Monday, April 24, 2023

Mass Extinction: What The Modernists Removed In Creating The "New Mass"

 

Much has been written on the difference between a True Catholic Mass and the Vatican II sect's "Happy Meal, " Neo-Protestant bread and wine service. In this post, I will not discuss the differences per se. Rather, I will point out the wonderful prayers and parts of the True Mass that were abolished. Everything the Modernists removed was a masterpiece of Catholic theology, perfectly suited for offering the Unbloody Sacrifice of Calvary. Hopefully, it will serve as yet another reminder of what was taken away from us, and make us ever more determined to hold on to the Faith of the One True Church. 

(I have drawn upon many sources in the compilation of this post, including my notes from my discussions with Father DePauw. I take no credit for myself, other than putting the sources together in a concise post.---Introibo)

From the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar to The Creed
It must be remembered that the reason for changing the Mass was to make it ecumenical. All of the errors in the Modernist sect stem from the heretical ecclesiology of Vatican II. In the abominable document Lumen Gentium, para. #8 teaches:

This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. (Emphasis mine). 

Since Her founding by Christ in 33 A.D., Christ's Church always professed that She, the One True Church of Christ, is identical with the Roman Catholic Church. At Vatican II,  a division was made. There is an entity called "the Church of Christ" which is distinct from the Roman Catholic Church, but subsists there in fullness with all the "elements of truth." The Modernist-driven Council also asserts that the Church of Christ subsists in other religions, to a greater or lesser degree, depending on how many "elements of truth" each one has. 

To have all the elements is best, but to have just some is also good and leads to salvation. Therefore, to unite all the elements, there must be a "lowest common denomination," a One World Sect that has jettisoned all differences for the sake of a false and vacuous "unity" where all "elements" can at least be paid lip service, even though not present. The Novus Bogus "mass" is first and foremost, ecumenical to achieve this goal. For the remainder of this post, the Traditional Latin Mass will be given the initials "TM," and the Novus Bogus meal will be given the initials "NB."

The removal of the true, the good and the beautiful from the TM is striking. It consists of 4,420 words. The NB has approximately 2,240 words; almost 50% of the verbiage was abolished. (I say "approximately" 2,240 words because of all the NB "options" the "president of the assembly" or "priest" can use). The redactions have resulted in serious defects, culminating in the elimination or downplaying of:

  • the sacrificial nature of the Mass
  • the Real Presence
  • the theocentric character of the Mass
  • the importance of the Most Holy Trinity
  • the unworthiness of humanity before God
  • the teaching of Catholic truths
  • the true sense of Scriptures
Not every part of Mass will be studied; that would require many posts. Only some of the most significant redactions will be considered. With these preliminary points in mind, the examination of the omissions may begin.

The Prayers at the Foot of the Altar
The TM begins:
[Bowing before the altar, the priest (P)  makes the sign of the cross, saying:]


P: In the name of the Father, (✠) and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

P: I will go in to the altar of God.

R: To God, Who giveth joy to my youth.

PSALM 42
[The priest and server say alternately:]

P: Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy; deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.

R: For Thou art, God, my strength; why hast Thou cast me off? and why do I go all sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me?

P: Send forth Thy light and Thy truth: they conducted me and brought me unto Thy holy hill, and into Thy tabernacles.

R: And I will go in to the altar of God: to God Who giveth joy to my youth.

P: To Thee, O God, my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me?

R: Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him, the salvation of my countenance and my God.

P: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

R: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

P: I will go in to the altar of God.

R: To God, Who giveth joy to my youth.

P: Our help (✠) is in the name of the Lord.

R: Who made heaven and earth.

What was eliminated:

After making the sign of the cross (because the Mass is the same Sacrifice as the Cross in an unbloody manner), the priest says he will go unto the altar of God and recites the 42nd Psalm. Psalm 42 reminds us of our unhappy state in a fallen world where evil abounds, and our desire to be safe with God in his temple. The psalm tells of a world full of unjust and deceitful men, and we trust in God as our Protector and Consoler. Modernism considers these sentiments judgmental--and "Who am I to judge?"

Luther, in particular, hated Psalm 42, and he (along with the Anglican sect) eliminated it because of its ideas of a sacrifice, a sacrificing priest, and an altar of sacrifice. The Lutheran's "Lord's Supper" was careful to eliminate all this and replace the altar of sacrifice with a table for a meal. The Vatican II sect Modernists did the same. 

The Confiteor
In the TM comes next:

[Bowing down low, the priest says:]

P: I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary ever virgin, to blessed Michael the archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed: [The priest strikes his breast three times saying:] through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech the blessed Mary ever virgin, blessed Michael the archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, all the saints, and you, brethren, to pray to the Lord our God for me.

R: May almighty God have mercy on thee and, having forgiven thee thy sins, bring thee to life everlasting.

P: Amen.

[The server now says:]

R: I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary ever virgin, to blessed Michael the archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints, and to thee, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed: (The acolyte strikes his breast three times saying:) through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech the blessed Mary ever virgin, blessed Michael the archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, all the saints, and thee, Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me.

P: May almighty God have mercy on you and, having forgiven you your sins, bring you to life everlasting.

R: Amen.

[The priest signs himself, saying:]

P: May the almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, (✠) absolution, and remission of our sins.

R: Amen.

[Again bowing slightly, the priest goes on:]

P: Thou wilt turn again, O God, and quicken us.

R: And Thy people will rejoice in Thee.

P: Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy.

R: And grant us Thy salvation.

P: O Lord, hear my prayer.

R: And let my cry come unto Thee.

P: The Lord be with you.

R: And with thy Spirit.

P: Let us pray.

[Going up to the altar, the priest prays silently:]

P: Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech Thee, O Lord; that, being made pure in heart we may be worthy to enter into the Holy of Holies. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

[He bows down over the altar, which he kisses, saying:]

P: We beseech Thee, O Lord, by the merits of those of Thy saints whose relics are here, and of all the saints, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to pardon me all my sins. Amen.

What was eliminated:
The Confiteor acknowledges our individual sinfulness and we beg God to have mercy on us. The priest, making the sign of the cross, uses words from the sacrament of Penance: May the almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, (✠) absolution, and remission of our sins. This is rich is Catholic meaning and symbolism. Pardon, absolution, and remission are not just three synonyms used to be repetitious. Each term has a unique and beautiful meaning in Catholic theology used in the TM. 

Pardon is associated with the intercession of Christ, the saints, and the Church, whose merits move God to show His mercy. Absolution has the connotation of judgment and cleansing. In the sacrament of Penance, Christ works through His priest to sacramentally cleanse us, restoring us to a state of sanctifying grace. Remission has the connotation of atonement, for which we need the gifts of the Holy Ghost. The priest makes the sign of the cross to associate pardon with God the Father, absolution with God the Son, and remission with God the Holy Ghost. All of this conflicts with Protestant theology, and Modernists consider it "negative theology" with excessive emphasis on sinfulness and the Catholic idea of justification. It had to go. Notice, too, the mention of the saint's relics in the altar stone. Revering relics and saint-martyrs is un-ecumenical, as Protestants and Modernists reject it as "superstition." It was redacted, and many Vatican II sect tables don't even have an altar stone with relics. 

