THE HOLY SPIRIT’S REDEMPTION OF SYNODALITY EXERCISED THROUGH HIS VICAR OF CHRIST, POPE LEO!

I learned in the almost 13 years of Pope Francis’ papacy that those things he complained about His Holiness’ was also most guilty. 

Talks too much ✅

Rigidity ✅

Mentally ill (✅by His Holiness own admission, btw, not that there’s anything wrong with that)

Longing for the past, the 1970’s in particular ✅

and there is more.

But also when he claimed that certain things aren’t the way they appear, but in fact are very much as they appear:

Pachamama ✅

Synodality is not a political parliament ✅

Thanks be to God, that Pope Leo XIV, understands the irony of Pope Francis’ many disclaimers. 

This is especially true of synodality and the heterodox who control it trying to turn it into a parliament with political lobbies of a variety of political parties vying to make the Church post-Catholic in faith, morals and sacraments, not to mention Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

I have always said that if the Vatican wants a talking fest lasting months and costing inestimable amounts of money, which the Vatican doesn’t have, that it should be to figure out how to present the immutable truths of the Church in a way that makes sense, not by changing these truths to conform to worldly sociology and ideologies, but by making them logical and a way that can be chosen to live. 

In this context, reports of Pope Leo discussing with all the cardinals in an extraordinary meeting with them in January will focus on the orthodox (which is also Eastern, in union and in schism) understanding of synodality.

This is what is being reported, thanks be to God:

The second point concerns the theme of synodality, which had been one of the most discussed elements of the pontificate of Francis. From the letter in question, it emerges that Leo XIV intends to propose a specific reading of it, in which synodality is not presented as a process of “democratization of the Church,” but as a path of communion: an instrument aimed at disposing clergy and laity to accept and to put into practice, in a concordant manner, what is established by ecclesiastical authority. This approach is explicitly linked by the Pope to the horizon of unity, indicated as the guiding criterion and key word of his pontificate.

BOMBSHELL! NEW ARCHBISHOP FOR NEW YORK CITY: FRIENDLY TO TRADITION AND VERY CLOSE TO THE LATE BUT EXTREMELY ORTHODOX CARDINAL FRANCIS GEORGE OF CHICAGO

 A traditional Archbishop for New York City

From a traditional TLM Catholic in Joliet:

tridentinebrewing

 

I was very pleased to meet my bishop after Mass last Sunday: His Excellency, Bishop Ronald A. Hicks of the Diocese of Joliet (Illinois).

I thanked him for his pastoral care & benevolence towards the Traditional Latin Mass Communities in the diocese. He comes across a genuinely humble and sincere prelate. I thank Our Lord that he has blessed the Diocese of Joliet with such a good shepherd!

Please pray for Bishop Hicks! 🙏

Press title:

Confirmed: Joliet's Bishop Hicks to NYC

Sources close to the Dicastery for Bishops confirmed the appointment to The Pillar.

DECEMBER 16, 2025 • THE PILLAR

"Bishop Ronald Hicks and the Latin Mass Bishop Ronald Hicks has been noted for his commitment to the Latin Mass and liturgical life within his diocese. His approach to the Mass has been characterized by a focus on sacramental life and the promotion of adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Hicks has been involved in the National Eucharistic Revival, which is a significant initiative by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. His leadership in Joliet has allowed the diocese to continue its ordinary life linked to the Traditional Latin Mass without drastic measures, contrasting with the approach of some other dioceses governed by prelates of a previous generation. This approach has been highlighted by the faithful in Joliet, emphasizing the centrality of the Eucharist and liturgical reverence in his episcopate"

MAJOR U-TURNS FROM POPE FRANCIS’ PAPACY TO POPE LEO’S ARE COMING AND ONE OF THOSE IS TRADITIONIS CUSTODIS AND YES, BY THE GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Words of wisdom from Damian Thompson: 

Indeed, the shared message of two Catholic factions with diametrically opposed opinions on most issues: hardline traditionalists, who regard Pope Leo XIV as a “Francis II” whose self-effacing charm conceals a modernist agenda; and hardline progressives, who hope that the traditionalists are proven right about Leo. Both groups of extremists—the former adjacent to sedevacantists, the latter to liberal Protestants.

