Reflections on Catholic Action

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4.0-How to do Catholic Action

4.1-By the Imitation of Christ

Spiritual direction in Catholic Action motivates and sustains its practice. Each member of a Catholic Action group should put himself under the spiritual guidance of a priest. Thus he will be led to imitate Our Lord. Indeed, Jesus Christ is our model par excellence, in striving for conversion and sanctification. The spiritual and active lives are integrated. It is proactive in meeting needs to promote and to defend the Faith. We use ourselves in setting a good example (I Pet. 2:11-12; 3:8-12; 4:7-11; 5:5-­11) as to what it means to be a Catholic. Like the apostles, we make ourselves available to everyone, accepting the temperaments of others as they are and not as we would like them to be.³⁰ Catholic Action is truly spiritual action. We see Christ in others and, under the patronage of Our Blessed Mother, we lead souls to Christ. By perfecting the interior life through mental prayer, the liturgical life, custody of the heart, and through a habitual trust in our Holy Mother Mary,³¹ the spiritual life molds the active life. In the active life, we openly demonstrate the Holy Faith in our service to God and to our neighbor. Humbling ourselves at the foot of Christ's Cross on Calvary, in the company of Our Blessed Mother, St. John, St. Mary Magdalene, we ask for the Grace to be united with Christ in uniformity with His Divine Will.

Taking Christ as our model, the virtues of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist are contemplated with St Margaret Mary Alacoque. For example: “Jesus is the rich Lord of all creation, to whom everything belongs. Heaven and earth are His domain. God the Father has given Him all the nations for His inheritance; yet, here below He has made Himself the poorest of the poor, out of love for us. ...Jesus is ...the divine splendor of innocence; He is the purity of virgins. For a mother He wanted the Virgin of virgins, the Immaculate Virgin Herself. All this is proclaimed by the whiteness of the Host. ...He seems to have given up all free choice of His own. ...He is truly the Savior who was obedient even unto the death of the Cross.”³² Indeed, the Incarnation is the foundation of our Catholic lives and our raison d’etre. In one eternal moment, “the Word was made flesh; and dwelt among us.” This same Word Incarnate offered Himself as a Victim on the Cross: from the Wood of the Manger to the Wood of the Cross. And Our Savior's Sacrifice on the Altar of the Holy Cross is continuously renewed in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. By assisting often at the Sacrifice of the Mass, we not only receive the fruits of Our Lord’s death, but we transform in Him, we imitate Him more and more.

Fr. Jacques Emily, SSPX, in noting that Our Lord Jesus Christ is our Master, our King, our Head, our Model, our Unique Savior, and our God, affirms that a Christian life essentially seeks to imitate Jesus Christ. Fr. Emily says: “…The Christian life can be summed up in the imitation of Jesus Christ. ...We must rely on Our Lord Jesus Christ, as firm as on a rock, place our confidence and our hope in Him and like the first Christians, model as much as possible our life on His. ...This truly Christian attitude forces us to place Our Lord Jesus Christ at the center of our lives. ...May Jesus become again the sun of your hearts, the soul of your lives, the guidance for all your actions.”³³ Only through such a work of conforming ourselves to Christ will we be able to be true and good members of Catholic Action.

4.2-By a Good Prayer Life

Catholic Action consists of an interior life and an active life. It is a union of contemplation with action. A foundation of prayer is basic to any activity that follows. St. Pius X points out the necessity of prayer. He says: “Prayer is absolutely necessary because in the ordinary economy of salvation God does not concede graces except to him who prays. IT IS NECESSARY TO JOIN PRAYER WITH ACTION.”³⁴

The Lord's Prayer, the prototype of prayer, contains the essential qualities of prayer - that we pray with confidence, for what is right, and that our prayers be ordered, devout and humble.³⁵ Archbishop Lefebvre says, “prayer should involve all our being, like the prayer of the angels and of the elect in Heaven.”³⁶

To know, love and to serve Our Lord, we need to be in communication with Him. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most perfect prayer, the most perfect means of communication with the Holy Trinity. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is essential in restoring Christ in us and in society. Fr. Fahey discusses a significance of Holy Mass, noting: “Catholics must endeavor to grasp fully what Our Lord is aiming at when He is seeking to have the influence of the Mystical Body accepted in the life of the State, in the family, in education, and in economic organization. He is striving for ever wider participation in, and profounder comprehension of, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”³⁷Active participation in assisting at Mass is essential to uniting oneself to Christ. It is necessary both to know the Mass and to pray the Mass.³⁸ In this way; one may begin to live the Mass.

