Just a heads up.

Apparition of St. Michael

May 8

To whom it may concern.

My cat has been sick for a couple of weeks.  Today she is in the hospital.  I don't know what is wrong with her and I will spare you (and me) the list of symptoms.  I am waiting to hear from the hospital.  I was there all morning.  The only reason I'm stating this is to explain why my humor is a bit strained, and my patience wearing rather thin - especially when I encounter contentious comments I believe are stupid and obnoxious and bigoted.

When you get old, and you take care of sick friends and cats, and you don't do all that well yourself, a lot of stuff you all may think is important, is not important - for me at least.

Moralists, pearl-clutching-homo-tradsters cleric or lay, as well as self-appointed inquisitors of the holy office, are not well tolerated here these days.  I'm not going to keep looking back at your inflammatory statements or arguments.  Please feel free to unfriend me or stop following/linking if I don't fit into your particular brand of Catholicism.

Begone - with the Pope's advice:

Unlike Eve who thought herself a “great theologian” and fell, the Pope said we must never dialogue with the devil because he wins, he is more intelligent than us. On the contrary, Jesus in the desert responds to the devil with the Word of God, hunts down demons, sometimes asking his name but doesn't dialogue.

Pray, watch, fast. 

Recalling the advice of Jesus to watch, do penance and fast, Pope Francis said we too must do so but never enter into dialogue with the devil. And in moments of temptation we must approach the mother, like frightened children do. According to the Russian mystics, in times of spiritual upheavals, take refuge under the mantle of the great Mother of God, the Pope said. - Homily

I'm very sorry if I offended you.  I'm not a good man.

Just a reminder friends, in case N. Korea actually bombs us.

“Americans should sleep well at night." - Rex Tillerson

On 'ecstatic flight' and 'levitation' in the life of St. Joseph of Cupertino

Fr. Longenecker thinks we have "to take the more exaggerated stories of St. Joseph’s flight with a pinch of salt." - source

I disagree.

Much of the details of the mystical phenomena in the life of St. Joseph is recorded by eye-witnesses - sometimes several eye-witnesses.  The events are also recorded in the documents for his canonizations.  Many saints have had similar experiences - but perhaps the most well documented is that of St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, Discalced Carmelite of Bethlehem, who died in 1878 and was recently canonized.  She too experienced ecstatic flight and ascensional ecstasy, well documented by her community and prioress, as well as workmen.  Such phenomena is not a guarantee of sanctity, nor are Catholics obliged to believe it - so yes, one can take it with a pinch of salt - but that doesn't mean it is not true nor does it mean that it is not important for the edification of the faithful - in some cases, for the conversion of non-believers.

The Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis, as well as the Feast of the Transverberation of St. Teresa of Avila are definite examples of how elevated and worthy of devotion these signal graces are for the edification of the faithful; to renew devotion, and to give glory to the Holy Trinity, among other things.

"One must see in it a divine or angelic intervention, which grants to the bodies of the saints an anticipation of the gift of agility which is proper to glorified bodies." - Benedict XIV

That said, articles by popular religious writers, devoid of actual theological understanding on such phenomena, tend to trivialize the charisma and do little to excite devotion, and in the process, they end up more or less conforming to modern revisionist theories downplaying the supernatural.  All in all, Fr. L certainly affirms the supernatural aspect of the ecstasies of the Saint, and though he offers a slightly 'naive' reflection on his virtue and charismatic gifts, it seems to me a more reliable understanding of the phenomena would certainly complete Fr. L's article.

So what is ecstatic flight and levitation?

It's a quick search, a short read and easily found online - The Three Ages of the Interior Life:

LEVITATION 

By levitation is understood the phenomenon of the elevation of the human body above the ground without any apparent cause and in such a way that it remains in the air without any natural support. This phenomenon is also called ascensional ecstasy, ecstatic flight, or ecstatic walking when the body seems to run rapidly without touching the ground. 

The Bollandists relate numerous cases of levitation. They cite particularly those attested in the lives of St. Joseph of Cupertino (September 18), St. Philip Neri (May 26), St. Peter of Alcantara (OctoBer 19), St. Francis Xavier (December 3), St. Stephen of Hungary (September 2), St. Paul of the Cross (April 28), and others. It is related that St. Joseph of Cupertino, seeing some workmen having trouble in trying to put up a very heavy mission cross, took his aerial flight, seized the cross, and without effort placed it in the hole destined for it. 

In contradistinction to levitation, they cite cases of extraordinary weight of the bodies of certain saints: for example, when an attempt was made to violate and drag St. Lucy of Syracuse to a place of debauchery, her body remained fixed to the earth like the pillar of a church. 

