Leo XIV’s Preface Exposes Modernist Subversion of True Spirituality
The Catholic News Agency portal (December 19, 2025) reports that “Pope Leo XIV” has written a preface to Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God, calling it “one of the texts that has most shaped my spiritual life.” The antipope describes this 17th-century work as presenting “a type of prayer and spirituality where one simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead,” claiming it overcomes “all moralism and every reduction of the Gospel to a mere set of rules.” This endorsement constitutes a radical departure from Catholic ascetic theology in favor of subjectivist pietism.
Naturalization of Supernatural Life
The antipope’s preface promotes the dangerous illusion that spirituality consists primarily in “constantly calling God to mind” through “small, continual acts of praise” rather than through the sacramental life of the Church. This directly contradicts the Council of Trent’s condemnation of those who “assert that the sacraments are not necessary for salvation” (Session VII, Canon 4). By emphasizing subjective “practice” over objective means of grace, Leo XIV follows the Modernist error condemned by St. Pius X: “Religious experience is to be found in the feelings” (Pascendi Dominici Gregis 14).
Brother Lawrence’s work – written by a Carmelite lay brother with no theological formation – becomes the antipope’s preferred guide over the Doctors of the Church. This inversion reflects the conciliar sect’s systematic demolition of hierarchical authority, where “the senseless notions of the multitude” replace theological precision (Pius IX, Qui Pluribus). When Leo XIV claims this spirituality makes “daily tasks easy and light,” he perverts Our Lord’s yoke into psychological comfort rather than the Cross of mortification (Matthew 16:24).
Eradication of Dogmatic Foundations
The preface’s most telling statement reveals its theological bankruptcy: “This remembrance… overcomes all moralism and every reduction of the Gospel to a mere set of rules.” Here Leo XIV weaponizes the conciliar mantra against “legalism” to sever Christian life from divine law. This directly attacks Pius XII’s teaching that “the integrity of the moral order” requires “unconditional acceptance of the absolute and unchangeable commandments” (Sacra Virginitas 35).
By dismissing moral precepts as “moralism,” the antipope embraces the Modernist position condemned in the Syllabus of Errors: “Divine revelation is imperfect, and therefore subject to a continual and indefinite progress” (Proposition 5). His claim that ethics is “summed up in this continual calling to mind… that God is present” reduces the Decalogue to emotional awareness – precisely the “religious experience” heresy denounced in Lamentabili Sane (Proposition 25).
Gnostic Spiritualization of Christianity
Leo XIV’s assertion that “entrusting ourselves to the presence of God means tasting a foretaste of paradise” exposes the Gnostic core of his spirituality. This “foretaste” theology bypasses the Cross, the sacraments, and the Church’s mediation – the very means Christ instituted for salvation. Contrast this with Pius XI’s definitive teaching: “Christ reigns in the minds of men… because He Himself is Truth” (Quas Primas 15). True peace comes not from subjectivist awareness but from “the sweet yoke of Christ” through obedience to His Church (Matthew 11:30).
The antipope’s silence about the Mass, Confession, Eucharistic adoration, and the Four Last Things proves this spirituality is fundamentally naturalistic. As the Holy Office warned under Pius X: “They destroy the gratuity of the supernatural order” (Lamentabili Sane, Proposition 21). Leo XIV’s “presence of God” is but a pantheistic imitation, reducing the Almighty to an emotional crutch rather than the Sovereign Judge before whom “the kings of the earth stand” (Psalm 76:12).
Historical Continuity with Conciliar Apostasy
This preface continues Vatican II’s project of replacing Catholic asceticism with anthropocentric spirituality. When Leo XIV claims Brother Lawrence’s method “requires a journey of purification” while dismissing ascetic discipline, he embodies the conciliar contradiction that gutted religious life. Compare this to St. John of the Cross’s authentic doctrine: “The soul that is attached to anything… cannot be transformed in God” (Ascent of Mount Carmel I.5.4).
The antipope’s endorsement of a spirituality divorced from dogmatic content reveals his continuity with Bergoglio’s “God of surprises” heresy. Both reject the Church’s perennial teaching that “the whole of man’s salvation… depends upon the knowledge of the truths of faith” (Council of Trent, Session III). By promoting Brother Lawrence’s work as formative, Leo XIV confirms his complete rupture from the Apostolic Faith – a rupture solemnly condemned by Pope St. Pius X: “To maintain that Christ may be separated from His Church is to overthrow the divine plan” (Editae Saepe 29).
Source:
Pope Leo XIV writes preface to book that shaped his spiritual life (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 19.12.2025