Ninety-four years ago today ... Trinity Sunday ...

Matt Talbot died on this date, June 7, 1925.

Ven. Matt Talbot. (Bio) Matt Talbot exemplified the heroic virtue of temperance. He practiced the Christian life more or less as a solitary, although he was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. The spiritual combat Talbot engaged in was associated with alcoholism, which in his case demanded the renunciation of a behavior, as well as an adjustment in lifestyle.

Talbot overcame his attachment to the disorder through the practice of the virtues, prayer and fidelity to the duties of his state in life, and mortification. He found support in the sacraments, spiritual direction and spiritual reading. Although he 'took the pledge' to abstain from alcohol, he did not have a support group such as AA to aid in his recovery. I especially admire Talbot's fortitude and perseverance, demonstrating that with God all things can be overcome... "In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall." - Taken from another site no longer active.

"Somewhere along the path of life of every human being there comes a dread moment when he suddenly sees himself for what he is."

Today is a good day to share something I posted some years ago.  I was able to cut and paste a post from Ros, aka Shadowlands, before she took one of her blogs down, and before she died of course. It's a treasure.

Shadowlands posted something about a priest Fr Ralph Pfau, known as the "Prodigal Shepherd" from the title of his book by the same name.  Fr. Pfau declared of himself,  "All my life, I will carry three indelible marks. I am a Roman Catholic priest. I am an alcoholic. And I am a neurotic."  Shadowlands says of him,  "He suffered much, but he kept trying."   I think that is key to conversion and the way to sanctity - 'saints are sinners who kept trying'.  I'm reprinting her post here:

Excerpt from the chapter, The Dawn of Truth ( from his book Sobriety and Beyond) by Father Ralph Pfau. (Imprimatur Paul C Shulte D.D Archbishop of Indianapolis March 1955).

"Somewhere along the path of life of every human being there comes a dread moment when he suddenly sees himself for what he is. Minus all the sham, the surface and the show, he then stands face to face with truth. Minus the deception of his own self seeking and selfishness, he sees himself clearly outlined in the aura of God's grace as it tears away all the foolish self deceptions and shows a man for what he really is- selfish, deceitful, full of excuses, dishonest, even to himself and full of faults and failings............conts: To most of us, this moment comes at a time when many of life's battles and years have passed, but at a time when there still remains sufficient years, vigor and initiative to "seek truth and pursue it,".in order to make it the motive of our living, the motive of our struggles and the security of our declining years..

This moment may be brought about by the death of a loved one, the loss of worldly goods, or it may be directly occasioned within by the grace of God speaking to the depth of our soul. To most alcoholics it comes at that instant when they face the inevitable choice: death, insanity or absolute sobriety. It often comes with a blinding flash that seems to tear away the very foundations of life and whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, layman or professional, young or old, there arises from the very innermost sanctuary of the soul and heart the cry "My God, what a mess I have made of things! How pitiful is the good done, how sparing my help to others, how innumerable my mistakes, the wrongs-how all pervading my self seeking, how dishonest my every motive! How seamy the finished, but now battered product!"

.
This "moment" may last for an hour, a day, a month, a year or for years. But whenever, however it comes- it is a dread and fearful moment, because UPON THAT MOMENT AND THE DECISIONS OF THAT MOMENT MAY DEPEND OUR VERY LIFE AND OUR ETERNITY. And from that time on, one can never be the same again.....................conts: It is then that life's greatest decision must be made and then it seems that an angel has him by the hands and a devil by the foot...............he can do one of three things:
.
First, rush in confusion back to the old surface view of self and try by a thousand and one half remedies to dress up the haunting vision, to explain away the stubborn reality. TO EXCUSE and to attempt forgetfulness by courting the sham fancies of the night and by rushing headlong through the chores of the day. THIS IS THE CHOICE OF THE VAIN MAN.
.
Second, the shock may be so great, the failure so undeniably real, the disillusionment so crushing that he despairs and in one way or another he seeks to destroy himself- either factually or by the bottle. THIS IS THE PROUD MAN.
.
Third, this is the way of the Prodigal Son, who dropped on his knees in the swine pen and cried: "Father, I have sinned" or with it's echo "I am powerless... my life is unmanageable"- and perhaps for the first time in his life that man REALLY prays and begins to MEDITATE, THIS IS THE HUMBLE MAN. And day by day he prays and he MEDITATES on TRUTH lest again he fall back into his former life-long HABIT OF EXCUSES. For the LIFE OF ALL IS LOADED WITH EXCUSES-AND SYSTEMATIC, PERSISTENT AND CONSISTENT MEDITATION ALONE WILL DISSIPATE THEM. "With desolation is the land made desolate because there are none who thinketh in their hearts." - Fr. Pfau

Fr. Ralph Pfau

1904-1967

Vigil of the Ascension

Come Holy Spirit!

