Life in most post-Vatican II seminaries was certainly not a 'hortus conclusus' (enclosed garden) setting

Before I share my story of what life was like in the seminary I was in from 1968-1975 with the SMA Fathers (Society of African Missions), please allow me to explain the importance of having a 'hortus conclusus' setting within a seminary versus the casual & worldly setting that entered the seminaries, convents and monasteries after the Second Vatican Council.

So, you know, the rich religious symbolism of 'hortus conclusus' dates back to the Canticle of Canticles (Song of Soloman) 4:12 where it states: "My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up." Recently I learned two very important Church facts from an article I read by Dr. Carol Byrne from Great Britain, who is a prominent figure in the field of liturgical studies.

First, the "enclosed garden" (contrasted with Eden) was interpreted by the Church Fathers as an allegory of the nuptial union between Christ (the bridegroom) and the Church (the bride).

Second, the biblical image of the hortus conclusus was also applied to the perpetual virginity of Our Lady insofar as the garden of her womb, made accessible only to the Holy Spirit at the moment of the Incarnation, was closed to all others. This Marian doctrine, believed by the Church from the earliest times, was expressed poetically by Fr. Henry Hawkins S.J. in 1633 in his book Partheneia Sacra: Or the Mysterious and Delicious Garden of the Sacred.

Pertaining to how the Church fathers interpreted the biblical image of the hortus conclusus Dr. Byrne states: "It follows that the young men who aspire to the priesthood so as to become, like Our Lord, wedded exclusively to the Church, must live in conditions that foster fidelity. The most suitable conditions were found in the pre-conciliar seminaries, where the students were separated from worldly relationships, especially with women, which might entice them away from contemplating a celibate life." I concur with Dr. Byrne's assessment which essentially says that the "enclosed garden" mentioned in the Canticle of Canticles is "an eminently fitting model for a seminary."

Dr. Byrne went on to say that Vatican II distorted the ends of the priesthood and the Church by playing down their essentially supernatural nature while at the same time placing vastly more emphasis on secular activities and humanitarian goals to be pursued together with all the inhabitants of the world. This objective of the progressivists was remarked upon by one of the Council Fathers, Bishop Rudolph Graber of Regensburg who charged that they aimed to “deprive the Church of her supernatural character, to amalgamate her with the world... and thus to pave the way for a standardized world religion in a centralized world state.” Rudolph Graber, Athanasius and the Church of Our Times, London: Van Duren, 1974, p. 37.

What Bishop Graber said indubitably "came to pass" in the aftermath of Vatican II. Pope Paul VI's quest to "amalgamate" the Church with the concerns & values of the world and other religions, including Pagan religions, - not only "deprived the Church of her supernatural character" Pope Paul's New Church theology caused the loss of over 70,000 priestly vocations here in the U.S. alone, just as Our Lady of Good Success foretold would happen. I and most of my fellow seminarians were among that number of "lost vocations."

Now that you see the contrast of a pre-Vatican II seminary setting to a post-Vatican II setting, let me share with you what most seminarians were thinking about and feeling in the late 60's when they were first introduced to Vatican II's New Religion & New Mass.

For the most part, it was a "tumultuous" experience having to contend with Vatican II's New Religion & New Mass. The "radical" changes introduced by Pope Paul VI, including the revision of the sacraments, particularly the revision of the sacrament of ordination, led to significant concern among seminarians & clergy about the validity of the sacrament and the implications for the Church's sacramental practice.

Many seminarians & clergy felt that the new rites were a "profound" departure from the traditional practices they had been trained in, leading to a sense of disillusionment and confusion about the direction of the Church.

Overall, the transition to Vatican II's New Religion and New Mass was marked by a mix of excitement & apprehension, as seminarians sought to understand and adapt to the new norms while grappling with the implications for their own faith and practice.

