Emptying the Faith: A Modernist Distortion of Catholic Asceticism
Catholic News Agency reports on December 29, 2025, that antipope Leo XIV (Roberto Prevost) addressed Spanish pilgrims from the “St. Thomas of Villanova Parish” in Alcalá de Henares, promoting a concept of “emptying oneself” to allow “God’s action.” The article frames this message within the context of the “Jubilee Year of Hope” – an invention of the conciliar sect lacking any basis in Catholic tradition. The counterfeit pontiff praised the 16th-century Spanish bishop Thomas of Villanova for his “openness to God’s action,” while conspicuously avoiding any reference to sacramental grace, doctrinal integrity, or the social reign of Christ the King. This spiritual reductionism epitomizes the neo-modernist project of replacing Catholic asceticism with subjectivist experience.
Theological Subversion of Ascetic Principles
The injunction to “empty yourself to listen to and allow the Lord to work” constitutes a dangerous distortion of Catholic spirituality. Authentic asceticism requires not vacuous self-emptying but mortification – the systematic crucifixion of disordered passions through prayer, fasting, and sacramental participation. Pius XI’s Quas Primas establishes that Christ’s Kingship demands active subjection of intellect and will: “He must reign in our minds… in our wills… in our hearts” (QP §33). The counterfeit “pope’s” emphasis on passivity (“allow the Lord to work”) directly contradicts the Church’s teaching on cooperation with grace articulated in the Council of Trent (Session VI, Canon IV).
“In his life and in his writings, he reveals to us an unceasing search for continuous prayer; that is, a holy restlessness to be in God’s presence at every moment”
This portrayal of St. Thomas of Villanova as a seeker of “continuous prayer” deliberately obscures his actual identity as a doctrinal traditionalist who vigorously opposed Protestant errors. The historical Bishop of Valencia authored treatises defending liturgical tradition against Reformation attacks – facts omitted by the conciliar narrative. By reducing the saint’s legacy to subjective spiritual experiences, the Vatican apparatus continues its systematic demolition of doctrinal consciousness.
Naturalism Masquerading as Spirituality
The article’s repeated emphasis on “doing much good” and serving the community through “apostolic zeal” exposes the conciliar sect’s Pelagian tendencies. Pius X condemned this naturalism in Pascendi Dominici Gregis: “They place nearly the whole of revelation in experience… religious experience, like every experience, belongs to the realm of phenomena” (§14). When the antipope declares “the poor are not only someone to be helped but the sacramental presence of the Lord,” he perverts the Catholic understanding of sacraments while promoting Marxist liberation theology condemned in Leo XIII’s Quod Apostolici Muneris (§1).
The complete absence of references to the Mass, sacramental confession, or the necessity of sanctifying grace reveals the bankruptcy of this pseudo-spirituality. Contrast this with Boniface VIII’s Unam Sanctam: “Outside of her there is neither salvation nor remission of sins” (Denzinger 468). The conciliar “Jubilee of Hope” replaces hope in Christ’s merits with human-centered activism – a negation of the true Jubilee instituted in Leviticus 25:8-17 as a restoration of divine order.
Erasure of Supernatural Finality
Nowhere does the article mention the Four Last Things (Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell) or the necessity of avoiding sin. This omission aligns with Modernism’s denial of eternal punishment as documented in Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors (Condemned Proposition #17). When the conciliar “pope” urges recognition of “talents we have received” without reference to their proper end – the salvation of souls – he reduces Christianity to NGO activism. Pius XI condemned this inversion: “When once men recognize… Christ’s divine right to rule over nations… it will be possible to heal their many evils” (Quas Primas §21).
The celebration of St. Thomas of Villanova’s sobriety rings hollow when the Vatican itself wallows in luxury. The authentic Catholic spirit appears in Pius X’s exhortation: “To restore all things in Christ requires a complete renovation of the spirit of the clergy… so that they may be distinguished by the modesty of their lives” (E Supremi §10).
Reduction of Holiness to Social Activism
By focusing exclusively on Thomas of Villanova’s charity while ignoring his doctrinal orthodoxy, the conciliar sect propagates the heresy that sanctity consists primarily in social work. The Lamentabili Sane condemns this error: “The Church is incapable of effectively defending evangelical ethics because it steadfastly adheres to its views which cannot be reconciled with modern progress” (Proposition #63). True Catholic charity flows from Eucharistic devotion, as demonstrated by saints like Vincent de Paul who prioritized spiritual works over material aid.
The article’s closing description of the conciliar “pope” receiving pilgrims in the Apostolic Palace epitomizes the Vatican II sect’s betrayal. While true shepherds like Athanasius faced exile for defending doctrine, these usurpers hold court in stolen palaces, peddling a gospel stripped of redemption, judgment, and the Cross. As Pius XII warned: “The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin” (Radio Message, March 28, 1943).
Source:
Pope Leo XIV: To let God work in your life, you have to empty yourself (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 29.12.2025