THE STUNNING PROVIDENCE OF PIUS IX\u2019S
\nINSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR THE
\nCATHOLIC CHURCH By Robert Morrison
\n(LifeSiteNews) \u2014 In the eyes of many today,
\nthe Catholic Church appears to be broken in its
\nhuman element. Fortunately, the Hoy Ghost
\nguided the pre-Vatican II popes to promulgate
\nencyclicals which were the functional
\nequivalent of doctrinal and spiritual instruction
\nmanuals for the Catholic Church, which can
\nhelp us understand and counteract the evils
\nafflicting the Mystical Body of Christ today.
\nMany of us are familiar with some of the most
\nimportant of the pre-Vatican II encyclicals:
\n\uf0b7 Mirari Vos, Pope Gregory XVI\u2019s 1832
\nencyclical on liberalism and religious
\nindifferentism
\n\uf0b7 Qui Pluribus, Blessed Pius IX\u2019s 1846
\nencyclical on faith and religion
\n\uf0b7 Quanta Cura, Blessed Pius IX\u2019s 1864
\nencyclical condemning modern errors
\n(accompanied by the\u00a0Syllabus of Errors)
\n\uf0b7 Libertas Praestantissimum, Pope Leo
\nXIII\u2019s 1888 encyclical on human liberty
\n\uf0b7 Pascendi Dominici Gregis, St. Pius X\u2019s
\n1907 encyclical on Modernism
\n\uf0b7 Mortalium Animos, Pope Pius XI\u2019s 1928
\nencyclical on religious unity
\n\uf0b7 Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII\u2019s 1950
\nencyclical on false opinions threatening
\nto undermine the foundations of Catholic
\ndoctrine
\nIn each of these, the popes exhorted the
\nbishops to oppose certain errors threatening
\nthe Catholic Faith. Every single error we see
\ntoday from Rome was condemned by these
\nencyclicals: the popes told us that the
\ntheological errors we see today would bring the
\ndisastrous crisis we see today. So, if we want<\/p>\n
to address the crisis we see today we should
\nturn to the holy Catholic wisdom of the pre-
\nVatican II popes who tried to prevent it.
\nIn terms of simplicity and relevance, Blessed
\nPius IX\u2019s\u00a0Qui Pluribus\u00a0arguably offers the most
\nvaluable and accessible \u201cinstruction manual\u201d
\nfor what we face in 2024. In it, we can see that
\nthe Holy Ghost guided the popes to leave us
\nmuch of what we need to understand and
\naddress the crisis plaguing the Church and
\nworld today.
\nGod is the Author of the Catholic Faith
\nAs Pius IX wrote, the Catholic religion was
\ngiven to us by God rather than men, and
\ncannot be improved upon by human reason:
\nOur holy religion was not invented by human
\nreason, but was most mercifully revealed by
\nGod; therefore, one can quite easily
\nunderstand that religion itself acquires all its
\npower from the authority of God who made the
\nrevelation, and that it can never be arrived at or
\nperfected by human reason. In order not to be
\ndeceived and go astray in a matter of such
\ngreat importance, human reason should indeed
\ncarefully investigate the fact of divine
\nrevelation. Having done this, one would be
\ndefinitely convinced that God has spoken and
\ntherefore would show Him rational obedience,
\nas the Apostle very wisely teaches. For who
\ncan possibly not know that all faith should be
\ngiven to the words of God and that it is in the
\nfullest agreement with reason itself to accept
\nand strongly support doctrines which it has
\ndetermined to have been revealed by God,
\nwho can neither deceive nor be deceived?
\nFrom this, we know that any human effort to
\nperfect or modify the Faith is inherently
\nmisguided. Moreover, because God can
\nneither deceive nor be deceived, it is
\nabsolutely preposterous to imagine that what
\nwas true prior to Vatican II would today be<\/p>\n
2
\nfalse; or that what was condemned as false
\nbefore Vatican II would today be true.
\nBenefits of the Catholic Church
\nPius IX wrote of the tremendous benefits that
\nGod provides to mankind through the Catholic
\nChurch:
\nThis faith, which teaches for life and points
\ntowards salvation, which casts out all vices and
\nis the fruitful mother and nurse of the virtues,
\nhas been established by the birth, life, death,
\nresurrection, wisdom, wonders and prophecies
\nof Christ Jesus, its divine author and perfector.