The Kyrie
From the TM:
[The priest returns to the middle of the altar and says alternately with the server:]

P: Lord, have mercy on us.

R: Lord, have mercy on us.

P: Lord, have mercy on us.

R: Christ, have mercy on us.

P: Christ, have mercy on us.

R: Christ, have mercy on us.

P: Lord, have mercy on us.

R: Lord, have mercy on us.

P: Lord, have mercy on us

What was eliminated:
Here, the Trinity is implored to give mercy. Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy) three times, in honor of God the Father, Christe eleison (Christ have mercy) three time, in honor of God the Son, Kyrie eleison three more times, in honor of God the Holy Ghost. It is very Trinitarian. Many so-called "Christian" sects reject the Trinity (e.g., the Unitarians) so it needed to go because it wasn't sufficiently ecumenical. Now, it is reduced to twice each invocation, which has no symbolic meaning and doesn't even make sense. 

The Offertory to the End of The Canon
From the TM:
P: Receive, O Holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this spotless host, which I, Thine unworthy servant, offer unto Thee, my living and true God, for my countless sins, trespasses, and omissions; likewise for all here present, and for all faithful Christians, whether living or dead, that it may avail both me and them to salvation, unto life everlasting. Amen.

[The priest goes to the Epistle side and pours wine and water into the chalice.]

[The Deacon, or the Priest, pours wine and a little water into the chalice, saying quietly:]

P: O God, Who in creating man didst exalt his nature very wonderfully and yet more wonderfully didst establish it anew: by the mystery signified in the mingling of this water and wine, grant us to have part in the Godhead of Him Who hath vouchsafed to share our manhood, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God; world without end. Amen.

[At the middle of the altar, the priest says:]

P: We offer unto Thee, O Lord, the chalice of salvation, beseeching Thy clemency that it may ascend as a sweet odor before Thy divine majesty, for our own salvation, and for that of the whole world. Amen.

[After this, the Priest, bowing profoundly, says quietly:]

P: Humbled in mind, and contrite of heart, may we find favor with Thee, O Lord; and may the sacrifice we this day offer up be well pleasing to Thee, Who art our Lord and our God.

P: Come, Thou, the Sanctifier, God, almighty and everlasting: bless (✠) this sacrifice which is prepared for the glory of Thy holy Name.

What was eliminated:
These prayers are full of the idea of a sacrificial offering. It prefigures the Transubstantiation to come by calling the host "spotless" like the spotless Victim of Calvary, and the "chalice of salvation" will hold His Precious Blood. ...may the sacrifice we this day offer up be well pleasing to Thee, Who art our Lord and our God...Come, Thou, the Sanctifier, God, almighty and everlasting: bless (✠) this sacrifice which is prepared for the glory of Thy holy Name. Furthermore, it is offered for both the living and the dead (Purgatory). 

The one thing most despised by Protestants is the idea of the Mass as a sacrifice. Is it any wonder these prayers were derided by Luther because they "stink of sacrifice"?  The doctrine of Purgatory--also universally rejected outside the One True Church---is made clear by offering the Mass for the dead. 

The NB replaced this Offertory with words taken from the Jewish Seder meal. The Seder meal is commemorative, not sacrificial. This was also an ecumenical overture to the Deicide race. The term sacrifice was retained once--in the context of the Jewish meal--it means "praise and thanksgiving," not actually offering of a Victim to God. All mention of Purgatory was removed.

The Canon of the Mass
(a) The Te Igitur in the TM
[The priest now prays silently.]

P: Therefore, we humbly pray and beseech Thee, most merciful Father, through Jesus Christ Thy Son, Our Lord, to receive and to bless these (✠) gifts, these (✠) presents, these (✠) holy unspotted sacrifices, which we offer up to Thee, in the first place, for Thy holy Catholic Church, that it may please Thee to grant her peace, to guard, unite, and guide her, throughout the world: as also for Thy servant N., our Pope, and N., our Bishop, and for all who are orthodox in belief and who profess the Catholic and apostolic faith.

What was eliminated:
Here, once more, the sacrificial nature of Mass is unmistakable. Three times the bread and wine are blessed in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, and it is offered for all who are orthodox in belief the opposite of which is heterodox, implying one cannot be a heretic and a member of the Church. The NB removed two of the three signs of the cross and reference to being orthodox in faith (Orthodox being an adjective, and not a noun for the Eastern Schismatics). The Canon, an unchanging rule of Faith, was replaced in the NB wth four choices of "Eucharistic Prayers" of which only #1 even remotely resembles the Canon fixed since 604 AD. 

(b) The Commemoration of the Living
P: Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy servants, N. and N., and of all here present, whose faith and devotion are known to Thee, for whom we offer, or who offer up to Thee, this sacrifice of praise, for themselves, their families, and their friends, for the salvation of their souls and the health and welfare they hope for, and who now pay their vows to Thee, God eternal, living, and true.
What was eliminated:
The word devotion was a problem here with the Vatican II sect reformers. It has the connotation of zeal and piety. The idea of devotion is anathema to Modernists who believe God "loves us just the way we are." Away it went. 

(c) The Communicantes
P: Having communion with and venerating the memory, first, of the glorious Mary, ever a virgin, mother of Jesus Christ, our God and our Lord: likewise of Thy blessed Apostles and martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Thaddeus; of Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all Thy saints: for the sake of whose merits and prayers do Thou grant that in all things we may be defended by the help of Thy protection. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.

What was eliminated:
Protestants reject the invocation of the saints. All the saints mentioned here were "made optional" except for Sts. Peter, Paul, and Andrew. In the TM there are 62 saints names, many of whom are popes. The NB has 41 saints mentioned, but 32 are optional, leaving a mandatory mention of only nine saints. 

(d) The Hanc Igitur and Quam Oblationem  
P: Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy servants, N. and N., and of all here present, whose faith and devotion are known to Thee, for whom we offer, or who offer up to Thee, this sacrifice of praise, for themselves, their families, and their friends, for the salvation of their souls and the health and welfare they hope for, and who now pay their vows to Thee, God eternal, living, and true. [Here the bell is rung once.]

P: And do Thou, O God, vouchsafe in all respects to bless (✠), consecrate (✠), and approve (✠) this our oblation, to perfect it and render it well-pleasing to Thyself, so that it may become for us the body (✠) and blood (✠) of Thy most beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

What  was eliminated:
The word devotion, signifying zeal and piety, was stricken once more. The word oblation, which means a sacrifice offered to God, has been replaced in the NB by the word offering, which is not definitively tied to a sacrifice, nor does it need reference to God. One can make a monetary offering to a secular charity. The word consecrate, which will keep our minds on Transubstantiation was removed, and five signs of the cross (for the Five Wounds of Christ) are reduced to only one. 

