For Catholics: What shall we do...

We Catholic Americans are at a crossroads. Our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World is exposing all those who wound his sacred Body by abusing children and youth. Our Lord is also exposing rot and disease within the structures and leadership of the Church from within provinces of religious orders, Catholic universities, and diocesan chanceries.

It is time to clean house. Not only do the pederasts, sex abusers, and homosexuals need to be removed from leadership and the ranks of the ordained, but also the Church needs to excommunicate all Catholic politicians in the United States of America whose votes continue the holocaust of abortion.

PREPARATION
In order to serve Christ and his poor Church in this time of crisis, each of us are called to avail ourselves of the sacraments that we may trample the devil under our feet. Let each of us 1) make a good confession; 2) receive the Eucharist on the Feast of Divine Mercy and receive Christ’s promises to St. Faustina of mercy and pardon; 3) engage in works of mercy; and, 4) encourage others to do the same.

We lead by prayer, and we are made strong by Christ’s self-offering of his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We have a great weapon for fighting evil in the rosary. We do not turn to prayer as a last resort, but we turn to prayer as the beginning, center, and end of all that we strive to do for Our Lord Jesus Christ. We engage in prayer for the Church knowing that when we pray we are not alone in prayer or in action. Our Lord, Our Lady, St. Joseph, and the whole communion of saints join with us in interceding for the Church.

We who long for the cleansing of the Church from these grave evils have the means of prayer through which we can grow in holiness even as we pray for the Church to be cleansed of evil and made holy as Christ is holy. Let us avail ourseves of these gifts of prayer:

Let every action we undertake be covered in prayer and overshadowed by the Holy Spirit so that only God’s will is desired and achieved through our efforts.

ACTION
For love of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to action against evil. Let each faithful Catholic offer themselves at Mass or at home to be the beginning point of the Church’s cleansing and renewal. Ask the Lord’s blessing that we may each speak the truth in love and walk in the Holy Spirit.

There are a variety of actions that one can undertake to be part of the solution. The following are suggestions that have been made on various internet discussion lists.

The following are some actions you may consider asking of the Holy Father(and recommending to your bishop):

Some will find these ideas too presumptuous, but it is clear that the Holy Father and the leadership of the Church in the USA need to hear from the rank and file faithful.

Finally, be sure to pray for the Pope, and write to the Holy Father a letter of encouragement. Assure him of your prayers for his intentions and for him personally. Also, write letters of encouragement to any deacon, priest, or bishop whom you know to be defenders of the faith and devoted to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our good and faithful priests need to know that they are loved and cherished.

Jesus, King of the nations, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Good Saint Joseph, pray for us.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.

Prayers, lamentations and calls for "cleansing" are not going to solve the problem. The problem revolves around two separate issues. It rests with the fact that the corrupt and nefarious RC leadership which perpetrated the problem refuse to do the proper and honorable thing by resigning their positions. Instead THEY remain in charge of dealing with the problem!

Examples = Law and Eagan, et al. KNOWINGLY hid the problem of priests raping and sodomizing boys from the church community at large and from the legal authorities while allowing the perpetrators to continue in their perverse and damning activities by just moving them to another parish.

Instead of cleaning up it's act, what does the "church" do now that it is in the open? It keeps these aiders and abettors in positions of power with the approval of the pope (*note the pope made no call for them or others involved to step down or be removed from their leadership positions, only words of supposed "sorrow' and regret over what he knew has been taking place all along! They assist in the rape of hundreds, perhaps thousands of boys and they are now going to see that the church cleans up it's act? They assure their flock that who better than they, should stay and lead through this "dark" time. What a load of manure. This is the reason why many (except for those blindly loyal, no matter what the charge)are calling into question the supposed qualifications of these individuals to continue in positions of leadership.

Many within the church are tainted by unwavering loyalty to church dogma, rather than the Word of God. The second half of the coin/problem rests squarely with the issue of the RC doctrine concerning celibacy. God's Word is clear regarding the issue of marriage and the end times:

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.