I'm happy Ascension is moved to Sunday - the Paschal Season is extended - while the novena to the Holy Spirit begins nine days before Pentecost either way.  Everything is a grace.

Figueiredo Report

Follow the path of truth wherever it may lead...

Someone needs to get film rights for this.

I guess the news broke today, and so far, the only place I noticed anyone writing about it was on Facebook.  Today the shit hits the fan, once everyone reads Monsignor Anthony J. A. Figueiredo's report.  Figueiredo was Cardinal McCarrick's secretary, so I think he's rather credible.  I respect his intentions as he expressed them in his introcuctory notes:

It is my firm hope that this information will help the Church as she further endeavors to create a culture of transparency. This report, which may form the first of others, is a contribution to the wish of Pope Francis and the Holy See “to follow the path of truth wherever it may lead” in terms of the ongoing McCarrick investigation (Pope Francis, Philadelphia, USA, September 27, 2015; Press Statement of the Holy See, October 6, 2018). It aims to help the US Bishops in their promise last August to “pursue the many questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick’s conduct … we are determined to find the truth in this matter” (Statement of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President, USCCB, August 1, 2018). - The Figueiredo Report

As I wrote on FB, one quote from McCarrick, more or less defending his conduct (inviting or choosing a seminarian or young priest to share his bed) echoed the claims by Michael Jackson, defending similar conduct. The quote from McCarrick is very much like Michael Jackson's denial of wrong doing when he said, "The most loving thing to do, is to share your bed with someone."

McCarrick: "“I do recognize that in one particular [case] I had been at fault in an unfortunate lack of judgment. I have always considered my priests and seminarians as part of my family, and just as I have shared a bed with my cousins and uncles and other relatives without thinking of it being wrong, I had done this on occasion when the Diocesan Summer House was overcrowded. In no case were there minors involved, but men in their twenties and thirties.” - The Figueiredo Report

What could be more wholesome or natural?

"I have always considered my priests and seminarians as part of my family..."

This is important ...

"When I am so convinced about some negative aspect of my life, I sometimes sink into despair. I must put my trust in your love and abandon myself to you.

When I am so convinced about some negative aspect of another’s life, I am sometimes inclined to detest them and to stay away from them.

Then I must stop to contemplate your love for me. Why do you love me, Lord, when I feel disdain and disgust for my brothers and sisters?

Give me the courage to see things as you see them, Lord, and to love unconditionally. Only then will true communion be realized.

Often, behind a facade of courtesy and attentiveness there exists a hidden dissension, which weakens communion and renders it insincere.

Lord, you are infinite patience.

You are limitless understanding.

Your love is eternal." - Venerable Francis Xavier Nguyên Văn Thuân

I think it is true that saints find us, and choose us, or at least are sent to us by Divine Providence.  I was looking through my book shelves for something when I noticed Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan's book The Road to Hope.  I have had it for at least 12 years and never read it, when I saw it, I thought I should read it.  Then on Friday the above meditation from Magnificat popped up, and really spoke to my heart.  Last night I retrieved the book, remembering how I used to buy every new book someone recommended or I thought would be a good guide for the spiritual life.  I'd read them and go on to the next book, only for the books to land on a shelf.  This is why now, at my age, I usually ignore recommendations about this new author whose insights are a sort of cure-all for what bothers me, or can shed light on the evil in the Church.  After all, how many books can one read?  I did that years ago with St. Therese, I collected and read everything that she ever wrote, as well as so many authors who wrote about her, but I found out that her simple writing - all by itself - was enough to know her and understand her.

I keep the Imitation close, and the Bible closer, and reference my Carmelite Doctors when necessary, but that's about it.  Although it looks as if Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan will be close to me for awhile  now as well.  His love of the Church is deeply encouraging.  He could never find it in himself to attack the Holy Father in the way critics do today.  Never.

"An apostle respects higher authority even when he or she could show the authority that a mandate is unsuitable.  In the presence of others, an apostle always treats a superior with respect.  Disobedience and duplicity are inexcusable." - Francis Xavier Nguyên Văn Thuân

Remembering.

Memorial Day Weekend

St. Rita

Today is the feast of the great Italian wife, mother and nun, St. Rita of Cascia (Margherita). Patron saint of impossible cases. She, St. Anthony and St. Joseph, Jude and others are wonder workers who can undo the most impossible situations - especially when it come to reconcilling one to the Church and the Sacraments. If you are like me, life is a mess - and Rita can fix it. Saints like Rita show us that 'nothing is impossible for God.' Nothing. Then of course, when things get really messed up, we have recourse to Our Lady Undoer of Knots. I go to her everyday because every day I screw up. Yay! It's all good! Go out and make a mess! (I know a guy in Rome who says that!)

Cardinal Burke is not helping.

What Burke said now.

Opposition to "large-scale Muslim immigration is a responsible exercise of one's patriotism," Cdl. Raymond Burke told an international conference in Rome Friday. 

Responding to a question on the morality of resisting Islamic mass migration at the Rome Life Forum, Burke warned the West of "immigrants who are opportunists, in particular in the case of Islam, which by its definition believes itself to be destined to rule the world, coming in large numbers to countries."

I read his statements yesterday and found them very disturbing and immediately open to the worst interpretation, playing into the hands of the 'alt-right'. This is not his first public statement which contradicts the Church - he is on record stating that Catholics and Muslims do not worship the same God. As far as I know, that contradicts Vatican II.

“To say that we worship the same God as stated in Nostra Aetate, which is not a dogmatic document, I think is highly questionable … How can the God that we know, a God fundamentally of love, St. John says `God is love,’ be the same God that commands and demands of Muslims to slaughter infidels and to establish their rule by violence.” - Source

Undoubtedly some conservatives will regard the Cardinal as a sort of prophet, but many more will view his rhetoric in contradiction to Catholic teaching on religious liberty, which feeds into the sort of ideology Henry Karlson identifies with alt-right nationalism.  

Alt-right nationalism which confuses patriotism for nationalism denies true patriotism, for it only supports and promotes a select group within America, rejecting and denigrating everyone else, while patriotism works to build up the common good. - Source

Something seems to be wrong with Burke. Something seems to be off in his association with Bannon and the right-wing Catholic Dignitatis Humanae Institute.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, a leading Vatican conservative who is president of the Institute’s board of advisers, said Bannon would be playing a leading role there. 

Burke told Reuters he looked forward to working with Harnwell and Bannon “to promote a number of projects that should make a decisive contribution to the defense of what used to be called Christendom”. - Source

Something is wrong with his his resistance to the Pope, citing errors committed by the Holy Father while he himself contradicts Nostra Aetate.  I find him to be unsettling.  I'm just an ignorant layman, but Cardinal Burke clarifies nothing for me and he so not the pope.  The cardinal has made errors of judgment in his past, and he is not infallible now.

Cardinal Burke claims 

many Muslim migrants are opportunists. 

He seems to be afraid because 

"Christians are not reproducing themselves." 

Does he know what this sounds like?

"Muslims have said that they are able today to accomplish what they were not able to accomplish in the past with armaments because Christians no longer are ready to defend their faith, what they believe; they are no longer ready to defend the moral law," the cardinal said.

Another reason for the demographic shift, the cardinal said, is that "Christians are not reproducing themselves," referring to the widespread use of contraceptives. - Source

While there is an element of truth in these statements, I think it feeds into a climate of fear and a resurgent racist antisemitism.

Memorial of St. Paschal Baylon

Lay-brother saint.*

A special patron.

May 17 is the memorial of St. Paschal Baylon. A Spanish Franciscan lay-brother devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. A short biography here.

The lovely thing about St. Paschal is 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.  It is this devotion which so attracted me to him when I was little.

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

Religious Brothers Conference 2018

*After Vatican II, the status of lay brother in most monasteries and religious orders changed, there remained little distinction between choir religious and lay religious, most became brothers of more or less equal status, save for those in Holy Orders. Brothers enjoyed a new prestige and ministry, especially in the mendicant orders. Many pursued higher education if they did not already have it. They were more likely to teach or have some form of apostolate.  I had a Discalced Carmelite friend who told me they were no longer treated like servants and second class citizens after VII.  That was disappointing to hear because I didn't realize there had been that type of attitude.

Unfortunately, the vocation of the simple lay brother, who was responsible for the more menial tasks of the monasteries, more or less fell by the wayside. As I indicated, I've known brothers who insist that the idea of the lay brother as a servant in the community is insulting to their status as a religious. As a result, some monasteries hire people to do the menial work, including the cooking and cleaning. This may also be due to a lack of vocations. Although one wonders if the lack of vocations might also be the result of discouraging this humble vocation, as well as placing so much emphasis on advanced education, degrees, professional services, and so on.

Literary Prophets

For one may know by natural means ... the direction society is moving.

A friend posted the meme shown above of George Orwell. A few comments mentioned Ayn Rand and Aldous Huxley and their contributions to the genre of dystopian literature which appears to have been uncannily accurate in predicting the future of modern civilization. It seemed to confirm for me what John of the Cross taught about private revelations and prophecy, that human intelligence and experience, can ascertain a great deal when it comes to predicting future events. St. John warns us that the devil, who is far more intelligent can also predict the future, based on the same criteria, which is why the saint warns against putting too much stock in private revelations and locutions.

That said, the early 20th century writers did a good job indeed.

