"But the Greatest of These is Charity"

Charity seems to be in short supply these days inside the Church. I stumbled upon the blog of a professor at an orthodox Catholic college whose statements about those who defend sacred tradition shocked me. He targeted specific people, called the SSPX a "cult" all of whose members and lay faithful are excommunicated and in schism. And then he went on by condemning to hell all those who question the magisterium. All I can say is I'm glad He's not God although he seems to be usurping God's role as King and judge.

Frankly I was appalled. I've seen some of his work in the past and never would have guessed he could sink to the level of name calling, rash judgment, and lack of charity exhibited in his rants against the SSPX and other "Trads."

Make me a river of grace, Lord!

The other day I read this statement from a therapist: "We can't diagnose people who are not in the room." Sounds like common sense, but do most therapists pay attention? How many listen to one side of the story and make judgments about the absent person or persons?

I went to someone for grief counseling for about six months several years ago. During the course of our discussions she suggested a diagnosis for a family member I was dealing with. At the time I didn't think anything of it, but after reading the statement above, I thought about it again. Sometimes it's hard to diagnosis the person talking to you. How can you possibly diagnose someone you've never met just by listening to a description from a third party who may be giving you a distorted picture? 

Sunday Meditation: Roadmap for a Happy Life

It seems to me that we all make life too darn complicated. In many ways we get lost in the weeds. And yet, the prescription for a happy life is really very simple. The Baltimore Catechism set it down in question #6:

6. Q. Why did God make you?
A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.

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 

Seventy-eight and still Fighting for the Faith!

It's my birthday -- 78 today! My parents named me Mary because of Our Lady's feast day. What a blessing to share our Blessed Mother's name!

Can We Label Peope Like Cans of Soup?

Can we label people as if
they are cans of soup?

I was browsing one of the aggregate Catholic sites this morning and came across an article on narcissism. It made the blanket assertion that boomers (I'm one of them) are narcissists. Goodness, I thought. By belonging to the boomer generation, I must be a narcissist. Then I wondered if the person who wrote that article was a millennial. That led me to search the two terms millennials and narcissism and realize that, by virtue of their birth year, my two youngest belong to the group. And, of course, their narcissism is a scientific reality proven by a Case Western Reserve Study reported in Scientific Daily:

Millennials admit to being narcissists, but don't you dare call them that

 The summary for the article reads:

What We Can Learn From the Hummingbird Wars!

I have a hummingbird feeder hanging near my office window, a source of much amusement. One little female has delegated to herself the role of sentry. She feeds and then sits on the tippytop of the pole holding the feeder. From there she dive bombs other hummingbirds (mostly other females) to keep them from feeding. Occasionally, a ruby-throated male drops in for a drink, but most of boys apparently have already begun migrating. The females usually remain a bit longer, so the war is usually among the girls. Seems like a lot of wasted energy for nothing but territorial rivalry.

Love Life, Yes! But this Facebook Meme is Way Off.

Yesterday I posted a Facebook meme with a quote from a saint. Today, I read a meme that means well, but is skewed and wrong. I'm not addressing, of course, the protection of innocent life. We may never murder an innocent baby. But the rest of the meme is head-shakingly wrong.

Bitter Zeal: A Temptation for All of Us!

Yesterday's Mass homily focused on sins of the tongue. St. James in his epistle has plenty to say about that, comparing the tongue to the rudder of a mighty ship. The rudder may be small, but bears a large impact on the ship's movement and position. So does the tongue which may very well be responsible for more sins than any other organ in the body. 

Of Soap Operas, Duties, and Charity!

Is your life like a soap opera? What will happen next?

I've come to the conclusion that everybody on the planet lives in a soap opera. And, in fact, that's probably the reason soap operas are popular. Focusing on the problems of your favorite soap characters takes your mind off your own personal, homegrown drama for at least a little while.

Of Graduation, the Christendom Chapel, and the SSPX

Christendom College chapel on college graduation day.

Our granddaughter graduated last Thursday from Chelsea Academy in Front Royal, VA. Mass and ceremonies were held at Christendom College on a beautiful sunny Spring day under a Mary-blue sky. My husband and I arrived about twenty minutes before Mass and entered the new church for the first time. It's very impressive from the outside, more like a European cathedral than a humble college chapel. It has a large foyer, a high choir loft, and and an imposing altar almost dazzlingly white. 

True Charity in the Trenches: A Love Story!

Yesterday, I told you a horror story. Today, on the cusp of Lent, I'm giving you a love story that is so touching I was overwhelmed. It came from a dear friend of mine whose elderly mother-in-law has dementia and is nearing the end of life's journey. He and his wife are caring for her at home in a way that is indescribably beautiful. I'll let him speak for himself:

Mom is dying in phases.

