Our Lady of the Cave

Mass was pretty rough on Monday

Rocky and I couldn't make it to our parish so we went to Mass at another local parish. It's a dainty little church, the priest is a nice man, the people are friendly and sincere. I like them so I won't say the name of the place. It was like I fell into a time machine and stepped out in 1976. Afterwards I said to Rocky that  the whole experience, except for Father's excellent and utterly orthodox homily, was like being a little kid again. There was ad-libbing, with the rubrics and a mild lack of cantor control. Rocky was bemused by the loud running commentary by young couple explaining the Mass to their  very cute and talented and not completely potty trained (he announced "I peed! I peed!," sometime around the Our Father), tot. It was sweet but LOUD. Oh well. It was pretty rough but considering our schedule and the horrible evening traffic that night I am thankful we were able to get Mass.

American Hysteria-- It's all just a little bit of history repeated

From the time of the Pilgrims, Americans have been prone to outbreaks of hysteria. You may remember that the Salem Witch trials began with a nine year old girl and her eleven year old cousin who displayed shocking fits that seemed to have no physical cause. As word of the behavior spread other girls in town began doing the same things. And suddenly some simmering neighborhood feuds and family resentments exploded with the girls accusing all kinds of people of witchcraft. By the time cooler heads prevailed twenty people were either executed or died in prison. Some people say that it was the accusation against the governor's wife that finally made most of the colonists realize that this whole thing was a monstrous farce.

We shake our heads at Salem these days but essentially the same thing keeps happening over and over. Do you remember the  day care abuse hysteria wave of the 80s and 90s which destroyed innocent people? At the time if you said, "Wait a minute. How can you take ten or twenty kids out of school in broad day light, abuse them in unspeakable and violent ways without leaving a mark?," people responded by accusing you of not not believing, being evil yourself or being small minded. At first we all believed what was being reported but as the years went by and we read details of the accusations it all fell apart. Obviously, children are abused in school but the ritualized chains of predators (if not outright covens) that suddenly rose up in the 80s and early 90s turned out to be not provable and in many cases obvious hogwash. The accused in the daycare scares are now either dead, elderly, or so severely traumatized that they just want to be left in peace. We don't have their protesting voices to remind us what happened to them and we let the media, the mad and the unscrupulous lead us on into something new to be panicked and outraged about such as the current campus rape frenzy.

 Panics like this are not completely unique to America but we seem to do it more spectacularly than anybody else.  Mary, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.

The Immaculate Conception-- Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation

I don't read Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog very much anymore but I checked in yesterday and was a little depressed to see that the comments on the annual question of "Is there any way to get out of going to Mass two days in a row?" aka "How do we handle the Feast of the Immaculate Conception."?  I'll tell you how you handle it. You go to Mass on Sunday and then yeah, you go to Mass on Monday to honor Our Lady. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a holy day of obligation in the US so it's serious business if you miss Mass for a non-serious reason. If you are a parent, and your child has some activity planned on Monday night it's even more vital that you cancel that and go to Mass. If you don't practice the Faith now, while your children are at home don't make a fuss or sulk when they give up it up the minute they leave the house for good. 

The Christ Child

The Infant Jesus by Carlo Dolci

Pray for us, St. Peter Claver

 I have a feeling and can base it on nothing concrete, just my instincts-- that there is a great big fat hustle going on in Ferguson. I think the locals, both the ones who are just enjoying themselves with their stolen loot and the ones who are genuinely outraged,  are getting played but by whom and to what purpose? I haven’t a clue but the Da Tech Guy Blog has a warning for the folks who actually live in Ferguson that makes a lot of sense. 

A particularly vicious demon has been let loose  and when you dance with demons there is no way you can come away from the experience without being burned at the least  or utterly consumed. Speaking of demons, there's a scene in the movie, Evil Dead (don't bother to look it up--it's terrible, bad acting, bad theology, piss poor story telling and unnecessarily graphic and I couldn't stomach it after 20 minutes) where one of the hapless soon-to-be victims says to the hero, " I don't know if you noticed this, but ... Nothing's fine. Everything's been getting worse...every second." That pretty much sums up the political and morally rotten state of this poor country. God have mercy.  We do not deserve it, not one bit but dear God send us priests, send us saints, we need conversion, penance and fervor so very desperately. 

