Fatima and Luther
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
The prophet Jeremiah was right : "With desolation is all the land made desolate : because there is none that considereth in the heart." (Jer 12:11) The tragic and scandalous events which continue to accelerate in the Church cannot leave us indifferent. One must react so as not to risk collaborating, at least through indifference, in the destruction of the Church.
A hundred years ago, the Angel of Fatima told the children to make acts of reparation for Eucharistic profanations. "Take and drink the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for for their crimes and console your God." Today, he would certainly ask us to make acts of reparation for the horrible outrages committed against Holy Mother the Church, the Mystical Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
In 1517, faced with the problems founds within the Church, Luther reacted in a proud and tempestuous way, and rebelled. Following the worldly humanism of the XIV and XV centuries, the fervour of many had cooled. One thinks of the newly converted Ignatius of Loyola who, at the same period, was teaching the basic catechism to those Spaniards he instructed – the Ten Commandments, sin, grace – and he urged the contemplative religious to return to their Rules and to the strict cloistered life. A general relaxation of discipline was indeed widespread.
In Germany, Luther, an Augustinian monk, reacted violently against this situation, under the appearance of good, in the name of Holy Scripture, Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), subjecting the country to blood and fire in approving divorce, in emptying monasteries, in encouraging the marriage of priests and of consecrated souls, in eliminating six of the seven sacraments, in leading a sizable part of the Church into schism. It was truly a revolution which continues to this day. It is therefore unimaginable, inconceivable, that no less than the head of the Church, wants to celebrate such a revolutionary. Parce nobis Domine – Spare us O Lord! "Make reparation for their crimes and console your God."
Others had an entirely different reaction in the face of this state of tepidity which was found almost everywhere. Rather than revolt against and attack the Church, they gave themselves to the work of their sanctification and the salvation of souls, thereby bringing millions into the bosom of the Church of Rome. These were the numerous saints of the XVI century, several of whom were founders of religious order: Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, John of God, Jerome Emiliani, Philip Neri, Peter of Alcantara, Pius V, as well as St Teresa of Avila and so many others! Their program of reform could be summarized as : "Let us fight tepidity, heresy and vice by means of fervour, truth and holiness."
In 1917, four-hundred years later, amid the varied aspects of the story of Fatima, the Most Blessed Virgin announced to the children another terrible crisis in the Church which would focus around the pope. He was named several times in the secret of 13th July, and among others were foretold "persecutions against the Church and the Holy Father" who "would have much to suffer."
It is clear: when the papacy is shaken, it is truly the whole Church which is shaken. On one hand, one must regrettably deplore and condemn certain acts and words of Pope Francis, but on the other hand, one must not for all that condemn the papacy itself. This would be to do the work of the enemy who, for the past 2000 years, has sought to destroy it. The Church is founded on this rock. To destroy it is to destroy oneself. It would be to cut off the branch upon which one is sitting.
In her Memoirs, Sister Lucy informs us that little Jacinta, following the apparition of 13th July, having understood how much the Holy Father need prayers, said that "each time she offered her sacrifices to Jesus," she added "and for the Holy Father." "After the Rosary she would always recite three Hail Mary’s for the Holy Father." The thought of the Holy Father came constantly to the mind of the three young seers. In addition to the concern for sinners, and the terrifying vision of the war to come, this was one of their major preoccupations.
In 1936, Our Lord said to Sister Lucy, regarding the pope and the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, this phrase full of meaning: "The Holy Father! Pray much for the Holy Father. He will do it, but it will be very late."
And in a letter to Father Aparicio, on the 2nd March 1945, Sister Lucy clearly implied that the great sufferings of the Holy Father foretold in the Secret and doubtless also in Jacintha’s visions again concerning the future: "Over there (in Brazil), she wrote, do they pray for the Holy Father? It is necessary to never cease praying for His Holiness. Great days of affliction and torment still await him." (see The Whole Truth About Fatima, vol. 2. pp. 77-78)
Consequently, in reparation for the scandal of the pope’s visit to Sweden in honour of Luther last October 31st, there will be in all the chapels of the Canadian district a Holy Hour between now and the end of the year 2016.
May I make the most of this monthly letter to wish all our readers a holy season of Advent and a Holy Christmas.
News from the District
Society’s schools in Canada: number of students as of September 2016:
- Holy Family School, Levis : 70 pupils (mixed primary, boys secondary)
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy, New Hamburg, Ontario : 68 pupils (mixed primary, boys secondary boarding)
- St John Bosco Academy , Calgary, Alberta : 89 pupils (mixed, K-9th grade)
Blessing of the new seminary in the USA on November 4 : A delegation of 11 people from Quebec attended to represent Canada. They joined more than 1000 people who gathered around the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X and the members of the General Council
Canadian vocation: A young man has entered the new seminary in Dillwyn, Virginia, on 7th November last, to try his vocation: Joseph McManus from Toronto. Let us support him by our prayers.
Confirmation Tour 2016: Between November 17 and 26, his Excellency Bishop de Galarreta administered the sacrament of confirmations to 104 new soldiers of Christ across Canada.
English speaking retreats 2017 in Saint-Césaire:
For women: Feb. 6-11 (Fr. Couture); Aug. 14-19 (Fr. Belisle); Oct. 9-14 (Fr. Couture)
For men: Feb. 13-18 (Fr. Couture); Aug. 21-26 (Fr. Belisle); Nov. 20-25 (Fr. Couture)
Other English speaking retreats will in the West, Please consult the nearest priories.
Yours truly, in the service of Our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour,
Father Daniel Couture
District Superior
