Amen. I say to you, I do not know you, therefore stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the
hour. Today's parable of our Lord is again one of those parables that is often misunderstood.
It is often reduced to a simple mathematical formula that half the world is saved and half
the world is lost because of the five prudent versions and the five foolish virgins. But rather,
this is an extraordinary catechism given by our Lord on the nature of the church and particularly
of that part of the church of which we are members, that is, the church militant. For it is
a brilliant and rich reflection because it is the divine reflection, that is, the divine word. It is
Christ himself explaining to us what we truly are called to believe in the ninth article of the
creed. For often it is a good habit periodically when we recite the creed to repeat those first
words, I believe, that are again,
we are asked to repeat when we begin to profess our faith in belief of the Holy Spirit. But it is
intended that each article be preceded at least by an act of our will with that moniker, I believe.
And so it is all these truths that we believe. And so in the ninth article of the creed we state,
I believe in the Holy Catholic Church. And in order to understand that, we must understand
that essentially,
the church has two divisions. That is, the church triumphant, for strictly speaking, it is not true that the church has three forms, the church triumphant, the church suffering, and the church militant, because the church suffering is united to the church triumphant. For being souls who are suffering in purgatory, it is not possible for them to lose their soul. And so ultimately, they are members of that church, which worships God for all eternity.
And so it is essentially, when we speak of the church triumphant, we are speaking of that assemblage of the blessed spirits,
that is, the good angels, together with the souls who have triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the devil. And
there is also that second part, the church militant,
which is particularly what our Lord is referring to in today's
parable. And so to understand the parable, we must begin to understand what, in what
is the church militant. It is, as the Roman catechism defines it, it is the society of the faithful
still dwelling on earth. It is called militant because it wages constant warfare with its
implacable enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. And so we must clearly understand
that as members of the church militant, we are involved in a constant warfare. Indeed,
the first vicar of Christ would warn every member of the mystical body
of this truth,
in his contribution to the Bible, in which he tells us that we are to be very weary for the, for our opponent,
the devil, roams about
seeking those that he can destroy. And so, in one sense,
we are never to take rest, even when we must succumb to that which the body requires, that natural sleep.
It has been the constant habit within the tradition of the church for the faithful to consecrate every beat of their heart as
an oblation, as a prayer,
to the Lord, so that we, even while sleeping, are offering worship to God by the very beat of
our hearts so that we are constantly reminded of that warfare of which we are involved,
that warfare
in which our Lord was completely victorious. And so, in order to understand the nature of the
church Mileitin,
we must understand she is constructed essentially of two kinds of persons. That is, the good,
referred to in today's Gospel Bible,
our Lord as the wise and prudent versions and the bad, that is, the foolish versions. But our Lord
in no way indicates that half the church is bad, half the church is good. Indeed, there can be times
in history when all of the church is good and all of the church is bad, but ultimately we know it is
a mixture. It is a mixture of the good and the bad, and as the church points out, it is better even to
be a bad member of the holy church than to be in that unsafe place that is outside her bosom. And so
we must also make a further distinction, for our Lord in today's gospel is explicitly referring to
those members of the mystical body, that is, those who have been claimed by him in baptism,
and either by living good lives or bad lives, still in a very real sense remain within the
church militant. But there is another
class of persons that is not contained in the church militant, and it is essential for all Catholics to
understand this and to understand it in its proper context, because when we mention these words, it is
also mentioned in reference to that absolute and total condemnation, and they have no hope for
salvation. It is not what the church means when it uses the word infidels to describe those who have
never belonged to the church,
that not having knowledge of her. An infidel can be saved insofar as they observe the natural law
in its fullness and integrity, and through no fault of their own remain ignorant of Christ.
At any point in their lives when they are responsible for that, then they are in
a most dangerous position, and even then it is not permissible for any member of the mystical body
to declare them the good or the bad. To declare them lost for all eternity.