4.3-By the Promotion of the Faith

A woman seeking St. Pius X’s advice in helping the Church heard “teach Catechism.” ³⁹Catholic Action is primarily a teaching type of role within the Tradition of the Church based upon Catholic Faith and morality. Catholics have a history that is rich in “the old traditional Christian technique of the formation of saints by personal contact and the teaching by word and example, in the charity of Christ.”⁴⁰ The Catholic laity has the responsibility to continue this tradition. It is precisely the fulfillment of this responsibility that sanctifies them. In working towards sanctification, through the performing of such apostolic work as teaching the “ignorant”, the lay apostolate transcends a temporal life and refers all actions to Our Lord.⁴¹

From the days of the apostles and onwards, until the end of time, the transmission of the Faith is paramount. Gregory XVI discusses a way to transmit the Faith that is both awesome and graphic, inspiring direct action: “Draw the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and let those who hunger for justice's sake receive nourishment from you. Choose to be diligent cultivators in the Lord's vineyard, act for this sole end, and labor in unison that every root of bitterness be torn up from the field confided to you, and that, every seed of vice being stifled, a cheering harvest of virtues may grow unto fullness. Embracing with paternal affection those especially who apply their mind in particular to sacred sciences and philosophical questions, exhort them and prevent their straying from the paths of truth to run the way of the impious, by resting on the sole powers of their reason. Let them remember that it is God who leads in the paths of truths and who perfects the wise, and that otherwise it is impossible to know God, God Who by His Word instructs men to know Him.”⁴²                        

Catholics have a duty to unite, to promote Catholic teachings and to defend the Faith. Catholic Action has a lengthy history. As we have already mentioned, the Popes, especially from Leo XIII, to Pius XII, have given us our mandate, together with various counsels. Consider, for example, some of Leo XIII’s teachings: “Let each one …bear in mind that he both can and should ...preach the Catholic faith by the authority of his example, and by open and constant profession of the obligations it imposes. ...A perfect harmony of opinion should prevail. ...Union of minds, therefore, requires, together with an accord in the one faith, complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself. This obedience should …be perfect. …This perfection of obedience …has been, and will ever be, accounted the distinguishing mark by which we are able to recognize Catholics.”⁴³ Obviously, today it means faithfulness to the Rome of always.

In beginning to lay the cornerstone for a lay apostolate, we begin with our parishes and ourselves. The parish is our sanctuary in the world. We need to be involved in parish life. Members of Catholic Action understand they are within the Church Militant, and throw off the yoke of being nominal "Sunday Catholics," chained to worldliness and to a blinded duty to assist at Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation. We rally under the banner of Christ the King and profess the Faith, living it each moment of the day. As St. Catherine of Siena says, “We’ve had enough exhortations to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see the world is rotten because of silence.”⁴⁴

4.4-Some Examples of Practical Involvement

4.4.1-Enthronment of the Sacred Heart

As we are soldiers under the banner of Christ the King, and strive to imitate Him, to be united to Him by grace and prayer, and thus to lead other souls to Him by our examples and good words, we understand that we ought to foster by all means the enthronement of the Sacred Heart in homes and at the work place. Catholic Action is a social rather than a political organization.⁴⁵ Commitment to Catholic Action and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is part of the same process. But the outcome of this process is political. The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in Catholic families and homes is simultaneously the Enthronement of Christ the King in the state. Allegiance is towards Christ the King. It is a political allegiance within the meaning of achieving a Christian civilization. Politics is within a spiritual, corporal and temporal realm that re-establishes Catholic social order according to the Divine Plan.⁴⁶ Politics is re-Christianized to conform with devotion to the Sacred Heart. The Sacred Heart of Christ the King is central to a re-Christianized politics. For example: “Devotion to His Sacred Heart is ...a political commitment. The Sacred Heart of Christ the King is source and center of the Christian State, human manifestation of the divine Monarchy from which all monarchy takes its name. Its temporal dimensions extend into eternity. …Sacred Heart devotion …is ultimately and fundamentally political in the real sense of the word politics. It was forged by the Divine wisdom to bring not only the individual, but whole nations into intimacy with God.”⁴⁷

