Many thanks to an old friend of The Remnant who this afternoon reminded me that today is the birthday of the late, great Father H. Marchosky. My correspondent writes, "It's peculiar, reflecting on these stalwart people from the past, how in my 60's, I often feel like an orphan. May God bless and keep these warriors; these saints.  And may He have mercy on us."

I couldn't agree more. I miss them, and, as predicted when they left us, no one has truly filled the shoes of these valiant pioneers of the Catholic counterrevolution. "Smells and bells" traddies, they were not! And they were traditionalist long before it was "cool".  Many of them lost everything (apart from the faith) in defense of Tradition, and Father Marchosky was no exception. He traded prestige and a life of luxury as a highly respected professor of theology for his refusal to offer the New Mass.

Father's story is included in the Angelus Press book, "Priest, Where Is Thy Mass? Mass, Where Is Thy Priest? Seventeen Independent Priests Tell Why They Celebrate the Latin Mass"

Please pray for our old friend, the man who introduced Michael Davies to the Remnant way back in 1971, never once offered the New Mass (though he managed to remain under his bishop throughout his priestly life), and for many of us was the one priestly link to the Church in eclipse, long before there was an Indult when, for all intents and purposes, the Old Mass was dead and buried. They never gave up hope and, inspired by their example, neither did we.

I wrote this when Father died, nine years ago this week:

Father H. Marchosky, RIP

At three o'clock this morning, December 11, within the Octave of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a great, Catholic priest died peacefully. Father Harry Marchosky had been ill for some time, and so had been in the good care of James and Patricia Haddock in Veneta, Oregon for the past five years. He died at home, just moments after having completed fifteen decades of the rosary with his friends. A priest for 55 years, he was 84.

The holy priest's last words on this earth were: "I love Our Lady so much.  I want to go home." 

Longtime readers of The Remnant will surely recall the singular contribution to the cause of Tradition made by Father Marchosky.  A Thomistic philosopher as well as an accomplished linguist, this convert from Judaism (and one of the founders of Thomas Aquinas College in California) never once offered the New Mass and yet remained in good standing with his bishop to the very end. The office of the Archbishop of Quebec (Father's bishop) warmly acknowledged Father's passing by telephone on the morning of his death, in fact.

Father Marchosky was fiercely loyal to Tradition, which meant he was fiercely loyal to the Church and to his vow of obedience.  He carefully maintained what he called "loyal resistance" where his superiors were concerned, noting that they could order him to stop offering the Mass (and he would obey) but they could not force him to offer the New Mass. For over four decades, then, Father had been in a good position to offer example and advice to countless seminarians and young priests who learned to be loyal defenders of Tradition at the feet of Father Marchosky.  In the last ten years of his life, he helped out wherever he could at the St. Society of St. Pius X's center in Veneta where he was cared for with great charity and love.

Over his career, Fr. Marchosky had worked closely with men such as Dr. Eric de Savanthem, Dr. John Senior, Hamish Fraser, Walter Matt and, of course, Michael Davies. It was Father Marchosky, in fact, who "discovered" a very young Mr. Davies on a trip to London in 1970, and subsequently encouraged him to form an alliance with The Remnant, which is how American Catholics came to know the great Mr. Davies.

Father was a chaplain for the U.S. Chapter on the Pilgrimage to Chartres many times, he was part of the great “March on Rome” in 1972, and  met with Archbishop Lefebvre several times, including here in St. Paul when the Archbishop visited The Remnant in 1976.

The model of priestly virtue and commitment to his holy calling, Father Marchosky was responsible for many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of converts to traditional Catholicism.   He was there from the very beginning, and one of the first priests in the world to become known as a "traditional" Catholic.

At seven years old, the present Editor of The Remnant served his first traditional Mass—one offered by the late, great Father Marchosky.  It was an experience never to be forgotten because it was the first of many and served as unforgettable introduction to the “catacomb movement” that was traditional Catholicism in the early 1970s. Twenty-two years later, Fr. Marchosky would offer the Nuptial Mass when my wife and I were married.  Were it not for this most courageous, holy, funny, brilliant and erudite priest—master of six languages, gourmet cook, theologian, expert on the writings of St. John of the Cross and Cardinal Newman, seminary professor, philosopher (who had much of the Summa literally committed to memory) and fan of Maria Callas's music and, believe it or not, Jack Benny's early work—many of us would likely not be traditional Catholics today.

Much more will be written about the life of this heroic alter Christus who gave up everything--career, power, prestige, a comfortable living--for Tradition and for his convictions, but for now I would ask Catholics to remember this great champion of the Catholic cause in your prayers, and, if you're able,  have a Mass offered for the repose of his soul.  After all Father Marchosky did for the traditional Mass movement over the past forty years, both here in the States and in Europe, it is only fitting that as many Masses as possible should be offered for his soul as quickly as possible.

The Church has lost one of her most able defenders, and we have lost a friend who can never be replaced but who will always be remembered. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen

Pray for us, Father. God bless you.

To read more about the history of The Remnant and other pioneers of the Catholic counterrevolution, check out our HISTORY SECTION

"If Pope Francis would ditch his habit of insulting faithful millennials, Hahn writes, he might begin to see more of them in the pews."

In a December 5, 2016 article by, Nicholas G. Hahn III , The Detroit News sounds positively Remnant-esque:

Millennials are leaving religion in droves, recent surveys find. Churches are roiled, but it appears Pope Francis isn’t worried he may accelerate the exodus.

The “Who am I to judge?” pope recently told an interviewer that he has a hard time understanding why so many young Catholics worship in Latin on Sundays. “Why so much rigidity,” Francis asked. “This rigidity always hides something, insecurity or even something else.”

That represents an ugly departure from his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who allowed for wider use of the pre-Vatican II Mass in 2007. “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too,” the pope emeritus wrote, “and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.”

Then only a little over 200 Latin Masses were celebrated in the United States. That number has since more than doubled. The Massgoers aren’t a bunch of old anoraks, either. It’s millennials and hipsters who tend to prefer the smells and bells. READ ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Mr. Hahn concludes with, “But if Francis would ditch his habit of insulting faithful millennials, he might begin to see more of them in the pews.” And that pretty much nails it. If Pope Francis the Humble would stop insulting, not just millennials, but everyone with whom he disagrees—and that seems to constitute most of the practicing Catholic world—maybe he wouldn’t be sliding quite so dramatically in the popularity department.

As it is, Francis remains popular only with the same 'basket of deplorables' that thought Hillary Clinton was great—the UN, Nancy Pelosi-type ‘Catholics’, CNN and the rest of the Far-Left.

But Hillary Clinton’s ‘wild popularity’ in the real world was mostly illusory, a media creation, just as Pope Francis’s popularity is turning out to be. People have had enough, as today’s story in The Detroit News illustrates yet again.

So now maybe we can all start praying for Pope Francis as we should have been doing all along, rather than trying to make him into something he's not—a great pope. In fact, he's the worst pope in history and desperately needs the prayers of his subjects who are growing increasingly alarmed by his pontificate.

This just in from Thefederalist.com:

"According to reports, the Vatican and Communist China have reached an agreement that would end six decades of diplomatic gridlock. While details of the agreement haven’t been officially announced, from what has been leaked to the public, Catholics in China and around the world have reason to be concerned." READ ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: What is becoming more clear every day is that the honeymoon is over for Pope Francis. Francis fatigue is at an all-time high, and what we see now is the same phenomenon we saw with Candidate Hillary Clinton: A politician whose "wild popularity" is an illusion that depends wholly on a crooked media. The real world has had enough.

As the Federalist puts it, and we couldn't agree more, "While the Vatican hasn’t announced any final official agreement with the Chinese Communist government yet, what has been disclosed so far has made some Chinese Catholics feel a sense of betrayal. It’s clear that Pope Francis is no Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II joined Margaret Thatcher and President Reagan to defeat Communism. But Pope Francis has joined President Obama in capitulating to oppressive authoritarian regimes like Cuba, all in the name of “openness.” His efforts only lend legitimacy to these regimes, while failing to offer relief to the people they oppress."

Meanwhile, Cardinal Joseph Zen, the highest ranking Chinese Catholic, had this to say to The Guardian about Pope Francis the Humble: “You cannot go into negotiations with the mentality ‘we want to sign an agreement at any cost,’ then you are surrendering yourself, you are betraying yourself, you are betraying Jesus Christ."

Enough already, Your Holiness!

Each year Remnant readers express a little frustration with your old editor for not making known sooner some of the old-world Advent and Christmas traditions that were brought over from Europe by my grandfather and that our family still follow religiously every year. So, this year I'll try to be more timely, so that those who wish to introduce some of the more Catholic Christmas customs can do so.

The heart of the old-world Christmas celebration is not Santa Claus but rather the Christkind (pronounced kris-kint) tradition, or the Baby Jesus.  You can read about that here. St. Nicholas, by the way, was a Catholic bishop. His feast day is celebrated on December 6. In our tradition, he comes to the house after dark on the 6th, pounds on the front door and then disappears, but not before leaving nuts and candies outside the door. He then lets the Baby Jesus dominate Christmas.

In preparation for His coming on Christmas Eve, the little children of the family set out the Advent calendar on the First Sunday of Advent, of course, but also the 'straw box', which is just a simple box covered in gold paper in which pieces of straw can be laid each time a child does some special act of kindness or makes a sacrifice during Advent.

The idea is to make a bed of straw for the Baby Jesus when He comes on Christmas, each good deed or virtuous act padding His manger.  

The other crucial part of Advent happens at the dinner table each evening just before the family meal. The lights are lowered, the Advent wreath candle (s) is lit, grace is prayed, and then the St. Andrew Christmas Novena is prayed (five times at breakfast, five times at lunch, and five times at the evening meal). After it is prayed at the evening meal, the family sings O Come O Come Emmanuel.

This sacred ritual cannot be altered, tweaked or abridged in any way as far as children are concerned since it becomes too important to them and means Christmas is really coming. I can think of no better way of keeping Christ in Christmas than to begin observing these ancient Advent traditions starting today and then every day until Christmas Eve. 

And don't forget that, while Advent isn't a penitential season, it is nevertheless often called the 'little Lent', and so children should be encouraged to offer up small sacrifices--no candy, no eating between meals, whatever, as yet another way of keeping in mind what Christmas is all about and how vital to the celebration of the Great Feast is the time of preparation.

And, finally, no Christmas tree comes into the house until the day before Christmas. Advent is Advent, and Christmas is Christmas, and they must be kept distinct and separate if they are to retain the truly Christocentric character. Christmas explodes with excitement and joy for the children ON CHRISTMAS--when Christ was actually born--and not three weeks before. The Catholic home is not lit with Christmas lights and trees during the dark time of waiting for the Messiah that Advent represents.

Here, then, is the Novena, which is prayed from November 30th (St. Andrew’s Feast Day) to December 24th, and which should include personal and private intentions for each child, as well as one main intention the entire family decides upon, perhaps for the country, or the Church, the pope, the poor--whatever.

Happy Advent.

St. Andrew Christmas Novena

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment at which the Son of God was born of a most pure Virgin at a stable at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold. At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, to hear my prayers and grant my desires.

(Mention your intentions here)

Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Amen.

Traditionally, this prayer is prayed 15 times each day for the duration of the Novena.

This from John's FB page:

JOHN VENNARI SCHEDULED FOR SURGERY SATURDAY MORNING Requesting Prayers

This is a note to tell my friends that I have to go into surgery on Saturday morning, November 26. Cancer is a nasty beast, and it has caused an obstruction in the GI that must be addressed immediately. Immediately. As noted already, my case has been serious from the start, and this latest problem came to a head at the same time I returned from three weeks of cancer treatment in Mexico.

I am presently not able to update my CFN webpage (I write this note from the hospital). I was blessed to receive the Sacrament of Extreme Unction this afternoon.

Please feel free to forward and/or post this, along with the link below that provides background and info for those who wish to share prayerful and financial support. http://www.oltyn.org/vennari.htm

Thank you for all your prayers and support up until now. Please pray and ask others to pray, especially communities of religious and convents of nuns.

Am I am a little afraid of surgery? Who wouldn’t be? But I place my trust in Our and Our Lady, and take heart from all the kindness and concern I’ve received. Your outpouring of love has been astounding.

I may not be able to update for a few days.

Thank you.
John Vennari

Leave a comment on John's page here

A Brief Comment from Michael Matt: This is too personal for me to comment on here in any detail.  John is a brother to me, and this is a very serious surgery.  One thing I can do for him right now is to beg the friends and allies of The Remnant all over to the world to stop what you're doing right now and storm heaven with prayers for our old friend and champion of the Catholic cause--John Vennari.  St. Philomena, please intercede on behalf of our brother who is so devoted to you. Our Lady of Fatima, be with him now.

We're with you every step of the way, John, and we all know exactly what kind of a fighter you are. So fight this too, and we'll see you after.   -- Michael