Reading Fiction Broadens Our Experience of Life!

I have a friend who says she never reads fiction. She considers it a waste of time. That's unfathomable to me! My response is to recall a fictional conversation between Anne Shirley and Marilla in the novel Anne of Green Gables beautifully depicted in the movie where Anne is played by Megan Follows and Marilla by Colleen Dewhurst. Anne asks Marilla if she can call her Aunt Marilla. Marilla says no, just call her Marilla since she doesn't believe in people using names that are not their own. "You could imagine you're my aunt," Ann suggests. Marilla replies, "No I could not." "Don't you ever imagine things differently from what they are?" Ann asks. "No!" is Marilla's short reply. With a sigh and a little headshake Ann takes Marilla's hand lamenting, "Oh Marilla, how much you miss." 

Are These Peaceful Protests? Or Are the Violent Organizers Using the Peaceful as Shields?

I'm a little hard-nosed these days about allowing comments that are longer than my original blog posts. If you want to write a dissertation, start your own blog. The latest blathering comment with multiple links started by saying, "I'm glad people are protesting." It continued with some examples of what it considered ICE abuses. 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom, Margaret Grace Schneider, would be 106 today. She died at 83 leaving behind 37 grandchildren and 40 great grandchildren. My husband and I were privileged to have her live with us the last five months of her life. She died in our home surrounded in her last days by her children, their spouses and her grandchildren.

What a beautiful lady! Always smiling, always cheerful, never complaining. I can only hope to be half as virtuous as she was. Until she got too sick, she was volunteering twice a week at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Baltimore visiting patients considerably younger than she was. She honored life from womb to tomb!

Even with her walker, she did the March for Life every January 22nd, organizing the bus for her parish, selling flowers on Mother's Day to support local crisis pregnancy centers, writing letters to the editor to defend the little ones. She was a stalwart supporter of Nellie Gray and the March. In fact, I first met Nellie in person having lunch with her and my mom who arranged it.

How I miss her and wish she were here to sing Happy Birthday to and see her smile. I'll sing Happy Birthday in memoriam and beg for her to intercede for me and all of our family. She was a faithful servant of God and I have no doubt that she well deserved a halo. I pray for the repose of her soul and ask you to join me. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Love you, Mom.

Always Remember the Pro-Life Heroes Who Paved the Way!

My dear friend Jack Ames of Defend Life organizes a Maryland Face the Truth Tour every summer. It's a week of multiple stops each day using huge pro-life/abortion signs to expose communities to the truth about child-killing in the womb. Jack asked me to give a talk on the preliminary prep/training day about the early history of the pro-life movement. My qualifications? I'm old and started working in the pro-life movement in 1972 before Roe v. Wade. Some of the early heroes I'll be talking about directly impacted my own involvement in pro-life activism through their witness and inspiration. How much I thank God for all of them!

Optical Illusions and Reality: In the Age of AI, What Can You Believe?

Sitting at my computer this morning I experienced an interesting optical illusion. Looking across the field through the "frame" of two tree trunks, I saw the head of a roman wearing a laurel wreath in profile. He looked very much like this:

As the wind blew his mouth opened and closed as if he were speaking. Of course, I knew it was just an illusion created by my brain, but it fascinated me and got me thinking about illusions and truth.

Sunday Meditation: Of the Three Little Pigs, Parenthood, and Preparing for Death

When our children were young we had a car with no radio. So we entertained the kids by telling stories. Larry told fairy tales and I told Bible stories. A favorite from Daddy was The Three Little Pigs. Mom and Dad filled up their napsacks with all kinds of goodies and sent them off to make their way in the world,  build their own houses, and outsmart wolves.

Competition or Completion? Can Christians Save Western Civilization?

This brief essay by Fr. Tom Collins offers much food for thought. Did God make us to compete with one another or to complete one another? Christian marriage certainly points to the answer. Love seeks the good of the other and, in seeking that good, magnifies its own good. Hence Mary, so totally dedicated to magnifying her Lord, teaches us the proper orientation to life and the secret to true happiness. May we follow in her footsteps which is the quickest way to know, love, and serve God and go straight to the feet of Jesus. The fate of Western Civilization depends on conforming our hearts, minds, and souls to the will of God. Will we embrace the solution?

Observations on the Decline of Western Civilization 

by Fr. Tom Collins

It is often noted that the decline of Western Civilization has been accelerated by the catalytic influences offered by the premises expounded by Freud, Marx and Darwin. In recent years, this decline has become increasingly evident in distortions of basic reasoning skills. Below are some examples.

