There was a time when the average Catholic in the pews could be forgiven for not knowing the provenance of the New Mass – that its chief architect was an Ecclesiastical Freemason by the name of Archbishop Annibale Bugnini. For those of us brought up on a diet of quasi-universalism, the “New Springtime” and popular apparitions such as Medjugorje, there was no other Mass than the Novus Ordo and “Tradition” meant nothing more than a dim memory of Grandma having fish on Fridays.

Those days of naivety passed away, however, as knowledge of Bugnini’s secret affiliation and of the extent of the devastation Paul VI’s revolution became mainstream. (Well, almost. There are some who maintain that there is no evidence while also admitting that Bugnini may have been something worse than a Mason – I’ll leave it to the reader to speculate as to what something worse could be. That infamous scene from Windswept House springs to mind.)

The fruits of Vatican II have been revealed in all their awful reality – if not before the “pandemic” then certainly since the Mass was first suppressed more than a year ago due to COVID restrictions.

The Novus Ordo was a failure, Vatican II was a disaster and the logical hermeneutic of continuity exists not in the context of novelty, but of Tradition.

These facts explain the gut-wrenching reaction experienced by so many in response to the pope’s Motu Proprio, Traditionis Custodes. Yes, the same pope who hates formality, scorns “clericalism” and always seeks to “accompany” people “in their concrete circumstances” (at least when it comes to immorality) has used his unique position to abolish the Latin Mass, deliberately ignoring the “concrete circumstances” of the largest remaining cohort of believing, practising Catholics and also greatly insulting the Holy Trinity.

Some have already attempted to play down the consequences of the Motu Proprio – the Rorate Caeli article, while a bold attempt at legalistically applying Traditionis, is in my opinion, only grasping at straws. The Pope knows exactly what he wants to achieve and will take all steps necessary to see that his wishes are carried out. This pontiff who despises legalism and the constraints of dogma will not be so lax when it comes to suppressing the Mass of the ages and the thriving parishes around which they revolve. As Professor Brian McCall says, the law is always to be interpreted “according to the mind of the legislator”. This means our own pious desires don’t have a leg to stand on against a man like Francis.

Francis, while claiming to be imitating the act of his predecessor, Pope Pius V, who abolished any form of the Mass that was less than two hundred years old is performing a diabolical version of that act. If he really was to imitate Pius V by his pronouncement, it is the Novus Ordo that would be abolished as it is less than a hundred years old and was impiously designed, as noted above.

It seems clear that very little wiggle-room is to be given to those diocesan priests who run Latin Mass parishes: unless they have a sympathetic bishop – which are few and far between – they will have to look for new premises in which to offer Mass. Those bi-rite priests, who may be at the first steps on the path of Tradition will need to be very strong in order to resist the approaching “Oath of Allegiance” to Vatican II. I suspect that some will now go “full-trad” when they realise the malice underlying the pope’s plans.

I do also wonder if there is another stage – waiting perhaps for a future, unworthy pope – in which the Novus Ordo will be reformed so as to make it invalid. A little tweaking of the words of consecration, perhaps, to which the newly-conscripted “loyal” priests will be forced to adhere.

In any case, this present insult to God will not remain unpunished: as we saw almost directly after the flagrant violation of the First Commandment during the Amazon Synod, God’s justice can be swift. The global “pandemic” which saw millions of faithful denied access to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments followed immediately after Francis’ Pachamama worship was nothing other than a consequence of the hierarchy’s idolatry, in accordance with God’s promises made in Scripture (eg 2 Chronicles 21.) With the Great Reset technocrats already predicting a global cyber attack, it is not beyond imagining that this will be the next “plague” to strike the earth.

Many have made the connection between Fatima and Our Lady of Mt Carmel, on whose feast day the pope released his Motu Proprio. There are quite a few connections, in fact: for example, during the Miracle of the Sun, the little seers saw Our lady clothed in the habit of Carmel, reminding us of the importance of wearing the brown Scapular. It is surely no coincidence that the 104th anniversary of that miracle was celebrated only a few days prior to the release of the Motu Proprio.

We must not lose hope, no matter what happens next. The prophet Elias for whom the Carmelites are named, is said to have had a vision of a foot in the raincloud that ended the great drought God had sent on the land. Tradition tells us that this foot belonged to Our Lady – the Woman through Whom God would incarnate His only Son. In our own time, we know that God is preparing for another great intervention: when Our Lady crushes the head of the serpent through her glorious Triumph.