True Faith is in the Catholic Church – ONLY

 Refuse to believe this at your own PERIL

There is only ‘one Lord, one Faith, one baptism’ (Eph 4:5), not 38,000 plus “Christian” religions that contradict each other and are in defiance to God’s intentions.  One should not imagine that every religion offers the means to arrive at eternal happiness; and they should understand that, according to the testimony of the Savior Himself, ‘he that is not with Me is against Me’ and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth. (Luke 11:23).

St Athanasius: “it is not to be doubted that they will perish eternally if they do not profess the Catholic Faith and if they do not guard it entire and inviolate”

Pope Eugene IV: “The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatic’s, cannot have a share in eternal happiness; but that they will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the Devil and his Angels (Matt 25: 41), unless they unite themselves to the Church before their death; and that so precious is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those who abide in it can benefit from the Church’s Sacraments for their salvation, and that they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militancy. No one, no matter how much he has given in alms and even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has persevered in the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.”  Emphasis added

The following are God’s Words and teachings taken from Scripture:

John 10:16

“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd”.

Matthew 7:15, 16

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them”

St. Paul cried out aloud, again and again, to all men, to all times, and to all places that, “if anyone announces a new dogma, let him be anathematized!” 

Psalms 57:4

The wicked are alienated from the womb; they have gone astray from the womb; they have spoken false things.”

Luke 6:26

“Woe to you when men shall bless you: for according to these things did their fathers to the false prophets

Mathew16:18

Our Lord said: “Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Our previous blog from Sunday, January 10, 2021 sums it all up...

WARNING! Stop Deluding Yourself!

You, who won’t accept God’s one and only True Church, the Holy Catholic Church (not the fake Novus Ordo “Catholic Church” or Traditional Catholic Churches that circumvent or refuse to teach the Words taught by Jesus, the Apostles and the Church Fathers) or you, who have abandoned the True Catholic Church and became a heretic or joined a Protestant sect or non-Christian religion. Make no mistake about it--unless you repent, convert and adhere to the teachings of the true Catholic Church, you cannot escape Hell!

Give serious thought to this question: Did Jesus die on the Cross so that He could establish 38,000+ churches’ teaching different gospels? Or did He die on the Cross to save souls in His one and only Catholic Church? Know this--our Lords Words when describing His Church were always singular, not plural.

God is not the author of confusion. He did not establish thousands of churches to teach gospels with many disagreeing and competing teachings—He established only one church—The Holy Catholic Church. It’s not reasonable to believe, in fact, it’s actually sinful (heretical) to believe that Jesus intended for man to interpret His Words in a kaleidoscope manner. The Catholic faith is an all-or-nothing-proposition. Just as one mortal sin destroys grace in the soul, so does just one heresy destroy grace to your soul and place you outside of God’s Church. If Protestant logic does not recognize such erroneous construing of God’s Word…then the Bible does. Here’s what Scripture teaches:

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. As we said before, so now I say again: If any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have received, let him be anathema.” (Galatians 1:8-9)

“Be not led away with various and strange doctrines.”(Hebrews 13:9)

And here’s what God’s one and only True Church teaches:

Pope Pius IX (1846): “Also perverse is that shocking theory that it makes no difference to which religion one belongs, a theory greatly at variance even with reason. By means of this theory, those crafty men remove all distinction between virtue and vice, truth and error, honorable and vile action. They pretend that men can gain eternal salvation by the practice of any religion, as if there would ever be any sharing between justice and iniquity, any collaboration between light and darkness, or any agreement between Christ and Belial.”  (Qui Pluribus #15, Nov. 9, 1846)

Protestantism and all other religions are floccinaucinihilipilification.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, floccinaucinihilipilification is the longest non-technical word in the English language. It means an estimation of something as worthless.

The Catholic teaching is this: “The Church of Christ is the Roman Catholic Church, which is the unique means of salvation in the world. Any religion outside of the Roman Catholic Church, whether Greek Orthodox, Protestants, Jews, etc., despite whatever truths they may possess, or even valid sacraments, are false religions and are not means of salvation”. They are worthless!