On another subject, but one that directly contributed to the "pronounced" confusion, excitement & apprehension about the new sacraments, new norms and New Mass, in either a positive or negative way depending upon one's position on Vatican II - was the "revolutionary" social environment of the late 60's & 70's. At that time the nation was embroiled with the war in Vietnam, anti- war marches, rock and roll music & protests, the civil rights movement, and of course the hippie counterculture that was engendering the use of drugs and unwed sex. All that had a significant impact on life in the seminary, and on every seminarian, novice, priest, sister, monk and lay person.

In regard to the hippie counterculture and its beloved "rock and roll" music, it became the music of choice at every Novus Ordo (New Order) Mass. No more Gregorian chant! All we ever heard were songs by the Beatles, Rolling Stones and popular folk singers such as John Denver. There was no organ in our chapel, it was replaced with a piano. Most of the songs we sang, at what I now call in retrospect the "Age of Aquarius Mass," were accompanied by some combination of bongos, drums, handheld harpsichords, harmonicas, tambourines & guitars, and an occasional piano riff! With no Tabernacle to clutter the cafeteria table, they called an altar, set in the middle of the chapel, we often had girls who would dance around the makeshift altar, just before the Consecration! I shall never forget the Disco and Clown Masses we had. They were in vogue in many seminaries and convents we visited when one of our priests would say Mass. Silent prayer was never encouraged at the New "dialogue" Mass, and there was no problem with talking before & after receiving Communion in the hand, which I found out from Padre Pio and his good friend Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the former Chief Exorcist for the Vatican - was actually inspired by demons seeking to get Catholics to eventually, no longer believe in the Real Presence by putting the Holy Eucharist into "unconsecrated" hands. Sadly, those demons succeeded as over 80% of Catholics now no longer believe in the Real Presence, since Pope Paul VI allowed that mundane & unholy practice. One poll says 90% of Catholics, with priests included in that percentage, no longer believe in the Real Presence. OMG! This is just 1 of the "horrific" legacies of Vatican II, and I think the worst of all of them, because it is Our Lord Himself who is being "offended" whenever His precious Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity contained in the Holy Eucharist is put into "unconsecrated" hands in an informal "cafeteria-like" manner that shows no reverence! Saint Padre Pio was aware of the fact that Communion in the hand was "offensive" to Our Lord & to Our Lady, which is why he "never" administered the Holy Eucharist in that manner. Not only did Padre Pio know how "offensive" was the practice of Communion in the hand to Our Lord & Our Lady, but he also knew as a mystic and deep man of prayer, that it was demons who inspired Pope Paul VI to allow Communion in the hand. Padre Pio's close friend, Fr. Amorth, the former Chief Exorcist for the Vatican, who Padre Pio stayed in regular contact with, also knew that demons inspired Pope Paul VI to permit Communion in the hand.

During a 1975 exorcism Fr. Amorth performed on a young lady at the Vatican here's what he recorded in his diary, what demons said about receiving Communion in the hand: "We worked for a long time down there, until we got Communion in the hand to be put into practice. Communion in the hand is very good for us in Hell."

Returning to the Novus Ordo "typical" Mass setting of the late 60's & 70's, it should be noted that in addition to no Tabernacle on the altar, there were no statues of Our Lord, Our Lady, Saint Joseph or any of the saints. They had all been taken out of most churches & chapels, broken up and tossed in a dumpster as were beautiful marble altars as they were considered too ornate! Organs were removed and replaced with pianos. Stained-glass windows were too "elaborate" they said, so they had to go. Votive candles were eliminated!

Honestly, our chapel at Queen of Apostles Seminary looked like a "prison cell" and wasn't conducive to silent prayer whatsoever! But that was the preferred liturgical setting Vatican II was promoting, which I recently figured out connects with the foundational event on which Pope Francis patterned his entire pontificate - the 1965 Pact of the Catacombs, which took place in the Domitilla Catacomb on the eve of the close of Vatican II and was a "de facto" declaration of war on the traditional Catholic liturgy, practice, and theology.

