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These Last Days News - December 16, 2014

An Interview with Cardinal Burke on Vatican II...

"Pastors, those who have in their care Our sheep, you must stop now these changes that you seek in novelty, for they are destroying the young souls and scattering Our sheep.
   "I repeat, My children, the great Council in Rome of Vatican II, the promises were great, but satan sat among you and he played you like the chess board.
   "You were given a foundation of Faith based on Tradition and knowledge of the prophets. You cannot start this new religion, for it will lead you to one religion that is not of My Son, that will not have His true foundation, and you will take My Son's Body and defame it, no longer giving the knowledge of His divinity. What manner of foul escapades are you planning, O you of little faith? Whatever shall become of you? The Red Hats have fallen and the Purple Hats are being misled. Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth!
  "My child, do not slacken in your work because of the opinion of man. Know, My child, that it is not you who are speaking but the voice from Heaven." - Our Lady, August 5, 1976 

On Vatican II

Q. Your Eminence, you grew up before the Second Vatican Council. How do you remember those times?

A. I grew up in a very beautiful time in the Church, in which we were carefully instructed in the faith, both at home and in the Catholic school, especially with the Baltimore Catechism. I remember the great beauty of the Sacred Liturgy, even in our little farming town, with beautiful Masses. And then, I'm of course most grateful for my parents who gave me a very sound up-bringing in how to live as a Catholic. So they were beautiful years.

Q. A friend of mine who was born after the Council used to say, "Not everything was good in the old days, but everything was better." What do you think about this?

A. Well, we have to live in whatever time the Lord gives us. Certainly, I have very good memories of growing up in the 1950's and early 1960's. I think what is most important is that we appreciate the organic nature of our Catholic Faith and appreciate the Tradition to which we belong and by which the Faith has come to us.

Q. Did you embrace the big changes after the Council with enthusiasm?

A. What happened soon after the Council - I was in the minor seminary at that time, and we followed what was happening at the Council - but the experience after the Council was so strong and even in some cases violent, that I have to say that, even as a young man, I began to question some things - whether this was really what was intended by the Council - because I saw many beautiful things that were in the Church suddenly no longer present and even considered no longer beautiful. I think, for instance, of the great tradition of Gregorian Chant or the use of Latin in the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy. Then also, of course, the so-called 'Spirit of Vatican II' influenced other areas - for instance, the moral life, the teaching of the Faith - and then we saw so many priest abandoning their priestly ministry, so many religious sisters abandoning religious life. So, there were definitely aspects about the post-conciliar period that raised questions.

Q. You were ordained a priest in 1975. Did you think that something in the Church had gone wrong?

A. Yes, I believe so. In some way, we lost a strong sense of the centrality of the Sacred Liturgy and, therefore, of the priestly office and ministry in the Church. I have to say, I was so strongly raised in the Faith, and had such a strong understanding of vocation, that I never could refuse to do what Our Lord was asking. But I saw that there was something that had definitely gone wrong. I witnessed, for instance, as a young priest the emptiness of the catachesis. The catechetical texts were so poor. Then I witnessed the liturgical experimentations - some of which I just don't even want to remember - the loss of the devotional life, the attendance at Sunday Mass began to steadily decrease: all of those were signs to me that something had gone wrong.

On the Two Forms of Holy Mass

Q. Would you have imagined in 1975 that, one day, you would offer Mass in the rite that was abandoned for the sake of renewal?

A. No, I would not have imagined it. Although, I also have to say that I find it very normal, because it was such a beautiful rite, and that the Church recovered it seems to me to be a very healthy sign. But, at the time, I must say that the liturgical reform in particular was very radical and, as I said before, even violent, and so the the thought of a restoration didn't seem possible, really. But, thanks be to God, it happened.

Q. Juridically, the Novus Ordo and the Traditional Latin Mass are the same rite. Is this also your factual experience when you celebrate a Pontifical High Mass in the new or the old rite?

A. Yes, I understand that they are the same rite, and I believe that, when the so-called New Rite or the Ordinary Form is celebrated with great care and with a strong sense that the Holy Liturgy is the action of God, one can see more clearly the unity of the two forms of the same rite. On the other hand, I do hope that - with time - some of the elements which unwisely were removed from the rite of the Mass, which has now become the Ordinary Form, could be restored, because the difference between the two forms is very stark.

Q. In what sense?

A. The rich articulation of the Extraordinary Form, all of which is always pointing to the theocentric nature of the liturgy, is practically diminished to the lowest possible degree in the Ordinary Form.

On the 2014 Synod

Q. The Synod on the Family has been a shock and sometimes even a scandal, especially for young Catholic families who are the future of the Church. Do they have reasons to worry?