Common sense should tell you that Jesus is Truth and would not condone a gospel different from His own. Thus, it’s not possible that Our Lord would allow an end run around His Church by false churches’ that teach a smorgasbord of false doctrines other than what He taught. Jesus established only one Church--the Holy Catholic Church. Every other church is a false church established by Satan so that he can take non believers to Hell with him. Pay close attention to this warning. Don’t be misled; your salvation depends upon it.

Pray the Rosary and wear the Brown Scapular.

Bill Metallo

President, Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette

Dropping Like Flies

 Two prophesies, one from Scripture and one from the Blessed Virgin Mary predict worldly chastisements that would come at a chosen moment where people will be dropping like flies.

“And there shall be in all the earth, saith the Lord, two parts in it shall be scattered and shall perish: but the third part shall be left therein. (Zacharias 13:8) 

“In the year 1864, Lucifer together with a large number of demons will be unloosed from hell;…they will put an end faith little by little, even those dedicated to God. They will blind them in such a way, that, unless they are blessed with a special grace, these people will take on the spirit of these angels of hell; several religious institutions will lose many souls.”  (The Blessed Virgin at La Salette September 19, 1846)

There have been three major apparitions of Our Lady in the last 176 years, La Salette, Lourdes and Fatima. In each of those three apparitions Our Lady told of forthcoming enormous chastisements.  For verbal economy only the above two prophesies will be reviewed.

In Reviewing the prophesy of Zacharias 13:8 it’s obviously that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the economic sanctions the West has imposed on Russian authorities and businesses created a looming threat of a nuclear war. Such a result is not only possible, but very probable.

If nukes were to be used it would exacerbate this irrefutable Biblical prediction of the forthcoming chastisement. A nuke war could be the meaning and understanding of Zacharias 13:8.

In reviewing Our Ladies apparition regarding Lucifer’s release from Hell, we clearly see a multitude of religious institutions (literally thousands of religious sects including the Protestantized Vatican II Church) distorting Scripture thus causing these false religions to lose souls by putting an end to faith little by little, as told by Our Lady.

It’s not surprising that very few people are willing to believe and follow what God has made available through prophesies. Many object and say: many years have already past and I have not seen a chastisement, and, who knows when it will come! etc., etc., etc.

Well, I sustain the chastisements have already begun. Our Lady appeared in La Salette in 1846; in 1870 the Franco-Prussian war started as a result of the rivalry between France and Germany which resulted in French hegemony. This rivalry would reach an apex in 1914 and be the most profound cause for World War I, as well as for World War II. The squabbles of WWII still have not been resolved completely and the perspective of a World War III lies on the horizon. The current war between Russia and the Ukraine with a possible nuclear apocalypse could very well be the start of WWIII and the great chastisement predicted at La Salette and Fatima.

A prime example of chastisement prophesies was the Deluge. Noah took 100 years to complete his work, and then the Flood came. The fact that the Deluge took so long a time to come did not mean that it would not come. Scripture tells the Deluge did indeed come.

Our Lord predicted that the Temple of Jerusalem would be destroyed. When He died, the veil of the Temple was rent and the walls were damaged but the Temple remained standing. Decades passed and the prophecy was not fulfilled. Then, 40 years after Our Lord’s death, a soldier from the army of Titus threw a torch into one of the windows of the Temple. A fire started and spread quickly engulfing all the buildings leaving not one stone remaining over the other just as Our Lord had said it would be. Moreover, the Temple was never rebuilt. The fact that it took a long time to come did not mean that it would not come. God’s timetable is on His terms, not ours.

We should pray to be among the few who abide by Scripture and the voice of Our Lady and patiently pray and wait for the chastisements she predicted. We do not know how many years we must await for the promises of La Salette and Fatima to be fulfilled. Because of the present disastrous worldly times we may surmise: “Now it has to come, because it is impossible for the situation to be any worse.” And it might get worse. Yet it may not come in our lifetime, but all prophesies will eventually come to pass

“Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

Pray the Rosary and Wear the Brown Scapular

Bill Metallo, President, Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette 

EVEN A JACKASS HAS TWO EARS

Are you Protestants and Catholics listening?

Most Protestants and Some Catholics Believe Hell Exists---But who goes There?