It's altogether perplexing that Francis, with his emphasis on "preserving Church unity", declared war on the traditional Catholic liturgy, the Latin Mass, due to the fact that it was the Latin Mass, the Mass of our fathers, that fostered "unity" and did indeed keep the faithful, priests & laity alike, "united" throughout the world, for centuries, until Vatican II "broke with tradition" and created a deep & lasting "disunity" among the faithful, particularly due to the Novus Ordo (New Order) Mass, that simply swept away the Mass of the Ages that had been safeguarded and passed on for nearly 2 millenniums!

For those of you who do not know the full story about the 1965 Pact of the Catacombs, on the evening of November 16, 1965, around 40 conciliar Bishops met at the Catacombs of St. Domitila in Rome to celebrate the Novus Ordo Mass and sign a document in which they vowed to do away with the richness, pomp, and ceremony in the Church. In that document, which I have read several times, these conciliar Bishops also vowed the following: "We refuse to be called in speech or writing by names or titles that signify grandeur and power (Your Eminence, Your Excellency, Monsignor ...). We prefer to be called by the evangelical name of Father." Whoever is reading what I am disclosing to you, are you beginning to "Connect the Dots" as to why Pope Francis, God rest his soul, "never" wanted to be called Pope, Your Eminence, etc. and why he wouldn't let people kiss his papal ring, and refused to wear standard papal shoes, and did not want to live in the Vatican. Because he, like Pope Leo swallowed the Vatican II "Kool-Aid!" If Jesus had physically went to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican, based on the "inane" reasoning of the Pact of the Catacombs, would he have addressed Our Lord as "Lord" or greeted Our Lord by saying: "Hey, J.C." so as not to convey any "grandeur & power" - in keeping with the oath I just quoted from the Pact of the Catacombs, which Pope Francis considered his Bible to govern the course of his papacy.

Moving on, the liturgical abuses in Novus Ordo Masses "abounded" in the aftermath of Vatican II and still do today. Those who were advocates of the New Religion & the New Mass "relished" the abandonment of traditional liturgical practices. I recall my spiritual director, Fr. Sean Sweeney from Ireland sitting in a back pew during the New Mass holding his head between his hands to silence the guitars sounding behind him.

Those of us, like Fr. Sweeney and myself, who were averse to the theologically "unorthodox" liturgical changes had no control over what was going on at the Masses we had to attend, so we were forced to "go along to get along!" Fr. Sweeney was the only priest in the seminary that was "disgusted" about Vatican II and what it did to the Mass. Out of 12 seminarians in 1968 there were only 3 of us who were "horrified" about Vatican II, and everything associated with it! The friction that caused between fellow seminarians and priests was "intense!" Fr. Sweeney, God rest his soul, "never" changed his position about Vatican II and the New Mass, but I on the other hand, along with my fellow seminarians who initially "denounced" the New Mass and Vatican II itself, eventually "caved in!" After you get "boiled in oil" long enough most people will say "YES" to anything, and so we did, I am "sad to say" in hindsight.

At this point you must be wondering, with the entire crew (we seminarians) the captain of the ship (the Rector) and his deck hands (the priests teaching we seminarians), having all been thoroughly "boiled" in Vatican II's "anthropomorphic/horizontal theology" that mirrored the heretical man-centered theology of Teilhard de Chardin, how did that ethos of Vatican II with its New Religion & New Mass manifest itself in a late 60's and 70's seminary, such as the one I was in, the former Queen of Apostles Seminary & College in Dedham, MA on the outskirts of Boston. Well, let me tell you. We didn't want to be recognized as seminarians, so we didn't wear cassocks as our predecessors did. Many of us decided to learn how to play the guitar and most evenings after dinner we would gather together and practice folk songs or rock & roll songs we planned to sing the next day at Mass. Some of us grew beards, sideburns were popular then as well. Some dressed like hippies with floppy hats or decorated cowboy hats. Jewelry worn included necklaces, bracelets, and rings, often made from leather or hemp, and adorned with beads, pins & studs.

