Wednesday of Holy Week

Peter denies Our Lord

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke from Mass today.

Luc 22:39-71; 23:1-53
And his disciples also followed him. And when he was come to the place, he said to them: Pray, lest ye enter into temptation. And he was withdrawn away from them a stone's cast; and kneeling down, he prayed, Saying: Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. And he said to them: Why sleep you? arise, pray, lest you enter into temptation. As he was yet speaking, behold a multitude; and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near to Jesus, for to kiss him. And Jesus said to him: Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss? And they that were about him, seeing what would follow, said to him: Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answering, said: Suffer ye thus far. And when he had touched his ear, he healed him. And Jesus said to the chief priests, and magistrates of the temple, and the ancients, that were come unto him: Are ye come out, as it were against a thief, with swords and clubs? When I was daily with you in the temple, you did not stretch forth your hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. And apprehending him, they led him to the high priest's house. But Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were sitting about it, Peter was in the midst of them. Whom when a certain servant maid had seen sitting at the light, and had earnestly beheld him, she said: This man also was with him. But he denied him, saying: Woman, I know him not. And after a little while, another seeing him, said: Thou also art one of them. But Peter said: O man, I am not. And after the space, as it were of one hour, another certain man affirmed, saying: Of a truth, this man was also with him; for he is also a Galilean. And Peter said: Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, as he was yet speaking, the cock crew. And the Lord turning looked on Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, as he had said: Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter going out, wept bitterly. And the men that held him, mocked him, and struck him. And they blindfolded him, and smote his face. And they asked him, saying: Prophesy, who is it that struck thee? And blaspheming, many other things they said against him. And as soon as it was day, the ancients of the people, and the chief priests and scribes, cane together; and they brought him into their council, saying: If thou be the Christ, tell us. And he saith to them: If I shall tell you, you will not believe me. And if I shall also ask you, you will not answer me, nor let me go. But hereafter the Son of man shall be sitting on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all: Art thou then the Son of God? Who said: You say that I am. And they said: What need we any further testimony? for we ourselves have heard it from his own mouth. AND the whole multitude of them rising up, led him to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying: We have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he is Christ the king. And Pilate asked him, saying: Art thou the king of the Jews? But he answering, said: Thou sayest it. And Pilate said to the chief priests and to the multitudes: I find no cause in this man. But they were more earnest, saying: He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place. But Pilate hearing Galilee, asked if the man were of Galilee? And when he understood that he was of Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him away to Herod, who was also himself at Jerusalem, in those days. And Herod, seeing Jesus, was very glad; for he was desirous of a long time to see him, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to see some sign wrought by him. And he questioned him in many words. But he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes stood by, earnestly accusing him. And Herod with his army set him at nought, and mocked him, putting on him a white garment, and sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate were made friends, that same day; for before they were enemies one to another. And Pilate, calling together the chief priests, and the magistrates, and the people, Said to them: You have presented unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people; and behold I, having examined him before you, find no cause in this man, in those things wherein you accuse him. No, nor Herod neither. For I sent you to him, and behold, nothing worthy of death is done to him. I will chastise him therefore, and release him. Now of necessity he was to release unto them one upon the feast day. But the whole multitude together cried out, saying: Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: Who, for a certain sedition made in the city, and for a murder, was cast into prison. And Pilate again spoke to them, desiring to release Jesus. But they cried again, saying: Crucify him, crucify him. And he said to them the third time: Why, what evil hath this man done? I find no cause of death in him. I will chastise him therefore, and let him go. But they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified; and their voices prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him who for murder and sedition, had been cast into prison, whom they had desired; but Jesus he delivered up to their will. And as they led him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country; and they laid the cross on him to carry after Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us; and to the hills: Cover us. For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry? And there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified him there; and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing his garments, cast lots. And the people stood beholding, and the rulers with them derided him, saying: He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the elect of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying: If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And there was also a superscription written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And one of those robbers who were hanged, blasphemed him, saying: If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art condemned under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise. And it was almost the sixth hour; and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And Jesus crying out with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And saying this, he gave up the ghost. Here kneel, and pause a few moments.

Now the centurion, seeing what was done, glorified God, saying: Indeed this was a just man. And all the multitude of them that were come together to that sight, and saw the things that were done, returned striking their breasts. And all his acquaintance, and the women that had followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things. And behold there was a man named Joseph, who was a counselor, a good and just man, The same had not consented to their counsel and doings; of Arimathea, a city of Judea; who also himself looked for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And taking him down, he wrapped him in fine linen, and laid him in a sepulcher that was hewed in stone, wherein never yet any man had been laid.

Cardinal Pell

I still would not want to go to Australia but their high court has redeemed them from looking like a crazed lynch mob. Whether you think Cardinal Pell is homosexual or not, or whether you think he has indeed messed around with boys or not in the past his conviction could not stand in a country where people use their brains and have a rule of law. There is no way a cardinal could have done what he was accused of in the cathedral sacristy right after Mass and anyone who has ever been to a cathedral or basilica after the cardinal celebrates knows how many people both lay and clergy are milling around in the putting vestments away and trying to get the cardinal's attention. Even the invisible man could not have pulled off such a thing without bystanders noticing.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us

Our Lady of Africa, pray for us

French doctors were on French television talking about testing a Corona vaccine on Africans as if they were lab rats.

This is horrific. Two French doctors on live television are discussing how a potential new treatment against #covid19 should be first tested in Africa, "where are no masks, no treatment, no reanimation", "the same way experimental treatment for AIDS was done on prostitutes". https://t.co/ojYb8GnKkI

— Rim-Sarah Alouane (@RimSarah) April 2, 2020

St. Peter, pray for us

St. Rocco, patron against plagues, pray for us.

Taylor Marshall's big scoop

I don't like the man but I will give him credit for one thing: He knows how to market his product and get the Catholic blog and Trad and conservative public buzzing  Alexander Tschugguel, it turns out, was not just some devout Catholic from Austria who decided to throw the Pachamama idols into the Tiber and who now can't get off the stage. Taylor Marshall planned it, sent   Tschugguel the money to get to the Vatican and of course had the first interview with him. 

I'm glad the idols were thrown into the river. I just wish it had been real. I wish that one decent man or woman had decided to do this on their own and I wish that Alexander would go home and not make a career out of this. 

Saint Corona, pray for us

Saint Corona, patroness of epidemic victims, pray for us

 

St. Michael, the Archangel protect us!

One very worrisome thing I've noticed in the past few days is that a lot dangerous people who normally would be harassing people on the street or engaging in a strong arm robbery or who would be hanging out in Starbucks all day and night now have to go inside. The only places with people are the essential businesses so now really strange, threatening individuals are in the grocery store. Yesterday Rocky and I went to pick up a few things and there was a man wandering the aisles bothering people. Finally the manager made him leave.

Rocky noticed a strange man who came into the store where he works. The guy stalked around and did a lot of exaggerated, theatrical fake coughing. He didn't buy anything. He just looked at people. Today another weird man came in and stood around staring at employees.

So that's it, then

I just read the governor's stay at home order. There is no way we as a state can hold on until June 10th. This is financial disaster. This is ruin. This is everything millions of people have worked for all their lives gone up in a cough. My husband has been issued a letter stating that he is an employee of an essential business in case he gets stopped by the police.

Christ In Garden Of Gethsemane

Mass with the Canons

One of the things I intend to do when this is all over is to make the drive up to West Virginia and visit the Canons of the New Jerusalem.

My Jesus, mercy!

St. Therese, pray for us

The sentimental lie goes half way around the world before the truth can get it's boots on...

My uncle was on a ventilator multiple times when he got pneumonia. Something seemed fishy in the story about the Italian priest who supposedly gave up his vent to a younger patient.  It's not true. May God have mercy on Fr. Giuseppe Berardelli and may he rest in peace. 

Coonman snarls again

Virginia's governor, Ralph "Coonman" Northam is threatening jail up to a year or a fine of $2,500 if you're caught in church with more than 10 people. A year in jail for praying in church. Seriously? How is he going to enforce this? Is he going to have a cop staking out every house of worship in the Commonwealth? If I'm praying in the chapel and somebody walks in should I bolt out the door? Lord have mercy. 

The Annunciation

random thoughts on a tired Tuesday night

• So far the best live streams seem  to be from St. John Cantius ,the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception  (yes, Monsignor Rossi is still in charge), and of course,  EWTN.  Don't beat yourself up if you can't treat TV or online Mass the same way you do being physically present at Mass. It's not the same and can't be.
  
  
• Eternal rest grant unto Brother John-Sebastian Laird-Hammond of the DC Franciscans.
  
  
• Oh my goodness. Governor Ralph "Coonman" Northam has canceled school for the rest of the year. 

• Encouragement. 
  
  
  
  
• Whoah! The diocese of Pittsburgh just fired all the newspaper staff. 

King of Kings

Overeaction?

Has the world gone mad and overreacted? We've given up our freedom of assembly and movement and caused a financial disaster. In the coming weeks I think people are going to start asking if it was worth it.

Random thoughts on a Saturday afternoon.

• When a professional Catholic calls you stupid, Hitler(?!), or a show off who just wants to flaunt your "personal penchant for public display of Eucharistic piety", because you said that you are sad about not being able to be in the Real Presence of Our Lord and wish you could go to Mass, that is your 50 foot tall and in neon lights sign that you need to forget out ever sending them donations. 

• In Wisconsin the government is encouraging people to spy on their neighbors and report them if they have more than ten people gathered. Boom! Just like that, monsters are due on Maple Street*. I remember reading about all the frightened people who snitched on their neighbors, friends, family and co-workers to the Stasi in East Germany.....

• "The Church will be punished because the majority of her members, high and low, will become so perverted. The Church will sink deeper and deeper until she will seem to be extinguished, and the succession of Peter and the other Apostles to have expired" - St. Nicholas of Flue
  
• After New York made abortion legal up to birth I decided I wasn't go back there to shop anymore. After reading (WARNING--NASTINESS AHEAD), this I'm definitely not going back. It's waaaaay too freaky in Manhattan and maybe the boroughs too.
• You know those very expensive Italian leather goods that you thought were made by free Italian craftsmen? They may have been made by a Chinese immigrant under questionable conditions.
• Most Precious Blood of Jesus parish in Pittsburgh is live streaming Mass. *Monsters Are Due on Maple Street was a brilliant Twilight Zone episode where aliens trick an a whole neighborhood into descending into suspicion, panic and violence by turning off the lights, and electronics.

At prayer

Priorities

My cousin needs to go to the oral surgeon but the surgery may be cancelled. In Pennsylvania the governor is saying that all elective surgeries must be cancelled but abortions will go on. So, you can't have your colonoscopy, or get your knee replaced or get that infected tooth fixed but apparently killing a baby is worth any risk...priorities people.

