Yesterday I posted a Facebook meme with a quote from a saint. Today, I read a meme that means well, but is skewed and wrong. I'm not addressing, of course, the protection of innocent life. We may never murder an innocent baby. But the rest of the meme is head-shakingly wrong.
I know a lot of people hate Facebook and social media in general; and I tend to agree. Having said that, though, I just watched with a smile the first steps of my niece's youngest child, and I delight in keeping up at least a little with far-flung relatives and friends. Facebook makes that possible and it truly is a gift of family.
We came home yesterday to see our Camp Kreitzer sign obliterated by attack using an almost full bottle of sweet tea as the weapon. The sign has graced our property for close to twenty years and always gave me a little thrill when we returned home from a trip. It seemed to say, "Camp Kreitzer is still here and all is well."
Our mailbox has occasionally suffered the slings and arrows of vandalism, but never the sign. And it seemed to me to be a metaphor about what's happening to our country. Senseless vandalism by those most responsible for caring for her. Of course, in that case, we ourselves would be the vandals. We would throw the bottles and fling the door wide open and invite invaders into our home to wreck the place.
I admit that's a bit of a stretch, but it really made me sad to think that someone probably took delight in destroying something lovely for no reason at all.
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| Larry's dad took a terrible two-story fall from a scaffold while painting the house. He spent months in the hospital, but Larry's Mom made sure he kept up with new babies! |
We’ve been visiting family in Wheeling the past few days to celebrate a bridal shower for one of our granddaughters, a lovely event. So many aunts, cousins, and friends reunited for a delightful afternoon. At our stage in life, reunions occur mainly at weddings and funerals.
Our entire weekend was focused on family including departed family members who have gone before us. While we were visiting at my brother-in-law's house, he brought out a large box filled with photos and memorabilia. How many memories of my husband’s family filled that box.
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| Abraham expels Hagar and Ishmael |
How can we understand what's happening in the Middle East? The conflict has raged since the enmity between Sarah and Hagar. Their sons and grandsons, and great grandsons through the centuries continue the conflict from one generation to the next until the horror of today's killing, killing, killing!
Remember Benghazi! During the Jihadist attack, special forces were told to "stand down." And so the ambassador and other Americans died, including several agents who defied the stand down order. Their courage is described in the book and movie, 13 Hours. While Obama went to bed for his beauty sleep before a fundraiser, real Americans responded to the threat with courage and selfless love.
It's been a really (and I do mean really) hot summer...which offers a great opportunity. Go out and sit in the sun for five or ten minutes on one of the days when the thermostat approaches 100 degrees and reflect on hell. You really, really don't want to go there! After that, return to the air conditioned house or apartment and thank God for inspiring men to invent all kinds of wonderful things to make our lives easier and more pleasant.
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| Our crosses are a lot smaller and lighter than Christ's. May we carry our crosses with courage and even joy. |
YOUR CROSS
The Everlasting God has in His Wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from his inmost Heart. This cross that He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from Heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God.
St. Francis de Sales
This meme came up on my Facebook page this morning. I had to laugh because it's the same message I've been reading in the surrender novena and in one of my favorite books, Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence. Charlie Brown must have been reading it!
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| Carl Bloch 1834-1890 |
An article by Steven Ertelt in the June 27th issue of The Wanderer discussed an interesting point he heard at a men's conference. "Suffering is progress:"
Christ gave us [the example] in the Gospels of patiently suffering His disciples' foolishness, the derision of the Pharisees and the crowds, the agony in the Garden, and ultimately the unimaginable torture of the Passion and the cross.
All of this, paradoxically, was progress -- progress toward the redemption of all mankind from our sins. Christ thus gives us a template for what we are called to do in life: progress toward holiness, which will lead us to everlasting life with Him in Paradise. This calling, however, is a tall and uncomfortable order, because it inevitably involves suffering.
In other words, stop moaning and groaning and take up your cross. The message is certainly not a new one, but it's one we prefer to ignore.