4.4.2-Third Orders

The Third Order of the Society of St. Pius X, (as those of traditional Capuchins, Dominicans, Benedictines, and Carmelites), is an especial means to strengthen the Faith. Established by Archbishop Lefebvre for the purpose of sanctifying individual members and souls for which Third Order members are responsible, the Third Order brings to life the spirit of Tradition. With the Third Order Prayer Book and in observing the Rule, members are enabled to regulate their prayer life and to fulfill their personal, social, familial, and professional duties in line with the Faith. Members share in Graces granted to the Society, as well as those granted due to the merits of Third Order members.⁴⁸ Divine Providence certainly provides for His creatures.

4.4.3-Lay Associations

Many associations exist, that entail some forms of Catholic Action. Rare are the traditional parishes without any form of organized apostolate. But no parish has the same ones either. As far as we know, few parishes have a structured “Catholic Action” group, as those existing before the Council. Reverend Father Jacques Emily, while District Superior of Canada, had worked on resuscitating a structured “Catholic Action”, and set up a group in Toronto, but it didn’t develop everywhere in Canada. Concerning all associations, a lot of work and time is required by the pastors to found and nurture them and, the number of priests being so small, it is difficult to achieve. We need greater involvement from the lay people, so that priests could delegate more, and thus accomplish more. Let us mention a few lay associations whose members can be said to do Catholic Action one way or the other: The Legion of Mary; the Holy Name Society; the Joan of Arc Society; the Friends of St. Martha… Since we have mentioned the Third Orders as being part of Catholic Action, because of the formation and graces they give to members, and because of the graces obtained for the conversion of souls, we might as well add to these examples of lay associations any others that imply catholic growth. Such would be the Scouts and Guides groups, the Rosary Crusade, the Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart, the Eucharistic Crusade, and so on. Let us mention also the work done by individuals in the Catholic Press and in Catechism classes. All those who are involved in such groups or activities can be said to do one or many forms of “Catholic Action”. Therefore, if they want their actions to be blessed by God, they have to follow the principles we have mentioned concerning spiritual and intellectual formation, as well as those for personal sanctification. One among the great benefits of such a lay association is that it helps the members to perform concretely and efficaciously a form or another of “Catholic Action”, instead of remaining at the stage of “holy intentions”. But, despite all these efforts, we dare say it would be better to re-organize real Catholic Action groups. It also has the advantage of coordinating and orchestration the actions of individuals and other groups, and of providing greater unity and strength. Let us hope that many Catholics will ask their pastors for the creation of such an organization worldwide!

5.0-Requirements for Catholic Action

When we talked about “how” to do Catholic Action, we stressed the importance of prayer, and of the imitation of Christ by our own conversion and sanctification, as means to bring souls to recognize Christ as their King. We also talked about performing corporal and spiritual works of mercy in order to bring people to Our Lord. In order to be able to do all that satisfactorily, the lay apostle, whether he is being part of a Catholic Action group or not, needs to meet specific requirements, such as a good spiritual and intellectual formation. But above all, what is required for success is God’s help, and thus, Our Lady’s intercession. For the work of converting souls is mainly a supernatural one.

5.1-Spiritual Formation

This requirement is summarized in the directives of the Italian bishops given shortly before Vatican II. The bishops affirm a need for a lay apostolate that is anchored in traditional spirituality, stating: “…We must set up truly Christian laymen …faithful witnesses to the Gospel in example and in word … (with) ...a thorough interior formation. ...Let us train our laymen to have the "sense of the Church," in the light of the great encyclicals Mystici Corporis and Mediator Dei of Pope Pius XII. ...Let us take care to give …an ascetic formation, a thorough religious culture. ...Let us make our laymen aware of the grave duty incumbent upon them to bear witness to their faith in every activity of life.” 49.

In spiritual formation, the lay apostle is engaged in Catholic practices aimed towards the conduct worthy of God. These practices enable one to wear the armor of Faith and to achieve Catholic virtues: charity, joy, prayer, and gratitude to God (I Thess. 5: 14-23). The armor of Christ is embraced internally in order to radiate it externally. This is a function of Divine Grace, as St. Pius X tells us: “Catholic Action …constitutes a real apostolate for the honor and glory of Christ Himself. To carry it out right one must have divine grace, and the apostle receives it only if he is united to Christ. Only when he has formed Jesus Christ in himself shall he more easily be able to restore Him to the family and society.” 50.