A. Yes, they do. I think that the report that was given at the mid-point of the session of the Synod, which just ended October 18th, is perhaps one of the most shocking public documents of the Church that I could imagine. And, so, it is a cause for very serious alarm and it's especially important that good Catholic families who are living the beauty of the Sacrament of Matrimony rededicate themselves to a sound married life and that also they use whatever occasions they have to give witness to the beauty of the truth about marriage which they are experiencing daily in their married life.

Q. High-ranking prelates keep giving the impression that "progress" in the Church lays in promoting the gay agenda and divorce ideology. Do they believe that these things will lead to a new springtime in the Church?

A. I don't know how they could believe such a thing, because, how could it be that, for instance, divorce - which the Pastoral Constitution on the Church Gaudium et Spes called a plague in society - how could it be that the promotion of homosexual acts, which are intrinsically evil, how could any good come from either? And, in fact, what we witness is that both result in a destruction of society, a breakdown of the family, the breakdown of the fiber of society, and, of course, in the case of unnatural acts, the corruption of human sexuality which is essentially ordered to marriage and to the procreation of children.

Q. Do you think that the main problem in vast territories of the Church is the lack of Catholic families and especially the lack of Catholic children? Should that not have been the focus of the Synod?

A. I believe so, very much so. The Church depends on sound Catholic family life, and it depends on sound Catholic families . I do believe that, where the Church is suffering most, there also marriage and family life is suffering. We see that when in marriage couples are not generous in bringing new human life into the world, their own marriages diminish, as well as society itself. We witness in many countries that the local population, which in many cases would be Christian, is disappearing because the birthrate is so low. And some of these places - for instance, where there is also a strong presence of individuals who belong to Islam - we find that the Muslim life is taking over in countries which were formerly Christian.

On the Society of St. Pius X

Q. In many parts of Western Europe and the U.S., the only parishes who still have children belong to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, while whole dioceses are deserted. Do the bishops take notice of this?

A. I would imagine so. I do not have direct experience of what you are describing. From my own time as bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin and as archbishop of Saint Louis, Missouri, I have heard this said about dioceses in certain European nations where the dioceses are practically unable to continue, yet there is a strong presence of those who belong to the Society of St. Pius X. I cannot help but think that the bishops in those places must take note of it and must reflect upon it.

On Young Catholics

Q. Most practicing Catholics in an average parish in Western Europe and the U.S. are those who were baptized and catechized before the Council. Is the Church in these countries living from her past?

A. I think that my generation, for instance, was blessed to grow up at a time in which there was a strong practice of the Catholic Faith, a strong tradition of participation in Sunday Mass and the Sacred Liturgy, a strong devotional life, a strong teaching of the Faith- But in some way, I believe, we sadly took it for granted, and the same attention was not given to pass on the Faith as we had come to know it to the success of generations. Now what I see it that many young people are hungering and thirsting - and this already for some time - to know the Catholic Faith at its roots and to experience many aspects of the richness of the tradition of the Faith. So I believe that there is a recovery precisely of what had been for a period of time lost or not cared for in a proper manner. I think that now there is a rebirth at work among the young Catholics.

Q. Does the Synod on the Family have any plans to promote marriage and to encourage and support families with many children?

A. I sincerely hope so. I'm not part of the central direction or the group of cardinals and bishops who assist in the organization and direction of the Synod of Bishops. But I would certainly hope so.

On the Kasper Proposal

Q. Many Catholics fear that, in the end, the Synod of Bishops will resort to doublespeak. "Pastoral" reasons are used to de facto change doctrine. Are such fears justified?

A. Yes, they are. In fact, one of the most insidious arguments used at the Synod to promote practices which are contrary to the doctrine of the Faith is the argument that, "We are not touching the doctrine; we believe in marriage as the Church has always believed in it; but we are only making changes in discipline." But in the Catholic Church, this can never be, because in the Catholic Church, her discipline is always directly related to her teaching. In other words: the discipline is at the service of the truth of the Faith, of life in general in the Catholic Church. And so, you cannot say that you are changing a discipline not having some effect on the doctrine which it protects or safeguards or promotes.

Q. The term "mercy" is used to change Church doctrine and even the New Testament in order to condone sin. Was this dishonest use of the term "mercy" exposed during the Synod?

