So you keep trying to justify passing judgment on others?

Even after the Lord commanded, "Do not judge"?

People need to judge, they defend it, over and over.  I just saw a piece on Crisis about the 'need' to judge: Being our brother's keeper requires moral judgment.  One commenter noted in self-defense:

I am often accused of violating Matthew 7. But I have a different take on it: The best person to remove the splinter from his brother's eye, is the one who has already removed the log from his own eye. For who better to recognize the difference between wood and eye?

That's sweet, huh?  I never read these sites as a habit, only when someone I know links to such articles.  I never ever listen to talk radio, conservative or liberal, Catholic or secular.  I still think talk radio and the companion sites online are the reason people are such fanatics, but I digress.

I just think it's funny how people who incessantly complain about being judged and criticized and even claim persecution, constantly insist they have a right to judge others,  and even have a duty to do so.  Of course we are expected to judge between right and wrong, and need to point out what is harmful to ourselves and others - common sense dictates that.  Likewise, everything is based upon our responsibility in particular situations - according to our state in life.  Parents, teachers, employers and so on have a duty to make judgement calls.  Most adults do not need anyone to tell them that.

Many Evangelical Catholics seem to think that when the spiritual fathers, the saints, and even the Pope offer the precaution, "Do not judge" it means look the other way and ignore moral evil - the sins of others.  That's missing the point.  They especially misinterpret Pope Francis on the meaning of mercy.  They resist him, and given the chance, they would resist him to his face. 


A hermit said, "Do not judge an adulterer if you are chaste or you will break the law of God just as much as he does. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery' also said 'Do not judge'"

Most of the problems online and offline, the fights, the contentious exchanges in judgment-based gossip which circulates, along with all the condemnations, they occur because people judge one another.  For example, instead of judging the recent Met Gala for what it was, the devout focused upon those in attendance - especially the Catholics there, and by extension, the Vatican authorities who cooperated in it.  Actually, there was nothing wrong with the exhibit itself - in a sense it was a neutral museum exhibit focused upon the art of costume.  I responded negatively at first, avoiding any criticism of persons, choosing instead to discuss the vanity of fashion.  That is a discussion worthy of a good exhibit.  Judging and condemning Cardinal Dolan and Fr. Martin, and guilting by association Vatican personalities such as Mons. Ganswein, is taking it a step beyond.   This sort of gossip and detraction feeds the judgmental attitudes already embedded in online Catholic minds.  It's indefensible.

The Lord asks us to be merciful. He asks us not to judge. Often, said Pope Francis, “It seems that we have been named judges of others: engaging in gossip, talking behind people’s backs, we judge everyone.” The Lord, however tells us not to judge, lest we be judged ourselves. “Do not condemn [others],” said Pope Francis, “and you will not be condemned.” The Lord asks us to forgive, that we might be forgiven. “We say it every day in the Our Father,” noted the Holy Father, “forgive us as we forgive others – and if I do not forgive, how can I ask the Father to forgive me?”

“This is the Christian life. ‘But Father, this is folly!’ one might say. ‘Yes’, one might answer, ‘it is’. We have heard in these days, though, St Paul, who said the same: the foolishness of the Cross of Christ, which has nothing to do with the wisdom of the world. ‘But Father, to be Christian is to become some sort of fool?’ [one might ask]. ‘Yes’, [I would say], ‘in a certain sense, yes. It means renouncing the cunning of the world in order to do everything that Jesus tells us to do and that, if we do the sums, if we balance the ledger, seems to be against us.” - Vatican Radio

"A dog is better than I am, for he has love and he does not judge." - Abba  Xanthios  


Catholics online search and research other Catholics online, very often to find something on them.  To confirm their private judgment that something is wrong with them.  They even create private groups on Facebook, attacking this or that apologist, a priest they dislike, or the pope they deem to be a heretic.  They are so embroiled in self-righteous anger, they can't stop judging and condemning.  They devote their websites and newspapers to the work of scandal and detraction - judging and condemning one another.  They even turn on each other.  It's really a sick and perverted religiosity which motivates them.  Even Christ refused to be considered a judge or arbitrator in mean-worldly affairs, asking “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”

What is it that religious people do not understand about the command, "Do not judge"?

Writing in 1 Corinthians, St. Paul went so far as to insist: "I do not even pass judgment upon myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord." [...] the Lord "will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts ..."

So how can we judge each other?

How can we best be our brother's keeper?  How can we love our neighbor and avoid judging one another?

