Holy Face

 O adorable Face which became brilliant like the sun and radiant with glory, on the Mountain of Tabor, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which wept and was troubled at the tomb of Lazarus, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which was rendered sad at the sight of Jerusalem, and shed tears on that ungrateful city, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which was bowed down to the ground in the Garden of Olives, and covered with confusion for our sins, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which was covered with the sweat of blood, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which was struck by a vile servant, covered with a veil of shame, and profaned by the sacrilegious hands of Thy enemies, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which by Its divine glance, wounded the heart of St. Peter with a dart of sorrow and love, have mercy on us.

Fear nothing

 

There's nothing new under the sun

•  The was an 1960s sci-fi episode from Outer Limits or One Step Beyond where a group of well intentioned scientists decide that the world needed to be terrorized into peace. They build a spaceship and the youngest and handsomest of them volunteers to be genetically altered to look like an alien. The process is irreversible. The "hero" says good-bye to his remarkably understanding wife and sets off on his mission which is to land in DC or the UN and give a speech along the lines of " Do these things and be peaceful or we will destroy you." Fortunately the plan goes awry and instead of landing in DC or New York the ship crashes in a small town and the noble scientist gets lit up by some good ole boys who unwittingly save the world from a group of smug, mad scientists who thought they knew what was best for the entire planet. 
  I was a kid when I saw that episode and I didn't like it one bit. I still don't. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Random thoughts on a Saturday night

•  Mundabor is about as gentle as a villain out of a Dickens novel. However, when he is right, he's right. 

• Thank you to everyone who read Grifting Vipers. To my amazement it is one of the most read posts in this blog's history. 
  
  
  
  

• Mass was interesting today. The lector reminded everyone who is unvaccinated to keep their masks on and the Eucharistic Minister lady was back despite the presence of three priests. The holy water was back and the sensitive couple with the bag of the metal toys for their baby was back. Now all we need is the sweaty guy with the moist hands lunging across the pew at the sign of peace and the girl with the short shorts and we'll be back to normal. 
  
  
  
  
• Non Veni Pacem is not only written by a really lovely person but it quite often a hoot to read. 
  
  
  
  
  
• When people find a traditional Mass and it's far from where they live it is not unheard of for them to move closer to the church especially if they want to go to daily Mass.  Whenever Rocky and I have talked about moving one of the top considerations is to see if there's a decent parish in the area. The FSSP has been ordered to leave Dijon, France after 23 years. All the people who may have moved to the area for the sake of those two parishes are now out of luck. This is one of the reasons why I can't get too excited about the FSSP. They serve at the pleasure of the local bishop and when tells them to get out that's it. 

St. Charles Lwanga, pray for us

 

Grifting Vipers

 Be extremely careful with  any layman who makes his entire living from writing and talking about the Faith. Those Elmer Gantry's will not give you Our Lord in Communion. They are not the ones who sit with you as your child dies. They are not the ones who hear your confession on the side of the road because you were so happy to see a priest.  They are not the ones driving miles to get to outlying villages to provide the sacraments. They are not the ones who listened to you pour out your fears and gave you courage to do the right thing about a particular situation, and they are not the ones who come to the rescue when somebody in your household messes with the occult. 

The layman professional Catholic will take your money and if you pay enough of it, you will have access to their designated fan only email in-box or phone line. Oh boy! Doesn't that make you feel special! These grifting vipers  post photos of their fabulous vacations...err.. pilgrimages  and their tastefully decorated homes that you helped pay for and the foolish will fancy that they have relationship with these people. The other extreme is the professional Catholic who cries genteel poverty and use guilt to manipulate you into donating to them because they are really being brave and sacrificial to bring their "apostolate" to you. They piously turn up their noses at their tacky neighbors and the  consumerism of the masses  but somehow-- thanks to donors---manage to make it to  Europe without bilocation, (notice these people never go to Kibeho, Calcutta or the Catholic areas of Nigeria) on a regular basis. 

Some guy with a theology degree and the ability to write well is not your spiritual father or your friend. What you do with your money is your own business but I'll plead with you. Stop fattening frogs for snakes. Before you hit the patron button do your own research. Find out where these guys have their businesses registered. Go to the state corporations site and look up their organizational documents. If they are registered as a charity then look up their IRS Form 990s. Read how much of the money goes to salaries and what the true expenses are then make an informed decision for yourself. If you can't find any business or charity documents on their "apostolate," that could be a very bad sign. If you ask flat out, in their comment section or private e-mail, "Who funds you?," and get a hostile or evasive answer that's a ten foot tall neon bad sign.

Take care.