7/25/2019 Society of St. Pius X's February 2016 African Newsletter http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/society-of-st-pius-xs-february-2016-african-newsletter 1/8 NV ova et Vetera For truth and tradition Nova et Vetera is a publication of the priories of the Society of St Pius X in South Africa Publisher: Fr Peter R Scott. Our Lady of Sorrows Priory. Roodepoort [email protected]1 February 2016 Bringing forth from his treasures new things and old (Mt. 13) Editorial Dear friends and benefactors of the Society of Saint Pius X in South Africa, February 2016 T he turbulent times in which we live require a fixed point of reference, a keystone of stability, an immoveable foundation. Confusion is only overcome by doctrinal truth and moral certitude. This rock is given to us by our Faith; it is the guiding principle of our whole lives. We find it in the catechism. It tells us why we are on this earth, what our goal must be, and how we are to attain to it. Nothing could be more important for our lives in this modern evolutionary world, in which both truth and morality are considered to be subject to change, and in which modern man, believing in himself as he does, learns despair from the emptiness of not knowing who he is, why he exists on this earth and what is his eternal destiny. Here lies the importance of our mission school, St. John the Baptist. Its chief purpose is to form young men and women of Faith, who are morally upright because they know the truth, who have learned that life must be directed from the sacred to the divine, who have understood that all our activities receive their orientation from the holy things of this earth, lifting them up to God himself. Its goal is to imbibe the children with the love of the absolute, God Himself, and of His Divine Son made man. It is to inculcate a longing to live the life of the Church, of the Mass and the sacraments, to imitate the purity of God's own Holy Mother, to appreciate the prayers and sacramentals of the Church, that through these sacred things they might have the blessedness of those who hunger and thirst for justice, that is for the life of grace that leads to eternal happiness. It is consequently a great joy to see our little school having nearly doubled in size for the second year in a row. With 181 students in grades Kindergarten – 10 at the beginning of January, we have now already filled to capacity the new school building, completed only last July. If all the families whose children have entered the school are not traditional Catholics, they certainly do have the willingness to learn about the Faith, to pray and to respect the Church`s doctrinal and moral teachings. It is the teaching of the catechism which will make the difference to their lives. 89 of last year ’s 95 students returned this year, and to them were added 92 new students. This increase has come about uniquely through word of mouth of our present students and their families, telling others about the beauty of a truly religious school, with high academic standards. The increased enrolment is particularly in the lower grades. We now have 12 in kindergarten, 43 in grade one, divided into two classes, one for the boys and one for the girls, 23 in grade 2, 24 in grade 3, 18 in grade 4, 13 in grade 5, 9 in grade 6, 25 in grades 7 & 8 and 14 in grades 9 & 10. We welcomed five new traditional Catholic teachers to our faculty, to share the load of teaching and of supervision. For the
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7/25/2019 Society of St. Pius X's February 2016 African Newsletter
Nova et Vetera is a publication of the priories of the Society of St Pius X in South Africa
Publisher: Fr Peter R Scott. Our Lady of Sorrows Priory. Roodepoort [email protected] 1
February 2016
Bringing forth from his treasures new things and old (Mt. 13)
Editorial
Dear friends and benefactors of the Society of Saint Pius X in South Africa, February 2016
The turbulent times in which we liverequire a fixed point of reference, ak e y s t o n e o f s t a b i l i t y , a n
immoveable foundation. Confusion is only
overcome by doctrinal truth and moralcertitude. This rock is given to us by ourFaith; it is the guiding principle of ourwhole lives. We find it in the catechism. Ittells us why we are on this earth, what ourgoal must be, and how we are to attain to it.Nothing could be more important for ourlives in this modern evolutionary world, inwhich both truth and morality areconsidered to be subject to change, and inwhich modern man, believing in himself as
he does, learns despair from the emptinessof not knowing who he is, why he exists onthis earth and what is his eternal destiny.