Suggestion or autosuggestion of hysterical persons has never been able to provoke levitation. After an examination extending over several years, Professor Janet of Paris was able to establish that the body of the person was never raised, even a millimeter, even sufficiently to slip a cigarette paper between his feet and the ground.(21) 

Rationalists have tried to explain naturally the levitation proved in the case of several saints by the deep breathing of air into the lungs; but, in the face of the manifest insufficiency of this reason, they have had to have recourse to an unknown psychic power ­ an explanation that is merely so many words. 

Benedict XIV states the traditional and reasonable explanation.(22) He requires first of all that the fact be well proved in order to avoid all trickery. Then he shows: (I) that because of the law of gravity, well-proved levitation cannot be naturally explained; (2) that it does not, however, exceed the powers of angels and the devil, who can lift bodies up; (3) that consequently the physical, moral, and religious circumstances of the fact must be carefully examined to see whether there is not diabolical intervention; and that, when the circumstances are favorable, one can and must see in it a divine or angelic intervention, which grants to the bodies of the saints an anticipation of the gift of agility which is proper to glorified bodies. - Garrigou-Lagrange

Don't forget ...

Signs: Fr. Robert Altier

An announcement from the Church of St. Raphael:

We are pleased to announce that Archbishop Bernard Hebda has appointed Fr. Robert Altier as parochial vicar (also known as associate pastor) of the Church of St. Raphael, effective June 15, 2016. Fr. Altier was assigned to this parish once before, in 1989-90, shortly after he was ordained. He looks forward to being here once again. The parishioners and staff here also look forward to his return and his dedicated, faithful ministry. - Source

At the bottom of this image of Our Lady 

is the figure of St. Raphael.

H/T P. - The other reason for posting is someone inquired about an email address for Fr. Altier and I expect one may now be able to contact him at St. Raphael's.

Symptoms

Symptoms of PTSD: Being easily startled or frightened.  Is this you?

Of Toxic Friendships and PTSD


I saw the list for symptoms of toxic friendships on Spirit Daily and had to read them.  Yep.  I have had friends like that.  Family members as well - including parents.  Maybe I'm toxic?  Contaminated?  Contaminated as in the sense of one having survived a nuclear power plant accident?

PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is something I think of in relation to wounded warriors or survivors of the Holocaust, or survivors of terror, torture and so on.  In many cases, the diagnosis has been expanded to include survivors of abuse, sexual or otherwise.  For a long time I didn't believe in PTSD.  To a certain extent, I do now.

Holy Week may be a ritualized form of PTSD - wherein we recall the Sacred Passion and Death of Christ.  In a kinda-sorta way, maybe?  Over the centuries, mystics seem to have relived the trauma - showing signs of whatever form of stigmata they had - sometimes in very dramatic fashion.

Just thinking out loud here, but a lot of our stigmata may show up this week.  The invisible kind, that
is.

Yeah, huh?  I'm not really seeing it, but if you say so...

For your convenience, here is a quick list of symptoms for PTSD:

(Check it out thoroughly before calling 911.)

PTSD symptoms are generally grouped into four types: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, or changes in emotional reactions.

Intrusive memories

Symptoms of intrusive memories may include:

Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event
Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)
Upsetting dreams about the traumatic event
Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the event

Avoidance

Symptoms of avoidance may include:

Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
Avoiding places, activities or people that remind you of the traumatic event

Negative changes in thinking and mood

Symptoms of negative changes in thinking and mood may include:

Negative feelings about yourself or other people
Inability to experience positive emotions
Feeling emotionally numb
Lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed
Hopelessness about the future
Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event
Difficulty maintaining close relationships

Changes in emotional reactions

Symptoms of changes in emotional reactions (also called arousal symptoms) may include:

Irritability, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior
Always being on guard for danger
Overwhelming guilt or shame
Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much or driving too fast
Trouble concentrating
Trouble sleeping
Being easily startled or frightened - Source

I hope that's helpful for all of you stigmatists who read me.



Song for this post here.

Avoiding places, activities or people 

that remind you of the traumatic event.

This guy reminds me of our new pastor ...

Seriously.

I heard this song on a fitness ad and thought it was Kool and the Gang - I know!  I searched and searched, but no - it's a guy known as Thomas Rhett - the song: I Feel Good.  He reminds me of the new pastor at my parish ... maybe before his conversion ... kinda sorta.

 Of course it could be Badger too.   ;)


Disclaimer: This post is supposed to be funny.

Just because you may experience attraction to the same sex ...

The Damned, Visconti, 1969

Or experience 'same sex attraction', does not mean you are queer ...

Nor does it mean you are disordered.  The attraction itself is disordered - but that in no way means you are.

Not all people who experience homosexual attraction are gay or queer or disordered?  No way.

Concupiscence: it remains in those that are baptized in order that they may struggle for the victory.

For example, some people are tempted to self pleasuring themselves.  It's a disordered desire - arising from concupiscence.  If they engage in it - it's a sin.  If they don't act upon the attraction or give in to the temptation - there is no sin.  The temptation, the inclination, springs from original sin and incites to sin - it is not formally sin.

In the discussion which followed the publication of the Declaration, however, an overly benign interpretation was given to the homosexual condition itself, some going so far as to call it neutral, or even good. Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. 

Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not. - Letter to Bishops

Therefore it seems to me the CDF Letter to Bishops on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons is talking about concupiscence when warning that the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.  It is not a sin - it is an inclination to sin.  It is the result of the Fall - original sin.  The CDF letter is a pastoral response to what has turned out to be a cultural change in giving an overly benign interpretation to the condition itself.

I believe that is why Austin Ruse and people like Joseph Sciambra point out the unsavory aspects of homosexual behavior, as Mr. Ruse did in his latest essay for Crisis, Their Sexual Proclivities Are Killing Them.  Ruse's essays have a way of upsetting people simply because they are becoming more graphic, and the cultural attitude has changed completely, as a result of  "an overly benign interpretation was given to the homosexual condition itself, some going so far as to call it neutral or even good.” (CDF 1992 Letter)  As I said in a comment on Crisis, 'reality bites'.  It stings.

Gay activists and gay Christians are always uncomfortable with these discussion and resent the terminology of disorder or objective disorder - which are classic moral, theological terms used by the Church.  It seems to me gay Christians are more determined to use terminology intended to give an overly benign interpretation of the condition itself.  It is very similar to late 19th early 20th century homophile or same sex friendship movements, such as the Uranians and others.  (A synopsis of these can be found here.)  One sees that Austin Ruse's reintroduction of the term 'homophile' is in itself a rather respectful term for the Spiritual Friendship, Gay Christian movement/network.

Without fail every time you write about homosexuality, gay/ssa persons, you get flak. "Not every one is like that" is the most common thread, as well as the claim, "That's a problem from an older generation - no longer applicable to the younger more tolerant generation." Same old same old. Truth be told, the re-education of Western culture has been driven by serious efforts beginning in the 19th century by homophile movements working for gender equality, and the elimination of sexual boundaries. It has been going on for well over a century. So yes - younger people and their parents have a greater openness and acceptance of what was once regarded as deviant culture.

It's interesting how much these movements have influenced modern thought, contemporary culture.  Early on the introduction of pants for women - menswear became acceptable pretty much due to early LGBTQ movements.  (For another synopsis of these, go here.)

Having said all that, and involving myself in this discussion needlessly, I believe this is why people like Melinda Selmys and others get really upset over the fact someone like Austin Ruse is willing to take flak for pointing out aspects of the homosexual underworld they know all about, but would rather not hear repeatedly.  Selmys reacted to Ruse's post in a big way here: Sanctioned Bigotry.  She makes some good points but pretty much trashes Ruse and company... conservative bigots.  I'm not really a conservative, neither am I a bigot.

I began this post as my own sort of response, why?  I'm not sure.  I noted today Melinda has another post listing how and why such posts seen in Crisis Magazine do not work as a deterrent to homosexual behavior, much less attract anyone to the Catholic Church.  While that may be true and I can agree to some extent, the fact is not all are going to be 'saved' or even desire to be religious or Christian.  Nevertheless, Selmys recent post is worth considering, she titled it: Telling the Deep Dark Truth About the Sordid Sin of Sodomy in Love.  A strange oxymoron for a title, sodomy in love.

I'll let them duke it out though.  I think it's called dialogue.  Truth in charity, I guess.

Selmys is crazy smart.  Truth be told, gay people are indeed different.  Being different is just fine.  Did you ever see The Imitation Game?   It wasn't Alan Turing's sexual proclivities which killed him.  Being kind to gay people is not being overly benign to the condition itself... as today's second reading says: Love is kind.



Song for this post here.

Disappointed with Pope Francis? Can't figure him out? Maybe think he's an anti-pope? Or worse? There may be a place for you ...

( Pope in parenthesis. )

No, not the SSPX - they accept Pope Francis as the legitimate Pope.

Novus Ordo Watch will take you in.

Escape the Novus Ordo - leave the modernist sect behind!  Become a Sedevacantist.  All of your problems will go away - who needs a pope anyway?  Reject the impostor church.  Resist Peter to his face.

Priests will have to be re-ordained however - if you were ordained in the new ritual, your ordination doesn't count.  No Sodomite clergy either.  (You'll just have to wait it out.)

Novus Ordo Watch is pleased to be the sponsor for Escape from the Novus Ordo.  Donations always welcome.  No mercy though.  No communion without a Traditional baptism/confirmation and/or marriage certificate.

Just remember however:  All are not welcome - unless they are worthy.  You'll be tested.

Who was the last Pope?

Do you want to bomb the hell out of Syria?

Who was the last reigning pontiff?

Do you renounce communion in the hand?

Can you pray the Pater Noster in Latin?

Are you relaxed? Happy? You can't be happy and Catholic.

What is a maniple?

Can you say the Latin name of the last Pope?

Can you admit NFP is contraception?

Will you burn all books printed after 1960?

Are all non-Catholics going to hell?

Song for this post here. (Substitute words in the chorus with Novus Ordo.)

Something from Fr. Hardon: Is sodomy a sign of the Church’s “self-destruction”?

From Pope Paul VI.

Yes, as Pope Paul VI declared in one of his most outspoken denunciations of homosexuality. In context, he is speaking of the immoral practices among professed Catholics who are defending homosexuality:

“The Church finds herself in an hour of disquiet, of self-criticism, one might even say of self-destruction. It is like an acute and complex interior upheaval, which no one expected after the Council. One thought of a blossoming, a serene expansion of the mature concepts of the Council. The Church still has this aspect of blossoming. But since “bonum ex integra causa, malum ex quocumque defectu,” the aspect of sorrow has become most notable. The Church is also being wounded by those who are part of her.” (Allocution to the students of the Lombard Seminary, Dec. 7, 1968)

How did Pope John Paul II describe this self-destruction in our day?

He spoke to the religious and priests participating in the First Italian National Congress on Missions to the People:

“One must be realistic and acknowledge with a deep and pained sentiment that a great part of today’s Christians feel lost, confused, perplexed, and even disillusioned: ideas contradicting the revealed and unchanging Truth have been spread far and wide; outright heresies in the dogmatic and moral fields have been disseminated, creating doubt, confusion, and rebellion; even the liturgy has been altered. Immersed in intellectual and moral “relativism” and therefore in permissiveness, Christians are tempted by atheism, agnosticism, a vaguely moralistic illuminism, a sociological Christianity, without defined dogmas and without objective morality.” (L’Osservatore Romano, February 7, 1981).

How do professed Catholics further promote the practice of homosexuality?

They do so by receiving support from priests, even bishops, and from religious men and women.

What is at the heart of the strategy of the promoters of homosexuality among Catholics?

In one word, the heart of this strategy is gradualism. It is assumed that homosexuality will not soon be approved by all Catholics, and still less soon by Catholic Church authority. The following quotation is lengthy, but it deserves to be quoted in full. Publicly stated by the chairman of the Department of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of Louvain, it clearly expresses the gradualist strategy for the Church’s acceptance of sodomy.

“Is the teaching going to continue to evolve? With respect to the homosexual relationship, will it evolve toward encompassing it? Yes, it will! We have already taken the first step. Begrudgingly as we might like to admit, even the teaching of the Church has recognized the homosexual person, the homosexual orientation. It may be very uncomfortable with its own statements, but it’s there! The homosexual person is a person and no less of a person than anyone else. This is the first step.

The second step is the recognition of the homosexual relationship. I think we are virtually on the edge of accepting the homosexual relationship. The Church will accept the homosexual relationship, like those divorced and remarried: We must live as brother and sister or brother and brother and sister and sister as the case may be… [The audience laughs.] What is important is that the relationship be recognized as a valuable, fruitful, meaningful, affirmative, creative relationship. We are on the verge of accepting this.

The third step is: Can we accept the homosexual act? Before we can talk about the morality of the homosexual act, we have to define it, to understand exactly what it is…. Our whole understanding of human sexuality needs to be rewritten, but rewritten not from a “procreative or reproductive” point of view. It needs to be rewritten from a ‘relational’ point of view” (The Meanings of Human Sexuality, New Ways Ministry, Fourth National Symposium). - Fr. Hardon Archives on Homosexuality

Isn't that interesting?

Song for this post here.

One priest keeps asking, "What does it mean to be spiritual and not religious?"

Father keeps asking but I don't think he's listening.

That happens with grown-ups.

This is my best reply: (His com box is closed - so he's definitely not listening.)

Spiritual but not religious means non-binary in all its forms.

It seems to me there is a gnostic strain at work in gender ideology - a sort of crypto-Catharism. It might be described more at 'spiritual - not religious' - which is why I tend to equate the multifaceted aspect of gender/identity with the Otherkin/Therian type spiritual movements. One gets the distinct impression from many of the discussions that it is a cocktail of neo-pagan/Theosophical/Hindu syncretism. One needs to peel back the layers of language and dissimulation to expose the root of the phenomenon. 

I said that.

Spiritual but not religious encompasses all of that.  Institutional religion is rejected.  There is no religious order, no one spiritual direction, no set of doctrine, no dogma, no authority, no one set of rules - it is non-binary.  It is permissive of everything... relatively speaking.  One cannot harness the wind.

William Bloom who combines a long-standing interest in New Age approaches to spirituality with an identity focus in international relations, wrote:

"We are in changing times. Our culture and technology are continually transforming, and the intellectual certainties of the last few hundred years are no longer secure…It is our need to find a new authenticity in our spiritual lives — to bring back fully into our consciousness — the sacred dimension of life, but we want to do this in a way that honours personal freedom and personal growth. In essence, then, we are turning to the teachings and experiences of what is called the ageless wisdom, but we are doing so with completely new attitudes."

A key element of our changing culture is that we are discarding old religious forms and re-creating our spiritual and sacred world. - Theosophical Order of Services

People are not listening.  They ignore the signs of the times.

What?

This is important, why? Chairman of Fordham Theology Dept. marries his same sex partner.

Patrick Anthony Bergquist and J. Patrick Hornbeck II 

were married Saturday in Manhattan.

Hornbeck is Chairman of Fordham Theology Dept.

The wedding announcement was in the NYT's wedding section - so chic.

So anyway, Deacon Kandra News posted the announcement - which is where I found it.  Public information is not gossip, right?

I would maybe overlook this news item, knowing there will probably be a lot of these marriages taking place, which is going to be problematic for Catholic institutions - or will it?  However, I think it's important to take note of.

Why this is important.

The man is Chairman of the Theology Dept. at Fordham, that's why.

Dr. Hornbeck, 33, is the chairman of the theology department and an associate professor of medieval and reformation history at Fordham University in the Bronx. He graduated from Georgetown and received a doctoral degree in theology from Oxford University. - NYT

So Catholics are appalled and surprised and shocked that SCOTUS judges legalized same sex marriage.  How is that?  How can you be surprised?  Catholic education has been quietly prepping for this for decades.

The kids are alright?  

The kids whose parents sent them to Catholic school turn out to be very pro-marriage-equality, and very accepting of homosexuality as normal.  How can that be?  The kids went to the best Catholic schools all their lives - including the very best Catholic universities.  How can it be?

The kids become priests, teachers, theologians, religious ed. directors, chancery workers, lawyers, politicians, judges, columnists, writers, activists, and so on.  The contagion spreads like that.

Now, some Catholic bloggers online want the SCOTUS judges to be excommunicated.  You know that's not going to happen.

I think people online are losing it - like a generalized nervous breakdown is occurring.

Watch out who you read and follow - in fact, don't follow anyone online.

Song for this post here.

PSA: 7 signs people dislike you ...*

1. The way they look at you 

2. Always blamed 

3. Gossip 

4. You are left out 

5. Last man out 

6.Things are accidentally broken 

7. People stare 

*Although you may think you are making a great first impression, or if you have met with someone on numerous occasions, and are trying to appeal to them, there are a number of things you can spot in their behavior, and the way they respond to you, which will let you know they do not like you. Although many signs are quite obvious, there are also less subtle signs that people give off, if they are not really a fan of you, or do not get along with you too well. These are some signs to look out for, which you will notice when people are uncomfortable around you, or simply do not like you for one reason or the other. - Finish reading here.

Men who shop like women ... trans-gender-nonbinary-intersex-chimera fashions for trans-metrosexual-cisgender-lgbtq-friendly men...

"Maybe there's more to life than 

being really, really, really ridiculously good looking?"

- Derek Zoolander

Or something.

I ran across an article on the London menswear collection for spring/summer 2016: Men who 'shop like women' light up London catwalk.  It's all quite queer.  They don't just shop like women - they kind of dress like women.  Although the highly-fashioned  in Europe have been doing so for quite some time.

Gazing over the road at the crowds streaming into London's fashion week for men, construction worker Carl, dressed in a fluorescent safety bib, wondered: "What's going on? They all look weird."

For fashion lovers, buyers, journalists and bloggers, the four days of the London Collections Men SS16 are an opportunity to show off their finery -- the more eccentric the better.

Outside the venue, a huge long-haired man teetered in a pair of yellow high heels, carrying a school backpack.

Not to be outdone, his friend sported a polka-dot suit. Behind them, another impeccably-dressed guest paraded around in a hat resembling two cherries.

"I used to wear hoodies and T-shirts and jeans, not making any effort," said 35-year-old blogger Zokaya Kamara, looking slick in shorts, jacket and tie, with a camera slung over one shoulder. "But since making the effort, I get compliments every day." - Story here.

