Episode 3310: A Religion With Teeth: Sent Forth or Sent Away

November 29, 2025

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Book Recommendation of the Day
The Spiritual Combat — Dom Lorenzo Scupoli (with a foreword by St. Francis de Sales)
Not written by a canonized saint, but given full endorsement and daily use by St. Francis de Sales.
Why it fits
This book is the manual of perseverance.
It covers:
• vigilance against deception
• interior warfare
• constancy in trials
• resisting the world and the devil
• acquiring strength through humility
• the battle to remain faithful until the end
St. Francis de Sales carried it with him for 18 years and recommended it constantly.
“Sent Forth or Sent Away? How the Church Lost Her Identity And How Tradition Restores It”
A Church Forgetting Who She Is
This is something I spoke about in the past but is well worth repeating. I head Anthony Stine speak about this as well. Today’s episode is inspired by the powerful text shown in the video: a critique of how even the simplest parts of the Traditional Latin Mass especially Ite, missa est have been reinterpreted, softened, and distorted in the post-Vatican II Church.
This matters because when you change the meaning of words,
you change identity…
and when you change identity,
you change destiny.
The Church today is suffering a deep identity crisis:
• We don’t know what the Mass is.
• We don’t know who the priest is.
• We don’t know what “mission” means.
• We don’t know why we exist.
the Church has lost its identity because she has lost her memory.
“A Religion With Teeth: Why True Catholicism Demands Heroes, Not Comfort-Seekers”
“Religion is actually not a crutch; it is a cross. It is not an escape, it is a burden; not a flight, but a response. We speak here of a religion with teeth in it, the wind that demands self-sacrifice and surrender. One leans on a crutch, but a cross rests on us. It takes a hero to embrace a cross.” — Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
THE LIE OF A COMFORTABLE RELIGION
Today’s episode is built around a prophetic line from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen — a line that destroys the entire modern illusion that religion is meant to soothe us, entertain us, or make life easier.
Sheen wrote:
“Religion is not a crutch; it is a cross… It takes a hero to embrace a cross.”
We live in a time when Catholicism has been softened, watered down, made palatable, made non-offensive, and stripped of its ascetic edge. The modern world wants a religion with pillows Sheen reminds us ours is a religion with teeth.
He reminds us that:
• Christ did not come to bring comfort, but conversion
• The Church does not save us from suffering, but through suffering
• Religion is not a spiritual therapy session
• Faith is not meant to make us comfortable
• Faith is meant to make us holy
And holiness is painful because holiness means crucifixion.
This is the truth the modern Church hates to say out loud.
SEGMENT 1 — “A Cross, Not a Crutch”
A crutch is something one leans on to ease pain.
But the Cross?
The Cross presses down on us.
It crushes ego.
It exposes sin.
It calls for sacrifice.
It demands everything.
A crutch helps you escape suffering.
The Cross leads you into redemptive suffering.
A crutch makes you dependent.
The Cross makes you free.
A crutch supports weakness.
The Cross strengthens the will.
Sheen’s point is unmistakable:
Modern religion seeks comfort
True Catholicism demands conversion
And this is why modern men reject true religion because it asks for their death.
The death of self.
The death of pride.
The death of sin.
SEGMENT 2 — “A Religion With Teeth”
This is one of the most brilliant lines in all of Sheen’s writings:
“We speak here of a religion with teeth in it.”