4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;

5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. (2Tim.4:1-5)

God says marriage is good and that those who FORBID it are teaching doctrines of demons (I didn't say it, God did. So don't blame me or accuse me of "catholic bashing". If you have a problem, take it up with God, because He wrote the rule book not me). This results in what has been happening within the priesthood. Men who have God-given sexual desires, who have been forbidden by the church of Rome to fulfill them within the God-given role of marriage are exercising those desires through sodomy and the raping of boys. Through this doctrine the church has sown wind and reaped a whirlwind of sin, immorality, spiritual, emotional personal and financial destruction. Those are the facts. As for the man made doctrine of celibacy, according to the Apostle Paul, the Apostles, EVEN the Apostle Peter certainly didn't follow it:

"Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?" 1Cor. 9:5

While there may have been discussions on the topic of celibacy within the Church of Rome early on, up until 1000 years ago priests could marry! But the church implemented "celibacy" as a direct means of making sure that church property didn't end up in the hands of priest’s sons. It was a property issue NOT a spirituality issue. It should also be noted that if a married minister was to convert to RC and become a priest, under RC law, he could stay married! Yes he would undergo a probationary period, and granted if his wife were to die RC dogma says he can't re-marry, but he can serve as an RC priest and be married. Talk about a double standard. But that is what happens when you teach the traditions of man as the doctrines of God. These are the facts, but many within RC feel threatened and fall back on blind loyalty to the supposed perfection of the pope and the supposed glory and grace of the priesthood of the RC church.

Law and Eagan (along with numerous others) are corrupt and should go. Don't blame the media, yes they are snakes but all they are doing is reporting the facts long hidden by the church. The problem does NOT lie with the media or someone else. The problem rests with them as well as the sodomite priests and those priest who have been raping children and getting away with it with the approval of their leaders through their choice of moving them around rather than reporting them to the authorities.

You asked the question "what should we do?" The answer is simple, allow priests to marry, throw out the homosexuals and pedophiles and get rid of leaders like Law and Eagan. It is time for them and others involved to be shown the door.

Unfortunately, none of this is going to happen, they are powerful men, in love with their positions of power. If the church were to act to get rid of them and end the unscriptural doctrine of celibacy then of necessity the act would show that the church and it's leader are NOT infallible. That is a truth and price it is unwilling to admit or pay, mores the pity.

Dr. S

8. Ask the Holy Father to restore the prayer “St. Michael the Archangel” to the close of every Mass.

Sir, I don't know if you've heard about this, but Pope John Paul II came very close to this. I got this excerpt off this website: Arlington Catholic Herald. All we need to do is get him to make it mandatory. I recently rediscovered the traditional pre-Vatican II strong devotions to St. Michael and St. Joseph (at a college Catholic oratory/chapel no less!) and have been praying the Rosary more often too. I hope these traditions can help overcome my personal weaknesses, through the intercession of these saints, to God, in the Everlasting Trinity.

The Prayer to St. Michael

By Fr. William Saunders
^{HERALD Columnist}

Why has almost every Catholic Church in Northern Virginia suddenly acquired a statue of St. Michael and suddenly added the prayer to him as part of the Mass? Was this an edict handed down from the Bishop? -- A Reader in Alexandria

St. Michael the Archangel, whose name means, "one who is like God," led the army of angels who cast Satan and the rebellious angels into hell; at the end of time, he will wield the sword of justice to separate the righteous from the evil (cf. Rv 12:7ff).

The early Church Fathers recognized the importance of the angels and archangels, particularly St. Michael. Theodoret of Cyr (393-466) in his Interpretation of Daniel wrote, "We are taught that each one of us is entrusted to the care of an individual angel to guard and protect us, and to deliver us from the snares of evil demons. Archangels are entrusted with the tasks of guarding nations, as the Blessed Moses taught, and with those remarks the Blessed Daniel is in accord; for he himself speaks of ‘the chief of the Kingdom of the Persians,’ and a little later of the ‘chief of the Greeks,’ while he calls Michael the chief of Israel.’" The Church Fathers would also posit that St. Michael stood guard at the gate of paradise after Adam and Eve had been banished, and he was the angel through whom God published the Ten Commandments, who blocked the passage of Balaam (Number 22:20ff), and who destroyed the army of Sennacherib (2 Chronicles 32:21).

St. Basil and other Greek Fathers ranked St. Michael as the Prince of all the Angels. With the rise scholasticism and the exposition of the "nine choirs of angels," some said St. Michael was the prince of the Seraphim, the first of the choirs. (However, St. Thomas Aquinas assigned St. Michael as the prince of the last choir, the angels.)

