Random thoughts on a Saturday morning

•  Thanksgiving was great but once again I was reminded how much harm the Covid era did to my mother. We went to Muggiano's Little Italy for the Italian Thanksgiving dinner and Rocky and I were thrilled at how packed the restaurant was.  It was so good to  see people enjoying themselves and living.  My mother enjoyed the food and enjoyed being with us but  she really doesn't like being around large numbers of people anymore and she still wears a mask in public places. I don't bother her about it because it would upset her and be a waste of breath. She's 82 and grew up believing what the man on the news says as gospel truth. I feel nothing but the deepest contempt for the politicians, scientists, doctors and the nasty snitches  that reveled in and perpetuated the entire Covid scenario. The amount of damage done to people's minds was so bad we will be dealing with it for years. My mother has PTSD essentially and I can't fix it or avenge her. 

• It's that time again.... for the St. Andrew Christmas Novena
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Something interesting happened at church. For the first time in over a  year, the parish bulletin acknowledged the sufferings of Christians in Gaza and in Israel. A collection is being taken up for the children's hospital in Bethlehem. The bulletin still reminds us to pray for Ukraine, but it's no longer mentioned in the prayers of the Faithful. I do believe there's been a shift in thinking.

• Ireland voted for abortion and women danced in the streets. Now many Irish are complaining about the large numbers of foreigners that are being dumped in the country.   England has long been a eugenicist's playground and now their leaders are hell bent on killing the sick.  Both countries have rejected God and embraced both hedonism, and death for the inconvenient. They are being replaced by a young, confident  aggressive Muslim population.  Perhaps this is God's permissive Will and a chastisement. Europe has been suicidal for a long time. 

Things that make you wonder?

 Catholic Charities Alexandria Food Pantry gave away 180 halal Thanksgiving meals. It was probably to to accommodate the Afghan refugees that Catholic Charities works with.  Does that mean they had someone from the Halal Chamber of Commerce to certify the food or did they just specifically purchase halal food? 

random thoughts on the Eve of All Saints

 

• I pretty much try to tune Vatican news out these days. It's painful to see the officers in the Church Militant behaving like fools and provocateurs. Watching Francis and his posse is like seeing your stepfather abuse your mom and as a result she's turned into a drunk who shames you in front of the neighbors while the stepfather gloats and gaslights. This Luce doll is weird. Blue hair, a Pride rosary around her/his neck and a wizard's stang. What "genius" thought this was a good idea? I'll be blunt. With all the pedophilia and homosexual scandals, this kiddie mascot is not a good look. It is not wise.  To those who think it's cute I'll ask this question. Does this doll or whatever the heck it is, inspire you to live and die if need be for the Catholic Faith? Does this doll make you love Jesus more? Do you look at this thing and feel awe at the very thought of our crucified Lord?  No? Then why the Hell, is this the mascot for the  2025 Jubilee?

 

• When even Liz Lev wrinkles her nose.....

It seems to me that this mascot apes rather than leads. A few Christian symbols imposed on an anime doll may be charming, and perhaps even marketable, but is pilgrimage a game? Is reconciliation?Michelangelo once said “if you follow others, you will never get ahead of them” https://t.co/C6HGR3Dj5p

— Elizabeth Lev (@lizlevrome) October 30, 2024

• Around 2021, I started noticing something odd. When I'd see wedding photos of Catholic "influencers," the grooms didn't seem right. It was like the young women were posing with living Ken dolls. They reminded me of girls playing wedding with a little brother being dragooned into playing the groom part. Other people noticed how odd the couples looked together and quite a few made crude comments about the possible sexual nature of the grooms. Strangely enough, the phenomenon seems to have calmed down. This year the couples look normal again. The men appear to be functioning men. What was that all about? Many people were psychologically  damaged by the Covid epoch. Perhaps it was caused by that. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Rocky and I don't do Halloween. Why? Because we're adults. We live in an apartment and Rocky's mother died on October 31. All that being said, if you're one of those people who give kids toothbrushes as Halloween treats or who preaches Hellfire at the toddler in a Batman costume you aren't helping. 

A ghostly tale for Halloween

Years ago when I was still in high school I read a collection of ghost stories called "Haunted Heartland." Most of them weren't a bit scary and were presented in  the dry  businesslike fashion of a folklorist who is merely collecting materials for a dissertation, but one tale stuck with me. It was the story of Fr. Louis Lesches, a priest assigned to St. Mary's College in Minnesota, who tried to kill his superior, Bishop Patrick Hefron. The bishop was saying Mass in the seminary chapel one morning when he turned around and saw Fr. Lesches standing behind him. To the bishop's surprise, the priest was wearing a Prince Albert suit instead of his cassock or clericals. To add to this surprise the bishop quickly realized that  the priest was packing heat. Fr. Lesches fired a gun three times, hitting the bishop twice.

At that time Fr. Lesches was already the number one problem child of the diocese. Although he was said to be brilliant and had done well in the academic part of his seminary studies, he was judged to be overly emotional, and  insubordinate. He'd failed at all of his parish assignments and now the concerned and probably a bit exasperated bishop had recalled him to St. Mary's to keep a close eye on him.  Fr. Lesches became convinced that the bishop was persecuting him. 

 Bishop Heffron's  great physical and mental toughness probably saved his life.  Instead of dropping dead, hiding in the pews, or swooning, he yelled at his now panicked attacker and chased him out of the chapel. Fr. Lesches was later captured by the police and spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital.

 Students have been claiming to see the ghost of Fr. Lesches on campus for decades. It's a spooky tale but I hope everyone who hears or reads it will stop and say a prayer for this poor, strange, unstable man who never should've been ordained but is a priest forever and one who probably really needs our help now. 

How Bishops Kill--- You should read this

 The wonderful An Archdiocese of Washington blog has a post that you should read, especially if you live in the DC, MD, Northern Virginia area. It's taken from a brave priest's newsletter. 

Back from vacation and other random thoughts

•  Rocky and I just got back from vacation and it was wonderful. We took my mother with us as usual and we all needed the break from DC and Northern Virginia. For Mass we went to a little church about 16 miles from our vacation cottage. It was like stepping back into 1980. The music was Eagles Wings and other stuff I haven't heard since elementary school. The people were very sweet to tourists. The cantor reminded me of a high school football coach but instead of making us run laps for practice he produced a lovely voice.
  The only real fly in the ointment was the homily. The priest was a friendly, kind man who obviously cares about his people but he tried to justify the pope's latest airplane interview. Fr. assured us that Gandhi, and Billy Graham were saints. They weren't with us (I guess he meant Catholics) but they did the Lord's work. I sat there and thought, "Father, Gandhi let his wife die because he didn't want to use British medicine and he later slept in the same bed as his nieces to test  his chastity."
  
  After Mass Rocky asked, "What did you think of Father's homily?"
  "I didn't like it. " 
  
  "Didn't think you would." We laughed and drove off along the tiny country roads to find dinner. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• My uncle Junior was without power for four days in South Carolina. My cousin came and brought him back to Tennessee but it was rough trip. My uncle says he's never seen devastation like Helene before. It was worse than a tornado. I finally heard from another cousin, Shirley, who lives in the next county over from Uncle Junior. She still has no power and cell phone service is spotty. A tree fell on her truck and another one fell on the fence. She also stated the damage is incredible.
  
    I just donated to The Martyrs Walk hurricane relief effort.  Please don't donate to Red Cross. Send your money to local charities that are on the ground. 
  
  
  
  
  
• I've never felt much enthusiasm for the FSSP because it's only in two places in the Richmond diocese and I don't see it ever being allowed in Arlington. The order seems pretty rimrocked to me and the latest news of an Apostolic Visitation from Rome doesn't bode well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Out of all the wonderful charities and volunteer groups who are helping in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida, you know whose name I haven't heard about? Catholic Charities. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Speaking of Catholic Charities, you should read this by Fr. Nix. 

Random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

•  Rocky and I went to Mass at the newly renovated Arlington Cathedral and it's actually beautiful. The garish colors and mish mash of styles are gone. The Blessed Sacrament is in the middle of the sanctuary now instead of the side and the bishops chair is no longer in the middle.
  
  Is it as stunning as the cathedral in Baltimore, or DC? No, of course not but it is a huge improvement over what it was. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Pro Life movement has to get its act together. Right now people are talking about a woman who was a pro life activist who was looked up to and admired by a number of young women. She just announced that she had an abortion in June. So, you have a pro-life activist who despite everything she's said and argued and all the resources she could have access to, who had an abortion. Did nobody check this woman's background before promoting her as a face of the movement? 

Well that was a dud

 I ordered a veil from Maria Veils and am not happy with the non existent customer service, the undeliverable company emails, and with what I received. The veil in my hands does not look as long or ornate as the one in the photo. Oh well, lesson learned. From now on I'll stick to Veiled by Tradition or order from nuns. 

Random thoughts on Tuesday evening

•  I've been reading a lot of Twitter  and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of people need to understand something: When you grow up and leave home your parents don't owe you anything anymore. You have no right to be angry that your parents sold the house and moved to North Carolina. You have no right to expect that your mother will babysit your child everyday. You have no right to be bitter about your inheritance being "wasted", because your parents decided to go on a cruise and you have no right to rage because your widowed parent decided to get married again.
  
  I am not talking about being angry over childhood abuse or the horror of growing up with Boomer parents who spent your whole youth finding themselves in sex, drugs and various cults and isms. I'm talking about expecting your elderly parents to keep standing between you and the world.
  
  Consider our ancestors for a moment. Do you think Pioneer women living in sod houses on the prairie had anyone to watch the baby while they went to town? Their mothers were either back East or in Colonial days, back in England. And yet those women survived and made a nation out of nothing.
  
  The only thing my father's father left him was his name. And you know what? My father got up, lived his own life and went to work. At some point you have to stop pouting and get to living. 

• I think the people who are sharing that AI created image of Our Lord based on the Shroud mean well but it looks too much like Charles Manson to me. I much prefer real art. 
  
  
  
  
  

• In the UK, your doctors can kill you if they think your case is hopeless and they won't let you leave the country to seek treatment elsewhere. In exchange for setting your broken arm or draining your pimples for "free", Brits become property of the State health service. No, thank you!
  
  
  
  
  
  
• It's happened again. My neighbor took a shower and my toilet began bubbling like a geyser. I watched in horror as my tub filled with sewage.  Maintenance took care of it but  I followed up with vast quantities of bleach. It's time to move. I refuse  to deal with this ever again. In your charity, please pray that Rocky and I find a new home and don't have too much trouble getting out of our lease. 

July has been a Hell of a month...no humor intended

 This July has been wild. Trump is almost killed, the Democrats stop lying and turn on old Joe, and the French commit blasphemy at the opening ceremony of the Olympics... August isn't looking too good either.  

The people at my job are serious, fervent Democrats. They  would  vote for a live guinea pig or a dead man as long as the rodent and the cadaver are Dems but there were no jokes about the assassination attempt in the office. One person told me that she was in despair because it was obvious that Biden couldn't keep up even the pretense of being in full control of his faculties. Another whispered that she really wishes she had a place for her family to go hide in. Nobody is excited about the Vice President. Everyone, even the office loud mouth joker, is being impressively careful with what they say.

As for the Olympics, I guess the organizers decided that they wanted to be weirder than the London Olympics opening ceremony and they succeeded.  Emperor Theodosius banned the games in 393 because he thought it promoted paganism. I think he deserves a nod of acknowledgement for that. The blasphemy against Our Lord made me think of the warnings given by Our Lady of LaSallete.

Frank Walker has a few things to say about the Eucharistic Congress and Michael Matt's quixotic trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro. 

Lost Girl

Last weekend, my husband, Rocky and I saw something we've never seen before. A young girl, was posed suggestively on the curb at the shopping strip we always go to for Japanese food. She was scantily clad and it was hard to be sure how old she was under the makeup. She had a cut open knee and  looked, frankly, like she was for sale. She still appeared healthy but her eyes, oh! Her eyes looked like she was already dead. Seeing a thousand yard stare on someone so young is deeply unsettling. 

We've noticed prostitutes walking by the motels in the rough section of town but this is the first time I've ever come across one on our end. This strip mall isn't located away from everything or in an industrial area. It's surrounded by apartment buildings and homes. People walk to the grocery store. Old men sit in and around the Starbucks chatting and sipping coffee all day. This is a residential area. Don't tell me that the economy is fine and crime isn't all that bad. Things are getting noticeably ugly at a rapid pace. After we picked up our food we looked for the girl but she was gone. St. Mary of Egypt, St. Margaret of Cortona, St. Philomena, St. Agnes, St. Maria Goretti, please pray for this lost girl. 

Our Lady, patroness of the Americas, please pray for us

The line from this Broadway* song, is in my head today.

Dice are Rolling,

The knives are out
Would be presidents are all around
I can't say they mean harm, but they'd each give an arm
To see us six feet underground... 

God have mercy on the soul of Mr. Corey Comperatore, who was murdered yesterday in Butler, Pennsylvania. He  will be an afterthought or a one line mention in the news but his poor family has been devastated. I'm afraid for the country. We are living in monstrous times and it is going to get worse. Humanly speaking we are up the creek and heading to the river. We lost the paddles a few decades back and there is a waterfall a few miles away. I think we are past the point of secular remedy.

Our Lady, patroness of the Americas, please pray for us. Intercede with your Divine Son!

