That tragedy is exactly what I though of. The (evidently) institutionalized destruction of vocations and the men who offered themselves for the love of Him and His church runs in a strong parallel in these stories, except the N.O. incorporates abomination to haze Good Men out of their vocations.

I certainly felt the same despairing rage (among other things) reading this as I did reading "Good Bye, Good Men" years ago.

Himagain · « **Reply #73 on:** August 15, 2014, 10:14:06 AM »

Quote from: Columba

This is so true. It seems trads are unwilling to fight for restoration but instead only grit teeth and await the end.

Yes, that really resonated with me, too. And it stung as I looked at myself through that lens.
And, it seems that the traditional remnant disassembles into ever smaller groups/factions who each consider themselves, to one extent or another, the last remaining bit of the One True Church.

Matthew · « **Reply #74 on:** August 15, 2014, 10:50:03 AM »

In defense of those Trads who give up and "wait for the end" --

It sure seems to be humanly impossible for us to do anything. Just look at the "Story of a Seminarian" we just read.

I discovered the SSPX around 2000 and was totally inspired by their mission. I read the works and biographies of Archbishop Lefebvre, the history of Vatican II, etc. and I could see that the SSPX was at the top of a very short list of groups that were doing exactly what needed to be done in the Church today.

Fighting error 100%, not giving up where they shouldn't (on the Conciliar Church for example), but not sticking their heads in the sand either. Completely Catholic, but not bitter. They were apostolic and zealous to convert souls. They even had an unbroken line with Tradition (Abp. Lefebvre). They even had some measure of legitimacy, having been lawfully set up within the Catholic Church in a given diocese (was it Fribourg?) as a pious union to form priests, etc.

It was the perfect position! I'm not being sarcastic either. I really thought they had the perfect, Catholic, balanced position in this Crisis. Even today I still think they DID have the perfect position, which is why I support the Resistance today -- they are the heir apparent to the classic SSPX position.

And then look at this story. Zealous young men like myself who believed in the SSPX mission and signed up to become priests -- look what happened to so many of them. We thought we could throw our financial support, even our lives at this Great Cause to help rebuild the Church, and what did it get us? Disappointment.

Like Bishop Williamson, I'm very discouraged by the human side of things right now. I don't think any amount of street preaching, door-to-door, public processions, retreats (only Trads sign up for these), or any other apostolic work is going to turn this mess around. Only a chastisement would be sufficient to get everyone to shut off their gadgets long enough to think about Eternity and the state of their souls. Everyone is engrossed in distractions and pleasure -- how can even a saint compete with that?

The fact is that no book, not even the most well-written, can compete with a TV commercial, much less any TV show or movie. Even a poor TV program is easier to digest than the greatest of books. One is completely passive, the other takes effort.

St. Paul said that "Faith comes by hearing" -- suggesting that someone has to be speaking that truth to you. He didn't say "Faith comes by watching" or "Faith comes by viewing [on a screen]". When reading a book, you basically "hear" the words as well. So the only way to convert people is to preach (in person) or distribute pamphlets/books. But people won't and can't read anymore.

So yes, I don't have infinite amounts of patience or hope. I have hope, all right -- that God will send his Chastisement soon and save the greatest number of souls. What do we do with ourselves in the meantime? Just live as virtuous a life as possible, and maybe hope to help a few people along the way. But it's not going to amount to much, as far as results. There are too few of us, and way too much power on the side of distraction/pleasure/error. Things are too far gone.

Never has there been a turnaround after a situation as dire as this one. The world is now worse than it was before the Flood. And even though there have been turnarounds before, they have always involved a chastisement like the Black Death. It's simply the way things work.