Just recently I discovered how ancient today’s feast day is! The New Mass (Church Calendar) celebrates the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary this day, but since the time of 1647 today was always known as The Most Pure Heart of Mary (Cordis Purissimi Genetricis Dei Mariae). Even before all the changes that came with Vatican II this glorious feast is still celebrated on the second Sunday after Corpus Christi. As nerdy as a traditional Catholic can possibly get, I pulled out all four of my Carmelite Rite Breviaries and made a fervent search for this feast. I strictly follow the calendar of feasts before the changes that occurred with Pope Paul VI’s Novus Ordo (New Mass- New Order) and faithfully attend the Latin Mass; the “old” calendar celebrates the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on August 22nd, this is still a relatively new feast. In my past post I discussed how Pope Pius XII only instituted it in 1944. We can only assume this “Fatima Pope” added this triumphant feast in honor of Our Lady of Fatima’s request regarding devotion to Her Immaculate Heart. One may ask, why wasn’t the title “The Most Pure Heart” kept? After all, it has been the title used since the 1600’s.

I do not know the answer to that question, nor after Vatican II why all the feast days had to be moved around or changed. For example, the feast day of the Visitation of Mary (the day of my baptism) has always been July 2nd all the way up until 1969; now all of the sudden it is celebrated on May 31st. Why? In our present day and age the Catholic Church has two calendars and two masses, this seems to be the exact division Our Lady of Fatima warned about. Naturally, one might think it is time to move where the “Holy Ghost” is leading the Church by leaving behind tradition, an ancient form of the Mass used since the time of Saint Peter and simply conform to our current modern world. Here is why I can never “conform”. My four Carmelite Rite Breviaries carry in them ancient feast days that were kept since the time of practically ALL of the greatest Carmelite Saints I am devoted to. I almost become smitten when I remember that the very breviary I am using was also prayed by none other than John of the Cross, Teresa of Jesus and Therese of the Child Jesus. Not to mention dozens and dozens of other Carmelite Saints. These precious saints only knew THIS form of the Divine Office, its sacred feasts and the Traditional Latin Mass.

Let’s look at Covid-19 (since nobody does that), we can easily look around and know God would not will such an evil, but He does ALLOW it, if it can bring about a greater good.  We can say the same thing about Paul VI’s New Mass and John XXIII’s Vatican II Council; I personally believe Our Lady of Fatima warned us about these changes and She was ignored by the past six popes. Her famous third secret (at least not in its entirety) was never revealed in 1960 (as She asked). I do not believe the New Mass or the changes made after the 1960’s were willed by God, but I believe He allowed them for a greater good, I do not know what that greater good is yet but Our Lady promised that Her Heart would triumph. Satan’s time is limited and I dedicate my life of prayer for one thing: the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and that promised era of peace.  It dawned on me just how special these breviaries are when I saw that the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary instituted by Pius XII is not added, simply because the feast is so new and my breviaries are so old. Yet, the feast of The Most Pure Heart of Mary is there!

In theory the very first feast to honor the Heart -that is destined to triumph- Divinely inspired by God to call Mary’s Heart- Most Pure! “Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God.” This phrase sums up the entire life of Mary, does it not? Many Church officials who have read the famous “hidden” words of Our Lady of Fatima kept in the Vatican Archives or papal safe hint that Mary warned at Fatima that there would come a time when the liturgy in all its splendor would be threatened and altered (why else keep it hidden?). With that, the changes in the Divine Office have also become our lot. Perhaps God created me to have a stubborn disposition and temperament, but in cases such as these I want to use it to my advantage by sticking by Our Lady of Fatima, I want to heed Her warnings and cling, cling to tradition. I look around and see many priests appear in sheep’s clothing; at this point only in looking back to tradition and the great saints that were formed under the Traditional Latin Mass do I hope to see a brighter future, I hope to see the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary!