Our Lady Help of Christians

Auxilium Christianorum

Virgin of Lepanto.*

May 24 is the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians. The prayer Ave Maris Stella is a very powerful prayer to Our Lady which obtains her protection promptly and powerfully.  I pray it every morning.

Ava Maris Stella
Hail, thou Star of ocean,
Portal of the sky !
Ever Virgin Mother
Of the Lord most high !

Oh ! by Gabriel's Ave,
Uttered long ago,
Eva's name reversing,
Stablish peace below.

Break the captive's fetters ;
Light on blindness pour ;
All our ills expelling,
Every bliss implore.

Show thyself a Mother ;
Offer Him our sighs,
Who for us Incarnate
Did not thee despise.

Virgin of all virgins !
To thy shelter take us :
Gentlest of the gentle !
Chaste and gentle make us.

Still, as on we journey,
Help our weak endeavor ;
Till with thee and Jesus
We rejoice forever.

Through the highest heaven,
To the Almighty Three,
Father, Son, and Spirit,
One same glory be. Amen.

*I love this image of the Blessed Virgin dressed in battle array - her very image inspires courage and hope.

Many times, defeat seems inevitable, and the temptation is to say: “She promised, but it has not happened. To the contrary, everything became worse.” Real heroism is to trust even in the worst of conditions. It is to refuse to cede to the temptation, and to reply: “The worse it becomes, the closer we are to her intervention, because Our Lady does not lie, and I know that this voice that speaks within myself is hers.” - On Our Lady, Help of Christians

Pray the Rosary every day.

Strange Gods by Elizabeth Scalia

"At first I thought, 'the cover is the best thing about it!'"

 

What?

My name was on the publisher's list...

Rather, my name was on Mrs. Scalia's list of those to whom she would like to send copies of her book.  The publisher, Ave Maria Press sent me the book with a press kit.  I suppose I could follow the suggested interview questions and interview the author, but I know she is busy - she didn't answer my last email, and I'm sure she's doing a book tour and posing for photographs and getting ready for Charlie Rose and maybe The View. 

An urban anchorite's room with a view...

The Anchoress

Seriously, I must admit I was honored to have received a copy of the book. I'm a fan of Scalia's writing, attracted to her initially by the title of her blog, The Anchoress.  So monastic and medieval sounding, I expected a modern day anchoress writing ascetical-mystical romances on living alone in an urban flat, with her bedroom window facing the Catholic parish church next door, twelve stories lower than her little austere, yet lovely in its simplicity, apartment.  Not so.  Elizabeth Scalia is a wife, mother, and Benedictine Oblate - and rather normal.  I need normal.  She's also a very good, insightful writer.

Love the cover!

I did a quick read, or overview of the book.   I wasn't real excited, thinking the cover was probably the best thing about it.  Fr. Barron called it a 'must read' and to be honest, I couldn't go that far.  Scalia is online and one has access to her thoughts and point of view, but... I thought, 'It's not a bad book - but it seems to be just another theme book.'   I wondered if Ave Maria might have invited Elizabeth to write a book because she is so well known online and has a good following in new media.  Always the skeptic, I am - my apologies.  I'm always suspicious of online personalities and apologists, pretty much writing, about the obvious and publishing their latest work.  Not unlike friends of mine who teach, and had to have so many published works in order to get tenure.  But I digress.  Obviously I'm not the best person to review your work - just a heads up.

That being said, I wondered, what am I going to say about this book?  A book that others have already acclaimed and praised and even tied in with what the Holy Father said recently about idolatry and the Golden Calf worship of money ...

We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old (cf. Ex 32:15-34) has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal. - P. Francis

The Pope and the Anchoress - great publicity, huh?  Had he received an advanced copy of Elizabeth's book?  Or was Elizabeth simply stating the obvious and reaffirming Judeo-Christian teaching?  I had to search the pages of Strange Gods to find out.

The Introduction grabbed me.

I sometimes skip introductions.  I'm not sure why.  Perhaps I assume I already know what the book is about and why the author wrote it, and because I just don't want to read more than I have to.  Although I will often go back and read the intro after I finish the book.  The introduction to Strange Gods is what changed my attitude towards the book.  Elizabeth really has something important - and new - to say, and a book was necessary to make a statement.  The book is necessary to point out the obvious that has been obscured by our own personal idols.  In my case, self-opinion and pride - and more than I care to mention right now.  Although I will be referring to the book in future posts.

Elizabeth has a lot to say in this little book.  She articulates things I may know, but sometimes have difficulty articulating.  She writes:

"I look at our modern mania for educational credentials as a kind of idol - a thing so burnished and glittery that sometimes the perfect candidate for a position is never seen because the required credential is hovering between him and HR; and the idol - the thing that reflects our self image back to us - must be served."

Yes!  I wanted to say that - but Elizabeth Scalia said it better than I could.  Have I been 'envious' that Scalia has a book and I don't?  That she writes about something I wish I had written?  Is that why I wasn't able to 'get into' her book right away?  I don't know.  I doubt it.  Yet these are the sort of questions, self-examen type questions, Scalia's book elucidates as I go through it.  Again, Elizabeth points out:

"We dismiss the golden calf story and its lessons at our peril.  It is true we are no longer flinging our precious metals into a crucible and buffing up stolid beasts of burden to worship.  In some ways matters are worse, for we do not know the idols we bow down to.  Our present day idols are much less obvious, but they are also less distant and more ingrained within us.  Idols begin with ideas.  From there we shape them in the psyche, grow them in the ego, and then engage with them intimately, throughout our lives, in out families, our culture, our entertainments, and our political discourse.  We create idols of our own norms of behavior, our material possessions, and social status.  We even create them out of our faith.

[...] 

"We are so comfortable with our idols and so convinced that they are built on entirely correct ideas that we have stopped wondering at anything and therefore are comprehending almost nothing."

Yeah but...