Oh St. Peter Claver, pray for us.  

Magnificat

Annunciation

Vespers at St. Francis Church

Gethsemane

...And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.  Luke 24:14

O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow: for he hath made a vintage of me.. Lamentations 1:12

Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord.. Psalm 130

He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things?  Romans 8:32

One of the Sweetest Holy Family paintings I've ever seen

A rather sobering Last Supper

This drawing of the Last Supper is interesting and in particular because of the way the unknown artist portrays Judas. Obviously, he's the only one in the dinning room with no halo but look at his body posture.  Everyone else is following Jesus with rapt attention. They are leaning towards Him with hands either clasped in prayer or outstretched in supplication  but Judas sits stiffly with his elbow on the table and his knees crossed in a studied imitation of casualness. One hand is  directed away from the Lord and the other is clinching his precious blood money.  He is in the room with the Lord and the others but inside he's already gone.  This drawing  deftly illustrates the hardened, smug sinner who does not even acknowledge to himself that he is a sinner, at Mass.

Some such as St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom say that Judas took Communion  and was the first to eat and drink condemnation for this profanity. Others speculate that Judas left before Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist or defer to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich who said that the bread  fell from Judas's hand before he could consume it.  Either way is a rather sobering lesson and a warning about the deadly seriousness about receiving Our Lord's precious blood and body while in a state of mortal sin.

Conowingo

Last week, Rocky and I went on a day in Western Maryland to look at bald eagles at the Conowingo Damn. It was incredible. I got to see them flying and sitting  and heard them for the first time. They seem to take little interest in humans but vocalize to each other quite a lot.  We also saw vultures, cormorants, a peregrine falcon hunting pigeons and a slew of different gulls and terns. Afterwards we went to the charming town of Port Deposit, MD and ate an excellent meal at  the Union Mill hotel.   We took photos of the local Catholic Church, St. Theresa of Avila, which has been around since 1866. It's only used on Sundays and shares a pastor with two other parishes. God bless that priest. He must be in constant motion.

Prayer For Priests

-St. Therese of the Child Jesus

O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;

for your unfaithful and tepid priests;

for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields.

for your tempted priests;

for your lonely and desolate priest

for your young priests;

for your dying priests;

for the souls of your priests in Purgatory.

But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me:

the priest who baptized me;

the priests who absolved me from my sins;

the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;

the priests who taught and instructed me;

all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way (especially …).

O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart,

and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen

Treasure and Tradition: The Ultimate Guide to the Latin Mass

I just found a fantastic book.   It's a guide to the Tridentine Mass that has clear black and white drawings that explain what everything is on the altar, what the priest has on and why and what the Mass is.  It also has gorgeous photos of each part of the Mass and shows the words of the Mass in two ways. First you can see the Latin words with the English translation right underneath and if that doesn't work for you the author, Lisa Bergman has the parts of the Mass in English alone on the same page. Another very helpful feature is a chart a the front and the back that helps you find your place should you get "lost" during Mass. The book is absolutely beautiful to look at and it's a hardback which makes it durable and a lovely gift for someone. Rocky was fascinated just leafing through it and I've learned so much.  Thank you Lisa Bergman!

My King

Um...Simcha?

Seriously, can someone explain Simcha Fischer to me? Other than being an insult comic what is the point of her act? I think I understand what she loathes, but I'm fuzzy on what she loves about the Faith and the people who actually practice it.

Prayer

Christ and His Mother

Henry Ossawa Tanner's Annunciation is quite well known but I've never seen this one which shows Mary and her Divine Son a few years later.  

random thoughts on a Saturday afternoon

1. Is the proposed by certain Cardinals attitude of "mercy" toward adulterers  a Trojan Horse? Is it really a way to introduce homosexual "marriage" in the Church?
   
2. Have you noticed that the people who used to say that Hispanics were the future of the Church in the US have fallen quiet? Is it because Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism are racing through Latin America?
   
