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 gives 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.