*Communiqué from the General House of the SSPX asks for prayers from the faithful and asks them to offer up at least one of their Communions that God's will be done in regards to the SSPX response to the Holy Father.
*District Superior of the SSPX in Germany, Fr. Franz Schmidberger, prepares the SSPX faithful for a possible "positive" response to the Vatican by Bishop Fellay, and asks for prayers: "So this is not primarily about our Society, but about what is good for the Church."
*FSSP Diaconate ordination.
*Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury implements Summorum Pontificum.
*Traditional Benedictines from the USA establish a monastery in Ireland.
*Renovations completed at Cleveland's St. Stephen Catholic Church in time for Palm Sunday.
*President Jimmy Carter reveals himself as an anti-Catholic bigot. Is anyone surprised? (However, in all fairness, Jimmy does think the Dems need to stop being so pro-abortion.)
*Vatican cancels controversial stem-cell research conference.
*"Wuerl the Girl" scratches back?
*Archbishop of Dublin is happy that the Church is in decline. With people like this in charge, is it any wonder that the Church is in decline?
*World to the USA: Your sun is setting.
*Vatican website hacked yet again by Anonymous... and yet countless Masses are offered around world, the Pope is still the Vicar of Christ, and devout Catholics are still practicing the faith. Hey, Anonymous cowards, the Church has been around a lot longer than computers and will be around long after they are gone.
*Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: Understanding the spiritual richness of the Angelus.
*Catholicism and the GOP, an evolving partnership born out of the Moral Majority. Is this good for Catholicism in the US?
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Hate, Derision and Ridicule from Under the Leftist Mountain
I’ve been spending quite a bit of time recently researching for an article I plan to submit to The Remnant Newspaper, and in the course of this research I stumbled upon the atypical liberal blog (Under the Mountain Bunker), written by an atypical leftist woman. Post after post after post is nothing more than sarcastic ridicule of some perceived threat from the right. Be it Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, John Boehner, Sarah Palin or the current GOP candidates, the author of Under the Mountain Bunker has nothing for them but vehement vitriol, replete with Photoshopped images (many of which were obscene) of these individuals that are intended to demean and to hatefully deride.
I was struck, first of all, by the fact that there is nothing to these posts except hateful derision for the author’s perceived enemies on the right, and a conspicuous absence of reasoned and useful criticism of their positions and ideologies. I certainly do not agree with someone like Glenn Beck, who seems to think the US Constitution is the last book of the Bible (or the last chapter of the Book of Mormon, as the case may be), nor for the current GOP candidates, all of whom are just liberals of a different guise. However, ridicule and derision does not constitute a reasoned critiqued of their political ideologies. I’m fully aware that caricature is a part of the political debate, and can be used, sometimes, as an introduction to actual critique; however, it is clear that when caricature is used by the Left, from Bill Maher all the way down to the author of Under the Mountain Bunker, the whole argument is nothing but rank caricature—the demonization of others—without sense, sensibility, or reason. Unfortunately, this hateful rhetoric of ridicule, sarcasm and derision is what now passes for political dialogue in our country.
If anything sums up the Left it would be the world “unreasonable”. They run from reason while at the same time ignoring reality and plain facts. Meaningless slogans such as, “Change You Can Believe In”, become meaningful only for those who have no rational underpinning to their arguments and their beliefs about the world. These minds are malleable for the mob-shepherds like Barack Obama and his campaign engineers, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and snake oil salesmen and race baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. These malleable minds are easily persuaded by deriding images of demonized figures on the right, and crass jokes from the likes of Bill Maher.
The underlying cause of their unreasonableness has its roots, like all vices do, in one of the seven deadly sins. It is the sin of pride. This refusal to reason based on the clear facts arises because honest inquiry requires a willingness to accept the fact that one may be wrong concerning their pre-conceived notions, their opinions, and their cultural, social or religious upbringing. A prideful man cannot discover truth because he has put himself before the truth.
We traditional Catholics at this time of the year, from the Gospel passages presented during the liturgy, are being confronted with a group of people that have at least the Left’s unreasonableness in common. This group is the Pharisees. As Dom Guéranger writes about the Pharisees, they “hate the light, and love darkness; their pride will not yield even to the evidence of facts.” We all know what consummated for Our Blessed Lord due to the pride of the Pharisees. Can there be a good end in store for the targets, which undoubtedly included traditional Catholics, of our modern day Pharisees, the Leftists?
The ultimate reasonableness, the harmony of Catholic doctrine based on pursuing the Scriptures, and the truth of the natural law based on philosophical and scientific inquiries into the world of nature and society, are plainly evident for anyone who has ever approached honestly the evidence of facts. Countless people have converted to the Catholic Church by “reading themselves in”, as the saying goes. However, there will always be those who insist on being unreasonable. History teaches us the painful lesson that unreasonableness often ends in violence.
A great mystery is that Truth Incarnate, Jesus Christ, did not convince, by any measure of charity, truth or justice, the minds and hearts of many (not all, but many) Pharisees. He did not convince those Pharisees that stubbornly denied the truth in front of their very eyes. They refused the testimony of Jesus’ miracles, even the healing of the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus after having been dead for four days; so they also refused the soundness of His doctrine and the fruits of His ministry. This unreasonableness due to pride endures to this very day, in fact. It endures, of course, in the perfidious refusal to recognize the Messias, but also, and perhaps more troubling, among those on the Left, such as Bill Mahar, who deride religion and religious people, but who fail, time after time, to give reasons for their disdain. This growing animosity toward Christians, particularly devote Christians, the epitome of whom are traditional Catholics, has grown at such a rate that we can safely conclude that this unreasonable disdain is held by a majority. The devout practice of the virtue of religion on our part may only increase the hate of the disdainful, just as the presence of the Incarnate God whipped up the ire of those who disdained the truth then.
Thus, it would be a mistake to think that we will, by our feeble human efforts, convert the hearts and minds of all those today that still hate the light, love darkness, and will not yield even to the evidence of their senses. However, there are some who might yet be convinced by the light. Are we, you and I, not of this number who were converted? Were you and I not children of darkness at some time or other in our lives? Are we not, even now, still on the path of conversion? Thankfully for us, not all the Pharisees, both then and now, are lost. For this reason we are urged, as a duty owing to the virtue of religion, to pray for those in the darkness of unreasonableness, and that we may also be healed of our persistent blindnesses, so to speak.
The central theme of Under the Mountain Bunker is the notion of the Apocalypse. Of course, the author’s interest in the Apocalypse doesn’t go much further than a derision of those who believe in it. Granted, there are many doomsday-sayers whose preparations seem to border on insanity. The best preparation for any Apocalypse, both great and small, material or spiritual or both, is the practice of charity. But this is neither here nor there. The reason I mention this blogger’s interest in deriding others for their Apocalypse-ism, is that perhaps this interest constitutes a crack through which the light of Christ might shine.
There is one indisputable fact that is true for everyone, regardless of whom they are, where they are, or when they have lived. That one indisputable fact is that he or she will die. That is the one apocalypse that the author of Under the Mountain Bunker cannot deny, and only ridicule with a feeble and nervous snicker at best. As Blasé Pascal pointed out, this reality exacts a certain toll on the individual soul, one that often drives men to pursuits intended to distract them from this dread apocalypse of their personal existence. Perhaps the author of Under the Mountain Bunker will come to a consideration of this apocalypse, and not being able to assuage herself with the usual derision, will allow grace to break through.
We can only pray.
I was struck, first of all, by the fact that there is nothing to these posts except hateful derision for the author’s perceived enemies on the right, and a conspicuous absence of reasoned and useful criticism of their positions and ideologies. I certainly do not agree with someone like Glenn Beck, who seems to think the US Constitution is the last book of the Bible (or the last chapter of the Book of Mormon, as the case may be), nor for the current GOP candidates, all of whom are just liberals of a different guise. However, ridicule and derision does not constitute a reasoned critiqued of their political ideologies. I’m fully aware that caricature is a part of the political debate, and can be used, sometimes, as an introduction to actual critique; however, it is clear that when caricature is used by the Left, from Bill Maher all the way down to the author of Under the Mountain Bunker, the whole argument is nothing but rank caricature—the demonization of others—without sense, sensibility, or reason. Unfortunately, this hateful rhetoric of ridicule, sarcasm and derision is what now passes for political dialogue in our country.
If anything sums up the Left it would be the world “unreasonable”. They run from reason while at the same time ignoring reality and plain facts. Meaningless slogans such as, “Change You Can Believe In”, become meaningful only for those who have no rational underpinning to their arguments and their beliefs about the world. These minds are malleable for the mob-shepherds like Barack Obama and his campaign engineers, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and snake oil salesmen and race baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. These malleable minds are easily persuaded by deriding images of demonized figures on the right, and crass jokes from the likes of Bill Maher.
The underlying cause of their unreasonableness has its roots, like all vices do, in one of the seven deadly sins. It is the sin of pride. This refusal to reason based on the clear facts arises because honest inquiry requires a willingness to accept the fact that one may be wrong concerning their pre-conceived notions, their opinions, and their cultural, social or religious upbringing. A prideful man cannot discover truth because he has put himself before the truth.
We traditional Catholics at this time of the year, from the Gospel passages presented during the liturgy, are being confronted with a group of people that have at least the Left’s unreasonableness in common. This group is the Pharisees. As Dom Guéranger writes about the Pharisees, they “hate the light, and love darkness; their pride will not yield even to the evidence of facts.” We all know what consummated for Our Blessed Lord due to the pride of the Pharisees. Can there be a good end in store for the targets, which undoubtedly included traditional Catholics, of our modern day Pharisees, the Leftists?
The ultimate reasonableness, the harmony of Catholic doctrine based on pursuing the Scriptures, and the truth of the natural law based on philosophical and scientific inquiries into the world of nature and society, are plainly evident for anyone who has ever approached honestly the evidence of facts. Countless people have converted to the Catholic Church by “reading themselves in”, as the saying goes. However, there will always be those who insist on being unreasonable. History teaches us the painful lesson that unreasonableness often ends in violence.
A great mystery is that Truth Incarnate, Jesus Christ, did not convince, by any measure of charity, truth or justice, the minds and hearts of many (not all, but many) Pharisees. He did not convince those Pharisees that stubbornly denied the truth in front of their very eyes. They refused the testimony of Jesus’ miracles, even the healing of the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus after having been dead for four days; so they also refused the soundness of His doctrine and the fruits of His ministry. This unreasonableness due to pride endures to this very day, in fact. It endures, of course, in the perfidious refusal to recognize the Messias, but also, and perhaps more troubling, among those on the Left, such as Bill Mahar, who deride religion and religious people, but who fail, time after time, to give reasons for their disdain. This growing animosity toward Christians, particularly devote Christians, the epitome of whom are traditional Catholics, has grown at such a rate that we can safely conclude that this unreasonable disdain is held by a majority. The devout practice of the virtue of religion on our part may only increase the hate of the disdainful, just as the presence of the Incarnate God whipped up the ire of those who disdained the truth then.
Thus, it would be a mistake to think that we will, by our feeble human efforts, convert the hearts and minds of all those today that still hate the light, love darkness, and will not yield even to the evidence of their senses. However, there are some who might yet be convinced by the light. Are we, you and I, not of this number who were converted? Were you and I not children of darkness at some time or other in our lives? Are we not, even now, still on the path of conversion? Thankfully for us, not all the Pharisees, both then and now, are lost. For this reason we are urged, as a duty owing to the virtue of religion, to pray for those in the darkness of unreasonableness, and that we may also be healed of our persistent blindnesses, so to speak.
The central theme of Under the Mountain Bunker is the notion of the Apocalypse. Of course, the author’s interest in the Apocalypse doesn’t go much further than a derision of those who believe in it. Granted, there are many doomsday-sayers whose preparations seem to border on insanity. The best preparation for any Apocalypse, both great and small, material or spiritual or both, is the practice of charity. But this is neither here nor there. The reason I mention this blogger’s interest in deriding others for their Apocalypse-ism, is that perhaps this interest constitutes a crack through which the light of Christ might shine.
There is one indisputable fact that is true for everyone, regardless of whom they are, where they are, or when they have lived. That one indisputable fact is that he or she will die. That is the one apocalypse that the author of Under the Mountain Bunker cannot deny, and only ridicule with a feeble and nervous snicker at best. As Blasé Pascal pointed out, this reality exacts a certain toll on the individual soul, one that often drives men to pursuits intended to distract them from this dread apocalypse of their personal existence. Perhaps the author of Under the Mountain Bunker will come to a consideration of this apocalypse, and not being able to assuage herself with the usual derision, will allow grace to break through.
We can only pray.
Friday, March 23, 2012
TradNews Roundup
*Monsignor Nicola Bux offers an impassioned plea to Bishop Fellay and the other bishops and priests of the Society of St. Pius X: "Come take part in this blessed future in which we can already foresee dawn, despite the persistent darkness."
*Bishop Emeritus David Foley to offer the Traditional Latin Mass on Easter Sunday.
*New personal parish for the Traditional Latin Mass established in New Brighton (England) and will be staffed by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.
*An answer to the Austrian crisis is proffered by Cardinal Brandmüller: "[An] approach of the Holy See, not determined by political and pragmatic reflections but only by the truth of the faith, was the only correct one..."
*"Wuerl the girl"?
*The antichrist, Obama, and his minions dig in.
*Polls show that a majority of Americans are opposed to the Contraception Mandate.
*The liberal war on women.
*They consent by their silence.
*Men who refuse to work, who refuse to even look for a job, are bums, plain and simple, and they are significantly contributing to the demise of western culture.
*JP Morgan Chase closes Vatican accounts in latest attack on Catholicism in America.
*Bishop Emeritus David Foley to offer the Traditional Latin Mass on Easter Sunday.
*New personal parish for the Traditional Latin Mass established in New Brighton (England) and will be staffed by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.
*An answer to the Austrian crisis is proffered by Cardinal Brandmüller: "[An] approach of the Holy See, not determined by political and pragmatic reflections but only by the truth of the faith, was the only correct one..."
*"Wuerl the girl"?
*The antichrist, Obama, and his minions dig in.
*Polls show that a majority of Americans are opposed to the Contraception Mandate.
*The liberal war on women.
*They consent by their silence.
*Men who refuse to work, who refuse to even look for a job, are bums, plain and simple, and they are significantly contributing to the demise of western culture.
*JP Morgan Chase closes Vatican accounts in latest attack on Catholicism in America.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A Little Help for Kevin Ford, Please
Mr. Kevin Ford, a friend of Ars Orandi, is in need of a little help.
He's applying for a grant (Raising Organic Family Farms), and part of that grant is based on public support demonstrated by providing a vote for him on-line.
Please show your support for the Catholic Land Movement and Kevin's farm, by helping him get this grant. Click on this LINK and vote for him by clicking on the thumbs up icon at the top of his story!
He's applying for a grant (Raising Organic Family Farms), and part of that grant is based on public support demonstrated by providing a vote for him on-line.
Please show your support for the Catholic Land Movement and Kevin's farm, by helping him get this grant. Click on this LINK and vote for him by clicking on the thumbs up icon at the top of his story!
THANKS!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
From the Desk of the Chaplain: Lætare Sunday
From the American Chaplain of the Confraternity of St. Peter:
Today, Laetare Sunday, is like a breath of air on the path to Calvary. The Gospel talks of food, the vestments are a lighter shade, and the general message is one of hope - "do not give up!"