Here lies the importance of our missionschool, St. John the Baptist. Its chief purpose is to formyoung men and women of Faith, who are morally uprightbecause they know the truth, who have learned that lifemust be directed from the sacred to the divine, who haveunderstood that all our activities receive their orientationfrom the holy things of this earth, lifting them up to God
himself. Its goal is to imbibe the children with the love ofthe absolute, God Himself, and of His Divine Son mademan. It is to inculcate a longing to live the life of theChurch, of the Mass and the sacraments, to imitate thepurity of God's own Holy Mother, to appreciate the prayersand sacramentals of the Church, that through these sacredthings they might have the blessedness of those whohunger and thirst for justice, that is for the life of grace thatleads to eternal happiness.
It is consequently a great joy to see our little school having
nearly doubled in size for the second year in a row. With 181students in grades Kindergarten – 10 at the beginning ofJanuary, we have now already filled to capacity the new
school building, completed only last July. If all the families whose children have entered the school are not traditionalCatholics, they certainly do have the willingness to learnabout the Faith, to pray and to respect the Church`sdoctrinal and moral teachings. It is the teaching of the
catechism which will make the difference to their lives.
89 of last year ’s 95 students returned this year, and to them were added 92 new students. This increase has come aboutuniquely through word of mouth of our present studentsand their families, telling others about the beauty of a trulyreligious school, with high academic standards. Theincreased enrolment is particularly in the lower grades. Wenow have 12 in kindergarten, 43 in grade one, divided intotwo classes, one for the boys and one for the girls, 23 ingrade 2, 24 in grade 3, 18 in grade 4, 13 in grade 5, 9 in grade
6, 25 in grades 7 & 8 and 14 in grades 9 & 10. We welcomedfive new traditional Catholic teachers to our faculty, toshare the load of teaching and of supervision. For the
method of St. John Bosco used in the school is asupernatural one, based upon the three principles ofreligion, reason and kindness, and can only succeed whenthere is sufficient close supervision.
Clearly, we must now face up to the difficulty of unforeseengrowth. We must build additional classrooms and we mustdo so this year, or we will not be able to add an additional
grade (11) next year, and continue the growth and work ofthe school. The first step towards this plan is theconsolidation of the nine lots of our playing field, so thatwe can build on one side of it. This is now done. The secondstep is to obtain approval from the city for the project ofconstruction of a three storey school building with eightlarge classrooms. This is presently in process. The third stepwill be to collect the funds and to actually begin theconstruction.
However, we must not become too focussed on the
material side of our endeavours. Our preoccupation mustalways be with the teaching of catechism, for it is onlythrough the teaching of catechism that ignorance is healedand that children can find the narrow path that leads toheaven. The words of St. Pius X in 1905 are no less relevantthan when they were written: “The chief cause of the presentindifference and, as it were, infirmity of soul, and the serious evils thatresult from it, is to be found in ignorance of things divine” ( Acerbonimis, §1). St. Pius X deplored that this ignorance was evenamongst educated Catholics. This is even more the casenow. For it is certainly ignorance of supernatural grace and
of the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption, whichis responsible for the fact that there is so little response tothe profound indifferentism coming from the Vatican ofPope Francis, such as the January video promotingcommon prayer with all religions and the Decemberstatement that there is no reason for Jews to convert to the
Catholic Faith, for their salvation is already assured by thecovenant that God once made with their forefathers.Concerning such statements, we could well quote thecondemnation of our holy patron saint: “It is hard to findwords to describe how profound is the darkness in which they areengulfed and, what is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they reposethere...They know nothing of the Incarnation of the Word of God,noting of the perfect restoration of the human raced which Heaccomplished. Grace, the greatest of the helps for attaining eternal
things, the Holy Sacrifice, and the sacraments by which we obtain grace,are entirely unknown to them. They have no conception of the maliceand baseness of sin...” (Ib. §2)
It is in the light of the present ever-worsening crisis withinthe Church (and by consequence the world), that theteaching of catechism must be seen as the only real answer.