Of all those Protestants who purport to believe in Hell, only smidgens of them believe that they could possibly go there. That’s to say, everyone is going to Heaven and virtually no one will be in Hell. If your Church believes that, it’s a “roll your own” Church that’s fishing in dangerous waters. It’s saying, for all practical purposes, Hell, a place, an abode of everlasting torment, but in essence, might only accidentally be there. This general view prevails even among many Catholics, despite the teaching of the Church, which states that those who die in the state of mortal sin will be judged and condemned to Hell.

Most Protestants believe that faith in God alone (sola fide) is all that’s needed to get into heaven.  Conservative Catholics believe that Faith AND Works are needed for salvation. Here’s one of many Bible quotes:

“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead” James 2:20

So, why then is it that so many Catholics are optimistic that no one goes to Hell? Such audaciousness is being shoved–down-the-throat by the Vatican II poor catechesis and teaching on the Four Last Things - Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.

The progressivist view of Hans Urs von Balthasar on universal salvation, for example, has become mainstream thinking, even among so-called conservative Catholic scholars today. Von Balthasar questioned, “That since the Redemption of Christ was sufficient to have saved all sinners, why then should it not be so?” In the end, he proposed, one can consider the possibility that Hell, should it exist, is vacant.

“Pope” Francis during a homily in Rome in May 2014 said: “that God redeems everyone – not just Christians, but atheists, as well.” He went on to say:

“To those who say: “but I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!” The “Pope” said: “But do good, we will meet one another there.”

Progressivist, “Father”, Karl Rahner, S.J., assures us that the dead are not suffering, or even really gone:

“They do not leave us. They remain! Where are they? In darkness? Oh, No! It is we who are in darkness. We do not see them, but they see us. Their eyes, radiant with glory, are fixed upon our eyes…. Oh, infinite consolation! Although invisible to us, our dead are not absent… They are living near us, transfigured … into light, into power, into love.”

These sham progressivism upholding parish priests and religious have taken up the practice of “assuring” the faithful that all are in Heaven, or on the way there. Variations on this theme are found in Catholic periodicals such as (The Tidings, November 14, 2003) with its feasts of All Saints and All Souls. Here is a meditation on death by “Father” Ron Rolheiser for the faithful: 

“A man suffers a sudden death, and he automatically goes to Heaven. One minute you’re on earth, the next you’re in Heaven in God’s arms”.

There’s no mention of a possible Hell. It is by all appearances a very comforting notion, but in the end a deceptive and even devious fiction. Perhaps one of Satan’s greatest triumphs is the fact that he has managed to convince people that no one is going to Hell---or it even exists.

Scriptures recommends a constant meditation on the last four things to keep us from sinning:

“In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin”. (Ecclesiastes 7:40).

The Saints and Doctors of the Church counsel us to think often of Hell.

Instead of encouraging inconsistent hopes that Hell is unpopulated, the Traditional Catholic Church wisely counsels to mediate often on it, knowing that many would abandon the path of sin by thinking about those devouring flames, those horrible torments that the human tongue cannot express.

Hell is a real place. You don’t want to go there!

Here's what the Saints say:

"Poor Judas! Above seventeen hundred years have elapsed since he has been in Hell, and his Hell is still only beginning." St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

“I was watching souls going down into the abyss as thick and fast as snowflakes falling in the winter mist”. St. Benedict Joseph Labre

“Often go down to Hell during your lifetime, so that you will not have to after death.” St. Bernard

“Shall we all be saved? Shall we go to Heaven? Alas, my children, we do not know at all! But I tremble when I see so many souls lost these days. See, they fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter”. St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney

“Do not neglect the grace that is offered to you. The God who offers the sinner pardon, does NOT promise him tomorrow,” St. Wolfrand

Pray the Rosary and wear the Brown Scapular.

Bill Metallo

President,
Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette

THE NEXT-TO-THE-LAST GASP

The LATTER TIMES should not be confused with the END TIMES. The End Times or Final Judgment is the last step that will take place only after that period of God’s triumph on earth in the Latter Times. 

Based on Scripture and prophecies that agree with Scripture, the disastrous days in history confirm the prophecies of Fatima and Quito, as well as those of the great Marian prophet St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort and others, which speak of a great chastisement to be followed by a long period of peace, which will be the Reign of Christ through Mary.

The Scriptures and private prophecies warn us of a great chastisement that will come over all humanity – a Judgment of Nations – to be followed by a long period of peace and universal well-being, prior to the END TIMES.

In the great universal catastrophe that is coming, the world will not be completely annihilated; rather, the remnant of mankind that survives the chastisement will be changed and purified. Many of the prophecies speak of a great leader, a man sent by God, a prophetic figure beloved by Our Lady, an Eliatic figure, who will lead this restoration.

The following were words of Jesus Christ to Blessed Ana Maria, as she saw a man in the future who will play a key role in her Restoration:

"Do you see him? Observe. Contemplate him. Behold the apostolic soul, the man who fights for the vineyard, the one equal to those who fought so much for My glory. His efforts, his sweat, his works will be rewarded in Paradise with such a glory that no human mind can imagine. The love I have for this person is so great that it will only be known in Paradise. He is a truly zealous man. A man with no stain. He has no human ends, no self interest, and, since his earliest youth, the vice of flattery never touched him.”

"Now is not the time for miracles, because the hour for the Church to return to her first state still has not arrived. My children behold your Mother. I bless you; My Father blesses you, but you must be good, be good, be good. You should suffer with a good disposition until the Holy Spirit comes to set you afire with love and bring an end to this iniquitous world. They will have reached the end. They will have suffered almost everything. All the kingdoms, cities, peoples, castles, provinces will find themselves suffering, with problems, tribulation and torments until the definitive day.”

Once she asked God who would resist this terrible trial. He answered: "Those to whom I will grant the spirit of humility."

St. Hildegard von Bingen, (1098-1179) describing the Latter Times:

"Then the fear of God has been entirely cast aside, when ferocious and cruel wars happen in an unprecedented manner, when a multitude of people are sacrificed in these wars and many cities are converted into mounds of ruins ... when society has been completely purified by these tribulations ... when they fully return to the practice of justice ... For consolation will follow desolation ... as the new Law succeeded the ancient Law."

In one of her famous works, Scivias, St. Hildegard was instructed by a Voice from Heaven to record the prophetic visions she had experienced since childhood. Her confessor and spiritual director, the monk Volmar, ordered her to obey the Voice, which he judged came from Heaven. She later received approval from St. Bernard of Clairvaux, as well as the endorsement of Pope Eugenius III at the Synod of Trier (1147-1148).

In the testimony of Msgr. Natali in the beatification process, he relates the words of the seer about the Latter Times:

"Things will be so convulsed that man would no longer be able to put things in order, but the omnipotent Arm of the Lord will remedy everything”.

She told me (Msgr. Natali) that the great scourge of the earth had been mitigated, but not that of Heaven, for it would be horrible, shocking and universal. Truly, the universal nature of the coming chastisement makes it a "Judgment of Nations.”

That great Chastisement would occur long after the holy people of her epoch had been buried, he continued:

“It will arrive unexpectedly and in it the wicked will be destroyed. I saw the earth enveloped in flames, many buildings crumbling the earth and Heaven seemed to be in agony. Many millions of men will die by steel, some in wars, others in conflicts, and millions more by unforeseen death and this throughout the whole world. As a result, entire nations will return to the unity of the Catholic Church, many Turks, Gentiles and Hebrews will be converted in a way that will surprise Catholics, who will be amazed by the fervor and observance they will show in their lives”.

This sequence of events is also foretold by Blessed Ana Maria Taigi (1769-1837), a housewife and mother of 7 children in Rome who was gifted with extraordinary visions and revelations about the Latter Times and the future chastisement.

From age 24, Ana Maria Taigi often had before her eyes a "mystical sun," a supernatural orb-shaped light that allowed her to see state of consciences, the revolutions and wars, the aims of secret societies, the rewards of the good and punishments of the bad. In it various times she saw the Latter Times, the great chastisement that would cleanse the earth and the Church, the destruction of the Revolution, and the “restorer” who would lead a victory more splendid than has ever been achieved before.

Many of the prophecies speak of a great leader, a man sent by God, a prophetic figure beloved by Our Lady, an Eliatic figure, who will lead this restoration.

She also spoke of the Reign of Mary, when all the religions will convert to Catholicism. She said that, after the chastisement ends, amid great convulsions of nature and loss of life, a heavenly era will start a triumph so great and astounding that she was left dumbfounded.

