People of Good Will Can Respectfully Disagree! The Church Crisis Continues

This is a sincere and thoughtful podcast, and I appreciate Mother Miriam's views However,  I strongly disagree with her conclusion that the SSPX consecrations should not have taken place. The pope is not only in conflict with Church doctrine, but with most of the pre-Vatican II popes. There certainly is a crisis in the Church which becomes ever more obvious on a daily basis. People can differ on the response to the crisis. It would be a blessing if everyone would assume the good will of others, especially their desire to do God's will in all things. I don't doubt Mother Miriam's sincere conscience disagreement with the SSPX decision. I would greatly appreciate her recognition of the sincere conscience disagreement of the laity, the bishops, and the priests of the Society who believe the severe crisis in the Church necessitated the consecrations.

When the Storm Seems to Overcome Us by its Violence

Something happened a few days ago that put me in a real funk. (Does anyone use that word today?) At any rate, it disturbed my sleep, raised my blood pressure, and continues to consume my thoughts. The irony is that it fits into those things I pray for in the Humility Prayer. So now I'm in the almost laughable situation of thanking God for something I absolutely hate because I basically asked for it -- funny, but not in a humorous way. At least I can't laugh yet, maybe later I will laugh at myself and move on. I can almost hear the Lord say, "Why are you taking this so seriously, foolish one. Take it up with your guardian angel. All will be well."

The first thing I did when it happened was to call the Poor Clare Sisters and ask for their prayers. It's always helpful to have allies on the field of battle. And, let's face it, the most difficult battles are within our own souls. St. Paul talks about it, the interior struggle against evil that makes us "groan and suffer." It threatens to capsize my little boat. "Wake up, Jesus, I need your help!" And His response is the same as he said to the apostles, basically, "Where is your faith?" Help my disbelief, Lord, my flesh is weak! And so I reflect on St. Paul:

The Road to Happiness: Have You Found It?

I've been re-reading the Masterful Monk series by Owen Francis Dudley which explores the "problem of human happiness." Interesting phrase isn't it; human happiness described as "a problem." But isn't it? Our founding fathers included the "pursuit of happiness" among mankind's unalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence:

Sunday Meditation: Everyone Has a Heart to Love With

My spiritual reading yesterday kept leading me to the "heart" of the matter starting with the daily devotional from the SSPX which examined "purity of intention." A good question for each of us is this. Does my action come from a heart filled with love for God or other lesser motives? People can perform the same external actions with very different results in the eyes of God:

We can go to Mass out of routine or out of obligation, or else simply to see a particular person. We can also go to Mass out of love of God. Externally, the actions are the same, but in the eyes of God they are each very different. The same external act will be meritorious for some, not for others, depending on the purity of their intention. It is the same for our duty of state. We can set to work out of obligation, out of pleasure or out of love of God. The same action is meritorious for some and not for others. [Source]

I'm Curious: How Do You Deal with Trolls?

Anyone on the internet blogging or using social media deals with trolls. Facebook? It's filled with creatures from Grimm's Fairy Tales! 

Usually trolls are anonymous and cast their aspersion from underneath a rock or hiding behind a silly fake name. Often their comments are personal attacks along with name-calling and sometimes profanity. I have a few trolls and my way of dealing with them nowadays is to delete their comments as soon as I recognize the source. That usually takes reading about ten words then into the circular file they go.

So How Will You Vote in the Midterms?

The TDS crowd is in full rage mode going into the midterms. Even though Trump isn't on the ballot, he's being used to claim that the only moral choice is to vote Democrat. One young person with whom I engaged claimed she cares about character and Democrats obviously show much more character than Republicans who only care about giving tax breaks to the rich. She would never have an abortion herself, but doesn't want to limit "health care" for other women. Oh, and ICE is "killing many Americans" (32 in 2025). How many babies were killed in 2025? The Guttmacher Institute, research arm of Planned Parenthood estimates 1,124,000 clinic abortions and tens of thousands of others by tel-med where women abort alone without medical supervision.  But hey! That's reproductive health care!

Stay Faithful: Good Advice When You Feel Overwhelmed

I recently told my spiritual director how overwhelmed I feel. Our house and property are a black hole with constant needs. Right now we need to close up the pool, get the bees ready for winter, take down some dead trees and do general clean up. I enjoyed gardening at our home in Alexandria, but with three acres it's a never-ending chore these days. The circle garden out front is a jungle. And then there's the house. The spiders have taken over the basement and the fruit flies are propagating in the kitchen. The dust bunnies own the upstairs. The to-do list keeps growing and I'm drowning in clutter. 

The Autumn Ember Days are This Week; Will You Keep Them?

This week begins one of the quarterly periods observed by the Catholic Church called "Ember Days." I remember them growing up. Our Catholic calendar showed a half fish meaning that on those days (Wednesday and Saturday) meat could only be eaten at the main meal. Friday, of course, was a day of complete abstinence. All three days were fast days (one main meal and two smaller meals that did not add up to a full meal).

The purpose of the ember days was to sanctify the coming season. Catholic Answers quotes from the Catholic Encyclopedia describing them this way:

The Insanity Continues! This Video from the Prayerful Posse Says it All!

There was a time when I thought the insanity was coming to an end. The rainbow vestments seemed to be in the closet. The holy water fonts weren't filled with sand during Lent, etc. Turns out the reprieve was short lived and the aftermath is worse than ever! Watch this video from the Prayerful Posse. Fr. Murray has criticized the SSPX, but what he says and what is described in this episode illustrates the crisis and the state of necessity big time! And isn't it interesting that the scandals described here are ignored by Rome as they keep the magnifying glass and all the discipline for those who keep the faith of our fathers and refuse to engage in the blasphemy and scandal of the modern Church. Have mercy on us, Lord Jesus. 

A Journey of Hope? Or the Path of Indifference?

Yesterday I wrote introducing the new Vatican document, A Journey of Hope (JOH), commemorating the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (ND), the Vatican II document on ecumenism. The new document was written by three Vatican dicasteries and approved by Pope Leo. As things have progressed since Vatican II, it's clear that ND was just the first down in the game of indifferentism. What's the score after 60 years? JOH gives us a clear look at the scoreboard.

The Road to Indifferentism: Nostra Aetate and Its Child, A Journey of Hope Part 1

What would pre-Vatican II popes say about the Vatican's latest document celebrating the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (NA), the council's ecumenism document. I re-read it yesterday and, of course, it includes Catholic truth:

A Chicken in Every Pot, A Teacher in Every Family

My mom was a smart woman. If home schooling had been in vogue when she reared ten children, perhaps I would have been blessed growing up in a one-room family school house. I still often hear her voice in my head and thank God for everything she taught me: my prayers, how to follow the Mass, how to sew, how to bake. One phrase often comes back to me. "An educated man is an educated man, but an educated woman is an educated family."

Mom was certainly well educated. Adopted by a Cleveland lawyer and his wife, a fact she only learned as an adult, she attended law school at Western Reserve University (later Case Western Reserve), the only woman in her class. She dropped out in 1940 after two years to fly to California and marry my dad, a recent graduate of the Naval Academy. She followed him to Pearl Harbor where they lived through the Japanese attack that got the U.S. into World War II. She was pregnant with my oldest brother when she was evacuated from the island.

Lindsay Clancy Holdout Juror Finally Speaks Out

The attack on the holdout juror has been going on for over a week since the hung jury in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. The angry women jurors have been attacking him relentlessly and presenting a picture of an unstable, brooding man who couldn't defend his refusal to go along with the majority group and "inappropriately" demonstrated the murder of the children with a band fastened around a water bottle. [How is that inappropriate? Or were they just uncomfortable and angry because someone defended the children?]

The Song that Calls for the Destruction of Love

 

There's a song that presents the world's views these days in spades. It heralds the destruction of love. Listen to the lyrics and see how much it accords with today's woke views:

Where is Your Line in the Sand? Do You Believe in Catholic Doctrine?

Yesterday I posted on the insane asylum that Rome has become. The video above by Michael Matt is absolutely on target and illustrates exactly what I described. I haven't always agreed with Matt, but I applaud his message here and add some other points he brings up to my evidence for the insanity at the Vatican.

The Church As Asylum...Insane Asylum?