3. I read that there are going to be showers set up at the Vatican for the homeless. That sounds nice but I hope there is a plan for the problems that will come with the showers. Homeless men and women present a huge challenge. Why are they homeless? Because, in most cases,  the mental or drug and/or  drink induced  behavior or the plain criminal behavior that binds them is so bad that their own relatives and old friends can't deal with them. There will be drugs in the shower area. There will be crime.  Some of the homeless will become prey. Other will be agent of chaos themselves. Women tourists would be best served if they are told to stay away or only walk in groups near the showers. Volunteers  of both sexes will need a full course of safety training.
   
   At my old parish I had a number of homeless pals that I chatted with, donated to and tried to comfort but I knew, and the folks in charge of the homeless ministry said straight out that females should not be alone in a room with the clients. My husband Rocky used to check the restrooms and unused conference rooms before and after the bible study he attended at our old parish. After bible study he also escorted the usually young women who attended, to the door lest any of them be cornered by a client.   I am not saying fear the homeless. Many of them are pitiful victims who are afraid of you but you need to be realistic. No matter how many years you've been a lion tamer, you don't casually stroll into the den. I hope nobody gets hurt in and around the shower area and if they do, I hope it's not covered up.
   
4. Yesterday I read part of an article about a spate of snatch and run attacks on women in NYC. I stopped reading when one of the victims was quoted as asking where the men were? Since each attack happened in the middle of busy sidewalks why didn't any man step in to help? I thought, "My sister, you can't have it both ways". Today's young man has probably seen his mother, his aunt or his sisters trade Dad  in for a check from the government or a support check and has grown up seeing the women in his life go from man to man.  Even if the women in his life were chaste while he was growing up he's seen that a single woman can take care of herself . All of his life he's been told that  womankind's biggest hindrance is man. One example of the the toxic atmosphere in this country between the sexes is a  t-shirt that was sold in  major clothing store chains. It  bore the words, "Boys are stupid. Throw rocks at them." Many people thought this was cute and ridiculed the people who found these shirts offensive. With all the poison  let loose in our society, why, my sister do you expect a man to step forward  to save  you? There are good men who would come to the rescue but they are thin on the ground and won't be around when you need one. Our feminists sisters think that's just great. I'm going to cheerfully use a cliche  here:  we can not put the genie back in the bottle.
   
   
5. In your charity please pray for my uncle in the nursing home.  They found blood in a stool sample and he's scheduled for an ulcer test and a colonoscopy. I'm not sure how we are going to be able to get the Golightly prep formula into him because it doesn't taste good and he is not going to understand why he's being forced to fast. Fortunately both tests will be done at 6AM so he'll be able to eat as soon as possible.
   
   
6. Every time you go to Mass the most glorious thing in the world happens. Bread and wine turns to the Flesh and Blood of Christ. We don't see it like St. Gregory did, but it happens just the same. 

Mass of St. Gregory

Porn is not just a man's sin

Usually whenever there is a discussion, sermon or online commentary about pornography it is about men and boy and only mentions women and girls as victims. It's very rare that anybody brings up women's pornography. If you read 50 Shades of Gray and swooned you indulged in pornographic material. The woman reading "mommy porn", "erotica" or mainstream "spicy" romances is just as big a sinner as a man looking at filthy photos on his computer but so many of us treat this like it's cute. It's not.

The Rescuers

In this dramatic painting, artist, Carlo Dolci shows four Franciscan  monks who have come to the rescue of a family who took a wrong turn on a mountain.  I can not know if it was the artists's intention but this is a beautiful allegory for what  good priest can do for a sinner.

suicide is not dignified or pretty

I was thinking about Brittany Maynard and I wonder if she had any idea of what suicide really looks like. I once had a relative, who decided to end things. The death was not like a sentimental movie. The spouse of this relative was left to clean up feces from the carpet. The body does some ugly stuff after death and it's not a charming memory for your loved ones.

Death and the Maiden by Marianne Stokes

Requiem Missa Cantata

To the Blessed Sacrament....

