April 2000 Print

Letter of Archbishop Lefebvre,
Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost,
to all the members of the Congregation (published in 1965).

 

Reverend Fathers and dear Brethren:

I think the time has come for me to appeal to your supernatural spirit of faith, and to the heavy responsibility which weighs upon your shoulders, to prepare and bring about in our beloved congregation a genuine reform, an authentic aggiornamento, which will focus on the spirit that will motivate you in the discharge of your office and, through you, all the members of the congregation. It is a reform which will have repercussions in our daily life, both as regards community activities and those of community life.

The work accomplished since the preparatory commission and up to this last session seems to have advanced the Council sufficiently in its labors for us to begin to count on the special graces which our Lord gives on these occasions to bring about in the Church reforms and corrections whose only purpose is to sanctify souls more perfectly, and to kindle anew in the Church that purest spirit of the Gospel which has been manifest through her history.

In the course of that history, how has such renewal, similar to the events following the first Pentecost, manifested itself? By holy initiatives on the part of souls who, though often the most humble, were filled with the Spirit of God, and approved by the successors of the Apostles, especially by the successor of Peter. These initiatives, fully in accord with the spirit of the Gospel, raised up bands of holy souls, prayerful souls, obedient souls, missionary souls, who rejected the Prince of this world to submit themselves to the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The story of the Church is the story of the saints. Those who tried to reform the Church in a spirit other than the Spirit of our Lord were heretics or schismatics, and through their pride they were lost, together with their followers.

What happened before the Council of Trent, and the events of the true reformation which followed it, show the action of the Holy Spirit in the numerous foundations which were made in that period, all of them designed to train priests or religious of both sexes in a closer imitation of our Lord; that is, in humility, obedience, poverty, chastity, liturgical prayer, meditation, frequent reception of the sacraments, devotion to the Holy Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, dedication to the poor and the unfortunate, and also and above all, in Christian teaching, given in a multitude of schools, catering to all classes of society, such as those founded by the Theatines, the Somascha Fathers, the Barnabites, the Angelicals, the Ursulines, the Jesuits, etc.

So many holy examples of zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls! And all that abundance of graces, like that which was seen in the centuries which followed, generally started with small groups of clerics motivated by a great desire to sanctify themselves, to imitate our Lord more closely. And such were the motives of our founders, Claude Poulart and the Venerable Libermann.

The object and consequence of this introduction is that we should ask ourselves this question: Are we aware that we have to rediscover this fervor and this ardor to sanctify ourselves through the imitation of our Lord, or do we on the contrary wish to follow the attractions of new theories which seek to exalt human dignity to the point of abandoning divinely based authority and obedience; which exalt the material world, the cosmos, and would have us seek salvation in the building up of this world, abandoning detachment form worldly goods and true poverty; and which, finally, setting aside original sin and concupiscence, exalt the body and the flesh, and despise celibacy and continence, thereby destroying true chastity?

In my opinion we are coming to a crossroads. What are we to do? Which road are we to choose? For this is a question of life or death for all the religious orders; it is their very foundation and their raison d'être that is being called into question. If we abandon traditional philosophy and theology, the fundamental principles of salvation, of sanctification, of justification, then in a short time our Congregation will disintegrate and the young, with all their generosity, will abandon us.

For there are many generous young people, desirous of true sanctification, who will go where they can find a strong Christian spirituality, a traditional spirituality, which helps them grow and develop, and liberates them by its supernatural obedience, its poverty, its chastity, its clear and public proclamation of adhesion to Christ and His Church. This is the spirituality of the Saints. Holy souls will come and will recruit these young men who desire true virtue, and who will be the priests of tomorrow, the missionaries of the future, capable and confident because holy and replete with sound doctrine.

The choice is ours! Do we want to die a natural death amid the corruption of ideas and undiscipline of every kind, or to renew ourselves, and so attract noble and truly Christian souls to our ranks?

It is you, my dear colleagues, Provincials, and Directors of Novitiates and Scholasticates, who have the answer. I say this without hesitation: if within two or three years things are not put right by a thoroughgoing reform, a genuine aggiornamento in the direction of Christian and religious virtues, as well as in the formation of minds and wills, we shall be leading the Congregation to extinction, as has already been the case with many diocesan seminaries and the novitiates of numerous other congregations.

What, then, needs to be done?

1. We ourselves must regain a firm and robust conviction of our faith in our Lord, in His grace, in the virtues He taught us by His example and His word. In this we must seek encouragement in the entire history of the Church, and in the lives of the saints, especially of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "Fortes in fide" is what we must once more become.

2. To this end we must resolutely reject anything which may deceive us or lead us away from this frame of mind: modern nominalistic, evolutionistic and materialistic philosophy, which confuses the natural and the supernatural, which has no place for personal and free divine intervention in human souls, which reduces human responsibility, and which "collectivizes" the human race and eliminates the person and the individual soul.

