Random thoughts on the second feast of St. Agnes

• Remember the whole Anglican-use Catholic thing?  The Anglicans were told they could become Catholic and keep on using their lovely old rite at Mass.  Promises were made, trust was asked for and received and it's come to this: Bishop Garcia-Siler has ordered the pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement, the first Anglican Use Pastoral Provision parish in the United States to step down. The bishop doesn't say what his problem with the pastor is but it is obvious that there is something about the priest or the parish that the bishop doesn't like and he's decided to fix it using the blunt instrument known as "time off to pray and reflect". Maybe it would be better to just convert and don't worry about bringing the entire parish and building with you. One day a new bishop and a new pope may come along who weren't part of your original deal and may decide that they are not bound to it. 

• St. Agnes is one of the few saints who has two days of honor. Her feast day is on January 21 and today is  her second feast shared with St. Peter Nolasco.
  
  
  
• Remember how "experts" told us to calm down about Pope Francis because he doesn't care about liturgy? Well, the pope has ordered a review of the Mass translation we currently use. Some people are upset. I am not. Constant change in the Novus Ordo Mass is not a bug, it is a feature. Every few years there will be something new and damn the complainers. That's just the way it is. Now, what if the New, New, New Mass comes with rubrics that are so heretical that they might as well be Lutheran with a dash of voodoo and a side a Pentecostalism, will regular lay Catholics do? For the most part, nothing.The folks who grumble will be told to shut up and they will. Some people will stop going to Mass, either completely or will be C&E and Ash Wednesday Catholics. Others who can do so, will go to the Eastern rites parishes or go Orthodox. A few, very few will go to a Christ the King parish or to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter for as long as they exist. An even tinier number will head to the Anglican rite churches or to the SSPX mission chapel.
  
  
• On Thursday evening we had six seminarians who came for the March for Life attend Mass. It was great seeing them. They were all so young and they looked like angels.
  
  
  
• Ann Barhardt is reporting that the Knights of Malta have been crushed because the Grand Master made a mistake which led to his forced resignation. As I've said before, if you want to be a public Catholic you must be clean. That is to say, that you must be above reproach. There must not be anything in your past or your private life that can be used against you. If you committed a mortal sin by yourself or have been an accessory to someone else in their mortal sin, go to Confession, do penance and resign your post now or make a public announcement  about what you did before an enemy finds it out---because the enemy will. The blackmailer is evil yes, but you brought in on yourself by committing the sin and thinking you could excuse it by all the good work you are doing for Our Lord and His Church.
  
  
  
• Young men, did your girlfriend or the girl you've been wanting to ask out on a date go that so-called Women's March in DC last week? Take that as a sign and ditch her. Unless you want to play weakling Ahab to her Queen Jezebel get away from her now.