Traditional Catholicism has now entered our vocabulary as a pejorative term used to describe radical, right wing, fundamentalist, rigid legalistic enforcers of doctrine and are, in essence, anti-Catholic in the sense that they have not followed the path or the way of the Novus Ordo Mass and the Ecumenical movement brought about by Vatican II. They are throwbacks to an era that nobody within the Church wants to return and therefore they are almost considered to be a heresy of sorts that denies that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to overturn the teachings of countless Popes, Saints, Theologians and in some instances the Scriptures themself not to mention all the warnings against Liberalism and Modernism which was beginning to infiltrate the Church from the ideas spawned by Protestantism, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. (Read the following for more in-depth background: https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4261-breaking-the-oath-before-they-started-abusing-kids-they-were-abusing-god)

But why don’t these attacks ring an alarm bell in the minds of those who have seen this transformation take place? It is the same tactics used by the far left politicians and educators of the past 100 years who are redefining the meaning of words and want nothing to be written in stone. The Bible should then be looked at as malleable, doctrines should be changed, language changed, prayer changed, music and art changed, practices changed and all things old should give way to the new Church that is no longer at war with the World the Flesh or the Devil. We see it in the destruction of our laws and the way the left wants to destroy the Constitution and the Bill of Rights so why should we be scandalized or amazed at the recent changes these last 60 years or so?

To be a Traditional Catholic used to be a compliment as it indicated that one had an unfailing commitment to keep the Faith intact for all generations following as our forefathers did for our sakes. It was a badge of honor to follow the traditions and practices of our spiritual culture and to hopefully persevere in this Faith for the remainder of our days and pass it on unadulterated in both Teaching and Practice. Today it is as though 2000 years of Tradition has been turned on its head and rendered unthinkable, fossilized nonsense. If it is nonsense, then Christ was nonsense, as He Himself gave us much to think about concerning the future of the Church as did His Apostles: Matthew 16:18-19; Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:26; John 14:18. 

And, of course, there is this warning that seems to have already been substantially fulfilled in our lives today:

         “3 For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears:

          4 And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables.” __ 2 Timothy 4:3-4 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

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And this is a characteristic of self-loathing; that one is in the political or national sense traitorous to their country, tribe, religion and therefore themselves. It is reminiscent of what Karl Marx and George Soros proved themselves to be: traitors to their own heritage. Both thought that the hierarchical natural state of God’s creation was not good enough and that they, being more just and merciful than God (whom neither believed in) could fashion a world that would be better simply because it would be in agreement to their own values (or lack thereof) and therefore Utopian . . . at least for themselves. It is high time that we ask ourselves the question of our times: “Have we essentially become like them, either in essence or in practice?”

My definition of a self-loathing Catholic is one who finds no incongruity between what they accept and don’t accept of Catholic Teaching; even if they vowed obedience to these things during their Confirmation, both in doctrine and practice. It is disingenuous to say the least, a mark on what could be called a person’s character (their word useless – having denied their own vows), and traitorous to Jesus Christ whom they claim to worship and the Church that is indefectible in its authoritative handing on to the Christian faith for all eternity: “18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” __ Matthew 16:18 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

This same mindset is the current worldly mindset that extends far beyond the Catholic Church. It is easily seen in the rewriting of word definitions and the pejorative meanings given to otherwise normal expressions, the rewriting of history and the subsequent self-loathing of Americans for America and Western Europeans for the Western European Culture which was largely shaped by Christianity. But the people let these go without so much as a whimper and many felt that their self-loathing actually came with a new-found freedom to live licentiously without guilt or shame for desires cooked up by the World the Flesh or the Devil. Satan, it seems has given this new expression of freedom to us that the world of true justice and true morality could not. We are excused not only by our neighbors and peers but also by our conscience . . . if we still have one. 

The real wonder to me is why the total destruction of society and total ruin of civilization itself has not yet occurred; for we know how democratic socialism morphs into an oligarchical socialism and that branches of that type of socialism further morphs into Marxism, Communism and eventual Totalitarianism. But at the root there is also a type of anarchy also prevails amongst the masses. They are self-serving and they no longer have a spiritual Authority to which to answer to. Instead they have pledged their earthly allegiance to the despot or dictator in power. It is a temporal and short lived trade-off for licentiousness in the present to the true freedom, peace, love and security offered by God . . . Who has done all that He can do to gain our cooperation in our ultimate and eternal salvation.

A bird in the hand mentality and the convenience and affordability of a McDonald’s has distorted our sense of value. Our sovereignty and our only job in this life (the imitation and love of Christ and His Teachings) are squandered for a bowl of self-served, quick service convenient pottage. Esau would be proud to watch us sell our birthright for such a temporal and inferior price.

I suppose that is the question I wonder about most in this life: “Are we so short-sighted that we are willing to sell our Traditions, our Nations, our Religion, our Cultures and our eternal salvation for a wink and a nod for the countless sins we commit or are we going to turn to Christ once again and make an effort with the Grace of God to defeat or at least do battle with these enemies of our souls?” I don’t have a magic ball to tell me where the world is going in the future but I do know that each of us individually has a choice to make no matter what the world demands of us to believe or how many  must die as martyrs to reclaim our souls from this fallen world of ours. Lets hope more and more people choose to amend their lives and sin no more, no matter the suffering or the short-term price.