Lent and the Number 40

I keep coming across the number 40 this Lent. Today was another reminder. It's the feast of the 40 martyrs of Sebaste. Since I hate the winter cold, this story strikes me particularly hard. I think of the poor soul who failed to persevere and died in the warm bath. Is he in an even hotter place now? It's hard to imagine that, under such torture, a person gives full consent of the will to the evil act. I'm praying for him today. I hope he is in the company of his fellow soldiers today glorifying God.

Look Up And See! And Then Give Thanks.

Writing an "I'm thankful" message on the holiday tablecloth.

Thanksgiving approaches. For many it's just a day of gluttony: food for the belly and football for the eyes -- two f words. Throw in a third -- no not that one -- fun. For many that's the meaning of life. Find all the fun you can in food, frolicking and you know what.

Sunday Meditation: A Most Necessary Virtue in Times of Tribulation and Chaos

When the world seems to be falling into chaos and tribulation, that is exactly when we need to embrace the virtue of hope! When everything seems to be out of kilter and the earth under our feet seems more like quicksand, that is exactly when we need to turn up the volume on hope!

Where are the Shepherds? Silence after the Murder of Charlie Kirk

One of the saddest realities since the assassination of Charlie Kirk has been the silence for the most part from our shepherds about the brutal murder of this godly man. Kirk continuously witnessed to Jesus Christ and often openly prayed for his adversaries. Of the 17 cardinals and 400+ bishops in the country only a handful have released statements on the assassination. I have also read several nasty comments from priests who, taking Kirk's statements out of context, condemn him in the same vein as the radical Democrats. He's a racist, homophobe, misogynist, yadda, yadda.... Was Charlie Kirk perfect? Of course not, but his life was clearly motivated by his love for Jesus Christ, for family, and for country.

With regard to the pope, he expressed his condolences to the American Ambassador privately, but limited his public discussion of martyrs to a homily on September 14th at an ecumenical prayer service. Only four days after Kirk's brutal slaying, the pope ignored this newly martyred Christian. Why? If he had mentioned no one by name, it would be more understandable, but he did mention several people specifically. This paragraph totally described Charlie Kirk:

Praying for Charlie and our Family at Eagle Rock!

View from Eagle Rock

For the past few weeks, I've been taking two of my young grandsons hiking. We've had three adventures so far. Our first hike was the Fishers Hill Battlefield in Strasburg. We stopped and read every historical marker to follow the progression of the battle. It always makes me sad to think of all the men killed in that useless war. 

But it was a good starter hike -- less than two miles and much of it in a grassy meadow with only a little up and down. And it was an opportunity for a history lesson for two homeschoolers.

Charlie Kirk Inspired Millions. Have "We got it from here?"

Did you watch the memorial to Charlie Kirk yesterday? I did -- all of it. And what struck me the most was the disparity between the message I heard over and over again from the speakers about the love of God and the reign of Jesus Christ and the message we get day after day from the Vatican and our bishops. 

Sunday Meditation: Don't Let the Priest Pirates Steal the Treasures of the Church!

Pirate in priest's clothing.

Today at our SSPX chapel in Linden, VA we celebrated the Feast of St. Pius X from September 3rd in the traditional calendar. As patron saint of the Society, that was appropriate. St. Pius X certainly represents a man for our season in the Church when modernism has perverted so many Catholics and is bringing many to the brink of hell.

In his encyclical Pascendi, Pius X called modernism the "synthesis of all heresies." Compared to the numerous documents by Francis he was concise, describing modernism and its errors in only 57 paragraphs. Compare that to the long-winded documents by Francis filled with ambiguity, confusion, and error: Amoris Laetitia -- 325, Laudato si -- 246, Fratelli Tutti -- 287, Querida Amazonia -- 111,  Christus Vivit -- 299, etc. 

And Now We are Six....

I came from a family of eleven children, one of whom died right before birth. The rest of us grew to adulthood: six girls and four boys. Daddy was in the Navy so we moved every three or four years, changing houses and schools, making new friends. After we grew up and began our own families, we shared many holidays together: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July. I can still smell the eye roast Daddy made on the rotisserie grill, a staple of many holiday meals.

Faith and Science: There's no conflict for believers

Spiraling Whirlpool Galaxy taken by the Hubble Telescope M51. See more photos here. 

It always amazes me to hear people say that science proves God does not exist. What a silly idea! Science can only observe material things. It has nothing to say about non-material things: love, integrity, beauty, mercy. They can't be measured in the lab.

Thoughts from the First Session of Fr. David Torkington's course, Prayer to Contemplation

I decided to do a retreat with Fr. David Torkington by listening to his 15 session series on Prayer to Contemplation. Every Sunday I plan to listen to one of the videos until I finish it. Here are some ideas and thoughts from the first session which was excellent. I hope you will join me:

God's power finds Its full scope in human weakness.