Let love be sincere;hate what is evil,hold on to what is good;love one another with mutual affection;anticipate one another in showing honor.Do not grow slack in zeal,be fervent in spirit,serve the Lord.Rejoice in hope,endure in affliction,persevere in prayer.Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,exercise hospitality.Bless those who persecute you,bless and do not curse them.Rejoice with those who rejoice,weep with those who weep.Have the same regard for one another;do not be haughty but associate with the lowly;do not be wise in your own estimation.  - Romans 12: 9-16

Our Lady of Fatima

Commenting on Our Lady's request for penance, Sr. Lucia wrote: "The part of the last apparition which has remained most deeply imprinted on my heart is the prayer of our heavenly Mother begging us not to offend any more Almighty God, Who is already so much offended."

Our Lord explained to her: "The sacrifice required of every person is the fulfillment of his duties in life and the observance of My law. This is the penance that I now seek and require." - Sr. Lucia

As I said on Facebook:  I think the conspiracy theorists and Fatimists, along with those dubious mystics and seers who claim to offer the 'missing parts' of the Fatima Secret, have drained the devotion out of Fatima and turned it into a cult of suspicion and conspiracy. The continual search for secrets and all too worldly interpretations of what is reported to have been revealed (and or suppressed) has distorted and corrupted Our Lady's original message calling us to repentance, prayer, penance and amendment of life. 

The overly suspicious hermeneutic of a conspiracy theorist.

I came across that line on another blog.

It just fits many people online today so well.  It's an attitude spiritual masters warn about.  Teresa of Avila often expressed exasperation with such a morbid spirituality, says she feared those who saw the devil behind every undertaking than the devil himself. 

It's good to know there are still healthy Catholics online.  The problem with many tradsters, as well as locution and private revelation junkies, is they live in a little Catholic bubble of sorts.  In turn, they judge and relegate their opponents into other little bubbles of identity, heresy, or whatever disqualifies them from communion with their perfectionist version of Catholicism.

There has been a parallel Church in existence, since the Council, which, according to the newest generation of devotee is spreading - especially among younger people.  I'd say trending, as opposed to spreading.  There is nothing wrong with that, except the more vocal among their online spokesman view everything through the lens of an overly suspicious hermeneutic of a conspiracy theorist.  They feel persecuted and sidelined, while on another level they reject anything to do with the post-Conciliar Church.  Especially Pope Francis.

(Art: Andrew Hunt)

I know I always write about this stuff and I am tired of doing so.  Yet Catholics online keep feeding this monster of misinformation and lies.  I just ran across a friend speculating on details of the Third Secret again.  The fake messages continue to be promulgated.  Feeding morbid curiosity and suspicion, adding to the confusion so many complain about in the Church.

Even priests and bishops can fall into this trap.  Some are misled by these Catholic conspiracy theories which spread  online.  The worst deception may be perpetrated by the locutionists they so easily give credence to, based upon some respected monsignor's claims about this one or that one.  If reading a horoscope, or doing yoga can open one to the occult, just imagine how following the locutions or private revelations of a dubious mystic or apparition can open one to delusion.  Is there no stable cardinal, bishop or priest to make the faithful understand this?  Aren't the fallen priests over the past few decades warning enough about these dangers?

Morbid fascination with apparitions and visionaries can lead one into error and away from the Church, which is why the Church has rules governing discernment of private revelations, in order to guard the faithful from error. Naturally, I'm thinking of the 'consecrate Russia' and everything will be fine theories, as well as blame the apostasy on the bad council/bad liturgy groups who are engaged in a war against so-called Catholic 'leftists' who support the Pope.

"Since the devil apes divine works, diabolical phenomena are known to occur at times among the mystics." (All quotations from Tanquerey.) "A revelation may be true in the main and yet contain some incidental errors." Thus, in private revelations the errors of the times as regards physical or historical science may get included in the interpretation of the revelations. So too the prejudices and training of the spiritual directors of the seers can affect the message. Details involving historical errors may also be introduced, sometimes arising from the seer's meditation or intelligence, often contradicting historical documents or revelations of the saints.

Private revelations may not only be wrongly interpreted, they "may be unwittingly altered by the seer himself as he attempts to explain, transcribe, record, or dictate the experiences to another. St. Brigid realized herself that at times she retouched her revelations, the better to explain them; such added explanations are not always free from errors. It is acknowledged today that the scribes who wrote the revelations of Mary of Agreda and Catherine Emmerich modified them to an extent difficult to determine." (Spiritual Life, Tanquerey, Book III, Chapter III.)

Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. - 1 Timothy 

What?

Gesu pensaci tu.

“I as totally poor, a poor nothing. 

My strength is my prayer, 

my leader is the will of God 

which I let Him take me by the hand. 