The Italian journal, “Il Giornale” is reporting that Pope Leo is reversing Pope Francis’ use of a small number of cardinals to advise him and returning to consulting with the entire College of Cardinals. The first meeting for advice will be in January. I had reported, by clairvoyance, that this meeting more than likely would address the liturgical crisis of discontinuity with the papacies of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI that Pope Francis had initiated  with His Holiness most flawed Motu Proprio ever to come from a Pontiff of the Holy Roman Church, Traditionis Custodis! And of course, reports are that I was correct, praised be Jesus Christ!

Diane Montagna translates portions of the “Il Giornale” article and it is good news:

ROME, 16 December 2025 — In a Christmas letter to the Sacred College, Pope Leo XIV has reportedly set out the agenda for his forthcoming consistory with Cardinals, with Church governance, synodality, and the sacred liturgy taking center stage.

Leo XIV has in fact taken pen and paper to write to his brothers, to whom he intends to restore that original role as principal collaborators in the governance of the universal Church, a role that was significantly diminished during the years of the Bergoglian pontificate.

In his letter, Leo XIV also mentions synodality, which in many ways served as the manifesto of the Bergoglian pontificate, but which the current Pope interprets in his own manner. For Prevost, the ultimate outcome of synodality is communion.

This same perspective also frames the final topic outlined in the letter setting the agenda for the forthcoming consistory: the liturgical question. 

We know how the liturgy has become—especially after the promulgation of Traditionis custodes in 2021—the principal battleground between different ecclesial sensibilities. The January consistory could thus provide an opportunity for the cardinals to engage one another on the stance to be adopted towards the increasingly numerous ‘traditionalist’ faithful who recognize the Second Vatican Council yet wish to continue celebrating the so-called Tridentine Mass.”

DAILY MASS FOR TUESDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT, YOURS TRULY CELEBRANT

You can watch the Facebook video of yours truly celebrating Mass for Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent HERE. 

The Mass begins at minute 36, second 45.

THUS, IN RECENT YEARS, A GENERATION OF “BI-RITUALISTS” HAS EMERGED, CATHOLICS WHO APPRECIATE BOTH MISSALS, FAR REMOVED FROM THE HISTORICAL DIVISIONS BETWEEN TRADITIONALSTS AND PROGRESSIVE HETERODOX…

Read this interesting article from “La Croix” a progressive Catholic news outlet, by way of Rorate Caeli by pressing the title, with my most humble, but most astute commentary below the title:

French Semi-Official Catholic Daily "La Croix": The "Normalization" of the Latin Mass is Here

Prior to the most flawed Motu Proprio ever to come from a pope, Traditionis Custodis, priests throughout the world had the ability to be bi-ritual, meaning they could celebrate the Mass of Pope Paul VI and the Tridentine Mass and find no contradiction between the two when it comes to the Real Presence of Christ present in both forms of the Mass and any valid Mass in any of the multitudinous rites of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. 

La Croix, linked above, reports this:

Thus, in recent years, a generation of "bi-ritualists" has emerged, Catholics who appreciate both missals, far removed from the historical divisions between traditionalists and those who follow the Second Vatican Council. The record attendance at the Chartres pilgrimage at Pentecost attests to this trend: the gathering now attracts people far beyond the "traditionalist" sphere.

For me, prior to that dreadful document, TC, my parishioners in two parishes could easily go back and forth between the two forms of the one Latin Rite as Pope Benedict called it. They love the ancient form and they loved the modern form. 

It’s like parents who love their eldest child and their youngest child. There may be different aspects to this love because there are two different children, but there is continuity between the two in terms of parentage. 

