Episode 3047: Trim Your Lamps - Watchfulness in a Time of Transition - Morning Episode

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Book Recommendation of the Day
The Dialogue of Divine Providence (Il Dialogo della Divina Provvidenza)
This is St. Catherine's principal work, composed between 1377 and 1378. Dictated during ecstatic states, it presents a conversation between the soul and God, exploring themes such as divine providence, prayer, and the path to holiness. The Dialogue delves into the soul's journey toward God, emphasizing the importance of virtue and the role of Christ as a bridge between humanity and the Divine.
Before we get started I want to discuss “The Fruitless Council Vatican II and the Failed Promises of Reform”
The Moneyball Question and the Crisis of Vatican II
Walt:
Billy Beane’s line from Moneyball is simple but devastating: “If he’s a good hitter, why doesn’t he hit good?” It’s not a question of intention or theory it’s a demand for evidence. And we ask the same question today of the post-Vatican II Church:
If Vatican II was such a great success, why doesn’t it bear good fruit?
Sharon:
Exactly, Walt. The Church was promised a New Pentecost. We were told that aggiornamento (ah-JOR-nah-MEN-toh) opening the windows to the world would bring fresh air. But instead, vocations collapsed, Mass attendance plummeted, religious orders died, and entire dioceses are closing.
Walt:
And the defenders of Vatican II act like democratic politicians: never taking responsibility, always blaming others, and always demanding more of the same failed policies.
“By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). Our Lord gave us a clear measure. And when we apply it, the post-conciliar fruit has been rotten.
Saints Who Warned Us About Novelty and Innovation
Sharon:
Let’s bring in the voices of the saints. St. Vincent of Lérins wrote in the 5th century:
“What has always been believed everywhere, by everyone, is the true Catholic faith.”
He warned against sudden innovations in doctrine or liturgy, even if they’re popular or appear merciful. Sound familiar?
Walt:
Very much so. And St. Pius X, the great foe of Modernism, warned in Pascendi Dominici Gregis that modernists “change the meaning of words,” “disfigure dogma,” and “speak with a double tongue.” Vatican II and its aftermath are full of this ambiguity. Pastoralism replaced clarity. Dialogue replaced proclamation. Liturgy became horizontal and profane.

Sharon:
Even Our Lady, in her apparitions at La Salette and Fatima, warned of a coming apostasy “starting from the top.” And that apostasy, as Archbishop Lefebvre pointed out, was born in the Council itself not necessarily in the documents, but in their spirit, ambiguity, and implementation.
Democracy and the Council: Power Without Accountability
Walt:
Here’s where the analogy deepens. Just like failed democratic regimes, post-conciliar leaders never accept responsibility. Vatican II didn't fail, they say you failed to understand it. You are too rigid. You are stuck in the past.
Sharon:
It’s the same as failed political ideologies. The problem is never the system it’s always the people. So they keep pushing the same broken model: more synodality, more lay empowerment, more worldly dialogue.
But like St. Paul said in Galatians 1:8, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Walt:
And yet today, faithful Catholics are told to keep silent. Obey the new ways. Embrace the fruits of a tree that hasn’t produced a single healthy apple.
Our Lady’s Light in a Time of Darkness
Sharon:
Let’s not forget the role of Our Blessed Mother. She always points us back to Her Son and His Church. At Fatima, she called for penance, prayer, and conversion not ecumenical dialogue, not liturgical experiments.
As you said in your last episode that nothing good can come from this conclave unless they admit the errors since Vatican II and appoint a true Pope who will just remove Vatican II from our Church and get back to the true Catholic Church prior to Vatican II. Enough is enough. Common sense dictates that if the fruits are bad then why keep fertilizing a poisoned tree or as you said in the opening “If Vatican II was so good why did it produce such a broken and fruitless Church” Our children have not merely lost the faith they were never given the faith.
Walt:
Her Immaculate Heart suffers deeply as she watches so many of her children abandoned by false shepherds. But she remains our hope. Just as she stood at the foot of the Cross while the apostles fled, she stands now beside those Catholics who refuse to bow to the errors of modernism.
Sharon:
And we must remember her promise at Fatima:
“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
It will not be the Council or the synods that save the Church it will be a return to Tradition, a return to Truth, a return to Her Son through Her Immaculate Heart.
