Our Lord Jesus Christ, directly after His baptism, prepared Himself for His public life and mission by a fast of forty days in the desert, which extends from Jericho to the Mountains of Judaea. Let us prepare ourselves by fast, prayers and works of charity for the solemn Feast of Easter.
The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great was offered this morning for the first Sunday of the Great Fast (as the Byzantines call it). Today is also called Orthodoxy Sunday because it was on the first Sunday of Lent in 843 that the iconoclast heresy was definitively overthrown in the East. If, that is, my memory of the sermon hasn't failed me. Back home before brunch Maria was soaking in the sunlight streaming through the window - it has been really beautiful outside lately.
Also of interest, Lisa and I were reading last night Christ and the Americas by Anne Carroll (kindly sent to us for Christmas by Jake). We are enjoying it very much, and last night came across an interesting paragraph regarding Catholicism in the U.S.A.
"And some [American Catholics], unfortunately, went to an extreme to prove that Catholics were not foreign agents but loyal to the Constitution. They convinced themselves that America really was morally better than any other nation, that Catholic Europe was corrupt, that America was the City on a Hill, that the Catholic Church in America should be allowed to go its own way without undue interference from the Vatican. These beliefs eventually led to the 'Americanist Heresy,' condemned by Pope Leo XIII in his Apostolic Letter Testem Benevolentiae ('On True and False Americanism in Religion'), January 22, 1899. Among the propositions condemned in the letter were the following: that the Holy Spirit can guide men in their spiritual lives so that they do not need the Sacraments or organized church structure; that the natural virtues are higher than the supernatural; that the active life is better than the contemplative life; that religious vows are a restriction on freedom; that the Church needs to accommodate its doctrines and practices to attract more Americans into it.
"At the time of the letter, American Catholic leaders affirmed their adherence to Catholic doctrine and their rejection of Americanism. But Americanism never fully died out and would reappear in full bloom in the next century after the Second Vatican Council." (p. 193).
Intrigued, we decided to read this Testem Benevolentiae. The letter is very short, it took only ten minutes or so for Lisa and I to read it together. One need only look at these short excerpts to see the veracity of Mrs. Carroll's assessment of the inroads Americanism has made into the Church since Vatican II.
On the watering down of doctrine
"The underlying principle of these new opinions is that, in order to more easily attract those who differ from her, the Church should shape her teachings more in accord with the spirit of the age and relax some of her ancient severity and make some concessions to new opinions. Many think that these concessions should be made not only in regard to ways of living, but even in regard to doctrines which belong to the deposit of the faith. They contend that it would be opportune, in order to gain those who differ from us, to omit certain points of her teaching which are of lesser importance, and to tone down the meaning which the Church has always attached to them. It does not need many words, beloved son, to prove the falsity of these ideas..."
On religious liberty and freedom of speech
"These dangers, viz., the confounding of license with liberty, the passion for discussing and pouring contempt upon any possible subject, the assumed right to hold whatever opinions one pleases upon any subject and to set them forth in print to the world, have so wrapped minds in darkness that there is now a greater need of the Church's teaching office than ever before, lest people become unmindful both of conscience and of duty."
On the unity of the Church
"But the true church is one, as by unity of doctrine, so by unity of government, and she is catholic also. Since God has placed the center and foundation of unity in the chair of Blessed Peter, she is rightly called the Roman Church, for 'where Peter is, there is the church.' Wherefore, if anybody wishes to be considered a real Catholic, he ought to be able to say from his heart the selfsame words which Jerome addressed to Pope Damasus: 'I, acknowledging no other leader than Christ, am bound in fellowship with Your Holiness; that is, with the chair of Peter. I know that the church was built upon him as its rock, and that whosoever gathereth not with you, scattereth.'"
2 comments:
20 or more years ago, Papa, John's Nana and Grandpa, and I were discussing this very topic. John's wise Grandpa said, "We are headed for American schism, and it will be difficult to stop it."
Unfortunately, it is more true today than ever. Fortunately, there seems to be a resurgence among the faithful of loyalty to Rome, although it is hard to judge how widespread that really is...perhaps i just happen to know and hang out with the right people!
It seems to me that those of long ago have finally gotten their way. God help us, the few that are true to the Vatican have a lot of work ahead of us.
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