random thoughts on a Tuesday night

• Christmas vacation is the happiest time of the year for me. For 7 days I cook, clean and spend long nights lying on the couch, laughing and telling stories with my family. My mother and I can hang out long past midnight, eating pecans and talking about all kinds of things. It's a real gift from God.
  
  
  
•  I don't want to hear about the Nuremberg Code anymore. Folks, in order to have Nuremberg you have to win the war.
  
  

• Why do Catholic women post photos of themselves in immodest clothing or poses, particularly when they state that they are on their way to church or while standing in front of the altar?  Why do these women always seem to have a priest friend who posts a compliment or a defense of her when someone asks why she's dressed like that? I just saw a Christmas card where the woman is doing the trout pout with her buttocks stuck out at a bizarre angle, and standing next to her wimpy looking husband. Is is narcissism, feminism or just an infection of worldliness? 
  
  
  
• I've noticed something wonderful. None of the young priests I've heard in the last couple of years do that horrible sing-song lispy baby talk voice when they speak. It's finally fallen out of fashion in the seminary public speaking class. The only ones who still do appear to be over 60. 
  
  
  
  

Adoration

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

 

THY ALMIGHT WORD LEAPT DOWN FROM HEAVEN....

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

Merry Christmas

 The Coming of Christ aired on NBC in 1961. Can you imagine this today? 

It's frequently a bad thing when one's diocese makes the news

 Bishop Burbidge has an announcement. 

random thoughts for a Saturday morning

•  And Mary went in haste....  How did Our Lady get to St. Elizabeth's house? It's about 90 miles from Nazareth to Aim Karim. She must have joined a caravan but a young girl of 15 or so would've attracted the wrong kind of attention and it never would've been permitted. Some theologians have posited that St. Joseph, her legal husband or other relatives must have gone with her and St. Joseph came again to pick her up after three months. 
  
• I mentioned to my mother that the Filipino community at my old parish is having Simbag Gabi  novena Masses. My mother asked if anyone who isn't Filipino is welcome. I hesitated to answer and finally said that anyone can go to Mass but a non-Filipino probably wouldn't be treated to the fellowship and people might not be comfortable in his or her presence the same way Vietnamese or Korean or Hispanic parishioners aren't too happy when someone outside their ethnicity shows up at their dedicated Mass.   My mother made a disapproving sound. I said that if the Filipinos have to lose their customary Advent Masses then the Charismatic Masses, the Spanish Mass, the Ordinariate and the Afro-Gospel Masses and definitely  the celebrate whatever sexual penchant you have Masses need to go too, out of fairness.
  
  My mother made another disapproving sound and indicated that she was disappointed because she thought Catholic meant universal and she asked me to explain why Pope Francis is taking my Latin Mass away. I couldn't give her a satisfactory answer. Drat! Every time I think that my mother is getting closer to converting something happens. 

• Rocky's work schedule has changed so we can't go to Mass at our old parish. Where we're going now is  valid and fulfills our Sunday duty.  It's a regular vanilla Novus Ordo in that nothing is shocking or  too horrible. We'll never have dancing girls or dogs sitting next to the altar.  On the other hand, it's nothing sublime either. Unless we have a guest priest, or the bishop comes, the homilies are rambling pep talks or sports analogies or joke filled. Father--who is a very sweet, kind man,--- moves around like a game show host. We don't have the Confiteor and never hear the Roman canon.  We have nice bread and butter priests who are extremely careful and under great pressure not to offend any of the very rich people who attend and have the power to call up the bishop and get their calls answered.  
  
  During the week we have a respite. We go to a small parish that has (for how long?), an evening  traditional  Low Mass. One night, as we were leaving that church Rocky turned to me and asked rhetorically what would happen if one of the Fathers  at our Sunday Mass spoke a homily like the ones we hear at the week-day TLM parish. It would be incredible. 
  
  
  
  
• A Christmas Carol was published for the first time on this date. It's amazing to think that the man who wrote it later in his middle age became viciously cruel to his wife, driving her from their home and taking up openly with a mistress. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What is Francis? Who does he love? I don't know but I don't think it's what we have a right to expect. 
  
  
  
  
• The lovely Tea at Trianon blog has a fine defense of Our Lady and reminder that you should read a little history and not get your theology from Evangelical and Jewish movies. Mary was not an unwed mother. 