I

 I adore Thee profoundly, my Jesus, true Victim of expiation for our sins; and I offer Thee this act of adoration in compensation for the sacrilegious outrages Thou dost receive from so many of Thy ungrateful people, who dare to draw nigh to Thee and receive Thee in Communion with mortal sin upon their souls. In reparation for these hateful sacrileges, I offer Thee those last drops of They most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from the wound in Thy Side; and, entering therein, I approach Thee with acts of adoration, love, and thanksgiving, and with all holy souls who are devout to Thee in the most Holy Sacrament, I say:
Blessed and praised every moment
Be the most holy and divine Sacrament.
Pater noster. Ave Maria. Gloria Patri.


This prayer can be found in The Raccolta

random thoughts on All Saints Day

Feast of All Saints

• I've noticed a lot of attempts at man shaming going on in Catholic blog land. In the 70s and 80s a lot of men  were disgusted by the shenanigans in their parishes but kept on going to Mass and refused to help with anything, (the guys who were active beyond ushering or putting up the altar Christmas tree, were chuckled at and the adults use the word "hen pecked" to describe them ). Other men and boys simply stopped going to Mass as soon as they turned 18, and would only return for weddings, funerals, graduations, the occasional baptism and perhaps a Christmas Midnight Mass. As a girl,  I never got the impression that any of the ladies really missed them. Anyone who had a problem with the pastor, the church musician or the deacons behaving in a womanish manner had two choices: Shut up or don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya,  and until the pedophilia/ephebophilia  scandal burst open like a rotten watermelon this was all A-okay.   Frankly, instead of these sermons, essays and not so cute memes to shame men into coming back to Mass how about begging their pardon and asking them to come back for the sake of their souls and because we need them? Steve Wood has an interesting essay on the subject at his site. 
• 
  
• The annual fight about whether to let the kids participate in  Halloween didn't happen in Catholic blog land this year. Things in the church and the secular world are so bad right now that people had other concerns.
• My parish is having a missa cantata on November 6, at 7:30.
  
• Rocky and I went on vacation last week and on the way back we stopped at the church we were married in for Sunday Mass. I couldn't wait to leave. The cantor came darn close to giving up a lounge act but the priest gave a good homily. As I sat there I thought of my own pastor and decided that I should thank him for the way he celebrates Mass and if I get chance I'll thank our church musician, who is highly talented, for never cutting loose and dominating the Mass.
  
  
• I realized something on my vacation. I felt physically great for the entire week. I'm not sure how to do it but I'm going to have to figure out a way to lower my stress level at work.
  
  
  
• I feel embarrassed for Michael Voris. 

Dear Catholic business owners

I've been frustrated lately by interactions with two Catholic businesses and without naming any names I have to say that I really wish four  things:

1. If you intend to have a going concern get your business model straight. Do not send me letters or e-mail hinting that I'm not a good Catholic if I don't buy your product to help you pull you  out of insolvency.  A number of Catholic publishers have played this game in recent years and it always ticks me off. Pity and guilt is not how you market a business.
   
2. Act like you know what you are doing. I expect the same level of professionalism from you as I would from a totally secular business. If you ship me a product and it doesn't arrive in three weeks and you did not send it book rate or live in another country don't get huffy when I inquire as to the product's whereabouts and communicate honestly with your customer who has spent good money with you.
   
3. Have a product worth repeat business. If your product is substandard why do think I should buy it?
   
4. Don't oversell to ridiculous lengths.  Your movie with its bad acting, anachronistic language, and poor technical quality  is not the greatest thing since The Passion of Christ.
   
5. I'll say it again. Get your  business model straight.     

at prayer

Return O ye revolting children...

The most evident mark of God's anger and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world are manifested when He permits His people to fall into the hands of clergy who are priests more in name than in deed, priests who practice the cruelty of ravening wolves rather than charity and affection of devoted shepherds ...