* "Dice Are Rolling" from Evita

Random thoughts on a Sunday morning

 

• The fool always wants to go back to the fire, thinking it will be different this time.  A few days ago I was reading a discussion on Afghanistan. The original poster was upset because Afghan men frequently take young brides. The responses were horrified but they were also filled with women saying we should do something about it. Folks Afghanistan is what it is and interfering never works. It's nickname is "The grave of empires," for a reason. John Bull couldn't force them into the 19th century, Ivan Ivanovich with Soviet brutality couldn't conquer them and Ricky Bobby armed with feminism and porn couldn't make a lasting change in their culture either. Anybody who says "we" should force First World standards on them is a fool who  should be ignored or at least given a free trip to Afghanistan to put their talk into action.

• Pray for Cardinal Vigano.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Pray for Cardinal Zen, the smack down he put on Michael Lofton and indirectly, all the laypeople who make their livings off the Faith was magnificent. Stop giving these people money. 
  
  
  
  
• Rocky and I went to a different parish last Sunday and it was a good experience. People came in and sat down in the pews in silence. Nobody was talking about their TV shows or the grandchildren's soccer game.   One family did a devotion at the Immaculate Conception chapel before Mass. Another family did the Stations of the Cross. When Mass began, the lector was fully dressed and didn't feel the need to act out the reading. The cantor didn't try to give us a mini concert. The old priest said Mass with care and his homily in no way resembled a stand up comedian's act. He preached on the Gospel. Communion was from the hands of two priests and a deacon. There were no Eucharistic Ministers. That was all so refreshing. 

• Thank you, Fr. Nix. This little video is gut wrenching.   Everyone who's pastor refused or ignored them or allowed their secretary to mock them when they asked for a religious exemption, stand tall. Every pastor who refused, remember this. 

Are you still defending Rupnik's art?

To everyone who still defends the mosaics by the foul and vicious Fr. Marko Rupnik because they think you must separate the art from the artist and who use the "Caravaggio gave the Church some of her greatest art, yet he was crazy and once committed murder," excuse,  I ask you to do two  things: look and then consider. Go somewhere that has Rupnik's work, such as the  JPII Shrine   or look at one of his mosaics online then consider this: The woman who cut or placed  the individual pieces that make up the mosaic may have been one of the nuns that Fr. Rupnik abused, physically, psychologically, and sexually. 

Caravagio got into a fight with a pimp and killed him. Rupnik is accused of creating a cult of personality, and of attempting to have sex with as many nuns as possible in the convent he co-founded. Some sources say that he abused 20 women, other sources it was more like 40. He's accused of breaking a nun's finger. He is accused of forcing a nun to drink his semen from a chalice. You know that the chalice only has one purpose so this was also an act of stomach turning blasphemy and desecration. 

Apparently, if you were a female interested in art and were at the Loyola Convent or at the Aletti Center you faced being crushed mentally by the weight of Rupnik's unchecked narcissism.  Your blood, sweat and tears went into those ugly mosaics. If you were one of those who got the courage to complain you were either ignored and called crazy or punished for lying. This went on for 30 years and who knows what's going on in his retreat in Slovenia. 

The  Loyola Community convent has been shut down and thank God. It was not a true convent, where nuns served and worshipped Jesus, but a cult and the apparent god was Rupnik. The  Alleti Center needs to be defunded. Both entities didn't just happen while the eyes of the shepherds were elsewhere. Like a number of  apostolates, movements, and orders that came about or gained popularity in the 80s and 90s these were lavishly cultivated and admired like putrid corpse flowers in a botanical garden. 

Random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

•  I once went to a Mass that had a Charismatics service right afterwards. They had men standing by to catch people and  blankets to keep those "slain in the Holy Spirit" warm until they got up. I did not like what I was seeing. If you find  yourself in the presence of someone howling gibberish, and/or falling into a faint  in church, know that is not of God.  Have you ever noticed that  these people  never suddenly start talking to a non English speaker in their own language?  I know of only one outsider who said he understood what a speaker of tongues was saying and that person, a priest from an African country said they were screaming blasphemies.
  
  A few years ago, Rocky helped an Afghan family at Aldi's to understand how the shopping carts and quarter work. He did not speak Dari or Pashto, he mostly pantomimed and the husband got the picutre. Presumably, if a  a person with the gift of tongues had happened by, that individual would have been able to take charge and explain the Aldi shopping carts with eloquence and with a perfect accent. Ann Barnhardt says it better than me here. 
  
  
  
  
• Philip Lawler has a question.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I was at the gastroenteritis's office yesterday and mentioned that the last serious coughing, gagging reaction I had was when my marijuana adoring neighbor walked by me. The doctor told me that he went to college in the 70s and weed was everywhere on campus but it didn't smell like a long- dead skunk like it does today. 
  
  
  
  
• If anyone signed up for this, then they simply can't be helped outside of Divine Intervention. 

Random thoughts on Monday morning.

