The "Gospel" of Fairy Tales

My husband and I went to the opera last Sunday -- not a complicated opera, but a simple opera. We saw Hansel and Gretel in the English version at Shenandoah Conservatory. What a delight! And, as I watched, I thought how right G.K. Chesterton was in his essay on Fairyland where he describes the mistaken notion of poets to think the fairies operate with a freedom that is really license to do exactly as they please. Chesterton vehemently disagrees:

I think the poets have made a mistake: because the world of the fairy-tales is a brighter and more varied world than ours, they have fancied it less moral; really it is brighter and more varied because it is more moral.

Good News for Virginia -- Injunction on Redistricting Stays

The fight isn't over, but a temporary win in the state supreme court prevents certification of the vote. I hope there are serious investigations into cheating because no doubt that went on big time. But for now, Spanberger and her allies are stymied. Let us pray for a permanent defeat of these liars and cheats! Even the wording on the ballot was a lie! Fraud anyone?

Virginia Supreme Court declines to overturn injunction to temporarily halt certification of redistricting vote

The Schism is Coming! The Schism is Coming!

I hate what my first thought was when I read Vatican journalist Diane Montagna's article about the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and their plans to excommunicate the SSPX bishops if the consecrations go forward on July 1st. There is talk that the entire Society will be excommunicated, every single member, which includes all the clergy and I presume the seminarians, brothers, and nuns. 

The laity are not members of the Society so if rumors turn out to be true, I presume we will be told we cannot fulfill our Sunday obligation by going to Mass at SSPX chapels and that they do not have the authority to forgive sins so sacramental confessions will be invalid. And, of course, so will the sacrament of Confirmation and Matrimony. Whew! The sword of Damocles will be over our heads wielded by Cardinal Fernandez of kissing and porno book fame. Really, it boggles the mind. So while Pope Leo embraces and dialogues with Patriarch Bartholomew of the schismatic Easter Orthodox Church, he refuses to meet with the SSPX.

What a father, eh?

Monday Morning in the Bee Yard

Want a daily adventure with sweet rewards? Become a beekeeper. My husband and I have had an apiary at Camp Kreitzer for about fifteen years. We've gone up and down from one season to the next with our current seven hives the most ever. At least four are queen right. The others are hopefully raising queens following our splits a month ago.We plan to give away one hive this season, perhaps two, to a family that wants to become beekeepers.

Sunday Meditation: Are Catholics Masochists?

Are Catholics masochists who turn every landscape into a dystopian city of suffering? What do you think?

In his homily this morning, Father mentioned reading an article by a psychologist who stated that Catholics worship pain and suffering. His evidence? Our churches have a bloodied crucified man at the center, many of our saints suffered gruesome martyrdoms, we offer a Mass with the unbloody sacrifice of the slain Lamb of God, etc. And, of course, there's the guilt factor. Father didn't mention that, but it's part of the picture painted by disbelieving psychologists. The Church lays a guilt trip on their followers who need to spend significant time (and money) de-compressing with a professional who will relieve them of their guilt. All those poor Catholics who wear a metaphorical hair shirt, if not a real one, are paralyzed by unending guilt that needs to be eliminated by drugs or talk therapy. Hmmm.

Let's Pray the Southern Poverty Fraud Center Gets What They Deserve!

Many of us have known for decades that the Southern Poverty Law Center is an evil, lying grifter group. Now we have the proof. Let us hope and pray they get dismantled and the fraudsters go to jail!

Of Miracles and Bad Shepherds

It's looking like the site of Noah's ark really has been found. Will the skeptics mock? Often when I read an article about evidence for biblical events and miracles I think of this quote:

“For those who believe in God no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe in God no explanation is possible.”

The quote is often attributed to Franz Werfel who wrote Song of Bernadette, because the film included a similar quote in the introduction. It does not appear in the historical novel, however, although Werfel's powerful testimony to the Lourdes miracles proclaims it without words. 

Some Good News After the Bad News in Virginia

Virginia Judge Blocks Democrat Power Grab in Virginia, Rules New Map Unconsitutuonal

Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. issued an injunction barring certification of the election results pending appeal. The judge reaffirmed prior rulings, declared the referendum unconstitutional and the amendment process of HB 1384 unconstitutional.

God bless Judge Hurley and his tribe. I would love to see a class action lawsuit against the Democrats by voters. I'm no lawyer; is that even possible? I would join in a nano-second and contribute to the legal expenses. Virginia is my patria. 

Poor Virginia, the Tyrants Reign!

The redistricting results are in. The barbarians have destroyed the gates of the city and are burning, looting, and setting all on fire. The white witch reigns and will no doubt sign the bill which will make voting in any general election in the future pointless. I'll still go to the polls and cast my vote realizing it won't matter because Virginia will go with the popular vote of the nation even if every voter in the state disagrees. 

We need to change the Virginia seal because the tyrant has risen and executed the patriot!