My security over the uneven path

 is the heavenly mother Mary.”

- Don Dolindo Ruotolo

Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! 

Just some thoughts on the Met Gala ...

Rihanna

Why?  Because Anna Wintour and I are the same age.  What?

Seriously, I used to work in 'fashion' - or thought I did.  I worked in display at a well known department store which no longer exists.  Being involved with anything associated with fashion, ready-to-wear and or couture, carries with it an ambience of prestige.  From the very top of the industry down to the lowly mannequin dresser.  Fashion creates a mystique in every age.  It is frequently a sign of wealth and grandeur, as well as prominence and taste.  It is for the elite - or that is what those who 'work it' need to convince themselves and their clientele of.  No one is more deluded by that notion than the directors and promoters of the industry.  No one basks in the glamour more than those privileged to hob nob in that society.

Martin, Dolan, Clooney

The Devil really does wear Prada.

Carlo Caretto wrote about fashion in his book on the spiritual life, The God Who Comes.  I was especially struck by his writing at the beginning of my conversion, when I first left that little bubble of the fashion world which I considered myself an authority on.  (LOL!)  Caretto wrote: "To begin with, we must go against the ideas of the day, for these are always opposed to the Gospel. We must resist 'the latest fashions and the spirit of the times,' which are almost always influenced by the evil one."  Keep that in mind the next time you page through a fashion magazine or tune in to most any Red Carpet photo shoot.

It is also good to recall what St. Jacinta Marto had to say about fashion and the Church: "Fashions that will greatly offend Our Lord will appear. People who serve God should not follow fashions. The Church has no fashions. Our Lord is always the same."  Elsewhere is another quote from the saint on the subject:  "Many fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much - do not follow fashion." That was in 1918.

Former Abbot Fioraso

Before the Met Gala - Friends of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme...

Several years ago, Pope Benedict shut down the playboy mansion style Abbey of Santa Croce in Rome.  The abbot of Santa Croce was "Simone Fioraso, a flamboyant former Milan fashion designer, who had bee already moved out of the basilica two years" before to abbey was suppressed.  I have no idea what happened to him or if he remains a priest today.  The fashionable Friends of Santa Croce were entertained in the cloister-refectory, a classic sign of decadence as depicted in the art and filmography of life in the great abbeys of history.  "The basilica had become a hub for the Friends of Santa Croce, an aristocratic group, and had been criticized for some unorthodox practises including dances in which nuns pranced around the altar."

Fundraising is easily corrupted when Cardinals, Bishops, Abbots, monks and priests adopt an entrepreneurial spirit to obtain donations and support for their lavish residences and lifestyles.  Know what I'm saying?  Religious people just do not want to acknowledge that, and whenever anyone, even a Pope points out the corrupting influence of worldliness, money and prestige, they turn on him and anyone else who dares to question their involvement.

Dance at Santa Croce

"How ought Catholics to receive the Met Gala and its supposed sacrilege."

So asks America magazine.  First - Catholics can and do receive, reject, and opine about the Met Gala any way they want to.  Some see it as decadent and sacrilegious, others see it as a sort of abomination and one comment I came across likened it to the scene in the Book of Daniel asking: "Did the Met guests happen to notice a hand writing on the wall?"  That was a wonderful comment.

The America magazine coverage of the event is trending and cool and superficial.  Justin Shaun Coyne's opinion piece was naive and condescending, with a ridiculous connection to the passion of Christ, expounding upon his hypothetical question, "What has Golgatha have to do with the Met?"  It's a smart article, but it misses.  

The Gala and the exhibit are two different things.  Society ladies and their escorts will attend an 'opening of a door' as Nan Kempner once famously stated, and so will society clergymen.  The exhibit is just okay, in my opinion - a wonderful opportunity to see examples of real couture and the very best in religious vestments.  The connection between fashion and sacred vestment is a great commercial idea, especially today when the rich and famous love to accessorize their own homes with religious artifacts and textiles, often deaccesioned and/or ransacked from Catholic monasteries and churches and their treasuries.  The Gala is what it is - kind of a joke played by the fashion world on the Church.  The exhibit is a marketing strategy.

Prelates and priests have always hob-nobbed with society types.  Prelates and priests and religious have always scandalized the faithful, especially the poor and the marginalized and humble.  That's what they did at the Met Gala.  Closing churches and selling off church goods is a lucrative market these days.

So yeah, as America Magazine's Justin Shaun Coyle observes: "Maybe it constitutes sacrilege after all. But it might remind Catholics that our aesthetic positively thrums with apocalyptic irony ..."  

"Apocalyptic irony" indeed.

