Guardian Angel

 

Invocations of the Holy Guardian Angels

Holy Angel, my counselor, inspire me.

Holy Angel, my defender, protect me.

Holy Angel, my faithful friend, intercede for me.

Holy Angel, my consoler, fortify me.

Holy Angel, my brother, defend me.

Holy Angel, my teacher, instruct me.

Holy Angel, witness of all my actions, purify me.

Holy Angel, my helper, support me.

Holy Angel, my intercessor, speak for me.

Holy Angel, my guide, direct me.

Holy Angel, my light, enlighten me.

Holy Angel, whom God has assigned to lead me, govern me.

"Let us abandon our polemics to listen together to what the Spirit is saying to the Church….”

Not anytime soon.

People will out-talk me, outsmart me with scriptural-liturgical-theological knowledge, but as an ordinary Catholic man, let me tell you there is nothing wrong with the Ordinary Form of Mass.  Many who despise Pope Francis are bending over backwards to pick apart his latest Apostolic Letter "Desiderio desideravi” in their effort to promote the TLM.  They out rightly reject Vatican II and the subsequent liturgical reforms.  There is no hiding that fact.

" I do not see how it is possible to say that one recognizes the validity of the Council — though it amazes me that a Catholic might presume not to do so — and at the same time not accept the liturgical reform born out of Sacrosanctum Concilium, a document that expresses the reality of the Liturgy intimately joined to the vision of Church so admirably described in Lumen gentium. For this reason, as I already expressed in my letter to all the bishops, I have felt it my duty to affirm that “The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.” (Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes, art 1)" - Desiderio desideravi

Fr. Z and those like him are on the offensive, dissecting every line of the document for error and lack of clarity.  Many ordinary people without a strong formation in liturgy are gravely misled by their 'resistance' to the Pope and the Council, sowing doubts in the legitimacy and validity of the Novus Ordo sacrament and rites.  

He is talking about the TLM, not the Novus. It is an ERROR to think of the TLM in those shallow ways. - Fr. Z

It seems to me people of good will would see rather, that the Apostolic letter could help put to rest the claims of  priests such as Fr. Charles Murr and promotion of the Archbishop Annibale Bugnini sabotage stories involving Freemasonry and the Novus Ordo. Yet diehards continue to promote the allegations which have circulated since the initial implementation of the Novus Ordo. Wasting no time, they immediately attack the simple intentions of the Pontiff as expressed in the current Letter.

61. In this letter I have wanted simply to share some reflections which most certainly do not exhaust the immense treasure of the celebration of the holy mysteries. I ask all the bishops, priests, and deacons, the formators in seminaries, the instructors in theological faculties and schools of theology, and all catechists to help the holy people of God to draw from what is the first wellspring of Christian spirituality. We are called continually to rediscover the richness of the general principles exposed in the first numbers of Sacrosanctum Concilium, grasping the intimate bond between this first of the Council’s constitutions and all the others. For this reason we cannot go back to that ritual form which the Council fathers, cum Petro et sub Petro, felt the need to reform, approving, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and following their conscience as pastors, the principles from which was born the reform. The holy pontiffs St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II, approving the reformed liturgical books ex decreto Sacrosancti Œcumenici Concilii Vaticani II, have guaranteed the fidelity of the reform of the Council. For this reason I wrote Traditionis custodes, so that the Church may lift up, in the variety of so many languages, one and the same prayer capable of expressing her unity.[23] - DESIDERIO DESIDERAVI 

 

No doubt in the discussions surrounding the Holy Father's Letter "Desiderio desideravi” one encounters the name of Archbishop Bugnini over and over, as the scoundrel who concocted the Novus Ordo. Fr. Louis Bouyer is often mentioned, conveniently noting his lack of esteem for the Archbishop and his reputation. That is true of course, nevertheless it doesn't cancel out the Ordinary Form/Novus Ordo as the normative rite in the Church.  The other day a former Catholic on Twitter complained, 'how can you attend the NO, a reform based upon lies?' He was referring to Bugnini and an exchange between Paul VI and Bouyer, among other things.  The critics of the OF and devotees of the EF frequently harbor similar sentiments.  Some go so far as to say if they can't attend an EF they won't attend Mass at all.