It is their responsibility to offer prayer and sacrifice for their conversion so that ultimately they can acquire
absolute forgiveness of their sins through the sacrament, in their case it would be the sacrament of baptism.
And then there are those known as heretics in schismatics because they have separated from the church and belong
to her only as deserters belonging to her own own church.
belong to an army from which they have deserted. This becomes very crucial in
our day, in our age, if we are to understand what ecumenism is and how
the church goes about. That is, if we are to understand the pastoral mission of
the church. For at the time heretics and schismatics separate themselves, we will
notice that the father, the vicar, is much more stern than he appears to be in our
times. And yet, how constantly do we hear the Pope criticize for his pastoral care
for the separated brethren. And yet, we know even in the natural order that in
the first rebellion of a child, a father is much more stern because he has
immediate hope of their return. If they do not return with that stern correction,
then they go off like the prodigal son and begin to destroy their very
substance.
It is not at that point that any member of the mystical body is to seek them out
with the rod and the rule of that stern discipline in which a child is still
very closely united to his home. They must be sought out with that pastoral
care known as charity. Kindly attempting to bring them back in. And if we
understand this, then we understand contrary to what all error says of the
Second Vatican Council,なう,
it is not the cause of the problem in the church
the cause of the problem of the church
is the improper understanding
by either one extreme or the other
as to the nature of the second Vatican Council
it is to the vicar of Christ to determine
how the church carries out her pastoral works
and it is for the vicar of Christ to determine
how souls are to be brought into her
how the infidels are to be converted
and how the heretics and the schismatics
are to be brought back
we live nearly 500 centuries
five centuries
from the Protestant Revolution
most of our separating brethren
are separated through no fault of their own
it is the culture and the life
that they were brought into
and so we must strive to show them
that while they believe in Christ
their belief is defective
their belief is defective
that is they have not the fullness of the faith
and we are to try to show them
where that fullness resides
now with that knowledge
does anyone dare
accuse the vicar of Christ
of not proceeding in a prudent manner
in these matters
who would dare to do so
someone who themselves
have become bad Catholics
because they are constantly
challenging their father
as to how Christ intended him to proceed
and so we must truly understand that
and then we can begin to understand
how that third category of people
is perhaps the category
that should be the primary object
of our charity and our prayers
and our works of mercy
that is the excommunicated
that is those who by the sentence of the church
are no longer numbered among the people of the church
are no longer numbered among the people of the church
among her children
they remain outside the communion of the church
until restored by repentance
that is by a juridical act of the church
they have been separated
and that separation
cannot be removed
unless it is removed
by the vicar of Christ
or those whom he has delegated to do so
as in the case of those
who have committed the crime of abortion
in which he has given
every priest permission
to absolve what formerly
was reserved only to the Holy See
and why so?