What?

A House Is Not a Home

Missing Gabby.

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.

This never gets old for me...

I love Melvin's response to this woman. It's a response which works for so many religious people who are overly concerned about the personal lives of others.

Forgotten saints...

May 5

Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio

I forgot his feast day because of Matt Talbot's birthday I guess.  Anyway - Nunzio is the saint I hope to paint next.  A poor kid, orphaned and mistreated, he died when he was nineteen.  He's a special intercessor for abused children.    A brief biography here.

Voice of the Voiceless and the Freedom March and ex-Gays.

I did not know about these organizations.

Freedom March has made Pulse Nightclub survivor Luis Ruiz sort of a poster-boy for the ex-Gay movement.  Mr. Ruiz experienced a conversion experience after the terrorist shooting at the Pulse nightclub, and says he is no longer gay.

Ruiz shared this revelation just ahead of the Freedom March, to be held May 5 in Washington. The event bills itself as a “celebration of freedom from homosexuality and transgenderism. The event's organizers have partnered with Voice of the Voiceless, a religious group whose mission is “to defend the rights of former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction, and their families,” according to its website. - NBC

Works for me - and I will tell you why.

The man can choose not to act out on homosexual attraction.  He can make that choice.  He needs to prepare himself for trials, nonetheless.  As we all must, when we choose to follow Christ and live according to the Gospel.

The protests against Ruiz and those who identify as ex-gay is interpreted by gay people as a threat to their identity, their rights and the social acceptance they have attained.  They view conversion therapy as a threat and a dangerous procedure, especially when imposed by parents or institutions upon minors or individuals against their will, as was done in Franco's Spain or the Soviet Union and the UK.  I think modern 'conversion therapy' may be helpful to adults who are willing and financially able to engage in it, but it can never be mandated or considered as rehab.  I'm sure it works for some highly motivated people, but I often wonder if perhaps they were not all that gay to begin with.  I don't know.

Freedom March and movements such as Voice of the Voiceless strike me as a bit reactionary.  (As a political movement it is acceptable - but mixing politics and religious belief and psychology is a difficult mix to sell.) I know ex-gay stuff is highly criticized and 'conversion therapy' is controversial and lobbied against, as well as outlawed for minors - in California I think.  Again, I see the concern to outlaw it for minors, since it could screw kids up even more, but passing a law against it is likewise reactionary.  Just my opinion.  When it's a free-speech, freedom of religion issue, then it needs to be addressed, but it's going to be a big fight due to the fact the LGBTQ movement has struggled for decades to achieve the equality they have today.  Especially since  LGBTQ equality is pretty much part of the curriculum in public schools. 

“I survived because I believe God still had a purpose for me,” Ruiz said.

God bless Luis Ruiz, and prayers for his healing from the Pulse terror, as well as his perseverance in Christ.  All sorts of comments are popping up on Facebook against him and the group which adopted him.  They are against saying anything bad gay life, or even describing it as a lifestyle, and so on.  The very idea of renouncing gay social life, same-sex sexual behavior and romance, is as I said threatening to gay people, especially the young, who just came out or have begun to live independently on their own.  They are 'happy' - which is all anyone wants for their kids and their friends anyway.  Why make problems to fix something that is no longer considered something to fix?  Just saying - that's the popular mindset - I'm just trying to explain why the backlash against people who say they are no longer gay.

Yet no one is stopping anyone from following Christ and the Gospel/Catholic-teaching.  No one is stopping a man or woman from identifying themselves an ex-gay or celibate person who was at one time same-sex attracted.  Repentance for sins committed and conversion of manners is what Christ calls us to.  Everyone faces trials and resistance from the world, the flesh and the Devil when we do that.  Scripture warns us, prepare yourselves for trials.

Christopher Doyle, co-founder of Voice of the Voiceless, told NBC News this weekend's event is "about celebrating our lives and not hating the LGBTQ movement."

"We made a conscious choice to leave homosexuality, and we should be able to do that without being mocked," Doyle wrote in an email. - NBCNews

Yeah, well.  Good luck with that.  Just saying.

What is it with religious people who don't expect to be mocked and scorned, rejected and persecuted?  Preaching about the transformative power of Jesus Christ is wonderful and true.  Not everyone can or will accept it.

The world will mock you.
The flesh will tempt you.
The Devil will deceive you

-and try to convince you you are a saint. 

It's also important to remember, at least for Catholics, something Pope Benedict once said:

"I feel it is helpful to reaffirm that the Church does not impose but rather freely proposes the Catholic faith ..." - Pope Benedict XVI

In conclusion.

