On the Road to Bethlehem!

Mary & Joseph find a stopping point near a fallen down shed not far from
the chicken coop. Eggs for breakfast.

I recently received a meme suggesting replacing the "Elf on a Shelf" with Mary and Joseph making the trip to Bethlehem. What a wonderful idea! Since I have a statue of the expectant mother riding a donkey being led by dear St. Joseph, I decided to spend Advent journeying with them along the Advent road at Camp Kreitzer. They began the journey today outside under the pine trees not far from the chicken coop. 

Africa is the biggest country in the world!!

The Thinker
by Auguste Rodin

1) Recently at work a 20 year-old young man and I were talking about Russia and Ukraine. When I said that Russia is the biggest country in the world he said, "No it isn't. Africa is the biggest country in the world." I was saddened by his lack of geographical knowledge since he's graduated from high school. I gently said, "Africa is a continent, not a country." 

Who will be the next fatality?

I pray it’s no one in my family. But read this from Dr. Toby Rogers for a dose of reality:

“How long before the clot shot takes out a cabinet member or member of Congress? We already have two strokes following boosters — Senators Ben Ray Lujan and John Fetterman. Illinois Rep. Sean Carsten’s teenage daughter Gwen died unexpectedly in her sleep of a sudden cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 17 in June. These numbers are just going to keep increasing. I imagine we will see several world leaders felled by the clot shot in the coming year. We live in the dumbest of all possible universes.”

Check out Dr. Rogers sub stack page at tobyrogers.substack.com.

Sober and Serious New Years Eve

Today is the “other” New Years Eve. You know - the one that precedes the onset of Advent, the minor penitential season. How will you “ring out” the old liturgical year and welcome the new?

It seems to me to be a good time to reflect on the spiritual progress (or regress) of the past year and plan strategies for the new. I made four resolutions this year on retreat. I read them almost every day. If I can be faithful to them, I’ll be thankful. I count on the help of my guardian angel and patron saints to help. May Advent be a blessing for all of us as we invoke Our Lady Help of Christians.

May we all embrace Chesterton’s approach to Thanksgiving!

When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”—G. K. Chesterton

“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip pen in the ink.”

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving, grateful for all things both pleasant and painful. All things come from God and He directs them toward our good. May we not waste anything, but embrace everything with humble submission to God’s will.

Will I kiss the cross today?

One of my favorite images from The Passion of the Christ is the scene where Jesus accepts His cross and kisses it. How it shames me! Jesus sees in the cross the salvation of the world -  my salvation! Can I not then recognize the value of my own suffering as cooperation with the sufferings of Christ. Do I “kiss the cross?” I think I will make that question my Advent meditation. Help me to kiss the cross, Lord, instead of grumbling and complaining like the Israelites in the desert. My Jesus, I trust in You.

Random Thoughts on Tuesday

• Do you ever feel like you’re on a speeding roller coaster? Life is filled with ups and downs, but it goes by incredibly fast. It’s hard to believe people will trade a few fleeting thrills here for an eternity of joy with Our Loving Lord.

This is a picture of...

1) A woman (L) and a man (R)
2) A man (L) and a woman (R)

3) Two women
4) Two men

The answer is #4 - Two men

The man on the left is Nikkie de Jager who knew from an early age that he was born in the wrong body. The man on the right is Dylan Drossaers who's "married" to de Jager. I assume that makes them both homosexuals, not male/female heterosexuals.

In 2020, after de Jager came out as transgender, he appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where he later complained that he was "treated differently than other guests on the show" and that DeGeneres was "cold and distant" (cry me a river). De Jager is a Dutch YouTube beauty and make-up influencer while Drossaers is some sort of Dutch internet personality.

God's punishment can't be too far away at this point in time. 

Pray for Pro-Life Political Prisoners!

 Four red rose rescuers were sentenced Friday to 45 days in jail in Flint Michigan for a 2019 rescue mission. Their crime? Sitting in the waiting room of a killing center offering the moms help and refusing to leave. Often rescuers go limp rather than walk out of the death chambers identifying with the helpless infants who can't walk out. For that, they were charged with a felony!