(e) The Consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ
The Form of the Sacrament will not be discussed. Even with correct matter and form, there is no vaid priest. If the priest were valid it would still be an invalid service because they have removed the Intention by turning this part in the NB to an Institution Narrative.

The Words of Consecration are now called the Words of Institution, and recited within an "Institution Narrative" in the "Eucharistic Prayer." In the Canon of the Mass, the priest must stop, bend over the host or chalice to be Consecrated, and speaking in a secret (low) voice, he must say the words attentively and devoutly without interruption. This is to show that the priest is not simply repeating the Words of Our Lord spoken almost 2000 years ago in some narration of a historical event, but he intends to perform the action of Consecration effectuating transubstantiation here and now.

 In reciting the Words of Institution in an Institution Narrative, the "priest" does the exact opposite. He reads it as one big historical story, thereby vitiating his intention to consecrate, according to some theologians like rubrician O'Connell. It is analogous to baptizing a baby within the context of reading the Gospel of St. Matthew Chapter 28--is the intent to baptize here and now, or are you simply reciting what took place in the time of Our Lord's life on Earth?  The result? Even assuming a valid priest, valid matter, and valid form, the defect of intention renders it invalid.

The Pater Noster to the End of Mass
From the TM:
P: Let us pray. Admonished by salutary precepts, and following divine directions, we presume to say:
P: Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation.

R: But deliver us from evil.

P: Amen.

P: Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present, and to come: and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious Mary, ever a virgin, Mother of God, and of Thy holy apostles Peter and Paul, of Andrew, and of all the saints, graciously grant peace in our days, that through the help of Thy bountiful mercy we may always be free from sin and secure from all disturbance.

[The priest breaks the Sacred Host, saying:]

P: Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, World without end.
R: Amen.

R: Amen.

 P: May the peace (✠) of the Lord (✠) be always with (✠) you.

R: And with thy Spirit.

[The priest drops a particle of the Sacred Host into the Chalice.]

P: May this commingling and consecrating of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ avail us who receive it unto life everlasting. Amen.

What  was eliminated:
The Pater Noster (Our Father) is said as it was taught. All attention is on the Divine Victim present on the altar. The NB adds the Protestant doxology (For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever.), takes attention away from Christ for a "Sign of Peace," which includes handshakes, hugs, kisses, etc. because Christ is just as present in "the assembly" as in what they still call the Eucharist. Gone are the invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostles Sts. Peter, Paul, and Andrew, and all three signs of the cross are supressed. 

The Agnus Dei 
From the TM:
[Bowing down, the priest says:]

P: Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy on us. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy on us. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: grant us peace.

P: O Lord Jesus Christ Who didst say to Thine apostles: Peace I leave you, My peace I give you: look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of Thy Church, and vouchsafe to grant her peace and unity according to Thy will: Who livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.

P: O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Who, according to the will of the Father, through the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, hast by Thy death given life to the world: deliver me by this Thy most Sacred Body and Blood from all my iniquities, and from every evil; make me always cleave to Thy commandments, and never suffer me to be separated from Thee, Who with the same God, the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.

P: Let not the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ, which I, all unworthy, presume to receive, turn to my judgement and condemnation; but through Thy loving kindness may it be to me a safeguard and remedy for soul and body; Who, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest, God, world without end. Amen. 


What  was eliminated:
The three prayers after the Agnus Dei had to go, as they suffer from much negative theology. "Iniquities," (sinful inclinations as well as sin), "Cleave to Thy Commandments" (good works), "never suffer me to be separated from Thee" (mortal sin), are all contrary to Modernism and offensive to Protestants.  The final prayer has the priest referring to himself alone (sacrificial priesthood) apart from the "assembly." 

Communion of the Priest
From the TM:
[The priest genuflects, rises and says:]

P: I will take the bread of heaven, and will call upon the name of the Lord.

[Taking the Sacred Host with his left hand, the priest strikes his breast three times, saying (here the bell is rung each of the three times with the priest):]

P: Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed. (three times)

[Holding the Sacred Host in his right hand, the priest makes the sign of the cross with it and says:]

P: May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ keep my soul unto life everlasting. Amen.

[The priest receives Holy Communion and after a brief meditation continues:]

P: What shall I render unto the Lord for all the things that He hath rendered unto me? I will take the chalice of salvation and will call upon the name of the Lord. With high praises will I call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from all mine enemies.

[The priest takes the Chalice in his right hand and makes the sign of the cross, saying:]

P: May the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ keep my soul unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Here the Second Confiteor, Misereatur and Indulgentiam prayers are recited]

[The priest then faces the people with the Ciborium and, holding up one of the Sacred Particles before the communicants, he says:]

P: Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world.

[The Priest says aloud:]
P: Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed. (three times)

What  was eliminated:
"Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed." --is reduced from three recitations for the priest and three recitations for the people to only one for the "assembly." Unworthiness is negative. The second Confiteor, Indulgentiam prayer and Misereatur prayer are all suppressed. (The 1962 Roncalli Missal also suppresses them).  

People's Communion
From the TM:
[The priest gives Holy Communion to each communicant saying:]
P: May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ keep your soul unto life everlasting. Amen.

What  was eliminated:
In the TM the priest makes the sign of the cross with the Sacred Host over each communicant before placing It on the person's tongue while they are kneeling. While making the sign of the cross, the priest intones the effect of the Sacrament if worthily received, i.e., grace to preserve the soul, that cooperating with said grace, the person may die in the state of grace and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven--everlasting life. ALL of this was eliminated as it "reeks of Catholic theology"

The NB has the unsacred host handled by laymen and laywomen (so-called "Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist (sic)"). They hold the cracker up in front of the recipient (who's standing) and say, "The Body of Christ" and to which he or she responds, "Amen." You can then take the cracker in your hand and pop it in your mouth or have it placed on your tongue. All of this is what Lutherans and Anglicans did to destroy belief in the Real Presence, and Modernists have done the exact same. No priestly consecrated hands to hold the Host, no distinction between laity and clergy, no sign of the cross, no mention of the effects of the Sacrament, and the recipient must affirm belief, whereas Catholic theology does not have the laity say "Amen" before receiving the Host. Christ is really Present if you believe it or not.  

The Last Gospel
In the TM, the priest recites the Gospel of St. John 1:1-14.

What  was eliminated:
All of it. It is un-ecumenical as it tells that Jesus Christ is God Who became Incarnate and salvation cannot be for any who reject Him. 

Prayers After Low Mass
The TM has three Hail Marys, the Salve Regina, a prayer for the Church, the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, and finishes with the thrice invocation for mercy from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

What  was eliminated:
All of it. Pope Pius XI had as the object of these prayers the conversion of Russia. From Bergoglio we know, "Proselytism is solemn nonsense." Imploring the aid of the Immaculate Mother of God, the saints, and asking for "the conversion of sinners and the liberty and exaltation of Holy Mother Church," is more than any Modernist can take. Add to that the prayer to St. Michael, which reminds us of our battle against Satan, who is all too real, and the invocation of the Sacred Heart, despised by Protestants, meant it all wound up in the Vatican II sect's garbage. 