Maybe we are at a point where we are tired of our lenten penances. But Holy Mother Church is telling us today that there is a purpose, that the end is near, and that it is for the love of our Divine Master that we have voluntarily made this pledge of uniting our selected sacrifices to His.
Passiontide is around the corner, and during those weeks we meditate on the sufferings of our Savior. Easter is near, but if we are not willing to suffer with Him, we cannot presume to rejoice with Him on Easter Sunday. Onward!
Rev. Fr. J. Fryar FSSP
English-speaking Chaplain of the CSP
Saturday, March 17, 2012
The Golden Rose: A Lætare Sunday Tradition
A Golden Rose from the Vatican LibraryThe conferring of the Golden Rose, blessed with great solemnity on Lætare Sunday, is an ancient tradition of the Roman Pontiffs, dating back, probably, to the time of Charlemagne in the eighth century when it replaced the older custom of bestowing golden keys. The rose has been bestowed upon Catholic kings and queens, princes and princesses, and other distinguished persons, sanctuaries and churches of great import, governments, and cities. The bestowal of the rose signifies the esteem and affection of the Roman Pontiff.
The Golden Rose bestowed upon Queen Mary Adelaide of Piedmont-Sardinia by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1847From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
The golden flower and its shining splendour show forth Christ and His Kingly Majesty, Who is heralded by the prophet as "the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys"; its fragrance shows the sweet odour of Christ which should be widely diffused by His faithful followers (Pope Leo XIII, Acta, vol. VI, 104); and the thorns and red tint tell of His Passion according to Isaiah 63:2: "Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress?"
The Golden Rose Bestowed Upon the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008The blessing of the Golden Rose (modern version):
O God! by Whose word and power all things have been created, by Whose will all things are directed, we humbly beseech Thy Majesty, Who art the joy and gladness of all the faithful, that Thou wouldst deign in Thy fatherly love to bless and sanctify this rose, most delightful in odour and appearance, which we this day carry in sign of spiritual joy, in order that the people consecrated by Thee and delivered from the yoke of Babylonian slavery through the favour of Thine only-begotten Son, Who is the glory and exultation of the people of Israel and of that Jerusalem which is our Heavenly mother, may with sincere hearts show forth their joy. Wherefore, O Lord, on this day, when the Church exults in Thy name and manifests her joy by this sign, confer upon us through her true and perfect joy and accepting her devotion of today; do Thou remit sin, strengthen faith, increase piety, protect her in Thy mercy, drive away all things adverse to her and make her ways safe and prosperous, so that Thy Church, as the fruit of good works, may unite in giving forth the perfume of the ointment of that flower sprung from the root of Jesse and which is the mystical flower of the field and lily of the valleys, and remain happy without end in eternal glory together with all the saints.
Pope Benedict XVI bestows the Golden Rose upon the Sanctuary of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in 2010Friday, March 16, 2012
TradNews Roundup
*Confusion regarding the SSPX situation ensues as Vatican announces that the Holy Father refuses for the time being to grant canonical recognition (hardly surprising). Bishop Fellay of the SSPX has been asked to clarify the Society's position by the end of April. I will post more as information becomes available.
For the time being, folks, Kathleen Sabellius is still a Catholic in good standing. It is, indeed, a mystery.
*
*Solemn Pontifical High Mass in Hong Kong.
*Being Pro-Life isn't enough to stop abortion. This is an eye-opening, and disturbing, read.
*Abortion rate increases in Spain after the "morning-after" pill is made available.
*The "broken moral compass" of anti-life liberals.
*Incredible injustice! The attack is progressing toward the annihilation of the priesthood under the approving eyes of our church leaders who refuse to acknowledge the truths, and the consequences thereof, that our religion teaches. Fr. Guarnizo explains his situation (and the duplicity of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.).
*Opposition to homosexual "marriage" is doomed without reinvigorating traditional marriage.
*If the bishops want to fix the fact that "Catholic" liberals are behind the Mandate, they need to accept responsibility for the part they played in making it possible.
*Budget reveals that the antichrist Obama loves him some abortion.
*Raquel Welch of all people: "Seriously, folks, if an aging sex symbol like me starts waving the red flag of caution over how low moral standards have plummeted, you know it’s gotta be pretty bad."
*Artificial Contraceptives may increase breast cancer risk. The Obama Administration is waging a war on women!
*And here are the women that the Obama Administration and the Democrats have declared war on.
*The Amish get an exemption from all of Obamacare. Catholics get kicked into submission by the antichrist in the White House.
*The Obama Homosexual Doctrine as part of the US foreign policy has backfired.
For the time being, folks, Kathleen Sabellius is still a Catholic in good standing. It is, indeed, a mystery.
*
*Solemn Pontifical High Mass in Hong Kong.
*Being Pro-Life isn't enough to stop abortion. This is an eye-opening, and disturbing, read.
*Abortion rate increases in Spain after the "morning-after" pill is made available.
*The "broken moral compass" of anti-life liberals.
*Incredible injustice! The attack is progressing toward the annihilation of the priesthood under the approving eyes of our church leaders who refuse to acknowledge the truths, and the consequences thereof, that our religion teaches. Fr. Guarnizo explains his situation (and the duplicity of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.).
*Opposition to homosexual "marriage" is doomed without reinvigorating traditional marriage.