Meaning:
• A religion that bites into you
• A religion that demands something
• A religion that disciplines your flesh
• A religion that draws blood
Sheen understood what the martyrs understood:
If your religion never wounds your ego, it is not the religion of Christ.
Modern Catholicism tries to remove every tooth:
• No fasting
• No penance
• No moral demands
• No hard preaching
• No sacrifice
• No accountability
• No reverence
• No fear of God
But a religion without teeth cannot protect.
A religion without teeth cannot teach.
A religion without teeth cannot sanctify.
A lion without teeth is just a large cat.
A Church without teeth is just a nonprofit organization.
SEGMENT 3 — Self-Sacrifice: The Forgotten Heart of the Faith
Sheen writes:
“The wind that demands self-sacrifice and surrender.”
This is the exact opposite of the modern message:
• “Be yourself.”
• “Follow your dreams.”
• “Do what makes you happy.”
• “Don’t judge.”
• “Affirm everything.”
But Christ said:
“If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Deny yourself — not affirm yourself.
Take up your cross — not avoid discomfort.
Follow Me — not follow your passions.
Every saint becomes a saint through sacrifice,
never through comfort.
SEGMENT 4 — The Cross Rests on Us
Sheen writes:
“One leans on a crutch, but a cross rests on us.”
This is one of the deepest insights into the spiritual life.
Why does the Cross rest on us?
Because it is:
• the weight of glory
• the weight of responsibility
• the weight of fidelity
• the weight of discipleship
• the weight of love
The Cross is not punishment.
The Cross is participation.
Through the Cross we become:
• strong
• humble
• faithful
• courageous
• purified
And the world today does not want any of those virtues.
That’s why it hates the Cross.
SEGMENT 5 — “It Takes a Hero to Embrace a Cross”
We live in a time of spiritual cowardice:
• cowardly bishops afraid to preach truth
• cowardly priests afraid to correct error
• cowardly parents afraid to teach the Faith
• cowardly Catholics afraid to stand publicly for Christ
We have forgotten that the Church was built by heroes, not bureaucrats.
The early Christians didn’t die for a committee document.
They died for a Person.
They died for Truth.
They died for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
And Sheen is telling us:
Holiness is heroic.
Not easy.
Not convenient.
Not comfortable.
Not soft.
Not sentimental.
Heroic.
SEGMENT 6 — The Modern Church’s Rejection of the Cross
Here is where Sheen becomes prophetic.
When a Church refuses the Cross:
• it becomes worldly
• it becomes political
• it becomes sentimental
• it becomes soft
• it becomes feminized
• it becomes confused
• it becomes powerless
A Cross-less religion is not Christianity.
It is therapy wearing vestments.
Today we see:
• Mass without sacrifice
• Catholicism without penance
• Morality without consequences
• Mercy without repentance
• Heaven without judgment
• Liturgy without awe
• Leadership without courage
• Discipleship without discipline
This is why the Church collapses.
Because a Church that refuses the Cross cannot save a world drowning in sin.
SEGMENT 7 — The Blessed Mother: The Model of Heroic Faith
Why do Traditional Catholics cling so fiercely to Mary?
Because Mary is the Anti-Crutch.
She is the one who:
• stood at the Cross
• did not flee
• did not hide
• did not compromise
• did not soften the truth
• did not demand comfort
Sheen himself said:
“When we look at the Cross, we find the Mother.”
If we want to be heroic Catholics, we must learn from her:
✔ purity
✔ sacrifice
✔ suffering
✔ fidelity
✔ courage
✔ silence
✔ contemplation
✔ obedience
✔ love
Modern Catholicism wants Our Lady without her swords.
Traditional Catholicism wants her with all seven of them.