I know!  So doesn't Scalia have any idols - I mean - she's practically enslaved to the Internet and the blogosphere, right?  Yup - and she pretty much admits it - "we can barely clear out an old idol before we erect a brand-spanking-new one in its place..."  The book is written from experience... she says, "my expertise is grounded in my experience, for I am a great idolater and have been all my life." 

It is not a holier than thou, self-righteous self-help book by any means. 

Lararium.

I like it.  I really like it.  I even have to agree with Fr. Barron, it really is a must read - for people like me at least - I still have idols clinging to me and around the house.  Me, the Catholic, who performs daily devotions at my home lararium - my laptop...  Mrs. Scalia writes about her devotion in the Conclusion to her book...  

One's work, being online, can keep us from prayer and even Mass.  It can happen.

Read the book.



BTW: It's available on Amazon.

Disclaimer - I never do promotions or ads on my blog - I made an exception in this case because Elizabeth was kind enough to have a copy of her book sent to me.   

That Muslim guy in London who killed the soldier...

Speaking to the camera, the terrorist warned:

 "We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you."

He just wanted to start a riot.  Asked by the woman who courageously rushed to help the downed soldier, why he killed the man, the crazed Muslim pretty much explained he was avenging the deaths of Muslims killed by British troops elsewhere - particularly Afghanistan.

The soldier was beheaded.

The Crescat posted the story and shared her thoughts on it here.

Since I can't comment on Patheos sites, my link is my comment.

 

Pope Francis on doing good...

"Let us go to him then, outside the gate, to bear his shame..."

I write that from memory - I think it is Hebrews 13.  I thought of that verse after reading the Holy Father's homily today.  The Pope said, "We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”  On a personal level, I understood it to mean even 'outside the gate' - hence my reflection upon the verse from Hebrews.

The good we do must be good however.

"The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can. He must. Not can: must! Because he has this commandment within him. Instead, this ‘closing off’ that imagines that those outside, everyone, cannot do good is a wall that leads to war and also to what some people throughout history have conceived of: killing in the name of God. That we can kill in the name of God. And that, simply, is blasphemy. To say that you can kill in the name of God is blasphemy.” - Finish reading here.

Sadly, I'm reminded of Obama asking God's blessing upon Planned Parenthood... something George Weigel said "is nothing short of blasphemy".

Blasphemy is a grave sin - be careful never to take the Name of God in vain.  The commandment is not simply limited to banning the Holy Name as a swear word.

Protests planned for Courage 'Sports Camp' in Philadelphia...

Really?

[Ed. note: Follow up to my post here.]

Comment from NewsWorks Philadelphia:

#protest tomorrow — Ed2013-05-22 11:19

We will be holding a protest at the location (City Ave. and E. Wynnewood Rd., Lower Merion, PA) from 4-6 PM tomorrow. All are welcome to join us! https://www.facebook.com/events/414932855268698

Gay hate crimes?  Sounds a bit extreme, right?  But here's a headline of major distortion (it starts like this):

Catholic Priest Hosting "Gay Sports" Camp to Convert Homosexuals Through Athletics"

After figuring out that electroshock therapy and gay conversion therapy didn’t really work, a Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, PA has come up with yet another suggestion on how to force grown men into changing their sexuality. You know, because they chose it in the first place. - "Queerty"

Really?  C'mon - that's just BS... narrow minded, bigotted, uppity, snobby, BS.

So here's the deal.  No one is 'ordered to attend' nor 'sent' to Courage, much less a Sports Camp.  Courage conferences, meetings and/or activities are not interventions or a 'getting straight' camp.  Courage is a faithful Catholic apostolate which offers spiritual support to men and women who experience unwanted same sex attraction.  These men and women have chosen to attend voluntarily - because they want to. 

Repeat:  Men and women join a Courage group because they want to.   

They choose to do so.  They are not bound or compelled to do so.  There is no one, no authority, no bishop or priest in the Church ordering men and women with same sex attraction to join a group, or to become straight.  There is no document or teaching in the Church commanding men and women with same sex attraction to be straight, get married, and have kids.  The Church calls men and women to follow Christ, to become holy.

I think it is obvious many gay people are scared that someone is going to come along and say - "You must be straight!"  They are afraid their unique, special, wonderland of Queer is going to be trounced upon and taken away from them, and they are especially resentful that some people want to leave the lifestyle, and indeed, do so.

Gay activists are amongst the most intolerant people on earth, easily matched by fringe groups - such as the Westboro Baptists.


Thanks to DB for the NewsWorks piece.

Oklahoma tornado...

"Everything is gone!"

I watched one news report and all those interviewed kept saying the same thing, "Everything is gone!" - I thought of Fr. Z.

Fr. Z always seems to encourage 'preparedness' - because everything we have could be taken in an instant.  Even more importantly, he encourages us to be spiritually prepared... go to confession...

Now and then I post here about the need to have a plan for when or if something really bad happens. I am especially concerned that parents of small children have some sort of plans in place for some different scenarios. Obviously you can’t cover every possibility, but some basic steps could make a difference. Having clean drinking water and food for 72 hours, warm clothing, a way to communicate, means of self-defense and so forth.

Please develop the good practice of examining your conscience every day and going to confession regularly. Please teach your children to examine their consciences and take them to confession, teaching them what to do and why. - WDTPRS 

This is Fr. Z at his finest.

United in prayer for the victims of natural disaster, terrorism, and war.   

“A subitanea et improvisa morte… From a sudden and unprovided death, spare us O Lord.”

Pray. 

Love this story: "Sports Camp" for Men With Same-Sex Attraction...

 

"You vill play sports and like it!"

Ed. note:  How I wish I could display my favorite episode from "Will and Grace" when Jack and Karen go to an ex-gay meeting headed by Neil Patrick Harris - it is LOL funny.  Anyway, I can't, because it has been removed from YouTube probably by whatever controls the licensing for the reruns.  I think of that show every time I come across controversial stories concerning Courage, claiming the organization attempts to make SSA men heterosexual.   So dumb.  SSA men are heterosexual, sheesh!


"Let's hit the showers!" - That's what Jack said to Neil Patrick Harris' character.

