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“My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials
(Sirach, 2)
Most American Catholics who came to call themselves Traditionalists were totally unprepared for the assault on the Roman Rite manifesting itself at the Second Vatican Council and in its aftermath. Their reactions to the Liturgical Revolution were, therefore, those of a shocked incredulity, such a nightmare seeming impossible in a Church that they had considered so well-protected from error by the Papacy. There was a general lack of awareness of the development of the movement for a “pastoral” liturgy—not to speak of the various forms of “Personalism” and “New Theology” and the dangers of an exaggerated papal power put to unfortunate use in its favor.
This volume deals with many of the trials faced by Traditionalists throughout the Catholic world in their battle for the maintenance—and ultimate restoration—of the butchered Roman Rite. Those trials have included the need to confront a myriad of questions. Such questions have ranged from the proper understanding of the teaching on Papal Infallibility coming from the First Vatican Council and the extent and limitations of the authority of a local bishop to the explanation for the intense opposition to a defense of Catholic Tradition arising from an ever-more oppressive “pluralist” socio-political order. Profound internal divisions over how to answer these queries have made such trials still more complex and painful.
The Book of Sirach warns us that those filled with zeal for the proper worship of God and obedience to all His precepts; those moved by a justifiably righteous indignation over any assault upon these foundations for our existence, must expect woes and sorrows. It also gives sound advice regarding how frontline soldiers must comport themselves if they are to contribute to victory rather than defeat. They are told to perfect their Faith, their personal holiness, and their hope in God; to be “sincere of heart and steadfast”; to “accept whatever happens to you; in periods of humiliation to be patient. For in fire gold is tested, and the chosen in the crucible of humiliation.”
Yes, Volume Three of For the Whole Christ underlines many of the difficulties Traditionalists in love with the Roman Rite have had in following this advice. But, happily, it also points to their growing understanding that the must always patiently and hopefully “sing the song of the statutes of the Lord in the land of their exile” so that the recovery of their liturgical birthright and their “home” in the mainstream of the life of the Universal Church will make their future protection of these goods even more conscious, heartfelt, and invincible.
Pugnacious, entertaining, erudite, and insightful, John Rao never disappoints. This collection of writings takes you down memory lane in the company of one of the leading and most influential figures of American Catholic traditionalism—from the difficult years following Vatican II through the golden age of Summorum all the way to the present challenges, Rao has always been there, ready to speak up for all those who felt let down by the post-conciliar church, reminding us that even the present difficulties are just a blink in the two-thousand-years history of the Catholic Church. May many more letters stream out from Rocco’s café! —Thomas Cattoi, William and Barbara Moran Chair of Early Christian theology and Interreligious Relations, Pontifical University of Saint Thomas, Rome
John Rao has played a key role in American Catholic traditionalism almost from its beginning: as a leader, scholar, organizer, publicist, and even liturgical acolyte!. This volume, covering events from the 1970s to 2017, offers unique insights from a participant into not just the struggles and vicissitudes, but also the triumphs of Catholic traditionalism. To create his narrative, Professor Rao weaves together autobiography, travel reporting, secular and Church history, theology, liturgy and popular culture. And he vividly recalls for us dear departed figures who over the years have done and sacrificed so much for the traditionalist cause. —Stuart Chessman, author of Faith of Our Fathers: A Brief History of Catholic Traditionalism in the United States
Having known Dr. Rao for 40 years, having read him and heard him lecture many times, I can assure everyone that his collected works represents a compendium of some of the best writing on, and analysis of, the Church in the Modern Age. As a leading figure in the traditional Catholic movement and as a scholar of Church history, Dr. Rao's works must be considered an indispensable part of any traditionalist's library. Dr. Rao knew personally and well many of the founders of the traditionalist movement such as Dietrich von Hildebrand, Bill Mara, and Michael Davies. Besides his many deep insights into the self-inflicted decline of the post-conciliar Church and the destruction of the Latin liturgy, Dr. Rao demonstrates a wide civilizational perspective, especially in his trenchant critique of the so-called Age of Enlightenment and its cultural aftermath, making him a contemporary De Maistre. If you want true enlightenment, start reading Dr. Rao today! —Rev. Richard A. Munkelt, Ph.D., Catholic priest, writer, and philosopher
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John C. Rao obtained his doctorate in Modern European History from Oxford University in 1977. He worked in 1978–1979 as Eastern Director of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Bryn Mawr, PA, and was Associate Professor of European History at St. John’s University in New York City from 1979 to 2021. Dr. Rao is also director of the Roman Forum, a Catholic cultural organization founded by the late Professor Dietrich von Hildebrand in 1968. He writes for numerous French, German, Spanish and Italian journals. Perhaps the most important of his works are Americanism and the Collapse of the Church in the United States (Roman Forum Press, 1995), Black Legends and the Light of the World (Remnant Press, 2012), Removing the Blindfold (Angelus Press, 2014), a discussion of Catholics rediscovering their own heritage in the post-French revolutionary era, and A Centenary Meditation on a Quest for “Purification” Gone Mad (Arouca Press, 2019). He has also written a companion volume to his collected works, The Unrepentant Catholic's Cautionary Calendar (Arouca Press, 2022).
-200x200.jpg "A Centenary Meditation on a Quest for “Purification” Gone Mad (2018 Gardone Lectures)")
-200x200.jpg "The Unrepentant Catholic's Cautionary Calendar (Companion Volume to the Collected Works)")
-200x200.jpg "For the Whole Christ: Catholic Christendom versus Revolutionary Disorder (Volume 1 of Dr. John Rao's Collected Works)")