This is what St. Pius X has to say: “Christian teaching not onlybestows on the intellect the light by which it attains truth, but from itour will draws that ardour by which we are raised up to God and joinedwith Him in the practise of virtue... (Ib.§4). St. Pius X continues
to speak of the necessity, primacy and “supreme importance” of the teaching of catechism, quoting Benedict XIV assaying:“There is nothing more ef fective than catechetical instruction tospread the glory of God and to secure the salvation of souls” (Ib.§17).
It is precisely this that St. John the Baptist is striving to do. The daily catechism classes from our six catechism teachers,the daily admonitions at line up, the weekly sermons atschool Mass, the constant reminders of God's plan in class,all have this one focus, to give the knowledge and love ofdivinely revealed truth, that those who are Catholic might
become fervent, and that those who are not yet baptizedmight convert to the Catholic Faith. May God grant that, byHis grace, and with the help of your prayers, we might befaithful to this vocation.
This month, you will find the annual Christmas letter of Fr.Loïc Duverger , as wel l as a br iefpresentation on the District House inBredell. If you can find it in your generosityto make a donation to the St. John BaptistSchool building fund or to support one of
our poor students, it would be very muchappreciated, and you will certainly beremembered in our daily Rosary. St. John theBaptist has recently received authorizationto give receipts for tax exempt donations inSouth Africa, in virtue of section 18A of theIncome Tax Act, and I will be happy to sendyou such a receipt.
May this Lent be a holy one for all of you,and may we all grow in our love of the
Passion and Holy Sacrifice of our DivineSaviour,
Yours faithfully in the immaculate andcompassionate Heart of Mary,
Father Peter R. ScottFr. Scott leads the morning prayers at St John the Baptist School
7/25/2019 Society of St. Pius X's February 2016 African Newsletter
“Rex Pacificus - the King of peace is radiant, whose face the whole earth
desires to see” .It is with this triumphant title that Holy Mother Churchopens the Christmas liturgy at First Vespers. Our Lord JesusChrist is the King of peace, who by His Incarnation and Hisdeath on the Cross reconciled humanity with God. He is the
Desired One that all nationshad been waiting for sinceOriginal Sin, announced bythe prophets and hoped forby all men of good will. Forthe last 2,000 years, the
Church has relived the birthof the Son of God, thePrince of Peace, on the nightof Christmas.He has given us His peace.But despite this, the yearc loses with the wor ldrushing faster than ever to itsinevitable ruin. A peace, thatall aspire to and that all cry
out for, is slipping further
a n d f u r t h e r a w a y . Worldwide, “nations rise up
against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms ”.As I our countries during the wet season, the storms rise, thesky darkens, the sun is veiled by heavy and threateningclouds, thunder explodes in the distance, lightning springsfrom the horizon and the winds above our heads push closerthese frightening cloud formations. Nature itself seems tohold its breath. Unfortunately the clouds gathering over ourheads will bring no benefit to us. It will not be simply rainthat we hear coming from afar, with its beneficial and
refreshing character so needed for all nature parched by theheat of a relentless sun, but rather one of those storms thatdestroy everything in its path, leaving only ruin anddestruction.The prince of Peace, Our Lord Jesus Christ, came to his own, but hisown received Him not.The world runs to its ruin because men have forgotten aboutGod and wish to build a New World, in contrary to He whocreated this world. They have rejected his commandmentsand have put in place laws that legitimise even the mostabominable passions and crimes. The result of all this is the
current chaos accompanied with murders, wars, injusticesand atrocities of every kind.Men of good will try to bring reasonable solutions to thecrisis. However, all their solutions are missing the cornerstone which would bring true peace to nations, families andall men: Our Lord Jesus Christ.
As long as governments refuse to bow before Our BlessedLord; as long as societies refuse to have the true Church,
with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as their centre; as long as
families and all men refuse to submit to Our Lord JesusChrist, evil will continue to triumph and the miseries ofmankind will increase.
Just 90 years ago, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christthe King, proclaiming the Social Reign of Our Lord JesusChrist over all things. A few years earlier, in his firstencyclical Ubi Arcano Dei Consilio, the pope denounced, withforesight, the evils that we are now suffering theconsequences:Small nations complain that they are being oppressed and exploited by
great nations. The great powers, on their side, contend that they are
being judged wrongly and circumvented by the smaller It is most sad to see how this revolutionary spirit has penetrated into thesanctuary of the family. Too often have we seen both the sanctity of themarriage ties and the duties to God and to humankind, which this tieimposes upon men, forgotten.That blessed tranquillity which is the effect of an orderly existence andin which the essence of peace is to be found no longer exists, and, in its
place, the restless spirit of revolt reigns. Christian civilization itself isirreparably damaged. In the face of our much praised progress, webehold with sorrow society lapsing back slowly but surely into a state ofbarbarism.These evil results grow involume from day to day becauseof the utter impossibility of
finding anything like a saferemedy to cure the ills ofsociety, and this in spite of allthe efforts of politicians andstatesmen whose work hascome to naught if it has not,unfortunately, tended toaggravate the very evils theytried to overcome.Because men have forsakenGod and Jesus Christ, theyhave sunk to the depths ofevil... It was a quite generaldesire that both our laws andour governments should existwithout recognizing God or
Jesus Christ… Legislationwas passed which did notrecognize that either God or
Jesus Christ had any rightsover marriage… Added to allthis, God and Jesus Christ, aswell as His doctrines, were banished from the school.
The Holy Father then indicates the only solution that willpermit mankind to overcome these horrifying evils:The only remedy for such state of affairs is the peace of Christ…
From the District Superior of Africa:
December Letter to Friends and Benefactors
Child Jesus at Folweni Mission
A young Catholic holdingfast to the Holy Family
during a protest in Europe
for the defense of thetraditional family
7/25/2019 Society of St. Pius X's February 2016 African Newsletter
We need a peace which will penetrate the souls of men and which willunite, heal, and reopen their hearts… The peace of Christ is the onlypeace answering this description.The Church has been confided the doctrines and the promise of theassistance of Christ. She alone is able to bring about the peace ofChrist.When, therefore, governments and nations follow in all their activities,whether they be national or international, the dictates of consciencegrounded in the teachings, precepts, and example of Jesus Christ, andwhich are binding on each and every individual, then only can we havefaith in one another's word and trust inthe peaceful solution of the difficultiesand controversies which may grow outof differences in point of view or from aclash of interests.For Jesus Christ reigns over the mindsof individuals by His teachings, intheir hearts by His love, in each one'slife by the living according to His lawand the imitating of His example.Jesus reigns over the family when it,modelled after the holy ideals of thesacrament of matrimony instituted byChrist, maintains unspotted its truecharacter of sanctuary, inspired by thesacred ideals of the Holy Family ofNazareth.Finally, Jesus Christ reigns over societywhen men recognize and reverence thesovereignty of Christ, when they acceptthe divine origin and control over allsocial forces. Christ reigns when theposition in society which He Himselfhas assigned to His Church isrecognised, and, by consequence, theteacher and guide of every other society This long quotation reminds usthat, for a long time, the Churchhas denounced the evils that weare suffering. Likewise, for a longtime she has also indicated theproper solutions, but men stubbornly refuse them.Unfortunately, in today's world, it is also the Catholic clergywho also refuse to preach this infallible doctrine that wasrevealed by Our Blessed Lord.The synod that Pope Francis organised last year on CatholicFamily is a clear example. It should have firmly repeated theunchangeable teachings of the Catholic Church and thusdefend the family by providing the support and reassurancesexpected by Catholic families.But rather, during the synod little was said about Catholicfamilies. The delegates, taken by modern thinking, wanted tosubmit the Church to the currents of modern ideologies andmonopolised the debates trying to have divorced andremarried couples admitted to Holy Communion - and evenworse, to give legitimacy to homosexual couples.
The Final Report, as in the various texts of theSecond Vatican Council, is filled with ambiguities,lack of clarity and utter confusion. Calls for a falseand misguided mercy, will gradually legitimise
giving Holy Communion to divorced and remarried couplesand the recognition of homosexual couples. Under the falsepretext of merciful adaptation to the mentality of modernman, the modernists accentuate the misfortunes of thoseChristians who have broken their marriage vows, cause themisery of their children and participate in the destruction ofCatholic society.
At this time of Christmas, when we have the example of theHoly Family before us, we must each and every one of us, inthe place assigned to us by God, work for the Social Reign of
Christ with a renewed fidelity toHim and with unwaveringperseverance. It would bepointless to wish and call uponothers to turn towards Our Lord
Jesus Christ if we ourselves donot do everything we can so thatOur Divine Master reigns in ourown little kingdom of our souland of our families.Parents, united by the sacramentof marriage must make theirfamily into a holy sanctuary
where everybody lives underGod's grace and subject to HisCommandments. It is the only
way to keep unity and peace in afamily as well as fidelity betweenthe spouses and to providing thechi ldren with a steadfastCatholic Faith.
The family unit is the lastdefence against this Godless
world. That is why everything isbeing done to divide the familyand to destroy it with the mostabominable laws favouringdivorce and abortion as well asthe gender theories and thelegalisation of civil unions
which are even against naturallaw.
The Catholic Family is supported by Catholic Schools. Aware of this need, we strive to ensure that next to ourpriories stand schools totally faithful to the teachings of theCatholic Church. They are fundamental to us and guaranteethe perseverance of parents and children in the CatholicFaith and in a life faithful to God's Commandments.
These schools are at the disposition of Catholic parents, who have the grave obligation to send their children, wherepossible, to these schools,
With gratitude we thank all those, who through theirdedication and generosity to these schools, provide themeans for them to exist and grow. We continue ourexpansion plans drawn up for our schools in Gabon, Kenyaand at Roodepoort in South Africa.
To help you protect your families and thus to also sanctifyyourselves, there is nothing better than assisting at HolyMass as a family. One must not just send the children toSunday Mass, the parents should go with them, pray with
Sacred Heart of Jesus, protect our families
7/25/2019 Society of St. Pius X's February 2016 African Newsletter
The first implantation of the Society of StPius X in Africa happened in 1984 whenwas founded Our Lady of Sorrows prioryin Roodepoort. Two years later in 1986, thepriories of Harare in Zimbabwe and ofLibreville in Gabon were opened. In 1996,Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was foundedin Durban when the Society took over
from Fr Leslie, a South African priest,friend of the Society. Later in 2003, theSociety set up a priory in Nairobi, Kenya.During all these years, theses priories werewhat we call Autonomous Houses, that isto say priories independent from oneanother and each one under dependingdirectly from the General House in Switzerland. In 2008,these autonomous houses were united into one District inorder to facilitate the apostolate, and the African Districtwas born.
Today, the District of Africa comprises 6 priories (2 in
South Africa, 1 in Zimbabwe, 1 in Gabon, 1 in Kenya and 1in Nigeria), one novitiate for religious sisters, 19 Masscentres and 3 schools. The members include 22 priests, 4brothers, 7 sisters of the Society of St Pius X, 6 Oblatessisters and 4 Missionary Sisters of Jesus and Mary.
The various works of the Society of St Pius X in Africa are supervised by a District Superior,presently Rev. Fr. Loïc Duverger, assisted by theDistrict Bursar. The District House is located inBredell, between Benoni and Kempton Park, onthe eastern side of Johannesburg, not far fromthe international airport.
The administrative duties:
The District House is an administrative house which takes on a discreet work to the eyes of thefaithful but necessary to the healthydevelopment of our apostolate. Theadministrative work could be summed upinto three parts: the juridical administration
A RICA DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS
OUR LADY QUEEN of A RICA HOUSE
them and receive the sacraments with them. On top ofSunday Mass, there are also daily prayers that should be saidas a family: father, mother and children kneeling before thefamily crucifix, and a statue of Our Blessed Lady, recitingtheir family rosary, so as to put at the feet of the Holy Familyall their requests, their worries and their sufferings.Finally, we can never recommend too much theconsecration of the family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Theenthronement of the Sacred Heart in the family home with
the consecration of the family by the father and theblessings given by the priest, as witness to this consecration,as well as the blessing and enthroning of a picture of theSacred Heart in the centre of the home, is a source ofnnumerable heavenly blessings. By this consecration, Our
Blessed Lord takes possession of the family home andpromises a very special protection over each member of thefamily. I encourage you to take the resolution to have thisenthronement done in your home during this current year –and if you have already done so, to renew the consecration ata suitable time.Christian families who sanctify their life are always ferventand generous parishioners, giving a good example to othersand little by little are helping to spread the Social Reign of
Christ in our society. With all the priests and religious of theSociety of Saint Pius X, it is the grace that we ask of God foryou all and I wish you all a Holy and Happy New Year.Father Loïc DuvergerDistrict Superior
African District Headquarters in Bredell, Gauteng
The Workers at the District House
7/25/2019 Society of St. Pius X's February 2016 African Newsletter
The Associations: In each country, the Society of St Pius Xmust have a juridical status, that is to say, itmust have a local association in accordancewith the nat ional laws, and fitting itsapostolic aims. Once the Association is setup, we must ensure that all the documents in
relation with the life of an association (e.g.resolutions, meetings…) are correctlycompleted. The District House makes surethat all is done and well done: it is indeed ourlegal entrance door into a country in orderto work for the salvation of souls. Thisincludes obtaining visas for our priests andreligious to work in various countries. It alsoincludes the preparation of various projects,such as purchasing land, building churches, schools, religious convents, to ensure that they are done correctly.
Accounting:
Another aspect of the work assumed by the District House consists in checking the accounting for each priory and chapel.Good financial management is required for so many missionaries at work, so many mouths to feed, so many individuals toaccommodate and care for, as well as for the realization of projects, such as building churches and schools, and travelling inorder to bring the sacraments to the faithful, all of those cost money. It belongs to the District House to manage the financialmeans put at its disposal by Divine Providence, in such a way to meet with the daily needs of our priories and to developongoing projects.
The Secretariat: The third aspect of the administrative work assumed by the District House is the general secretariat: to reply to mail, to thankbenefactors, to archive the administrative and sacramental documents, to prepare publications in view of presenting thework of the Society in Africa.
Apostolate:Besides those administrative duties, the District House assumes some apostolate, an apostolate which can vary from one yearto another, according to the needs. At the present time the District House has an apostolate in Johannesburg, in Tanzania, inMadagascar, in Reunion Island and in Mauritius.At Johannesburg, there is first of all our small chapel in Bredell, Our Lady Queen of Africa Chapel, with its two dozenfaithful who support us very generously. We celebrate Mass for them not only every Sunday of the year but also, as far aspossible, every day. On Fridays, there are usually catechism classes for about ten children.Three times a year, Fr Duverger or Fr. Demornex flies to “the Islands”, that is to say, to visit our faithful in Madagascar,Reunion Island and Mauritius. And every other month, Fr. Demornex goes to Tanzania, to Dar Es-Salaam to visit ourparishioners.
Father Etienne DemornexDistrict Bursar
The faithful with Fr Demornex, at the District House Chapel,dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Africa
St. John the Baptist Scholarships
Sponsors are sought to provide scholarships for needy children already enrolled in St. John the Baptist school. Thesescholarships will provide for up to R 1,000 per month, which is half the tuition, the parents having to cover the other R 1,000. The conditions to receive these scholarships are:1) Sunday attendance at the traditional Mass. 2) Maintaining an average grade of over 75 %. 3) True need, due to inability
of the parents to pay full tuition
If you are able to help with a monthly contribution of between R 100 and R 1,000 (=$10 to $100) please contact Fr Scott:[email protected] or P.O. Box 878, Roodeport, 1725, South Africa, and a student will be assigned to you and will pray for yourintentions.