As I wrote the title of this post I wished I were talking about the Church being an asylum in a world gone mad: a haven of peace in the storm, an oasis of truth in a world of lies. Sad to say, while the Church continues to be those things for those who embrace Sacred Tradition and keep the faith of the apostles, Holy Mother Church is looking more and more like an insane asylum under recent popes. Of course, the Church is indefectible but that doesn't mean she can't be in the grips of hirelings and false shepherds.

To keep your balance these days, you need to rewind past the lunacy and read the encyclicals and listen to the saintly popes of the past who taught unchanging doctrinal truth. The Judases treat the Church like a wild roller coaster ride and make everyone so dizzy they can't tell up from down, but no one is forced to get on board. "By their fruits [and nuts] you shall know them." And once you know them, their errors are easier to avoid.

Sunday Meditation: "Evil Sucks Out Life and Color."

I read an article by Gavin Ashenden this morning on Substack about the Clancy trial titled Lindsey Clancy and the Return of Witchcraft. One sentence made me stop and think. "Evil sucks out life and color." There is something so profoundly true about that statement. The quote made me think of the filthy book (which I haven't and never would read) Fifty Shades of Grey. Goodreads puts it in the category of "Smutbooks." Pornography is a more apt adjective. 

Reclaim Halloween as All Hallow's Eve!

Two of my grandsons were visiting on Wednesday. They like to go to the chess club at the library and I love to take them so off we went. During their visit they mentioned that they were putting up the Halloween village that night. Decorating for the ghosts and ghouls rivals even Christmas these days. It's not a trend I like. On the other hand, if you're going to do it, christianize it. Make at least some of those decorations reflect the faith. How about putting a few monuments in the cemetery: a crucifix, a monument to our lady, the staue of a saint, etc. I have a little collection of miniatures some of which could easily be used in an All Hallow's Eve village.

Traditionally All Hollow's Eve was a Christian feast preceding All Saints Day. Here's a bit about its origin:

All Hallow’s Eve origin 

Bonnie Pierce vs. Lindsay Clancy: The Solomon Story in Real Time

Will the real mother please stand up. Neither can, Bonnie Pierce because she died saving her toddler from a devastating fire, Lindsay Clancy because of a self inflicted injury dropping from a second story window leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. 

Will the prosecutors go for a new trial for Lindsay Clancy or will she receive a get-out-of-jail free card, spend a few years (if that) in a mental facility, and then be declared "cured" and released. Would you trust her to babysit for your kids?

The discrepancy between the two Go-Fund-Me pages for Pierce vs. Clancy is shocking. Clancy's is over a million. The fund for the Pierce family just over $219,000. 

Anonymous Juror Defends Holdout! Sounds like lots of intimidation in that jury room.

An anonymous juror has come out in defense of the holdout who refused to find Lindsay Clancy not guilty. This article is worth reading. The murdered little ones deserve justice, not excuses for their killing.

Anonymous Lindsay Clancy Juror Defends Holdout, He Stood on “Convictions”

Become Like Little Children: Read Children's Books

I just finished the most charming little children's book, A Mouse Called Wolf, written by Dick King-Smith who also wrote Babe, The Gallant Pig. One of my favorite movies is Babe and it's based on the book. I searched but couldn't find that A Mouse Called Wolf also inspired a movie. Too bad. I can imagine the birth of the little runty mouse, the teasing of his brothers and sisters, the adventure with the cat, and especially the blossoming friendship with the elderly woman, a retired concert pianist.

The black and white illustrations by. Jon Goodell are so sweet I almost hate to give the book away, but it definitely belongs in the hands of children.

It arrived with lots of other books at our little independent library. They were all paperbacks which we don't keep, so all of them were placed in a basket in the children's section or outside on our giveaway rack. I took about a dozen to share with my grandkids, but wanted to read them first to make sure everything is acceptable. In today's world where the "diversity bookbag" for children includes sewage, I always want to check first. I'm glad I did because it's given me some happy hours.

A Post for Bookworms -- Can You Share a Favorite Title?

I love to read and am always looking for the next good book to pick up. This morning I read a substack post by George Grant that gave me a host of authors to inspect. Some I'm familiar with (Ellis Peters, Mary Renault, Bernard Corwall), but a few are new to me. I've never read anything by G.A. Henty a Victorian novelist and war correspondent, who began his career telling stories to his children around the dinner table. In fact I've never heard of him before. Perhaps it's because he wrote adventure stories "for boys."