Back on topic, we can know on our own that even chastisements and corrections are coming, as John of the Cross makes clear:

"And likewise supernatural events and happenings may be known, in
their causes, in matters concerning Divine Providence, which deals most
justly and surely as is required by their good or evil causes as
regards the sons of men. For one may know by natural means that such or
such a person, or such or such a city, or some other place, is in such
or such necessity, or has reached such or such a point, so that God,
according to His providence and justice, must deal with such a person
or thing in the way required by its cause, and in the way that is
fitting for it, whether by means of punishment or of reward, as the
cause merits. And then one can say: At such a time God will give you
this, or will do this, or that will come to pass, of a surety.'" - Ascent of Mt. Carmel

Imagine that. Catholics who are in favor of Jeff Anderson suing the Vatican - again ...

Story

The Babylonian, WTH?

I was responding to the news on Facebook that Jeff Anderson is once again going after the Holy See and I received some surprising comments from Catholics who support Anderson and associates in their lawsuit against the Vatican - I.e. the Pope.  I wrote:

Anderson tries again. What is this, his 3rd attempt? It's an ambitious attempt to reduce the Church to a mere commercial enterprise, a business, or coporporate-for-profit enterprise. Probably something many non-religious people are more than ready to believe now days. Maybe even some Catholics are getting excited over the prospect. It's very strange to me how religious people seem to get on board with this type of crap, supporting a variety of secular campaigns against the papacy/Vatican to satisfy their desire for some sort of vendetta against the 'power structure' which ignored them for decades. I might be wrong in thinking this is ridiculous, but we live in litigious times and so many follow and support a president who has made his fortune in bankruptcies and lawsuits, so I see this as another side of the same coin of corruption and greed. I suspect the lawsuit will be thrown out like the others, but if it isn't, the Church will be fine - not sure about the litigants.

The following exchange ensued:

Dana Christensen While this won't work for many legal reasons. I believe Jeff Anderson has done the Church a great service by exposing the rot of her leaders. Like the Lord often does in scripture, He uses the enemies of the Church to do the hard work of purifying the Church.

Terry Nelson I'm sure we'll see the Church - even the Pope, loving the so-called enemy. I would love to see the Holy Father distributing the goods of the Church as St. Laurence is so often depicted. It would be wonderful to see St. Peter's become a museum while the bishops and priests really embrace the poverty of the poor - much like the Missionaries of Charity and the Little Sisters of Jesus. I am not at all against that.

Dana Christensen Terry Nelson since St. Lawrence is a patron of mine and one of my favorite saints, I must defend him. He did not give away the treasures if he Church, he protected and hid them (including the Holy Grail). Also, the idea hat the Church is “rich” is a myth. Those who want us to give away what is ours sound much like Judas in the gospel when he said that the precious nard that was poured on Jesus feet could have been sold and given to the poor.

Terry Nelson Dana Christensen I'm not selling out to the likes of Anderson. I don't see him as doing any favors for the Body of Christ. I wouldn't dream of profitting from his pilferring of the Church. That said, Laurence did not hide the treasures of the Church but rather showed them off to the Emperor, presenting to him the lame, the blind, the poor - the true treasure of the Church. If indeed you welcome the onslaught against the Church as perpetrated by these lawsuits, you would recognize that.

Terry Nelson Dana Christensen BTW - I'm not claiming 'what is ours' (really - thought it belonged to God) should be given away - you are the one who seems to welcome the lawsuit, which as you know would be quite costly - causing the 'Church' to be come much smaller as Benedict is said to have predicted. So where's the problem?

I hate these conversations-arguments.  Why can't I just shut up?

But wow!  So does this mean Catholic Evagelicals see Trump as King Cyrus?

DogwoodDetails is now open.

I reopened the shop today and will be updating selections this week for those who are interested.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DogwoodDetails

Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima ... as the persecutions spread and intensify.

Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; 

that people are to ask her for them; 

and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at his side. 

Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, 

since God entrusted it to her. - Bl. Jacinta to Lucia

Living the consequences.

Yesterday gunmen attacked and killed six people, including the priest during Mass in Burkina Fasso.  Last month a Protestant church suffered a similar attack, with the minister killed. The attacks against Christian churches and the killing of Christian worshipers seems to be happening around the world, week after week.  In our country and elsewhere in the West, persecution is more or less limited to social and cultural pressures to accept moral relativism and laws requiring acquiescence to laws and conventions which violate the Christian conscience.  It is a sort of psychological warfare, which many people assume is only in the imaginations of those who feel their own rights are denied.

Today is the 102nd anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima, she asked that we pray the rosary every day. She also warned that if her requests for men to repent went unheeded, persecution of the Church would come, explaining the good will be martyred and the Holy Father will have much to suffer. It is not unreasonable to believe we are in the throes of these events.
What Sr. Lucia stated very clearly:

The third part of the secret is a symbolic revelation, referring to this part of the Message, conditioned by whether we accept or not what the Message itself asks of us: ‘If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, etc.'.

Since we did not heed this appeal of the Message, we see that it has been fulfilled, Russia has invaded the world with her errors. And if we have not yet seen the complete fulfillment of the final part of this prophecy, we are going towards it little by little with great strides. If we do not reject the path of sin, hatred, revenge, injustice, violations of the rights of the human person, immorality and violence, etc.

And let us not say that it is God who is punishing us in this way; on the contrary it is people themselves who are preparing their own punishment. In his kindness God warns us and calls us to the right path, while respecting the freedom he has given us; hence people are responsible”. - Message of Fatima

As for the request made by Our Lady for the consecration of Russia, Sr. Lucia stated that is was finally fulfilled by Pope John Paul II in union with the bishops of the world in 1984. (Albeit late, as Our Lord foretold to Sr. Lucia.)

I come to answer your question, "If the consecration made by Pope John Paul II on March 25, 1984 in union with all the bishops of the world, accomplished the conditions for the consecration of Russia according to the request of Our Lady in Tuy on June 13 of 1929?" Yes, it was accomplished, and since then I have said that it was made. - Sr. Lucia

It is important to remember that Our Lady called the faithful to repentance and penance, and at every appearance, she asked that we pray the rosary every day.  That is the part of the secret which is most important for the faithful to know and do, 

"Look! Don’t you see many roads, 

paths and fields full of people crying of hunger, 

not having anything to eat? 

And the Holy Father in a Church 

praying next to the Heart of Mary?" - St. Jacinta Marto

I keep thinking of this aspect of the Secret 

and wonder why and how so many are missing it?  

If Jacinta's voice could be heard today, 

perhaps she would exclaim to all of us: 

"Look! Don't you see? It is happening now!"

Tomorrow is Mother's Day ...

One more attempt: Matt Talbot

Matt Talbot

T. Nelson

acrylic on 5x7 panel.

Brighter-light shot:

Matt Talbot

T. Nelson

acrylic on 5"x7" panel.

The top image is a bit colder but closer to the original as it looks in natural light.  The 2nd image is shot using artificial lighting.  I am not a photographer, to be sure.  I wanted make an attempt to do a painting more closely resembling the only known photograph of Venerable Matt Talbot.

Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier: Sept. 10, 1928 - May 7, 2019

The saint is dead.

Jean Vanier died during the night at the age of 90.  He has been an inspiration for me, a correction of conscience, and a living witness to the Gospel.  He is, in my opinion, the living embodiment of the Little Way of Confidence and Love as taught by St. Therese of Lisieux.  Jean Vanier, along with St. Mother Teresa, as well as Madeleine Debrel are models and helps to me as I try to follow Christ in ordinary life.  I love what Fr. Martin had to say:

James Martin, S.J., the editor at large at America, said: “Jean Vanier showed us, like few people ever have, the overwhelming power of gentleness. Not only in his ministry with the disabled but in his voice, his demeanor, his very presence. During his life there was no one I thought more deserving of the title ‘living saint.’” - America

"There is strength in weakness, light in darkness and beauty in what the world declares broken."

"Our mission - said Jean Vanier in an interview with Vatican Radio (see video below) - is to encounter a world of extreme weakness, poverty and suffering, people who have often been rejected... L’Arche is a place of reconciliation where people of very different religions and cultures can meet and this transforms the lives of people with disabilities, but also transforms the volunteers. L’Arche, after all, is a place of celebration where the aim is for everyone to be happy (...) We want to be a sign of the importance of people with disabilities, because they have a message to give, but few know it: they, in fact, were chosen to be the great witnesses of God.” - VR

Dear Jean Vanier, obtain for me a portion of the love which animated your life, a portion of your spirit of charity to care for others and not judge or ever again look down on anyone.  I thank God for the grace of your being, the witness of your faith, the love with which you embraced the most abject and abandoned.  You shared your life, your home with strangers, who in turn became your family - your one hundred fold in this life and your eternal reward now in heaven.  You exemplified for the world genuine, disinterested friendship and equality with the disabled, the outcast and marginalized, obtain for me the grace to follow your example.

Each person with his or her history of being accepted or rejected, with his or her past history of inner pain and difficulties in relationships, is different. But in each one there is a yearning for communion and belonging, but at the same time a fear of it. Love is what we most want, yet it is what we fear the most. - Jean Vanier

'You don't need to pretend.
You do not need to hide your weakness.
You can be yourself.
I didn't call you to l'Arche or to another form of community
first of all to help others
or to prove that you were generous or efficient.
I called you because you are poor,
just like the ones you came to serve,
and because the Kingdom of God is promised to the poor.' - Jean Vanier

 I should mention there is already a cause for sainthood for Jean's parents Georges and Pauline Vanier.  Biographer Mary Frances Coady notes:

An incredible thirst for God can be seen in the lives of this couple, who were always striving in spite of (and through) human imperfection. The excerpts from letters and journals in this volume show a rare example of the contemplative life and struggles in prayer of an active and prominent married couple. The Vanier story is unique in that it forms a direct link back to the spiritual teaching that includes St. Thérèse and the Carmelite tradition in its emphasis on simplicity, trust in God's love, and self-abandonment to the mercy of God. - Source

Was the backlash to Paul VI this bad?

