I'm wearied to my back teeth by Father Z

Once upon a time in the 60s an archbishop looked at a parish and decided that the church wasn't being used enough. Without telling the parishioners or the parish priest he announced that he was giving the property to the federal government. The church and school would be torn down and turned into public housing. The parishioners didn't take this lying down. Eventually protesters surrounded the archbishop's limousine  and screamed, "Give us our church back you son of a bitch!" The archbishop had been accustomed to adulation for most of his career and was so shocked that he had his driver leave the area. He backed down and resigned later that year. The archbishop was Fulton Sheen.

I'm not saying I approve of the Rochester folks' language but the concept of reminding a bishop that he works for God and is supposed to care for his people and not act like Simon Legree and the slaves, is not new.

In the present day Bishop Stika of Tennessee has told his people that they can only have Communion in the hand and has Tweeted that anyone who creates a scene will be kicked out. He has also Tweeted that angry Catholics have called his office and been insulting. He even accuses people of being mean and threatening to the elderly lady answering the phone at his office. Bishop Stika has said some wild things in the past. He's danced on the razor's edge of heresy and fell over on occasion.

So considering the source of the accusation why does Father Z. trust  with no reservation what Bishop Stika says and just lambastes  Catholics as being selfish, cruel jackasses. Father Z has disappointed me so many times that I just stopped reading his blog years ago. His great strength is  cooking posts, travelogues, jokes and cozy-come-sit-by-fire-and-bring-your-drink tales and that's okay but it wasn't enough to keep my attention. "Brick by brick" may have been a decent strategy when JPII was alive and even when Benedict was timidly reigning but it stinks like five day old fish now.

 I understand that he believes that traditional Catholics should behave like the French Resistance in WWII : smile, be pleasant, speak softly and don't attract hostile attention so you can secretly act. He'll never stand openly. He'll always smack the sheep around if they get out of line and he'll always encourage us to grin and be loudly thankful when a bishop allows a traditional Mass in the worse neighborhood in his diocese.

 I'm tired of traditional priests constantly putting traditional Catholics down. I'm tired of feeling like   most of the "leaders" of Trad Inc. are really running a managed opposition campaign.

random thoughts on a Saturday afternoon

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us

• Church Militant TV started out as Real Catholic TV. Now its become something of a  folie a deux.
  
  
• I'm sick of the word "grooming." A grown man who pays lavish attention, buys gifts and seduces a young girl or boy and then sells them to other grown men for money is just a plain ole nasty vicious pimp.  Primly saying "grooming" is like spraying lavender water in a stall that hasn't been mucked out in ages. A grown man who seduces an underage girl and calls her his secret girl friend and loses interest in her once she's 18 is just a pervert. Let's not sugar coat these people.
  
  
  
• Is Pope Francis really Catholic or is he just a cultural and career-wise Catholic? I'm not trying to be funny and I'm not being sarcastic. Argentina has a lot of witchcraft and I don't mean silly college girls playing with love spells and candles. I mean the real stuff; the pre-Columbian paganism and folkways mixed with frank Satanism. This is not unique to Argentina or Latin America. Here in America  there are people don't have a problem going to a root doctor (a witch) and still going to church.  The thought about how Francis was raised and what he marinated in as a young man came to me a few years ago when I was watching a nature program of all things. The host was in the country-side in  Argentina and saw a crossroads shrine to a bandit-"saint", The host noted that the villagers were Catholic but also were at ease with something close to voodoo or santeria. I wondered if this doesn't explain part of what is wrong with Francis.
  
  Remember when he joked that he doesn't go to the doctor instead he goes to the witch? Ever wonder why he's so anti-normal Catholicism and saving souls but seems to love pagans and primitivism? This all came back to me when I read about the pope's latest joke.  My father-in-law used to say that when he was deployed to Turkey he found Istanbul to be quite sophisticated and modern but when he went out to the rest of the country and saw the villages it was like going back centuries. Maybe outside of Buenos Aires it's like that too, to an extent and perhaps, Francis consciously or not,  embraces the old folk ways and the "simple" people  as part of his cultural heritage.
  
  
  
  
•  Hey bishop of Kansas do you have anything to say about this? After May 6, people going to church will be required to give their names and contact information. The church is apparently required to also take note of when the people arrive and leave. 