Tornadoes

 So far 50 people are dead from this week's tornadoes. Instead of giving your money to some dude running a blog, a lay media apostolate or a You Tube channel send your dollar to help your fellow Americans who have lost everything. The Owensboro diocese has a donation link here .

Thank you, God!

 Yesterday Rocky called me to say he'd be late getting home because.... the SUV engine appeared to be on fire. 

He pulled over and when the smoke died down he pushed the Ford Explorer to a gas station.  Thank you, dear Jesus. The image of His Sacred Heart is in  both our vehicles.  Thank you, St. Christopher. Thank you, St. Martha and St. Alphonsus, Rocky's patron saints. Thank you to Rocky's guardian angel.  Rocky is fine. The Explorer is at the station and we'll see what can be done with it. My husband was able to get a rental for the weekend that doesn't cost the earth  and my nerves settled down sometime last night. 

God is good. 

Salvation Army

 The Salvation Army is an Evangelical Protestant sect. Never mind the recent insult to the largest group of donors; you shouldn't be giving to the Salvationists anyway. 

Random thoughts on a Saturday night

• Church Militant has gone through the three stages of  kookdom: Eccentric, Actively Avoid and now, CALL THE SHERRIFF FOR A WELLNESS CHECK.  
  
  
  
  

• What is going on with all these male Catholic commentators talking about how manly or tough they are? My husband, my father, my father-in-law (one of the meanest men I've ever met but a genuine warrior ), my grandfather or any man in my family has never once boasted of their manhood in my presence. You know who talks about how tough they are? Boys. Little boys, mostly. Full grown normal men don't need to constant reassure themselves and others of their masculinity. It's gotten to the point where the minute somebody starts doing this I immediately put them on my "do not read this guy anymore" list. 
  
  
  
  
• I had surgery  last week and it went well.  The surgeon called me today to say that all the pain causing bits that were removed are benign just as she thought and my particular issue should be cleared up for good now. I was very thankful to have been able to stop by the rectory before the surgery and be anointed by one of the priests.
  
  
  
  
• It is being suggested that if Father James Jackson of the FSSP can be brought down then it will be a blow to all people who love the TLM. I disagree.  I didn't even know who Fr. Jackson was before his arrest. I've heard of his Nothing Superfluous book but it never occurred to me to pick it up. I think most Catholics outside of the overheated Trad Inc. online world and who don't attend a FSSP parish probably have no idea who he is. 




• When I was in college one of my professors lectured about public life. He said if you are going to stand up in politics or any monster fighting activity make sure that you are squeaky clean and have no weak spots. If you have ANYTHING in your private life that an investigator for your opponent can use it will be brought to bear against you. Recent events in Catholic blog/Twitter/YouTube land remind me of what that old professor said. If you are going to fight dragons you better be like St. George, which includes no family members who could get hurt in the crossfire. 

 

Man of Sorrows

 

Fr. James Jackson

 Fr. James Jackson of the FSSP has been arrested for having child pornography on his computer. A lot of people say he must have been set up because he barely knows how to use a computer and they've known him for years and he exudes holiness. Maybe. 

Unless this is Fr. Jackson's personal computer everyone who had access to it needs to be looked at, including the priest who was there before him. The timing of this arrest seems suspicious. Some people are wondering if this is part of an intimidation campaign against the FSSP. 

On the other hand, you don't need to be a tech expert to find smut. You don't need to go on the Dark Web and use a VPN or Tor to consume really bad, soul and mind destroying stuff. As for his aura, may I remind you of Fr. Marciel? He was treated as a saint but turned out to be a fornicator, a rapist, and incestuous. He fooled a lot of people, including JPII, who would hear no word of warning about him from the few who saw through the man. 

Can Fr. Jackson get a fair shake in the justice system in Rhode Island? I doubt it. He needs an excellent legal team.  The case is USA v. Jackson, docket number, 1:21-mj-00109 in the District of Rhode Island before Judge Sullivan. The criminal complaint is document number three. His bail has been set for $10,000. If he is innocent may God bring him through this like St. Gerard. If he is guilty, may he confess it and repent. 

Random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

•  Mundabor has written a harsh epitaph for poor Pope Benedict that made me wince at the truths and very sad for Benedict. He didn't have the  charisma or energy to follow the JPII papacy model. He was cursed with very shady people in his own private apartment and he was simply overwhelmed by the wolves. 
  
