Imagine that: Celebrating the NY “Reproductive Health Act"

The One World Trade Center was lit up pink Tuesday night to celebrate the passage of a bill by the New York state legislature that legalizes abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy while rolling back protections for babies born alive after a botched abortion. - AveMaria

Imagine that!

This makes me very sad. It's almost unbelievable to me - those of us who are against the death penalty could possibly approve of killing a child in the womb? Aborting a pregnancy up to 9 months? That is legal infanticide. A country searching for life on Mars kills living infants in the womb.

I think it portentous that the tower, which itself is a sort of memorial to those who died on 9/11, is used to celebrate such a heinous law, legalizing infanticide. It is absolutely ludicrous to allow non-licensed 'doctors' to perform abortions - it exposes the lie of 'safe and rare' claims of pro-choice advocates.

WATCH: "It's a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his bootstraps." - Martin Luther King Jr.

A Big Heart, Open to God ...

Vatican Media

What we knew from the beginning.

I've been thinking of that - how we knew, from the beginning of his Pontificate, who Pope Francis is and how he ministers and serves the Church.  He told us himself in his interview with Fr. Spadaro in 2013.  An excerpt here:

“How are we treating the people of God? I dream of a church that is a mother and shepherdess. The church’s ministers must be merciful, take responsibility for the people and accompany them like the good Samaritan, who washes, cleans and raises up his neighbor. This is pure Gospel. God is greater than sin. The structural and organizational reforms are secondary—that is, they come afterward. The first reform must be the attitude. The ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk through the dark night with them, who know how to dialogue and to descend themselves into their people’s night, into the darkness, but without getting lost. The people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government officials. The bishops, particularly, must be able to support the movements of God among their people with patience, so that no one is left behind. But they must also be able to accompany the flock that has a flair for finding new paths.

“Instead of being just a church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do not attend Mass, to those who have quit or are indifferent. The ones who quit sometimes do it for reasons that, if properly understood and assessed, can lead to a return. But that takes audacity and courage.” - An Interview with Pope Francis

I have always seen proofs of his goodness.

No matter how misrepresented on social media or in publications condemning him - even by Catholic bishops, I have great love for the papacy and especially our Holy Father Pope Francis.  I almost feel sorry for those who stir up people against the Pope and suggest he is anything but a faithful son of the Church.

I was reading a short account of the life of St. Peter Faber, and was immediately impressed by a couple of quotes from the saint which pointed to a Jesuit style of apostolate, especially towards those alienated or outside the Church.

"It is necessary for anyone who wants to help heretics in the present age to hold them in great affection and love them very truly.  One must ... exclude all thoughts and feelings tending to discredit them.  One must also win their good will and love by friendly discussion and conversation about matters on which we do not differ, taking care to avoid all controversial subjects that lead to bickering...  The things that unite us ought to be the very basis of our approach." - St. Peter Faber

Faber also said, "Take care, take care, never to close your heart to anyone."

St. Ignatius felt Fr. Faber was the most accomplished as a director of the Spiritual Exercises.  I'm confident we see the same type of Jesuit in our Holy Father Pope Francis.

For more on the life of 

S. Peter Faber

go here.

We all have so much love to give ...

I watched UTV Live this evening when this homeless woman told 

how she tried to revive her friend 'Robbie' 

who she discovered lifeless on High Street, 

Belfast this morning and I cried. 

This is not the society I want to live in where people die on the streets 

and I am sure it is not the society anyone reading this posting wants. 

May he rest in Peace and be in a better place. - John Dalat

We all have so much love to give ...

When I first saw this photo/story on Facebook, I thought of St. Therese of Lisieux - it struck me there is a resemblance here - the woman looks a bit like St. Therese. Therese wrote how she took her place at the table of sinners - how she would have lived in a refuge for fallen women to reveal to them the love and mercy of God. This woman, her story seems to exemplify that same charity and love.

St. Therese, pray for us, especially those

most in need of mercy.

Song for this post here.

St. Anthony of the Desert

The accuracy of this quote attributed to S. Anthony is in question - I only used it since it segued nicely with the Holy Father's homily for today. TN

Compromising Christians, slaves to seduction

Finally, in order to help us understand how not to slip into the risk of having a perverse heart, the Pope reflects on the word “seduction”: the seduction of sin, used by the devil, the “great seducer”, “a great theologian but without faith, with hatred”, who wants to “enter and dominate” the heart and knows how to do it. So, concludes the Pope, a “perverse heart is one that lets itself be seduced; and seduction leads him to obstinacy, to closure, and to many other things”:

And with seduction, either you convert and change your life or you try to compromise: but a little here and a little there, a little here and a little there. “Yes, yes, I follow the Lord, but I like this seduction, but just a little...” And you’re starting to lead a double Christian life. To use the word of the great Elijah to the people of Israel at that moment: “You limp from both legs”. To limp from both legs, without having one set firmly. It is the life of compromise: “Yes, I am a Christian, I follow the Lord, yes, but I let this in...”. And this is what the lukewarm are like, those who always compromise: Christians of compromise. We, too, often do this: compromise. Even when the Lord lets us know the path, even with the commandments, also with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but I prefer something else, and I try to find a way to go down two tracks, limping on both legs. P.Francis homily 1-17-19

Is Vigano pen-happy?

My mother used to say that about me when I was little.

I used to write letters to everyone, relatives, the pope, politicians, movie stars, and so on.  When I wrote to relatives, what I said would get back to my mother and she would freak out and yell at me, "You're pen-happy!"  It still cracks me up.

That said, I wonder if Archbishop Vigano is 'pen-happy'?  

He wrote another  public letter - open letter - to McCarrick calling for him to repent publicly.  On the surface it reads very holy, but is it appropriate for a bishop to supercede the Vatican courts and call for a public confession, repentance and penance from McCarrick?

Why is Vigano so public with his information and judgement now, when he knew way back when and was glad-handing and congratulating McCarrick in photo ops and at banquets?

Dear Archbishop McCarrick, 

As has been reported as a news by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the accusations against you for crimes against minors and abuses against seminarians are going to be examined and judged very soon with an administrative procedure.

No matter what decision the supreme authority of the Church takes in your case, what really matters and what has saddened those who love you and pray for you is the fact that throughout these months you haven’t given any sign of repentance. I am among those who are praying for your conversion, that you may repent and ask pardon of your victims and the Church. 

Time is running out, but you can confess and repent of your sins, crimes and sacrileges, and do so publicly, since they have themselves become public. Your eternal salvation is at stake. - Finish reading here.

As the NCRegister article makes clear, Pope Francis suspended Archbishop McCarrick from public ministry last June, pending the completion of a canonical process against him.  So why is Vigano now jumping the gun and calling for McCarrick to go public?  Something is off.  Many Catholics online celebrate Vigano as a saint, praising him for his courage.

Something is off.

What?

I quit watching EWTN.

Painting

I've been painting.

I try to paint every day.  I've been doing 'studies' for a couple of subjects.  I've been planning to paint a panel depicting St. Nunzio, and I am working on a study, which I will finish, but now I'm not so sure I will do a final painting.  I can across an image of the saint which is better than any I've seen so far.  I show it at the top of the post.  I'm sorry I do not know who painted it.

That's all.

Big Tent Traditionalism?

I love this.  I posted it on FB with the caption

"I want to go back."

It was immediately misunderstood.

Bad title for a Catholic article.

The problem is that it is a political term adapted to describe the Church, in this case, Traditionalist Catholics.  It's been used before as an inclusive term for the Church - big tent Catholicism.  Along these lines, I suppose Mark Shea might call them Christianists, since the traditionalists would pretty much whole-heartily endorse Trump and his policies.  I don't want to get into the politics or the online feuds these topics arouse, but Pat Archbold's post fails right there in the title - Patrick's guide to big tent traditionalism - he's composed a guide to help guide people just waking up to the distress of this papacy (who) may not yet have realized how they got here.  Steve Skojec recently complained how he gets heat for what he posts when in reality he's just trying to help people.  They all seem to feel a vocation to help people - help people reject the Pope, Magisterium, Novus Ordo, Vatican II, and embrace Traditionalism.

Does Archbold actually say that?  Does Skojec?  Kinda, sorta.  Steve says the Novus Ordo is a 'bad Mass' - I believe echoing an Emmerich prophecy.  While Archbold, in one of his guiding points says:

• The Novus Ordo is not good, but some of the Catholics who attend it are.  Better than you, maybe. Priests too.

That's kind and generous of him.  He's wrong however.  Not one Pope has ever declared the Mass of St. Paul VI a bad Mass, nor have they declared the reformed liturgical rites as not good.  As Pope Benedict affirmed, it is the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite.  All of these critics, the people who condemn the NO are people who have received the sacraments of the Novus Ordo - from sacraments of initiation to the sacrament of penance.  They probably still do in many cases.  To be sure, they must have received communion or adored the Blessed Sacrament confected in the Ordinary Form of Mass at one time or another?  Certainly there have been abuses and they may even continue in some places, but the Ordinary Form itself is not a 'bad Mass', or an evil rite.  When you read statements which claim the OF is a bad Mass, know that it is not authoritative and not Roman Catholic to make those claims.

I frequently post lovely traditional photos of the EF Mass, or especially edifying photos of receiving communion on the tongue, and when I do it's like people come out of the woodwork cheering and hoping 'I come back', as if I'm in another denomination.  When I say things "I want to go back" what I mean is that I want to fan into flame, in my heart, that 'early love' Jesus calls us to in the Book of Revelation.  "Return to your early love."

I grew up in the pre-Vatican II Church, and I learned Latin in the Latin Rite.  When I returned to the sacraments I returned to the Latin Rite, now known as the Ordinary Form.  I attended Mass at Assumption in St. Paul, MN.  In 1972, the Monsignor there never turned the altars around, he said the 'new Mass' but he did so in Latin.  When the Mass was said in the vernacular, it remained ad orientem.  It was the same Mass, without innovations.  At the time I wasn't educated to notice any reform.  I knelt for communion and received it on the tongue.  When I found out I could receive it on the hand, I was thrilled, and I did so with even greater devotion.

There is one Mass in two forms, or uses.  It is one Mass - the same Mass. We have one Faith, one Baptism, one Mass, one, holy, Catholic Church, and one reigning Pontiff as Vicar of Christ.  That is not exaggerating his importance, nor is it papalatrous to believe that.

My house being now all stilled ...

      One dark night,
fired with love's urgent longings
- ah, the sheer grace! - 
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.

       In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
- ah, the sheer grace! - 
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.

       On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.

       This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
- him I knew so well - 
there in a place where no one appeared...   
                                                     -John of the Cross

Epiphany and Russian Christmas Eve!

Altar of the Three Kings. Elmen's parish church, Tyrol, Austria.

St. Petersburg

If you didn't keep Christmas well, you can start all over again with Russian Christmas.

I believe in God ...

Credo

Peter Martyr, my patron.  I believe in God.  Not in anyone else.  Jesus Christ is Lord.  I believe in God.

The Letter

The Pope Speaks.

He sent a letter to the bishops on retreat, expressing his desire to be 'physically present' but was unable to do so.  The letter in it's entirety is available here.  It's excellent.

In a letter distributed to the bishops at the beginning of their Jan. 2-8 retreat, Pope Francis said he was convinced their response to the "sins and crimes" of abuse and "the efforts made to deny or conceal them" must be found through "heartfelt, prayerful and collective listening to the word of God and to the pain of our people." 

"As we know," he said, "the mentality that would cover things up, far from helping to resolve conflicts, enabled them to fester and cause even greater harm to the network of relationships that today we are called to heal and restore." 

The "abuses of power and conscience and sexual abuse, and the poor way that they were handled" continue to harm the church and its mission, he said, but so does "the pain of seeing an episcopate lacking in unity and concentrated more on pointing fingers than on seeking paths of reconciliation." 

Such a division, which goes well beyond a "healthy" diversity of opinions, is what caused him to recommend a retreat because, the pope said, "this situation forces us to look to what is essential and to rid ourselves of all that stands in the way of a clear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ." - America

This restores my confidence and hope. 

An Obligation Fulfilled

Mother of God,

pray for us.

What's wrong with the Church.

New Year's Eve I devoted to adoration before 5 PM Mass, in honor of the Mother of God.  The Mass has always been a holy day of obligation because it is also the Octave of Christmas.

This year one US bishop lifted the 'obligation' requirement for his diocese, and members of the online 'Holy Office' quickly cried out against it.  How Novus Ordo!  How Protestant!  Personally I thought lifting the obligation might be reasonable for those who have difficulties getting to Mass - the bishop had his reasons, I guess.  As for those who care nothing about 'obligation' yet go to Mass and adoration out of devotion and desire to participate in the liturgical life of the Church, nothing would deter them from attending Mass for the Octave.  After all, it's still Christmas - the 8th Day.  The Circumcision of Christ, the first shedding of his precious blood is likewise commemorated.

Anyway, last evening at my parish the pastor was away on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  (Together with his friend, a pastor from another parish they are leading a group of pilgrims.)  Fr. frequently refers to heading parish based pilgrimages as one of those perks of being a priest.  Be that as it may, guest priests are scheduled to fill in while he is away.  The schedule is already erratic, hours for confessions switched about, Mass times switched about, so there is often some confusion and people show up late to discover Mass time has switched.

Last evening the substitute priest showed up late.  It was snowing and evidently he was stuck in traffic.  The Music Director called Fr. in the Holy Land, Fr. told him that those who showed up for Mass could leave, they had fulfilled their obligation.  Some of us remained, and sure enough the guest priest showed up.  Completely taken aback because he had told people he would be late.  Those of us remaining in prayer, waited longer hoping Fr. would still have Mass.  He didn't.  He gave communion to a couple who asked for it, but other than that, nothing.

The obligation.

I've heard many priests complain because laity complain about holy days of obligation, and they think laity who do that are less than devout.  Then I've heard them complain that people come to Mass because they 'want something' - like on Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, or any Sunday when anyone and everyone goes forward for communion or a blessing.  I detect a sort of clericalism in their attitude, don't you?

So last night, when push comes to shove, we were all told we could go home because we fulfilled our obligation - as if that is what the celebration of Mass is all about.  Maybe we did.  But Fr. didn't.  Neither the pastor nor the quest priest fulfilled their obligation.

Why do we need a pastor, a priest?  To celebrate Mass and administer the sacraments and to provide pastoral care.  Not to fund raise, conduct tours, or lay out strategies to get more parishioners and recruit lay employees to run innovative programs.

What should have happened?

Considering the circumstances and the lack of communication with the in-transit celebrant, a Liturgy of the Word with Communion could have taken place.  With or without a deacon - an Extraordinary Minister could have conducted it.

Or, when the priest finally arrived, he could have, should have said Mass, with or without a large congregation.  Every Mass scheduled is said for a particular intention, accompanied by a stipend.  Maybe not always, but normally, and there is a real, canonical obligation to offer that Mass for the intentions of those who requested it.  The Mass needed to be offered.

In this case, pastoral care and consideration flew out the window.  As a layman, fulfilling an obligation is not why I go to Mass - it may be part of it to some extent - but the real reason the faithful attend Mass is everything the Church and her ministers tell us why we should.  We want to be there.  We want to worship God.  We need to be there, we need to hear the Word of God, to be fed, to receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist.  We have nowhere else to go for that.  We have no one except Christ.  We can't confect him on our own - we need a priest - not an administrator.

Last night those in charge acted as if a performance was cancelled.  The show wouldn't happen, the singers wouldn't sing, the homily wouldn't get performed, the glad-handing greetings wouldn't happen.  No waves and happy New Year's exchanged.  No one was welcomed, no one dismissed, there would be no shouting and hugs and laughs after Mass.  Nothing.  Everyone was simply sent home, assured that they fulfilled their obligation.

That tells me it's a job for some priests.  Mass is entertainment - a performance, with a homily available on podcast, and if the music is good, maybe even a CD.  It's a business with perks - a career.  The best managers and fundraisers get the best promotions, and can dispense people from their obligations.  At least that is how it seemed to me last night.

Once again I know of what the Holy Father speaks when he says,  "priests should smell of their sheep".  So many priests no longer live among their sheep, they live off campus - you need to make an appointment to see them, during business hours.

Faith has dwindled in the Church.

This is funny.

Coming from Skojec, that is...

I'm not on Twitter but looking at Skojec's feed and those he follows, as well as those who comment on his site, I can see it's pretty much THE hotline for all the gossip and detraction which circulates online regarding the Pope and anyone else they disagree with.

Steve Skojec‏ @SteveSkojec

Replying to @ServusFidelis

The problem with the internet is that it has convinced absolutely everyone that their opinions matter. That's false. And it seems that often the least valuable opinions are coming from the loudest mouths.

12:21 PM - 30 Dec 2018

1 reply0 retweets0 likes

Becket

Martyrdom of S. Thomas Becket

The Fifth Day of Christmas.

Another martyr for the Octave of  Christmas.  How fitting to consider such a holy bishop while our bishops are accused and maligned, perhaps in some cases rightly so.  Nevertheless the murder of Becket ought to be a cautionary tale to those who trust laymen to exact justice upon the hierarchy, based upon interpretations of what someone reportedly said or did.  Becket was killed because the king's knights believed that was what the king wanted.  They assumed as much.

Today Church Militant is accusing Cardinal Dolan of cover up in the case of Fr. Timone of NY, formerly credibly accused of abuse.  CM is pushing "Breaking News" claiming: Cardinal O'Malley reports Cardinal Dolan for allowing credibly accused priest to stay in active ministry, even as late as last week.  Comments on the post are ridiculous smears.  Church Militant must imagine themselves as knights of Henry II - taking their revenge on Cardinal Dolan for an earlier snub of Michael Voris. 

Better to do penance instead.

Fourth Day of Christmas ...

William Holman Hunt's painting 'The Triumph of the Innocents' softens the blow of the massacre executed by Herod (a figure of the Anti-Christ), depicting the souls of the boy martyrs accompanying the Holy Family who fled the terror and took refuge in Egypt.

Dia de los Santos Inocentes 

Today kids rule.

It was one of a series of days known as the Feast of Fools, and the last day of authority for boy bishops. Parents temporarily abdicated authority. In convents and monasteries the youngest nuns and monks were allowed to act as abbess and abbot for the day. - Source

The 3rd Day of Christmas ... Catholics love to drink edition.

Happy St. John's Day!

"Saint John the Evangelist is blessing the poisoned chalice given him by a pagan priest of Ephesus to test him, but the poison escapes from the chalice in the form of a small two-headed dragon, as Jacobus de Voragine recounts in his Golden Legend (1228-1298)... Saint John the Evangelist is depicted holding a chalice, an allusion to his being put to the test by the high priest of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. The high priest said to him: "If you want me to believe in your god, I will give you some poison to drink and, if it does not harm you, it means that your god is the true God." Thus the picure shows Saint John making the gesture of blessing which was to neutralize the poison escaping from the chalice in the form of a small two-headed dragon. He was then able to drink the potion, according to the legend."

Works for me.

Christmas break.

Seems as if I've been on a break for quite sometime.

It's because I've lost interest in much of what I used to write about, and more so, what others write about.  It seems to me that we only have problems if we allow ourselves to have problems.  The things we worry about and endlessly discuss - especially those things out of our control - will all be solved one way or another.

Sister Wendy died today.  She was a hermit, art historian-critic, and a spiritual writer I admired very much.  She lived in a small, unheated caravan-trailer on the property of a Carmelite monastery.  She slept on the floor.  Not a worry in the world.

Everything gets resolved you know.

I didn't follow Christmas at the Vatican nor on media.  I went to a quiet Mass in a church old people frequent.  Very quiet, very hidden. 

Lovely peace, and simple joy.

I had a fire outside and lighted candles, decorated Our Lady's shrine in lights and fresh Babies Breath, fed the critters apples, nuts, and seeds, and prayed my rosary.  My cat remaining indoors but watch through the window.  It seemed to me very Tuscan, very Franciscan.

Merry Christmas ... make it last - we have 12 days of it!

Do you hear what I hear?

The first called ...

Buon Natale amici!