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R e v i e w s
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This Rock
Volume 16, Number 1
 January 2005 
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An Outreach to Schismatics
Is the Society of St. Pius X in communion with the Roman Catholic Church? No.
Do its members—estimated now at one million worldwide—believe it is? Yes.
In a fascinating analysis of the SSPX, which went into schism in 1988 when founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without permission from Rome, More Catholic Than the Pope makes perfectly clear to anyone who has ever uttered that "yes" precisely why that answer is indubitably wrong. Patrick Madrid and Pete Vere are persuasive writers, and they approach their critique much as one might tackle an artichoke: presenting the distressing problem then carefully stripping away misunderstanding after misunderstanding until the bright center of truth is revealed.
The authors also show that it was a clear choice by Lefebvre and his followers to sever themselves from the Church—and to remain separated, even obstinately resisting efforts by Pope John Paul II to bring this lost sheep back into Rome’s fold. And they take on arguments that SSPX adherents continue to offer as "proof" that they are not in schism.
In refuting each of the extreme traditionalists’ claims against the Second Vatican Council and their defenses of the SSPX, Madrid and Vere cite the Code of Canon Law, conciliar documents, Holy Scripture, papal encyclicals, apostolic exhortations, and epistles. Appendices include Ecclesia Dei by Pope John Paul II, The Excommunication of Followers of Archbishop Lefebvre, and "A Word of Caution" by St. Vincent of Lerins. Endnotes and a glossary of ecclesiastical terms are helpful additions.
A well-known apologist and author, Madrid is also a television host for EWTN. Pete Vere is a canon lawyer, an author, and a former adherent to the SSPX schism. More Catholic Than the Pope is especially powerful because Vere knows his subject from the inside out. While he writes from the vantage point of legal expertise, he also shows compassion, patience, and love for those whose hearts are still convinced that the SSPX is the one holy, catholic, and apostolic church. It is this very quality that may persuade extreme traditionalists to think seriously about the canonical evidence set forth so convincingly in More Catholic Than the Pope and perhaps fulfill the authors’ hope that these misguided souls will "see the mistakes made by the SSPX and similar groups and to abandon them and come home to the Church" (10).
The book begins with the history of the SSPX’s "prime architect and figurehead" (19), the late French Archbishop Lefebvre, whose thinking had been formed by that of the popes of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and who, until around the time of the Second Vatican Council, was an honorable and devoted servant of the Church. One of the archbishop’s former seminarians writes about what drove Lefebvre to found the SSPX: "He feared—he believed—that the spirit of the Reform was going to corrupt Catholic thinking. In every department—whether liturgical, philosophical, theological, political—he was horrified by ‘the modern world.’ . . . He saw there an influence that was leading many toward a Lutheran mindset. . . . He was horrified by a ‘free thinking’ that was Protestant, Masonic, characteristic of the modern world and inspires all modern thinking. He was horrified by philosophical and political liberalism. For it marched against the social royalty of our Lord Jesus Christ" (26–7).
Any Catholic traditionalist might feel twinges of sympathy with the archbishop’s initial post-conciliar concerns, and, indeed, the SSPX was not the only schism resulting from similar fears. But traditionalists need not turn away from the Church, as the authors explain. The book’s final chapter, "Faithful Alternatives for Traditionalists," describes five traditionalist apostolates that are in full communion with Rome: the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, the Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney, Centre International d’Etudes Liturgique, the Benedictine Monastery of St. Madeleine de La Barroux, and the Diocesan Ecclesia Dei Indult Mass Centers. They conclude with an invitation: "The authors, who themselves are traditionalists who love and revere the ancient liturgical patrimony of the Church, respectfully encourage all Catholics, especially traditionalist Catholics, to avail themselves of any and all lawful opportunities, such as those mentioned above, to maintain and deepen their love for Catholic Tradition" (146).
With regard to these "lawful opportunities," Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1988 apostolic letter, "Respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See for the use of the Roman Missal according to the typical edition of 1962" (153). Perhaps More Catholic Than the Pope also will stimulate broader diocesan implementation of the Holy Father’s permission to offer this beautiful and historical Mass.
