To Fast or Not to Fast, That Is the Question

Editor's Note:  Initially this post was inadvertently titled after a rock song.  About an hour after publishing, the lyrics surfaced in my brain, and I thought it better to change the title to the present one.  Happily, it is a more fitting title anyway.

After the gingerbread cookies and the chocolate of St. Nicholas Day, the complete fast of the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception:  2 snacks, 1 full meal, no meat.

And, I might add, no questions.

This past Vigil of All Saints, I realized that my two traditional Catholic calendars contradicted each other on whether to fast.  After consulting a knowledgable friend, I learned that the fast had actually been abrogated under Pope Pius XII.  So you could choose not to fast at all.

Today when I was looking at my calendar from St. Jude Shrine, my sedevacantist parish, I found a page titled "Supplement to the Instructions for Fasting and Abstinence" with all the background information to the changes that occurred under Annibale Bugnini during Pope Pius XII's reign.  Whether or not you agree with the sedevacantist position, the history is good to know.  I wish I had known it back in October.  I wouldn't have been so confused.

The last two paragraphs of the supplement page explain how the traditional fast for the Vigil of the Assumption was "transferred" (effectively abrogated) to the fast for the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception during the latter part of Pius XII's pontificate and how there never was confirmation from the Vatican on whether the obligation to fast on the Vigil of All Saints was to be lifted.

"This brief historical background serves as an introduction to the main purpose of this advisory, namely, to address the questions surrounding the abrogation of the Vigils of All Saints and the Assumption, and the suspension of the fasting and abstinence regulations for those vigils.  Both vigils were abolished in the 1950's, quite possibly as the first phase of 'change for the sake of change', engineered by the aforementioned Masonic infiltrator, Hannibal Bugnini.  When the American Bishops requested an official determination from Rome on whether the custom of fasting and abstinence on the suspended Vigil of All Saints had also been terminated, they received only a pre-printed notice, dated 15 March 1957, stating that, 'The Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites...looks simply to the liturgical part of the day and does not touch the obligation of fast and abstinence that are a penitential preparation for the following feast day.'  Thus, without any official confirmation from the Vatican that the disciplines associated with the Vigil of All Saints no longer applied, the US Bishops unilaterally dispensed American Catholics from those long-standing regulations.  In 1957, the power of the still-valid and legitimate American bishops to bind and loose in disciplinary matters pertaining to the faithful under their care was certainly lawful.  However, the bishops' decision to relax the vigil fast was in reaction to the first wave of Vatican innovations that would soon morph into an all-out, anti-Catholic liturgical revolution that was spring-loaded to be unleashed upon the death of Pius XII.

"Just fourteen months before the demise of that aged and ailing pontiff, the penitential custom of fasting and abstinence on the Vigil of the Assumption was also effectively abolished by its transfer to the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception, this time by official decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Council (sic) on 25 July 1957.  This unusual move seemed to contradict the Pope's prohibition against rearranging the liturgical calendar, issued by his encyclical, Mediator Dei, ten years earlier.  Nevertheless, it is beyond the scope of this brief review to provide an analysis of this legislation, or, for that matter, to challenge every alteration in discipline that was enacted during the pontificate of Pius XII.  Indeed, three of them turned out to be providential just a few years later, after the true Mass had been taken away from parish churches.  The exemption of water from the Eucharistic fast in 1953; the shortening of the Eucharistic fast from Midnight to three hours; and the simultaneous introduction of Sunday Evening Masses in 1957, made it possible for circuit-riding, Latin Mass clergy to bring valid Sacraments to remote groups of remnant faithful on Sunday nights, sometimes hundreds of miles away, after assisting their own congregations earlier in the day.  Thus the legislative revisions in the waning years of Pope Pius XII may be viewed as a 'mixed blessing', with some seemingly inspired by the Holy Ghost and others of doubtful origin.  In any case, there can be no imputation of sin to those who no longer observe the old rules for fasting and abstinence on the Vigils of All Saints and the Assumption.  The faithful who are able to continue those traditions (while retaining the practice also on the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception) are encouraged to do so, as voluntary acts of penance win greater spiritual merit than those done purely for compliance with the law.  Finally, the rules for fasting and abstinence on the Vigils of Pentecost and Christmas were not affected by the changes in question, and therefore, are still listed as obligatory by this calendar."

On My Refrigerator: Handy Dandy Guide to the New Religion of Vatican II

I was cleaning out a kitchen drawer on Tuesday and discovered this long-lost treasure that I had clipped from one of Fr. Zendejas' "blue papers" several years ago, before he left the SSPX and became a Resistance priest.  I had thought of it many times and wanted to review it but could not remember where I had stashed it.

My heart thrilled with its re-discovery!  "Look what I found!" I crowed to Emma.  She immediately whipped out her phone and took a picture for safekeeping.   She knows too well that just because I find something doesn't mean that I won't lose it again.