because the vicar of Christ
is called to bring the mercy of God to souls
and so when a sin is present in society
that indicates the absolute debauchery
in which the world is engrossed
the vicar of Christ
who formerly had to deal with it occasionally
now has to deal with it
every single day
of the life of the mystical body
and so he gives all priests the authority
to absolve that which is most heinous
because he is called to love
and to bring souls to Christ
and it is to him and him alone
that we are to understand
every council within the church
whether it be the first Vatican council
the second Vatican council
or those at Ephesus and Trent
and throughout the church
and when we understand this
we see very clearly
the difference between the council of Trent
is that that separation was still new
and so the father was firmer
sterner
the second Vatican council
repeats the same doctrines
the same principles
but simply tempered
because now the children
have been raised
through generation and generation of error
and through no fault of their own
are separated from God
separated from Christ
in that sense
they are the offspring
of the original deserters
and hence less responsible
and so we see very clearly
that when the Pope
through our lifetimes
has proceeded in such a manner
he truly shows himself
to be one of the wise
and prudent virgins
because he knows his mission
is not to destroy souls
his mission is to save them
and so we must truly understand that
because if we do
then we will become
we will begin to understand
what is necessary to understand
for every member of the mystical body
for even if the lives of the priests
and the bishops within the church
are debased by unworthiness
they still belong to the church
and nothing is taken away
from their powers
that is
when they absolve us of our sins
we are absolved
when they baptize
we are baptized
when they offer the mass
the mass is offered
despite
their personal responsibility
for their own sins
because the church is not based
on the cult of the bishops
or the priest
or any member's personality
we are not involved
in the cult of personality
indeed it has been declared
to be contrary to faith
to talk about the quote unquote
personality of Christ
because once you postulate
personality to our Lord
in that sense
you make him subject
to every psychologist
and psychologist
who wishes to analyze God
that is the point
of one of the books
of one of the Protestants
when God in the dock
what does he mean
by God in the dock
it is not something
that we find down on the ocean
the dock is the English term
for that which you sit in
when you are undergoing a trial
you are the accused
and you sit in the dock
and everyone throws
your accusations against you
and accusations are being thrown
against our Lord
left and right
both inside the church
and outside the church
questioning his vicar
questioning the way
of the church to proceed
questioning whether the liturgy
is proper or not
it is to the vicar of Christ
to determine those things
it is impossible
for the vicar of Christ
to permit
the holy sacrifice of the mass
not to be the Holy Spirit
the holy sacrifice of the mass
in whichever form
he allows
it is still the mass
and throughout the history of the church
there has been always
reformation of the liturgy
but it is only true
and good
if that reformation
is headed by the vicar of Christ
and so
we must come
to understand that
so that we truly come to understand
the reality and the nature of the church
both triumphant and militant
is that she is
a supernatural society
that is headed by God
and not any man
no man
she is not
the cult of personality
which was the cause of many
of the heretical separations
and schismatic separations
within the mystical body of Christ
and the perseverance of infidels
in their error
if it weren't for charismatic personalities
like Mahatma Gandhi
and Buddha
and what not
those errors would not perdure
but they are ultimately reduced
to the cult of personality
and whatever may be the merits
or demerits of the personal lives
of those who are
the philosophers
and the forerunners
and the leaders of false religions
they nonetheless remain
false religions
and they are not
means of salvation
but it is not to us
to determine
that we are not
but it is not to us
how the church militant
is to go forth
into those places
and those lands
in which the error perdures
it is to the vicar of Christ
to determine that
and he does so knowing
that he and he alone
will answer to the Lord
for his actions
there is no man in the world
who has more responsibility
and more weight on his shoulder
than the vicar of Christ
and may God forgive
every member of the church
and every member of the mystical body
who is constantly
calling into question that man
rather than on their knees
begging God
to protect him
and to guide him
through that most severe
of responsibilities
what man in his right mind
would ever desire
to be the vicar of Christ
that is insanity at its height
and the greatest pope of our times
Pius X
in tears
begged off of that dignity
until Cardinal Mary Duval
simply pointed out to him
it was God's will
and you must take it
he didn't beg off
because he didn't recognize
the dignity of the office
he begged off precisely
because he recognized
the extraordinary dignity
of that man known
as the successor of Peter
and felt himself in true humility
to be unworthy of that cause
contrary
to that false humility
in which we always see
people declaring
I don't want this honor
I don't want this
this honor
or this office
and then ultimately
they wind up taking it
because their intention