"But this myopic view must at least be challenged." - Fr. Z

As I said before, I'm not a liturgist and I very much like the OF as it is properly celebrated in my parish. So I have no problem with Pope Francis and his effort to unify the lex orandi of the Roman Rite. I'll just say it might be good to acquaint ordinary fellow Catholics with Louis Bouyer, who ought to be known for much more than his disappointment in protégés at the time and subsequent developments in liturgical reform.

[NB While a novice at New Melleray, Fr. Bouyer gave conferences to the monks, as well as a separate mini conference for the novices.]

A good, quick resource for an introduction to the life and work of Louis Boyer, click here:
Rev. Louis Bouyer: A Theological Giant | An Interview with Dr. Keith Lemna | Ignatius Insight | November 12, 2010.  Just keep in mind that the Ordinary Form of Mass, the Mass of St. Paul VI was indeed approved and promulgated by Pope Paul VI and his successors.  It is the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.

Ignatius Insight: What influence did his work have on the Second Vatican Council?

Dr. Lemna: It is difficult to assess the precise influence that Bouyer's work had on the council. By the time that the council had convened, many of Bouyer's ideas had become common currency among some of the theologians who were present at the council, even if they were not influenced by Bouyer. Bouyer was a theological expert relied upon by the Church in the period surrounding the council, and he was greatly trusted by Paul VI, who appointed him to the first International Theological Commission after the council and who had wanted to name him a cardinal. Bouyer refused the offer, arguing that it would cause too much trouble for the Holy See. He had been engaged in fierce polemics with the later generation of liturgists in France, and his reputation had suffered as a result. In our own day, especially with the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, Bouyer's reputation should be restored, as his liturgical vision coheres with that of the Holy Father.

Certainly, if Dom Hugh Gilbert is right about the singular importance of Bouyer's book on the Paschal Mystery, then we might go so far as to say that Bouyer's work was a decisive influence on the council, if only indirectly so. Also, it is difficult to measure just how influential Bouyer's writings and teachings on liturgy and spirituality were in the period leading up to the council.

At any rate, there is no doubt that Bouyer's general approach to Scripture, theology, spirituality, the Church, and liturgy were canonized by the texts of the council. It would perhaps be better to say, rather than speaking in terms of influence, that Bouyer's work enables us to interpret the council through the lens of a "hermeneutic of continuity." Bouyer's work is very much in line with the theologies of both John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He provides further support for their joint effort to inspire the Church to read the council in terms of the meaning of the actual texts of the council rather than according to some "Spirit" that is presumed to have little connection to the texts. Bouyer: Interview

Beware of the online scholars who frequently depend upon undocumented rumors, gossip, hearsay and conspiracy theories to make their case against Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, The Novus Ordo and the Popes.  

 

Howard's End

"On the other hand, every man is a liar, infirm, unstable, and subject to fail, especially in words; so that we ought not readily to believe even that which in appearance seems to sound well.  

How wisely did you forewarn us to beware of men, and that a man's enemies are they of his own household, and that we are not to believe, if anyone should say, 'Behold here! or Behold there!'" - Imitation, Bk. III, Ch. 45

Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard

Not much to say on this story - pretty much just documenting it.  The details are indecent.  The bishop who transferred guilty priests was guilty himself.  Rather creepy, actually.  In this case there appears to be a localized network.  It makes more sense now why McCarrick got away with his crimes.  It really annoys people who were made to feel shame and cast off, just because of who they were or how they identified, even when they strived to live in accord with Catholic teaching, while the upper class hierarchy lived double lives, engaged in binding up heavy burdens too heavy to carry, without ever lifting a finger to help.  