Of Motherhood and Spring and the Evil Lady Macbeth!

 

I've always loved the scene in Bambi about Spring arriving and all the creatures being "twitterpated!" I couldn't help thinking of that this morning as I watched a mama doe amble through the yard followed by a newborn, the littlest I've seen this Spring. We have deer in the yard every day and the does know Camp Kreitzer is a safe haven. They often leave their babies here while they go off to forage. Last year we had twins settled down on the side of the driveway just lolling in the sun. What a delight to go out and see them every morning. 

"Woe to the False Shepherds!" Bishop Martin of Charlotte Shows Petty Tyranny toward His Flock!

It's hard to believe what Bishop Michael Martin is doing in Charlotte. Under Bishop Jugis the diocese thrived. Under this new bishop, the wreckovation is in process bigtime. The four pastors at the parishes where the TLM is being eliminated begged him not to do it. They pointed out there was no disunity in their parishes. The bishop didn't bother to visit any of the four parishes; he simply stomped on the flock with hobnailed boots. As of yesterday, the bishop has delayed his orders because of a significant backlash not only in his diocese, but across the country. The planned date of implementation is now October 2nd. [Source]

Remembering Those Who Have Gone Before Us and Saying Thank You!

Today is my oldest sibling's birthday, my brother Ray. The first of ten living children he began his life in Hawaii when my dad, a recent Naval Academy grad, was stationed at Pearl Harbor. Ray always called himself the youngest Pearl Harbor survivor since my mom was only a few weeks pregnant when evacuated to the mainland. Ray ended his life here in Woodstock and continues to be loved and missed. 

Pope Leo Affirms True Marriage

The pope sent a strong message against cohabitation and in favor of Christian marriage during the Jubilee of Families. What a needed message for our modern world! And what a repudiation of Francis' scandalous remarks that cohabitation is true marriage. It isn't!

I recently had a conversation with a handyman doing some work for us. He and his live in partner both came from sad family situations. His mother was divorced several times. Her parents were divorced as well. They've been together for sixteen years, but have no intention of marrying. Compounding the tragedy is the fact that he's a lapsed Catholic.

Ants Care More about their Offspring than Liberals Do!

My husband checked the bees today. Two of our three hives were overrun with ants. Ants are interesting creatures. Not as interesting to me as the bees, and a nuisance for beekeepers, but still amazing little bugs. The first thing they do when the nest is threatened is to rescue the babies. You can see the grown up ants scurrying to carry off the eggs to safety. 

Sunday Meditation: June 1st -- Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

In this first June since the election of Pope Leo XIV, let us recall the very first celebration of the month of the Sacred Heart. It was offered as forty days of reparation during the French Revolution. 

French Jesuit, Fr. Alexandre Lanfant, preacher to the royal court and confessor to King Louis XVI refused to take the oath to the civil constitution of the clergy. Arrested on August 29, 1792 and charged with influencing the monarch, Fr. Lanfant was killed on September 5 by the revolutionary mob. He was one of the 300 clergy victims of the September massacres. Fr. Lafant promoted distribution of a pamphlet that called for forty days of prayer and penance. It ended with a solemn prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart.

Missing in Action, but not Really

Life can be a real challenge at times. I ended up at the ER Saturday the 24th with a high fever. They thought it was one thing which is turned out not to be and sent me home with a prescription for antibiotics. Things went from bad to worse. I was so sick by Tuesday I could hardly walk and my husband called an ambulance. I was admitted back to the ER with a temperature of 102.6 and a mystery disease. Lab tests were normal. I mentioned I'd had a tick bite so they started testing for various tick borne diseases.

Is the Honeymoon Over? Please, Pope Leo, say it ain't so!

One of Francis's worst moves was appointing a woman, a nun, to oversee all the religious congregations in the Church, both men and women. That was just one of his innovations, essentially changing canon law.

It is the responsibility of the clergy, not women religious or laity (neither men or women) to teach, GOVERN, and sanctify. Religious sisters and laity can cooperate in the work, but canon law prohibits their playing a juridical role. Check out this article:

Pope Leo XIV and the Prefect

Joseph Ratzinger in his book, Democracy in the Church: Possibilities and Limits, spoke of the "absolutely inadmissible de facto separation between the power of order and that of government" which relegates the sacraments to the "magical" and  ecclesiastical jurisdiction "to the profane."

Archbishop Vigano also weighed in with a reality check about Pope Leo's early days.

