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Christus Vincit

Christus Vincit

Christ's Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age
by Athanasius Schneider 2019 340 pages
4.69
503 ratings
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Key Takeaways

1. The Deepest Crisis: Loss of the Supernatural

The deepest root of the problems and the crisis in the Church is the weakening of the supernatural, and in some cases a loss of it.

Flight from God. The current crisis stems from humanity's flight from God, abandoning the supernatural essence of the divine. This began with the devil's temptation to be like God without God, a deceit that minimizes the distinction between Creator and creature.

Naturalism's rise. Attempts to abolish the distinction between God and creation lead to naturalism, paganism, and pantheism, where nature is declared divine. This secularist impulse, starting with Renaissance humanism and amplified by Protestantism, seeks to sever human life from the supernatural order.

Modernism's victory. The Church, particularly after Vatican II, has been infected by Modernism, a form of naturalism that denies or weakens the supernatural. This has resulted in an eclipse of God's primacy, grace, prayer, and sacredness, leading to frenetic human activity to fill a spiritual void.

2. Secularism's Trajectory: From Humanism to Gender Ideology

At least the Deists accepted nature as it is, they accepted that God created it, and that one has to respect the natural laws, at least to some extent.

Anthropocentrism's ascent. Secularism, rooted in anthropocentrism, places man at the center, allowing individuals to determine truth, good, and evil. This relativism, fueled by Protestant subjectivism and Deism, paved the way for Freemasonry's influence.

Cruelty's consequence. This extreme egoism leads to a cruel society, evident in the mass killing of innocents through abortion and euthanasia. Man's desire to usurp the Creator's role culminates in gender ideology, a blasphemous rebellion against God's wisdom and the natural order of human sexuality.

Masonic influence. Freemasonry, a Gnostic religion, aims to replace divine revelation with man-made knowledge, ultimately leading to the adoration of man as god. Its principles, including the perversion of natural law and the destruction of the family, are systematically implemented to build a "new temple of humanity" by eliminating Christianity.

3. Islamization of Europe: A Threat to Weak Christianity

The plans of many global world powers are clear: to de-Christianize Europe.

De-Christianization agenda. The massive influx of Muslims into Europe is, in part, an orchestrated effort by anti-Christian forces, including Freemasonry, to de-Christianize the continent. This strategy exploits Islam's inherent tendency towards political power and Sharia law, which marginalizes other religions.

Weakness invites threat. Europe's "weak Christianity," characterized by a lack of zeal and conviction, makes it vulnerable to Islamization. The cunning deployment of "mercy and compassion" propaganda further facilitates the displacement of Christian European culture.

Distorted faith. While many Muslims are peaceful and hold a natural belief in God, Islam itself is not supernatural faith, as it rejects the Holy Trinity and Christ's Incarnation. Its conception of God as distant and arbitrary, coupled with violent justifications in the Koran, poses a significant challenge to Christian truth and reason.

4. Religious Indifferentism: Betraying Christ's Uniqueness

That we Catholics adore with the Muslims the one God (“nobiscum Deum adorant”), is theologically a highly ambiguous affirmation.

Ambiguous Council texts. Vatican II's documents, particularly Lumen Gentium and Dignitatis Humanae, contain ambiguous phrases that foster religious indifferentism. Statements like Muslims adoring "with us the one God" or a "natural right" to choose a false religion obscure the unique truth of Catholicism.

False ecumenism's danger. Interreligious dialogue, especially as seen in the Assisi meetings and the Abu Dhabi document, promotes the erroneous idea that all religions are equally willed by God. This relativizes Christ's unique salvific role and the Church's indispensable mission to evangelize.

Truth's primacy. The Church's constant teaching affirms that only truth has rights, and error has none. While civil tolerance for other religions is necessary for the common good, promoting false religions or equating them with Catholicism betrays the Gospel and the apostolic mandate to proclaim Christ as the sole Savior.

5. Vatican II's Ambiguities and Liturgical Devastation

After the Council, a disaster occurred at almost every level of the Church’s life.

Unintended consequences. The Second Vatican Council, despite its pastoral aims and valuable texts (e.g., universal call to holiness, role of laity, domestic church, Our Lady), inadvertently opened a "floodgate" for Modernism and naturalism. This led to widespread doctrinal, moral, and liturgical chaos.

Liturgical rupture. The post-conciliar liturgical reform, particularly the Novus Ordo, drastically changed the Mass, weakening its sacrificial character and sacredness. Practices like versus populum celebration, Communion in the hand, and the proliferation of extraordinary ministers reflect an anthropocentric shift, diminishing faith in the Real Presence.

Modernism's revelation. The Council acted as a catalyst, exposing the latent Modernist heresy within the Church, which had been slowly infiltrating since Benedict XV. This "synthesis of all heresies," characterized by relativism and worldliness, has now revealed its "hideous face," necessitating a future correction of ambiguous Council texts and subsequent errors.

6. Papal Power and Clerical Corruption: A Crisis of Leadership

The pope is ultimately the person in the Church with the least freedom, because his authority is very limited, since he is only an administrator of something which does not belong to him, but to Christ.

Limits of authority. Papal authority is subordinate to God's Word and Sacred Tradition; the pope is a "servant of the servants of God," not a lord. Unhealthy ultramontanism and papolatry, which treat every papal word as infallible, have obscured this truth and paralyzed bishops.

Clerical self-love. The current crisis is exacerbated by ruthless, faithless individuals in high ecclesiastical offices, who prioritize their careers and worldly influence over Christ. This "clerical showman" mentality, evident in the resistance to liturgical reform like ad orientem, reflects a loss of the sense of true adoration.