Pray hard for your folks in the nursing home

If you have a loved one in a nursing home you already know that no matter how expensive the place is you need to keep a sharp eye out. Now  family members can't visit and that is extremely dangerous. God forbid that it should come to that but if your loved one dies during this lock down you should not blindly accept what the nursing home staff tells you and if you can afford it, push for an independent autopsy and see if your lawyer can get the medical records. New York and Massachusetts  and about four or five others  have issued executive orders protecting nursing homes from civil liability if a resident is sickened or dies from Corona. So you know what that means? Lets say Aunt Dagmar had an infection from her bed sores or your Uncle Hezikiah got pneumonia because his LPNs and RNs just thought he had a lingering cold and treated it as such until his lung collapsed. All they have to do is say it was the Corona virus and someone could be scot free.

random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

• One thing about being in your 50s that is in turns both disconcerting and delightful is seeing the same fad or crisis again that you saw earlier in your life. Usually it's just clothing styles or music or a 21 year thinking his generation is the first to discover the existence of fornication.  Here's a post from the past....
  
  
  Remember how "experts" told us to calm down about Pope Francis because he doesn't care about liturgy? Well, the pope has ordered a review of the Mass translation we currently use. Some people are upset. I am not. Constant change in the Novus Ordo Mass is not a bug, it is a feature. Every few years there will be something new and damn the complainers. That's just the way it is. Now, what if the New, New, New Mass comes with rubrics that are so heretical that they might as well be Lutheran with a dash of voodoo and a side a Pentecostalism, will regular lay Catholics do? For the most part, nothing.The folks who grumble will be told to shut up and they will. Some people will stop going to Mass, either completely or will be C&E and Ash Wednesday Catholics. Others who can do so, will go to the Eastern rites parishes or go Orthodox. A few, very few will go to a Christ the King parish or to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter for as long as they exist. An even tinier number will head to the Anglican rite churches or to the SSPX mission chapel. 
   UPDATE: Now Francis is looking at the TLM. People are saying calm down. It's just a survey or they're saying calm down, the FSSP and ICKSP won't be affected it's only the diocesan TLMs that might be in danger--- as if the FSSP and ICKSP are so numerous that they are an option for most of us.
  
  
  
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  dymphna wilson@dymphnaw
  For work I've read many dr. discipline rulings & it's amazing how many med personnel are stealing from the pharmacy or drunk on duty. They do an important job. Some do it magnificently. Some do it badly. We pay them to do this job. They are not gods. The above Tweet was in response to a blasphemous photo that I will not post here taken by medical personnel to cheer themselves and us (?) up. Don't worship your doctor. Give no matter the adoration due to Our Savior alone.
• Please read this post by Mary Ann at the Les Femmes blog. I will say this in a much less gentle or elegant way. The Gordon brothers have a book to flog and apparently two more have are being written or under contract. They need publicity. As for Michael Voris, well I've been seeing Church Militant e-mails just about every day asking me to sign up. I've blocked them. If you love the TLM then you should thank the SSPX and Archbishop Lefebrevre. Without them the FSSP and ICKSP would not exist and those of us to go to a diocesan allowed TLM would not have that either. Predators are everywhere and as Ann Barnhardt has pointed out last year they've even crept into traditional chapels which is why Catholics need to keep their eyes open for off behavior. There is no safe place. Fight like Hell to keep predators away and go to the police when you think they've gotten in.
• Have you noticed that as far as the media is concerned Death seems to have taken a holiday? It's like the Grim Reapers is sitting on a lounge chair somewhere and left Corona in charge. Is anybody dying of cancer anymore? Is no-one tripping, falling and cracking their head open anymore? No fatal asthma, sudden infant death or epilepsy attacks? The only thing we hear about is Corona. The dead from all other conditions including despair induced suicide are no less dead nor are they less mourned.
• I just made Paula Deen's Chicken and Rice casserole but there was no way I was making the sauce from scratch. I went with my usual Campbell's Cream of Mushroom. Rocky seems to really like it.

St. Dominic, pray for us

random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

• I need to get to a hair salon. I look like a little witch and Rocky is just waiting for someone at work to say something about his hair. I'm really worried about Rocky's barber. He's a friend and he put everything into his little barbershop. He's not made any money since the shut down and unless he has massive savings I don't see how he can hang on until June.
  