When a man changes his life or renounces a former way of life for love of Christ, this is often part of his decision making...

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" - Mark 8:36

For "life is so short, the path leading to eternal life so narrow, and I know the just man is scarcely saved, while the things of the world are vain and deceitful, and all comes to an end and fails like falling water. The time is uncertain, the accounting strict, perdition very easy and salvation most difficult... My life has vanished, I know well I must render an account of everything - from the beginning of my life as well as this later part - unto the last penny, when God will search Jerusalem with lighted candles, and it is already late - the day far spent - to remedy so much evil and harm..." - St. John of the Cross

Even if ... even when ...

Love knows how to safeguard the little flame 

in the midst of a dark night.

- Pope Francis

Pray the rosary ...

Pope Francis leads the rosary

at the shrine Madonna del Divino Amore.

St. Joseph the Worker

S. Joseph - Pietro Annigoni

This is good.

What did the Pope really say about, you know, all of that?

Mark Mallet created a rather good reference page on what the Holy Father has said about key issues which critics have made claims he desires to change Catholic teaching on.  Again, I believe the reformers of the reform along with many other Tradsters, who were hoping that Pope Benedict would be the one to restore the kingdom of pre-Vatican II papal grandeur and liturgical rites, are actually the ones creating the most confusion.  But I digress.  (My opinion means nothing of course, uneducated and steeped in sin since birth as I am.  Vatican groupies, professional students and radio commentators, who follow elderly, traditionalist prelates and would-be royal-pretenders, obviously know much more than I do.)

I'm not a subscriber or follower of Mark Mallet but for a charismatic prophecy type of guy, he seems very balanced and faithful.  Anyway, check out Mallet's 'reference page' on the Holy Father's statements, which demonstrates that he truly is a faithful son of the Church - and the Pope,

Mark Mallet: Pope Francis on ...

See - this is exactly what I've been saying ...

Pope Francis in the Wilderness.

Today there is a New York Times article about the Pope's waning popularity and isolation.  It doesn't bother me at all, nor does it worry me.  The article quotes Fr. James Martin in an apparent reference to the 'Dubia Brothers' request for clarification ...

But he (Fr. Martin) said that the cardinals, not Pope Francis, were generating confusion in the church.

“The crashing irony is that some of the same people under John Paul II and Benedict XVI said that any disagreement with the pope is tantamount to dissent,” Father Martin said. - NYT

As I've said before - these people and their friends on social media and in Catholic media generate the confusion, not the Pope.

Catholic doctrine and the means of Eternal Salvation has not changed one iota for me or for anyone else.  The Pope has never taught that it has, nor will he ever do so. 

It is the enemies of the Church and the misled enemies of the Pope who are generating confusion in the Church.

Pope Francis is indeed a 'voice crying out in the wilderness'.  So what do we expect?  As Christ asked his followers, "What did you go out to the desert to see?  A reed swayed by the wind?  Someone dressed in fine clothing?  Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.  Then what did you go out to see?  ... A prophet?"

I'm with the Pope.

Today is the feast of my Confirmation patron saint, St. Peter of Verona, who died writing the Creed in his own blood ... that is why I chose him.  I have great devotion to the Creed.  (It is one of three  essential prayers to gain a plenary indulgence BTW.)

S. Peter Martyr, Credo

Despite their bad laguage and condemnations, sometimes Tradsters get it right.

Case in point: Don't whitewash history - Paul VI was front and center ... Novus Ordo ...

You know - blame it on the Novus Ordo.  New Catholic contradicts Sandro Magister's claim the Bugnini did it and poor Pope Paul had little control over the so-called New Mass.  NC insists  that Paul VI was creator of the Novus Ordo and fully responsible for it.  He's not wrong.  (Ed. note: First the Mass wasn't created or recreated, it was reformed.  I'm not a liturgist, but I think that is a better way to express that.  It is Holy Mass after all and remains the Ordinary Form of Holy Mass in the Latin Rite.  No Pope since has decreed otherwise and has never ever condemned either Bugnini or one of his predecessors for having 'created' a 'bad Mass'.  That, despite what Katherine Emmerich allegedly wrote.)

Aside from the grave disrespect - which I omit, I totally agree with NC's statement below:

Saying Paul VI had little responsibility for the New Mass of Paul VI is like saying Louis XIV had no responsibility for Versailles, since he was not a mason and didn't actually build it with his hands.

Give us a break! Paul VI was the driving force of the liturgical reform. He was front and center the man responsible for it. - Rorate

The buck stops here.

