Batter my heart

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

BY JOHN DONNE

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you

As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend

Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

I, like an usurp'd town to another due,

Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;

Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,

But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.

Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,

But am betroth'd unto your enemy;

Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,

Take me to you, imprison me, for I,

Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

 

What becomes of the broken-hearted?

Just by looking at these men - you know they would never tolerate the likes of James Martin and the Jesuits. pic.twitter.com/ziBxS6mFsB

— Joseph Sciambra @ The Sons of St. Joseph (@sonsofstjoseph) February 19, 2021

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

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

 

Catholics waste countless hours commenting about abusers & enablers like PF, Cupich & various leftist nuns; none of you are red-pilled; you're still in the matrix;  the attention you pay lends credence to their positions, solidifies their power, & enables continued abuse. Wake-up.

— Joseph Sciambra @ The Sons of St. Joseph (@sonsofstjoseph) February 6, 2021

 

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

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

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

So Cardinal Dolan has been sued.....

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

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

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

Well they got Fr. Z.

 Father Z. is being kicked out of Madison Wisconsin. Although this was done with malice it may turn out to be a good thing in the end. When you go to Fr. Z's site what do you see? Eat, drink, buy stuff, travel to Rome, NYC, or DC. You can stop reading him for years and if you drop in what will you see? You'll see what he ate, what he drank, what he bought and travelogues. 

Not every priest is meant for parish life. Not every priest is meant for teaching and I don't think Fr. Z. would be happy in either situation. Hopefully he can bounce back and do something better for the glory and service of God. 

In your charity could you say a little prayer?

 My 93 year old Cousin Pearl had a birthday yesterday. Her pastor, family and church members went to the nursing home and waved to her from the window. They posted the visit on Facebook and when I saw her a wail leapt out of me I and started crying. It's been hours since I saw the video and I still feel unwell.

Another cousin saw the Facebook post  last night and later told my mother that she was so appalled that she too, wept at the sight what she saw. Cousin Pearl was a stylish, plump, always smiling, and spunky woman in the beginning of 2020, now she's skin and bones and it took her a great effort to drink from a glass and raise her head. She looks like she's almost gone. I'm so glad my mother doesn't have Internet and was not able to see this. 

Update 1/27/21. Cousin Pearl died this morning. 

random thoughts on a Thursday afternoon

•  I just read about the death of a homeless man in Quebec. They are under curfew. A local homeless shelter was forced to kick out the homeless at 8 PM. It's cold in Canada and one of the residents went to a porta potty to take shelter. He died. Think about that. A man died in an freezing, stinking disgusting public outhouse because the shelter wasn't allowed to keep him.  
  
  
  

•  I've long believed that most of the Catholic media leaders are just full of it. They enjoy their little cocktail parties, cruises, conferences and vacations in Rome and making quips on Twitter or their own media outlets but they really don't want to work. They may be anti-abortion on an abstract level but they don't really believe it could ever be ended legally and they probably don't want that because it would take money out of their pockets.
  
  I've had my doubts about the worthwhileness of the March for Life. I definitely think the at-times sacrilegious youth Mass in the arena should be scrapped but I also know that half the Catholic "thought leaders" who criticize the March for Life every year were probably just too lazy to march anywhere but to the refrigerator for another beer or pose for a selfie with cigar.
  
  
  
  
• Rest in peace, sir. 
  
  
  
  

That was weird

 Rocky took a day off and we took a road trip to Orange County, Virginia. We found the local church and stopped in to pray the Rosary. It  was an odd little church. We couldn't find the Blessed Sacrament and they didn't have a crucifix over the altar. They do have a lovely piece of stained glass behind the altar. I wonder if they bought the building from a Baptist congregation because the windows, floor, carpet and design of the building looked very much like the little Baptist church that my great grandfather helped found.

Whoever is in charge of cleaning there needed to get to it. I noticed a strong body odor while we were praying but there was only one other person in the church and that person was sitting in the last pew quite away from us. It was stuffy and stale but could one normal person smell as strong as a large locker room?

 The front of the building was glass and Rocky and I were startled to see a man peeking at us through the  main door.  We walked to another door and he followed along outside to stare at us through that door. He pressed himself against the glass and cupped his hands over eyes to get a good look.  We retreated to another door but that led to a long stairwell. After a fruitless search for another way out, Rocky said "Enough of this. I'm going ask this guy what his malfunction is." 

We went back to the front door and stepped out. The creepy guy was gone. We got back to our car with no issues. I have no idea what that was all about. 

The Vision in the Coliseum

 This painting by Jose Belliure y Gil is massive and photos on the Web just don't do it justice. It depicts St. Telemachus, the last martyr of the Coliseum. Telemachus was a hermit who was moved to leave his hermitage and go to Rome. He followed the crowds into the arena and was horrified to see the gladiatorial games and the old man leapt in the Coliseum floor to beg the gladiators not to kill. He was put to death for interrupting the games but something incredible happened. This poor hermit's death became the talk of Rome and people were shamed. The emperor's heart was so touched that he ended combat to the death as entertainment once and for all.