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| NEA president Becky Pringle speech at Philadelphia delegation on July 4 compared to Dwight Schrute from 'The Office.' (YouTube/Screenshot) |
Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association (NEA) is a lunatic! She heads one of the most lunatic bureaucracies in the country! Their agenda includes rabid support for abortion (killing future students) and for LGBTQ insanity. They see conservative parents as the enemy and do everything they can to separate kids from their families to the point that some teachers take girls for abortion without parental consent or encourage students to engage in transgender activity. Some schools even have a "transition closet" where kids can change into clothing to play let's pretend I'm the opposite sex. This is not just one school. They are popping up around the country! (See here and here) The NEA wants parents out of the equation. They believe they own your children! They oppose school vouchers because that gives parents choice in education. Currently, those who opt out of the public system pay twice for the "privilege" of protecting their children from insanity.
The English never seem to remember history; the Irish never forget it; the Russians never admit it; the Japanese never make it; and the Americans never learn it.
The importance of knowing history is lost on many people. But is there any greater teacher? Think of the Old Testament filled with the history of the Israelites. Think of God telling them to celebrate the Passover every year. In other words, never forget what the Lord did bringing them out of the slavery of Egypt. And today, thousands of years after that event, Passover is still a major feast for the Jews.
Father's homily this morning was well worth meditating on. It stimulated my own thoughts. I don't want to distort anything he said, so consider this my interpretation of what was a really excellent homily.
What do you think the devil's greatest deception is? What pleases him the most?
"Judas went out immediately, and it was night." John 13:30
Every year I plant a small garden. (Underline the small." This year, as usual, I planted six
tomato plants a handful of summer and spaghetti squash, three assorted pepper plants and a few herbs in containers. Things were going fairly well and I harvested a few squash and am just beginning to get some fresh tomatoes.
Judas did his dirty work in the dark as well. So do the false shepherds hiding in their dicasteries at the Vatican plotting the next document or synod to attack the faith.
This is nothing new!
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| Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia - 1787 |
I'm starting to set up for our 4th of July celebration. We're having three families over to swim and cook out and look forward to the happy laughter of all the children. We'll probably all go over to the fairgrounds later for the wonderful fireworks display that rivals any we've ever seen except for Reagan's inauguration.
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| Are you on the panel to pick the "real" pope? Or is there no contestant at all? |
There used to be a couple of fun game shows on TV when I was a child. What's My Line? had a changing panel of celebrities who asked the guest of the night questions trying to determine what he did for a living. If it was someone famous, the panel was blindfolded. Another game show featuring a celebrity panel was To Tell the Truth. Three contestants, each claiming to be the "real" deal, answered questions. Two fabricated their answers and one "told the truth." Both of these game shows were fun and entertained viewers for years. The answers didn't make much of a difference to their lives.
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| St. Jean Vianney, patron of parish priests |
In these times, so like the ignorant days after the French Revolution when many people had lost the sense of the sacred and the knowledge of Catholic doctrine, we need priests who will instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, and pray diligently for the living and the dead. Just a handful like St. Jean Vianney, the patron of parish priests, could turn our pagan culture back to God.
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| How many bishops are willing to walk in the footsteps of martyr Bishop John Fisher? |
That is not a proper image for the Catholic Church.
The pope is not a dictator with the ultimate power to throw out bishops on a whim because he doesn't happen to like them. Unfortunately, the bishops themselves have promulgated that image by the unjust treatment some have dished out to their spiritual sons. Cancelled priests are a growing problem. I know some of them and it is disturbing to see how unjust some bishops are. The sad truth for those bishops is that you reap what you sow. They will be measured out the same measure and rotten fruit they've dished out to others. Get ready for it, Your Excellencies!
I wish my parents had found an underground church during those evil days. What a joy if all our family had been able to "keep the faith." Many of my relatives are no longer practicing Catholics. I pray every day for their return because the surest road to heaven is the Catholic Church; the surest guides on the right path are the faithful shepherds defending the doctrine and sacred tradition.