We must reject anything which demolishes traditional theology by minimizing the ordained hierarchy and its powers, by reducing the magisterium to a "witness by presence," by laicizing priests and entrusting priestly functions to the laity, by reducing the sacrifice of the Mass to a community meal, etc....

For to let ourselves be carried away by these theories, and many others which are formally opposed to the Church's tradition, is to head towards loss of faith in our Lord.

3. We ourselves must first of all be converted to a renewal of our religious life by constant prayer; by a great, respectful and ardent devotion to our Holy Mass and to the Holy Eucharist; by respect for ourselves as priests and religious, shown in modesty and humility; by a true evaluation of our responsibility, and of the duties of our calling towards those entrusted to us.

 

PRAYER

This personal reconversion must show itself outwardly in our behavior in the House of God, to which we must be constantly drawn, and in fidelity to our breviary, to our prayers and the exercises prescribed for us, to our Holy Mass and to the devotions dear to the Church—the Blessed Sacrament, the Blessed Virgin, the Patrons of our communities.

If we are ardent in putting this spirit of prayer into practice, our community will follow our example. We shall be attentive to the beauty and cleanliness of our chapels, our sacristies and our vestments; we shall keep the Blessed Sacrament in its proper place of honor in the center of the high altar, (for our chapels are not cathedrals). We shall avoid letting individual low Masses be devalued by the abusive multiplication of concelebrations. Let us think of the formation of our future Fathers, and instill in them the public and universal value of private Masses.

Since our Masses are intended primarily for clerics, even if there are a few of the faithful present, we must, as a rule, retain the use of Latin, and especially for the Sunday High Mass. The rule that has been adopted in the Roman seminaries is: twice a week, Mass in the vernacular; Sundays and other days, Mass in Latin. The same applies for novices, who are counted as clerics.

We shall retain the ceremonies of Latin Vespers, sung on Sundays, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the October Rosary Devotions, processions of the Blessed Sacrament, Rogation processions, etc....

We shall take care to have beautiful statues in our chapels and gardens, to encourage devotion and for the edification of souls.

The liturgical spirit so highly recommended by the Council can only be effective in proportion to our union with God, which is nourished by mental prayer, union with God in the depths of our souls. Let us avoid the modern tendency which tries to create the illusion of a collective salvation, and no longer a personal or individual one—hence the scorn for personal acts of piety.

The liturgy is also a school of respect, because it demonstrates a just appreciation of values. To each individual according to his function, and to each object, are given the marks of respect due to them. Above all respect and adoration to God! We shall carefully observe all the marks and signs of adoration prescribed by the liturgy, including the reception of the Holy Eucharist kneeling, which as of now is still the rule.

Let us not without cause shorten the prayers before and after meals. They have a beneficial effect on our conduct at table. Let us return to the rules as laid down. And while we are on the subject, in order that thanksgiving after meals be not omitted or said privately, smoking must never be allowed until the prayers have been said. It is an unbecoming habit for religious, and one which needs to be stopped.

 

STUDY, READING, JOURNALS, RETREATS

To the renewal of our devotional life we must take care to add a high and lasting regard for truth, both natural truth and the truths of the faith.

We must have a passion for truth, which is the light of the intellect. Never has the imperative need for a sound philosophy made itself felt as now, for the great majority of present-day errors are philosophical ones. Only a philosophy which follows Thomist principles gives the mind the strength and clarity which makes for a strong intellect, capable of discerning the weak points in modern errors. This philosophy must not be only speculative, but must also include ethics, which provides the natural and fundamental basis of the moral and spiritual life, and of the sociology of the family and of politics. It gives the fundamental principles governing relations between capital and labor, between intermediary bodies and civil society, as well as the principles of international law, of relationships between societies.

Are these Thomistic principles really what our philosophers are studying? It is the same where theology is concerned. Is there not a tendency for theology to become purely positive, without demonstrating the harmony of reason and faith?

The responsibility of Directors of scholasticates in this matter is heavy indeed. It is their duty to reprimand professors who teach a different doctrine, and even to report them to the major superiors or to the Prefect-General of Studies.

Minds are formed not only in the classroom, but also by lectures, public readings, and by the books, reviews and newspapers which are put at the scholastics' disposal. Directors are directly responsible for the choice of these. How much imprudence and carelessness there is in this matter! Are not students being allowed to choose for themselves these sources of formation or deformation? What havoc has been wrought in souls by this negligence! There are lecturers who cast doubt on the holiest things! Harmful or trivial material from more or less pro-­Marxist reviews is used for public reading, which could be such an instrument for good—so many edifying lives, so many useful experiences come from sound historical reading.