A. Yes, it was. There were Synod Fathers who spoke about a false sense of mercy which would not take into account the reality of sin. I remember one Synod Father said, "Does sin no longer exist? Do we no longer recognize it?" So, I believe that was very strongly addressed by certain Synod Fathers. The German Protestant - Lutheran - pastor who died during the Second World War, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, used an interesting analogy. He talked about "costly" grace and "cheap" grace. Well, there is no "cheap" grace. When God's life is given to us as it is in the Church, it demands of us a new way of life, a daily conversion to Christ, and we know God's mercy to the degree that we embrace that conversion and strive to  turn every day our lives over again to Christ and to overcome our sinfulness and our weaknesses.

Q. Why is the term "mercy" used for adulterers, but not for pedophiles? In other words: Does the media decide when the Church is allowed to apply "mercy" and when not?

A. This, too, is a point that was made during the Synod. Mercy has to do with the person who, for whatever reason, is committing sin. One must always call forth in that person the good - in other words, call that person to be who or she really is: a child of God. But at the same time, one must recognize the sins, whether they be adultery or pedophilia or theft or murder - whatever it may be - as a great evils, as mortal sins and therefore as repellent to us. We can't accept them. The greatest charity, the greatest mercy that we can show to the sinner is to recognize the evil of the acts which he or she is committing and to call that person to the truth.

On the Power and Authority of the Pope

Q. Do we still have to believe that the Bible is the supreme authority in the Church and cannot be manipulated - not even by bishops or the Pope?

A. Absolutely! The word of Christ is the truth to which we are all called to be obedient and, first and foremost, to which the Holy Father is called to be obedient. Sometime during the Synod, there was reference made to the fullness of the power of the Holy Father, which we call in Latin plenitudo potestatis, giving the sense that the Holy Father could even, for instance, dissolve a valid marriage that had been consummated. And that's not true. The "fullness of power" is not absolute power. It's the "fullness of power" to do what Christ commands of us in obedience to Him. So we all follow Our Lord Jesus Christ, beginning with the Holy Father.

Q. An archbishop recently said, "We obviously follow the Church's doctrine on the family." Then he added, "...until the Pope decides otherwise." Does the Pope have the power to change doctrine?

A. No. This is impossible. We know what the teaching of the Church has been consistently. It was, for instance, expressed by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical letter Casti connubii. It was expressed by Pope Paul VI in Humanae vitae. It was expressed in a wonderful way by Pope St. John Paul II in Familiaris consortio. That teaching is unchanging. The Holy Father gives the service of upholding that teaching and presenting it with a newness and a freshness, but not changing it.

Q. Cardinals are said to wear crimson in order to represent the blood of the martyrs who died for Christ. Except for John Fisher, who was made a cardinal when he already was in jail, no cardinal has ever died for the Faith. What is the reason for this?

A. I don't know, I can't explain it. Certainly some cardinals have suffered greatly for the Faith. We think of Cardinal Mindszenty (1892-1975), for example, in Hungary, or we think of Cardinal Stepinac (1898-1960) in what was Yugoslavia. And we think of other cardinals of different periods in the history of the Church who had to suffer greatly to uphold the Faith. Martyrdom can take more than the bloody form. We talk about red martyrdom, but there is also a white martyrdom which involves faithfully teaching the truth of the Faith and upholding it, and perhaps being sent into exile as some cardinals have been, or suffering in other ways. But the important thing for the cardinal is to defend the Faith usque ad effusionem sanguinis - even to the outpouring of blood. So, the cardinal has to do everything he can to defend the Faith, even if it means the shedding of blood. But also all that goes before that.

On Cardinal Burke's Favorite Things, Fondest Memories, and Fear of Judgment

Q. Your Eminence, a few quick observations: Who is four favorite Saint?

A. Well, the Blessed Mother obviously is the favorite of us all.

Q. That doesn't count!

A. [Laughs] I also have a great devotion to St.Joseph. But one Saint who has really helped me a great deal during my life, since the time I was a child and in the seminary, is St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower. Her Little Way continues to be, for me, very helpful in my spiritual life.

Q. What is your favorite prayer?

A. The rosary.

Q. What is your favorite book?

A. I suppose the Catechism doesn't count. [Laughs]

Q. No, neither does the Bible.

A. I like also very much the writings of Blessed Columba Marmio (1858-1923), spiritual writings, and I'm also fond of the writings of Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979).

Q. What was your greatest moment as a priest?

A. I think my ordination to the priesthood itself. I keep thinking back to that and everything was there, everything has unfolded from there. What I found most beautiful on the priesthood was that, in the first five years of my priesthood, I hade a very intense priestly service in a parish with the Sacrament of Confession, with many confessions, and the celebration - obviously - of the Holy Mass, and then the teaching of the children in the Faith. Those memories - and then, for a brief period of three years, I taught in a Catholic high school - those are really, for me, treasured memories of my priesthood.