Michael Voris hair is still 'in'.

"It's that darn Voris – He's so hot right now!"

- Jacobim Mugatu

Biologists are studying to see if there may be some relationship to the monozygotic-dizygotic source as a determinate factor in personal style and taste in the evolved metrosexual.

I wonder if there is a biological basis for this phenomenon?  Involving some strange mutation in cellular division at conception?  The merger of multiple fertilized eggs.  As in Tetragametic chimerism - which is widely known and understood as congenital chimerism. The condition occurs through the fertilization of two separate eggs by two sperm, "followed by aggregation of the two at the blastocyst or zygote stages."  The organism develops - "they can be male, female, or have  mixed intersex characteristics."  Hence, when the individual matures, he finds in himself an overwhelming attraction to feminine fashions. Not dressing as a woman - but adopting styles which are more intersex, androgynous, albeit displaying attributes normally associated with female fashions:  Such as bright, trendy colors and prints for 'blouses' and Capri pants, as well as fitted clothing, body revealing necklines, waistlines, butt enhancement and so on. Likewise, men who shop like woman retain a distinct male identity, albeit they usually refine their looks through plastic surgery, makeup, hair styling and so on.

What?

"Words can only hurt you if you try to read them. 

Don't play their game!" - Derek Zoolander

Size the Day - Tudor Menswear: Wolf Hall misses.

Did you know?

First, did you know cod is the ye Olde English term for scrotum?

Did you know men were size conscious in the day?

I knew they wore tights and codpieces, but I just thought it was the bar-wear of the day... What?

During publicity interviews for the recent BBC TV adaptation of Wolf Hall, Mark Rylance joked that the codpieces weren’t big enough. US co-production sensibilities, he hinted, required the gentlemen’s appendages to be “tucked away”. This was strenuously denied – there had been no codpiece memo from PBS, apparently – yet critics couldn’t help noticing that all the male characters were discreetly treated in the groin area. Even Damian Lewis, who as Henry VIII might have been expected to sport a giant phallus to emphasise the priapic gusts on which the plot turns, appeared to favour a series of tunics that reached coyly to his knees.

But a quick flip through Fashioning the Body makes you realise just how big the codpieces could have been, if the programme makers had wanted to go in that direction. By the 1530s, the decade in which Wolf Hall is mostly set, there was absolutely no subtlety on the subject. Codpieces (from “cod”, the old English word for scrotum) had become so large that it was impossible for men to bend over to pull on their shoes. This might not matter much if you had people to do that sort of thing for you, but it inconvenienced peasants and labourers, who, surprisingly, were also keen on turning their genitalia into a metaphor of dominance and control. - source

"Is that a phone in your pocket of are you just happy to see me?"

I find it strange as regards modesty, how men were rarely held to account - that it was always women who were condemned for immodest dress, when in fact, male attire could be rather provocative as well.

Since that period, the style has come and gone, but manages to resurface from time to time, and may be making a comeback in our day.

In the Regency period, skintight trousers for men were teamed with narrow coats (rather than Henrician puffed shoulders and barrel chests) to create a long, lean line broken by a wide buttoned flap that puckered and pouched much like an impromptu codpiece. The effect was to draw attention to the phallus while nonchalantly pretending that it was the last thing on your mind.

Now, 200 years on, we have something called shapewear, which comprises not just the obvious waist-pinching, bottom-lifting contraptions for women, but also men’s underpants with padded crotch. The idea is to fashion a discreet bulge under skinny jeans. This, says editor Denis Bruna, is a reaction to the baggy, falling-down aesthetic of five years ago, which made young men look as though they were wearing nappies or even skirts. - ibid

BTW:  Just to demonstrate how important this was to men in the Tudor era:  Did you know that when a man was hanged, drawn and quartered, he was emasculated before drawn and quartered?

"So you see Sherman, this sheds an entirely 

new light upon what we had heretofore

known about the Tudor penal code."

Things I keep thinking about ...

1906 San Francisco

The 'Big One' ...

It must be because the 1906 San Francisco quake occurred in April.  I don't know why, but I've been thinking that the big one might happen soon.  When I noticed a story today that Los Angeles had a quake - just thinking out loud here - I thought, yep.

The assassination of the Pope ...

It was a Turk who attempted to kill John Paul II.  Now that Pope Francis publicly recognized the Armenian Genocide, and Turkey recalled it's Vatican ambassador - just thinking out loud here - I thought, yep.


What?  It keeps popping up... but I don't 'entertain' the thoughts.

Polls still open: Don't forget to vote for JPII as Doctor of the Church.

People who hear voices in their heads are now encouraged to talk back ...