The great anti-modernist Priest, Rev. Fr. Fahey says: “To work for the salvation of the world with Christ, one must begin with oneself. The first step to be taken is to install the reign of the Crucified Man-God fully and completely in one's own heart. ...If we wish to bring the love of God into the world, we must unite ourselves with the Blessed Trinity present in us by grace and seek to love the Three Divine Persons with our whole soul. Then we shall love our neighbor as he should be loved, namely, as a fellow-member of Our Lord's Mystical Body. Thus and thus only shall we be fully in touch with reality and contribute efficaciously to the return of order by the rebirth of the spirit of the Mystical Body of Christ.”⁵¹

Spiritual formation and the Reign of Christ the King go hand in hand. Restoring true spiritual life to the Church is today essential. To achieve it, Archbishop Lefebvre says we must “drink of the same springs of the saints.” In order to draw “grace and personal communication with the Holy Spirit,” our practices need to involve, in Archbishop Lefebvre's words: “…the same spirituality with its fundamental principles of penitence, prayer and total devotion to Our Lord and the Virgin Mary. (We need to have) boundless obedience to the Will of God, respect for those who interpret it ...great reverence for the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. ...a detachment from this world's possessions and zeal for the salvation of sinners. (Foremost in our lives are)... the glory of God, of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Honor of His one Church. (We need to be) familiar with the Scriptures and venerate the Tradition of the Church expressed in the Creeds, Councils and catechisms in which the authentic doctrine bequeathed by the Apostles is embodied.”⁵²

These are the sources that anchor spiritual formation. Spiritual formation is the seed whereby the Grace of Catholic Action may be planted in fervent souls.

5.2-Intellectual Formation

False ecumenism and secularism surround us. Numerous errors are documented, together with the Catholic response. Liberalism (Gregory XVI, Pius IX), Socialism and Americanism (Leo XIII), Modernism and Sillonism (St. Pius X), Communism (Pius XI), Neo-Modernism and Feminism (Pius XII), are such errors.⁵³ These occur in our society, in us and in our parishes. We need to intelligently inform ourselves of these errors and to correct them.

Pope Pius XI, quoted by Rev. Fr. Stephen DeLallo, SSPX, talks about the need of a thorough intellectual formation for the apostle: “It (Catholic Action) must, therefore, make it a chief aim to train its members with special care and to prepare them to fight the battles of the Lord. This task of formation, now more urgent and indispensable than ever, which must always precede direct action in the field, will assuredly be served by study-circles, conferences, lecture-courses, and the various other activities undertaken with a view to making known the Christian solution of the social problem.”⁵⁴

A Catholic frame of reference also means we need to know the Holy Faith. John Henry Cardinal Newman defines the type of laity required for effective Catholic Action: “I want laymen, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not; who know their Creed so well that they can give an account of it; who know so much of history that they can defend it. I want an intelligent, well instructed laity. I wish you to enlarge your knowledge, to cultivate your reason, to get an insight into the relation of truth to truth; to learn to view things as they are; to understand how faith and reason stand to each other; what are the bases and principles of Catholicism. Ignorance is the root of bitterness.”⁵⁵

A well instructed laity is one that knows and practices Catholicism. It is a laity that is thoroughly familiar with Catholic truths, the Holy Mass and the Sacraments, morality, and with apologetics. The intent is the formation of the Catholic soul and character that will, in an imitation of Christ­-like charity, intelligently profess and practice the Faith.⁵⁶ Yet, to be truly effective, Catholic Action requires something more...

5.3-Need of Supernatural Help

5.3.1-Catholic Action Requires God’s Graces

Holding fast to the teachings of our Holy Mother, the Church that welcomed us at Baptism, strengthened us at Confirmation, and continues to welcome us in the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist, we need the Grace of God. We realize that the apostolate of Catholic Action is a gift from God. We ask that we may be worthy to receive this gift if God chooses to give it. All that we are comes from Divine Grace, just as all that we will be comes from humbly begging, seeking and knocking at the door of Divine Grace. Like the Samaritan woman drawing water at the well, we thirst for the “living water” (Jn. 4:5-42). Our dependence upon God, for Habitual (= sanctifying) Grace, and for Actual graces, needs to be realized. It was a constant theme in St. Thomas More's meditations in the Tower of London.⁵⁷ His prayer is very close to the ideal of Catholic Action:

 “Give me thy grace, good Lord,
To set the world at nought;
The things, good Lord, that 1 pray for;
Give me thy grace to labour for.”⁵⁸

St. Pius X, while mentioning the need for God’s grace in the apostolate, talks also about how and where to find it: “...the true reformer puts all his trust in God; from Him and from His heavenly gifts he expects to receive all his strength and effectiveness, repeating the words of the Apostle: ‘I can do all things in Him who strengthen me.’ The means to effect the reform, Christ has poured out abundantly; the man of faith seeks them in the bosom of the Church to apply them to the salvation of all men. They are primarily zeal for prayer, sacrifice, and the sacraments, which become ‘like a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting.’”⁵⁹

But because we are weak and sinners, the need for God’s grace implies the intercession of our beloved Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary…

5.3.2-Catholic Action requires the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary’s role in Catholic Action is highly significant. Our Lady is only too willing to help the lay apostolate. Assisting us, leading us by the hand, as it were, and sheltering us under Her mantle, is the Woman closest to Christ the King, His Mother, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Said quite simply, “If someone would ask you, ‘In whose name are you working?’ you could answer: ‘In the name of my Mother.’”⁶⁰ Mary assists the apostolate in sanctification and in conversion; hence, in the salvation of souls. The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, in referring to Her life as the Mother of Jesus, lovingly counsels us to use apostolic prayer and sacrifice - the two most effective means of furthering Catholic Action.⁶¹

Catholics have a special devotion to Mary. As Our Mother, given to us at the Annunciation and at the foot of the Holy Cross, Mary tells us: “They ought not to call my sweetest Jesus my only Son, but rather my first-born Son. 1 conceived Him first in my womb, but after Him, or rather through Him, I conceived every one of you to be His brothers and to be my children, adopting you in the womb of my maternal charity”⁶²

Mary was with Jesus at the foot of the Cross (Jn. 19:26-27). “Stabat autem juxta crucem Jesu Mater ejus”  (Jn. 19:25). It was through Her suffering that Mary received the titles of Coredemptrix and Universal Mediatrix.⁶³ As Mary cares for Jesus, She also cares for the Church. The Blessed Virgin Mary has assisted the Church throughout the history of Christendom. The Marian dogmas have shielded the Christological dogmas in numerous heresies. [64] The salvation of souls is of the utmost importance to Our Mother Mary. As Mary cared for the apostles within the early Church, She cares for the lay apostolate. An Act of Consecration to Mary, according to the method of St Louis Grignion de Montfort, will be powerful in obtaining Mary’s help for the lay apostle.

6.0-CONCLUSION: Let us all fight under the Banner of Christ the King!

Our Lord Jesus Christ is King of the entire Universe, by His being Creator and Redeemer. Unfortunately, this loving Kingship is attacked from all sides, even by modern churchmen. Thus, many souls remain ignorant and are lost. We need real heroes to save these souls. Indeed, the clergy always needed, and still does, the help of lay apostles in order to fight for the salvation of souls. Many traditional Popes have repeated this countless times. The best means to be used, in the work for expanding Christ’s Kingdom among men, is the organized group called “Catholic Action”. Its purpose is to enlighten and be charitable to souls, so as to bring them at the foot of the Sacred Heart. Indeed, Catholic Action, whether as an organized group, or as a form of apostolate, tries to convert souls by teaching the ignorant, consoling the afflicted, helping the poor, visiting the sick and the prisoners, etc. In a word, it practices the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The lay worker in the Vineyard of the Lord will thus need a strong intellectual and traditional spiritual formation. Indeed, all his efforts to help others would not be enough, if the apostle would not try firstly to imitate Our Lord, under the guidance of a spiritual director. The apostle must also pray without ceasing, for his own conversion and sanctification, but also for that of those he tries to convert. He will also become more “Christ-like” by assisting often, and with fervor, to the Tridentine Mass. For the grace of God is absolutely necessary for his undertakings. The lay apostle will therefore have also a tender, trustful, and faithful devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose wishes are like orders for the loving Heart of Her divine Son. The more souls convert and recognize the Sacred Heart as their King, the more society will be changed from within. Thus, the effect of Catholic Action will be to re-Christianize, and even civilize anew, the civil society. This group called “Catholic Action” can coordinate the work of its members, and that of other lay associations, so as to increase the strength and the impact of the lay apostolate. It is therefore imperative that many faithful ask their pastors, and the Superiors of the SSPX, for the re-establishing of such an organization. In the meantime, they should already do what they can to do some “Catholic Action”, as explained in this article. If the clergy sees their good will, they will be more inclined to work for the resurrection of a true and traditional “Catholic Action”. Let us often pray and live the following prayer to Christ the King: 