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

My intent since 2007 was to heal the unfortunate hermeneutic that so many bishops, priests, religious and laity used to promote what was wrongly called the “new and improved” and that was to denigrate the old and unimproved. And that ideology applied not only to the pre-Vatican II and Post Vatican II evaluations, but also to those who held to the old and the new. Those who loved the old were stuck in the past and those who loved the new were “hip!” 

Pope Francis recovered the ugliness of this ideology and promoted it anew in his papacy. Those who loved the old were rigid, backwardist and disobedient. They were bad, mentally ill people. They had to be marginalized and ridiculed as they were immediately after Vatican II. What a sad return to the past was Pope Francis’ recovery.

Hopefully, Pope Leo in his pastoral solicitude will eradicate this ugly ideology and allow the old and the new to co-exist. That is the only way forward! 

Please read this commentary I wrote on November 7, 2011 that supports the Johnny-come-lately commentary by La Croix:

Press title:

THE BEAUTY OF THE MASS IN BOTH FORMS

WHAT’S UP WITH CERTAIN CATHOLIC NEWS MEDIA, NCR, AMERICA AND CRUX, PRAISING NETFLIX’S “WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY”?

The NcR, America and Crux all have commentaries praising the Catholic content/ethos of “wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”! 

I watched it on Saturday. It’s horrible!

First it’s unbelievable even if fiction. It is not a good, modern “film noir” at all.

The only thing that is believable is that the young parochial vicar who socks a deacon in the jaw breaking his jaw. What priest hasn’t wanted to do that to a deacon!

But then the parochial vicar is punished by his bishop for doing the violent act and sends him to a cult-leader of a pastor in Chimney Rock. The only chimney Rock I know is in the Diocese of Charlotte, but the bishop was black and the only bishop in my Province who is black is my place of residence bishop, the Bishop of Charleston, for whom I pray at Mass every day.

No this Chimney Rock is in New York. But the film is filmed in England and it looks like England from the church, to the pubs to the country side! What a joke!

And they make one big mistake. They film a car departing a scene and it is clear that the car has a European license plate, which is more oblong than USA plates!

And this is not a movie I would want to watch with my mother or my children.

There is crass potty humor about masturbation by the pastor who goes to confession to his young parochical vicar. Who wants to hear that stuff outside of confession and with your family gathered with you watching it!

None of the characters are believable.

The whole premise is ridiculous.

And the movie is way, way, way too long. A half hour or more could have been left on the cutting room floor and should have been, especially the explicit confession of the pastor to his parochial vicar.

And for the most part, they don’t get the Catholic things correct from where the altar missal is placed (although the altar is ad orientem). It is clear too that the church used appears to be a closed Anglican Church in England, not a Catholic Church.

This is a movie not worth watching on a number of levels. It is stupid, incipid and just plain too long, boring and predictable! 

OH MY! THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER CROWD IS REALLY GRIEVING WHAT NO LONGER IS! THEY REPORT A NEWSTORY ABOUT THE POPE PLANNING THE HOLY YEAR OF 2025!

 There is no indication that this front page (front and center, btw)  on-line story in this morning’s on-line NCR is a retrospect. At first I thought they meant that Pope Leo was planning a new Holy Year, which I think is going to be 2033 for the death and resurrection of Our Lord and that the NCR just got the year wrong.

But in fact, it is a story they printed in 2021!!!! And it isn’t presented as a retrospect at all!

The NCR and other heterodox Catholics really are trying to relive the past, the past 13 years and are stuck there! Oh my!

Here are screen shots of the story:

JUBILEE FOR PRISONERS ON GUADETE SUNDAY

Saint Gregory the Great Church in Bluffton, SC has Advent Sunday Sung Vespers at 4 pm during the season and this is the cope the priest will use, nice, no?:

This is St.Gregory’s chasuble for Guadete Sunday and I am vested for their 7 AM “golfers’ Mass” meaning it’s a Low Mass, no singing! But I certainly read the Official Introit!

But first Holy Family Church on Hilton Head Island rose chasuble:

Saint Gregory’s chasuble:

Are the chasubles I am wearing nicer than the pope’s?