Sister Magdalena of the Cross, once esteemed by many in Spain, 

confessed, one day, that the Devil had been visiting her in her cell.

File under: Things Catholics always knew.

Besides, isn't that what blogs are all about?  And not just for those who use the Internet to publish their personal locutions?  Some of our blog posts just may be answering the voices in our heads - with our only feed back being the com box - and if you close comments ... the voices in your head get really angry.  What?

All kidding aside, there is an interesting article that may prove helpful for people who actually do hear voices, as the article says, It may not always be a sign of mental illness or need treating with medication.  An interesting thought I suppose.  Reading the entire article however, it strikes me as a little nuts, but so do locutionists.

I also never knew there was a network for people who hear voices.

Recently, Waddingham and more than 200 other voice-hearers from around the world gathered in Thessaloniki, Greece, for the sixth annual World Hearing Voices Congress, organised by Intervoice, an international network of people who hear voices and their supporters. They reject the traditional idea that the voices are a symptom of mental illness. They recast voices as meaningful, albeit unusual, experiences, and believe that potential problems lie not in the voices themselves but in a person’s relationship with them. 

“If people believe their voices are omnipotent and can harm and control them, then they are less likely to cope and more likely to end up as psychiatric patients,” says Eugenie Georgaca, a senior lecturer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the organiser of this year’s conference. “If they have explanations of voices that allow them to deal with them better, that is a first step toward learning to live with them.” 

The road to this form of recovery often begins in small support groups run by the worldwide Hearing Voices Network (HVN). Founded in the Netherlands in 1987, it allows members to share their stories and coping mechanisms – for example, setting appointments to talk with the voices, so that the voice-hearer can function without distraction the rest of the day – and above all gives voice-hearers a sense of community, as people rather than patients.

There's a place in the Church for that too.

Did you know Locutions to the World continues to publish?

I'm sometimes troubled by the language in the Monsignor Esseff publications, the last time I read it, the voice of Mary was warning about economic collapse, and prices skyrocketing.  The language could have been lifted from the Wall Street Journal.  But who am I to judge?

The Hearing Voices Network would do well to consult Catholic mystical teaching on locutions.  Especially John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.  As readers know - I always refer to these saints when it comes to this type of mystical phenomena.  Read here.

The following from Teresa of Avila is also very good:

St. Teresa of Avila, who herself had an abundance of visions, takes a similar stand. She admits that great profit can be had from such things when they are genuine and are received in the proper spirit. Yet she says (Interior Castle 6. 9): "I will only warn you that, when you learn or hear that God is granting souls these graces, you must never beg or desire Him to lead you by this road. Even if you think it is a very good one... there are certain reasons why such a course is not wise." 

She then goes on at length to explain her reasons: First, such a desire shows a lack of humility; second, one thereby leaves self open to "great peril because the devil has only to see a door left a bit ajar to enter"; third, the danger of auto-suggestion: "When a person has a great desire for something, he convinces himself that he is seeing or hearing what he desires." Fourth, it is presumption for one to want to choose his own path, as only the Lord knows which path is best for us. Fifth, very heavy trials usually go with these favors: could we be sure of being able to bear them? Sixth, "you may well find that the very thing from which you had expected gain will bring you loss." 

She then adds that there are also other reasons, and continues with some wholesome advice that one can become very holy without this sort of thing: "There are many holy people who have never known what it is to receive a favor of this sort, and there are others who receive such favors even though they are not holy." - Fr. William G. Most

Joan of Arc Hearing Voices (1879) by Bastien-Lepage

BTW - I never answer the phone - so it goes without saying I'd never pay any attention to imaginary voices, much less answer them.  

What'd you say?



Song for this post here.

Tom Brady can do no wrong.

So leave him alone.

His wife is beautiful too.

They are perfect human beings.

Song for this post here.

Okay. So if demons or the devil talks to you, don't listen - and never believe what you hear.

Detail of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Fall of the Rebel Angels

The devil hates people - and unnatural vice.

The devil is also a liar.  Christ said he is 'the father of lies'.

Which is why I'm thinking - if he tells you something - don't believe him.  (It might be a good idea not to pay attention to any voices - but check with your confessor or spiritual director first to make sure.)

What am I talking about?  I don't know.  Because I'm not an authority on this stuff.

But here's a thought:

"Spiritual deception is the state of all men without exception, and it has been made possible by the fall of our original parents. All of us are subject to spiritual deception. Awareness of this fact is the greatest protection against it. Likewise, the greatest spiritual deception of all is to consider oneself free from it". - Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov

That's interesting, isn't it?


If you disagree - that's fine - I'm just saying.



Song for this post here.

Drew Carey on the upcoming TLC show, "My Husband's Not Gay".

Will and Grace episode. 

