Chapter 33 of Book 4 of The Prophesies and Revelation of St. Bridget takes the form of an inquiry, pointing to the Romans' earlier consolation, devotion, and good order, among both clerics and lay people, and asking why all this has now sadly been turned into desolation, disorder and abomination, as is clear from all the foresaid, and about how unhappy Rome is both materially and spiritually. Rome repeats its 13th Century disorder today in the 21 Century.
Why is this disorder now happening in this 21th Century? The answer is very clear. Satan continues his evil ways in this Century just as he has in every century against God’s children, against God’s clergy and against God’s One True Church. Just as Satan dirtied-up the Garden of Eden and every past generation, he will continue contaminating every future generation. However, fear not! It all plays out just like a Titanic movie—we all know how that ended. Now this battle between Satan and God will end the same way the Titanic ended. Satan sinks, and God wins.
St. Bridget’s notable words about the city of Rome in the 13th Century will provide the reader with understanding the recent 21th Century disorder in the Vatican II “Catholic Church”. All enhancements are mine (Bill Metallo, President, Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette).
Chapter 33
Reverend Sir, in addition to the other points
of discussion, the pope should be told about the pitiable state of this city.
Once it was a happy city, both materially and spiritually, but now it is
unhappy, both materially and spiritually. It is materially unhappy, because its
secular leaders, who should be its defenders, have turned into its cruelest
plunderers. That is why its buildings lie in ruins. That is why many of its
churches have been completely deserted,
in which are preserved the relics of the saints whose blessed bones shine with
glorious miracles and whose souls have been crowned in God's kingdom on high.
With their ceilings fallen in and their doors removed, the temples of these
saints have been converted into latrines for men, dogs, and beasts. The city is spiritually unhappy, because many of the decrees
issued in the church by holy popes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for
the glory of God and the salvation of souls have now been abolished. In their place, alas,
many new abuses have been adopted under the inspiration of the evil spirit for
the dishonor of God and the perdition of souls.
The Holy
Church had decreed that the clerics who were to go on to holy orders should
follow a blessed way of life, serving God with solid devotion, and presenting
to others a way of life worthy of the heavenly homeland through their good
works. Ecclesial proceeds used to be given to such as these. Against this
custom of the church, however, a grave abuse has arisen. This is that the goods
of the church are given to laymen who, because of their canonical title, do not
get married but, instead, shamelessly keep concubines in their homes by day and
in their beds at night, asserting boldly: ”We are not allowed
to marry, because we are canons.”
Priests,
deacons, and sub deacons, once upon a time, greatly abhorred the infamy of an
impure life. Now, however, some of them are plainly delighted to see their
whores walking about with swollen bellies in the midst of other women. They do
not even blush when they are told by their friends: “A daughter or son will
soon be borne for you, sir.” Such men
are more justly called the devil's pimps than ordained priests of the supreme
God.
The holy
fathers such as Benedict and
others established monastic rules with the permission of the supreme pontiff.
They built monasteries where the abbots used to live together with the friars,
devoutly celebrating the night-hours and day-hours of the office and carefully
forming the monks in a life of virtue. It was a pleasure, indeed, to visit
monasteries then, when the chant of the monks used to give honor and glory to
God by day and night, when people of evil living were set right by the very
beauty of the monks' lives, when good people were strengthened by the godly
teaching of prelates, and when the souls in purgatory obtained a blessed rest
through their devout prayers. That monk was then held in highest honor who
observed the rule most carefully, and he had the respect of God and men. A
monk, however, who did not bother to keep the rule, knew without a doubt that
he would incur scandal and damnation. Moreover, everyone used to be able to see
and recognize a monk by his habit.
However, contrary
to that excellent arrangement, a detestable abuse has now sprung up in many
places. Abbots dwell more frequently in their own castles or wherever they
like, whether in the city or outside it. This is why it is now painful to visit
monasteries. Very few monks show up in the choir at the time for the divine
office, and sometimes none at all. There are few readings, and sometimes no
chants, and many days masses are not even said. Good people are disturbed by
the bad reputation of the monks, and bad people are made much worse by contact
with them. Furthermore, it is to be feared that few souls receive any
alleviation of their punishments from the prayers of such as these.
Many monks
live in town. Some of these have their own homes, and when their friends come
to visit, they pick up their own children with a joyful hug, saying: “Here's my
son!” A monk can scarcely be
recognized nowadays in habit. The cloak that used to reach down to the
feet now scarcely covers the knees. The long sleeves, which used to be decently
wide, are now tight fitting and crimped. A sword hangs at their side instead of
a stylus and writing tablets.
Hardly a
single garment can be found on them to denote a monk, except for a scapular,
which is often hidden from view as though it were some kind of scandal to be
wearing a monkish garment. It does not even embarrass some of them to have a
coat of mail and other weapons beneath their cloaks so that they can do what
they like after their drinking-bouts.
