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Dear Friends and Benefactors,
On March 4, 1991, near the end of his life, Archbishop Lefebvre wrote:
The restorer of Christendom is
the priest by the offering of the true sacrifice, by administering the
Sacraments, by teaching the Catechism, by vigilantly looking out for the
salvation of souls. It is around these truly faithful priests that Christians
must gather, and there organize the whole of Christian Life. Any spirit of
distrust toward priests who deserve confidence weakens and destabilizes
resistance against the destroyers of the Faith.
The crisis in the Church is
essentially a crisis of Faith, the novelties and reforms issued by the Second
Vatican Council have weakened, and in many cases, even destroyed the Faith.
Although it is primarily a crisis of Faith, there are also other effects: one of
them is a loss of confidence in the Church and in the clergy. This is a real
danger, and Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre both experienced it and warned the
faithful against it. The
virtue of hope supposes the Faith and is founded on faith. As any good catechism
teaches, Faith alone will not save us without good works; we must also have hope
and charity. Hope is the supernatural virtue by which we firmly trust that God
will give us eternal life and all the means necessary to obtain it if we do what
is required of us. Indeed,
the virtue of Hope includes trust in the means of salvation, and confidence in
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Redeemer. It entails as well not only trust in
the Catholic Church, which is the prolongation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but
also trust in the representatives of Our Lord, the bishops and the priests. They
receive authority from Our Lord Jesus Christ; they offer the means of salvation,
they are teachers of the Revelation in His Name, and are distributors of His
grace through the Sacraments.
To deny the need of these means of sanctification would be equal to doubting God
Himself and His Divine plan. That is why the loss of confidence in the clergy is
a real danger. The crisis is at the origin of this distrust. “We have been
betrayed by priests and bishops, so we have to watch.” This we hear
sometimes as if it would be a duty to be watchful of everything, even with
priests who deserve confidence, as the Archbishop warns. Thanks be to God, most
of the faithful who come to the Society of St. Pius X chapels trust its priests
and superiors, but this danger does exist.
Once again, it is understandable as a consequence of the terrible crisis we are
in. Nevertheless, it is an obstacle to personal sanctification and weakens one’s
resistance against the enemies and destroyers of the true Faith.
Our goal, for both priests and faithful, is to restore everything in Christ. It
is to rebuild around our priories and schools a Catholic spirit: where the Faith
is protected and, by the teaching of the priests, radiates everywhere; where
hope in God and in His Church is intensified by the example of conscientious
priests; where charity towards God and neighbor is more and more put into
practice. During this month
of June, which is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us renew our
steady intention to work for this restoration in our personal life, in our
family life, in our parish life, and in the whole of society. May the new Rosary
Crusade for the intentions of the consecration of Russia help us to be more
generous in praying and offering sacrifices.
Be assured of my prayers and receive my blessing.
In the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Fr. Arnaud Rostand |