Conclusion
You can hopefully see the solid Catholic teachings which were eliminated or downplayed in the Novus Bogus Happy Meal, where the entertainment of people and making them feel good is the first priority. It is an ecumenical three-ring circus to destroy the Faith and inculcate Modernism. Be more resolved more than ever to hold on to the One True Faith, the True Mass, and true sacraments. Don't ever permit anyone to convince you to lessen or (God forbid) eliminate the True Faith from your heart and soul, because without it, no one can be saved. 

Monday, April 17, 2023

Occult Decorating: Feng Shui Exposed

 

For those who have any doubt that the occult revival since Vatican II has reached everywhere, even to the top places in corporate America, read the following excerpt from Inc.com :

I have file folders everywhere, piled on my desk, stacked on my shelves, filling up my bookcases and plopped into incline sorters that I've nailed to the wall beside me for easy access. Hundreds upon hundreds of file folders. I know the contents and location of each one.

It's a great system.

Except that I've spent the past week moving nearly every single folder, because I may have been unwittingly holding myself back from higher levels of energy, productivity and profits.

Look around your office and ask this question:
Do the items in my space represent where I want to go with my business, or do they represent where I've been?

This is the question responsible for all of my file re-homing, and it springs from a deep dive into the study of feng shui, the ancient Chinese art of re-vamping your space to maximize the flow of positive energy.

Before your mind goes to magical fountains and dragon statues, consider this: Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Richard Branson, as well as companies like Coca-Cola, Nike and Intel have all used feng shui in their office spaces for greater productivity, happiness and success.

Feng shui has been a natural course of study given my mindfulness practice, as both disciplines ask you to slow down and pay close attention to how your mind and body feel in the present moment. Both practices also encourage you to notice the impact of your surroundings. (See inc.com/elisa-boxer/nike-intel-coca-cola-all-use-feng-shui-to-boost-productivity-how-to-use-it-in-your-life.html; Emphasis mine).

So what, exactly, is feng shui (pronounced as "fung shway"), and how is it occult? According to one source: Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice that involves arranging your environment in a way that promotes balance, harmony, and good fortune. (See nimbushomes.com/blog/improve-feng-shui-for-your-home-in-2023). In this post, the occult origins, occult principles, and dangers of feng shui will be exposed for those who think of it as a "helpful" and "chic" way some people decorate their homes and offices. 

Decorating for Demons
[I have used many sources in compiling the information contained in this post. I would like to acknowledge especially Brandon, S.G.F. ed. (1970) “Feng Shui.” A Dictionary of Comparative Religion, and Too, Lillian (1999), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Feng Shui. I give full attribution to my sources and take no credit for myself other than putting it together in a condensed post. ---Introibo]

Feng Shui means “wind and water” and allegedly deals with understanding the forces and powers that are continually around us with the hope of harnessing these forces and receiving good fortune. Many of the fundamental texts associated with Feng Shui have been around for over 4000 years. This ancient art was confined to the ruling class until during the Tang Dynasty in China (A.D. 618-907) when Master Yang Yun-Sang wrote several books that allowed the general public to have access to the "secrets" of Feng Shui. 

Unfortunately, many believe Feng Shui  to be just another decorating concept. One website promoting feng shui says it is “about balance, comfort and harmony. Feng shui is not a religion or a mystical belief.  Rather, it is a science that offers the ability to create a balance in your dwelling or place of work.” (See 168fengshui.com). One “how to” book says, “This Chinese art of harmonious placement is largely common sense and good design.” (See Henwood and Choy Feng Shui: How to Create Harmony and Balance in Your Living and Working Environment [1999], inside front cover). Beneath the veneer of this ancient art, however, are concepts that go far beyond common sense decorating advice.

 It is an intricate occult, pagan system designed to harness the flow of an invisible universal force called chi (pronounced “chee,” also spelled qi, ki [pronounced "key"], or ch’i) in order to maximize its benefits. The chi in one’s physical surroundings, in concert with yin and yang energies and the five elements (earth, water, fire, metal, and wood), is thought to be affected by the characteristics and placement of physical objects: “The skill of a Feng Shui consultant lies in recognizing where chi is flowing freely, where it is trapped and stagnant, or where it may be excessive. The work of an occupier is to create space for chi to flow and activate the opportunities that may be frustrated by obstacles.” (See fengshuisociety.org). 

Chi is believed to be the most important influence on our lives. Chi means “life’s breath” or “energy” and is the unifying energy that links everything together. It has been likened symbolically to the cosmic breath of a dragon.

The concept of Chi originated in the Chinese Zhou dynasty and it literally means “gas.” Chi is the force that creates mountains, the brushstroke of a calligrapher, the movement of a dancer and is everywhere. Chi is also with us from birth to death and without it, we cannot live. Each person has a different chi and it can influence the destiny of one’s life. Chi can be enhanced through meditation, positive human relationships and a healthy environment. Chi constantly changes and no one can escape its powers. Feng Shui helps teach you how to manipulate the chi in your life.

Universal life energy is also linked in many pagan cultures to supernormal powers and sorcery. Tantric yoga, for example, cultivates the flow of prana in order to raise psychic powers, prana being the source of Hindu magic. In alchemy, this universal force is called spiritus; the occult kabbalah terms it astral light; and hypnotist Franz Mesmer called it magnetic fluid. The chi is also claimed as the source of power for levitation and other occult feats.

How Feng Shui is Put Into Practice
A feng shui consultant must take many things into account: how the chi is flowing in a house, the shape of the land and house, the directions the rooms face, the location of the rooms, the decor of the home, and the landscaping of the yard/garden. They are also factored in with yin and yang, along with the five elements of water, earth, fire, metal, and wood. Feng shui practice can include traditional feng shui, modern interpretations of feng shui, geomancy, dowsing, space clearing, and astrology.

Around the fourth century A.D., feng shui split into two schools, one based on landscape contours and the other based on the use of a “cosmic compass to chart astrological factors, I Ching hexagrams, the Five Phases, and other elements,” with further “metaphysical” elements added around the eleventh century. The former school became known as the Form School and the latter became the Compass School.

The Form School depends on intuitive insight and emphasizes the shape and contours of the area. The Form School might advocate that a small river should be in front of the house, that there should be an open view of the sky, and that the most used door of the dwelling should have “auspicious decors,” which are Chinese characters containing “auspicious meanings.” The four mythical animals — the red bird, the black tortoise, the blue dragon, and the white tiger — are to be placed symbolically in the front and the back and to the left and the right of the desired location. This can be done with landscape shapes, colors, and/or statues. The black tortoise, for example, is ideally a hill at the back of the building.

The intricate approach of the Compass School, based on a view of the flow of chi as well as the earth’s magnetic effects and fields, uses the trigrams of the I Ching, which are subdivided into hexagrams. The elements of the compass method are based on Chinese numerology “that identifies lucky and unlucky corners of a building according to specific numerical calculations.” Particular colors are also associated with the compass points.