The Russian Orthodox Perception of the Fatima Message

"The Reigning Icon" of the Mother of God
(see below)

1) I like to look at things from "the other side" every once in awhile. 2) This is merely an article from one Russian Orthodox Priest Outside Russia (ROCOR) 3) I assume that the Orthodox look at the Roman Catholic Church today the same way they currently look at the Collective West. 4) I thought this perspective interesting and agreed with statements highlighted in yellow. 5) I'm sick of being lied to. Perhaps the Orthodox interpretation of Fatima is closer to the truth than the lies we're told to believe. The True Message of Fatima? Introduction In six visions over a period of six months in 1917 three peasant children from a Portuguese village were told by the Mother of God of the destiny of a country called Russia. These shepherd children, who had never been to Lisbon, let alone heard of Russia, came to hear of this at the most important turning-point in the history of that country. Coincidence?

Here's what happened to FTX's disappeared billions

Read RT's article about the crypto snakes in the swamp HERE 
with Bankman-Fried visiting the White House several times.

    

How to Teach a Woke School Board the Truth!

WATCH: Woman identified as a cat demonstrates how to handle a woke school board! pic.twitter.com/HLODZECOEg

— Ben Kew 🐶 (@ben_kew) November 17, 2022

Sudden Death is the New Pandemic. What's the Cause? It's a No-Brainer!

For two very informative videos, go to https://darrellhines.net/2021/05/15/urgent-alert-the-astonishing-cover-up-of-covid-vaccine-deaths-and-reactions-reported-deaths-have-increased-by-six-thousand-6000-since-2020-david-icke/

I was on Facebook earlier today reading posts asking for prayers for friends and family members who "died suddenly" and died young. Every time I see that my first thought is, "Did he/she get the jab?" The deadly vax deniers, led by Fauci and Big Government and Big Pharma, continue to play let's pretend this is all normal. Meanwhile, the truth tellers continue to be slandered and deplatformed while the population-reduction crowd continues to call for more and younger victims.

The Voyeurs at Church Militant and their Graphic and Salacious "Porn"

Earlier this month I received an email from a regular blog reader about the Church Militant (CM) "porn site." Here's what my contact wrote:

Good day Mary Ann,

 I hope this note finds you well. You’ve probably seen it already but if not, Frank Walker at Canon 212 has a red headline about the latest Christine Niles attack on the SSPX. I quickly glanced at it because I don’t want to be a metric in their favor. Long story short, the allegations in this article are WAY too graphic. I stand by my earlier opinion that CM is a porn site. At some point, I hope the SSPX will sue them.

Take care and have a good day,

Is the SSPX "Out of the Boat?" A Modern Parable

Recently I had a conversation with a priest in which we were discussing the situation with the SSPX. He described them as being "out of the boat." I've been thinking about that metaphor for several days and, really, I don't think it's true. 

Boycott the Catholic (sic) Campaign for Human Development Collection

They call themselves "Catholic" while they give generous grants to promote intrinsic evils that undermine the faith. Don't let your hard-earned money be used to attack the faith. It becomes literal blood money to enable abortion and the gay agenda that surgically destroys children. Do you want to be part of that?

See the Report from the Lepanto Institute

• Of the $11,249,000 distributed by the CCHD in FY 2020-2021, $3,430,000 went to organizations acting against Holy Mother Church, which is 30.4% of the grant total.

• Since 2004, the organizations identified in this report have collectively received $16,633,000 in grants from the CCHD.

Monday Morning: Another Week to Serve the Lord

Give up a glass of wine with dinner?

My thoughts are all over the place this morning -- this very early morning. Sleep and I have become strangers. Last week I had multiple four-hour nights. It reminded me of Fr. John Hardon, that zealous Jesuit beloved by so many, who rarely slept more than four hours a night. His superior had to order him to do that.

When I ask myself why I'm having sleep issues again, I remember how negligent I am at voluntary penance. I generally practice temperance, but fasting? Give up that Hershey kiss or that glass of Merlot with dinner? Well...maybe I can give it up for the next thirty minutes.

