FRUIT UNTO HOLINESS

A SERMON FOR THE 7TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

There’s an awful lot of awful things going on in the world around us.  I’ve mentioned this before many times, and before you groan and think I’m obsessed with the horrors of the world, I’d like to bring your attention today to something positive that is happening amidst the gloom. 

This congregation is well informed about the latest news and events in the Church, and so I’m sure I’m not going to create gasps of surprise when I mention the name of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.  Briefly, for those of you who haven’t heard of him, Archbishop Viganò was appointed by Benedict XVI to be the Papal Nuncio to the United States in 2011, a position he held until 2016.  During that time, he was responsible for bringing to light the crimes of Cardinal McCarrick of Washington, at the same time accusing Pope Francis of covering up McCarrick’s abuses and making him a “trusted counselor.”  He thus exposed both Cardinal McCarrick and Bergoglio as two of the ravening wolves in sheep’s clothing mentioned by our Lord in today’s Gospel.

More recently, Archbishop Viganò has written a powerful letter to President Trump, warning him that the current crises over the coronavirus pandemic and the George Floyd riots are a part of a spiritual struggle between the forces of good and the forces of light—whom he refers to as the children of light and the children of darkness.  In the past couple of weeks, Viganò has gone so far as to condemn Vatican 2, saying that it has led to the creation of a parallel and false church, and that it should be dropped from the history books and forgotten altogether.  Strong stuff coming from one of the most influential and powerful men in the conciliar Church!

Can we place hope in this man? Or is he destined to become part of today’s so-called “cancel culture”, where the careers and lives of those who speak out in defense of the truth are destroyed by the frenzied mob of social media?  Only time will tell, but for now at least, we should at least listen to what he has to say.

In condemning the Second Vatican Council, Archbishop Viganò is simply repeating the words of our Lord in today’s Gospel: “A corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”  Vatican 2 is a corrupt tree, and must be consigned to the fire.  We know it is corrupt, because since Vatican 2 we have had nothing but chaos, lies, and immorality being preached by the Church’s shepherds, “false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.”  We in this small chapel in the Midwest of America have had the grace to recognize the tree of Vatican 2 by its fruits, and we have done what we can to save our souls.

What should we do now, in light of the current crisis in our society?  Simply continue.  Not just by saying “Lord, Lord,” as our Lord warns against, in other words, by mindlessly mouthing the words of our infrequent prayers and doing the very minimum to stay out of trouble.  But by doing God’s will at all times, wherever that may take us.  It’s an individual path to heaven that each of us have, and we must continue to walk it as God wills. Pray to him for direction towards that path, guidance on that path, and protection against the wolves who would lead us from that path.

As simple priests and laymen, it is not our task in life to worry about the validity of popes, the re-defining of dogmas, or the high theological discussions that are the domain only of those who have the credentials and authority to take part in them.  As we say in Psalm 130 at Vespers, “O Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in things too high for me.  But I refrain my soul, and keep it low.”  Ours is a modest task, and I can do no better than describe it in the words of Archbishop Viganò himself:  “Let us pick up the Catechism of Saint Pius X, return to the Missal of Saint Pius V, remain before the Tabernacle, not desert the Confessional, and practice penance and mortification with a spirit of reparation.  Above all, let us do so in such a way that our works give solid and coherent witness to what we preach.”

By becoming servants to God in this manner, St. Paul assures us in today’s Epistle that we have our “fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”