St. Michael the Archangel has been invoked for protection on various occasions. In 590, a great plague struck Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great led a procession through the streets as an act of penance, seeking the forgiveness of and atoning for sin. At the tomb of Hadrian (now Castle Sant’ Angelo near St. Peter’s Basilica), St. Michael appeared and sheathed his sword, indicating the end of the plague. The Holy Father later built a chapel at the top of the tomb and to this day an large statue of St. Michael rests there.

Therefore, in our Catholic tradition, St. Michael has four duties: (1) To continue to wage battle against Satan and the other fallen angels; (2) to save the souls of the faithful from the power of Satan especially at the hour of death; (3) to protect the People of God, both the Jews of the Old Covenant and the Christians of the New Covenant; and (4) finally to lead the souls of the departed from this life and present them to our Lord for the particular judgment, and at the end of time, for the final judgment. For these reasons, Christian iconography depicts St. Michael as a knight-warrior, wearing battle armor, and wielding a sword or spear, while standing triumphantly on a serpent or other representation of Satan. Sometimes he is depicted holding the scales of justice or the Book of Life, both symbols of the last judgment.

As Catholics, we have remembered through our liturgical rites the important role of St. Michael in defending us against Satan and the powers of evil. An ancient offertory chant in the Mass for the Dead attested to these duties: "Lord, Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of Hell and from the deep pit; deliver them from the mouth of the lion that Hell may not swallow them up and that they may not fall into darkness, but my the standard-bearer Michael conduct them into the holy light, which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and his seed. We offer to thee, Lord, sacrifices and prayers; do thou receive them in behalf of those souls whom we commemorate this day. Grant them, Lord, to pass from death to that life which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed."

In the Tridentine Mass since the 1200s, St. Michael was invoked in the Confiteor, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptizer, and Saints Peter and Paul; the invocation of these saints inspired the faithful to remember the call to holiness and the sinlessness of the Church Triumphant in Heaven.

For the greater part of this century, the faithful recited the prayer to St. Michael at the end of the Mass. Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903) had a prophetic vision of the coming century of sorrow and war. After celebrating Mass, the Holy Father was conferring with his cardinals. Suddenly, he fell to the floor. The cardinals immediately called for a doctor. No pulse was detected, and the Holy Father was feared dead. Just as suddenly, Pope Leo awoke and said, "What a horrible picture I was permitted to see!" In this vision, God gave Satan the choice of one century in which to do his worst work against the Church. The devil chose the twentieth century. So moved was the Holy Father from this vision that he composed the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel: "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle! Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who roam about the world seeking the ruin of souls." Pope Leo ordered this prayer said at the conclusion of Mass in 1886. (When Pope Paul VI issued the Novus Ordo of the Mass in 1968, the prayer to St. Michael and reading of the "last gospel" at the end of the Mass were suppressed.)

Finally, St. Michael figures prominently in the Rite of Exorcism, particularly in the case of diabolical infestation of places. Here the priest prays: "Most glorious Prince of Heavenly Army, Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle against the princes and powers and rulers of darkness in this world, against the spiritual iniquities of those former angels. Come to the help of man whom God make in his own image and whom he bought from the tyranny of Satan at a great price. The Church venerates you as her custodian and patron. The Lord confided to your care all the souls of those redeemed, so that you would lead them to happiness in Heaven. Pray to the God of peace that he crush Satan under our feet; so that Satan no longer be able to hold men captive and thus injure the Church. Offer our prayers to the Most High God, so that His mercies be given us soon. Make captive that Animal, that Ancient serpent, which is enemy and Evil Spirit, and reduce it to everlasting nothingness, so that it no longer seduce the nations."

In the Spring of 1994, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, urged the faithful to offer the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. He also made the strong suggestion that the recitation of the prayer be instituted at Mass once again. (Note that the Holy Father did not mandate the recitation of the prayer at Mass.) Clearly, the Holy Father was responding to the grave evils we see present in our world — the sins of abortion, euthanasia, terrorism, genocide, and the like. As we approach the millennium, Satan and the other fallen angels are doing their best to lead souls to Hell. We need the help of St. Michael! For this reason, many parishes have erected a shrine in St. Michael’s honor or offer the prayer at the end of Mass or after the petitions.

Fr. Saunders is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria.

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The Prayer to St. Michael

By Fr. William SaundersHERALD Columnist

Copyright ©1998 Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

By Fr. William Saunders
^{HERALD Columnist}