Look to Mary Who Will Give You a "Deeper Understanding" of Jesus and the Holy Trinity

We celebrate the Blessed Mother's birthday today, nine months after the feast of her Immaculate Conception on December 8th. Let us all give her a gift today by praying the joyful mysteries of the rosary. 

Mary's great desire was to give Jesus to the world, the Word made flesh. What a great day to take a rosary walk with her entrusting your prayers into her hands with all the graces to be dispensed as she wishes. You can be sure that they will be used in a way most beneficial to you and your family.

When I was praying this morning a line of music kept running through my mind: "Queen of the angels, queen of the saints." It reminded me of all the Marian processions of my childhood, dressed in Sunday best, often wearing a crown of flowers. I once made crowns for all my sisters from dogwood blossoms. 

Deliver Us From Evil: The Lindsay Clancy Trial

I haven't said anything about Lindsay Clancy up to now because the entire situation is like a horror story and I hate horror stories, especially when it involves harming children. It's hard to wrap your mind around such an evil deed as a mother strangling her three little ones.

Sunday Meditation: A few words of wisdom from Blessed Pope Pius IX

But first a fake meme. Pope Blessed Pius IX never warned about a future pope. The quote above is all over the internet, but there's no evidence that the pope ever said it. And in view of his statements on papal infallibility, it immediately raised question marks when I saw it. Serious Catholics need to check, check, check! Don't pass along incorrect information. Whoever's doing it are the Joseph Goebbels of the Church.When you see things on the internet, it's wise to check them, especially if a quote has no attribution. We don't need fake quotes. Pope Blessed Pius IX was a zealous shepherd totally committed to defending the faith and how he suffered for it!

To Restore All Things in Christ

I finished reading Pope Pius X's first encyclical, E Supremi Apostolatus, this morning. What a wonderful pope! The document could have been written yesterday and what a clarion call for today's Catholics. Please read it. I'll give you just a few bits of its brilliance:

• Who can fail to see that at the present time society is suffering more than in any past age from a terrible and radical malady which, while developing every day and gnawing into its very being, is dragging it to destruction? You understand, Venerable Brethren, this disease is apostasy from God.

Think about it. That statement was made in 1903. What would the saint say about the situation today when the attack on reason has led to people justifying the insane proposition that man can choose his own sex, mothers can kill and be celebrated for murdering not only their unborn babies in the womb but their born children. How would that saintly pope respond in order "to restore all things in Christ." Do you think he would be telling the world that all religions (including paganism) are pathways to God? Would Pachamama be celebrated in the Vatican garden? Would he invite representatives of other Christian denominations, Buddhists, Muslims, etc. to come to Assisi and worship together? Read his words and answer for yourself:

St. Pius X, Pray for us!

Yesterday was the feast of St. Pope Pius X, so today is good day to read about his life and examine some of his writings. Here's a list of his encyclicals, 17 in all. His motto was "To restore all things in Christ" which was the subject of his first encylical published on October 4, 1903. 

A Week of Good-Byes: Death Comes to Us All!

It's been a time of good-byes for celebrities this past week or so. Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and yesterday Gloria Steinem. Many will relate immediately to country music icon Dolly and actor Tim Curry, but I wonder how many even remember who Gloria Steinem was. Do you?

If I went out to do a man-in-the-street interview (using "man" in the generic sense), and asked, "How do you feel about the death of Gloria Steinem?" I would expect a puzzled look and a "Who's Gloria Steinem?" from most people. She got her fifteen minutes of fame during the era of feminism, but that era is fading. Feminism has been in its death throes for a long time. Babies and stay-at-home moms are making a comeback as the White House Baby Boom illustrates.

"If the Shoe Fits, Wear It!"

My mom used to have a full stock of sayings appropriate to various occasions. "If the shoe fits, wear it!" was one that seems especially relevant to modern culture with a shift in meaning. Lots of folks today stick their feet into other people's shoes presuming to know everything about them. They judge people they only know as "friends" on Facebook. They jump to conclusions about things and make rash judgments about others in the comment section of every website. After all, they know everything about them because they slip on their shoes just long enough to tell the world all about them: their beliefs, their opinions, the state of their souls. Their knowledge about others (Trump supporters especially) would fill a multi-volume encyclopedia.