—Ann Applegarth
More Catholic Than the Pope: An Inside Look at Extreme Traditionalism
By Patrick Madrid and Pete Vere
Our Sunday Visitor
186 pages
$12.95
ISBN: 1931709262
A Rose from the Heavenly Garden
Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, often is called the greatest saint of modern times. Her spiritual biography, Story of a Soul, has inspired many by its portrait of a young woman’s love for Christ.
My first book, Little Flowers, would not have been written had it not been for her heavenly intercession—I am sure of that. I was toying with a first draft of a story right around the time my husband and I were contemplating a move to Virginia. He was there and I was in Atlanta. I recently had discovered the saint and her popular and powerful novena prayer ("Please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me. . . ."). I prayed for a nudge in which direction we should take. During my husband’s next visit to Atlanta, he presented me with a pink rose that had bloomed from a bush outside the home he rented. By the next month we were both in Williamsburg, the setting for my story, which would grow into the novel Little Flowers.
Had I the time to gather this history into something more polished, I might have submitted my story to Elizabeth Ficocelli’s wonderful anthology of intercessory prayers answered, Shower of Heavenly Roses: Stories of the Intercession of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Ficocelli, a children’s book author and convert to the faith, learned of the saint the way most have, through Story of a Soul and a fascination with the rose legend, which often leads even the most skeptical to try the prayer for themselves. Shower of Heavenly Roses offers evidence of such skepticism quickly transformed to belief with the miracle of an answering rose. Stories from lifelong Catholics, converts to the faith, and even a few non-Catholics comprise this anthology.
Shower is divided into six sections, each corresponding to thematic requests made of St. Thérèse: "Answers," "Wonders," "Peace," "Love," "Healing," and "Guidance." In "Answers," requests of Thérèse are direct. A mother in Brazil longs to reunite with her estranged children; an infertile couple longs for a child; a wife prays for a solution to her husband’s medical problem. Each is answered with more than a rose as Thérèse’s reach extended beyond the ordinary. The mother receives a picture of her children in a restaurant underneath the saint’s portrait, the couple’s first child is born on Thérèse’s feast day, and the wife receives a statuette of the saint on the day of her husband’s successful operation.
The "Wonders" section takes a deeper step into the miraculous spirit of the Little Flower. A woman whose mother is blessed with a happy death (on Thérèse’s feast day) recalls the rose given her, still preserved three years later. A church thrift-store worker encounters a mysterious young woman bearing strong resemblance to Thérèse who donates a valuable gift. A married couple offers up a photo with an inexplicable presence among the wedding party.
Thérèse touches the grieving and comforts those in financial straits with her intercessory gifts and offers signs of hope to the living who wonder about the eternal fate of deceased loved ones. Devotees and the curious attend public displays of Thérèse’s relics and experience strong feelings of peace and faith (as related in the "Peace" section). Thérèse plays matchmaker to women contemplating the religious life, and they are encouraged to take up the married vocation with an influential nudge from the saint, bringing to mind the story of Thérèse’s own parents, both of whom longed to serve God as religious but instead offered him a family of five young women who took the habit. Thérèse’s intercession is credited with miraculous healings, cancers that mysteriously disappear, and bones that mend unaided.
Readers may be interested to know that the saint’s touch turns to gold, literally. The final section, "Guidance," recounts tales of devotees looking to the saint for help in potentially life-altering decisions and situations. Here, Thérèse is credited with inspiring an Olympic athlete to a medal win.
Stories in this short volume vary in length, from a few paragraphs to a few pages, yet each evokes the strong spirit of the Little Flower and evidences the growth in faith of its contributor. Ficocelli’s undertaking offers a simple yet persuasive argument for the power of faith, the proof of the validity of intercessory prayer, and how one simple nun’s "little way" yields great joys for those who turn to her so she may turn to Christ for us.