•  My Uncle Jr. is home now. His son, my mother, his doctor and various friends and family have all spoken sternly to him and his freezer is now full of frozen dinners, and he has a case of Ensure in his pantry. He's never going to be happy eating three meals a day but if we can at least keep him at a healthy level of nutrient intake that would be a great blessing. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• You know, this Harrison Butker thing is strange. A man gives a commencement speech at a small Catholic college that most people, Catholics included probably have never heard of so why was this pounced on by so many liberals? Do these people spend their lives searching for things to be offended by? Are they monitoring/spying on Catholics? Does anybody find this disconcerting?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• When Judgement Day comes one of the many astounding things we will all hear is the number of people who left the Church because of the man, boy and ultimately woman hating  1970s-80s, pant suit mannish nuns like the The Benedictines of Mount Saint Scholastica. This type of professed religious  repulsed me when I was in high school but thank God, I had the example of real Daughters of Charity sisters who taught most of the classes.  As an adult I still  do not want any part of nuns like this. These fakes  need to be suppressed. If Saint Scholastica were to walk into their monastery she'd be very displeased.

• Pentecost Mass was... disappointing. The homily was sweet but I felt that it was appropriate for children rather adults and we didn't get to hear Veni Sancte Spiritus. I went to the Canon's You Tube channel for a decent homily. 

In your charity and 3 tips on finding a Catholic bride....

•  In your charity could you please pray for my Uncle Jr? He's afraid of gaining weight so he only eats one meal a day with a mineral oil chaser. Snacks are anathema. He's been like this  for years. On Mother's Day he was invited to a family dinner and  did a little extra fasting in order to prepare for the big meal. Well, not surprisingly, he fainted in his home,  knocked himself out and lay helpless on the floor for hours. He'll be the hospital for 48 hours of tests and observation. Eating disorders are not exclusive to young women. He's got to change his diet ASAP. 
  
  
  
  
• I've noticed some young Catholic men are asking on social media why they can't find a good wife. Well, I can offer three suggestions.
  
  
  
• First, check your hygiene. I can't even tell you how many times I've sat in a pew and wondered where that hot blast of pure funk was coming from. In the suburbs, it's usually wafting off the young guy sitting in front of me. Guys, it may be honest sweat and you may have the body of an Adonis but if you stink, the young ladies will not smile upon you.
  
  
  
• Second, have a job, a real one. Your part time social media manager job for a small Catholic  podcast will not support a family and neither will your Mechanical Turk or  Door Dash delivery gigs. 
  
  
  
• Thirdly, mind your manners. If you can't speak and conduct yourself in a genteel manner around a girl, how do you expect to get a date, much less married?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

random thoughts on a hot Wednesday night

•  Rocky wanted to go to Confession after work and since it was the first of the month there was a long line. An old man loudly wanted to know which confessional father was going to be in because he didn't want to wait long. Rocky explained to him that he didn't know. Fr. X is usually at the confessional Rocky was standing next to so he was guessing that's where the priest would be. The old guy wasn't satisfied. The line and the uncertainty agitated him. Finally I got up and stepped outside to call the rectory. As it turned out Fr. X had an emergency and couldn't hear confessions anyway. The old guy was still unhappy and vocal about it when we left. We'll try again on Saturday.

• Movements and national consensus don't happen or change overnight. We are now reaping what was sown several decades ago. The worm always turns, things go so far in one direction that human nature requires a course reversal but most of the people who longed for or feared the change are  dead when it finally happens. Back in the 70s it was considered cute and spunky when women reporters insisted on being in men's locker rooms,  girls demanded to go to all male colleges, and  women wanted membership in even private male clubs. Now, a naked man can be in the locker room with women and girls. Teen boys and men are winning at female sports and until a girl gets seriously injured on national television or men dominate in female events in the Olympics, they will continue to do so. I'm sure nobody saw that coming back in 1972.
  
  A few weeks ago I saw a video of a fight between two girls in a restaurant. Multiple people asked where the men were to stop it when one of the girls started losing badly. I wanted to know what cave these people have been dwelling in for the last 60 years. Women have been declaring that they don't need men and while I'd say that up until the 90s most guys just brushed it off,  an increasing number of young and middle aged men  are saying "okay" and "bye" and are minding their own business. You can call them wimps, losers or whatever insult you can think of but you won't be able to call them for help. 

Wait and see

 Lillian Roth was once a stage, film and recording star. Her parents put her to work as a child and didn't concern themselves  with her safety as much as her paychecks. She was molested at the age of 6, while at a modeling job. Miss Roth started drinking in her teens and by the end of her twenties she was considered unemployable and was killing herself with alcoholism.  Finally, she went to Alcohol Anonymous and got sober. Her sponsor was a Catholic man and she converted and married him. Her autobiography, conversion story and the movie made of her life were huge news in both secular and Catholic circles. After 18 years of sobriety, she relapsed and her husband, who was also her manager, left her. Lillian then discovered that he'd stopped by the bank as he was walking out of her life, and emptied their account. 

