More notes on method

Taken from my comment on the Sarx blog:

…I think what most determines “tradition” is what we bring to the table. I think the greatest revelation about the SSPX is that they are fetishizing some very “traditional” things in very idealistic, totalitarian ways. The same goes with the Orthodox when they approach modernity, as well as with more conservative Catholics. In the end, the picture that is created is a totalizing one that leaves aside and cuts out much of the story, if you will. Certain things don’t “fit” in their vision and are simply ignored, or worse, persecuted.

I would thus say that “tradition” is something that is not ideal; it is something that simply works. It is not determined by ideology precisely because it is not ideal; it is religion with all of the blemishes, it is Faith as it has to be. I would like to say that the attack on tradition started with the Protestant Reformation, but Catholicism since then has also treated this tendency as an enemy within; the old villain of lay “superstition”.

In the end, the first principle that I start with is that the most certain starting point is tradition as it has been passed down to you immediately by those who preceded you. It is a foolish errand to try to figure out how the “first Christians” thought or acted; for all we know, they could have been a bunch of fornicating magicians who used the name of Jesus to put curses on people (there is some evidence that this was the case in some places). You can’t determine belief by archeology. In the end, you have to go with what has been put into your own hot little hands, tempered a bit by reason. I emphasize, however, “a bit”.

Oración al Anima Sola

Oye , mortal , el lamento de un alma aprisionada , sola , triste ,
abandonada en este oscuro aposento
Anima mía , Anima de paz y de guerra ,
Anima de mar y de tierra ,
deseo que todo lo que tenga ausente o perdido
se me entregue o aparezca
¡ Oh , Anima la más sola y desamparada del purgatorio ¡
Yo os acompaño en vuestro dolor
compadeciéndoos al veros gemir y padecer
en el abandono de esa dura y estrecha cárcel ,
y deseo aliviaros vuestra aflicción ;
ofrendaos todas aquellas obras meritorias ,
y he pasado , paso y he de pasar en esta vida
para que paguéis vuestras culpas a Dios ,
y alcancéis su gracia esperando me haréis el gran beneficio
de pedirle que dé a mi entendimiento la luz necesaria
para que yo cumpla su Santa Ley ,
amándole sobre todas las cosas como a mi único y sumo bien ,
a mi prójimo como a mi mismo ,
pues así mereceré de su “ Divina Majestad “ y misericordia infinita
mi salvación .
Amén

( Rezar 5 Padrenuestros , 5 Avemarías y 5 Glorias )
.

Hear, mortal, the lament of the imprisoned soul, alone, sad,
Abandoned in this obscure dwelling.
My soul, soul of peace and of war,
Soul of sea and land,
I desire that all that I have as lost or absent
Is returned to me or appears.
O Soul, the most abandoned and alone of all of purgatory!
I accompany you in your grief,
Having pity on seeing you suffer and moan
In the abandonment of this harsh and long imprisonment,
And I desire to lessen your pain;
I offer you all my meritorious works,
And all that I have suffered, suffer, and will suffer in this life
So that you can pay for your sins before God,
And achieve His grace hoping that you will do me the great favor
That he give to my understanding the light necessary
So that I may obey His Holy Law
Loving Him above all things as my one and only good,
And my neighbor as myself,
Because by that I will merit his Divine Majesty and infinite mercy:
My salvation.
Amen.

(Pray 5 Our Fathers, 5 Hail Marys, and 5 Doxologies)