Courage is shipping SSA men to sports camp?!  It sounds so Nazi-ish.  But here's the deal:

Former Marine, Father Paul Check says his sports camp helps men strive towards chastity and friendship, but Ed Coffin with Peace Advocacy Network, says he is troubled by the anti-gay mission of the camp.    

Sounds way too butch already, you say?  Ed Coffin alleges:

"It's very clear what this organization does is focus on turning people who are homosexual--basically trying to change them into heterosexuals or at least get them to live a completely chaste lifestyle--which requires them to not act on any of their homosexual inclinations," Coffin said. "It falls under the broader realm of conversion therapy. We do feel that this is very detrimental, that's it's psychologically damaging."

Really?

Because Fr. Check says:

"The men who attend Sports Camp have the opportunity to have some fun," Check said, "to be at ease with one another in a peaceful surrounding and to develop, I think, a little bit more a sense of confidence that they can have fun in a way that is very enjoyable: outside, outdoors, running around, working up a little bit of a sweat, I suppose."

Check said he's puzzled by the protesters because the men at Sports Camp show up voluntarily to enjoy sports and have fun. He says participants say they appreciated the spirit of camaraderie and fellowship, but he's not aware of any who have regretted attending. 

Father Paul Check said the camp helps men resist those attractions and strive towards chastity, fellowship, and friendship. "We're all struggling against different human weaknesses that we have and confusion about who we think we might be and being in good company helps us to clarify some of that and, where necessary, try to make a few adjustments; and we learn some things that help us to go out and perhaps be a little bit more confident that we can do the right thing." - Source

Now what is wrong with that?  Nothing.  No-thing!  Nothing.  

Sports isn't conversion therapy.  I have a feeling Ed Coffin may not have been picked for the team - but Courage isn't forcing anyone to participate in their meetings, much less the 'sports camp'.  So what is Coffin's problem?  Dykes have been big softball enthusiasts forever, and don't forget about the 'Gay Games'.  Courage has every right to organize a 'sports camp'.  I think Mr. Coffin is just being intolerant.  Isn't that like a cardinal sin in the gay catechism?

Sports is not conversion therapy.

Is the Pope an intellectual?

Pope Francis when Cardinal Bergoglio at Shrine of N.S. Lujan.*

Is Pope Francis an intellectual?

I saw that question asked somewhere online.  We esteem intellectuals and academics - we give no credence to those without degrees and initials after their names.  A person has a great conversion - they write about it, get a book deal, a lecture gig, and they finish their studies and work on getting their degree(s) - as many as they can.  Well read, well documented recovering sinners can make it big on the lecture circuit, scoring book deals, even without an academic pedigree - they can take their place at the table - so long as they don't offend anyone. 

There is nothing wrong with that, BTW.  I'm not anti-intellectual - but some people are big snobs about it.  They esteem, compete and measure others based upon their academic standards and achievements.  It is a badge of superiority and status for many.

Anyway - that is my take on the concern some have over Pope Francis.  Is he intellectual enough?  Is he liturgically traditional enough?  People say, 'So far he's very low-brow and low-church' and so on.  My goodness - the Pope is a Jesuit - of course he is brilliant, what do they want?

"This is the one whom I approve: the lowly and afflicted man who trembles at my word." - Isaiah 66: 2

Today the Holy Father speaks of prayer.  As simply as the saints speak of prayer, as simply as an old monk might speak... Not about prayer, the stages, the degrees, nor the mystical-theological dimension of it - but of pure, simple prayer - an ordinary person's prayer.

"But why this disbelief? I believe that it is [when] the heart will not open, when the heart is closed, when the heart wants to have everything under control".

The Holy Father told the story of a young child in Argentina who at only 7 years of age fell ill and was given only a few hours to live by doctors. Her father, an electrician, a "man of faith," started “acting like madmen - said the Pope - and in that state of madness “took a bus to the Marian Shrine of Lujan, 70 km away”.

"He finally arrived after 9 pm, when everything was closed. And he began to pray to Our Lady, with his hands gripping the iron fence. And he prayed, and prayed, and wept, and prayed ... and that’s the way he remained all night long. But this man was struggling: he was struggling with God, he struggled with God Himself to heal his daughter. Then, at 6 in the morning, he went to the bus station, took the bus and arrived home, in the hospital at 9 am, more or less. And he found his wife weeping. And he thought the worst. “What’s happened? I do not understand, I do not understand! What has happened? '. 'Well, the doctors came and they told me that the fever is gone, she is breathing well, that there is nothing! They will leave her for two days more, but I do not understand what happened! This still happens, eh? Miracles do happen”. 

 

But we need to pray with our hearts concluded the Pope:

"A courageous prayer, that struggles to achieve a miracle, not prayers of courtesy, 'Ah, I will pray for you,' I say an Our Father, a Hail Mary and then I forget. No: a courageous prayer, like that of Abraham, who struggled with the Lord to save the city, like that of Moses who held his hands high and tired himself out, praying to the Lord, like that of many people, so many people who have faith and pray with faith. Prayer works wonders, but we have to believe! I think we can make a beautiful prayer ... and tell Him today, all day long, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief' ... and when people ask ask us to pray for the many people who suffer in wars, all refugees, all of these dramas that exist right now, pray, but with your heart to the Lord: 'Do it!', but tell Him: 'Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief 'that is also in my prayers. Let us do this today. " - Vatican Radio

Years ago as a pilgrim, I encountered many students and professors in Europe, almost all wanted to know where I went to university - it was usually their first question.  I understand their interest, since most were over there for studies.  However, on one memorable occasion, one academic asked me at the dinner table, "How many degrees do you have?"  And then he told me how many he had and where he obtained them.  It was about status and 'riches' for him - for others, it can be about what school and what you have published.

"In aridity and emptiness the soul becomes humble. Former pride disappears when a man no longer finds in himself anything that might cause him to look down on others." - Science of the Cross 

 *Freak out alert:  The cardinal is wearing blue vestments!  Oh! My!  Gosh!  (The Spanish do that BTW.)

