Franciscans, Re-Gifting & Little Antonio

Dear TIA,

These last 10 days the big shriek on many traditionalist milieus has been the Vatican’s prohibition to say the Tridentine Mass (TM ) directed to the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Many people are panicking, believing TM will be forbidden again for all. Some leaders asked traditionalists to send letters asking the Vatican to not suspend the use of TM. A great number of letters, indeed, were sent to the Vatican.

I was expecting to see TIA’s position on this topic, but found nothing on your website. Is there any reason why you did not address the topic? In any circumstance, could you give me your take on this situation?

I follow your site regularly and I admire your positions.

     In Jesus through Mary,

     M.C.


TIA responds:

Dear M.C.,

Thank you for your loyalty in visiting our website and for your kinds words.

We believe that the Vatican is playing a game with this prohibition.

The cause of the prohibition was not that those Franciscan said the Tridentine Mass, but that they were heading toward saying it exclusively and not saying the Novus Ordo Mass. So, the prohibition means: “If you want to not say the Novus Ordo, we forbid you to say the Tridentine Mass.”

The result of this prohibition, in our opinion, will not be the suspension of saying the Tridentine Mass for those who already have this permission, whether it was given by the Commission Ecclesia Dei or came as a consequence of the Summorum Pontificum. The result will be that they will be obliged to also say the Novus Ordo Mass, or else have their permission to say the Tridentine Mass abrogated.

This is in perfect concordance with what Summorum Pontificum states - the beneficiary of saying the “extraordinary rite” has to prove he has no objection to the "ordinary rite." The previous permissions given by Ecclesia Dei also demanded that the signer accept the Novus Ordo. Since to say the Novus Ordo is the best way to show this approval, nothing seems more consistent with these measures than to ask those priests to say it. Therefore, we believe Francis will not revoke what Benedict and JPII did, as some are fearing.

What the Vatican is doing right now is taking advantage of the case of the Franciscans of the Immaculate as a splashy precedent to teach a lesson to all those who are permitted to say the Tridentine Mass.

Consequently, it is probable that new heat will be put on those non-sede-vacantist priests - SSPX or independent - who only say the Tridentine Mass.

This is our opinion.

If this opinion is correct, then the uproar raised among traditionalists is precisely what the Vatican wants in order to make its lesson more efficacious. We believe that the Vatican purposely triggered this hullabaloo and is very glad with its growth. The more suspense and clamor is created, the easier it becomes to enforce the coming Vatican decision.

From this perspective, the heroes who appeared in the operetta asking letters to be sent to the Vatican, trying to lead the reaction and pretending they will be the saviors of the Tridentine Mass, look very much like allies of the Vatican in this maneuver.

Whether this opinion is true or not, we shall know soon, when a resolution for this case will come.

TIA was observing these events in silence until your message gave us an opportunity to make our position known.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

TIA,

The term, re-gifting , is somewhat new. To give someone a gift that you had received as a gift but do not want or do not need is the basic meaning of re-gifting.

This past week a very lovely and holy woman in my parish died. A.U. was 93. I was so fortunate to speak with her daughter, Sister M.B., after Mass today. I mentioned to her that it will seem unnecessary to pray for her Mother's soul since I have no doubt in my heart that A. is already in Heaven.

Then the idea of re-gifting came to me. Perhaps when we give our gift of prayer to a soul that is already in Heaven, they re-gift this prayer to a soul of their choosing in Purgatory. Like a light reflected in a mirror, and since this re-gift is now from Heaven, perhaps the graces are even greater!

So, don't stop praying for the souls you believe to be in Heaven. They will love you for sending the gift of your prayers and will love even more re-gifting them!

     S.S.

Hello,

Don’t you recognize me? That’s OK; I understand.

My name was Antonio West. I was the 13-month old child who was shot in the face at point blank range by two black teens who were attempting to rob my mother, who was also shot.

I think my murder and my mommy’s wounding made the news for maybe a day, and then disappeared.

A Grand Jury of my mommy's peers from Brunswick, Georgia, ruled the black teens who murdered me will not face the death penalty... too bad it was me who got the death sentence from my killers instead, because Mommy didn’t have the money they demanded.

See, my family made the mistake of being white in a 73% non-white neighborhood, but my murder wasn’t ruled a ‘hate crime.’

Oh, and President Obama didn’t take a single moment to acknowledge my murder. He doesn’t have any children who could possibly look like me - so why should he care?

I’m one of the youngest murder victims in our great Nation's history, but the media didn’t care to cover the story of my being killed in cold blood.

There isn’t a white equivalent of Al Sharpton, because if there was he would be branded a ‘racist.’ So, no one’s rushing to Brunswick, Georgia, to demonstrate and demand ‘justice’ for me. There’s no ‘White Panther’ party, either, to put a bounty on the lives of the two black teens who murdered me.

I have no voice, I have no representation, and unlike those who shot me in the face while I sat innocently in my stroller - I no longer have my life.

Isn’t this a great country?

So, while you’re out seeking ‘justice for Trayvon,’ please remember to seek ‘justice’ for me. Tell your friends about me, tell your families, get tee-shirts with my face on them, and make the world pay attention, just like you did for Trayvon.

I won’t hold my breath.

I don’t have to anymore.

     Antonio