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| Better not wait to get off the tracks until the train is five feet away! |
Perhaps discussing the rumoured nuke to be dropped on the TLM on the third anniversary of Traditionis Custodes (July 16th) is premature. Why not wait and see and just be silent and let the chips fall where they may? After all, isn't the best course to live in the present moment? That's certainly one approach, and I won't argue with those who choose it.
On the other hand, there is something to be said for taking measures when a disaster is likely to happen. You don't wait until the hurricane is upon you to board up the windows. You don't wait until the train is five feet away before you get off the tracks. An article at OnePeter5 recommends that Catholics get ready, especially considering the accuracy of previous "rumors" reported by Rorate Caeli. Their track record is excellent. So let's check out the article by Carina Benton:
Cleaning closets and drawers merits a low spot on the chore list. Laundry, dusting, vacuuming, dishes, meal prep...they all take precedence over the unseen clutter that attacks you when you open a closet door.
Every summer Defend Life of Baltimore, headed by pro-life hero Jack Ames, conducts what they call a "Face the Truth" tour in over a dozen locations in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. With giant signs revealing the horrifying truth about the murder of the innocent, they line major highways revealing the truth about abortion that government and media hide. It's all exposing the lie that abortion is like clipping a toenail or removing a tick.
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| St. Claude de la Colombiere |
One of my go-to books for morning prayer is Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, a book co-authored Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint Jure, S.J and by St. Claude de la Colombiere, S.J. (1641-1682) [Yes, Virginia, there once was a day when the Jesuits gave us holy and wise priests.] St. Claude was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who did so much to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What good saints to invite into our life during this month devoted to the Sacred Heart.
The past two mornings I've been reading a few pages over and over again trying to burn them into my brain and my heart. The main point is that EVERYTHING we experience comes from the will of God. EVERYTHING. "Nothing happens to us in life unless God wills it so." Fr. John Hardon, another holy Jesuit, often said that. I was blessed to attend two retreats with him before he died in 2000 and, like his brother priests, he emphasized over and over that EVERYTHING comes from God.
Can you believe it?
I just watched a great video where the speaker talked about the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) to five groups/individuals: little children, a young Catholic who attends both the Novus Ordo (NO) and the Traditional Latin Mass, an atheist raised Catholic, a diocesan pastor of an NO parish, and a lay theologian. Fascinating! Check it out! especially the final segment with the theologian. He makes a very interesting distinction between the holy and the sacred. Really, it's only about half an hour. The beginning with the little ones was charming and lovely. "Out of the mouths of babes."
I'll answer a question with a question, two questions in fact. Was it wrong for Catholics to disobey the pope when he said everyone should get the COVID jab? Were Catholics who refused to obey the pope challenging the authority of Holy Mother Church?
Simple answer to both questions: NO! NO! HELL NO!
My daily spiritual reading for several months has included a few pages from the wonderful book, The Life and Glories of St. Joseph. I never realized how much the Church knows about this silent saint of the Scriptures. The Fathers of the Church and the Mystics all cast light on St. Joseph giving us a stunning portrait of his life and virtues. As patron of the universal Church and the "pillar of families," St. Joseph offers us his powerful intercession. All we have to do is ask for it.
Here's a brief thought about this great and powerful saint from the book which I heartily recommend if you want to know more about him.:
I can't tell you how many people lambasted me for not drinking the COVID Kool-Aid. "You don't care if people die!" I heard numerous times when I said I wouldn't get the jabbed and wouldn't wear a mask. Just about everything mandated was worse than useless, and made the situation worse. Masking and social distancing, staying inside, closing schools, gyms, the beaches and other outdoor sites was stupid!