Her Catholic husband who had been her knight in shinning armor turned out to be a really nasty  toad and from reading old newspaper archives, I get the impression that a some of the public  who were lavish in their enthusiasm for Roth when she converted were disappointed and not all that helpful when she needed help again. Roth did regain her sobriety and she even made a triumphant return to Broadway. She is buried in a Jewish cemetery. I hope she kept the Faith but I haven't found anything that makes it clear that she did or didn't. 

Why do I mention this?  Because the tragic story of Lillian Roth reminded me of current events. Right now a lot of people are excited because two women who made their living from  the sex industry have converted.  

By all means,  be happy for them.  Pray for them but don't treat them like they're God's special gift to the Church.  Give them a chance to show they're genuine and give them time to mature in the Faith.  Considering what both these women did for money I would think that anybody who really cares about them should be advising them to step away from social media and live their new redeemed lives in private. People are watching them closely in an effort to prove that they are fake. If they are sincere, surely all this slobbering fandom on one hand  and hostility from others is too much pressure to be under.  When real life gives them a rough patch or they meet a Catholic who lets them down, they might weaken in their conviction. Remember the parable of the Sower and pray that these women aren't seeds in shallow soil. Let's wait and see.

Hey fellow Catholic...before you buy that distant property, read this

This is going to irritate some people but I don't think the Catholic Back to the Land movement is the best or only answer for the American Catholic future. You may have a hazy fantasy about running off to an area near a chapel and priest or monks and then homesteading off grid, but is that realistic?  

Have you ever killed a chicken? My grandmother could wring a chicken's neck with seemingly no effort. My mother never got the knack of it and preferred to use a hatchet and I can't do it all. I could learn the skill, of course but I'll be starving  by the time I perfect butchering and then getting the bird on table. 

Can you shoot a shot gun? You're going to have do that at some point.  Do you know how to milk a cow or care for one? Do you understand that goats and sheep are cute but need a lot of attention? Have you any idea how to butcher a steer, a hog or deer?  Do you know what could  happen if the well goes bad?  

My grandparents weren't dancing and singing in the fields; they were working hard every day but Sunday and even then, the cow, the mule and the other animals needed to be tended to before they left for church. Do you have the stamina for that? Country boys are strong and you better be too or you won't make it. 

 I've learned many things from YouTube videos but if you want to succeed at homesteading you are going to need a wise and loyal someone in real life and nearby to help you. That may be a problem. 

Your new neighbors may not like Catholics. Many Protestants don't. The neighbors may have already had insulting encounters with city folks. They may resent you because you and people like you are buying up property and making things more expensive for the locals. You might find yourself a pariah before you even meet your closest neighbor. If you inadvertently messed up in your social interactions, being out there alone with hostile neighbors may be very bad for you.

Someone may be muttering right now, "But Dymphna, we have to get out of the city, and we need to do it NOW." I understand but don't run off half cocked with no plan.  You might be better served by moving to a small city or town or finding a largely Catholic planned community. I know everyone mocked Ave Maria when it was built in Florida but that, or a situation like it, might be a far more realistic option for you than homesteading. 

I have read comments from people who think cordial relations with their neighbors don't matter. They aren't looking for a community and don't care about the impression they're making on  the neighbors. All they want is a quiet place to hold up and make a stand if there is a major societal upheaval in the future. Lone wolves rarely make it. In real life they end up scavenging until they can join or create a pack of their own. You are going to  need the good will of the locals and I'm not seeing a whole lot of Catholic homesteading dreamers talking about that. 

Random thoughts on Eclipse day

•  Enjoy the eclipse with eye protection of course. When my mother saw her first one she was a small child and was terrified.  When I  saw one I was an adult and was standing on the roof at my employer's eclipse happy hour gathering. Obviously the world didn't end either time.  To those Catholics  who lean Protestant and are expecting the Rapture, sorry, you aren't getting out of here that easily. Go read your bible and then read St. Francis De Sales on the topic of anxiety. 
  
  
  
  
• There's been chatter that Michael Voris is trying to make a come back. I hate to say it but there's probably quite a few individuals out there who are  willing to give him one more chance and write him a check. 
  
  
  
  
• I don't normally read anything from the National Catholic Register and stuff like this is why. It's not just huge scandals that alienate young men from the Church it's the everyday nice and sentimental and absolutely revolting mush. 
  