With the Novus Ordo the Validity All Depends on the Priest's Intention

Fr. Joseph Gill has an important article at Crisis Magazine about the Novus Ordo, The Novus Ordo and the Interior Life. Don't miss it! 

An Important Question: Is the New Mass a New Religion?

Fr. Albert Kallio is a Dominican, ordained in 1994 by Bishop Bernard Fellay. In this video he addresses a number of questions about the Mass before and after the changes by Annibale Bugnini. He explains in an easily understood way the impact of all the changes to the Mass put in place in the name of Vatican II. Many of those changes flew in the face of the wishes of the Council Fathers. Sadly, few of the Fathers objected when the destruction of the Mass went into effect. Here's how Fr. Kallio summarizes the disastrous impact:

Sunday Meditation: Reflecting on the Good Shepherd

"I know my sheep and they know me." John 10:14 

Does your diocese have a good shepherd? Does your parish? How can you tell? Scripture says, "By their fruits you shall know them." The measure of a good shepherd is how zealously he defends the faith and protects his flock from scandal. If you are fortunate enough to have a good shepherd, be sure to express your gratitude.

And now I have a story to tell from my own two dioceses, Richmond and Arlington. Arlington is blessed to have many faithful priests. How grateful I am for them because they have kept Arlington from going the way of so many places that have essentially lost the faith altogether. Fr. John Hardon, S.J. warned about the crisis of faith for years and predicted that entire dioceses would lose the faith. Has that happened in your diocese? He described the crisis in a 1997 article that outlined what has become ever more obvious. Who can deny it today?

The Language of Faith and the Mass

I occasionally have conversations with people about the Traditional Latin Mass and almost invariably they express the point that no one understands the Latin so they aren't really getting anything out of it. If that were true, it might be a good argument for the vernacular. Although I wonder why, in that case, the committee that developed the Novus Ordo didn't just translate the Mass into English. But that's a thought for another day. 

Whenever someone tells me that people didn't understand the Mass that was the norm for centuries, I ask myself whether that was really true. Do we only understand the spoken word? And, in fact, does the spoken word sometimes fail to impart a message? My contention is that the answer to those questions is NO and then YES. 

A Reminder to Be Vigilant against the Predators Who want to destroy Life's Sweetness

Satan may prowl around the world seeking whom he may devour. But there are other predators out there as well. I thought about that this morning when I looked out at the bee yard and realized we'd had a stalker prowling the bee yard who did a number on one of the hives. The worst part was we knew that hive had a queen. Now we don't know whether she survived the assault. 

We Captured a Swarm! Wouldn't it Be Wonderful If We Could Capture Souls Like That?

I love being a beekeeper and I love all the saints who appreciate the bees and use them in their teaching. St. Francis de Sales mentions bees often in his sermons. Many other saints did too, e.g., Thomas Aquinas. 

I thought of that today when I went out to check our swarm trap and saw that we had, indeed, captured a swarm. It's been up about a month since I set it up and we didn't think it was going to be successful. Surprise! Today, after I got back from visiting my sister in Maryland, I went out to check, and the opening was covered with bees. To make the trap I used a bucket and put honey wax and some lemon oil in it and a little propolis. My husband cut a hole in the side for the entrance.  Yippee! We captured a swarm. 

What next? We put a frame of brood, some honey, and some pollen in a hive box and turned the swarm trap bucket upside down over the top entry after covering the entry hole. The bees have no place to go except into the hive box. Now we wait until evening and hopefully all the girls will have gone down and set up their new home. We'll leave them alone for a week or so and then see if the queen is laying.

The Shroud of Turin and the Face of Jesus

When I saw this image of Christ the King, I fell in love with it. One of the main reasons is because it looks so much like the face of Jesus reconstructed from the Shroud of Turin. All of the hoopla from unbelievers trying to say the shroud was a medieval fake has fallen by the wayside. The carbon dating that supposedly proved it wasn't old enough to be authentic was taken from a sample corrupted by the fire of 1532. No one has ever been able to recreate an image like that of Christ on the shroud by artificial means. Certainly, the technology to try to fake it was not available to the ancients. 

Thought for the Day: We All Need Beauty, and Don't Need to go Far to Find It!

 Remember Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz: 

We don't need to go far from home to find incredible beauty with ample reason to praise God. If you can't find God in your home, your yard, and your neighborhood, you probably won't find Him anywhere.

Sunday Meditation: How Can We Be Happy in Heaven if Our Loved Ones Aren't There?

Funerals turn the minds of the faithful to the four last things: death, judgment, heaven or hell. That's not too surprising when you think about it. Even those who have little or no relationship with God must think about "What's next!" when they attend a funeral. "Is this really all there is?... Where is my loved one, friend, acquaintance, colleague now?...What will happen to me after I die?" 

Question for the Day: What is Our First Duty?

 "I must be holy because my Jesus wants it."    