Bandannas, scarves, and headbands were common accessories, with bandannas often tied around the head, used as scarves, or even as makeshift bags. I didn't smoke marijuana at that time, but some of my fellow seminarians did, not in the seminary itself, but in a log cabin we had in the woods behind the seminary. There were parties in that log cabin often on the weekends and sometimes with girls, the girls who use to dance around the altar from time to time at Mass, just before the Consecration. I once caught one of my fellow seminarians fornicating with his girlfriend in the seminary at Dedham, MA. I did not report that incident to anyone. I kept it to myself as I did when an SMA priest, who I knew well, said to me: "Larry, I look forward to masturbating in my bedroom here at the end of every day!" Needless to say, after my "shock" in hearing that, I promptly exited his bedroom. Back to the issue of the girls we had on seminary grounds, during my college years in Dedham, before I chose to volunteer to relocate to the SMA Seminary & College in Cork, Ireland. It was not unusual to be seated next to a girl in our refectory at dinner, with a girl to my right and one of our priests to my left. Personally, I was extremely uncomfortable with that scenario, unlike most of my fellow seminarians. But as I've mentioned previously, I kept my mouth shut, and "went along to get along!"

The Volkswagen van we had, that just seminarians used to visit other seminaries, attend classes at secular universities, such as Boston University, Harvard or wherever - was decorated on both sides with images of 60's Peace Signs. That van made its way down to Ossining, NY to Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers in 1973 where we were in residence for 2 years in graduate school studies. That's the time I began to do what I now deeply regret. Like many of my fellow seminarians, we use to take Maryknoll sisters, whose convent was across the street from us and who were students in most of our classes, out to dance clubs on the weekends, and frequently to local pubs for a pitcher of beer and a pizza during the week after classes. I, along with several of my fellow seminarians become cast members of an off-Broadway production of Godspell. Before I decided to leave my pursuit of missionary priesthood in the spring of 1975, I took 2 of Joe Namath's X girlfriends out on a double-blind date in NYC. I invited my best friend in the seminary to tag along with me. He by the grace of God went on to become a very good & very holy priest. I on the other hand abandoned my vocation as did every one of my fellow seminarians who entered the seminary with me in 1968, with the exception or two. Regrettably, a "significant" loss of vocations in the vast majority of seminaries, convents and monasteries throughout the universal Church - was yet another "dreadful" by-product of Vatican II, along with a mass "exodus" of once faithful Catholics.

In regard to our education following Vatican II, in most seminaries, convents and monasteries, the typical types of courses taught included a mix of traditional & modern subjects, and naturally courses in theology, philosophy, Sacred Scripture, and social communications, with a "strong emphasis" on reflecting the Church's desire "to adapt to" the ways of the world at that time in history. In other words, and to put it more honestly, it was the desire of Pope Paul VI and the liberal Council fathers who "hijacked" that pastoral Council, - to make the Church "conform" to the ways of the world! And that is exactly what Vatican II did! At that time, I, and the majority of my fellow seminarians had been sufficiently "indoctrinated" (brainwashed) into believing, that the "progressive shift" in Church doctrine made sense! God forgive us for ever having thought that way!

Yes, I believed in Vatican II's position about the Church having "adapted" her traditional teachings regarding the Mass and Ecumenism to "accommodate" the values and ways of the world, until only 5 years ago or so. How "pathetic" was I.

