Dear John:

Well, actually, you do not need to know anything about the Jansenist Heresy. It is a heresy, thus anyone who tries to support their own heresy or heterodoxy by appealing to this or any other heresy is a fool. But, if you wish you can look up the article in the Catholic Encyclopedia on Jansenius and Jansenism.

Those who are not in a state of grace are to refrain from receiving communion. If they do not refrain then they have committed a sacrilege against the Body and Blood of our Lord, which is an even greater mortal sin, and which can subject the person to illness or even to death (certainly to spiritual death). This is what St. Paul is warning us about.

Those priests who do not remind their flock about the seriousness of receiving our Lord in the Eucharist will stand before God to account as to why.

As for statistics of who is properly disposed or not, that is not for us to comment. While we can remark on Communion and Confession stats, we cannot make any judgments whatsoever upon our brethren that we see go to receive. Even if less than 10% of our own parish ever goes to confession, we cannot know the state of soul of any individual. This, we need to be very careful about this.

With this said there is little doubt that many people are risking their souls, and maybe even their health, by receiving our Lord unworthily. This is profoundly sad. We need to pray for all such people, whomever they may be.

As to why? Well, most Christians, including Catholic Christians, have no faith. They practice their religion by rote and not by faith. Many have abandoned the faith even though they still attend Mass.

Part of the problem is the lack of proper catechesis. That problem falls squarely upon the priests and bishops. There is an old saying that "the walls of hell are lined with the heads of bishops, and the road to hell is paved with the souls of priests." This is a very profound and sad truth. It is because of bishops and priest losing their faith that we need to pray so hard for them. Even the good and faithful bishops and priests are under so much pressure that it cannot be calculated. Pray that they do not fall.

Our culture, which has ceased to be guided by the Judeo-Christian worldview that was predominant in the Western world for 1500 years, is another cause. The Judeo-Christian worldview guided our culture from the fourth century until around 1994.  We are no longer the predominate worldview. This is one reason why our culture has so rapidly declined in the last seventeen years -- faster and more deeply in decline that in the 150 year attack of modernism.

As Christians we are to be counter-cultural. Whatever is standard in our secular culture that is contrary to Christ, we are to be the opposite. We are to remain true to Christ no matter what. When the Christian worldview was predominate it was a little easier to be Christian and to stave off, with every growing difficulty, the evil influences of the secular world.

Now that the Christian worldview is no longer predominate the secular evil is stronger than ever. Christians must work harder to be Christian. Those leaders of the faith (bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and lay leaders) cannot be coach potatoes. They must lead the battle, defend the faith, proclaim the victory of Christ to all peoples and all cultures.

All this is why we are organizing a military confraternity called the Legionnaires of St. Michael. It is under construction, but is designed to train spiritual warriors (God's Marines) to do battle with the Enemy as Our Blessed Mother's Apostles of the Latter Times.

We are all in God's military whether we know it or not, or like it or not. It is just an issue of what rank a person holds and knowing his assignment.

As I have said in some material for the Legionnaires, God's Navy is the Church, the Ship of Salvation. God's Air Force are his angels. His army is his Saints and his faithful. God's Marines (specialist in spiritual warfare) 'R us, among others -- those who tackle spiritual warfare. Legionnaires may be pray-ers on the home front, or commandos behind enemy lines. I have actually done the commando working undercover operations against Satanic groups molesting children.

But, whatever assignment a person has, they need to do their job. Failure costs souls.

Those bishops and priests, who by virtue of their ordination are specially commissioned officers in God's military, better start doing their jobs or they risk their own soul.

Pray for them. Pray for the St Padre Pio Center for Deliverance Counseling, who operates on the front lines. Pray for the Legionnaires of St. Michael who battles the Enemy of the Church and of our own souls. Pray for me who leads this force for I am a prime target for the devil.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary