Sunday Meditation: The Feast of Intercessors -- May All the Saints March Us into Paradise!

I love All Saints Day, the feast of all our friends and intercessors who have gone before us. How I look forward to the day I'm included "when the saints go marching in!" What an opportunity to thank them all for their prayers and support. I expect my patron saints to be there cheering me on and, of course, my guardian angel. But then I expect to walk hand in hand with my beloved parents and side by side with my deceased brothers and all the priests who impacted by life from my Baptism. If my husband goes before me, I will look for him in the crowd and run to accept his welcome. So many pro-life friends will be there as well accompanied by the babies we helped to save by God's grace. What rejoicing!

Dr. Frankenstein is Alive and Practicing on Your Baby!

It's ghost and goblin time today; time to be scared. But it isn't the fake monsters we should fear, but the real ones. Dr. Frankenstein who created a monster lives. He pressures parents to jab their babies immediately after birth and on an on throughout the first year and beyond. He tells you there's no proof that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and autism can possibly be linked to the dozens of vaccines injected, sometimes three or four at one office visit. A few years ago doctors pooh-poohed the idea that SIDS was vaccine related. But the fact is that 80% of SIDS deaths occur within a week of the jabs. That is certainly an alarming fact that requires more research. To just sweep it under the rug is irresponsible.

What are Acceptable Halloween Costumes This Woke Year?

I published the article below almost a decade ago and, as I re-read the list, I had to shake my head and give a rueful laugh. Have things changed much? TDS is still high on the list of wokeness. White privilege (especially white male privilege) is still a major theme sometimes with ridiculous claims. In a society that gives preference to anybody but a white man we still hear that they carry all the advantages. Excuse me, but college admissions prove that isn't true as well as less qualified candidates being hired because of "diversity and inclusion." And we recently saw only one white doctor among four or five during my husband's hospital visit. Women seem to have the advantage over white males. And as for the LGBTQ+ agenda, well, it's woke on steroids. Give us a break and stop lying! 

When the Valley of Tears is Filled with Sunshine!

Two of my grandsons came this morning for a hike in our local state park. Our plan was to put my husband's scooter in the car and go up to the Skyline Drive's Limberlost Trail. Unfortunately, Larry was feeling sick, so we stayed close to home in case I was needed. Seven Bends State Park is only ten minutes away so we packed our walking sticks and headed out.

I didn't really plan on a five-miler, but the original plan was stymied by a closed trailhead so we headed up on what ended up being a long circuit hike on four different trails. But what a glorious day to enjoy the Autumn filled with the wonder of God's creation! It reminded me of the morning prayer I began after retreat this year. Father suggested we praise and thank God for four things:

Pray for Pope Leo XIV to walk in the footsteps of Pope Leo IX.

I've been reading about Pope Saint Leo IX, born in 1002 shortly after the new millennium began. What a great saint! He ruled with wisdom and zeal at a difficult time for the Church. 

I'm reading a book he wrote on the vices and virtues. The introduction gives this picture of the saintly pope:

Bruno [his baptismal name] was ordained to the priesthood. His ministry was characterized by diligence and devotion, which was well supported by his prudence, wisdom, and erudition. Soon, he was consecrated as bishop of the important diocese of Toul, which he governed effectively and fruitfully for over two decades.

At this point in history, the governance of the Church in Rome was highly unstable and tainted by corruption.

Sound familiar?  The "Church of Rome" was "tainted by corruption." All of the sheep out there who think nothing evil can never happen in the "holy" city need to read Church history. Let's continue:

On suffering and our need for intercessory prayer.

I love this image of the Agony in the Garden by Heinrich Hoffmann. All of us on our journey through life can relate to it by our own sufferings. Larry and I have certainly had many opportunities to reflect on it. I don't share too much about our personal challenges, but I know many who come here are Catholics and Christians. Times of suffering invite us to cry out to God and to our fellow pilgrims and prayer warriors in the Valley of Tears. And that's what I'm doing now - begging for your intercessory prayers.

Not all Are Welcome at the Vatican: Sodomites - YES! Summorum Pontificum Pilgrims - NO, NADA, NEVER!

How much evidence do Catholics need before they recognize the reality of the emergency in the Church? I'm frankly baffled by all the tradition-minded Catholics who continually criticize the SSPX claiming there was no state of necessity for the consecration of bishops last July. Many of these folks admit there's a crisis in the Church, but not a big enough crisis for the SSPX to consecrate bishops without a papal mandate. Other bishops in regular canonical situations, they say, are available to ordain priests to say the Latin Mass and offer the traditional sacraments. 

Christ is King over All Nations and People on the Earth Now and Til the End of Time

Today at our traditional Mass we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI to fight the rising tide of secularism and Communism after World War I.

Domenico Fetti: Contemplating the Beauty of His Art

I love classic artworks, so different from the graphic art, almost cartoonish, so common today. When I came across this piece by Domenico Fetti (1589-1623), a 16th century baroque artist, it reminded me of the devotion to the face of Christ. How I would love to see this painting in a museum and stand studying the face of Jesus, reflecting on his divine love for all men. The sadness in His eyes reminds me of His sorrow when He wept over Jerusalem. He knew the beloved city would be destroyed after His death. 

Pope Leo XIII On Jesus Christ Our Redeemer

I just finished Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, On Jesus Christ Our Redeemer. It was promulgated in 1900 on All Saints Day in the 23rd year of his pontificate. The 78th of 88 encyclicals, it is easy reading and constitutes only fourteen paragraphs. A mature sixth grader could understand it! I don't think I can say that about any encyclicals written by our modern popes, many of which are book length and filled with ambiguous language that confuses rather than illuminates. Does anyone read them? I've slogged through a number, but it was like taking a hike in a river of jello.

Let me offer some take-aways from Pope Leo's beautiful testimony on Christ. He wrote a number of short encyclicals that are an easy summary of the faith and accessible to the average Catholic in the pew. I'll frame this in question and answer format with the answers directly from the words of the encyclical.