 The painting shows the vision that St. Telemachus was strengthened by in the last moments of his earthly life. He sees a huge crowd of martyrs, and virgins, nuns, monks, and priests. He sees that the seeds of his martyrdom will bear much fruit. The Church militant and triumphant are joined for one moment before Telemachus's and the viewer's eyes. It's a comfort. 

Weep

 *I read this and just said, "My God!" I had to stop reading and hold my head for a few minutes.   

 

A most interesting essay

 I just read an interesting and disturbing essay.  The author, Alistair McFadden is a layman who got a funny feeling about a book that has been wildly praised by some semi famous people in traditional Catholic publishing. The book is Cor Jesu Sacratissimum: From Secularism and the New Age to Christendom Renewed and that book's author said he owes much to  another book called Meditations on the Tarot.  He was so taken with it  that he even had a portion of it read during his wedding.  Tarot? What would a Catholic have to do with the Tarot?  

Cor Jesu Sacratissimum: From Secularism and the New Age to Christendom Renewed  is published by Angelico Press. To be honest I've never heard of Angelico but it's supposed to be a  serious, high tone  publishing house. Apparently many traditional and conservative Catholics consider Angelico to be safe.  Alistair McFadden says that Angelico also publishes  Meditations on the Tarot.  This is  bewildering. I read the names of public Catholics connected to Angelico either in it's offices, it's admirers,  or its published authors and I was  even more confused. 

What is Jane Ordinary Catholic to do? A lot of people look up some of the names mentioned in this essay. How many times have you been in a discussion online and someone said, "Well Dr. X says or Fr. X says..." or "It's published by X so it must be okay." ? 

These days when I hear of a new Catholic organization or "apostolate" who want my money I look at who is on its board and who its "stars" are. I search the IRS to see their Form 990 and I look at the Secretary of State  filings in the state they do business in. If an organization doesn't seem to have any background and no way of finding out who runs it then I assume something is wrong and avoid them. But most people don't have the needed skills or time to do that. They trust. I just look at some of the names mentioned in this essay and I wonder.

 

No comment here. No comment at all.

 

Twilight Zone : Third From the Sun 

CARLING:  That's dangerous thinking. You better mind what you say!

STURKA: And what I think, too.

CARLING: Yeah, and what you think.

Something to remember

•  The next time someone starts going on about how evil the USA is, remind them that abortion was imposed on this country by the Supreme Court. Ireland voted on abortion and Argentinian women danced in the street because they were so happy about being able to slaughter their own children. America has her sins, in part because the Founders were overwhelmingly Protestant, Deists and Freemasons but the rest of the world aint looking so good in the sight of God either.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Jesuits should be suppressed. Unless we get a very strong and holy pope one day that is not going to happen but the laity can react by not sending the kids to Jesuit schools. Avoid Jesuit parishes and asking your bishop to limit Jesuit presence in the diocese. 

Really bad news

 My 93 year old cousin is in a nursing home. She and all the residents just got out of solitary confinement (no leaving their rooms, not even for meals), because a resident was exposed to Covid while being treated at the hospital for an unrelated ailment. Well, low and behold, a staff member got sick and infected several residents, included my cousin. My mother is terribly upset. She has been  afraid for most of  2020, that this would happen and now it has. All we can do is hope and pray that this thing is mild and our cousin beats it. 

Thy Almighty Word Leapt down from Heaven.... As a Fierce Conqueror

 

THY ALMIGHT WORD LEAPT DOWN FROM HEAVEN....

For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course,  Thy almighty word leapt down from heaven from thy royal throne, as a fierce conqueror into the midst of the land of destruction.
The Book of Wisdom, Chapter 18, verse 11

Three treats in one day

On December 31, Rocky and I went to a convent's chapel  to look at their wonderful decorations and he saw the extern  sister step outside the cloister to pick up the UPS delivery. It was the first time he's ever seen a  Carmelite nun in person and he was delighted to see that she looked like any painting he's ever seen of St. Teresa of Avila.  After that  we went outside and were going to peep at the original, historic convent when we were surprised and delighted to see a Sister Servant nun along with young several novices in the courtyard. They were taking a field trip and decided to visit the oldest convent in the English colonies.  We  waved at them and they returned our greeting. Next we took took a drive on the windy back country roads and had lunch and then went to Mass at a mid sized church. It was the best Mass I've been to all year.  It's been so long since I've heard the Confiteor and the Canon and the Angus Dei at Mass that I cried cried from almost the beginning until Communion. It was a wonderful day. 

Exodus 90 and other random thoughts

• St. Thomas Beckett, pray for us. 

Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr - 29 December, from the Raccolta

• St Thomas of Canterbury, son of Gilbert Becket, was born in Southwark, England, in 1117. When a youth he was attached to the household of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent him to Paris and Bologna to study law. He became Archdeacon of Canterbury, then Lord High Chancellor of England; and in 1160, when Archbishop Theobald died, the king insisted on the consecration of St. Thomas in his stead. St. Thomas refused, warning the king that from that hour their friendship would be broken. In the end he yielded, and was consecrated. The conflict at once broke out; St. Thomas resisted the royal customs, which violated the liberties of the Church and the laws of the realm. After six years of contention, partly spent in. exile, St. Thomas, with full foresight of martyrdom before him, returned as a good shepherd to his Church. On the 29th of December, 1170, just as vespers were beginning, four knights broke into the cathedral, crying: “Where is the archbishop? where is the traitor?” The monks fled, and St. Thomas might easily have escaped. But he advanced, saying: “Here I am—no traitor, but archbishop. What seek you?” “Your life,” they cried. “Gladly do I give it,” was the reply; and bowing his head, the invincible martyr was hacked and hewn till his soul went to God. Six months later Henry II. submitted to be publicly scourged at the Saint’s shrine, and restored to the Church her full rights.

  Reflection.—"Learn from St. Thomas,“ says Father Faber, “to fight the good fight even to the shedding of blood, or, to what men find harder, the shedding of their good name by pouring it out to waste on the earth.”

  
  
  
  
• Hey married guys. If you decide to do Exodus 90 remember that it is your spiritual mortification and not your family's. So no snarling at the kids for listening to music while you have a caffeine withdrawal headache and no glaring at your wife because she's having pie. If you are so grumpy that you make your wife and family miserable then what have you really done for yourself or the Church? 

• Do you remember how Cardinal Bernadin asked that the Gay Men's Chorus sing at his funeral? Many of the people who questioned what that meant were told to shut up. I imagine that when Cardinal Newman requested that the grave of  Fr. Ambrose St. John, whom he called his "earthly light" be opened up so that he could be buried in the same grave with him, some people were shocked and there may have been whispers. Those people were probably told to hush and not give any scandal in front of the Protestants. Cardinal Newman's request is still giving ammunition to the Church's snickering enemies. He never should have been canonized. 
  
  
  
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• Beware priests who have female fan clubs. Beware of priests who Tweet or blog endlessly about video games, movies, food, or anything and everything BUT the Faith.
  
  
  
  
  

Merry Christmas

 My husband is home from work. I've finally heard from my Tennessee relatives and now Rocky and I are happily eating bacon sandwiches and listening to the greatest Christmas album of all time, 

Pavarotti at Notre Dame, Montreal.

 

Merry Christmas

 

Hollywood was never our friend

 We watch old movies and TV shows almost exclusively. I've known that Hollywood kept pushing perversion for decades and were only kept in check by the Church but I'm seeing how Hollywood executives managed to subtly manipulate the public even in the so called Golden Age of entertainment. It was often done with such a delicate touch that it must have taken a huge amount of rewriting and meetings to pull it off. 

Rocky was watching a nearly 60 year old Western TV show a few weeks ago  and suddenly I saw something that I never would have noticed as a child. The heroine owns a saloon (No, it's not Gunsmoke), but to my adult eyes it seemed more like a brothel with scantily clad "girls" living upstairs. The hero is the local sheriff and he and lady saloon owner have a relationship that will not end in marriage,  because the heroine likes her freedom and the sheriff doesn't want to be tied down or leave a widow in case he gets killed trying to clean up his very rough town. 

A local farm girl leaves her dreary, puritanical father and finds work and happiness in the saloon. Her widower father is broken hearted and shows up at the saloon demanding that his daughter return home. He is shocked to see that a cowboy is apparently sleeping in his daughter's room and he angrily tells the woman owner of the saloon that she is a sinner who has debauched his child. He comes back late that night with his shot gun and is prevented from killing the cowboy by the sheriff.

 It turns out that the girl is not a prostitute and she and the cowboy are married. The saloon is really just a saloon, (probably for the sake of the censors), and the scantily clad girls who work there just serve food and drinks and flirt but really don't do anything upstairs but sleep alone. The father is made a fool of and everyone laughs at him while he stands there looking embarrassed but relieved. That show very cleverly made the church going father look bad.  That was a poison in the subconscious of the young viewers. 

Another movie that I watched was even more overt. In this one a local woman is an adulteress who sees a murder as she returns from her off screen assignation with her lover. An innocent man is accused and is going to hang. He has one witness, a girl from the saloon who says she saw him going about his own business at the time of the murder and he had nothing to do with it. The innocent man's lawyer, who is the hero of the movie somehow finds out about the local wife and questions her in court. Desperate to save her marriage and not be humiliated in public, she perjures herself. The prosecutor jumps up and demands that the court can't possibly take the word of a harlot over that of  a respectable married woman. The innocent man's lawyer gets the married woman to confess and the innocent man is saved from the gallows. This movie was made in the late 40s or early 50s but it deliberately made the prostitute the truly good woman and denigrates the married lady. Hollywood was never our friend. 

We certainly do live in interesting times.

 As horrible as 2020 is and has been, there may come a day when we all look back on it as the calm before the storm and may even call it the good ole days. St. Januarius's blood did not liquefy today. The last three times it did not liquefy were in 1939, 1944, 1973, and 1980. Sooooo, yeah. Things can always get worse.