Pope Leo, please, please, please, we beg you, please, please, please keep the crucifix dead center on the altar! Please, please, please, pretty please! 

I was able to watch live the Pope’s splendid Mass for Guadete Sunday. What an important part of our Catholic Liturgical Spirituality to make sure the entire Mass is used, in particular and especially, the Introit or official Entrance Chant as is normally done at papal Mass and was done this Guadete Sunday Mass.

Even Pope Leo mentioned in his homily the reason for this 3rd Sunday of Advent being called Guadete and His Holiness referenced the Entrance (Introit) Chant!

How many parishes had someones’ taste in music, jettison the official Guadete Chant for something else. Catholics deserve the Mass and its texts and the Entrance and Communion chants!!!

For two Masses in a row now, the central crucifix has returned. Pray God, that it remains in this position. 

I noticed in the live feed of the Mass, that Pope Leo looked at the crucifix at certain points during the Eucharistic Canon. This is reminiscent of the rubrics for the TLM, that the priest look at the crucifix at certain points during the Mass, for example, “Let us Prayer” for the Gloria Patri at the lavabo and other points too. 

Speaking personally, having the crucifix on the altar facing me as I celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist keeps my eyes focused on the altar and crucifix and not on those sitting before me in the nave. 

Finally, the Holy Father gave a splendid homily and as usual, he always includes God’s personal relationship to us in Christ and the eternal salvation in heaven that Christ has won for us—not to be imposed on us but graciously received by us through God’s grace. The theology of salvation is called soteriology. Pope Leo is a soteriological pope to the hilt!

You can read the homily HERE.

But this is the Holy Father’s homily conclusion:

The Lord, however, beyond all this, continues to repeat to us that only one thing is important: that no one be lost (cf. Jn 6:39) and that all “be saved” (1 Tim 2:4). Let no one be lost! Let all be saved! This is what our God wants, this is his Kingdom, and this is the goal of his actions in the world. As Christmas approaches, we too want to embrace more strongly his dream, while being steadfast and faithful in our commitment (cf. James 5:8). We know that even in the face of the greatest challenges, we are not alone: the Lord is near (cf. Phil 4:5), he walks with us, and with him at our side, something beautiful and joyful will always happen.

GUADETE!

 Guadete, Jubilee for prisoners 

Guadete Sunday 5 pm Saturday Vigil Mass at Holy Family Church, Hilton Head Island. The vestment is rose, 🌹, not pink… 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, reJoIce. Let your forbearance be known to all
men. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious over anything; but in all manner of
prayer, let your requests be made known unto God. Lord, you have blessed
your land; you have put an end to Jacob's captivity.

BLUE VESTMENTS FOR IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

 Saint Anne, Richmond Hill…

POPE LEO SPEAKS NOT A WORD ABOUT THE FALSE GOD OF SYNODALITY, NO, HE SPEAKS OF THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST AND HIS SALVATION AND NOT SOWING CONFUSION AMONGST THE LAITY IN A VERY CONFUSING TIME—THEY MUST KNOW CHRIST AND HIS DIVINE LAW—THE TREASURY OF THE CHURCH! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, POPE LEO! WHAT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR!

 Be sure to read Pope Leo’s marvelous, stupendous elocution to Latin American priests, religious and seminarians. What a breath of fresh, crystal clear air! God bless you Pope Leo!

But before you read Pope Leo’s message to Latin American clergy, religious and seminarians, read the last part of his homily on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass at St. Peter’s. Not a word, during His Holiness’ homily about the false god of synodality or that the Holy Spirit, through the manipulation of the development of doctrine, will change his teachings as we discover the Holy Spirit’s will do to so walking together in synodality and manipulating the entire Church by doing so by blaming all the confusion on God:

Pope Leo closed his homily asking that Mary intercede for him in his role as the Successor of Peter, that he would be able to “confirm on the one path that leads to the blessed fruit of your womb, all those entrusted to me.”