all the while
was to acquire it
not for the good of souls
but for themselves
every office
within the church
is for others
including
others
including
being godparents
the catechism
of the catholic church
states that a godparent
has an office
within the mystical body of Christ
that office
is to be exercised
for the good of the souls
in which you are a godparent
and so
every office in the church
is to be exercised
for the good of others
and it meets its culmination
in the office of the vicar of Christ
and so
we must understand
so that we truly understand
what it means
to be a good member of the church
or a bad member of the church
for the good member
has faith along with works of mercy
charity
and all the other virtues
the bad members
have their lamps
are dying out
because as St. James tells us
faith without works
is dead
that's why Martin Luther
declared St. James' epistle
to be an epistle
an epistle of strength
for all
in other words
it should all be
they should all be gathered up
and burned
because he pointed out very clearly
you may hold the faith of Christ
but unless you have the works of Christ
your faith as St. Paul declares
is nothing but a clanging symbol
a show
an outward show
that does nothing
for the world
and does nothing for Christ
and so
it is incumbent upon every member
of the mystical body
to understand that
most of us struggle
simply with periods
of being good Catholics
and being bad Catholics
because we are weak
for ultimately
only Christ knows
who the good Catholics
and the bad Catholics are
but you cannot
as it were
acquire true Catholicism
by a formulaic faith
if I do such and such
God has to give me such and such
so if I pray
say a thousand times
and I pray
a thousand times
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
and I pray
Saint Paul says, strive for the dying of that old man, Adam, ourselves. So because we have put on
in the baptismal garment the new man, Christ, and the new man must show the works of Christ,
which is ultimately what? Sacrifice for the sake of others. And so we must strive to understand
that, for there is profound symbolism in our Lord's description of the Church militant.
The lamp is a faithful mind or faith itself. The oil is good works. The fuel
that does what? Burns the flame or gives off the light, which is charity. And then we begin to
understand why the Church is described by Isaiah as a light burning on a mountain top. It is
the charity of the members of the mystical body that draws all nations to her. And in drawing all
nations to her, we draw all nations to Christ because he is the only eternal light. Contrary
to the notion that one of our political leaders whose light burns at his grave is an eternal
light, that light one day will go out and he, like all who have passed before us, will
be judged by God. And we will be judged according to whether we have put on the clothing of
Christ, his works, his charity, and scripture tells us that his works and his charity were
right down to the finest minutiae, what we would consider insignificant. One of the
classical
examples in scripture of the depth of how Christ penetrated into human life is that he was found
constantly playing with children and the apostles, before they got the point, were constantly trying
to take him away from the children. The Lord entered into humanity like no one else has or
will enter into humanity and he even touched the children, not by anything profound by worldly
standards.
You know, in our day and age, we would say, because he went out and literally played the
games of children with children so that even the children would know that God was with them
and he came to be with them always in their human life so that they may be with him always in the
life to come. And so the light that is fueled by the good works of Christ is the virtue of charity.
The vessel in which all this is contained is our conscience that accuses us of either doing
good works, that is, works of Christ, or bad works. And so we must constantly examine our
conscience and repent of all those faults and failings, but repent in a sane and a sound way.
The Lord knows we are weak, and the Lord knows we have all kinds of foibles, all kinds of failings.
And the Lord knows we have all kinds of failings, and all kinds of failings.
And even if you have a very noble desire for God, you cannot be extremely upright without the strength
If our fall was great, St. Maximilian Mary would point out,
don't wring your hands.
Dust yourself off, get to confession,
put your hands back on the plow and go forward.
The Lord is not cruel.
And that is essential for us to understand why schismatics and heretics become cruel.
Because they set themselves up ultimately as Christ.
Now, if you're not God and you try to deal with human weakness,
what as a human being is ultimately going to be your response?
Cruelty.
I'll make them do it.
I'll make them do it with a sword, a whip, or whatever.
I will simply make them do what I determine.
What I determine is right.
That is not how it works.
Christ determines what is right.
And has revealed that to us in creedal formula.
And it is our responsibility to flesh out that creed
by constantly studying and praying and asking Our Lady
to give us the grace to live the life of Christ.
And the cause of both the good and the bad,
as it is in the church, this parable will point out, is the same.
What causes the good to be good and the bad to be bad is the same.
The delay of the bridegroom.
The delay of the bridegroom.
It causes both the good and the bad because each one reacts to the delay in a unique way.