Calm down.

My husband worked over 12 hours yesterday. When he came home he had cramps and a nosebleed. I had to run through every cramp remedy I know. The customers at the store where he works were damn near feral. One woman was  furious because they were out of French bread. Rocky diplomatically  told her to look around her at the empty water and toilet paper aisles and to notice the long lines and crowds and then ask herself why they were out of French bread. He didn't take lunch or any breaks because customers overstepped their boundaries every time a manager attempted to get something to eat. My husband, his staff and people in other departments were insulted, cursed and screamed at while just trying to get more product on the shelves. 

 People, you need to calm down. 

Adoration at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Florida

Kyrie Elieson

Salve Regina

My favorite chant album

Random thoughts on a weird memory and weirder present

• Back when Rocky and I had only been married for two years he had to go on a four week business trip to New Jersey. One night I was lying in bed when suddenly the room felt strange. It was raining heavily and stormy and our bed was by the window so I could see outside. There was an ozone and electrical smell and then a crackling, hissing ball of green lightning floated in. I just lay there frozen and watched it float back out. When it left, the smell went with it. After a while I got up, shut the window and fell asleep. I'd thought that ball lightning only happened near bodies of water but apparently not always.

• The DC diocese has cancelled Mass and so far the Arlington diocese  has not followed. I've seen many people who get angry that other people are sad about not being able to attend Mass but I haven't seen anyone make suggestions about what they are going to do on Sunday in addition one's usual daily prayers. You could try reading the Breviary, or doing the Missa Sicca devotion.  or meditate on the Mass readings.  Watching the shut in Mass on TV or the computer is an option of course. I hope the more internet savvy priests will live stream themselves saying Mass for their parishioners.
  
  
  

• My mother was on the bus this week and a man in back began coughing. He kept on coughing and it was a deep, wet, wracking cough. He was obviously sick with something. People began looking around and murmuring started. Finally another passenger reached into his bag and pulled out a mask. He handed some out to the people who were sitting near him. The murmuring grew louder and someone called out to the driver to stop the bus and remove coughing guy.  My mother got off at the next stop, which was not hers but she was afraid fists were going to start flying and she did not want to be trapped on the bus with that. This hysteria was funny when it was just people stacking toilet paper to the ceiling but it's getting ugly now. It's only a matter of time before some poor sod gets punched in the face for coughing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Breakfast At Tiffany's was about a prostitute. Medjugorje is a scam. C.S. Lewis was not Catholic. Everyone involved in the film, Pretty Baby should have been whipped. You don't have to go to college to be a good Catholic.
  
  

• In your charity could you spare a prayer for Geska Lima? She is fighting the same cancer that my later mother-in-law had.

Mass announcements

At Mass, Father Visitor, who still can't stop telling jokes but has toned them down,  announced that there would be no drinking from the chalice and no hand holding.  I may have to start doing spiritual communions because the Eucharistic ministers who held the chalice will not be sitting down. Instead, of two priests we are now getting one priest and two EMs distributing the Blessed Sacrament in the hand.

Very interesting....

In Italy, they aren't allowing Mass and an 88 year old priest in  Castello d'Agogna was reported to the police for celebrating Mass for eight people. I wonder if the nightclubs have been shut down?

Dominus Meus et Deus Meus

At prayer

First Sunday in Lent

Stop going to the bishop and other random Sunday morning thoughts.

• As I posted earlier this month, I listened briefly to a woman who was giving an interview on a Catholic podcast. She said  a priest made  advances and that she reported it to the bishop who after an investigation decided in favor of the priest. She then went on about how hurt she was. I had only one thought: People, stop going to your bishop.  If Fr. X lays hand on you with carnal intent you need to call the police. Period. Don't trust anybody who tells you to keep this quiet and handle it in house. That's one of the reasons the pedophilia scandal festered for decades. If the plumber, the accountant or the man next door attempts to visit his sexual urges on to your unwilling person; do you call their bosses afterwards? No, you call the cops. Stop going to the bishop. Call the cops and then and only then do you make an appointment at the chancery.
  
  
  
  
  
• All the New Springtime movements should be examined with a careful eye. A few might be good but my guess is that most are either not Catholic really or are Marciel-like.
• I was listening to the 20 somethings at work loudly panicking about the corona virus and sighed. These kids are so scared of everything it's like they are afraid of life itself. As I listened to them make their potential bug in grocery lists the following began to roll around in my mind:
  Do I need to freak out about the Corona virus?
  Are you a Han Chinese? Yes or No? If yes, do you live in Wuhan? If yes, there's nothing funny or sarcastic I can say. May God protect you. If yes, are you a high ranking member of the Party? If yes, then you have little to concern yourself about. Even if you are infected you will receive modern medical care and unless you are over 50 or have other health issues you have a high of recovery. If no, you are neither Han Chinese or living in Wuhan, do you live in China? Yes or No? If yes, you do have reason to be concerned and if your health is already compromised you are with reason to be alarmed. If no, do you live in a third world country? If yes, you may have real concern if your government has a close relationship with China and the Chines are building your infrastructure and your nuclear program. Do you live in a Western nation, yes or no? If yes, do you practice normal personal hygiene? If no, you need to clean up and don't be surprised if nobody ever wants to try your potluck to visit you at home. If yes, do you live in a home that has indoor plumbing that is up to code? Yes. If yes, are you over 50 and/or have health issues that compromise your immune system? If yes, it still unlikely that you need to worry.You are more likely to be taken out by the common flu and/or pneumonia than the corona virus. If no, you have a major problem but catching the corona virus is very low on your list of concerns right now. Do you live off grid but practice normal personal hygiene, keep a sanitary kitchen and deep clean your outhouse with extreme rigor every week? If no, you don't need to be overly concerned but you need to clean up and don't be surprised if nobody ever wants to try your potluck or to visit you at home.You are more likely to be taken out by the common flu and/or pneumonia than the corona virus. If yes, are you over 50 and/or have health issues that compromise your immune system? If yes, it still unlikely that you need to worry.You are more likely to be taken out by the common flu and/or pneumonia than the corona virus.
• I've noticed with puzzlement that a number of traditional Catholics make snotty comments about the red booklet missal by Ecclesia Dei. Why is that? When I first started going to the traditional Mass there was no affordable missal out there. The red missal was an absolute boon for my learning process and probably is the only missal that many people typically see. The big daily missals are wonderful-- truly wonderful but they are expensive and the red missal is the only game in town for many folks, still.
  