Q. Do you fear the Last Judgment?

A. Of course I do. One thinks, for instance, of all the responsibility that was mine, first as a priest, but even more so as a bishop and a cardinal, and it causes one to examine his conscience. I know there are things that I did that I could have done much better, and that causes me to be afraid. But I hope that the Lord will have mercy on me and I pray for that.

Q. Thank you, Your Eminence.

A. You're welcome.

"O pastors in My Son's House, how many times must I warn you of the dangers of your innovations, the dangers of your experimenting in My Son's House? You will not convert, you will not return Our straying sheep with your improvisions. You must return discipline to My Son's House. This discipline must start with the rulers in My Son's House." - Our Lady, November 22, 1976

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STARTED  WITH  GOOD  INTENTIONS
Bishops in My Son's House, Church, you have gone astray. You have scattered Our sheep. You have joined with all manner of heretics and false teachers. You started with good intentions in your Council, but you became deluded in your search for peace and brotherhood. You allowed all manner of error to creep slowly into My Son's House, Church. You must understand that you are setting in motion the formation of a World Council of Churches, but it will not be the Church of My Son. It will be a church of man, a church without the true foundation." - Our Lady, June 5, 1976

DISCORD  AND  DISUNITY
"The great Council, the Council that has brought forth discord, disunity, and the loss of souls, the major fact behind this destruction was because of the lack of prayer.
     Satan sat in within this Council, and he watched his advantage. He is now playing a game of chess with the Red Hats and the Purple Hats, moving them with great glee as he watches the evil accelerate, and all manners of people are flowing fast through the doors of the Holy City and all ecumenical bodies." - St. Michael, March 18, 1976

DOORS  WERE  OPENED
"O My children, recognize, I repeat, the signs of your times. You are fast selling yourselves into slavery. Your government and the governments of the world are now almost in full control of the agents of hell. The forces of 666 are firmly entrenched in your government, in the clergy—your pastors, your shepherds, your bishops; even satan has entered into the highest realms of the hierarchy in Rome.
   "My children, the Council of Vatican II was started with good intent, but the doors were opened to all manner of heretics, causing a slow pollution of the Faith. My children, you must now awaken the pastors from their slumber! They have given themselves over now to a new religion of man." - Our Lady, July 25, 1977

SATAN  WAS  PRESENT
"You will not destroy My Son's House, Church, by consorting with the enemies of My Son! You will not convert the enemy by lowering the standards. Your example must be one of a steadfast faith.
   "Change! What need is change when the foundation has stood through the test of time? It is a dissatisfied man, a greedy and lustful man who seeks change. Does he change to bring man to God? No! He changes to take man from God and give him to Lucifer!
   "Satan was present, he listened with careful ears at the great Council. He awaited every move, and he placed his agents among you! Recognize and reconstruct your path. You have been deluded. You are on the wrong road. Turn about now, or you will sow the seeds for your own destruction!
   "How many warnings will you receive before the hand of your Father will descend upon you? No date do I give unto all mankind, but only to few. All those who accept the grace given freely for the asking will not be caught unawares. They will prepare themselves. All mankind upon earth should prepare for his death.
   "We look upon a world where mankind goes about defaming himself and the Father, wallowing in all manners of lust and pleasure, abomination—even in the House of God! He lives as though he never will die. No human flesh will be eternal, but the soul is eternal and will live on forever." - Our Lady, August 14, 1974

ANOTHER  COUNCIL
"Watch, My child, what is to be. They will call another Council. Oh, but satan now has his plans. O woe, woe to evil man-what is to come upon them!" - Our Lady, February 1, 1974

LIKE  THE  CHESSBOARD
"Pastors, those who have in their care Our sheep, you must stop now these changes that you seek in novelty, for they are destroying the young souls and scattering Our sheep.
   "I repeat, My children, the great Council in Rome of Vatican II, the promises were great, but satan sat among you and he played you like the chess board.
   "You were given a foundation of Faith based on Tradition and knowledge of the prophets. You cannot start this new religion, for it will lead you to one religion that is not of My Son, that will not have His true foundation, and you will take My Son's Body and defame it, no longer giving the knowledge of His divinity. What manner of foul escapades are you planning, O you of little faith? Whatever shall become of you? The Red Hats have fallen and the Purple Hats are being misled. Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth!
  "My child, do not slacken in your work because of the opinion of man. Know, My child, that it is not you who are speaking but the voice from Heaven." - Our Lady, August 5, 1976

