Being a Faithful Catholic is Hard Today: Responding to Fr. Altman’s Persecution

Being a faithful Catholic is hard right now.  The Church seems to be imploding, as modernist Catholics push against traditionalism, to the detriment of the Body of Christ. 

 

I have so many questions:

1. Why are the Bishops so blind? 
2. Or do they see, but for some nefarious or unnamed fear, they refuse to embrace the tide of the faithful, whose desire to proper worship and reverence, good and holy things? 
3. Why are the good, holy priests being punished?
4. Why is Traditionalism under attack?
5. When traditional priests are bringing in droves of new Catholics and seminarians, while modernist priests are limping along with failing numbers, why isn’t there a move towards encouraging ALL priests to learn and offer the Traditional Latin Mass, in the Old Rite?

 

Here in Germany we drive an hour to an SSPX parish to be surrounded by faithful Catholics and good, orthodox priests offering the Old Rite. Back home, it was 1.5 hours away to achieve the same end. I’ve spoken to so many other faithful Catholics who drive long distances to get to a TLM. Why is there such a desert for traditionalism? 

 

When you start to look at the history of the last 60 years, there’s a lot there that gives you pause.  Popes have been warning about Masons infiltrating the Church for years.  Masons themselves stated that they have a 100+ year game plan and can be patient.  One man, Bugnini, made the Novus Ordo come to be, where “all stumbling blocks for Protestants were stripped” (not direct quote). Why would we ever take the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and strip it for heretics?  Rather, we must continue to keep it Heavenly and pray that Protestants will see the error of their ways and seek the true Holy of Holies. 

 

We know the experiment of the Novus Ordo has failed, or perhaps it succeeded in the eyes of the Masons.  80% of “Catholics” in America do not believe in Christ’s True Presence, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist?  Why would they? We no longer are required to kneel to receive, to put ourselves in a humble position as the Bread of Heaven is placed on our tongue, by consecrated hands.  As a Catholic, we receive Jesus in our hands, as a cracker, many walking off without popping Jesus into their mouths.  Does this queue line with hands outstretched invoke reverence or true belief? 

 

What about the preaching?  I’m a cradle Catholic and most of the homilies I’ve received in person were kumbaya, Jesus loves you, you are wonderful.  The “fire and brimstone” as lukewarm Catholics call it, had ceased.  But what does that do when you have the faithful sitting in the pews sinning?  There is no fear. I speak from personal experience with this.  The Church’s teachings on morality and sexuality were seen as a soft guideline.  I had no idea growing up what mortal sin was or that I could lose Heaven, beyond something atrocious like abortion.  But even then, most Catholics seem to think that that belief is also “personal” without any requirement to stand up against the slaughter of the unborn and the lifelong damage it causes to the mother, whether she is aware of this or not. 

 

Most of the time I sit here confused, praying to Jesus for clarity.  And then, last May, I came across Fr Altman.  He was the very first priest I’d heard preach in a strong, yet hopeful, manner.  As Covid nonsense raged around us and Catholic Churches locked their doors to the faithful (I sat outside the tabernacle one day in my car and just sobbed – how could the Bishops do that to us?), I heard Fr Altman take the Gospel and other Scripture and weave it into a message of hope and strength, with clarity and conviction.  I felt renewed as a Catholic that was losing her trust in a Church that seemed unwilling to lead in a storm.  

 

And I found more priests. Fr Heilman, Fr Kirby, and others (please share your favorites below) were also speaking strong truth and the fruits were evident: their parishioners were transitioning to more orthodox ways of worshipping, more modest and reverent attire, the numbers were increasing, as was the giving.  Faithful Catholics want to support parishes where the priest is acting truly as a shepherd, as a father.  No one wants a weak father that won’t protect you against the wolves.  

 

And now, as I write this, that same priest, Fr Altman, has been stripped of all privileges pertaining to his priesthood. He has become a white martyr by the very same Bishop who he spoke so lovingly and respectfully towards during this past year of chaos. We knew it might happen, but the faithful who love Fr Altman prayed and hoped and wrote letters and supported financially.  Yet still, he was stripped for being “ineffective” and “divisive.”  Jesus states that he came to separate brother from brother, father from son, two against three. The Truth is divisive – you either accept it completely (Orthodox Catholicism and actual science), or you deceive yourself with relativism and live a confused, erring, and broad-path life.  All priests are divisive when they speak Truth because the world is not moral, it is not Catholic.  It’s confused and base and lost and needing a voice crying out in the wilderness of our modern lives. And ineffective?  Are you kidding me?  As I stated above, these traditional priests have led blossoming, booming parishes where parishioners are being fed and thriving in their spiritual lives and in their vocations. 

 

Now, all of this said, we must not lose hope.  God is working on this in ways we cannot see.  I do pray for the Bishops’ conversions, for the scales to fall from their eyes.  But a hardened heart is not easily softened.  If the Jewish leaders of Jesus’s day could not recognize God Himself among them, then it shouldn’t surprise us that Catholic leaders would have that same problem, choosing to follow worldly endeavors instead of seeking Christ first. Pride is a very powerful vice and one that all Christians must battle until the end. 

 

So what can we do when we feel lost? 

1. We can write letters to our bishops.  I know that there’s a certain demographic that complains often about strong fathers in our midst.  We need to outvoice them. It’s work, but it’s holy work. 
2. Pray! Offer your Rosary, Chaplet, and other formal prayers
3. Sacrifice – fasting is a whole separate topic but as Mother Mary has consistently stated, we must fast and pray together.  God Himself said so (Mark 9:29 RSV).
4. Mortify yourself – pray the Rosary on your knees, go without a treat, work on your holiness and detachment from the world.
5. Consecrate yourself to Jesus through Mary.  This is one of the most important acts you can do to move your spiritual life forward. You can watch my video here about how to do this. 
6. Work on being a holy person – get to the Sacraments often, learn the Faith, share the Faith.  Be meek and humble of heart.  Study virtue.  
7. Understand spiritual warfare.  Read The Anti-Mary Exposed, listen to Fr Ripperger.  Don’t be afraid to fight, if the fight comes to you, and pray prayers of protection.  Demons can affect your emotions – they’re going to make you feel hopeless or despair. Recognizing and renouncing this is necessary to continue to walk in hope. 

 

We are Christians.  Christ is our Hope.  The Catholic Church is the ONLY Church that has Jesus Christ. The Church has gone through so many heresies of the past, Jansenism being the most recent.  Modernism, this lukewarm, fluffy, soft, warm Catholicism that risks souls is our heresy of the day.  We must pray and fight and never lose hope.  

 

I need to hear these words as much as you may.  It’s easy to despair.  But when that happens, run to Mother Mary.  Ask her to hide you in her mantle, to keep you close.  Or run to Jesus Christ as a child, let Him wrap His Arms around you and comfort you.  Our only objective in life is to get to Heaven, to become saints. Anything else is a distraction.  Some of us are called to fight publicly; some to raise their children quietly at home, exuding virtue for others to witness. Whatever God calls you to, He will give you the grace, through Mother Mary, to accomplish this.  

 

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” – Padre Pio 

 

Worry is futile and counter-productive.  Worry only comes from Satan.  If you’re really upset, pray the Surrender Novena.  It’s incredibly powerful.  I think we could all use that at this point. 

 

 

Fr. Altman’s last message

 

Please listen and pray for all good, holy priests who are being silenced. The light will expose the darkness. Click Here