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random thoughts on a queasy Friday night.

• Remember back in the 90s and from 2000 onward when all the celebrities were adopting Chinese and Korean baby girls, black American, and African children? Ever wonder what happened to those kids?  I always thought the poor kids were mostly props for publicity who spent their time with the nanny or at boarding school until it was time for photos but for at least one little girl it was even worse than that.
  
  
  
  
• St. Aloysius Gonzaga, pray for us. 

• I had broccoli soup a little after 3 PM today and maybe the restaurant had it out too long because by the time Rocky and I got the adoration chapel at 6 PM my stomach felt like it was being twisted and wrung out like a wet rag. We didn't stay as long as Rocky usually does on Lenten Fridays but I just couldn't tough it out.  I'll have to remember to do an extra devotion before Mass tomorrow and I will never  reach for a Pret a Manger broccoli soup again.
  
• Psst. While people are freaking out about the corona virus people are dying everyday of plain ole ordinary flu.
  
  
• I don't know what the Bishop's Appeal season was like at your parish but at mine it was mighty slim. I've heard jokes about priests who don't make their quota in February being transferred in June and that's sad. No bishop in his right mind should expect a good turn out this year. 

As the twig is bent so grows the tree

One my Muslim neighbors has a a little grandson who is getting old enough to start expressing his surprise that the whole world is not like his grandparent's mosque. We were on the elevator with them when he reached over and touched my calf screaming, "Leg! Leg!" His grandmother apologized profusely and I told her not to worry about it. A few years later when he was 8 he took offense to my hair and tried to shoot me with his water pistol. Luckily for him it was empty. His grandmother apologized. I think it just hit him that how could I be a contemporary of his grandmother and be uncovered and it blew his mind. He's too young to understand why a woman who was acceptable for conversation with his grandmother and grandfather could look like the evil infidels. He's just a little fellow now but if he doesn't work this out he's going to be a real problem for somebody when he becomes a teenager. I thought about the neighbor's grandson while reading Susan Matthiesen's post at Les Femmes.

Lord have mercy

The photo below is not a parody. It's real.  Cardinal Christoph Schönborn was not asleep and some crazy person put this up in the cathedral. The cardinal is apparently enamored with odd artistic projects for Lent.  I'd like to write something witty or profound but all I can come up is this: Some people just need a good whipping.

Holy Family

random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

Saints Dominic and Francis, pray for us

• If your beloved wants to major in theology expects you to live in genteel poverty like the March family from Little Women* until he can get a professorship at Ave Maria, Christendom or Steubenville and a book contract, run away.
  
  
  
• The Bishop's Lenten appeal in DC is not doing as well as in previous years. Rocky looked at the collecion basket during Mass and noted that there was only one Appeal envelope in it. People aren't saying so out loud but the whole parade of McCarrick, Wuerl, Bransfield, and Rossi has had it's effect.
  
  
• How can Matthew Matt talk about uniting the clans when he's still treating Louie Verrechio as persona non grata?

• I'm listening to a woman give an interview on a Catholic podcast. She says a priest made advances up to laying hands on her. She reported it to the bishop who after an investigation decided in favor of the priest. She then went on about how hurt she was. I had only one thought: People, stop going to your bishop.  If Fr. X lays hand on you with carnal intent you need to call the police. Period. Don't trust anybody who tells you to keep this quiet and handle it in house. That's one of the reasons the pedophilia scandal festered for decades. If the plumber, the accountant or the man next door attempts to visit his sexual urges on to your unwilling person; do you call their bosses afterwards? No, you call the cops. Stop going to the bishop. Call the cops and then and only then do you make an appointment at the chancery. 

* I loved Little Women and one day when I was 12 I started thinking critically about the back story and suddenly I just couldn't read it anymore. Mr. March was a terrible father who let his wife and girls live in patched clothes and be so poor that Jo had to sell her hair in order to get the money for Marmee to travel to see him in the battlefield hospital and they had to rely on the charity of the rich aunt, and the kindly rich neighbor.  Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women because she needed to support the family, her father, the Rev. Alcott and the real Mr. March failed. She didn't love the book for itself but she was delighted to be able to give her mother a secure old age. 

Not cool, my boy

Standing on an image of Our Lady's FACE while you skateboard? I'm sorry, that's not cool.