FINAL CHALLENGE — Will You Carry Your Cross?
Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s words are not poetry.
They are a warning.
Religion is not a crutch —
it is a cross.
Faith is not an escape —
it is a battle.
Catholicism is not a comfort —
it is a calling.
And today, more than ever, God is searching for:
• men with spines
• women with courage
• families with fidelity
• parishes with reverence
• Catholics with fire
A Cross-bearing Church is a glorious Church.
A Cross-less Church is a dead one.

Which will we choose?
Epistle — Colossians 1:9–14
“We cease not to pray for you… that you may walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing… being strengthened with all might… giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light.”
SEGMENT 1:
The Epistle — Walking Worthy of God in a Time of Darkness
St. Paul’s prayer for the Colossians is a blueprint for Catholic perseverance:
1. “Walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing.”
In our era—filled with confusion, moral collapse, and internal Church turmoil—this is not easy.
To “walk worthy of God” means:
• fidelity to doctrine,
• fidelity to worship,
• fidelity to daily duty,
• fidelity even when bishops, priests, or entire communities compromise.
Traditional Catholics do not seek novelty. We seek worthiness, which is found only in obedience to God—not to the fashions of the age.
2. “Being strengthened with all might.”
God does not ask us to survive on our own strength.
The early Church was surrounded by paganism; yet the saints triumphed.
So too, the faithful remnant today faces:
• doctrinal ambiguity,
• moral relativism,
• liturgical rupture,
• episcopal silence or hostility to tradition.
But God strengthens those who refuse the wide road.
3. “Partakers of the lot of the saints in light.”
This beautiful line reminds us that heaven is not for the mediocre.
Heaven is for the saints.
For the courageous.
For the loyal.
For those like St. Saturnius, whose feast we honor today.
________________________________________
SEGMENT 2:
Feast of St. Saturnius — A Martyr’s Strength for a Weak Age
St. Saturnius (3rd century), Bishop of Toulouse, preached Christ boldly in a pagan land.
His preaching made the demons tremble and exposed false gods as frauds.
So the pagans grew enraged.
They bound him to a wild bull and dragged him through the city until he died.
Why is his witness vital today?
1. Because he proclaimed Christ without compromise.
St. Saturnius did not say:
“Let us dialogue with paganism.”
He did not dilute the Gospel.
He did not seek relevance.
He spoke truth boldly—and died a martyr.
2. Because he faced exactly what we face: pressure to conform.
The Roman world demanded unity, tolerance, inclusion of the old gods, and religious blending.
Sound familiar?
Today’s world demands:
• the acceptance of relativism,
• the endorsement of moral error,
• the watering down of Catholic doctrine,
• the reshaping of the liturgy according to the spirit of the age.
St. Saturnius shows us that true charity is fidelity to Christ, not concession to error.
3. Because he lived the words of the Epistle.
He walked worthy of God.
He was strengthened with might.
He became a saint in light.
May we, like him, stand firm.
________________________________________
SEGMENT 3:
Gospel — Matthew 24:15–35
Our Lord warns of tribulation, deception, false prophets, the desolation foretold by Daniel, and the need for vigilance, concluding with the promise that His words shall not pass away.
Gospel Reflection — The Warnings of Matthew 24
In today’s Gospel, Christ gives a terrifying yet consoling discourse.
He speaks of:
• desolation,
• tribulation,
• false prophets,
• scandal,
• apostasy,
• cosmic upheaval.
And yet, these words are not meant to paralyze us.
They are meant to prepare us.
1. “When you see the abomination of desolation…”
Throughout history, this prophecy had multiple fulfillments:
• The desecration of the Temple by Antiochus.
• The fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
• And ultimately, the end of the world.
In our era, we see a spiritual desolation:
abandonment of doctrine, liturgical abuse, denial of Christ’s kingship, and a crisis of faith unprecedented in scale.
Traditional Catholics often feel like Jerusalem besieged yet Christ says:
“Do not fear.”
2. “Many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many.”
False prophets today may not wear ancient garments.
They may be academics, theologians, clerics, bishops, or influencers who preach:
• universalism,
• moral compromise,
• a worldly synodalism detached from Tradition,
• or a sentimental Christ divorced from His Cross.

The antidote?
Hold to what was handed down.
3. “He that shall persevere to the end shall be saved.”
Perseverance—not brilliance, not status, not power—is the condition for salvation.
For the remnant faithful today, perseverance means:
• doctrinal fidelity
• daily prayer
• sacramental life
• Marian devotion
• traditional moral discipline
• and clinging to the Mass of the Ages.
4. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”
His words do not change.
His doctrine does not evolve.
His commandments are eternal.
His Church stands upon a rock—no matter how many storms strike.
This Gospel calls us to watch, to pray, to stand firm, and to trust.
SEGMENT 4:
Uniting the Readings and the Feast
When we place the Epistle, the Gospel, and St. Saturnius side by side, a single theme emerges:
Fidelity in Tribulation.
The Epistle tells us:
Walk worthy. Be strengthened. Become saints in light.
The Gospel tells us:
Be vigilant. Reject false prophets. Persevere to the end.
St. Saturnius tells us:
Be faithful even unto martyrdom.
Together, these form a roadmap for Catholics today navigating the crisis:
• Be rooted in truth.
• Be unafraid of discomfort.
• Do not compromise with the world.
• Guard your soul against false teachers.
• Live sacrificially.
• Stay close to Our Lady and the saints.
• And never forget: suffering is the path to glory.
CONCLUSIONARY PRAYER
Let us pray.
O God, who didst strengthen Thy holy martyr St. Saturnius with heroic faith and unshakeable courage, grant that we, who are surrounded by the trials and confusions of this age, may imitate his steadfast fidelity.
Grant us the grace
to walk worthy of Thee,
to be strengthened with Thy might,
to reject the spirit of the world,
and to persevere in charity and truth until the end.
Preserve Thy Church amidst tribulation.
Protect the remnant who cling to Tradition.
Enkindle in our hearts the fire of perseverance,
and through the intercession of Our Lady,
guide us safely to the eternal Kingdom.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.