When God permits such things, it is a very positive proof that He is thoroughly angry with His people, and is visiting His most dreadful anger upon them. That is why He cries unceasingly to Christians, "Return O ye revolting children ... and I will give you pastors according to My own heart". (Jer. 3:14,15) Thus, irregularities in the lives of priests constitute a scourge upon the people in consequence of sin.
-St. John Eudes

To the Blessed Sacrament

I adore Thee profoundly, my Jesus, the Living Bread which has come down from heaven; and by this act of adoration I would make amends for all the acts of irreverence which Thy people day by day commit whilst they assist at Holy Mass, in which bloodless Sacrifice Thou dost renew the very Sacrifice which once Thou didst consummate on Calvary for our salvation. I offer Thee, in reparation for all this ingratitude, that most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from the wound in Thy Right Hand; and, entering therein, I unite my voice with the voices of the holy angels who adore around Thy throne:
Blessed and praised every moment
Be the most holy and divine Sacrament!
Pater noster. Ave Maria. Gloria Patri.


Taken from the Raccolta

A Dutch Madonna

Like his good friend, Gari Melchers, George Hitchcock fell in love with the Dutch country side and he painted Our Lady as a Dutch girl.

They rented the Sistine Chapel?

So Porcshe rented the Sistine Chapel for a corporate event. The Vatican spokesmen say it's okay because charity money was raised. Supposedly the only real difference from this and allowing tourists in to look at the chapel is that the Porsche guests were better dressed and weren't sweaty and stinky. I am reminded of the  time Jesus took exception to money being raised in His Father's house.

Jesus never said it would be soft and easy

This Russian painting shows the first Christians in Kiev attending a clandestine Mass by moonlight.

Madonna and Child

To the Blessed Sacrament..

I adore Thee profoundly, my Jesus, true Bread of life eternal; and by this my act of adoration I would make Thee compensation for all the wounds with which Thy Sacred Heart bleeds daily to see the profanation of those churches wherein Thou dost vouchsafe to abide beneath the sacramental species, to receive the love and adoration of Thy people. I offer Thee, in reparation for all those irreverences, that most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from the wound in Thy Left Hand, and, entering therein, I say every moment:
Blessed and praised every moment
Be the most holy and divine Sacrament
Pater noster. Ave Maria. Gloria Patri.

This prayer can be found in the Raccolta.

So...........Cardinal Kasper.

Cardinal Kasper, have you forgotten Africans like St. Benedict the Black, St. Marcellinus (left Africa and went to France as a missionary), St. Perpetua and Felicity, Pope St. Victor (first African pope), and Blessed Isidore Bakanja and Blessed Annuarite Nengapeta? They and St. Charles Lwanga and his companions have a lot to teach you sir. You should listen to them.

Blessed Anuarite Nengapeta, marytr. 

Update: Cardinal Kasper denies saying anything rude about Africans in his interview. The reporter has a recording. 

Dear Synod Fathers....God hates divorce.

This is a marvelous work showing a couple that judging by the wife's face have hit a rocky patch in their marriage and she's ready to kick the door open and head to a divorce lawyer. It looks like the couple has gone to the rectory for advice and the dear old priest is cajoling, pleading and preaching that they remember their vows and get past whatever it is that has brought them to this point. I wish the bishops at the synod could see it.

Salvator Mundi

Like Gold From the Furnace

“From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.” Raymond Chandler from "The High Window"

That quote from Raymond Chandler came to my mind after reading Patrick Archbold's post  (which so far, over 70 people have commented on), about the state of the USA. He thinks it's over. Ann Barhardt has said on many occasions that it's already dead and starting to stink but we just haven't been paying attention.  Patrick isn't sure of what will happen next and Miss Barnhardt is expecting a nasty, violent collapse complete with looting, rape and murders. I haven't really formed a guess yet but I am sure this: politics is not going save us. Our only hope is in the Lord. Probably in two or three generations from now the USA that we know will be completely, obviously no more. God willing something better will come out of the fire like gold from a furnace. 

To the Blessed Sacrament

I adore Thee profoundly, my Jesus; I acknowledge Thee present in the most holy Sacrament. By this act of adoration, I would make amends for the forgetfulness of so many Christian people, who, when they see Thee go to the poor sick, to be their strength in their great journey to eternity, leave Thee unescorted, and hardly give Thee even one outward sign of homage. I offer Thee, in reparation for this coldness, that most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from the wound in Thy Right Foot, and, entering therein, I say and will never cease to say:
Blessed and praised every moment
Be the most holy and divine Sacrament!
Pater noster. Ave Maria. Gloria Patri.


Taken from the Raccolta.