Three Days of Darkness

Blessed Ana Maria Taigi also describes the “Three Days of Darkness”

"There shall come over the whole earth an intense darkness lasting three days and three nights. Nothing will be able to be seen, and the air will be laden with pestilence which will claim mainly, but not only, the enemies of Religion. It will be impossible to use any man-made light during this darkness, except blessed candles.

She goes on to tell how the three days will end with a triumph of Heaven:

“After the three days of darkness, Saints Peter and Paul, having come down from Heaven, will preach throughout the world and designate a new Pope. A great light will flash from their bodies and will settle upon the future Pontiff. ... There shall be innumerable conversions of heretics, who will return to the bosom of the Church; all will note the edifying conduct of their lives, as well as that of all other Catholics. Russia, England and China will come to the Church."

For those who understand the extremity of evil we are currently witnessing today, it makes full sense that God should open the doors of the Reign of Mary in an unexpected and marvelous way, as Ana Maria Taigi predicts.

Further on, the Prophet Jeremiah concludes specifically mentioning the epoch when these things will happen: "Behold the whirlwind of the Lord, his fury going forth, a violent storm, it shall rest upon the head of the wicked. The Lord will not turn away the wrath of his indignation, till he has executed and performed the thought of his heart: In the latter days you shall understand these things." (30:23-24)

Many Nations will Disappear

The great chastisement mentioned by Jeremiah will be a Judgment of Nations; and in that Judgment, nations will disappear as Our Lady told the three shepherd children at Fatima. But it is not the end of the world. There must be a time when the people who remain on this earth will give glory to Our Lord and Our Lady, building the Reign of Mary as predicted by the great 17^th-century Prophet St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort:

In the era that will follow, “Christ will reign from one end of the world to the other, and all His enemies will fall at his feet” (1 Cor. 15:25) to render Him their vassalage. His Church will be gloriously triumphant throughout the earth.

Several quotes from Scripture confirm a Chastisement or Judgment of Nations, to be followed by a time when a purified remnant will fear and glorify the Lord.  

Isaiah prophesizes a Latter Times when the earth, profaned by its inhabitants, will be devastated and only a few of the faithful will remain:

“Behold the Lord shall lay waste the earth, and shall strip it, and shall afflict the face thereof, and scatter abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest: and as with the servant, so with his master: as with the handmaid, so with her mistress: as with the buyer, so with the seller: as with the lender, so with the borrower: as with him that calleth  for his money, so with him that oweth.” Therefore shall a curse devour the earth, and the inhabitants thereof shall sin: and therefore they that dwell therein shall be mad, and few men shall be left.” (24:1-6)

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined: and I will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say: Thou art my people: and they shall say: The Lord is my God.” (13:8-9)

A Great Chastisement will come over the earth, Zacharias foresees, where only a third part will be left.

The Scriptures and prophecies warn us of a great chastisement that will come over all humanity – a Judgment of Nations. What is important to note is that some inhabitants, albeit few, will remain after the Great Chastisement, which is a definitive sign that it is not the end of the world.

The small number of survivors of this great chastisement is foretold in the imagery of the few olives that still cling to the tree after it has been shaken:

“It shall be thus in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people, as if a few olives, that remain, should be shaken out of the olive tree: or grapes, when the vintage is ended.” (Is. 14:13)

“And there shall be in all the earth, saith the Lord, two parts in it shall be scattered and shall perish: but the third part shall be left therein.

This should suffice to demonstrate that the Universal Judgment of Nations will come over all humanity in the LATTER TIMES (as the title of the blog says—The Next-to-the-Last Gasp)—but it is not the END TIMES—The Final Judgement, which will be at the end of the world (The Last Gasp).

Pray the Rosary and Wear the Brown Scapular.

Bill Metallo
President
Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette

Our Lord on Priests in Hell

 “Bad priests are the greatest punishment with which God chastises the people”.--St. Anthony Maria Claret

Among the faithful, including traditionalists, there is a worship of priests as though they are God’s. Going far beyond the due respect owed to their elevated mission, some Catholics consider priests as infallible and morally perfect. Such worship (sometimes) lacks any good sense.

In an effort to correct this unsound position, here is a text in which Our Lord Himself speaks to the Servant of God Marie des Vallées, a 17^th century French mystic whose spiritual director was St. John Eudes, the apostle of the Devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The source of these words is the well-documented book La Vie Admirable et les Révélations de Marie des Vallees, written by Emile Dermenghem, Paris: Plon, 1926, pp. 136-138. 

