Society of Saint John of the Cross Constitution

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In Brief The Society of St. John of the Cross is a pastoral association of secular Roman Catholic clergy, obedient to the Traditional Catholic Faith of the Church, who believe that a detached way of living in the world is the key to preserving one's spiritual life through the Crisis of Tradition presently beleaguering the One True Church of Christ. Thus there can be no lay membership. We follow an ascetic life that brings one to sanctity as taught by Saint John of the Cross, who is our Patron Saint. As diocesan clergy, we me rightly be called Carmelites. Charism of Detachment and Suspended Judgment Our special charism of detachment permeates all aspects of our spiritual life, and thus we may equally be regarded as Oblates of Saint John of the Cross. As a rule, brothers and sisters of the clerical state observe continence and practice numerous prescriptions of self-denial so as to remove the obstacles of our concupiscent selves to allow uniting our hearts more closely with our only Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Spiritual Sacrifices for Authentic Christian Liberty Consistent with our spirit of detachment, although we profess and celebrate the Traditional Catholic Faith, we patiently await the return of Holy Mother Church to her holy traditions, for we trust in the promise of our Lord that indeed the gates of hell shall not ultimately prevail. During this terrible time of purification in the Catholic Church, we contribute our corporal and spiritual works toward liberating the See of Peter from the false gospels of Modernism and Liberalism. We gather and instruct the scattered sheep quietly, contritely and with humble fidelity. The General Apostolate In our apostolate, the ordained Brothers administer sacramental service, primarily Holy Mass and Confession to fellow Catholics as well as to the disenfranchised, marginalized, or other children of God who may be without a local church home or minister of their own. This is done privately. The sacred ministry of the priesthood is the fourfold commission of oblation, preaching, reconciliation, and sanctification. For this lattermost commission of sanctification, the Oblates take as their Spiritual Director, Saint John of the Cross. Each member of the society functions within the limitations of his orders. Our Uniform When conducting or assisting at the Sacred Liturgies, the Brothers wear the vestments appropriate to their order. Non-ordained Brothers usually wear their habit with a surplice over top of it.

Our Yielding to Detachment from Goings on We neither issue declarative statements on dogma, nor innovate that which the Catholic Church has seen fit to preserve. Although our sympathies rest with those who, as we, guard the Traditional Faith, we neither approve nor condemn controversial statements that such brothers make from time to time. We acknowledge only that the Immaculate Bride of Christ, our Mother the Church, whose Vicar of Peter resides at Rome, endures a time of trial that threatens the integrity of disciplinary, ecclesiastical and doctrinal traditions that are holy, catholic and apostolic. Our View of the Crisis We profess that the infidelity to our most Sacred Tradition is a scourge on the Corpus Christi, and we whom God has blessed to know that the horrible thing may be in the Holy Place - must guard the unchangeable Deposit of Faith against destruction. Our View of the Holy Father We believe that the Chair of Peter remains occupied, but that the last truly loyal Pope was Pius XII, and that the rest have departed dramatically from the Traditional faith given to Peter by Christ. Their illicit commands ought to be resisted: attendance at the new mass, teachings that non-Catholics are saved, that dogma can change etc.,. Our View of Vatican II The ambiguities need to be interpreted in the light of Tradition, but this can be done, despite the manipulations of Modernists who seized the council's will in written form. Subsequent departures from the Faith have cited Vatican II as their inspiration, but this is simply an excuse that does not mitigate the guilt of those responsible for the mass apostasy since the venerable council has presided. A Community of Shared Goals Our primary aim, through community sharing, is to develop the charisms of Saint John of the Cross as well as internalize and practice the prayer of Saint John which says, in part, " Let us speak to the heart words bathed in the sweetness and love that do indeed please You, removing obstacles and stumbling blocks from the paths of many souls who unknowingly trip unconsciously walk in the path of error. We Believe . . . We are Catholic men and women who live in the world without being a part of that world, but nonetheless profess the One, Holy, Catholic Faith in its entirety without ommission or corruption. Thus we proudly profess the Profession of Faith as contained in the Rituale Romanum previous to Vatican II revisions, and additionally swear the Oath Against Modernism as a sign of our unity of understanding. The Sources of Our Orders and Catholicity All of our Priest members have valid Catholic orders and proven Apostolic Succession in the Catholic Church as recognized by the Roman Church in Canon 844, particularly those who come to us from the Orthodox East and Old Roman Catholic Rites. Still others are sui juris in full communion with the Holy See, and are priests out of necessity, claiming jurisdiction only as given by an automatic act of law where no Traditionalist clergy may be found to serve the faithful. Thus the diversity of the Church may be found within the fold of our humble association, from priests from both celibate and non-celibate traditions, to brothers whose liturgy may be Syriac, Arabic, English and Latin. This we believe maintains authentic catholicity, for again, what the Holy Vatican Fathers regard as licit today as yesterday, so too must we, and that which they reject, must we also. Of the venerable tradition of a married priesthood, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in 1580 that " In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for