  
  
  
• I've said it before but I really think that 19 years after the death of Pope John Paul II,  the Divine Mercy devotion is in decline. In recent years in my parish, the first Sunday after Easter was either celebrated with the painting being displayed but without any mention of DM or like this year, the painting was displayed and the lector announced that it was DM Sunday and that was it. We have not been asked to pray the chaplet during or after Mass in several years and while the lines were Confession were long that could have been because the line is always long around the first of the month. To my knowledge we don't have any Polish parishes or Marian Congregation parishes in the Arlington diocese but other than those I didn't get the impression that it was a big deal this year. 

• Does anyone remember how weird it was when Catholic "influencers" began Tweeting that they weren't going to see Oppenheimer before it even came out because of the sex scenes. Nobody asked them publicly about the movie. They weren't Catholic movie critics; they just made their righteous statements out of thin air  and when the movie hit the theaters the Tweets came to a dead stop. Did the first few guys get paid to drive some Twitter traffic towards the movie while the latter ones just jumped on to get attention? 
• It wouldn't be the first odd publicity campaign and we know that Hollywood uses bots and pays people to make provocative Tweets and posts on Facebook about upcoming films. I found it interesting that these men got their Oppenheimer feelings--that nobody asked them for--- out in public but lost interest in movies after that. 

• In your charity please pray for my aunt. She's my late father's youngest and only surviving sister. She was in a terrible, freak car accident and was both run over and dragged in her own yard. 

Happy Easter !Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!

 

Holy Saturday : a playlist

What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

from an ancient Holy Saturday Homily

Have a Blessed Triduum

•  Rocky and I went to our old parish for Holy Thursday and then went to visit churches to pray at their Altars of Repose. Queen of Apostles in Alexandria had the most beautiful one and I was very surprised to see that the worst one was at the Cathedral of St. Thomas Moore. We saw great tenderness, beauty  and decorative talent in little parishes so the lack of effort at the cathedral was disappointing. 
  
  
  
  
  
• On Good Friday we went to West Virginia. The Solemn  Liturgy. It was incredible.  On the way home we drove past St. Anthony of Padua church in Falls Church just as the Stations of the  Cross were getting started. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Palm Sunday pre-1955, 1962 and Novus Ordo

I've been trying to understand the differences in the pre 1955 Holy Week liturgies and the 1962 version. I've listened to lectures and read a few explanations but seeing it was the key for me. 

I found a pre-1955 Palm Sunday Mass and watched then compared it to a 1962 rubric Palm Sunday Mass and then the Novus Ordo. 

I was watching a video on traditional texts to study for Holy Week and one of the resources was Restore the 54.  It does a good job spelling out the changes that happened during the Pius XIII pontificate to the Holy Week liturgies. 

Another fake, fake, fake devotion.

 

I encountered a very nice person who was big into the Divine Will fake devotion. He's educated and has written books on the Faith but I don't care. Whatever Luisa Piccaretta was talking to was not Our Lord or Our Lady. This disturbed woman's cause for beatification has been  suspended and God willing won't go any further.  WARNING  -- In this video refuting the devotion, Fr. Mawdsley quotes directly from Luisa's books and her words are so revolting it's physically painful to listen to but it is necessary to show that Luisa was either insane or speaking to a demon. 

 How on earth this filthy business ever caught on with anybody is astonishing.  As Fr. said, "This is wrong, this is so wrong and it doesn't bear commenting on with so much that is suspicious and off and even sickening about this". 

If anybody tries to promote this to you, be extremely wary. 

 

Random thoughts on Monday afternoon.

•  I saw a video of a basketball game where a boy who says he is a girl injured a female player on the opposing team. Folks this is going to go until you remove your daughters from the playing fields. I keep hearing people say, "But she'll lose  her scholarship," and I don't get it. Is any college worth so much to you that you let your daughter's nakedness be exposed the eye of a leering and possibly dangerous individual in the locker room and shower?
  
  Is any college scholarship worth your girl getting knocked out, stomped, damaged internally, or her head cracked in during a sporting competition she had no chance to win?
  
   Don't you love your daughter? Does her dignity mean nothing to you?  In 1968, two black Olympians risked their medals and athletic careers for their cause. They faced screaming event attendees, were kicked out the Olympic village and they received death threats. 
  
  They won. Both went on to the NFL and are considered Civil Rights era heroes today. The adult athletes and the parents of the minors have to leave the mad house and yes, sacrifices will have to be made if you are serious. It's not going to change by  pleading. 