Father Visitor tells a joke about the president

Last Saturday Rocky and I went to  Mass and were "treated" to the spectacle of  the guest priest telling a joke about an assassination  attempt on the president.  I think the priest misjudged the room. Yes he was in  DC and most of  the  people  in  the  pews were government workers who will still be voting Democrat five years after they're  dead  but there was a sound in the church of decent people  gasping in surprise.

After the dismissal  Rocky asked if I was going to say something  to Father Visitor or to the pastor who was completely blindsided by the joke, poor man.  I said "no," and bolted for the door. Fr. Visitor is supposed to be here for three weeks. I really hope he's not celebrating this week.

Back talking to the professional lay Catholics...

Something is happening in Trad land. That's not a deep thought since something is always happening where there is life but I mean that something new seems to be stirring. People are talking back to the leaders of Trad Inc. and asking questions. Benedict Carter  has come out with his suspicion that the people we've been told represent and are the leaders of traditional Catholics are really controlled opposition who do it for the money, honey.

I don't trust professional lay Catholics in general. I think I've made that clear over the years. I've just  observed too many guys who twist every which way in order to keep the mortgage paid. I've long felt that if you truly do what you do for the love of Christ then do it without pay. I don't have a problem with taking donations to keep the server working and to keep the day to day mechanics of your site in order but I do dislike and distrust the people who are making their whole living off the Faith and claiming that they are more holy than the rest of us and that they are making a sacrifice. Really? How about you get a real job and support your family AND run your site with a discreet donation button that way?


Constant, strident hustling for money for your lay "apostolate" leaves me cold. There is one site that I will not name that sends me e-mails every week asking for money. Another site owner makes long podcasts and essays talking about how hard it all is, how exhausting and how much he could be making if he hadn't taken on this holy cause so hit the donate link. A few years ago, a Catholic writer had or allowed his wife to post on his site with a nagging, pleading missive. She wrote about how hard it was to see her child standing in front of the refrigerator and not being able to afford to have the food that the child wanted. That pissed me off. I clicked away from that site and never read anything from that individual again.

I grew up in a working class household. When my father died, my mother worked two jobs. I never went without food. I always had books, shoes and a Winter coat that fit. I stayed in Catholic school until 12th grade. My mother didn't even ask relatives for help. She just got on with it. So, forgive me if I am aghast at college credentialed individual who has obvious talent and cleverness who wants me to donate to his cause so his kids can eat. Sir, go get yourself a job, handle the responsibility that God gave you and then come back to me. Finally there is one lay professional Catholic who writes on and on and on some more about stupid and worldy (you and me) people but wants us to send our worldly cash to him/her. I say again, you are by your claim, more righteous than me. You are by your claim, more holy than me. You are, by your claim, more educated and sophisticated than me so why exalted sir or madam do you not seek employment and support your rent and food that way and run your site? 

It will be interesting to see how many people start asking the professional Catholics rude questions about how they spend their money and how long they'll keep it up  but I'm amazed  and delighted that anybody has brought it up in public at all. 

Oh Twitter, Facebook and YouTube priest....

 Now this is what I want to see a priest doing. Not body building, not hunting cheese steak, and not dancing on TV and not doing Star Wars commentary.

random thoughts on a Wednesday afternoon

• There is a class action lawsuit against the  "United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for its role in the fraudulent promotion of Peter’s Pence as a charity to assist individuals throughout the world who have been affected by “war, oppression, natural disaster or disease.”
  
  
  
• It just hit me how much alike Steve Skojec and Mark Shea are as far as the ability to hold a grudge and be nasty.

•  Last week Rocky and I went to Mass and the whole church was filled with kids who had been to the March for Life. They were perfectly behaved. Nobody was fooling around. Nobody was talking. Only one thing went wrong at that was due to one of the guest priests. He accidentally dropped the Host and immediately retrieved and consumed but no effort was made to be sure that all particles of the Host were removed from the stone floor.
  
  
• Death brings out interesting reactions in people. I remember reading Sucpie Dominie with great distaste when John Vennari died. People on the forum -- regulars, not trolls, made fun of  the description of his Last Rites and the care his poor wife and family took to make sure he was as ready for death as possible.  Mundabor is harping on Kobe Bryant's name not being Catholic.  Go back and time and complain to Kobe's mother but it's doesn't make a hell of a lot sense to grouse about now.
  
  
  

• Remember that book E. Michael Jones put out about Michael Voris a few years ago? I don't think anyone ever asked Jones to explain if his  priest-informant told him things that were spoken about outside the confessional or not. If he got his information from Voris's spiritual director then wasn't that a violation of the seal of the confessional?

 

Death doesn't care if you are a star or a nobody-- go to confession while you can

Pray for us, Mother

papal sabotage?

Does anyone  remember  the strange things  that  kept happening  to  Benedict  before his  abdication? Early  in  his papacy he enjoyed  putting  on a black  cassock  and  going for a  walk  around the  Vatican  at night. He'd only take his assistant  Ganswein  with him. Somebody leaked it to the press and he stopped. Who leaked it and why with the hint that something  untoward  must be going on?

One year Benedict  decided to wear one John XXIII'ds old red caps.  Well John was a big ole man and the cap did not fit Benedict. It was way too big, he looked foolish and was mocked in both Catholic and secular media. Did Ganswein or anyone else in the papal household not see that the cap was too big and if they did why did they not point it out?

Does anybody  recall his valet who was spying  on Benedict and stealing  from him, Who  hired the  valet? Who interviewed him and who besides the pope did he report to? 

The really embarrassing sight of the homoerotic acrobats performing for Benedict  could have been avoided. The Pellegrini Brothers had just performed at the Barcelona gay circus. Didn't anybody at the Vatican know that? Did nobody check out their act with all the strutting, pouting and stripper moves before booking them? The pope was polite--- too polite for his own good, he smiled and clapped. It looked like the  Holy Father enjoyed  a strip tease show and people all over the world snickered. 

The rainbow flag was displayed right below the Vatican flag when the pope visited a town in Italy back in 2008, and the as the pope processed by he was of course photographed with it. The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith was in charge of the staging of the visit so somebody official knew about the flag and approved it. Did it not occur to this person that the pope would be seen with a rainbow flag or was that the point of the exercise?

Even security seemed to fail him. A crazy woman tackled him twice in different years and the reaction from the Vatican press office seemed to be nonchalant. 

As Ian Flemming wrote, “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.”  Was everyone around Benedict, including Archbishop Ganswein, truly incompetent or was he sabotaged, in subtle as well as gross ways until he decided to leave the battlefield? 

On Fr. Z's grouchiness and other random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

• Fr. Z. is a bit put out because nobody invited him to the protest in Germany this week. He compared it to a self licking ice cream cone which has a connotation that really surprised me coming from a priest. His criticism was not entirely fair. I believe Father was injured last year  when he was struck by a motorcyclist while crossing a street and he had a a bout with sickness around Christmas so who would expect him to be standing still in the cold for an hour? Besides he's just returned from a European trip that probably was not free. His superiors might not not have allowed him to attend anyway.
  
  I'm not picking on Father Zuhlsdorf. He's very good at what he does. I rarely go to his blog anymore but the travelogues and food photos are pleasant and cozy reading. If I were organizing a conference I'd call Fr. Z to say Mass and then hopefully cook something Italian afterwards but I wouldn't ask him to come participate in open confrontation that might get him into too much trouble. Every year when the US bishops have their meeting in Baltimore, Catholic laity and clergy show up and protest. I've never seen Fr. Z. among them, nor did I expect it of him. Open resistance has never been his thing. He's frank about using quiet action instead. He's always advising seminarians to shut up, pray and get ordained so they can make changes in their parishes slowly. 
   How many priests were at the event? Except for Archbishop Vigano, I didn't see any. Perhaps the organizers didn't want to get a priest into trouble. Bishops have been known to use extreme retaliation against annoying priests and the German bishop are aggressive in general. Archbishop Vigano's presence may have been a reason why the protest was not pre-announced.  Perhaps the organizers understand that three can keep a secret only if two are dead, as the old saying goes. At any rate, God bless Fr. Z. and keep him healthy and safe. Hopefully he cooked up some squid and garlic, had some good wine and calmed down.
  
  
• Virginia was founded when England was sunk deep in Henry VIII's religion of convenience. The Episcopalians, who were known as Anglicans before the Revolution formed the First Families of Virginia and ran the colony. There are Episcopalian churches all over Virginia and they are the sites of the USA's earliest history. There's Bruton Parish Church, founded in 1674. There's St. Luke's, Virginia's oldest church, which if I were a millionaire I'd build a replica of and donate it to the my diocese and there's St. John's in Richmond where Patrick Henry gave his "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death," speech. 
  
  Bishop Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond says the pastor of St. Bede's in Williamsburg, VA offered his parish  to the Episcopalians for the faux consecration of Rev. Susan B. Haynes because neither the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia nor the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia have a church  big enough for the event.  He says it was an act of charity. In Virginia's long history there have been many Episcopalian bishops. This is not the first  time they've had their version of a consecration. Surely they have some place in Richmond that is big enough to hold a lot of people. St. Bede's is a very large church and both Rocky and I got the creeps by how blandly Protestant it looks but it is a CATHOLIC church and should not be used for non-Catholic functions. Luckily, there was an outcry from parishioners and Catholics from around the state and the Episcopalians have decided to find another place for their event.  

  

  St. Bede, pray for us.
• When the annual collection for Catholic University is announced, Rocky and I pass on it. In fact, I've come the conclusion that most of the Catholic colleges should have been closed years ago. 

Stay with Jesus

Pray for poor old Benedict

I have a tender heart for the elderly and those who need someone to care for them. You may still be angry at Benedict for cutting and running out on us --- and I respect that but for God's sake, he's 93. He's weak.  Maybe he's always been weak and maybe Randy Engel is absolutely correct in the doubts she had years ago about him and maybe it's true that you can't trust any German bishop about anything ever---but this old man is surrounded by slimy people and I don't know who has his best interests at heart. I don't  trust Ganswein.

One more thing, when I was my uncle, Sonny Boy's guardian, his clothes always looked presentable. His hair was always neat and his shoes were in good shape. My laundry standards were not and still aren't up to my mother's impeccable standards so she washed and folded all of his  garments herself. I bought him new clothes and hats any time I saw that he needed something.  When we took him out for excursions no-one who saw him would have known that there was anything wrong with him unless they tried to speak to him. There is no reason why Benedict should be looking unkempt in photos.

• Every time I see Benedict XVI I wonder who's taking care of him. His hair isn't combed in photos  and Archbishop  Ganswein keeps harping on his impending  death.
  