As for the tears of Bl. Pope Paul the Monday after Pentecost, I've always called BS on that as well.  The Holy Father knew and approved the new Missal.  It's my understanding the anecdote originated from a book written by Bishop John Magee, who had been secretary to three Popes.  I find it hard to believe the Holy Father was taken by surprise, but I may be wrong.

The thing about the fault finders is that they can tell the truth about stuff, but they say it like it is a 'bad thing'.  Know what I mean?

Can't take this crap no more!

More bad news for locutionists and seers of the Apocalypse...

North and South Korea.

GOYANG, South Korea (AP) -- The leaders of North and South Korea vowed Friday to seek a nuclear-free peninsula and work toward a formal end to the Korean War this year, though their historic summit concluded with few specifics on how they will reach those ambitious goals.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in set aside a year that saw them seemingly on the verge of war. They grasped hands and strode together across the cracked concrete marking the Koreas' border.

The sight, inconceivable just months ago, may not erase their failure to provide any new measures on a nuclear standoff that has captivated and terrified millions, but it allowed the leaders to step forward toward the possibility of a cooperative future even as they acknowledged a fraught past and the widespread skepticism that, after decades of failed diplomacy, things will be any different this time. - AP

What?

Increasing antisemitism in Europe and the United States ...

-public domain-

Lvov pogrom: Women being chased by men and youths 

armed with clubs on Maduba Street, 1941

(Many of the Jews were refugees from

Poland, fleeing Nazis,

 who were in turn murdered by

Ukrainians who did not want them.)

Evidenced online among 'closed' groups of Traditional-ist Catholics.

First, I apologize for the photo of the poor Jewish woman chased by Ukrainian antisemites in WWII.  This image popped up as I was researching another image used in a Crisis article, written by a priest.  The priest was writing about how 'nice' people murdered Jews, or looked on without protest, or just looked away.  The priest suggested the victim in his photo - 'looked defiant and not 'nice''.  It impressed me as wrong for the author to attempt to impute what the man's thoughts were before execution, and to use him like that to contrast the 'niceness' of the Nazi soldiers with the 'not so nice' look of the victim.  In our attempt to humanize-relativize contemporary issues, we can end up exploiting the sufferings of others.  Despite the fact these photographic records can help us to truly 'never forget'.  (Hence my own apologies for using the very sad and frightening photo at the top of the post.)

That said, recently on Facebook a longstanding feud exploded between some bloggers who have always disliked Mark Shea and several other Patheos bloggers.  I don't follow these feuds very closely, I like Mark Shea and some of the Patheos writers just fine, their opponents are mostly people I wouldn't be friends with in the first place.  Those in the group who do know of me do not like me anyway.  (I have deleted some of those I know who are friends or associated with the group and/or members of the group, simply to avoid involvement with all of their traditionalist crisis propaganda.)

Long story short, I saw screen shots containing blatant antisemitic remarks as well as hate-filled mockery against some of the Patheos writers - specifically one woman.  (Here)  The literary assault reminded me of the photo at the top of my post.  It has nothing to do with being nice or not nice.  It portrays terror.  It is a historical record illustrating how the stuff these people write or support in and through their 'friending/following' these people online, on FB, is in fact a form of terrorism.  Hounding people online and calling for them to be raped or beat up is easily recognizable as a form of terrorism, as depicted in the photo I used here.  These holy people claim not to know what Pope Francis is talking about when he addresses the wicked online exchanges, calling detraction and gossip terrorism and even assassination, yet they engage in it day after day, hour after hour online, on FB, on Twitter, on whatever social media site they can hide behind.

Screen shot.

-public domain-

People pretend it's not happening but it is here and it is growing, and those who write about not being 'nice', not being 'kind' are enabling the more creepy people online who flatter themselves for their orthodoxy and impeccable moral superiority.

Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners,  but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night. - Ps. 1

How much we need recourse to Our Lady of Good Counsel in our day.

Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel 2018.

Our Lady of Good Counsel became a symbol and special patroness of lay involvement and responsibility during the Counter-Reformation. The Jesuits have been instrumental in spreading devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel since the 1700's.

Prayer 

Holy Virgin, moved by the painful uncertainty we experience in seeking and acquiring the true and the good, we cast ourselves at thy feet and invoke thee under the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel. We beseech thee: come to our aid at this moment in our worldly sojourn when the twin darknesses of error and of evil that plots our ruin by leading minds and hearts astray.

Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the victims of doubt and of error so that they may not be seduced by evil masquerading as good; strengthen them against the hostile and corrupting forces of passion and of sin.

Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from thy Divine Son the love of virtue and the strength to choose, in doubtful and difficult situations, the course agreeable to our salvation. Supported by thy hand we shall thus journey without harm along the paths taught us by the word and example of Jesus our Savior, following the Sun of Truth and Justice in freedom and safety across the battlefield of life under the guidance of thy maternal Star, until we come at length to the harbor of salvation to enjoy with thee unalloyed and everlasting peace. Amen. (By Pope Pius XII, 23 January 1953)

Fr. James Martin, SJ - Public Enemy?

Hudson Byblow wrote a piece for NCRegister going after Fr. Martin.

Going after James Martin, S.J. seems to be the new battlefront in between papal exhortations. One problem I have with this constant battle over how Martin fails to acknowledge Courage members is this statement from the Hudson Byblow post:

"Fr. Martin speaks about building bridges. However, he does not seem to be interested in building bridges to people like me who have same-sex attractions as a part of their story but who have found joy in pursuing a heart of chastity within the Catholic Church. " - NCR Courage and Chastity

Obviously Fr. Martin's book isn't written for Byblow. I have posted in the past saying Fr. Martin's book isn't written for me either. Truth be told, if, as Byblow insists, we have found joy in living a chaste life within the Catholic Church, why would we need a special bridge, a special outreach? It seems a bit like the older son's complaint in the Prodigal Son's story - we are already with the Father, with the Church.

If people have problems with Fr. Jim's outreach, with how he presents Catholic teaching, that is one thing, but don't expect him to reach out to you or me or the next Courage member - Courage is already an established and approved apostolate.  Besides, we are doing just fine. Right? That's what we all say - SSA but not gay, and all that stuff. It's quite clear Fr. Martin writes for those who aren't here or there yet - and maybe never will be.

He thinks people are born that way? - prove him wrong, refute his argument, debate him online or in articles such as this, but don't expect him to write a book just for you and me, when we've already crossed that bridge and "found joy in pursuing a heart of chastity within the Catholic Church." Unless you want to have special treatment and recognition all your life.  Our conversion should be the bridge to our integration within the Church, not forming a sect within it.

Just sayin'.

Just a note on how healthy the Roman Catholic Church is in the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis

Good Shepherd

Duncan Grant

Lincoln Cathedral

PSA

I'm not sure how it happened, but I get a lot of people on FB friending me - every time I delete friends.  A lot of people is maybe an exaggeration, but if I delete 3, 2 show up.  So I think it may have something to do with my art.  Most of the new people seem to be big 'T' trads - which is fine, I only delete them when they say or link to something crazy, knowing they will be deleting me sooner or later anyway.

Yesterday I came across a comment on one site I soon deleted, complaining about the Novus Ordo, saying everything NO drives him crazy - he hates it.  I thought, do these people even know what they are talking about?  The Ordinary Form of Mass is the Mass of the Church - it is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Christ is confected in the Eucharist - the Real Presence dwells among us.

This is the main reason why I say social media is spiraling downward and sucking the faith from the users, when I read crap like that.  So many online are jumping on the news that Catholic church attendance is down, and people are reacting to that news.  Many continue to blame the Novus Ordo, chanting 'save the liturgy, save the world'.  Fr. Z knows who he is.

I went to Mass late in the afternoon at my parish yesterday.  I stopped in the Adoration chapel beforehand.  Whenever I go to the chapel there is always one or two young people there.  (Late teens, early 20's.) It's amazing what our very young pastor has done in just under 3 years.  Sunday afternoon Mass is filled - with young families.  Eucharistic adoration has been established, the school is thriving, the youth group is huge.  The ordinary form of Mass is celebrated - and celebrated well, with solemnity and devotion, confession times have multiplied, doctrine - Catholic doctrine is taught.  Twice yearly retreats are held.  There is so much new life in my parish it is astonishing.  We even have weddings again.  The parish is flourishing with our new pastor, who 'smells like his sheep'. 

I'd like to tell all the critics, all the seminary academics, all the priests who were kicked out of diocesan seminaries and had to find a bishop to ordain them, all the tradsters who claim the Novus Ordo is a bad Mass and Vatican II is a bad council - THE Church is alive and well in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Yeah.  So be very careful - beware - any Catholic who claims the Ordinary Form of Mass is a bad Mass, and be very wary of those who claim Vatican II was a bad council. 

This is salutary ...

Just as I was thinking social media is an incessant, downward spiral, sapping ones energy and sucking the faith from ones being, I came upon an old post.  I was writing about what I so often do, not fitting in - kind of, sort of - and I recalled a letter sent by a monk-spiritual director of mine.  His words encouraged me once again today ...

 "... You will find, as did Catherine of Genoa, that associations do not help you, and it is better for you to be alone.  Only experience will tell you what is best for you." - Fr. Tom

Now I need to do some drawings for a painting of a young Matt Talbot, which I hope to do. 