\nIt made known the saving laws of Christ and,
\ngaining in strength daily even when it was most
\ncruelly persecuted, it made its way over the
\nwhole world by land and sea, from the sun\u2019s
\nrising to its setting, under the single standard of
\nthe Cross! The deceit of idols was cast down
\nand the mist of errors was scattered. By the
\ndefeat of all kinds of enemies, this faith
\nenlightened with divine knowledge all peoples,
\nraces and nations, no matter how barbarous
\nand savage, or how different in character,
\nmorals, laws and ways of life. It brought them
\nunder the sweet yoke of Christ Himself by
\nproclaiming peace and good tidings to all men!
\nGod could have provided these benefits
\nwithout the use of human instruments, and
\ncertainly without the use of an organized
\nreligion, but He chose to establish the Church.
\nAs Pius IX wrote, God wants to provide the
\nmost important things in life through the
\nChurch: the path of salvation; instruction in
\navoiding sin and practicing virtue; the
\nenlightenment of all people with divine
\nknowledge; and peace. Because God gave
\nmankind the Church to provide these benefits,
\nwe can be certain that there is no alternative
\nsource of goodness for those who spurn the
\nChurch\u2019s authentic teaching.<\/p>\n
How to protect the Church
\nFor over one hundred years prior to the
\nCouncil, the popes consistently told the
\nshepherds what they must do to protect the
\nChurch. Like the other popes, Pius IX directed
\nhis message directly to the bishops:
\nAs bishops, you are the deputies, and thus the
\nimitators of Christ. In your harmonious pursuits
\nyou have become a sincere model for your
\nflock, and you enlighten your clergy and faithful
\npeople with the splendor of your sanctity. In
\nyour compassionate mercy you seek out and
\novertake with your love the straying and
\nperishing sheep, as the shepherd in the Gospel
\ndid. You place them paternally on your
\nshoulders and lead them back to the fold. At no
\ntime do you spare either cares or plans or toils
\nin religiously fulfilling your pastoral duties and
\ndefending all Our beloved sheep who,
\nredeemed by Christ, have been entrusted to
\nyour care from the rage, assault and snares of
\nravening wolves. You keep them away from
\npoisonous pasture land and drive them on to
\nsafe ground, and in all possible ways you lead
\nthem by deed, word and example to the harbor
\nof eternal salvation.
\nSo, the pope and bishops have the primary
\nduty to safeguard the flock against the
\nravening wolves. Pius IX also directed the
\nbishops on the way in which they must protect
\nthe flock:
\nWe, therefore, placed inscrutably by God upon
\nthis Chair of truth, eagerly call forth in the Lord
\nyour outstanding piety, venerable brothers. We
\nurge you to strive carefully and zealously to
\ncontinually warn and exhort the faithful
\nentrusted to your care to hold to these first
\nprinciples. Urge them never to allow
\nthemselves to be deceived and led into error
\nby men who have become abominable in their
\npursuits. These men attempt to destroy faith on
\nthe pretext of human progress, subjecting it in<\/p>\n
3
\nan impious manner to reason and changing the
\nmeaning of the words of God. Such men do not
\nshrink from the greatest insults to God Himself,
\nwho cares for the good and the salvation of
\nmen by means of His heavenly religion.
\nBishops must carefully and zealously warn and
\nexhort the faithful to hold to the Faith and avoid
\nerror. We may only have a few bishops in the
\nworld willing to do this today, but we know their
\nnames (often because they have been
\ncondemned by the ravening wolves in Rome)
\nand hear their voices.
\nRisks to the Church
\nPius IX identified the risks facing the Church
\nthen (and still today):
\nEach of you has noticed, venerable brothers,
\nthat a very bitter and fearsome war against the
\nwhole Catholic commonwealth is being stirred
\nup by men bound together in a lawless
\nalliance. These men do not preserve sound
\ndoctrine, but turn their hearing from the truth.