Time to Ask the Moneyball Question
Walt:
Let’s go back to that line. “If he’s a good hitter, why doesn’t he hit good?” If Vatican II was the best thing that ever happened to the Church, why are we in the worst crisis we’ve ever seen?
Sharon:
We’ve got to stop pretending the emperor is clothed. The faithful need to start asking real questions and demanding real answers.
Walt:
The saints were not silent in times of error. St. Catherine of Siena called out corrupt clergy. St. Athanasius stood firm during the Arian crisis. And Archbishop Lefebvre, like these saints before him, stood firm against the tidal wave of modernism.
“Trim Your Lamps: Time of Transition”
Opening:
Pax Christi, dear listeners, and welcome to another episode of Traditio Fidei, where we journey through the liturgical year through the lens of the Traditional Roman Rite.
Today is Wednesday, April 30, 2025, and the Church commemorates St. Catherine of Siena, one of the greatest women in the history of Christendom. She was a virgin, a mystic, a penitent, and a prophetess to popes, literally. Her life’s mission was to call the Holy Father and the whole Church back to truth, penance, and fidelity to Christ the King.
In today’s sacred liturgy, the Epistle and Gospel readings remind us of two great themes that burn with even more urgency during this time of papal interregnum: true glory through humility, and watchfulness in preparation for the coming of the Bridegroom.
Epistle: 2 Corinthians 10:17–18
"He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he who commendeth himself is approved, but he whom God commendeth."
Reflection:
St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians are a rebuke of self-glorification and spiritual vanity. The Church, especially in a time like ours awaiting the election of a new pope must remember that no ecclesiastic, no theologian, no cardinal is worthy by their own achievements or titles. The only approval that matters is God’s.
As we pray for a new successor to St. Peter, let us ask that he be not one who boasts of policies or diplomacy, but one who boasts in the Lord clothed in humility, aflame with love for the Faith, and rooted in the deposit of tradition.
Gospel: Matthew 25:1–13 – The Parable of the Ten Virgins
“But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps… And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut... Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour.”
Reflection:
This parable pierces through the noise of modern spiritual laziness. The wise virgins prepared. They brought oil. They waited, not in idleness, but in active watchfulness.
In the context of the Church awaiting a new pontiff, this Gospel sounds a grave warning: Will the next pope be ready with the oil of wisdom, the lamp of faith, and the courage to face the darkness? Or will the door be shut on those who delayed, played politics, or lost the light of truth?
St. Catherine of Siena, who fearlessly exhorted the popes to fulfill their God-given mission, stands today as a model of what the Church needs: clarity, courage, and supernatural readiness.
Feast Day: St. Catherine of Siena
St. Catherine, though a humble laywoman, advised cardinals, rebuked princes, and was instrumental in bringing the Pope back to Rome from Avignon. Her mystical union with Christ, her bold calls for reform, and her burning desire for Church unity were not products of ideology—but of profound union with the Crucified.
In her words:
“Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.”
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
Let these be the words whispered into the heart of every cardinal who enters the conclave.
Theme of the Day: Humility, Watchfulness, and Authentic Holiness
As the Church awaits her next Shepherd, let us pray that:
• The cardinals are filled not with personal agendas, but divine wisdom.
• The next pope trims his lamp with the oil of sacred tradition.
• We ourselves may not fall asleep as the foolish virgins did, but remain ready.
Let the conclave not be a court of diplomats, but an Upper Room, where the Holy Ghost is invoked in fear and trembling.
Concluding Prayer
O Eternal Father, source of all light and life,
we come to Thee in this sacred time of vigil,
as Thy Church mourns the death of her earthly shepherd
and longs for the rise of a new Peter.
Raise up for us a pope after Thine own Heart:
humble, holy, wise, and unwavering in the Faith.
Through the intercession of St. Catherine of Siena,
who called popes to holiness and zeal,
may Thy Bride, the Church, be purified, strengthened, and consoled.
And may we, like the wise virgins,
keep our lamps trimmed and our hearts ever watchful
for the return of Christ our King.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Thank you for joining me on this episode of Traditio Fidei. Let us remain steadfast in prayer, especially during this critical time in the Church’s life. Keep your lamps trimmed, your hearts open, and your hope fixed on Heaven.
Until next time—Dominus vobiscum.