Barbara Bush

+1925-2018+

In memoriam.

Such a great lady.

Rest in peace.

You know, I love this ...

I love this Archbishop.

I love everything about the Holy Faith.

"Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God Himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me." - St. John of the Cross

Former Monk now makes Moonshine: Mayberry Spirits | NC Weekend | UNC-TV

The real McCoy.


If you're curious about what happened to Fr. Bernard McCoy from Our Lady of Springbank ... 

A follow up to 'What happened to Laser Monks?' here.

And Tour of Mayberry.

History.

Ed. Note:  A few years ago I posted about the sudden dissolution of Springbank along with a couple of discussions as to what happened, but I removed most of them simply because they were speculative and bordered on detraction.  It was an amazingly quiet dissolution for a traditional Cistercian abbey with a successful business and having recently relocated to a newly built cloister.  I wish Michael Voris could go down to Mayberry to interview Mr. McCoy.  What's that Granny?

H/T DB

The 'Papal Posse' and Catholic Vigilantism.

Putting out - or starting fires ... it's a matter of opinion ...

and that's all.

I had what I thought was a really good post on the subject, citing specific commentators and articles, with links and my own commentary, and as I was trying to post a photo, I lost the entire post.

How providential, huh?  A very desert-father-ish experience, I must say.

Picture of My Life - Jamiroquai

That's all.

Ordinary prayer ... or common, mystic prayer

The prayer of recollection can become habitual, and like the sheep pastured by the Good Shepherd, the soul "will come in and go out and find pasture" - all the while remaining in his presence, before his watchful gaze. The prayer of recollection becomes the pasture, as it were. As Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection said, "That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times."

It is very simple to accustom ourselves to the prayer of recollection - a habit which prepares us for the habitual prayer of recollection.

As St. Teresa taught: “For this is not a supernatural state, but depends upon our own action and by God’s favor, we can enter it of our own accord” -Way of Perfection

Westboro Catholics object to Pope Francis' consoling words. What they would have said...

Your dad is in hell.

That's not exactly what the feedback online has been - but it's pretty close.  Many Catholics wanted a by the book, strict catechetical-theological answer for the young boy.  The little boy who asked the Pope about the eternal salvation of his father who died an atheist, has riled the enemies of the Holy Father once again.  You see it expressed in com-boxes on social media and in the snarky headlines on at least one Catholic 'news' aggregate.  Avoid those who are always judging and condemning.

"In the light of eternity the soul sees things as they really are." - S. Elizabeth of the Trinity.

Pope Francis consoles a boy who asked if his non-believing father is in ...

This was so consoling for me to see and read about.  Just as this little boy, I was worried about a couple of friends who died recently ... and I trust God.

Contemplatives in the streets - S. Benedict Joseph Labre

Sharing the shame.

Today is the feast day of the mendicant/pilgrim saint, Benedict Joseph Labre. It is also Pope Benedict XVI's birthday. St. Benedict Joseph must be a very special patron to the Holy Father - as he is for me.

St. Benedict Joseph Labre was a single layman. God called him to such a life. Some people like to say there is no such thing as a vocation to single life - one is either called to priesthood, religious life, or the married state. The single life is not a vocation of course, it is a state in life. In this state a person is called to work out his or her salvation, to accomplish the will of God - which is our salvation. Hence, one must be prudent when telling others there is no vocation to the single life, lest they discourage them from seeking God according to their state in life - which happens to be the single life.

St. Benedict tried his vocation with the Carthusians and Trappists, although he was subsequently rejected due to a disorder or defect in his temperament. Some believe he may have suffered from a form of mental illness. Whatever the case, the Saint lived a devout life as a layman. Inspired by an interior impulse, Benedict Joseph followed the pattern of life set by St. Alexis, the Roman noble who left his wife on their wedding night and lived the rest of his life as an ascetic - a pilgrim and mendicant.

The Orthodox have saints like Benedict Joseph, the 'fools for Christ'.  They are 'failure saints, who share the lives of ordinary people of the streets, and sometimes those most rejected and shamed by society.  Pope Francis talks about these things and frequently mentions priests who smell of their sheep.  St. Benedict Joseph smelled and had fleas, like a dog.  He is considered a great contemplative saint - but he never had a place to call his hermitage or monastery, and never was clothed in a habit, save for the Cord of St. Francis.

"Let us go to him outside the camp, bearing the insult which he bore.  For here we have no lasting city; we are seeking one which is to come.  Through him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge his name." - Hebrews 13: 13-15