Ordinary Time and the story of Pope Paul the VI weeping...

Supposedly the Holy Father overlooked the fact he permitted the suppression of the Octave of Pentecost as a consequence of the liturgical reform, and he wept on Whit Monday when a sacristan explained why the vestments for Mass were green instead of red.

The story makes the rounds on the Monday after Pentecost.  Watch for it today.

Reminds me of the story of how John XXIII supposedly wept after he read the Third Secret.  Other sources say he didn't - he simply passed it off and remarked it did not apply to "Our times".

Back to Ordinary Time for the Ordinary Form.

Is the Pope ...

Pope Francis for the Feast of Pentecost with New Movements.

Homily here.

Charismatic?

Charismatic is sort of a dirty word for traditionalists - they usually associate the Charismatic Movement with liberalism and modernism, indifferentism and liturgical novelty and abuse.  Nevertheless, the Church has had Her eye on the movement since its 'revival' in the late 1960's, and it has been praised by the Popes as well.  So, is Pope Francis 'charismatic'?  Hmmm.  I think it more appropriate to say... the Pope is Catholic.

Very shortly after my conversion I encountered friends in the Renewal - I went to prayer meetings with them.  My spirituality was more contemplative, Eucharistic and Marian - at the time, Charismatics were not so centered in that respect - Eucharistic devotion was centered around the Mass, the rosary and Marian devotion was present, but not prominent.  Prayer meetings were more or less comprised of praise, prophecy (mostly scriptural witnessing) and healing.  I always felt inwardly strengthened, but preferred solitary, quiet adoration to communal prayer meetings.  Did I see abuses?  Of course, but I saw abuses anywhere I cared to look in the Church.  In my opinion the movement changed, or matured under John Paul II and most especially after Medjugorje began.  Charismatics were very much attracted to Medjugorje, and it was around that time that Marian devotion became a focus in the movement.  (M. Angelica was instrumental in promoting Marian devotion in the Charismatic Movement as well.)

That's my brief experience on the Charismatic Movement, along with my opinion.  I see nothing wrong with it, as with any spirituality, it simply needs the guidance of the Church.  That said, Catholic World Report has an interesting article regarding the Pope(s) and the Movement - especially it's Catholic roots.  Who knew Pope Leo XIII initiated it?

 First, Pope Francis.

When the newly elected Pope Francis appeared at the window before the cheering crowd in St Peter’s Square, and promptly bowed down asking the people to pray for him, most of the public at large was charmed, but puzzled. Pope Benedict too had asked the people to pray for him from the outset, but without the bowed head. To some spectators, however—including the members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and their counterparts in the Protestant and Orthodox worlds—the gesture came as something surprisingly familiar. In the “charismatic” galaxy, prayer is offered and asked for in this way by people of all levels—specifically, prayer for a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis’ frequent mentions of the Holy Spirit—whom he has described as someone who “annoys us”and “moves us, makes us walk, pushes the Church to move forward”—as well as his unprecedentedly frequent references to the devil (rather than to a generic“evil”), indicate his affinity for the Charismatic Renewal. The election of such a back-to-basics man as Supreme Pontiff provides us with an opportunity to look at the road traveled by the Charismatic Renewal and to “hold on to what is good” (1 Thess 5:21). 

Before Francis, Pope Leo XIII 

January 1, 1901, Pope Leo XIII ushered in the new century by solemnly invoking the Holy Spirit over all of Christendom.

One of the chief ends that Pope Leo had explicitly dedicated his long pontificate to was the reunion of all Christians. Now, he was asking the Holy Spirit to bring his work to maturity and to bear fruit, with a renewed outpouring of his gifts not just over Catholics, but over all the disciples of Christ. Very few in the Protestant and Orthodox worlds—indeed, not even many Catholics—are aware of this historical fact. But to believers who attach such specific meaning and tangible effects to the invocation of the Holy Spirit, it can be no small matter. 

It all started with a nun in Lucca, Italy, Elena Guerra (1835-1914), the founder of the Oblate Sisters of the Holy Spirit, whom Pope John XXIII was to beatify and give the title “Apostle of the Holy Spirit “in 1959.

Over a period of eight years, around the turn of the last century, Blessed Elena Guerra wrote 13 letters to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII, urging him to establish an institutional devotion to the Holy Spirit. Leo was thus prompted to call the faithful to a novena in preparation for Pentecost 1895, in an apostolic letter entitled Provida Matris Charitate, in which he called particular attention to one of the fruits of the Paraclete, “the unity and unanimity” described in Acts 4:32: “The whole group of believers were united, heart and soul.” Two years later, he wrote his short encyclical on the Holy Spirit, Divinum Illud Munus, (“He is the substantial, eternal, and first Love, and there is nothing more lovable than love”), explaining the Spirit’s unity with the Father and the Son in the Trinity and making the novena to the Holy Spirit public and permanent. - Read more here.

Fascinating stuff, huh?  That's why I try not to criticise - and never condemn - the new movements in the Church, and wait - and allow - the Magisterium to rule upon them.  The Holy Spirit moves where He will, when He will, and how He will.

It is the Paraclete Spirit, the “Comforter”, who grants us the courage to take to the streets of the world, bringing the Gospel! The Holy Spirit makes us look to the horizon and drive us to the very outskirts of existence in order to proclaim life in Jesus Christ. Let us ask ourselves: do we tend to stay closed in on ourselves, on our group, or do we let the Holy Spirit open us to mission? - Pope Francis, Pentecost Homily, 5/19/13

The Pope is so Catholic.

 Update, just discovered late Sunday night:  As usual, Fr. Angelo covered the subject better than I could.  Read his post from May 10, Pope Francis the Charismatic.  It's excellent.

Things I don't get...

 

First

 Cardinal Dolan bending over backwards to explain that Governor Cuomo is not a 'bad Catholic'.