It is normal and humanly understandable that more than a decade of open persecution of Catholics by the one who presented himself as their Pope would lead many of us to desire a truce, hoping that Our Lord would give His Church - if not a new Pius X - at least another Benedict XVI. 

But this legitimate desire - certainly animated by good feelings and love for the Church - cannot transform itself into a virtual reality in which, even against all evidence, everything must necessarily be read as a confirmation of what we would like, and not of what is really happening. We cannot build for ourselves a "virtual church" with a "virtual papacy" that we love and serve in a consoling but unreal fiction. 

The confirmation of a notorious heretic to the Cathedra of Saint Gallen in Switzerland; the appointment of a nun as Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in line with the appointment of a Prefectess by Bergoglio; the repeated references to the heretical documents of his predecessor and to Vatican II; the declarations on ecumenism and synodality, and finally the acceptance of climate fraud; all place Robert Francis Prevost in evident and disturbing continuity with his predecessor, and it will certainly not be the stole and mozzetta that will change reality.

Along with this, we have evidence of a new crackdown on the TLM (Traditional Latin Mass). In Charlotte, the bishop has banned the Mass of the Ages from all diocesan churches. He's relegated it to a Protestant church in Moorefields only two Sundays a month. 

Steve Bannon interviewed Liz Yore about what's happening. Check out the interview here.

I couldn't help thinking of Antonio Gramsci as I listened to the interview. Gramsci developed a theory of Communism that replaced violent overthrow of western cultures with  infiltration and the slow march through the institutions. If you're interested read more about Gramsci here.

It looks like enthusiasm over Pope Leo was premature. Let us pray for him, but have no illusions.

More Reasons for Hope! The Young are Standing up for the Faith!

Young voters and young Catholics are increasingly more "conservative". I use that word in the sense of conservation, upholding what in the past has made the secular culture and the Church strong. 

We've known for several years that seminarians and young priests are increasingly more orthodox, a great sign for the future. A major survey in 2023 by Catholic University of America indicated that "progressive" priests are going extinct. Alleluia for that! A bit from the article:

“Simply put, the portion of new priests who see themselves as politically ‘liberal’ or theologically ‘progressive’ has been steadily declining since the Second Vatican Council and has now all but vanished,” the report asserts.

Michael Matt Reflects on Pope Leo XIV: "He is Signaling Something Completely Different!"

 

 Let us hope so! For more see the websitea.

SNAP = Scurrilous, Nasty, Avaricious and Pernicious. They Advocate for Themselves

Latest target of SNAP, a crime syndicate masquerading as a victim advocacy group!

SNAP [Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests] claims to be a victim advocacy group. What they really are is a corrupt organization best personified by an octopus. Their tentacles reach out to attach sticky pads to often innocent victims and suck them dry to fill up the SNAP treasure chests. Groups like this do not help real victims. In fact, they use victims as cover to gird themselves in a faux legitimacy, using the faces and stories of victims to fill their coffers. Perhaps we need a network for those abused by SNAP!

Evolution vs. Evocation by Fr. Tom Collins

This unpublished letter to the editor of the Richmond diocesan paper (See below.) set me thinking. Evolution has never made sense to me. Does it make any sense to you to believe that a personal God sends His Son to be born of a woman whose genealogy includes non-human ape-like creatures? Really? Does that make any sense? Jesus, the Son of God, Himself was born from a family tree that included animals who literally lived in the trees. 

Ridiculous! 

The theory of evolution makes perfect sense, however, when one considers its founder, an agnostic. If you don't believe in God, you'll fall for anything. I don't have time to go into it here, but Darwin was dishonest. Much of his hypothesis on natural selection was based on work by Patrick Matthews. (Source) He even plagiarized terms coined by Matthews. 

Historical Misrepresentation: How Many "Heroes" Were Really Villains...?

...and how many villains were really heroes? These are serious questions. As they say, the winners write the history. So always look at the reports from biased contemporaries with a jaundiced eye. Politicians who win don't make trustworthy critics of their political enemies. Neither do the losers for that matter. A little time is necessary to evaluate the real impact of movers and shakers. 

May: A Time for Remembering Our Childhood and Honoring Our Lady

 

I love to bring in my spring flowers to honor Mary. It reminds me of all the May processions of my childhood.  Mary please inspire us with a great appreciation for the beauty of the created world that we might express deep gratitude to your Son.

To Teach the Children

 

Today is the feast day (in the traditional calendar) of St. Jean Baptiste De La Salle, founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and patron saint of teachers. He founded free schools for the poor and teachers institutes to train those who would form the minds and hearts of little ones. His apostolate, like that of St. John Bosco later, was often attacked, especially by those who thought the poor should be raised only in trades and manual labor. His congregation focused on "lay" brothers who were not going to be priests, but whose work was to be in the classroom. 

Camp Kreitzer is Going to the Dog

Not Scooby!

It's been a few years since we had a dog, and probably wouldn't have one now except for 
the fact that one of our daughter's four dogs is jealous of her baby. Scooby, a little yorkie poo, doesn't like the little one to sit on Mom's lap. He also gets into it with the other three dogs, especially Rocket, a male miniature dachshund. So Scooby has moved in with the two old folks whose quiet life seems to be good for him -- except for one thing -- he doesn't get enough exercise. Five or six calm walks a day don't make the grade and Scooby is an escape artist. 

If you open the door even a little, he's out and gone down the road. It's amazing how fast those little legs can go. We were doing fairly well avoiding the escapes until the past few days when he darted by me twice rejoicing in freedom. I certainly was not rejoicing as I took off after him thinking, "Old age and road races don't go together." On the other hand, I had a chance to visit with several neighbors who participated in the rescue.

The Life of a Busy Bee (and Beekeeper)

I thought I'd share today a little about one of the hobbies my husband and I enjoy. We've been keeping bees for about ten years. At one point we had six hives, but had a bear attack on Spy Wednesday night and spent Holy Thursday putting up an electric fence. We knew the bears would be back that night to raid the candy shop again. 

This season we have three hives and that's enough work for two old people. It also gives us more than enough honey to use and share.

Anchored in Charity: Monday Morning Musing

Thoughts for the day:

I often check LifeSiteNews in the morning. Today I read John Henry Weston's commentary. I love the phrase he used, "anchored in charity." Imagine a world where all of us anchor our little boats with charity! Check out the article. It's short but pithy.:

Toward a more excellent way: speaking the truth in charity 

Sunday Meditation: Real Catholicism is This!

One of my readers left a link to a good sermon that outlines how we should respond to the pope. I found it personally challenging and a bit of a reprimand. The unnamed priest talks about "real Catholicism." He begins by making the distinction between the two ways the pope speaks, the first as the authoritative head of the Church expressing Catholic truth that is binding on the flock. 

Some Good Signs about the New Pope. Let Us Not Leap to Negative Judgment!

This episode from the series about the conclave and the new pope is well worth watching. Robert Royal feels some optimism about the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost because of his selection of the name, etc. "You can be in continuity with a previous pope and yet at the same time practice a sort of innovation," he said. That Pope Leo came out on the loggia wearing the traditional vestments (unlike Francis) was a big difference. 

Will Pope Leo Lead Us Away from the Path of Confusion?

I pray so. It's no fun to be lost, not to know which way to turn, even to wonder whether up is down and down is up. How many pilots have crashed over that kind of spatial confusion?

It’s not an uncommon occurrence for pilots, especially in poor visibility, and it’s incredibly dangerous. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, between 5 percent and 10 percent of all aviation accidents are caused by spatial disorientation, and of those crashes, 90 percent are fatal.

Habemas Papam! Pope Leo XIV

White smoke this evening heralded the election of the first American pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost. He is the least American of all the U.S. cardinals having spent years in Peru as a missionary bishop. As head of the Dicastery for Bishops for the past two years, he is probably better known by more of the cardinals. Perhaps that played a role in his election. At any rate we have a pope, Leo XIV. 

No Pope Elected on the First Ballot. No Surprise. Keep Praying

 

Austin Ruse and The Coming Trumpian Pope

 An article worth reading:

The Coming Trumpian Pope 

                        by Austin Rose

Publisher’s Note: This article was published in Crisis Magazine on February 28, 2025 

FGF Books, 5/2/2025 — A meme is making the rounds: a bull in a china shop has destroyed every plate, saucer, and cup. We are asked, “Is this what you voted for?” As a matter of fact, it is.

It is also what I voted for in 2016. The problem in 2016 was that politicized Democrat Deep Staters in the FBI, DOJ, military, CIA, federal judiciary, and Congress were in that china shop and illegally prevented the bull from doing his work. And they were cheered on by a thoroughly corrupted gutter press.

And So It Begins....The World Waits for White Smoke!