*If the bishops want to fix the fact that "Catholic" liberals are behind the Mandate, they need to accept responsibility for the part they played in making it possible.
*Budget reveals that the antichrist Obama loves him some abortion.
*Raquel Welch of all people: "Seriously, folks, if an aging sex symbol like me starts waving the red flag of caution over how low moral standards have plummeted, you know it’s gotta be pretty bad."
*Artificial Contraceptives may increase breast cancer risk. The Obama Administration is waging a war on women!
*And here are the women that the Obama Administration and the Democrats have declared war on.
*The Amish get an exemption from all of Obamacare. Catholics get kicked into submission by the antichrist in the White House.
*The Obama Homosexual Doctrine as part of the US foreign policy has backfired.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
From Contraception Mandate to Abortion Mandate
This is too important to hold off until the TradNews Roundup on Friday night.
The Obama administration has progressed from mandating contraception coverage, to now mandating policy holders to subsidize abortion with their premium payments. Thus proving, once again, Barack Obama is a degenerate liar and an antichrist.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
TradNews Roundup
*Don't forget: Day Light Savings Time begins Sunday morning (whether you like it or not); it's time to Spring ahead.
*Hopes that TAC would seek union with Rome is dashed with the ouster of the troubled John Hepworth from the conservative Anglican organization.
*Church closings in the Archdiocese of Detroit raises questions about the future of diocesan TLMs in Detroit.
*Victory for Pro-Lifers in Maryland.
*Cardinal Dolan relates that the Obama Administration is using liberal Catholics against the bishops. (Wouldn't the swift answer to this challenge be to make those liberal Catholics just plain old liberals by excommunicating them? Naw... that wouldn't be very "pastoral".)
*Cardinal Dolan tells bishops that the Obama Administration will not continue talks with the bishops concerning religious liberty. So much for Obama being the "great unifier"!
*Patrick Buchanan on how the liberals and Obama are remaking America into an Anti-Catholic state.
*The Obama Administration dredges up eugenicist arguments for the Contraception Mandate: Not having children is a "benefit". (In ten years or less, I foresee, forced sterilizations and abortions as this next, and perhaps final, evolution of the Revolution progresses.)
*Mark Steyn: Church of Big Government is trying to push out all other faiths.
*10 arguments in favor of the Mandate refuted.
*Catholic voters in Ohio reveal that they have abandoned the social issues and Catholic values. Assimilation complete!
*What happens when two "educated" idiots argue. No, you are not scratching your head because these guys are so much smarter than you and you just don't get it; you are scratching your head because the babble really is that incoherent.
*Anti-Catholic organization, SNAP, under fire due to director's admissions given during deposition. One of the things revealed is that SNAP is primarily about litigation, and not counseling victims.
*The Daily Bell gets to know a great American thinker, Patrick Buchanan, and his ideas and dire warnings for the United States.
*Vile Cyber-Anti-Catholic bigots attack the Vatican website. I've got news for these cowards... the Catholic Church thrived for two millennia before the advent of computers, and will thrive long after their demise.
*Hopes that TAC would seek union with Rome is dashed with the ouster of the troubled John Hepworth from the conservative Anglican organization.
*Church closings in the Archdiocese of Detroit raises questions about the future of diocesan TLMs in Detroit.
*Victory for Pro-Lifers in Maryland.
*Cardinal Dolan relates that the Obama Administration is using liberal Catholics against the bishops. (Wouldn't the swift answer to this challenge be to make those liberal Catholics just plain old liberals by excommunicating them? Naw... that wouldn't be very "pastoral".)
*Cardinal Dolan tells bishops that the Obama Administration will not continue talks with the bishops concerning religious liberty. So much for Obama being the "great unifier"!
*Patrick Buchanan on how the liberals and Obama are remaking America into an Anti-Catholic state.
*The Obama Administration dredges up eugenicist arguments for the Contraception Mandate: Not having children is a "benefit". (In ten years or less, I foresee, forced sterilizations and abortions as this next, and perhaps final, evolution of the Revolution progresses.)
*Mark Steyn: Church of Big Government is trying to push out all other faiths.
*10 arguments in favor of the Mandate refuted.
*Catholic voters in Ohio reveal that they have abandoned the social issues and Catholic values. Assimilation complete!
*What happens when two "educated" idiots argue. No, you are not scratching your head because these guys are so much smarter than you and you just don't get it; you are scratching your head because the babble really is that incoherent.
*Anti-Catholic organization, SNAP, under fire due to director's admissions given during deposition. One of the things revealed is that SNAP is primarily about litigation, and not counseling victims.
*The Daily Bell gets to know a great American thinker, Patrick Buchanan, and his ideas and dire warnings for the United States.
*Vile Cyber-Anti-Catholic bigots attack the Vatican website. I've got news for these cowards... the Catholic Church thrived for two millennia before the advent of computers, and will thrive long after their demise.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
From the Desk of the Chaplain: The Transfiguration
Dear Member of the Confraternity,
It seems that pastoral work never really slows down. I smile when a protestant asks me shortly after Christmas if I'm beginning the slow season at the church, after the Christmas rush. What makes it more humorous is that the time after Epiphany is the busiest time of the year for me, and then February and Lent begins and it never really slows down..