QUEENSBURY — Two brothers who grew up in Warren County in a devout Catholic family allege that Gary Mercure, a former priest in their childhood parish who was later convicted of raping young boys in Massachusetts, had sexually abused them on multiple occasions over a period of years and that ex-Albany Bishop Howard J. Hubbard took part in some of the assaults. - Full story






Radic
al Catholic

@RadicalCath
·Jul 29, 2018

In 2004, Hubbard was accused of having had a regular homosexual affair with one Thomas Zalay in the 1970s. Zalay committed suicide in 1978 at the age of 25. His suicide note was later found by his brother, and read, in part, as follows:

Radical Catholic

@RadicalCath
·Jul 29, 2018

The same year, one Anthony Bonneau came forward to claim that Hubbard had solicited sex from him during his time as a teenage prostitute working in Albany's Washington Park in the 1970s. Like Zalay's family, Bonneau did not seek financial compensation.

Compline

We prayed Psalm 90 at Compline every night when I was a novice.

I prayed this verse with all my heart - still do.

Since he clings to me in love, I will free him,

 protect him, for he knows my name.

I love the entire psalm.  I thought of it again today, considering how many seem to be falling away from the faith.  Not necessarily belief in God - but walking away from the Church.  Many are scandalized, feel rejected and abused, finding solace and acceptance elsewhere, and so on.  Never judge, never condemn - we never know what happened - even when they try to explain it.  Remember, even the most fervent can fall away.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.  There is a song I love, which reminds me of Psalm 90, and it reminds us that we must trust Jesus as savior and redeemer...

If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time - Lauper/Hyman

A popular priest online tweeted, "Dear God, help me to focus on the Catholic faith and not on Catholics."  That's not quite right - the focus must be upon Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith.

Cling to him in love and he will free you, he will protect you and reveal himself to you.

Psalm 91 (90)

1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,

 and abides in the shade of the Almighty,

 2says to the LORD, “My refuge,

 my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”

3He will free you from the snare of the fowler,

 from the destructive plague;

 4he will conceal you with his pinions,

 and under his wings you will find refuge.

 His faithfulness is buckler and shield.

5You will not fear the terror of the night,

 nor the arrow that flies by day,

 6nor the plague that prowls in the darkness,

 nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.

7A thousand may fall at your side,

 ten thousand fall at your right:

 you it will never approach.

8Your eyes have only to look

 to see how the wicked are repaid.

 9For you, O LORD, are my refuge.

 You have made the Most High your dwelling.

10Upon you no evil shall fall,

 no plague approach your tent.

 11For you has he commanded his angels

 to keep you in all your ways.

12They shall bear you upon their hands,

 lest you strike your foot against a stone.

 13On the lion and the viper you will tread,

 and trample the young lion and the serpent.

14Since he clings to me in love, I will free him,

 protect him, for he knows my name.

 15When he calls on me, I will answer him;

 I will be with him in distress;

 I will deliver him, and give him glory.

16With length of days I will content him;

 I will show him my saving power.

With Persecution Besides

 

I think Catholics can expect some backlash after today's decision.  Perhaps a lot of backlash.

It's amazing to me how many Catholics really probably supported Roe v. Wade, or at least believed it was a woman's choice to make, between she and her doctor.  I definitely thought the admittance to Holy Communion was between she and her bishop, I wasn't sure about the former.

Either way - I'm against abortion, I consider it the worst form of abuse and murder.

In Thanksgiving for Favors Granted

Pintura en óleo sobre tela del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús por el artista Celayense Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras.

 

Roe v. Wade is finally overturned.

"On Friday morning, the Supreme Court issued its opinion overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey—the two decades-old Supreme Court cases that together guaranteed abortion rights in America. The opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, undoes the constitutional right to abortion and returns the right to regulate the procedure to individual states. The decision will likely lead to the criminalization of abortion, at all stages of pregnancy, in about half of the United States

On Friday morning, Alito’s conservative colleague on the court, Justice Clarence Thomas, disagreed with that. In his own individual opinion, Thomas wrote that, in fact, overturning Roe should only be the first step. “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” he writes. “Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous.’”

