TLM cool rubrics on St Peter & St Paul

A priest who offers the TLM rejoices to be the beneficiary of a continuous river of the Living Tradition of the Church flowing into one’s heart and soul and mind. The outward rubrics and words and actions of the TLM act as invitation into that Sacred Tradition. One’s response in assenting to the faith is like unto the littlest of children squealing in joy in recognition that the love into which one is drawn is – how to say it? – is that to which one has always been drawn by the Lord. It is a homecoming in the sense of being at home for the first time, knowing that one belongs to the great family of faith whom you love and who loves you. This is not some sort of political ideology as it called by Pope Francis so coldly, so cruelly. No.

I am a newbie to such things, so perhaps my rejoicing is too exuberant, but, no, one can never rejoice in the Sacred Mysteries too much. Here’s what happened:

Here I am, offering Holy Mass on the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, getting to the end of the collect, the opening prayer, all about Saint Paul, as one might expect, and the rubric states that one is to continue without concluding that prayer so as to begin another another prayer all about Saint Peter, only then adding the conclusion for both together. Usually the first prayer has it’s own conclusion and then whatever other even multiple commemorations are brought together with their own singular conclusion. So, this is quite jarring in it’s childlike simplicity. I almost laughed out loud. This is so cool.

Here’s the deal. Peter was Pope while Paul was merely Saul. Peter was already believing in the Jewish Messiah, Christ Jesus, Divine Son of the Immaculate Conception at the time Saul became a believer. The tables would, however, be turned. Now the believing Paul was going to have to reprimand extremely severely the one upon who Jesus founded His Church, for Peter had not just become idiot Peter, but Peter who “stood condemned” (Galatians 2:11). Condemned means condemned to hell. Put it this way:

• If Paul had not reprimanded Peter, Paul would go to hell for not reprimanding Peter, and Peter would continue on his merry way of political correctness right to hell (as judged by the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures cannot lie).
• If Paul had reprimanded Peter, as he indeed did, then he would continue on as Saint Paul, even if Peter did not take the correction and so continued on his way to hell.
• We rejoice both that Paul reprimanded Peter and that Peter stood corrected, with now both being saints.

This is also true for the Secret Prayer and the Prayer after Communion. Two prayers with one conclusion each time.

Not only that, but on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter a month later the same thing happens, but in reverse. There is a prayer involving firstly Saint Peter, and then Saint Paul, but under one conclusion, for the Collect, the Secret, the Prayer after Communion.

It’s so very Catholic to correct and admonish one another. We must help each other get to heaven.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of blustering going on these days. There is horrific heresy and blasphemy and idolatry and leading people into sin and the constant attacks on doctrine and morality and liturgy and the spiritual life from the powers that be across the pond. You offer a correction “to his face” as Paul says of his correction of Peter, but these days you are met with effeminate butt hurt tantrums. Whatever. I don’t care about hurt feelings. I care about helping people get to heaven, even if they don’t want that help right now. Parrhesia, anyone?

But wait, there’s more! And the more is what those who attack the faith say they want. Paul brings Peter back into unity with divinely revealed faith. We find out unity in the Living Truth who is Christ Jesus.

And that’s why you never hear anything good about Jesus which isn’t ambiguous or immediately contradicted in obscene ways. They say Jesus is not the Way, not the Truth, not the Life.

And mind you, I’m not being hateful or causing hate. Rather, they have rejected Jesus and I’m just pointing that out. Those who hate the truth and are always spouting lies hate it when you repeat back to them what they say and do. Whatever with them…

I will stay with Jesus who is personally the Way, the Truth, the Life.