“We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.”

Who can easily forget these beautiful words of our late pope, John Paul II? Truly, his words were as he was, beacons of light in a generally dark world. Recently, however, many people in the Church who seek “change” and “reform” have latched onto these words as “proof” that we are past the adherence to Tradition, and that we have emerged from the shadow of Tridentine superstitions.

They are wrong. To say such things, even to tacitly imply them, is to be engaged in a gross misinterpretation of Truth, if not a carnal embrace with the Evil One himself. Liberalism is a sin, and those who profess its infallibility are misled and misleading. To be an Easter person is to be a person who, like our late pope, embraced the suffering of the cross and persisted unto that glorious Easter morning. “Without the triumph and agony of the Cross, we would have no life come Easter. His death was wholly necessary.” (Nod of the miter to Fr. A.)

In overlooking the majority of the great Paschal Mystery in their “Easter person” approach, progressives, reformers or whatever else they want to be called belittle the crucified Christ. Ask yourself this: If I were crucified for all humanity, would I want my agonies overlooked for the sake of inclusivity and ecumenical dissent?

We are an Easter people, yes. John Paul II was right. Alleluia is our song. We sing Alleluia for the sake that we, an unworthy lot as we are, have been redeemed wholly and without stipulation, save that we love Christ and His Church unfaltering. To love the Church is, indeed, to love Christ Himself. How can one who professes love of Christ then turn on his or her heels and drive people out of parishes and dioceses in His name and for the banal excuse of “charity.” To be truly charitable is to give people the Truth. Anything less and we are the stingiest of misers. Love of Church includes love of Her Sacraments, Her Liturgies, Her Prayers, Her Vigils, Her Novenas, Her Traditions and Her People. To show open contempt for the Tradition and Magisterial teachings of the Church is to pierce His side a second time. Why cause any degree of harm to the Church of Our Lord when He Himself was harmed enough for all time?

Pride and self-absorption. The truly humble have never driven out people from their pews and from their parishes. St. Francis was a pure example of this unadulterated love of God. His humility preserved the Mass from abuse (and continues to do so today) and his order grew to thousands due to his charism centered on Christ, not self. That is the problem of the Progressive “Church,” this total and absolute fixation on personality, not persona Christi. How can a woman, as pious as she may be, represent a Saviour who was fully man and fully God? She cannot. This is not cruel, nor is it unfair. The priest must be a humble servant representing Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man. The same can be said of each aspect of religious life. A man, no matter how religious in his convictions, can not in any way follow the charism of religious sisters. It is a tangible impossibility.

Why, then, do Progressives amongst us drive for an all-inclusive Church? Why, in turn, do they presume they have the ability, the privilege or the right to do so? The answer goes back to humility. The Mass, when celebrated ad orientem, served (serves) to unify the entire parish of congregants, including the priest. Everyone focused solely on the altar and the crucifix above it. There was no way for one person to command the attention of everyone else at the expense of Our Lord. However, when the Novus Ordo Mass is twisted and abused by these “reformers” they turn it into a “me show.” Indeed, during one lay-given “homily” the words me, I, mine, my were used a total of 270 times. There is no call for this. Not from Our Church nor Her Divine Founder.

So, yes, rejoice. We are an Easter people. Do not ever forget, though, that we only have an Easter because of the sacrifice on the Cross. Good can only come from the Church when those within Her care and guard pay close attention to each splinter of the Cross. When we do this, we experience suffering, yes. But through our modest agonies we may attain to the fullness of Our Lord’s Easter message.

And Alleluia will be our song.

Tags: Orthodoxy at Work

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