The Lies Parents Tell

Parents want to rear their children to be truth-tellers. At least they should. But many parents today lie regularly to their children. Why? Mostly out of human respect. I’ll give an example from my own experience. 

Some things are worth repeating. May we all love the truth and always speak it in charity!

I'm on a silent, Ignatian retreat this week and scheduled a few posts before I left since I will be completely off the internet and my phone: nothing but silence, the conferences of the priest, the rosary and hours, Confession, and sitting with Jesus in the chapel. What a blessing to have that quiet time. I thought this post from 2023 is timely since many are suffering for the truth today. So I'm resurrecting it and hope you find it helpful. Please pray for the happy repose of the soul of Fr. Hardon. He was a tremendous warrior for the Lord. I heard him speak a number of times and had the blessing of attending the last retreat he offered before his death in 2000. Please pray for me as I will for you during my retreat.

Our Duty: To Suffer for the Truth!

Every now and then a theme crops up everywhere I look and demands attention. Over and over the echoes roll over me like a tidal wave: on social media, in news feeds I follow, in magazines I read, etc. Often it has a lot to do with what's happening in my life at the moment. "Pay attention!" my guardian angel reminds me, "This is important!"

The Truth and the Lie: Where Do We Stand?

Has anything changed in the decade since Cardinal Caffarra gave the address below? The truth and the lie are in constant confrontation. If we are people of the truth, where do we stand in this battle? Truth is not relative; it’s a rock! The lie is shifting sand. When we evaluate the things around us, we need to discern where truth stands like a rock. And then we need to chain ourselves to that rock so we can withstand the tsunami of lies constantly washing over us to separate us from the truth.

So...Is Catholic Doctrine Immutable or Relative?

Some questions require either a yes or a no answer. Like Scripture says, "Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one." [Matt 5:37] Jesus was no prevaricator. When he spoke, his message was clear. Even his parables, when explained, made perfect sense. If the seed of truth is strewn on soil filled with lies, excuses, rationalizations, etc. it will be choked and rootless, will not thrive, and will not produce a harvest.

Beauty Touches the Heart!

Celebrating a pontifical high Mass in Croatia, Archbishop Cordileone said this in a talk before the liturgy:

Religious Schizophrenia: The Battle in the Church between Truth and Authority!

When one examines a crisis, it's important to know exactly what that crisis consists of. We know there's a crisis in the Church; you'd have to be brain dead not to realize something isn't right. But what is it? Is the crisis a fight over different liturgies? Is that really the central issue? Between those nostalgic for the old ways versus those progressives who want what they believe to be a more accessible church with windows open to the world? Or is it primarily about Vatican II?

Sometimes Truth Comes to Us Via Poetry, Art, and Music

I love this painting by Luc-Olivier Merson, (1879). If I ever get to Boston I'll make a point of going to see it at the Museum of Fine Arts. Great art inspires not only the mind but the heart, revealing important truths. Sometimes truth doesn't come through argument or profound reasoning, but through poetry, art, and music.

The Danger of "the Tumultuous Torrent of Fugitive Ideas"

Stop and think!

I always enjoy reading Chronicles magazine. The article I read today described divisions in the political right. It isn't just the Dems who reflect chaos these days. The author made the point that language is being used on both sides of the aisle "less as an instrument of reasoning" and more as a justification for "tribal loyalty" with premises that "remain unexamined" resulting in "impoverished discourse in which both factions retain an appetite for shock and awe but very little for restraint, calibration, or discovery."

Wow! Too true!

What author Chloe Mastour describes isn't just evident in political disagreements. It seems to be the default position today in many areas and is particularly evident on social media. Many adopt fixed and unchangeable positions. No amount of reasoned argument can touch them. And sometimes those with opposite views, are equally fixed and unchangeable. 

Who's Telling the Truth?

A reader sent me several comments about Fr. Gordon MacRae's case (which I did not post) claiming I'm withholding information and I should let readers decide for themselves about his guilt or innocence. So I'm offering two pieces: the Attorney General's report from New Hampshire against Fr. MacRae and Fr. MacRae's description of the proceedings and the accusations against him. (Links below.) 