 

CATHOLIC ACTION PRAYER “O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee as Universal King. For Thee all creatures have been made. Do Thou exercise over me all Thy Rights. Renewing my baptismal vows, I renounce Satan with all his works and pomps, and I promise live as a good Catholic. Especially do I pledge myself to work with all my power for the triumph of the rights of God and of Thy Holy Church. Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee all my poor actions to obtain that all hearts may recognize Thy Sacred Royalty, and that thus the reign of Thy peace may be established throughout the entire universe. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!”64

References:

30. Fr. Gerard Herrbach, From a conversation on the meaning of "acceptance" in living the Faith, St. Pius X Priory & Retreat House, Shawinigan-Sud, PQ, December 1997.

31. Dom Chautard, Op. Cit. pp. 185-282. See Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, Op. Cit. pp. 351-356.

32. Joseph Darguard, The Eucharist in the Life of St. Margaret Mary (trans. Bro. Richard Arnandez, F.S.C.), Prow Books/Franciscan Marytown Press, 1979 (1921), pp. 118-120.

33. Fr. Jacques Emily, Letter to Our Faithful, Communicantes, March 1988, 27, p.5.

34. St. Pius X, The Apostolate of the Laity, Oportet Christum Regnare! Summer 1997, p.6.

35. Our Father. A Commentary by St. Thomas Aquinas, The Angelus, VIII: 9 September 1985, pp. 16-17, 27. See A Treatise of Prayer, The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena, Op. Cit. pp. 158-280; The Lord's Prayer. Prayer in General, The Catechism of the Council of Trent (published by decree of St. Pius V (1566), St. Charles Borromeo (ed.)), (trans. John A. McHugh, O.P. & Charles J. Callan, O.P.), Rockford, ILL: Tan Books, 1982 (1976), pp. 477-500; St. Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection or Paternoster (1565-6), (trans. E. Allison Peers (ed.)), NY: Image, 1991 (1946), pp. 166-179, 245-248; Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, Op. Cit. pp. 50-54, 179-184; Padre Pio, The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Rockford, ILL: Tan Books, 1974; Fr. Lewis S. Fiorelli (ed.), Faith, The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales for Lent (1622), (trans. Nuns of the Visitation), Rockford, ILL: Tan Books, 1987, pp. 34-51; St. Alphonsus de Liguori, How to Converse Continually and Familiarly with God, (trans. L. X. Aubin, C.SS.R.), Boston, MA: The Daughters of St. Paul, 1981.

36. Archbishop Lefebvre, Spiritual Journey, Op. Cit. p. 27. See Thomas a Kempis, My Imitation of Christ, Brooklyn, NY: Confraternity of the Precious Blood, 1982 (1954), pp. 209-211.

37. Fr. Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp., The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Kingship of Christ, Oportet Christum Regnare! Summer 1997, p.4.

38. Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr, Op. Cit.; See Fr. Paul Trinchard, S.T.L., The Mass That Made Padre Pio, Metairie, LA: Maeta, 1997.

39. F. A. Forbes, Op. Cit. p. 65.

40. Dom Chautard, Op. Cit. p. xii.

41. Carol Robinson, The Age of Lay Sanctity, My Life with Thomas Aquinas, The Angelus Press, 1995, p. 355.

42. Pope Gregory XVI, Encyclical, Mirari Vos (August 15, 1832), The Great Papal Encyclicals, Kansas City, MI: The Angelus Press, pp. 17-18.

43. Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical, Sapientiae Christianae (January 10, 1890), in Etienne Gilson (ed.), The Church Speaks to the Modern World. The Social Teachings of Leo XIII, Image, 1954, pp. 255-259.

