Our new District Superior, Fr. Wegner, introduces himself to the American faithful and speaks about the essential spirit of the Society of St. Pius X, which is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Dear Faithful,
It is a great joy for me to write this first editorial of the Regina Coeli Report, having just taken the place of Fr. Rostand as District Superior. With you all I want to thank him for his six-year term and his kindness as he passed on to me, in excellent order, the U.S. District. We wish him the best in his new functions in Menzingen.
In the Statutes of the Society of St. Pius X, Archbishop Lefebvre describes the spirit of the Society, “The Society is essentially apostolic, because such is the Sacrifice of the Mass.” And as an immediate consequence, he exposes that which therefore becomes a rule of life for us priests: “They will live with the conviction that the whole efficacy of their apostolate flows form the Sacrifice of Our Lord, which they offer daily.”
These words of our Founder are really a principle which I am most happy to recall at the beginning of this new term. The whole work of the Society through the 44 years of its presence in America consists in bringing Jesus to souls through the Sacrifice of the Mass. Chapels and seminary, guild and parish group, missions and schools, retreats and recollections, magazines and books: all our apostolate aims to bring your souls to the source of all graces, Our Lord Jesus Christ, offering his life to God the Father for our salvation. Baptizing, educating, preaching, confessing: our priests dedicate their lives to gather you around the altar in order to introduce you to the Model and to unite you with the divine Victim who wants to feed and transform you.
It is a joy to see how warmly you welcome the priests. It is edifying to see your ongoing efforts to improve the places where the divine liturgy is prayed. It is also a universal testimony that the SSPX priests are recognizable in the way they pray the Mass!
Let us then put the Holy Mass at the center of our lives. That is a duty for all of us, priests and laymen, since we know the Mass is the source of spiritual, family and social life.
Let us do our best to assist at Mass, if possible daily; to prepare for Mass, to give thanks after Mass, to invite others to Mass.
I heartily encourage you to come to the next Angelus Press Conference in Kansas City this October. It will be a great opportunity to spend three days studying the Holy Mass and celebrating gratefully this treasure of the Church that our Founder saved for all!
I will be delighted to meet you on this occasion or during a visit to your chapel.
With my blessing, in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Fr. Jurgen Wegner