  
  
  
  
• Theodore McCarrick must have one hell of a strong dead man switch mechanism in place. 

• My father would be 80 years old at the end of this month if he had lived. My father-in-law would be 83 if he still lived. Both of them probably would sip a beer and chuckle at Prince Harry with a, "Boy you done ---- and stepped in it."
• I've been watching the Spanish series on Queen Isabella on YouTube and it's fantastic. 

• I've been seeing a lot of attacks on Exodus 90.  One individual even accused the founders of being Catholic grifters.  I've read the plan for the 90 days of using Exodus 90 and I can't find anything objectionable. If a man really can't afford the ten dollars a month fee he could if really motivated do it on his own. There is a spiritual exercise for college women created by different people called Fiat 90 that begins next month.

• An actress who looks like she's lived a hard life won an award and stated in her thank-you speech that she never would have had her fabulous career if she hadn't had an abortion. She  seemed to think she'd actually done something brave and unique. Ridiculous. Hollywood glitter is mixed with with an unending river of blood and always has been.
  
   Read any biography of any of the old time Golden Age stars and you'll see that baby killing was common. Way back in the early 20s Gloria Swanson's husband reacted to her pregnancy by buying her a vitamin tonic that a pharmacist later told her was nothing of the kind. She divorced him but never got pregnant again. Lana Turner did it to save her career. Jeanette McDonald did it. Joan Crawford lied to her husband and told him she'd had a miscarriage.  According to people who knew her, Marilyn Monroe had so many abortions and so damaged her body it probably led to her miscarriage during her relationship with playwright, Arthur Miller. Judy Garland was betrayed by her own husband and mother who talked her into having an abortion because they feared it would affect her budding career as an adult actress. Ava Gardner was also legally married but feared that a pregnancy would get in the way of roles she wanted so she had an abortion.
  
  Two Catholic actresses were told to have abortions and rebelled in wildly different ways.  Lupe Velez  fell into complete despair and killed herself. Sweet faced but tough as nails, Loretta Young had her child and gave her up for adoption. Shortly after,Young defied the studio again by claiming her daughter and telling everyone that she was adopted. The actress at the Golden Globe awards is just one of many. 

Pray for me oh Mother of God

The March for Life and it's Catholic critics

A not insignificant number of Catholics have a problem with the March for Life because they think the marchers are just having fun. Others are displeased because Catholic marchers are mixing with non-Catholics, especially Evangelicals, and Catholics who are pro contraception.  Others are convinced that any good that happens to the souls and intellect of the  marchers is canceled out because the marchers end up going to irreverent Masses at the FedEx Arena.
Michael Voris just snapped at a young girl named Sophie for being excited about having gone to the march last year.

Might be a better idea if you went back home and worked your butt off to make sure you never have to go again. This isn’t a social thing. It’s life and death. 

— Michael Voris (@Michael_Voris) January 12, 2020

It's true that the man who is fasting and praying and doing penance at home because of abortion and the  woman praying in front of an abortion center are greater than the marchers and it's true that the march is not supposed to be a big party but I'm not sure if slapping down this kid is really doing the pro-life cause any good.

Christmas Vacation random thoughts

• I took two weeks of vacation for Christmas and I don't know why I've never done it before. This was truly restorative. Yesterday Rocky and I went to Southern Maryland and looked for birds. We stayed on the easy paths and didn't go on any long trails so we only saw 12 species. We also visited the Port Tobacco Carmelite convent. 

The historic convent and chapel. The nuns live in the modern cloister. Occasionally we see the extern sister or hear the nuns praying behind the grate in the chapel. 

Nativity scene at the convent chapel

• This afternoon to my astonishment my favorite  political and social commentator spoke about the pope. He's not Catholic. In fact, he's a Baptist but he had  a bit of respect for the pope in general and was shocked to see him yell at a woman and slap her hands. Another person who only does political commentary and is at best, a nominal Christian as far as I can tell wrote about how disgusted he was upon seeing the video.
  A non Catholic relative asked me if I saw the video and she was both surprised and disapproving about it.  I've been trying to get this relative to convert for years....... I'm back at square one.
  
• I'd heard about the South American seminarian pipeline but it wasn't until this vacation that I had time to spend a few hours reading about it. If the new priest at your parish came from Colombia, is a young man under 50 and went to certain seminaries on the East Coast you might want to find a new parish or keep an eagle eye on your son.
  
• Some people are disappointed by Abby Johnson because she came out on the side of a hospital that wants to remove life support from a sick baby. I can only say that it is a bad idea to canonize someone  before they're dead. Abby doesn't make her money from abortions anymore. That's  great but it doesn't  mean she's  now the voice of wisdom on every  subject, nor does it mean she's a saint.
  
  
• 42 million babies died from abortion in 2019. 

St. Franis de Sales, Benedict, Maryland

• On Saturday we went to the most beautiful Mass I've been to in a very time at St. Francis de Sales.
  
  

Happy New Year

Normally I don't really care for Berzosa's work but this is cute. 