“Demonstrably erroneous.” There is very little that is vague about those words. With the death of abortion rights in America, Thomas has now come out and said, in no-uncertain terms, that cases that enshrined Americans’ rights to marry whomever they want and to make personal decisions about their intimacy and child-bearing are flat-out wrong. For now, that is just Thomas’ opinion—none of what he’s written is legally enforceable. But the fact that he’s stating this explicitly affirms the fears of advocates that for many conservatives the demise of Roe was never meant to be the end—but rather a bleak beginning." - Mother Jones

Because they believe in their heart.

I'm watching the hearings, listening to testimony and actual calls by Trump. Out and out lies. I'm totally shocked - that people 'believe in their heart' that Trump is innocent. That the election was stolen.
I read this morning that the Republican party of Texas has as part of their platform the belief that the election was stolen. There are so many online who believe that. They can hear Trump's raging as they watch this testimony. You know they reject it - they think all of these people are lying. It's incomprehensible to me. "They believe in their heart" though the evidence to the contrary is right in front of them.

Many of these people are Catholics who also are convinced that Pope Francis is not really the Pope, that Benedict's resignation was invalid. They reject everything from this Pope and follow pre-Vatican II rules and rubrics, because "they know in their hearts" they are right.

It is incomprehensible to me.

Even the elect now do it...

Diehard opponents of Pope Francis and Vatican II have since pretty much turned on Pope Benedict and JPII - I've noticed a growing number even criticize Pope Pius XII for his reform of the Liturgy of Holy Week and permitting wider participation of the laity at Mass, leading to the experimental 'Dialogue Mass'.

For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

 The devil’s knowledge is very wide, in every field. He even knows the verses of the Bible very well and uses them in fighting people such as theologians. In the temptation on the mount, he used the Holy Bible in his own way (Matt. 4:6). He is even the author of all heresies and heterodoxies. He put them in the minds of heretics and offered them wrong concepts for the verses of the Bible. True are the words of St. Athanasius the apostolic, "Our enemy is not the Arians but the devil."

Pope Shenouda III

from “Diabolic Wars”

We are living in the era of “piccolomini… little men”...

Says a little man.

“When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set.”
– Lin Yutang, 20th century Chinese philosopher

Fr. Z wrote an extremely scornful assessment of the new members of the College of Cardinals, appointed by Pope Francis.  Traditionalists are upset and Z invites them to laugh it off since, "The ploy and play of the list is so obvious that it is hardly to be taken seriously anymore."  Beware - as St. Benedict, citing Scripture in his Rule on the Tenth Step of Humility cautioned: "Only a fool raises his voice in laughter."(Sir 21:23)

Fr. Z appears to be growing more bitter and scornful than ever before.  I wonder if  resentment and the remembrance of wrongs is perhaps part of the cause?  I of course do not know - but I would avoid priests like him and be careful not to be led astray in opposition to the Pope and Bishops in communion with him.

A little man with a big blog.

Fr. Z brings it on himself.  I'm not judging his soul, not even his motivation - though I may wonder about it after I read his critiques of what the Pope has to say.  Today his contradiction of the Holy Father's allocution at yesterday's Wednesday Audience is extremely disrespectful and defensive.  He can do and say as he wishes since he appears to be a 'free-agent' priest, but those who follow him and others who read him, they cannot be well served by it, much less edified.  

"Scorn, bitterness, scoffing, these are no weapons. Belittling others, not seeing Christ in them -- this too is to inflict wounds -- is to do to Christ what we are doing to the least around us. This is an expression of fear -- fear of being laughed at and scorned in turn. If we scorn others we will not win them. There is no love in scorn." - August 13, 1951 - The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day

Fr. Z finds the CNA article on the Holy Father and what the Pope says "amusing." His post makes it clear he wasn't amused. In fact, his response was what he claimed the Pope's 'attack' on people who desire Tradition was - "pretty vicious."