many centuries: while bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate these priests exercise a fruitful ministry within their communities..." As well, in the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, is authoritatively stated the following: " The hallowed practice of married clerics in the primitive Church and in the tradition of the Eastern Churches throughout the ages is to be held in high honor," (CCEO c. 373). Eucharistic Sharing Because we are a Catholic association obedient to Tradition, those who wish to receive the Holy Eucharist from us must meet the requirements for Eucharistic sharing: one must be either a baptized Catholic (of any Rite) or be otherwise validly baptized and express a desire for unity with Christ's Church by believing in their heart that Who they are receiving is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Adoration at the Core of our Spiritual Life Amid the noise and distractions of life today, we strive to maintain a balance and sense of direction towards God by serving Him in group as well as solitary devotions, chief of which is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is our delight to spend time with Our Divine Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar whether He be exposed in our own oratories or homes or presented in the larger Churches of our regular brothers of the ministerial priesthood, in perpetual adoration throughout the community and world. On the Choice of Liturgy for the Mass and the Hours Because Brothers may come from a variety of Catholic Rites and because some Brothers may have a preference for the Tridentine Latin or English Mass using the Missal of 1962 or earlier, others the liturgy of the Byzantine East, the choice of liturgy ought remain at the discretion of the Celebrant. In all cases, the most important requirement to confect a valid Eucharist is the use of the approved and historical words of Christ Himself from the First Mass of the Last Supper. This inviolable necessity is averred by the solemn authority of Saint Pius V, explained by the Great Doctor of the Church Saint Thomas Aquinas, perpetually defined at the Council of Trent, and practiced from time immemorial in the ancient liturgies of our Catholic brothers of Eastern descent. The Inviolable Necessity of the Historical Words of Christ However, by virtue of Order, every priest, of whichever Rite, receives the Tridentine Mass as normative, following the declarative, infallible pronouncement of Pope St. Pius V on the 14th of July 1570. " We specifically command each and every patriarch, administrator, and all other persons or whatever ecclesiastical dignity they may be, be they even cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, or possessed of any other rank or pre-eminence, and We order them in virtue of holy obedience to chant or to read the Mass according to the rite and manner and norm herewith laid down by Us . . . Furthermore, by these presents [this law], in virtue of Our Apostolic authority, We grant and concede in perpetuity that, for the chanting or reading of the Mass in any church whatsoever, this Missal is hereafter to be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment, or censure, and may freely and lawfully be used. As Priests loyal to Tradition, we dare not alter in any way the celebration of the Mass and in particular, the words of Consecration and the Epiclesis (invocation of the Holy Spirit), for we have not the authority to risk scandalizing those who are in attendance and far worse, of invalidating the Eucharist. Saint John Damascene states clearly the effects of the Epiclesis, You ask how the bread becomes the Body of Christ, and the wine the Blood of Christ. I shall tell you: the Holy Spirit comes upon them and accomplishes what surpasses every word and thought Let it be enough for you to understand that it is by the Holy Spirit, just as it was of the Holy Virgin and by the Holy Spirit that the Lord, through and in Himself, took flesh. Therefore, the Oblates pray only the Traditional Catholic