There are, in fact, hundreds of articles about the case. I've read a good many. I'll be completely transparent. I believe Fr. MacRae was railroaded, not only by prosecutors, but by psychologists, false witnesses, and even representatives of the church. Having said that, it's hard to know the truth of any allegation when there are no witnesses to the alleged crime and most of the evidence is "he said; she said". Who's telling the truth?

Optical Illusions and Reality: In the Age of AI, What Can You Believe?

Sitting at my computer this morning I experienced an interesting optical illusion. Looking across the field through the "frame" of two tree trunks, I saw the head of a roman wearing a laurel wreath in profile. He looked very much like this:

As the wind blew his mouth opened and closed as if he were speaking. Of course, I knew it was just an illusion created by my brain, but it fascinated me and got me thinking about illusions and truth.

Historical Misrepresentation: How Many "Heroes" Were Really Villains...?

...and how many villains were really heroes? These are serious questions. As they say, the winners write the history. So always look at the reports from biased contemporaries with a jaundiced eye. Politicians who win don't make trustworthy critics of their political enemies. Neither do the losers for that matter. A little time is necessary to evaluate the real impact of movers and shakers. 

Do the Bishops Really Emphasize "Using Proper Terms?" That Depends!

When I'm in a masochistic mood, I read the Arlington Catholic Herald. Usually, I just scan the headlines and put it in the paper recycling. Occasionally, though, I actually do read at least a few articles. Sometimes it even gives me a good laugh, an eye roll, and a rueful head shake.

Such was the case when I read an article yesterday explaining how the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is getting a new name, OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults). Wow! Now that is an earth-shaking change. Well, perhaps not.

J.D. Vance Tells It Like It Is with Courtesy and Respect

Free speech is under assault. We saw it big time during COVID with anyone disagreeing with Dr. Science.  Reputable scientists who disagreed with Big Pharma and their shills were demonized and accused of spreading "misinformation." Of course, the ones actually doing that were Fauci and his allies. 

Shining the Spotlight on the Media Where Liars Thrive and the Truth Suffers!

The mainstream drive-by media is, for the most part comatose and dying. The Pulitzer committee helped deliver assisted euthanasia in 2018 with its shared award to the Washington Post and New York Times for the 20-article scam-fantasy about Russiagate. Mostly based on anonymous sources, rumors, and innuendo from Trump-hating liberals, the articles lied and lied and lied again leaving wounded truth tellers in their wake like Michael Flynn. A 2022 article in the New York Post summarized the damage caused by the series:

La Leche League Goes Woke!

La Leche League has lost their everlovin' mind! It was bad enough when men invaded the ladies' rooms and exhibited their junk to little girls in the swimming pool locker rooms. But really, now they will feed hormone laden milk to infants by making their fake women's bodies lactate? And La Leche League thinks this is a good thing? Who knows what damage these "chest-feeding" men will do to babies? And how comfortable will the real moms be who will be forced to engage with men pretending to be women who join their La Leche support groups.

Are women safe anywhere these days?

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.

Sunday Meditation! Love the Truth!

Father's homily this morning was well worth meditating on. It stimulated my own thoughts. I don't want to distort anything he said, so consider this my interpretation of what was a really excellent homily. 

What do you think the devil's greatest deception is? What pleases him the most? 

"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. 

Thought for the Day from C.S. Lewis and The Last Battle

As regular readers know, I read the Epoch Times and love it! My favorite section is Life and Culture. This week Marlena Figge has a wonderful article on the C.S. Lewis' series, the Chronicles of Narnia focusing on the final book, The Last Battle. Some readers may be a little confused because she discusses the books, not according to their publication order, but their chronological order. Like the Star Wars series, Lewis began in the middle with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when the four children of the Pevensie family were evacuated from London and went to live with a professor in the country. One rainy day playing hide and seek, the youngest, Lucy, hides in an old wardrobe, an entrance into the wintry world of Narnia where she meets Tumnus, the faun, and begins an incredible adventure with her siblings.

Part V: A Pinch of Incense to Modernism -- How Accepting Ecclesia Dei, etc. Poisoned Principles

See all the previous posts in this series on Ecclesia Dei and its aftermath on our Modernism page.

I started out this series bringing up principles. If someone calls you a person of principle, what do they mean? The American Heritage Dictionary defines principle as: 

• A basic truth, law, or assumption.
• A rule or standard, especially of good behavior.
• The collectivity of moral or ethical standards or judgments.