This is pretty ... for Epiphany.

Learn to love as I love thee.

[Infant Christ] Learn to love as I love thee.
In all my limbs thou mayest see
How sore they quake for cold;
For thee I suffer all this woe,
Love me, sweet, and no mo; [no other]
To thee me take and hold.

[Mary] Jesu, sweet son dear,
In poor bed thou liest now here,
And that grieveth me sore.
For thy cradle is a bier,
Ox and ass are thy fere, [companions]
Weep may I therefore!

Jesu, sweet, be not wroth;
I have neither scrap nor cloth
Thee in for to fold;
I have but a piece of a lappe, [the skirt of a garment]
Therefore lay thy feet to my pap
And keep thee from the cold.

Cold thee taketh, I may well see;
For love of man it must be
For thee to suffer woe;
For better it is thou suffer this
Than man should lose heaven’s bliss.
Thou must ransom him thereto.

Since it must be that thou be dead
To save man from the fiend,
Thy sweet will be done.
But let me not stay here too long:
After thy death me underfonge [receive]
To live for evermore. Amen. - Source

Oh Mary, grant that I may love this way!

Well, at least Trump is happy, the entertainment for the Inauguration has finally been booked ...

Song for this post here.

If you want to keep on dancing, go here.

Racism is only part of the story ... It may be more of "A bit of the old ultra-violence."

Hate crime story here.

Did you ever see Clockwork Orange?

In a near-futuristic society, late teen Alex DeLarge is the leader of a gang of thugs - his "droogs" - who commit acts of ultra-violence, often with sexual components, without any regard for their victims, and purely because it strikes their collective fancies. These acts are largely fueled by drug use. - Synopsis

Late '60's.

The 1940's had a lot going on too.

Hello

Happy Epiphany ... did La Befana stop by?

In Italy gifts are exchanged on Epiphany ... Befana delivers them ... she's a strega ... but a good strega ...

Christian legend had it that Befana was approached by the magi, also known as the Three Wise Men (or the three kings) a few days before the birth of the Infant Jesus. They asked for directions to where the Son of God was, as they had seen his star in the sky, but she did not know. She provided them with shelter for a night, as she was considered the best housekeeper in the village, with the most pleasant home. The magi invited her to join them on the journey to find the baby Jesus, but she declined, stating she was too busy with her housework. Later, La Befana had a change of heart, and tried to search out the astrologers and Jesus. That night she was not able to find them, so to this day, La Befana is searching for the little baby. She leaves all the good children toys and candy ("caramelle") or fruit, while the bad children get coal ("carbone"), onions or garlic.

Another Christian legend takes a slightly darker tone as La Befana was an ordinary woman with a child whom she greatly loved. However, her child died, and her resulting grief maddened her. Upon hearing news of Jesus being born, she set out to see him, delusional that he was her son. She eventually met Jesus and presented him with gifts to make him happy. The infant Jesus was delighted, and he gave La Befana a gift in return; she would be the mother of every child in Italy. - Source

Him love Befana!

Happy Epiphany!

(Tonight is also Russian Christmas Eve!)

(Carnival begins on Epiphany too!)

Now this is REAL NEWS: Jesus appeared in Pasadena ...

It was even on TV ...

at the Rose Bowl Parade.

(Trump knew about it.)

Twelfth Night ...

This fellow is wise enough to play the fool

And to do that well craves a kind of wit...

First Trump says he doesn't need all of those security updates ... and now he prefers Assange to US Intelligence Agencies.

Drudge doesn't even carry the story... where's all the praise for the smart guy?

A former Pentagon and CIA spokesman on Wednesday slammed Donald Trump for giving credit to WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange and warned that America will be less safe when the President-elect takes office later this month.

"Let's stare this reality square in the face: PEOTUS is pro-Putin and believes Julian Assange over the @CIA. On Jan. 20 we will be less safe," tweeted George Little, who served under former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. - Source

That's it.

Now I'm hoping Charlie Johnston is right.

The only secret worth knowing: The Secret of Mary.

In the bush seen by Moses

we recognize your glorious virginity

O Holy Mother of God ...

your Holy and Immaculate Heart

all on fire with love and mercy ...

Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

The Marian Year of 2017


A Jubilee indulgence - or plenary indulgence has been granted to the faithful for the Centenary of Fatima.  Pope Francis designated the dates, November 27, 2016 to November 26, 2017. (The start date coincides with the feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.)  For those who speculated that the close of the Jubilee Year of Mercy presaged the 'time of justice', they should be encouraged by the Fatima Jubilee.

