Show notes
It's a Feria, 4th Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: the meditation: "The Trial of the Angels", today's news from the Church: "Leo XIV Wanted to Rediscover the "Ecumenical Potential" of the Augsburg Confession", a preview of the Sermon: "Pray the Rosary Every Day", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:
- "The Trial of the Angels" — From the Assumption to Advent
- "Leo XIV Wanted to Rediscover the "Ecumenical Potential" of the Augsburg Confession" (FSSPX.news)
- "Pray the Rosary Every Day" (SSPX Sermons)
- The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
Saint Wilfrid of York was one of the most influential bishops in early English history, but he also had an extraordinary talent for getting into arguments.
With kings.
With bishops.
And occasionally with almost everyone at once.
He was born around 634 in Northumbria, in northern England, when Christianity was still taking root among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. As a young man, Wilfrid spent time at the monastery of Lindisfarne before traveling to Rome, something that was still quite an adventure in the seventh century.
That journey changed his life.
Wilfrid became convinced that the English Church needed to follow the liturgical customs of Rome more closely. At the time, Christians in northern England followed traditions inherited from Irish missionaries, including a different method of calculating the date of Easter.
That might sound like a small disagreement.
It wasn't.
In 664, the famous Synod of Whitby gathered to settle the question. Wilfrid argued passionately for the Roman calculation of Easter, pointing to the authority of Saint Peter and the practice of the Roman Church.
King Oswiu eventually agreed.
That decision helped bring the churches of Northumbria into closer conformity with Roman practice, and Wilfrid became one of the most important churchmen in England.
But his troubles were just beginning.
Wilfrid was appointed Bishop of York, although disputes over his consecration and jurisdiction repeatedly interrupted his ministry. At one point, he returned from being consecrated in Gaul only to discover that another bishop had been installed in his place.
Later, when King Ecgfrith and Archbishop Theodore divided his enormous diocese into smaller territories, Wilfrid objected and appealed directly to Rome.
He won support from the pope.
The king was not impressed.
Wilfrid was imprisoned and eventually forced into exile.
And here's where his story takes an unexpected turn.
Rather than spend his exile simply complaining about what had happened, Wilfrid became a missionary.
He traveled to Sussex, where much of the population was still pagan, and began preaching Christianity. According to Saint Bede, the region was suffering from a terrible drought. Wilfrid taught the people how to fish using nets, something they apparently had not practiced successfully before.
Then, as he baptized converts, rain finally returned.
For the people of Sussex, that was quite an introduction to Christianity.
Wilfrid later carried out missionary work among the Frisians on the European mainland as well.
He eventually returned to Northumbria, although further disputes and exiles followed. His career was complicated, and even sympathetic accounts suggest he could be stubborn and difficult.
But he was also extraordinarily determined.
Wilfrid founded monasteries, built impressive stone churches, and helped establish Roman liturgical customs throughout northern England. His great foundations at Ripon and Hexham became important centers of Christian learning and worship.
One particularly fascinating survival is the seventh-century crypt at Hexham Abbey, traditionally associated with Wilfrid's original church. Visitors can still descend into the stone passages built during his lifetime, nearly fourteen hundred years ago.
Wilfrid died in 709 after decades of preaching, traveling, governing, arguing, and occasionally starting over.
He wasn't always easy to get along with.
But he believed the unity of the Church was worth fighting for.
Saint Wilfrid of York, tireless missionary and defender of the unity of the Church, pray for us.
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The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
What is the SSPX?
The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.
Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it.
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