consecration formula found in the Western liturgies of ancient origin and additionally invoke the Holy Spirit with the explicit intention of transmuting the species into our Savior entire. This sacred formula is: Epiclesis Quam oblationem tu Deus, in omnibus, quaesumus, benedictam +, ad scriptam +, ratam +, rationabilem acceptabilemque facere digneris: ut nobis + Corpus et + Sanguis fiat dilectissimi Filii tui, Domini nostril Jesu Christi. We beg You, O God, be pleased to make this offering wholly blessed +, to consecrate + and approve it, making it reasonable + and acceptable, so that it may become for us the Body + and Blood + of Your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Consecration of the Bread Qui pridie quam pateretur, accepit panem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas, et elevates oculis in caelum, ad te Deum, Patrem suum omnipotentem, tibi gratias agens, benedixit + fregit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens: ACCIPITE, ET MANDUCATE EX HOC OMNES. HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM. Who, on the day before He suffered death, took bread into His holy and venerable hands, and lifting up His eyes to heaven, to You, O God, His Almighty Father, and giving thanks to You, He blessed + it, broke and gave to His disciples saying: TAKE, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF THIS: FOR THIS IS MY BODY. Consecration of the Wine Simili modo postquam coenatum est, accipiens et hunc praeclarum Calicem in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas, item tibi gratias agens, benedixit +, deditque discipulis suis, dicens: ACCIPITE, ET BIBETE EX EO OMNES. HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI, NOVI AETERNI TESTAMENTI MYSERIUM FIDEI QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM. HAEC QUOTIESCUMQUE FACERITIS, IN MEI MEMORIAM FACIETIS.

In like manner, when He had eaten, taking also the blessed cup into His holy and venerable hands, and again giving thanks to You, He blessed it +, and gave it to His disciples, saying: FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, OF THE NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT THE MYSTERY OF FAITH WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY OTHERS UNTO THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. AS OFTEN AS YOU SHALL DO THESE THINGS, YOU SHALL DO THEM IN MEMORY OF ME. We Follow the Rubrics with Exacting Care The Oblates exercise great caution in following the approved rubrics for all liturgies but

most importantly, those relating to the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Here we admit there can be no exceptions. Simply put, we Oblates are to do exactly what Jesus did to institute the magnificent Sacrament of His Most Precious Body and Blood and nothing more or nothing less. The Simplicity of our Common Life Ours is a very simple way of life. In all things, simplicity is the general rule of life. Nothing is to complicate the way we live. There are to be no cumbersome rules and regulations but rather, only suggested ways of living outlined in this Rule for our common life. We may meet as a family to discuss whatever is of concern to the Brothers. By mutual agreement, the Brothers come together for a general chapter. They may assemble as an entire association or in smaller groups of two or three, more often if they so choose especially for fraternity. Membership We are open to all Roman Catholic clergy, who will remain celibate and to all converted ministers from non-catholic communities, consistent with Church law both modern and ancient. Formation The Vocational process moves through the Minor Orders to the Major and is marked more by the spiritual life than by academic formation. The Academic component hinges on the Summa of Thomas Aquinas and the Catechism of the Council of Trent. Additionally, the subjects covered are the same as those found in a Traditional Catholic seminary program. The traditional subjects covered are in the following categories: Philosophy, Dogmatic Theology, Moral Theology, Pastoral Theology, Sacred Scripture, Canon Law, Sacred Liturgy, Church History, Homiletics, and the Humanities which includes the classical ecclesiastical languages, Patristics and a survey of secular history.

The Means of Liberating the Holy See

For Oblates Oblates offer their Mass intentions exclusively for the Liberation of the Holy See when the Lord shall deem the time suitable to do so, according to divine Providence which always admits the light through and eventually dispels the darkness. Additional penances are added throughout the week, perhaps fasting, or even engaging the discipline. The graces due such penance are also offered toward the selfsame cause. A weekly work of mercy that is substantial in nature is undertaken with the same objective as ever: freedom for the Mother Church from her trials. For Third Order Associates Associates agree to offer one Mass per month for sake of restoring Tradition. This chorus of sacrifices draws the Ark of Salvation ever more swiftly over the waters toward the safe haven of Tradition. For Friends of the Society Friends may be counted among those regular clerics who exercise order under the auspices of the Novus Ordo apparatus but who sympathize with the plight of Catholics who are tied to Traditional spirituality. Such friends offer to provide sacramental services according to the pastoral needs of the Traditional faithful. The Oblate Brothers offer to help with the educational needs that may exist in order for Friends to help. Inquirers may be directed to the Society's friends toward this compassionate end. Confidentiality

Oblates take the greatest precaution in referring inquirers to regular clergy whose position must be respected. The Oblates regard the confidentiality between the Society and the regular clergy as inviolate, in principle as inviolate as the Penitential Seal. Out of the reality necessity, Oblates will do everything in their power whether by writing or by speech to ensure that the identity of Friends is protected. If the identity is somehow revealed by a parishioner, the Oblates will do whatever is of the moment to guard the regular charge as if he were our own. General Relationship to the Novus Ordo Apparatus Because we respect and honor the jurisdiction of every diocesan bishop in his territory until such time as he may become a public apostate, the Oblates do not advertise their existence wherever they may be. We operate much as an anonymous twelve-step group in the sense that souls are attracted by need rather than by advertisement. We in no way compete either explicitly or implicitly. We grant no annulments, for instance. Nor do we hold mass publicly unless asked to do so by the local diocesan. Even when asked to supply a parish on occasion we do not let it be known with whom we are affiliated lest the good will be jeopardized between he who holds and grants authority and he who humbly submits to the rightful superior.