That said, some diocese have designated a 'Holy Year' to observe the centenary, others may not have - not to worry, one can fulfill the requirements to obtain the indulgence on their own.  Go here for that information: Three ways to obtain the Fatima Jubilee Indulgence.

I think it would be a good time to repeat the devotion of the Five First Saturdays, continue to pray the Rosary every day, and even renew our Total Consecration to Our Lady.  I'm hoping to begin again, as if I had never performed these works before.

INTRODUCTION1. Here is a secret, chosen soul, which the most High God taught me and which I have not found in any book, ancient or modern. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, I am confiding it to you, with these conditions:
(1) That you share it only with people who deserve to know it because they are prayerful, give alms to the poor, do penance, suffer persecution, are unworldly, and work seriously for the salvation of souls.
(2) That you use this secret to become holy and worthy of heaven, for the more you make use of it the more benefit you will derive from it. Under no circumstances must you let this secret make you idle and inactive. It would then become harmful and lead to your ruin.
(3) That you thank God every day of your life for the grace he has given you in letting you into a secret that you do not deserve to know. As you go on using this secret in the ordinary actions of your life, you will come to understand its value and its excellent quality. At the beginning, however, your understanding of it will be clouded because of the seriousness and number of your sins, and your unconscious love of self.
2. Before you read any further, in an understandable impatience to learn this truth, kneel down and say devoutly the Ave Maris Stella ("Hail, thou star of ocean"), and the "Come, Holy Spirit", to ask God to help you understand and appreciate this secret given by him. As I have not much time for writing and you have little time for reading, I will be brief in what I have to say. - St. Louis de Montfort

My assistant, Mrs. Wiggins

aka Gabrielle Van Der Mal, Toonces, Poodle-cat, Bow-Wow,

Schmooey, TeddyBear, among others.

She's my stylist, she often likes to use cat-hair as a prop - sometimes she arranges it in balls or long, thin  cylinder shaped ropes.  I don't know how she does it.

Something I made over the holidays.

Portrait of S. Vincent De Paul, after an engraving.

T. Nelson 2016

8x10 acrylic on panel.

Reading the Catechism On What the Church Believes Regarding the Pope...

"The Pope is the supreme judge in the Church and only God may judge him."  

- Can. 1404 commentary.

It's always good to do that... go to the sources - instead of Catholic social media.

With all the controversy regarding the Holy Father and the unprecedented criticism against him, I decided to study my Catechism, and I even studied a few significant canons from Canon Law, just to help get my balance after reading crazy Catholic social media stuff.

For example.

The episcopal college and its head, the Pope

880 When Christ instituted the Twelve, "he constituted [them] in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them."³⁹⁸ Just as "by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another."³⁹⁹881 The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.⁴⁰⁰ "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head."⁴⁰¹ This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope.
882 The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful."⁴⁰² "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."⁴⁰³883 "The college or body of bishops has no authority unless united with the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, as its head." As such, this college has "supreme and full authority over the universal Church; but this power cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Roman Pontiff."⁴⁰⁴884 "The college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council."⁴⁰⁵ But "there never is an ecumenical council which is not confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter's successor."⁴⁰⁶

A few significant points from Canon Law.

Can. 332 §1. The Roman Pontiff obtains full and supreme power in the Church by his acceptance of legitimate election together with episcopal consecration. Therefore, a person elected to the supreme pontificate who is marked with episcopal character obtains this power from the moment of acceptance. If the person elected lacks episcopal character, however, he is to be ordained a bishop immediately.

Can. 333 §3. No appeal or recourse is permitted against a sentence or decree of the Roman Pontiff.

Can. 1404 The First See is judged by no one. - Source

"The Roman Pontiff, to whom the words prima sedes apply, cannot be judged on earth by any human power.  The Pope is the supreme judge in the Church and only God may judge him."

Got problems with the Pope?  Take it up with God.

Just avoid sins against the faith. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines these three sins against the faith in this way:

2089 Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it.  

"Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same;
apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith;
schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him." [Code of Canon Law c.751] - Source

"The Men's Project" at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Mary Albright will be teaching.

This is exciting news.

A six-week program offered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison aims to counter the effects of the societal expectation for men to be masculine.

The program centers on the premise that masculinity is primarily a societal construct rather than an intrinsic biological reality. Based on this premise, radical gender theorists argue that masculinity has a toxic influence on society.

The “Men’s Project” is a six-week program for male students that asks participants to reflect on the negative effects of the expectation to be masculine. A news release from the University of Wisconsin material claims that one of the goals is to “prevent future violence” from male students. - Original story here.

