Our Lady is not a feminist

 Our Lady is not a feminist. You know that. I think Michael Matt knows that. He may have been trying to be cool or use a clever turn of phrase while speaking at the  Restore Tradition Women's Conference but whenever a person over the age of 30, tries to be hip it is embarrassing.  He's been acting weird for about two years now and I usually find myself shaking my head when he posts something online now. His remarks and the way Rachel Mastrogiocomo, (whom I am not sure about yet), was treated while she was speaking at the same conference remind me why I am skeptical of most  Catholic conferences.  

random thoughts on a Saturday morning

•  I have a problem with John Henry Westen because he's not as careful as he ought to be at times but this interview with Fr. Isaac Relyea is good stuff. If your pastor preaches with all the strength of a spritz of water because he doesn't dare cross his bishop listening to Fr. Isaac is a relief. 

• I grew up reading Archbishop Sheen's books and I loved watching reruns of his show on EWTN but I don't want him canonized. There's no doubt about his personal goodness, heck the FBI investigated him and their report was so glowing that I wouldn't be surprised if the agent who wrote it  become Catholic later. Everyone in Heaven is a saint. Everyone is Purgatory is going to Heaven. Not every dead person is made a saint that we can all look to as an example of how to get to Heaven. Archbishop Sheen was a company man. Before Vatican II he did great work for the Faith but when things changed, he rolled with the times. Years ago when I read about his latter years I was shocked.  He promoted sex education in his diocesan schools. He was wishy washy on birth control. He praised Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin who apparently didn't care about converting any of the Chinese people he was supposed to be serving, may have been, by his own account, possessed and was a racist. Archbishop Sheen's time in the Rochester diocese was a whirlwind that didn't leave a happy, peaceful diocese. Sheen was wildly enthusiastic about interfaith activity. What is Interfaith? In practical terms, it means hiding your crucifix or scapular and smiling like a loon while you fawn over a probably bemused Jewish person, or Protestant. It also means dumbing down or giving up your devotional life and accepting tomfoolery or blasphemy at Mass while praising the strictness of Ramadan or blathering about the 25 hour Yom Kippur fast. It's silly at best. Spiritually deadly at the worst. Unlike Paul VI or John XXIII, Sheen does have a genuine cultus and it doesn't seem shady like what happened with Jose Maria Escrivá. I bet the people who are happy about the Sheen beatification and are waiting for his canonization love pre-Vatican Sheen but don't know much about his twilight years. Personally I think 1950s Sheen would have been taken aback by1970s Sheen. Chris Jackson asks a darn good question. Which Sheen was beatified. Which Sheen is going to be sainted?
  
  
  
  
• For those who live in the area or can make the drive, the FSSP chaplaincy has posted their details about the Our Lady of Victory chapel. 

• I've been experiencing attacks of sciatica pain since Monday and I'm exhausted. I'm stretching and doing the hot and cold packs but if this keeps up I'm going to have to go to the doctor. In your charity could you please pray for my mother? I can tell she's worried about me. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Representatives of the Bethlehem Carving Group had their gorgeous olive and Mother of Pearl artwork at the Cathedral after Mass. Sadly the customer turn out was terrible. Rocky bought me a pair of earrings and a crucifix to replace the one that was broken when the delivery men brought in our new dishwasher. I hope they have better luck at the other parishes they visit this year. 

Random thoughts on a Wednesday afternoon

• It appears that Milo Yiannopoulos has apostatized and become Muslim.  A lot of Catholic men on social media seemed to like him. They believed him when he said he was no longer pursuing his favorite sin and they screamed "based" whenever he was catty towards someone they didn't like. When he chose to expose Sarah Stock the reaction was an explosion of joy at her disgrace. Now he's deported back to England and is hanging out at a mosque. So, how do you like Milo now?

