Return to The Reign of Mary No. 132
The Reign of Mary
Vol. XXXVIII, No. 132: Letter from the Editor
December 3, 2008
Feast of St. Francis Xavier
Dear Friends,
Praised be Jesus and Mary. As I had mentioned in our last issue of The Reign of Mary, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII. We dedicate this final installment of our magazine for the year 2008 to his honor. His Holiness was a shining example of the Faith to the world during the terrible trial of World War II and subsequently. His learning, firmness against modern errors, and holiness of life have sadly been impugned, however, not only by liberals, but even at times by some who claim to adhere firmly to the Faith. How sadly they are mistaken, for true Catholics love and honor the Popes, successors of Saint Peter, Vicars of Christ.
The great Fr. Mateo, apostle of the enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home, has eloquently explained this true Catholic spirit. (See Jesus, King of Love, pp. 243 ff.) He tells of a private audience with Pope Pius XI, during which he told the pontiff that he promoted “devotion to the Pope.” Pope Pius XI immediately rejoined by stating: “Unfortunately, the beauty and necessity of devotion to the Pope is not always understood.” Faithful Catholics have such sentiments, for they know that through their loyalty and love of His Vicar, they are united to Christ. They know that by faithfully following the Pope, they cannot go wrong.
And this brings us to the very crisis today. Our opponents — those who reject the sedevacantist solution to our current circumstances — believe that we are somehow setting aside our Catholic belief in the papacy, in order to reject the “popes of Vatican II.” In fact, it is just the opposite. It is our very conviction that true Popes cannot lead us astray, which compels us to reject those who have embraced Modernism and Ecumenism, who have destroyed the Mass and Sacraments, who worship in common with proponents of false religions, etc. True Vicars of Christ would not do such things. (As Pope Leo XIII so aptly put it in Satis Cognitum: “If the living Magisterium could in any way be false, an evident contradiction would follow, for God then would be the Author of error.”) No, we do not reject Benedict XVI, John Paul II, et alia, in spite of our faith in the papacy; we reject them because of our faith in the papacy.
Dear fellow Catholics, may you always strongly affirm your love and loyalty to the papacy. Read the lives of the great Popes up to and including Pope Pius XII, for their writings and decisions are part of our heritage as Catholics. Do not forget also to pray daily for a true vicar of Christ to once again guide the bark of Peter. May that day come soon.
Finally, let us all remember to spend this important season of Advent in quiet preparation for the celebration of Our Lord’s birth. Avoid the hustle and bustle and the premature celebration of Christmas that so characterize our society. Remember to prepare spiritually for the feast of Christmas. We members of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen wish all of you a most joyful Christmas, and we pray that God will bless you abundantly in the New Year of 2009.
In the service of Jesus and Mary
Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
(Email Father)