Within the Compass School, the most popular tool is an octagonal grid called a bagua, which shows the eight basic directions of the compass. These directions are known as guas (categorized according to birth time), which can also be called the Nine Palaces (eight directions plus the center). This process detects the lucky and unlucky areas of the house. The eight directions include four that are positive (stimulation, success, content, calm) and four that are negative (depression, loneliness, weakness, destructiveness). The eight directions also correspond to the eight trigrams. Using your birth date and time, you can generate a chart of your eight guas to reveal in which of the eight directions each of the positive and negative forces abide.

The eight directions can also be depicted in a square shape called the Luo-shu (or Lo Shu) or magic square. According to legend, the magic square appeared on the back of a turtle 4,000 years ago. The square, which is comprised of numbers that add up to 15 in any direction, became part of Taoist magical practice.

The compass method, for example, may result in the north being “calm,” the southeast “destructive,” the south “weak,” and the west “content.” Contemporary feng shui uses names for these directions that are more palatable to the modern consumer, such as prosperity, fame, relationships, creative energy, travel and helpful people, career, knowledge, and family and health.

One feng shui book gives a formula for calculating one’s mingua (destiny number). It determines which direction and which of the five elements are luckiest — information that can be applied in the eight directional formula. What if more than one person lives in the house? Traditionally, the number of the “breadwinner”(who makes the most money) is used, although each person or breadwinner can use different areas of the house. Conflicts can be modified with the use of colors and objects related to each person’s element, whether it be wood, fire, earth, metal, or water.

Examples of Applied Feng Shui
It is claimed that a large part of comprehending Feng Shui is in understanding how your surroundings affect you. Practitioners (called "Feng Shui Consultants") have explained these effects of Feng Shui in ordinary daily life, so people will be able to make the "chi around them flow as smoothly as possible."
Here is some of the occult nonsense you must buy into:

  • The foot of your bed should not face the door. The Chi’s flow will disrupt your sleep
  • Living next to a place of worship, school, hospital, or fire station can cause health risks
  • Pools with rounded corners are believed to create beneficial chi for the residents of the house
  • The ideal situation for a business is to be located on a street corner with the entrance on a diagonal, drawing in chi, customers, and money from two directions
  • Windows should not slide up and down because they only let in half as much chi as their size and occupants tend to give people a false impression
  • The closer the bedroom is to the front door, the less peace residents will feel
  • Dining Chairs should be even in number because even numbers represent luck and single chairs represent loneliness
  • Colored ribbons and wind chimes near artificial ventilation devices will flutter and make music and enliven chi
  • Flushing the toilet with the lid open increases the chances that “your money will go, too.”
  • Cover your computer screen at night if it is in a bedroom so it won’t “act as a mirror and disturb your spirit” in sleep
  • Hang curtains at the bottom of stairs or put a mirror on the landing to draw chi up so that chi does not flow down and out the door
  • To help chi rise up the stairs, put plants under the stairs or hang art that is “light and bright.”
  •  Because the kitchen is the money room, cooking on all burners with a variety of food will help bring in money
  • Use crystals to "draw in chi"
  • A home’s front door should be simple and practical and face the sun so that it will attract “fame, fortune, and longevity”
  • Don’t have the foot of your bed in line with the door; the bed’s head should be on the north/south axis to be “in line with the magnetic energy of the earth.”
  • A pointed roof (associated with fire) against a curved roof shape (associated with metal) is destructive since fire melts metal

Here in New York City, you can become a "Feng Shui Consultant" through studying occult practices over eight months that will run you $3,595 (See Feng Shui Manhattan School fengshuimanhattan.com). You can then charge a client a consultation fee of $500, and lay out the floor plan for an additional $800 or so. Such full time consultants can earn from $50,000 to $250,000 per year depending on how much you grow your reputation and get wealthy clients. 

The Evils of Using Feng Shui

1. You are decorating your home/office with a practice based on the heresy of pantheism.

Pantheism is the view that the world is either identical to God, or an expression of God’s nature. It comes from ‘pan’ meaning all, and ‘theism,’ which means belief in God. So according to pantheism, “God is everything and everything is God.” (See philosophytalk.org/blog/pantheism). 

The Vatican Council of 1870 infallibly defined:

CANON 3. If anyone shall say that the substance and essence of God and of all things is one and the same; let him be anathema. 

This is an infallible condemnation of pantheism. No one can therefore endorse any form of pantheism without being a heretic.

2.  You implicitly accept that health, healing, and having good things happen in your life is tied to invisible energy forces.

You accept as true that:

  • Life (chi) energy must flow properly within the body in order for it to be healthy. If the life energy does not flow well or is blocked or hindered in some way, then the result is a health issue
  • Life energy can be detected by practitioners in various ways. Some claim to be able to read auras-alleged visual representations of the energy flowing in and around everyone
  • There is no longer a need for a personal, all-powerful, transcendent God. Instead, the impersonal life force is the cause of good fortune and even “miracles.” Moreover, being part of this life force, we too can master it and perform “miracles” as well. Jesus, then, was merely a master of this life force, he is not God Incarnate
  • The energy flowing through the universe is indeed the life force that permeates reality because "God" and the universe are One. Therefore, this energy must be what we have called God (pantheism). If we are energy and energy is “God,” then we must be divine. "You are god" is one of the cornerstones of occult belief.
3. You are using a divination technique forbidden by the One True Church.
Principles of the I Ching, a divinatory tool, are used in feng shui. Feng shui itself is a form of divination based on Taoist philosophy. The sin of divination is committed when one has the will to receive occult [hidden] knowledge from forbidden sources, or uses the means to obtain knowledge from those sources, even though there be no communication or response on the part of the spirits of evil. (See theologians McHugh and Callan, Moral Theology, [1930], 2:363). 

4. The occult "energy" you invite are demons that can obsess or even possess you.
Even a broken clock will be correct twice every 24 hours. Below, a Vatican II sect "exorcist" (correctly) warns of possession by means of Feng Shui:

Roman Catholics cannot practice feng shui, a Chinese geomantic practice, since it can render them vulnerable to attacks by the devil, a priest said yesterday.

“If one makes use of hard work, perseverance and prayer, why would there be a need to harness the elements of nature through feng shui? Faith in God and the practice of feng shui contradict each other,” said Michell Joe Zerrudo, resident exorcist of the diocese of Cubao, Quezon City, in an interview over CBCPNews, the newsletter of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

He said feng shui and other superstitious practices that are supposed to bring good luck is a “direct offense” against the first commandment: I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.

He warned the faithful that these superstitious practices to welcome the New Year might actually do more harm than good.

Zerrudo reminded Catholics about St. Paul’s warnings to the Ephesians about Satan, whom the apostle called the “prince of the power of air.” Feng shui, he noted, claims to harness the power of nature in order to bring harmony and balance, giving a person success in life.