Superiors must themselves choose the newspaper or newspapers and reviews which are placed at their scholastics' disposal. Reviews and papers which undermine traditional standards of faith, philosophy and piety are to be avoided. That must be the criterion, not some kind of balance between two so-called extremes!

Any negligence in this matter has unimaginable consequences, and is at the root of a mentality which is contrary to the religious virtues of humility and obedience.

A word needs to be added on the subject of the choice of preachers for retreats and of others who address clerical gatherings. We know for a fact that many of them no longer conform to the principles which made the saints and the apostles, and so are more destroyers than builders. Here again, Provincials and Superiors have a grave obligation to be well-informed and prudent, and to make only well advised choices; every mistake is a source of disorder and indiscipline.

 

THE VIRTUES

Restoration of Piety, Restoration of Truth, Restoration of Virtue.

Let us make gratia sanans fruitful by combating vices and bad habits, and by encouraging the practice of virtue. In this domain the peculiar virtue of superiors is fortitude, which is summed up in sustinere et eggredi: to hold fast and go forward, never giving up, sometimes tolerating, but with the intention of reforming as soon as possible. It will take angelic, if not divine, patience, but let us not be discouraged in advance. It means that we, too, need converting.

We must seek to create in our houses an atmosphere of holiness, zeal, fervor, charity and generosity, so in pursuit of this ideal we have to encourage what is good and virtuous and act against scandal, which is clearly contrary to the common good. There will be many difficulties, and we shall have to exercise toleration for more or less long periods, but with charity, perseverance and firmness, we must reprimand and correct, so that it may never be thought that we accept the scandal, nor may the author of it think that he has won, and has managed to get the better of his Superior. There are scandals arising from weakness, which are the less serious ones, and there are those caused by the spirit of pride, of insubordination, by the false spirit which does not understand obedience. These are the serious ones, and cannot be long tolerated without grave harm being done to the community.

The same applies to grave moral faults. If they seem to be more or less accepted, they set up a chain reaction of lapses and poison a house, a province, a diocese. It is necessary to act severely and promptly, at least to avert a scandal.

But although reprimands are necessary, what is more important is to encourage those who are good, virtuous and zealous and so to encourage desirable and salutary emulation.

 

OBEDIENCE

Let us delight in explaining to our aspirants the role played by the virtue of obedience in the Christian and religious life. Obedience is our Lord's whole life. There can be no hope of renewal where there is no devotion to obedience as the total gift of self to God. All the saints were first and foremost humble and obedient souls.

Sadly, we have to observe that in this domain, lapses are continual, and begin in the novitiate. It is there, above all, that we must inculcate that spirit of self-reformation which consists in a total and complete abandonment of one's own will, to submit without argument or hesitation to the will of God, as manifested by one's superiors. This is the primary and indispensable source of a deep and lasting reform.

Disobedience with regard to the rule of silence, clerical dress, poverty, the way cells are kept, etc., is all too common.

What is especially serious is the lack of understanding of the fundamental necessity of obedience in the quest to imitate our Lord. It is a subject to which those in charge of training must return constantly. Now, some Superiors and Directors give the impression that they no longer dare speak of obedience and authority. They are in full agreement with self-education and self-training, and tend to do away with rules so as to allow more freedom for personal responsibility. There is in this tendency an abdication on the part of authority in what is the very essence of its function, a total lack of realism, which ends up in indiscipline and disorder, and encouragement to the daring and headstrong, which leads to contempt for good, humble and submissive subjects.

 

POVERTY

We must encourage a love of poverty, the spirit of economy, and the care of community belongings so as to avoid unnecessary expenses. To attain the real practice of detachment from worldly goods must be the aim of saints, of those who seek no other good but our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is much talk about poverty, but it is less and less practiced. Bursars know this, and are astonished at the spendthrift mentality of many, if not most, of our scholastics. Savings are on the increase, and so are personal possessions, such as radios, tape recorders, cameras, etc. Demands are likewise growing ever louder within the community for the most up-to-date leisure facilities.

Far from showing a holy zeal for the practice of poverty, young members of the Congregation are making demands which liken them to the secular clergy or the laity. This is diametrically opposed to the renewal that is needed. Think of a Francis of Assisi, or a Vincent de Paul, or a Don Bosco! How far removed we are from the spirit of such as these.

Poverty combats slovenliness, vulgarity and untidiness. In this connection, something must be said about clerical and religious dress. In countries where the cassock is not the customary outdoor dress, the tradition of a black suit is to be maintained, and the cassock is to be worn in the house and chapel. In countries which are gradually adopting the clerical suit we must ask ourselves in all sincerity and before our Lord if this change, which is in no way required either by the law or by the faithful, really helps the sanctification of the religious and offers him greater pastoral effectiveness. I leave the answer to you, but my conclusion is that in such countries we must in no way encourage this change of dress, but should, on the contrary, give our encouragement to those who by their dress proclaim both their attachment to the Catholic Church, and their desire to practice more perfectly detachment from the vanities of this world.