I have a collection of sermons that I have given over the years, and today I stumbled across one that I'll share with you. It was the first day of the Rugby Season at St. Gregory's Academy, and I was preaching to a bunch of boys who (I knew) were only thinking about Rugby. And it was so appropriate because the Gospel was the Transfiguration.
This Friday we will stream the Evening Recollection of the Confraternity of St. Peter from Christ the King Catholic Church in Sarasota, beginning at 6:30 PM EST. You can view the recollection on LiveMass.net or on your mobile devices using iMass, iMass HD or iMass For Android. I will announce the topic of the recollection later in the week.
God bless you and may He protect you and reward you for the devotion and prayers with which you assist the FSSP in our work for the salvation of souls.
Praying for you,
Rev. Fr. J. Fryar FSSP
English-speaking Chaplain of the CSP
It seems that pastoral work never really slows down. I smile when a protestant asks me shortly after Christmas if I'm beginning the slow season at the church, after the Christmas rush. What makes it more humorous is that the time after Epiphany is the busiest time of the year for me, and then February and Lent begins and it never really slows down..
I have a collection of sermons that I have given over the years, and today I stumbled across one that I'll share with you. It was the first day of the Rugby Season at St. Gregory's Academy, and I was preaching to a bunch of boys who (I knew) were only thinking about Rugby. And it was so appropriate because the Gospel was the Transfiguration.
This Friday we will stream the Evening Recollection of the Confraternity of St. Peter from Christ the King Catholic Church in Sarasota, beginning at 6:30 PM EST. You can view the recollection on LiveMass.net or on your mobile devices using iMass, iMass HD or iMass For Android. I will announce the topic of the recollection later in the week.
God bless you and may He protect you and reward you for the devotion and prayers with which you assist the FSSP in our work for the salvation of souls.
Praying for you,
Rev. Fr. J. Fryar FSSP
English-speaking Chaplain of the CSP
Transfiguration
And understanding mysteries
There's no point in my making a long and boring sermon today. Because I could be up here expounding on the mysteries of the Trinity and the purpose of creation and the blessedness of Redemption, and you would all be sitting there in your pew thinking mud and brutal tackles and getting lower in scrums and fast passing.. interceptions and throw-ins... and seeing those uprights and heaven only knows how much more going through your minds.. because in reality only one thing interests you today. And that is that in a couple hours rugby season begins. And the question is not so much: “Are we going to win?” but rather: “How much pain and humiliation are we going to inflict on these guys to get our win? How much do we want to teach these guys rugby?”
Distractions are common. Today they probably make everything I say useless. But at the same time we are always surrounded by mysteries that we never understand because we never seem to care to. We just settle into that pew and although it isn't warm we make it warm and doze off into our distracted slumber.
But don't feel too bad. The Apostles were the same way. And there are times in the Gospel that it is just plain obvious, there are other times when it is not quite so. For instance, what is the idea with the apostles fighting over first places in the kingdom, at the last supper... when Our Lord is trying to tell them that time's up. That it's the last time He will be drinking the fruit of the vine with them until the next life?
Or the stupid questions, for instance of Philip who randomly says: “Lord, show us the Father and it will be enough for us!” Enough for what? You didn't get enough out of the McKlaren, you want a free Lamborgini as well?
Or when Our Lord comes to them walking on the water... Does Christ look that much like Satan that they think Him to be a ghost?
And yet.. there's one of the apostles who stands out from among the rest on that night of the storm. It is St Peter. And so often it is that we mock his lack of faith and sinking into the waves, but we tend to miss the fact that while all the other apostles were afraid of a ghost, he wasn't so much worried about Who it was.. he knew Who it was.. he wanted to walk on water too.
Nice gesture. Something to smile at. Something to forget about rugby for.. at least for a moment.. But it tells us one thing. That St Peter wasn't too surprised at Our Lord walking on the water. And the reason why he was not surprised was because he understood.
Another incident: Our Lord asks his apostles who they think He is. And while they all try their best to say answers... “Some say John the Baptist.. Others say Elias..” so much so that Our Lord has to rephrase the question..
St Peter doesn't think twice about the answer. He has one thing and one thing only to state: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!”
Why? Because Peter understood.
It's one thing to believe a mystery. It's one thing to believe that you are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament right now.. It's one thing to believe that at Mass you are present at the re-presentation of Calvary..
But it's a totally different ball-game to understand a mystery.
Another incident. Christ had just announced the Eucharist in John 6. He had used phrases like: “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you shall not have life in you... If you eat my flesh and drink my blood I will raise you up on the last day.”
And after the sermon the synagogue empties out because everyone thinks that He is a mad man. And the phrase going around is “These words are hard to understand. These words are hard to accept. These words are crazy!”
When the synagogue is empty there are only the 12 left, with Our Lord. And Our Lord turns to them and asks: “Are you going to leave too?”
St Peter answers: “Lord.. to whom shall we go? Thou alone hast the Words of Life.”
Now there are a lot of actions of St Peter that we try to skim over because they are.. stupid. But this is one loaded phrase. While everyone else had left.. gone ANYWHERE but to Christ, St Peter states: “To whom shall we go?”
And while everyone else had said: “These words are hard to understand.” ...St Peter says: “Thou alone hast the Words of Life.”
Peter understood. Peter could see the mystery, and somehow understood it.
Now let's go up the mountain. Let's see the Transfiguration.
And St Peter opens his mouth again at a moment when most of us are nudging him.. or kicking him and telling him to be quite and stop talking because this is a solemn moment..
And there he is blabbering on about making tents.
Is he being stupid again? Or is it us.. that we do not understand, while St Peter does understand?
St Peter understands that this is his same Lord who he is always free to talk to when He is hiding His Divinity... so why stop now when He is showing His Divinity?
Because what is the true miracle? To hide your divinity, or to be divine? St Peter understood that it was the same Christ who was resplendent in glory as it was that will be nailed to the cross. This was no manifestation for him.. he knew that anyway. And that is why he had the freedom to talk while the others stood gasping.
While we would have stood gasping.
Because we too are surrounded by miracles and mysteries that we do not understand. St Dominic saw how while he prayed the Rosary a rose would ascend to Our Lady for each Hail Mary he prayed. And we? How distracted we are in the rosary, as if it was just something that took up our time after lunch!
A satanist will give more money for a host, than what he would give for ten times its weight in drugs. Last year a host sold on eBay for (if I'm not mistaken) $15,000- . Satanists know the value of the Blessed Sacrament. But do we? Do we realize in who's presence we are?
When it all comes down to it.. we could continue our lives warming the pews and thinking of rugby.
In season.. out of season.
Or we could ask St Peter for some of his understanding...
And realize that no matter what happens in a couple hours..
Right now..
It is good for us to be here.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
TradNews Roundup
*Solemn Pontifical Mass for Life, with all the smells and bells, is slated for March 26.
*The FSSP urges prayers for unity among Catholics this lenten season.
*Two new personal parishes for the Traditional Latin Mass are established in Switzerland.
*Cardinal George explains the dire consequences for the Catholic Church due to Obama's Contraception Mandate.
*Bishop Lori: Mandate is absurd and has turned things up-side-down. Maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't be in the mess we are now in if 50 years ago another group hadn't tried their hand at turning things up-side-down.
*Rick Santorum is halfway there in regards to the separation of Church and State, but a semi-counter-revolutionary is still a revolutionary.
*The Spring-time of Vatican II: 77% of American Catholics think artificial contraception is not morally wrong, meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is getting traction from the FACT that current Church leaders and pastors have not enforced or made clear the Church's teaching regarding birth control. The Spirit of Vatican II and its ambiguities and novelties are just as much to blame for this debacle as is Obama and the other militant anti-Catholics.
*Seven states file lawsuit against the Obama Administration over the Contraception Mandate.
*John Garvey, President of CUA, poised to make a stand against the Mandate.
*The FSSP urges prayers for unity among Catholics this lenten season.
*Two new personal parishes for the Traditional Latin Mass are established in Switzerland.
*Cardinal George explains the dire consequences for the Catholic Church due to Obama's Contraception Mandate.
*Bishop Lori: Mandate is absurd and has turned things up-side-down. Maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't be in the mess we are now in if 50 years ago another group hadn't tried their hand at turning things up-side-down.
*Rick Santorum is halfway there in regards to the separation of Church and State, but a semi-counter-revolutionary is still a revolutionary.
*The Spring-time of Vatican II: 77% of American Catholics think artificial contraception is not morally wrong, meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is getting traction from the FACT that current Church leaders and pastors have not enforced or made clear the Church's teaching regarding birth control. The Spirit of Vatican II and its ambiguities and novelties are just as much to blame for this debacle as is Obama and the other militant anti-Catholics.
*Seven states file lawsuit against the Obama Administration over the Contraception Mandate.
*John Garvey, President of CUA, poised to make a stand against the Mandate.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Fluke: Entitled to her Pride, Sensuality and Depravity
"Win a College Degree!"
This tempting slogan was plastered across a website I noticed on a colleague's computer as I passed by his cubicle at lunch time. It made me stop and take a double take.
"What is that?" I asked.
My colleague shrugged his shoulders. "Some contest," he murmured as he took a closer look. "Apparently you can win a scholarship to some college."
I shook my head. "That's funny," I rejoined. "Back in the day, I had to earn my college degree." You had to earn scholarships back then, too.
I was reminded of this episode as I read the first few questions of Michael J. Matt's recent interview of the popular columnist at The Remnant Newspaper, Dr. John Rao. Dr. Rao had this to say: "Educational decline is a spiritual problem, not a technical issue... pedagogical ideology is yet another by-product of the naturalism of the Enlightenment, exacerbated by the transformation of universities into degree factories since the end of the Second World War."
The spiritual troubles at the heart of education are the same that afflict the rest of American society. There is, of course, the ever growing entitlement mentality, and recent events in our country reveal that it is reaching a critical mass.
A good example of this was the recent testimony of Sandra Fluke at congressional hearings concerning the "Contraception Mandate." Sandra Fluke, a self-proclaimed "Reproductive Rights Activist" (I wonder if there is an actual organization with membership), complained that she and other women at Georgetown Law School couldn't afford artificial contraception. She complained that she would have to spend upwards of $3,000 for contraception over the course of her stay at Georgetown Law. (If you care to run the numbers, this means that, assuming that she doesn't look for free sources, she would have to have sexual intercourse 2 to 3 times a day, everyday, for four years.) She argued that since Georgetown (a Jesuit university) didn't provide contraception as part of its student's health care plan, that she, and others like her, needed the Contraception Mandate to force a Catholic university to supply her the "needed" artificial contraception.