(See.philstar.com/metro/2015/01/03/1408883/exorcist-priest-feng-shui-catholic-faith-contradict-each-other#:~:text=MANILA%2C%20Philippines%20%2D%20Roman%20Catholics%20cannot,of%20nature%20through%20feng%20shui%3F; Emphasis mine). 

Conclusion
Feng Shui is occult in origin, in principle, and in practice. Some feng shui consultants recommend clearing the space in your home through a ritual involving physical cleaning, a purification ceremony, invoking positive energy, and preserving the clean energy through the placement of a quartz crystal. Others recommend meeting “the Spirit of your home (!),” which could be a person, an animal, a voice, or a presence.

When you decorate your home, you can design a pleasing environment without using feng shui at all. One need only rely on common sense, personal likes and dislikes, and artistic sensibilities. Know that feng shui is decorating your home to invite demons. Invite evil in, and you can be sure they will take you up on the offer. 

Monday, April 10, 2023

Divine (Or Diabolical) Mercy?

 

To My Readers: This coming Sunday, April 16, 2023, will be for Traditionalist Catholics, Low Sunday, bringing Easter Week to a glorious conclusion. For members of the Vatican II sect, they will celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, a false devotion coming from false private revelations given to a pseudo-saint and promoted by John Paul the Great Apostate. I can't thank my guest poster, Lee, enough for this eye-opening post! Please feel free to comment as usual. If anyone has a specific comment or question for me, I will answer as always, but it may take me longer than usual to respond this week.

God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo

Divine or Diabolical?
By Lee

One thing I remember most in my Novus Ordo days was April 30, 2000, when John Paul II canonized Sr. Maria Faustina Kowalska. He didn't just do that but he also established what is now known as Divine Mercy Sunday, which takes place on the Sunday after Easter. At that time, before social media was a part of everybody's daily life, news of the event was still able to spread throughout the world.

EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) or as I like to call it, Eternal Wishful Thinking Network started playing the Divine Mercy chaplet every day at 3 PM. Parishes adopted the same practice and erected images of the Divine Mercy in just about every church you entered. Sr. Faustina's Diary was recommended at "Catholic" book stores and by clergy universally. Divine Mercy Sunday, which replaced Low Sunday, seemed as if it was as popular as Easter in many places where its diehard devotees dwelt.

For a short while, I was devoted to saying the chaplet, passing out images, and promoting the message of mercy from the Diary, even though I hadn't read it yet. It was highly recommended by my confessor at the time, along with some nuns whom I knew, and so I figured it was a safe devotion just as any devotion approved by the Church. "Pope" John Paul II fully endorsed Divine Mercy. 

As pious and harmless as it may seem, there are numerous problems with the Divine Mercy devotions; from its overall message to the Diary itself. 

Background Info.

Maria Faustina Kowalska was born in ​Glogowiec, Poland on 8-25-1905, the third of ten children of a poor family whose father was a carpenter by trade and a mother who was very pious. She later stated in her Diary that she first felt a calling to the religious life while she attended the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at the age of 7. She wanted to enter the convent after she had completed her time at school, but her parents would not give her permission. When she was 16, she went to work as a housekeeper to support herself and to help her parents.

When she was 18, she went with her sister to a dance in a park in Lodz. At the dance, she had a vision of a suffering Jesus, who she believed asked her: 'How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting Me off?" From there she immediately went to the Cathedral in Lodz, where, as she later said, Jesus instructed her to depart for Warsaw immediately and to enter a convent. Without asking her parents' permission, and despite not knowing anybody in Warsaw, she took a train to go to Warsaw, which was about 85 miles away. When she arrived at her destination, she entered the first church that she saw which was named Saint James, and attended Mass. She asked the priest, Father DÄ…browski, for suggestions, and he recommended staying with Mrs. Lipszycowa, a local woman, until she found a convent.

Being rejected by several convents it was not until 1925 that the mother superior of the Sisters of Mercy accepted her after she had worked as a housemaid to save up some money to enter. On April 30, 1926 (ironically the same day she was canonized by JPII 74 years later) she took the religious name of Sister Maria Faustina (coming from the masculine form of the Roman Martyr Faustinus) of the Blessed Sacrament. By 1928, she completed the novitiate and took her first vows.

In 1930 she would end up in Plock, Poland. After recovering from a severe illness, it wasn't until 1931 when she started having more visions of Jesus. On the night of February 22 of that year, she claims Jesus appeared to her in her cell dressed in white garments with rays of red and white pouring forth from His chest, and that He said to her, "Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: "Jesus, I trust in You" (in Polish: "Jezu, ufam Tobie"). I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish." (Diary #47-48).

The only problem was Sr. Faustina did not know how to paint so she approached some other nuns of her Order to help. Her confessor hired an artist and in 1934 the first painting of the image was produced as seen here: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/image

After taking her final vows in 1933, she was transferred to the convent of Vilnius (what is now Lithuania) with 18 other sisters, and worked as a gardener. It was here where she for the first time met Fr. Michael Sopocko whom she confessed to and claimed she had been conversing with Jesus. Fr. Sopocko insisted on that she complete a full psychiatric evaluation conducted by Helena Maciejewska, who was the psychiatrist and physician associated with the convent. This took place in 1933 and she passed the required tests declaring her sound of mind. As a result of this, Fr. Sopocko began to trust her visions and supported her efforts.

In his memoirs, Fr. Sopocko shared a recollection: "During the Holy Week of 1935 Sr. Faustina said to me that the Lord Jesus demanded that I place the picture in the Gate of Dawn for three days where the triduum at the end of the jubilee of Redemption was to be held...The triduum, he continued, was planned on the same days as the coveted feast of Mercy. Soon I learnt that the said triduum was going to be held indeed and the parish priest of the Gate of Dawn asked me to say the sermon. I agreed, on condition that the picture would be placed as a decoration in the window of the cloister where the picture looked impressive and attracted more attention than the picture of Our Lady." (The Gate of Dawn, was a chapel dedicated to Mary, Mother of Mercy, 400 years earlier.)

In her diary, Sr. Faustina wrote: "On Friday, when I was at the Gate of Dawn to attend the ceremony during which the image was displayed, I heard a sermon given by my confessor Father Sopocko. This sermon about Divine Mercy was the first of the things that Jesus had asked for so very long ago. When he began to speak about the great mercy of the Lord, the image came alive, and the rays pierced the hearts of the people gathered there. Great joy filled my soul to see the grace of God."

After the image was painted under her direction in 1935, Sr. Faustina claimed to have received a vision of an angel sent by God to chastise a certain city. She began to pray for mercy, but her prayers were powerless. Suddenly she saw the Holy Trinity and felt the power of Jesus’ grace within her as she claims. At the same time she found herself pleading with God for mercy with "words she heard interiorly."

Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us. (Diary, Notebook 1 Entry 475). 

As she continued saying this prayer, the angel supposedly became helpless and could not carry out the deserved punishment (entry 474). The next day, as she was entering the chapel, she again heard this interior voice, instructing her how to recite the prayer that our Lord later called "the Chaplet." This time, after "have mercy on us" were added the words "and on the whole world" (entry 476). From then on, she recited this form of prayer almost constantly, offering it especially for the dying.