Those who really believe do not attribute too much importance to the struggle for the reform of ecclesiastical ritual. They live on what the Church always is; and if one wants to know what the Church really is one must go to them. For the Church is most present not where organizing, reforming and governing are going on but in those who simply believe and receive from her the gift of faith that is life to them." - Ratzinger: "Introduction to Christianity." Holy, Yet Mingled with Sinners: The Church of the Pope Theologian

Yup.  I use pull quotes too.

 

Ascension Sunday

 

"I have found my heaven on earth, since heaven is You, O Lord, and You are in my soul." - St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

"The meaning of Christ's Ascension," writes Pope Benedict XVI, "expresses our belief that in Christ the humanity that we all share has entered into the inner life of God in a new and hitherto unheard of way. It means that man has found an everlasting place in God." It would be a mistake to interpret the Ascension as "the temporary absence of Christ from the world." Rather, "we go to heaven to the extent that we go to Jesus Christ and enter into him." Heaven is a person. "Jesus himself is what we call 'heaven'."

“Holy Father, I pray not only for them,

but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

so that they may all be one,

as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

that they also may be in us,

that the world may believe that you sent me.

And I have given them the glory you gave me,

so that they may be one, as we are one,

I in them and you in me,

that they may be brought to perfection as one,

that the world may know that you sent me,

and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Father, they are your gift to me." - Jn 17:20-26

"O my God, You are in me and I am in You. I have found my heaven on earth, since heaven is You, O Lord, and You are in my soul. I can find You there always; even when I do not feel Your presence, You are there nevertheless, and I like to seek You there. Oh! if only I could never leave You alone!" (cf. Sr Elizabeth of the Trinity, Letters)

“only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

 

That was then...*

Not true.

The latest school shooting took place while police with guns were outside for an hour waiting for SWAT and backup.  There is more to that story emerging, I'm just saying the good guys with guns were apparently helpless when confronted with a kid armed with an AR-15.  The kid bought the weapons as soon as he turned 18 years old - May 16, 2022.  

The Texas shooter's determination to purchase combat weapons as soon as he turned legal age demonstrates that this problem really is about guns.  His mental state is a separate issue, though it seems to me he was stable enough to plan and execute his 'mission'.  Politicians cannot keep saying this is a problem due to mental illness - it really is about assault weapons and proliferation of guns.  

It seems we all forget the largest mass shooting in American history - the Las Vegas shootout.

A lone gunman unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of bullets from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel late Sunday, killing at least 59 people and injuring more than 500 others attending a country music festival below, officials said.

It was the worst mass shooting in modern American history, and Stephen Craig Paddock was "solely responsible for this heinous act," Assistant Clark County Sheriff Todd Fasulo told reporters Monday night. - Las Vegas shooting.

The shooter had an entire arsenal in his hotel suite.  To my knowledge there is no evidence he was mentally ill, much less a terrorist.  That happened in 2017 and there is apparently no motive, leading to my conclusion that he did it because he could.  Perhaps it was a type of hunting or sport-shooting for him?  Maybe he wanted to add a realistic dimension to some of the online games available to kids and adults?  Google such games and these pop-up:

Mr Bullet Online.
Aliens Attack.
Sniper Ultimate Assassin.
Alpha Guns.
Dead Zed.
Shoot Robbers.
Rooftop Snipers

Idolatry 

I don't know if these things play into the shooter mentality?  I don't know if these can be virtual training videos - it just seems to me these games feed into the cult mentality associated with 2nd Amendment gun rights.  Such games are big business.  Weapons is big business for arms trade.  I don't play games nor am I an action film aficionado, so I don't know what influence this stuff has on mass-killers.  Yet it seems to me the morbid fascination with guns and stalking prey has to have an effect upon one's personality, as well as their soul.  Especially anyone with a 'mean-streak' or who lacks empathy.  Then there is the problem of evil. 

Figuring out why a shooter, mass-killer acts is definitely important.  Nevertheless - access to weapons of war like these is ridiculous for civilians.  We need legislation and bans on access and types of weapons.  We need lawmakers who are not corrupted by the gun lobby, and/or fanatically attached to the ideology derived from idolization of the 2nd Amendment.