NEW YORK, May 16, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan appeared to suggest during a radio interview this week that he may not view pro-abortion Governor Andrew Cuomo as a Catholic “in good standing,” the archdiocese has issued a statement saying that this is not the case, and that Dolan's remark was misunderstood.  

“Cardinal Dolan would not, and did not, suggest the governor might not be a Catholic in good standing going forward,” archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling said in a statement originally sent to the New York Times, and forwarded to LifeSiteNews. - Read the rest here.

Cardinal Dolan is a Roman Catholic Archbishop, acting in the name of the Church, he is responsible for faith and morals and ecclesiastical discipline.  I'm not criticizing the Cardinal - but I don't get it.

Second

2) Catholics condemning the tactics of an anti-abortion activist, Lila Rose and the organization she heads, Live Action.  Rose is under fire for 'lying' because Live Action tactics include undercover sting operations at abortion clinics, and her critics are saying the 'undercover work is deceptive to the degree that it cannot be justified.'

What strikes me as strange is that people have become so worked up over this.  Lila Rose is Catholic, but Live Action is not a Catholic organization.  It is a private, non-profit and Lila Rose is a lay person - she does not represent the Catholic Church.  It's her conscience - but at least she and her organization is working vigorously to expose the atrocities and illegal activities of abortionists and to bring an end to abortion.

Here's the deal - Catholic politicians get away with supporting abortion and expanding access to it, while many Catholic leaders look the other way when they approach the Communion rail, but a Catholic laywoman, a private citizen, acting upon her own initiative to do everything in her power to end the abortion holocaust, is pilloried as a public sinner.





I'm not trying to vilify or justify anyone here - I just don't get it.  Sorry.




 

The acquisition of the Holy Spirit

"Acquiring the Spirit of God is the true aim of our Christian life, while prayer, fasting, almsgiving and other good works done for Christ's sake are merely means for acquiring the Spirit of God." - St. Seraphim

Like the traveler pitching his tent in the desert, the Holy Spirit takes possession of souls as their most sweet guest. But unlike the traveler, who folds his tent as morning breaks, the eternal guest stays on. The tent he pitches in the soil of our barrenness is something divine – a sketch, a reflection, of our heavenly home. In it dwells grace that divinizes the soul, divine charity, the supernatural image of the Spirit who pours Himself into our hearts, and all the virtues and gifts. These are the conditions of His indwelling, so that He may begin His work of sanctification, and direct us with the strong, gentle influence of love.

His ideal is to reproduce Jesus in us, and through Jesus and with Jesus, to take us to the bosom of the Trinity and glorify the Father with the supreme glorification of Jesus. Through the shadows of faith, we … try to get a glimpse of this divine work, to see how, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, souls are purified, illuminated, and enkindled until they are transformed into Jesus, who is the ultimate ideal of God’s love and of the aspirations of the soul, the glorious summit of the mystical ascent where we find peace and happiness – where we find God. - True Devotion to the Holy Spirit, Archbishop Luis M. Martinez

Meddlesom old trouts... The Pope on avoiding the temptation to interfere in the lives of others...

No excuses.

I've always loved today's Gospel when Jesus pretty much tells Peter to mind his own business.  I apply it to meddlesome types, usually as a sort of 'rebuke' for them to mind their own business.  Yet today a friend directed me to the Holy Father's comments on the Gospel in his morning homily.  I'm one of those meddlesome old trouts who needs to be told, "What is it to you?"

Need context?  This is what the Holy Father said:

"What is it to you?" Pope Francis begin his homily referring to a question Jesus posed to Peter when he had meddled in the life of the disciple John, "whom Jesus loved." Peter, the Pope pointed out, had "a dialogue of love" with the Lord, but then the dialogue "is diverted to another track," and he also suffers from a temptation: "to interfere in the lives of others." How do you say "vulgar," said the Pope, Peter becomes "nosy". Focus is therefore on two modes of this mix in the lives of others. First, the "comparison", "to compare oneself with others." When there is this comparison, Pope Francis said, "we end up in bitterness and even envy, but envy rusts the Christian community, "it brings much hurt," the "devil wants that." The second mode of this temptation, he added, is gossip. It begins "in an educated way," but then we end up “feeling bad”.

"We all chat in Church! As Christians we chat! The chatter is hurtful? We hurt one another. It is as if we want to put each other down.: instead of growing one makes the other feel small while I feel great. That will not do! It seems nice to chat ... I do not know why, but it looks nice. Like sweet of honey, right? You take one and then another, and another, and another, and in the end you have a stomach ache. And why ? The chatter is like that eh? It is 'sweet at first and it ruins you, it ruins your soul! Rumours are destructive in the Church, they are destructive ... It’s 'a little' like the spirit of Cain who killed his brother, his tongue; it kills his brother! "

On this road, the Holy Father said, "we become Christians of good manners and bad habits." But how do we do this ? Normally, Pope Francis noted, "we do three things":

"We supply misinformation: we tell only half that suits us and not the other half, the other half we do not say because it is not convenient for us. You smile at that ... Is that true or not? Did you see that thing? It goes on. The second is defamation: When a person truly has a flaw, it is big, they tell it, 'like a journalist' ... And the character of this person is ruined. And the third is the slander of saying things that are not true. It is like killing ones brother! All three - disinformation, defamation and slander - are sins! This is sin! It is to slap Jesus in the person of his children, his brothers. "

"'This kind of talk will not do you any good, because it will just bring to the Church a spirit of destruction. Follow me! '. These are the beautiful words of Jesus, it is so clear, that he has so much love for us. As if to say: 'Don’t have fantasies, believing that salvation is in the comparisons with others or in gossip. Salvation is to go behind me '. Following Jesus! Today we ask the Lord Jesus to give us this grace not to ever get involved in the lives of others, not to become Christians of good manners and bad habits, it is to follow Jesus, to walk behind Jesus on his way. And this is enough. " - Vatican Radio 

I have made many mistakes on this blog... committed many sins.  Lord, I am sorry, please forgive me, and undo the harm I have caused others.  I have no excuse.  Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Meddlesome - Given to meddling; apt to interpose in the affairs of others; officiously intrusive.