In subsequent revelations, the Lord made it clear that the Chaplet was not just for her, but for the whole world. He also attached extraordinary promises to its recitation.

Prayed on ordinary rosary beads, The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy is an intercessory prayer that extends the offering of the Eucharist, so it is especially appropriate to use it after having received Holy Communion at Holy Mass. It may be said at any time, but our Lord specifically told Sr. Faustina to recite it during the nine days before the Feast of Mercy (the first Sunday after Easter). He then added: "By this Novena, [of Chaplets] I will grant every possible grace to souls." (Notebook 2 Entry 796).

It is claimed to be likewise appropriate to pray the Chaplet during the "Hour of Great Mercy" at three o'clock each afternoon (recalling the time of Christ’s death on the cross). In His revelations to Sr. Faustina, Our Lord asked for a special remembrance of His Passion at that hour. The purpose of reciting the prayer of mercy (as she writes) was threefold: to obtain mercy, to trust in Christ's mercy, and to show mercy to others.

By 1936, Sr. Faustina had to return to Poland. In the meantime her confessor, Fr. Sopocko, wrote the first brochure on the Divine Mercy devotion, and Bp. Jalbrzykowski provided his imprimatur (Latin: Let it be printed) for it. The brochure carried the Divine Mercy image on the cover. Fr. Sopocko sent copies of the brochure to Kowalska in Warsaw. At first, she went to Walendow, south-east of Warsaw. After she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, she was sent to the sanatorium in Pradnik, Krakow.

In July 1937, the first holy cards with the Divine Mercy image were printed. In August, Sopocko asked Kowalska to write the instructions for the Novena of Divine Mercy, which she had reported as a message from Jesus on Good Friday of that year.

Finally, in 1938, her health deteriorated due to her aggressive disease, and Fr. Sopocko saw her for the last time in September of that year. She died 10/5/1938.

The Main Problems

Many proponents who argue in favor of the image and its devotions will point to where Pope Pius XII blessed the image in 1956. However, in the same year, after his blessing,  the Diary of Sr. Faustina was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books. This fact is written off by its promoters, claiming the Pope was given faulty translations and that later it was dismissed. The real reason wasn't due to faulty translations, but because of the revelations themselves, and other circumstances of the so-called apparitions Sr. Faustina claimed to have had. Things alarming enough for the pope to have a second look at it based on what Our Lord supposedly told Sr. Faustina to make public. Any writings placed on the Index means the content poses as a danger to souls by potentially leading the faithful astray. Therefore, it was a serious matter.

Shortly after the death of Pope Pius XII, it was under John XXIII (when the Supreme sacred Congregation of the Holy Office still existed) that two prohibitions were placed on her writings. The first condemnation was in a plenary meeting held on November 19, 1958. The declaration from the Holy Office issued these three statements about this devotion:

1. There is no evidence of the supernatural origin of these revelations. This would mean that the members of the Holy Office (the same clergy under Pius XII from the previous month of his death) examined the content and decided that there was nothing to indicate the apparitions were supernatural.

2. No feast of Divine Mercy should be instituted. The Church cannot institute a feast based on something that's not without doubt coming from God and if it be false that would mean the Church would err, which is impossible. 

3. It is forbidden to disseminate writings propagating this devotion under the form received by Sr. Faustina, as well as the image typical of it. In other words, no image, no book, no chaplet (prayers). It's all forbidden

On March 6, 1959, the Holy Office issued a second decree which stated that it was up to the bishops to decide how they were going to remove the images that had already been displayed for public honor.

What in the Diary could lead souls astray?

Let us start examining some passages in the Diary:

Red Flag #1

In her diary the following is stated by Jesus "I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet." (Notebook 2 Entry #699; Emphasis added).

It's true that when a Catholic goes to confession, he/she can be morally certain that he/she is in the state of grace and is forgiven. However, the Church teaches that in order to avoid the punishment due to sin (Purgatory) a Catholic must do penance, receive the sacraments, and pray, which are the conditions for receiving plenary indulgences if the Church grants them. Punishment due to sin doesn't just go away once you've gone to confession and I would highly doubt that Our Lord would intend for Catholics to believe something contrary to what His Church teaches. 

Red Flag #2

On February 4, 1935, Our Lord supposedly tells her “From today on, do not fear God’s judgment, for you will not be judged.” (Notebook 1 Entry 374; Emphasis added). 

When someone dies, they go to the particular Judgement. This is dogma. At Fatima, the Blessed Mother told Jacinta and Francisco they would go to Heaven, but not that they would be exempt from Judgement. The statement attributed to Our Lord is also very problematic because there would be no point for Faustina to stay on earth if she is already worthy of Heaven.

Red Flag #3

On October 2, 1936, she states that the “Lord Jesus” appeared to her and said, “Now, I know that it is not for the graces or gifts that you love Me, but because My Will is dearer to you than life. That is why I am uniting Myself with you so intimately as with no other creature.”  (Notebook 2 Entry 707; Emphasis added). 

Are we to believe that Our Lord unites Himself more intimately with Sr. Faustina than with the Blessed Virgin Mary? Or how about St. Joseph or St. John the Baptist or even some of the highest angels? This statement is no doubt at least erroneous.

Red Flag #4 

May 23, 1937 she exclaims that Jesus says this in her diary "I see your love so pure; purer than that of the angels, and all the more so because you keep fighting. For your sake, I bless the world.” (Notebook 3 Entry 1061; Emphasis mine). 

​This is not only absurd but contrary to the purpose of needing mercy. Why should she ask for mercy before she dies if her love is already purer than the angels? Also if Our Lord, for her sake, was about to bless the world by pouring out His mercy, why did WWII happen shortly after these visions?

Red Flag #5

In her diary she claims “And the Host came out of the Tabernacle and came to rest in my hands and I, with joy, placed It back in the Tabernacle. This was repeated a second time, and I did the same thing. Despite this, it happened a third time.” (Notebook 1 entry #44)

This is by far the most bizarre statement. Why would a consecrated Host of Our Lord do this three times? For what purpose? Is is because Sr. Faustina is purer than the angels or Our Lord is united Himself more intimately with her than any other creature?

Quietism: A Forgotten Heresy

Quietism was a 17th century heresy espoused by Michael Molinos whose heresy denied the necessity of human activity in contemplation and sanctification. It asserted that the highest spirituality is attained when the mind and will are completely inactive (quiet); any sort of attachment to a divine image and all external forms of worship are hindrances to union with God (passive).

In other words, if one puts trust in mercy alone without the need to make reparation then it is unconditional mercy that person is inclined to believe in, leading that soul to the same error as Michael Molinos who was condemned for presuming God's Mercy by simply believing in being inactive. As Holy Sculpture states, "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, with fear and trembling work out your salvation." Phil. 2:12 (Emphasis added). The image itself doesn't even show the Heart of Jesus which represents His real mercy towards those who intend on doing penance for their sins, as it is understood in the Sacred Heart of Jesus devotion.