Relationship to the Novus ordo Apparatus - In State of Apostasy When the local diocesan bishop has committed an unrepented act of defection from the Roman Catholic Faith, the Diocese is said to be " Vacant." As such, all traditional clergy are clearly called upon to " care for souls." This means erecting churches, chapels and oratories, for such is the canonical obligation of loyal priests. Catholic Action The Oblates may be engaged in Catholic Action in the same spiritual light as the Legion of Mary: handing out pamphlets on the Catholic Faith in General, knocking on doors, caring for the infirm, among others. In these actions, the Oblates always direct the thirsty soul to an approved Catholic centre of worship, always having a preference for that which provides the Latin Mass. On Vatican II The Oblates approve of the Council and the decrees of the Fathers which arose from their meeting. All that which has polluted the Church has come from a false spirit arising not from dogmatic formulations, but as excuses for liberalism that is neither catholic nor holy in origin. The Council Fathers cannot be blamed for the intention of reorienting the Church in a truly pastoral direction instead, as Pope Paul VI has warned, " The smoke of Satan has entered the Church." This prophecy or employment of colorful language aptly describes an attitude of disobedience to or misunderstanding of the venerable Council's directives, rather than a condemnation of the licitly called Council itself. This does not deny that certain phrasings are indeed ambiguous. Financial Obligations All collections from private masses are to be given to the local parish before the following Mass for Sunday Obligation. In time of apostasy, however, all collections remain with the Society for the building up of the destroyed diocese. Stipends for liturgical services other than general collections, however, remain as is custom with the officiant. This provides for the ongoing necessities of the priest without jeopardizing the canonical standing of the administrator. Profession of Faith of the SSJC According to the Rituale Romanum (1964) And with firm faith I believe and profess each and all the articles contained in the Apostles' Creed, that is: I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the

Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried He descended into hell, the third day He arose again from the dead He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty, from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit the holy Catholic Church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. I firmly admit and embrace the apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions and all the other constitutions and ordinances of the Church. I admit the Sacred Scriptures in the sense which has been held and is still held by holy Mother Church, whose duty it is to judge the true sense and interpretation of Sacred Scripture, and I shall never accept or interpret them in a sense contrary to the unanimous consent of the fathers. I profess that the sacraments of the New Law are truly and precisely seven in number, instituted for the salvation of mankind, though all are not necessary for each individual: baptism, confirmation, holy Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. I profess that all confer grace, and that baptism, confirmation, and holy orders cannot be repeated without sacrilege. I also accept and admit the ritual of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of all the aforementioned sacraments. I accept and hold in each and every part all that has been defined and declared by the Sacred Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification. I profess that in the Mass there is offered to God a true, real, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead that in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is really, truly, and substantially present, and that there takes place in the Mass what the Church calls transubstantiation, which is the change of all the substance of bread into the body of Christ and of all substance of wine into His blood. I confess also that in receiving under either of these species one receives Jesus Christ whole and entire. I firmly hold that Purgatory exists and that the souls detained there can be helped by the prayers of the faithful. Likewise I hold that the saints, who reign with Jesus Christ, should be venerated and invoked, that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated. I firmly profess that the images of Jesus Christ and of the Mother of God, ever a Virgin, as well as of all the saints should be given due honor and veneration. I also affirm that Jesus Christ left to the Church the faculty to grant indulgences, and that their use is most salutary to the Christian people. I recognize the holy, Roman, Catholic, and apostolic Church as the mother and teacher of all the churches, and I promise and swear true obedience to the Roman Pontiff, successor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles and vicar of Jesus Christ. Moreover, without hesitation I accept and profess all that has been handed down, defined, and declared by the sacred canons and by the general councils, especially by the Sacred Council of Trent and by the Vatican General Council, and in special manner all that concerns the primacy and infallibility of the Roman Pontiff. At the same time I condemn and reprove all that the Church has condemned and reproved. This same Catholic faith, outside of which none can be saved, I now freely profess and I truly adhere to it. With the help of God, I promise and swear to maintain and profess this faith entirely, inviolately, and with firm constancy until the last breath of life. And I shall strive, as far as possible, that this same faith shall be held, taught, and publicly professed by all who depend on me and over whom I shall have charge. So help me God and these holy Gospels.