"The Second Amendment did not come down from Sinai. The right to bear arms will never be more important than human life. Our children have rights too. And our elected officials have a moral duty to protect them." Cardinal Cupich 

It is a problem of evil - it seems to me it is growing in proportion to the increase of hatred among people, a hardening of heart.  Like I said, I don't know, I'm no authority.  What I do know is that even Catholics will reject calls for reform and ignore people like Cupich and Francis when they call for change - precisely because they have hardened their hearts against them.  I dare say, many even end up hating them.  You see?  It's a problem of evil, which enters the heart through hatred.

Vain rejoicing in moral goods.

 There is a certain self-righteousness in those who blindly cling to the letter of the 2nd Amendment and promote unbridled ownership and use of guns for morally responsible, upstanding citizens determined to Make America Great Again.  John of the Cross alludes to it in The Ascent of Mt. Carmel - at least I connect the problem to it.  Vain rejoicing in moral goods.  It's the story of the Pharisee and the Publican.  St. John notes the harm which results in vain rejoicing in moral goods, e.g. one's virtues and good works as a law abiding citizen.

The seventh kind of harm is that human beings, insofar as they do not quell vain joy in their moral deeds, become more incapable of taking counsel and receiving reasonable instructions about the works they ought to do. The habitual weakness they have from working with this vain joy so enchains them that they either do not believe that the counsel of another is better, or do not wish to follow it even if in their opinion it is, because they are without the courage to do so.

Such people become very slack in charity toward God and neighbor, for the self-love contained in their works makes them grow cold in charity. - Ascent, 28:9

It seems to me, that it's a problem not simply confined to the perpetrators - the self-love and lack of charity of the 'good' is in some sense mirrored in the lack of empathy and hatred of the 'bad'.  Both permit evil to triumph.

I will close with the precaution given by the Holy Father at this week's audience:

"I pray for the children, the adults killed and their families," said Francis at the conclusion of his Wednesday general audience. "It is time to say enough to the indiscriminate trafficking of guns."

"Let us all commit ourselves so that such tragedies can never happen again," he continued. - Pope Francis

Yeah. So, "Let us all commit ourselves so that such tragedies can never happen again."

 *Top photo found on Tumbler with a naïve observation: "Guns aren't the problem."

"Guns aren't the problem.


Back in high school - more years ago than I care to count - I gave a speech in an English class. My subject was the M1. I was able to borrow a rifle from our armory (I was on the rifle team), walked four blocks to the school with the rifle slung over my shoulder, and gave my speech on how to field dress the weapon.


Most kids (boys) who were able to drive to school had rifles or shotguns in their back windows if they were driving a truck.


We never heard of school shootings. Period.


Guns aren't the problem."

That was then, this is now.  Guns are the problem.  The kid in Texas bought assault weapons as soon as he turned eighteen.  Snap out of it.

 

In memoriam.

 

We all see it, we all see it.

The Archbishop Cordileone interdict.

Mrs. Pelosi is not to be admitted to Holy Communion:

“I asked her to repudiate this position, or else refrain from referring to her Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion,” he wrote.

“I also advised her that if she refused to do this, I would be forced to make a public announcement that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” - CNA

The Archbishop acted within his right as the local ordinary of San Francisco.  Many people are upset and angry, others are gloating, I support the Archbishop.

I have deep respect for Archbishop Cordileone. I am sure this was a difficult decision, especially since so many non-Catholics, along with some practicing Catholics, do not understand the Eucharist, and most likely think this was an uncharitable act, meant to shame and punish. That's not what this is about. This type of action is always for the benefit of the person under interdict/ban, as well as those who may be otherwise scandalized if there is no correction.  Mrs. Pelosi's policies and statements demonstrate she is not in communion with Catholic teaching, therefore she ought to abstain from Holy Communion - the source and summit of Christian life, the sign of unity, and the true body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, I expect Cordileone will face growing criticism and protest, especially from protesters who support Roe v Wade and a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy.  His life is most likely in danger and churches will probably suffer desecration and vandalism as a result.  We've already seen it in the United States and in Chile, Canada and elsewhere.