So we must understand what is the nature of this delay.
If we are bad, we conclude God is cruel.
But the bridegroom delays according to good, sound Catholic teaching,
not because he is cruel, but he does so in order to give us time to repent and acquire good works.
This is why he delays the time of judgment.
Now in our culture, we have all kinds of icons that point out to us the contrary understanding.
We think, you know, God is good.
They are just secular.
Take something like the Star Trek series.
Just secular, right?
No. Gene Roddenberry, the creator, said in an interview in a humanist magazine
that the purpose of Star Trek was to annihilate the belief of God in the hearts and souls of others.
And he particularly said to destroy the notion of a blood sacrifice.
That was the express intent of Star Trek.
According to the mind of the creator of Star Trek.
To destroy the notion of a blood sacrifice.
How can we see this?
There is one classic example of it.
In which there is this little fellow named Trevelyan.
Who is God toying with humanity like a puppeteer.
And when Trevelyan gets bored or when his mother finds him, you hear a woman's voice in the background.
Trevelyan, I told you not to do that.
Come home. Stop playing with them.
It is not just bad, it is blasphemous because it attacks our Lord and our Lady
and paints them as absolute cruel.
Cruelty to the height.
They just toy with humanity.
But that is not the reality.
The reality is what the Scripture shows us.
Our Lady doesn't toy with humanity at the Annunciation.
She at that point is praying for it.
And what does she receive?
Not a puppeteer.
Not a puller of the strings.
Who simply severs them when he is done with you.
But she receives the very Son of God in order to bring himself to us.
To communicate with us as a human being.
That is how much God loves us.
He is not the great puppeteer in the sky.
He has tabernacle.
He has pitched his tent, his humanity, with us
in order to get right down in the mud with us
and lift us out of it.
That is why.
And that is why any movement,
liberal or conservative,
progressive or traditional,
is cruelty.
Because it does not take you out of the mud.
It pulls you down into it in its own unique way.
But ultimately it pulls you to the same place.
The Antichrist.
No matter how appealing it may seem.
And in this we must understand one thing.
Christ could have ended all things with his resurrection.
All things with his resurrection.
Because in his mother he has complete and total victory.
This warfare we are involved in isn't determined by numbers.
It's determined by who won.
Either Satan won,
or God won.
And you don't determine who won
by how many souls are in hell
or how many souls are in heaven.
You determine whether God won
by the immaculate conception.
Because in her God is completely and totally victorious.
And if he had chose to end it
on his resurrection,
he would have ended completely victorious
and still the same loving and just God.
But as the saints explained to us in a mystery text,
beyond our comprehension in this life,
the mother of God was not content
to simply be the mother of God.
She desired to be the mother of all souls.
And so she begged that God would give us life in her son.
That is why we have baptism.
And that is why we can say
the mother of God truly is the cause of baptism.
Because she asked for it.
As with all the other six sacraments
and the mystical body of Christ.
She truly and really asked for it.
And no good son can refuse such a good mother.
So there is a mystery in Our Lady
that we can't comprehend.
But we must strive because we must understand.
She is God's victory.
And his delay is the result of her intercession.
No Father, I want them all.
And so,
I want your son to do everything
to gain all of them for me.
And we will not penetrate that mystery
until we have safely found our way
through this life into eternal life.
And so, to this point,
we have spoken about faith.
That is the supernatural virtue
which God infuses into our souls
and by which, relying on the authority of God himself,
we believe everything
which he has revealed
and which through his church
he proposes for belief
and charity.
The supernatural virtue
which again, God infuses.
God is the initiator.
Not us.
God infuses into our souls
and by which we love God above all
for his own sake
and our neighbor, for ourselves,
for God's sake.
And that leaves one.
And this is crucial
in our society.
Because hope is the virtue
which determines how you slumber.
Slumber is a reference to the death of all men.
And hope is the virtue
by which we respond
to our impending death.