Special thanks to Jackie.

 

 

 

 

Patheos changed its combox...

Anyone who uses Disqus for comments - for some reason I cannot comment or view comments at your sites.  Does anyone know why?  One site said I needed to change my browser and I don't want to do that - so I can't/don't comment.

It's all good however - I don't care - but I don't want people like Crescat and Mrs. Idaho Potato to think I'm ignoring them either.

That's all poodles.

Profanity online.

Should blogging Catholics watch their language?

Larry at Acts of the Apostasy asks that question after he came across a post by a Patheos blogger.  I didn't read the post he referred to - just what Larry had to say about it.  Obviously Larry doesn't read my blog, because I tend to use words like BS and a--h--- when some news item really irks me, or as my dad might say - burns my a--.  To be honest, I agree that is not the best use of language.

So anyway.  I remember a time when some bloggers used bad language all of the time and I actually wrote something about it myself.  Yup.  Back in the olden days I wrote:

I have wanted to comment on the fact that I've noticed Catholic bloggers using the F-word in various contexts within their posts, actually printing the word - I find that just a horrible word for a Catholic to deliberately use online or in private. Unfortunately, I've used, "effing" or "f-ing" on occasion when I've been passionate about an issue, but I usually come to my senses, realize what I've done and go back and remove it.

.

Very often our self-righteous anger is just that, self-righteous, while we remain smug, defending our rights, often unaware of the scandal we give.

Larry is right to suggest a higher standard for Catholic bloggers, and I'm going to try and do better.

BTW - I wrote about the matter within the context of something Archbishop Chaput wrote regarding letter and emails he received at the time:

The Archbishop also said this, "The left mail I get will use terrible words but be less vitriolic. They use the F-word and things like that, call me names like that. But the right is meaner, but they’re not as foul." - Archbishop Chaput

Read Larry's post here.  And watch your mouth you filthy animal.

I know that!

I didn't say that!

You said that!

I didn't say that,

you said that!

I knew that!

 

Pat Robertson and St. JoseMaria Escriva as Marriage Counselors seem to have something in common.

Wisdom from the First Lady of Beauty...

"God is love. I have loved. Therefore, I will go to heaven." - to Pope Paul VI, who responded, "Oh, how wonderful, how childlike."

 

"People say I'm extravagant because I want to be surrounded by beauty. But tell me, who wants to be surrounded by garbage? Beauty is love made real and the spirit of love is God. Only a crazy man wants to be surrounded by garbage, and I'm not crazy just yet."

Pat Robertson (that's not him in the photo BTW) is in trouble again for his marital advice to a woman who just can't get over the fact her husband cheated on her.  The evangelist counseled her saying:

“Stop talking about the cheating.” Instead, the evangelist stated she should focus on the reasons Ivy married her husband and what he does. He added:

“Recognize also, like it or not, males have a tendency to wander a little bit. What you want to do is make a home so wonderful that he doesn’t want to wander.”

It was these words, along with the opener, “well, he’s a man,” which sent the internet into a tussle. - Pat Robertson's cheating advice.

Crazy?  Not so fast... St. Josemaria Escriva might have said the same thing.  Take a look:

What would you advise married women to do to ensure that their marriages continue to be happy with the passing of the years and that they do not give way to boredom? This question may not seem very important, but it is one asked by many people. 

“I think it is in fact an important question and therefore the possible solutions are also important even though they may seem very obvious. If a marriage is to preserve its initial charm and beauty, both husband and wife should try to renew their love day after day, and that is done through sacrifice, with smiles and also with ingenuity. Is it surprising that a husband who arrives home tired from work begins to lose patience when his wife keeps on and on about everything she thinks has gone wrong during the day? Disagreeable things can wait for a better moment when the husband is less tired and more disposed to listen to them.

Another important thing is personal appearance. And I would say that any priest who says the contrary is a bad adviser. As years go by a woman who lives in the world has to take more care not only of her interior life, but also of her looks. Her interior life itself requires her to be careful about her personal appearance; naturally this should always be in keeping with her age and circumstances. I often say jokingly that older facades need more restoration. It is the advice of a priest. An old Spanish saying goes: ‘A well-groomed woman keeps her husband away from other doors.’

That is why I am not afraid to say that women are responsible for eighty per cent of the infidelities of their husbands because they do not know how to win them each day and take loving and considerate care of them. A married woman’s attention should be centered on her husband and children, as a married man’s attention should be centered on his wife and children. Much time and effort is required to succeed in this, and anything which militates against it is bad and should not be tolerated.

There is no excuse for not fulfilling this lovable duty. Work outside the home is not an excuse. Not even one’s life of piety can be an excuse, because if it is incompatible with one’s daily obligations, it is not good, nor pleasing to God. A married woman’s first concern has to be her home. There is a Spanish saying which goes: ‘If through going to church to pray a woman burns the stew, she may be half an angel, but she’s half a devil too.’ I’d say she was a fully-fledged devil.”
(Conversations with Saint Josemaria Escriva, 107) - Source 

I KNOW!



You see, this is the havoc feminism has wrought upon the world - modern women are corrupted by liberalism and reject common sense Christian teaching.  Men - be men!   We can still blame the women for all that is wrong.  If they'd just shut up, look pretty, stay at home and no aska the questions, their husbands wouldn't have to lie.

BTW.  Lying.  Women do it all the time.  Isn't make-up a lie?  High-heels - she really isn't that tall.  So JoseMaria was recommending lying?  Which begs the question, would he approve of Lila Rose and Live Action tactics then?  There is a great debate going on at Jimmy Akin's about lying... everybody is engaged!  Check it out... here.

Song for this post here.

Michael Voris in Scotland: On Cardinal O'Brien

Voris is hard hitting on this one. 

The thing is, he's right.  The man has real courage.