As for those who feel they really must wear a suit outside the house, advise them strongly to wear black, with a black stock and a Roman collar, like our brethren in countries where this dress is obligatory. Black is reserved, discreet and dignified; grey is worldly and unworthy of a priest, especially of a religious.
In this, as in the use of all worldly goods, what will the saints do whom the Lord will raise up in days to come? They will do what those of the past have always done: they will seek to imitate our Lord Jesus Christ in His poverty, His modesty, His detachment from the world and from all that pleases it. At the same time they will seek the edification of their neighbor by the preaching and example of the word. This must be the spirit of our renewal in the virtue of poverty.

 

CHASTITY

The practice of the virtue of poverty is easily linked with that of chastity, for they are mutually supportive. The absence of mortification in the exercise of detachment from worldly goods does not facilitate the practice of chastity. Vanity or slovenliness in dress or behavior are contrary both to poverty and to chastity. Lack of modesty, lack of respect for oneself and one's neighbor, they, too, are contrary to the mastery of self in conformity with the order willed by God. Vulgarity in dress, in speech, in leisure activities, reading and songs, is a manifestation of interior indiscipline, of a license which leads to incontinence, excess in eating and drinking, and to lust.

Vigilance and self-control go hand in hand with habitual self-denial, and permit true simplicity and a great charity built on respect for one's neighbor and, above all, for one's superiors. Familiar speech, slovenly dressing, and lack of courtesy and mannerliness must not be tolerated.

We must also guard against the immoderate use of television. What would a man do who sincerely desires to keep from his mind, his imagination and his heart those things which delight the world, where reign "the concupiscence of the eyes and the flesh, and the pride of life"? He would limit himself, I think, to information on current affairs and a few, rare, sound plays.¹ And to ensure this, vigilance must be strict, and healthy and fraternal activities organized at recreations.

Watching television must never be permitted in scholasticates and novitiates after evening prayers, which must mark the end of the day, be followed by the greater silence, and be already a preparation for the next day's prayer. Television may be permitted once or twice a month for Fathers and Brothers who have finished their training, and then for educational programs. It is by mortification and self-denial that the virtue of chastity is maintained, not by watching scandalous things.

These same principles must make us avoid frequenting the cinema and shun dubious reading matter, which stimulates the imagination and leads us away from the life of prayer.

How much more consoling is the company of the Holy Scriptures, and of the works of souls nourished with the Spirit of God, especially the Fathers of the Church. We need to know how to make a wise choice of books and other reading matter for our young men, so that the knowledge for which they are avid does not "puff them up," but edifies them.

My dear brethren, would that I could speak with the tongues of our holy founders! Would that I could inflame you with the holy desires which motivated all the saints who were reformers and renewers because they loved our Lord Jesus Christ passionately, because, contemplating our Lord on His cross, they drew therefrom a wholesome ardor for the practice of obedience, of poverty, of chastity, and acquired a spirit of sacrifice, of oblation and of prayer which transformed them into apostles.

This is the direction in which our reform, our renewal, our aggiornamento must go, and not in the direction of a "neo-protestantism" which destroys the sources of sanctity.

May we raise up holy souls to join their efforts with ours to make all our scholasticates, novitiates and Provincial Houses of prayer, of fervor, of charity, houses whose center is the Eucharist, where Mary is Queen, where the Cross is everywhere present.

What consolation for the members of the General Council, for all the religious at the Mother House, and for myself, to see that, taken as a whole, our provinces and districts are faithfully keeping to the traditions of piety, of charity and of zeal, which our predecessors bequeathed to us! However, we must not minimize the dangers we are running in the generally pernicious atmosphere which, even within the Church itself, is tending to stifle all the sources of authentic holiness. The facts show that our beloved Congregation is not immune to the evils which are raging around us: vocations are decreasing, many young aspirants leave and many of our professed members are experiencing doubts and hesitations.

That is why I thought the time had come for me to urge you to a sursum corda, to a renewal of generosity, so that, together with your colleagues, you may study precisely and effectively the most apt means of giving our dear family of the Holy Ghost the new lease of life which will enable it to pass through the scandals of the world and the errors of our time without mortal contamination.

May the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and our holy founders, give us the graces we need to accomplish this task, which is necessary for the salvation of our souls, and of the souls in our care.

Humbly, cordially and devotedly yours in our Lord.

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1. When Archbishop Lefebvre drafted the Rule for the Third Order of the Society of Saint Pius X some 20 years later, it is interesting to note that one of the rules is to abstain completely from watching television.