Homosexual infiltration. The presence of "homosexual networks" within the clergy, including seminaries, has caused immense damage, particularly contributing to the pedophilia crisis. Vigilance and categorical exclusion of men with homosexual tendencies from the priesthood are crucial for restoring the Church's sacred mission.

7. The Eucharist: Heart of the Church, Key to Renewal

There is nowhere in the entire world, in the entire history of the world, in the entire universe, where God is so close, where the divinity is as close to His creatures, as in the mystery of the Eucharist.

Divine invention of love. The Eucharist is Christ's ultimate expression of love, an extension of the Incarnation where His humanity and divinity are veiled yet truly present. This "sacramentum caritatis" is the most humble, fragile, and defenseless mode of God's presence, inviting profound faith and reverence.

Sacrilege and profanation. The widespread practice of Communion in the hand, a Calvinist invention, leads to the loss of Eucharistic fragments and the trampling of Our Lord. This banal reception, coupled with the proliferation of extraordinary ministers, diminishes faith in the Real Presence and the sacrificial nature of the Mass.

Restoring reverence. A true renewal of the Church's heart requires restoring awe-inspiring Eucharistic worship, particularly receiving Communion kneeling and on the tongue. This visible reverence, rooted in the Incarnation, is indispensable for healing the Church's "cardiac asthenia" and regaining spiritual energy.

8. Fatima's Prophecy: Penance, Persecution, and Spiritual Ruin

The third part of the secret is very timely. It shows that we are moving towards an era of martyrdom inside the Church.

Unfulfilled consecration. The consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima, has not yet been perfectly fulfilled due to political concerns. A future explicit consecration is hoped to bring abundant graces and Russia's full conversion.

The Third Secret's message. The revealed text of the Third Secret, depicting a city in ruins and a pope passing by priestly corpses, signifies the Church's profound spiritual crisis. It warns of divine wrath against sin and calls for penance, contradicting the modern "mercy" that trivializes sin.

Clerical betrayal. The "spiritual corpses" of priests, bishops, and cardinals, corrupted by pedophilia, sodomy, and heresy, are a central theme. Their betrayal, driven by worldliness and an "inferiority complex" towards the unbelieving world, mirrors the Apostles' abandonment of Christ during His Passion.

9. Laity and Angels: Allies in Spiritual Warfare

The current vigilant and committed participation of traditionally-minded lay people in the life of the Church expresses the true meaning of Vatican II regarding the laity.

Laity's hour. In this unprecedented crisis, the "little ones" – faithful laity, families, and youth – are called to be Christ's soldiers and confessors. They must awaken their baptismal gifts, especially fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord, to defend the faith and form domestic churches.

Angelic companions. Holy angels, our co-worshippers and co-fighters, are powerful means to turn towards the supernatural and combat evil spirits. Devotion to guardian angels, who ardently desire to serve, strengthens our faith and provides spiritual illumination and protection.

Prayer crusade. Lay people can help the Church through intense prayer crusades, diligent study of catechisms, and public witness to truth. Acts of reparation for sins against the Commandments and sacrileges against the Eucharist are crucial for spiritual battle and renewal.

10. Global Challenges: Resisting the One World Government

There is ever more evidence of the establishment of a One World Government by the United Nations and ultimately by powerful Masonic organizations, which act behind the scenes in order politically to implement the “novus ordo saeculorum,” the New World Order, the atheist One World Government.

Neo-Marxist agenda. A globalist "One World Government," driven by Masonic and neo-Marxist ideologies, seeks to impose an atheistic, anti-Christian "novus ordo saeculorum." This agenda promotes abortion, homosexual indoctrination, climate change myths, and the destruction of national identities.

Russia's complex role. While Russia's government, under Putin, has objectively defended Christians and enacted anti-homosexual laws, its motives may be geopolitical. However, the re-Christianization of Russian society, with its rapid church building and Orthodox faith promotion, offers a counter-narrative to Western secularism.

Resisting colonization. The Church must resist the "ideological colonization" of Africa by Western powers promoting contraception and abortion, which is a new form of racism and slavery. Fidelity to Christ, non-compromise with totalitarian regimes (e.g., China), and a renewed missionary zeal are essential for global spiritual combat.

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Review Summary

4.69 out of 5
Average of 503 ratings from Goodreads and Amazon.

Christus Vincit receives overwhelmingly positive reviews (4.69/5), praised for its clarity, honesty, and hope amid the Catholic Church's current crisis. Readers appreciate Bishop Schneider's candid critique of post-1960s changes, including liturgical reforms and doctrinal confusion, while maintaining charity and conviction in Christ's victory. His personal stories of faith under Soviet persecution resonate deeply. The Eucharist chapter particularly stands out. However, some criticize his conspiracy theories about Freemasonry and perceived harshness toward Pope Francis. Most recommend it as essential reading for Catholics seeking understanding of modern Church challenges.

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About the Author

Athanasius Schneider, O.R.C., serves as Auxiliary Bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan and is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra. Born into a family that endured communist persecution, his background profoundly shapes his theological perspective and ministry. He has emerged as a prominent voice within traditional Catholic circles, known for his defense of liturgical tradition and orthodox doctrine. His experiences growing up behind the Iron Curtain, where his family maintained their Catholic faith despite severe restrictions and persecution, inform his commentary on contemporary Church issues and his emphasis on Eucharistic reverence and doctrinal clarity.

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