•  A priest posted a photo of his 90 year old mother and asked for prayers because she passed away. One person complained that the mother was wearing pants and chastised the loving son for showing an immodest photo. My brothers, if you experience temptation looking at a 90 year old woman I suggest that you step away from the Internet, possibly forever for any reason other than work, and get yourself to the nearest priest  for spiritual guidance because ....something aint right.  
  
  
  
  
  
• Ave Maria
  
  
  
  

Our Lady of the Rosary, Pray for Us

 

Parce Domine

 

Last night, Rocky and I tried to go the 6PM Ash Wednesday Mass after work but it was packed. We sat in the parking lot and went to the 7PM Mass instead. Both priests looked tired but happy. I hope everyone has a holy Lent. 

“Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.”

Poor Pope Benedict. Eleven years after his resignation and I think that his fleeing for whatever the true reason, will be the only thing the sheep and the world will remember him for. 

Showing up at church is not enough

 Something happened at Mass a few years ago that still disturbs me. A family came in late and pushed past an older lady. She got up and moved to another pew. The oldest boy whispered something to the father. The man snapped that the woman was just crazy.  He said it  loud enough that I, sitting a few pews back, heard him. I think the woman must have heard him too. I never saw her again. 

This woman was a parishioner of many years. She was always reserved but friendly to me and struck me as being a very nervous and sensitive soul. I hope she just started going to Mass at a different time or at a different parish. 

Guys, you may have a beard like Moses, wear a Savile Row suit and have a family size to rival the Patriarch Jacob's and you may lead your family to church every Sunday but if you act like a jerk when you get there what lesson are you teaching them?  

This is bad

 

This man, on a trip to his home in Utah, noticed  illegal immigrants in the airport with NGO papers indicating  that they were clients of Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona. As I have said before, there is going to be a backlash over this type of thing. When people start taking even their verbal anger out on Catholics I guarantee that our separated brethren and pagan groups wont raise even a peep in our defense or show a shred of fellowship. These NGOs need to have the word Catholic removed from their names. 

As I’m on my way home to SLC, UT
I noticed 6 illegal migrants are also boarding the same @AmericanAir flight.

Looks like I’ve got some new neighbors! https://t.co/J3w2w9Nrz2

— Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA) January 15, 2024

 

Long break and other random thoughts

•  Well, I took a long Christmas break and it was good. I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and Epiphany season. 2024 is going to be a doozy.
  
  
  
  
• I saw that Gonzalo Lira is dead. He was not a good man. He should have left Ukraine as soon as the war drums started beating. He was not a wise man in many ways but he's dead and it didn't have to be that way. Some people are angry that he didn't get the same attention that Britney Griner got but that's not saying much. Griner is back in the States but she doesn't appear to be her old self on the basketball court and probably isn't the same in private as she was before she was arrested in Russia. In many parts of the world getting arrested can lead to you kneeling in an unlit cell in the sub-basement of a building whose very name makes the local folks nervous. Even in places like Japan or Sweden you are not going to have a good time.
  
  In Lira's case,  being taken into custody was deadly. To all the Americans who think that running off to Eastern Europe, Asia or South America is the way to go, know this: no matter how long you live there or how long you've been married to a native woman --its' usually men who talk about doing this--- you will always be that American and the locals will come for you if things go sideways. If other friendly locals don't come to your defense, what are you and your family going to do but end up as a cautionary tale?
  
  
  
  
• Do you have a diocesan priest who is clearly a man and a holy one at that? Stop showing his photo or reporting  his comments on social media without his permission. You're not helping especially if his bishop already hates him. I'm sorry it's come this but here we are.
  
  
  
  
  
•  Breakfast At Tiffany's was about a prostitute. Medjugorje is a scam, at best. C.S. Lewis was not Catholic and showed terrible judgement in his personal life. Everyone involved in the film, Pretty Baby should have been publicly whipped. You don't have to go to college to be a good Catholic.                                                                                                                                                                       
  
  
  
• There was a guy who posted regularly in the Catholic Twitter circle who started out interesting but completely lost it. He stopped writing about the Faith and just kept posting shirtless photos of himself. It got weird. Somebody must have started criticizing him for it because he shut down his account abruptly. I'm NOT talking about Voris. Apparently its common for men who are trying to get into body building level shape to send photo proof of their progress to their Accountability buddies, but dude, keep that private. Just as attention seeking Catholic women posting their photos every single day are off-putting, so too, are the men who do this.     
  
  
  
  
• In December I saw a number of Professional Catholics post lovely photos of their very nice homes and they wished their followers who donate and make their lifestyle possible, a happy Christmas. I've seen it reported by many sources that Church Militant's donors were mostly middle-aged to elderly women. I hope that's not true but more than that, I hope that in light of what is coming out about CM many people are waking up and wising up about who they are donating to.