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.

Reflecting on anger and how one should respond

 I've been reflecting on anger this week during my morning prayer time. It's one of the seven  deadly sins. But anger is also a virtue and St. Thomas Aquinas rebukes the soul who remains passive against injustice and never becomes angry. Righteous anger is a virtue that calls us to redress injustice. Righteoous anger moved me to spend most of my adult life defending the unborn and innocent individuals like Terri Schiavo and Hugh Finn considered vegetables by family members who put them to death by dehydration. There is much going on today that should arouse our righteous anger. The question we should all ask ourselves is how does God call us to respond?

The two images that came to me this week seemed to offer me the answer. The first image showed me Mary at the foot of the cross. What could be more unjust than the crucifixion of Christ, the creature committing deicide against the Savior of the world? He gave us everything! His love for us compelled Him to come as a helpless infant. He didn't come into the world a full grown man in the robes of a king. As St. Alphonsus tells us, that might inspire fear. No, He came as an innocent, helpless little baby born in poverty. His first cross was the wood of the manger on a cold winter's night.

Salus Animarum: For the Salvation of Souls

The salvation of souls is the whole law of the Church. I look forward with joy to the release of the documentary on All Saints Day. In the meantime let us pray for Pope Leo, all the cardinals and bishops of the world and especially for parish priest who directly impact the spirituality of their flocks and for those hermits and monks committed to silence, prayer, and sacrifice for the salvation of souls. 

O Lord, give us priests.

O Lord, give us holy priests.

O Lord, give us many holy priest.

Our Lady, Queen of the Clergy, pray for our priests, especially those betraying their vocations. Bring them back, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, to recognize their true dignity and their responsibility for the sheep of their flock. May they all be Good Shepherds walking in the footsteps of Jesus.

Is Opposition to the Death Penalty an Infallible Teaching?

I'm glad the Department of Defense has decided not to livestream the execution by firing squad of mass murderer, Nidal Hasan. We don't need more folks addicted to violence drooling over the opportunity to watch someone die in real time. It makes me think of snuff films. A live execution enables the sick and voyeuristic to get their jollies. 

Lunacy Rules: "Conservatives" Mainstream Sodomy-Promoter Fr. James Martin, S.J.

We truly do live in the era of diabolical disorientation and, daily, there's plenty of evidence illustrating it. What should we think when a supposedly conservative host at a supposedly conservative Catholic website, sits down in a friendly interview, an almost fawning interview, with the man who is arguably the lead proponent for legitimizing sodomy in the Church! That's what happened a week ago when J.D. Flynn of The Pillar sat down with Fr. James Martin, S.J. 

Sunday Meditation: Wash your Face, Put on a Smile, and Stop Complaining!

It's a good thing to remember that everyone has troubles and, really, no one wants to hear a long litany about yours. Ask for prayers but leave the dissertation unread. A confessor urged me a few months ago to "kill the spirit of complaining." I'm working on it, but I think it's a lifetime work. I better get busy because I don't have that much lifetime left. I'll ask all the angels and saints, especially my guardian angel and the Blessed Mother to intercede for me with Jesus to put a lid on it!

Remembering a Wonderful Pastor: Fr. John Mary Powers, the "Guardian Angel of Cleveland Heights"

Being the daughter of a naval officer, I spent my growing up years on the move.  Since we 
relocated every three or four years, I attended three elementary schools. I remember with particular fondness St. Ann's school in Cleveland Heights, OH. The pastor was Fr. John Mary Powers. Father was given the project of starting a new parish in 1915. The area was undeveloped then, and he influenced the local government to  create a neighborhood at the same time and avoid putting commercial buildings adjacent to the parish grounds.

I went to St. Ann's from Kindergarten through third grade. Every day, my siblings and I walked the mile to school from our home on Guilford Rd. to the parish school on Coventry. The parish church was just finished in the early fifties, so I was among the first generation going to Mass in the Church instead of the school. I made my First Communion at St. Ann's. 

A Message from the Grocery Stores in the Twilight Zone

I happened across an article about the expansion of the fake meat market. I never buy fake burgers although some have ingredients that appear to emphasize real food. Nevertheless I don't want my dinner coming from a lab. But who would have thought that the main course would now be created on a 3D printer? 

3D-Printed Fake Meat and Fish Have Officially Entered American Grocery Stores Without Clear Labeling

No doubt you had a mouth-watering sensation as you read that headline. What's not to love about fake meat and fish made from ingredients like "soy flour, rapeseed oil, modified starch, methylcellulose (whatever that is), xanthan gum, locust bean gum, and artificial meat coloring." Yum!

Is "turbo cancer" from mRNA shots Real? Is Pope Leo XIV a Victim?

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Ann Barnhardt suggested recently that Pope Leo is suffering from VAIDS turbo cancer. VAIDS stands for Vaccine Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. When it was first suggested that the COVID shots could cause or awaken dormant cancer, it was pooh-poohed by the medical establishment. Many continue to mock those raising the questions. Is that surprising? When you've been a primary pusher of something that causes a medical disaster aren't you likely to become a vaccine-damage-denier?