I began seriously looking over the list last night and started typing it up in chronological order, so I could see the process better.  That's when I realized that a really important change was not even on the list, that being the new rite for Episcopal Consecration, which was instituted in 1968 at the same time as the new rite for Priestly Ordination.

As for the last item, I'm not sure what Fr. Zendejas was trying to say about the New Evangelization of 2013, as John Paul II and Benedict XVI had touted it during their reigns.  I'm guessing he was trying to communicate something about Bergoglio actually implementing the things that JPII and BXVI only dreamed of.  But that is only a guess.

It's quite heartbreaking to ponder the individual items on this list, especially when you know that most Conciliar Catholics have no idea that their religion is not the same one as practiced by Catholics before Vatican II.  Maybe this list can rectify that.  It's a great outline for starting an investigation into what happened to the Church.  I recommend the sedevacantist site, Novus Ordo Watch, as a solid resource.  But by all means, read far and wide.  To get you started, here's a link to NOW's extensively documented post on the new rite of episcopal consecration.

Missing Pope Pius XII

I've been watching YouTube videos of Pope Pius XII and studying pictures of pre-Vatican II Catholic life.   Such dignity, beauty, and grace.  Talk about longing for the good old days!   While watching a video about Pius XII's death in 1958,  it occurred to me that my husband was so blessed to be born in 1957.   I never thought about that before.   It was kind of a shock to me to realize how so much destruction could take place in just my husband's lifetime.  

 I also watched a video on the canonization of St. Maria Goretti in 1950.  It showed her siblings and her mother in attendance.  The crowds in St. Peter's Square!  Unbelievable!  Wall to wall, honoring her for purity.  

I'll Take My Stand that Francis is No Friend of the Southern Tradition

This morning I was much perplexed to read an Abbeville Institute post supportively comparing "Pope" Francis' concerns for the environment and the excesses of capitalism, which he voiced to the US Congress, with the values of the traditional South.  I was like, "Um, you know Francis praised Abraham Lincoln in that same talk, as quoted by the L. A. Times:

Francis on Lincoln: “This year marks the 150th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the guardian of liberty, who labored tirelessly that 'this nation, under God, [might] have a new birth of freedom.' Building a future of freedom requires love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity.”

Oh, yes, Lincoln, that guardian of liberty who suffered so much that Pope Pius IX wove him a crown of thorns.  No, wait!  He wove that crown of thorns for Jefferson Davis, not Lincoln!  And didn't Lincoln winning the war give America a new birth of industrialism and pave the way for the military industrial complex?

Actually, the issue is not whether it is Catholic to be "green", it's what priority to give it in the face of much more pressing topics, such as abortion, gay "marriage", and Catholic "divorce".

Luckily a friend who is visiting Richmond texted me a photo this afternoon of Jeff and Varina Davis' headstone.  Their daughter had it erected with this inscription:

"Whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."  
"Lord, keep their memories green."

Talk about getting priorities straight!

Fight Courageously Under the Banner of Christ Your King

Even though I try to avoid it, I still hear bits of the garbage that is known as modern political debate, which as far as I can see is designed to distract us and prevent us from seeking a solution outside of the tiny, two-party box.  As longtime readers know, I quit voting after the last presidential election.  Even then, I only voted because I could vote with a clear conscience for Ron Paul.  I had long before that refused to vote for the lesser of two evils, as the lesser evil is still evil.  I see no major difference between a Democratic presidential term and a Republican presidential term.  They each work to move the country further to the left, though their respective approaches may be slightly different.  The only solution I see is to work toward the reign of Christ the King, which Catholics are called to do anyway.  I can do that with a clear conscience and without being in conflict with my role as the heart of the home. 


Angelus Press recently hosted a 3-day conference on Christ's Kingship.  Read about it here.

As the feast of the Kingship of Christ approaches, it is good to re-read Quas primas, the encyclical Pope Pius XI wrote that established it.  Here is an excerpt that I find especially helpful:

The rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences. We lamented these in the Encyclical Ubi arcano; we lament them today: the seeds of discord sown far and wide; those bitter enmities and rivalries between nations, which still hinder so much the cause of peace; that insatiable greed which is so often hidden under a pretense of public spirit and patriotism, and gives rise to so many private quarrels; a blind and immoderate selfishness, making men seek nothing but their own comfort and advantage, and measure everything by these; no peace in the home, because men have forgotten or neglect their duty; the unity and stability of the family undermined; society in a word, shaken to its foundations and on the way to ruin. We firmly hope, however, that the feast of the Kingship of Christ, which in future will be yearly observed, may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior. It would be the duty of Catholics to do all they can to bring about this happy result. Many of these, however, have neither the station in society nor the authority which should belong to those who bear the torch of truth. This state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks. But if the faithful were generally to understand that it behooves them ever to fight courageously under the banner of Christ their King, then, fired with apostolic zeal, they would strive to win over to their Lord those hearts that are bitter and estranged from him, and would valiantly defend his rights. 

Begin the Novena for the Pope Today

Rorate-Caeli has all the particulars here.