Not eating much just a little bit of a Snack Pack of chocolate pudding and a few ounces of oatmeal with apple sauce and milk to thin it out.

Sunday Meditation: Practice Charity this Lent, the epitome of all virtues!

The sermon this morning was all about charity based on the Epistle, 1 Corinthians 13. Charity/love doesn't reside in the emotions, but is an act of the will and first involves our call to union with the source of all charity, God. Scripture tells us that God Himself is Charity/Love. 

"God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him."

So the virtue of charity calls us to know God better, to embrace His will and to love others for the sake of God who created them in His own image and likeness. We can only grow in that virtue by knowing God better through reading scripture, adding good spiritual reading, and prayer. Our Lady who practiced charity better than any other person who ever lived, except for her Son, can teach us if we draw closer to her. "Am I not here and am I not your mother?" she said to Juan Diego.

Every one of us, if we are blessed with a faith-filled mother, learn our prayers on her lap and at her knee. She holds our hands together and teaches us the sign of the cross. "Lord, be in my mind, be in my heart, and give me strong shoulders to carry the cross." What a blessing! But even those who never had that blessing have our holy mother to teach us now.

Bishop Barron and the SSPX from Fr. Z

More about Bp. Barron, the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, and the SSPX

So....Bishop Barron is letting the SSPX say Mass in the beautiful chapel he's authorized for the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). 

This will make some people happy and some people angry. Those with the mantra, "The SSPX are in schism!" will seek to explain it away and criticize the bishop for letting those schismatics enter the church. Those who are happy will be sending accolades galore to Bishop Barron.

Sunday Meditation: Charity is an Act of the Will

Feed the hungry! Doing the ordinary duties of our state in life is an act of charity.

The epistle today in the Traditional Latin Mass is St. Paul's treatise on love, i.e., the divine virtue of charity. Many people associate love/charity with emotion. It is anything but! Charity is an act of the will, a decision made to treat others and ourselves according to God's plan for us. 

Justice Scalia's Greatness was Revealed More in His Private Moments than in His Public Ones

If you want to see how Justice Scalia resembled Jesus read the article below, a personal story of an event witnessed by Jeffrey Tucker. As I read it, I thought of the picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and thought how close to Christ's heart Justice Scalia must have been.

I hope you are praying for the repose of this man's soul. He didn't just believe in the Catholic faith; he lived it. And while you reflect on his charity consider the disgrace of so many liberals tweeting glee over Scalia's death. No surprise really. Jesus said they would treat the servants like the Master and we all know how they treated Him. May each of us resolve to imitate the charity of those who treat the lowly and unimportant as if they are pearls of great price.

A Man with a Great Heart

Bill Donohue's "Charity" is Mostly Himself

Yesterday I blogged about Bill Donohue's attack on those raising the alarm about Cardinal Wuerl's lavish digs on Embassy Row. Out of curiosity I checked Donohue's "charity," the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Right. Charity Navigator has a breakdown that is most enlightening. One hundred percent of the league's income is derived from contributions. Less than half of that goes to advance their agenda. Over 50% goes to administration and fundraising including a hunky chunk for Donohue's $417,000 salary.

Want to do a good deed? Take a child to a nursing home!

Every Sunday I take Communion to eight Catholics at a local nursing home. All but one are seriously mentally incapacitated with either Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Several are often difficult and hostile. But what a change comes over them when they see children! One lady is often negative and cheerless. Not today! We took our two little visitors from the Fresh Air Fund and she just kept telling them over and over how beautiful they are. She asked them questions about school and how they were enjoying their visit. She repeated herself several times. Alzheimer's patients can't remember from one minute to the next what they just said, but the entire visit was sweet and charming.

I love all these dear people and am saddened when people talk about how their lives aren't worth living. Of course they are! They invite us to self-sacrifice. They remind us of what we need to be before our God -- dependent and little. They are the ones in the highways and byways that the master sent his servants to gather in for the banquet. And they are also the ones he said to invite to dinner -- those who can't invite us back.

Please, please take your children and grandchildren to nursing homes. Teach them that the sick, the suffering, and the elderly are precious in God's sight. It is a corporal work of mercy, but I can tell you that you will receive more than you can give.

I Love Mercy Chefs!

Mercy Chefs was one of the first groups on the scene after Hurricane Sandy. Recently, they returned to the epicenter of the storm in New York, for the one-year anniversary to celebrate the unflagging spirit of hope and renewal. They served 3500 meals and a gospel message of hope.

Character and Kindness: Pray for these two young men!