Dear Friends and Benefactors,
Your four priests of the Society of St. Pius X in
Ireland dedicate themselves to the goal established by Archbishop
Marcel Lefebvre in the constitutions of our institute: To direct
their life and their apostolate towards the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, which continues the holy Passion of Our Lord and the work of
Redemption.
These may appear to be very big words, expressing
unattainable objectives in a world which has rejected Our Lord and
His Church, and in which the enemies of the Cross of Christ have
replaced the Catholic Order with a truly demonic neo-paganism. How
indeed could any man living in the 21st century follow
the steps of the Saints of the ages of Faith?
I asked myself a similar question twenty-five years
ago, when I looked for a seminary and a priestly family where I
could truly sanctify myself and become a real priest. The Blessed
Mother guided me to Archbishop Lefebvre and to his Seminary of Ecône,
and since then I have witnessed, year after year, working in three
continents, how the providential vision of our valiant Founder
continues to provide the young vocations of today with the
appropriate way to achieve their own sanctification and to lead
countless souls to Heaven.
Whereas other congregations and religious families in
the Church have their specific fields of apostolate (education,
hospitals, contemplative life, parish work, study, preaching), and
many can be easily distinguished by a unique spirituality, the
priestly Society of St. Pius X concentrates its work in the
immutable and always plentiful source of every apostolate and
spirituality: the Sacrifice of Our Saviour, the Holy Mass of all
times. The Mass is our apostolate, our spirituality, our life. In
the Mass we find our holiness and our vitality.
It is upon the Holy Mass that Christendom was built;
from the Mass come forth all the splendid accomplishments of our
European culture: civilization, art, beauty, progress, stability,
and peace. Save the Mass and all is saved, all can be rebuilt. It is
the True Mass that matters.
There should be
no doubt in our minds that, once more, it will be upon the Mass that
the restoration of Christendom will take place. This is why Father
Craig Bufé, Father Stefano Bellunato, Father Adam Portugal, and
yours truly are thankful every day for the gift and the grace of our
priesthood, and for the opportunity to serve the Church and the
souls in our Priestly Society. Please pray for us as we renew our
oblations in the Society on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception,
December 8th . Six hundred priests and clerics all over
the world will do the same on that day, kneeling before the Altar.
And can we count as well on your prayers for vocations
from Ireland? This is the Land of the Mass; Ireland’s loyalty to the
Latin Mass is imperishable, because it is sealed and confirmed by
the blood of martyrs. Founded upon the Mass, the very identity of
our country asks for priestly vocations. A glorious missionary past
is the still recent witness
Archbishop
Glennon of St. Louis, U.S.A., in the Phoenix Park, reminded a
quarter of a
million Irish
adorers at the great Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, that “Italy may
have her glorious basilicas, France her stately cathedrals, England
her regrets, but Ireland has her holy places, her martyrs and
especially her Mass-Rocks. But more than that, in the hearts of her
people dwells a faith in the Mass as adamantine as the granite walls
that guard their island shore.”
Surely the
Master of the Vineyard is calling a number of our young Irish men
from our
families
to join His
labourers! Your prayers and sacrifices will contribute to determine
their
resolution; in this
spirit we invite you to add a Decade for Vocations to your
daily Rosary, finishing it devoutly with the powerful prayer:
Oh, Lord, grant us Priests! Oh, Lord, grant us holy Priests! Oh
Lord, grant us many holy Priests! Oh, Lord, grant us many holy
religious vocations! St. Pius X, pray for us!
To all of our
readers my best priestly blessing, and our constant gratitude for
your support, loyalty, and your example of unyielding Catholic
soldiers of Jesus and Mary,
Father Ramón
Anglés