\nThey eagerly attempt to produce from their
\ndarkness all sorts of prodigious beliefs, and
\nthen to magnify them with all their strength,
\nand to publish them and spread them among
\nordinary people. We shudder indeed and suffer
\nbitter pain when We reflect on all their
\noutlandish errors and their many harmful
\nmethods, plots and contrivances. These men
\nuse these means to spread their hatred for
\ntruth and light. They are experienced and
\nskillful in deceit, which they use to set in motion
\ntheir plans to quench peoples\u2019 zeal for piety,
\njustice and virtue, to corrupt morals, to cast all
\ndivine and human laws into confusion, and to
\nweaken and even possibly overthrow the
\nCatholic religion and civil society.
\nAlthough Pius IX was warning specifically
\nabout \u201csecret sects\u201d (such as the Freemasons),
\nwe can see that Satan is ultimately behind all
\nsuch attacks on the Church. However, while<\/p>\n
these enemies were generally outside the
\nChurch in 1846, they have now infiltrated the
\nChurch to such an extent that they appear to
\nhave free rein to inflict the same evils Pius IX
\ndescribed above.
\nSatan and his minions use various tools to
\nachieve their evil objectives \u2014 such as
\nLiberalism, Modernism, and now Synodality \u2014
\nbut the objectives remain the same: offending
\nGod and harming the Church. Indeed, we
\ncould easily apply the following words to what
\nwe see from Francis and his Synodal
\ncollaborators today:
\nAlso perverse is the shocking theory that it
\nmakes no difference to which religion one
\nbelongs, a theory which is greatly at variance
\neven with reason. By means of this theory,
\nthose crafty men remove all distinction
\nbetween virtue and vice, truth and error,
\nhonorable and vile action. They pretend that
\nmen can gain eternal salvation by the practice
\nof any religion, as if there could ever be any
\nsharing between justice and iniquity, any
\ncollaboration between light and darkness, or
\nany agreement between Christ and Belial.
\nThe risks to the Church are not that these
\nenemies would actually change Church
\nteaching, for the truths that God provided to
\nHis Church cannot be altered in the least by
\nSatan or his minions. As we see now, though, it
\nis quite possible that the Church\u2019s enemies will
\nsucceed in deceiving men into thinking that the
\nChurch has changed its teaching. This is why
\nPius IX exhorted the bishops to remain
\nvigilant.
\nTragically, far too many bishops abandoned not
\nonly their flocks but the Faith. Now we see the
\nfilthy results:
\nAs a result of this filthy medley of errors which
\ncreeps in from every side, and as the result of
\nthe unbridled license to think, speak and write,<\/p>\n
4
\nWe see the following: morals deteriorated,
\nChrist\u2019s most holy religion despised, the
\nmajesty of divine worship rejected, the power
\nof this Apostolic See plundered, the authority of
\nthe Church attacked and reduced to base
\nslavery, the rights of bishops trampled on, the
\nsanctity of marriage infringed, the rule of every
\ngovernment violently shaken and many other
\nlosses for both the Christian and the civil
\ncommonwealth. Venerable brothers, We are
\ncompelled to weep and share in your lament
\nthat this is the case.
\nThis is what we see today and, as Pius IX
\nwrote, it is the direct result of errors that have
\nundermined the Faith of those Catholics who
\nought to be spreading God\u2019s truth and
\ngoodness throughout the world.
\nHow to repair the Church
\nWhile it is true that only God can \u201crepair the
\nChurch\u201d today, He ordinarily makes use of
\nhuman instruments to help accomplish His will.
\nAs Pius IX wrote, God wants Catholics (and
\nbishops in particular) to zealously cooperate
\nwith His grace to defend the Catholic Faith in
\ntimes of crisis:
\nTherefore, in this great crisis for religion,
\nbecause We are greatly concerned for the
\nsalvation of all the Lord\u2019s flock and in fulfillment
\nof the duty of Our Apostolic ministry, We shall
\ncertainly leave no measure untried in Our
\nvigorous effort to secure the good of the whole
\nChristian family. Indeed, We especially call
\nforth in the Lord your own illustrious piety,
\nvirtue and prudence, venerable brothers. With
\nthese and relying on heavenly aid, you may
\nfearlessly defend the cause of God and His
\nholy Church as befits your station and the
\noffice for which you are marked. You must fight
\nenergetically, since you know very well what
\ngreat wounds the undefiled Spouse of Christ
\nJesus has suffered, and how vigorous is the
\ndestructive attack of Her enemies. You must<\/p>\n
also care for and defend the Catholic faith with
\nepiscopal strength and see that the flock
\nentrusted to you stands to the end firm and
\nunmoved in the faith. For unless one preserves
\nthe faith entire and uninjured, he will without
\ndoubt perish forever.
