Do we listen to Our Lady and take her warnings seriously?

[Note: at about the 6 minute mark, Fr. makes a verbal slip when he misquotes Our Lady's words saying "more souls go to heaven for sins of the flesh than any other reason." Of course, he meant go to hell.]

None of us should be surprised at the crisis we face both in the state and the Church. We have brought it on ourselves by our sinfulness, laziness, and tepidity. I think of myself and all the time I waste on frivolous things, how little time I spend in prayer and sacrifice. What's wrong with the world? I am. 

Where Have All the Young, Serious Catholics Gone?

Gone to tradition every one. (Well, maybe not every one.) Some aren't fully there yet, but the trend is definitely away from Kumbaya and guitars and toward Gregorian Chant and sacred polyphony. God speaks in silence not in constant noise and "dialogue", and many young people are beginning to realize it. When the world is as crazy as ours is today, the only real rebellion is orthodoxy. 

Tell me again how Israel is filled with saints and can do no wrong!

Church of the Holy Family in Gaza

Oh, yes...and that anyone who criticizes Israel's policies and tactics hates Israel and is anti-semitic Targeting Palestinian Christians and Catholics is just an unfortunate reality of war -- wrong place/wrong time. 

As for Muslim women and children, I borrow a phrase from Sheridan, "The only good Indian Muslim is a dead Indian Muslim."

At least two dead in Israeli destruction of Catholic Church in Gaza: Enough - Updated

The church was hit by an IDF fired directly at the church by a tank. It's hard to believe that was done "by mistake." 

Let us all pray for an end to this terrible war that has killed so many from the three religious groups in the area including the mostly forgotten Christians.

Revolution in the Church: It's Nothing New!

The revolution against the Church began in the Garden of Eden. Of course, the Church existed only in the mind of God then. But Satan's strategy to seduce man was already well underway under the banner of "progress". 

Yes, Satan is a progressive, tickling man's desire for novelty and change with his diabolical temptations. When you hear that term "progressive", look for Satan hiding behind his human helpers. They're really not hard to identify and they are basically the same over the millennia. Only the fashions change.

I'm slowly reading Pio Nono by E.E.Y. Hales published in 1954. The blurb on the cover calls it, "A Masterful Study of Pius IX and his role in Nineteenth-Century European Politics and Religion." It also illustrates well the politics of hell against the Church, the same strategies and plots we see today. As they say, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Did the Mad Hatter make the decision to fire John-Henry Westen?

 

...Or was it the Queen of Hearts? As Alice in Wonderland would say, things are getting curiouser and curiouser!

From Kokx news:

BREAKING: LifeSite board chair says John-Henry Westen's removal is 'null and void

LifeSite's Board Chairman Dominic Ismert has informed company co-founder John-Henry Westen that after seeking legal advice he believes Westen’s removal as CEO earlier this month was illegal. 

What is Trad Inc?

A new term has popped up in the Catholic blogosphere lately: Trad Inc. The term refers to Traditional Catholic Media. Is that like the drive-by media in the Church? It seems so. It's hard to find a definition and I have no idea who coined the term, but it refers to the velvet glove avoiding criticism of the pope and the Vatican. Some of those labeled "Trad Inc." include Eric Sammons at Crisis, Taylor Marshall, Kennedy Hall, Damian Thompson, and presumably Steve Jalasevac since John-Henry Westen and Stephen Kokx's ouster from LifeSite News. 

Confessions of a Gadfly?

Socrates, the original gadfly

Do you ever think you know what a word means and use it in your mistaken way only to find out that you didn't have it quite right?

 That's what happened to me the other day. It's embarrassing for a wordsmith to admit it. If I'm not sure of a word, I usually look it up. But when you think you know a word's meaning, you tend to just use it. And that's what I did.

I had to empty the dishwasher and put everything away. Whenever I do that it's with a sigh. You would think it was one of the tasks of Hercules. It was all I could do to force myself to complete the task and, in fact, I stopped with the dishwasher half empty to do something else. 

Thoughts from the First Session of Fr. David Torkington's course, Prayer to Contemplation

I decided to do a retreat with Fr. David Torkington by listening to his 15 session series on Prayer to Contemplation. Every Sunday I plan to listen to one of the videos until I finish it. Here are some ideas and thoughts from the first session which was excellent. I hope you will join me:

God's power finds Its full scope in human weakness.

Maike Hickson Resigns from LifeSite News: Who's Next?

You are a great gift to the Church Dr. Hickson! Your sacrifices and sufferings for the Truth of Christ are an inspiration to me. https://t.co/yWDCeLhufW

— John-Henry Westen (@JhWesten) July 11, 2025

I've known Maike Hickson for years. She's been a huge grace to LifeSite News with her interviews and her excellent articles. That she has chosen to resign in solidarity with John-Henry Westen is a significant blow to the organization in my opinion. Her action also highlights the loss of credibility surrounding the announcement and the subsequent spin by Jalsevac about the reasons. 

Sunday Meditation: A Mini Retreat on Prayer and Contemplation

 Fr. David Torkington is a cancelled priest, driven out for exposing sex abuse in his religious order decades ago. He tells us we must return to the early Christian prayer practices which encompassed four principles.