—Kathryn Lively
Shower of Heavenly Roses: Stories of Intercession of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
By Elizabeth Ficocelli
Crossroad
227 pages
$14.95
ISBN: 0824522567
A Trip Worth Taking
Why is it that so many who "are taught the methods and ways of prayer" and eagerly "begin to follow the directions they have received" (vii) do not get the longed-for results? In The Journey Within, Sr. Kathryn Hermes sets out not only to answer this question but also to provide practical helps for such frustrated spiritual seekers.
The book is divided into three main "movements" intended to mirror the path of The Journey Within: "Naming the Journey," "Encountering Our Loneliness," and "Abiding in Love." Hermes attempts to guide readers "from loneliness to love" (vii) by helping them uncover the hidden obstacles—attitudes, fears, "mental clutter"—that may be hindering their prayer life and union with God. Consider the following chapter titles: "Prayer Is about Transformation," "Prayer Is Real When It Wrestles with Reality," and "Prayer Is Difficult When You Are Running Away."
As an example of one "on the run," Hermes shares the story of a priest friend from Vietnam who, when faced with a decision regarding his return to that country, found he couldn’t pray. "I don’t know what’s wrong," he lamented. The reason for his difficulty, it turned out, was his fear that God wanted him to return to Vietnam immediately, "putting his life and his vocation in danger" (77). So he avoided the Lord’s gaze. After realizing the source of the problem, he was able to pull back, lay aside his assumptions about God’s will, and pray with a renewed trust in God’s love for him.
Each chapter is sprinkled with such personal stories along with Scripture passages and Hermes’s sharp spiritual insights. Exposing a common desire to control God through our prayer, she writes: "God died an apparent failure. This is God’s way. . . . This is God’s power. Weakness, failure, irrelevance, helplessness. Today we often cry out as did the people who watched him die, ‘Show us your power. Come down from the cross! Prove to us that you are really God.’ We say, ‘If you truly exist, then save people from death, stop a hurricane, fix my problems! If you do this, I’ll believe!’ We want God to show us his power on our terms" (26). Who can’t relate?
Exercises entitled "Breaking Open Your Life" are designed to open our eyes to the sometimes covert workings of our inner life. How might subtle fears be overruling our struggling faith? To find out, Hermes suggests we try the following: Write ten times, "‘I am safe in the hands of God to whom I belong.’ As you write pay attention to the negative or skeptical thoughts that jump into your head" (19). These thoughts reveal areas that need to be more fully surrendered to God’s care.
The exercises tell us that this is a book we are intended not merely to read through but to pray through. Not all will do so in the same way. While I found some exercises helpful, others were simply not for me. One instructed: "Breathing in pray: I breathe in God’s gentleness. . . . Breathing out, I smile" (15). This left me more self-conscious than God-conscious. In general, self-preoccupation is one pitfall we need to be alert to when seeking personal spiritual understanding. We must remember that it is in beholding him that we are transformed (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).
Readers should be aware that Hermes ventures into questionable territory in one chapter. In an otherwise excellent chapter on methods of prayer, Hermes introduces centering prayer. Leaders in centering prayer have stated that its methods derive from Eastern meditation, including transcendental meditation. One "sacred word" is repeated throughout a twenty-minute prayer time. As thoughts arise, we are instructed to turn gently away from our thoughts back to our word. And one possible suggestion for our word? "Nothing" (114). The Church warns of the dangers of mixing Eastern methods of meditation with Christian prayer (cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Truth Will Set You Free 12), regardless of good intentions.
St. Teresa of Avila teaches that real prayer is "friendly conversation" with God, not emptying our thoughts but bringing all to Jesus who is the Way to the Father. While there is a legitimate "stilling" of intellectual activity that can occur in contemplative prayer, St. Teresa cautions that it is presumptuous and fruitless to try to put ourselves in that state prematurely or by our own efforts.
The bottom line? Provided we keep our sights set on Jesus—not on ourselves, and certainly not on "nothing"—The Journey Within is a trip worth taking.
—Mary Beth Kremski
The Journey Within: Prayer as a Path to God
By Kathryn J. Hermes, F.S.P.
Servant Books
126 pages
$10.99
ISBN: 0867166118
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