\nWe must fight with holiness, which can only
\nproceed from adherence to the true Catholic
\nFaith. Pius IX wrote that our salvation depends
\nupon preserving the Faith \u201centire and
\nuninjured.\u201d To better preserve the Faith from
\nattacks that would distort it in the eyes of the
\nunwary, shepherds must expose the lies of the
\nChurch\u2019s enemies:
\n\u2018It is an act of great piety to expose the
\nconcealments of the impious and to defeat
\nthere the devil himself, whose slaves they are.\u2019
\nTherefore, We entreat you to use every means
\nof revealing to your faithful people the many
\nkinds of plot, pretense, error, deceit and
\ncontrivance which our enemies use. This will
\nturn them carefully away from infectious books.
\nAlso exhort them unceasingly to flee from the
\nsects and societies of the impious as from the
\npresence of a serpent, earnestly avoiding
\neverything which is at variance with the
\nwholeness of faith, religion, and morality.
\nTherefore, never stop preaching the Gospel, so
\nthat the Christian people may grow in the
\nknowledge of God by being daily better versed
\nin the most holy precepts of the Christian law;
\nas a result, they may turn from evil, do good,
\nand walk in the ways of the Lord.
\nIt is remarkable to consider that Bishop Joseph
\nStrickland was \u201ccanceled\u201d by Rome for calmly
\nand charitably doing what Pius IX called an
\n\u201cact of great piety\u201d in exposing the lies
\nthreatening the Mystical Body of Christ. Given
\nour current crisis, this should be the only sign
\nother bishops need to be convinced that they
\ntoo must see that Blessed Pius IX was<\/p>\n
5
\nspeaking to them as much as he was speaking
\nto the bishops alive in 1846.
\nEven when we do all we can to cooperate with
\nGod\u2019s grace, we still must trust in God\u2019s
\nProvidence lest we become discouraged:
\nWe reflect on the most serious duties of the
\nsupreme apostolate especially in a period of
\ngreat instability, We would simply have fallen
\ninto great sadness, did We not place all Our
\nhope in God who is Our Savior. For He never
\nabandons those who hope in Him. Time and
\nagain, so as to demonstrate what His power
\ncan accomplish, He employs weak instruments
\nto rule His Church; in this way, all men may
\nincreasingly realize that it is God Himself who
\ngoverns and protects the Church with his
\nwonderful providence.
\nAnd, like the other popes, Pius IX told us that
\nwe must turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
\nmost sweet mother of us all:<\/p>\n
That the Lord may more readily respond to Us,
\nlet us call as intercessor Her who is always
\nwith Him, the most holy Virgin Mary,
\nImmaculate Mother of God. She is the most
\nsweet mother of us all; she is our mediatrix,
\nadvocate, firmest hope, and greatest source of
\nconfidence. Furthermore, her patronage with
\nGod is strongest and most efficacious.
\nPius IX did not have the benefit of knowing the
\nmessages of Our Lady of Fatima, but we can
\nbe sure that he would agree with everything
\nOur Lady communicated to the world through
\nthe three children of Fatima.
\nGod has not abandoned us in the terrible crisis
\nafflicting the Church, but it seems entirely
\npossible that He expects us to make use of the
\nabundant gifts He has given us. We are in this
\npredicament because our shepherds
\nabandoned the holy guidance that God
\nprovided through the pre-Vatican II popes.
\nEach new development from Rome makes it
\nmore evident that their words were true, as the
\nevils they tried to stave off become ever more
\nsuffocating. This should alert us all to the great
\nneed to return to that guidance now if we seek
\nto cooperate with God\u2019s grace to counter the
\nenemies determined to destroy the
\nChurch.\u00a0Immaculate Heart<\/p>\n
THE STUNNING PROVIDENCE OF PIUS IX\u2019S INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH By Robert Morrison (LifeSiteNews) \u2014 In the eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-72006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-church","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}