Here is what led me to change my mind about Vatican II, and everything associated with it and led me to seek out a TLM (Traditional Latin Mass) I could attend, and a TLM priest I could have hear my Confession. It all began during the COVID lockdown, and Pope Francis ordering his bishops to "lock" every church in their diocese and then "mandating" that priests could not administer any sacraments to the faithful, even to the faithful who were dying in hospitals! Being a healthcare professional, I knew those directives of Francis, absolutely made no sense whatsoever! Why? Because while studying to earn my associate's degree in science at Tuft's University (New England Medical Center) two of the subjects I studied well were "viruses & vaccines," therefore I knew there was no "imminent" danger to the COVID-19 virus or any virus for that matter, and my wife knew that as well being an R.N. She couldn't believe "anything" was being locked down, especially Catholic churches! As a quick aside, my wife and I contracted "a good dose" of the COVID virus 5 years ago. Knowing there were several natural products that would allow our bodies to terminate the virus within 24-48 hours, I asked my wife which one she wanted me to order. She chose Ivermectin! I said: "Honey, you made the best choice, you did your homework well as Ivermectin has the longest proven track record in its ability to kill viruses and is readily available and inexpensive" So, I ordered Ivermectin and put us on a 48-hour protocol. I was fully recovered within a day, and it took 2 days for my wife's full recovery. I should add the fact that I was 70 then and my wife was 65 years old. The bottom line is "no one should have died from the COVID-19 virus," per me, regardless of their age or any pre-existing medical condition. No one! Period! Dr. Fauci should be serving a life sentence somewhere for getting his cronies at the FDA to "BAN" the use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19, when it was a fully approved product by the FDA for use in humans for over 16 years. And, unlike the mRNA gene therapy drugs with their many serious side-effects, including permanent disabilities & death, Ivermectin not only has no side-effects, but it also works 100% of the time, without fail! I best end here on that subject, or I'll start getting very angry again about how the so-called "PANDEMIC" was utterly mismanaged! That said, "never" under any circumstances get inoculated with a COVID vaccine! I read every pre-clinical and clinical trial on those "experimental" drugs and it would "shock you" about what I discovered the LD 50 (lethal dose rate) was in every lab animal that was injected with a COVID vaccine. I best leave it there or "you won't be able to sleep tonight!"

My science background surely played a significant role in my eventually becoming a TLM Catholic, but my seminary background, as "wayward" as it was due to Vatican II, also played a role in my conversion. With so much time "on my hands" enclosed in my home during the "inane" lockdown, I began going to my laptop every day and reading for "hours & hours" everything I could about Pope Francis and his background, and every post-conciliar pope, Pope Paul VI, Pope John I, Pope John XXIII and many more prelates that had something to say about Vatican II. I read articles from a host of people who were advocates of Vatican II and opponents of Vatican II. I studied Church history and its Councils and the Early Church fathers, and Marian apparitions. I even read the Bible from "cover to cover!" Holy Scripture really started "coming alive" to me! What "rocked my Vatican II world" was when I was reading Paul's letter to the Romans and got to 12:2, where Paul was advising believers to "not be conformed to this world" but to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind." This of course means that Christians should resist the pressures of "worldly norms," which was what Vatican II was all about, and instead seek to align their lives with God's will, which I knew Vatican II wanted nothing to do with!

Because Vatican II was all about Pope Paul VI and his vested interest in moving the Church away from her traditions and making her the "Church of Accompaniment" with her attention & commitment on "adapting" the norms of the Church to the ways of the world! Pope Paul VI made that "crystal clear," especially in his closing speech at Vatican II.

Anyhow, what Saint Paul said in 12:2 to the believers in Rome was "the nail in the coffin" for me to put Vatican II to rest and "bury it deep," where it belongs! I rest my case!

For those who have just read my story, I pray that it will give you "cause to pause" and think through what I have written and move you to act accordingly! Should anyone wish to reach out to me and talk about anything at all, I would more than welcome your call. Outside of being a little hard of hearing now, I will listen to whatever you have to say intently and with care, before I answer. Oremus!

Sincerely in Jesus, Mary & Joseph, Larry Welch
lawrencewelch2003@yahoo.com
(954) 895-2168
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Nota bene: The credit for this story must go to my friend Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, who suggested I write my story, which I had no intention of ever doing! Thank you, Dr. Kwasniewski. Please check out the good doctor's story at http://www.PeterKwasniewski.com