-photo credit-

"My husband's not gay - but his boyfriend is." -  ba-dum tshh

And...

"If you have to say he's not gay - he is." -  ba-dum tshh


I laughed out loud.

Because it was funny.

It is pretty much what most people think, I'm sure.  It may not be true however.  Some gay people really do not want to be identified as gay.  Some gay people are highly motivated and deeply desire a wife/husband and a family.  Some have blogs - now some will be on TV.  (Some still identify LGBTQ as well - but probably most do not.)

That said, I wish I could get the Will and Grace "Girls Interrupted" episode clip with Karen and Jack at an ex-gay meeting - there was a married couple there, played by Marianne Muellerleile as Jodi, and Loren Freeman as Kevin.  The whole ex-gay concept exploded in the finale - but before that, the highly stereotyped Jodi and Loren introduced themselves to Jack and Karen saying, "Can you believe it - we used to be gay!"

Well it was amusing.

The point is that gay people - especially the activist types - don't want people leaving the fold and telling others they are not gay any longer.  And that goes for the Spiritual Friendship writers as well.  They like to keep the gay categorization.  Some like the LGBTQ, sexually fluid 'identity'.  Others - alas, I can't authoritatively speak for others ... but one may surmise.

I'm not sure what or why they want to keep the moniker.  If they are under 40, they grew up with the term, the notion, the identity.  If they are older, they may use it because family and friends have always accepted them as 'gay'.  As Eve Tushnet points out in her book, using the term SSA is in itself an identifier.  I try not to get into that stuff since I believe it is not my place to insist on how one identifies oneself.  But I digress.

Nevertheless, "My Husband's Not Gay" has to be about that particular debate, and like I said - it freaks people out because they do not want to be pressured to 'change' their sexual inclination in and through therapy, or Gay No Mo pray-overs.  Why?  Because some people can't.  Likewise, for some people, they have all they can do to simply remain chaste - which means vigilance over impure thoughts - replacing impure thoughts about men with impure thoughts about women is not virtuous.  The spiritual struggle for chastity takes place within the reality of one's temptation.  Likewise, as I always point out, the Church does not require the person to focus on orientation change, rather the Church calls persons to repentance and conversion from sin, the person is called to chastity and sanctity.  To be sure, the Church doesn't recognize sexual inclination or attraction as an identity - it doesn't use the same language as the world ...  It's quite simple, really.

That said, the world uses that language.  Education, science, society, pop-culture, media, - even Catholic bishops and cardinals and priests and one pope use the term 'gay' - it's common usage.  "Homosexual" was an invented term adopted in the 19th - 20th century - it has no theological basis - it is simply recognized as a clinical term describing a condition.  The Church addresses the 'homosexual person' in official documents, while adding the disclaimer it is not their identity.  Yet it is common usage.

Hence, pop-culture's incomprehension over the term ex-gay, or my husband's not gay.

Like I said, people do use the term gay, often interchangeably, with SSA and homosexual.  They do that.  As I told a friend in a combox response for another post on the admonition: "You just think you're gay.":

I did see the press on My Husband is Not Gay and I was thinking of writing about that but may not. I don't have cable so I won't be able to watch it. 

You and I disagree on that - but for sure it is not for everybody. Mormons obviously do not have a spirituality of celibacy so I suppose marriage is the only alternative. I dislike that type of spirituality. (Because I'm Catholic.) 

As for gay guys getting married - it works out if they are honest about it - and of course, are in love with the wife. It happens - I have friends who have done so... The men really wanted a family and found the right woman. They stopped being 'gay' - through trial and error, of course.  The wives knew their past and could definitely say, "My husband is not gay". 

I've also worked with closeted gay men, married to women, with families - very sad and sometimes extremely creepy. 

It seems to me most confirmed bachelors do better with celibacy and chaste friendship.
Then there are many who take their chances and have a husband and kids - What can I say? 

When I was younger I felt deep resentment that my friends were getting married - I wouldn't admit it of course. Secretly I felt they were somehow abandoning me - excluding me somehow. They were becoming normal and I was this outsider. I got over that, but the experience suggested to me that many gay people may have some issues with envy and jealousy when it comes to others finding happiness in hetero-normative lifestyles. 

Let me know what you think after watching it - I know you have strong feeling against this - not for the reasons I mentioned above of course. - Terry

My friend, like many others, disagrees with me, and that is perfectly fine - people do that all of the time.  That's life.  I'm just a single, Catholic man, with no authority to dictate to people on what to think or what to say, or how to say it.  Naturally, television audiences will disagree with the TLC show, "My Husband's Not Gay".  But now we may have a better understanding as to why.

Trailer for My Husband's Not Gay here.

"You just think you're gay."