The Oath Against Modernism I ...firmly hold and accept each and every definition of the unerring teaching of the Church, with all she has maintained and declared, but especially those points of doctrine which expressly combat the errors of our times. In the first place, I profess my belief that God, the beginning and end of all, can be surely known and also proved to exist by the natural light of reason from the things that are made, that is, from the visible works of the creation as a cause from its effects. Next I recognize and acknowledge the external arguments of revelation, that is, divine facts, especially miracles and prophecies, as the surest sign of the divine origin of the Christian religion, and I hold that these are specially suited to the understanding of every age and of all men, even of our times. Thirdly, I likewise hold with firm faith that the Church, the guardian and exponent of the revealed Word, was proximately and directly founded by Christ Himself, the true person of history, while He dwelt amongst us, and that she was also built upon Peter, the Prince of the Apostolic Hierarchy, and upon his successors to the end of time. Fourthly, I sincerely receive the teaching of faith as transmitted in the same sense and meaning right down to us and, therefore, I wholly reject the heretical notion of the evolution of dogmas, which pass from one sense to another alien to that the Church held from the start and I likewise condemn every error whereby is substituted for divine deposit, entrusted by Christ to His spouse and by her to be faithfully guarded, a philosophic system or a creation of the human conscience, gradually refined by the striving of men and finally to be perfected hereafter by indefinite progress. Fifthly, I hold for certain and sincerely profess that faith is not a blind religious sense making its way out of the hidden regions of the subliminal consciousness, morally untinged by the influence of heart and will, but is a true assent of the intellect to truth received from without by hearing, an assent whereby we believe to be true, because of the authority of all true God, whatever by the personal God, our Creator and Lord, has been spoken, testified and revealed. I further, with all due reverence, submit and with my whole might adhere to all the condemnations, declarations and directions contained in the encyclical letter Pascendi and in the decree Lamentabili, particularly regarding what is called the history of dogma. I also reject the error of those who allege that the faith proposed by the Church may be in conflict with history and that Catholic dogmas in the sense in which they are now understood cannot be harmonized with the more truthful origins of Christianity. Moreover, I condemn and reject the opinion which declares that a Christian man of better culture can assume a dual personality, one as believer and another as historian, thus taking it to be permissible for the historian to hold fast what his faith as a believer contradicts, or to lay down premises from which there follows the falsity or the uncertainty of dogmas, provided only that these are not directly denied. Likewise I reject that method of estimating and interpreting Holy Writ which, setting aside the Church's tradition and the analogy of faith and the rules of the Apostolic See, adopts the rationalists' principles and with equal arbitrariness and rashness considers criticism of the text the only supreme rule. In like manner I reprobate the opinion of those who hold that a teacher of the science of historical theology or the writer on the subject must first put aside the notions previously conceived about the supernatural origin of Catholic tradition or about the divine aid promised for the perpetual preservation of each revealed truth then that the writings of individual fathers must be interpreted solely by the data of science, without any reference to sacred authority, and with the freedom of judgment wherewith every profane record is usually examined. Finally and in general, I declare myself to be far removed from the error of the

modernists who hold that in Sacred tradition there is nothing inherently divine or who far worse still - admit it in a pantheistic sense: thus there would remain only a bare simple fact equal to the ordinary facts of history, viz., that the school started by Christ and His Apostles still finds men to support it by their energy, their shrewdness, their ability. Wherefore most firmly I retain and to my last breath will I retain the faith of the Fathers of the Church concerning the sure endowment of truth, which is, has been and ever will be in the succession of the episcopate from the Apostles (St. Irenaeus IV,C.26) not in such a way that we may hold what seems best and most fitting according to the refinement of each age, but that we never in any different wise understand the absolute and unchangeable truth preached from the beginning by the Apostles (Prasecript, C.28). All this I promise that I will faithfully, entirely and sincerely keep and inviolably guard, and from this never in teaching or howsoever by word or writing in the least depart. So I promise, so I swear, so help me God, etc. Pius X, Sept. 1, 1910 Sacrorum Antistitum