"Today we can ask the Holy Spirit to give us all this Apostolic fervor and to give us the grace to be annoying, when things are too quiet in the Church, the grace to go out to the outskirts of life. The Church has so much need of this! Not only in distant lands, in the young churches, among people who do not know Jesus Christ, but here in the cities, in our cities, they need this proclamation of Jesus Christ. So let us ask the Holy Spirit for this grace of Apostolic zeal, let’s be Christians with apostolic zeal. And if we annoy people, blessed be the Lord. Onwards, as the Lord says to Paul, ‘take courage!' " - Pope Francis


 

 

The Feast of St. Paschal Baylon

May 17 is the memorial of St. Paschal Baylon.

A Spanish Franciscan lay-brother devoted to the Blessed Sacrament.  St. Paschal is one of my favorite patrons, I have been blessed to be caretaker of at least three first class relics of the Saint.  I need his prayers more than ever these days.

The lovely thing about St. Paschal was the grace of infused recollection which often absorbed him as he went about his duties. Deeply united to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, he was on occasion favored with the grace of seeing the Holy Eucharist when unable to be present in church.

On infused recollection:

I still want to describe this prayer of quiet to you in the way that I have heard it explained and as the Lord has been pleased to teach it to me. . . . This is a supernatural state and however hard we try, we cannot acquire it by ourselves. . . . The faculties are stilled and have no wish to move, for any movement they make seems to hinder the soul from loving God. They are not completely lost, however, since two of them are free and they can realize in whose presence they are. It is the will that is captive now. . . . The intellect tries to occupy itself with only one thing, and the memory has no desire to busy itself with more. They both see that this is the one thing necessary; anything else will cause them to be disturbed (Teresa of Jesus, chap. 31).

The predominant characteristics of the prayer of quiet are peace and joy, for the will is totally captivated by divine love. The faculties of intellect and memory are still free and may wander, but the soul should pay no attention to the operations of these faculties. To do so would cause distraction and anxiety. Later on, in the prayer of union, it will be impossible for the intellect and memory to operate independently, because all the faculties will be centered on God. - Jordan Aumann OP

The Pope knows what we know...

Yesterday morning at Mass the Holy Father said, “when a priest, a bishop goes after money, the people do not love him – and that's a sign. But he ends badly.”   St. Paul reminds us that he worked with his hands. “He did not have a bank account, he worked, and when a bishop, a priest goes on the road to vanity, he enters into the spirit of careerism – and this hurts the Church very much – [and] ends up being ridiculous: he boasts, he is pleased to be seen, all powerful – and the people do not like that!” “Pray for us,” the Pope repeated, “that we might be poor, that we might be humble, meek, in the service of the people.” - Source

We have a good Pope.





 

Self Loathing and the Culturally-correct Gay-elite

Bret Easton Ellis said it first.

And I agree.  Gay has become culturally homogenized.  Now with gay marriage on the books, it's Ozzie and Harriet-ized.  I've said similar things for years - remember, I've been blogging for seven, so I can say that.  When you say that stuff, or level charges of immorality against anything gay - you are automatically labeled 'self-loathing'.  Why?  because gay is so damned good and you better like it. 

Catholic 'gay-elites' spin it a bit differently - but they still spin it. 

So what did Bret Easton Ellis really say?

Novelist and prolix Twitterer Bret Easton Ellis is raising hackles once again by labeling such organizations as GLAAD as "the gatekeepers of politically correct gayness" in a long editorial in Out Magazine. Ellis invited further response to his argument by announcing an AMA ("ask me anything") on Reddit, to be held at noon Pacific time today.

The Out rant, titled "In the Reign of the Gay Magical Elves," was prompted in part by the media response to the recent coming out of basketball player Jason Collins, whom Ellis writes is being treated "as some kind of baby panda who needs to be honored and consoled and -- yes -- infantilized."

Ellis goes on to criticize "gay self-patronization in the media," which in his opinion celebrates "the Gay Man as Magical Elf, who whenever he comes out appears before us as some kind of saintly E.T. whose sole purpose is to be put in the position of reminding us only about Tolerance."

At fault, according to Ellis, are organizations that marginalize the gay man "who doesn't want to represent, doesn't want to teach" and who "makes crude jokes about other gays in the media (as straight dudes do of each other constantly)." This, Ellis writes, amounts to "corporate PC fascism." - LATimes
 

Ellis writes a critique and he's called self-loathing.  I simply loath the condition - not the person.

Ellis directs his critique against secular homosexual culture, nevertheless, there really is an emerging PC way of talking about all things gay-ssa amongst 'gay' Catholics - and there really are 'gatekeepers', if you will.  I'm not talking Courage or NARTH people here either.  To be sure, Ellis probably wouldn't agree with any of them, and for sure, he'd never agree with my POV.

What's my point?  Going forward, I want to publish some information a friend sent me regarding science and sexual orientation.  For now, I just want to add a quote from the same resource:

Homosexuality, as a genetic inevitability, has probably been gay activism’s most effective PR initiative in the campaign for equal rights and special protections. Although it is no longer politically correct or fashionable in many circles to say that homosexuals can change, it is scientifically accurate to say so. We are not speaking only of behavioural changes but changes in attraction.

 

The fact is that nothing makes us do anything—neither our genes nor our environment. - Source

 

"Although it is no longer politically correct or fashionable in many circles to say that homosexuals can change, it is scientifically accurate to say so."  I'm convinced it can be spiritually accurate to say so too.

Editor's note:  This comes off sort of 'out of the blue', I'm sure.  How do I make these connections?  Arrive at my conclusions?  I hope I can explain going forward.

In the meantime, my apologies for dwelling on the homosexual issue, I'm more or less responding to the recent developments regarding gay marriage in Minnesota and the initial consequence of cultural approval for homosexual sexual relations and behaviour.

These are the consequences BTW.

With gay marriage approved, homosexual sexual behavior is approved.  Gay Catholics are already talking about living within that reality - in other words, on another level, accepting it, and developing a gay spirituality.  That's huge ladies and gentlemen.  That's huge, moms and dads and teachers and pastors. 

It's huge.