Are you a gardener? Do you love to plant flowers and vegetables? Do you ever dig in the dirt thinking about all the gardens in the Bible? God obviously loves gardens. He created the Garden of Eden and formed the man from its rich, fertile soil. (Kind of makes you think of the expression "older than dirt" doesn't it?) Jesus spent many hours in the Garden of Gethsemane praying. I wonder what that garden was like? When he was there in the Spring and Summer what scents filled the air? What bird calls provided background music for his meditation? What plants grew after being watered by His blood?
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| Jonathan Emord: the right choice for Virginia |
We have two terrible senators in Virginia, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. They are both extremist liberals who think killing babies and cheerleading for LGBT and transgender insanity are virtues. Tim Kaine is up for re-election this November. The GOP primary is June 18th and we have a chance to make a real difference by making Jonathan Emord the GOP candidate. LET'S DO IT!
There's a hoax going around the internet that the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain uses lab meat for their chicken. Not true! It made me curious about the policies of the chain. Is someone targeting them because of their views?
First let's look at the hoax which is pretty disgusting. If you've seen it you'll recognize it:
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| Who is she who comes forth as the morning rising...terrible as an army set in battle array? |
When you think of conquerors who comes to mind? Alexander the Great? George Washington? Julius Caesar? Constantine? Napoleon? Genghis Kahn? Charlemagne? The Conquistadores? Attila the Hun?
We think of some of these warriors with respect and others with horror. What does it mean to be a conqueror and what is the greatest victory over defeat?
The answer came to me this morning in The Imitation of Mary:
Of what value are all the heroes the word admires, as compared with the great men religion produces through the practice of virtue?
It is a more spendid thing to conquer one's own passions than to conquer nations.
It is much less difficult to conquer others than to conquer oneself.
The true Christian is not the kind of hero who owes his heroism to circumstances; he is not the accidental hero of a passing hour but a hero throughout a lifetime.
His glory is that he overcomes the obstacles in his path; his goal is to possess God and find rest in Him. Can there be a greater honor than to serve God and belong to Him? "To serve God is to rule."
Who is the greatest human conqueror in history? Our Lady. Let us walk in her footsteps which lead straight to Jesus!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recoourse to thee.
When the world is in a mess, and what a mess we're suffering today, it's tempting to be discouraged and walk around like the character in the old L'il Abner comic strip with the black cloud over his head. He jinxed everybody around him. Well, give him a pitchfork, horns, and a tail and you have our nemesis who does, indeed, want to turn our gold into straw and our wine into water. Satan is the great inverter. Like Rumpelstiltskin he wants everybody including, not just our firstborn, but us and our children too for an eternity in his doomed kingdom. The joy of laughter and our words of thanksgiving to God make him howl in rage. He wants us to be dismal every minute of every day walking under a black thunder cloud.
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| honeybees behind the insulation |
We've been dealing with a honeybee hive that set up home in the ceiling of our garage. We thought they left when we turned on the air conditioner, but they were coming and going again a day later. The air conditioner servicemen came to look at the unit, but wouldn't go near it with the bees flying around. (Can't say I blamed them.) One thought they were yellow jackets. Those yellow demons are among the nastiest hornets ,so his trepidation was reasonable, even though he was wrong and busy honeybees tend to ignore people.
In the meantime, our daughter was scheduled to have her baby induced and the other four children (and four dogs) arrived to take up residence. And so began the swimming, biking, gaming days with lots of mealtime conversation and rosary decades for mom and baby. [See how long it takes you to figure out Max's riddle. "What is stronger than God, more evil than the demons, the poor have it, the rich need it, and you will die if you eat it?" I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure it out.]
I suspect that bishops eagerly add to the list of "credibly accused" to show how vigilant they are to protect the flock. Perhaps they feel it exonerates them for moving priests around to abuse again, lying to victims and their parents, and covering up criminal abuse. In too many cases any priest accused is presumed guilty unless proved innocent. That's a little difficult for accusations that are decades old and have no evidence except the word of someone who stands to gain big bucks for the accusation.