The mere fact that this argument is being taken seriously by members of our government, and by so many people in the public, is cause for pause. Here is a young woman demanding that other people finance her sexual activities. She's literally making the argument that she is having so much sex that she is going broke, and that's just not fair to her. Yet no one at those hearings immediately attacked the ridiculous logic, the complete lack of character or virtue of this... strumpet... this... well... charity demands I stop myself from going further, nor did anyone suggest the obvious: that she cut back a little on her proclivities.
In any other day and age, this girl would have been kicked out of the halls of government, kicked out of school, publicly berated for her complete lack of virtue, and roundly punished by her shamed parents and family. Not any more, though. Ms. Fluke is entitled, you see? She is entitled to her free (to her, but paid for by people like me and you) artificial contraception devises, sterilizations, and abortions. She is entitled to her sensuality. She is entitled to her pride. She is entitled to her depravity.
There is, indeed, a spiritual problem in our institutions of higher learning and in our society in general. It is the mentality of entitlement to sensuality, pride and sin. The fact that something like this, which obviously defies all logic and common sense, has been taken seriously by our elected officials and citizenry demonstrates with clarity Bishop Lori's complaint that things have been "turned up-side-down".
We live in a world where degrees are won, not earned, where devout Catholics are forced to act against our consciences so others can indulge in irresponsible depravities and debauchery, where we are forced to be an accessory to other persons' sins on a massive scale. Our society is increasingly peopled by those who have been stamped "approved", not truly educated in any sense of the word, and have become this country's citizens and leaders. They look at devout Catholics as "religious fanatics" who must be cast out of the public square and silenced.
The extent to which the Revolution has evolved in just the past few years is absolutely stunning... and frightening.
What comes next?
God help us.
This tempting slogan was plastered across a website I noticed on a colleague's computer as I passed by his cubicle at lunch time. It made me stop and take a double take.
"What is that?" I asked.
My colleague shrugged his shoulders. "Some contest," he murmured as he took a closer look. "Apparently you can win a scholarship to some college."
I shook my head. "That's funny," I rejoined. "Back in the day, I had to earn my college degree." You had to earn scholarships back then, too.
I was reminded of this episode as I read the first few questions of Michael J. Matt's recent interview of the popular columnist at The Remnant Newspaper, Dr. John Rao. Dr. Rao had this to say: "Educational decline is a spiritual problem, not a technical issue... pedagogical ideology is yet another by-product of the naturalism of the Enlightenment, exacerbated by the transformation of universities into degree factories since the end of the Second World War."
The spiritual troubles at the heart of education are the same that afflict the rest of American society. There is, of course, the ever growing entitlement mentality, and recent events in our country reveal that it is reaching a critical mass.
A good example of this was the recent testimony of Sandra Fluke at congressional hearings concerning the "Contraception Mandate." Sandra Fluke, a self-proclaimed "Reproductive Rights Activist" (I wonder if there is an actual organization with membership), complained that she and other women at Georgetown Law School couldn't afford artificial contraception. She complained that she would have to spend upwards of $3,000 for contraception over the course of her stay at Georgetown Law. (If you care to run the numbers, this means that, assuming that she doesn't look for free sources, she would have to have sexual intercourse 2 to 3 times a day, everyday, for four years.) She argued that since Georgetown (a Jesuit university) didn't provide contraception as part of its student's health care plan, that she, and others like her, needed the Contraception Mandate to force a Catholic university to supply her the "needed" artificial contraception.
The mere fact that this argument is being taken seriously by members of our government, and by so many people in the public, is cause for pause. Here is a young woman demanding that other people finance her sexual activities. She's literally making the argument that she is having so much sex that she is going broke, and that's just not fair to her. Yet no one at those hearings immediately attacked the ridiculous logic, the complete lack of character or virtue of this... strumpet... this... well... charity demands I stop myself from going further, nor did anyone suggest the obvious: that she cut back a little on her proclivities.
In any other day and age, this girl would have been kicked out of the halls of government, kicked out of school, publicly berated for her complete lack of virtue, and roundly punished by her shamed parents and family. Not any more, though. Ms. Fluke is entitled, you see? She is entitled to her free (to her, but paid for by people like me and you) artificial contraception devises, sterilizations, and abortions. She is entitled to her sensuality. She is entitled to her pride. She is entitled to her depravity.
There is, indeed, a spiritual problem in our institutions of higher learning and in our society in general. It is the mentality of entitlement to sensuality, pride and sin. The fact that something like this, which obviously defies all logic and common sense, has been taken seriously by our elected officials and citizenry demonstrates with clarity Bishop Lori's complaint that things have been "turned up-side-down".
We live in a world where degrees are won, not earned, where devout Catholics are forced to act against our consciences so others can indulge in irresponsible depravities and debauchery, where we are forced to be an accessory to other persons' sins on a massive scale. Our society is increasingly peopled by those who have been stamped "approved", not truly educated in any sense of the word, and have become this country's citizens and leaders. They look at devout Catholics as "religious fanatics" who must be cast out of the public square and silenced.
The extent to which the Revolution has evolved in just the past few years is absolutely stunning... and frightening.
What comes next?
God help us.
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