That said, "Cordileone’s instruction applies only within the San Francisco archdiocese." Pelosi most likely will be able to receive Communion in another diocese.  [In Genoa, during the time of St. Catherine of Genoa, her bishop interdicted the entire city, so she popped over to a nearby diocese (in her day there were many) for Mass and Communion.]

Prayers for all concerned.  Other than that, I have no opinion nor any responsibility to comment further.

I should write something.

 It's been a longtime that I have written anything here.  I spend too much time on FB only writing little snippets that I usually remove - inappropriate humor, something too revealing, or a political comment people wouldn't like or understand, and so on.  My humor no longer fits in with world events.  I'm preoccupied with the war in Ukraine and that is pretty much the focus of my prayer and spiritual exercises.

The leak concerning Roe v. Wade has overtaken MSM and a lot of social media.  I'm so sick of partisan fear mongering.  No surprise how well the dissimulation by the Trump appointees worked out to reverse Roe.  It hasn't happened yet, but it will.  Didn't people know that?  Isn't that why women wanted the ERA?  Now they will attempt to codify women's reproductive rights.  When it discussed in those terms, as well as the 'right to privacy' concerns for a woman and her doctor to decide, it's a somewhat compelling and reasonable concept.  Until you know and understand what abortion is and does to unborn children.  It's mutilation and murder.

The business of mutilation extends beyond birth of course.  It's big business - one can reconstruct one's body to look like an animal or an extraterrestrial, to change one's gender, to become more beautiful and so on.  It can be used for good and it often is - but there is a dark side.

I used to read a blog by a former Dominican priest who often said, "Women only have the rights men allot them."  

On the other hand, women like Hillary Clinton want to change that.

“There is one lesson from the past, in particular, that we cannot afford to ignore: You cannot make progress on gender equality or broader human development, without safeguarding women’s reproductive health and rights,” Clinton said near the end of a speech marking International Women's Day. “That is a bedrock truth.” - Hilary Clinton, CNN

“Far too many women are denied access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth, and laws don’t count for much if they’re not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice — not just on paper,” Clinton said.

“Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will,” she explained. “And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed. As I have said and as I believe, the advancement of the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of their societies is the great unfinished business of the 21st century and not just for women but for everyone — and not just in far away countries but right here in the United States.” - Hilary Clinton, The DC

 I think the Dominican was right, to some degree.  After all, it was an all male Supreme Court which ruled in Roe v. Wade.  

Khrystos Voskres!

 

Voistynu Voskres!

“May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged.

“Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets,″ Francis said. ”May the leaders of nations hear people’s plea for peace.

“‘Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?’” - Urbi et Orbi, Francis

Who knows the pity and sorrow of the Mother of God, our sorrowful intercessor!

Putin's Patriarch Cyril celebrated this past Sunday in the Russian Military Cathedral,

infamous for its "steam-punk" design, and pro-war Soviet symbolism.

"Mothers wail:

- We do not cry for ourselves, but only that our sons be spared.

Fathers mourn:

- recalling past hopes, no longer believing their sons will return.

Wives tear their hair:

- in anguish for their husbands.

In Alexandria and in Syria the same words of prayer rise to heaven,

- prayers for mercy and prayers for victory.

But heaven remained unmoved." - Aleksey Remizov

We cannot be indifferent.

 The bodies of village mayor Olga Sukhenko, her husband and son and that of a man believed to be a Ukrainian serviceman, who was not yet identified, lie in pit in the village of Motyzhyn, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A lifeless body of a man with his hands tied behind his back lies on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

The last frame filler.

Winter 2021-2022.

Probably my 5th Benedict Joseph Labre painting, the 2nd after Antonio Cavallucci.

Now I will work on more free-style works.  I also need to send a lot of stuff to auction.  My dreams about packing and boarding my flight suggest time is running out.