44. Quoted in the Orator, January-April 1998, 9: 1&2, p. 1.

45. Pope Pius XII, Address, Se a Temperare (September 25, 1940), to members of Italian Catholic Action, in Fr. DeLallo, Op. Cit. p. 71.

46. Fr. Denis Fahey, The Mystical Body of Christ in the Modern World, Op. Cit. p. 4-9; Archbishop Lefebvre, Against the Heresies, Op. Cit. p. 10.

47. Solange Hertz, The Political Dimension of Sacred Heart Devotion, Utopia. “Nowhere” Now Here, Santa Monica, CA: Veritas, 1993, p. 153.

48. Fr. Gerard Rusak (ed.), Third Order Prayer Book, Winnipeg, MN: Society of St. Pius X, 2002, pp. 1-3.

49. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Pastoral Letters, 1947-1968, Op. Cit. pp. 143-146.

50. St. Pius X, Il Fermo Proposito, Op. Cit. para. 11. See St. Pius X, E Supremi Apostolatus, 1903

51. Fr. Fahey, The Mystical Body of Christ in the Modern World, Op. Cit. p. xxi.

52. Monseigneur Marcel Lefebvre, For a True Renovation of the Church, A Bishop Speaks, Op. Cit. p. 50.

53. Fr. Fahey, The Mystical Body of Christ in the Modern World, Op. Cit. pp. 120-142; Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, I Accuse the Council! Kansas City, MO: Angelus Press, 1982, esp. pp. 80-84; Archbishop Lefebvre, Against the Heresies, Op. Cit. pp. xiii-xv, ff..; Fr. DeLallo, Op. Cit. pp. 105-151; Fr. Donat Paradis, Open Letter to Bishop Blanchet, Communicantes, November 1989, 31, pp. 2-14; Fr. Jules Belisle, Modern Problems: Sermon on Feminism, Communicantes, June 1999, 3, pp. 14-16; Romano Amerio, IOTA UNUM. A Study of the Changes in the Catholic Church in the XXth Century, (trans. Rev. Fr. John P. Parsons), Kansas City, MO: Sarto House, 1996, pp. 15-44, 201-224.

54. Pope Pius XI, Encyclical, Divini Redemptoris (March 19, 1937), in Fr. DeLallo, Op. Cit. pp. 69-70.

55. Quoted in Fr. John Laux, Chief Truths of the Faith. A Course in Religion, Rockford, ILL: Tan Books, 1990 (1934), p. vii.

56. Ibid., p. vi. See Fr. John Laux, Mass and the Sacraments. A Course in Religion, Rockford, ILL: Tan Books, 1990 (1934); Fr. John Laux, Catholic Morality. A Course in Religion, Rockford, ILL: Tan Books, 1990 (1934); Fr. John Laux, Catholic Apologetics. A Course in Religion, Rockford, ILL: Tan Books, 1990 (1934).

57. E. E. Reynolds, The Heart of Thomas More. Selected Readings for Every Day of the Year, Springfield, ILL: Templegate, 1966, p. 8.

58. Ibid., pp. 8, 175-176 (orig., St. Thomas More, William Rastell (ed.), English Works, 1557, p. 1416).

59. St. Pius X, Encyclical, Editae saepe (May 26, 1910), in The Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, Op. Cit. pp. 389-390.

60. Fr. Emil Neubert, My Ideal. Jesus, Son of Mary, Tan Books, 1988 (1947), p. 101.

61. Ibid., pp. 77-81 for Apostolic Prayer; pp. 81-85 for Sacrifice, The Redeeming Cross.

62. The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, to St. Gertrude the Great in Dom Chautard, Op. Cit. p. 278.

63. St. Pius X, Ad diem illum (February 2, 1904); Pope Benedict XIV, Letter, Acta Apost. Sed., X, 182 (March 22, 1918), in The Rev. R. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., The Life of Reparation, The Three Ages of the Interior Life (trans. Sr. M. Timothea Doyle, O.P.), St. Louis, MO & London: B. Herder Book Co., Vol. II, 1948, p. 497. See also Fr. Neubert, Op. Cit. pp. 69-74.

64. Fr. Franz Schmidberger, Our Lady, Triumphant in all God's Battles, Op. Cit. pp. 2-7.

65. Fr. Dominique De Vriendt, Comments and Distribution of Daily Prayer to CHRIST THE KING (September 1998), to the Catholic Action Group, Church of the Transfiguration, Toronto.