  
  
  
• Sometimes I read Louie Verrechio and go "Louie, Louie, are you EVER happy?," and sometimes I can only curtsy, and mutter, "Lou's right again." 

• Last week Rocky and I went to our old parish and were able to go to Confession. We were both so grateful. 

• Please remember that the average Catholic in America and indeed the world, does not know who the Gordon Boys, Taylor Marshall, Patrick Coffin, Dan Burke or even Scott Hahn are and that's not a bad thing.
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• 1 O sons and daughters of the King,
  whom heavenly hosts in glory sing,
  today the grave has lost its sting.
  Alleluia! 
  2 That Easter morn at break of day,
  the faithful women went their way
  to seek the tomb where Jesus lay.
  Alleluia! 
  3 An angel clad in white they see,
  who sat and spoke unto the three,
  "Your Lord has gone to Galilee."
  Alleluia! 
  4 When Thomas first the tidings heard
  that some had seen the risen Lord,
  he doubted the disciples' word.
  Lord, have mercy! 
  5 At night the apostles met in fear;
  among them came their Master dear
  and said, "My peace be with you here."
  Alleluia! 
  6 "My pierced side, O Thomas, see,
  and look upon my hands, my feet;
  not faithless but believing be."
  Alleluia! 
  7 No longer Thomas then denied;
  he saw the feet, the hands, the side.
  "You are my Lord and God!" he cried.
  Alleluia! 
  8 How blest are they who have not seen
  and yet whose faith has constant been,
  for they eternal life shall win.
  Alleluia! 
  Final Ending:
  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 

In your charity could you please pray for my cousin?

One my mother's cousins  has died in her nursing home. There are some irregularities in what the nursing home staff told her daughter and what the family knows to be true. I can't go into further detail but the family has filed a complaint.  There was no funeral and only two people were  allowed to follow the hearse to the cemetery. They were forbidden to leave the car.

If you have a loved one in a nursing home you already know that you need to be vigilant and trust the staff no further than you can throw them on a good day but you need to be even more on guard now. Many neglect cases are going to be swept under the rug as virus cases if you can't afford to have an independent autopsy done. Lord have mercy.

Resurrection

Paschal Homily of Saint John Chrysostom  

If any be a devout lover of God, let him partake with gladness from this fair and radiant feast. If any be a faithful servant, let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord. If any have wearied himself with fasting, let him now enjoy his reward.
If any have labored from the first hour, let him receive today his rightful due. If any have come after the third, let him celebrate the feast with thankfulness. If any have come after the sixth, let him not be in doubt, for he will suffer no loss. If any have delayed until the ninth, let him not hesitate but draw near. If any have arrived only at the eleventh, let him not be afraid because he comes so late. For the Master is generous and accepts the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour in the same was as him who has labored from the first. He accepts the deed, and commends the intention.
Enter then, all of you, into the joy of our Lord. First and last, receive alike your reward. Rich and poor, dance together. You who fasted and you who have not fasted, rejoice together. The table is fully laden: let all enjoy it. The calf is fatted: let none go away hungry. Let none lament his poverty; for the universal Kingdom is revealed. Let none bewail his transgressions; for the light of forgiveness has risen from the tomb. Let none fear death; for death of the Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed death by undergoing death. He has despoiled hell by descending into hell. He vexed it even as it tasted of His flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he cried: Hell was filled with bitterness when it met Thee face to face below; Hell is angered, for it was brought to nothing; Hell is angered, for it was mocked; Hell is angered, for it was overthrown; Hell is angered, for it was put in chains. Hell received a body, and encountered God. It received earth, and confronted heaven.

O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen! And you, O death, are annihilated! Christ is risen! And the evil ones are cast down! Christ is risen! And the angels rejoice! Christ is risen! And life is liberated! Christ is risen! And the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To Him be Glory and Power, now and forever, and from all ages to all ages.

 Amen!

Holy Saturday

"What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son.
The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.

‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.

‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image.

'See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.

‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.

"The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages."