This morning at 4:00 a.m. eastern time (10:00 a.m. in Rome) the cardinals gathered for Mass. They are now in the Sistine Chapel. All those not involved in the procedure have left and the cardinals are locked in. The first vote will take place this evening. Then there will be four votes daily, two in the morning and two in the evening, until a new pope is chosen heralded by the white smoke.

"The Conclave is Coming, The Conclave is Coming!"

We are on the cusp of a new day of faith or a new day of disaster. Will the successors of the St. Gallen Mafia succeed in placing a clone of Francis in Peter's chair? Or will we see a true shepherd with zeal for the faith and for the salvation of the flock be chosen? 

There is something providential about the week of the conclave beginning with the feast of St. Pope Pius V, one of the greatest reformer popes in the history of the Church. Catholic Online describes his papacy, both the accomplishments and mistakes:

Not Veggie Tales Silly Songs with Larry; But Les Femmes Silly Poems with Mary

I was cleaning off a hot spot in my kitchen this afternoon; (There are hot spots everywhere in my house!) and came across a poem I started about books. I can't remember doing it, but it's my handwriting, so I must have. Maybe I wrote it in my sleep. I've always been absent-minded but this is ridiculous!

What triggered the creation? I have no idea -- perhaps my granddaughter's book bingo. Anyway, life is so serious these days, taking a few minutes of respite from all the craziness of the culture and the concern about the conclave appeals to me. If you feel the same way about books that I do, perhaps you'll enjoy this. And when you're done, Silly Songs with Larry is fun too.

Sunday Meditation: Baking Bread and Reflecting on the Bread of Life

One of my sisters (I have five) has sourdough mania. (That's actually the name of a book.) She came for a visit and brought us a loaf of her sourdough bread, which we enjoyed - delicious and beautiful. She experiments with making all kinds of recipes with both the sourdough starter and the sourdough discard.

If you are like me, you never heard of sourdough discard and perhaps have never experimented with making sourdough bread, so let me explain. When you first make the starter, you simply combine unbleached flour and filtered water in equal parts. You add the same amount every twelve hours for seven days leaving the mixture covered with a napkin or towel in a warm place. (I put it in the oven with the light on.) Each time you add the flour and water, you mix vigorously to add air. The starter picks up natural yeast from the air and ferments. On day seven your starter should be bubbly, doubled in bulk, with a sour smell. You "discard" all but half a cup and continue adding more flour and water once a day.

For Those Who Consider Themselves on the Side of the Angels. Are You Really?

Getty images

There are few human controversies: wars, feuds, marital strife, personal disagreements between friends, etc. where one side represents the angels and the other side the devils. Of course, sometimes individuals and groups deliberately align themselves with evil, a more serious situation. Terrorist and satanic groups (including freemasons), drug and sex trafficking cartels, etc. enthusiastically embrace evil. But even in those cases, the members often are a mixed bag. Only God knows the percentages of good and evil in a person's heart. Is there anyone on earth who has never done a good deed? I think that would be a hard case to prove in court. Jesus Himself made that clear through the words of St. Matthew:

Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

Thinking of and praying for St. Joseph's assistance is a great way to start the month of May, especially with the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope beginning on May 7th. St. Joseph served the little domestic Church of the Holy Family as its head. He guards the universal Church. 

Pray for Trump's Conversion on IVF Atrocity!

Trump is wrong on IVF—support restorative fertility instead

by Bob Marshall

President Donald Trump’s In Vitro Executive Order (2/18/2025), directing the federal government to expand access to IVF conception techniques, is the policy that most conservatives voted for Donald Trump “in spite of” rather than “because of”. Yes, his IVF EO supports social conservative goals, affirming “the importance of family formation and that our Nation’s public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children.” And he also states, “As many as one in seven couples trying to have a baby are unable to conceive.”

But then President Trump wants an alliance between social conservative values and greater public access to current IVF practices which, in part, end up by consigning the “surplus population” of redundant IVF derived embryonic human beings to be used for human experimentation, frozen for possible future “implantation,” or unceremoniously discarded. [Read full article here...]

The Complex Picture of the Church and Pope Francis

The mainstream media has been gushing over Pope Francis making him their latest secular saint along with Margaret Sanger, George Floyd, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and a host of other folks with, let's say, questionable histories. It doesn't take much to merit sainthood from that quarter. 

If you're pro-abortion, LGBTQ, black and killed by a white man, or fit into any other woke categories, the halo goes on immediately after death. Some get the halo earlier though, Barack Obama for example. 

Monday Morning Musing

The start of another week, one that will be stressful to say the least because of some medical interventions for my husband and myself. But I experienced a light-hearted moment of amusement this morning as I was praying. Thinking about what the Lord wants from me, the thought came: "Patience and perseverance." Well...Larry and I both certainly have challenges to both patience and perseverance, so working on those virtues is definitely good advice! I'll ask my guardian angel to keep me on target. Then I read the Mass for the day which honored St. Paul of the Cross who founded the Passionists.

Sunday Meditation: Come Holy Ghost, Fill the Hearts of the Cardinals

Some Catholics erroneously believe that the Holy Ghost chooses the pope. If that were true, one would have to wonder how competent He is in view of the number of corrupt, licentious and just plain bad popes that have filled the chair of Peter over the centuries. NO! The cardinals don't lose their free well when the doors of the conclave are locked. And anyone with open eyes saw the machinations behind the election of Jorge Bergoglio. The St. Gallen Mafia certainly didn't gather to pray the novena to the Holy Ghost for the next pope. They gathered as liberal church politicians intent on electing their man to turn the Catholic faith into one more modernist Protestant sect.

What's the Agenda Behind the Call to Pre-Conclave Meetings that Began Last Tuesday?

The pope's body was hardly cold before Cardinal Re began pre-conclave meetings. Is that even respectful? Fr. Murray brings up additional issues about the pope's legacy that I didn't include in my post earlier today, particularly Francis' attack on marriage and family. Watch it! 

The Catholic Herald's Article on Pope Francis -- Really?

The Arlington Catholic Herald's front page article on Pope Francis in the current issue (April 24 - May7) made me shake my head. Ridiculously one-sided and it totally ignored anything that might upset the instant canonization applecart. From headline to last sentence it turned the Francis papacy into the equivalent of a snake oil salesman's pitch for his magic elixir. It is typical since Vatican II to turn every funeral into an instant canonization process, so why shouldn't we expect that for the death of a pope? After all, every pope since Vatican II except Benedict was rushed through to instant sainthood. One is tempted to say it is all about canonizing the council.

We Are All Wounded Warriors. Let Us Go to the Great Physician for Healing!

Sometimes an article I read triggers awareness of a challenge in my own life or the life of someone I love. That happened this morning as I was reading Fr. MacRae's Divine Mercy for Doubting Thomas and Other Spiritually Wounded. My first thought on reading the title was that we are all spiritually wounded, some more than others. Unlike physical wounds, spiritual wounds can hide more easily. A cheerful disposition may mask deep pain, grief, and anxiety. The Roman martyrs went to their deaths singing, but can anyone doubt that they trembled with fear as they contemplated facing the beasts in the coliseum?

Get Real about the Christian Life! It's not Candyland!

Joy, fear and suffering represent the trilogy of the Christian life. We would all love it, wouldn't we, if every moment of our lives found us bubbling over with joy? Maybe some people have that expectation about the Christian life. Surely the prosperity gospel reeks of it; but it's a fairytale! There is no happily ever after this side of the veil at least as the world defines it. Everlasting joy will come only for those who love the Lord and persevere until the end. But to expect Easter joy without the passion and cross here on earth in our daily life is a pipe dream. Unless, of course, we embrace God's will in all its fullness and come to recognize joy in fear and suffering. Some of the saints surely did that; but how many of us even come close?

While the Media Canonizes Francis, Common Sense from Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

Peter Kwasniewski

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Pope Francis is dead. And there is no need to sugar-coat his departure with pious platitudes, as the mainstream catholic media will be doing ad nauseam ("a man with a shepherd's heart for the poor," etc.). In fact, I will try to limit my negative comments about this kind of autocanonization, familiar to us from six decades of Novus Ordo funerals. Time will be better spent in prayer and in reading deeper evaluations.

Let Us Pray for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Francis and for the Election of a Holy Pope.

The editor of OnePeterFive has a very interesting article speculating about the death of Pope Francis. Let us pray, his imaginary deathbed confession was true. It does not wipe away all the damage Francis did during his papacy, but perhaps it can spark in our hearts a desire for his salvation and a sense of compassion. 

The Era of Making a Mess is Over (At Least We Hope So!).

Pope Francis is dead. He died this morning. I've been doing my Monday chores praying for him. I threw in the wash remembering that he was once a newly baptized innocent babe clothed in the pure white garment. Did he wear the papal white in innocence and love for our Savior? Actions speak louder than words and so many of his actions were scandalous and ugly. Only God knows his eternal destiny.