My brother-in-law sent me a great picture of his grown-up son, my oldest nephew, standing not far from his grandmother's house by a kind of fun wagon belonging to one of the neighbors. Actually, great as computer systems are for archiving photos he sent me two pictures (the one 25 years old of this then young boy standing in front of the very same wagon). Apart from "to grandma's house" nostalgia for Christmas, such little gifted moments bespeak an overwhelming connectedness over time which, without substantive referent, just plain affirms. We rejoice in such, yes, we do. I would hazard to state that people of good will live from such; they live in thankfulness also because of such little joys.
I want to thank NLM for reprinting a Dom Alcuin Reid, OSB, article expatiating on what could bring about reconciliation with the SSPX. I find three paragraphs of the article important and enlightening:
"In October the Pope recalled: “I have often insisted on the need to return...to the ‘letter’ of the Council―that is to its texts―also to draw from them its authentic spirit, and...I have repeated that the true legacy of Vatican II is to be found in them. Reference to the documents saves us from extremes of anachronistic nostalgia and running too far ahead, and allows what is new to be welcomed in a context of continuity.” Perhaps there is a basis for reconciliation here, for an understanding of what must be accepted?
Recently I asked Bishop Fellay about the impasse. “There is a twofold problem which needs to be overcome,” he said. “First, a correct historical appraisal of the situation of the Church and of the cause of the problem causing this horrible crisis in the Church” is needed. “Secondly,” we need to “overcome the overwhelming ‘not welcome’ [we experience] from a great majority (still) in the Church against us, despite the efforts of the Holy Father. This element cannot be forgotten and we experience it every day.”
The latter requires more Christian charity: it is to our shame that this is lacking. The former is complex and will take time, but if we study Vatican II in its texts and history, we do not find a “super-dogma” or a “defining event” before which everything is bad and after which all is good, the “spirit” of which all must worship. It is one of the Councils of the Church’s tradition with its particular historical contingencies. Statistics alone make it clear that it has been followed by a multifaceted crisis. In evaluating this and in discerning the right measures for today and for the future the SSPX, as Catholics, are entitled to their voice."
Concerning other parts of the Reid article, the commentary over at NLM was already so heated by the time I got there that Shawn Tribe was threatening to close the combox and defend charity.
The estrangement, the disconnectedness, which refuses to take Pope Benedict's hand and walk with him on this, troubles me. It plagues much of the life of charity, which ought to be the Church's stellar witness before an otherwise fractured and violent world. In that sense, you might say, I find my reason for being troubled by Bishop Fellay's "twofold problem". He's not the only one, but since Dom Reid is quoting him (and hopefully faithfully), from what we have to go on in this article, I can't see how he can exonerate himself (as he seems to do with his twofold) from having to carry his own share of the burden of charity for the sake of the life of the world. Excuse my bluntness over and against Dom Reid's European propriety.
“First, a correct historical appraisal of the situation of the Church and of the cause of the problem causing this horrible crisis in the Church” is needed." If the kind of hacking, chopping and doctrinaire intransigence characteristic of various combox interventions on SSPX or liturgy topics (at NLM and elsewhere) is any indication of the overall climate, just how many people get to vote or contribute to the paper which will display this "correct historical appraisal" and how and for whom will it become binding? I'm sorry, but get serious! Where is the reasonableness in this demand? Who is going to write this "definitive history" and who is going to buy it?
“Secondly,” we need to “overcome the overwhelming ‘not welcome’ [we experience] from a great majority (still) in the Church against us, despite the efforts of the Holy Father. This element cannot be forgotten and we experience it every day.” Apart from "no-fault" or "no-contest" divorces (in the State of Kansas they used to have something called an "emergency divorce"), there's no less scandal involved in what amounts to a deficiency on somebody's part in the other two theological virtues as well. The image before my eyes is that of an adult threatening to hold his breath until the other party begs pardon for having offended in some way. Who is disqualifying whom? Can we say that only one of the estranged parties in a strained marriage bears the responsibility for seeking reconciliation? I'm wondering where this "great majority" against the SSPX lives and if they represent Catholics straight across the board. The marked change in Catholic iconography and aesthetics over the last decade at least has me doubting whether Bishop Fellay has much contact with ordinary Catholic folk in most parts of the world. Look at what is commonly considered a pretty church today! Look at the images chosen for First Communion cards or First Mass cards! They hearken back to older times and an older canon of beauty, more and more and more. The longing for a recovery of the sacred makes new gains each and every day.