Pope Francis Blather vs. Clear and Transparent Teaching

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, defender of Doctrine and Sacred Tradition

Have you waded through any of the recent Vatican documents that appear under Pope Francis' name? Let's face it; Francis doesn't write them. But he employs some of the most blathering voices on the planet. I try to read the documents, but bang my head on the wall when I see Laudato Si's 246 paragraphs or the 325 paragraphs of Amoris Laetitia. (Poor Topsy and Tuptim get totally bogged down wading through them.) Of course there is the tyrannical and short Traditionis Custodes, only two pages with footnotes. The fall of the guillotine only takes a few seconds after all.

Guest Post: When the Bishop Becomes a Dictator

Traditionis Custodes threw the TLM out of our churches. The new "home" for the stepchildren is a gym or a classroom. "No church for you rigid, pharisaical tradition lovers!

By Fr. Bill Aitcheson

Recently, the Arlington Diocesan bishop warned the twenty-one priests who celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in his jurisdiction, that their celebrations of the TLM are going to be severely curtailed. Essentially, there will only be eight public locations for the TLM and most of them will not be allowed in a parish church. The TLM will only be celebrated in these eight places and the times of celebration are not to be published in the parish bulletin. The attempted suppression of the TLM is by order of Jorge Bergoglio in conformity with his shameful tome, Traditionis custodes and its interpretation found in the Congregation for Divine Worship's Responsa ad dubia.

We All Need a Laugh after the Election. Check Out This Hilarious Article on Beto

Ted Cruz Gives Beto a New Nickname -- Beteaux

Will we see the three-time loser in Louisiana next? New Orleans is a hotbed of perversity. He'd fit right in there. Maybe they'd elect him to the town council or the local school board. He can work to get policies into the classroom to get kids to cut off their genitals in a "let's pretend we can turn ourselves into the other sex" game. Let's pray that the narcissistic loser and pretender's political career is done! And then let's pray for the even more important goal that he repents and embraces the truth before he faces the Just Judge. 

And speaking of Beto and his perverse positions....

WATCH: PRIME TIME STEIN trolls soon-to-be three-time loser Beto O'Rourke!

"Do you feel guilty about the millions of dollars you wasted on your campaign?" pic.twitter.com/qTI21oPbzw

— Ben Kew 🐶 (@ben_kew) November 8, 2022

Fr. Tom Weighs in on Yesterday's Election. Was it Fair and Fraud Free?

Election officials around the country have had over 600 days to prepare for yesterday’s elections. Yet again, many of them in Democrat controlled areas had unsecure and malfunctioning voting machines “counting” votes (and possibly programmed to shift votes to Democrats, as they did in 2020). Also, in Arizona, apparently voters standing in line long before the polls closed (while machines were allegedly being “fixed”), were denied their right to vote, as election officials promptly closed voting sites at 7:00 PM.

 

This is just one more example of how “social justice” actually works. It justifies denying individuals the ability to exercise their rights for the sake of what elitists assert to be the common good of humanity.

 

Sadly, it also seems that the Synod on Synodality is being conducted in the same way.

Catholic are asked for input, which is then tabulated and interpreted by ecclesiastical elitists. Then, on the basis of a contrived “consensus”, these same elitists insist that we need to replace fidelity and accountability to the whole truth of God with a new paradigm of incremental capitulation to the perverse agendas of the New World Order. They allege that the modern Church must learn to “empty herself” of her “judgmental moral rigorism” and “doctrinal dogmatism”, so as to become more open to the “wisdom” being so boldly proclaimed by secular  society and the elitists of the New World Order.

 

Never before has the prayer, “deliver us from evil”, been so urgent.

 

God save us!

Fr. Tom

Another Leak in the New Church dike: The Ordination of Dom Alcuin Reid

Last May, a clandestine ordination took place when an unnamed bishop conferred the priesthood on Dom Alcuin Reid, a scholar of international stature. Catholic World Report describes him on their author's page:

Dom Alcuin Reid is the founding Prior of the Monastère Saint-Benoît in the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France, and a liturgical scholar of international renown. His principle work, The Organic Development of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2005) carries a preface by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

The video below explains the reasons that Dom Reid disobeyed his bishop, Dominique Rey, in order to protect the monastery and do his duty of being able to provide daily Mass for the monks. 