•  This Crisis Magazine article talks about the devastation to our country and to  helpless unaccompanied minors caused by the actions of Catholic Charities and the USCCB. I've said it before but I think the only answer is RICO. If you think about what was done to many of the teens and children who were smuggled over the border and then handed to apparently whoever showed up to claim them, it's enough to make you sick. The USCCB needs to be disbanded. Catholic Charities needs to be gutted, purged and forced to return to the original mission of doing good works for God's people for the love of God and His Church. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The black man who was the lone juror to stand for the victims in the Lindsay Clancy case is being harassed and reportedly can't leave his house because of the nutcases. It's unknown if he and his family have any police protection. This is very disturbing. I suppose the harpies and hyenas who are going after this Catholic man think they're being cute but it's a dangerous road they're on. You can't have fair trials when the jurors are fearful for the sakes of their families and their own peace and lives. You just can't. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Pope Leo is obviously more sophisticated and more in control of his emotions that Francis was but only the completely unaware, innocent or foolish think that all is well. His statements and appointments are dismaying. 
  
  
  
  

God bless you, Mr. Ed.

 On the morning of 9/11 I did my usual routine of taking the bus to the Pentagon and then a train to the station that was a few blocks from my office. I got used to seeing people who had the same schedule as I did. My regulars included a middle aged blonde woman who favored grey suits and who looked like she was either a 1950s prison matron or a 1970 pantsuit nun.  She turned out to be quite pleasant and later to my happy surprise, she moved into my building and we see each other on the elevator every now and again. Another regular was an eccentric government employee whose social skills were so horribly lacking that I hoped he'd never take notice of me and a sarcastic bus driver who could've made it as a comedian if she'd had a mind to do it. And then there was Mr. Ed. That wasn't his name of course. It's just the nickname I gave him. He was a few months or weeks away from retirement. He and his wife were going to leave Northern Virginia and return to his native Mississippi where he'd already bought land and built a house. Mr. Ed was cheerful, energetic, and his face just lit up when he talked about going home. We didn't do any deep talk, it was a bus ride after all but we chatted about the weather and other things one talks about while commuting and he never failed to wish me a good day as he headed into the Pentagon and I continued on to my train. 

After 9/11 I never saw him again. I hope it's because everyone's schedules were  changed after the attack. The Washington Post published photos and names of people who perished at the Pentagon but I didn't have the heart to look for him. I hope he was not one of the 2,974 victims and made it back to Mississippi and lived happily ever after. He was a nice man going about his business.  God bless you Mr. Ed and Mrs Ed too, wherever you are. 

Rest in Peace, dear heroine.

Before my surgery I thought very much of the late Geska Lima.  The way she conducted herself through her battle with ovarian cancer impressed me deeply. She wrote the following not long before her death. I never forgot it.  Her dignity, courage and her devotion to Our Lord all shone as an example of how to behave in the face of pain and fear.  May she rest in peace. 

I'm going back to work on Monday, thank God, but I wont' forget Mrs. Lima. 

The cancer pavilion is a cruel democracy: the same bald heads, the same devastated complexions, the same steroid-swollen faces. The old seem infantile, the young look senile. There's no race or color, everyone is equal in suffering and "All Lives Matter". pic.twitter.com/8EFsjR8Kjz

— Geska Lima (@Geskalima) June 7, 2020

The Catholic Biblical Association situation isn't getting any better.

 Well, we  have answer. To my knowledge, Cardinal McElroy hasn't said anything about Amy Jill Levine being elected as head of the Catholica Biblical Association but the USCCB has spoken. Watch and listen, and study very carefully what you hear at  Mass, OCIA, and your child's religious education materials. Unless your bishop says otherwise, he's going along with the group and  approves of efforts to fiddle with the New Testament. I pray that the USCCBB is dismantled before we ever get a highly edited version of the Passion of Our Lord read out on Good Friday.  God help us!

A word to the wise

 To every young man who was horrified to discover  that his girlfriend sees child-killer, Lindsay Clancy as some kind of heroine  you can thank God because He has given you a great gift. The Lord has sent you a message that couldn't be any more clear than if He'd sent a prophet to yell in your face. 

Drop that girl. Yes, sure she's beautiful and charming and the world seems almost gray when she's not by your side but she's not a moral or possibly even stable person.  Run for your life and maybe for your future children's lives.