Marie des Vallées was afflicted by the disagreements that too often appear among the pious. "The envy, the jealousies and the divisions that reign in the cloisters are a stumbling block for the faithful." The mockery appeared to her as a great sin. Many of her visions are a very severe satire of the diverse defects of the religious. About the heavy responsibility that weighs over ecclesiastics who are in charge of our souls, Our Lord Jesus Christ told Marie des Vallées:

"They (priests) will be judged more severely than others. Those who fall in their mission will be punished for the faults of all: that is, for those of the people [they directed] and for those of the nobles and the magistrates [or officials of justice]. The nobles and the officials of justice will be punished for the faults of the people; the latter will be judged just for their own faults”.

Nothing chases a person out of the Catholic Church and away from Christ faster than a bad priest. The priest does not have to be a child molester. He may simply be arrogant, patriarchal, insensitive or just stupid. More people leave the church because of bad priests than because of their failure to believe dogma.

When you finish reading about the many instances of priests and bishops entering Hell, ponder on what St. Catherine of Siena had to say about the reverence due to Priests.

 

“The floor of Hell is paved with the skulls of bishops.” –ST. ATHANASIUS, COUNCIL OF NICAEA, AD 325.

 

St. Athanasius was not the only one to say this. Many other great saints have echoed similar prophetic words.”

“The road to Hell is paved with the skulls of erring priests, with bishops as their signposts– ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.

 

“The road to Hell is paved with the skulls of bishops.”– ST. JOHN EUDES

 

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM:

The road to hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops are the lampposts that light the path.

In his commentary on Acts of the Apostles he writes, “The soul of a bishop is for all the world like a vessel in a storm: lashed from every side, by friends, by foes, by one’s own people, by strangers . . . I do not think there are many among bishops that will be saved, but many more that perish.”

JEREMIAH 23:11

For the prophet and the priest are defiled: and in my house I have found their wickedness, saith the Lord…

Here’s what St. Catherine of Siena had to say about the reverence due to Priests in The Dialogue.

St. Catherine wrote The Dialogue in the fourteenth century, after having a profound mystical experience. In the book, a soul (St. Catherine) has a conversation with God and asks Him several questions, which He answers in great depth. One of St. Catherine’s requests is that God would reveal to her the sins of the clergy, so that she might intensify her “sorrow and compassion and restless longing for their salvation.” (108)

God grants her request and reveals to her the evil that His ministers are doing. First, though, He reminds St. Catherine of the sublime dignity of the priesthood, and the reverence due to priests, by virtue of the sacrament of the altar which they alone have received the power to celebrate. He says:

“The reverence you pay to [priests] is not actually paid to them but to me, in virtue of the blood I have entrusted to their ministry. If this were not so, you should pay them as much reverence as to anyone else, and no more. It is this ministry of theirs that dictates that you should reverence them and come to them, not for what they are in themselves but for the power I have entrusted to them, if you would receive the sacraments of the Church….”

“So the reverence belongs not to the ministers, but to me and to this glorious blood made one thing with me because of the union of divinity with humanity. And just as the reverence is done to me, so also is the irreverence, for I have already told you that you must not reverence them for themselves, but for the authority I have entrusted to them. Therefore you must not sin against them, because if you do, you are really sinning not against them but against me. This I have forbidden, and I have said that it is my will that no one should touch them”. (116)

“By not paying me reverence in the persons of my ministers, they have lost respect for the latter and persecuted them because of the many sins and faults they saw in them. If in truth the reverence they had for them had been for my sake, they would not have cut it off on account of any sin in them. For no sin can lessen the power of this sacrament, and therefore their reverence should not lessen either. When it does, it is against me they sin.” (116)

That does not mean God is letting priests off the hook. On the contrary, He tells St. Catherine that priests who do evil and lead their flocks astray are devils.

“Their dignity in being my ministers will not save them from my punishment. Indeed, unless they change their ways, they will be punished more severely than all the others, because they have received more from my kindness. Having sinned so miserably, they are deserving of greater punishment. So you see how they are devils, just as I told you that my chosen ones are angels on earth and do the work of the angels”. (121)

As you can see from God’s own Words, that even in sin, a priest will always be a priest and still maintain the ability to consecrate the Holy Sacraments.  However, if a priest becomes a heretic he is outside the Catholic Church and all his actions, including the consecration of the Sacraments will be null and void.

 Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, ex cathedra:

“The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews, heretics and schismatic’s …” 

We see here that Pope Eugene IV defined infallibly that all heretics (including Popes) are outside the Catholic Church. The dogmatic bull Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio of Paul IV (1559) sets out an attitude towards heretics: all actions of a heretic – priest, bishop or pope – are null and void, and he must not be obeyed by anyone

As we have seen, people automatically excommunicated in this way are majorly excommunicated, which means that they must be shunned for religious purposes and the sacraments:

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Suppl., Part, Q. 23, Art. 1:

“The other is major excommunication which deprives a man of the sacraments of the Church and of the communion of the faithful [prayers, religious gatherings, etc.]. WHEREFORE IT IS NOT LAWFUL TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE WHO LIES UNDER SUCH AN EXCOMMUNICATION.”

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part, Q. 39, Art. 3: “ON THE OTHER HAND, THE POWER OF JURISDICTION...DOES NOT REMAIN IN HERETICS AND SCHISMATICS; AND CONSEQUENTLY THEY NEITHER ABSOLVE NOR EXCOMMUNICATE, NOR GRANT INDULGENCE, NOR DO ANYTHING OF THE KIND, AND IF THEY DO, IT IS INVALID.”

One needs to be aware that if a pope, bishop or priest becomes a heretic he is no longer Catholic and is outside the Church. If they are in heresy, they cannot consecrate bishops, ordain priests or provide the Sacraments. The infallible cum ex apostolatus officio, must be obeyed.

It is proper and important to confirm whether or not your bishop and priest are properly consecrated and ordained. Ask who consecrated and/or ordained them. If they are not properly sanctioned, you will not be legally receiving the Holy Sacraments.

What can you do if they are not properly consecrated or ordained? The remedy is to pray a Perfect Act of Contrition (shown below) and keep in mind Hebrews 13:5…

“Let your manners be without covetousness, contented with such things as you have; for He hath said: I will not leave thee, neither will I forsake thee”.

Say the Rosary. Wear the Brown Scapular. Make an act of Perfect Contrition.

THE ACT OF PERFECT CONTRITION

It is important to understand that you cannot just recite the words of The Act of Perfect Contrition prayer. It must be an interior act of mind and will. It must also be Supernatural as it must be made under the influence of actual grace. Only God can give us the grace of making an act of Perfect Contrition because it flows from Charity, which is God’s own Love, infused by God into our souls.  Thus, it is important to pray frequently for God’s grace to make us perfectly contrite for our sins, asking for His special grace prior to starting the act of contrition.

Aside from praying often to have Perfect Contrition, it is important to bring to mind the seriousness of sin, and to meditate on the suffering sin has caused Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Kneeling or prostrating oneself before a crucifix and questioning oneself about Who is on this Cross and why and what He has suffered can help dispose the soul to receive this God given grace.  One must then recall the actual sins for which he is sorry.  The requirement is universal—it’s all or nothing.  You cannot omit any mortal sins that you have a particular fondness for.  You have to include all of your mortal sins as any mortal sin is alone enough to condemn you to hell.

Our desire to not sin is supreme, that it must be paramount to everything, including death.  Finally, we must detest sin in the most intense way and our desire to not sin again must be intense.

The key elements here are to both mean and express our hatred of sin for having offended God who is all good, professing our perfect love of God, and promising with God’s grace to confess these sins, avoid the occasions of sin, and sin no more. 

As the Council of Trent points out, this desire to confess along with our sorrow is what obtains forgiveness. That desire must be fulfilled, if possible.  Given that more and more people are without access to priests nearby every day, this gift of God (grace of Perfect Contrition) may save us from Hell, should we fall sick or die without a priest to bring us the Last Sacraments.   

One final question…

How do I know for sure I prayed an Act of Perfect Contrition and not an Act of Imperfect Contrition? 

The answer…

You don’t know.  The most important element is God’s grace and that is supernatural.  So, pray for God’s grace before you pray the Act of Perfect Contrition as follows…

                            

     

THE ACT OF PERFECT CONTRITION

O, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.

Amen