Monday Morning Musing: An Examination to Guide Your Week

Christ desires us to bring forth the fruits of a holy life, i.e., He wishes us gradually to improve, to grow more just and charitable in our dealings with others, more humble and severe in judging ourselves. Do those who call themselves Christians invariably display these characteristics? If you are uncharitable, irritable, untrustworthy, harsh toward others, self-satisfied and self-indulgent, there is much reason to fear that your profession of Christianity is vain, and that you do not possess the Holy Spirit and are not united with Christ in the Spirit.

    Knud Karl Krogh-Tonning (+1911), Norwegian theologian, convert from Lutherinism

Note that we are encouraged to "gradually improve." God is patient with us giving us a model of how to be patient with others. I plan to read this every day this week as an examination of conscience. Lord, bless this week and make each of us better at the end of it than we were at the beginning.

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. 

Sunday Meditation: Real Catholicism is This!

One of my readers left a link to a good sermon that outlines how we should respond to the pope. I found it personally challenging and a bit of a reprimand. The unnamed priest talks about "real Catholicism." He begins by making the distinction between the two ways the pope speaks, the first as the authoritative head of the Church expressing Catholic truth that is binding on the flock. 

Sunday Meditation: To Whom Are You Listening?

Remember the old Disney cartoons showing Pluto with an angel whispering in one ear and a devil in the other. That's not too far off. Our guardian angel is always with us trying to give us good advice. But do we listen? Or are we so enamored by the noise of the world that we can't hear his voice, especially when the devil is booming in our other ear.

But it's not only our guardian angel who's trying to communicate with us. Good and holy shepherds also compete with the world, the flesh, and the devil for our attention. C.S. Lewis offered a masterful description of the devil's tactics in his Screwtape Letters. It's wise to know the enemy and how he works on you. One of his most powerful weapons is discouragement. You know, that little nagging maggot that runs an endless loop of negative messages:

Sunday Meditation: Thinking About Faith

The women's day of reflection which I attended yesterday focused on the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. Of all the virtues these three let us reach out and touch the hand of God. All the other virtues support these three which take the prominent place in the hierarchy of virtues.

Sunday Meditation: Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence

St. Claude de la Colombiere

One of my go-to books for morning prayer is Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, a book co-authored Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint Jure, S.J and by St. Claude de la Colombiere, S.J. (1641-1682) [Yes, Virginia, there once was a day when the Jesuits gave us holy and wise priests.] St. Claude was the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who did so much to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What good saints to invite into our life during this month devoted to the Sacred Heart.

The past two mornings I've been reading a few pages over and over again trying to burn them into my brain and my heart. The main point is that EVERYTHING we experience comes from the will of God. EVERYTHING. "Nothing happens to us in life unless God wills it so." Fr. John Hardon, another holy Jesuit, often said that. I was blessed to attend two retreats with him before he died in 2000 and, like his brother priests, he emphasized over and over that EVERYTHING comes from God.

Can you believe it? 

"Let all contention cease." Let us defend the faith like Our Lady and St. Francis de Sales!

I subscribe to Benedictus, the monthly prayer companion for traditional Catholics. Every issue offers a virtue of the month. May's virtue is meekness, certainly appropriate during the month of Mary who "pondered all things in her heart." Can you imagine Mary engaging in the tsunami of rude and contentious behavior so common on the internet hiding behind a mask of anonymity? I don't mean to imply that those who engage in rude and contentious behavior under their own name behave legitimately. "Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not rude," as St. Paul tells us. 

Aqua's Conversion Story (Part 2): The Joy of Children!

Read Part 1 of Aqua's conversion story here. 

How did our new Catholic Faith *CHANGE* anything for us, physically, specifically in our actions and behaviors? I have picked one obvious and lasting example. Everyone *should* have their own examples to tell, because everyone *should* be changed after conversion to the religion of Heaven itself in meaningful, practical ways here on earth.
For me, it was Life issues.

The Miracle of Conversion, A Mystery of God's Grace: Aqua's Story (Part 1)

16th century painting of St. Paul on the road to Dmamascus

Editor's comment: One of my regular readers, Aqua, left a comment about his conversion that intrigued me. So I asked him if he would tell his story. He graciously accepted and I offer it here in two parts. To see God's grace at work reminds us that He, indeed, is our rock and our salvation. May God bring us all to conversion every day and fill us with the joy of living in His presence. Convert us, Lord, and make us Yours.

Aqua's Conversion Story

I was asked to say a few words about my Catholic conversion story, and how it changed me from who I was to who I am. So ... here it is.

Do You Know How Much You're Loved? Get to Know Your Guardian Angel to Find Out!

Do you talk to your guardian angel? I don't mean just saying the Angel of God prayer once or twice a day. Do you really have conversations with your angel? Have you ever asked your angel for advice about a specific problem? Have you ever sent your angel to pray with another person's guardian angel?