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.

Of Silly Comments, Name-Calling, and the USCCB

Well today was a red-letter day. I've been called a lot of things: a fat cow (I admit I'm overweight.), a schismatic and excommunicated Catholic, a Protestant. Really, I was even once called a feminist. That blew my mind since I've fought the radical feminists for decades. But name-calling is often preceded by brain death. The "little gray cells" go on vacation.

Sunday Meditation: Never Forget: The True Shepherds Celebrated Mass in the Meadow

This photo shows Fr. Reuter celebrating Mass at the fairgrounds during COVID. He was our first SSPX pastor when the chapel was established several years ago. We first met him when he came from the seminary to celebrate Mass at the fairgrounds while all the churches were closed. The diocesan bishops all bent the knee to Caesar. A few priests around the country celebrated Mass in their parking lots. One rented a U-Haul and drove around his diocese with his portable sanctuary. But for most Catholics in the country, their shepherds locked the churches and delivered a stone instead of bread to the faithful. They could have appealed the government lockdowns which left abortion businesses and liquor stores open. They did not. Their actions said, "We have no king but Caesar." I'm still waiting for an apology! They save that for other folks, like those angry over Pachamama being thrown in the Tiber.

Is the USCCB Even Catholic Any More?

The USCCB seems to have lost the faith decades ago, not to mention their minds! I offer the letter below as exhibit A. Why would any right-minded bishop continue to belong to this Good Old Boys Club of Nonsense? In the name of ecumenism we are told that all faiths are paths to God including paganism. And now we have a Jewish woman, Amy-Jill Levine elected as head of the "Catholic" Biblical Association who wants to rewrite the Bible because the pharisees were misunderstood. It reminds me of the song Officer Krupke from West Side Story. 

Of Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot

I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie and love the series with David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. I've seen the role played with Peter Ustinov and Kenneth Branagh. Neither of them could hold a candle to David Suchet who played Poirot in every story Christie wrote about him. Over 25 years and thirteen seasons, David Suchet became the little Belgian detective with the moustaches. 

My husband and I just finished watching all of the seasons for about the fourth time. And then we watched the extras. Suchet answers a series of questions about what is essentially the role of his life. He described how he studied all the stories and kept a voluminous file about how Poirot dressed, ate, walked, spoke, etc. -- all that allowed David Suchet to disappear into the persona of Hercule Poirot, not an actor playing a character, but becoming one. 

On What Day of the Week Were You Born?

Oh dear...I am Wednesday's child, "full of woe." That description is actually pretty accurate for me since, in the traditional personality description, I tend toward the melancholic. 

Do Our Bishops Welcome "Undocumented Houseguests" in their Own Homes?

My friend and colleague, Janet Baker, has an interesting article on her D.C. blog about the bishops shilling for illegal immigrants. One particularly apt sentence about the illegal aliens was this:

[T]hese people are border-crashers who come and/or stay in this country while disregarding our laws and procedures. They are no more "immigrants" than a burglar is an "undocumented house guest".

Let Thanks Be Always on Our Lips!

Sometimes I get a tremendous surprise when I open a book. Tucked inside will be a letter from the past from a family member or friend. This week, I looked in my calendar book to see whose birthdays and anniversaries are coming up in the month of September. But what I found in the front was a little treasure from one of my granddaughters -- a letter she wrote on January 11, 2019 when she was still in high school. It captured a moment from the past to thrill a grandparent's heart.