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-- 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.