Mass without pews

A Mass on the battlefield.

This is wrong

 Imagine that I am your servant and I have come to your house with a guest. The guest does not like you so not only do I ask you to stay out of the living room and dinning room while the guest is present but I cover up all the photographs of you and your family because this might offend or at least discomfort the guest. You'd think me mad wouldn't you? Even if you didn't tell me to get the heck out  but instead, for love of me, you kindly put up with this extraordinary request, you would at least consider yourself ill treated and would ponder my lack of love and respect for you.   The intent here is well meaning but we all know what road that leads to. 

For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty, and that of his Father, and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26

RIP Fr. Groeschel

Yesterday I was thinking about him as I walked back to work from lunch. Today I read that he's passed away at 81. Rest in peace, Father.

To the Blessed Sacrament...

ACTS OF ADORATION AND REPARATION TO JESUS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.

 I adore Thee profoundly, my Jesus, in the Blessed Sacrament; I acknowledge Thee true God and true Man. By this my act of adoration I intend to make Thee reparation for the coldness of so many of Thy people, who pass before Thy churches, nay, before Thy very tabernacle, where hour after hour Thou dost deign to dwell in loving impatience to communicate Thyself to Thy faithful; yet do not even bow the knee before Thee, but, like the Israelites in the wilderness, seem by their indifference to loathe this heavenly manna. I offer Thee Thine own most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from the wound in Thy Left Foot, in reparation for this hateful coldness, and, entering therein, I say, and will never cease to say:
Blessed and praised every moment
Be the most holy and divine Sacrament.
Pater noster. Ave Maria. Gloria Patri. 



From the Raccolta.

Three Nuns

Alter Cristus

A medieval St. Matthew and the Angel

The angel seems to be saying, "Excuse me, may I interest you in writing a gospel?"

A Cappuchin

Suit up and be ready for anything....random thoughts on a sick day.

I've been sick off an on since June  and today  I decided to stay home in my nice dark bedroom, take my migraine pills and try to get some rest.  In between naps it has been a random thoughts kind of day.

• Last night we went to the Thursday night TLM at St. Rita's. The altar boys were just leaving after having had practice. In the parking lot we heard a  little altar boy asking a big one (he looked about 13) for advice. The big altar boy said, "Suit up and be ready for anything," Rocky and I found that funny and Rocky figures that the boy was talking about the big family Mass at mid day on Sundays but that advice is pretty good for life in general. 

• The Texas Poor Clares make some really nice soap. Speaking of nuns I was mistaken for one two weeks ago and that still stuns me. I was wearing earrings, lipstick, and a nice (although it was navy) dress and my hair comes to my shoulders and in no way resembles a truck driver. On top of all that I was with Rocky. Now granted, we were not slobbering all over each other as we walked the grounds of the Charles Caroll House which is on the St. Mary's Church property, but we were clearly a couple. What kind of crazy little  nuns do they have running around  in Annapolis, MD?
  
• What's the deal with the three days of darkness? I can not find any mention of this prophesied divine chastisement in the Catholic Encyclopedia. People I respect believe strongly in this but the Holy See has never, to my knowledge said "Yes, children, this is safe to believe." It seems to me that after the Warning there would be no need for further chastisement or that if 70% of the world is going to be wiped out the survivors are going to have a pretty tough time of it until Judgement Day.
  
  
• I really like the Pray More Novena's site. I have found it very helpful.

• I have a feeling Supreme Court Justice Ruth Vader Ginsburg is going to be very surprised one day when she finds out that the court will go on without her without even so much as a hiccup and that her eugenicist views are not going to look too good when she goes before the Ultimate Judge. At her age this will be sooner rather than decades later. 

• No matter what happens ---if anything--at the October synod nothing will really change. If you divorce your spouse, take up with your secretary with the long legs and pneumatic bosom and then strut up to Communion you will be eating and drinking your own destruction. The priest can be forced to place the Host in your hands, the rest of us can be threatened with social ostracism if we don't call your mistress your wife and you can ignore the faces of your children but all that really matters is that Jesus said :

But I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting for the cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.