I see it as a continuation.

Yesterday after Mass I talked to a very holy priest, a man I've known since his seminary days, and I asked him what he thought of the latest Letter and accusations against the Holy Father.  He strongly disapproves of it.  He is sometimes baffled by how the Holy Father handles things, but he acknowledges he is not in the loop, the curia, if you will to know more details and above all, he respects the office of the papacy as well as the experts who counsel the Holy Father.  He didn't use those exact words, but that was the gist of it.  He is a very humble priest.  I wish I could tell you more about him.

Providentially I heard from another friend, whom I got to know at the same time I became friends with my priest friend.  He was in seminary as well, and finished his studies at St. Thomas.  He has a strong religious past, a father of a large family, husband to a wonderful woman of deep spirituality and wisdom.  I wish I could tell you more about them.  I just want to give a little background on my friend, because I asked him what he thought of the letter and he responded as follows.  I asked:  "So what do you think of the latest letter by Catholics united for the faith calling Francis a heretic?"

Friend:  "Nonsense. I'm for the dear sweet Christ on earth...always. Period. The letter was poorly executed and in bad taste. Christ is silent before his accusers. Ask yourself, what would the likes of Dorothy Day or even the Baroness make of this Pope? I think most of the obstinate resistance to this man quite frankly is politically motivated. I know. I work with many of them-- immigrants are taking over the country...Donald Trump will make America great again...don't take away my guns...etc. Even a child can read and comprehend Matthew 25: 32-46 and Luke 16: 19-31. The heart of the Gospel is mercy. And Francis exemplifies this for me. People who don't like him do so because what he says makes them squirm, makes them uncomfortable. I find no Christian charity or humility in that letter. How does that letter measure up to 1Cor. 13:4-8? Not very well, I'm afraid. I'm all for theological dialog, etc. But the measure must always be love and respect and humility. Otherwise, I'd say it's from the devil, not the Holy Spirit."

I'm glad I ask other people.  These guys are a mere ten or twelve years younger than me, smarter than me, and more faithful than me.  Our friendship was arranged by a Carmelite prioress I got to know after my conversion, she wisely understood I needed good spiritual friends upon my return to the Church.  They have never failed me or rejected me, and I'm grateful for their friendship today.

The Holy Father will have much to suffer. - Our Lady of Fatima

That said, in our exchange, St. Paul VI came up.  One friend said he wondered if it was this bad with Paul VI.  Earlier I mentioned to Fr. that we should be used to this because it is similar to what went on with Paul VI.  Fr. didn't remember, except to note the dissent in response to Humanae Vitae. 

It wasn't just progressives who reacted against Paul VI.  The reaction by conservative-traditional Catholics happened simultaneously.  They reject the 'Novus Ordo', resisted Vatican II and so on.  To be sure the changes that went into effect were corrupted by progressives; priests, religious, academic, liturgists and laity.  It is why groups such as CUF (Catholics United for the Faith) formed and publications such as The Wanderer often condemn any and every innovation in the Church.  When they were right, they were often uncharitable and mean-spirited in their response to liturgical abuses and 'liberal' prelates.  Truth be told, it was not at all different from the right wing rhetoric we encounter today.  The resistance to VII was immediate, but not widespread.

Private revelation and uber-conservative religious groups made it worse.  Then, as now, the far right promoted distortions of the Fatima message and the 'Secret' of Fatima.  Subsequent false apparitions attracted a huge following of old and young alike who were confused by a changing morality brought about by the sexual revolution.  Sites like Bayside, Neceedah, and San Damiano were curiously united in promoting several conspiracy theories indicating that Freemasons had infiltrated the Vatican, and  were responsible for the changes brought about by VII, as well as having created the Novus Ordo.  These same conspiracy theories are circulated today, and most recently by Canadian based Fatimists who claim the Third Secret hasn't been revealed and so on.   In the 1970's through the 1980's these same groups promoted the absurd theory that the real Pope Paul was replaced by a double, and that Sr. Lucia had been as well.  Their followers believed it.

Fake news about the Pope came from secular news sites as well.  One should never discount the fake news propagated by the Soviet Union, now Russia.  If the Russians influenced our elections, it would be extremely naive to imagine they are not influencing division in the Catholic Church.  The papacy of Pope Paul was marred by vicious rumors that he was a homosexual, something he emphatically denied.  One might say he was likewise taunted by the kidnapping and murder of his friend Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades.  Pope Paul VI suffered greatly - physically, spiritually and morally.

My point here is to convey that this current dissent and condemnation of Pope Francis (not to mention VII and the Ordinary Form of Mass) has its roots in these earlier examples of far right conservative propaganda against the Magisterium.   Today it has become more open and widespread - to some extent - since it is repeated and promulgated on and by conservative, right-wing Catholic websites.

"For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." - Matthew 24

"In terms of what we today can discover in this message (of Fatima), attacks against the pope or the church don't come just from outside the church. The suffering of the church also comes from within the church, because sin exists in the church. This too has always been known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way. The greatest persecution of the church doesn't come from enemies on the outside, but is born in sin within the church. The church thus has a deep need to re-learn penance, to accept purification, to learn on one hand forgiveness but also the necessity of justice. Forgiveness does not exclude justice. We have to re-learn the essentials: conversion, prayer, penance, and the theological virtues. That's how we respond, and we can be realistic in expecting that evil will always launch attacks from within and from outside, but the forces of good are also always present, and finally the Lord is stronger than evil. The Madonna for us is the visible maternal guarantee that the will of God is always the last word in history. - Benedict XVI at Fatima

Total Consecration

Bad Catholic

I'm bad again.

Story of my life, I guess. 

I disagree with those who claim the Pope is a heretic, so I think that puts me far outside the conventional Catholic clique.  I watched EWTN last night and even Fr. Fessio has joined the protest and obviously supports the recent letter asking for an inquisition of Pope Francis.  (The letter details all the problems the signatories have with the Pope.)  EWTN is not my 'parish' nor my source for Catholic teaching, so that's fine.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind being an outsider.

I have been an outsider since early childhood - beginning in Catholic school.  The fact my mother divorced and remarried to my dad posed some difficulties, and in hindsight I think this may have been the reason the sisters maybe treated me harshly, passed over me, and so on.  Likewise, the family situation was known to classmates who said my parents were going to hell and things like that.  It wasn't so bad however, since it moved me to prayer for my parent's salvation and instilled a spirit of penance in me as a young child.  Which made me weird. :)

As an adult I've lived with suspicion, misunderstanding, pretty much because of my 'singleness' and living arrangement.  Thus my fidelity to Catholic teaching has always been questioned by other devout Catholics.  It's fine.  I think it has led to a greater detachment and recognition of my need to avoid seeking affirmation and praise.  It also kept me from an active participation in church/parish  activities

I could detail all the stuff which puts me outside Catholic factions.  I'm a traditional Catholic but not Trad, for instance.  I think several Catholics on social media are extremists and self-promoters.  They engage in seemingly endless fights, viciously critical of one another if they happen to disagree or support the wrong person, and so on.  Negative labels are handed out to anyone who may oppose them.  It's good not to be part of that.  It is also the reason why I used to delete 'Friends' on my site - I pretty much did it before they could 'unfriend' me. 

Seriously, it's good to be an outsider.  My favorite saints were as well.  So there just may be a place for me with them in Heaven. 

One day Abba Daniel and Abba Ammoes went on a journey together. Abba Ammoes said, ‘When shall we, too, settle down, in a cell, Father?’ Abba Daniel replied, ‘Who shall separate us henceforth from God? God is in the cell, and, on the other hand, he is outside also.’ - Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Divine Mercy Sunday

The Feast of Mercy.

The last Day of the Easter Octave - the Feast of Mercy - it is as if Christ calls out: Come to me, all of you, no matter who you are, where you are, what you are doing - no matter how far away.

Jesus told St. Faustina:

"I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners."

He seeks us first, even though it seems like we seek him first, especially in times of trouble, danger, sadness and grief.  As soon as we call, as soon as we pray - he hears us.  He catches us when we fall and restores us to life in Him.  We have proof of that in Minnesota!

In my experience, the devotion to Divine Mercy has been like my foot in the door of salvation. Christ's invitation is really a 'come as you are' invite. "Come to me, all you who are heavily burdened and weighed down ..." He came to call sinners - those who are well do not need a doctor - those most in need of mercy do.

On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. - Jesus to Faustina

Yet, even without these requirements, our Lord's invitation to those most in need of mercy stands out in a singularly unique manner on the Feast of Mercy.  We can never measure or limit the extent and depth of his mercy. He told St. Faustina to go throughout the world, extending his invitation to come to him, to come to his image, depicted for her, and revealed for us, as the Divine Mercy, signed with the prayer, "Jesus I trust in you!" He promised unimaginable graces to those who turn to him:

 "My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity."

I'm convinced He has many ways of grasping us and attracting us to his merciful love.  When we trust him, and express that trust in prayer, no matter who we are or where we are at, he comes to us and can enter through any door, locked or unlocked.  Time after time.