There have
been saints who gave up great wealth and started monastic orders based on
poverty, who practiced contempt toward any kind of cupidity and, consequently,
did not wish to have anything of their own. They abhorred all kinds of conceit
and worldly pomp. They dressed in the poorest of clothes, utterly detesting the
concupiscence of the flesh, and thus maintaining their purity of life. They and
their followers are called mendicant friars, and the Roman pontiffs confirmed
their rules with joy, seeing that they wanted to follow such a way of life for
the glory of God and the benefit of souls. Yet it is a sorrow to behold even
their rules now converted into detestable occasions of abuse and scarcely
observed in the way that Augustine,
Dominic, and Francis prescribed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
rules faithfully observed by many a wealthy nobleman for such a long time!
To be sure, as rumor now has it, there are many men called wealthy who, as far as valuables and money are concerned, are poorer than those who have taken a vow of poverty. Thus, most of them have their own possessions, which their rule forbids, and find greater joy in their accursed property than in holy and glorious poverty. They pride themselves, moreover, on having as expensive and precious material in their habits as found in the vestments of wealthy bishops.
Furthermore,
blessed Gregory and other saints had convents built in which women could live
in such seclusion that they were hardly to be seen even in daytime. Now,
however, there is so much abuse in the convents that their doors are kept open
for clerics and laymen alike, whomever it pleases the sisters to let in, even
at night. Accordingly, such places
are more like brothels than holy cloisters.
It also used
to be the church's rule that no one was to receive money for hearing
confessions, although, as was only just, penitentiaries were allowed to accept
money from persons in need of testimonial letters. A contrary abuse has now
arisen according to which rich persons offer however much they like, once they
have made their confession, while poor people, before their confession is
heard, are forced by the penitentiary to come to an agreement. Indeed, when
penitentiaries give oral absolution, they are not ashamed to take money in
their hands and put it in their pockets.
It was likewise established in the church? That at least once a
year every person should confess his or her sins and receive the body of
Christ. This applied to lay people, because clerics and religious did this more
often during the year. Second,
it was established that people unable to practice continence should live in
matrimony. A third rule was
that, with the exception of those who were seriously ill or in great
difficulties, all Christians were to fast during Lent and on ember days and the
vigils of other feast days, which are still well enough known to almost
everybody. The fourth rule was
that everyone was to abstain from any kind of worldly labor on feast days. The fifth was that no Christian
should make financial or any other kind of profit through usury.
Contrary to
these five excellent statutes, there have arisen five immoral and seriously
harmful abuses. The first is
that for every one person who goes to confession and receives the body of
Christ, not counting priests, religious, and certain women, there are one
hundred who come of age and die here in Rome without ever having gone to
confession or received the body of Christ any more often than genuine
idolaters. The second abuse
is that many men take legally wedded wives, but, if they have a disagreement
with them, they abandon them for as long as they like, without the requisite authorization
from the church, and take mistresses in their wives' place, loving them and
holding them in honor. Some of them do not even shrink from keeping a mistress
in the same house as their wife, but rather rejoice to hear them both giving
birth at the same time.
The third abuse is that many people in
good health eat meat during Lent and very few are content with one meal a day.
Some, too, are found who do abstain from meat and eat Lenten fare during the
day but indulge themselves with meat at night in secret taverns.
Indeed,
sometimes clerics do this together with laymen. They are just like the Saracens
who fast by day and indulge themselves with meat at night. The fourth abuse
is that, while some laborers do abstain from work on feast days, there are
wealthy men who do not leave off sending their hired hands to work in the
vineyards, plow the fields, cut down trees in the woods, and carry the wood
home on feast days. In this way, poor people enjoy no more quiet rest on feast
days than on workdays. The fifth
abuse is that Christians practice usury just' like the Jews, and, in
fact, Christian usurers are greedier than Jewish ones.
Further, it was the custom of the church to bring
such people as described above into line by means of anathema, but, contrary to
this, the following abuse has now arisen. There are, namely, a great number of
people who are no more afraid of being condemned than they are of being
commended. Even if they know that they have been publicly excommunicated, they
do not even bother to avoid entering the church or other dealings and
conversations with people. In fact, few priests forbid excommunicates from
going into a church. Few as well shun dealings and conversations with
excommunicates, if they are bound to them by any kind of friendship. Nor is sacred burial denied to
excommunicated people, if they are rich.
Accordingly, Reverend Sir, do not be surprised if I have described the city of Rome as unhappy due to such abuses and many others opposed to ecclesiastical statutes. Hence, it is to be feared that the Catholic faith will soon perish, unless some such man arrives who, with a real and not a counterfeit faith, loves God above all things and his neighbor as himself and abolishes all these abuses. Have compassion, then, on the church and on those of her clergy who love God wholeheartedly and abhor all these wicked customs. They have been like orphans due to the pope's absence, but they have defended the see of their father like sons and have wisely opposed the traitors, persevering in the midst of much hardship.
[All Vatican II “popes” and many “Traditional fake priests” parading as legitimate priest are like orphans. They have not wisely defended the Holy See. Instead, they became heretics and traitors emulating the absence of the pope of Rome of the 13th Century. The Catholic Church, because of the antics of the evil one, will at times be in shambles, but will always exist. Remember what Jesus said to his disciples: “behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.”] (Matthew 28:20)
Pray the Rosary and wear the Brown Scapular.
