Felix cœli Porta
IT is a source of great joy for me to be able to be here with you, on a special and very intimate, indeed almost clandestine, occasion. Like the English Catholics in the time of the Puritan Cromwell, or the inhabitants of the Vendee during the French Revolution, we, too, are compelled to set up makeshift chapels and oratories, while our beautiful churches – the magnificent churches of Venice and the surrounding region – remain forbidden to us. And like those English Catholics or Vendeeans, we, too, have changed nothing of our Faith, our manner of prayer, or our fidelity to the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church and the Papacy. It is, rather, those who accuse us of schism and excommunicate us who have introduced errors – errors that the Popes have always condemned – and deviations, which they have succeeded in imposing through sixty years of relentless indoctrination.But as Saint Athanasius said of the Arians: “They have the churches; we have the Faith.” And this, dear friends, is the reality in which we find ourselves. An eschatological reality, an “apocalypse” – that is to say, a revelation, an unveiling. We watch helplessly as the Great Apostasy unfolds, as Evil is unleashed, and as a syncretic, Masonic pseudo-religion is imposed upon us. Our cities are unrecognizable, disfigured by criminals and barbarians, and overrun by that very Islam against which La Serenissima fought and triumphed at Lepanto. Our families grow ever poorer, and the future for our children ever more uncertain. Yet the media speak to us of freedom while censoring critical voices; of democracy while tyranny takes hold; of welcome even as it ostracizes dissent. But we know that what is transpiring cannot be explained unless we read these events and comprehend them through the eyes of Faith, with a supernatural gaze; with the trepidation of those who sense the approach of times of trial and persecution, yet who simultaneously discover new friendships, new comrades-in-arms: people who, until yesterday, were nameless to us, but whose determination, generous courage, supernatural spirit, and desire to share with their brethren the small and great consolations the Lord grants us, we now discover.If it is possible to welcome Traditional Catholics around the altar here, it is because the Faith that animates you has a natural need to translate itself concretely into good works. And what work could be more meritorious than making a domestic oratory available, where a priest comes to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice and nourish your souls at the Altar? What a great gift it is to collaborate in the faithful preservation of the Holy Mass and sound doctrine—just as you are doing with such zeal!All of this has been made possible by your sacrifices, your commitment, the virtue of Charity which expresses itself in concrete actions, and the Grace that brings all of them to fruition. And sealing the eminently spiritual nature of this gathering of ours is the special protection resting upon this place, dedicated to the Most Blessed Virgin Janua Cœli, an ancient invocation, deeply rooted in the Tradition of the Church, which expresses the role of Mary Most Holy as the Gateway to Heaven in her capacity as Mother of God, Co-redemptrix, and Mediatrix of all Graces. Through Her, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sole Gate of salvation, entered the world through the Incarnation; and through Him, we too may enter into eternal glory by recognizing Him as our Savior and obeying His Holy Law. Ego sum ostium. Per me si quis introierit, salvabitur – “I am the gate. Whoever enters through Me shall be saved” (Jn 10:9).Terribilis est locus iste: hic domus Dei est, et porta cæli (Gen 28:17); “This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.” These are the words with which Jacob acknowledges the presence of God following his vision of the Ladder to Paradise and the promise of a bountiful lineage. This Domus Dei does not shine with marble and friezes, but rather with the Blood of the Lamb; for upon this altar, just as on Golgotha, the Sacrifice of the Cross is mystically renewed. The Most Blessed Mary, is also Domus Dei, for she welcomed into her womb the Eternal Son of the Father; she, too, is Janua Cœli, for through her fiat the Word entered the world, opening for us the path to salvation. Thus, this chapel becomes the place where God dwells among men, just as Mary is the living sanctuary, the Fœderis Arca, and the gate that Our Lord chose as the sole way to reach Him, and through Him, the Father. Ad Jesum per Mariam. She is the Domus Aurea – that is, the Palace of the Emperor: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell among them” (Rev 21:3).Just as the Virgin Mother is the sole path to reach the Divine Son, by virtue of Her Universal Mediation, so too the Holy Church is the sole ark of salvation for traversing the stormy sea of earthly life and attaining the goal of eternal beatitude. Indeed, no one can be saved except through the Church and through Her who is its Mother and Queen. “One alone,” says Divine Wisdom in the Song of Songs, “is my perfect one” (Ct 6:8). One alone—just as Holy Church is one. And it is to this Church that we continue to look as our Mother, even when she is disfigured, despised, and betrayed by those who ought to defend her, protect her, be faithful to her, and love her. They have the churches; we have the Faith. And woe unto us if, after having received so many graces from Providence, we should prove ourselves unworthy of them and squander the opportunities for sanctification and for doing good that are offered to us.Finally, allow me to recall the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist, which falls on this day along with the Great Litanies or Rogations. During the return voyage from Alexandria, Egypt, following the pilfering of his relics by the Venetian merchants Buono da Malamocco and Rustico da Torcello, Saint Mark appeared in a dream to a friar aboard the ship, warning him of the imminent outbreak of a violent storm and commanding him to strike the sails. This intervention saved the vessel from shipwreck. Today, too, we find ourselves upon a ship threatened by terrible storms, without a captain, abandoned by its officers. Let us pray to Saint Mark the Evangelist to intercede before the Throne of God, that the Barque of Peter may withstand the mutiny and the violent crashing of the waves, and finally reach the safe harbor of Heaven, where the Virgin Janua Cœli will welcome us into eternal glory. And so may it be.+ Carlo Maria Viganò, ArchbishopBassano del Grappa, 25 April MMXXVIS.cti Marci Evangelistæ
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