Dr. Dickie-Jo Solomon will be assisting Dr. Albright.

h/t Badger for the breaking news.

The Holidays are over...

People back to work, kids back to school.

Except it isn't even Epiphany yet - so it's still Christmastide.

For people with nothing to do except shoot their mouth off - it's business as usual.

Here's a thought I want to ponder ... ruminate ...

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.   

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: 

to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. - James 1: 26-27

Speaking of mystical antics ... before there were blogs.

From the Bayside timeline ...

1975 (September 27): Lueken delivered a message announcing an “imposter pope,” a communist agent whose appearance had been modified using plastic surgery to resemble Paul VI.

1977: The Pilgrims of Saint Michael withdrew their support. Their official reason for leaving had to do with whether female pilgrims should wear blue berets or white berets. However, their actual motivation appears to have been that Lueken's celebrity had come to overshadow their movement. Lueken's movement became incorporated as “Our Lady of the Roses Shrine” and began producing its own newsletter. It continued to grow.

Seriously, I think the Vortex, 1P5, Vox Nova, and a few other sites picked up where Bayside left off.

How Veronica received messages before wifi

was even invented!

Fatima Forecasters: 2017 will be no ordinary year.

Fatima Centenary.

I have followed Fatima since I was a child, but my focus was devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and total consecration when I became an adult. Everything I have is hers and she can do with me as she wills. I've never viewed Fatima in a negative light.

Perhaps the only exception was in grade school, before 1960.  Some of the school sisters who taught us, and early Blue Army devotes thought the final part of the secret would be revealed by the Pope in 1960 - so everyone expected WWIII at the very least.  When the secret wasn't revealed, they said the Pope cried all day, and the fears increased and got even worse.  John XXIII didn't weep, and simply had the secret stored away.  The upshot is as everyone who follows sensationalized prophecy know, the secret was elaborated and speculated upon by mystics, locutionists, and purported 'follow up' apparitions around the world.  And Fr. Gruner and his Fatima conspiracy show, which pretty much discredited all the Popes since John XXIII, accusing them of disobeying Our Lady and even conspiring to not reveal the secret.

That said, I always kept my distance from the fanatical element, always trying to understand the message from the perspective of a child, because all that is necessary for the faithful to know was revealed, and so simply revealed that even 3 little children could understand.

I've often pondered the meaning of the messages as well as the visions and the revelations concerning the consequences of sin, but I no longer can understand the 'end of the world' fears so many Catholics attribute to Our Lady's catechesis. The words of Sr. Lucia recognize the apocalyptic battle between the devil and the Immaculata, but Our Lady's sense of urgency is for repentance and conversion and spreading devotion - not the threats as so many seem to attribute to the message. I look forward to the Centenary as well as our Holy Father's visit to Fatima with great peace and joy. Our Lady has revealed the consequences for unrepentant sin, as well as the way to reconciliation. Her Immaculate Heart is our refuge and the way that will lead us to God.

The sensationalist, conspiracy-theorizing fear mongers cash in on the warning and chastisement stuff, frequently lifted from 'other' sources, then overlaying and connecting them to Fatima, or worse, placing these words on Our Lady's lips.

The worst chastisement...

It seems to me the very worst chastisement is how the devil has distorted and imitated the message of Our Lady, adding to it, suggesting the Popes were/are in error, and so on.  As we see chaos and division spreading around the globe, conspiracy theories and 'fake news' abounds.  Trust is diminished, even extinguished, especially among Catholics who have distorted the Blessed Virgin's message.

Just read the headlines on sites like Canon 212 or Pewsitter.  Filled with dissimulation and arousing morbid curiosity.  How is a blog post or news story which attracts readers by suggestive questions implying the Pope is a heretic anything less than detraction?  When you publish stories suggesting the Pope is fomenting a climate of fear in the Vatican, based upon hear-say from anonymous sources, how is that not gossip?  Vox Nova headlines Canon 212 with a post about Ganswein - questioning his fidelity and loyalty.  How are these conspiracy stories even Christian?  

How did these people get like this?  

Even the 'elect'?  I'm thinking of Monsignor Pope, one of the very best Catholic priests online, just came out with a speculative essay concerning the Fatima Centenary, wondering what might happen.  Monsignor associates it with the Leonine prophecy of 1884.  The prophecy has never been verified, if you don't know about it, you can look it up on your own.  It's about the devil supposedly having 100 years to test the Church.  In 1984 interested Fatimists suggested the Leo XIII vision reached it's conclusion with JPII's consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which Sr. Lucia assured everyone was accepted by heaven and satisfied Our Lady's request.  Apparently, that wasn't good enough, so good people are thinking maybe the Fatima Centenary is the conclusion of the 100 years.  Maybe it is, I don't know.

