From the mailbag --
A man wrote in saying he doesn't have a Resistance Mass within 5 hours, and he currently attends the Indult. He asked for advice. Here is my response:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first priority is to keep the Faith and save our souls. This usually includes access to the Sacraments.
If you can't do anything more to support/attend the Resistance, then you can't. God knows your heart.
I am not an expert at the changes made to the Rite of Ordination/Rite of Consecration at Vatican II... others are more knowledgeable about this. I am not of the opinion that all Novus Ordo priests are laymen. Most are poorly trained, yes. Many even teach error. And some are probably invalid. But it depends on how crazy the bishop was -- again, in my opinion. But even if just 1%, 5%, 10%, or 20% are invalid, do you want that doubt nagging at you?
If you are going to attend the Diocesan Indult because that's all you have, there are a few pointers:
1. Beware it could be taken away at any time, by the corrupt Modernist authorities/hierarchy. It is NOT a long-term solution.
2. You need to get together with other like-minded people, and if there is no Resistance in your area, then CREATE ONE. At the very least, if there's the slightest seed of a real Traditional group in your area, you need to support it 100%. That means attending all the Masses they offer in your area, even if it's only a few times a year and "doesn't seem to solve your problem" of where to attend Mass. You have to support the humble beginnings, or you'll never have a Resistance option. See #1.
I use "Resistance" as synonymous with "classic Traditional Catholic" because that's basically what it is. Not making a dogma of the Pope question, being totally aloof from the Conciliar Church, having good seminaries for training and 100% certain ordinations, offering the Mass and ALL sacraments in various independent, but canonically irregular/illicit chapels all over the country. In other words, the classic "Traditional Catholic" position which has existed from the very beginning. The SSPX used to be the best Traditional Catholic organization but they lost it. They forgot we don't need permission to be Catholic -- especially permission from Modernists and destroyers.
It's not that you need to attend the Resistance, per se, but you MUST attend a truly Traditional Catholic chapel. One which is independent of the modernists. One which offers ALL sacraments, not just the Mass. One where the priest has been properly trained at a seminary. And whose ordination is beyond reproach or doubt. And one which is willing to continue operation until the Crisis in the Church ends, whenever God decides to do that. That rules out the SSPX. Now you might find these requirements met in some Sede quarters, I'll admit. But the problem is, they tend to over-emphasize the Pope question, to justify their separation from other non-Sede Traditional Catholic groups. I personally believe that the Sedevacantists muddy the waters and add something unnecessary -- an unnecessary dogma, and point of division -- to the Traditional Catholic package that has existed in all times and places since 1969.
It's not that I hate sedevacantists. I scoff at Sedevacantist chapels, Sedevacantist dating sites. The idea that "Traditional Catholic isn't enough; you have to be Sedevacantist Traditional Catholic!" Sedevacantism is nothing more than a personal opinion about the Crisis in the Church. Persons with that opinion USED to sit side-by-side with non-Sedevacantists at Independent chapels and SSPX chapels all over the country -- and many still do. It's Sedevacantism as a "cult" or an exclusive club that I oppose. It turns a single opinion into a new dogma of the Faith, and is then used to divide Traditional Catholics and reduce the number of Mass-Hours nationwide (1 Faithful attending Mass for 1 hour is a Mass-Hour. 20 Faithful attending Mass for 5 days, or 100 Faithful attending Mass once, would both equal 100 Mass-Hours). Dogmatic sedevacantists -- those who condemn all non-Sedevacantists to hell -- are the worst; they are as bad as any clown-nose-wearing Novus Ordo priest.
As for the SSPX -- Perhaps some senior citizens could get by attending the SSPX, since they only have a few years left on earth, and need someone to administer Extreme Unction in the all-too-near future. But younger individuals, those with families (such as myself) must necessarily take a longer-term view. I have no choice -- I MUST consider the future, and not just the next 5 years. I have a LOT of kids who need to be raised in the practice of the Faith. I need to know my chapel is going to be there in 5, 10, or even 20 years. The Indult, even aside from its myriad of other problems, is far too unstable. A new bishop or Pope can take it all away with the stroke of a pen. And the SSPX is heading that direction.