“Remind this son of yours, ‘to whom Christ entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven for the good of all,’ that those keys serve ‘to bind and loose and to redeem all human misery,’” he said.

Leo prayed that, with Mary’s protection, believers might “advance ever more united, with Jesus and among ourselves, toward the eternal dwelling place He has prepared for us and where you await us.”

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER 

TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING 
OF LATIN AMERICAN PRIESTS, 
RELIGIOUS SISTERS, RELIGIOUS BROTHERS, 
AND SEMINARIANS 
WHO ARE STUDYING IN ROME

__________________________________________

Dear brothers and sisters,

When Jesus Christ called his disciples, he almost invariably used the words “follow me”. In those few words we can find the deepest purpose of our lives, whether as seminarians, priests or members of consecrated life.

If we reread the Gospel texts about the calling, the first thing we notice is the Lord's absolute initiative. He calls them without any prior merit on their part (cf. Mt 9:9; Jn 1:43), seeing rather that the vocation to which he calls them is an opportunity to bring the Gospel message to sinners and the weak (cf. Mt 9:12-13). In this way, his disciples become instruments of God’s plan of salvation for all people (cf. Jn 1:48).

At the same time, the Gospel exhorts us to be aware of the commitment that responding to this vocation entails. It speaks to us of certain demands that we can identify in the frustrated call to the rich young man (Mt 19:21): the demand for the absolute primacy of God, the only good (v. 17); the requirement of the urgent need for theoretical and practical knowledge of the divine law (vv. 18-19); and the requirement of detachment from all human security, with the consequent offering of all that we are and all that we have (v. 21).

Saint Ambrose, in his exegesis of the surprising passage about the young man whom Jesus does not allow to bury his father (Lk 9:59), assumes that in this demand to leave everything behind—even things that are in themselves just – the Lord does not intend to evade natural duties, sanctioned by God's law, but rather to open our eyes to a new life. In this new life, nothing can take precedence over God, not even what we had previously known as good, and it implies the death of sin and the old worldly man. All this “so that we may be one with Almighty God and see his only begotten Son” (Treatise on the Gospel of Saint Luke, 40).

For Ambrose, this indispensable union with Jesus, far from separating us from our brothers and sisters, leads us back to communion with others. We do not walk alone; we are part of a community. We are not united by bonds of sympathy, shared interests or mutual convenience, but by belonging to the people whom the Lord redeemed at the price of his Blood (cf. 1 Pet 1:18-19). Our union tends towards an eschatological value that will be verified when we imitate “the unity of eternal peace with an unbreakable harmony of souls and in an endless alliance” and fulfil “what the Son of God promised us when he raised this prayer to his Father: ‘May they all be one, as we are one’ (Jn 17:21)” (Treatise on the Gospel of Saint Luke, 40).

Finally, in the Gospel of Saint John, Jesus repeats the words “Follow me” twice to the Apostle Peter. He does so in a very different context, the Resurrection, just after Peter's thrice-repeated confession of love in reparation for his sin. Even though he confessed his love, the Apostle did not fully understand the mystery of the cross, but the Lord already had in mind the sacrifice with which Peter would give glory to God and repeated to him: “Follow me” (Jn 21:19). When, throughout our lives, our vision becomes clouded, as it did for Peter in the middle of the night or during storms (Mt 14:25, 31), it will be the voice of Jesus that sustains us with loving patience.

The second time Jesus says to Peter, “Follow me”, he assures us that the Lord knows our frailty and that, often, it is not the cross that is imposed on us, but our own selfishness that becomes a stumbling block in our eagerness to follow him. The dialogue with the Apostle shows us how easily we judge our brother and even God, without docilely accepting his will in our lives. Here too, the Lord repeats to us, with constancy: “What is that to you? Follow me!” (Jn 21:22).

