Sunday Meditation: O Lord, Give Us Many Holy Priests!

St. Jean Vianney, patron of parish priests

In these times, so like the ignorant days after the French Revolution when many people had lost the sense of the sacred and the knowledge of Catholic doctrine, we need priests who will instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, and pray diligently for the living and the dead. Just a handful like St. Jean Vianney, the patron of parish priests, could turn our pagan culture back to God.

The Pope is NOT an Absolute Monarch! Catholics Must Understand the Limits of Episcopal Authority!

How many bishops are willing to walk in
the footsteps of martyr Bishop John Fisher?

People tend to think of the pope as the head of a large company with the ultimate power to 
make all the decisions and impose them on his underlings beginning with the heads of the various departments. They can express their opinions to him, but he is the ultimate authority and if they disagree they can obey anyway or "off with their heads!"

That is not a proper image for the Catholic Church.

The pope is not a dictator with the ultimate power to throw out bishops on a whim because he doesn't happen to like them. Unfortunately, the bishops themselves have promulgated that image by the unjust treatment some have dished out to their spiritual sons. Cancelled priests are a growing problem. I know some of them and it is disturbing to see how unjust some bishops are. The sad truth for those bishops is that you reap what you sow. They will be measured out the same measure and rotten fruit they've dished out to others. Get ready for it, Your Excellencies!

The Days of Persecution and the Underground Masses May be on the Horizon.

I wish my parents had found an underground church during those evil days. What a joy if all our family had been able to "keep the faith." Many of my relatives are no longer practicing Catholics. I pray every day for their return because the surest road to heaven is the Catholic Church; the surest guides on the right path are the faithful shepherds defending the doctrine and sacred tradition. 

Will it be a train wreck for the church or for the evil men controlling her?

Better not wait to get off the tracks until the train is five feet away!

Perhaps discussing the rumoured nuke to be dropped on the TLM on the third anniversary of Traditionis Custodes (July 16th) is premature. Why not wait and see and just be silent and let the chips fall where they may? After all, isn't the best course to live in the present moment? That's certainly one approach, and I won't argue with those who choose it.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for taking measures when a disaster is likely to happen. You don't wait until the hurricane is upon you to board up the windows. You don't wait until the train is five feet away before you get off the tracks. An article at OnePeter5 recommends that Catholics get ready, especially considering the accuracy of previous "rumors" reported by Rorate Caeli. Their track record is excellent. So let's check out the article by Carina Benton:

Cleaning and Organizing and Stirring Up Memories

Cleaning closets and drawers merits a low spot on the chore list. Laundry, dusting, vacuuming, dishes, meal prep...they all take precedence over the unseen clutter that attacks you when you open a closet door. 

Confronting the Culture with the Truth about Abortion: Remember the Heroes for Life!

Every summer Defend Life of Baltimore, headed by pro-life hero Jack Ames, conducts what they call a "Face the Truth" tour in over a dozen locations in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. With giant signs revealing the horrifying truth about the murder of the innocent, they line major highways revealing the truth about abortion that government and media hide. It's all exposing the lie that abortion is like clipping a toenail or removing a tick.

Of This and That on Monday Morning

•  I'm going to see my sister in the nursing home today. I consider it my weekly exercise to work on the virtues of patience, charity, and cheerfulness. 

• When I'm watching TV, I try to keep my hands busy. I very much liked the baby blanket pattern I used for two blankets: one for my first great grandchild and one for my youngest grandchild. So I decided to make a table runner. I finally made the pattern with no mistakes! The secret is small projects I think. Perhaps that's a lesson in life. St. Therese's "little way" is much easier to accomplish with fewer mistakes.

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? 

What do you know about the Traditional Latin Mass?

I just watched a great video where the speaker talked about the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) to five groups/individuals: little children, a young Catholic who attends both the Novus Ordo (NO) and the Traditional Latin Mass, an atheist raised Catholic, a diocesan pastor of an NO parish, and a lay theologian. Fascinating! Check it out! especially the final segment with the theologian. He makes a very interesting distinction between the holy and the sacred. Really, it's only about half an hour. The beginning with the little ones was charming and lovely. "Out of the mouths of babes."

 

Do We Defy the Authority of the Church if We Disobey the Pope's Demands?

I'll answer a question with a question, two questions in fact. Was it wrong for Catholics to disobey the pope when he said everyone should get the COVID jab? Were Catholics who refused to obey the pope challenging the authority of Holy Mother Church?

Simple answer to both questions: NO! NO! HELL NO!