MANIPULATED
"There is, My children, a great conspiracy of evil now throughout your world—the forces, the columns of evil. Man has given them many names-the fifth column. They have been broken up into political parties, including communism. O My children, they are but small arms of the octopus, the gigantic conspiracy of evil that will unite your world and My Son's Church under the rule of despots!
   "There is in Rome, My children, a great struggle for power, a political machine controlled by satan. There shall be a war of the spirits. It shall be bishop against bishop and cardinal against cardinal.
   "I repeat, My children, as I have told you in the past, that the great Council of Vatican II was manipulated by satan. He sat there among you and he worked you like a chessboard.
   "What can you do now to recover? It is simple, My children: turn back and start over with the foundation given to you. You must bring respect back to your priesthood. You must bring respect back to your Holy Father, Pope Paul VI. I have warned you of all the manners of abominations, errors, and delusions that have been set upon you. Listen, and act upon My warnings to you!" - Our Lady, May 15, 1976

DIRECTIONS  TWISTED
"Many, because of the mistakes made issuing forth from the good hearts of John XXIII, Pope Paul VI—many have taken the messages and the directions given at the Vatican Council and twisted them to suit themselves, reading in the Bible words of their own, or finding excuses for their sinning, through the Bible." - Jesus, July 1, 1985

STARTED
"Yes, My child, even with Vatican II, it started out with the best resolves, but then satan took over the scene. And with his agents he reached into the highest professions, the highest league of the hierarchy, until it saddens Me to say that many priests now are on the road to perdition and taking many others with them." - Jesus, July 25, 1985

Directives from Heaven… http://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm

D1 - The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass  PDF
D79 - Restore My Church   PDF
D85 - Tradition  PDF
D127 - Vatican II   PDF
D211 - Changes, Part 1   PDF
D212 - Changes, Part 2   PDF

EDITOR'S COMMENT:  Evil is accelerating and the Anti-Christ forces are gaining power in the world.  When the persecution starts, all Christian web sites on the internet will be forced to close.  Be sure to have in your possession all the following items: the Bayside Prophecy books, Bayside Medals, Douay-Rheims Bibles, the Protection Packets, Candles, Sacramentals, and Religious Books.  Purchase these items now while they are still available!  You will urgently need them in the days ahead.  Also, you can print out all PDF files for the Directives from Heaven and all of the Bayside Prophecies.  Copy Our Lady's messages and the Directives from Heaven now while they are still available!  Pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance on how to prepare now and for the days ahead when the Antichrist is revealed.  Viva Cristo Rey!

Articles...

Pope Benedict XVI: the Mass reduced to a show
http://www.tldm.org/News7/PopeBenedictXVIMassReducedToAShow.htm

Pope Benedict XVI on the disintegration of the liturgy
http://www.tldm.org/news7/PopeBenedictXVIDisintegrationOfLiturgy.htm

Our Lady of the Roses message to Pope Paul VI
http://www.tldm.org/news6/PaulVI.htm

Latin, the universal language of the Catholic Church
http://www.tldm.org/news5/latin.htm 

“Kneel before your God in the Eucharist”
http://www.tldm.org/News5/kneeling.htm 

Vatican on kneeling for holy Communion
http://www.tldm.org/vatican%20letter.htm 

Should women cover their heads in Church?
http://www.tldm.org/news6/veils.htm 

Pope John Paul II recommends praying the St. Michael Exorcism
http://www.tldm.org/news6/exorcism.htm 

Restore the high altar
http://www.tldm.org/news5/main%5Faltar.htm

"You cannot separate Tradition from your Faith"
http://www.tldm.org/news6/tradition1.htm 

Vatican II, part 1: Infiltration of the Church
http://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-1.htm

Vatican II, part 2: Dark clouds forming before Vatican II
http://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-2.htm

Vatican II, part 3: the satanic revolution gains momentum at the Council
http://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-3.htm

Links…

Pope Benedict XVI harshly condemns Masses that have been transformed “into spectacles that require directors of genius and talented actors"
http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=28889&eng=y

Pope Benedict XVI Long-time Supporter of the Traditional Latin Mass, Una Voce America
http://www.unavoce.org/news/2005/benedict_xvi.html

Why Latin? The Latin Mass Society of Ireland
http://indigo.ie/~colmgren/latsoc/template/latin_hist.htm

The Popes on the Latin language, Una Voce
http://www.unavoce.org/popes.htm

Pope John Paul II strongly encourages use of “immortal language”, Una Voce
http://www.unavoce.org/popelatin.htm

The Sacredness of Tradition, by Alice Von Hildebrand

We have researched the Bayside Prophecies on the United States and Canada and put these outstanding prophecies in a 360 page pocket size paperback book.   Veronica said it was very good.  It tells what is going to happen here and how to prepare for it.  Every North American must read this book!  Item #B2 Cost $5.00 (Order Form)

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