The point of the Fatima message necessary for Christians to know was already known for decades - Sr. Lucy always said that - the essence of the message, that is, what Our Lady requested is: conversion, prayer, penance and the First Saturday devotion.  That is the call of Fatima which apparently hasn't been heeded.  That is the part of the message necessary to promulgate.  Neither Our Lady or Our Lord ever indicated the centenary would be significant in a prophetic respect - it is pretty much conjecture on the part devout faithful who are troubled by our times and speculate on what could happen in the light of other revelations. I wonder if God follows a timetable like that?

Misinformation, sensationalism, and factions within the Marian movement have corrupted the message.

If anything, the Centenary or Jubilee Year, which has been enriched with a Plenary Indulgence, needs to draw our attention to the call of Our Lady, the essential part needed to know is as follows:  As I mentioned, Sr Lucia stated more than once that the essential part of the message for the faithful to know had been very revealed early on.  Stating that the essential part of the secret, which has not been observed entails, penance, prayer, and true devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

As Our Lady insisted at Fatima: "Men must amend their lives, and ask pardon for their sins. . . . They must no longer offend Our Lord, Who is already so much offended." The Fatima message is a call for men to give up sinful practises which grieve God and draw down His chastisements on the world, and to make reparation for them. - More here.

There are credible sources on Fatima.  I'll list a couple:

Vatican Archives: The Message of Fatima

Fatima For Today, Andrew Apostoli, CFR

I personally found Fr. Robert Fox to have been a faithful chronicler of Fatima.  He also got sidetracked by at least one false mystic, which serves as a good warning not be taken in by every locutionist claiming stigmata who comes down the pike.

Our greatest mystical experience is the reception of Jesus in Holy Communion.  We can see him face to face in the Blessed Sacrament.  Don't go running here and there looking for signs.

Michael Voris Reigns! Captures NYT's Attention

Emmy Award winning journalist-anchor, 

Michael Voris in studio at Church Militant. 

He. Looks. Amazing.

What a coup.  Church Militant is endorsed by no less an influential public figure than Stephen K. Bannon, the head of the hard-right website Breitbart News and now Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, and maybe, just maybe ... by extension, the Trump administration.

Steve Skojec ain't got nuthin' on Mickey.

Church Militant theology and politics.

Redefining Church Militant for political purposes is more like it.

“When you heard the expression ‘the Church Militant,’ it didn’t bring to mind a call to arms or some kind of mobilized, militant action in the way we understand the term now,” said John C. Cavadini, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. “A lot of the struggle of the Church Militant is against interior temptations that lead you to greed and all kinds of spiritual pathologies. And it’s about engaging in acts of mercy. Part of the victory of the Church Militant is the victory of love. It didn’t have the triumphalist and militarized connotation that’s been attached to it now.”

While the term remains in the Roman catechism, which was promulgated by the Council of Trent in the mid-1500s, the official catechism produced under Pope John Paul II in 1992 replaced “Church Militant” with “pilgrims on earth.” The adult catechism then devised by Catholic bishops in the United States adopted those words, and they are overwhelmingly the norm in Catholic practice in the United States and abroad.

Patrick J. Buchanan, one of Mr. Trump’s precursors in running for president on a platform of right-wing populism, embraced Church Militant theology in a 2009 essay in the conservative magazine Human Events. After delineating conflicts between Catholic leaders and Democratic politicians over issues like abortion and contraception, Mr. Buchanan made a more sweeping assertion:

“Catholicism is necessarily an adversary faith and culture in an America where a triumphant secularism has captured the heights, from Hollywood to the media, the arts and the academy, and relishes nothing more than insults to and blasphemous mockery of the Church of Rome.”

The words could serve as a mission statement for Mr. Vorsi’s ChurchMilitant.com. A television producer who renounced his earlier life as a gay man, Mr. Voris, 55, has developed a media operation from ChurchMilitant.com’s studio in suburban Detroit that produces books, online articles, YouTube videos, podcasts and a daily talk show. These cumulatively attract about 1.5 million views a month, he said. - NYT

Say what you will about Michael, but I am proud of him.

He's handsome and articulate and works hard,

and he has survived.  He is a fine example of

fidelity and courage.

2017

Mother of God, Virgin of the Sign

One sign ...  one Word the Father spoke ...

2017 Jubilee Year of the Apparitions at Fatima.

Song for this post here.