SERMON OF MONS. MARCEL LEFEBVRE MAY 26, 1985.

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Note from E. In this sermon, Bishop Lefebvre addresses three topics: charismatism and Pentecostalism, the sacraments instructed by Our Lord Jesus Christ, among which he emphasizes the sacrament of confirmation and, finally, he draws a conclusion about the way in which Pentecostalism and charismatism want to transmit the Holy Spirit to us. This sermon is doctrinal, hence its importance in reading it to have a clearer idea of ​​modernist errors. 

Mia, dear friends, my dear brothers, today there is much talk about charismatism and Pentecostalism, and, in fact, many Catholics today strive to receive the Holy Spirit in a new way, in a way that ultimately leads us to Protestantism. Because Pentecostalism was born Protestant and spread to the Church, not long ago.

 But today this Pentecostalism in the Church has become charismatic. And we are forced to admit that these manifestations are spread more and more with the approval of the ecclesiastical authorities. We were able to see and hear these events at the Katholinkentag meeting in Munich Germany, last November. All the German bishops and cardinals gathered in Munich in the midst of 80,000 of their faithful. And these events took place before the reception of the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Demonstrations that really have something strange. One may, in fact, wonder if they are inspired by the true Spirit of God. Or by another spirit. and almost at the same time, Gratz Austria there were also charismatic manifestations under the direction of the bishop of this city and this bishop explained that these manifestations were introduced in the Church as a means to attract young people and, thus, the churches would not be seen empty. And perhaps for this it would be a way to revive the Christian life of these young people. At the same time, in Paray-le Monial, events of this kind often occurred. Events, by the way, which also have quite traditional aspects.

In Paray-le Monial, in particular, we notice that there are young people who spend the whole night adoring the Blessed Sacrament, who recite the rosary and who really show a spirit of prayer. There is then a strange aspect that combines the Church and the manifestations that are more foreign to the Church. What should we think about this? ¿Do we really believe that this is a new path that was opened on the occasion of the Second Vatican Council a few years before to receive the Holy Spirit? It seems that these new manifestations are not at all in accordance with the tradition of the Church. Where does the Holy Spirit come from? Who is the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is God, Spirit is Deus Saint John tells us: "God is Spirit" and God wants to be worshiped in spirit and in truth.

 Therefore, it is more a spiritual manifestation that should manifest our attachment to the Spirit than external and sensitive manifestations. And, then, it is Our Lord Jesus Christ himself who tells us in the Gospel, who announces to the apostles that they will receive the Spirit that he will send them. He will send you the Spirit that He has received, the Spirit of truth, the spirit of charity: quia de meo accipiet (Jn 16,14) I will send them to you: “Mittan eum ad vos” (Jn 16,7). We say it in the Creed: "Credo in in Spiritum Sanctum qui ex Patre filioque procedit" which proceeds from the Father and the Son. THIS IS THE CATHOLIC FAITH. We believe that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son and that Our Lord Jesus Christ came precisely to earth to return his Spirit to us; to give us back his spiritual life, his divine life. And what means did He take? ¿Do I take these means, these manifestations that we see in Pentecostalism and charismatism? Not at all. I take the means of the sacraments.

I institute the sacraments to communicate their Spirit to us. And, in particular, we must insist on this truth of tradition. Our Lord communicates his Spirit to us through baptism. He tells Nicodemus in his nocturnal conversation that he had with him, he told him: "He who is not born of water and of the Holy Spirit will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Therefore, we must be reborn from the water and the Holy Spirit, and this is how Our Lord communicated his Spirit to the apostles. The apostles first received the baptism of John and then, at Pentecost, they received the baptism of the Spirit. And what did they do immediately after they themselves received the Holy Spirit? They baptized they communicated the Holy Spirit to all who had faith; to all who believed in Our Lord Jesus Christ. In this way, the Church

It seems to me that we should be more interested in meditating more on the great reality of our baptism. It is a total transformation that has been achieved in our soul, on the occasion of the reception of this sacrament. And then the other sacraments came to complete this outpouring of the Holy Spirit that we received in Baptism, the Sacrament of Confirmation, which this afternoon I will have the joy of giving to many children. Confirmation also communicates to us all the gifts of the Holy Spirit with great effusion because we need them to nourish our spiritual life, to strengthen our spiritual life, our Christian life. And that's not all. Our Lord has wanted two sacraments in particular to communicate his Spirit to us frequently in order to maintain the outpouring on us of his Spirit.

These are the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist. The sacrament of penance that strengthens the grace we received at baptism and purifies our souls from our sins. Because we cannot think of receiving many graces from the Holy Spirit if our souls are in contradiction with the Holy Spirit, through sin. The sacrament of penance, therefore, restores to us the virtue of the Holy Spirit, the virtue of grace. And what about the sacrament of the Eucharist, which is given to us by the Sacrifice of the Mass? The sacrifice of redemption continues so that the Sacrament of the Eucharist is carried out. And this grace that flows from the heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, from the pierced heart of Our Lord, the flowing blood and water, manifests at the same time manifests at the same time the grace of Redemption by the water that flows from his sacred Heart and his blood that flows is his divine life communicated to us. Then also in the Holy Eucharist we receive both the sanctification of our souls and the elimination of sin and attachment to Our Lord Jesus Christ; like many fountains of the Spirit.

The sacrament of marriage and the sacrament of priestly orders are sacraments that sanctify society. The first sanctifies the family and the second is given precisely to communicate the Holy Spirit to all these Christian families, to all souls. Therefore, they are still new occasions in which Our Lord Jesus Christ really gives his Spirit, his Spirit of truth. His spirit of love, his spirit of charity. And finally, the sacrament of extreme unction, which he prepares for us to receive the true and definitive outpouring of the Holy Spirit, when we receive our reward in heaven. These are the means by which Our Lord Jesus Christ wants to communicate his spiritual life to us, his own Spirit. We do not have the right to choose other means and to want other means than those instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ. He took the trouble to institute these means that are simple, beautiful and symbolic at the same time. We do not have the right to expect that, by our simple external manifestations, particular gestures, we have the right to receive the Holy Spirit. We must suspect and fear that these new manifestations are inspired by the Spirit of Our Lord, in truth they are not at all, they certainly receive another spirit.

Therefore, be careful not to be drawn into these manifestations or these desires and spare our own families who are sometimes attracted to these manifestations. Let's say that Our Lord was very careful to give us his Spirit through the aforementioned sacraments. And what is the effect of the descent of the Holy Spirit on us? Above all, it is turning away from sin through these particular gifts of strength and fear of God and especially filial fear, not servile fear. Oh, certainly the servile fear is useful, that is, the fear of punishment is useful to us to keep us on the path of fidelity to Our Lord Jesus Christ and his commandments. But it is above all the filial FEAR that must be cultivated in our souls and this fear comes directly from the Holy Spirit because it generates in us the fear of moving away from him who is our everything, moving away from God and the Holy Spirit. This fear must be enough and must be effective in turning us away from all sin. To keep our will united to God and prevent this will from adhering to the goods of this world that are contrary to God's will. This is the first effect of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It also inspires us to submit to the will of God, through the gift of advice and wisdom, the one perfects the virtue of prudence. In the course of our existence we need to know what God's will is in order to do it, to practice it. Sometimes decisions are difficult to make and it is difficult for us to know God's will. Then the Holy Spirit enlightens us with the gift of advice and wisdom, it also moves us to prayer, to union with Our Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of mercy is a gift that manifests itself particularly with the virtue of religion, which elevates our souls to God; the virtue of religion that is part of the virtue of justice. Because it is fair and worthy that we adore God and that adoration wants us to give it to him through the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Mass. God wanted and wants us to grant him all the honor and glory through Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, this is what the Church asks us to do every Sunday, unite ourselves to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,

It is for all this that once again there is an error in the liturgical reform when so much emphasis is placed on the participation of the faithful. I myself heard Bishop Bugnini, the mastermind of the liturgical reform, tell us: "All this reform was carried out with the aim of making the faithful participate more in the liturgy." But what participation? External participation, oral participation these are not always the best participations. Why external participation? Why these strange and rare ceremonies, why these modern songs? Why these vocal and modern songs? They say (the modernists) "For an internal union, for a spiritual, supernatural union, to unite our souls to God, it is inconceivable that the faithful who attend Mass remain silent and do not even open their mass books."

What shall I say about this? That this way of thinking that is in total contradiction with the tradition of the Church is inconceivable. The faithful before the if during the Sacrifice of the Mass feels attracted is conquered, and inspired in some way by the feelings that the priest manifests in his priestly action par excellence; hearing the priest perform his act of confession (Confiteor Deo Omnipotent...), his act of contrition, the faithful join the priest and lament their sins, feel a call from God to God's pity and mercy when they hear the Kirie eleison . When listening to the reading of the Epistle and the Gospel, his spirit of faith is manifested, it is the act of faith. A profound act of faith when, together with the priest, he prays the Creed where the truths taught by the Church are contained. In the Offertory the soul of the faithful joins the host or priest, on the paten he offers his day. He offers his whole life, he offers his family, in short, he offers all of his to God, and thus all feelings continue through this true and magnificent Mass. THIS IS THE TRUE PARTICIPATION.

Therefore, there is an error, in the sense that it was absolutely necessary for the faithful to participate in such a way, so externally, that it becomes an obstacle to interior prayer, that it becomes an obstacle to the union of their souls. With God.

How many people say: “We cannot pray in modern masses. At the new masses, we can no longer pray. We always hear something, we hear a public prayer. There is an outward manifestation all the time distracting us and we can no longer truly meet and unite with God.”