A reading from an ancient homily for Holy Saturday

Good Friday

Good Friday

St. Francis de Sales in Benedict, Maryland -- they have the best local live Mass

Rules for Retrogrades

On the occasions when I have watched a Gordon brothers video my first thought is always that they must have been the cutest little wolf cubs when they were children. That youthful charm has worn off because my second thought after watching them for a few minutes is that I really don't care for these guys. However, personality quirks doesn't mean they can't write. History is full of authors who were great in print and jerks in person. With that in mind I tried to put their online personas to the side and just read the book and judge it solely on its merits. I don't think I succeeded on that but here are my impressions.

First, they identify what a retrograde is. I'll quote them directly:

In the words of Shakespeare, a retrograde is one of God’s spies. [Who strives to restore]

• the Old Order of moral and sexual decency,
• classical masculinity,
• national sovereignty and national borders,
• faith and hope and charity,
• goodness and beauty and truth,
• Christian civic liberty,
• and most importantly, the social kingship of Christ.   

There are 40 rules and I won't go over each one individually. The first 12 are common sense and if you were raised in a two parent Catholic or at least nominally Christian home you already know them. The book didn't get interesting to me until rule 13 where they write about how to deal with mil-mods and mod-cons. This is the best and clearest part of the book.  Mod-cons are conservatives, and are usually nice people who can be reasoned with but left to their own devices they will "be the better man," and "lose with grace", to radicals. If they aren't very nice they'll  make a separate peace with the radicals by living their values quietly but  never standing up  for anything or they make a good living in loudly talking a good game but doing nothing. 

The militant mod is a slippery character who lives an outwardly respectable life. He would never take his kid to a drag show at the library but is privately supportive of the whole thing. He also despises the retrograde as much or more than the radical and will sell you out if he can hang with the cool kids. Consequently, once identified the militant mod is best left alone.

Some of the rules about the retrograde's personal affairs: get married young and have a family. Avoid feminism. No matter how you sugar coat it or try to Christianize it,  feminism is the worship of woman as god and that is not good. Another rule is to never back down when given bad spiritual advice from Boomers. Others are to reject blind  optimism and expecting the outrage of the day to finally awaken the American public.

There is a group of rules about how to engage with the radical. The best of them is to remain cool when the radical tries to personalize the general. Don't let this individual re-frame your argument with an appeal to emotion. Always speak the truth and don't allow the radical to tell you that you can not express an opinion about anything that is outside your race or class.

The smallest number of rules are about how to treat fellow retrogrades and this might be the topic the Gordon boys are the most passionate about. They argue that one should never stand silent when a fellow retrograde is attacked. Never launch a sneak attack on a fellow retrograde and only publicly correct a member of the fellowship in public unless he or she has sinned in public.

The book is short but really could have been shorter. It feels like a padded essay. Some of the rules could have been combined and it has five other flaws that ruin it for me.

First, the Gordons err in hanging too much of their argument on Thomas Jefferson's study of Saints Robert Bellarmine's and Thomas Aquinas' writings. Unlike Washington, there's not even a rumor that  he showed a scrap of  sympathy or understanding of Catholicism.

Second, Their  rejection of boycotts seems to be a lazy way of excusing giving money to Starbucks and Disney and Netflix because not doing so doesn't affect the company's bottom line.

Third, the Gordons  wallow in California teenager slang. That would be forgivable if they were precocious teens but one of them and I think it's the younger Gordon, is 39. If you've ever watched their videos and rolled your  eyes be warned: they way they talk is the way they write. They  remind me of a 1980s Valley Girl who found a dictionary.

Fourth, they don't have anything to say about the lay grifters and opportunists who make their money off the Faith but as we've seen in recent days, don't really believe any of what they push to their donors and customers.

Finally, they overdo the he-man act and bring to mind  the old saying: If you have to keep  telling everyone that you are a lady then you probably aren't.

I found myself having to frequently put the book down because this was all so irritating.

So do I think you should buy the book or run screaming from it? Neither. It's not absolutely horrible but it's not worth the $18.87, I paid. If  you can't get it from the library or borrow it from someone, then buy it used or  preferably at a discount. If this book makes enough of a stir it might inspire someone with greater style and Catholic scholarship to take a crack at the subject matter. The idea of Rules for Retrogrades is good. This execution needs work.

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.
  
• 
  

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.