  
  
  
  
• What did I say?  It's started already. The victim is 18.
  
  
  
  
  
• As horrible as the beagle puppy experiments are and I do have to  ask why it was even done; go back 1000 years and any Bedouin could tell you what sandflies can do --- I think it's very telling about the state of our modern societal degeneracy that this is what it  took for normal people to finally get upset at Fauci.
  
  Where are the Western world's priorities? A pig kidney is successfully transplanted to a comatose woman who could not have given her consent and people cheer the progress of science. Elderly people in nursing homes were put into confinement and not allowed to see their friends, clergy and families until they reached near death, if that, depending on the locale and people went, "It's for their safety! Millions of babies have been dismembered or poisoned in the womb and have been had their organs cut of their precious bodies while still alive and people shrug but ...puppies, well that's just too far. 

 

 

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

 

random thoughts on a rainy Sunday night

• Kamala Harris has recorded a message that will be played at 300 black churches in support of Terry McCuliffe. That ought to be sign to the people in the pews  that they need to run for the doors.
  
  
  
  
  
• It didn't start in the 60s. 

• I was at Mass on Wednesday night and found this wonderful book on the parish's book case. It's incredibly helpful. My only nitpick is that it has John Henry Newman on the cover and I find his relationship with Fr. Ambrose St. John  and his behavior on the night of St. John's death to be disturbing. 

Holy Face Litany Short Version

I salute Thee, I adore Thee and I love Thee, O adorable Face of Jesus, my Beloved, noble Seal of the Divinity! Outraged anew by blasphemers. I offer Thee, through the heart of Thy blessed Mother, the worship of all the Angels and Saints, most humbly beseeching Thee to repair and renew in me and in all men Thy Image disfigured by sin.

O adorable Face, which was adored with profound respect by Mary and Joseph when they saw Thee for the first time, have mercy on us.

O adorable Face, which in the Stable of Bethlehem didst ravish with joy the angels, the shepherds and the Magi

O adorable Face, which in the Temple didst transpierce with a dart of love the saintly old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna

O adorable Face, which, when Thou didst appear in the Temple at twelve years of age, didst fill with admiration the Doctors of the law

O adorable Face which possesses beauty always ancient and always new, have mercy...

   

 O adorable Face which is the masterpiece of the Holy Ghost, in which the Eternal Father is well pleased, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which is the ineffable mirror of the divine perfection, have mercy on us.

  

   Adorable Face of Jesus which was so mercifully bowed down on the Cross, on the day of Thy Passion, for the salvation of the world! Once more today in pity bend down towards us poor sinners. Cast upon us a glance of compassion and give us Thy peace.

O adorable Face, troubled and weeping at the tomb of Lazarus,

Adorable Face of Jesus which was so mercifully bowed down on the Cross, on the day of Thy Passion, for the salvation of the world! Once more today in pity bend down towards us poor sinners. Cast upon us a glance of compassion and give us Thy peace.

O adorable Face, brilliant as the sun, and radiant with glory on the Mountain of Tabor

O adorable Face, sorrowful at the sight of Jerusalem, and shedding tears on that ungrateful city,

O adorable Face, bowed down to the earth, in the Garden of Olives, and covered with confusion for our sins,

O adorable Face, bathed in a bloody sweat,  O adorable Face, kissed by the traitor Judas,

O adorable Face, struck by a vile servant, shamefully blindfolded, and profaned by the sacrilegious hands of Thine enemies, O adorable Face, defiled with spittle, and bruised by innumerable buffets and blows,

O adorable Face, whose Divine look wounded the heart of Peter, with a dart of sorrow and love,

O adorable Face which was washed and anointed by Mary and the holy women and covered with a shroud, have mercy on us.

Be merciful to us, O my God! Do not reject our prayers, when in the midst of our afflictions, we call upon Thy Holy Name and seek with love and confidence Thy adorable Face.

O adorable Face, all resplendent with glory and beauty on the day of the Resurrection, 

O adorable Face, all dazzling with light at the moment of Thy Ascension,

Be merciful to us, O my God! Do not reject our prayers, when in the midst of our afflictions, we call upon Thy Holy Name and seek with love and confidence Thy adorable Face.