His Mercy endures forever!

Easter mourning ...

Walter Langley - A FLEMISH PEASANT

I'm working on a project.

I'm sorry I haven't responded to emails and that kind of stuff.

Thinking of you Fr.s, Deacon, friends, and family.

Do not forget we are in the Divine Mercy.

Easter Mourning

Infant martyr of Colombo

Easter amid terror ...

At St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo. A witness said: “It was a river of blood. Ash was falling like snow.”CreditIshara S. Kodikara/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

I only learned of the terror attack in Sri Lanka at Mass, late Easter morning.  I don't know what to say.

Christ is risen!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all!

The Grand Silence of Holy Saturday

Praying silently.

This day, of all days, I pray silently.  When I use words, it seems I can only accuse myself of all my sins, because today everything seems dark.  And there, mysteriously, I encounter Christ ...

Lord my God, I call for help by day
I cry at night before you.

I am reckoned as one in the tomb;
I have reached the end of my strength,
Like one alone among the dead,
like the slain lying in their graves,
like those you remember no more,
cut off, as they are, from your hand.

You have laid me in the depths of the tomb,
in places that are dark, in the depths.
Your anger weighs down upon me;
I am drowned beneath your waves...

So there is no consolation, save the awareness that Jesus bore all of my shame and was accused and condemned for all of my lies, my lust, my sin ...

Wretched, close to death from my youth,
I have borne your trials, I am numb.

No consolation.  The Sorrowful Mother, who embraces the dead Christ cannot be consoled, neither can she reject the sinner.  So I sit alone and in silence ... in confidence, love and thanksgiving ... pondering what the Holy Father said: "To remain silent, to pray, to accept humiliation."

Hagios Athanatos, eleison himas!

What more should I have done for you and have not done?

      Indeed, I planted you as my most beautiful chosen vine
                   
                  and you have turned  very bitter for me ...

Images that last.

-source-

The people who dropped to their knees.

What impressed me deeply from all the photos pouring out of Paris, was the images of people on their knees in prayer, as the Cathedral burned.  Aside from the images of the heroic fight of the firefighters, and those who rescued the Blessed Sacrament, sacred relics, and artifacts, the silent, mournful prayer of so many was a great witness to the faith. 

-source-

Was it arson?

I don't know.  However, in light of what has been happening in France, and because St. Sulpice burned last month, my immediate reaction to the Notre Dame fire was that somehow they were connected, and I was shocked and saddened - it sounds cliche, but words can't express. It struck me as nearly apocalyptic. Of course thoughts of arson and who could be responsible ran through my mind. I immediately thought of the 'Gilets Jaunes' movement and anarchists associated with them, since weeks before there were demonstrations and fires along the Champs-Elysées and elswhere. There seems to be the scent of revolution in the air - across the globe.

Prayer is needed, and the Parisians lead the way in their response to the fire at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame De Paris 

Priez pour nous!  Priez pour Paris!

The Day After

Notre Dame still standing.

That's all.  It's better not to speak - there is no need. 

So many are saying such silly things.  A few offering some decent pious sentiments, while others make claims evocative of conspiracy theories as to who maybe caused it.  Then of course the usual traditionalist doom and gloom stuff, pretty much echoes the ISIS claims it's God's punsihment, and so on.  Even the news that the cathedral will be rebuilt is peppered with fears and contempt of Macron's Government and dread they could modernize the structure in some hideous way, thus adding insult to injury.

Be still.

The Fire of Notre Dame de Paris

La Vierge Noire De Paris (Notre Dame De Bonne Délivrance)

priez pour nous!  Priez pour Paris!

Je vous salue, Marie, 

pleine de grâces, 

le Seigneur est avec vous; 

vous ętes bénie entre toutes les femmes, 

et Jésus le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni. 

Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu, 

priez pour nous pécheurs, 

maintenant, 

et à l'heure de notre mort. Amen.

I have no words to express my sorrow.  I pray in thanksgiving that the damage seems to have been primarily to the roof; the vaulted ceiling protecting the majority of the interior of the Cathedral.  President Macron promises to restore the structure.

I painted all day, having come upstairs, I turned on news and was startled to find out Notre Dame was burning.  It was surreal.  I went to the adoration chapel to pray.

Palm Sunday

Sorry to say, Palm Sunday celebrations are my least favorite in the Liturgical life of the Church. It seems so phony to me, because we know what happens immediately after the entrance hymns are sung, and the liturgical dance is over. We know what the nuvo-Scribes and Pharisees are planning. We know he will be abandoned and betrayed and even denied by his priests and bishops and so many of us. It's the schizoid nature of the Church, the contradiction of the Cross, which stands out for me this day.  It reminds me that popular opinion and politics are destined to disappoint.  The message of the Cross is foolishness to the worldly minded, therefore I'm content to be an ass on this day.