Brothers and sisters, since we live in a society of noise that distracts us, today more than ever we need servants and disciples who proclaim the absolute primacy of Christ and whose voice is clear in our ears and hearts. This theoretical and practical knowledge of divine law is achieved above all through reading the Holy Scriptures, meditating in the silence of deep prayer, reverently welcoming the voice of legitimate pastors, and attentively studying the many treasures of wisdom offered to us by the Church.

In the midst of joys and difficulties, our motto must be: if Christ went through this, it is also our duty to live what He lived. We must not be driven by applause because its echo is short-lived; nor is it healthy to dwell only on the memory of days of crisis or times of bitter disappointment. Let us rather see that all this is part of our formation and say: if God has willed it for me, I also will it (cf. Ps 40:8). The deep bond that unites us to Christ, whether as priests, consecrated persons or seminarians, is similar to what is said to Christian spouses on their wedding day: “in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth” (Ritual of Marriage, 66).

May the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of the true God through whom we live, teach us to respond with courage and to keep in our hearts the wonders that Christ has accomplished in us, so that we may go forth without delay to proclaim the joy of having found him, of being one in the One and living stones of a temple for his glory. May Mary Most Holy watch over your journey through Rome and intercede for you, so that everything you learn in Rome may be fruitful in your mission. God bless you.

Vatican, 9 December 2025. Memorial of Saint Juan Diego

LEO PP. XIV

BOMBSHELL OR FIRECRACKER? POPE LEO HAS A PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH GEORGE WEIGEL!

What does it mean? What does it mean? Oh! What does it mean or does it mean anything? We all know that Weigel was not happy about Pope Francis’ canceling St. Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI. And look who is in the center of the above photo, Archbishop Gaenswain who challenged Pope Francis’ treatment of Pope Benedict and willingly paid the price.

IT APPEARS POPE LEO IS IN CONTINUITY WITH POPE BENEDICT WHEN IT COMES TO THE ARTS..

 This is the second concert in a little over a week for Pope Leo and only an hour or so after his Guadalupe Mass…

CAN YOU FIND ARCHBISHOP GAENSWAIN IN THE AUDIENCE NEAR THE POPE AND NEXT TO POPE BENEDICT’S PRESS SPOKESMAN, JESUIT FATHER FEDERICO LOMBARDI, SJ:

 

IS THE PAPAL MC TRYING TO KEEP US OR THE POPE ON OUR TOES? THE DANCING CRUCIFIX RETURNS TO THE CENTER OF THE ALTAR! BUT FOR HOW LONG? IT’S LIKE THE ELF ON A SHELF!

 At today’s papal Mass for Our Lady of Guadeloupe :

STUNNING RESTORATION OF THE GERMAN MAYER STAINED GLASS WINDOWS OF THE CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY TRNITY IN AUGUSTA, GEORGIA!

In the late 1990’s when I was pastor of The Church of the Most Holy Trinity in downtown Augusta, Georgia (1991-2004), we completely restored the interior of the church using Conrad Schmitt and Company. 

We also removed and completely restored the three oldest stained glass windows in the church, the ones above the altar, which were in place when the church was consecrated in April of 1863, while the Civil War was still being waged! 

The side windows by Mayer and Company from Munich Germany, were not installed until about 1917 or so, during the height of World War I! 

The three oldest stained glass windows above the altar are from another company, and many believe these are Tiffany windows. These three are of a different style than the Mayer windows, but spectacular in their own right too. 

The central panel painting of the crucifixion scene, above the altar is original artwork in place for the 1863  consecration of the church. It was restored by Conrad Schmitt who added the side panels to complement it.

Recently, the Mayer windows were removed to be completely restored and are now installed again. These are huge Mayer windows and spectacular in brilliance and of the typical style of Mayer stained glass windows. 

You can watch the facebook video of their re-installation by way of a slide show HERE! IT IS WELL WORTH WATCHING.

The slide show is accompanied by the church’s historic Jardine Pipe organ, also restored in my time as pastor there. It dates back to 1863 but because of the northern blockade of the south, it sat on a dock in New York until the war was concluded. It was shipped to the church in 1866 and installed then.