Below are a couple of examples taken from the Diary giving the notion that unconditional mercy is all based on total trust:

Tell aching mankind to snuggle close to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it with peace. Tell [all people], My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls. (Notebook 3 #1074; Emphasis added). 

and

Let souls who are striving for perfection particularly adore My mercy, because the abundance of graces which I grant them flows from My mercy. I desire that these souls distinguish themselves by boundless trust in My mercy. I myself will attend to the sanctification of such souls. I will provide them with everything they will need to attain sanctity. The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is – trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me, because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it is My desire to give much, very much. On the other hand, I am sad when souls ask for little, when they narrow their hearts. (Notebook 3 #1578; Emphasis added). 

Adore His mercy? Should we also adore His justice? 

Actual graces are what God gives to everyone including the most wretched of sinners regardless of their trust. It's true that we should trust in God and adore Him but we also must fear God in such a way as to avoid offending Him, and if we fall we are suppose to make reparation for the damage done. Confession also brings us into the state of sanctifying grace and we are taught that there are conditions on receiving such graces. That is contrition for sin and a firm resolution not to commit the sin again. This means we hope in His mercy by fulfilling the conditions. Merely trusting in His mercy alone without any action is what is being suggested in the above quotes. This can be understood as the same above mentioned heresy.

"The Deuce" gets his way

Had the Church not gone the way it did in the 60's and 70's, and things were as Catholic as they had always been, we probably wouldn't even know of the Divine Mercy today. It would be as remembered as the Mariavites or Mystic priests (also from Poland) who were condemned by St. Pius X in his 1906 encyclical Tribus Circiter for believing in a Sr. Maria Francesca.

Unfortunately, in 1965 Karol Woytyla, then bishop of Krakow, opened up an investigation into Sr. Faustina's life and virtues and was permitted by the Holy Office to once more look into what the witnesses had to say. Coincidentally enough, the Second Vatican (Robber) Council ended that year and the Holy Office was renamed the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine (Destruction) of the Faith, which by order of Paul VI, in the very next year on June 14th, 1966, abolished the Index of Forbidden Books. (If only Klaus Schwab could re-set things that fast by agenda 2030!).  By 1978, Woytyla took the name John Paul II ("The Deuce" as a commenter frequently calls him), and was known as the "Great Mercy Pope."

According to https://www.thedivinemercy.org:
 
It was "St." "Pope" John Paul II who told the Marian Fathers: “Be apostles of Divine Mercy under the maternal and loving guidance of Mary.” We've been faithfully following his instructions ever since."

Both in his teaching and personal life, "St." "Pope" John Paul II strove to live and teach the message of Divine Mercy. As the great Mercy Pope, he wrote an encyclical on Divine Mercy:

"The Message of Divine Mercy has always been near and dear to me… which I took with me to the See of Peter and which it in a sense forms the image of this Pontificate."

In his writings and homilies, he has described Divine Mercy as the answer to the world’s problems and the message of the third millennium...

In 2002, the "Pope" entrusted the whole world to Divine Mercy when he consecrated the International Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki, a suburb of Krakow in Poland. This is where "St." Faustina’s mortal remains are entombed. The saint lived in a convent nearby. The "Pope" himself remembers as a young man working in the Solvay Quarry, just a few meters from the present-day Shrine. He also says that he had been thinking about Sr. Faustina for a long time when he wrote his encyclical on Divine Mercy. Further, the "Holy Father" has frequently quoted from the Diary of "Saint" Maria Faustina Kowalska and has prayed The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy at the saint’s tomb. (Italics added).

Conclusion
The Divine Mercy was placed on the Index by a true pope and for good reasons, as explained above. It does nothing but replace long standing Catholic devotions such as the Sacred Heart and the Rosary. It fits perfectly with the Vatican II sect agenda: "Out with the old and in with the new." There is nothing wrong with progression so long it conforms with all Catholic truth, but there is something wrong with a new faith that is not Catholic. 

The new Magisterium, new Mass, new sacraments, new catechisms, new code of canon law, new evangelization, new theology, new disciplinary laws, new saints, new devotions such as the Divine Mercy and Luminous Mysteries, and even the new acceptance of the LGBTQIA+, have led people down many wrong paths. The Catholic Church leads to salvation. The ape Sect of Vatican II leads to Hell. It's that simple. 

Addendum--4/16/23
By Introibo
My apologies to Lee for adding an Addendum to his post, but some are claiming that this devotion may be legitimate because of the "faulty translation" of Faustina's Diary. In this Addendum, I will point out insurmountable obstacles with the CONTENT OF THE DEVOTION ITSELF. 

Fatima is an unquestionably approved apparition, and while the Faith does not depend on private revelations, it comports perfectly with Church teaching. Let's compare the two; Fatima vs. Divine Mercy:

1. Fatima gives a very Catholic message that involves stopping sin, praying the Rosary daily, going to Mass on the First Five Saturdays, wearing the scapular, performing penance/acts of reparation, etc.

Faustina's Divine Mercy writings promise mercy for those who believe ('trust'), rather for than those who repent and act rightly. It pervades all her writings and cannot be some alleged "mistranslation." The entire "trust in Jesus" and be cleansed from sin by His Mercy without contrition and penance is very Protestant and pleasing to Vatican II sect ecumenists. Relying on Mercy does nothing to inculcate virtue as does the practices urged at Fatima. 

2. Fatima promotes the Most Holy Rosary.

Divine Mercy obliterates the Rosary, by using the Rosary beads for a faux chaplet of Mercy. On the ten beads of each decade where the Hail Mary would be said, it is replaced with "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world"--a prayer that a Protestant could recite. It also deprives us of imploring the Blessed Mother to pray for us "now and at the hour of our death" at least 50 times.  Heaven gave us the Rosary, but Wojtyla who gave us the "Illuminati Mysteries" would do away with it completely an replace it with an ecumenical plea for Mercy apart from penance. At Fatima, Mary added at the end of each decade of the Rosary, "O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven especially those most in need of Thy Mercy." 

There is no mention of Hell in the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The closest it comes is "Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equaled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place its hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone." Yes, God will deny His mercy to those who refuse to repent and do penance!! More, "saved by trust in Jesus" Protestant heresy. 


3. Fatima promotes the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a perfect complement to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Divine Mercy never mentions the Immaculate Heart, downplays Mary's role in our salvation, and obliterates the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Faustina puts forth an image which can be used by Protestants--a "Heartless" Christ with rays coming from His robes and no Heart pierced by thorns. 

As a result, Divine Mercy can lead to: the sin of presumption, failing to do penance and make acts of reparation for sin, and the neglect of approved devotions like the Rosary and the Most Sacred Heart. 

Don't let anyone fool you into thinking these grave errors are the result of some "mistranslation." Divine Mercy is a false devotion given by Hell to a false saint and promoted by a false "pope-saint," John Paul the Great Apostate. Be warned.