• Fr. Paul Nicholson says the SSPX praying is worse than a Satanic Mass. I don't know a single person who attends a SSPX chapel but I was really disappointed in him for saying that. Since I hold the words of Mother Vogl concerning priests dear, I won't say any more about this. 

• Colleen Hufford was 54 years old. The poor lady got up this morning and got ready for work at the Vaughan Foods processing plant just like any other normal day. She may have read or listened to music on her way to work. She may have thought about her family or about what she was going to have for dinner when she got home. She may have had plans for the weekend. When she got work a Muslim, who reportedly had been fired for harassing other employees about converting and arguing that it was okay to stone "sinful" women, beheaded her. He used a fillet knife. Colleen Hufford did not die quickly as she would've done from a machete, or a strike from a master  swordsman. She died in what must have been unspeakable agony until she finally bled out. After butchering Colleen, he stabbed a 43 year old co-worker, who was also older than him and female. His rampage was ended because a brave man at the plant shot him. He is still in possession of  his wicked life so he still has time to repent.
  
  This did not happen in California or New York City or even in some place that has a huge foreign born Muslim population like Minnesota or Chicago. This happened in Oklahoma. The Muslim who killed her did not look like he just walked out of the desert. He looks like the same ordinary guys you'd see on the bus or the sidewalk or in the apple section of the grocery store.  When that poor woman in England was beheaded one of my co-workers and her friends cracked nervous Highlander jokes. If anyone is joking now they are like the people Hillaire Belloc was talking about when he wrote, "But as we laugh we are watched by large and awful faces from beyond: and on these faces there is no smile."
  
  Eternal rest grant unto Colleen Oh Lord, let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.

Prayers

First Communion

Anima Christi

Anima Christi, sanctifica me. Corpus Christi, salva me. Sanguis Christi, inebria me. Aqua lateris Christi, lava me. Passio Christi, conforta me. O bone Iesu, exaudi me. Intra tua vulnera absconde me. Ne permittas me separari a te. Ab hoste maligno defende me. In hora mortis meae voca me. Et iube me venire ad te, Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te. In saecula saeculorum. Amen. 

At prayer

Random thoughts and A few good blogs

• I know a lot of people are mad that the Archbishop Sheen's cause for sainthood has been temporarily closed but despite the way it went down, is the slow down really a bad thing? He died in 1979, and that's too soon to talk about canonization unless you're talking about a martyr or a super saint who raised people from the dead, or went to a foreign pagan country and miraculously was able to speak the language and converted millions.  I am not knocking the archbishop, I'm just saying slow down and stop running on emotion. 

• The most well known Catholic blogs seem to be on Church politics, current events and the pope's doings. This is okay, but if you're looking for something different; or something devotional, I found some fine blogs and a website that are not widely known but definitely deserve to be. 

• The Cloistered Heart is a wonderful blog, gorgeous to look at and a pleasure to read. 
• Unum Sanctum Catolicum is a chewy, meaty blog. I always learn something when I stop by. 
• Holy Card Heaven is simply beautiful. 
• Blessed is She is all about the daily missal readings. 
• Liturgica Latina is a great source of information.
• Those Catholic Men is written for men but I like it too.
• The Roman Martyrolgoy
  
  
• I've always wondered why Evangelicals and many Catholics have nothing to say about the plight of Christians in the Middle East. Other than the Franciscans I don't see much support for the beleaguered Christians in Israel either. In the comment boxes of various sites just this week I've seen many self proclaimed Evangelicals say that the Catholic and Orthodox of the Middle East aren't real Christians anyway. Archbishop Amel Nona has something to say to these people but they aren't listening. All those decades of ecumenicism doesn't seem to have produced much.

Cardinal McCarrick says that Catholic social teaching and the what the Koran teaches are pretty similar

Retired DC Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is a charming conversationalist with self deprecating humor and twinkling eyes. When he was in his 60s he looked like a Leprechaun come to life and is a master politician. He also confirmed Rocky and for that reason, my dear husband retains some fondness for him. I'd like to say his praise  of Islam is due to the mental decline that can come with old age but he's been humble and conciliatory towards Mohammed's creed for years and he's not the only one. It's like people are so afraid that they can't wait to bend their knees now in hopes they'll be spared later. Maybe this great cowardice is the reason why ISIS is having such success and why Islam in general has become so strong in the West.