Is This the Smoking Gun Identifying an Act of War by the U.S. Blowing Up the Nord Stream Pipeline?

Exclusive: U.S. Torpedo Appeared at Explosion Site of the Nord Stream

I find the Lew Rockwell site reliable and generally check their articles every morning. This article describing the movements of the destroyer, USS Paul Ignatius, and the finding of U.S. torpedo remnants near the explosion site are compelling. Study the timeline in the image. And then ask yourself --- WHO IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY? Vote today to THROW THE BUMS AND WARMONGERS OUT! 

Get out the straight jackets for the TSA and their Puppet Masters!

Now they can require you get jabbed as well as fondled.

Insanity rules with hypocrisy as prime minister!

Here's the opening of the article at LifeSiteNews that announces the extension of the TSA's jab requirement for foreigners coming into the United States:

Democrat Violence -- Are We Surprised? They Burn Cities, Kill Cops, Why Wouldn't they Choke this Woman?

At the Rally for governor Hochul a counter protesters was choked during the protest. I spoke with the woman who was attacked. Here's what she had to say pic.twitter.com/c60ad9LoiQ

— Viral News NY (@ViralNewsNYC) November 5, 2022

Errors of the Communist West vs Orthodox Christian Russia

Russian Orthodox Church in honor of
the Transfiguration of the Lord
Western Siberia

Part I 

Let's not start the Fatima Consecration controversy in the comment section below since that isn't what this post is about. Instead briefly let's look at historical facts that happened after Pope John Paul II's March 25, 1984, Consecration then move on to facts of the current situation today.

The short rundown of historical facts after John Paul II's March 25, 1984, Consecration of the World and with it Russia are as follows:

On May 13, 1984, one of the largest crowds in Fatima history gathers at the shrine in Portugal to pray the Rosary for peace and on the same day, May 13, 1984, an explosion at the Soviets’ Severomorsk Naval Base destroys two-thirds of all the missiles stockpiled for the Soviets’ Northern Fleet. The blast also destroys workshops needed to maintain the missiles as well as hundreds of scientists and technicians. Western military experts called it the worst naval disaster the Soviet Navy has suffered since WWII. 

On December 1984, Soviet Defense Minister, mastermind of the invasion plans for Western Europe, suddenly and mysteriously dies, March 10, 1985, Soviet Chairman Konstantin Chernenko dies, March 11, 1985, Soviet Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev, a baptized Christian, is elected.

God Bless Those Who Really Do "Feed the Hungry!"

John van Hengel,
Father of Food Banking

Editor's Note: I'm offering this article today from my friend Dexter Duggan. One thing for which I often give thanks is the gift of friendship. I've been blessed with many wise friends and colleagues, fellow Catholics striving to advance God's kingdom by magnifying the true, the good, and the beautiful. Dexter has been one of those friends for decades. I recommend you become a paid subscriber to his substack page so you can get wonderful articles like this in your inbox. I reprint this inspiring article in full with Dexter's kind permission! Really...join his substack community!

Helping the hungry to give thanks, and not only on Turkey Day

As we express gratitude at the table for blessings, here's a memory of one broken man who swept the groaning board with an idea.

Dexter C. Duggan

24 min ago

PHOENIX — With Thanksgiving heading toward us, a time officially to be grateful, let’s recall a man who put food on tables all year long around the world after having an idea that was hiding out in plain sight and was as simple as saying: if you want to play ball, lace your shoes. Simple, but previously overlooked.

Sunday Meditation: Don't Let Anything on Earth Disturb Your Peace of Mind and Heart!

I was reading Spiritual Combat this morning in the wee hours after I woke up at 2:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. After an hour awake in bed praying the Seven Sorrows of Mary and morning prayer, I generally recognize the inevitable and rise and "shine" as much as possible. Hard to shine very brightly when it's still pitch black outside. 