    

    O adorable Face which is hidden in the Eucharist, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which will appear at the end of time in the clouds with great power and great                 majesty, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which will make sinners tremble, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which will fill the just with joy for all eternity, have mercy on us.

    O adorable Face which merits all our reverence, our homage and our adoration, have mercy on us.

    O Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved!

    O Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved!

    O Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved!

Weirdness at Adoration

 I saw the weirdest thing last evening. Rocky and I went to Adoration but the holy hour was ruined by one family.  They were sitting in the back but one row ahead of us and I guess they were trying to let each one of the children have a good view of the Blessed Sacrament. Every  ten minutes or so one of them would get up and move to a different pew closer to the altar and another one would return to the rest of the family who  would all shuffle to the right or left and then the next family member would get up and move to another pew. This zig zagging loop went around and around like this for the entire hour. 

Finally a man came in  and knelt down in the same pew as the family. The teenaged daughter  of the family leaned over to whisper to him. I didn't hear what she said but the man looked surprised and later I saw that he had to keep getting up from kneeling and sit or stand depending on the size of the child each time one  of them would do that bizarre musical chairs shuffle over him. He stayed in that pew though. 

One of the kids who looked about 13 or 14 must have decided that he didn't need to move and the teenaged daughter leaned over to give him a whispered tongue lashing. I saw the boy's cheeks flush beet red and he looked hurt. He got up stiffly and moved to another pew like she wanted. 

Rocky and I left as soon as our hour was over. The musical chairs bit seemed ridiculous, distracting and rude.

The other people in the chapel who were  sitting in  the  up front pews didn't see all this and were spared the distraction. I don't know what the parents were trying to accomplish but I don't see how turning Adoration into a game added to their children's devotion and I certainly didn't see it as charity to the other people in the pews or as reverent to the Lord. 

Random thoughts on a Monday afternoon

•  It hasn't even been a good month yet  and it's  started already.

• Usually at my job when someone reaches the 20 year mark they get a gift. My 20th work anniversary came and went with no comment from HR. I don't know if it's because I gave them resistance on the vax requirement or if they simply have dropped the graceful gesture altogether. 
  
  
  
  
• Pope Francis has not gone crazy. I think he's been like this all along. 
  
  
  
  
• The Fairfield Carmelites are in danger.
    
  
  
  
  
• Pray for us, Father Kaupan.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We had a very odd experience at Mass two weeks ago. It was  Young Adults Sunday and Rocky and I were surprised to see the bishop as the celebrant. There was a full choir, instead of one cantor and we were treated to the long versions of Protestant hymns including one during Communion that sounded like a man talking to a girlfriend. Many people attending the Mass appeared to take some care with their clothes and hair which is definitely not the norm. Both Rocky and I were taken aback because this Mass was celebrated with more seriousness than the Masses for Christmas and Easter. I'm not knocking the Young Adults Mass but it was disconcerting to see that the Mass celebrating them appeared to be more important than any other Mass held in the past year. 

Is Protestant Knowledge of the Bible Really Superior to that of Catholics? I Don't Think So.

I've been doing virtual Bible study at my current parish. On the first day the priest-- who is a fine young man and I like him--- made the same shaming speech that we Catholics always hear. It's the line about how Protestants know their bible so much better than Catholics and how we should imitate them presumably because if you can't quote whole chapters then you don't really love God.  That speech increasing irritates me the older I get. I sat and listened to Father and thought, 'So what!'

Yes---So what! I wonder if the people who make that shaming speech know any Protestants. When Saint Jerome said, "Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ," he was speaking to a world where most people were illiterate. Most people were hearing the Bible at Mass or at Vespers if they went to a monastery in the evening. St. Jerome was not saying pick up a Bible and twist the readings to whatever you want. Interpretation of the Bible without Tradition leads to heresy and disaster.

My  brother-in-law is a Jehovah's Witness. He can spit Bible verses like bullets from a machine gun but you know what? Ninety percent of the time he's wrong. The JWs interpretation of the Bible is flawed with horrifying results.  Think of all the JWs who have died because the JWs believe that blood transfusions are cannibalism and cause the victim who needed the transfusion to be damned. Think of all the JWs who lived and died believing that only exactly 144,000 people are going to Heaven and the rest will either live in Garden of Eden II or experience soul annihilation.  

