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Sunday, February 28, 2021

Batter my heart








Holy Sonnets: Batter my heart, three-person'd God

BY JOHN DONNE
Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town to another due,
Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.


 

Sunday, February 21, 2021

What becomes of the broken-hearted?




Been interviewing Orthodox priests - they will speak with me about issues that are important to me; while I have interviewed some brave Catholic priests - most will say: I support what you are doing, but I can't speak to you, I am afraid of my bishop. https://t.co/qWNTwWlo20

— Joseph Sciambra @ The Sons of St. Joseph (@sonsofstjoseph) February 11, 2021

 

 

Lately, I've begun to find Joseph Sciambra annoying but then I catch myself and remember that he's been through Hell for most of his life. His body was so abused that he now has to wear adult diapers and the abuse to his soul would break most people. So, this recent kick that he's on about the manliness of the Orthodox and how impressive Orthodoxy is, probably comes from the rage over what he has lived through and his disappointment that Catholic priests aren't fulfilling his father/hero hunger. 

I think that Joseph has done some good but perhaps he needs to go be silent and work on his bitterness. It's poisoning him and will drive him right out of the Church. And then what? What will the poor man do when he realizes that there are sinners among the Orthodox too? What will he do when he discovers that even a man with a beard and a basso profundo voice and a comely wife with kids can be stealing from the collection plate, fornicating with males and or females or preying on the innocent young? What will happen to this man's psyche when he realizes that  not only will he never really fit in whatever Orthodox church he runs to, but he's also left the one true Church for a counterfeit? 

So many people are angry, hurt and completely knocked off their feet by the failures, abuses, and rank  abominations  of Francis, the bishops and individual priests. Broken-hearted sheep are being scattered and I've yet to see anyone, not one of the celebrity priests, the e-priests, or any of the fatheads in Catholic media talk about how many people are going Orthodox.


Monday, February 08, 2021

So Cardinal Dolan has been sued.....

Fr. Issac Relyea once gave a talk about the time then Cardinal Mccarrick came to his seminary. He'd heard the stories but wasn't alarmed because he was definitely not Uncle Ted's type. A priest who came with Mccarrick on the visit made advances and Fr. Issac told him in colorful language to cut that crap out. 

For years now I've been waiting for a seminarian to say no and name names in public. Finally a young man named  Anthony Gorgia is suing instead of just whispering his story ten or twenty years after the fact. When I read that Cardinal Dolan was in quarantine for Covid exposure I was skeptical. Then news about the Gorgia suit dropped and it made sense that he'd want to be out of sight for a few days. 

Ann Barnhardt says it much better than I but there's been rumors about the North American College in Rome for some time. When I was a young married woman when people heard that the new priest at the parish studied at the NAC they were impressed because this was where the smartest  seminarians -- the stars of their dioceses, were sent. These were the priests who would surely give sound counsel in the confessional and brilliant preaching with their homilies. Most people still feel this way but now when I hear that the new priest at the parish went to NAC I take a wait and see attitude. Young Fr. is either brilliant and tough as nails to have survived the goings on in Rome or....