Since I was a teenager I've had sleep issues and getting old certainly doesn't help that problem, but I have a different outlook now. These early morning wakeful times ( I admit I'd rather be asleep) offer an opportunity for quiet prayer, often beginning with a trip outside to look at the stars and praise God in the glory of the heavens.

More on "Sudden Death" from Steve Kirsch

Last night I posted a video about the pandemic of "sudden death" of mostly young people in the prime of life, Steve Kirsch has an interesting follow up discussion. It's entertaining to see a know-nothing get hoisted by his own petard. Read the whole exchange at Steve Kirsch's substack. Here's the beginning:

Science lessons from self-appointed expert Chris Thompson

I hadn't heard of Chris Thompson either, but he claims to know something I don't know about the sudden deaths. So I'm hoping he'll set the record straight since he's an expert on science.

Steve Kirsch

2 hr ago

153

122

I’ve never heard of Chris Thompson before today.

He apparently has few followers judging by this post where he proclaims with great certainty that “there is no reason to believe that the vaccine contributed to” the death of Shane Warne.

So I guess Chris must be an expert on the topic, but you wouldn’t know that by the number of likes (only 5).

Sudden Death on a Massive Scale: Why? The COVID Vaccine until Proven Otherwise!

Heartbreaking.

pic.twitter.com/vzM3P5nIh7

— Brook Jackson 💜 (@IamBrookJackson) November 4, 2022

Democrat Candidate Lies! Are You Surprised?

How do you know a Democrat is lying? His mouth is moving.

Democrat Washington State house candidate, Clyde Shavers, hopes to unseat the Republican next week. His bio includes graduating from the Naval Academy claiming he was a submarine officer and also that he is an attorney. These our lies. How do we know? He's been outed by his dad. Read that again. HE'S BEEN OUTED BY HIS DAD. He was never a sub officer, has disdain for the military, and hates the uniform he wore. But, hey! It's politics. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do to win. He also is not an attorney! He graduated with a law degree but has not passed the bar. But, hey! He plans to take the exam next year and maybe he'll pass it then.

Looking for a New Investment? Funeral Homes are Doing Great!

And they expect to keep on keepin' on. See Alex Berenson's Report. The funeral business used to be "slow growth." Not anymore. People are dropping dead right and left. And all-cause deaths are way up! Here's a bit from the article:

NATO trannies vs manly Russian soldiers

With NATO trannies gathering in the Balkans and Baltic states salivating to annihilate Russia, I'm placing my bet on manly Russian soldiers to win WWIII. Who but leftist deranged Democrats would depend on the US trannie pictured below to defend them? 

NATO trannie

Manly Russian soldiers

Fr. Tom on the Synod on Synodality

These images are praised by the Synod organizers. Note the woman priest's vestments and the pride shirt on the person (man? woman?) in yellow. The "listening Church" is promoting things that would destroy her as Cardinal Mueller warns, calling the Synod a "hostile takeover of the Church!"

Editor's Comment: The next phase of the Synod on Synodality already has its assault team lined up and ready to tear down more Church doctrine. According to LifeSiteNews the 45 page document "to guide the next stage of the Synod on Synodality...calls for more inclusion of the divorced and 're-married,' LGBT groups, and proposes a 'female diaconate.'” Are we surprised that Rome is moving forward with more Church-wrecking schemes? In view of all this, Fr. Collins' article has particular relevance. We need to pray for priests and laity to push back against these assaults on the faith. Let us all consecrate ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He is the head of the Church. The pope is only His vicar on earth. When he plays the role of Judas he cannot be obeyed! When will our bishops make a concerted effort to defend the faith and rights of the flock to receive the unadulterated truth rather than a hodgepodge of heresy and dissent?

Is Christ the King of the Nations on Earth or Just King in Heaven?

I was speaking with a priest after Mass last Sunday morning on the Feast of Christ the King. (In the traditional calendar we celebrate the feast on the last Sunday in October as established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Pope Paul VI moved it to the last Sunday of the liturgical year.) Father mentioned a number of formerly Catholic countries that removed acknowledgment of the Lordship of Christ and his social Kingship from their constitutions. The only two I remember him mentioning were Ireland and Columbia, although there were several others.