Mormons are very serious about studying the King James Bible along with their Book of Mormon. A good Mormon can drop some quotes on you and expound on what they "really" mean. Their interpretation says that Our Lord and the Devil were brothers and that if you are a truly saintly Mormon you will be rewarded by God with being a god of your own planet. Their interpretation also forbids tea and coffee.

My mother's family are Baptists. Their interpretation of the Bible says that all you have to do is to accept that Jesus is Lord in your life and then you are saved forever. So you can go drinking and sin sexually on Saturday night but it's all good if you show up sober and embarrassed about the previous night on Sunday morning and pay your tithes. In fact, you don't have to go to church at all or just on holy days such as "Communion" First Sunday or just for Bible study as long as you pay your tithes. Oh, and divorce and remarriage is okay if the first spouse was not a godly person. I think St. Jadwiga, St. Monica, Blessed Elizabeth Leseur and St. Clotilda would laugh at that. My beloved uncle can quote the King James Bible at length. My dear cousin, his son  is the head deacon at his church and can do the same. 

Have you heard of the Scofield Bible? Millions of Evangelicals who devoutly study Cyrus Scofield's Bible's interpretation believe that the modern, secular state of Israel is holy and must be loved and unquestioningly defended on pain of sin. To put it bluntly, they believe that if you are not a Zionist you either need to get right with God or you are going to Hell.

Think of all the Protestants who believe in the Rapture. Their preacher's interpretation of the Bible tells them that they will be whisked away and avoid all the horrors of the End Times. 

I'm not writing this to mock these people but I think it's important that Catholics stop accepting constant demoralization in regards to formal Bible study.  If you are lucky the leader of your Bible study will keep referring to what St. Jerome and the other early Church Fathers said about the Bible and will point you towards Haydock's Commentary and/or St. Thomas Aquianas's Catena Aurea. If you aren't you'll get to hear about how Jesus choosing His apostles was like a quarterback choosing his team (I sat through that talk once) or how all of Salvation history is just some kind of feminist struggle. Bleech! 

random thoughts on a Saturday afternoon

• Beware the priest who has a female fan club. When you see Father talking about soap operas or romantic comedies with his female buddies and if he allows his gal pals to mock the pious women in the parish don't be surprised when you see the Blessed Sacrament in a separate room and hear questionable things from the ambo. If you notice that the men in the parish don't come anywhere near him and he's never once crossed the threshold of the parish hall room where the men's group meets then you should not be surprised when Father Skippy eventually makes the news in a bad way.
  
  
  
  
• Last week was really hard. I didn't cook and barely cleaned. When I wasn't working I was lying in bed in an eye mask in the dark fighting  headaches. Rocky spent most of the evenings watching over me. Thank God for good husbands.

• This is a really good site for anyone who is new to the traditional Mass. 

• You need to read this.  And then, you  really need to read this.  Study it. I have many Muslim neighbors. Even the strictest of them look at the Afghans and shake their heads. Apparently thousands are already in my state and its just a matter of time before they are released into the general population. After that, some woman, girl or boy will be made to suffer. This group of men is not the same as the few Afghans who immigrated here over the decades and quietly fitted in. When a thousand guys show in your town or state at once it was in saner times seen as an invasion.
  I was in a discussion on a social media site and this subject came up. One person mentioned that Catholic Charities was heavily into resettlement with tax payer money and cursed us Catholics. While I objected to the curse I really couldn't say much of anything because it's true. When you give to Catholic Charities you are working against your own neighbor's interests and helping to stir up hostility. I've said it before and I'll say it again: When somebody's loved ones get hurt they aren't going to say, "Oh well Jewish groups bring immigrants here and so do Lutheran groups." They are going to say, "The Catholics! The Catholics!" That's not good. 

• My HR department sent out an e-mail on Friday announcing that the firm is 99% vaxxed and reminding us that 'Rona boosters will be available soon. I got so angry I deleted it. Damnit, it's not enough to threaten our jobs unless we take the vax but we have to be boosted too? No! 

• A witch has moved into my neighborhood. She has her posters everywhere offering to read the cards for foolish customers. I say the St. Michael prayer whenever I see them. 

• This Reverent Mass locator is very helpful. I was happy to see my old parish and my back up parish included.
  
  
  
  
• Have you ever noticed that the same women who scream the loudest about killing their children have nothing to say about putting the same amount of passion into not getting pregnant in the first place? It's become an open anti-sacrament.