 

This Is Very Good: Fr. West on Homosexuality and Theology of the Body

Governor Dayton signs gay marriage legislation.

Fr. Peter West:

Polls show that most young people today, even those who identify themselves as Christians, have no problem with “same-sex marriage.”

If young people today are at all aware of what the Catholic Church teaches about marriage and human sexuality, what they think they know is often only a caricature of the truth. They see it as simply a set of prohibitions established by men. But what the Church actually presents is a vision of the beauty of marriage as a sacred union between one man and one woman who are committed for life and open to the transmission of new human life. With this vision, “same-sex marriage” is an oxymoron, making about as much sense as a “squared circle.”

“Same-sex marriage” has been presented to the public as an issue of fairness. But the worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal. Leaders in the homosexual movement have themselves admitted that the promotion of “same-sex marriage” is a device to destroy the institution of marriage. A poster at a homosexual conference called the National Conference on Organized Resistance in 2008 read “Marriage is the proverbial burning building. Instead of pounding on the door to be let in…queers should be stoking the flames!”

Of course, our understanding of marriage has been damaged by the fruits of the sexual revolution: no-fault divorce, cohabitation, contraception, sterilization and abortion. What is our problem with changing the definition of marriage to accommodate same-sex couples? Are we being “unfair”?

Blessed Pope John Paul II reflected on love, the nature of the human person, marriage as a vocation and the purpose of the body in a series of lectures from 1979 to 1984 during his Wednesday audiences which he called the “Theology of the Body.”
With regard to marriage, John Paul referred to Our Lord’s teaching. When Jesus was asked a question about marriage and divorce, He referred back to the beginning – to God’s original purpose for marriage. - Finish reading here.
 

Fr. West goes on to point out that premarital sex is a lie, "Sex before marriage is really a lie. The couple’s body language says I give myself to you completely, but they are unwilling to make the commitment to each other that this love requires."  Similarly, artificial contraception in marriage is a lie as well.  That being the case, how much more serious is the lie of homosexual sex.

So called homosexual marriage can never be sacramental, as fr. West explains: "Through Christian love given and received, God gives the marriage partners a sharing in his life and helps them grow in grace and spiritual maturity. Physical intimacy that is open to life becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion."

I rediscovered something from Kipling too...

Matthew Kelly included Kipling's poem, IF in his book, Rediscover Catholicism.  It is one of my favorites.  I knew a saintly doctor who had given the poem to his sons, one of whom is most likely a saint today, since he died not too long ago from cancer. 

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: 

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'  

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

"My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God." - Our Lady of Fatima

Today, Minnesota approved gay 'marriage'.

With deafening cheers and overwhelming emotion, the Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 to legalize same-sex marriage. “Today, love wins,” said Sen. Tony Lourey, DFL-Kerrick. - StarTrib
 

 

Pope Francis at the March for Life.

Habaemus papam!

Pro-lifers who had just finished the third annual Italian March for Life on Sunday were surprised to see Pope Francis coming toward them in the popemobile.

“It was a great joy for us because we didn’t expect this at all, we just expected his message,” said March for Life organizer Virginia Coda Nunziante.

“It was extraordinary because I met the people who unexpectedly saw him coming,” she told CNA on May 13.

The popemobile brought the Pope down the first block of Via della Conciliazione after he finished his first canonization Mass and the weekly Regina Caeli prayer on Sunday.

May 12 was also the day that around 20,000 pro-lifers from Italy and beyond converged on Rome to defend the unborn and call for an end to abortion in the country. - A Catholic View

This story gives me hope.  Some day perhaps the Holy Father will lead the march in procession with the Blessed Sacrament.

Brandon Vogt and his Strange Notions

Brandon Vogt has created a new website he titled Strange Notions, a Digital Areopagus, featuring an impressive line-up of high profile Catholic writers.

That's so cool.  Now I don't have to make a list.

May 13: Our Lady of Fatima

"Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God." - Our Lady to Bl. Jacinta

Pray the Rosary.

Minnesota Senate to Vote on Gay Marriage Tomorrow, May 13

Minnesota for Marriage is asking for people to join them at the capitol tomorrow:

THE MINNESOTA SENATE WILL VOTE ON THE GAY “MARRIAGE” BILL ON MONDAY, MAY 13!

THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE TO STAND FOR MARRIAGE IN OUR STATE.

JOIN US ON MONDAY AT THE CAPITOL IN PRAYER & PROTEST

Join us for as much time on Monday as possible. We need as many people as possible to come speak to their senators one last time about the importance of marriage between 1 man and 1 woman and to join fellow traditional marriage supporters in prayer and protest Monday all day.
Wear your Minnesota for Marriage blue & green to show your support for traditional marriage!

REMEMBER, THE GAY “MARRIAGE” BILL HAS ALREADY PASSED THE HOUSE. IF IT PASSES IN THE SENATE ON MONDAY, GAY “MARRIAGE” WILL BECOME LAW IN MINNESOTA!

Have you done everything you can to help us stop this from happening?

Please, join us in prayer and protest at the Capitol on Monday. - Minnesota for Marriage
 

Here’s the ALARMING FACTS:

1. On Thursday, May 9, the MN House voted to pass same-sex “marriage” into law in Minnesota.

2. Sadly, many Representatives turned their back on their constituents who overwhelmingly support traditional marriage and voted instead to pass the bill, siding with DFL leadership and the same-sex “marriage” lobby.

3. The bill erases the terms “husband” and “wife” from our laws and says that “Mother” and “Father” must be interpreted “neutrally”!

4. The bill does NOTHING to protect the religious freedoms of individuals, businesses, teachers, professionals, and non-church owned schools like University of St. Thomas and Northwestern College who believe marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman.

5. The bill would classify over 1 MILLION Minnesotans as “bigots” under the law for believing that marriage is between a man and a woman.
6. The MN Senate will vote on the bill on MONDAY, MAY 13.
7. If the Senate approves the bill, Governor Dayton will sign it, and same-sex “marriages” will begin in August. 

 

 

If you can't attend, pray many Rosaries.