St. Raymond Nonnatus, who risked your own life to rescue Christians slaves in Algeria, and who when imprisoned there, converted many of your captors, pray for your brother priests and bishops.

Mass without pews

The Church of St. Francis of Assisi by Elizabeth Nourse

Miserere

Benedict Option? I don't think that phrase means what you think it does.

Whenever I hear someone talk about the Benedict Option I wonder they know what that really means. St. Benedict did not stand up one day and announce, "This empire is doomed. Me and my boys are going to head to the backwoods and watch it burn. If any lay people show up we'll teach them all the arts and sciences they forgot after the barbarians destroyed everything." 

The saint was a hermit for years before founding his monasteries. I don't see St. Benedict and his sister, St. Scholastica as hiding from the world or deciding to build a private little community for lay people. They were serving God first, and striving to save souls. The preservation of Western culture came later, much later as a happy side effect on Benedictine monasticism.  If you and a few like minded families go off some where intending to build a utopia you won't be latter day St. Benedicts.  If you really want to imitate St. Benedict then leave all behind and head to the monastery or the convent. If you are called to the lay state then you can become a Benedictine oblate.  

A Capuchin

A litany of Our Lady

Holy Virgin of virgins, 

Mother of Christ, 

Mother of divine grace, 

Mother most pure, 

Mother most chaste, 

Mother inviolate, 

Mother undefiled, 

Mother most amiable, 

Mother most admirable, 

Mother of good counsel, 

Mother of our Creator, 

Mother of our Savior, 

Virgin most prudent, 

Virgin most venerable, 

Virgin most renowned, 

Virgin most powerful, 

Virgin most powerful, 

Virgin most merciful, 

Virgin most faithful, 

Mirror of justice, 

Seat of wisdom, 

Cause of our joy, 

Spiritual vessel, 

Vessel of honor, 

Singular vessel of devotion, 

Mystical rose, 

Tower of David, 

Tower of ivory, 

House of gold, 

Ark of the covenant, 

Gate of heaven, 

Morning star, 

Heath of the Sick, 

Refuge of sinners, 

Comforter of the afflicted, 

Help of Christians, 

Queen of Angels, 

Queen of Patriarchs, 

Queen of Prophets, 

Queen of Apostles, 

Queen of Martyrs, 

Queen Confessors, 

Queen of Virgins, 

Queen of all Saints, 

Queen conceived without original sin, 

Queen assumed into heaven, 

Queen of the most holy Rosary, 

Queen of Peace,

For the love of St. Patrick...something stinks in the NY diocese and DC smells kinda funny too

Okay, by now you've probably read that the New York St. Patrick Day Parade organizers broke under pressure from their corporate sponsors and  are going to allow homosexuals to march in the parade with their own banner. On top of this, Cardinal Dolan is going to be the grand marshal of the parade. Is anybody really surprised?  What's more interesting is an essay on the DC archdiocese website, written by  DC priest Msgr. Charles Pope who argued that it's time to do away with the parade and the Al Smith dinner too. When I read it I thought two things: First, that the monsignor was going to catch some flak for  this opinion and second, that the essay would probably be removed from the archdiocese site within the hour. Sure enough, the essay is gone. Lifesite news has re-posted the whole thing for now.   Say a prayer for the monsignor. I have a feeling that this isn't over for him.


As to St. Patrick Day itself; how does getting drunk in public honor St. Patrick? Never-mind the homosexual obsession with the parade in New York, let's be honest enough to admit that  that the day was already ruined and has been for decades.The memory of the tough, holy man who converted pagan Ireland has nothing to do with much of what goes on during his feast day and he can  not be pleased by a profane bacchanal in the middle of what is supposed to be a penitential season.  After reading Monsignor Pope's essay I was reminded of a video of a talk given by a Swiss priest last year entitled "There is a Danger that this Year's Lent Will Be the Same Joke". Here's a challenge that doesn't involve a bucket of ice water. Next year why try prayer and fasting for St. Patrick's Day? St. Patrick's adopted Irish eyes will smile on you.

A monk