By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
One of the most important events of the year is the annual Catholic Identity Conference. Big thinkers and writers from Rome and throughout the U.S. gather for liturgy, presentation of papers and talks, and to share news and ideas. Most important, as the name of the conference implies, they pray and work together to cement and deepen our Catholic Faith and the identity that should come with it. The greatest crisis in the Church since Vatican II has been the destruction and the loss of Catholic identity and, for so many as a result, the faith itself.
Among the many Catholic organizations and media reps, yours truly represented The Wanderer at the conference held in Pittsburgh this year. I made the trip for the annual trad confab to the city where three rivers meet, on the sunny and warm first days of October. I did my part to spread word about the paper by placing out free copies which were quickly snapped up.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider offered a Pontifical Solemn High Mass on the afternoon of Friday, October 1, to a packed Church of the Precious Blood, administered by the Institute of Christ the King.
Takeaways from his inspiring homily included the truth that nature has no void. Christ is King. His Sacred Heart is ours in the Holy Eucharist. His Sovereignty must be extended over individuals and societies. If He, the only Good, is not King another, which is evil, will be whether we like it or not.
The Feast of St. Michael closes out September and the guardian angels bring in the new month of October in our annual liturgical cycle. Bishop Schneider chose the angels as the theme for his talk at the conference. The angels are our examples in loving, adoring, and worshipping God forever, he reminded us. God chose from all eternity a guardian angel for each of us from conception. Our angels are always in the presence of God, as the Lord teaches and Sacred Scripture records.
He shared the teaching of Padre Pio on the angels, as a spirit close to us from cradle to grave, who guides, protects, and prays for us. We should turn to him in our hours of supreme anguish and we will experience beneficial effects. The angels are our constant companions in time and eternity, bearing toward us a spiritual affection which does not go out with this life. We can and should ask the angels to bring us the light of faith to better bring us the mystery of God.
We can undertake a consecration to holy angels. As we are more conscious of our guardian angels’ presence, we will be at the same time less likely to offend God in His presence.
Padre Pio exhorted us to remember that God, in the excess of His love for us, has given each of us a guardian angel.
When we are at church we should be ever conscious that before every tabernacle a celestial court is always present with adoration for our Eucharistic King truly present there.
Guardian angels serve us to serve Christ. The angels are modest, however; they do not impose themselves. We must ask them for their help, guidance, and protection. The more we ask, the more they help. Anne Catherine Emmerich taught that the angels compensate for the defects of priests during Mass. This is a great consolation for myself and all priests, knowing that with their constant help our poor offering as sinful creatures is made more beautiful and acceptable to the Father.
The angels also assist us in our instinct for the holiness of God. Our understanding of God’s power and majesty is increased as we realize that He does not need our praise: We need to glorify Him. The angels who constantly worship in His presence provide the example, encouragement, and accompaniment as we learn to worship in a holier way.
The bishop said that we are in a time of battle that has hardly been seen in the Church. There is no longer any clear vision of the truth that was always formerly clearly handed on. As Pius XII sought in his time, we need to revive a sense of the invisible world all around us. We look to things not seen, but unseen. We fight against the fallen angels and cannot do so without guardian angels and St. Michael. We join their battle conscious that the devil is the malign agent of lies and homicides. He prowls seeking to destroy, as Scripture reminds us.
Abby Johnson offered insights as a former Planned Parenthood worker. She reinforced the fact that the tragic and evil Women’s March, which took place again in a number of locations this fall, is about access to abortion. These advocates for murder now openly demand free, unfettered, and full access to homicide in the womb at any stage of pregnancy, for any reason.
Johnson gave a rousing talk to better motivate all Catholics to be pro-life in every arena of Catholic and social life, for women and babies at every stage of the journey from the womb and beyond.
Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, is a true warrior for the faith and family life. He has fought the overpopulation lies and myths in the trenches of our Godless society for years. He spoke about the so-called pandemic and reminded us that the lockdowns do not prevent spread of disease except intensify passing infection within families. Other problems come from lockdowns: alcoholism, suicide, domestic violence, poverty, drug addiction, and more deaths from lack of treatment for heart attacks, cancer, and other health issues.
Peter Kwasniewski is already well known in traditional Catholic circles for his frequent writing and speaking in support of the traditional Latin rite. He gave a rousing defense of the legitimacy of our tradition and its centerpiece in the ancient liturgy, offered every day during the Second Vatican Council by the fathers attending the watershed event in the 1960s.
Kwasniewski’s talk amounted to a call to arms for Catholics, to stand and defend our sacred tradition and liturgy, refusing to comply with the illegitimate orders to reject and destroy what was handed down by the Church with the authority of Christ through the apostles. His verbal salvos were met repeatedly with standing ovations.
Thank you for reading and praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.
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