A PRAYER FOR THE REDEMPTION OF BAD PRIESTS

A PRAYER FOR THE REDEMPTION OF BAD PRIESTS

Divine Savior Jesus Christ, Thou are the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Oh, be in a very special way the Good Shepherd of those poor lost priests who are also appointed by Thee to be leaders of Thy people, but who have broken the oath of their holy ordination and have become unfaithful to their exalted calling. Bestow upon these poorest of the poor the very fullness of that pastoral solicitude with which Thou dost so faithfully seek the sheep that are lost! Touch their hearts with the irresistible ray of grace which emanates from Thine all-merciful love! Enlighten their minds and strengthen their wills, that they may turn away from all sin and error and come back to Thy holy altar and to Thy people. O most compassionate Savior! Remember that Thou didst once redeem the souls of Thine erring priests with Thy Precious Blood and in infinite preferential love didst impress upon them the indelible character of the priesthood. Put wholly to shame those miserable helpers of Satan who lay snares for the virtue of priests and endanger the holy ideal of the priesthood. Most graciously accept our prayers and sacrifices for poor priests who have gone astray and hear our earnest petition.

 Amen 

Imprimatur - Bishop John F. Noll (April 18, 1948)

St. Anthony of Padua, defender of the Holy Eucharist, obtain for us holy priests

St. John-Mary Vianney, model of sacerdotal holiness, obtain for us holy priests

St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionary priests, obtain for us holy priests

St. Therese of the Child-Jesus and of the Holy Face, victim offered for the sanctification of priests, obtain for us holy priests

Saints and Servants of God, obtain for us holy priests.

So......I guess this means there won't be a canonization for this one?

 He also called her a bruja which means "witch," in Spanish. Depending on which Latin American country you come from it could also mean :

• sorceress  
• hag  
• female dog  (I'm being reserved here. The actual word starts with the letter B)
• crone 
  
  To those who say ignore his moment of temper I must point out that he's the pope. The standards that Our Lord set for him are higher than anyone else's. Argentinians say he has a nasty temper and there have been reports coming out of the Vatican that when he's angry he gets loud and vulgar. Forget the photo ops. This is Franics live, raw, unedited. 

The Burning Babe

The Burning Babe

BY ROBERT SOUTHWELL SJ

As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow,

Surpris’d I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow;

And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,

A pretty Babe all burning bright did in the air appear;

Who, scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed

As though his floods should quench his flames which with his tears were fed.

“Alas!” quoth he, “but newly born, in fiery heats I fry,

Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I!

My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns,

Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns;

The fuel Justice layeth on, and Mercy blows the coals,

The metal in this furnace wrought are men’s defiled souls,

For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good,

      So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.”

      With this he vanish’d out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,

      And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.

Thine almighty Word, O Lord, leaped down from heaven

 

“While all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her swift course, thine almighty Word, O Lord, leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne.”


- Wisdom 18

Christmastide

Puer Natus Est

God bless you all

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son

Puer Natus Est

How to Survive Midnight Mass as a Visitor

1. Feed the kids. Make the little one's take a nap. Don't expect a tired toddler who's off his schedule to act like a cherub. Provide them with liquid and then take them all to the bathroom before Mass.
   
2. Get to Mass early. Sit down. Do not go into the narthex  and socialize or your spot on the pew won't be there when you get back.
   
3. If you have climb over people in the pews the saints will let it go but the regular ones will give you the stink eye.
   
4. No. Nobody wants to scoot over so you can fit in if you arrive late. Sorry.
   
5. EWTN does commentary throughout for big TV Masses. You don't need to. If you need to explain to your brother-in-law who has come to Mass for the first time, do so  quietly.
   
6. Unless it is a service dog do not bring your pet to Mass. I know he's cute and he probably is better behaved than most of the kids but no, that's not right.
   
   
7. If your teenager demands to come to Mass in a strapless dress that comes down to her thigh, yes people are going to look.
   
   
8. If your teenager is angry and behaves rudely don't spend the entire Mass angrily hissing at her or you'll become bigger distraction than you realize-- yes I have seen this.
   
   
9. Remember, real life is not a Hallmark movie. Smell the incense. Calm down. Close your eyes. Rejoice, for Christ has come. 

The Nativity

Do you STILL have your Netflix account?

Why? Can't you give up one amusement for the Lord? 

At prayer

random thoughts on Saturday afternoon

• I really wasn't enthusiastic about making Archbishop Fulton Sheen a saint. However, Cardinal Dolan, Cardinal Cupich and Archbishop Matano of Rochester objecting to his beatification and getting the cause shut down is highly suspect.
  
  
  
• You know that dollar you gave to the Peter's Pence collection? It may have gone to help fund a movie about Elton John. 
  
  
• First we get Pachamama and now the Feast of the Immaculate Conception was not a holy day of obligation in the US this year. Interesting.
  
  
  
  
• I think Fr. Leonard Feeney got excommunicated not so much for heresy but because he had so many enemies in the clergy. He seemed to loathe any priest who was a public figure. He wrote critically of Fr. Knox, Thomas Merton, then Fr. Avery Dulles, most heads of Catholic colleges,  Fr. Keller of the Christophers and Archishop Sheen. He probably wasn't too complimentary to other priests he didn't like in person either. He also had quite a lot to say about Cardinal Cushing, none of which was "He's a jolly good fellow." I'm guessing that  there were many Jesuits and other priests all who had been doing a slow burn about him for years and when the excommunication happened whiskey flasks and champagne corks got opened in quite a few rectories around the country. 

Cancel your Netflix

Netflix is launching a movie that portrays Our Lord as a homosexual. Over a million people have signed a petition protesting this. That's nice but nice is worthless in a fight. People, you don't need to sign a petition. You don't need to say anything publicly at all. Just love Our Lord enough to cancel your Netflix. Jesus will know why you did it or didn't do it and that is all that matters.