And so, it is that supernatural virtue
which again, God infuses into the soul
and by which we desire and expect
that eternal life
that God has promised to his servants
as well as the means necessary
to attain it.
The good simply believe that
and live according to it.
The bad don't.
It's very simple.
The bad don't.
And so, in their impending death,
they seek that which gives them
good religious feelings in this life.
And so, ultimately,
whether they take the liberal side
or the traditional side,
they simply are going to manifest
in each one of them
their predominant vice.
And may God help us
if we are being led
by those who exercise
the seven capital vices.
It is simply unadulterated raw cruelty.
And let us understand
from Saint David,
the Lord gave him three choices
because he needed to be punished
for what he did.
And he simply said,
I'll take the one that you oversee, God.
And the one he begged off
was being delivered into the hands
of his enemies.
Why?
Because he knew if God does the chastising,
it's always tempered by his mercy.
If it is man,
it has no tempering.
It has no limit.
Until it burns itself out
in the final throes of its rage.
We have been living in a culture
and a society that has been fueled
by enthusiasm for centuries.
And the problem with enthusiasm is
it doesn't get better as it burns out.
It gets worse.
And it gets worse in every aspect
and every crook and nanny of human life
until it finally burns itself up
and only God knows the carnage
that will be involved.
The Nazis of Germany,
the communists of Russia,
the communists in America,
all of them,
only pale in comparison
to what all those errors
will bring about on humanity
if we don't understand.
God is in control of the church, militant.
He has assigned the vicar of Christ
to oversee the pastoral activity of the church.
And it is to no good Catholic
to call into question
the works of the vicar of Christ.
As the vicar of Christ.
He may in his personal life
hold all kinds of errors.
So what?
We have a promise from our Lord
and St. Alphonsus de Liguri says very categorically
if it ever was in the mind of a vicar of Christ
to publicly promulgate error, heresy,
it would never come out of his mouth
because the Lord would simply
remove him from this life.
And we must go forward with that faith.
Because there are too many errors.
And as it has been said time and time again,
the contrary reaction to liberalism
which has had the fore
is fascism.
More attractive because
it appears to be orderly.
But precisely because of that
more destructive.
Its carnage is unlimited.
And it becomes very attractive
wherever it is seen
and however it is seen.
Okay?
And ultimately
it is not determined by what they say.
It is determined by what they do.
Actions speak louder than words.
And in the mystical body of Christ
they are either the actions of Christ
or they are the actions of Satan.
No matter how attractive they may appear.
No one will doubt the beauty
of the liturgy
in its what's called traditional form
or in the Novus Ordo form.
But the liberal can use the Novus Ordo as a club
just as the traditionalist can use
the traditional mass as a club.
The liturgy is the sacrifice of Christ
and it is not to any member of the mystical body
to be used in a fashion to browbeat.
It is the blood sacrifice of Christ
represented in an unbloody manner.
Either one is to be used
to participate it in
with great reverence and devotion
because it is Christ's sacrifice for us
and we are called to unite ourselves to it.
And it is the salvation of the world
but not in a scientific approach to it.
Tweaking this and tweaking that.
It is the salvation of the world
because it is the means by which God
has demonstrated
His love and mercy for humanity.
It is the means by which God has established
beyond a shadow of a doubt
that He dwelt with mankind
and made the ultimate sacrifice for mankind.
And that is the Catholic understanding
of the liturgy.
And no one has the right
within the mystical body of Christ
to use it as a club.
No one.
And that is what our Lord is speaking of
to us in today.
To us in today's Gospel
in giving us this most profound
and in-depth reflection
on the church militant.
And so, let us be reminded
by one of those holy vicars from the past
Saint Leo the Great.
Christian, always be aware
of the dignity you have acquired
in being members of the mystical body of Christ
and called to fight
for the church militant
so that you may rejoice
with the church triumphant.
Amen.