                                    St. Bernadette Soubirous

The Church often reminds us of our obligations according to our state in life. A priest's or nun's duty is not the same as a husband or a wife, a mother or a father, a student, an employer, or employee. But one duty in which we all share is to be holy "because my Jesus wants it."

How do we do that? It's not very complicated, but it's anything but easy. Mary showed us how in her "fiat." When she responded to the angel, she gave us the answer. "Be it done to me according to your word." The angel was the the messenger of God's will. If we want to be holy we have to do one thing -- embrace the will of God! It's better to embrace His will out of love than out of fear, but Scripture tells us that the "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." A child may behave out of fear of Daddy's anger, but it's better to behave out of love and respect. And as we mature in our faith, that hopefully becomes our default position.

Death has a way of focusing the mind.

My husband and I have experienced two deaths in the past eight months, an older sibling in each family. Reflecting on death and the power of prayer makes me so grateful for the Catholic Church family. Whenever I ask for prayers, dozens of you respond immediately offering Masses and rosaries and who knows what other acts of charity for the requested needs? I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

What Do You Think? Is the Divine Mercy Devotion Legit?

I've always felt a little queasy about the Divine Mercy Devotion. Personally, I don't pray it. Instead I pray the Sacred Heart novena which Padre Pio prayed every day. There are thousands of devotions in the Church. No one Catholic could pray them all. God gave us this abundance because we are like a huge flower garden. What nourishes one flower could kill another. The rosary is certainly a devotion for all that is like putting the best fertilizer on every flower in the garden. Most devotions aren't like that. 

What We Can Learn from the Bees.

Bees have been the subject of countless meditations from the saints over the generations. They are mentioned so often I believe they must have a special place in God's kingdom. And what a privilege to serve as a beekeeper for these tiny creatures of God. They teach me so much.

Yesterday my husband and I inspected our hives to make sure they all have enough room to expand. This time of year we try to prevent swarming.

 Three hives had so many bees and the boxes were so full of nectar and pollen we added a new box to each one. It made me think of the posts I've seen lately about how many people have come into the Church this year. Praise God for all the newbies (and newbees)! 

Can we stop with the circular firing squad already!

I read a post yesterday that set my teeth on edge. It was from a Catholic who had his assault rifle aimed dead center on traditional Catholics. Well, he wouldn't want to call them "traditional" Catholics because the word Catholic should stand alone -- no adjectives. We're all just plain, old Catholics. 

Halleluia, He is Risen! Have a Blessed Easter.

Let us walk with Jesus like the disciples on the road to Emmaus listening and learning from Him. He has the words of eternal life. 

Of Hope, Sacred Tradition, and the Mass of the Ages Trilogy

 "Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire."  Gustav Mahler

Things that impressed me from this this third film in the Mass of the Ages trilogy:

The pilgrimage by the French mothers (and grandmothers) of priests. They walked 800 miles to beg the pope for the continuation of the Traditional Latin Mass for the sake of their sons. His answer? The crushing and uncharitable Traditionis Custodes.

Resurrecting an old post: Good Friday Gift from Hilaire Belloc and Jacques Tissot

I wrote this in 2019 shortly after the Notre Dame fire. I find this crucifixion one of the most poignant. Mary reaching out to her Son is so like the gesture of a mother reaching for her baby who perhaps has climbed something that puts him in danger. Now her reaching seems to be a gesture of uniting herself to Him on the cross and begging to take His suffering upon herself. Surely the lance that pierced His side pierced her heart.

Death of Jesus by Jacques Tissot (1836-1902)

Our Lord and Our Lady
by Hilaire Belloc

Let Us Go to the Last Supper with Jesus and His apostles.

Have you ever wondered how many people were at the last supper? Was it really only the twelve apostles? Jesus had many disciples. Were none of them included in that sacred night? The painting above, by Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet (18th c.), includes a few extras -- servants? Tintoretto in the late 16th century included even more.

One of the things I love about the Spiritual Exercises is St. Ignatius's advice to include yourself in scriptural scenes. What would it be like to be at the last supper: to see Jesus washing the feet of his apostles, hearing him give the last discourse? Will you go to the Last Supper today in your mind and see Jesus's face as He speaks the words of consecration? Will you see His grief as He points out His betrayer who dips in the dish with Him?

May this day be a source of blessing for all of us as we experience these final moments in the earthly life of Christ. Let us be witnesses who can then proclaim the truth of the life, passion, death, and resurrection of our Blessed Lord.

Lord Jesus, help me to enter into Your passion that it may set me on fire and make me a burning furnace of charity.

Spy Wednesdays from the past

I've written many posts on Spy Wednesday over the years. Here are a few. Today I'll be meditating on the betrayals in my own life. My sins were among those that caused Jesus's bloody sweat. Let me put sorrow for my sins in the cup of consolation the angel brought to Him in the garden. 

 Did Jesus Love Judas?

Why it's called Spy Wednesday

How does the evil one mess with you?

Betrayal