Yesterday's Mass homily focused on sins of the tongue. St. James in his epistle has plenty to say about that, comparing the tongue to the rudder of a mighty ship. The rudder may be small, but bears a large impact on the ship's movement and position. So does the tongue which may very well be responsible for more sins than any other organ in the body.
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| BEFORE Ariel Bibas - viscious enemy of HAMAS Before Oct 7, 2023 Loved beyond measure by his parents |
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| AFTER Ariel Bibas May 16, 2004 What HAMAS' hate has done to him |
Gary Michael Voris, grifter extraordinaire, is at it again! After destroying Church Militant and giving another sob story about his homosexual addiction and going into rehab for ten minutes, he's back on another "retreat" at sea . Well, hey, "retreats" held on cruise ships are a great way to meet new friends. Remember the sitcom called "The Love Boat?" Somehow, I don't think the "retreat" at sea is about love of God. More like love of pleasure. Presumably, Gary is an expert on that.
If you aren't familiar with Fr. Gordon MacRae's story of persecution, I suggest you study his website, Beyond These Stone Walls. Father's home for almost thirty years has been a prison cell. He could have been out in one or two years if he agreed to "admit" the lie that he was a sex abuser. He refused to play the game and was shuffled off to our own U.S. gulag where he remains today.
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"THE land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily." Isaiah 35:1 |
What do you think of when you hear the word "desert?" What is its connotation for you? Dry, arid, hot, desolate, sandstorms, lonely, thirsty, wilderness....? Are there any positive associations when you think of the word?
The Bible is full of desert experiences, some good, some not so good.
Well, actually, our overlords aren't lunatics, but minions of Lucifer. This morning, I learned that a Canadian priest who teaches at the SSPX seminary in Dillwyn, VA (St. Thomas Aquinas) is being deported, I think tomorrow. We know him because he occasionally offers Mass and hears Confessions at our chapel in Linden. The government flunkies won't allow him to renew his visa. Bishop Fellay, who lives at the seminary, is in the same boat, but his deportation is less imminent.
Think about that for a minute.
Job Opening — Sidewalk Counseling Manager
Pro-Life Action Ministries, based in St. Paul, Minn., is accepting applications for the position of Sidewalk Counseling Manager. Manage (with the assistance of the Sidewalk Counseling Coordinator) and help further develop one of the most vibrant sidewalk counseling programs in the country. You will be helping to save lives as part of a strong Christian team and helping to educate sidewalk counselors nationwide. Full-time position with salary and benefits. Must have sidewalk counseling experience and good writing and speaking skills. Send resume, and cover letter explaining why you want this position, to debra.braun@plam.org (See full job description below.)
If you or someone you know would be interested in this position, please respond soon!
Debra Braun
Education Director
Pro-Life Action Ministries
1163 Payne Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55130
(651) 797-6364
Planned Parenthood?
The post I did the other day about Planned Parenthood and their Telehealth unsupervised chemical abortions being the modern bloody coathanger has received almost no views. Strange and I'm guessing it's no accident.
So here's the link and I invite readers to go check it out and let me know if they've seen it.
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| One of these was on my patio this morning |
The very first week we moved back to Florida 26 years ago, a baby pygmy rattlesnake placed itself across the bedroom threshold as I was carrying in fresh laundry to be folded. Squinting my eyes in order to see what it was, I leaned over and that thing struck at my face. I screamed and ran back into the kitchen wondering what to do. Eventually I managed to get it into a bucket, placed it outside then hysterically called my brother. Over the phone he said, "What's the matter with you? You grew up in Florida. You know we have lizards and spiders and snakes and alligators."
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| PP, purveyor of the chemical coathanger |
They don't care about the women, only see them as dollar signs. Kill the babies, sell their body parts, and rake in the abortion fee.
Encouraging at home abortions makes perfect logical and economic sense for the abortion giant. Think about it -- almost $600 for a few phone calls and a package of deadly coathanger pills. (Source)