In civil society, we speak freely of people having enemies, of not being able to stand one another. Within Christian families estrangement among family members, especially between adult siblings was always motive at Thanksgiving or Christmas time for a concerted effort to get brothers or sisters to make peace. Sometimes a holiday truce came into effect, sometimes not, and sometimes everyone recognized genuine will in the face of helplessness to mend the breach. How can SSPX continue to hold out and refuse communion in good faith? No one denies the injustices and the violence perpetrated over the years, but all are obliged to seek peace.
Over at NLM, Shawn might have censored me, either out of charity for my sake or for that of others. Family reconciliation is never achieved through scolding, I know. More often than not, older siblings make the effort to get along because of a brother or sister giving example of that simple but profound love which should always everywhere exist among children of the same father and mother. I see no way to challenge the witness of Pope Benedict XVI. He is reason enough to hurry and come home for Christmas.
The estrangement, the disconnectedness, which refuses to take Pope Benedict's hand and walk with him on this, troubles me. It plagues much of the life of charity, which ought to be the Church's stellar witness before an otherwise fractured and violent world. In that sense, you might say, I find my reason for being troubled by Bishop Fellay's "twofold problem". He's not the only one, but since Dom Reid is quoting him (and hopefully faithfully), from what we have to go on in this article, I can't see how he can exonerate himself (as he seems to do with his twofold) from having to carry his own share of the burden of charity for the sake of the life of the world. Excuse my bluntness over and against Dom Reid's European propriety.
“First, a correct historical appraisal of the situation of the Church and of the cause of the problem causing this horrible crisis in the Church” is needed." If the kind of hacking, chopping and doctrinaire intransigence characteristic of various combox interventions on SSPX or liturgy topics (at NLM and elsewhere) is any indication of the overall climate, just how many people get to vote or contribute to the paper which will display this "correct historical appraisal" and how and for whom will it become binding? I'm sorry, but get serious! Where is the reasonableness in this demand? Who is going to write this "definitive history" and who is going to buy it?
“Secondly,” we need to “overcome the overwhelming ‘not welcome’ [we experience] from a great majority (still) in the Church against us, despite the efforts of the Holy Father. This element cannot be forgotten and we experience it every day.” Apart from "no-fault" or "no-contest" divorces (in the State of Kansas they used to have something called an "emergency divorce"), there's no less scandal involved in what amounts to a deficiency on somebody's part in the other two theological virtues as well. The image before my eyes is that of an adult threatening to hold his breath until the other party begs pardon for having offended in some way. Who is disqualifying whom? Can we say that only one of the estranged parties in a strained marriage bears the responsibility for seeking reconciliation? I'm wondering where this "great majority" against the SSPX lives and if they represent Catholics straight across the board. The marked change in Catholic iconography and aesthetics over the last decade at least has me doubting whether Bishop Fellay has much contact with ordinary Catholic folk in most parts of the world. Look at what is commonly considered a pretty church today! Look at the images chosen for First Communion cards or First Mass cards! They hearken back to older times and an older canon of beauty, more and more and more. The longing for a recovery of the sacred makes new gains each and every day.
In civil society, we speak freely of people having enemies, of not being able to stand one another. Within Christian families estrangement among family members, especially between adult siblings was always motive at Thanksgiving or Christmas time for a concerted effort to get brothers or sisters to make peace. Sometimes a holiday truce came into effect, sometimes not, and sometimes everyone recognized genuine will in the face of helplessness to mend the breach. How can SSPX continue to hold out and refuse communion in good faith? No one denies the injustices and the violence perpetrated over the years, but all are obliged to seek peace.
Over at NLM, Shawn might have censored me, either out of charity for my sake or for that of others. Family reconciliation is never achieved through scolding, I know. More often than not, older siblings make the effort to get along because of a brother or sister giving example of that simple but profound love which should always everywhere exist among children of the same father and mother. I see no way to challenge the witness of Pope Benedict XVI. He is reason enough to hurry and come home for Christmas.
PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI