Dear TIA,

Good day to you.

If I may ask, was the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul last June 29 a Holy Day of Obligation?

If yes, what are the exact obligations a Catholic ordinarily must fulfill - not go to work, be absent from school, go to Mass, receive Communion, go to Confession, avoid all servile work, etc?

Also, does category/rank d1cl in the traditional calendar mean a Holy Day of Obligation?

     Thank you very much,

     R.T.R.



TIA responds:

Dear R.T.R.,

Good day. TIA works in the U.S. and, therefore, we follow the calendar set by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops regarding the days of obligation. In this calendar, which you may find here and here, June 29, the feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul is not listed as day of obligation.

The feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul continues to be a first class feast (according to the 1962 reform) or a solemnity (according to the 1969 reform) for the entire Church, which normally would imply an obligation to attend Mass. As far as we know, in the English-speaking world June 29 is a day of obligation only in England and Wales. Local Bishops have the authority to choose the holy days for their country and only in these two countries did they determine June 29 would continue to be a day when attending Mass is mandatory.

This does not mean that a Catholic living in other English-speaking countries should not follow by piety, not by obligation, the older calendars that established this date as a holy day. We emphasize, however, that when a Catholic does so by piety, he is not obliged under penalty of sin. Under penalty of sin are only those days determined by the Bishops for each country.

On Sundays or holy days of obligations we should, as prescribed by the 3rd Commandment of God and by the 1st Precept of the Church, attend Mass and avoid any servile work. These are the requirements for the days of obligation that can be found in the Catechism of Trent and the Catechism of St. Pius X.

The 3rd Precept of the Church obliges us to go to Confession at least once a year, and to receive Communion at least once during the Easter season. Confession or Communion is not mandatory on Sundays or holy days.

Regarding going to work or school on days of obligation, the pre-conciliar orientation given by sound priests was that, in case these days conflict with work or school, each Catholic should address the issue with his employer/teacher and make arrangements to compensate for the lost hours of work or teaching on other days of the week.

The letters d1cl stood for double 1st class feast day, which normally should be a day of obligation. This classification was in effect until 1960 when the reform of John XXIII changed the previous ranks double of first class (d1cl), double of second class (d2cl) and double major (dm). They were simplified to first class (I), second class (II) and third class (III). In 1969 Paul VI abolished this latter ranking and replaced it with the classifications of solemnities, feasts and memorials. Therefore, the ranking of feast days completely changed with these two Popes and, consequently, the previous classifications lost their obligatory character.

You may read more on rank of feasts here; to know how the liturgical calendar was before the reforms you may read here.

We hope these answers will help you.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Dear TIA,

I believe the news on Fr. John Corapi, a quite famous star of the EWTN constellation that fell into the hell of public scandal, should interest those of your readers who still did not hear about it. The most serious links are here and here.

If memory serves me well, sometime ago Fr. Corapi went public against TIA. Today, we know his real colors.

     Keep the good work.

     M.C.

Greetings to TIA and your Angel,

I found new strength and encouragement from this article. It is true that grace must be paid for. The Apostolate of Suffering - II by Plinio Correa de Oliveira

God bless you.

In Maria,

S.G.

Hello,

Would someone at T.I.A. care to comment on the apparent absence of any manifest living saints in our times?

Thank you.

M.K.



TIA responds:

Hello M.K.,

Although we believe the Catholic Church always has some living saints, we agree that today it is very rare to find one of them duly recognized. Most of those who are presented as modern saints hardly match the criteria of sanctity.

At least we have the certainty that two great traditionalists - the Prophets Elias and Enoch - are still alive and closely following what is happening in the Church. We should pray to them and ask for their help in our difficult times.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Dear TIA

I read the notice of regret placed by the Mexican Free Masons on the death of Pope John XXIII with interest. I noted the words "revolution," "rights of man" and "liberty." These words sum up nicely the errors in the modernist position.

How can one have a "revolution" in a body which holds the truth and is faithful to it? Such a revolution could only be dictated by evil. Traditional Catholics, quite rightly, talk about the duties of man and the rights of Almighty God.

Finally we have a very simple "liberty," either to obey the Commandments of God as taught by the True Catholic Faith or disobey and lose our soul. When the work and teachings of a Pope are the subject of praise by the Free Masons, we can be certain that Pope was in grievous error.

     Yours faithfully,

     C.P., Ireland

Dear TIA,

Regarding the several proposed Third Secret documents, the only one that seems to best match Father Malachi Martin's hints about the real Third Secret, which he read, is the "wicked council" one published in Novus Ordo Watch. During an interview with Art Bell in or around 1997, Father Martin said that the real 3rd secret document is a "dire document ... not pleasant reading at all." In response to Art Bell's question, "Does this involve a chastisement?", Father replied, "Yes, several ... the less you know about it, the better ... there is going to be a reckoning."

I also remember another interview wherein Father Malachi stated that if people knew the contents of the 3rd secret, the confessionals in churches throughout the world would be filled. It seems to me that Fr. Martin was describing a document that contained some scary stuff about multiple future chastisements as does the "wicked council" proposed document.

Art Bell also asked Father if there is a "timetable" that might give some idea as to when these chastisements could be expected. Interestingly enough, Father replied, "Not 200 years away ... not 50 years away ... and not 20 years away." I'm not sure if Fr. Martin was guessing about the timetable or if he was basing his timetable reply on what he had read in the real 3rd secret document. If Fr. Martin was right about his timetable in 1997, then we can expect the "dire" predictions to begin coming true before 2017, the year that the fifth centenary of the Protestant revolt will be jointly celebrated by the Lutheran and Conciliar Catholic churches. Perhaps 2017 will be the year they will peak.

God bless all of you who make TIA what it is - a beacon in the dark.

     Thanks,

     T.R.

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