Pastor's Corner Dec. 31 2011---Reflections from Archbishop Lefebvre

[Alan]

The Three Magi presenting gifts to the Divine Infant Ki	Reflections from Archbishop Lefebvre Fifth Sunday of December 2011: Octave Day of the Nativity of Our Lord We present here some extracts from a lengthy sermon given by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1972 to the seminarians at Econe, Switzerland.
To follow Our Lord Jesus Christ, to imitate Him, to "put Him on," is no small thing, especially in our modern world, especially in the present time. My dear friends, the present time cries out for heroes, at a time when everything seems to be vanishing in the structure of society, and even in the structure of the Church. This is no time for tepid souls, for souls who give themselves in the face of the troubles or doubts which are circulating all over the world, even on the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, even throughout the Catholic Church. The time belongs to those who believe—believe in Our Lord Jesus Christ, who believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ by His Cross has given the solution to all the problems of our life, even personal problems. (...) ...you must undergo a conversion, you must do penance as Our Lord Jesus Christ give us an example on the Cross, but you have understood that this must be done through love, out of charity, for the love of God, for the love of souls, for the love of your own soul. For the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ is a Cross which breathes love. The Office for Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows says it explicitly in the beautiful liturgy for that day: "Dilectus meus rubicundus, candidus, totus desiderabilis... omnis figura eius amorem spirat—(These words are put on the lips of the Blessed Virgin)—"My beloved is all resplendent in white, but also red, reddened by his own blood," for He is covered with His own blood. Thus does He draw us—He is for us the object of an immense desire, an immense love. "Omnis gifura eius amorem spirat—His whole attitude inspires love," and this evocation of the liturgy continues, "Caput inclinatum... manus extentae.... pectus perforatum." Yes, His head bent over, His arms stretched out, His pierced Heart all breathe love. (...) This is what you must come to understand, my dear friends. You will come to understand through meditation, through prayer, through everything which is taught you, that it is Our Lord Jesus Christ Who gives us charity, true charity, the charity of God, the charity which above all attaches us to God. And so you will detest your sins, your own failings, you will always have a spirit of sorrow for your sins, but this spirit of sorrow will be provoked by the love of God, by the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It will not be an inefficacious penance, a somber and sad kind of penance which will depress your heart, but on the contrary, it will dilate your heart through the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is something you must never forget, that in the Christian life there are always two fundamental aspects—the penitential aspect, the detestation of sin and flight from it, and the desire for God, the love of God. And as St. Thomas said so well, there are two aspects of the Christian life in the same act of charity, for if one loves God one will flee whatever separates us from Him. Now sin separates us from God; hence by the act of charity which we have for God and for Our Lord, we must at the same time detest our sins, detest everything that renders our path to God difficult, and always love more He who is the Author of our own being and of the grace we have. (...) We will ask this especially today on this feast of the Epiphany, like the Magi, the Kings who came to seek the Light of the Child Jesus. They found Him, in the company of Mary and Joseph—we will ask Mary and Joseph to give you conviction in these sentiments which I have tried to evoke these morning, so that they remain in you... District Website